Chapter 119: Unorthodox Job Interview

“To the imperial precinct,” Su Yao said as she left the White Horse Temple and hailed another taxi.

The cityscape shifted with every turn. Ancient architecture gave way to more modern structures, but the air itself seemed to grow heavier. They arrived at a walled compound that blended traditional Chinese grandeur with discreet contemporary security.

She paid the driver and approached the main gate. Two guards in modern uniforms that echoed imperial designs stood watch. Their eyes tracked her, the spiritual pressure around them focused and honed.

“State your business,” the one on the left said.

“I’m here to see the city,” Su Yao said.

“This isn’t a tourist area. Turn back.”

Before she could reply, a third figure emerged from a guardhouse. He was older and his uniform bore subtle insignias of rank. As his gaze locked onto Su Yao, he narrowed his eyes.

“You,” the older guard said. “Your energy is unregistered. Identify yourself properly.”

So they can sense me, even in this state.Their training is more refined than the temple monks’. “I’m just a visitor,” Su Yao repeated.

“The Empress values her privacy,” the senior guard said, resting his hand on the hilt of a short baton at his belt that thrummed with containment energy. “Unauthorized entities aren’t permitted. You will leave now.”

The other two guards shifted their stances, moving with the fluid efficiency of those trained in techniques designed to counter spiritual beings.

This is more interesting than the temples. She had found a place that was actively guarded, which meant there was something inside worth guarding.

Su Yao held the senior guard’s gaze for a moment longer, then shrugged. “As you wish.” She turned and walked away from the gate at an unhurried pace. The guards watched her until she was a dozen meters away.

As she reached the edge of the broad plaza surrounding the precinct, a young woman about her age dressed in casual travel clothes and holding a selfie stick sidled up to her. “Tough luck, huh?” the woman said with a grin.

“But you know, I’ve been watching those guards for a while. They’re super intense.” She lowered her voice. “What if they’re here to prevent something from getting out?”

Su Yao stopped walking and looked at the woman. Prevent something from leaving?

Her eyes drifted back toward the imposing walls of the compound. The idea resonated with the contained spiritual pressure she had felt. It would explain the guards’ focused alertness and the modern security layered over ancient design.

“Interesting theory,” Su Yao murmured.

The woman nodded. “Right? Like, maybe there’s a reason the empress never leaves this place. Maybe she can’t.” She then shrugged and wandered off to take more photos.

Su Yao stood still. The guards’ energy felt defensive, but oriented inward. If the imperial precinct was a gilded cage, then whatever was inside might be worth seeing after all.

She caught up to the woman in a few quick strides. “What do you mean, the empress never leaves this place?”

“The one who goes out, visiting schools, cutting ribbons? That’s a body double. The real one is always in there.” The woman glanced around. “I can’t prove it, but I know it. Everyone here kinda knows.”

She leaned forward. “The most believed theory is that she can’t go outside. The world out here is too different from what the chancellor and his people tell her it is. They’ve built her a perfect little world inside those walls, and going outside would break the illusion.”

Studying Su Yao’s face, she paused. “And have you seen her pictures? She has white hair. Why would a young woman have hair like that unless she wasn’t human? Or not entirely human?”

Her lips pressed together before she spoke again, eyes narrowing. “Some people say she’s a spirit, bound to the throne. Others say she’s something older that the chancellors found and put on display.”

Su Yao’s eyes lingered on the woman’s own white hair. “You have white hair too.”

“That’s because I’m a white tiger spirit,” the woman said.

“You feel entirely human,” Su Yao said. “There is no spiritual energy.”

“I’m just that good at suppressing it,” the woman smiled. “If you become as good as me, no one can detect you either.”

The woman leaned in until her lips were almost brushing Su Yao’s ear. “The guards change shifts at 3:17 AM. Their post-rounds complacency lasts exactly four minutes. There’s a drainage access point behind the false willow tree on the western wall. The grille is loose.”

She winked. “Consider it a professional courtesy.”

Su Yao watched her for a moment. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Why not? The world is boring.” The woman shrugged. “You seem interesting. Maybe you will make it less boring.” She smiled and then turned, melting into the crowd of tourists.

