Chapter 8: The Traitor's Smile

The morning sun gilded the palace roofs, but a chill clung to Li Mei's bones that no amount of silk could thaw. She stood in the ashes of her former chambers, watching servants sift through charred debris. The fire had consumed everything—her dresses, her books, her mother's jade hairpin. Only the note remained, tucked safely against her heart.

"Your Highness." Prince Xian approached with measured steps, his face a mask of practiced concern. "I was devastated to hear of the fire. You could have been killed."

*I almost was. By your order.*

Li Mei inclined her head, forcing her voice to soften. "The gods were merciful. I was taking a walk when it started."

"A walk? At that hour?" His eyes narrowed, hunting for cracks in her story.

"The moon was beautiful. I couldn't sleep." She let her gaze drift toward the ruins, letting him read whatever he wished into her grief. Let him think her distracted, weak. Let him believe she suspected nothing.

He stepped closer, close enough that she caught the sandalwood scent of his robes. "I have news that should lift your spirits. I'm announcing a grand hunt to celebrate the month of peace approaching. All the noble houses will attend, including your cousin, Lady Shen."

Li Mei's blood went cold. The hunt. She'd been waiting for this announcement, dreading it. In her past life, this same hunt had ended with an arrow meant for her, and Prince Xian's fabricated evidence of her treason. The memory of his smile as she was dragged away—that cruel, triumphant smile—flashed before her eyes.

"My cousin?" She kept her voice carefully neutral. "How generous of you to include my family."

"Family is everything, is it not?" He smiled, and there it was again. The traitor's smile. Warm on the surface, venom beneath. "I've arranged for you to ride beside me. I want to ensure your safety personally."

*You want to ensure I have no witnesses when the assassin strikes.*

"How thoughtful." Li Mei touched the note hidden in her sleeve. "I'll prepare immediately."

---

Two days later, the hunting grounds sprawled before them in all their autumn glory. Golden leaves drifted from ancient oaks, and the distant mountains wore crowns of early snow. Nobles in jewel-toned silks chattered on their horses, their laughter carried away by the crisp wind.

Li Mei scanned the crowd, cataloging faces. There—her cousin Shen Yu, draped in emerald silk, her smile as sharp as a blade. The same smile she'd worn when she'd placed the forged love letters in Li Mei's chambers. The same smile she'd worn as Li Mei was sentenced to death.

Today, that smile would be her undoing.

"Your Highness," Shen Yu called, guiding her white mare beside Li Mei's black stallion. "How fortunate we're both attending. I feared you might still be recovering from the fire."

"A small inconvenience." Li Mei kept her eyes forward, watching the treeline. "Princes don't burn easily, cousin. We rise from ashes."

Shen Yu's smile flickered, just for an instant. Then it returned, brighter than before. "How poetic. You've clearly been reading those old scrolls again."

*And you've clearly been reading your assassination contracts.*

The hunting horn sounded, and Prince Xian gestured grandly. "Today, we honor peace! Let the hunt begin!"

The nobles surged forward in a wave of color and thundering hooves. Li Mei followed, matching Xian's pace, allowing him to believe she was where he wanted her. Ahead, she spotted the ancient oak she'd marked during her morning ride—the one with the hollow trunk, where a certain crossbow waited.

"Your Highness," she called, reining in her horse. "I think I see a white stag! If you'll permit me—"

"Alone?" Xian's eyes glittered. "The forest can be dangerous."

"All the more reason for me to prove my skill." She smiled, letting him see only eager confidence. "I won't be long. And see? My cousin rides nearby. I'll be perfectly safe."

Xian followed her gaze to Shen Yu, who had conveniently positioned herself near the treeline. Something passed across his face—calculation, perhaps. *Good. Let him think she's in on the plan.*

"Very well. But stay within horn's call."

Li Mei urged her horse into the trees, ducking beneath low branches. The canopy swallowed the sound of the hunt, leaving only the whisper of wind and the drumming of her heart. She knew what was coming. Knew to the second when the assassin would strike.

She reached the oak and dismounted, moving with practiced efficiency. The crossbow was there, oiled and ready. She'd arranged for a stable boy to retrieve it from the armory, using her brother's name. By the time anyone traced it, the trail would be cold.

Li Mei positioned herself exactly where the arrow would fall—two paces from the oak, facing the ravine. Then she waited.

Twigs snapped. She heard the whisper of a bowstring being drawn. And then—

The whistle of an arrow, slicing through air.

Li Mei dropped. Not a dramatic fall, but a stumble, as if her foot had caught on a root. The arrow whistled past her shoulder and embedded itself in the oak's trunk with a sickening thud.

Now came the performance.

"Help!" Li Mei screamed, scrambling backward as if in terror. "Someone's shooting at me!"

Shen Yu burst from the treeline, her face a mask of feigned concern. "Cousin! Are you—"

But Li Mei had already drawn her hidden blade. Before Shen Yu could finish her sentence, Li Mei tackled her off the horse, sending them both rolling into the leaves. "You sent him!" Li Mei shrieked, loud enough for the approaching hoofbeats to hear. "I saw the assassin run toward the ravine, and I saw you signal him!"

"What? No!" Shen Yu's composure cracked. "I was hunting you—I mean, with you—"

"Don't lie to me!" Li Mei pressed the blade's flat side against her cousin's throat, not enough to cut, enough to terrify. "You've always wanted me dead. The fire, the forged letters, and now this!"

Prince Xian burst through the trees, his hunting party gasping at the scene. His eyes swept over the arrow, the crossbow still visible in the hollow trunk, and the two women tangled in the leaves.

"Explain yourselves," he demanded, but his voice was shaking. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

Li Mei's gaze met his, and for one breathless moment, she let him see it all—her knowledge, her cunning, her absolute certainty that he was the hidden hand behind it all. And then the curtain fell again, leaving only a trembling girl clutching her cousin.

"The assassin fled toward the ravine," Li Mei breathed, letting tears fill her eyes. "But I know who sent him. I saw her signal."

Shen Yu's face drained of color. "He's lying! The assassin was shooting at *her*, not me!"

"Then why," Li Mei whispered, drawing the crumpled note from her sleeve, "did I find this in my burned chambers? A letter, in your hand, promising payment for the arrow's mark?"

The blood drained from Xian's face. The note was a forgery, expertly crafted by a forger Li Mei had paid in silver, but Shen Yu's true letters—the ones ordering the fire—were far too similar to deny. And in her world, suspicion was as good as proof.

"Someone," Xian ground out, "will explain this."

Li Mei smiled, just a fraction, just for him. "Of course, Your Highness. We all have much to explain, don't we?"

And in the distance, a hunting horn sounded the start of the month of peace. But Li Mei knew better. This was only the beginning of the war.