Fire Beneath Ice

In the harem of the inner palace, not every blade needs blood to wound the deepest.

That morning, the sky was cloaked in a pall of gray. Low-hanging mist crept over the tiled rooftops, veiling even the pointed spires of the inner pagodas. A chill wind swept through the ancient pines, moaning softly like murmurs from those not yet awakened from a lingering nightmare.

Though the monsoon had yet to arrive, the heaviness in the air whispered a silent warning: today, something would erupt quietly, yet irrevocably.

Inside the private chamber of Xianyan Palace, the air was crisp with the morning chill, as the doors and windows had been left open to the wind. Despite the hour, the light filtering in resembled twilight, casting the room in hues more suited to a tribunal than a sitting room.

Xianlan sat upright before a fragrant sandalwood desk. Laid open before her was an engraved box containing a single object a round seal, nearly identical to the royal ones. But this was no true emblem.

It was a forgery, crafted with such precision that few would detect its falsehood.

She stared at it in silence. Her gaze was unreadable. But deep within her dark eyes, a silent fire was smoldering.

To her right, Wen Yichen leaned against a carved pillar. His robes were dark and plain, his long hair tied loosely, as if he had neither time nor care for ceremony.

"Are you certain?" he asked quietly. His voice was steady, though a hint of concern flickered in his eyes not out of doubt, but worry.

"I am," Xianlan replied calmly. "If I don't make the first move, someone else will and I don't trust a game I do not control."

She picked up a brush. The hand that once trembled in the past was now steadier than still water. With breath calm and unshaken, she began to write a formal petition in elegant, composed strokes.

The message contained but a few lines:

"I request a public inspection of all inner court imperial seals, to prove my own integrity… and to restore the honor of those once wrongfully condemned."

At the end, she affixed her personal seal without hesitation.

As the final brushstroke met paper, the silence in the chamber deepened as though the very world was pausing to witness one woman's act of quiet defiance.

—

News of the letter's delivery to the Imperial Archive House spread within less than an hour.

From court ladies to chamberlains, to eunuchs charged with overseeing the registry of seals, all eyes turned upon one another in suspicion.

As if someone had doused dry timber in oil waiting only for a single spark.

The word "forgery" now carried the weight of flint against steel.

—

An urgent imperial decree from Emperor Li Sicheng was announced by the Hour of Chen.

Its command reverberated through the entire palace:

"All royal seals issued to the inner court are to be verified and registered within three days."

"The inspection will be overseen by Crown Prince Feng Yuhan."

Like lightning striking the heart of the arena, the court was stunned.

Since ascending to his position, Feng Yuhan had never once involved himself in inner palace affairs.

But now… he had been granted full authority over it.

In Jade Harmony Pavilion, Consort Su Zhen stood frozen as the news was whispered to her by a eunuch.

The jade cup of Da Xi tea slipped from her fingers, shattering upon the marble floor. Shards of jade scattered across her richly adorned robe.

She turned slowly toward the window, her gaze as cold as a blade behind a fan.

"Xianlan… Do you truly believe you can play this game without burning yourself?"

Her whisper fell like a curse.

The voice that once lured courtiers and consorts alike with honeyed charm… had now soured into a prophecy of vengeance.

—

And so came the Day of Inspection.

A secondary audience hall had been repurposed into a tribunal chamber for the gathering of the inner court's noble women. The consorts, princesses, high-ranking attendants, and senior eunuchs took their designated seats. Hundreds of documents were arranged neatly upon a wide circular table of fragrant wood.

At the head stood Feng Yuhan.

He wore the full regalia of the crown prince, though absent of any ornamentation that would clutter the eye. His expression was placid like the still surface of a lake in winter.

But his gaze… was cold enough to make any courtier turn away.

Xianlan was the last to arrive.

As she stepped into the chamber, the air itself seemed to pause.

She wore no ornate finery. And yet, her presence alone swept away the murmurings and whispers like a tide devouring sand.

Several women lowered their gazes.

A few offered formal bows.

But not one dared to speak first.

The fire within ice was about to reveal itself.

