I let them gather first.
The day after the meeting at the Palace, the day after I had been handed everything, I woke up early and got to work.
No announcement, no warning—just a direct order sent down the chain: All staff assigned to the Crown Princess's eastern wing are to report to the inner courtyard. Immediately.
By the time I stepped outside with Shi Yaozu, fifty pairs of eyes were already waiting.
They didn't bow at first. Not properly. A few maids dropped shallow curtsies. Some of the older stewards kept their hands folded, staring at the ground like this was another tedious formality. They were expecting me to say something about the banquet. Or linens. Or maybe assign flower arrangements.
They thought I'd sit behind silk, drink sweet tea, and blink pretty.
Pity.
