Chen stared at her, his world tilting on its axis as her words penetrated the fortress of his grief and rage.

The artifact's calming influence helped him process what she was saying, but it was her tears—her apparent genuine concern for his well-being—that truly reached him.

'She... she really cares about me,' he thought, his heart beginning to pound for entirely different reasons. 'All this time, I thought I was alone, but she...'

Looking down at the ground, Chen clenched his jaw so hard that fresh blood welled between his teeth.

His free hand curled into a fist tight enough that his nails bit deep into his palm, drawing crimson drops that splattered onto the white stone platform.

"Yes... you're right," he said finally, his voice hollow with defeat and growing understanding. The rage was still there, burning like coals in his chest, but it was tempered now by something else—gratitude for the woman who had stopped him from throwing his life away.

Chen moved forward then, his arms opening as he sought to embrace her, to find comfort in the only person who seemed to genuinely care about his fate.

But Yu Xiang stepped back smoothly, leaving his arms reaching for empty air.

The rejection stung, confusion flashing across Chen's bronze eyes as he stood there with his hands extended, uncertain and vulnerable.

Seeing his confusion, Yu Xiang's expression trembled for a moment as she realized she instinctively distanced herself. But knowing how important his value was right now, she couldn't hug him, so she reached out with both hands, gently taking his outstretched palm in hers, her fingers intertwining with his in a gesture more intimate than any embrace.

"Please... bear it for me," she whispered, her violet eyes meeting his with apparent sincerity. She was thinking about how to prove her usefulness in another way. Marrying four wives had shown her the opening that he was not bound by loving just a single woman, but could go for multiple.

But the issue here was the fact that he seemed to be rather unrestricted by that consent thing, thinking that putting some distance from physical touch might not be of any help—she couldn't be physical because of her cultivation and also self-respect.

Additionally, like Zhao Chen, that man couldn't be mentally and emotionally manipulated—cutting away her only means to manipulate a man.

Third, regarding wife quality, she was still in the middle; if not for his help, in peak core formation. Unlike those monster-geniuses who were his wives in higher realms.

And here she was stuck with a fool who didn't understand how he needed to see the power difference and rather than helping her, though it was good considering that she was easier to manipulate than Tian Long. As she lifted her head, looking towards Zhao Jin's eyes.

Chen stared down at their joined hands, feeling the warmth of her skin against his, the gentle pressure of her fingers.

His heart hammered in his chest as emotions he'd kept buried for weeks finally surfaced.

"Fine," he said quietly, his voice rough with suppressed emotion. "Just for you, Yu Xiang."

She nodded, squeezing his hand once before releasing it, her performance complete.

But as she stepped back, Yu Xiang's gaze drifted in the direction where Tianlong had disappeared, her violet eyes hard with cold understanding.

'So that's how it is,' she thought, her mind sharp and calculating despite the tears still glistening on her cheeks. 'He's treating me like a tool to torment this fool. Using my beauty, my ambitions, and even my cultivation needs as weapons.'

The knowledge should have filled her with rage, should have made her want to lash out at being manipulated so expertly.

Instead, she felt something closer to professional admiration mixed with growing wariness.

'Emperor Tianlong... you're far more dangerous than I gave you credit for. But if you think I'll remain your unwitting pawn forever, you're mistaken.'

Behind her carefully maintained mask of concern for Chen, Yu Xiang's mind was already working on contingencies, backup plans, ways to turn this situation to her advantage despite being caught in someone else's web.

She had underestimated the Emperor once. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

But for now, she needed to keep Chen alive and useful, needed to maintain her position as his supposed beloved until she could figure out how to extract herself from this game without losing everything she'd worked for.

The wedding invitation's words echoed in her mind: Lady Zhao Meilian, the Silver Moon Divine.

Even knowing she was being manipulated, Yu Xiang couldn't quite suppress the stab of envy that pierced her heart.

To be claimed by such power, to be elevated to such heights...

She shook her head, banishing such thoughts.

'Don't be a fool... lowering yourself like those women?' Yu Xiang stood in the aftermath of Zhao Chen's emotional outburst, watching as wedding invitations continued to drift down from the sky like mocking snowflakes.

