Character Index
Zhou Yunqi: The Fifth Prince.
Heli: The Chieftain of the Pugu tribe.
Tuhezhen: Deceased nephew of Heli.
Qiu Jinwei: Yunqi’s loyal strategist.
Ashina: Personal name Ibilga, Kayla’s wife.
Yilie: Tabuyir’s nephew, a hostage/ward in Kayla’s house.
Qazar: The Sixth Princess’ cousin, a hostage/ward in Kayla’s house.
Zhao Chao: Kayla’s retainer.
Tabuyir: A Senior Investigator in the Bureau, of Khitan descent.
Qu Boyong/Xiang Daozong: Lord of the Xiang clan, Wenyuan’s cousin.
Chujiao: Qu Boyong’s cousin, Wenyuan’s childhood sweetheart, Hu Qing’s current fiance.
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Kayla’s friend and supporter, currently in the Khaganate.
Yun’er: A sweet but plain young girl in Kayla’s household. In charge of Kayla’s clothing.
Yan’er: A hot-tempered young girl in Kayla’s household, formerly a prostitute until she saved Hu Qing’s life from the Grand Duke’s assassin.
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Kayla paced through the garden, trying to settle her mind and relax. She had finally managed to get a moment to herself after weeks of working to the bone, but couldn't even enjoy it. The intel blockade at the Ministry of War had turned out to be more troublesome than she’d imagined. Some older commanders in the border region hadn’t taken it well that the notification of the Emperor’s death had been delayed, feeling that their egos had been hurt. Yunqi was trying to appease them without making it seem like he was bowing to their tempers, and of course that meant Kayla had to pull some strings as the Director of the Bureau.
And Heli too, that little brat…Kayla scowled at the thought of the young chieftain. He was adamantly insisting that everything was wonderful on his end now that his nephew Tuhezhen was dead. A bit too adamantly. Something was definitely wrong and he was trying to hide it.
But what was she supposed to do? Ask the other tribal leaders and alert them to the fact that she didn’t know and that she had let something go wrong with her protectorate?
Kayla sighed, agitation pounding in her temples.
The old bastards from the court have been sitting still, but they won’t do that for long.
Soon they would start testing Yunqi’s hold, and hers as well.
Sure, she could handle it, but the problem was not just from outside but also from within. Yunqi’s loyal strategist Qiu Jinwei seemed to be avoiding her. Yunqi had openly expressed that he wanted the two of them to get along, but Kayla hadn’t even managed to speak a single sentence with Qiu Jinwei in the last week.
What’s that guy’s problem?
Her thoughts began spiraling again, and Kayla forced them to a stop. This was the problem with trying to follow Ashina’s advice and relax. The second she did, every single problem began worming its way out of the woodworks and into her mind, all at once. At least she only had to deal with one thing at a time when she was actually trying to solve them.
Sighing, Kayla tried to focus on the beautiful garden. Ashina had redesigned the place by working with what they had, with only some minor additions. The result was breathtaking, and refreshingly different from how the garden had been during the Grand Duke’s days. Kayla had to admit that it helped–the Grand Duke’s presence in the household was slowly being erased.
This was their home now. No one would make her feel unsafe within these walls again.
Kayla glanced over at the sound of laughter and footsteps. She remained still, and sure enough, two teenagers ran into her line of sight. Kayla blinked several times in a row as they abruptly halted, the boy in the back ramming into his friend and nearly knocking him over.
Yilie and Qazar were covered in dirt. Qazar, the boy in front, had a twig in his hair, and Yilie’s clothes were wet.
Do we even have that much loose dirt in this courtyard? No, do we even have a pond? That’s in the back garden, isn’t it? Why–how the fuck–are teenagers supposed to be like this? Or are they just like this because they don’t have Tiktok?
“Boys,” Kayla greeted the teenagers, both of whom were still staring at her in stunned silence.
They were her hostages-wards-houseguests, but though they resided beneath the same roof, Kayla rarely ran into them at all. She usually only got back from work when they had already gone to their rooms for the night, and rarely ate anywhere other than her own study over piles of documents. They were as unfamiliar to her as she was to them, save for the fact that their tutors reported to her regularly.
“Sir!”
“Duke!”
Yilie reconsidered his greeting just as Qazar reconsidered his.
