Almost another month passed, and winter finally arrived.
The cold season carried a strange combination, it was beautiful, quiet, and comforting, yet it also made me impossibly drowsy throughout the day. My body felt heavier, my thoughts slower. Still, the chill was a relief compared to the summer air.
The good news was that I could finally walk again, and even ride my horse without collapsing. Perfect timing, because soon I would be presenting the poison plan.
But time itself still seemed to speed up over us.
Based on the scouts' reports, the Mongol forces would reach the nearest Chinese villages in roughly two months, razing everything in their path once they arrived.
Two months.
That was both long and far too short.
Their slowness confused me. Why move at such a pace when they could have stormed through in a few weeks? Was there another motive—some hidden agenda I couldn't see yet? I didn't know.
For now, I had to focus on what I did understand—the Ku-Tu poison.
If we traveled south to Yunnan, we'd likely find a good supply. The region's tropical climate made it ideal for cultivating Nux vomica.
By my calculations, it would take us roughly two weeks to reach Yunnan, a week to locate and collect enough of the toxin, and three more weeks to return to northern China, where we would finally deploy it into the rivers feeding the Mongol route.
That gave me about two weeks to poison the water sources effectively and another two weeks for the poison's effects to manifest—to slow them, weaken them, and erode their morale.
A month.
Just one month.
That was all I needed to turn the tides. This had to work. It needed to work.
Renshu had been pressing to know my full plan. Eventually, I told him everything—how it worked, how it would be used, and what results we might expect. To my surprise, he agreed immediately. I had prepared myself for arguments, criticism, perhaps even disgust. Instead, he simply nodded.
Honestly, I hadn't expected it to go that smoothly. The plan still had flaws. Too many, actually.
"Meilina, don't work yourself up too much."
A familiar voice broke my thoughts.
I turned to see Shuyin entering my room, the faintest smile tugging at her lips. She walked over and sat at the side of my bed like she owned the place.
"Whatever conflicts are happening," she said, waving her hand dismissively, "you shouldn't be exhausting yourself. You've already been through enough. Let that Renshu man handle things for once."
Ah yes—Shuyin and her eternal dislike for Renshu.
She thought he was careless, arrogant, and infuriatingly immature. To be fair, she wasn't wrong about that last one.
"Why is the whole palace so dark anyway?" she continued. "Does he think he's a type of Japanese ninja, hiding in the shadows?"
I nearly laughed, but caught myself at the last second.
"I'm not exhausting myself," I said, "I'll be fine."
Both statements were untrue, of course.
We talked for a while after that, catching up on things that almost felt normal. The palace had finally located most of the missing maids. Many had been tracked and returned to work. I wasn't sure if that was better or worse for them.
"My workload's a lot lighter now," Shuyin said with a satisfied smile. "Though honestly, it would've been better if they'd taken Jinmei instead."
Only Shuyin could joke about something like that so casually.
Over an hour passed before she finally stood to leave. Just as she turned toward the door—
BANG!
The door slammed open and smacked straight into her shoulder, nearly knocking her off her feet.
"Oh—! I, uh, sorry. Didn't see you there."
It was Renshu.
Of course.
He had barged in without knocking, again, and opened the door with just enough force to bruise someone. Unfortunately for him, that someone was Shuyin.
"You sure have some issues, hitting a lady like that!" Shuyin snapped, rubbing her arm.
This was going to end terribly.
I tried to intervene before it escalated—but with these two, reason was hopeless.
"Well," Renshu said coolly, "you don't just stand in front of doors, now do you?"
This was exactly what I didn't need today.
Their bickering continued for a while, each insult sharper than the last, until—rather suddenly—their tone changed.
"I came to talk to Meilina," Renshu said, exasperated. "I need to see her."
"She doesn't look like she wants to see you," Shuyin replied proud.
"She looks like that to everyone, if we're being honest."
I blinked. Wait, what?
Surely Shuyin would defend me—she always did. But instead… she laughed?!
"True," she said. "Half the time, I can't even tell what she's thinking. Always so calm. Like she doesn't care about anyone."
"Yes!" Renshu added. "Exactly! It's like talking to someone who only speaks if you force them to."
They laughed together. Actually laughed.
I rubbed my temples, trying to process this sudden alliance. Were these two really bonding over mocking me?
Apparently, yes.
"See?" Shuyin said between laughs. "She's been silent this whole time! She really doesn't talk unless you make her."
"That's right!" Renshu said, clearly enjoying himself.
I finally snapped. "Alright, fine! I'm not talkative. What's wrong with that?!"
"There's a difference between 'not talkative' and 'mute,' Meilina. Learn the difference," Shuyin teased, laughing again as she walked out before I could respond.
And just like that, she left me alone with him.
Renshu chuckled. "Well, there she goes. I didn't know she was so fun to talk to. Maybe I should invite her over more often."
"Ahh anyways, I came to talk about the poison. You'll present your idea tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!" I nearly shouted. "Wasn't it supposed to be next week?"
"I changed it," he said simply. "The sooner we finalize the plan, the better. It'll take time to gather the materials. We can't afford delays."
He was right, but still—tomorrow? That left me barely any time to prepare.
"It'll take six weeks of travel at least," I muttered.
"Which is why we start now," he said. "Time is our only advantage."
He glanced at me, waiting for a response.
When I didn't answer right away, he smiled. "You do realize that if you stay silent right now, we'd be right about you being a wall."
"You're very proud of that joke, aren't you?"
"Extremely," he said, smiling.
I sighed again. "What do you actually want to talk about?"
"Hmm. Why don't we talk about you? That's usually more fun."
Before I could react, he moved closer—too close—and tugged me toward him by the shoulders.
I glared. "Are you really doing this again?"
He smiled, infuriatingly calm. "Why? Don't you like it? You never really fight back."
"I've told you many times to stop."
"Yes, yes, you have," he said lightly. "But you never actually make me stop. No pushing, no hitting. Almost like you don't mean it."
"Because I'd probably be punished for it," I replied.
He laughed softly. "Ah, so you'd be punished for this but not for all the insults Shuyin threw at me? That doesn't sound very logical, Meilina."
Before I could answer, he leaned down—lower, closer—until our faces were inches apart. His gaze was sharp, searching, almost playful.
It reminded me of the day he had forced me to face him, wiping off my makeup with his hand. The same tension. The same charged silence. Except this time, I wasn't standing.
I could feel his breath, the faintest trace of warmth in the cold winter air.
"What are you going to do now?" I asked quietly.
He smiled faintly. "Guess."
And his face inched even closer.