Su Yuxiao did not sleep well that night.
She lay in her unfamiliar bed, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, and thought about everything she had seen at the banquet. The General's smile that did not reach his eyes. Lin Yourou's sharp gaze tracking Murong Qian across the pavilion. Murong Qian herself, wearing her armor of ice, watching the man she had loved for seven years.
And the moment at the end. The General's eyes meeting hers. The calculation there, cold and quick, before he dismissed her as unimportant.
He knows she loves him, she thought. He has always known. And he uses it.
She turned onto her side, pulling the silk blankets up to her chin. The bed was too soft, the room too quiet. In her apartment in Beijing, there had always been noise traffic, neighbors, the hum of her refrigerator. Here, there was nothing. Just the occasional rustle of fabric as Chun Tao slept on her pallet in the corner, and the distant call of night birds somewhere in the gardens.
She needed to be careful. If the General was as calculating as she suspected, he would be watching her now. He would want to know why the Prime Minister's daughter had suddenly attached herself to Murong Qian.
She needed allies. People who knew the court, who understood the game, who could tell her things she could not learn from the novel.
Wei Ling came to mind. The Minister of Rite's daughter. In the novel, she had been a minor character, kind but unimportant. But she had been the original Su Yuxiao's friend.
I will find her tomorrow, Su Yuxiao decided. Before I go to the princess's palace. I need to know what I am walking into.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Morning came too quickly.
Chun Tao was already awake, moving quietly around the room, laying out robes and washing water. When she saw Su Yuxiao's eyes open, she hurried to the bedside.
"Miss! You are awake. Did you sleep well? Shall I bring breakfast? The Prime Minister has already left for court, but he left word that you are to"
"Chun Tao." Su Yuxiao pushed herself up against the pillows. "Slow down. One thing at a time."
The maid took a breath, visibly calming herself. "Forgive this servant, miss. I was worried. You did not send for me last night, and when you came back from the banquet, you looked so strange. I thought perhaps something had happened."
Su Yuxiao rubbed her eyes. "Something did happen. But I am fine. Tell me what word did my father leave?"
"He said you are to stay in your rooms today. He said you caused enough trouble last night, associating with" Chun Tao stopped, her cheeks flushing.
"Associating with whom? You can say it."
Chun Tao's voice dropped. "With Her Highness, the princess. He said you are not to leave the compound until he returns. He said he will speak to you about your behavior."
Su Yuxiao swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I am not staying in my rooms."
"But miss"
"I have been summoned to the princess's palace. She said she has business with my father and requires an escort. That is a command from a member of the imperial family. It outranks my father's wishes."
Chun Tao stared at her. "Miss, you cannot defy the Prime Minister. He will be so angry."
"Let him be angry." Su Yuxiao stood, crossing to the washing basin. "I have spent my whole life doing what he asked, staying in my rooms, keeping my mouth shut. And what has it gotten me? Nothing. I am nobody to him. A piece he plans to move when it suits him."
She splashed water on her face, the cold shocking her awake. "I am done being moved. I want to understand the board before someone decides where I land."
Chun Tao was quiet for a long moment. Then she came to stand beside Su Yuxiao, her hands moving automatically to help her dress.
"This servant thinks you are very brave, miss," she said quietly. "Or very foolish."
"You said that yesterday."
"It is still true."
Su Yuxiao smiled at her in the mirror. "Help me choose my robes."
Wei Ling arrived at the Su compound an hour later.
Su Yuxiao had sent a message with one of the household servants a risk, since everything in the compound was watched, but she had judged it worth taking. Wei Ling was her only connection to the world outside her father's control. She needed information before she went to the palace.
The Minister of Rites' daughter was exactly as the novel had described her. Round-faced and cheerful, with quick eyes that missed nothing and a smile that made everyone around her feel at ease. She swept into Su Yuxiao's rooms like a small hurricane, her robes a bright, cheerful green, her voice carrying ahead of her.
"Yuxiao! I came as soon as I got your message. I was so worried when I heard you were ill, and then I saw you at the banquet last night with her, and I thought" She stopped short, taking in Su Yuxiao's appearance. "You look different."