“Duke!”
“Sir!”
The two exchanged glances of dismay, and Kayla stopped them before they could give it a third try.
“Yilie, your clothes are wet,” Kayla said, immediately feeling stupid at stating the obvious.
To her surprise, Yilie looked at his feet, cheeks glowing with shame. Beside him, Qazar shuffled his feet uncomfortably, also lowering his gaze.
Kayla jolted in shock. What? Why was he so upset? Had her tone been reproachful? She hadn’t meant for it to sound that way. Were kids supposed to be so sensitive? Yun’er was happy-go-lucky enough, but each kid was different, she supposed.
“I’m sorry, my lord,” Yilie said.
Kayla hastily cleared her throat, scrambling to lighten the mood.
“Never mind that, just be sure to dry off properly,” she said.
Idiot, a fifteen-year-old would know that. A five year old would.
But then again, teenagers were the most chaotic beings known to man other than toddlers, and Kayla hadn’t dealt much with either for almost seven years. She was already getting a headache from their interaction.
“It wouldn’t do for you to catch a cold,” Kayla added.
“Yes sir!”
The two boys continued to stand at attention, their stances tense and unnatural.
Should I just tell them to go on? But it was precisely because she never spoke to them that they were so uncomfortable with her.
“Well, uh, how are your studies going?” Kayla asked. She immediately wanted to kick herself in the face.
Wow, how are their studies going–what the fuck, Kayla? Did you forget how to talk to teenagers already? What are you, a boomer?
“Well, Your Excellency,” Yilie said at the same time Qazar spoke.
“Very well, Your Excellency.”
Offended at being outdone, Yilie gave Qazar a look of outrage.
“Doing well? That’s good,” Kayla said. She continued, desperately trying not to make it sound like a scolding. “Your tutors say the two of you aren’t doing too well–I mean, that the two of you have trouble…that you–that you’re making progress through your Classics classes at your…own pace. Are you two having any trouble with the tutor? Or with the Chinese characters? Would it help if you had bilingual materials?”
She felt terrible before the words were even out. Both the boys looked like kicked puppies.
“We’re very sorry, Your Excellency,” Qazar said despondently.
“We’re terribly sorry,” Yilie chimed in.
No! I’m not chastising you! I’m trying to be supportive here! Kayla silently screeched.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. If you face any issues with your materials or with the lectures, you have to let your instructors know right away. If it can’t be resolved with the instructor, then notify the Princess. Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed, or you’ll only suffer more for it in the long run,” Kayla said as supportively as she could. It came out sounding more like an order.
“Yes, Your Excellency,” the boys said in unison.
Praise them, Kayla urged herself. Make them feel better about themselves.
“I hear you’ve been doing well in archery and horseback classes,” Kayla said encouragingly. “Is it fun?”
The boys nodded.
“Is it tiring?”
The boys shook their heads.
“Are you getting enough to eat after the classes? You need to make sure your nutritional intake can keep up with your caloric–with your energy output,” Kayla said.
The boys nodded.
Feeling defeated and a little ridiculous, Kayla nodded back.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“That’s good. Go on then,” Kayla said.
The two bowed formally and then sprinted away at full speed.
“What the fuck,” Kayla muttered under her breath. “Am I that scary to them?”
Was something wrong with her face? Or was she just out of touch with the teens?
Sighing, she left the garden and headed back to her study. Only in hindsight did she realize that the whirlpool of worries in her mind had quieted down.
* * * * * * * * * *
Qazar slowed to a stop and turned to grab Yilie’s arm.
“Did you hear that?” Qazar asked breathlessly. “The Duke said I’m doing well in archery and horseback classes!”
Yilie drew himself up in affront. “He said that to both of us! I’m also doing well!”
Qazar rolled his eyes. “Yeah, ok, but I’m doing better.”
“He never said that.”
“He glanced at me first when he said it,” Qazar said.
“No he didn’t!” Yilie protested, but Qazar was already moving on.
“Grandfather said that the Duke doesn’t say things lightly,” Qazar said. “So if he said that we’re doing well, then we’re really doing well!”
“Then we’re really doing badly in Classics, huh?” Yilie said, his mood dimming. Qazar deflated as well.
“Yeah.”
“I just can’t memorize the texts,” Yilie said in frustration.
