[The Palace of Eternal Joy]
Candlelight flickered as the palace doors swung open. Liu Yan, covered in blood, knelt on the marble floor. Her breathing was ragged, but her voice remained cold. "I am incompetent... I failed to stop Gu Xingyu. She was rescued by the Five Yao."
Blood dripped from her shoulder, staining the floor. Si Yirou (The Eldest Princess) paused, her teacup trembling slightly. "Stand up."
"The Third Prince had set an ambush," Liu Yan gritted her teeth. "If not for..." She stopped herself, suppressing the rest of her words.
Si Yirou looked at her and smiled faintly. "To survive such an encounter is a feat in itself. Gu Xingyu escaped from my brother... it seems she is more dangerous than I thought. However, a pawn lost and regained is not always a bad thing."
She looked out the window, her eyes deepening. "Gu Xingyu... you escaped once, but you won't escape a second time."
[The Yao Capital • The Ask-Yao Assembly]
Morning light touched the jade steps of the Capital. Si Yirou stood in her silver-patterned court robes, looking toward the East—the direction of the Yao-Nan Manor.
"So, my Imperial Uncle has returned?" she asked calmly. The eunuch kneeling beside her broke into a cold sweat. "Yes, Princess. We have confirmed that Si Chengxun is in contact with the Five Yao."
"According to the Yao Laws," Si Yirou began, her voice steady and sharp, "when celestial signs shift and a Saintess appears, an 'Ask-Yao Assembly' may be called. We shall verify the Yao-seals and question her heart."
"Issue my decree—in three days, we convene at the Zhaoyi Terrace. I invite the lords, the ministers, and the Elders of the Yao Sect."
The ministers were shocked. "Princess, is this too sudden? If the Five Yao are not yet in the capital, an assembly might cause a riot—"
"I want a riot," Si Yirou interrupted. "If they do not enter the city within three days, they will be charged with defying the Emperor. If they do, they will be trapped in my assembly. My father is ill and my brother is obsessed with power. If no one will lead this board, then I shall."
Si Moyan (The Crown Prince) stepped forward to stop her. "Yirou, you cannot do this. This is a crime against Father."
Si Yirou didn't turn around. "Brother, since when did you learn to forfeit royal power before the Saintess has even been confirmed?"
"You are breaking ancestral law," Moyan lowered his voice.
"The laws were broken long ago," Si Yirou turned, her eyes sharp as blades. "When Mu Yun-zhao failed to recall the Five Yao and gave her life to open the Gates for Father... tell me, how much of this world is still held together by 'ancestral law'?"
She leaned in. "If I do not act, how will you stop the chaos? And our Uncle... do you really believe he has no hidden motives after all these years?"
"Enough!" Moyan shouted. "I won't let you turn destiny into a stage for your power. If you persist, I will argue against you before Father!"
Si Yirou smiled. "Brother, you are truly a man of virtue. But Father's health is failing. Do you think he will side with your hesitation, or my resolve? People like you can only stand within the palace walls, watching as destiny falls into the hands of others."
[The Hidden Memory: Jingzhao Palace]
In the West Wing of the Ten Thousand Scales Palace lay the abandoned Jingzhao Palace. It was a place where Si Chengjing (The Emperor) kept his secrets. Years ago, it was where Si Chengxun had spent his youth, and where he had fallen in love with Mu Yun-zhao.
Inside, the Emperor sat on a stone bed, clutching a cracked Yao-Spirit Crystal. It was a fragment left behind after Mu Yun-zhao's death. "She said she would give me the Heart of the Yao-Spirit if I could protect this world," he rasped. "But now... this world is more rotten than the day she died."
He laughed, a hollow sound like grinding stone. "Tell the Shadow Guards to watch the Yao-Nan Manor. Do not let that girl enter the inner court—unless she is willing to hand over the Yao Key herself."
He looked into the abyss. "If she thinks she can move fate with 'love' and 'belief,' let her see that there are no miracles. There is only the price."
[The Stone Cell • The Blade's Defiance]
In a cold stone cell, Si Moheng sat alone, blood drying on his hands. A dead traitor lay beside him. A hooded messenger entered. "The Emperor has a message for you. He says—if you remember who you are, do not let that girl ruin your board."
Si Moheng smiled faintly. "He won't even mention her name? Is he afraid I'll react?"
He stood up, his blood-stained robes clinging to his skin. "You know, when I was thirteen, the first time I killed was to crawl out of a place called the 'Death Row Camp.' When he sent someone to fetch me, he gave me only two sentences."
The messenger remained silent.
"First: 'The value of living lies in your ability to kill.' Second: 'Remember, never let anyone know your name is Si.'"
His voice was like bone-deep poison. "I've killed countless people for him. I've been a spy, a commander, an assassin. He never asked if I was hurt. He only asked: 'Is the target dead? Did we win?'"
He looked toward the high walls of the capital. "He didn't want a son. He wanted a blade. A blade that could pierce through destiny."
He turned to the messenger, his voice dropping into his marrow. "Go back and tell him: this board is no longer his solo game. If he tries to use me as his blade again, I will let that blade slip from his hand. And if he dares to touch her... I will let him know that this blade can also turn back and pierce his own heart."
He wiped a streak of blood across his palm—a warning, not a vow.
The blade had finally left its scabbard