Su Yuxiao smiled. "I have been told that a lot lately."
Wei Ling studied her for a moment, then nodded slowly. "It is not just your looks. You hold yourself differently. You speak differently. The old Yuxiao would never have sent a message summoning anyone."
"The old Yuxiao did not know what she wanted. I am starting to figure it out."
Wei Ling's eyebrows rose. Then she laughed, bright and genuine. "Well. That is a change I can get behind." She settled onto a cushion, gesturing for Su Yuxiao to do the same. "Now. Tell me everything. Why were you sitting with Princess Murong Qian last night? What did she say to you? Are you in trouble?"
Su Yuxiao sat across from her, arranging her robes carefully. "I am not in trouble. At least, I do not think I am. She summoned me to her table. We talked."
"Talked? About what?"
"About the court. About power. About the General." She watched Wei Ling's face carefully. "She told me he saved her life when she was fifteen. That he helped her for months afterward. That he was the first person she trusted since her mother died."
Wei Ling's expression flickered. Not surprise recognition. "I have heard rumors of that. Not many people know the details. The princess does not speak of it, and the General..." She paused. "The General has not spoken of her in years."
"How well do you know the General?"
Wei Ling hesitated. "I know what everyone knows. He is a hero. He is ambitious. He has been courting Lin Yourou for the past year. And he has been using the princess's affection to smooth his path for much longer than that."
Su Yuxiao's heart quickened. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that doors open for him because of her. Enemies hesitate to move against him because they fear her retaliation. He has risen faster than any general in a generation, and her shadow has smoothed his path at every turn." Wei Ling's eyes were sharp. "You are looking at me strangely."
"I am thinking," Su Yuxiao said. "What do you know about Lin Yourou?"
Wei Ling's expression darkened. "She is the granddaughter of the late Grand Secretary. Her family has been angling for a connection to the military for years. She is clever. More clever than she lets people see."
"Does she know about the princess? About how the General feels?"
Wei Ling's laugh was short and dry. "Lin Yourou knows everything that happens in this court. She has eyes everywhere. She knows about the princess. And she is using that knowledge."
"How?"
"She positions herself to be seen. She makes sure the princess is watching when the General smiles at her. She has turned their interactions into performances, and the princess is her audience." Wei Ling's voice hardened. "She is not a kind woman, Yuxiao. Do not let the soft face fool you."
Su Yuxiao filed that information away. "And the General? Does he know what she is doing?"
Wei Ling hesitated. "I think he knows. I think he does not care. Lin Yourou is what he wants a wife from a good family, soft and sweet, someone who will never challenge him. The princess is too much. Too powerful and Too dangerous. He wants her support, but he does not want her."
The words hung in the air.
"You said he uses her affection," Su Yuxiao said slowly. "Do you think he planned it? The way she came to trust him?"
Wei Ling's eyes went wide. "What do you mean?"
"I mean the ambush when she was fifteen. The way he happened to be there. The way he saved her and then spent months building her trust." She met Wei Ling's gaze. "Do you think that was an accident?"
Wei Ling was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. "I have never thought about it."
"What if it was not?"
Wei Ling stared at her. Then, slowly, she shook her head. "If you are right if he planned it then he has been playing a very long game. And the princess has been his piece for seven years."
"I know." Su Yuxiao stood, smoothing her robes. "I need to go to her palace. She summoned me."
"Now? Yuxiao, if what you suspect is true, you cannot just walk in there and tell her. She will not believe you. She has trusted him for seven years. You cannot undo that in a day."
"I know." Su Yuxiao moved toward the door. "I am not going to tell her. Not yet. I am going to listen. And I am going to find proof."
Wei Ling rose too, her face troubled. "Be careful. The princess is not the only one watching. The General has eyes in this city. Lin Yourou has eyes. If they see you getting too close to the princess, they will move against you."
"Then let them." Su Yuxiao's smile tightened at the edges, but she held Wei Ling's gaze. "I've spent seventeen years staying out of the way. Watching from the windows while everyone else decided my future. If I'm going to be moved like a piece on someone's board, I'd rather know who's moving me and why."
