The Crown Prince's household had thirty women registered under his name.
Thirty daughters of noble blood. Thirty alliances made through silk and signature. Thirty well-trained, calculating ornaments sent here not for affection, but for leverage.
And this morning, not a single one of them had shown up in my courtyard for morning greetings.
Except Concubine Yun.
She knelt gracefully at my left, her sleeves folded over her hands. A breeze caught the hem of her robe, but she did not move. She did not shiver. She simply waited—like me.
I took the time to study her, to determine whether I wanted her on my side or not. And from what I have seen today, she was now officially one of mine.
"They're testing the threshold," she said, without looking up, her words ringing with truth.
I sipped my tea. "I honestly expected nothing less from them," I shrugged gracefully. "After all, I'm meeting 25 of them for the first time today."
