The forests beyond the capital echoed with the clash of steel. Emperor Long Renzhou's men had tracked the assassins' trail through the night, guided only by broken branches and hurried hoofprints. At the edge of a ravine, he found them—a group of masked killers surrounding a bound Yuexin, preparing to spirit her away across the northern border.
Renzhou's eyes blazed like a storm.
"Release her," he commanded, drawing his sword, the moonlight catching its edge.
The assassins lunged, but they were no match for the Emperor. With every strike, he cut them down like shadows before dawn. His blade danced with lethal precision, fueled by fury and the need to protect. When the last assassin fell, silence returned to the ravine.
He rushed to Yuexin, cutting her bindings. Her face was pale, her eyes wet with tears, but she tried to smile.
"You came…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
"Always," he said, lifting her gently into his arms. "As long as I live, no one will take you from me."
He carried her back to the palace, but their return did not bring peace.
Madam Wu Shuang, burning with jealousy and wounded pride, had already acted. Before the Emperor's parents and the entire royal court, she fell to her knees, her voice laced with venom.
"Your Majesties," she cried, "this woman your son shelters is no noble lady of Longyun! She is Yuexin of Huánglóng, a fallen princess, a deceiver hiding among us! While your son fights for the empire, she brings shame upon his throne."
Gasps filled the court. Ministers exchanged whispers. Some sneered openly at Yuexin as she entered beside the Emperor, her head lowered, still weakened from her ordeal.
"She deceived us all…"
"A fallen princess, unworthy of our Emperor…"
"She should be cast out!"
The words struck Yuexin like arrows. She bit her lip, her heart heavy, but she said nothing. Her silence only fueled their cruelty.
But Renzhou heard every insult, and his patience snapped.
"Enough!" His voice thundered across the hall, silencing every tongue. His gaze swept over the ministers, the courtiers, and even his own parents, blazing with unshakable resolve.
"Yuexin is not a deceiver," he declared. "She is the woman who holds my heart. She is the one I will protect until my last breath. And from this day forward—she will stand not as a guest of this palace, not as a fallen princess, but as the Empress of Longyun!"
The hall fell into stunned silence. No one dared breathe. Madam Wu Shuang trembled with rage, her plans shattered in an instant.
Renzhou drew Yuexin to his side, lifting her chin so all could see her face.
"Insult her again," he said coldly, "and you insult your Emperor."
In that moment, the court understood—the Dragon Throne had chosen its Empress.
And the Moonlight Empress had risen.
---
To be continued