Wei Ling studied her for a long moment. Then she let out a breath, something shifting in her expression not quite resignation, but something close to understanding.
"You really have changed." She stepped forward and took Su Yuxiao's hands in hers. "I don't know what happened to you during those three days, and I won't ask. But if you're going to do this if you're going to walk into the princess's palace and into whatever comes after you need to know that you're not alone."
Su Yuxiao blinked. "Wei Ling"
"I mean it." Wei Ling squeezed her fingers. "I may not be brave like you. I may never sit at the princess's table or speak my mind the way you do. But I know how to listen. I know how to watch. And if you ever need someone to tell you what's really happening in this court, you come to me. Understand?"
Something warm bloomed in Su Yuxiao's chest. She had expected Wei Ling to warn her away, to distance herself like everyone else would. Instead, this round-faced girl with the sharp eyes was offering her something she hadn't realized she needed.
"I understand," Su Yuxiao said quietly.
Wei Ling released her hands and stepped back, her usual cheerfulness sliding back into place like a mask she had worn for years. "Good. Now go. The princess won't wait forever, and the Prime Minister's servants are already loitering outside your door. They'll report to your father the moment you leave."
She was already moving toward the door, her robes swishing against the floor. At the threshold, she paused and looked back.
"Yuxiao."
"Yes?"
"Whatever you're looking for in that palace I hope you find it."
She was gone before Su Yuxiao could answer.
The courtyard outside her rooms was quiet when Su Yuxiao emerged. Too quiet. The servants who usually bustled about were nowhere in sight, and the guards at the gate kept their eyes fixed straight ahead, pretending not to see her.
Chun Tao quickly came to her, holding a silk cloak in her arms "Miss, the carriage is waiting at the side gate. I asked the carriers to keep it quiet and low-key
"You told them?"
Chun Tao's cheeks flushed. "This servant took the liberty. The Prime Minister's men are watching the main gate, but the side gate is used for deliveries. No one pays attention to it."
Su Yuxiao stared at her maid this girl who had known her for only a few days, who had every reason to be afraid of her father's anger, who had still managed to arrange an escape route without being asked.
"Chun Tao," she said, "you're remarkable."
The maid's flush deepened, but she said nothing as she draped the cloak over Su Yuxiao's shoulders. They walked quickly through the compound's winding corridors, past gardens and storehouses and kitchens, until they reached a small wooden gate set into the compound's outer wall.
A plain carriage waited on the other side, carried by two elderly bearers who looked like they had been pulled from the gardens. They bowed low as Su Yuxiao approached.
"This servant is sorry for the plain carriage," one of them said softly. "The princess's messenger said getting there quickly was more important than looking grand."
The princess's messenger. Su Yuxiao filed that away. Murong Qian had already sent someone to arrange this. The princess was watching, even now.
She stepped into the carriage, settling onto the worn cushion. Chun Tao moved to close the curtain, but Su Yuxiao caught her hand.
"You're not coming?"
Chun Tao shook her head, her expression apologetic. "This servant must stay. If the Prime Minister returns and finds us both gone, he will know something is wrong. I will tell him you went to visit Miss Wei Ling. It is not a lie you did see her this morning." She managed a small smile. "He will be angry, but he will not suspect."
"And if he asks where you were while I was gone?"
Chun Tao's smile widened. "This servant was in the kitchens, miss. Learning about the new shipment of tea. Cook will confirm it. She owes me a favor."
Su Yuxiao looked at her. This girl was not just a maid. She was clever, loyal, and far braver than anyone probably knew.
"Thank you," she said. "I don't know how to"
"You do not need to thank this servant, miss." Chun Tao closed the curtain, her voice muffled through the silk. "Just come back safely."
The carriage jolted forward. Su Yuxiao sat in the dimness, listening as the city passed by merchants shouting to sell their goods, children yelling in the streets, and the occasional clatter of hooves on stone.
She thought about Wei Ling, who had offered to watch her back without hesitation. And Chun Tao, who was lying to her father right now to protect her. About the fact that she had crossed into a fictional world and somehow found better friends here than she ever had in her real life.
If I survive this, I am going to need to figure out how to be the kind of friend they deserve. That is going to be harder than saving a princess.