Kayla gritted her teeth together, hissing in pain as she moved slowly to sit up. No matter the potential rewards, she was regretting her actions from last night. The wounds Kayla had gotten from the Grand Duke were excruciatingly painful now that the pain-relief spell had worn off, and Kayla was beginning to worry about infection. The open wounds hadn’t been dressed at all, and Kayla hadn’t done them any favors by accidentally sleeping on her back while the pain relief spell was still in effect. Her face was now swollen where it had been smashed through the door and Kayla’s mouth tasted of blood when she woke up. She hadn’t changed out of her wine-soaked robes, which were now uncomfortably sticky on her skin.

My robes had alcohol on them, do you think that would count for sterilization?

I’m pretty sure that’s not how sterilization works.

Kayla moved slowly to get up, but gave up and went back to bed after realizing there was no way she’d be going to the Imperial court today. Her next step was meeting the Empress Dowager to tattle on Liu Hongyu, but there was no way she was going anywhere at this rate.

There was a knock on her door.

“Young lord, this humble servant has brought your breakfast,” a serving girl called from the doorway. Kayla’s head was swimming and she couldn’t imagine trying to stomach anything in her current state.

“I don’t want it, take it away for now,” Kayla replied, surprised at how raspy her voice came out. The serving girl hesitated slightly but bowed her head.

“As you wish, my lord. We’ll take our leave then,” she said, softly closing the door. Kayla closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath. She drifted back into an uneasy sleep, startling as there was yet another knock at the door. 

“Who is it?” Kayla called out wearily. A servant softly opened the door, stepping into the room quietly. 

“Young lord, I’ve come to bring you water,” the servant said, bowing his head respectfully. Kayla frowned at him. There weren’t that many male servants in the Inner Quarters who directly served Wenyuan, but her head felt too heavy to mull it over.

“Thanks, just set it down on the bedside table,” Kayla said. The servant bowed and brought a tray with a water pitcher and a cup over, setting it down so softly that Kayla could barely hear anything. The smooth movements unwittingly reminded her of Chujiao. Even though the girl was definitely a ticking time bomb, Kayla couldn’t deny that Chujiao was probably the most capable servant in the Inner Quarters. She glanced up at the servant absently as he deftly poured out a cup of water. 

Her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of the servant’s face. He was very handsome. Her heart skipped a beat in fear. The servant was way too handsome to be an unnamed character or even a side character. That was not a good sign.

“Who are you?” Kayla asked sharply. The servant bowed slightly.

“I’m Zhang San, I work under Matron Li,” he said politely. Kayla stared intently at him. He had smooth features and deep, intelligent eyes. 

That can’t be right. He’s too handsome. He can’t just be a background character!

That’s right, since when did we have someone this handsome in the Inner Quarters?!

“Like hell you are!” Kayla snapped. She narrowed her eyes, peering intently at him as her mind raced. When had there ever been any named characters in the Grand Duke’s household other than Wenyuan, the Grand Duke, and Matron Li? Even Chujiao didn’t have a name, and Boyong hadn’t even been featured in the story. 

An exceedingly handsome man with elegant mannerisms who had been in the Grand Duke’s household. Who the hell fits that description?

There hadn’t been anyone like that from the Grand Duke’s household. The only times the Grand Duke’s place was even mentioned outright was when Liu Boyue had been sent to infiltrate the Inner Quarters. 

The pieces clicked together in her mind. Kayla gasped involuntarily as it occurred to her that this was the famous Liu Boyue. The prince’s strategist had appeared before her, and he was here to raise Kayla’s biggest death flag. Her heart was pounding so hard against her chest that Kayla felt nauseous with fear. 

Why the hell was Xianchun proceeding with the infiltration? He had everything he needed already!

He must be striking the iron while it’s hot! What do we do?! 

Kayla squeezed her eyes shut, feeling an urge to dry-heave as she was overwhelmed with stress. 

Oh my god, I didn’t strike down the death flag, I fucking sped up my death ending! How long had Xianchun waited before killing Wenyuan in the novel after infiltrating the Grand Duke’s household? It had been three days. Three fucking days! Kayla trembled, her teeth clattering against each other as she clenched her fists into the sheets.

“Young lord!” Liu Boyue moved forward to help Wenyuan at Kayla’s evident distress. She violently flinched away from his touch.

“Don’t touch me!” Her voice cracked as she slapped away his hand. Boyue quickly backed away, lowering his head apologetically.

“Apologies, young lord, but you look to be unwell,” Boyue said.

Yeah?! Whose fault is that?!

“I’ll give you one last chance, who the fuck are you?” Kayla snapped, no longer caring if her voice shook. Should I kill him now? Could I even kill him if I tried? What happens even if I do kill him? 

