Bai Yu laughed bitterly. “I feed on lies. Why would I starve myself for truth?”
The usurper fell. Shen Zhao took the throne, and made Bai Yu his chancellor—bound by a chain neither love nor hate could break. qiang jin jiu novel english translation
Thus began a game of silk and steel—each move a kiss or a knife. Shen Zhao would seduce the emperor’s daughter; Bai Yu would poison the emperor’s tea taster. They betrayed and saved each other in the same breath, until the night of the lantern festival, when Shen Zhao stood before the throne with a smile and a blade. Bai Yu laughed bitterly
For the first time, Bai Yu’s mask slipped. He saw in Shen Zhao not a victim, but a predator wearing a prince’s face. Shen Zhao took the throne, and made Bai
But Shen Zhao had learned patience in the northern marshes. He also had learned that the emperor’s most feared spymaster, a eunuch named Bai Yu, was not a monster but a man with his own secret: a younger brother held hostage in the palace dungeons.
“Help me burn the throne instead,” Shen Zhao whispered.