“It is nice to see you again Concubine Li.” Concubine Ru had a bright smile as she welcomed Dawa into her palace, “I was wondering what happened to you since I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Trying to figure out your sketchy family…does that count as an excuse?

“My apologies, sister.” Dawa exuded sincerity, “The winter in this continent does not agree with me much. I was trying to warm up for those days of absence.” She chuckled with some embarrassment.

“Oh, dear! That will not do.” Concubine Ru genuinely looked worried, “Luckily my palace has enough censers to keep us warm.”

Both women made their way into Concubine Ru’s antechamber, where it was as she stated, very warm due to the numerous censers.

“I suppose the Western Plains were not very cold in winter?” Concubine Ru asked as both women sat down.

“It is cold, but it is due to the winds. Here, it is numbingly cold.” Dawa replied, whispering to Bortu to get them some tea and snacks. Bortu returned with tea, osmanthus and hawthorn cakes.

“I see,” Concubine Ru nodded with interest, “I suppose this is why you don’t come out very much.” She chuckled.

Dawa nearly spat on her tea.

Err…well…not exactly…but let’s go with that, shall we? Haha…

“Indeed, you are right.” Dawa smiled, “Speaking of which, we haven’t seen His Majesty in a while.”

“I’ve heard he’s pacifying the Eastern border. The kingdom there has always tried to make trouble for us, especially after the current dynasty took over.” Concubine Ru explained, “He probably won’t be back until the spring festivities.”

“Mm…” Dawa mused, flipping through the various books in her tribe’s language, the Yhur language.

The Li language and the Yhur language have similar word roots but neither group can understand the other which is fascinating to linguists in the Li Continent.

Concubine Ru has a peculiar liking for books about our people’s art of war, weaponry and military history. There is almost nothing on the daily lives of people or culture…

Dawa glanced at Concubine Ru who was whispering something to Ningya.

Either the bookseller only sold her those kinds of books or she deliberately asked for them. Given General Zi’s request for a meeting, I assume that she and her family have some agenda. The thing is that I don’t know what it is.

She tried not to sigh as she continued to flip through the pages.

I do need an ally and you pass for now. I hope that you will be someone I can rely on.

“How are these collections?” Concubine Ru asked as Dawa had been silent for a long time.

“Oh, apologies for not speaking.” Dawa was brought out of her thoughts, “These books are similar to the ones you brought me before: About swords and military tactics.”

“I have to wonder, Sister, why are you interested in the military history of my people? We haven’t had such power in centuries.”

Concubine Ru had an unreadable expression which Dawa expected.

You probably didn’t expect the insular Concubine Li to ask such a question, did you? Now, I wonder how you will answer me.

As expected, Concubine Ru held her hand to her mouth in a faux-laugh, “Concubine Li likes to tell such interesting jokes. The bookseller just happened to recommend these books to me.”

Ho~ You have answered well.

“Is that so? Then the bookseller must be interested in military history.” Dawa chuckled.

“Indeed.” Concubine Ru agreed.

Dawa stayed at Concubine Ru’s palace for lunch. In the meantime, Gao was covertly circling the Phoenix Palace looking for signs of the sender of the rabbit-letter that was possibly sent to her by mistake.

As a high-level spiritual animal, Gao can conceal his spiritual and physical presence with an invisibility array that he cast on himself.

He flew past the Emperor’s and Empress’ palaces and made his way to the Imperial Concubine’s palaces. Since there was only one Imperial Concubine, Gao flew towards her palace. He sensed faint spiritual energy similar to the letter that Dawa had presented to him; he decided to take a closer look. With his sharp eyes, he noticed a little rabbit hopping around. If he were a normal eagle, he would have swooped down and grabbed the little creature with his talons. However, he was under orders not to pursue prey. As such, all he did was follow it to Imperial Concubine Lan’s palace.

Having seen what he needed to see; Gao flew back to Dawa’s palace.

It was youshi when Dawa finally made it back to her palace. By right, she should be having her dinner but she didn’t feel very hungry.

Gao was perched on the table, awaiting her return.

“Welcome back, Master.” He greeted.

Dawa didn’t reply to his greeting, “What did you find?” She got straight to the point.

“As you suspected, the rabbit-message was intended for Imperial Concubine Lan. I saw another one going to her palace earlier today.” Gao replied.

“Mm…” Dawa thought hard about the information presented to her.

So I was right to suspect Imperial Concubine Lan. Could she be planning to frame me? But…that cannot be since she is terrible at scheming. However, a message did make its way to me but she didn’t treat me any differently as she would normally. There is a high chance that it was an accident but I have a sneaking suspicion that Imperial Concubine Lan is hiding secrets like Concubine Ru. The difference is that she is easy to read, unlike Concubine Ru.

