"Today it's my turn to wash first!"
Saina charged up the stairs faster than any first-rank knight Su Li had ever seen.
Elena stood in the second-floor corridor, one hand braced against the bathroom doorframe. Her fiery red hair had already been pinned up atop her head, and one strap of her white silk nightgown had slipped halfway down, leaving a broad expanse of snow-white shoulder swaying beneath the corridor's candlelight, dazzling the eye.
"I've already drawn the water."
"I can use the water you drew too!" Saina pounced forward, grabbing the other side of the doorframe with both hands and squaring off against Elena.
Su Li stood at the foot of the stairs, watching the two of them.
Here we go again.
"I got here first, and I heated the water. Why should I give way to you?" Elena refused to yield an inch.
"You washed first yesterday! And the day before that too!" Saina gave no ground. "Every time you're done, the water's gone stone-cold. When I get in, it's like soaking in an ice pit!"
"That's because you dawdle. What does that have to do with me?"
"You hog the bathroom by yourself for nearly half a shichen! Does a bath really take that long? What are you even doing in there?!"
The tips of Elena's ears reddened, and her voice rose.
"Hair care! Do you understand? With hair this long, if I don't take proper care of it—"
"By the time you're done with your hair, the water's cold!"
Su Li leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest.
He did the math in his head. In Silver Crown City, a bundle of firewood cost three copper coins. Heating a tub of water took roughly half a bundle. If two people bathed separately, that meant