“I’m Zhang San, your humble servant, my lord,” Boyue said with a concerned tone.

“Lies! Do you think I wouldn’t notice you don’t work here? How many good-looking men do you think there are, huh? You have a face like this and you pretend I’m blind?” Kayla shot back. How do I get him out? Can I stop him? Has he already found the evidence? Her gaze flitted over the water nervously. Was the water poisoned?

Kayla, what do we do?! Wenyuan was just as panicked, which did not help Kayla’s nerves at all. Liu Boyue hadn’t encountered Wenyuan during his infiltration in the novel, but Kayla was already too overwhelmed to bother considering if this change to the plot was a good thing or a bad thing.

“My lord, I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Boyue said, backing away nervously. Kayla’s mind settled firmly onto a course of action.

“Even if Matron Li took pity on you and let you work as a temporary employee, how can you enter the Inner Quarters? You should’ve refused even if someone ordered you to go!” Kayla snapped. 

Boyue blinked in surprise, but hastily went along with Kayla’s apparent misunderstanding. “I beg your pardon, my lord! I-I wanted to refuse, but-”

“But what? You want to say you were scared of punishment? Huh? Do you know what’ll happen if the Grand Duke notices you? You’d be a goddamn smear on the floor!” Kayla snarled angrily. She shot Boyue a glare. “Hurry up and go back to the Outer Quarters! If you die, I don’t want to get haunted by your ghost!”

“Young lord, but the manager said-”

“Listen, do you know how much you stand out with a face like that? The Grand Duke isn’t blind, he’ll notice the second he sees you that you’re a temp, and then he won’t just punish you, he’ll punish Matron Li as well! I like that woman, I won’t allow her to get hurt because of you. You know it’s against the rule to hire temporary workers without express permission, right?” Kayla warned him, making shit up off the top of her head. 

“I didn’t realize, my lord,” Boyue mumbled his apologies. “I was just doing my job.”

“Here, go to my desk and take the coins in my top drawer. Consider yourself paid and get the hell out of here before someone notices, I won’t have your life on my hands,” Kayla snapped, pointing towards the desk.

”That won’t be necessary, my lord,” Boyue bowed deeply. “I’ll take my leave, thank you for your warning.”

“Just take the coins, don’t go around saying you were cheated of your wages,” Kayla ordered. Boyue bowed his head and didn’t go to her desk, instead turning towards the door. Kayla did her best to ignore his leaving, wincing in pain as her shoulder throbbed when she tried to grab the cup of water. Her back seemed to have worsened since when she’d woken up, and now she could barely summon any grip strength. Maybe it was the combination of fear and her injuries, but Kayla’s hand trembled uselessly without being able to lift the goddamn cup. She pulled her hand back, comforting herself that there was probably poison in it anyways. There were soft footsteps and Kayla looked up in alarm as Boyue returned to her bedside.

“What? I told you to take the money and go!” Kayla said nervously, trying to back away from him.

“The drink, my lord,” Boyue said gently. He lifted the cup towards Kayla, who quickly moved her head further away, viewing the cup with suspicion.

“Then please pardon me, my lord,” Boyue said, before taking a sip from the cup himself before bowing towards Kayla. “As you see, my lord, there’s nothing wrong with the drink. I’ll fetch you a new cup.”

“Forget it, just leave the Inner Quarters, and tell Matron Li not to let temp workers go romping around like this,” Kayla said, trying to shoo the man away. “Get out of my room.”

Boyue looked at her earnestly, once again lifting the cup. Kayla relented at her body’s need for hydration, allowing Boyue to help her drink the water. She found herself gulping down the entire cup within seconds, not caring that water trickled down her face. Her throat was much more parched than she’d cared to notice earlier. Boyue refilled her cup and helped her drink it again. He refilled it a third time, leaving it at the bedside after seeing that Kayla seemed satisfied. She wiped her chin, avoiding Boyue’s gaze.

“Thanks,” she said. She glanced up at him. “Now get out of the Inner Quarters.”

Boyue bowed, a slight smile on his face. “Thank you, my lord. I’ll take my leave now and be sure not to be seen.”

“Go, hurry and leave,” Kayla shooed him away successfully this time. Her mind was left in a mess of thoughts as the door closed behind Boyue. The water didn’t seem to be poisoned, or maybe Boyue had brought an antidote for himself and Kayla had been undone by the temptation of a drink. And why had he even helped her? Did that mean he hadn’t found the evidence yet? Was her last-second act enough to make him leave preemptively? Or was it all just part of his act as a servant?

Kayla groaned, burying her face into her pillow as her head began to ache to match her back. Her face throbbing, Kayla winced and pulled back.

