After moving into the Northern Princess's palace, Yang Yulan was deeply anxious. On the first night, she paced her room for hours, trying to devise a sensible escape plan. Everything seemed futile. Any rash move on her part could cost someone from the White Lotus Pavilion their life. Yang Yulan despised these people, but she didn't want anyone to get into trouble because of her.
The next morning, after a sleepless night, the girl barely managed to get out of bed. Her head was pounding. A sleepy haze clouded her eyes. Her recently injured leg also made itself known. The pain was comparable to hellish torture.
Yang Yulan waited in her room for a while. She couldn't hear anything. Then she plopped back down onto the bed.
«Maybe someone will call me for breakfast soon? Or give me some sort of task?»
Unable to sit still any longer, Yang Yulan tossed a couple of herb leaves from her pouch into her mouth, carefully opened the door, and left her room. Limping and grimacing in pain, she shuffled through the countless corridors, constantly bumping into the curious glances of the local servants. Strangely enough, there were very few staff in the palace. Of course, Yang Yulan had nothing to compare it to. But if the number of servants here was the same as in her pavilion, it was reason to be wary.
It seemed to Yang Yulan she was going in the right direction. The smell of food was getting closer and closer.
«I see you're already awake.»
The girl in black robes, who always followed Shin Zuzhou, suddenly appeared behind Yang Yulan. Hearing her voice, Yang Yulan almost jumped in fright.
«Why do that? Just to scare people?»
«Her Highness summons you to her presence.»
«Now?»
The girl in black didn't answer that question.
«Does she have some business with me?»
«Just follow me.»
«And stop asking so many questions. They're pointless.»
Xin led Yang Yulan to the required room and, approaching the door, knocked.
«Your Highness, I've brought... brought that boy.»
«Let him enter.»
The door in front of Yang Yulan opened immediately, and a beam of light struck her eyes. When her eyes finally managed to focus, the girl's pupils trembled slightly. She involuntarily took a deep breath at the sight.
Shin Zuzhou was lying on a large sofa wearing only a robe. One side of it had slipped down slightly, offering a view of her snow-white left shoulder and collarbone. Her posture was quite relaxed, yet it still evoked a certain unease. Yang Yulan couldn't shake the feeling that she was in a room with a bloodthirsty beast. As if this snow-white creature was sizing her up, ready to tear her to pieces within the next few seconds.
A pitiful squeak came from the side. It was the forest spirit. It sat in a small cage in the corner of the room, still bound hand and foot. It was happy to see its friend and immediately tried to get her attention.
Yang Yulan's face darkened. She might have seemed emotionless because of the mask, but the whitened knuckles of her clenched fists gave her away. She glanced again at the girl in front of her and, unexpectedly to herself, became intensely angry.
«How long has she been keeping him like this? There's not a drop of pity for other living beings in her. A true villainess.»
It's worth noting that until this moment, Yang Yulan was still terribly frightened by the situation. Her wounded leg ached at the mere thought of a conflict with Shin Zuzhou. However, the state of her little friend turned her current attitude on its head. Now Yang Yulan was not only frightened but also enraged.
«Why did you summon me?» the girl spat out contemptuously.
Shin Zuzhou stared at her for a while with a piercing gaze.
«Just to make sure you're still here,» Shin Zuzhou smiled lightly, but there was no hint of joy in her eyes.
«Where could I possibly go, Your Highness?» Yang Yulan replied in the same tone.
«Who knows? You're an escape artist, after all.»
«Come closer,» the princess commanded, and her guest immediately obeyed.
«Closer.»
Yang Yulan shook her head in indignation and approached the sofa, looming over it like a mountain.
«Tell me, what's stopping me from ripping off that ridiculous mask of yours right now and ending this whole charade?»
Yang Yulan froze upon hearing the question but didn't rise to the provocation. She decided to think seriously.
«Perhaps the promise you made to the First Prince? You told him you would take care of me.»
«Seeing your face and knowing your name could also be part of taking care of you.»
«If you see my face, you could find and kill me later. That's still not in my favor.»
«You forget, fool. I can do that anyway.»
Yang Yulan smiled.
«But then the First Prince would be angry. I am, after all, his close friend.»
It was an outright bluff. But it wasn't so hard to believe, given Yang Yusheng's attitude towards her.
«Haha, you think I'm afraid of that blockhead?»
«No. But I don't think you would recklessly ruin relations with a member of the imperial family.»
Shin Zuzhou was amused by such an answer. She didn't deny it.
«Fine. You're right, it's truly not in my interest.»
«I also communicate with the First Prince,» Yang Yulan continued. She tried to speak evasively to avoid being caught in an outright lie. «Compared to you, our connection with him is... closer.»
