CHAPTER 8:The Emperor's Fear
1209 Words
The imperial palace was silent.
Not peaceful silent.
Dangerous silent.
The kind of silence that existed before bloodshed.
Inside the Emperor’s private study, shattered jade pieces covered the floor while kneeling servants pressed their heads so low against the ground their bodies trembled visibly.
No one dared speak.
No one dared breathe too loudly.
Because the Emperor was furious.
“Thirty thousand men…”
The old Emperor’s voice sounded cold enough to freeze blood.
“Three enemy commanders…”
“An entire siege broken overnight…”
His fingers tightened around the latest military report.
Then suddenly—
he crushed it violently.
“How does Chu Wenzhe continue surviving?!”
The roar echoed through the chamber.
Several servants nearly collapsed from fear.
An elderly minister knelt carefully nearby.
“Your Majesty must calm your anger. Although the Lord of Valin won the first battle, the northern alliance still possesses overwhelming numbers.”
The Emperor’s eyes darkened instantly.
“Overwhelming numbers?”
He laughed coldly.
“Do you think I fear enemy kingdoms more than I fear Chu Wenzhe?”
Silence.
Nobody answered.
Because everyone already knew the truth.
The Emperor feared the Lord of Valin more than foreign armies.
Feared his influence.
Feared his military genius.
Feared the terrifying loyalty the Black Banner Army held toward him.
Most frightening of all—
Chu Wenzhe was still young.
Too young.
If he continued growing stronger…
what would happen in ten years?
Twenty?
The Emperor suddenly felt suffocated.
For years he convinced himself the northern war would finally eliminate this threat.
Yet instead—
Chu Wenzhe returned stronger after every scheme.
Like a monster impossible to kill.
An imperial spy stepped forward cautiously.
“Your Majesty.”
The Emperor’s gaze sharpened.
“Speak.”
“The Crown Prince recently investigated the Fourth Miss of General Shen’s Manor.”
The Emperor frowned slightly.
“A woman?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The spy lowered his head deeper.
“There are rumors the Crown Prince has taken interest in her.”
The Emperor’s expression eased faintly.
At least his son still behaved normally.
Women.
Politics.
Marriage alliances.
Those things were expected.
Unlike Chu Wenzhe.
That man never showed weakness.
Never desired pleasure openly.
Never allowed anyone close enough to control him.
The Emperor hated people he could not manipulate.
“Keep watching the Crown Prince carefully.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Meanwhile—
inside the Crown Prince’s residence—
Xu Yan sat beside a burning incense table while reviewing reports quietly.
But instead of military documents…
the papers before him contained information regarding Shen Yue.
Or rather—
a disturbing lack of information.
The more he investigated her, the stranger things became.
Every report described the same girl.
Timid.
Weak.
Emotionally fragile.
Easily bullied.
Yet the woman he met recently was nothing like that.
Not even remotely.
Xu Yan leaned back slightly.
His instincts rarely failed him.
Something changed inside Shen Yue after that snowstorm night.
Something significant.
A trusted advisor spoke carefully nearby.
“Your Highness truly believes she’s hiding something?”
Xu Yan’s eyes lowered thoughtfully.
“She hides herself too well.”
That itself was suspicious.
Most intelligent people enjoyed displaying superiority eventually.
But Shen Yue constantly suppressed herself deliberately.
Carefully.
As though survival depended on remaining underestimated.
Interesting.
The advisor hesitated briefly.
“Could she perhaps be connected to another prince?”
Xu Yan immediately shook his head.
“No.”
That wasn’t it.
Shen Yue’s caution felt deeper than political alliances.
More instinctive.
Almost like someone accustomed to studying dangerous people constantly.
Xu Yan suddenly remembered the way she looked at him earlier beside the frozen lake.
Not admiration.
Not fear.
Assessment.
As though she were quietly dissecting his personality.
A faint smile curved his lips.
“How troublesome.”
For the first time in years—
someone made him curious enough to lose focus repeatedly.
Meanwhile—
inside the General’s Manor—
Shen Lian shattered a porcelain vase violently.
Crash.
The maidservants immediately fell to their knees trembling.
“Useless!”
Her beautiful face twisted with fury.
“How did she escape again?!”
No one dared answer.
Shen Lian’s chest rose unevenly from rage.
Everything was becoming worse.
The Crown Prince noticed Shen Yue.
Noble ladies started discussing Shen Yue differently.
Even Lu Jianyu looked distracted lately.
Why?
Why was everything changing suddenly?
That useless Fourth Sister should have died quietly in the snow!
Madam Zhao entered calmly moments later.
Unlike her daughter, the General’s wife remained composed.
“Enough.”
Shen Lian clenched her fists tightly.
“Mother, we cannot allow this to continue.”
Madam Zhao’s eyes narrowed coldly.
“I know.”
The older woman sat slowly beside the window.
“Something happened to Shen Yue that night.”
Her instincts as the manor’s mistress sensed it clearly.
The current Shen Yue felt unfamiliar.
Dangerously unfamiliar.
Even the way she spoke now carried hidden pressure.
Madam Zhao lowered her gaze slightly.
“Since direct methods failed…”
A cold smile appeared slowly on her lips.
“Then we’ll destroy her reputation another way.”
Shen Lian immediately looked up.
“How?”
Madam Zhao’s expression remained icy.
“A woman without reputation is worthless.”
“And once rumors spread far enough…”
“Even the Crown Prince won’t touch damaged goods.”
Meanwhile—
completely unaware of the approaching scheme—
Shen Yue sat quietly inside her courtyard studying a map.
Not a map of noble estates.
A military map.
The original owner never possessed interest in warfare.
But Lin Xinyi did.
Psychology and warfare always connected closely.
Human behavior under pressure fascinated her.
Her fingers traced the northern battlefield slowly.
The more she analyzed recent war reports—
the more shocked she became.
Chu Wenzhe was terrifying.
Every battle strategy he used ignored conventional military logic entirely.
Risky.
Aggressive.
Precise.
Instead of defending traditionally, he constantly forced enemies into psychological collapse.
He weaponized fear brilliantly.
No wonder the Emperor feared him so deeply.
Suddenly—
a maid rushed into the courtyard nervously.
“Fourth Miss!”
Shen Yue lifted her gaze calmly.
“What happened?”
The maid swallowed hard.
“General Shen requests your presence immediately.”
Interesting.
Her father never summoned her personally before.
Shen Yue closed the military report slowly.
Then stood.
The moment she entered the main hall—
she sensed tension immediately.
General Shen sat stiffly while Madam Zhao looked unusually calm.
Too calm.
Dangerous calm.
Shen Yue lowered her gaze politely.
“Father.”
General Shen stared at her for several seconds silently.
Then finally—
he spoke heavily.
“There are rumors spreading outside.”
Ah.
There it was.
Shen Yue almost smiled.
So they finally began attacking her reputation directly.
“How unfortunate,” she answered softly.
Madam Zhao’s eyes flashed coldly.
“You still dare speak casually?”
Her voice sharpened instantly.
“People are saying you intentionally seduced the Crown Prince during the Winter Gathering!”
The accusation echoed heavily through the hall.
Any ordinary noble girl would panic immediately.
Because such rumors could destroy futures completely.
But Shen Yue only blinked calmly.
Then—
she smiled faintly.
And somehow—
that smile made Madam Zhao suddenly uneasy.
Very uneasy.
- Writer
