Chapter 16

Winter was fast approaching. Biting winds howled outside, but the bathhouse offered the perfect refuge, its pool water warm without being scalding—ideal for chasing away the chill.

Tao Chuyi sneaked up onto the rafters, climbed a few grips, and soon reached the rooftop. Pinpointing the bath pool below, Tao Chuyi quietly shifted a roof tile aside and peered through the gap.

Mist swirled in the chamber below, transforming it into something like a fairyland. Amid layers of white vapor, a beauty reclined at the pool’s center. Her skin gleamed fair and delicate, suffused with a rosy glow from the steam. Ink-black hair cascaded over her shoulders as Nangong Yunshang closed her eyes. Droplets clung to her long lashes, tracing slow paths down her cheeks, along her slender neck, and vanishing into the water.

One eye wasn’t enough for Tao Chuyi, who pried away another tile. Now both eyes had a clear view.

Fairy Sister’s skin was so white—even whiter than Tao Chuyi’s own.

Tao Chuyi rolled up a sleeve, exposing a pale forearm. Hers was already fair, but Fairy Sister’s was fairer still.

Nangong Yunshang seemed to sense a draft in the pool. She submerged herself completely.

Tao Chuyi frantically scanned the water but couldn’t find her. Fairy Sister was gone? Gone!

Just as Tao Chuyi prepared to leap down, Nangong Yunshang burst from the surface, sending up a huge splash and sending ripples across the pool.

Tao Chuyi froze. Fairy Sister was back.

Emerging fully once more, Nangong Yunshang confirmed the draft. There were no windows in the room—there shouldn’t have been any wind at all. She leaned against the pool’s edge, letting the water lap over her shoulders.

“Who’s there?”

Was Fairy Sister looking for her?

Tao Chuyi bubbled with joy. She had assumed Fairy Sister would refuse to let her bathe together, but here she was, seeking her out.

“Your Highness the Princess! I’m right here!”

Tao Chuyi had already pried away half the roof tiles overhead, creating an opening just big enough for one person to drop through.

With a splash, Tao Chuyi plunged into the pool, water flying everywhere.

Nangong Yunshang let out a startled cry. “Guards!”

“Your Highness the Princess, can Chuyi bathe with you?”

Tao Chuyi swam closer, wearing an innocently handsome expression.

Nangong Yunshang peered at the intruder and froze for a moment.

By then, guards had rushed to the bathhouse door. Yinghong called from the entrance, “Princess, do you need this servant to come in?”

Nangong Yunshang forced down her shock and regained her composure.

“No need. This palace merely slipped—no injuries.”

Once the guards outside had dispersed, both women in the pool breathed sighs of relief.

“Tao Chuyi, you dared to peep on this palace while bathing!”

Nangong Yunshang said through gritted teeth.

Tao Chuyi hurried to explain. “I wasn’t peeping. I… I just wanted to bathe with you.”

“Get out!”

“Oh.”

Tao Chuyi clambered out of the pool, dripping wet. Only after Nangong Yunshang had dressed did she order Tao Chuyi back to her quarters to change into dry clothes.

A gaping hole now marred the bathhouse roof. Nangong Yunshang dispatched a servant boy to repair it, but no one dared speculate, and no one dared ask.

Once changed, Tao Chuyi knelt primly at the doorway. Two maids accompanied her and tried to kneel as well, but Tao Chuyi refused, insisting on kneeling alone. Unable to dissuade her, the maids simply stood watch.

“Young Master, you’re perfectly fine—why go peeping at the Princess?”

Xichan bent down and murmured, her voice low enough for only the two of them to hear.

Tao Chuyi still hadn’t grasped her mistake. “I’m the same as her. Why can’t we bathe together?”

Xichan gave a soft sigh. “Young Master, you are a young master right now. It’s different from being a princess. Have you forgotten what the Lord instructed?”

The words hit Tao Chuyi like a blow to the head. Suddenly, she recalled Tao Siqing’s warning. The Old Monster would drag her away.

