The goblet tips.
Red hits silk.
A hush slams the hall.
Mingyue freezes.
Eyes snap.
"Careful," the Crown Prince says.
"Such color," he adds.
"Enough," the Consort says.
"Mingyue."
"Go change," she orders.
"Yes," Mingyue answers.
She turns.
Lantern light skates across her sleeve.
The stain drinks the silk.
Footsteps whisper.
She walks the garden path.
Water waits in a stone basin.
Moon cuts the leaves.
Xiao Mei is there.
"Why not change?" Xiao Mei asks.
"To test," Mingyue says.
She dips a fingertip.
The drop hits her tongue.
Metal claws the back of her teeth.
She swallows.
"Not wine," she says.
"Poison?" Xiao Mei whispers.
"Perhaps a disruptor," Mingyue answers.
Short.
She hides the cloth in her sleeve.
Gao watches from the gate and does not move.
He nods once and walks away.
They send Li Heng to move Xiao Mei's family from the village.
"He leaves tonight," Mingyue tells Xiao Mei.
"Good," Xiao Mei says.
They slip back to the pavilion.
Consort Li watches the hall.
"Sit," she orders when Mingyue returns.
Mingyue accepts the brush and works.
"Skilled," Zhao Kang says.
"Show us more," the Consort purrs.
A cup tips.
Red arcs across the table.
Silence cuts.
"Clumsy," a woman laughs.
"Cleanup," Consort Li says.
"Check her copies," Zhao Kang tells a eunuch.
They call the Revenues clerks.
"Bring the ledgers," Zhao Kang orders.
"Yes, Prince," the clerk bows.
Mingyue steps away.
She takes the cloth to a tiny room and breathes in.
She smells metal and sweetness.
She touches a drop to her tongue.
Bitter and metallic.
She does not cry.
Gao stands in shadow and watches.
He speaks low: "Careful."
"I am careful," Mingyue replies.
"Tomorrow I will check the jars," Consort Li's eunuch tells a clerk.
Mingyue hears it and plans.
She hides the cloth between dried herbs in a plain jar.
She tucks a forged request beneath the lid.
"Why hide it?" Xiao Mei asks.
"To force a search," Mingyue answers.
"To show whose hand moves jars."
Xiao Mei makes a small sound.
"Danger," she says.
"Then we walk into danger," Mingyue says.
Dawn is thin and cold.
Clerks assemble in the Revenues hall.
Guards line the door.
Zhao Kang arrives soft and precise.
"Open the pavilion stores," he orders.
The eunuch brings a jar.
The lid lifts.
A metal smell rises.
A clerk dips a fingertip and tastes.
His face tightens.
"What is this?" he asks.
"List the requests to the pavilion stores," Zhao Kang commands.
They bring papers.
Names run like ink through fingers.
"Find who touched this jar," Zhao Kang says.
A clerk reads marks and seals.
"A forged Lingnan mark," he says.
"Trace the seal," Zhao Kang orders.
Clerks flip pages.
A name trembles on a sheet.
"Lady Ru authorized the store request," a clerk reads.
"Bring Lady Ru," Zhao Kang orders.
She arrives with hands like silk.
"Explain," Zhao Kang says.
"It was a mistake," she murmurs.
"A clerk from Consort stores did the seal," she admits.
"Who paid him?" Zhao Kang asks.
"An eunuch handed coin," she says.
"Name him," Zhao Kang snaps.
"He left before dawn," she replies.
"Find him," Zhao Kang says.
"Search the outposts."
Gao watches by the doorway, quiet.
One clerk rubs a coin edge and frowns.
"This silver matches trader Li Heng's bag," he says.
A ripple runs across the hall.
Guards hurry out.
Li Heng bursts in, breath ragged.
"They moved," he gasps.
"I moved them safe."
"Who paid you for jars?" Zhao Kang demands.
"A woman in the east stall," Li Heng wheezes.
"A maid," he says, "small, rope scar on wrist."
Xiao Mei flinches.
Eyes flick.
Mingyue steps forward and places her palm on her scroll.
"I sent him," she says.
"I moved my family."
"Show the request," Zhao Kang says.
Mingyue presents the damp scrap from her sleeve.
Clerks lean in.
The forged mark shows clear.
"Who taught you this mark?" Zhao Kang asks.
"Ledgers," Mingyue answers.
"Who gains if the jar contains this agent?" he asks.
Mingyue meets his eyes.
"Someone who fears our names," she says, short.
Zhao Kang studies her like a balance.
"Keep her here," he orders.
"Yes, Prince," the eunuch replies.
Gao steps closer and says, "You set bait well."
"Now watch who bites," Mingyue replies.
A clerk fingers a coin.
"These coins came from Li Heng's pouch," he says.
"Find who gave the coin," Zhao Kang says.
Hands move faster.
Names align.
One seal links to Lady Ru.
Another name drops like a stone.
"Fetch Lady Ru," Zhao Kang says.
She comes pale.
They press.
She cracks.
"It was paid by an eunuch," she confesses.
"A man from Consort Li's circle."
Zhao Kang's mouth hardens.
"Where is the eunuch?" he asks.
"Fled," she says.
"Then trace the fleeing," Zhao Kang barks.
A guard runs.
The hall hums with orders.
Mingyue's fingers close around the soaked cloth.
She tastes the last bead again, careful.
Clerks shout names.
Guards run.
Zhao Kang leans forward.
"Who has access to the seals?" he demands.
"Consort stores, Revenues, attendants," a clerk says.
"Who moved coin?" Zhao Kang asks.
"A eunuch from the Consort's wing," Lady Ru blurts.
The hall stumbles on her name.
"Bring him," Zhao Kang orders.
"Search the east stalls," a guard calls.
