The Reborn Empress

The first cut is silent

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*Episode 5:

By morning, the lantern festival was the talk of the entire capital.

Nobles whispered about *Liyue’s open rejection of the Crown Prince*… and her bold closeness to *Tang Shi*, the cold and calculating Duke feared by all.

But Liyue had no time for gossip—she was ready to make her first strike.

She summoned *Old Physician Han*, a retired palace doctor who had once been framed and dismissed for a failed prescription—one that had, in her past life, been given to her mother just before her mysterious death.

“Your mother’s collapse wasn’t illness,” the physician confessed. “Someone replaced my original medicine.”

Liyue’s heart went cold.

*“Who gave you the order?”*

The old man hesitated, then whispered, “It came from Lady Shen Weining’s maid… who bore the seal of the Crown Prince.”

The past was confirming itself piece by piece. Her mother's death hadn’t been natural—it had been a warning to silence Liyue.

She closed her eyes. *Never again.*

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Later that evening, she hosted a private tea gathering. Among the guests? *Meiyin*, all smiles and false sweetness.

“I’ve missed our friendship,” Meiyin purred. “You seem… changed.”Liyue poured the tea herself. “I had a long dream, Meiyin. In it, you killed me.”

Meiyin laughed nervously. “How dramatic.”

Liyue’s eyes sparkled. “Yes. But I’m awake now.”

She handed Meiyin the tea—bitter, laced with a harmless herb that mimicked stomach illness. Enough to rattle her.

Later that night, Meiyin collapsed, vomiting blood.

The palace physician was called in. Whispers began.

And Liyue? She stood on her balcony, watching the moon.

*“First blood has been drawn,”* she murmured.

And far across the court, *Tang Shi* watched from the shadows, smiling faintly.

“She plays the game well,” he whispered.

*“Let the games begin.”*