I would stay invisible for now.
But shadows in the palace always moves faster than you expected.
Before the sun reached noon, Chun'er returned to inform me, pale and breathless, that I'd been summoned.
"Eunuch Cheng wants to see you, miss. At the Hall of Cherry Seals."
Of course he did.
Eunuch Cheng. Heh….I remembered him clearly. He served under the Office of Inner Harmony—a slender man with white sleeves always too crisp, and a mouth like a hidden knife in silk.
In my previous life, he'd bowed to me out of fear and respect.
Thus time I would bow to him.
So be it, I would even lick his shoes if it means I'd get my revenge.
The garments I decided to dress in were plain peach cotton, the kind worn by nameless girls gifted to the palace as political tokens. My sash was wrinkled and hairpiece crooked.
I did not correct neither.
Let them see a girl with no claws.
The Hall of Cherry Seals was tucked beside the inner archive. A palace where the eunuchs sorted documents, managed concubine rosters, rotated schedules, and whispered about women like items on an auction list.
As soon as I stepped inside the corridor, I smelled ink and sandalwood—Eunuch Cheng's signature scent.
He did not look up from the scroll he was reading.
"You're Yue Zhenzhen," he said blandly. "The one from the He family."
I bowed. "Yes, Your Grace."
He made a vague sound of acknowledgment. "You were brought in last week and haven't collapsed from nerves or run away yet. Congratulations."
I said nothing. My hands remained clasped in front of me, fingers still.
He set down the scroll, eyes sliding toward me like a knife dragging across paper. "I'm only bothering to speak to you now because His Majesty has returned. That means the entire Lotus Pavilion must be… presentable."
I inclined my head. "Of course."
His lips twitched—amusement or irritation, I couldn't tell.
"You'll stay silent. Stay clean. And if you're summoned, you will not talk too much. No clever ideas. The last girl who spoke out of turn was sent home wrapped in a sheet and labeled 'ill from homesickness.' Do you understand me?"
Perfectly.
"Yes, Your Grace."
"And remember this—His Majesty is not in a generous mood," he added, adjusting his sleeves. "He's brought back half a battalion of northern filth and a new scar on his sword arm. Do not think to impress him. Just survive.
I glanced down, lips trembling slightly—artfully. "I would never presume."
He stared at me for a long moment, then waved a hand.
"Go."
I bowed slowly and humble, then turned and left.
But in my mind, I already knew what I came for from his own lips.
The emperor had been injured. That meant his aura of invincibility was cracked—just slightly. His temper will be foul and his attention will be narrowed. He would seek quietness, not beauty. Peace and not spectacle.
I could give him neither of those.But I could give him something better:
Dissonance.
A soft voice in a room full of shouting.A mystery in a palace built on routines
Someone who felt wrong in a way he couldn't quite place.
Someone he'd killed once before, but….he won't figure that out until I'm through with him.