The smooth tiles of the royal hall reflected warm light as Prince Cheng walked with steady steps. Behind him walked Yizé, silent and watchful, a loyal guard dressed in ceremonial armor.
But Cheng's thoughts were far louder than his footsteps.
"You will undertake a special mission," the Emperor had said, earlier that day. "One that may decide whether the blood of emperors still runs strong in you... or has gone stale."
A test. That was what it was called. But Cheng had seen the glint in his father's eye, and it gave him no comfort, no sign of hope.
This was no mission. It was exile wrapped in fancy words.
He could not refuse. Even if refusal were offered to him on a golden plate. That was the truth of being born to power, you were never its master, only its vessel.
The great doors to his private chambers slid open with a resonant creak. Yizé held them briefly, his eyes scanning, then stepped inside behind his lord.
Cheng let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and crossed the room to his seat, lowering himself into it.
"Yizé," he said at last, his voice was low and cool.
The bodyguard turned, being ever wordless until spoken to.
"Make preparations. I leave the palace tonight."
Yizé's brow twitched, "Where are we bound, your highness?"
Cheng kept him quiet for a while, he rubbed the side of his temple, aiming to ease the tightness in his skull.
"Kǔ Hǎi."
Yizé tensed up. Then, like a marionette whose strings had been cut, he dropped to his knees.
"Your highness—"
"I know," Cheng said, his eyes closing, and tone almost weary. "I know what it means."
He leaned back, letting silence settle for a breath.
"But I am going anyway."
...,...
The lanterns lining the corridor burned low, casting long golden slashes across the palace floor. Mei pulled her shawl tighter as she made her way back to her chamber, the chill of the stone seeping through her slippers.
As she got closer to the servants' quarters, she heard quiet voices turn into mean laughter.
"Found with the prince, were you?" sneered one voice.
"She probably threw herself at him," said another, "Desperate little thing. Thought her pretty face would make her a consort."
Mei stopped just beyond the archway.
She spotted Yú Yúe knelt by a basin, and scrubbing linens. Her posture was calm, back straight, as if their words slid off her like rain. But Mei saw the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers clenched just a little too tightly around the cloth.
"She won't even deny it," laughed the third maid. "Of course she won't. What could she say? She is already stained."
The trio stood nearby like a flock of circling crows, then one of them—Lian, the boldest and most poisonous of the lot stepped forward slowly.
"Since you're so fond of scandal, perhaps you should start from the dirt," she said coolly.
Before Yú Yúe could act, Lian tipped the edge of the basin with her slippered foot. Water sloshed, then spilled entirely, soaking the freshly cleaned clothes and pooling around Yú Yúe's knees.
A sharp silence followed.
Mei's hand tightened around the rolled fabric of her sleeve. She stepped forward without a word and seized Lian's wrist, yanking her back from the basin.
The sudden touch startled the maid.
Lian gasped, her eyes wide at the sudden contact and her mouth parting in shock. But when she saw who it was, her surprise shifted to scorn. She wrenched her wrist free and stepped back with a mocking tilt of her chin.
"Oh," she scoffed. "What, come to play protector now?"
Mei's voice was calm, but her eyes were cold. "Are you all so jobless that the only joy you find is in tormenting someone else?"
The maids exchanged glances, then the one on the left, Min crossed her arms and stepped forward with a smirk. "We do not need to answer to you. Just because you follow the young master around like a lost little doll does not mean you are in charge."
The words struck mei like a slap.
"Excuse me?"
But the maid only tilted her head with false sweetness. "If you were not so obvious, we would not be talking, would we?"
The third maid, Qiao, the soft-voiced one who always pretended innocent stepped forward, emboldened by min's defiance, "That is right."
"We all have eyes, don't we? We see everything. No use pretending. It's obvious you want his attention. Hoping he will take pity, favor you, maybe even make you a concubine."
Yú Yúe rose from the ground in one swift motion, with her damp skirts clinging to her knees, her fists clenched, and nails biting into her palms.
"Shut your mouth!" she snapped, the power behind her voice shocking even herself. "Stop spreading your filth!"
"You're all disgusting—spreading lies like spoiled children!"
The sting of Yú Yúe's words had barely settled when Lian curled her lip and snapped, "You dare speak back? You—who was found sneaking around with Prince Xuan like a concubine in heat? You have no right to defend anyone, especially not her."
Yú Yúe's face flushed, as she stood trembling with anger.
Mei stepped in quietly, "If it were so easy," she began, her voice was like glass beneath velvet, "then how is it that after all your years crawling under the skirts of the palace, not one man, much less a prince has spared you so much as a glance?"
The courtyard fell deathly silent.
Qiao's face twisted in fury. "How dare you—"
"It is just obvious," Yú Yúe cut in sharply, her eyes hard now. "If it was not, Mei would not have noticed it either."
That struck deep.
Lian snarled, stepping forward in anger. "You insolent little snake," she hissed. "You will regret saying that—!"
She raised her hand to strike but Mei moved faster than thought, stepping between them like a gust of wind. Her palm cracked across Lian's cheek with a sharp, echoing slap that rang through the air like a bell of judgment.
Lian stumbled backward, her head snapping to the side. She landed hard on her rear at the feet of her stunned companions.
