Almost maliciously rubbing salt into Feng Xuanyi’s wound, Liu Yin wore an icy smile. In the candlelight, his beautiful profile looked eerily ghostlike. He folded his hands on the table, rested his chin casually against his wrists to support his head, tilted it to one side, and leaned a little closer. “Your Majesty, could this hypothetical of yours be meant to test the empress?”
The shaken look in Feng Xuanyi’s eyes instantly sharpened, turning into an icy glare aimed straight at Liu Yin. “You should understand what it means to know when to stop.”
When he spoke again, the full authority of an emperor had returned. Liu Yin looked as though he understood perfectly and dropped to his knees in feigned fear. “This subject misspoke. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”
Feng Xuanyi said nothing. Liu Yin could clearly feel the pair of saw-sharp eyes boring into him from above, as though Feng Xuanyi wanted nothing more than to hack him into pieces. Liu Yin clicked his tongue inwardly. He had taken that joke too far.
“What did you hear outside Fengyi Palace that day?”
The harem and the imperial court had always been bound together by countless threads. Publicly, Liu Yin was one of Feng Xuanyi’s imperial consorts. Secretly, he personally monitored movements throughout the various palaces as well as activity in the court, while also helping Feng Xuanyi deal with people and matters that could not conveniently be handled in the open. Some people, for example, deserved to die but left no evidence behind. If the emperor decided they were no longer needed, they could still conveniently meet an untimely death. Or Liu Yin could simply produce the sort of evidence the emperor wished to see and make the charges against them stick.
“This subject is incompetent. I ask Your Majesty’s forgiveness. Both the empress and Yelü Zhen are highly skilled. I did not dare get too close. I only know when he entered Fengyi Palace, how long he remained there, and where he went afterward. I do not know exactly what they said.”
That meant he could not verify whether the final thing Yelü Zhen had said before leaving was true or false.
After thinking it over several times, Liu Yin hesitated only briefly despite Feng Xuanyi’s poor expression before speaking. “This subject went to the Cold Palace today…”
Feng Xuanyi made no sound. Liu Yin had not expected him to respond anyway, so he continued on his own. “…When I went to see her, Selected Woman Xiao had completely lost her mind. She was sitting on the bed with a deathly pale face and vacant eyes, endlessly muttering, ‘Impossible. You set me up on purpose. You did this to hurt me on purpose.’”
“As far as this subject knows, Grand Secretary Xiao has made no serious misstep at court, and at least for now Your Majesty has no intention of moving against him. That was why I took the liberty of making this extra trip. Selected Woman Xiao may have deserved what she got for helping someone she should not have helped and provoking someone she should not have provoked, but regarding the empress’s move this time, I wonder what Your Majesty intends to do?”
Liu Yin was both an imperial consort and a subject, and that unusual position allowed him, to some extent, to step into places others could not or dared not touch. It was all part of his official duties, yet there had been a time when it caused him to lose his bearings and blur the boundary between public and private.
“I understand…” After a long while, Feng Xuanyi finally uttered a tired response that seemed entirely unrelated, yet those few words were enough for Liu Yin to understand just how far Feng Xuanyi’s indulgence and devotion toward Nalan Xuan had gone: he no longer cared about anything else and was willing to give everything.
Liu Yin sighed silently. Some things and some people would not cease to be merely because one wished them away, just as not everything would turn out as one desired simply because one tried hard enough.
“Your Majesty, those people at court have been rather restless lately. Shall we deal with them according to the old rules?” Liu Yin had already softened the wording considerably. To speak plainly, calling their actions treason or rebellion would not have been an exaggeration. He knew the previous conversation had struck Feng Xuanyi hard, and he knew Feng Xuanyi had no mind for such matters now, but he still had to bring them up. Liu Yin had many opportunities to approach Feng Xuanyi, but that did not mean Feng Xuanyi was always willing to let him close. Especially now, when the emperor seemed determined to root himself beside Nalan Xuan as a hopelessly devoted man, he would rather spend whatever free time he had talking with the empress than summon another consort for a few words. As someone who knew half the truth and watched the other half from the sidelines, Liu Yin was fairly certain that the courteous harmony between those two on the surface was not the whole story.
