Xin stood in the shadow of a sprawling willow, as still as a stone statue. Her piercing gaze was fixed on two figures on the training ground in a distant corner of the garden. Her mistress, Shin Zuzhou, and that mysterious masked man were together again.
The last few days had been shrouded in a veil of strangeness, each one making Xin more and more wary. That morning, their residence had been honored by a visit from a servant of the main palace – that alone was an event out of the ordinary. However, instead of addressing the mistress directly, he whispered something to the masked man. After her meticulous interrogation, the servant awkwardly confessed that the stranger had merely acted as an intermediary to deliver a message to her mistress. Too convenient and polished an excuse.
Perhaps this enigmatic masked man was working for the envoys from Northern Bei? Or was he a secret agent of someone in the imperial family? Without a moment's delay, Xin hastened to share her troubling suspicions with her mistress. But she, after listening, only laughed playfully, and that carefree, almost frivolous sound completely threw the loyal bodyguard off balance.
Her princess had also become very strange. Always cold and composed, like a honed blade, she completely changed in his presence. On her face, instead of the usual mask of indifference, unexpected emotions flickered from time to time. A fleeting irritation when something didn't work and the boy teased her again. Or, what was utterly unthinkable, a slight smile when this insolent masked man whispered something clearly vulgar in her ear.
Her powers were changing too. After numerous training sessions with this man, she had learned not just to spew flames as she used to in fits of rage. Now her movements more resembled a dance. Smooth, rounded sweeps of her arms resembled the weaving of an invisible web and directed the fiery energy with unprecedented precision.
On other days, they didn't train at all. Xin would find them sitting in the pavilion, surrounded by piles of scrolls. They would argue animatedly about something, and her mistress, who usually interrupted anyone mid-sentence, would listen attentively to his lengthy speeches about some fictional stories and their heroes.
Xin helplessly clenched her fists. She followed them everywhere, watching their forced idyll from under her brows. She knew that at some point this man would show his true self. And when that moment came, she would be ready.
She couldn't trust him. His motives remained as murky as ever. What was he planning? What was his goal? Why did he need the princess? He had wormed his way into her trust, becoming almost a shadow of her mistress. And she seemed to have already forgotten that his original purpose was to "help win the prince" – an endeavor that, as expected, had ended in complete failure.
Now their carefree fun was doing nothing to ease the strained relations with the imperial family, but Xin couldn't simply reproach her mistress for that. So all she could do was glare at them maliciously and pray that the princess would come to her senses and throw the stranger out of the palace.
***
Yang Yulan nervously tugged at the edge of her robe, examining the exquisite jade tablet bearing a summons to the palace. It had been delivered secretly, through the back gates, with an order not to tell anyone, especially Shin Zuzhou.
«What does she want from me now?» she thought feverishly. «The Empress, of course, knows of my existence. The whole palace gossips about the 'mysterious masked man' having an affair with the Northern Princess.»
The thought unexpectedly spread warmth through her body.
«No,» she decided. «Going now is too dangerous. I need to wait, to gauge the Empress's mood.»
She hid the tablet in a secret pocket and tried to push away her anxious thoughts.
However, besides the unexpected order from the Empress, she was also troubled by the main characters' sluggishness. Yang Jinlong and Mei Baijie were still only preparing for their campaign. In the novel, it took a couple of paragraphs; in reality, weeks had passed.
«Timeskip, where are you when I need you?» Yang Yulan thought wistfully.
On the other hand, this delay had given her so many days spent with Shin Zuzhou. Over the past time, Yang Yulan had noted with horror how much she had grown accustomed to the princess's presence. In the near future, such habits promised her nothing good.
The only good thing in all this was how much the girl had begun to change. Yang Yulan desperately wanted to believe that her influence would have a positive effect on Shin Zuzhou and that she would not meet the fate described in the book.
Yang Yulan stretched out on the couch and glanced at the princess, who was working on some papers at that moment. She always had some business. Her entire desk was littered with letters and invitations. Yang Yulan noticed the book she had given her on the shelf behind Shin Zuzhou and secretly admired how carefully it was kept. It clearly hadn't been opened yet, but dust was certainly being blown off it.
Yang Yulan pushed aside her sentimental thoughts. Now she needed to focus on survival. She tossed and turned on the velvet couch for another couple of hours, then, on the princess's advice, decided to return to her room to sleep.
