Li Mei woke to the faint glow of dawn slicing through the gauzy silk of her canopy. The light hit her eyes like a personal insult.
Her body protested every movement — muscles sore, brain lagging behind reality, and the distinct ache of having survived yet another palace catastrophe.
"Ugh," she groaned into the pillow. "Am I dead? Please say yes."
A soft chime answered instead.
[Good morning, Host! Status: Miraculously Alive. Debuff: Emotional Hangover (Mild).]
"Thanks, that's comforting," she muttered. "What's next, caffeine questline?"
[New Quest: Pretend You Know What You're Doing.]
Reward: Survival (maybe).
Li Mei dragged herself upright, hair an unholy tangle that could've doubled as a bird's nest. The servants' quarters buzzed faintly outside — the sound of brooms, water basins, and gossip sharp enough to cut porcelain.
She pulled on her uniform, trying to shake the weight in her chest. The memory of the banquet still clung to her skin: glittering chandeliers, too many eyes, Celestia's voice slicing through illusion and fear.
And Jianyu — leaning against a pillar like sin incarnate, smirking as if chaos were his personal hobby.
"Right," Li Mei muttered, rubbing her temples. "Avoid the Crown Prince. Avoid eye contact. Avoid breathing in his general direction."
[Sub-quest added: Attempt Basic Self-Preservation.]
The morning corridors of the imperial palace were deceptively beautiful — sunlight slanting across jade tiles, incense coiling in thin ribbons, the hush of discipline so absolute it made her heartbeat feel loud.
But beauty here was a mask. Every painted door hid whispers. Every servant's smile came sharpened at the edges.
Her hands itched. The System's faint hum buzzed behind her eyes like a warning, restless, almost eager.
[Environmental anomaly detected. Power fluctuation: 2%. Source: Unknown.]
"...That's not ominous at all," she whispered.
"Talking to yourself again, little sparrow?"
The voice came from behind her — smooth, warm, entirely too close. Li Mei turned, and there he was.
Jianyu, Crown Prince, chaos magnet, and professional heart hazard.
He looked infuriatingly put together for this early hour: hair tied back with casual precision, his robe ink-black with gold trim, and that same teasing half-smile that implied he was deeply amused by her existence.
"Your Highness," Li Mei said, bowing low, voice steady only through sheer willpower. "You're up early."
"Couldn't sleep," Jianyu replied lightly, walking past her, his tone low enough to feel conspiratorial. "Too quiet. Always a bad sign."
Li Mei blinked. "...Bad sign as in?"
"As in something's about to explode," he said cheerfully. "You'll see."
[Warning: Forecast – Event Trigger Approaching. Confidence: 87%.]
Li Mei stared at the glowing text, then at Jianyu's perfectly calm face. "Why do I feel like you enjoy this?"
He smiled over his shoulder. "Because I do."
By the time they reached the outer courtyard, the calm had curdled.
A hush rippled through the gathered servants. Birds had gone silent. The air shimmered faintly — like heat distortion, but colder, wrong.
Li Mei's pulse kicked up.
The courtyard fountains, once serene, now rippled with color — pale gold bleeding into violet. The marble tiles beneath her feet hummed, faintly thrumming like a heartbeat.
[Alert: Illusion magic interference. Stability at 68%.]
"Oh no," she breathed. "Not again."
Jianyu's expression sharpened, the teasing gone, replaced by quiet alertness. "Stay behind me."
"Sure," Li Mei whispered. "Right behind the walking disaster magnet."
He shot her a look — amused, but not unkind. "Trust me, little sparrow. This morning is just getting started."
The first shimmer of distorted air cracked open across the courtyard. Light fractured like glass.
And somewhere in the distance, the Empress's bell rang.
The world broke open in color.
The courtyard tiles split with a sound like shattering glass, and threads of light snaked through the air — weaving and writhing, forming shapes that weren't supposed to exist outside of dreams.
Servants screamed. One of the gardeners dropped his rake and bolted. A flock of doves exploded into the sky in a flurry of white panic.
Li Mei just stood there, clutching her broom like a talisman. "Okay. Nope. This is fine. Everything's fine. Totally casual morning psychosis."
[Quest Triggered: Survive the Unscheduled Apocalypse.]
Objective: Don't die in public. Again.
Reward: Unknown.
Jianyu moved before she could blink — the easy grace of someone who'd grown up fighting invisible monsters before breakfast. His hand flicked, and a barrier shimmered briefly around them like golden smoke.
