POV: General Yue Lianjie (Brother)
The courtyard was still. The wind barely stirred the embroidered banners as General Yue Lianjie stepped past the golden gates of Huaqing Academy. His black-and-crimson uniform bore the weight of countless victories, but his eyes—sharp, storm-dark, and framed by a faint scar above his brow—searched only for one thing.
His sister.
He hadn't seen her in years. Not since their father, Minister Yue Heng (Father), had caved to the venomous whispers of Consort Mei (Stepmother), sending Lianjie far north to the borderlands. Zhenzhen had been twelve then, all wide eyes and trembling hands. He had sworn he'd return for her.
But he hadn't.
"General Yue!" the Academy guards bowed low.
He nodded curtly. "Where is my sister? Yue Zhenzhen."
"The court pavilion, General. A ceremony of commendation."
Commendation?
His boots barely touched the ground as he moved. Each stride thundered with unsaid words, guilt, and long-held fury.
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POV: Lin Yue (Zhenzhen)
Zhenzhen stood tall before the assembled nobles and officials, wrapped in moon-white robes, a golden phoenix crest glowing across her shoulder. Her eyes, hard as obsidian, met each man and woman who had once scorned her. They bowed now. They applauded.
Her victory in the Academy Entrance Trial had been spectacular. Her enemies had plotted sabotage—poisoned ink, missing scrolls, false accusations—but she had exposed them one by one in front of Crown Prince (Rui Shen) and the Chancellor. Her brilliance had turned every trap into a ladder. The Lustbound System pulsed with satisfaction inside her—a reward for justice, seduction, and power claimed without fear.
"For your extraordinary intellect, bravery, and virtue," declared the Head Chancellor, "we offer you a royal scholarship and commendation."
She bowed with grace, though her eyes glittered like a blade unsheathed.
"Zhenzhen..."
The voice stopped time.
She turned.
There, parting the nobles like waves before a tide, strode her brother.
General Yue Lianjie.
His armor gleamed, but it was his face that undid her—still sharp, still fierce, but now etched with emotion she'd forgotten: love.
"You came back," she whispered.
He dropped to one knee.
"Forgive me. I wasn't there when they hurt you. When they stole your name, your pride, your joy. But I swear before heaven and hell, no one will harm you again."
Gasps echoed. Even the Crown Prince's expression flickered.
"Rise, Brother," she said quietly, stepping forward.
She took his hands.
"We both survived them. That is enough."
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POV: Crown Prince (Rui Shen)
From the dais, Rui Shen watched. His jaw clenched.
The girl he had discarded had bloomed into something untouchable. Now, a war hero knelt before her, swearing fealty not as a soldier to a ruler, but as a brother to a queen.
And yet, why did that stir something sharp in his chest?
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POV: Consort Mei (Stepmother)
Behind the silken curtains, Consort Mei bit her lip until it bled.
"She should have been ruined," she hissed.
Beside her, her daughter Yue Ronghua (Stepsister) trembled. Her hands were still bruised from the public punishment she'd received after Zhenzhen's truth had surfaced. Yet the Crown blamed a minor official for the scandal. To protect the imperial face.
Consort Mei glared at the court.
"We made one mistake. We let her live."
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End of Chapter 10