Li Heng returns, pale and sweating.
"He moved them at midnight," he says.
"Who gave coin?" Zhao Kang asks again.
"A maid at the east stall," Li Heng pants.
"Rope scar on wrist."
Xiao Mei's throat moves.
"Name the maid," Zhao Kang says.
"She takes orders," Li Heng stammers.
"She answers to Lady Ru."
Lady Ru gasps.
"Why protect a maid?" Zhao Kang asks.
"Because she is useful," Lady Ru whispers.
"Useful how?" Zhao Kang snaps.
"For favors, for messages," Lady Ru says.
"Who pays favors?" he asks.
The Consort watches like calm iron.
"Name those who paid," Zhao Kang says.
Clerks flip pages.
A guard returns with a small packet of coin.
"These came from Li Heng," he reports.
"Then trace his orders," Zhao Kang says.
Men move like bees.
"Send patrols," Zhao Kang orders.
"The eunuch fled that way," a guard says.
"Cut him off," Zhao Kang says.
Gao's hand rests on a ledger.
He speaks to Mingyue, low: "You baited with cloth and ledgers. Bold."
"Ledger patterns tell lies," Mingyue says.
"Trust numbers," he replies. "They do not lie like tongues."
"Then follow them," she says.
He nods.
A messenger runs back.
"They caught a man near the granary," he says.
"Bring him," Zhao Kang orders.
Two guards drag in a figure, hair rumpled, eyes wild.
They throw him to the floor.
"Who paid you?" Zhao Kang demands, looming.
"I was paid coin," the eunuch gasps.
"I was paid at dusk by Lady Ru's attendant. Coin and a cloth."
"Name the attendant," Zhao Kang hisses.
"He wouldn't speak," the eunuch chokes.
"He said the Consort ordered silence."
The hall roars.
Consort Li's fan snaps.
Her lips press thin.
"Who else knew of jars?" Zhao Kang asks.
"Only Consort stores and Revenues," a clerk says.
"Seal the stores," Zhao Kang orders.
"Bring all attendants in."
Guards move and detain.
Lady Ru claws the air for mercy.
"Enough," Consort Li says, standing.
Her voice drops like iron.
"Do not drag the palace into rumor," she warns.
"The palace will stand on truth," Zhao Kang replies.
"We will find the chain," he says.
"If Lady Ru lies, we will unweave her lies."
"Do that quickly," Consort Li says.
"The Emperor ages. We have obligations to maintain."
"Then maintain them with truth," Zhao Kang replies.
A guard brings a ledger.
"These transactions show payments to a minor clerk," a clerk explains.
"Name him," Zhao Kang demands.
"A clerk named Shen," the clerk says.
"Where is Shen?" Zhao Kang snaps.
"At the granary," another voice says.
"He was just brought in."
Shen stumbles forward, eyes empty.
"Did you forge the seal?" Zhao Kang asks.
"I... I copied the mark," Shen stammers.
"I did as told."
"Who told you?" Zhao Kang says.
"A man with a soft voice," Shen breathes.
"A eunuch. He paid silver and said 'do not ask questions.'"
Zhao Kang slams his hand.
"Find the eunuch," he snarls.
Guards run.
Mingyue watches the panic like a map burning.
She keeps her hands visible.
She hears the Consort whisper to an attendant, "Make sure Mingyue remains here."
A ward moves like a blade.
Gao steps to Mingyue and murmurs, "If you survive this, you will understand the cost of ledger work."
"Then let me learn fast," Mingyue says.
Guards detain attendants, question merchants, check seals.
A clerk bursts in with a coin.
"This silver is from Li Heng's pouch, minted in the coastal mints," he says.
"Who paid Li Heng?" Zhao Kang asks.
A face in the crowd tightens.
"It was a woman," Li Heng says.
"A maid at the east stall, rope scar. She gave coin and a cloth."
Xiao Mei's throat moves.
Mingyue steps forward.
"I sent him," she says again.
"He moved my family."
Zhao Kang studies her.
"You play a dangerous game," he says.
"It is a game they play with us," Mingyue replies.
"Name the eunuch," Zhao Kang demands.
"I do not know his name," she answers.
"Just a hand in the Consort's circle."
"Then trace it," Zhao Kang orders.
"Trace every hand that touched that jar."
They trace.
They match coin edges.
They match seals.
A name claws up from a list.
Lady Ru stumbles.
"She paid a clerk then she paid the eunuch," a clerk says.
Consort Li eyes Mingyue, and for the first time her smile slips.
"Why accuse the Consort?" she says, voice small and sharp.
"Because the jar contains an agent," Mingyue says, and lifts the cloth like proof.
The room stills as if someone pulls a string.
Zhao Kang leans in.
"What does it do?" he asks.
Mingyue tastes nothing now.
She holds the cloth between two fingers and stares.
"It aims at the womb," she says.
"It disrupts cycles," she adds.
"It causes bleeding. It ends lines," she finishes.
The words fall like coins.
Guards freeze.
A clerk drops a seal.
The Consort's face goes as cold as a knife.
Zhao Kang's gaze slams on Mingyue.
"Who taught you this?" he says, fierce.
"Ledgers and recipes," Mingyue answers.
He breathes out slow.
"Keep her near," he says.
"Don't let the Consort move us into a cover-up."
"Yes, Prince," the eunuch answers.
Gao steps back into shadow and watches the Consort's face.
She touches her fan.
Her lips part, then close.
"Interesting," she says at last, voice thin.
"Very interesting," Zhao Kang replies.
Mingyue folds the cloth.
She holds the final taste on her tongue and says, the last word sharp, like a blade dropping:
Every face freezes now.
"It is not wine. It is a potion meant to break us."