After visiting housekeeping, I sink into my cushioned chair in the sun room waiting for lunch.


    Tai joins before I can fully relax. He pulls a letter out from thin air and waves it in my face. A grin I’m sure he thinks is charming decorates his face as his eyes watch me a bit too closely.


    I’m feeling lazy, so I don’t even try to swat it out of my face. Instead, I ask, “And this is?”


    His smile falls, since I failed to take the bait. In my defense, I’m not a fish. He turns the letter to me and waves his hand to emphasize what’s written on the front.


    Looking closely, I say, “It’s addressed to me?”


    He nods and passes it to me before sitting in the chair across from me with perfect gentlemanly posture. The staff start laying lunch out on the table. It’s mystery soup, rice and grilled chunks.


    I open the letter. He’s probably already read it and resealed it.


    The envelope is made of a thick creamy cardstock and the letter inside has some heft to it as well, despite being only a single sheet of robin’s egg blue paper.


    Dead center in the piece of paper is the name Yan Su. Nothing else is written on the card.


    I stare at it for a moment and have to sift through Lin’s memories for a while before I understand what it is, because it would make an awful business card.


    “A calling card?”


    Tai nods and eats a spoonful of soup. I set the card aside and tuck in.


    The mystery soup reminds me of lobster bisque, which is a nice surprise. The rice is plane white rice and mercifully contains no surprises. But I have no idea what the chunks are.


    It could be meat, but I wouldn’t put money on that bet. I could ask, but I fear I would get an answer.


    Each chunk is the size of a domino and has what I assume to be grill marks. I think it tastes like chicken; however, the texture is extremely chewy, almost like bubble gum. But I resist trying to blow a bubble.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Tai has the most varied palate out of Jun’s squad. I never know what to expect. His meals have all been delicious and have helped me from getting too bored during my convalescence.


    Meals here are generally pretty boring if the kitchen gets to decide what to make. The only other member of Jun’s squad who likes to eat interesting things is Zhen, but he has a taste for junk food spicy enough to blind a mortal so I can’t always eat it.


    Also, as per usual, Tai watches every bite I take carefully. As if to report back to nanny Luan that I have eaten my vegetables. But then again, he watches everything I do in front of him with that level of detail. Incase all my injuries are a ruse and I suddenly light the room of fire, or worse reveal that I’m the daughter of a sworn enemy (spoiler, I’m not).


    Tai isn’t a chatty one, so I have plenty of time to think about that card. I don’t have any memories of Lady Yan Su, but the Yan’s are well known in White Fang. They are a local merchant family, whose current leadership are aspiring to be more than a big fish in a little pond.


    The late mistress thought that they as a family were basically well dressed monkeys aping their betters. So, I doubt she treated Su well.


    That she came to call on me implies she thinks of herself as lower rank. That she left a card implies that she wants to meet. And that Tai took time to carry her card to me implies something as well, but I’m not sure what.


    He could want me to meet her, or he could want to watch me interact with other mortals like a cultivator’s lab rat. Or he could just want to prove that I can read.


    To keep myself from pondering longer, I decide to ask, “Why did you bring me someone’s calling card?”


    He shrugs. “It’s yours.”


    “Thank you for bringing my mail. However, there’s staff for that. Is Yan Su important to you or something?”


    He chuckles and shakes his head no.


    “Am I in a position to even receive visitors?”


    “If you want.”


    This is starting to feel like twenty questions, but all I know is that I’m not looking for a vegetable, animal or a mineral. I eat a few more of the chewy blocks with rice.


    If the late mistress deigned to have a personal tea with any of the local Ladies, she usually picked a time and sent a runner informing her guest when to arrive. It feels heavy handed, but when in Rome.


    “So, I can just send a runner and tell her to come for tea tomorrow afternoon.” He nods in agreement.


    “And you’re okay with that?”


    He gives a non-committal shrug before picking up his soup bowl and slurping the last bit down. I copy him and slurp the soup. It’s good enough to savor every last drop.


    I set the bowl down and then he speaks without prompting. “It’s only the beginning.”


    “Then I’ll send the runner.”


    He nods again and snaps his fingers. A butler rushes to his side and Tai gestures towards me. The butler turns and with a small bow asks, “How may I help you Milady?”


    He takes care of sending the runner and starts the process of scheduling a tea time for the kitchen to set up tomorrow in one of the sitting rooms overlooking the garden.