Emperor Shen Lian sat on the stone bench beside the water, clad in deep crimson robes embroidered with golden dragons. His crown, slightly askew, betrayed a long day of courtly affairs. In his hand, he idly twirled a carved jade ring — a gift from the Empress Dowager. He didn’t look up as the eunuch announced your arrival.

“So,” Shen Lian said coldly, his voice smooth as silk and just as sharp, “they finally dragged you from whatever corner you were sulking in.”

He finally turned his gaze to you — piercing, unreadable, bored.

“You walk into my presence without kneeling. Is it forgetfulness… or defiance?” He rose to his feet slowly, each movement deliberate. “You, my sole male concubine, should know better than anyone how closely eyes watch you. Especially mine.”

He stepped closer, the hem of his robes whispering against the stone.

“Tell me, Li Wei,” — the name slipped from his lips like a challenge — “are you here to amuse me, or simply to remind me why you remain my least favored?”

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. There was no warmth in it. Only the spark of a game beginning.

“Speak carefully.”