—

Xianlan approached the center table, where dozens of seals had been placed each paired with documentation outlining its holder, function, and last official use.

Every eye followed her as she moved, as though hoping to catch a flaw, a stumble.

But she never once met those eyes.

Her face was composed, her gaze unwavering.

It was as though she were peering through a veil too thin for any other to see.

"I, Xianlan, will begin the inspection with my own seal," she declared clearly.

Feng Yuhan nodded wordlessly.

Wen Yichen, seated at the left, tilted his head slightly as if already aware of what she intended.

Xianlan handed her seal to the attending eunuch.

He examined it closely from every angle.

"No irregularities found," he announced at last.

Xianlan offered a faint smile, then continued.

"Next, I request the inspection of the seal from the residence of Consort Su Zhen."

A hush fell over the room as though an incantation had just been uttered.

Su Zhen, seated in the forward left, turned her gaze slowly.

Her eyes, cold and glassy, looked like frost over a cracked mirror.

But she smiled just slightly like someone unbothered by the changing wind.

"If that is Her Ladyship's wish… I am prepared," she said sweetly, as if exchanging pleasantries at a tea gathering.

But when her seal was presented and examined

"This seal shows signs of tampering," the eunuch announced. "And fresh ink residue… inconsistent with its last recorded use according to the Registry."

A quiet murmur rippled through the court like nighttime waves striking against stone.

Some cast uncertain glances at Su Zhen.

She remained still, then replied in a tone as sweet as honey on porcelain.

"Perhaps… one of my servants fetched the wrong seal. Or… perhaps someone is attempting to slander me."

Xianlan said nothing.

She simply replied, voice steady:

"Once, I was falsely accused with the same excuse. I would never wield such words against another."

The hall fell still.

She had named no one.

And yet, her words struck deeper than accusation.

For everyone understood

The excuse now offered by Su Zhen was the same once used to crush another.

Now returned… like a blade she once buried in another's back.

And it had come back to find her.

—

At that very moment

Another eunuch entered in haste, placing a bundle of silk before Feng Yuhan.

"A bolt of imperial silk withdrawn using a forged seal was discovered in the quarters of a maidservant from Princess Su Mengyu's residence, Your Highness."

Mengyu, who had remained silent until now, turned pale.

The proud face that had once looked down upon others… began to crack.

"I… I never gave such an order!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling."Someone must have staged this to frame me!"

Her eyes darted toward Xianlan, burning with accusation.

She sprang to her feet, as if to approach but her heel caught on the edge of the carpet, and she stumbled forward.

At once, Xianlan stepped in.

She knelt slightly, stopping just half a step away.

Her gaze was unwavering.

"I haven't even struck yet… and you've already fallen?"

The words struck like an invisible blade through Mengyu's heart.

Soft though they were everyone heard them.

—

Outside, the rain began to fall soft at first, like the sky itself weeping for the two women standing at the center of the court's unfolding truth.

No one spoke further.

No one dared intervene.

Feng Yuhan moved only slightly, offering Xianlan a folded handkerchief of fine silk.

She accepted it without a word.

He said nothing yet his gaze, firm and steady, seemed to say:

"You are changing everything… not through power, but through the dignity of your own hand."

Wen Yichen glanced toward her, then lowered his eyes.

Though he was a master of cunning, the woman before him… left even him in quiet awe.

—

After the assembly had ended

The rain had not ceased.

The sound of droplets hitting the eaves echoed like whispers through the empty hall, as though the court still reverberated with the weight of what had passed.

Xianlan sat quietly by the window of her palace chamber.

The sandalwood fan in her hand remained still.

Her other hand lightly brushed the edge of her personal seal.

The lantern light cast only half her face in glow.

The other half… was swallowed in silent shadow.

Within her heart, a single thought rang louder than the rain beyond the window:

"Mother… I will restore everything to you, with my own hands."

And on that night

Though the rain may have quenched the flames around her,the fire within her…

burned brighter than ever before.

"This chapter has been updated with improved narrative and deeper character perspective. The plot remains unchanged."

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