This chapter has been slightly edited to reduce the intensity of bullying/harassment. TW: physical, emotional, potential sexual harassment from one woman to another involved. Read with caution.
Outside in the street, a tall person in a cloak stood looking up at Xiaoyue Pavilion. It was the same person who had slunk into Miss Wang's tavern earlier. Their face was concealed with shadows, like a veil. They reached to their waist and brushed a slender hand over the jade hilt of a sword at their side.
Then, they entered.
______
An hour or so later, Yan Lan was sitting in a steaming bathtub in the bathing quarters. No one usually bathed at this time; it was too early in the day. But Yan Lan had gotten permission because she'd gotten dusty and unkempt from being thrown into prison earlier, and everyone knew Madame Mei wouldn't put a girl looking like a beggar out in front of her customers.
Yan Lan leaned her head against the wooden rim of the bathtub, blinking sleepily up at the ceiling boards. The boards above were creaking rhythmically. Whoever was above was having an energetic customer.
To drown the sound out a little, Yan Lan waved her hands through the water, wiping soap from her arms and listening to the calming splashes. She was careful not to let any water spill out of the tub; even such a trivial thing, Madame Mei wouldn't hesitate to take out of her pay ten times over.
How relaxing. This was the one place that Yan Lan could take a moment for herself, day in, day out. The other courtesans besides Xue Shi didn't like to associate with her—no one wanted the reputation of Xiaoyue Pavilion's dog to rub off on them and contaminate them—so Yan Lan often had bathing time to herself. It was a place where she could finally lower her shoulders, close her eyes, and feel her surroundings. She'd never felt more at ease than while soaking in a warm bath.
Yan Lan was so at ease today that she didn't notice the creaking of the floorboards as someone else entered the room. This person swaggered across the room all the way up to the tub, stepping around the screen and staring Yan Lan up and down without a single thought for privacy. It was only when Yan Lan felt a cold shadow cross her face that she blinked her eyes open. When she saw who it was, she turned as pale as a ghost.
Not even Madame Mei could make Yan Lan look so terrified.
"Aw, what a pitiful little bitch…"
The person reached out and grabbed hold of Yan Lan's chin, forcing her to look at them. Water splashed out of the tub as Yan Lan gripped the sides instinctively.
Sneering down at Yan Lan with a gaze both hateful and hungry all at once, was a young woman. She couldn't be much older than Yan Lan—maybe in her mid-twenties, or less. She was pretty, that was for certain: shining black hair tied in a ponytail, phoenix eyes and a long, pale neck. But something about her was also irritating to the core. Maybe it was the clear arrogance in her eyes and the way she tilted her chin, or the condescending smirk on her lips. Whatever it was, she was the type of woman you realize you should run away from after talking to her for three sentences.
Yan Lan's eyes widened. Her lip trembled.
"...Greetings, Miss Mei."
In response, the woman snorted and threw Yan Lan back in the tub carelessly. She stood up and brushed herself off, crossing her arms and studying Yan Lan with a predatory glare from above. Yan Lan curled up in the tub, attempting to cover herself up. There were some soap suds in the bathwater, but otherwise, this Miss Mei—Mei Xuan, daughter of the pavilion owner Madame Mei—could see her entire body. It wasn't the first time this had happened, of course—no, not even the hundredth. But Yan Lan still covered herself every time.
"Oh, don't bother…You're barely human, what's the big deal?" Mei Xuan giggled, leaning down by Yan Lan's face with a menacing grin. She carefully pulled up her own expensive martial robe's sleeve all the way to the shoulder, then plunged her hand into the water, gripping one of Yan Lan's ankles tight. With a violent motion, she yanked Yan Lan's ankle into the air, causing Yan Lan to yelp and be submerged in warm, sudsy water. For about ten seconds, Yan Lan flailed, causing water to splash and spill all over the place, until Mei Xuan finally let go of her ankle by throwing it back into the water and causing even more of a mess. When Yan Lan's head emerged from the water, her lip was trembling, and her eyes were red—from soap or tears, who could tell? Yan Lan coughed violently, looking around at the mess in despair. Madame Mei would cut down half of her pay this month for this kind of disaster, especially if it dripped through the floor. She shivered at the cold air and covered herself by folding her arms and hunching her back, then spoke while continuing to look down dejectedly:
"M-Miss Mei, has this servant angered y-you somehow? This s-servant apologizes."
As an answer, Mei Xuan leaned down with a sour look on her face so close to Yan Lan that their noses were touching. "Look at me when you're in my presence."
Yan Lan blinked, trembling, and looked up into Mei Xuan's ash-colored eyes. "Yes, Miss."
Mei Xuan's face split into a toothy smile. She patted Yan Lan on the head before standing up and surveying the now soaked bathing room floor, as well as the soap suds scattered left and right and even on the bathing screens. She tilted her head at Yan Lan, flicking her tongue over her lips once. "My mother won't be pleased. I'm sure that, if I put a word in with her, she could arrange for another public whipping as punishment for making such a pitiful mess. But you'd probably enjoy that, wouldn't you, Lan-er?" Mei Xuan's eyes darkened. "You are just a useless dog, after all…"
Yan Lan continued to look at Mei Xuan. Her whole body was trembling and covered in goosebumps from coldness. Seeing this, Mei Xuan curled her lip smugly and leaned down, brushing wet hair out of Yan Lan's freezing face. "I could also put in a good word with mother instead…and make sure that you aren't punished for this. I can call it an accident, hmmm?" She reached down to stir some of the water, letting it drip from her fingers and onto the already-soaking floor. Then she looked sweetly up at Yan Lan, grinning smugly. "If you do something I tell you to."