Min POV

Min found the familiar bustle of the Mayor's Palace comforting. She had never visited the Mayor's residence here in Fai-Lan City but had spent enough of her life in the company of her grandfather Guo, the Governor of Riceflower Province, to be at ease in the chaos.

There were many similarities between her governor grandfather's court and the Brotherhood seat of her other grandfather. Both men were powerful, attended by servants, cronies, hangers-on, and favor-seekers. The trappings tended to differ a bit: etiquette, formality, and tea ceremonies on one side; wrestling matches, proud boasting, and drinking games on the other.

Min had gone back and forth between the two her whole life. She slipped into the role of noble lady easily. Here, unlike at the tower, she wasn't the lowest-ranked competitor for a limited set of prizes. She was the Governor's only granddaughter, and people treated her with respect.

She and Jai-Lin were bundled off the evening they arrived, served a late supper, and put to bed in opulent guest chambers, despite Min asking to speak with her grandfather. The Mayor of Fai-Lan City's staff ignored her requests. She hadn't yet spotted anyone she knew from her grandfather's retinue, but they'd be here.

The next morning, she and Jai-Lin were shown into a lovely parlor, served a luxurious breakfast, and then left to cool their heels together. After four games of go, three of which Min lost due to being distracted, she finally stood up and strode to the window, throwing back the hangings to look out into the courtyard beyond. Servants were bustling about.

"Something's wrong," she declared, watching them.

"Nothing's wrong, Min. You just don't like being kept waiting and reminded that you're not always the most important person in the room." Jai-Lin was resetting the board, carefully clearing the black and white pieces from the grid. "Another? Or would you like to play tiles?"

"I would like to speak with our Grandfather Guo, and then be allowed out into the city. We've been trapped up on the mountain for months now. I'm eager to do a little shopping." She was mostly eager to make contact with Brotherhood assets and perhaps check in on what Chang-li was doing. The scribe had to be up to something. She thought she had a good read on him by now, and certainly, he'd looked guilty as hell yesterday when they spoke.

Jai-Lin snorted. "You think you'll be allowed out alone?"

Min hesitated. "You could come with me.”`

"I'm not interested in getting involved with whatever scheme you're cooking this time, Min."

"You should be," she said, turning on him. "I am trying to advance our family. That benefits all of us."

"Then advance it by marrying a cultivator. What about that newly arrived Young Master, Joshi? He's promising. He seems to be interested in ladies, and everyone's whispering that he'll be going places."

Min dismissed that out of hand. She had no intention of marrying anyone until it was advantageous for her to do so. "What about you? Are you supposed to be making a brilliant match?"

Jai-Lin shrugged. "Li Jiya is intent on becoming the emperor's bride. Li Jen prefers women, and as for Young Master Feng, I don't think either of us need to consider why he's a terrible match. I'll wait until more cultivators arrive, but I've already been speaking with Shisa and the others. We think we'll have to wait for the next tower climb. Hopefully by then, the indigo princess will have made her choice."

Min scowled. She understood what he mean. Hiroko's presence had thrown all of the gem court machinations into chaos. After all, what cultivator would be interested in a low ranked noble when there was an indigo princess to be courted? “I can't blame her for not making a choice yet," she said judiciously.

They were interrupted at last by the arrival of a servant who bowed and asked them to follow, leading them down a series of halls to a private audience room, not that different from the parlor where they'd waited. Min's heart rose. She'd speak to her grandfather and convince him to let her go out into the city unattended. She had always been able to wrap Governor Guo around her little finger. He hadn't the deviousness that Grandfather Jiang, head of the Oaken Brotherhood, possessed. But when the door opened and Min rose from her bow, her heart sank.

"Min, Jai-Lin, it's good to see you," her older brother Yuan-li said.

"Yuan-li, why are you here?" Jai-Lin asked, stepping forward to embrace his brother. Min entered the room and the servant closed the door behind her.

Yuan-li was considerably older than either Min or Jai-Lin. In his late twenties, he had been trained up in official duties since the age of twelve and served as her grandfather's deputy. His face fell. "You have not heard. Our grandfather suffered a fit three weeks ago. He has not left his bed since.”

Min covered a gasp with her hand. Jai-Lin stepped back, his eyes widening. "No, is he all right?"

"He lives," Yuan-li said, sounding uncomfortable. "He is able to sit up and use his left hand to some extent. He can feed himself and if you take the effort, you can understand what he's saying."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Ice-cold fingers wrapped around Min's heart. Tears sprang to her eyes. She had bade her grandfather Guo farewell months ago before setting out for the tower, expecting that he'd be just the same when she got back, a tall, thin man, always a bit indecisive, but kind and generous. A great contrast from her other grandfather.

"He's continuing to recover," Yuan-li assured them. "The healers believe he may regain more of his faculties, but you understand the difficulties. He could not have made the tax procession."

Min nodded. She had accompanied her grandfather on previous tax processions, a two-month-long tour of the province to collect the taxes each mayor and regional strongman had gathered, and then at the end of the trip to present them to the emperor's representative. "You're taking his place then?"

“In this? Yes." Yuan-li looked them both over. He dropped his voice. "We will be petitioning the imperial representative to carry a request to his divine majesty, asking him to name me as governor of Riceflower Province in our grandfather's stead."

