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đ„ SCENE I â The Emperor's Summons
POV: Yue Lin
Morning hadn't yet broken when the scroll arrived. No footsteps outside her chamber. Just the subtle flicker of golden light under the doorâ a summons sealed in imperial wax.
She unfolded the scroll, the paper warm to the touch, as if it had been plucked straight from fire:
> Summoned by order of the Emperor. Private audience. Huaqing Palace. Midnight.
No signature. Just the imperial crestâa five-clawed dragon swallowing the sun.
Not a request. Not optional.
A command.
The edges of her lips curled.
> *"Oh, Your Majesty... it's time you played too."
Her System pulsed.
> Lustbound Alert: Trial Path Divergence: Accept the Emperor's invitation to unlock 'Obsession: Empire's Edge.'
She tucked the scroll into her silk sash and walked to the mirror. Her eyes gleamed like bloodlust wrapped in velvet. Tonight, she'd dress not for survivalâbut for seduction.
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đ SCENE II â The Throne Without Witness
POV: Emperor Rui Long
The room was intoxicating.
No guards. No scribes. No officials. Just the scent of burning sandalwood, jasmine wine, and anticipation.
He stood at the heart of the Huaqing Pavilion, clad in obsidian silks trimmed with imperial gold. His long hair was untied, falling over one shoulder like spilled ink.
When Yue Lin entered, silence tightened like a bowstring.
She bowed.
> "Your Majesty."
Her voice was dipped in honey and defiance. Her dress clung like second skin. Her mask? Pure control.
He didn't speak at first.
He watched.
The curve of her jaw. The stillness of her spine. The flicker of restrained power.
> "They say you seduced half the academy."
> "And the other half offered themselves freely."
His breath faltered.
> "They say you're sin incarnate."
> "I am," she said. "The kind that kings kneel for."
> "Then kneel for me, Yue Lin."
She tilted her head. Her lips were curved, not smiling.
> "Why? Because you wear a crown?"
> "Because I'm not begging."
The space between them pulsed with heat. Not a touch. Not yet. But the room felt like it might ignite.
> System Alert: Trial Engaged: Obsession â Empire's Edge Status: Initiated
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đ©ž SCENE III â Accusations in the Court
POV: Liu Yan (Second Prince)
Dawn rose like a blade.
Inside the Academy's Great Hall, words cut deeper than steel.
> "She used her body to get in." "She bewitched her teachers." "She's not from a noble houseâshe's a fraud."
Scrolls flew. Names hissed like vipers.
At the center of it all stood Yue Lin. Unmoving. Unshaken. Unforgiving.
Liu Yan watched it unfold with a smirk, sipping morning wine like it was blood.
> "Checkmate," he whispered. "Let's see her crawl."
Then the hall's doors slammed open.
Boots echoed. Armor gleamed. A storm entered.
Yue Wuying.
General of the Western Frontier. Hero of the Ten Thousand Graves. Her brother.
> "Anyone who lays tongue or hand on Yue Lin," he said, his voice a blade unsheathed, "will face me."
Silence followed. Not out of respectâout of fear.
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âïž SCENE IV â Bloodline Reclaimed
POV: Yue Lin
She didn't move.
He walked to her, the general everyone feared.
But she saw the boy who used to tie her hair. The brother exiled for speaking out against their stepmother. The one who used to shield her with his own body when their father looked away.
Now he was back.
> "I should have burned them all," he whispered. "The moment they hurt you."
She blinked. Just once. Just enough.
He took her hand and held it tight.
> "You don't need to fight alone anymore, Lin."
The court saw a general and a sister. What they missed was the vow of vengeance reborn in blood.
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đč EPILOGUE â Letters and Lies
Back in her chamber, she sat in silence.
Until she noticed the letter.
Red wax. No insignia. But the scent?
Qian Feng.
> You have two days to prepare. A masked banquet. A deadly hunt. A kiss from someone you swore never to touch.
She pressed the note to her lips.
> "So it begins..."
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END OF CHAPTER 15
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