“I’ll go with you into the palace.” Old Master Yan pushed himself up and said.
Feng Yuxin looked at him with a helpless smile. “Grandfather, you don’t trust me?”
He actually wanted to come with her into the palace.
“The palace is tens of times more dangerous than the Prime Minister’s mansion. Do you really think this old man will be at ease?” Old Master Yan snapped.
He’d been in court long enough to know the Emperor of Xisong’s temper. If his granddaughter crossed paths with that man, it could easily turn ugly. He was only trying to protect her.
Feng Yuxin knew he worried for her, but she couldn’t drag him into the palace. She’d already made plans; she would not have the old man trembling at her side. Besides, she still had her ace in the spatial pocket—Fourth Prince Mo Xuanye. If the Emperor of Xisong learned that the War God of Dongyuan had quietly entered the palace for her, he’d lose sleep.
“You’re just a child. We’re all worried,” others chimed in, faces full of concern.
Feng Yuxin was moved, but she needed to reassure them. She turned to Yan, the steward. “Yan, did Eunuch Wang say I could bring anyone else?”
“Reporting to Miss, Eunuch Wang only requested Miss herself. No one else was mentioned,” Yan replied.
She shrugged, spread her hands, and looked at Old Master Yan. “You heard him. Yan said they only asked for me.”
The old man’s whiskers stiffened with indignation. He’d heard it plain enough—she didn’t want him coming along.
Of course she wouldn’t let him. She already had a plan; she wouldn’t ask her grandfather to suffer worry at his age. And if anything went wrong, she could still rely on Mo Xuanye in the pocket. Let the Emperor know the Fourth Prince was poised to protect her and he’d be frantic.
“Don’t worry,” she said aloud, needing everyone’s nerves soothed. “I have an ace.”
“What ace?” someone asked automatically.
“The Fourth Prince of Dongyuan—Mo Xuanye. Before he left, he arranged for people to protect me. I promise nothing will happen.” She dragged his name out to calm them.
Old Master Yan’s face softened. “That boy has some sense, then—he knows how to keep you safe.”
Mo Xuanye had not expected to be the one earning brownie points, but he had.
They were escorted through the palace gates with no trouble. Inside waited the Emperor of Xisong, resplendent in a dragon robe, and the Crown Prince, Yun Feiyue.
When she saw the Emperor, Feng Yuxin hesitated—she didn’t want to kneel. Before she could decide on a proper salute, the Emperor waved to a eunuch, who hurried over with a chair and set it before her.
Instantly she thought: a weasel visiting a henhouse—nothing good comes of that. The Emperor’s sudden civility felt like bait.
“This Feng, daughter of the Prime Minister, is quite the alchemist.” The Emperor’s eyes roved over her like a man appraising a prized delicacy.
Feng Yuxin recognized what had drawn his attention—her skill with pills. She stayed composed. “You flatter me, Your Majesty.”
“Do you know why I had you brought to the palace?” he asked.
“I do not, Your Majesty.”
“Yun’er,” the Emperor addressed his son, “make Feng miss your secondary consort.”
Her gaze chilled. In the spatial pocket, Mo Xuanye, idly sipping tea, crushed his cup in his palm.
Feng Yuxin’s own cup felt unfairly sacrificed.
“Everything rests with your father,” Yun Feiyue said casually, as if consenting on some distant matter.
“Thank you for the honor, Your Majesty, but I am already pledged.” Feng Yuxin refused without hesitation.
Eunuch Wang shivered. He had expected subservience, not refusal. He glanced at the Emperor—his face had gone hard. Even Crown Prince Yun Feiyue looked mortified. A woman who had been sent off in a marriage alliance was now rejecting them in the hall. To them, a woman who had left Xisong was, by their standards, no longer pure. The Crown Prince had only agreed to a union to bind a talented alchemist to the court—he would never have wanted a tainted wife.
“Feng Yuxin,” the Emperor’s tone lost its warmth and turned cold, “do you understand what you’re saying?”
She met him evenly. “Yes.”
“Do you know the consequences of refusing me?” he threatened.
“Enlighten me, Your Majesty,” she said. Then she added, cool as frost: “Whatever the consequences, I’m sure the Fourth Prince of Dongyuan will help me bear them.”
Mo Xuanye in the pocket flashed a dangerous, arrogant smile.
“You would threaten me?” The Emperor’s eyes were feral.
“How is it a threat? I’m merely speaking the truth.” Her voice was calm.
“While Mo Xuanye is here, you may be bold,” Yun Feiyue sneered. “But he could leave at any moment. Do you really think citing him is realistic? You—sent away in a marriage alliance—you think a secondary consort’s post is the best you can hope for? Do you expect me to marry you as my crown princess?”
Feng Yuxin’s eyes cooled. She replied with thin amusement, “How embarrassing for you—I have no desire to be your crown princess.”
She had to be mad to want that. The thought of being Yun Feiyue’s wife repulsed her.
“Your little games won’t work on me,” Yun Feiyue said coldly. “I already have someone in mind—Qin Yu, the head of the Dark Night Pavilion. She’s more suitable than you.”
Feng Yuxin was momentarily speechless—so Yun Feiyue coveted the position because of the Dark Night Pavilion’s leader? She felt as if someone had punched a hole straight through her mood.
Mo Xuanye’s expression in the pocket darkened. The others around them grew silent; the aura emanating from him was terrifying even unseen.
“If you’re only here to waste my time with petty words, I have no reason to stay,” Feng Yuxin said. She was done playing.
“How dare you treat the palace like an open street—come and go as you please?” The Emperor’s temper flared.
“Oh? You mean to keep me?” She smiled lightly. “I forgot to mention—I told my family I was coming to the palace. Word has already spread at the Prime Minister’s household. I imagine the people who benefited from my father’s kindness know we are here today. If you detain me, you risk losing their goodwill. Besides, I have a spatial pocket; this palace can’t hold me.”
The Emperor’s face blackened with fury, insulted in his pride. He wouldn’t allow his authority to be mocked.
“Guards! Drag her out and behead her.”