The first time I tasted poison, it wasn't in a cup or a dish. It was in the way the palace breathed around me heavy with lies, fear, and secrets too thick to swallow.
The Empress didn't trust me. Neither did anyone else. Not the eunuchs who glared when I passed, nor the ladies who whispered in silk corridors. But it wasn't fear that kept me alive it was curiosity. And the faintest thread of hope.
"Mei Lin," the imperial physician said one dawn, eyes sharp beneath his thinning brows, "the Empress demands proof. Find the poison. Prove it without a word, or we both die."
No words. Silence. A test.
I swallowed my fear and nodded. It wasn't my first test. Back on the streets, survival was a series of silent trials dodging knives, stealing scraps, lying without opening my mouth. This was just another game.
That morning, I watched the tea ceremony from the shadows. The Empress's attendants moved with perfect grace, their hands steady as the hot water poured over delicate leaves. But my eyes, trained to catch the smallest detail, caught the faintest tremor in the youngest maid's fingers.
The steam rose like a ghost. I breathed it in, the bitter almond hiding just beneath the sweet scent of jasmine.
My heart hammered.
The moment the Empress lifted the cup, I moved. A simple cough soft, deliberate.
Her hand paused mid-air.
"Your Majesty?" the head maid's voice was sharp, a blade disguised as concern.
I stepped forward, voice steady. "I smell cyanide. The tea is poisoned."
The room froze.
Eyes turned to me. Whispers rippled.
A challenge. An accusation.
But the Empress only smiled.
"Is that so?" she said softly, eyes like winter frost.
The court physician bowed, his face pale. "It must be a mistake."
"No mistake," I said. "The poison is there."
The silence that followed was thick enough to drown in.
Then, without another word, the Empress set down her cup. Her gaze locked on mine.
I had passed the silent test. But at what cost?
Every word unspoken in this palace carries weight. Every glance hides a blade.
And I'm only just beginning to understand the game.