Dawn in the palace219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32oESRPayE
—a held breath before the storm.
The candleflames tremble in the corridors,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLgwSslGp6
as do I.
Chen Qing’er’s warning coils in my gut:219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzz9NL2z42i
"Does the Crown Prince truly trust you?"
A question that now blooms thorns219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQKpa1yTii
in every glance he gives me,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAJCaV52nk
every silence between words.
The Summons
Zhang Feng arrives like a shadow,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0MJR6SHkq
his voice devoid of inflection:219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFBVzCXUKf
"His Highness requests you."
I follow, counting my heartbeats—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TWIb3RPPp
each step a precipice.
The Audience
The Prince’s study smells of ink and iron.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvMGwVN6Gl
He doesn’t look up from his documents219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7igAyPlqzf
when he says:
"You spoke with Chen Qing’er last night."
A statement, not a question.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeat75qJ6o8
The blade hidden in the scabbard of courtesy.
I keep my voice steady:219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYA0HsdPrs9
"Nothing of consequence passed between us."
His fingers pause on a parchment edge.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29Bcr6anbu
"I hear you’ve grown… close to certain officials."
Another knife, poised at my throat.
I parry: "All for the sake of reform."
The Warning
He rises, silhouetted against the window,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9excuHHzB
backlit by a dawn he cannot yet see:
"Chen Qing’er is the true threat now."219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAI2sNJzfv
"Are you prepared to face her?"
The unspoken words hang heavier:219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicyOBezlcb
Are you prepared to betray me?
I give the expected answer.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvqPBa7LFv
He smiles—
—a flash of teeth in the gloom,219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0G8DvkOs8u
more warning than approval.
"Remember: we play this game together."219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJalBXfzAT
His fingers brush his dagger’s hilt.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FjH508wVz
"Cross me, and you’ll wish Chen Qing’er had killed you first."
The Aftermath
Alone again, I press my palm to my chest—219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRBoGJVPMk
feeling the thing that frightens me most:
Not the Prince’s threats.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWxKkDvqqA
Not Chen Qing’er’s schemes.
But the traitorous whisper in my own pulse:219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIXcrHX7Hc
What if I want to choose neither?
然後按「加至主畫面」