Morning came to the palace draped in an air that felt heavier than usual, as though the very walls had secrets to keep. Light streamed across the lacquered screens, spilling pale gold onto polished floors, but instead of warmth, Li Mei felt only a faint pressure, a static hum prickling at the edge of her skin.
She groaned softly, dragging herself upright from her bedding. Her body still ached from the chaos of the previous day, every muscle carrying the memory of spinning tables, floating napkins, and Lady Yun's poisonous glare. She rubbed at her tired eyes, hoping—just hoping—that this morning would at least let her eat before catastrophe arrived.
Her system had other ideas.
[Notification: Secret magical trial detected. NPC: Celestia. Objective: Participate and excel in covert magical evaluation. Probability of success: 61%. Recommended tactics: subtle magic, social finesse, chaos management.]
Li Mei froze, staring at the glowing text as if sheer disbelief could erase it. Then, very slowly, she buried her face in her hands.
"Secret. Magical. Trial. Probability of success sixty-one percent. Why does every day in this palace feel like a trap disguised as a morning?" Her voice was muffled against her palms.
"Because you make such entertaining faces when you complain."
Li Mei peeked between her fingers. Jianyu stood at the doorway, relaxed as if the weight of the palace never touched him. His dark eyes glinted with amusement, sharp and unreadable, and that faint curl of his lips suggested he had been standing there long enough to enjoy her suffering.
"Good morning, little maid," he said smoothly. "Ready to compete?"
Li Mei blinked at him, disheveled hair in her face. "Compete? In magical survival? I—I don't even know what I'm competing for!"
Her system chimed mercilessly in her head.
[Ding! Side Quest Activated: Covert Magical Trial. Objective: Impress Celestia without exposing anomalies to public. Reward: +500 XP, Magical Skill Upgrade.]
Li Mei muttered something that was only half words and mostly despair. "Perfect. Another side quest. And I didn't even get breakfast."
"Breakfast," Jianyu echoed with mock solemnity, "is clearly the key to power." He tilted his head, dark hair falling across his brow as his eyes danced. "Though I must admit, watching you improvise without it is far more… entertaining."
Before Li Mei could form a retort sharp enough to wipe the smugness off his face, the temperature of the air shifted. A faint shimmer rippled through the hall, like moonlight caught on water.
Celestia appeared without sound or warning, her silver presence spilling across the corridor like something not entirely tethered to this world. Her eyes gleamed faintly, unblinking, fixed on Li Mei with that weightless, impossible calm.
"This trial is not merely for assessment," Celestia said, her voice soft yet carrying with crystalline clarity. "It is to gauge adaptability, creativity, and control. Little maid, your progress will be tested."
Li Mei gulped. Her throat felt too dry to answer. "Adaptability… creativity… control… I think… maybe… possibly?"
Celestia's lips curved, not into warmth but into something closer to intrigue.
The courtyard had been subtly prepared for the trial, though to anyone unaware it would look like nothing more than a space set for morning drills. Objects floated with deceptive lightness, a fan twirling lazily in the air, scrolls drifting as though caught in a breeze that did not exist. The faint scent of jasmine lingered, mixed with something sharper—old magic, heavy and waiting. Illusions shimmered faintly against the edges of the stone, like half-formed dreams brushing against reality.
Li Mei's stomach twisted. It looks ordinary enough. Which means it is absolutely not ordinary. Of course.
She wasn't the only one watching.
From the shadow of a colonnade, Lady Yun lingered. She had caught whispers of this "trial" and her eyes gleamed with thinly veiled hunger. Her fan snapped open with deliberate precision as she murmured to herself.
"Finally. A chance to expose the maid publicly. Let her stumble on her own magic, let her drown in her own incompetence… and then, the palace will see her for what she is."
Her voice was silk dipped in venom, her smile as brittle as porcelain about to crack.
Li Mei's system pulsed again, louder, sharper.
[Warning: Lady Yun interference imminent. Recommended action: strategic chaos deployment, humor, subtle magic.]
Li Mei inhaled slowly. The air tasted like tension, faintly metallic, as though even the sky held its breath. Her fingers itched with the faint buzz of her limited magic. Somewhere deep inside, panic and stubborn determination wrestled for dominance.
She straightened her spine, even though her knees felt like jelly.
"Alright," she whispered to herself, voice barely audible. "One maid. One trial. One very smug noblewoman lurking in the shadows. And noodles waiting if I survive. Probably. Hopefully."
Jianyu's voice broke the silence, low and teasing at her side. "Talking to yourself again? That's usually the first sign of panic."
Li Mei shot him a look. "First sign? I've been panicking since sunrise."
Jianyu's smile deepened. "Good. Panic looks remarkably effective on you."
Li Mei groaned, covering her face with her hand. Why does he talk like that? Why do I respond like this? And why—why—is this my life?
Celestia's silver gaze swept over them both. Her tone softened, just slightly. "Begin, little maid."
The courtyard stirred.
The trial had begun.
The courtyard shifted as soon as Celestia's words left her lips.
