The Eastern Palace’s nights always pressed down like a thousand-ton boulder—but tonight, the wind screamed through the lattice, carrying news of an uninvited guest:
"The enemy envoy, General Chen Qing’er, has arrived."
I lowered my head, though my pulse spiked.
She was here.
The legendary "Frostblade" of the northern battlegrounds—a woman who carved through armies like winter through flesh.
Her purpose in the Eastern Palace needed no explanation.
The Crown Prince needed her.
A new piece against the Empress’s faction.
I rose, strides quickening. This meeting wouldn’t be peaceful. This general would fracture the board.
When I entered the hall, she stood with her back to me—tall, her black cloak billowing like a stormfront. Her aura was glacial, her gaze the kind that flayed pretense bare.
She ignored me, addressing the Crown Prince first, her tone deceptively light:
"Summoned so urgently, Your Highness. To what do I owe the… honor?"
A flicker of ice passed through the Prince’s eyes before he smiled. "General Chen. We have matters of state to discuss. Your… influence could realign the game."
Then—
Her gaze snapped to me.
A flash of something predatory in her eyes as she purred:
"And this is?"
The Prince’s jaw tightened. "An Liu. A new attendant."
"Ah. An attendant." Her lips curled, slow and knowing. "How… inventive of you, Your Highness."
The sarcasm dripped like venom. My fingers twitched.
I forced my voice steady: "Does the General have… advice?"
She moved—
—and suddenly her breath was at my ear, her body boxing me in:
"You’re no eunuch."
Every muscle in me locked.
"And no mere servant, either."
Her words were blades drawn slow across skin.
"Whatever you’re hiding… I’ll uncover it."
I stopped breathing.
This first meeting had become a battlefield.
But she’d already turned back to the Prince, voice light again:
"Shall we discuss why I’m really here? Or waste time on… courtesies?"
The Prince dismissed me with a glance.
As I bowed and retreated, her final words followed me out:
"Remember—I don’t play the pawn."
That sentence struck like a warhammer.
This enemy general wasn’t just ruthless—
Her eyes held deeper schemes.
Had she come to topple the Empress?
Or to burn the entire board?
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