Episode: The list

The war room had no windows. Only maps. And blood.

Zhanyi’s blood. From the Crown. It sat heavy on her head, and where bone met skin, it wept. Not red. Black. Like ink. Like Zhang Wei’s wound.

_“It’s feeding,”_ Zhang Wei said. He didn’t touch her. Didn’t need to. _“The Crown takes price for power. It wants yours.”_

_“Let it,”_ Zhanyi said. She dipped a brush in the black blood and wrote on silk. _“Nan.”_ Under it: _“Mei.”_ Under that: _“Elder Mo.”_ Then twelve more names. Generals. Ministers. Allies of the twins. All who voted to deny Black River reinforcements.

_“The list,”_ Zhang Wei said. Not a question. Approval.

_“The list,”_ Zhanyi confirmed. _“You asked if I was afraid of you last night. I’m not. I’m making you useful.”_

He studied the names. _“Order?”_

_“Start with the weakest,”_ Zhanyi said. _“Send a message. End with Nan and Mei. Send a warning.”_

_“No feelings,”_ Zhang Wei said. _“This is strategy.”_

_“This is survival,”_ Zhanyi said. _“Feelings are for people who have time.”_

He took the silk. Folded it. Slid it into his armor, over the hole in his chest. _“My wraiths will handle the twelve. Nan and Mei are mine personally.”_

_“No,”_ Zhanyi said. _“They’re ours.”_

Something flickered in his dead eyes. Not emotion. Recognition. _“Yours,”_ he agreed. _“I am the blade. You choose where it cuts.”_

A knock. A servant. Trembling. _“Your Majesties. Princess Mei requests audience. She brings... tea.”_

Zhang Wei’s head tilted. The movement was wrong. Too smooth. _“Poison again?”_

_“Probably,”_ Zhanyi said. _“Send her in.”_

Mei entered alone. No fan. No smile. Just a tea set and calculation. _“Sister. Consort. I thought we might... talk. As family.”_

_“Family sent me to die,”_ Zhanyi said. She didn’t rise from the war table. Didn’t offer tea. _“Family denied reinforcements. Family writes laws that say women cannot rule.”_

_“Father wrote that law,”_ Mei said quickly. _“Not us. We only—”_

_“Enforced it,”_ Zhang Wei finished. He hadn’t moved. Hadn’t blinked. _“You and Nan. Black River. Three hundred men. Ten thousand enemy. You bet on math.”_

Mei set the tea down. Her hands shook. _“We were protecting the realm. A princess on the throne invites war. A king—”_

_“She has a king,”_ Zhang Wei said. _“Me.”_

_“A corpse,”_ Mei whispered. _“You’re dead. Everyone knows. The Zhang Dynasty fell. Your brother—”_

_“My brother sits on a stolen throne,”_ Zhang Wei said. The room dropped ten degrees. _“And you will not speak his name in my presence again.”_

Mei flinched. Recovered. Looked at Zhanyi. _“You think he’ll protect you? He can’t even feel heat. He can’t give you children. He can’t—”_

_“I don’t want his children,”_ Zhanyi lied. Smooth. Cold. _“I want his army. And he wants my sisters’ heads. Three months. No feelings. After that, we part.”_

Zhang Wei said nothing. But his fingers closed around the silk list in his armor. Tight.

Mei saw it. Smiled for real, this time. _“Three months. I’ll count the days, sister.”_

She left. The tea sat untouched. Poisoned, probably.

Zhanyi picked up her brush. Dipped it in black blood. Wrote one more name at the bottom of the list.

_“Zhang.”_ Then, smaller: _“Brother.”_

Zhang Wei saw it. Said nothing.

But when he left the war room, ten thousand wraiths in the courtyard turned as one.

And saluted.

*End Ep 5.*

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