The estate still smelled faintly of incense when Yunxi returned that evening, his hands raw from endless washing. He had scrubbed them until the skin peeled, yet it felt as though blood still clung stubbornly to his fingers, refusing to leave. He had left He Ju asleep on the couch, curled like a loyal dog, one hand clutching the hem of Yunxi's robe even in his dreams. The boy's breathing was steady, but Yunxi's was not. His chest rose and fell like a man chased.
But outside, the rumours of the missing soldier were spreading faster than incense smoke. He could hear them before he even crossed into the palace gates.
"Vanished," one guard muttered, leaning on his spear.
"Ran off with a woman," another laughed, shaking his head.
"Or silenced," the first hissed under his breath, glancing over his shoulder.
Yunxi's stomach twisted. For an instant, he thought the word silenced had been meant for him directly. He clenched his sleeve tighter around his hand and walked past, feigning indifference. He told himself to breathe slowly, to act like nothing gnawed at him. You are calm. You are unseen. You are just another shadow of the palace.
But fate had its own sense of humor.
"Lord Yunxi?"
The voice was clear and sharp, cutting the evening air. Yunxi froze mid-step. Slowly, he turned.
Lady Meiylin stood in the palace courtyard, framed by the lantern glow. Her gown shimmered in embroidered silk, pale blossoms crawling up the fabric like vines. Her hair was pinned with jade, her eyes lined in the style of her homeland. She had only just returned after years abroad, yet already she moved through the palace with a predator's grace—unfamiliar, unshaken, and dangerous.
Yunxi bowed low. " The palace is brighter for your return."
She tilted her head, smiling with lips but not with eyes. "indeed.....i am delighted that even you_the young master thinks that way"
"I shall take my leave then." She walked past him as if to leave but then..."Did you hear?" She spoke as she turned to look back at Yunxi "The rumours? You were part of the investigation? His majesty must trust you to put you on the investigation of own case." Her words carried the weight of amusement, but beneath it lay accusation. "They say a soldier had evidence. That he whispered to a friend before he vanished. Curious, isn't it?"
Yunxi's lashes lowered, hiding the flicker of panic in his eyes. His heart thundered so violently he thought she could hear it. But he curved his lips into something resembling serenity. "The young miss has been gone so long, perhaps the air here tastes strange to her."
She stepped closer, each movement deliberate. The scent of her perfume was heavy, sweet with an undercurrent of spice. She leaned in, voice low enough only he could hear. "Perhaps. Yet still, I can smell blood."
The words pierced him. For the briefest second, Yunxi's mask slipped—fear, naked and raw. Then it vanished, replaced by cool calculation.
"Rumors are as cheap as street rice," he replied, voice smooth. "And just as tasteless when swallowed."
"I was on the investigation too, but I couldn't bring myself to bribe him even if I wanted to."
Yunxi spoke carefully as speaking to his superior. "You say he left, people don't just leave..... especially if their family still stays"Meiylin pressed. Perhaps she had found something. Yunxi's head remained pressed down as he spoke. "It's the only explanation I could think of. I shall take my leave."
Lady Meiylin's smile widened, all mockery now. "If I find your hand behind this, Yunxi, I will not be as merciful as the king. A friend of mine knew him you know."
The name of the king burned like iron in Yunxi's ears. He forced a bow, lowering his gaze. "Then it would be wise, Young miss, not to find what should remain unseen."
Her eyes narrowed at the veiled threat, but she said no more. She turned, silk trailing behind her like a whip, and walked away.
Yunxi stood there for a long moment, his fingers digging crescents into his palms. Rage curled in his stomach like smoke. Better to remove her early. Better to silence anyone who dares to threaten me.
---
That night, he was summoned by the king.
The guards led him through dim halls, their boots echoing against stone. Yunxi's pulse quickened with every step. When the great doors opened, he found himself alone in a chamber lit only by braziers. The air was heavy, oppressive, as though the walls themselves leaned in to listen.
Han Ji sat at the far end, cloaked in shadows. His crown glimmered faintly in the firelight.
"You look thinner," the king observed, rising to his feet. He circled Yunxi slowly, like a hawk circling prey. "I thought house arrest meant confinement, not starvation. And I hear sometimes your lost into thin air."
"I eat," Yunxi replied softly. "Even rats must."
The king's lips twitched at the insolence, though his eyes remained sharp. He reached out suddenly, his hand closing around Yunxi's wrist. His grip was warm, too warm, searing through his skin. Yunxi was sattled by the sudden behaviour.
"You shiver," Han Ji murmured, leaning closer, "but not from hunger."
Yunxi tried to pull back, but the king's hold tightened. Their eyes met—Yunxi's wide and trembling, the king's cold and unyielding. He jerked his hand free, bowing low to hide the storm in his expression.
"Your Majesty called me here for judgment, not mockery," he said, voice trembling only slightly. "Please, say your will."
The king studied him in silence. Then, slowly, he stepped closer, so close Yunxi could feel the heat of his breath at his ear.
"You're hiding something," Han Ji whispered. "When I uncover it, Yunxi, you will beg me to keep you alive—only to realize life under me is worse than death."
Every word was a chain tightening around Yunxi's throat. His knees hit the ground before he even realized he had knelt. He dared not look up.
When at last he was dismissed, his legs nearly gave way beneath him as he stumbled from the hall. Yet even as fear knifed through him, something darker coiled inside his chest—a twisted heat from the king's closeness, from the cruel attention that burned like possession. Damn him.
---
That night, Yunxi slipped quietly into the gardens where his family had been permitted a short walk under guard. The moonlight painted them pale and tired, shadows stretching across the gravel.
Am older hyung_Jiyoon spotted him first. His jaw clenched, his eyes sharp with anger. He strode forward and seized Yunxi by the arm, dragging him behind a pillar.
"Yunxi!" he hissed. "Where were you?"
Yunxi blinked innocently. "I was inside."
"Inside?" Jiyoon snapped. "Don't lie to me. We covered for you that night. We told the guards you were with us, but we saw your room empty!"
His younger cousin, pale and frail, whispered, "We said you were with us. We worked hard to cover for you. If the king learns otherwise…" Her voice broke, fear trembling through every word.
Jiyoon shook him roughly. "Do you want us all dead?!"
Yunxi's throat tightened. He looked from Jiyoon to his cousin —their eyes full of fear, frustration, resentment. He should have felt gratitude. He should have felt shame. But instead, he felt only irritation, like a man swatting at buzzing flies.
"Enough," he said finally, his voice icy. He wrenched his arm free. "You had to do that. If I fall, you all fall. So pray I don't."
Jiyoon recoiled at the venom in his tone. His cousin's eyes filled with tears, but she said nothing. He once adored her, but the situation made him so selfish he stopped caring. He didn't want other luggages on his back.
Yunxi turned and walked away, his steps slow and deliberate. His heart pounded, fury and dread mingling in every beat. They look at me as if I am the noose around their necks. Let them. If I must, I will be the executioner too.
He thought of Lady Meiylin's smile, of Han Ji's burning gaze, of his family's trembling voices. His chest tightened until it was hard to breathe.
I will silence whoever dares step in my way, he swore silently. Even if it means silencing blood.
The night swallowed him whole, but his shadow stretched long behind him—too long, too dark for anyone who still believed he was just the minister's gentle son.