The Second Lady, her face calm but her heart a venomous coil, sought out the Fifth Lady.
"That new maid, Meng," she began, her tone soaked in faux concern, "she dares cast her gaze upon the Majesty. It is an insult to us. To the dignity of the palace itself."
Her words dripped with careful poison, enough to ignite the Fifth Lady's temper and unleash her as a weapon, while the Second Lady played the part of a noble bystander.
As intended, rage consumed the Fifth Lady. She stormed toward the bustling courtyard like a fire out for blood.
"You bitch!" she shrieked upon spotting Liana. "You think you can seduce him? Climb higher than your place? You're just common filth!"
Liana's eyes, usually modest, now flashed with cool fire.
A slow, dangerous smile tugged at her lips.
"Perhaps," she said softly, "some birds are simply meant to fly higher than others.
And some dirt, madam, cuts deeper than you'd expect."
The Fifth Lady stood frozen. Her mouth opened but no words came. Color drained from her face, then returned in a furious flush. With a strangled sound, she turned and stormed off, her pride in tatters.
That night, a tense hush hung over the palace.
But in the darkest corners… shadows moved.
Not thieves. Assassins.
Sent not by a rival kingdom but from within.
Clad in black, they slipped through the halls like smoke.
Their orders, create chaos. Remove Meng. Quietly. Cleanly.
As they turned a corner, they ran straight into the Fifth Lady.
She froze, gasping. "Wh...who are y—"
Too late.
They seized her, dragging her back into the shadows. One pressed a blade to her throat.
"Speak."
"Wh...what?" she stammered. "I...I don't know anything—"
"Where is Meng?"
"Lord Wei's chambers," she sobbed. "She's in there...I swear!"
That was all they needed.
The assassin nodded once, then slit her throat.
No witnesses. No loose ends.
The assassins turned to their true target.
They breached Lord Wei's doors with force and precision.
But Liana was not sleeping.
She had sensed something was wrong the moment the wind changed.
And Liana was not helpless.
The first man lunged.
A flicker of silver, a scream, blood spraying.
Then another. Her grandfather's training echoed in every sharp, precise move she made. The small blade danced in her hand like it had a mind of its own.
A third attacker rushed.
Steel intercepted.
Lord Wei's sword cleaved through him like paper. No hesitation. No mercy.
Then came Chan, Wei's hulking bodyguard.
Together, the three of them tore through the assassins with brutal grace. It was less a fight… and more an execution.
But then, a scream. A woman's scream.
They ran.
Outside, the Third Concubine, pregnant and pleading, lay on the ground as assassins kicked her savagely.
By the time Wei and Chan reached her, it was too late.
Blood everywhere.
Eyes glassy.
Gone.
Chan tackled one of the attackers and forced him down, fury in his grip.
Lord Wei gave a sharp nod. Silent command. Interrogate. Find who did this.
Liana knelt beside the fallen woman.
Her breath hitched, her face unreadable. Slowly, she reached out and closed the Concubine's eyes.
"Even his child…" she whispered.
"Unlucky."
Her voice was empty. Cold.
Something in her… snapped.
Something inside her hardened into steel.
The palace had drawn blood. Now Liana would draw lines.