"Prepare my pavilion," she ordered calmly. "Tonight will be my first meeting with the women of the Inner Court."
Her attendants bowed low, moving quickly. The news had already spread like wildfire, carried by whispering eunuchs and maids through corridors and courtyards. Consort Wei now holds the seal… Consort Wei controls the harem.
By the time she had returned to her chambers, the palace was trembling with rumor.
Far across the compound, in an opulent chamber decorated with peonies and gold, Consort Yi heard the words from her trembling maid.
"What did you say?" Her voice was soft, dangerous.
The maid fell to her knees. "Consort Wei… She has been given the Inner Seal, Your Ladyship. His Majesty has decreed it."
For a moment, silence. Then Yi's jeweled hairpin snapped in her hand.
"That— woman?" Her eyes widened, fury spilling into her face. "She has barely set foot in these halls and dares to stand above me?"
With a sudden cry, she swept her arm across her dressing table. Bottles of rouge, gold hair ornaments, and delicate porcelain shattered against the floor. A lacquered screen toppled, its painted cranes broken by her strike.
Her maids shrank back, terrified, as Yi's rage grew unchecked. She seized a jade cup and hurled it against the wall, shards scattering like green ice.
"Out! All of you!" she screamed, her voice raw with fury. The servants fled, leaving her breathing heavily amidst the wreckage, her silks fluttering like wings of a caged bird.
Yi sank into her chair, lips trembling into a bitter smile.
"Consort Wei…" she whispered, hatred twisting her words. "You may have the Emperor's decree, but you will not have his court. Not for long."
The bronze bells tolled softly as the carved doors of the Phoenix Hall swung open.
Wei Lan stepped inside.
She was dressed in the ceremonial robes of a Noble Consort—a flowing gown of deep scarlet silk, embroidered with phoenixes in gold thread that shimmered with each step she took. A belt of white jade cinched her waist, and from it hung a phoenix-shaped pendant that chimed faintly with her movements. Her hair was coiled high in an elegant crown braid, adorned with golden pins and pearls that caught the sunlight filtering through the latticed windows.
Her face was serene, the beauty of sharp lines and unyielding strength. Her eyes, calm and watchful, seemed to pierce through silk and shadows alike. She carried herself not as a delicate flower but as a commander who had walked onto the battlefield of the Inner Court.
The rustle of silks filled the hall as the assembled women rose, then dropped into a deep curtsey.
"We pay respects to Noble Consort Wei," they chorused, voices trembling between respect and reluctance.
Wei Lan moved forward with unhurried steps, her expression unchanged. The hem of her gown brushed against the jade floor, leaving a whisper of crimson in her wake. She ascended the dais without hesitation, and when she turned, the sweep of her robes fanned around her like a blooming peony, commanding the space.
The women remained kneeling, their heads bowed. But whispers darted like shadows through the chamber.
"She carries herself like a queen already…"
"His Majesty favors her too greatly. She holds the Inner Seal."
"How can a woman who entered the palace so recently sit above all of us?"
"Yet… look at her. She looks as though she was born to this place."
Wei Lan let the whispers wash over her, her gaze steady as she surveyed the kneeling court. She neither corrected them nor acknowledged their words. Her silence, her poise, carried more weight than an outburst ever could.
Finally, she spoke—her voice low, calm, and edged with authority.
"Rise."
The women lifted themselves slowly, their expressions schooled into masks, though their eyes flickered with a storm of emotions—envy, fear, resentment.
Wei Lan's gaze swept across them, and for an instant, the air seemed to tighten around her. She had faced enemies on the battlefield before. The harem, she realized, was no different.
The ceremony had barely settled into order when the sound of hurried steps echoed from outside.
The doors parted once more.
Consort Yi swept in, her figure tall and elegant, her gown of pale lavender trailing like mist across the jade floor. Jewels glittered in her hair, but her smile was edged, the kind that cut sharper than a blade.
Gasps fluttered among the women. To enter late before the Noble Consort holding the Inner Seal was nothing less than open defiance.
Yi bowed with exaggerated slowness, her voice sweet but mocking.
"This concubine begs forgiveness. I was… delayed."
The hall fell silent. All eyes shifted to Wei Lan, waiting—wondering if the newly risen consort would falter under such a challenge.
But Wei Lan's expression did not so much as tremble. She inclined her head slightly, her tone smooth and even.
"Concubine Yi honors us with her presence. In future, I trust the affairs of the Inner Court will weigh heavily enough not to be delayed again."
Her words were soft, but the steel beneath them rang clear. A ripple passed through the assembly, some women lowering their gazes to hide their smirks, others stiffening at the quiet blow Wei Lan had struck.
Consort Yi's smile froze for a fraction of a second.
The meeting continued, Wei Lan issuing her first commands with the clarity of a general setting ranks—assigning duties, reaffirming palace rules, restoring order where slackness had festered. No one dared speak against her.
At last, as the gathering drew to a close, Wei Lan descended from the dais. She moved past the women gracefully, her silks whispering across the polished floor. When she reached Yi, she paused.
Bending ever so slightly, she leaned close, her lips nearly brushing Yi's ear. Her voice, low and lethal, carried only between the two of them.
"Your hands reek of poison still," Wei Lan murmured. "Did you truly think I would not know?"
Yi's body went rigid. The color drained from her face as she straightened sharply, but Wei Lan was already moving past her, serene as ever, her back straight, her presence untouchable.
The court women stared after her, none the wiser to what had passed, but Yi's trembling fingers dug into the silk of her sleeves until her knuckles turned white.
For the first time, fear coiled beneath her rage.
As Wei Lan left the Phoenix Hall, the court women's murmurs trailed behind her like the rustle of leaves in the wind. She walked with unhurried steps, her face composed, but inside her thoughts were sharp and deliberate.
Concubine Yi… reckless, arrogant, and yet dangerous. A woman who dares strike with poison will not stop here. She will come again. But fury makes one careless.
Her fingers brushed lightly against the jade pendant at her waist. On the battlefield, Wei Lan had learned to measure her enemy not by their boasts, but by their weaknesses. Yi's anger was a weapon Wei Lan intended to turn back against her.
She did not need to expose Yi before the court. Not yet. Let her stew in fear, let her trip on her own desperation. Only then would Wei Lan strike.
She lifted her gaze to the evening sky as she returned to her chambers, the fading light washing her scarlet robes in hues of fire.
The harem is no different from war. Every smile hides a blade. But I am no stranger to blades.