«Aha. Familial.»
Shin Zuzhou looked carefully at the person before her and frowned.
«Are you threatening me?»
«Not at all. I'm merely answering your question, Your Highness.»
The Northern Princess signaled to her bodyguard. She immediately escorted the masked boy from the room.
Before the door closed, Yang Yulan heard an order:
«Set the table. This fish-head will be having breakfast with me.»
Yang Yulan didn't object. In fact, by this point, a brilliant plan had already formed in her head.
If she couldn't leave this palace of her own will, she would achieve being kicked out of here headfirst.
«She can't kill me yet,» the girl thought to herself, returning to her room. «After all, she's not sure about my connections to the imperial family. In that case, I'll make her interest in me change into a desire to get rid of me as soon as possible.»
Breakfast time arrived. Shin Zuzhou was already sitting at the set table, waiting for her guest. Yang Yulan entered the dining hall with her head held high. She sat in the offered seat and glanced at the stone-faced girl sitting directly across from her.
«Bon appétit!» Yang Yulan announced and, lifting her mask slightly, grabbed and tossed away the forks and wooden chopsticks.
Shin Zuzhou initially tried to ignore his behavior, but he seemed to be trying very hard to get her attention.
Yang Yulan devoured the food as if she hadn't eaten in years. Grabbing the large chicken lying in the middle of the table with both hands, she tore off a good half of the breast and, smacking her lips, shamelessly wolfed it down. The same fate befell the salads, whose ingredients were now scattered all over the table, and the rice, which stuck to the girl's hands and face.
«Observe the rules of decency,» Shin Zuzhou couldn't help but comment.
«What?» Yang Yulan mumbled with her mouth full. «It's more comfortable for me to eat this way. You said you'd take care of my comfort.»
«She invited me to eat with her herself. Now reap the consequences of your thoughtless actions,» Yang Yulan chuckled maliciously to herself.
Shin Zuzhou's eyes filled with blood. She had never in her life seen anyone more uncouth. She could assume this fool was raised not by people, but by animals. For a person who had dedicated her entire life to the laws of propriety and etiquette, it was even harder for Shin Zuzhou to bear such ignorance. She managed to contain her anger until the end of the meal, but as she left the dining room and headed to her chambers, her right eye began to twitch nervously from stress.
From that day on, every day for Shin Zuzhou became a day of irritating surprises. And all because of one specific person.
One day, Yang Yulan decided to shoot a homemade wooden bow. She ran around the palace all day like a madwoman and then "accidentally" smashed all the porcelain in the main hall.
«Oops. I hope there wasn't anything important here.»
Yang Yulan looked pitifully at the princess who had come to sort things out. She merely ordered the servants to clean up.
On another day, Yang Yulan convinced the palace servants of her importance and thus begged a whole orchestra's worth of musical instruments from them.
«Let's begin!»
After these words, a bunch of unfortunate servants, who had fallen victim to her plan and were carefully selected by her for their musical abilities – or rather, the lack thereof –began their performance right under the windows of Shin Cuizhou's study. She had just started reading a book and almost tore it from the sudden noise.
«Quiet them down,» Shin Zuzhou ordered, and Xin hurried to disperse the gathered servants to restore order in the palace. However, Yang Yulan tortured her poorly tuned flute for a long time afterwards, moving with it from window to window, depending on where Shin Zuzhou relocated.
«One more sound,» the enraged princess shouted from the window, «and I'll turn your beloved spirit into mincemeat.»
At that, Yang Yulan finally backed down, but she wasn't planning to give up yet.
Next to the Northern Princess's palace was a small but surprisingly elegant garden. Green vines wound around ancient trees there, creating soft shaded corners. Beautiful wooden pavilions were adorned with woven patterns and lovely tassels made of late autumn flowers. On the dark green grass in this garden sat a large black bird. It was pensively pecking at the ground. Yang Yulan slowly approached it and crouched down nearby.
«Looking for something?»
The bird spread its wings wide in surprise.
«Well, well. I managed it too.»
«I know you're a smart bird. You clearly understand everything I'm saying.»
No expected reaction to her words followed.
«Listen, I have a proposal for you.»
The spirit gave the girl a skeptical look and spread its wings to fly away.
«Wait, wait!! You're hungry, right? Looking for food?»
The bird stopped and looked at the girl next to it again, giving her a chance to continue her speech.
«Saw that little beast in the cage? You couldn't catch it last time.»
«I bet your mistress ordered you not to touch it. But listen, when will you get another chance to catch a spirit and have a proper meal? In ten years? Twenty? Are you willing to wait that long? Especially when your dinner is tied up and defenseless.»