Two of the imperial guards Su Yao had seen earlier approached the white-haired woman. They stopped before her and bowed deeply.

“Your Majesty,” the senior guard said. “It’s time for your meeting with the Prime Minister of Taured.”

The woman smiled. “Tell him I will be right there.” She glanced back at Su Yao and winked.

Around her, the guards fell into formation and began escorting her toward the main gate which now stood open.

Su Yao stood on the plaza. She was the empress the entire time.

The woman had theorized to Su Yao about the empress not being human, and then had provided a way to break into her own home.

Did I just get pranked?

She had been given a personal audience and a security briefing by the very sovereign she had come to investigate, all under the guise of a chance meeting with a tourist.

The night was cool and still as Su Yao waited until 3:17 AM. From her position in the shadows of a nearby building, she watched the imperial guards conclude their patrol. The two sentries at the western wall leaned against the stone once the shift change was complete, their attention drifting.

Four minutes.

Her movement was almost invisible as she crossed the open ground without sound. She located the false willow tree, its artificial leaves brushing together with a faint plastic whisper. Set low behind it embedded in the foundation waited a drainage grille.

The metal shifted beneath her fingers. It was loose, just as promised. She applied steady pressure, sliding it aside enough to slip through. Damp concrete and wet earth breathed out from the darkness beyond. She entered, then eased the grille back into place.

Su Yao found herself in a narrow utility tunnel. Every turn matched the description. The Empress was telling the truth. She really did give me the keys to her castle.

Beyond the tunnel, Su Yao stepped into a secluded garden enclosed by the precinct walls. Night-blooming flowers thickened the air with perfume. Ahead, the palace complex rose in layered silhouettes, its rooftops cutting into the stars. The security cordon lay behind her.

A successful infiltration. She smiled. Orchestrated by the target herself. This is certainly a first.

She stood in the shadow of a moonlit corridor, observing the inner courtyard. Facing the stone-faced chief of security, the Empress stood with her arms crossed.

“I told you so,” the Empress said. “There are holes in the palace defenses. This intruder just proved it.”

The chief guard bowed his head. “The vulnerabilities will be identified and patched before dawn, Your Majesty.” He lifted his gaze. “What are your orders regarding the intruder?”

The Empress’s eyes found Su Yao’s hiding place in the shadows. “Detain her.”

Four guards moved with disciplined speed, surrounding Su Yao. She let them escort her to a spacious chamber on an upper floor. The door clicked shut behind her, followed by the distinct sound of a heavy bolt sliding into place.

The room was too luxurious to be mistaken for a cell and too secure to be mistaken for hospitality. A wide bed draped in silk dominated the space untouched. Beside a single cup, a teapot steamed. It was already poured, already waiting.

This is very well-appointed prison. She walked to the table and poured herself a cup of tea.

The main door opened again and the Empress stood there, alone now. Her white hair glowed in the soft light of the room.

“Comfortable?” the Empress asked.

Su Yao sipped the tea. “Adequate. Is this how you secure all your intruders?”

“Only the interesting ones.” The Empress stepped inside, letting the door close behind her. “The ones who use the instructions I gave them.”

“You went to considerable effort to orchestrate this.” Su Yao set the teacup down with a soft click. “A curated infiltration. Your security assessment could have been conducted with a junior officer.”

The Empress leaned against the doorframe, a smile playing on her lips. “A junior officer would have been caught and punished. You, on the other hand, provided a live, high-stakes demonstration. My head of security will be reviewing every inch of the western wall before sunrise. The lesson is more potent this way.”

“And what is the lesson for me?” Su Yao asked.

“That I’m bored,” the Empress said. “And you’re the most interesting thing to happen in months. A being powerful enough to concern my guards, yet controlled enough to follow a stranger’s instructions. You’re an anomaly.”

She pushed off from the doorframe. “The door is locked, but the tea is fresh. I will return in the morning. We will talk then.”

With that, she left. The bolt slid back into place. Su Yao was alone again. She picked up the teacup and finished the tea. A bored sovereign is often a dangerous one.

