Li Mei had learned quickly—the palace never slept, and neither could she. Even in the early morning, when the first shafts of sunlight fell through latticed windows and painted gold dust across the stone floors, the corridors hummed with life. Maids whispered to one another behind swaying silk curtains, the clatter of metal trays and the soft scrape of slippers echoing faintly from kitchens below. In this place, even a single creak or cough could carry consequences.
Li Mei pulled the thin robe tighter around her shoulders, sitting cross-legged on the floor behind a tapestry, silently chewing the last of a stolen dumpling. The scent of steamed pork and ginger still lingered, sharp and heady, teasing her senses. She dared not eat openly; in this palace, hunger could be fatal, but visibility could be worse.
Then the system chimed, its little corner of the world blinking insistently.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, on lasting six whole days without being poisoned, stabbed, strangled, or falsely accused of treason."
Li Mei nearly choked, dumpling halfway to her mouth. "Six days? That's supposed to be an achievement?" she muttered, glaring at the glowing text.
"Achievement unlocked: Rookie Survivor. Reward: +1 Luck."
A tiny green clover icon spun lazily at the edge of her vision. Li Mei blinked, incredulous. "One luck point. One measly point. Is that supposed to stop the Empress from vaporizing me?"
"Unlikely. But it may keep pigeons from pooping on your head."
Li Mei groaned, smacking her forehead against the tapestry. "System, you are so helpful."
"I'm a beta version survival assistant. Please lower your expectations."
She huffed. Helpful was relative, apparently. Just as she was about to hurl her dumpling into the distant shadows in frustration, the air shifted. The soft rustle of silk made her freeze.
"Talking to shadows again, Li Mei?"
Her heart skipped a beat. Slowly, she turned. There, framed in the sunlight streaming through high windows, stood Empress Celestia. Crimson and gold silk glimmered like firelight over her figure, her silver eyes cold, yet sharp with a faint, amused curiosity.
Li Mei shoved the dumpling into her mouth and swallowed hastily. "Y-Your Majesty! I was… um… practicing… poetry," she stammered, bowing so quickly she nearly smacked her forehead on the polished floor.
"Poetry?" Celestia's brow arched, one silver eye narrowing in interest.
"Yes! You know… talking to… invisible muses. Very fashionable these days," Li Mei babbled, hoping the ridiculous explanation sounded convincing.
The Empress studied her with a patience that stretched time into a taut wire. Then, surprisingly, she chuckled—a soft, low sound like wind through jade chimes.
"How… amusing," Celestia said, her voice velvet against stone. "My maids usually whisper prayers, not… whatever this is. Stand up."
Li Mei obeyed, brushing imaginary dust from her plain robes, cheeks burning. Her hands trembled slightly, not from fear but from adrenaline—the kind that made every hair on her body stand on end.
Celestia stepped closer, the air around her seeming colder and sharper as her hand lifted, brushing against Li Mei's chin, forcing her to meet that piercing gaze. The silver eyes held centuries of command, patience, and something else—danger.
"I've been watching you," the Empress murmured, voice quiet but heavy with weight, like a stone settling on Li Mei's chest.
"Wh-what? Watching? Why?" Li Mei stammered, her mind racing. Did I break a rule again? Did the broken teacup last night somehow reach her ears?
Celestia's lips curved faintly. "So quick to defend yourself. Relax, little maid. If I wished to punish you, you would already know."
Li Mei swallowed, trying to convince herself she believed that. "Comforting," she whispered, the word tasting like ash.
Celestia let her go, drifting back a step, robes whispering across the floor like silk water. "You intrigue me, Li Mei. You arrive in my palace like a shadow no one remembers. Yet in only a few days, you've managed to attract both my attention… and the Crown Prince's."
Li Mei's stomach turned. Crown Prince Jianyu? My attention? She wanted to protest, to insist she was invisible, a mosquito no one noticed. "Me? Attract? No, no, no. I don't attract anyone. I'm like a… a mosquito. People just want to swat me."
The Empress gave a long, appraising look, silver eyes glinting. "Is that so?"
[Warning: High-level NPC has triggered a hidden storyline branch. Suggestion: Do NOT compare yourself to insects again.]
Li Mei grimaced internally. Of course. The system had to choose now to sass her.
Celestia tilted her head, the faint shimmer of her silver hair catching the morning light like liquid starlight. "I should be furious that my son—the heir of this empire—takes even a passing interest in one of my maids. But instead, I find myself… curious." Her voice sharpened slightly, each syllable heavy, pressing down on Li Mei's shoulders like a mantle of centuries. "Who are you really, little maid?"
Li Mei's mind scrambled. Play dumb? Cry? Pretend to faint? The system chimed with its usual subtle sarcasm.
[Quest generated: Survive the Empress's Interrogation Without Dying. Reward: +50 XP. Penalty: Sudden death by mysterious accident.]
"Thanks," Li Mei hissed under her breath.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Thanks?"
"Uh—thanks! For, um… your kindness! To… not kill me immediately!" Li Mei's grin was shaky, almost cartoonish.
The Empress's eyes glimmered for a moment, then she laughed—a soft, dangerous, melodic sound. "You are either very brave, or very foolish," she said, stepping back. "I cannot decide which."
"Mostly foolish," Li Mei muttered under her breath, earning a brief, judging glance.