“Continue to monitor Imperial Concubine Lan,” Dawa instructed Gao.

“Yes, Master,” Gao replied.

Dawa walked to the pond outside her palace and stared at the sky. It had begun to snow but not much – signalling the coming of spring.

If memory serves me, Empress Yi said that Imperial Concubine Lan is from the Ye family. But there is no reason why she will not be satisfied with her station since her family is treated by the imperial family very well.

Dawa requested to Bortu to bring tea and snacks.

Perhaps the favoured families have their issues with His Majesty since he is so young. Or maybe it is something that goes back even further to the previous Taihelong dynasty.

Dawa drank her tea and took a slice of hawthorn cake.

In any case, my plan for gathering allies has turned so complicated…All I wanted was to not cause trouble for others while I am serving the tribe but sigh…

Bortu who was nearby caught the distressed look in the Priestess’ eyes. Dawa turned to her and their eyes met.

“Bortu, do you miss home?”

Bortu was a little taken aback. Dawa never asked about her feelings towards anything before so the question made her speechless for a moment.

“A little.” She replied quietly.

“A little, huh…” Dawa had a sad smile, “You were part of one of the tribe’s few warrior families and I am the only high priestess in twenty years. Coming here and seeing how intricate the relationships of people are, it is no wonder ruling families change so much.”

Bortu did not reply; she only listened to her Master’s ramblings.

“Yet we rely on them for protection since both of us cannot protect our kin alone. It’s amazing how stable the kingdom is despite all the infighting.” Dawa continued to reflect.

She looked at Bortu, “Am I thinking too much?”

At first, Bortu didn’t understand what she meant by the question but it dawned on her that Dawa was referring to Concubine Ru and Imperial Concubine Lan.

“We are strangers here. It is natural to be careful.” Bortu replied, “But…” she hesitated.

“Hm? But what?” Dawa asked when Bortu suddenly stopped talking.

“But…I want Priestess to rely on me more.” Bortu squeaked out.

Dawa stared at Bortu speechless. She expected Bortu to say something but not this.

“Pfft…I didn’t know you had a sense of humour.” Dawa giggled, “Don’t worry, I trust you.”

Bortu thought about the time Dawa gave her a hard stare but now she realised that Dawa was worried about her safety and needed loyal people. Instilling fear was probably the only way she knew how. After their little chat, it was clear that there was no way Bortu would betray her, seeing that Dawa has little to no allies in the palace. Perhaps it was her maternal instinct since she was a few years older than Dawa but it could also be a desire for a strong master-vassal relationship.

“Thank you, Priestess.” Bortu had a bright smile on her face, making her look years younger despite being only a few years older than Dawa.

Dawa and Bortu smiled at one another as they enjoyed the lovely evening with tea and snacks.

At the Bai Family Estate

Despite the warning that assassinations might be prevalent after their little adventure, Bai Haoxia and Zi Siwei were surprised to see that none had come their way.

Further research on the Zhao family turned up fruitless as most libraries and government offices contained the same information.

Zi Siwei suspected that the imperial family had something to do with the missing information which can only mean one thing – he needs to return to the Zi family estate.

“Eh, Second Brother, you want me to help you go to your family estate?” Bai Haoxia smiled cheekily.

Bai Haoxia rarely called Zi Siwei Second Brother but when he did, it usually came as a result of immense pride in Zi Siwei relying on him. Zi Siwei rarely asked for Bai Haoxia’s help so it makes him very happy when he does ask.

Zi Siwei rolled his eyes at Bai Haoxia.

“If you can help keep my father in a good mood, I’ll be thankful.”

Bai Haoxia couldn’t believe his ears. The great Zi Siwei who preferred to talk to his annoying father on his own is asking someone to mediate their meeting.

Fortune must be shining on him! Is he going to meet a lovely maiden on the way too?

He grasped at Zi Siwei’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Second Brother, Laozi will ensure that everything goes smoothly.”

Zi Siwei raised a curious eyebrow at his speech.

“Say that to my father and he’ll curse you and your 18 generations.” He sighed.

Zi Siwei hoped to get the information about the Zhao family before he meets Dawa otherwise the risk will be for nothing.

He looked at Bai Haoxia who looked so proud that he feared he would behave boorishly for the rest of the day.

He sighed and gave a wry smile in Bai Haoxia’s direction.

I’ll be counting on you, Oldest Brother.