Chapter 10 – The Night of Silent Knives
The rain came without warning—thin at first, then heavy, drumming against the eaves like impatient fingers.
Yanyue sat alone in her quarters, the lamplight flickering over the embroidery she was pretending to work on. Since the court audience, she had felt the palace grow tighter around her, as if the very walls were listening.
A single knock at her door.
"Who is it?"
No answer.
Her grip tightened on the embroidery needle. "If this is one of the palace maids, speak."
Still nothing.
She set the needle down slowly and reached beneath the table, fingers brushing the hilt of the dagger Zhao Wenzhi had given her in secret.
She slid the door open a crack—
And a dark shape surged in.
The intruder wore black from head to toe, a porcelain mask hiding their face. Their movement was too fast, too smooth—before she could slash, a second figure slipped in behind them, cutting off her escape.
One spoke, voice low and even.
"Lady Li Fenghua. Our master wishes to see you."
Her stomach turned to ice.
"I don't know who you're talking about."
The masked figure tilted their head. "That's a shame. We were told to bring you alive. But no one said we couldn't break your legs to do it."
The first moved toward her—
But the floorboards shuddered as the door to her chambers burst inward.
Zhao Wenzhi stood there, sword in hand, rainwater dripping from his hair, his expression a storm.
The masked man's eyes flickered in recognition.
"Your Majesty."
Zhao didn't speak. He didn't need to. His sword moved first.
Steel clashed in the narrow space, the rain-slick sound of blade on blade filling the room. Yanyue ducked low as sparks flew past her face.
The second intruder tried to grab her from behind—but she drove her elbow into their ribs, twisted, and slashed the dagger across their forearm. The black fabric split, blood welling dark beneath it.
"You—" the masked figure hissed, but their partner called sharply,
"Retreat!"
Both leapt for the window, vanishing into the downpour with unnatural speed.
Zhao crossed the room in two strides, catching her by the arm.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head, though her pulse was a wild drumbeat. "They knew my real name."
His eyes narrowed, rain still dripping down his jaw.
"Then someone inside this palace told them."
Cliffhanger:
Far above the palace roofs, the two masked intruders landed on a tiled ridge where a third figure waited—a man in a white mask, holding a black lotus between his fingers.
"She is exactly as the master described," he said. "And next time… we won't leave without her."