The Emperor’s Heart (A Splendid Match Fan Fic) Chapter Two
Chapter Two: A Different Path
The coming-of-age ceremony had ended.
To everyone else, it had been magnificent.
To Chen Ji Yu, it had been exhausting.
For three days, relatives she barely knew had praised her beauty, admired her embroidery (which she had not embroidered) and congratulated Chen Yan Yun and Jin Zhao on raising such a graceful young lady.
Ji Yu almost laughed every time she heard the word.
If anyone had asked what she truly wanted, she would have answered without hesitation.
Instead, she had spent hours smiling politely while noblewomen discussed jewelry, fabrics, and marriage.
Now, finally free, she escaped to her favourite place, the library. The familiar scent of old books immediately calmed her.
She reached for a volume on military logistics just as footsteps echoed behind her.
“I knew I’d find you here.”
Ji Yu didn’t have to turn around.
Her cousin walked inside carrying a basket of pastries.
The two settled beside the open window overlooking the courtyard.
Outside, servants were still clearing decorations from the ceremony.
Inside, silence lingered for only a moment before Mu Yi Lin spoke.
Ji Yu looked up from her book.
“The marriage proposals have started.”
“There were three this morning.”
Ji Yu dropped her forehead onto the table.
“Do these people have nothing better to do?”
“They don’t even know me.”
“They know who your parents are.”
“They’re not asking for me.”
“They’re asking for Grand Secretary Chen’s daughter.”
Mu Yi Lin watched her quietly.
Ji Yu had never been against marriage.
If anything, her parents had shown her how beautiful it could be. Chen Yan Yun had never tried to stop Jin Zhao from pursuing the business she loved. He respected her opinions, trusted her judgment, and treated her as an equal. They argued, laughed, and stood beside each other through everything.
It was the kind of marriage Ji Yu admired.
But she had no desire to let her own future be decided by her family name. The world beyond the capital was vast, and there was still so much she wanted to see. She wanted to travel the empire, learn from every province, and understand the lives of ordinary people before settling down.
Marriage, she thought, could wait.
“The palace is selecting young ladies.”
“…Have you been living inside this library?”
“They’re selecting noble daughters to become his consorts.”
Mu Yi Lin sighed dramatically.
“I’d accept immediately.”
“Our Emperor is handsome.”
“He protects the people.”
“I think he’d make an excellent husband.”
Ji Yu burst into laughter.
“You’ve planned this already?”
“I could even become Empress.”
“You’ve skipped several ranks.”
“I respect him immensely.”
Ji Yu looked toward the palace in the distance.
“I could never marry someone expected to have multiple wives.”
She spoke matter-of-factly.
“I don’t want to spend my life competing for someone’s affection.”
Inside the Imperial Palace…
Li Lin Zhang was having a conversation he had successfully avoided for years.
“The ministers are unanimous, Your Majesty.”
The Dowager Empress placed another memorial before him.
He didn’t need to ask what she meant.
“I have managed the empire well enough without choosing an Empress.”
“The empire needs an heir.”
“There are no more excuses.”
“Then the selection will proceed.”
After she left, silence returned to the study.
Li Lin Zhang leaned back in his chair. He had negotiated peace with neighbouring kingdoms.
Survived assassination attempts before reaching adulthood.
Choosing a wife felt like the most difficult task before him.
Not because he feared marriage.
But because no one had ever challenged him the way the empire did.
He longed for someone whose loyalty belonged to him rather than to politics, someone he could trust without question, not another noblewoman chasing power or weaving palace intrigues.
That evening, needing a quiet place away from the endless discussions of court, Li Lin Zhang rode to a secluded residence known only to a handful of people.
Years ago, Chen Yan Yun had purchased the small estate outside the capital as a retreat, a place to think when the noise of politics became overwhelming.
It had become one of the few places where the Emperor could remove the weight of the crown, if only for a few hours.
He expected to find the residence empty.
Instead, someone was already there.
Chen Ji Yu sat beneath a pavilion surrounded by maps, bamboo scrolls, and chess pieces scattered across a stone table.
Without looking up, she said, “You’re late.”
The Emperor raised an eyebrow.
“I wasn’t aware I had an appointment.”
“Then how can I be late?”
“Because Father said you always come here when you’re trying to solve a difficult problem.”
“So he tells you all my secrets?”
For a moment, he simply stared.
Somehow, without him noticing, the little girl who used to trail after Chen Yan Yun asking endless questions had disappeared.
In her place sat a poised young woman with calm eyes, ink-stained fingers, and maps spread before her.
“You’ve been studying military formations?” he asked.
“The reports from the western prefectures.”
She pointed to several locations on the map.
“The Chunyuan Sect isn’t attacking randomly.”
“They’re testing response times.”
The Emperor stepped closer.
For the next quarter of an hour, Ji Yu laid out her reasoning with remarkable clarity. She traced supply routes, compared the timing of the incidents, and highlighted patterns that had escaped several experienced officials.
When she finished, Li Lin Zhang was silent.
“Your father taught you well.”
“I think I’ve improved on some of his ideas.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him you said that.”
“…or challenge me to a debate.”
The laughter was cut short by the sharp whistle of an arrow.
It struck the wooden pillar inches from Ji Yu.
“Down!” the Emperor shouted.
Shadow Guards appeared from every direction as masked assassins burst through the surrounding trees.
Steel rang against steel.
The peaceful retreat became a battlefield.
Ji Yu drew the sword mounted beneath the pavilion roof without hesitation.
She sidestepped, striking the hilt into his wrist before disarming him with a swift turn.
The Emperor glanced toward her in surprise.
“Your father taught you that?”
Despite the danger, he almost smiled.
More figures emerged from the darkness.
A Shadow Guard stumbled, wounded.
Another fell protecting the Emperor’s flank.
Li Lin Zhang’s expression hardened.
“This isn’t an assassination.”
“No,” Ji Yu said, watching more black-clad figures appear among the trees.
The Emperor met her gaze.
For the first time in fifteen years…
He realized they had underestimated the Chunyuan Sect.
And somewhere beyond the treeline, hidden beneath a black mask, a lone figure watched the battle unfold before quietly disappearing into the night.
The game had truly begun.
