Chapter 19

I sat opposite him and went straight to the point.

“Why did you invite me, Your Highness?”

Zhao Kai smiled, put down his tea, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“How direct. Then I won’t waste words. I heard what happened in the palace yesterday. With one small jade, you gave the empress and crown prince such a painful fall. Admirable.”

He praised me, but a sharp gleam in his eyes suggested a merchant valuing goods.

“You overpraise me. I was plotted against and escaped by luck. I dare not claim any skill.”

“Oh?”

His eyebrow lifted.

“You mean you don’t want revenge? Don’t want those who plotted against you to pay?”

His words were a hook probing my heart.

I looked at him with a little helplessness and hurt in my voice.

“What if I do? I’m only a woman, low in standing, with little weight to my words. My opponents are an empress and a crown prince. How could I fight?”

Acting had become second nature.

His smile deepened.

“Alone, of course you cannot. But… with me?”

He leaned forward, lowering his voice, calculation in his eyes.

“The empress is domineering. The crown prince incompetent.”

His deeper voice carried convincing indignation.

“They conspire to control the court and remove dissenters. Resentment has long filled the realm.”

“Many ministers are like me—angry within, afraid to speak.”

“We want a new order.”

He looked straight at me.

“We need an opening. Someone to lead.”

“You and my seventh brother are that opening.”

He sounded sincere throughout, as though truly acting for country and people.

I felt only disgust.

“Why choose us?”

I asked calmly.

“The Seventh Prince’s legs are disabled. He withdrew from politics long ago. I’m only a Qin daughter of ordinary standing. I fear we cannot bear so great a duty.”

“You’re too modest.”

He smiled.

“Though disabled, my brother’s intelligence and strategy are unmatched among the princes.”

“You are discreet and unusually brave. You were never meant to remain in obscurity.”

“Together, you can transform this capital.”

He held my gaze and waited.

I laughed inwardly.

Such beautiful words.

An opening. Leadership.

He merely wanted us in front as shields, while he and his allies hid behind and took the final profit.

I leisurely sipped my tea.

“Your proposal is attractive.”

I set it down and met his eyes.

“But why should I trust you?”

“We’re meeting for the first time.”

“And the crown prince is your own brother.”

“What if this is a trap you two arranged…”

“You worry too much.”

He interrupted gently, his eyes sharpening.

“We’re brothers, but our paths have long diverged. We cannot work together.”

“To show my sincerity…”

He drew a bundle of letters from his sleeve and slowly pushed it toward me.

“Correspondence between the crown prince and the commander of the northern frontier.”

His voice deepened. Every word seemed carefully weighed.

“His handwriting. His seal. These letters alone are enough to destroy him beyond recovery.”

I took them and slowly opened one.

Familiar strokes struck my eyes, making my heart ache.

Zhao Yi’s handwriting.

The contents chilled me further.

Faction-building. Secret military dealings. Embezzled army provisions. Even hints of rebellion.

Any one of those meant death.

I closed the letter without joy, only growing questions.

Could Zhao Kai give me something so important so easily?

What game was he playing?

“Well?”

He watched searchingly, still mild.

“Is that proof enough of my sincerity?”

“Enough.”

I nodded calmly and tucked the neatly folded letters into my sleeve.

“I accept your gesture.”