MTLNOVEL Chapter 152: Whispers in the Halls
The petition was delivered with ceremony—wrapped in gold silk, escorted by three eunuchs, and sealed with the crest of Baiguang as if its presence alone could command respect. It was announced as a request, not a demand, though everyone in the throne room knew better.
Courtiers shifted where they stood. Their heads might have been bowed respectfully, but their eyes were sharp with calculation. The Baiguang Princess, barely two days into her stay, had asked to join in a hunt. But she didn't want just any hunt, no, she had specified a traditional one that was once reserved for heirs, warlords, and chosen bloodlines. And now she wanted to step into the circle as if it already belonged to her.
Zhu Mingyu stood beside his father's throne, his hands folded in front of him with a neutral expression on his face. The chamber was still except for the sound of parchment being unrolled and the soft murmur of the eunuch's voice as he read Baiguang Princess' words aloud. "To observe your traditions. To understand the strength of Daiyu. To witness the unity of this great Empire in its most sacred rite…"
Elegant. Respectful. Carefully worded to imply admiration while planting herself at the center of a world that was not her own.
The Emperor didn't interrupt. He let the eunuch finish, then remained quiet for a moment longer—long enough to unsettle every man in the room. When he finally laughed, the sound was dry and hollow, like bone tapping against jade.
"Ambitious girl," he said, eyes gleaming as they swept across his assembled court. "She comes into my house and wants to ride with the wolves."
No one laughed with him. They knew better.
His fingers drummed against the armrest. "She wants a hunt? Then we will give her one. Not a game of bows and painted deer, but a true hunt. One worthy of an emperor. Let her see the strength she wishes to understand."
He stood slowly, his robes whispering over the marble floor as silence followed him like a shadow. "Seven days. That is what I will allow. Seven days to prepare the forest, gather the lords, call home the generals. I want the full spectacle—the banners, the horns, the bloodline riders. Let her see what it means to stand beneath Daiyu's sky where the Empire breathes as one."
The decree echoed through the chamber, final and heavy. Already, Mingyu could see the ministers calculating, their lips moving behind fans as their eyes shifted toward the military aides. This would not be a hunt. It would be a warning. A performance. A show of force dressed in tradition, and the Baiguang Princess would be its centerpiece.
When court dismissed, Mingyu lingered only long enough to be seen before slipping down the eastern corridor. Eunuchs bowed as he passed, and more than one official tried to approach, offering congratulations or quiet concerns. He gave each a nod, but didn't slow his pace at all. Their chatter wasn't useful. Not yet.
The veranda opened into the private courtyard where the plum blossoms had begun to fall. Mingyu stopped just beyond the archway, breathing in the scent of woodsmoke and wet stone. Even here, tucked beneath curved tile and carved railings, he could hear their voices.
"She's bold…"
"…a Baiguang woman in a Daiyu hunt?"
"…he let her speak too freely…"
"…and the Crown Princess said nothing."
They spoke like silence was weakness. Like Xinying's restraint at the banquet was a lack of power instead of a deliberate choice. But that was what terrified them, wasn't it? That she could smile so calmly and still make them wonder if they'd already lost.
He scoffed as the voices scurried away. His wife was a myth that only half of the people who should know better believed in. The rest thought it was nothing more than a rumor that didn't bear any weight.
But that was fine. It was nice to have yet another weapon at his disposal.
Walking even further down the corridor, Mingyu found General Wei waiting by the far pillar. He didn't bow—just nodded and fell into step beside the Crown Prince, as he had done since Mingyu was a boy learning to hold a blade without trembling.
"Your father plays a dangerous game," he said, voice low, gaze ahead.
"I'm afraid so," Mingyu agreed, his voice so soft it was almost impossible to hear his words. "He is making a big show of pulling all the generals from the borders, leaving us even more vulnerable at a time were we can't afford to be."
The older man with the white beard and scars on his face grunted. "I agree. Should we leave some people at the borders?"
"We can't be seen disobeying any of the Emperor's orders. Right now, he is too unstable. If you so much as breathe the wrong word, you won't know how you died. We'll do as he demands and hope that we have the power to plug the gaps when the time comes."
"If that is your plan, then you'll need allies. Visible ones. But not only for the borders. If this hunt becomes more than a show, you'll be expected to prove your claim to the throne," murmured General Wei just as softly. In the palace, even the walls had ears, and the wind had a voice. They can't afford any missteps.
"I have my wife," smiled Mingyu softly, his eyes glazing over for a second as he thought about her. "I don't need anyone else but her."
General Wei gave Mingyu a sidelong glance, not quite smirking. "Yes. But she doesn't play nice with others. We can't afford to send the Crown Princess of Baiguang off pissed. Right now, she is a potential powerful ally that we can't disregard."
"I would get that thought out of your head. We don't need the Crown Princess of Baiguang on our side. Especially since we don't know why she is here in the first place. And my wife doesn't have to play nice; she plays true. And I would trust her with my back before I trusted any of the ministers."
That silenced him, and for a moment, Mingyu welcomed the quiet. It was the only thing that ever felt real in this palace—when the words ran out and only intent remained.
The Baiguang Princess thought this was her stage now. That she could walk into Daiyu and have everything go her way. But that was not going to be the case. He didn't know what it was about the other woman that set his wife off, but Mingyu now knew better than to discount her gut instincts.
So, if the Baiguang Princess wasn't careful, the hunt wouldn't just show her the Empire's power…It would bury her in it.