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Chapter 13 - Whispers Beyond the Gate

The southern wind carried the scent of dust and harvest as Yun Xi stepped beyond the Vermilion Gate. It was the first time in months she had left the palace walls, and the air felt both liberating and dangerous. Her mission weighed heavily: trace the missing grain shipments and uncover the hand behind them.

Disguised in the plain robes of a low-ranking clerk, she traveled with a small escort led by Eunuch Chen. His stern expression revealed nothing, but his eyes lingered on her more than necessary—as if measuring, judging, or perhaps protecting.

The road south was lined with golden fields ready for harvest, yet farmers' faces bore only hunger. Children's ribs jutted against thin tunics, and women sold meager bundles of millet for scraps of copper. Yun Xi's chest tightened. If the empire's granaries were truly full, why did the people starve?

In the town of Jiangnan, she entered a teahouse to listen. The place was crowded with merchants, farmers, and scholars, all whispering grievances.

"Another tax collector came yesterday," one man muttered. "Took the grain my family saved for winter. Said it was for the Emperor's storehouses."

"Lies," another spat. "The storehouses are empty. The officials line their pockets while we starve."

Yun Xi sipped her tea, feigning indifference while her ears caught every word. The corruption had not ended with Lord Kang's fall—it had only changed hands.

Later that night, she slipped away from her escort and followed a trail of wagons leaving the city. Beneath the moonlight, she saw them: convoys of grain sacks, not headed for the imperial granaries but toward a private estate surrounded by high walls. Guards in black armor stood at the gates, bearing a sigil she did not recognize—a coiled serpent.

Her pulse quickened. Someone powerful was hoarding grain under the Emperor's nose.

A sudden hand on her shoulder nearly made her cry out. She turned to see Chen, his face grim.

"Do you have a death wish?" he hissed. "If the guards had seen you—"

"I had to see for myself," Yun Xi whispered.

Chen's gaze softened briefly. "You're clever, Scholar Yun. But cleverness burns bright—and short—if you step too close to the flame."

They returned to the inn, but sleep refused to come. Yun Xi lay awake, hearing the phantom rustle of grain sacks and the hiss of unseen serpents.

For the first time, she wondered if the Emperor had sent her not to uncover truth—but to be consumed by it.

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