In the Imperial Hall of Ancestral Light, the golden sun filtered through latticed jade windows, casting dragon-shaped shadows upon the marbled floor. The five princes stood at the dais with heads slightly bowed, dressed in formal silks of their station. From afar, they looked like brothers in perfect harmony—refined, noble, loyal to the Empire.
But beneath that polished image, seeds of rebellion were sprouting like poison roots.Two nights later, in the garden of stone lanterns, Prince Wenjin met with Mingzhao under the guise of poetry.
"I'm not sure this is wise," Wenjin murmured as he passed his brother a folded scroll. "Yuyan may be cold, but he's loyal. He's never harmed us."
"Not yet," Mingzhao said quietly. "But loyalty from a man who hides his heart behind a bronze mask is only a coin waiting to flip. Today he protects us. Tomorrow he may strike."
Wenjin's lips tightened.
He remembered how Yuyan had once shielded him in battle. But he also remembered the way Yuyan looked at Hua Lian—so distant, so unreadable—and how it made him feel invisible.
He looked down at the koi pond beside them, where crimson fish swam under the reflection of the moon.
"If we're caught—" he began.
"We won't be," Mingzhao cut in, firm. "But if we don't act before the Emperor grows too weak… then we may never get another chance."
Wenjin hesitated. Then, slowly, he nodded.Li Renshu remained the only brother untouched by the plan.
Prince Li Mingzhao stood tall beside his brothers, a subtle smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His dark eyes flickered not toward the Crown Prince but toward the chancellors seated below—the old guards of power who had served three emperors and betrayed two.
They watched him too.
The exchange lasted only seconds, unnoticed by the court. But in those seconds, alliances were sealed without a single word.
Later that night, the whispers grew louder—within hidden chambers of the Eastern Council.
"Prince Yuyan holds too much power," murmured Chancellor Bai, leaning on his cane. His fingers were stained with ink and treachery. "The military bends to his word. The Emperor favors him. If he takes the Dragon Throne, there will be no room for us."
A younger official nodded. "The mask he wears… no one even knows what lies beneath. A man who hides his face cannot be trusted with an empire."
Prince Mingzhao stood at the center of the room, flanked by a table full of maps and sealed scrolls. His voice was like silk soaked in venom—graceful, but fatal.
"I do not seek the throne out of envy," he said softly. "I seek it out of necessity. The Empire needs warmth, diplomacy—not shadows and swords."
"Indeed," Chancellor Bai rasped, "and the Crown Prince's silence has become dangerous."
"He is the eldest," the youngest minister dared to add, "even if only by a minute."
Mingzhao turned to face them fully.
"One minute can change a war. One minute can determine the fate of ten thousand soldiers. And one minute has cost this empire the joy of a crown it could have worn with dignity."
Silence. Then nods.
The door opened silently.
Prince Fenglin entered, folding his arms casually.
"You called for me, brother?" he asked with a playful smirk. But his eyes were serious. Alert.
Mingzhao gestured him in. "Join us."
Fenglin looked around, recognizing faces—three ministers, two nobles… all enemies of Prince Yuyan in disguise.
He gave a slow, calculating smile. "So this is the fox's den."
"And are you a fox or a hound?" Chancellor Bai asked, eyes narrowed.
Fenglin leaned on the carved table and tapped it lightly. "I am whoever wins."
The room chuckled softly.
Mingzhao's smile deepened.
"We win when the dragon is asleep."
Li Renshu remained the only brother untouched by the plan.
He spent his days studying trade routes, his nights sketching war strategies in the southern court. Though quiet and warm-hearted, he was no fool. And lately, he had begun to feel a shift in the palace air—a tension beneath the smiles of his brothers.
During one family dinner, when Yuyan entered late, cloaked in silence as always, Mingzhao raised a toast.
"To the unity of the Dragon Sons," he said cheerfully, voice ringing across the jade hall. "May we always stand as one."
Fenglin clinked his cup with laughter. Wenjin smiled faintly.
Yuyan nodded once and drank in silence.
Only Renshu looked around the table—and saw something else.
The smiles were too smooth.
The eyes too sharp.
And the silence too deep.
He would say nothing. For now.
But he would watch.
Because while Yuyan remained oblivious, Renshu knew that empires do not fall from outside invasions...
They rot from within.