Chapter 9 – The Phoenix Before the Court
The imperial audience hall loomed like a cavern of shadows and gold. High above, painted dragons coiled across the beams, their eyes seeming to watch every movement below.
Yanyue—no, Li Fenghua—stood to the side of the Dragon Throne, her hands folded inside her sleeves. Every step into this place had been like walking deeper into the jaws of a beast.
Zhao Wenzhi sat with the unhurried grace of a man who owned the room. His expression was unreadable, but the air around him was taut with unspoken warning.
The ministers knelt in two long rows, their brocade robes fanning like waves.
Grand Chancellor Han, a man with eyes as sharp as a hawk's, broke the silence first.
"Your Majesty, last night's events cannot be ignored. Two assassins dead in your private quarters—and a maid with the skill to slay one? That is not coincidence."
Murmurs rippled through the hall. Some glanced at her, others at the Emperor, all too aware of the tension.
Consort Liang, draped in silver silk, stepped forward from the concubines' dais. Her voice was honeyed, yet it carried far.
"It is strange indeed, Your Majesty. The girl fights like a soldier, yet claims to be nothing but a servant. What sort of servant hides a blade behind a smile?"
Zhao Wenzhi's gaze shifted to Yanyue briefly, then back to the court.
"She is under my protection. That is all you need know."
Chancellor Han bowed, but his words were razor-sharp.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but the people have not forgotten the Li clan's rebellion. If she truly is who some whisper she is… then harboring her would be treason."
The word treason hung in the air like a drawn bowstring.
Yanyue's pulse pounded in her ears. She could feel their eyes trying to strip her bare, to drag her secrets into the light.
Consort Liang's lips curved in a delicate smile.
"Perhaps a public investigation would clear the air, Your Majesty. For your safety… and hers."
Her safety. The lie tasted bitter.
Zhao rose from the throne in one smooth movement. His voice was low, but it cut through the hall like a blade.
"An investigation? Very well. But understand this—if any hand dares to move against her without my command, I will take it as an attempt on my life. And I will answer it as such."
The hall went utterly silent. Even the ever-smiling Consort Liang's expression froze for a heartbeat.
When the audience ended, Yanyue walked beside him toward the inner palace, her heart still racing.
"You just painted a target on both of us," she said quietly.
He didn't look at her. "Good. Now they know where to aim."
She stared at him, wondering if he was protecting her… or daring the court to try and take her away.
Cliffhanger: Far from the palace, in a candlelit room, the leader of the Black Lotus Sect received a sealed scroll bearing three characters: The Phoenix lives.
His smile was cold. "Then the game begins."