“Me neither,” Qazar said. It really had nothing to do with the language. Both had learned Chinese since they were children, right along with their mother tongues. It was just that the texts were incredibly boring. Confucius wasn’t half that bad, but Mencius went on and on and on. His speeches were so long that it was impossible to memorize. It was embarrassing for boys their age not to know the full texts by now, but really, it was partially Mencius’ fault.
Why did he have to talk so much and for so long? Didn’t he have any consideration for those who would have to memorize his speeches?
The boys sighed in unison.
Yilie glumly pulled the twig out from Qazar’s hair and started breaking it into tiny bits. Qazar snatched the single leaf on the twig out of Yilie’s hand before the other boy could start shredding it. A gurgle in his stomach chased away his brief gloom.
“I’m hungry,” Qazar announced.
“Me too,” Yilie said.
“Let’s go eat,” Qazar said.
“Wait for me, I have to dry off first! The Duke told me to!” He was no longer dripping all over the floor, but he was still incredibly damp.
“I’m going first,” Qazar said.
“You little–!”
Yilie put his friend in a headlock, and Qazar slapped the muddy leaf into his face. They began scuffling until Housekeeper Li rounded the corner with a frown on her face and a lecture ready at her lips. Seeing her expression, they immediately turned and scampered off, leaving only the pieces of the broken twig on the ground.
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Zhao Chao watched from a good distance away as Yilie met with his uncle. He was subtle at it, making sure that Tabuyir knew he was just here for the boy’s safety. Sitting in a roadside stall run by a perky young Turkish woman, he sipped at a cup of tea, pausing to dip a fried dough stick in the thick liquid. Spices, milk, and what was probably a generous blob of melted goat butter soaked into the dough until it was softened. He bit into the snack, admiring the looks of a passing washerwoman.
Yilie was out having a stroll through the market with his uncle, pausing to point at this or that. With his fine clothes and grooming, the boy looked like a proper young master. The Duke was good to the boys, treating them like proper noble youths rather than mere hostages. Just by looking at Yilie and Qazar, you could tell that they weren’t living under an atmosphere of fear and oppression.
Hell, the boys were living way better than Zhao Chao was at that age. Not that he was complaining. For one, he wasn’t one to be jealous of a few boys. And more importantly, his own nephews and nieces were going to good schools in his hometown, with two coming to the capital next year. It was the Duke who had set up the recommendations, and Zhao Chao knew to be grateful for that. The Duke took care of his own, far more so than most employers.
Now that there’s a new Emperor, we can be a bit more sure that it’ll last.
Still, Zhao Chao had no unrealistic illusions of his situation. He was Zhao Wenyuan’s retainer, and that was a position that had grown significantly in value from when he had first joined up. But ultimately, this position meant he killed for the boss when necessary, and died for the boss when necessary. So long as the Duke didn’t fall from grace too completely, Zhao Chao could expect his family to be in good hands. But if he ever betrayed the Duke, even if it was because his own mother was at stake, Zhao Chao knew full well that his family line would be wiped out.
Whatever mercy Zhao Wenyuan had shown to Xiang Daozong had been self-serving. It wasn’t for Xiang Daozong’s sake, and it certainly wasn’t for the sake of that Chujiao girl that Hu Qing had gotten engaged with. There wouldn’t be a repeat for someone without political value.
Zhao Chao understood that. He wondered if Yilie and Qazar did.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Uncle, look at that! Isn’t that kind of similar to the ones we have back home?” Yilie asked.
Tabuyir nodded along indulgently. He had no children of his own, and doted on his nephews and nieces. It couldn’t be helped, but his eldest niece and nephew held a special place in his heart. Back when he had still been a teen himself, he had cradled them in his arms and wondered what it was like to be a father.
That hadn’t stopped him from arranging for Yilie to enter Zhao Wenyuan’s household.
The boy looked well for his circumstances, and Tabuyir couldn’t help but feel relieved. Even if Zhao Wenyuan bore no ill will whatsoever, the man hadn’t exactly been born into a normal family. Nor had the man had a normal childhood. Who was to say that the Grand Duke’s poor child-rearing practices hadn’t accidentally been imprinted?
Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case, at least not from Yilie’s high spirits.
“Are you sure you’re doing well?” Tabuyir asked for the third time that day.
