Chapter 12: The Storm She Chose

The next day came cold and still.

No summons. No scrolls. No bells ringing through the halls.

But silence, Ruoyi had learned, could be louder than war drums.

That evening, she walked alone.

No guards. No brother. No warhorse behind her.

Just the golden whip at her hip. And a decision so heavy, it left no room for breath.

Her feet carried her toward Frosted Orchid Pavilion without her meaning to.

At the gate, a guard moved to announce her.

She raised a hand. "Don't."

Inside, Yan Xuan sat at the edge of the pavilion's stone veranda. His robe was loose at the collar, hair unbound, sleeves half-rolled. His posture was relaxed. But his eyes… weren't.

He didn't wear a mask.

He didn't need one tonight.

"You always find me before I find you," he murmured, gaze still fixed on the stars.

She didn't answer.

When she stepped closer, he stood. The lamplight struck gold in his eyes.

"If you've come to kill me, at least let me finish my tea," he said wryly.

"I'm not here to kill you."

"Then?"

"I'm going to accept."

Silence stretched.

He blinked once. "Accept what?"

"The treaty. The marriage."

His body didn't move, but something in him shifted. Like breath held too long.

She didn't falter. "I want three conditions."

He nodded slowly. "Say them."

"One: Liang's borders remain untouched. It must be written."

"Done."

"Two: You never marry anyone else."

A beat. "Jealous already?"

"I don't have patience for palace drama. I won't share my peace with petty concubines."

"I wasn't going to marry anyone—until you."

She hesitated. Just for a second. Then: "Three: My father and brother stay untouched by Yan politics. No games. No charges. No favors owed."

That answer took longer. "Done."

She nodded. "Then I'll choose the day. You'll wait."

"I've waited for stranger things," he said quietly. "But never for something I actually wanted."

She turned.

But he wasn't finished.

"I hope to cherish you for all my life," he said, voice low but sure. "To slowly fall in love with you, and to make you fall in love with me. I promise to protect and support you, whatever you choose. Even if it means standing behind you while the world bows."

At the threshold, she paused.

"Stay true to your words," she said. "But know—I'm not doing this for you."

Then she was gone. The door closed behind her with the softness of something final.

The next morning, the throne hall was full.

Ministers, nobles, guards, servants—all waiting.

The Emperor stood tall, the Crown Prince at his right, Lin Ruoyi at his left.

She wore ceremonial black trimmed in scarlet. No armor. No jewels. Just truth.

She stepped forward.

"I accept the final term of the peace treaty," she said clearly. "I will marry Prince Yan Xuan of Yan."

The silence cracked like a whip.

Then murmurs surged—some in awe, some in disbelief, some already calculating the benefits.

Ruoyi bowed.

To the Emperor.

To the ministers.

Then—she turned. Met the eyes of her father and her brother.

And this time, she bowed lower.

A warrior's bow.

A daughter's apology.

A farewell.

Her voice came softer next:

"Let peace be signed. Let it begin with me."

The Emperor signed the treaty with reluctant hands, his disappointment unspoken but obvious.

The Crown Prince stepped forward, his voice tight. "You don't have to do this. We can—"

"Still what?" the Second Prince interrupted smoothly. "Chain her to Liang's glory until she breaks?"

The Crown Prince's jaw clenched. But he said nothing else.

That night, the capital celebrated.

Fireworks broke the sky.

Wine flowed like rivers.

The date for their engagement was set. In six nights, Prince Yan Xuan would return to Yan, and they would marry at the turn of the new year.

She was given her title:

Her Grace, Princess Zhao Hua—"The Blooming One Who Withstood Storms."

But Ruoyi didn't attend the second half of the feast.

She walked out.

To the garden behind the banquet hall.

To the night sky she'd trained under. The silence she'd bled into. The wind that always felt like home.

Her robe whispered around her feet as she tilted her head to the stars.

She whispered only once.

"If destruction comes for me… let it find him too."