It was replaced instantly by a sensation that it rivaled the physical pain of compressing her internal meridians.

It was the dreaded horror of a "Vulnerability Hangover."

’Oh, my, god,’ Ji’an’s internal monologue shrieked, a frantic, red-alert siren blaring in her mind as she remained frozen on one knee. ’What did I just do? Why did I do that?! I just trauma-dumped via interpretive sword dance in front of the entire imperial court! I poured my alien angst out onto the polished mahogany floor like spilled soup! I acted like an edgy, misunderstood teenager in a coming-of-age drama!’

A hot, prickly flush of shame crept up her neck, setting the tips of her ears on fire.

She was supposed to be the arrogant, untouchable Head Chef of the Drunken Peak!

She was the Martial Uncle who threatened princes with spatulas and extorted millions of spirit stones from black market syndicates!

Her entire survival strategy was built on projecting an aura of completely unbothered and lethal superiority.

Instead, she had just put on a tragic, weeping, emotionally raw display that practically screamed, ’I have deep, unresolved psychological issues, please pity me!’

’I want to die,’ Ji’an thought fervently, staring fixedly at a knot in the floorboards. ’I want to crawl under this table, dig a hole through the bedrock, and bury myself in the earth’s mantle. I bet Master felt this exact way every time he woke up sober. This is so humiliating!’

She slowly pushed herself up from the floor, her face burning.

She refused to look at Lin Feng, who was still standing close, and radiating that heavy aura.

She handed the ceremonial silver sword back to the trembling palace guard, who looked at her as if she were a minor deity of sorrow.

Ji’an hastily wiped the lingering moisture from her eyes with her pristine white sleeve, clearing her throat and trying to reassemble her shattered, arrogant facade.

She turned her head, intending to cast a cool, dismissive glare over the crowd to reestablish dominance.

But as her silver-flecked eyes swept over the lower tiers of the banquet hall, specifically the tables occupied by the unmarried noble daughters and young ladies of the court, her heart executed a stuttering halt.

The noble girls were not weeping in sorrow anymore.

They were not looking at Lin Feng with the standard, feral, maidenly swooning that usually accompanied the Vanguard Commander’s presence.

They were looking at both of them.

And the look in their eyes was not normal.

It was a look Ji’an recognized with chilling, absolute clarity from her previous life on Earth.

She had a college roommate who collected hundreds of BL (Boys’ Love) manga and web novels.

Whenever her roommate had discovered a new, highly toxic, angst-ridden pairing, her eyes would take on a specific, manic, terrifyingly intense glow.

Ji’an stared at the noblewomen.

They had their silk folding fans snapped open, covering the lower halves of their faces.

But above the painted silk rims, their eyes were sparkling like supernovas.

They were leaning into each other, whispering frantically, their gazes darting rapidly from the towering, stoic, dark-clad Vanguard Commander to the slender, tragic, white-robed "younger brother."

"Did you see the way he looked at him?" Ji’an’s enhanced cultivator hearing picked up a hushed, breathless whisper from a duke’s daughter three tables away. "The height difference... the shared trauma... the protective flute accompaniment! It’s too tragic! It’s too beautiful!"

"The Commander didn’t even look at the Princesses," another girl hissed, practically vibrating out of her seat. "He only has eyes for the Martial Uncle! Ah, the forbidden, unspoken bond of brothers scarred by the world! I am going to write a poem about this tonight. No, a novel!"

Ji’an’s jaw dropped. The color completely drained from her flushed face, leaving her a sickly, horrified shade of pale.

’No,’ Ji’an’s mind flatlined. ’No, no, no, no. The universe cannot do this to me. The plot is already trying to kill me with sociopathic princes and yandere ice demons! Now the background NPCs are shipping me with my own brother?!’

It was a nightmare scenario.

The Azure Empire’s high society had just spontaneously experienced a mass "fujoshi" awakening, and Lin Ji’an and Lin Feng were the unfortunate, non-consenting centerpieces of their new obsession.

’I am ruining the Lin family reputation,’ Ji’an panicked, taking a desperate step backward. ’I need to leave. I need to get out of this room before someone starts painting scandalous fan art on a scroll and selling it in the capital markets!’

"Your Majesty," Lin Feng’s deep, resonant voice suddenly boomed across the hall, effortlessly cutting through the applause and the frantic whispering.

The Vanguard Commander turned toward the Imperial Dais, offering a flawless, crisp military bow.

His demeanor was entirely composed, a perfect mask of stoic duty that completely hid the intense fire Ji’an had just seen in his eyes.

"The Vanguard is honored by the Empire’s grace," Lin Feng declared smoothly. "However, the journey from the Northern Barrens has been long, and my younger brother and I have been separated for years. If His Majesty permits... I would request to withdraw from the main hall for the remainder of the evening, that we might share some quiet, family time."

The Emperor, completely enchanted by the performance and slightly drunk on premium spirit-wine, waved his hand with a benevolent, booming laugh.

"Granted, Commander! Family is the bedrock of the Empire! Go! Share your wine! Reconnect! The court shall continue the celebrations in your honor!"

Ji’an’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

’Family time?!’ her internal alarms shrieked. ’A private, quiet conversation with the man who might kill me at any time, given the truth?! Absolutely not!’

Ji’an didn’t wait for Lin Feng to turn back around; she didn’t wait to be dismissed.

Instead, she channeled her Qi directly into her legs.

She wasn’t aiming for an elegant exit; she was aiming for an undignified sprint!

That’s right, she was preparing to run for her life! No bargain!