After hearing Xiaobai's words, Jingrui felt there were much to ponder over, but she quickly dismissed her thoughts. She was only at the Heavenly Palace for one reason: to find the cause of her sister's death. She would not be distracted by stupid palace intrigues.

But as they walked, twisting and turning through alley after alley, she realised that she might have underestimated the size of this enormous maze of a palace.

Jingrui had come to accept that she would be staying there longer than she would have wished.

At long last, they arrived at the grand entrance of the Floating Abyss Palace. The palace was situated in a dark and deep corner of Heaven. Thick branches of trees grew over the walls, covering the daylight with gloom.

The guards pushed the doors of the palace open. Loud creaking sounds jolted the maids, tranced by the palace's surface beauty, upright. Dust flew into Jingrui's face, and she coughed as the guards pushed her through the towering gateway.

The courtyard was much larger than it looked from the exterior. Several maids bustled at tasks, cleaning the cobblestone floor and picking up weeds. Behind Jingrui, the guards shut the gate and locked it as if they were caging a group of cattle inside.

Cool breeze brushed past her skin, bringing a faint scent of jiu⁶ with it and she sneezed. Who in their right mind would light such a heavily medicated incense burner? She kept her complaints sealed, knowing that this place was not like the Red Valley where she could freely voice her thoughts.

She scanned the courtyard to distract herself from focusing on the pungent smell. In front of her stood a spacious main hall with its door wide open. She tried to peer inside, and although darkness obscured the room, she caught the dark silhouette of a regal-looking man, sitting with his head resting on his fingers.

Before she could look any further, a slender woman, who held a youth like any immortal would but had eyes that reflected her years of experience, stepped out from the main hall. Following behind her was a man, clad in an armor and held a look of a fighter on the most bloody battlefield. He waved the door shut as they walked forward, grimacing at the maids.

The woman raised her head high. "This is the Floating Abyss Palace, and you, new maids, are here to serve the God of War. You may call me Madam Fu. I am the head maid of this Palace." She stretched her long and slender arm to the side and grabbed the collar of the man, pulling him in front of her.

The man groaned, "I told you, didn't I, old hag? Welcome the new maids yourself. Why must you trouble me?"

"Shut up, Yuansong. You know how our Prince is, he only trusts you for this job." Madam Fu crossed her arms.

Yuansong grunted and turned towards the maids. "Greetings, new maids. I am Yuansong, the God of War's personal bodyguard. If you did not know, our God of War is the current Heavenly Emperor's little brother. He is, sometimes, referred to as Prince Zhanying, surely you have heard of such a name."

The dozen maids murmured as if they knew well who Prince Zhanying was. Jingrui wasn't surprised that they would. Most of the Immortal maids were born as Immortals. They had studied the history of the four seas and eight desserts since birth. She, on the other hand, was a mortal who was cultivated to become an immortal, she knew nothing about the royalties.

Yuansong scoffed to stop the chattering and pulled out a scroll from within his sleeves. "Now, I shall go over the system of this palace. There are two types of maids here: the inner courtyard maids and the outer courtyard maids. You all are new and are assigned to the outer courtyard. You will be cleaning the main hall, heaving water, cooking in the kitchen, picking weeds, doing chores, chores, and chores. You may do your work the mortal way, or if you have some cultivation to spare, you may use magic.

"Your individual rooms will be small and cramped. The main hall will always be open, but you may not trespass into the door of the inner courtyard. The morning call is at first morning light, and dinner is at twilight. All must be in their rooms before xiangzhong⁷ runs out.

"There are around a hundred maids and thirty guards in the outer courtyard. Each maid will do their jobs competently, and if you do good merits, you will be promoted to the inner courtyard, which means you are allowed to serve the God of War directly. You will be given a spacious room, and your chores will be lenient, such as brushing dust off bookshelves, grinding the God of War's ink, and brewing and serving him tea. Any questions?"

One of the maids stepped forward. Her bright pink hanfu flew following her. She touched the flower pins in her hair, adjusting them. "I'm Shushu, and my father is the Bird King's personal guard," she said with a hint of pride. "So, how many maids and guards are in the inner courtyard?"

Yuansong went silent for a while before he blurted into a cackle. "Guess."

"Ten? Twenty?" The maid looked at her long and polished nails, batting her eyelashes as she spoke.

"Two."

The courtyard went dead silent.

"Madam Fu and me." Yuansong gave a wryly smile. "Whatever you dream of entering the palace for, it will be returned to you as a nightmare. Do your job well, if you wish for peaceful days."

Everyone gulped, including Jingrui. Having lived a carefree life in the Red Valley for centuries, she was not used to following strict regulations.

"Now, then, as for the rules. There are a few which you must strictly follow. One, never step foot into the inner courtyard; our prince loves peace and seclusion. Two, the Ancient Archive of the Floating Abyss Palace is off-limits to every soul, so as mundane maids, don't even think of stepping foot in it. Three, all affairs between maids and guards are strictly prohibited. If you are caught hiding a man in your room, tut-tut, say bye-bye to your head.

"You are not allowed to leave the palace without the permission of Madam Fu, and if you have any problems in the future, you may ask Madam Fu. Anyone have any questions?" Yuansong's smile widened, seeing the maids cower in fear.

Jingrui took a deep breath as she stepped forward. Her cold hands clenched tightly onto one another. "What will happen if the rules are broken, sir?"

At her question, a glimpse of ruthlessness flickered within Yuansong's dark eyes. "Kill without mercy."

━━━━━━━━━━━━

6) jiu (灸) : moxibustion

7) xiangzhong (香鐘) : incense clock