I’ve been pulling every string I can, why the fuck is everything going off the rails like this?!

She lay there for a while, consumed with fear and anxiety until there was yet another knock at the door.

“What is it now?!” Kayla snapped angrily. I swear to god if that guy’s back to kill me I’m going to pull a knife on him. She didn’t actually have a knife or know where to get one, but that was beside the point. 

“Young lord, it’s your humble servant,” a familiar voice called out gently. Kayla’s thoughts ground to a halt.

“Chujiao,” she said. She looked towards the door with a dumbfounded expression. “What are you doing here?”

“May I enter, my lord?” Chujiao asked, her voice sounding teary. “I know it’s not my place, but I heard you were injured. I couldn’t help but come here.”

Kayla softened at Chujiao’s words and spoke before she could stop herself. “Enter.”

The door opened, and Chujiao entered. Her lovely face was stained with tears, just as Kayla had suspected. The young woman was dressed in the dark blue robes of a secretary, but her movements were the same as Kayla and Wenyuan remembered.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Kayla admonished her. Kayla should’ve felt more nervous at Chujiao’s sudden reappearance, but instead, there was only the instinctive relief of seeing Chujiao’s face. It was probably due to Wenyuan’s long friendship with the young woman that Kayla could barely summon any suspicion.

“I know, I’m so sorry, young lord,” Chujiao wept piteously as she took in Kayla’s injuries. “Young lord, just what on earth happened to you?”

Kayla sighed, steeling herself as she remembered Chujiao’s role in the original novel. “It’s nothing you need to worry about. Don’t you need to get back to work? Outer Quarter servants aren’t allowed to enter without permission.”

“Matron Li gave me special permission,” Chujiao replied pleadingly. Kayla sighed again.

“I told her not to bother you with news about the Inner Quarters for the time being,” Kayla said tiredly.

“It’s not her fault! I begged her endlessly until she gave in, please blame me if you’re angry,” Chujiao hurriedly explained. She looked at Kayla with earnest concern and Kayla hastily avoided Chujiao’s eyes.

“I’m not angry, but you shouldn’t have come. I’ve just angered grandfather, you should be keeping your distance right now rather than running over like this,” Kayla said, trying but not quite managing a gruff tone. 

“Please don’t say that, young lord. How could I not come to see you when something this terrible has happened?” Chujiao asked. 

“It’s not your duty to be concerned about me anymore,” Kayla reminded her gently. “Right now, your duty is to be concerned with bookkeeping.”

“That’s not true! Young lord, Chujiao would happily do anything for your sake, please believe me when I say that!” Chujiao said earnestly. Kayla instinctively understood that was true. She felt something click in the back of her mind, and she nodded at Chujiao with a smile.

“I know, thank you. But I’m fine, you really should go now,” Kayla said. She gently patted Chujiao’s hand. “Otherwise it’ll be my turn to worry.”

Chujiao nodded reluctantly but took her leave, Kayla watching her until the door closed. 

I think I understand her role in the novel now, Kayla mulled over Chujiao’s words in her mind. Xianchun, that bastard, it seems I’ve underestimated how far he’d go.

What do you mean, Kayla?

Look at her, do you think she could hurt you? Xianchun must’ve somehow fooled her into thinking it would benefit you, why else would she have told him anything?

Chujiao’s the smartest woman I know, she wouldn’t have been fooled so easily!

Yeah? Love makes fools of us all.

I have no idea what you’re talking about. Kayla snorted out loud at Wenyuan’s hasty deflection.

Oh Wenyuan, you are fooling absolutely no one. But the fact he was able to convince someone as meticulous as Chujiao says a lot. 

What do we do then? Kayla frowned, running through the information she had so far in her mind.

We need to bring in more actors. 

Kayla closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. After all, if you couldn’t beat the other guy at chess, you just had to keep adding pieces to the board.

---

Cultural Notes

张三/Zhang San: Liu Boyong used a name that essentially means "Third (child) of the Zhang family". It wasn't uncommon for poorer families to give their children names corresponding to their birth order in the past, hence the term "张三李四/Third of the Zhang family, fourth of the Li family". 

Temporary Employees: Hiring people to work for prestigious families often had high requirements or training in mannerisms, etiquette, and so on so forth before someone is assigned to directly serve the masters rather than doing grunt work, hence why a temporary hire would usually not be allowed to directly serve the young master of a Grand Duke's household. 

梨花带雨/[Like] Pear blossoms dripping with rain: A Chinese proverb historically used to describe the beauteous crying face of Royal Consort Yang, a famous beauty of the Tang Dynasty. It is used to describe a beautiful woman's crying face that evokes pity and sympathy from those who see her cry.