The night passed. Su Yao sat on the floor in a meditative posture to map the subtle energies of the precinct. The containment field around the room was sophisticated spiritual and technological locks designed to neutralize aggressive power.

At dawn, the bolt slid back. The Empress entered, now dressed in a deep blue robe embroidered with silver phoenixes. Two servants followed, carrying a breakfast tray laden with congee, steamed buns, and fresh fruit. They set it on the low table and withdrew without a word.

“I trust you rested,” the Empress said, taking a seat opposite Su Yao.

“The accommodations were sufficient,” Su Yao replied. “Your security field is adequate for containing most spiritual entities.”

“But not you.”

“I have not tried to leave.”

The Empress served two bowls of congee, pushing one toward Su Yao. “Then let us speak plainly. You aren’t from the Ministry of State Security. Your energy signature is archaic. And you’re far too powerful to be a simple operative. Who are you, and why did you come to Luoyang?”

Su Yao picked up a spoon. “I came to see if the city held anything of interest. The old temples are empty because the power now resides here. I was curious about the sovereign who only leaves her walls once in a blue moon.”

“And now you’re my guest,” the Empress said.

“A guest does not have a locked door.”

“The door is for the comfort of my guards.” The Empress took a bite of congee. “I have read the report from Beijing. It mentioned an incident at Chaonei No. 81 and a governor of Gehenna. You were involved.”

“The Church gossips.”

“Useful allies, when their interests align with stability.” The Empress set her spoon down. “I have a proposition for you. My influence extends across China, but my physical presence is confined to where I stand. There are external matters I can’t personally address. Matters that require a discreet and powerful hand.”

“You want to hire me?” Su Yao asked.

“Your particular talents is needed here,” the Empress replied. “In exchange, you would have my favor. And access to resources no one else can’t provide.”

Su Yao looked at the barred window, then back at the Empress. “My freedom?”

“The door was never the true lock, and we both know it.” The Empress smiled. “Your freedom is yours to take. I’m merely offering a reason for you to stay.”

“I’m already under contract as a consultant for the Stabilization Bureau,” Su Yao said. “What would happen to that arrangement?”

“Nothing,” the Empress replied. “The Bureau operates under the auspices of the state. I’m the state in Luoyang. Consider your contract reassigned. You would simply be taking on a more specialized client. Zhang Wei would still be your liaison. His reports would just receive a higher level of scrutiny.”

Su Yao considered this. The bureaucratic machinery would remain intact, only redirected. “And the scope of these ‘external matters’?”

“Discreet threats to the realm’s stability that can’t be handled through official channels,” the Empress said. “The work you’re already doing, but with my direct backing and a broader mandate.”

“The compensation?” Su Yao asked.

“Beyond the Bureau’s salary? Access to the imperial archives and artifacts in my vaults. Should you require it, to my political influence as well.”

Su Yao nodded. “The terms are acceptable.”

“Excellent.” The Empress lifted her teacup. “Then we have an understanding. The door is unlocked. You may come and go as you please, but I expect your discretion. Welcome to the inner court, Consultant.”

The Empress gestured, and the head guard who had confronted Su Yao entered the room.

“Escort our consultant to the main gate,” the Empress instructed. “She is to be granted unrestricted access henceforth. See that all patrols are informed.”

The guard bowed. “As you command, Your Majesty.” He turned to Su Yao. “This way, Consultant.”

Silence followed their passage through the pristine corridors. The head guard stopped at the threshold and gestured toward the gate. It swung open a moment later. Beyond it, the morning sun spilled across the plaza.

“The Empress’s word is law,” the head guard said. “You’re free to come and go. Do you require transport?”

Su Yao shook her head. “That won’t be necessary.” She stepped past him, crossing from the ordered silence of the precinct back into the city.

SoI have a new employer. Su Yao walked away. A more powerful one, with more interesting problems.

Su Yao pulled out her phone. Zhang Wei would need an update, though she suspected he already knew. The archives and the Empress’s favors were now within her reach. For now, the transaction was acceptable.

She dialed his number, already filing away the events in the sealed guest room as an unorthodox job interview.