Morning arrived without mercy.
Jiao Shui was summoned before sunrise, which told her everything she needed to know. Emergencies waited for daylight. Traps preferred dawn.
She dressed in muted colors, no insignia beyond what rank demanded. Today was not for declaration.
The bullet comments stirred like restless birds.
Early summons are never good.Someone is testing her face.Someone wants to watch her blink.
The outer reception hall was already occupied when she arrived.
Song Lingfang stood at its center.
He had not changed in the ways that mattered.
Still tall. Still composed. His hair was tied simply, his robes travel-worn but immaculate. No ornaments. No ambition sewn into silk.
When she entered, he turned.
He did not smile.
He bowed.
Not deeply. Not casually.
Perfectly.
A bow that acknowledged her rank without erasing what they once were.
The bullet comments gasped collectively.
He bowed. He bowed correctly.This man is lethal.Why does that hurt more than rebellion?
Jiao Shui returned the gesture, her expression cool.
"Welcome back to the capital, Lord Song," she said evenly.
His eyes lifted. Dark. Steady.
"Your Highness," he replied. "It has been a long time."
Before anything else could be said, a voice cut through the space like a blade.
"So this is him."
Prince Yang emerged from the side chamber, clapping slowly, a grin stretched just short of polite. He circled Song Lingfang openly, inspecting him like a purchase.
"The man who vanished," Prince Yang continued. "The scholar who refused to kneel. The ghost from Her Highness's past."
Song Lingfang did not turn.
"I kneel when kneeling has meaning," he said calmly.
Prince Yang's smile sharpened. "Careful."
Jiao Shui stepped forward. "Enough."
Both men looked at her.
The room shifted.
"The Emperor will arrive shortly," she said. "If we are to perform, let us at least do so with dignity."
Song Lingfang inclined his head. "As you wish."
Prince Yang chuckled. "Oh, this will be entertaining."
The doors at the far end opened.
Xi Wuian entered.
The air changed instantly.
He took in the scene at a glance. The arrangement of bodies. The distance between them. The tension humming like a plucked string.
His gaze settled on Song Lingfang.
"This is the man," the Emperor said softly.
Song Lingfang knelt.
The bullet comments froze.
Not out of fear.Not out of obedience.Out of choice.
"Song Lingfang greets His Majesty," he said.
Xi Wuian descended the steps slowly.
"And what do you seek?" the Emperor asked.
Song Lingfang lifted his head.
"Truth," he said. "And permission to remain."
Xi Wuian's eyes flicked briefly to Jiao Shui.
Just briefly.
"Then you will stay," the Emperor said. "And we will see what truths survive the palace."
The court exhaled.
Jiao Shui did not.
Three men. One room. And a past that refused to stay buried.
The game had officially begun.