No one moved. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Lian, still cradling her cheek where Mei's hand had landed, glared through stinging eyes. "You think you can abuse your martial skills on helpless people just because you were trained in combat?" she spat, her voice trembling with humiliation.
Mei raised an eyebrow, calm and unfazed. "That slap must have jogged something loose in your brain" she said coolly. "Because if I had waste even an ounce of martial skill on you, you would not be standing right now."
Lian opened her mouth, but Qiao beside her clenched her fists, her lips twisting to form another insult. But Min tugged at her sleeve and leaned in with a hurried whisper, "Don't be stupid, Qiao. We can't take her. She's too dangerous, If she really wanted to hurt us, we'd already be on the ground."
Qiao bit her tongue, her jaw clenching with swallowed rage. Her eyes flickered between Mei's expressionless face and the storm boiling behind her eyes, then she turned her face aside and stayed quiet.
Mei straightened, brushing her hands together as if dusting off something filthy, then glanced over the three of them, "Now" she said, "Why don't you disappear while I'm still in a merciful mood. Unless you want to help me demonstrate what my martial skills really look like."
Lian seethed, but her pride held her upright. She turned to Yú Yúe, venom flashing in her eyes. "This is not over," she hissed.
As she turned to storm off, Mei's voice stopped her mid-step. "Hey!"
They turned.
"Pick up the clothes."
"What?" Lian spat.
Mei pointed at the soaked, dirtied laundry still scattered across the stones. "You threw it. You will rinse it and return it to the basin. Now."
The three maids stood motionless.
Qiao turned her head slightly. "That's not our responsibili—"
Mei took one silent, deliberate step forward. Her hands remained at her sides, but her glare was like the tip of a sword pressed just beneath their skin.
That was all it took.
Min, the most frightened of the trio, broke first. She rushed forward without another word, dropped to her knees and gathered the wet clothes, rinsing them in the nearby trough. The water splashed and ran over her hands as she worked shakingly in silence under Mei's icy stare. One by one, she placed the cleaned garments back into the basin.
The other two stood stiff with fury, but said nothing more. Their pride wouldn't allow them to kneel, but neither would their fear let them act.
When Min was finished, she stood quickly and walked back to the others.
The three turned, defeated, and walked away, their backs straight, heads held high, but their pace just a little too quick.
Mei watched until they vanished around the corridor, then finally turned to Yú Yúe, her expression softening slightly.
"Are you alright?"
Yú Yúe nodded, her eyes still wide, and voice hushed. "Thank you… You didn't have to—"
"It is okay," Mei said simply.
...,,..
Later that evening, Mei, accompanied by Yú yúe arrived at her chamber. She looked around nervously, a strange feeling of worry creeping over her, she could not shake the feeling that someone had been messing with her things.
"Someone had been in my room," Mei said to Yú Yúe, who looked around carefully.
"But nothing looks out of place," Yú Yúe replied. "It is just the way we left it."
Everything looked normal. Still, Mei couldn't shake the feeling.
"I know it seems untouched,"
"but I feel that somehow, someone disturbed my space in my absence."
Yú Yúe frowned, looking worried. "Why do you feel that way? Everything looks normal to me."
Mei let out a quiet sigh. "I don't really know. It's more of a feeling than anything I can point to. As if the energy of the room has changed... Even though nothing seems out of place."
Yú Yúe thought for a moment before answering. "Your gut feelings are usually right. But for now, let's try not to stress about it."
Mei couldn't let it go, as she walked around the room, an idea came to her... a way to check. "Yú Yúe, could you get me some water? I am a bit thirsty."
"Sure," Yú Yúe said, then left the room quickly.
Mei knelt by her bed, pulled up the loose floorboard under the bed, and looked inside.
The scroll was still there, wrapped just as she had left it. She exhaled in relief. Whatever had disturbed her room, at least the most important thing was safe.
Then she searched further, inspecting every drawer and surface for signs an intruder had been there. But all seemed in proper order.
Frustrated, Mei sat on the bed, trying to figure out why she was so sure someone had broken in.
Was she just being paranoid?
If nothing was stolen, then what had they been looking for? She thought hard but could not come up with a reason for someone to sneak around without leaving a trace.
She recalled the intruder in Cheng's chambers. Could it have been the same person? How had they even gotten into the royal palace without being seen? And what would they want from Cheng's private quarters?
There was something strangely familiar about the person's presence, it tugged at her memory, but she couldn't place it. Who could move so quickly and quietly?
More questions filled her mind as she replayed the moment, searching for any detail she might have missed.
Yú Yúe returned shortly after with a jug of water and poured Mei a cup. Gently, she urged her to lie back, then she took Mei's leg and placed it on her lap, her fingers working into the tense muscles.
Mei let out a quiet exhale, the touch grounding her for a moment.
"I'm going to be leaving the palace soon," mei said softly. "There is something important I have to do, and I do not know how long I will be gone."
Yú Yúe looked up in surprise, but did not interrupt.
"While I am away," Mei continued, "please stay away from those girls from earlier. Just... take care of yourself until I get back."
Yú Yúe gave a small smile, her hands never stopping. "You do not need to worry about me,"
"I have been surviving on my own long before we met."