Li Qinghuan's eyes glinted. Struggling, she pushed herself off the bed and stumbled to the broken window, peering through a tear in the paper.

In the courtyard, a young maid, bundled in a padded old coat, listlessly swept the snow with a broken broom. A white halo hovered above her head with a value of [5]. So white represents the ordinary, she deduced. A value of 5 is likely the baseline for the lowest servants, just scraping by.

Suddenly, the palace gate creaked open, shoved without ceremony. Three eunuchs swaggered in. The leader, dressed in robes of a superior dark blue fabric, had a sharp, weasel-like face etched with unconcealed arrogance and scorn. The two following him wore drab grey.

Li Qinghuan recognized him—Xiao Luzi, a favorite underling of the Chief Eunuch, Wang De. He had often bullied the original host and routinely withheld her provisions.

Xiao Luzi tucked his hands into his sleeves, his beady eyes scanning the empty courtyard. "Your Highness," he shrilled, laying heavy, mocking emphasis on the title, "your servants are here to deliver your monthly allotment."

Li Qinghuan narrowed her eyes, activating her Eyes of Fortune.

Above Xiao Luzi's head was a pale yellow halo with a value of [35]. The two junior eunuchs had white halos of [8] and [7].

Yellow? A higher tier than white, with a significantly better value, she mused. It figures. This cur, by sucking up to Wang De and Empress Su, has carved out a comfortable niche for himself here.

"My, my, Your Highness, you're out of bed?" Xiao Luzi's voice was dripping with false concern as he spotted her at the window. "You're not fully recovered. You mustn't catch a chill." He waved a dismissive hand at the junior eunuchs. "Set it down."

The two eunuchs dropped their burdens onto the ground: a meager half-sack of coarse, blackened rice, a small bundle of wilted vegetables, and a few lumps of inferior, smoky coal. It was less than what a decent lady's maid would receive, let alone a princess.

"Is this all?" Li Qinghuan's voice was still hoarse from fever, but it held a calmness that took Xiao Luzi aback.

He blinked, then offered a greasy, insincere smile. "Your Highness, the imperial treasury is strained. All allowances have been reduced. You must… make do. Besides, given your current… status… you should be grateful for Empress Su's generosity."

He deliberately invoked the Empress's name, aiming to wound.

The original princess would have been trembling with rage, either bursting into helpless tears or charging forward to argue, only to be humiliated further.

But the Li Qinghuan before him now simply watched him, her eyes—once dull with sickness—now deep and unreadable like ancient wells.

Unsettled by her gaze, Xiao Luzi stiffened. "If there is nothing else, Your Highness, we must take our leave. Her Majesty the Empress has tasks for us."

He turned to go.

"Halt."

The single word was quiet, yet it carried an undeniable force.

Xiao Luzi stopped, turning back with a frown. "Does the Princess have further… instructions?"

Li Qinghuan pushed the creaking, broken door open and stepped outside. The winter sun illuminated her pale, yet undeniably stunning face, creating a chilling, breathtaking beauty. Clad only in a thin, old gown, she seemed frail against the bitter wind, but her straight spine and icy glare exerted a strange pressure on Xiao Luzi.

"Instructions? I wouldn't dare," Li Qinghuan said, stepping closer, her eyes fixed on his loathsome face. "I merely wish to understand. The official registry for a Princess's monthly allotment is clear: three pecks of rice, two pecks of flour, ten jin of fresh vegetables, five jin of meat, fifty jin of high-grade silver-thread coal, two bolts of silk, and twenty taels of silver. This sack of rice looks less than one peck. This coal is inferior, smoky rubbish. These vegetables are the dregs others rejected. The silver and silk were not even mentioned."

With each sentence, Xiao Luzi's face grew more alarmed. How does this useless princess remember it all so clearly? And her presence… it's different today.

"What is it?" Li Qinghuan's voice sharpened, cutting through the cold air. "Has the Internal Affairs Bureau withheld it? Or have you, Xiao Luzi, been lining your own pockets, deceiving your superiors and cheating those below?" Her tone dropped, laced with a frost that bit deeper than the winter chill. "You insolent dog. Who gave you the nerve to cheat me?"

[Fortune Value of target 'Xiao Luzi' is fluctuating due to host's actions!]