The Palace of Chang Le — Blood Beneath the Blossoms

Following the young maid’s directions, I turned through a series of winding corridors until an archway came into view. Three large characters hung above it—“Chang Le Palace.”

The words gleamed, elegant and proud.

No guards or servants stood at the entrance. With no one to ask for permission, I simply lifted my sleeves and stepped inside.

The maid hadn’t lied—this place truly had everything. Though spring was waning and most of the flowers elsewhere in the palace had long since faded, here the gardens bloomed in full glory. Fragrant, lush, bursting with color.

In the distance stood a small pavilion, nearly swallowed by blossoms.

I had no mood for admiring it. I’d barely taken two steps when I spotted a perfect clump of daffodils. I bent down, plucked one, and was about to leave when—

“Where did this little eunuch come from? How dare you trespass into Princess Jin Xiu’s Chang Le Palace!”

The voice cracked like a whip behind me.

A ringing buzz filled my ears. I froze, struck by a jolt of dread.

Of course. That nagging feeling I’d forgotten something—it was her! I’d completely forgotten about Jin Xiu!

Of all the mistakes I could make, this was the worst.

I silently cursed myself, straightened my expression, and turned to the two palace maids approaching with haughty steps. Bowing low, I said carefully, “Sisters, please forgive me. I was ordered to pick some daffodils here. I intended to request permission first, but there was no one at the gate, so I entered on my own accord.”

A perfect explanation, if I might say so—apology offered, reason provided, and the day’s banquet as a reasonable excuse. By all logic, that should have sufficed.

But the palace maid’s brows shot up like drawn bows. She slapped me hard across the face.

“You insolent worm! No matter what excuse you have, you dare step into the Princess’s grounds? The Chang Le Palace is sacred! You—a eunuch—are not worthy even to breathe the same air!”

The slap stunned me.

She went on, voice sharp and cruel: “Everyone knows Princess Jin Xiu’s residence is of utmost nobility—commoners, especially eunuchs, are forbidden!”

Her eyes swept me up and down, dripping with contempt. “Who knows what vile thoughts you have toward Her Highness?”

Another slap cracked across my face.

My cheek burned hot, swelling fast. Thankfully, the human-skin mask hid the bruising. I clenched my jaw, swallowed my anger.

Damn it. Endure. This was Jin Xiu’s territory. I couldn’t afford to draw attention.

But the maid wasn’t finished. She struck again, harder this time. My skull rang, my vision blurred like a jar of spilled glue.

For an instant, a strange image flickered before my eyes—

A girl with twin buns, slapping a white-robed woman across the face again and again.

“You filthy fox demon,” she spat. “Don’t think ascending to immortality makes you worthy to touch Princess Jin Xiu’s shadow!”

Smack!

The taste of blood filled my mouth. Something inside me snapped.

Enough.

I seized her wrist mid-swing and twisted sharply. A crisp crack echoed. She screamed and crumpled to the ground.

“My hand! My hand!”

I grinned, baring bloodstained teeth. “Go on—try hitting me again.”

Footsteps gathered from every direction. My vision was blurred and my eyes half-shut from the swelling, but I could make out a row of embroidered slippers before me. The fallen maid crawled forward, clutching her arm, and pressed her forehead to a pair of shoes adorned with twin pearls.

“Your Highness,” she sobbed, “this little eunuch defied the rules! When I tried to discipline him, he attacked me!”

A cool, languid voice answered, “Rise.”

The sound carried a chill that seeped into my bones. I lifted my head—and my heart stopped.

Those brows, those eyes. That face.

I had seen her before—across lifetimes.

She gazed down, her tone unchanged, as if time itself had folded. “Such a bold little eunuch,” she murmured. “To injure my people so fearlessly.”

“Jin Xiu…”

The name escaped my lips before I could stop it.

The maids around her gasped. “How dare you! You dare call the Princess by name!” One of them raised her hand to strike me, but Jin Xiu stopped her with a flick of her fingers.

Her long, slender hand reached toward my face, fingertips trailing lightly across my mask. “And who might you be,” she said softly, “to walk through my palace wearing a mask of human skin? I wonder what you look like beneath it.”

Panic shot through me. I turned to flee, but a dozen guards appeared from nowhere. They caught my arms, locking me in place.

“Kneel,” Jin Xiu commanded.

I clenched my teeth and refused.

The guards pressed down. It felt as though a mountain had been set on my back. My knees buckled; I fell to the floor with a dull thud.

One maid stepped forward, ripped the mask from my face—and gasped.

“Red Lotus Consort!”

Jin Xiu’s face froze. The guards hesitated, releasing their grip, uncertain.

Red Lotus—the Emperor’s newest favorite. They must have mistaken me for her.

Jin Xiu approached, pinching my chin between two fingers. Her brows drew together. “You’re not the Red Lotus Consort. This face… it wasn’t crafted by artifice.”

Relief flickered across the others’ faces, but her eyes darkened.

“For some reason,” she whispered, “I still want to kill you.”

I laughed hoarsely and spat, the blood from my mouth splattering her cheek. “That’s fine. I want to kill you too. In fact, I will. Sooner or later.”

Her calm expression finally cracked.

With a cold snarl, she kicked me backward. My body hit the floor hard. Her jeweled slipper pressed against my head, forcing my face into the dirt.

“Is that so?” she murmured. “Then it seems I’ll just have to be quicker.”

She pushed harder, grinding my cheek into the flowerbed. Then, without looking back, she said, “I don’t want to see her face again.”

Two guards nodded and stepped forward.

They dragged me out by the arms and slammed me onto a stone table. The next moment, fists and boots rained down. Each blow exploded like thunder, until all I could taste was iron and fire.

Thanks to Jin Xiu’s command, they avoided my face—but everywhere else was fair game.

A metallic sweetness filled my throat. Two teeth flew from my mouth. My left eye swelled shut; blood trickled down my forehead. The world bled red.

I curled into myself, arms over my head, until her voice floated through the haze:

“Dislocate her arms.”

A single crack. Then another. My limbs went limp, dangling uselessly at my sides.

The world blurred. Sounds turned soft and far away. Even the pain dissolved into clouds.

One guard’s voice reached me faintly: “Your Highness, she won’t last long.”

Jin Xiu said nothing.

I forced one swollen eye open. Through the haze, I saw her seated gracefully on her chaise, sipping tea. When our eyes met, she smiled.

“What are you staring at?” she asked.

I swallowed the blood pooling in my throat and smiled back—a broken, bloody smile. “If I don’t remember your face,” I rasped, “how else will I know who to kill when I return?”

Jin Xiu chuckled softly, setting her cup down with a click. Bending close, she whispered, “If I could kill you once, I can certainly do it again.”

Then, straightening, she said coldly to her guards, “Continue.”

The beating resumed.

Time lost all shape.

At last, someone said, “Your Highness, she’s barely breathing.”

Jin Xiu didn’t even lift her gaze. “Throw her out.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”