"What is that?" Li Mei gasped as a tree burst into flame, then turned into glass, then melted.
"Unstable illusion magic," Jianyu said, calm as if describing the weather. "Someone's playing with power they don't understand."
"Please tell me it's not me again."
He glanced at her, lips twitching. "You'd know if it were. You'd be panicking louder."
Before she could reply, a voice cut through the chaos — sharp, elegant, unmistakable.
"Stop this madness at once!"
Lady Yun swept into the courtyard, her crimson robes flaring behind her like spilled wine. She looked every inch the imperial strategist: poised, furious, and visibly calculating how best to murder everyone responsible without wrinkling her sleeves.
The illusions seemed to bend toward her presence, flickering uncertainly — as if recognizing the hierarchy of power.
Li Mei muttered, "Of course she shows up now. Right on cue, like a boss fight cutscene."
Lady Yun's gaze found her instantly. "You," she snapped. "The maid from the banquet."
Li Mei froze. "Yes? No? Possibly?"
"Do something useful," Lady Yun said, gesturing broadly at the unraveling courtyard. "Contain it!"
"Contain it?!" Li Mei squeaked. "With what, my anxiety?"
Jianyu bit back a laugh — and that made it worse, because the Empress's shadow was now gliding across the far balcony. Celestia was watching. Of course she was.
Li Mei's pulse spiked. "Okay, okay—think, think, think—"
The System chimed with a smug note.
[Emergency Skill Available: Improvised Resonance.]
Description: Match the frequency of chaotic magic. Try not to implode.
Success Rate: 22%.
Failure Result: Decorative crater.
"Oh, that's so comforting," she hissed.
But the ground was trembling, and Lady Yun was glaring, and Jianyu was—still watching her like she might actually pull this off.
"Fine!" Li Mei shouted, slapping her palms together and taking a deep breath. "Please don't explode, please don't explode—"
She reached out with the same strange instinct that had saved her before. The air buzzed. Her veins lit up. The world went momentarily still—
Then the colors snapped inward, collapsing into a blinding flash.
When the light cleared, half the courtyard was frozen mid-chaos: shards of illusion suspended in the air like fractured glass, servants blinking in shock, and Lady Yun clutching her fan like she'd just aged five years.
Li Mei coughed weakly. "Did it… work?"
[Objective Completed! You did not die.]
+ 400 XP
[Bonus Perk Unlocked: Improvised Control – Rank 1]
"See?" Jianyu said, brushing dust off his sleeves, eyes glittering with something between admiration and trouble. "Told you chaos liked you."
"Yeah?" Li Mei rasped. "Well, I don't like it back."
Lady Yun approached, her expression unreadable. The faintest trace of a smile touched her lips — cold and thin as a knife.
"Perhaps," she said softly, "you're not as useless as I thought."
Which, in palace language, translated roughly to I'll keep you alive… for now.
The illusions slowly dissolved into mist. The courtyard fell silent except for the faint crackle of residual magic and Li Mei's uneven breathing.
She glanced up — and caught Celestia watching from above, serene and terrifying. The Empress's gaze lingered on her for a heartbeat too long.
[Quest Update: You have attracted Significant Attention.]
Sub-objective: Pretend this was part of the plan.
"Oh, perfect," Li Mei muttered under her breath. "I've officially leveled up in public humiliation."
Jianyu chuckled. "Welcome to court life, little sparrow."
She glared at him. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
He leaned in just enough for his voice to drop low — smooth and amused. "Immensely."
For one endless second, it felt like the whole courtyard was holding its breath.
The light hung suspended midair — glimmering threads of half-tamed magic swaying like fireflies caught between worlds. Li Mei stood at the center of it all, palms trembling, breath shallow, her heart slamming against her ribs.
Her voice was a whisper. "Okay. Please tell me that's the end."
(Ding! System Alert: Magical instability reduced by 87%. Remaining danger: manageable. Emotional stability: questionable.)
Li Mei let out a shaky laugh that was half sob. "Questionable's generous."
The courtyard shimmered once more before finally—mercifully—settling. The motes of light dissolved into mist, and silence rippled outward like a sigh of relief.
All around her, nobles peeked from behind overturned tables and decorative screens, blinking as if waking from a dream. Servants began dusting themselves off. Someone coughed.
Then, as if remembering who was watching, everyone turned toward her.
Dozens of wide eyes. Hundreds of murmurs.