Yang Yulan was ready to swear she heard the bird's stomach rumble at that moment.
«I understand you very well. I also love to eat. And I was planning to cook that little beast too. But this time, I can generously give it to you. I'm sure the princess doesn't need that beast at all.»
The spirit suspiciously stared its button-like eyes at the girl.
«Use your bird brain. If you steal that beast, will Shin Zuzhou even know it was you? You can blame it on me.»
«Don't listen if you don't want to. What do I care? I can annoy Shin Zuzhou in other ways. This is just a mutually beneficial offer. Anyway, if you decide to, steal it tonight. Then tomorrow morning I can take the blame.»
The bird turned away from the girl and retreated into itself.
«The keys are on the dressing table in her bedroom. If nothing's changed, you'll find it easily.»
Without another word, Yang Yulan stood up from the ground and walked back to the palace.
The bird stood in place for a while longer, then, flapping its wings, flew off in an unknown direction.
That same evening, Yang Yulan slipped out of her room and went to the outer wall of Shin Zuzhou's room. Hiding in the bushes, Yang Yulan pulled an object from her bosom. At first glance, it was hard to understand what it was, but looking closer, one could see it was a crudely made homemade slingshot.
Yang Yulan waited a very long time, hoping the bird she had instigated in the morning would think it over and make the right decision.
Somewhere closer to midnight, a rustling was heard. A window creaked. A bird's beak appeared from it, then its whole head.
Yang Yulan crouched down and hid behind the foliage.
The bird carefully took a step outside and flapped its wings. It had often flown away in the middle of the night before, so it wasn't afraid of being caught stealing. The main thing was to leave the window open, so later it could blame it on forgetfulness. Yes, exactly, it would just forget to close the window, and the stupid fish would supposedly use this chance to steal its beast.
In any case, the risk was worth it. It really had been hungry for too long. It needed strength to protect its mistress.
Yang Yulan bided her moment and, aiming at the spirit, shot from the slingshot the moment it flew upwards. The stone flew in a straight line, constantly accelerating in the process, and with a characteristic sound hit the legs of the unsuspecting bird. The little beast in its claws finally broke free and flew downward, but before hitting the ground, was caught in the arms of Yang Yulan, who had arrived just in time.
Realizing it had been betrayed, the bird immediately hastened to punish the offender. It began vigorously flapping its large wings, gathering strength, and then fired.
«IT CAN BREATHE FIRE!?»
The Spirit of Death was named that for a reason. This monster could create fireballs of immense power with a flap of its wings and kill countless people with one shot.
Yang Yulan hurriedly picked up her little beast, ordered it to be quiet so as not to reveal their location, untied it, and ran further into the greenery.
This time, the little creature didn't hide, as it had done before. It truly regretted its actions and was willing to sacrifice its own safety to help its savior.
While Yang Yulan took cover from the bird in the thickets of shrubs, the little spirit showed the girl escape routes. It was a master at this. Thanks to it, Yang Yulan successfully avoided the enraged bird's attacks and safely returned to the palace.
For its part, the Spirit of Death would not tolerate such treatment. It immediately hurried to report to its mistress what had happened. However, Shin Zuzhou was already awakened by its fiery explosions.
Yang Yulan had just barely made it back to her room when someone stormed in furiously.
«You!» Shin Zuzhou pointed a finger at her, boiling with anger.
«What?» Yang Yulan fearfully clutched the gray little beast in her hands.
«How dare you touch my things!»
«What are you talking about? I merely took back what you stole from me.»
Wrinkles appeared on Shin Zuzhou's forehead. She knew that now catching the forest spirit was impossible, and she screamed furiously:
«How did you even get into my chambers? I can detect if someone has broken in even in the deepest sleep. What powers are you using? What are you hiding?»
«Ask your bird that,» Yang Yulan retorted offendedly. Shin Zuzhou glanced at her spirit; it shook its head uncomprehendingly.
«It wouldn't help you. I would trust it even with my life.»
At the last words, the black bird suddenly lowered its head guiltily.
«In that case, you should reconsider your beliefs about light sleep,» Yang Yulan merely snapped and stood like a post, not uttering another word.
Shin Zuzhou had a headache all day because of this person. Now, on top of everything, she was also very sleepy. She had no choice but to leave the quarters of her detested guest.
She threw one warning look at the boy and, angrily slamming the door behind her, left his rooms.
Walking down the long corridor, Shin Zuzhou began devising a plan of destruction. Her patience had officially run out! She was sure that in the very near future, she would finally chop this vile fish-head into fish sticks and eat them, washing them down with bloody juice.