The floating scrolls snapped open in midair, pages fluttering without wind. The fan that had been twirling lazily now spun with purpose, sharp enough that its edges gleamed like blades. Shadows lengthened unnaturally across the stone floor, flickering between shapes—birds, serpents, shifting fragments of memory that weren't hers.
Li Mei's pulse spiked. Okay, not intimidating at all. Totally fine. Just reality casually unraveling for the sake of my humiliation.
The system chimed in her ear, infuriatingly cheerful.
[Trial progression: 5%. Illusions increasing. Recommended: stabilize chaos with counter-chaos.]
"Stabilize chaos with chaos? That's not advice—that's just philosophy!" she hissed.
Jianyu, who had taken to leaning against a nearby pillar with infuriating calm, lifted a brow. "Talking to your invisible friend again?"
"Better company than you," she muttered.
The illusions thickened. One of the scrolls snapped shut, then elongated into the shape of a blade. Another burst into a dozen fluttering copies that swarmed toward her, snapping like paper birds with teeth. Li Mei yelped and ducked.
"Adaptability," Celestia's voice floated, calm and serene, as if she were observing weather patterns instead of a panicking maid. "Creativity. Control."
"Sure," Li Mei said through gritted teeth, dodging another swooping scroll. "Let me just—ah!—be very creative about not dying—!"
Her magic buzzed at her fingertips, small and clumsy compared to the elegant illusions around her. She didn't have precision. She didn't have power. What she had was instinct. And instinct told her—if the scrolls wanted to swarm, then swarm bigger.
She flung her hands upward. The magic sputtered, hissed, and then—pop! A flock of glowing, wobbling ducks exploded into existence.
The courtyard froze. Even the illusions seemed briefly stunned.
The ducks were lopsided, a little transparent, quacking with alarming volume. One waddled straight into a conjured serpent, biting its tail with oblivious enthusiasm. The serpent illusion unraveled with a snap.
Li Mei stared, wide-eyed. "Oh. That… actually worked?"
Jianyu's low laugh slipped out, smooth and dangerous. "Remarkable. Only you would weaponize ducks."
The flock careened across the courtyard, colliding with illusions, breaking patterns of magic that had been tightly woven. It wasn't elegant. It wasn't controlled. But it was working.
Celestia's silver gaze sharpened, faint amusement flickering across her expression. "Unexpected. Crude. Effective."
Lady Yun's fan snapped open from her vantage point in the shadows, her voice sharp as cracked porcelain. "Cheap tricks. Nothing more. I can ensure the trial exposes her."
Her hand flicked. Unseen threads of her own power laced into the courtyard, twisting Celestia's illusions sharper, heavier. The fan in the air became a whirling storm, its edges screeching like steel. Scrolls no longer swarmed like paper—they crashed like waves, crushing instead of chasing.
Li Mei staggered back. The pressure nearly knocked her flat.
Her system screamed.
[Alert! External interference detected. Risk of injury: High. Recommended action: escalate chaos.]
Escalate chaos? Are you trying to kill me?
But there was no other choice. Li Mei gritted her teeth, pulling what magic she could into her trembling hands. Her breath came short, heart hammering against her ribs. If ducks worked once…
She flung both arms outward. This time, instead of ducks, a storm of glowing teapots erupted into existence—clattering, floating, pouring steaming liquid with wild abandon. They collided with the whirling fan, splashing boiling streams that turned into steam clouds, obscuring the illusions. Scrolls slammed into kettles and unraveled in bursts of harmless paper.
The courtyard filled with shrieking, clanging, steaming chaos. It was ridiculous. It was messy. It was survival.
Li Mei panted, hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, lips pulling into something between a grin and a grimace. "Controlled chaos. Totally intentional. Definitely planned."
Through the haze, Jianyu's eyes gleamed, his lips curved in that soft, dangerous way. "You thrive in madness, little maid."
She shot him a glare, cheeks burning for reasons that had nothing to do with steam. "Not helping."
Celestia raised her hand. The courtyard stilled. The illusions dissolved into glittering fragments of silver light. Ducks vanished. Teapots winked out of existence. Only the faint smell of jasmine remained, woven now with sharp traces of scorched air.
Her silver gaze lingered on Li Mei. "Unorthodox. Chaotic. But adaptable. Creative. And, in its own way… controlled."
Lady Yun's smile had vanished. Her fan snapped shut with a crack. Rage flickered beneath her painted calm, her eyes glittering like shards of broken glass. She turned sharply, retreating with her silks whispering in venomous promise.
Li Mei swayed, nearly toppling before catching herself on her knees. Her system pinged smugly.
[Trial complete. Success: 78%. Reward granted: Magical Skill Upgrade –
Chaos Manipulation I.]
Her stomach growled loudly enough to echo in the sudden silence. Li Mei groaned. "I don't even care about rewards. I just want noodles."
Jianyu's laugh slid through the air like silk. "You've earned them."
Celestia's expression softened by a fraction, the faintest shimmer of approval crossing her features before she vanished like silver mist.
Li Mei collapsed backward onto the stones, staring at the sky. Noodles first. Existential dread later.