Late spring sunshine spilled through the window, but inside the study, the air was cold as ice. Ling Yan stood by the window, her back to them, listening as Xue Feiyan addressed his men.
"You knew being seen meant exposure, and yet you let him escape?" His voice was low, terrifyingly calm.
The two men kneeling before him kept their heads bowed. Failure was failure. In Night Blade, there were no excuses.
Xue Feiyan swallowed his anger. "Did you see his style?"
Silence.
"Speak."
"My lord, he was too fast. He broke into the camp, but he didn't engage us directly," one man said. "When we spotted him, he threw some hidden weapons to cover his retreat, then vanished."
"Vanished?"
"Yes. His lightness skill is incredible. In a few leaps, he was gone." The man's voice wavered. Night Blade had experts in lightness skill, but a dozen of them hadn't been able to corner one man.
Xue Feiyan paced the room, his expression heavy. He stopped. "Go back. Disband Night Blade. Tell everyone to scatter and hide outside the capital."
"My lord…" The man hesitated. "Perhaps you should reconsider? You need men right now. To disband Night Blade is to cut off your own arm."
Xue Feiyan looked at his long, slender fingers. "A numb arm is better than a permanently crippled one."
"Yes."
"Go."
The two men bowed and left.
The room fell silent. Ling Yan turned. She had heard the faint sigh he had let out, the one his men had missed.
"You disbanded Night Blade permanently," she stated. "You didn't even set a signal for recall."
"Did I?" He feigned surprise, tapping his forehead with a smile. "I've been so busy lately, I must have forgotten."
He walked to the desk, wrote a few lines, folded the paper, sealed it with wax, and handed it to her.
"Take this to the Night Blade headquarters. It contains the instructions for the next recall."
Ling Yan didn't move. She stared at the letter in his hand.
"Why are you sending me away?" Her gaze pierced him. "Why?"
"Ling Yan." His smile stiffened. "Who said I'm sending you away? I'm just asking you to deliver a letter."
"If you're not sending me away, then open it. Right here, in front of me."
He looked away, sighing. "Be good. Take Night Blade and leave."
"Are you giving up?" She slapped the letter out of his hand. She ripped it open, pulled out the paper, and shoved it in his face. "Do I need to read it to you?"
He turned his back to her. "Yes."
"Night Blade is your creation. With one word, we would fight to the death for you." She grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at her.
"Because it is my creation, I won't let them die for nothing." He smiled, a sad, broken thing.
"But this is your ambition. The throne. Are you just going to let it go?" His smile hurt her more than his anger. She reached up, touching his sharp cheekbones.
He held her hand. "A loss is a loss. Besides, losing to my fifth brother isn't such an injustice."
"The Fifth Prince?" She stared at him. He never admitted defeat easily, least of all to a man known as a fool.
"I realized now that Gongzi Suyi was right. In this game of empire, I lost the first move." He shook his head, leading her to the window. They stood together, looking out at the spring garden.
"How? When you started, he had nothing."
"No. He had a plan, even then." He looked at the distant sky. "Whether it was to help our eldest brother or for some other reason, when the Crown Prince fell ill, he made a pact with the Four Princes of the vassal states. I thought military power was the foundation. I didn't realize that the hearts of men are far more complex."
"But the Four Princes never sent troops to help him. He's relied on the Murong family, and on courting the eunuchs. Eunuchs ruin the country, in-laws seize power. How can supporting such scum win him the hearts of the people?"
He stroked her hair, laughing softly. "Ling Yan, is he really supporting them?"
She froze. "Isn't he?"
"Of course not." He grinned. "Did you notice the two memorials he presented to Father recently?"
She thought back to the copies Night Blade had stolen. She still didn't see it.
"The first one listed Deng Qinyao's men. The second added a few of Guo Shangzhong's confidants."
"So what? He did it to show the Emperor he wasn't targeting the Deng family."
"The first memorial, yes. But the second… that was pushing the boat with the current." He laughed, a free, unburdened sound. "My brother and I never needed to fight to the death. Losing to him isn't shameful."
He knew that once Xue Liulan took the throne, neither the in-laws nor the eunuchs would be spared.
She frowned, her grip on his sleeve tightening.
"What is it?"
She looked down, hiding her tears. "Even if you accept defeat, will he spare you? He knows to cut the weeds by the roots. You are his greatest rival."
"He will."
"How do you know?"
"Because the same blood runs in our veins. We can fight, but we cannot kill each other." It was the rule they had all lived by, imposed by the Crown Prince. No one had ever broken it.
"I don't believe he will show mercy." She spun him around, gripping his arms. "If your life is not in danger, why send me away first?"
He stared at her agitation, then smiled gently. "Silly girl. I just didn't want you to share the humiliation of my defeat. In the court, there are always fair-weather friends."
"Then I should stay with you all the more." Her gaze was steely.
She was stubborn. She always had been. He sighed, smiling helplessly, and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on her head. He closed his eyes, at peace.
Even if he lost everything, he still had her. Perhaps heaven hadn't abandoned him after all.
Under the cover of night, Hanlu landed silently outside Xue Liulan's room. Before he could knock, the door opened, and the prince slipped out.
"Over here," Xue Liulan whispered, leading him to a far corner of the courtyard.
Hanlu wasn't surprised. Since the little prince was born, the master spent every moment with him. He had come out quickly to avoid waking the child.
"How did it go?" Xue Liulan asked, stretching.
"As you ordered, we let Night Blade discover they were exposed. But my lord, I don't understand. Why alert them intentionally?"
"You think it would be better to wipe them out quietly?"
"Yes." Hanlu didn't hide his thoughts. "Leaving Night Blade alive is leaving a threat for the future."
"A blade is only sharp when it is wielded. If the hand that holds it never gives the order to strike, the blade is useless."
"You are certain the Seventh Prince will disband them?"
"We've destroyed the Deng faction in the court. My brother has an army, but his fief lies between Yin and Zhao. Both have armies on their borders. He wouldn't dare move." Xue Liulan spoke slowly. "Knowing his character, he won't let his men die for nothing."
Hanlu nodded, impressed. "Brothers indeed. You know him well."
Xue Liulan laughed. He turned to Hanlu. "Go back and prepare. Tomorrow morning… is the end of Deng Qinyao."