Min slipped back inside the court enclave, passing through the inner checkpoint as the guards she had bribed earlier carefully looked the other way. It had hardly been what one could call a bribe. Wia Chin had a young wife who was fond of flowers and Fong Hai had a small gambling debt. Friendly gifts were easy to accept. They soothed the conscience, and a guilt-free mind was open to persuasion.

The single-story wooden buildings housing the dozen or so courtly scions and their attendants and hangers-on were largely dark. Two of the four were not yet occupied.

Min had her small sleeping room in the first dwelling on the left. She came in from the garden side, passing the quiet fishpond and the gently rustling willows before sliding open the back door, slipping her outer shoes into her assigned box, and replacing them with slippers. Most of the house was dark, but there was a light in the lounge. She debated going straight to bed, but it was early, and the duel had left her unsettled.

She had gotten justice for her wronged family. That was good. The Brotherhood depended on its members knowing they could go to their superiors for protection and justice. But an incident like this would spark gossip in the camp.

The Oaken Band worked best when it worked quietly. The carters and barrel makers would go about their daily business, the cooks and healers' assistants tending their pots and charges, thinking of themselves as dutiful servants of the Empire first and foremost. Only when the Brotherhood called, or when they had need, should their allegiances surface.

In this camp, with the climbing expedition barely begun, it was important to keep a low profile. Min had risked exposure of herself and the other senior members of the Brotherhood here, but the insult to Sister Lishan could not stand.

This is why we need cultivators, she thought to herself as she headed for the lounge. The low murmur of voices emanated from the room. If we had cultivators in the second tier, or perhaps even beyond, then the Oaken Band would be able to step out of the shadows and protect our own.

She was grateful that her grandfather had sent Brother Stone on this expedition. He was one of the only members of the Brotherhood to have made any progress at all along the Heavenly Path. Min's top priority was to get him included on enough of the climbing expeditions that he could reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement. Once he did, everything would change. Instead of having to beg and scrape and forge licenses and permissions to cultivate, he would be welcomed along on expeditions, his expertise sought after. Already his Lux pathways were developing. His command of red Lux, the body-strengthening Lux, was quite good from what she could tell.

Min entered the lounge. There were three people present, which was most of the other royal, noble scions in this place. One was her brother, Jai-lin. The other two were young women from elsewhere in Riceflower Province.

One of the two wore an orange banded robe. Nima had an inflated notion of her importance. She was currently the highest ranking noble in the camp, aside from the Dowager Pearl. Shisa wore red, like Min and Jai-lin, and rarely spoke.

Jai-lin rose excitedly. He held a hand out to his younger sister as he beckoned her to sit beside him. "Just wait until you've heard this news!" His eyes were aglow.

Jai-lin was flourishing here. She had always known he would. His skill at the lute and recitation of poetry, his courtly manners, and calm demeanor made him a perfect member of the Court of Gems. She hoped he would be able to find a valuable connection to a cultivator on the rise. Jai-lin was well suited for life at the side of a cultivator.

The Court of Gems, young noble scions descended from the Emperor himself, served a vital role in keeping the Empire together. Any notable cultivator who made it past the Peak of Bodily Refinement and showed aptitude to go even higher would find him or herself with a noble consort, like it or not.

High-ranked nobles of the Court were groomed from a young age in all the skills a rising cultivator would lack—charm, deportment, etiquette, polish, a knowledge of bureaucracy, and skill at court intrigue. Min, her brother, and the other low-ranked nobles from an outer province were mostly here to help fill out the Court of Gems. The real noble scions would be arriving in a few days. But Jai-lin still had a good chance. His character and winning ways could very well catch the eye or heart of a cultivator. She knew that's what he was aiming for.

Min was not. Min was here to advance the Brotherhood and herself.

She allowed Jai-lin to draw her over to the couch, where she settled gracefully, smoothing out the folds of her robe.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Nima asked her. The way she arched her eyebrow and the ironic tinge to her words told Min that Nima thought she'd been out having an assignation. That was fine. Better to be suspected of having a clandestine lover than of running an underground fraternal organization right under the nose of camp officials.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"It was a lovely evening," Min replied. "Jai-lin, what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"The Dowager Pearl sent her aide to us just after dinner, not five minutes after you'd slipped out." His hands almost fluttered in excitement as he spoke to her. "Lady Morningrise, the Dowager's aide, told us that they've had word the first shipload of nobles will be coming down the coast within a week." His eyes shone. "One of them is a member of the Indigo Court."

Min sucked in a breath despite herself. Indigo was the second highest ranking of the Sevenfold Court, behind only Violet. Violet Princes and Princesses, the Emperor’s own children, were not permitted to leave Imperial Garden grounds without the Emperor's permission, and never before marriage. Indigo Princes and Princesses were the lowest rank to claim that title. As grandchildren of the Emperor himself, they might leave, but only rarely. For one to come here meant this climb would be attracting cultivators of some worth.