Grabbing a couple of "treats" for her pet, which Shin Zuzhou had kindly prepared for her, Yang Yulan strode out of the room, not noticing the intent gaze that followed her to the very exit.
Walking through the narrow corridors and out into the inner courtyard, Yang Yulan tightened her outer garments and rubbed her frozen hands together. The wind mercilessly beat against her mask and chilled her frail body. On such cold days, Yang Yulan increasingly regretted not being in her own world.
She walked under the gray, bare trees and, distracted by the scurrying servants preparing for the downpour, again lost herself in her thoughts.
Yang Yulan entered her cold room, mechanically lit the hearth with a familiar gesture, and sat on the mat, watching the dancing flames. Little Bell nestled on her lap, filling the silence with his quiet breathing.
The warmth from the fire warmed her skin but couldn't banish the inner cold. This world, so vivid and cruel, still felt like a stranger's dream. And she herself was a ghost here, a foreign soul in a foreign body.
On days like this, when her weak body ached with cold and her scars and injuries burned like fresh cuts, she couldn't help but remember their original owner.
«Who were you, Yang Yulan?» For the first time in a long while, she asked herself this question not from a survival perspective but with genuine curiosity. «What did you love? What did you dream of? Maybe you had a favorite flower or a secret weakness for sweets? Maybe, before your madness, you, like me, loved hearty meals? Maybe you were never crazy at all?»
She knew no more about her than about the other cardboard characters described in the book: "amusing madwoman," "secondary antagonist," "envious brother," "jealous bride." That was all. Nothing real. She lived in this person's body, used her name, but didn't know her. She interacted with heroes who behaved as if they were alive. And that was even unsettling.
«Winter.» Her thoughts returned to the surrounding reality. «Next winter, if the book is to be believed, everything will end. With the heroes' victory, a wedding, a happy ending.»
And then, like a blow to the head, a simple thought struck her.
«Then Shin Zuzhou will die.»
Yang Yulan shook her head.
«No, she won't.»
After reading the book, the villainess's death had left nothing but a small pang of regret in Yang Yulan's soul. Now, this thought made her nauseous. Because the Shin Zuzhou she knew wasn't just a "villainess." She was hot-tempered, arrogant, dangerous—but alive. She pouted childishly when she couldn't control the flames and sparks accidentally singed her hair. She laughed that happy, carefree laugh when they fled from that wretched goat. She looked at her with a warm, studying gaze full of unspoken things. She was too alive to be just a line in this story.
«I will change her ending. I must.»
But to change one fate, she had to go through another.
And then, finally, from the depths of her memory surfaced that same oppressive knowledge she had unconsciously tried to forget.
«Another death, but not as important. Or has something changed?»
When the fire died out, the girl tossed a handful of nuts from a pouch on the table into her mouth and lay down in bed, wrapping herself in many layers of woolen blankets. Little Bell settled right by her face. Sleep wouldn't come. She gently smoothed her friend's shiny fur.
Suddenly, Little Bell raised his head. His ears perked up, his little body tensed. A faint, almost inaudible scraping at the door made both him and Yang Yulan freeze.
«Could it be...» flashed through her mind.
She mentally commanded the spirit: «Quiet. Wait.»
The door silently opened, and a tall figure in black appeared in the doorway. A shadow slipped inside, moving with practiced grace.
Yang Yulan pretended to be asleep, holding her breath. She felt Little Bell preparing to pounce, his small body vibrating with concentrated energy.
The shadow took a step towards her bed. A huge, masculine hand reached for her face when the girl opened her eyes and shouted:
«Now!»
Little Bell, swift as lightning, shot from the cushion. He hovered in the air right in front of the attacker's face, his tiny chest swelling, and he let out a low but piercing whistle.
The air before him condensed, turned into an invisible ram, and with force unexpected from such a small creature, struck the uninvited guest in the chest.
He didn't even have time to cry out. He was thrown across the room, crashing into the opposite wall with a dull thud, and fell still, silently slumping to the floor.
Yang Yulan approached the unconscious body and turned it towards her with her foot. The face was unfamiliar, but the tablet with the Empress's order found in the inner pocket spoke for itself.
Little Bell, now resembling a satisfied cat, settled on her shoulder and rubbed his cheek against her mask.
«Well done,» she whispered tenderly, scratching behind his ear. «Thank you. Without you, I would have had to work a lot harder.»
She looked at the "guest." The thought of running and hiding flickered and was immediately dismissed.
The Empress had already shown interest, and retreating was too late.