“Pretend you know nothing about any of it. Tell your people to pull back as well. Do nothing.” Feng Xuanyi’s words clearly startled Liu Yin.
Liu Yin stared wide-eyed at Feng Xuanyi, who had buried his face in his hands, for a long moment before realizing he had not imagined what he heard. That only made his heart sink further, his brows drawing tight. What kind of man was Feng Xuanyi? After serving at his beck and call for so many years, how could Liu Yin not know? He was cruel and bloodthirsty, yet immensely powerful, ruthless and decisive enough to sacrifice anything to achieve his ends, like a killing god risen from hell. Every word he spoke carried the certainty of victory, a force that left others unable to resist submission. That was precisely why Liu Yin, master of Dark Gate, who could decide life and death from the shadows like an emperor behind the throne, had once willingly submitted to him, watching Feng Xuanyi turn the world with a flip of his hand and remaining at his side because of the exhaustive calculation behind every move. And now, what was this supposed to be?! Turning over a new leaf? Reforming himself completely? Or atoning for his sins?!
A flash of red crossed Liu Yin’s eyes, the prelude to violence. He forcefully suppressed the murderous blood surging inside him, pressed his lips into a hard line, and compelled himself to remain calm. “Your Majesty has decided to hand the throne over to someone else?”
The respect that normally colored his voice was gone, replaced by a careless snort and a mocking curl of the lips.
“Telling you to stand down does not mean I intend to let others slaughter me at will.” Feng Xuanyi did not lift his head, but the sudden chill in that one sentence was enough to rein Liu Yin back in. “Prince Yu is still here. He will handle everything.”
“But if he truly takes control of everything, perhaps he will no longer remain under Your Majesty’s control. He is also a son of the late emperor and therefore a legitimate heir in his own right. Of course, if the other two legitimate sons no longer exist, then he would become the one everyone rallies behind.” Though Feng Xuanyi’s authority had cowed him, Liu Yin stubbornly held to his position.
Liu Yin was no household slave. Though his work touched court politics, he was not a court official. As long as he wished, he could choose at any time to pledge allegiance, withdraw that allegiance, or even find another master. If the man before him disappointed him, turning his blade against that man would hardly be strange for people like them, assassins who acted for payment. If anything, that was closer to their true nature. Loyalty was an unnecessary thing that could be cultivated, but it was neither essential nor something they regarded as a sacred principle.
“You doubt me?” The words were phrased as a question, but his tone made them a statement, and the air grew colder still.
“Your Majesty, forgive me. It is not doubt. This subject simply wants to guarantee the lives of my brothers. If we know perfectly well that the road ahead leads only to death, then that sort of foolish loyalty is not something we can offer.” Liu Yin’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Though he remained wary of Feng Xuanyi’s imposing presence, he repeatedly emphasized his own position and the return his people were owed.
Dark Gate pledged itself to a person, not to a court. That person could be Feng Xuanyi, or it could be anyone else, so long as he possessed enough ability, so long as he could conquer everything before him.
“Then do as I say. Stay your hand and make no move. Is that not precisely what Dark Gate is good at?” Feng Xuanyi gave a cold laugh, carrying equal parts helplessness and bitterness, as though he did not want to scheme yet had no choice but to calculate every move. Then he murmured so softly the words were almost inaudible, “In this game, I willingly enter the trap you have set. I will let you manipulate me according to your plans, and in doing so, you too will fall into the game I have set. As long as you are still Nalan Xuan…”
Liu Yin said nothing more. He rose, helped Feng Xuanyi change for the night, and blew out the last candle in the sleeping chamber.