"How many in all did Lady Morningrise say?"

Nima shook her head. "It sounds like over a dozen in this first batch, and more to follow. I had hoped it would be another month at least. By the time any of the hopeful cultivators have started to distinguish themselves, we'll be outnumbered."

She looked unhappy, and Min understood why. The higher ranked nobles would be much better positioned to catch a cultivator on the rise.

"You could always try your luck with young Master Feng."

Shisa laughed. “Not a chance. He could be Heir of the Emperor himself and I’d steer clear of that self-righteous prick.”

Nima snorted. "He has made it clear that he's aiming much higher than red or orange. I do not care to dally with a cultivator who has no intention of marrying me. I pointed him at the servant girls and let him know that some of them might find his attentions flattering.”

Jai-lin sighed. "He is rather good looking and polished. I feel he may be a cultivation genius. But there's something lacking in his soul."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Min said, remembering his attitude tonight, his dismissal of her woman's complaint, his casual cruelty, and expectation of an easy win for his disciple. "Steer clear of him," she advised the others. "Let the higher nobles deal with young Master Feng. What else?”

“Do we need anything else?" Shisa asked, rolling her eyes.

Jai-lin, however, nodded. "Lady Morningrise mentioned they would be requisitioning quite a few workers to assist in escorting the nobles up to the camp. The Indigo noble, of course, will need palanquin bearers if they haven't brought their own."

Min got the message. She approved. Jai-lin might be suited for court life, but he had not forgotten his origins. He knew she would see that their people got the most plum assignments.

“The palanquin bearers will be slaves,” dismissing that role even as she considered what places her people could fill. "I'm sure we will have to give up a few of our attendants for a time while they help the new nobles.”

Nima scowled. "I doubt they've brought enough attendants of their own. Ours will be split between the newcomers, and you can guess who'll get the lowest end of that bargain." She shook her head. "It's not fair. My mother spent weeks pulling strings to have me brought up here in the hopes I could make a good connection for our family. And now, a shipload of coddled nobles from the court who've always had everything given to them is coming and taking even that chance. I wish I could cultivate."

Jai-lin drew back in horror. "Surely not. It's a dirty, dangerous business."

On the one hand, Min agreed with Jai-lin. Cultivation was dangerous. On the other hand, it wasn't like she'd ever even be offered the chance.

She imagined what a few ranks of cultivation would have done for a man like her grandfather if he, instead of approaching his old age, was only now in the prime of his youth thanks to Bodily Refinement, if his already sharp mind was enhanced with the heights of mental refinement.

"Well?" Nima asked. "What of it? Would you cultivate if you had a chance?"

"Oh, certainly," Min said, dismissing the notion entirely. "But we won't be given one, so what's the point? We're the cords that bind cultivators to the emperor, not cultivators ourselves.”

“Our divine ancestor ordains everyone's lot in life," Jai-lin agreed.

"But cultivators can come from any background," Nima said. "Noble, poor, artisan, even a slave who reaches the Peak of Bodily Refinement becomes a free man and a cultivator. Why not us?"

Min laughed. "Go ahead and ask young Master Feng to take you inside. See how you like it there."

It didn't matter how convenient it would be to be a cultivator at the head of the Brotherhood. It wouldn't happen. Min had not gotten to where she was, her grandfather's heir and right-hand woman at the age of only seventeen, by allowing herself to dwell on the impossible. No, she constrained herself to that which was possible, though daring and risky. She wouldn't lose sight of that now.

She rose. "Thank you for the conversation," she said politely to the others. "I have a letter to write before bed."

She needed to send a missive to her deputy in the brotherhood. Once she told him about the nobles about to arrive, he would be able to select the brothers and sisters most ready to exploit this opportunity. Even a simple trip up the mountain alongside nobility could offer opportunities for their people.

"Good night," she told Jai-lin. "Don't forget to get your beauty sleep."

"You too,” he smiled. "I'm not losing hope. With the new nobles coming, they must be expecting more cultivators to arrive. We'll all just have to look our best, won't we?"

He tossed back his head and his long, dark hair cascaded down his back. It shone radiantly; Jai-lin brushed his hair with a gold-backed comb a thousand strokes a night. He had never cut it, and it came to his knees. Min kept hers just a little below shoulder length, long enough to properly fasten up in elegant arrangements, but short enough to be practical.

So be it. Jai-lin would make a good cultivator connection, and bring them home to the family. Min would take care of Jai-lin and the rest of her brothers and sisters. This expedition was a great chance for the Oaken Band Brotherhood.

Mindful of the possible, Min departed for her room.