MTLNOVEL Chapter 131: The Knife Behind The Fan
By the time the last seed had been buried and the sun began to bleed into the sky, the West Garden had returned to silence.
But in Lady Yuan's courtyard, the game was only beginning.
She didn't bother changing from her silk robes. Let them see her untouched. Let them whisper that while others sweated and blistered beneath the Crown Princess's new rule, Lady Yuan's fingers still smelled of jasmine.
And the Crown Princess didn't do anything about it.
A tray of honeyed fruit rested untouched beside her as she reclined on a lacquered bench, her favorite fan tapping slowly against her palm. At her feet, koi drifted through the pond like lazy thoughts—silent, glimmering, slow to strike.
She wasn't.
"Summon Lady Bai and Lady Hui," she said to her maid without turning. "No attendants. Say it's a personal visit."
The girl bowed and disappeared, and by the time the late afternoon light slanted across the water, the two concubines were already making their way up the veranda, expressions tight with anticipation and irritation.
Lady Bai looked flushed from the garden, her sleeve still stained with dirt while Lady Hui had clearly changed—but her hands were red and raw.
Lady Yuan smiled pleasantly as they entered.
"My dear friends," she cooed, rising just enough to show courtesy. "Come. Sit. I thought we could enjoy a quiet moment together after such an… invigorating day."
Lady Bai sat stiffly. "You saw what she made us do."
Lady Hui scoffed. "I have bruises on my knees. My knees. I have never had to be on my knees for any length of time. The utter disrespect is just…" Her voice trailed off.
Lady Yuan raised a brow as she poured tea, deliberately slow. "You speak as though Zhao Xinying has committed a crime."
"She has humiliated us," Bai said. "Told us to dig holes in the dirt like farmers. Farmers!"
"She is the Crown Princess," Yuan replied mildly. "And the women of the capital will adore her for feeding orphans with cucumbers. The Emperor will applaud her 'clever thrift.' And the Crown Prince—well—he continues to smile like a man who's forgotten how to think."
Lady Hui curled her lip. "Do you know what was in my lunch today? Pickled radish. And two mouthfuls of rice."
"I've heard they eat better in exile," muttered Lady Bai, a pout on her delicate face. She couldn't have been more than 16, but she still had the chubby cheeks of childhood.
Lady Yuan sipped her tea, then smiled. "Then perhaps it's time to take action."
That made both women still.
Lady Yuan set her cup down with a soft clink and folded her hands.
"I've already written to my family. I suggest you do the same. The Crown Prince's household is shifting, and it's only a matter of time before the rest of the capital feels the ripples. We should be… prepared."
Lady Hui leaned forward. "What did you say to them?"
"That Zhao Xinying is a tyrant. That we are being given only a few coins to feed our courtyard and buy supplies. That we are expected to farm like peasants. You should tell them that not even our poor Crown Prince dares to go against her, thinking that she would slit his throat in the middle of the night." Lady Yuan's eyes gleamed as she looked at the other girls. "And she has men by her side at all hours of the day and night. Who knows what she does for them to make them so loyal to her."
Lady Bai frowned. "The assassin?"
"The Shadow Guard," Lady Yuan corrected. "And the Crown Prince's own brother in arms. You think this is a fluke?" She laughed, soft and cold. "No. This is a power play. One the rest of us weren't ready for."
"But she's only one woman," Lady Hui insisted. "She bleeds like the rest of us. She can be cut down."
Lady Yuan's fan snapped open.
"Can she?" Her voice dropped. "We tried poison. It didn't work."
"She knew before she even swallowed it," Lady Bai said, uneasily. "She played along. Then executed the entire kitchen like it was a game."
"She's dangerous," Lady Hui murmured, dropping her head to look at the cup of tea in her hands. "So what do we do?"
Lady Yuan set the fan across her lap and tilted her head, as though pondering a math problem.
"Poison won't work. She has a nose for it. And the Crown Prince is no fool—if she dies in her own manor, suspicion will fall on every one of us. No. If something is to be done, it must be from outside."
Lady Bai was quiet a moment. Then: "An assassin."
The word hung in the air like a blade, sharp and eager.
Lady Hui turned, brows raised. "From where?"
"There are men in the outer court who specialize in such things," Lady Bai whispered. "Silent ones. Paid by the job. My uncle used one once—against a merchant who insulted him. No one ever found the body."
Lady Yuan watched them, silent.
Lady Hui's eyes narrowed. "If it fails?"
"Then we deny involvement," Bai shrugged. "We send the Crown Princess a fruit basket and pray."
Lady Yuan laughed lightly, as though amused by a child's answer. "How simple you make it sound."
"Do you object?" Hui asked, testing.
Yuan sipped her tea again. "No. I merely wonder how far you're willing to go."
The koi in the pond turned slowly, golden bellies flashing in the light.
Bai leaned in. "If we do this… if we make the arrangements… will you back us?"
Lady Yuan's lips curved. "If you succeed, you'll no longer be gardeners. You'll be my right and left hands. If you fail…"
She shrugged.
"I'll grieve. Briefly."
Neither woman smiled.
The moment cracked like ice.
"I'll write the necessary contacts tonight," Bai said. "It will take a few days to arrange a clean approach."
Yuan didn't nod. She didn't blink.
She just tapped her fan once against her palm.
"Do as you must."
As the two women departed—careful not to be seen—Yuan turned toward her writing desk once more.
She didn't reach for her ink brush.
Not yet.
Instead, she poured herself another cup of tea and looked out over her perfect little pond.
She wasn't foolish enough to think the assassin would succeed. If Zhao Xinying could be undone by a knife in the dark, she would've died on that mountain long ago.
No.
This wasn't about removing the Crown Princess.
This was about testing the blades she had at her disposal.
Lady Bai and Lady Hui would either prove themselves—sharp, silent, effective.
Or they'd fail, and the mess they left behind would be a perfect excuse to sweep the palace clean.
Lady Yuan didn't need to kill Zhao Xinying.
She only needed to survive her.
And thrive in the ashes that came after.