If the Empress wanted to talk, well, they would talk. But on her terms. She fetched a sturdy rope and, with a businesslike air, began binding the unconscious kidnapper's hands.
«Well, my friend,» she said, tightening the knot. «Let's go introduce ourselves to your mistress.»
***
Yang Yulan roughly kicked her bound hostage forward, and he fell flat onto the stone slabs before the throne where the Empress sat. The guards on duty immediately reached for their swords, but the woman calmed them with a wave of her hand.
«Your Majesty,» Yang Yulan bowed with feigned gallantry. «My apologies for such a late visit.»
«However, your invitation,» she glanced at the "kidnapper," who had already risen from his knees and still hadn't lost his composure, «was so insistent that I decided not to delay.»
The Empress slowly folded her hands before her. Her gaze, cold and all-seeing, slid over the soiled servant, then fixed on Yang Yulan's mask.
«You have a peculiar sense of humor, young man,» she said without a hint of a smile. «And, judging by everything, no small amount of strength, since you managed to defeat one of my best warriors.»
Her gaze then caught the little beast on his shoulder.
«Although, I suspect, you had help.»
«Oh, Your Majesty, you flatter me. Forgive me for such rough handling of your man. I simply have an allergy to unsolicited night visits. I become very nervous.»
«And what made you ignore my first, far more polite, invitation?» the Empress raised an eyebrow.
«Exceptional modesty, Your Majesty! I considered my insignificant person unworthy of distracting you from state affairs.»
The Empress examined the young man before her. Deathly silence hung in the air.
«You spend a lot of time with my daughter-in-law,» she finally said. «The palaces are full of rumors. Some say you're her lover. Others that you're a spy. Still others that you're a fool seeking death.»
«I didn't know your court had such a vivid imagination,» Yang Yulan laughed nervously. «I can assure you, I'm not a spy. At least, not for those who pay less than you. And competing with the imperial treasury is simply bad form.»
«Then what is your relationship?» the Empress cut off, deliberately ignoring her clumsy attempts at humor. «It might appear that you're in some secret collusion.»
«Not at all! This humble servant merely annoys the princess out of idle curiosity. I'm an acquaintance of your son, Yang Yusheng, and I live in the palace by his order.»
«Sorry, brother. But better you than my head.»
The corner of the Empress's lips twitched. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light.
«You protect her,» she stated, and it sounded not like a question but a conclusion.
Yang Yulan froze for a moment, then seemed genuinely surprised:
«Protect? No. I'm more trying to redirect her. The princess is very stern and strict. To win His Highness the Crown Prince's attention, I give her some practical advice on conquering a man's heart. From the outside, it might have looked ambiguous.»
The Empress nodded slowly, her piercing gaze seemingly trying to burn through the mask and see the face beneath it. At that moment, Yang Yulan decided that the Empress's gaze was quite similar to Shin Zuzhou's cold one. Perhaps interacting with the Northern Princess had hardened even this woman's heart.
«Interesting,» she finally said. «Perhaps you are far more useful than I assumed. Good. I accept that your presence with the princess may have its advantages. But remember,» her voice dropped, «my eyes are always on you. If these 'tips' don't bear fruit, or you decide to make any unnecessary move against my daughter-in-law, my patience will come to an end. Is that clear?»
«Clearer than spring water on a cloudless day, Your Majesty,» Yang Yulan bowed again, this time somewhat more respectfully.
«You may go for now. I will send for you again.»
«With great pleasure. Good night, Your Majesty.»
Leaving the Empress's chambers, Yang Yulan took a deep breath. It seemed the storm had passed. For now. The Empress saw in her not only a threat but also a potentially useful ally in controlling Shin Zuzhou's temperament.
On the way back, passing through the sleeping corridors, the girl's gaze fell on the darkening pavilion in the distance where Yang Jinlong lived.
The storm was moving not only towards Yang Yulan. It was brewing on the horizon of another person's fate as well.
The girl called up the system window to confirm her suspicions but noticed a small notification she had ignored long ago.
It turned out that for the book she'd given the princess, Yang Yulan had received bonus points. Now both useless system quests were complete.
She didn't even open the message; the points from the quests still wouldn't be enough for anything worthwhile.
Instead, she opened the text of the novel. There was no mistake.
«In a couple of weeks, when the pair of heroes sets out on their campaign, Yang Yusheng will attempt to kill his brother, attributing his death to the demon battle, but will be brutally slain in the fight.»