The Regent's hall became filled with ministers and generals, called upon to give reports. Ling Yue was taken to stand at the edge, not dismissed but retained close—as if Yan Xi wanted to gauge her tolerance.
Scrolls were unrolled, voices ebbed and flowed. Reports of drought, provincial unrest, and plague spreading in the northern district. Each sentence described an empire creaking at the seams.
One of them, a stout man with shaky hands, dropped to his knees. "Your Highness, the treasury is short—we must not continue to exact tribute, or the common folk will rise up against us!"
Yan Xi stirred the wine in his cup, the most subtle smile on his lips. "You suggest mercy, then?"
The minister swallowed. "Yes, Your Highness. To lightened the weight, just a little—
The Regent placed his cup gently down. "Mercy is a luxury for rulers with secure thrones." His eyes cut through the man like a knife. "Tell me, when wolves catch wind of blood, do the pack flee or attack?"
The hall went quiet.
The minister's mouth opened, and then he stopped as Yan Xi raised his hand. In an instant, two guards grabbed the man, pulling him forward.
Your Highness—!" the minister screamed, but his cry was reduced to a choked gasp. Yan Xi snapped her fingers, and the guards struck.
The ring of steel on flesh was sudden and savage. Blood collected on the shining floor, the air filled with the metallic smell of iron.
Nobody risked a breath.
Ling Yue observed, her face serene, though within her she gauged the Regent once more. His brutality was not foolish—it was planned, intentional, a show for the observing court.
Yan Xi relaxed back in his chair, unconcerned, his voice like silk. "Weakness is a call to rebellion. Fear promotes obedience. This is a lesson none of you shall ever forget."
The officials bowed low, their silence thick with fear.
But his eyes strayed then—beyond the cringing ministers, beyond the stained floor—to Ling Yue.
Her gaze had not faltered, not ever.
Intrigue danced across his lean face. "You do not appear shaken, girl. Did the sight not terrify you?"
Ling Yue looked up into his eyes unwaveringly. "I have witnessed seas of blood larger than this, Regent. The heavens do not shake for the death of one man."
The hall murmured, shocked by her temerity.
Yan Xi's smile grew, wolfish and perilous. "Good."
He stood, his robes flowing behind him. "Then let us prove your assertion. At morning, you will travel to the northern quarter and confront the plague that has reduced all my physicians to humility."
His voice dropped, smooth and laced with menace. "Cure them, and you will be under my patronage. Fail… and I will determine if your blood flows colder than theirs."
The torches flared, long shadows and sharp.
And Ling Yue lowered her head, not in submission, but in recognition of challenge. "So be it."