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Yan Ziyu. 

Yun Ziyu. 

Yan Zheyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He would have to be a fool not to realise the implications of such a courtesy name just as he would have to be a thankless wretch to not place himself in Liu Yao's shoes. 

These were large shoes to fill indeed. To be a good emperor was by no means an easy task but to be a good emperor in a court determined to undo every earnest attempt at governing the country well was a colossal feat. Liu Yao couldn't afford weakness, which meant that he had to stop Yan Zheyun from turning into his weakness. 

By the time the rumours exaggerated themselves through countless retellings, all of the capital would know that the emperor's beloved concubine, the slave who had climbed the dragon bed with one sultry dance, was nothing more than a replacement for the emperor's lost love. A mere substitute to be used and discarded once His Majesty became bored or a better one was found.