The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis

The Crown Prince's manor had always been too quiet. Like a house pretending not to be haunted.

But this time, it felt crowded.

Not with footsteps or noise—no, it was the silence that gave them away. Women in silk robes glided across polished stone, heads bowed, eyes too curious. They didn't speak unless spoken to, didn't smile unless observed. But they were everywhere. In the walkways. In the libraries. In the gardens that should have been empty.

Each one more beautiful than the one before. Each one planted.

I walked slowly, letting the quiet settle around me like smoke. Shi Yaozu followed at my back, silent as ever, but I could feel his unease. He noticed them too—the way they watched me, not like a future Crown Princess, but like a threat to their sponsors.

One of the women bowed too deeply near the southern corridor. I recognized the sigil embroidered at her wrist—a mountain plum, the emblem of Minister Liang. I smiled slightly. So that was the game now.

By the time I reached the main receiving room, Zhu Mingyu was already waiting. He stood when I entered, straight-backed and smiling too much.

"You're back," he said. "I wasn't sure if you'd return tonight."

"I told you I would," I replied. "And I always keep my promises."

He exhaled, relieved. "Then allow me to welcome you properly."

"I've already been welcomed," I said, gesturing to the hallway behind me. "Twice in the garden. Once near the stables. And again by the east pond. You've been collecting women."

His smile faltered. "It's not what it looks like."

I stepped further into the room, eyes drifting to the tea tray—still warm, untouched.

"Then what is it?"

He sat down, carefully smoothing his sleeves. "They were… sent. As gifts. From the court."

"From which ministers?"

He hesitated. "Most of them."

"Ah," I hummed, my head nodding absently.

He reached for his cup but didn't drink. "If I send them away, it'll be seen as an insult. If I ignore them, their families will assume I've accepted their loyalty."

"And if you do accept them?"

He met my eyes. "Then I become a man surrounded by spies who sleep in my bed and pour my wine."

"Sounds like a problem."

"It is."

"But not mine."

I sat across from him. His face was thinner than I remembered—stress eating away at the edges. The dark circles around his eyes made them look more sunken in. He looked like someone playing a role he was never trained to perform.

"I didn't ask for this," he said. "I didn't want a house full of women I can't trust."

"And yet here we are."

He leaned forward. "Xinying, I need help. You've seen how they maneuver. I'm not built for this. I know how to read ledgers, not people. I know how to speak to generals, not courtesans."

I lifted the teapot and poured myself a cup. "And what would you have me do? Manage them? Choose which ones stay and which ones disappear?"

"Something like that."

I sipped slowly. Jasmine tea. Too weak.

"I've done enough killing for one season," I said.

"You don't need to kill them. Just… neutralize them."

"Which means?"

He looked down. "Control them. Get them gardening. I don't care. Turn them to our side. Or at least stop them from turning others."

A rustle at the door drew our attention. One of the older housemaids stepped in and bowed.

"A message," she said. "From Concubine Yun. She requests an audience with Lady Zhao."

Zhu Mingyu blinked. "Yun? She hasn't spoken to anyone in weeks."

I tilted my head. "Apparently, she wants to speak to me."

-----

Concubine Yun's room was smaller than I expected. Tucked away behind a column of silk screens and a vine-covered corridor, it looked more like a storeroom than a woman's living space.

She knelt on a reed mat, her hands folded in her lap. Her eyes were downcast, but the bruise along her cheekbone was impossible to miss.

She didn't flinch when I entered. That was a point in her favor.

"I heard you asked for me," I said, remaining standing.

"I did." Her voice was quiet. "I… I wasn't sure you would come."

"I'm curious. That's all."

She nodded once. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. I don't mean to make trouble. But I thought you should know—something is wrong here."

"Something," I repeated.

"The other women," she whispered. "They're not just here to serve. They're organized. Some of them speak in riddles, or only when the others are present. The head maid has started passing them messages—sealed notes that vanish within the hour."

I folded my arms. "And what do you want from me?"

"I don't want to die," she said simply. "And I thought that if I was on your side, I wouldn't."

She looked up then, and I saw it. Not fear. Not desperation.

Hope.

"They pushed another girl into the fish pond earlier today," she continued. "Said she was stealing. She wasn't. But now she limps and can't serve tea without spilling."

"And Zhu Mingyu?"

"He doesn't see it. Or he won't."

That, at least, sounded familiar.

I knelt slowly and picked up the empty tea cup in front of her. "Do you know what this is?"

She blinked. "Porcelain?"

"It's a test." I held it up to the light. "Every word you say to me fills it just a little. Eventually, it tips. And something breaks."

She swallowed. "Will it be me?"

"That depends." I set the cup back down gently. "Do you want to stay here?"

"I don't know where else I'd go."

"Then I'll keep you alive."

She bowed deeply, her voice cracking. "Thank you."

I rose and walked back toward the door, Yaozu waiting like a shadow just outside.

"You heard?" I asked without turning.

"Every word."

"And?"

He hesitated. "She's not lying."

"No," I said. "She isn't."

He paused again. "What are you going to do?"

I looked down the corridor, where silk rustled like leaves in the wind.

"This isn't a household," I said. "It's a feeding pit. And no one's guarding the meat."

He glanced toward the courtyard. "You're going to clean it out?"

I smiled.

"Let's call it... pest control."