The heavy doors of the Inner Sanctum closed behind Rian, shutting out the murmurs of the servants.
Rian stood in the center of the room. He did not kneel immediately. He took a moment to observe the layout. Expensive tapestries. Imported jade. The Captain of the Guard bleeding in the corner. The Matriarch sitting on her high-backed chair like a queen on a throne.
Assessment: Hostile territory. Negotiation leverage: Low. Objective: Secure an exit strategy.
Lady He stared at him. She didn't speak. She simply let the silence stretch, a tactic designed to make lesser men nervous. She waited for him to tremble, to beg, or to accuse her of the poisoning so she could have him executed for slander.
Rian broke the silence first.
"First Mother," Rian said, bowing deeply. His voice was weak, raspy, but perfectly polite. "I apologize for the intrusion. I know my presence is… distasteful to you."
Lady He raised a manicured eyebrow. "Distasteful is a polite word, Rian. I heard you were at death's door. Yet here you are, standing. You are persistent. Like a cockroach."
"Cockroaches are hard to kill, this is true," Rian said, keeping his head bowed. "But even a cockroach knows when the house is being fumigated."
He slowly straightened up, meeting her eyes. There was no anger in his gaze. Only a dull, defeated exhaustion.
"I have come to make a proposal."
Lady He laughed, a sharp, brittle sound. "A proposal? You? You own nothing, boy. You are a stain on my husband's reputation. What could you possibly offer me?"
"I offer you my absence," Rian said quietly.
Lady He stopped laughing. She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "Explain."
"The Age of Coming is in three days," Rian said. "We both know I am not suited for it. The other Young Masters—my brothers—are destined for Dragons and Tigers. They are apex predators. I am… merely prey."
He paused, pressing a hand to his chest as if pain had flared up. It was theatrical, but effective.
"The recent… illness… has clarified things for me," Rian continued, his voice laced with grim irony. "Your sudden interest in my health, the special tea delivered by Captain Zhang… it was a lesson. I have learned it well. I do not have the constitution for this family's internal politics."
Lady He's eyes flashed. She knew exactly what he was saying. I know you poisoned me. I know I can't prove it. So I am folding.
"I am listening," she hissed.
"I wish to withdraw from the competition for the high-tier bloodlines," Rian stated clearly. "I do not want the Dragon. I do not want the Tiger. In fact, I do not want to live in the Main Manor anymore."
The room went deadly silent. Captain Zhang looked up from the floor, stunned. To voluntarily give up a claim to the family fortune? It was unheard of.
"I want to request a transfer," Rian said, slipping into his corporate persona, though he masked it as submission. "Send me away. Assign me to a remote branch. A farm, a mine, a border post. Anywhere but here. I will fade into obscurity. You will never have to see my face again. My mother's name will be forgotten."
Lady He sat back, tapping her long fingernail against the armrest. Tap. Tap. Tap.
It was everything she wanted. If she killed him, there might be questions. The Lord might get annoyed at the mess. But if he left? If he admitted he was trash and ran away? It was a total victory.
"You want to run away," she said, a cruel smile forming.
"I want to survive," Rian corrected. "But I cannot do this without the Lord Father's permission. If I simply leave, I am a deserter. I need him to sanction it."
"And you want me to arrange this audience?"
"Father does not listen to me," Rian said. "He listens to you. If you grant me access to him, I will ask for exactly what I just told you. I will tell him I am weak. I will tell him I am afraid. I will tell him I am unworthy of the main house."
Lady He stood up and walked slowly toward him. She stopped inches from his face. The scent of her expensive perfume was overpowering.
"And if you go in there," she whispered, her voice like a viper sliding through dry grass, "and you decide to change your story? If you decide to cry to your father about 'poisoned berries'?"
Rian didn't flinch. He looked her dead in the eye.
"First Mother, if I accuse you, you will deny it. Captain Zhang will deny it. I have no proof. Father will be angry that I am causing drama. I will end up dead before sunset. I am not a hero. I am a coward who wants to live."
He bowed again. "Please. Help me leave."
Lady He studied him for a long moment. She saw the pallor of his skin. She saw the lack of spirit. She saw a broken boy.
"Fine," she spat, turning her back on him. "I will grant you the audience. Tonight, before dinner. But remember this, Rian. The walls have ears. If you utter a single word that displeases me, you won't even make it to the border. You will be fertilizer in my garden."
"I understand," Rian said. "Thank you for your... kindness."
He turned and walked out.
As the door clicked shut, the tension in the room broke.
The servant girl, who had been trembling in the corner, poured tea for the Matriarch. "Mistress… why? Why let him see the Master? Why not just finish him?"
Lady He sat down, taking the tea. She looked at the closed door with a sneer of absolute contempt.
"Because, foolish girl," she said, blowing on the steam. "Death is too easy. If I kill him, he becomes a tragedy. A victim."
She took a sip.
"But if he goes to his father and begs to be sent away? If he admits he is too scared to fight? Then he proves what I have said all along."
She smiled, cold and triumphant.
"It proves that his mother's blood was weak. It proves that mongrels cannot be dragons. Let him speak to the Lord. Let him shame himself. It will be the perfect appetizer for dinner."