The maid had just outplayed a noblewoman's magic in front of half the court.
Oh no. Oh no no no.
Li Mei could feel the weight of their stares pressing on her skin. She wanted to melt into the tiles. "Please stop looking at me like I just performed divine theater," she muttered under her breath. "I have no idea what I'm doing."
A low chuckle slid through the air. Jianyu stepped forward, his expression unreadable, his dark eyes glinting with that infuriating mix of pride and mischief.
"You may not know," he murmured, "but everyone else believes you do."
"That's… not comforting," Li Mei said weakly.
"Good. Confidence is rarely born from comfort."
Before she could come up with a reply that wasn't a whimper, Lady Yun straightened, her perfect poise cracking for the first time. The faint flush on her cheeks was unmistakable — fury disguised as composure.
"This farce is over," she hissed. "You think this earns you favor? That your tricks make you one of us?"
Li Mei blinked, still dizzy. "I—uh—prefer noodles over politics, honestly."
A ripple of laughter spread through the crowd. Someone even clapped.
Lady Yun's jaw locked. Her eyes burned with quiet venom as she turned sharply and strode from the courtyard, her robes snapping behind her like a retreating flame.
The moment she vanished, the tension broke. Nobles whispered excitedly, voices overlapping in a wave of disbelief. Li Mei exhaled so hard her knees wobbled.
"Okay," she breathed, pressing a hand to her chest. "Still alive. Still… somehow alive."
(Ding! Quest Complete: Palace-Wide Magical Stabilization.)
+700 XP | Magical Control +2 | Public Influence +15
(Bonus: Survival via Improvisation – Rank Up)
She glanced sideways — and caught Jianyu watching her again, not with amusement this time, but something deeper. Something dangerous.
"You surprise even yourself," he said quietly.
"Constantly," she admitted. "Usually in bad ways."
His smile curved, soft and infuriatingly fond. "Not today."
Li Mei's cheeks heated. "Don't start. I'm too tired to handle mysterious flattery."
"Then rest," Jianyu said, stepping closer. His voice dropped low enough for only her to hear. "But remember—chaos listens to you now. Learn to make it dance."
Before she could respond, another voice joined in — smooth, ethereal, laced with a serenity that always made Li Mei's stomach drop.
"Wise advice," said Celestia, from her balcony above. Silver light shimmered around her like dawn woven into silk. "You have turned panic into artistry, little maid. Do not underestimate what that means."
Li Mei tilted her head back, exhaustion and disbelief warring on her face. "Artistry? I nearly died juggling magical explosions!"
Celestia's lips curved faintly. "And yet you lived. You adapted. That is power."
(Ding! System Hint: New Title Available – "The Chaotic Artisan.")
Li Mei groaned into her hands. "That sounds like a bad tavern nickname."
But when she looked up again, Celestia's eyes were distant — thoughtful, almost wary. The Empress of Illusion did not often show unease, and that alone made Li Mei's stomach twist.
"Something stirs beneath this palace," Celestia murmured softly. "You are not the cause… but you may be the spark."
And then she was gone — silver light scattering into the morning air, leaving only her words echoing like the ghost of a warning.
Li Mei stood in the courtyard, surrounded by the fading hum of magic, and tried to steady her heartbeat.
A spark.
A maid.
A maybe-disaster waiting to happen.
She turned to Jianyu, who was still standing far too close, far too calm. "If I'm the spark," she said dryly, "then you're the gasoline."
He laughed, the sound low and warm. "Then we make a dangerous pair."
"Or a very flammable one," she muttered.
He inclined his head in mock agreement. "Same difference."
The chaos had ended, but the air still buzzed faintly — like the palace itself was holding its breath again, waiting for the next storm.
Li Mei's hands were still trembling, though now it was less fear and more disbelief. She'd survived. She'd fought a noble. She'd won.
And as the morning light poured through the dissolving illusions, she realized something both terrifying and thrilling:
The palace wasn't going to let her fade into the background anymore.
(Ding! Daily Log Updated: Magical Stability Restored. Emotional Entanglement with Jianyu +3%.)
Li Mei exhaled, staring up at the sky, a small, helpless smile tugging at her lips.
"Great," she murmured. "Saved the palace, survived chaos, and apparently developed a crush. My life is officially ridiculous."
Jianyu's quiet chuckle followed her as the last of the light faded.
And somewhere, beneath the marble floors and golden calm, the storm began to breathe again.