Celestia's gaze lingered, then she began walking. "Follow me. I have a task for you."
Li Mei's heart sank. Oh no. This is going to be terrible.
Celestia's voice floated behind her like a silk banner in a storm. "Oh yes, very terrible."
The moment Celestia's robes disappeared around the corner, Li Mei's knees hit the floor like lead, and she collapsed beside the mountain of scrolls the Empress had left for her. The stench of ink, parchment, and candle smoke filled her nostrils, a suffocating mix that made her head throb. Scrolls teetered in uneven piles, some leaning like towers ready to tumble, others curling at the edges like sleeping serpents.
Li Mei blinked, staring at the chaos before her. I am going to die here. Not metaphorically, but literally—some forgotten law of palace labor surely demanded death for incompetence in scroll organization. She rubbed her temples, grimacing.
"New Side Quest: Scroll Sorting Hell. Objective: Complete within 24 hours. Reward: +20 Intelligence. Failure: Public scolding."
Li Mei groaned so loudly even the spiders in the corner might have winced. "System… I swear, if this is your idea of fun—"
"Uninstall option not available."
She groaned again, flopping onto the nearest stack like it was a mattress. Dust motes danced in the sunlight, sparkling mockingly, as though the palace itself were laughing at her despair. Her fingers itched to sort, but the handwriting on some of these scrolls was so tiny and squiggly it resembled a colony of ants performing ancient calligraphy rituals.
Hours passed. Li Mei's back ached, her hands cramped, and the cramped, musty air of the chamber made her feel like she might suffocate under the weight of bureaucracy. Occasionally, she muttered to herself. "Province, urgency… relevance… Oh, for crying out loud, how is famine less urgent than bandits?"
By the time the moon hung low and silver through the narrow windows, she had barely made a dent. Her hair clung to her sweaty forehead; her arms shook from repetitive movements; her cheeks were streaked with ink smudges like battle scars.
Then came the sound that made her blood turn to ice: footsteps—deliberate, confident, and dangerously amused.
Li Mei snapped upright. Crown Prince Jianyu appeared in the doorway, the flickering candlelight catching on his dark hair, eyes glittering with a predator's interest. He stepped over piles of scrolls with ease, as though they didn't exist.
"Hard at work, little maid?" His voice was smooth, teasing, carrying the faintest edge of amusement that made Li Mei's stomach flip.
"I—I was just filing!" she blurted, nearly toppling three precarious stacks.
He chuckled, low and resonant, like distant thunder rolling across a palace roof. "Filing, hm? It looks more like drowning."
Li Mei forced a weak smile. "Multitasking," she said, the word tasting bitter on her tongue.
Jianyu leaned down, plucking a scroll near her feet, eyes scanning it casually. "My mother gave you this task?"
"Yes…" she admitted, voice barely above a whisper.
"And you obeyed… without complaint?" he continued, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Yes?" Li Mei's heartbeat thumped audibly. Her chest felt like it might explode.
"Interesting," he murmured, letting the scroll drop back onto the floor. "Most would rather run than serve her so directly."
Li Mei shivered. "Running isn't really an option," she muttered.
He tilted his head, observing her like a scholar examining a delicate specimen. "You're strange. I can't decide if you're clever… or simply lucky."
"Mostly unlucky," she said before she could stop herself, earning a short, amused laugh from him. "You amuse me, little maid. That's dangerous," he said softly.
Dangerous? She wanted to vanish. "I don't want to be dangerous," she whispered under her breath. "I just want to survive."
Before she could think further, the air shifted. The room seemed to shrink as Celestia's presence swept in like a storm, robes trailing behind her, silver eyes sharp and unforgiving.
"What," Celestia's voice sliced through the tension like a blade, "is my son doing here?"
Li Mei felt her back stiffen involuntarily. Jianyu's easy smile didn't falter. "Merely curious, Mother. I wanted to see what entertained you so much."
Celestia's gaze locked on Li Mei for a brief, terrifying heartbeat. Then her eyes sharpened, icy and merciless. "She is not your entertainment."
Li Mei felt trapped, her heart hammering, palms sweating, wishing she could vanish into the piles of scrolls beneath her. The system chimed faintly, its tone unusually urgent:
[Warning: Host is caught in a lethal crossfire. Suggestion: Pretend to faint.]
For the first time, Li Mei actually considered taking that advice. Pretending to faint seemed safer than answering honestly, smarter than attempting diplomacy, and far less suicidal than telling the truth.
Her mind raced. If I fall, maybe Celestia will think I'm weak… harmless… maybe she'll forget me. Or maybe she'll actually kill me for insolence. Great. Just great.
The tension hung so thick it pressed against her lungs. The candlelight flickered, shadows stretched long across the scrolls like dark fingers, and the room seemed to shrink with every heartbeat. Li Mei's stomach twisted, and for the first time in days, she truly understood the weight of living in a palace where every glance could be deadly.
Her fingers twitched. Should she collapse now? Pretend she had been overwhelmed by ink fumes? Or—no, she couldn't. Not yet. Survival meant waiting, watching, and choosing the perfect moment. And the perfect moment hadn't come.
The game had tightened its grip. And for Li Mei, there was no way out—only forward, into the labyrinth of power, danger, and intrigue that the palace had laid before her.