Mìan Mèi had only lived in the Liánlěi palace for one month, yet her reckless curiosity was about to be the death of her—tonight.
"Almost... there." Mèi's voice trembled as she climbed the narrow rooftop of the royal chamber under the cover of darkness.
Her obsession with bathing rooms was, admittedly, insane. She had heard whispers that the Third Mistress's bath was the most beautiful place in the entire palace. And now, she was going to see it with her own eyes. Foolish? Yes. But she was already here.
She balanced carefully, arms spread like a tightrope walker, heart pounding with excitement.
'The walls must be white marble and gold... the whole chamber filled with warm fog and heavenly fragrance... If I could just bathe in it once—but since I can't, at least I can look. There's a hole up there that hasn't been repaired yet. I have to see it before they fix it!'
She found the spot. Her eyes sparkled under the moonlight. She pushed back her long hair, took a breath, and slowly lowered herself to peek inside.
"So foggy... is she in there?" She blinked, unable to see anything through the thick steam. The sweet perfume teased her nose, maddeningly close.
She tried different angles. Nothing. The fog was like a cloud, hiding everything.
She sat up straight with a frustrated huff. "Can't see a single thing." Defeated, she stood. "Maybe next time—"
Her jaw tightened.
A cracking sound beneath her feet.
She froze. Didn't dare move. Slowly, she looked down.
The darkness made it hard to tell if the sound was real or imagined. But her instincts screamed: move away before something terrible happens.
"Bad luck, don't embrace me again," she whispered like a bitter prayer, taking a careful step back.
The wood didn't accept her prayer.
THUNG!
Her eyes widened as the planks gave way beneath her.
"AH! NO! I DON'T WANT TO BREAK MY HIPS YET!"
She plummeted through the hole—into the washroom, swallowed by a foggy cave of steam and warmth.
SPLASH!
Warm water exploded around her. She had definitely fallen into a tub.
She gasped, surfacing quickly. Her robes clung to her curves, so tight she felt like future dresses needed to be easier to breathe in.
"Oh dear lord..." She blinked, trying to clear her vision.
Then she looked around.
The bathroom was breathtaking. Golden bottles shaped like diamonds lined the walls. Off-white marble swirled with gold sea-wave patterns. It wasn't a bath—it was another world.
Her lips parted, but no words came. She had only dreamed of such beauty on her potato-sack bedsheets before becoming a royal maid.
'I've made it further than I ever thought...'
Then she felt it.
Eyes on her.
A twist in her gut.
She whipped her head forward.
A young woman sat in the tub before her.
Lady Míyǐn.
Only a thin silk cloth wrapped from her chest to her hips. Nothing else. She sat so still, so silent, she could have been invisible—like a color-changing lizard blending into its surroundings. Her gray eyes, sharp yet soft, watched Mèi with thoughtful amusement, as if deciding whether to let her go or... do something else.
Míyǐn said nothing at first. Then, softly:
"Interesting."
Mèi's world tilted.
"Y-your Highness!"
She scrambled backward so fast she fell out of the tub, landing hard on her back. The pain didn't register—all she could feel was the burning embarrassment of seeing the Third Mistress like this.
Her cheeks were on fire.
And she was definitely going to lose her job.
She scrambled up, bowing so deeply her wet robes clung obscenely to every curve. "I apologize from the bottom of my heart! It was an accident! I didn't mean to ruin your peace! Please don't fire me!"
Míyǐn's lips twitched—almost a smile. Her gaze traveled slowly over Mèi, as if seeing her properly for the first time. Then she rose from the water, her slim hourglass figure draped only in that thin silk. She took a larger cloth and wrapped herself, her long black hair clinging to her neck.
"I've seen coconuts fall from trees," she said, her voice soft but sharp as a blade—like a bored snake toying with its prey. "But never a maid falling from a rooftop. Quite rare."
Mèi swallowed hard. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She couldn't lose this job. Couldn't lose her dignity—not again, not to her own stupid curiosity.
But she had nothing to say. She just stood there, head lowered, hoping.
"I—I apologize..." she mumbled.
"What were you doing up there?"
Míyǐn sat on the edge of the tub, one leg crossed over the other, watching Mèi like she was interviewing her for a very strange position.
Mèi cleared her throat. She couldn't lie. "I... I just wanted to see how the luxurious bathing chamber looks..."
Her cheeks burned again. It sounded so ridiculous out loud.
Míyǐn tilted her head. "More interesting. You have a bathing room obsession?"
Mèi said nothing, standing like a scolded child. Her mother's warnings echoed in her mind: How many times have I told you to stop this nonsense? How will we survive if you can't keep a job?
Míyǐn sighed, a faint smile tugging at her lips. Then she asked, in a tone that suggested she was thoroughly enjoying this:
"Would you come here every night to bathe with me, if I gave you permission?"
Mèi stared at her like she'd just announced cows could fly.