Her violet eyes tracked each piece of expensive parchment with growing calculation, her sharp mind already working through the implications.

'Wait a moment...' She picked up another fallen invitation, reading the names again with fresh eyes. 'Zhao Meilian.'

Her gaze flicked to Zhao Chen, who was still trembling with barely contained rage, his bronze eyes fixed on the ashes of the invitation he'd destroyed.

The pieces clicked together in her mind with crystalline clarity.

'Zhao Chen's mother. That's who she is.'

A slow smile spread across Yu Xiang's lips as understanding dawned. And if Zhao Chen's reaction was any indication, it was working perfectly.

But more importantly, it presented an opportunity.

'If I can get close to that woman,' Yu Xiang thought, her pulse quickening with excitement, 'I won't need to wait for scraps of the Emperor's attention. I can study him through someone who shares his bed every night. Learn his preferences, his weaknesses, his blind spots...'

The plan began forming in her mind with ruthless efficiency.

Zhao Chen's emotional connection to his mother was clearly his greatest vulnerability—which meant it was also her greatest weapon.

Just like how Emperor Tianlong used that weapon, she could also use it.

She just needed to position herself correctly.

"I won't go," Chen said suddenly, his voice hollow but determined. "I can't... if I see him with her, if I watch that bastard touching my mother like she's his property..."

His hands clenched into fists so tight that fresh blood welled between his knuckles. "I might not be able to control myself."

Yu Xiang blinked, pulled from her internal scheming by his words.

For a moment, she almost felt genuine sympathy for the broken young man before her. Almost.

'Perfect,' she thought instead, recognizing the opening he'd just given her. 'He's practically handing me the lever I need.'

She let her expression shift to one of gentle understanding, stepping closer to him with careful, measured movements.

When she spoke, her voice carried just the right note of concern mixed with steel.

"That's exactly what that emperor wants, Zhao Chen."

He looked up at her, confusion replacing some of the rage in his bronze eyes. "What?"

Yu Xiang gestured toward the scattered invitations, her voice taking on the tone of someone explaining something obvious to a child.

"Don't you see? This whole elaborate wedding, the public humiliation, taking your mother as his wife—it's all designed to break you. He wants to see you lose control, wants to watch you shatter like glass in front of the entire empire."

Chen's jaw worked soundlessly for a moment, his mind struggling to process her words through the haze of his fury.

"You think... you think this is all just to hurt me?"

"I think," Yu Xiang said carefully, "that you're letting him win by reacting exactly how he expects you to."

She moved closer, close enough that he could smell the faint jasmine scent that always clung to her hair. "What do you think will happen when he sees you broken, desperate, staying away from his triumph like a beaten dog?"

The words hit Chen like physical blows, each one designed to sting his pride in exactly the right way.

Yu Xiang watched his face cycle through emotions—shame, anger, and finally a spark of defiant understanding.

"But what else can I do?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. "If I go, if I watch him parade her around like some trophy he's won..."

"Imagine," Yu Xiang interrupted softly, "what will happen if he sees you there, calm and uncaring. As if all his elaborate plans failed completely."

Chen stared at her, his bronze eyes widening as her meaning began to penetrate. "You mean..."

"I mean exactly what I said." Yu Xiang's voice gained strength, conviction bleeding into her tone as she sold the lie with masterful precision.

"What if you attend the wedding and remain completely indifferent to whatever happens there? Wouldn't that man's plan to humiliate you backfire spectacularly?"

She could see the wheels turning in Chen's head, could practically watch as his wounded pride latched onto the idea like a drowning man grabbing a rope.

"You're saying I should go and... and act like I don't care?"

"I'm saying," Yu Xiang replied, stepping back and letting her voice carry the weight of absolute certainty, "that you should show him and everyone else that no matter what he does, you are far better than him. That his petty games can't touch someone of your caliber."

The lie rolled off her tongue with practiced ease, even as her mind raced with the real implications. If Chen attended the wedding, she would have the perfect excuse to be there as well—not just as a guest standing in the crowd, but to attend as a close member of the royalty.

And once inside the palace, once close to the Emperor's new wives...

'I will make sure to find your weakness... Tianlong.'

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