The door closed behind him.
Shen Yao stepped into the study and immediately registered what was wrong.
The room was too large for one man. Too quiet for a working emperor. The desk at the far end was piled with scrolls, brushes set aside as if someone had been writing moments ago—but the ink on the brush tip was dry. It had been sitting there for a while.
No advisors. No attendants. Just Emperor Wei, seated behind the desk, his expression unreadable.
And five men hidden in the shadows.
Shen Yao didn't need to look around. Before he felt sharp gazes locked on to him once he walked in. He could feel them now waiting, watching him in the dark.
"Five," he thought. "Just like Yu Xie said."
He walked forward calmly, stopped a few feet away from the emperor's desk, and bowed.
"Your Majesty."
The emperor didn't speak immediately. His eyes still locked onto the piece of information laying on the desk.
He let the silence stretch—the kind of silence designed to make a man nervous, to make him fill the empty space with words he hadn't meant to say.
Shen Yao waited.
He had sat across negotiation tables where silence was a weapon. He had faced Shen Ran in a dark room with chains on his wrists and still laughed in his face. He could wait.
Emperor Wei's eyes moved over him. Slowly. Deliberately.
"You've recovered," the emperor said finally. Not a question.
"Thanks to Your Majesty's concern," Shen Yao replied, "this humble subject is much improved."
"Humble." The emperor's lips curved—not quite a smile. "Your parents never taught you humility, Young Master Shen. I doubt a month of recovery has changed that much."
Shen Yao said nothing.
The emperor leaned back in his chair. His hand rested on the armrest, fingers tapping once, twice. A nervous habit? Or a signal?
Behind Shen Yao, somewhere to his left, he heard the faintest shift of fabric.
One of them moved.
He didn't react.
"I called you here for a reason," the emperor said. His voice was casual now, almost warm. The warmth of a predator who had already decided the hunt was over. "There's a matter that requires your particular... talents."
He picked up a scroll from the desk and held it out.
Shen Yao stepped forward, took it, and stepped back. He didn't open it. Not yet.
"The celebration of allied kingdoms is approaching," the emperor continued. "Envoys will arrive from every nation within five hundred li. Including—" a pause, deliberate, "—Dalishu."
Shen Yao's heart rate didn't change. Neither did his expression.
But inside, something clicked.
Dalishu again.
"Your parents maintained the northern border for years," the emperor said. "They kept Ming safe. They were loyal." His voice hardened slightly. "I expect the same from you."
Shen Yao bowed tilting his head with a smile "This subject lives to serve."
The emperor watched him for a long moment.
Then he waved his hand. "You may go. Read the scroll. Be ready when the envoys arrive."
Shen Yao bowed again, turned, and walked toward the door.
He felt the eyes of five hidden men on his back the entire way.
He did not look back.
The door opened. He stepped through.
Eunuch Tan was waiting in the corridor, still smiling professionally.
Shen Yao inclined his head and walked past him without a word.
---
Outside the palace, Xi Shu was waiting with the horses. His face was tight with worry.
"Young Master—"
"Not here," Shen Yao said quietly. He mounted in one motion and urged the horse forward. "Let's go back first"
They rode in silence until the palace gates were far behind them.
Then Shen Yao spoke.
"Xi Shu."
"Yes, Young Master?"
"Dalishu. What do you know about it?" His eyes stayed forward the whole time.
Xi Shu blinked, surprised by the sudden question. "It's... a kingdom to the southwest. Powerful. Rich in minerals, especially rubies. Their military is far superior than any other kingdom —lighter armor, faster horses. They don't fight the way we do."
"First the seal, "Shen Yao thought. "Then this"
"Why do you ask, Young Master?"
Shen Yao didn't answer and just smiled
" It's nothing.... just curious" He replied "let's get moving we have a lot prepare for"
Xi Shu nodded. Both rushed out their horses moving faster.