Palace of Serene Grace – Midnight

The summons came unexpectedly, carried by a high-ranking eunuch and sealed with the Empress’s personal chrysanthemum stamp.

No explanation.

Just: “Come alone.”

Shen Lianhua dressed simply. No phoenix pins. No embroidered warnings. Just midnight-blue silk and silence.

The corridors of the Empress’s palace were different—quieter, older, and laced with a kind of watchful stillness. Every painted screen and potted orchid seemed to listen.

At the far end of the hall, beneath a canopy of white drapes, sat Empress Dowager Yan—serene, deliberate, and dangerous.

“Crown Princess,” she said, not rising. “Join me.”

Lianhua bowed with perfect form, then took the seat opposite. Between them: a shallow table with two cups of tea.

The Empress gestured. “Drink.”

Always start with a test, Lianhua thought.

She lifted the cup and drank.

No flinch. No pause. No poison.

The Empress smiled faintly.

“You’ve impressed many. You’ve threatened more. And yet, here you are, untouched by scandal… unless I decide otherwise.”

Lianhua didn’t blink. “Then why summon me? If you wished to destroy me, you wouldn’t have waited.”

The Empress’s fan twitched open. “Because I do not wish to destroy you.”

“I wish to understand you.”

“You’ve risen with the Crown Prince—but you do not lean on him. You’ve dismantled your enemies—but never in public. You win without claiming the blood.”

“So I ask again, Crown Princess… what is it you truly want?”

Lianhua set her cup down slowly.

“To make it to the throne,” she said evenly, “with my soul intact.”

“Power is the only currency in this palace,” the Empress said. “And yet, you seem determined to wield it with a conscience.”

“That is how I terrify them,” Lianhua replied.

Silence.

Then—unexpectedly—the Empress laughed. Soft. Genuine.

“You remind me of myself. Before I chose sharpness over softness.”

She leaned forward, eyes suddenly sharp again.

“I will not help you. But I will not stop you either.”

“Unless you start losing.”

“And I never back the losing side.”

Lianhua stood and bowed deeply.

“Then I will give you no reason to turn.”

As she turned to leave, the Empress added—

“One more thing.”

Lianhua paused.

“Do not mistake my neutrality for approval,” the Empress said. “I respect queens. I do not raise them.”

Lianhua met her gaze.

“That’s all right,” she said. “I wasn’t waiting to be raised.”

And with that, she left the Empress alone with her tea and her thoughts.