Chapter Four: Audience with the Queen

The palace of Chang’an shimmered under the noonday sun, white walls gleaming like jade. Guards in lacquered armor stood stiff at attention as Wu Zhen strode through the main gate, her boots clicking against the stone path.

She should have been barred. She should have been questioned. But she was not merely the Duke of Henan’s daughter she was the queen’s sister.

And when the queen summoned, Wu Zhen came.

Still dressed in her green crane-embroidered robe from that morning, Wu Zhen sauntered through the gilded halls, ignoring the scandalized stares of eunuchs and palace maids. She caught her reflection briefly in a bronze mirror: a woman dressed as a man, eyes gleaming with mischief, lips curved into a smirk. She winked at her reflection before moving on.

At the Phoenix Hall, she was announced.

“Her Grace, Lady Wu Zhen of the Duke of Henan’s household.”

The empress sat upon a carved throne, her bearing regal, her features a refined echo of Wu Zhen’s own. Wu Hanying, daughter of the same duke, but polished, restrained, the perfect consort of the Son of Heaven. Where Wu Zhen was wildfire, Hanying was jade stillness.

“Zhen,” the queen greeted coolly, though the faintest flicker of affection warmed her eyes. “You are impossible to summon.”

Wu Zhen flopped onto the nearest seat, sprawling like a careless courtier. “That’s because your eunuchs always try to find me in the wrong places. I’m rarely in temples. More often in wine houses.”

The court ladies stifled gasps. Wu Zhen only grinned wider.

The queen’s sigh was soft. “Must you shame our family at every turn?”

Wu Zhen stretched lazily. “Someone must. Too much dignity will kill us faster than poison.”

The queen dismissed the attendants with a flick of her hand. When they were alone, her composure softened. “There are rumors, Zhen. Disturbances in the city. The court hears whispers of hauntings, of people driven mad in the streets. I know you walk where most dare not tell me the truth. What is happening in Chang’an?”

Wu Zhen leaned back, folding her arms behind her head. “Spirits are restless. Something stirs them. But it’s nothing I can’t claw back into place.”

The queen’s eyes sharpened. “Always reckless. Always dismissing danger until it swallows you whole. I worry for you.”

Wu Zhen’s smirk faltered, just for an instant. She looked at her sister, at the lines of care that the crown had etched upon her brow. For all their differences, Wu Hanying’s concern was genuine.

“You shouldn’t,” Wu Zhen said lightly, though her voice had softened. “I have nine lives, remember?”

Before more could be said, a eunuch rushed in, bowing low. “Your Majesty, urgent news! A disturbance at Xuanwu Gate soldiers attacked by… by shadows!”

The queen rose sharply. “Shadows?”

Wu Zhen was already on her feet, golden eyes glinting. “Sounds like my cue.”

“Zhen—!” the queen called, but her sister was gone, vanishing through the palace halls with a laugh that echoed like a cat’s purr.

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By the time Wu Zhen reached Xuanwu Gate, chaos reigned. Soldiers shouted, blades clashed against air that seemed to ripple with darkness. From the ground, black smoke rose in twisting shapes, forming monstrous figures that lunged and tore at men who could not see them clearly.

But Wu Zhen saw. She saw them all.

With a feral grin, she leapt into the fray, her sleeves billowing like wings. Golden claws erupted from her hands, striking through the nearest shadow. It wailed as it shattered.

“Hold the line, fools!” she shouted at the terrified guards. “They bleed if you strike true!”

Some steadied, emboldened by her confidence. Others fled. Wu Zhen didn’t blame them. Few mortals had the stomach for demons.

Amid the chaos, she sensed a familiar calm presence. Turning, she spotted Mei Zhu Yu already on the battlefield, talismans burning in his hands as he sealed one shadow after another. His face was focused, lips moving in steady incantation.

“Always on my heels, Taoist!” Wu Zhen called as she slashed through another demon.

He didn’t glance her way, but she swore she saw the faintest twitch of his lips.

Together, they pushed back the tide, until at last the shadows dissolved, leaving only scorched earth and trembling soldiers.

Wu Zhen wiped sweat from her brow, golden eyes still glowing faintly. “Well. That was fun.”

Mei Zhu Yu turned to her, expression grave. “Not fun. Dangerous. These are not stray spirits. Something commands them.”

Wu Zhen tilted her head, a feline grin curling her lips. “Then let it command louder. I’ll still tear it apart.”

For once, Mei Zhu Yu’s calm cracked. He stepped closer, his gaze sharp. “Wu Zhen, if you treat this like a game, you’ll endanger more than yourself. You’ll endanger this entire city.”

The soldiers stared, stunned, as silence fell between them.

Wu Zhen’s smirk lingered, but her heart beat faster under his steady gaze.

For the first time in a long while, she wondered was this battle one she could truly laugh her way through?

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