Min let out a long, careful breath. While governor was generally a hereditary position, being confirmed was no mere stamp on a page. Yuan-li would need to prove his effectiveness. This tax venture was a good chance for that. No doubt he would be closeting himself with the mayors and other important politicians along his route, convincing them that it was best to support him rather than attempting to seize more power for themselves.

"I understand," Jai-Lin said. “We will do our best to reflect well upon the family.”

“Will you?" Yuan-li eyed them both. "Are either of you close to making a brilliant match, something I could boast of to the mayors and the imperial representative?"

Min shook her head. "I'm afraid not. The prospects at this tower cull have been weak. Even the Dowager Pearl in charge says so. And there's an indigo princess."

Yuan-li held up a hand. "I wasn't looking for excuses. I was looking for some sign that either of you are going to be useful to our family anytime soon."

His words stung. Min started to retort, only to see Jai-Lin's face collapse. "I'm sorry, brother. We're letting the family down."

"What are you talking about?" Min demanded. "We're doing our best, and it's hardly the only way we can serve the family."

Yuan-li rounded on her. "Oh, we know what you think it means to serve the family. That's half the trouble I'm dealing with now. Word of your continued association with the Oaken Band has gotten out. Some of the, shall we say, more traditional mayors don't like it. They never liked our mother marrying in."

"They were jealous," Min argued. "They didn't like the wealth and power she brought to our family. You can't deny having the backing of the Oaken Band has made Grandfather's rule secure these last 20 years. We all know the family was teetering on the hedge of bankruptcy before Mother married in."

"We know because he has made sure we hear about it regularly," Yuan-li said, leaving no doubt who he was referring to. "And you can't leave well enough alone. Don't you know that sort of reputation will cling to you? I was glad you had a chance to join the gem court. I thought you could marry a cultivator who wouldn't have heard of your association and we could bury the whole thing. But now you can't even manage that right."

Jai-Lin intervened as he always did when Yuan-li and Min argued. "Enough. Min is merely tired and stressed from the trip. We had a brush with disaster less than a week ago when we were all taken inside of the tower and then nearly devoured by monstrous birds."

Yuan-li let out a sigh. "Fine. I'm glad to see you both. There will be several banquets. I will have your attendants give you a schedule. The third night from now is the grand tax collecting banquet. You will both attend and do our family credit." His eyes fell on Min. "You will remain here quietly and not do anything to cause a family embarrassment. Understood?"

She bowed her head. In this, her brother was right. She needed to support her family. "Yes, Yuan-li."

As they were escorted back to their sitting room, a servant passing brushed Min. After he was passed, she raised the tiny note he'd pressed into her palm to her eyes, scanned it, crumpled it, and let it drop behind her. Meet in the garden.

After the servant settled them in the sitting room, Min made an excuse. "I'm going to take a turn of fresh air. In the garden," she added hastily as Jai-Lin's face clouded. "I'm not going outside the walls."

"Fine," he said. He poured himself a cup of squeezed fruit juice and settled on the hard-backed sofa, taking up a book of poetry.

Min slipped out. She made two circuits of the garden before a woman joined her. From her robes, this woman was a minor official in the mayor's office.

"Lady Min," she said quietly, "I bring word from your grandfather."

Min glanced down. The woman's fingers flashed in the hand sign of the Oaken Band. Min nodded. “I listen.”

“He has heard about your scheme and hopes there's more to it than you have let on. You are supposed to be marrying a cultivator to serve the Brotherhood's interests. Your grandfather spent many years positioning you such that you could join the gem court."

"This is a far better opportunity," Min hissed. "Instead of one cultivator bound by marriage, we can have multiple cultivators who are already our own.”

"You think no one's ever had the idea of faking a sect before?" the woman asked. "The papers are the easy part. How do you expect to get past the Peak of Mental Refinement? Do you have the secrets? Those are what make a sect valuable. The secrets and techniques that they protect to ensure that only cultivators who belong to a sect can progress."

Min's mouth went dry. She hadn't really thought that far ahead. "I have assets," she managed.

"You're not going to pry a sect's secrets out of them with pretty words," the woman said. "At any rate, I have delivered your message. You have been reminded of your duty. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here in Fai-Lan City." She disappeared.

Min continued her circuit around the garden, thinking furiously. She had thought this was an opportunity to show her grandfather that her vision was even greater than his, that the Brotherhood would be secure in her hands when he was ready to pass it down.

And, if she was being honest, she liked the ideas of cultivators answerable to her as their Eldest Sister better than binding herself to a single cultivator who might or might not make anything of himself. But the more she thought about it, the more she felt a sick dread.

She hadn't asked herself whether it would actually be possible to raise up new cultivators. She'd assumed that that was what cultivators did.

Now she realized how foolish she’d been. She needed to find out, and quickly, if her scheme could bear fruit, or if she needed to go back and decide which of the Young Masters was least intolerable. Probably Li Jen — but he didn’t strike her as a good prospect for advancement. She’d heard the others talking about him the same way.

No. She wasn’t going to abandon her scheme quite so easily. She needed an outside opinion. Someone who had a good head on his shoulder, someone she could trust not to betray her secrets, because they were his own.

Only — she’d promised to stay here.

Well, what Yuan-li didn’t know wouldn’t kill him. She’d find a way to sneak out and back before he noticed she was gone.