Chapter 22: Chapter-22

Heena looked at System 427 and gave him a sly smile, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Well, do you know what’s the absolute badass thing to do when you encounter a White Lotus?”

System 427 paused mid-float, tilting his head as he considered. “Um… run away from her? Or maybe slap her?”

Heena shook her head, groaning in pain as she walked toward the window with a slight limp. Each step sent sharp jolts through her injured ankle, but she pushed through it. When she reached the window, she gazed out at the palace grounds below, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the manicured gardens.

“Nah,” she said softly, still looking outside. “If you run, she’ll make it look like you’re guilty of something—like you’re fleeing because you have something to hide. The narrative becomes ’why would the Empress run unless she’s done something wrong?’”

System 427 floated closer, listening intently.

“And if you slap her?” Heena continued, her voice taking on a harder edge. “Then the whole world comes down on you. ’How dare the cruel Empress hit the innocent, kind-hearted Lady Seraphina!’ You become the villain in everyone’s eyes, and she becomes the martyred saint.” She shook her head. “Both options play right into her hands.”

She turned from the window to face System 427 directly, that sly grin spreading wider across her face. “But there is one thing—one absolute strategy—that even a White Lotus cannot handle.”

System 427’s golden form flickered with confusion. “What? What is it?”

Heena’s smile turned absolutely wicked. “Get a strong Green Tea man.”

System 427 sputtered, his form flashing erratically. “Huh?! You mean—you’re going to marry?!”

“Exactly.” Heena limped back toward her desk, satisfaction radiating from every controlled step. “If I’m not wrong about this story’s structure, these five men were supposed to be married to the villainess—me. But nowhere in the plot does it say the Empress can’t marry again, right?”

System 427’s eyes went wide. Suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, a pair of tiny spectacles materialized on his lion face. He conjured the glowing plot book and began flipping through pages frantically, his eyes scanning line after line of story structure and world rules.

Page after page turned—’flip, flip, flip’—as he searched for any restriction, any rule that would prevent what Heena was suggesting.

Finally, he looked up and nodded slowly. “Yeah… there’s nothing written here that prevents it. The marriage contracts with the five consorts don’t include exclusivity clauses because they were political arrangements, not love matches. And imperial law technically allows the Empress to take additional consorts if—”

“But—” he started to protest.

Heena cut him off with a dismissive wave. “But went to hell. Just think about it, System. The Empress should be dead right now according to the original plot, but I’m alive. The rules are already broken. And anyway, we’re not killing those five men, nor are we killing the heroine. We’re just getting a new player in the game.”

She leaned against her desk, her grin widening until it was almost feral. “Just think about it clearly. Five men who are straight as bamboo, completely devoted to one woman. A woman who cries, acts pitiful, plays the White Lotus to perfection. They’re all dancing to her tune, ready to overthrow me for her sake.”

System 427 was starting to see where this was going, his processors whirring.

“So why would I—the Empress, who’s supposed to be so powerful—waste my energy fighting them directly?” Heena’s eyes gleamed with dangerous satisfaction. “Why not get a man who’s completely powerful enough to overcome them? Someone with his own political weight, his own army, his own legitimacy?”

She pushed off from the desk, pacing despite the pain. “Let’s get a Green Tea man—someone who’s just as manipulative, just as good at playing political games, just as capable of using tears and sentiment when it suits him. Someone who can match their white lotus heroine move for move.”

System 427’s jaw dropped open. “You want to… pit a Green Tea manipulator against the White Lotus heroine?”

System 427 paused mid-float, his golden form flickering with confusion. “But wait—she has such a strong White Lotus system backing her. And where would we even find a Green Tea man powerful enough to match that? You can’t just conjure one out of thin air.”

Heena paused, her hand stilling over the documents. Yeah, that was actually a problem. Finding someone with the right combination of power, manipulation skills, and protagonist-level plot armor wasn’t exactly easy. Green Tea men—the male equivalent of scheming, emotionally manipulative characters—were rare in stories, and finding one in real life within this world’s framework was even more challenging.

But then she turned to look at System 427 and smiled, that confident expression returning. “Well, I’ve already sent my shadow guards to gather information about potential candidates. Let’s see what we can get with that.”

She yawned, stretching her arms above her head despite the protest from her injured ankle. The exhaustion from managing everything was catching up to her, but—

She suddenly paused, her entire body going still. Her expression shifted instantly from tired to cold and alert. “What is it?”

System 427 was still confused, looking around. “What’s what? I didn’t—”

A shadow guard materialized from the corner of the room like smoke given form, dropping to one knee before Heena with his head bowed. His black mask concealed his face entirely, and his voice was flat, emotionless. “The prisoners wish to see you, Your Majesty.”

Heena looked out the window at the afternoon sun, then back at the kneeling guard. A laugh escaped her—sharp and amused. “Fine.” She reached for her coat draped over the chair back, pulling it on smoothly. “Tell them I’ll grace them with my presence shortly.”

The shadow guard disappeared as suddenly as he’d appeared, dissolving back into the shadows without a sound.

System 427 stared at the spot where the guard had been, his jaw hanging open. “Wow… the Empress really has some serious power, huh? I didn’t even sense him! He was just ’there’ suddenly, and then gone! These shadow guards are incredible!”

Heena just laughed, a genuine sound of amusement. “They’re one of the few advantages I actually have in this mess. Worth their weight in gold.”

She walked toward the door, her limp pronounced, each step clearly painful. System 427 watched with concern as she gripped the doorframe for support, her face showing strain.

But the moment the door swung open and the guards outside came into view, everything changed.

Her expression transformed instantly—from pained exhaustion to serene composure. Her posture straightened, shoulders back, chin lifted. And most impressively, her walk became completely smooth and controlled, not a hint of the limp that had plagued her just seconds before. She glided past the guards with perfect imperial grace, every inch the powerful Empress.

System 427 floated after her, invisible to everyone else, marveling at the performance. The pain was still there—he could sense it in the slight tension around her eyes, the careful way she distributed her weight. But to anyone watching, she appeared completely healthy, completely in control, completely untouchable.

“Show time,” she murmured under her breath, too quiet for the guards to hear.

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