Inside the room, Nangong Yunshang sat in a grand chair, cradling a teacup. Her expression was far from pleasant.

Yinghong, attending at her side, read the mood and refilled her tea.

“Princess, the Prince Consort has been kneeling for an hour now. With the ground so cold, this servant thinks that’s long enough.”

At those words, Nangong Yunshang arched a brow. “And what do you think should be done?”

Yinghong hastily bowed her head and fell silent, unwilling to invite trouble.

Tao Chuyi, kneeling outside the door, had grown weary and come to a profound realization of her error. She began shouting apologies at the top of her lungs.

“Your Highness the Princess, I was wrong! I won’t do it again!”

“Your Highness the Princess, I was wrong!”

“I was wrong! I shouldn’t have peeped on you bathing!”

Her shouts rang out for all to hear. The guards hurriedly averted their eyes and held their breath.

Nangong Yunshang’s face grew darker still. She slammed her teacup onto the table. “Get in here!”

Tao Chuyi obeyed without hesitation. Drawing her legs up and hugging her knees, she rolled right through the doorway.

The others withdrew, leaving just the two of them in the room.

Tao Chuyi rolled to Nangong Yunshang’s side and knelt properly once more.

“Your Highness the Princess!”

The sight of her only fueled Nangong Yunshang’s anger. She reached out, seized Tao Chuyi’s ear, and yanked hard.

“If you dare commit the same offense again, this palace will tear off your ear and blind your eyes. Have you got that?”

Tao Chuyi was on the verge of tears, but Fairy Sister glared so fiercely that she swallowed them back.

“Got it.”

“Hm.”

Nangong Yunshang released her ear, picked up her teacup again, and ignored her.

Tao Chuyi offered an apologetic smile as she continued kneeling there.

At the same time, another thorny case had arrived at Dali Temple—this time reported by an internal official.

Because it involved their own ranks, Tao Siqing had come to the Princess Mansion early that morning to report.

The victim was the wife of Temple Deputy Fu. Her body had been discovered the previous evening. Yesterday, Temple Deputy Fu had been occupied with case files at Dali Temple until nightfall before returning home. He found no sign of his wife and learned from the servants that Madam Fu had taken ill around noon and had not left her room since, instructing the staff not to disturb her. When Temple Deputy Fu finally entered the bedchamber, he found her dead.

“The coroner examined the body,” Tao Siqing reported. “Madam Fu died sometime after noon. She lay on the floor with the back of her head smashed against a table corner, leaving a bloody gash.”

Nangong Yunshang frowned. She had only recently taken charge of Dali Temple, and now an internal official was involved in a case.

“According to the coroner, it appears to be an accidental death?”

Tao Siqing shook his head. “It’s too soon to conclude. With a Dali Temple official implicated, Princess, you may not make it in time for this year’s Imperial Merchant bidding. And with that Co-sponsorship Right at stake…”

Ever since Nangong Rong had been imprisoned, her Imperial Merchant Co-sponsorship Right had lain vacant. Factions everywhere vied for the prized position, but only if their jurisdictions remained free of incidents. An external case might have been manageable, but an internal one tied her hands.

“The investigation comes first,” Nangong Yunshang said. “As for the Imperial Merchant Co-sponsorship Right, anyone who wants it can go claim it. There’s no rush.”

As Nangong Yunshang rose, Tao Chuyi came scampering over.

“Where are you going, Your Highness the Princess?”

“To Fu Mansion.”

Nangong Yunshang sighed helplessly. “You stay here in the mansion. Behave yourself.”

Tao Chuyi pressed her lips together and clutched Nangong Yunshang’s sleeve, refusing to let go.

“I’m coming too!”

“Chuyi, don’t hinder the Princess.”

Tao Siqing cautioned from the side, anxious that she might anger Nangong Yunshang and make life in the Princess Mansion difficult.

Tao Chuyi couldn’t read the twists in her own father’s mind. She only knew she had to stick with Fairy Sister. If not openly, then she’d follow in secret.