The Space Farm System in the Palace

Yuchen picked up the paper in the jacket pocket and dialed the number for no reason he could defend. The voice on the other end had been waiting for him, and that was the first sign he was already inside someone else's trap. He learned power by watching other people use it, copying every breath and angle until it stuck, which made him useful in the imperial archives and dangerous to anyone who liked secrets. Then Heshen kept showing up in the quiet hours with a cup of water, a look that lasted one second too long, and a closeness neither of them could afford in public. The court wanted Yuchen obedient, useful, and alone. Heshen wanted him alive. Between them sat a hidden phone line, a frozen...