“Yes, of course,” Yilie said, giving him a strange look. “It’s just that Classics is so hard. And boring! The tutors say I need to be prepared for both the civil and martial examinations, but I haven’t got a chance at the civil exam!”
“You should learn from Qazar,” Tabuyir scolded him. “Look at how well he studies–”
“He did worse than me on our last test.”
“Oh.”
“The Duke also said that we weren’t doing well, but he did praise our horseriding and archery skills,” Yilie went on.
“He did?”
“Yeah! He said our tutors praised us.”
“That’s great,” Tabuyir said absently, already veering back to the more important topic. “You really should put more effort into studying the Classics.”
Yilie groaned dramatically. “Uncle, I get it already!”
“It’s very important!”
“I know, I know.”
“Do you? Because you need to–”
“Uncle, please! I hear this from my tutors all the time.”
Tabuyir sighed. “Then you would do well to listen. I don’t think you realize how rare your current opportunity is, Yilie. You’re in the household of one of the most important men in the nation, and he is sponsoring your education out of his own pocket. Me or your father–we could never get you those tutors! I’ve seen the list of tutors he’s gotten for you two, and they’re among the best. How many people do you think get such a good environment to study in? When I was your age, I would ride twenty miles each way through the snow just to borrow texts from the Han merchants to study.”
“I know,” Yilie said glumly. “You’ve told me that.”
“Don’t take that tone with me. Do you think I enjoy lecturing you?” Tabuyir heaved a sigh. “Forget it, the youth will learn their own lessons with time. What good can my nagging do?”
“Please don’t say that,” Yilie protested, now feeling a little guilty.
Tabuyir patted Yilie’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”
The boy seemed to have lost his enthusiasm, but still dutifully picked out a snack to share with Tabuyir, which meant that he ate most of it.
“I really don’t mean to lecture you each time,” Tabuyir said. “I just worry about your future.”
“I know, uncle. If the Duke doesn’t like me, I’ll have a hard time finding a job, right? I get it.” Yilie said. “I promise I’ll work hard, it’s just really difficult! It’s not like I’m not trying already!”
“Just do your best,” Tabuyir said. He sighed again. “Listen to me, Yilie. Just focus on your studies when you’re in that household. Don’t get involved in things that have nothing to do with you. Don’t be nosy, don’t let your curiosity guide you, and even if you hear something to do with the Duke or his wife, act as if you didn’t.”
“Okay,” Yilie said.
“I say this because the Bureau is also changing these days,” Tabuyir said. “We all accepted the Director as our master before, but now with the new Emperor, things are shifting, and nothing’s certain yet. We don’t want the Duke to misunderstand our family’s intentions, right?”
“How are things shifting?” Yilie asked.
“Forget it, you wouldn’t understand,” Tabuyir said. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place. Just make sure not to get involved in anything suspicious, alright?”
“Why wouldn’t I underst–”
“Just eat,” Tabuyir ordered. Yilie grudgingly chomped down on the lamb skewer.
“What about rumors? I can’t help but hear those,” Yilie said. “Like the Princess’ chef and the Duke’s chef falling in love–”
“If you hear them, don’t repeat them,” Tabuyir cut him off severely. “It’s unseemly to gossip anyways.”
“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Yilie grumbled.
Changing the topic, Tabuyir softened his tone.
“Have you made any new friends?”
“Not really, I haven’t spoken much to the boys from other households at horse riding classes,” Yilie said. “They mostly avoid me too. They’re all the sons of important people, so they don’t like having me there. But they can’t do anything about it either because of the Duke.”
“Yilie…” Tabuyir’s brows creased in worry.
“It’s fine, I get along great with Qazar and Yun’er and Yan’er,” Yilie said. “Last time I threw a bug at Yun’er, so she and Yan’er dumped a bucket of water on me to get back for it. The Duke gave me a really weird look when he saw me, but he didn’t scold me for it either.”
“The Duke saw you like that?” Tabuyir asked disapprovingly.
“Yeah, but I didn’t tell him it was Yun’er and Yan’er,” Yilie said. “I like hanging out with them and so does Qazar, I don’t want the Duke to tell them to stop or anything.”
“Well, you’re getting to be that age,” Tabuyir said sagely. “Remember, you must not commit any improper acts with a girl, especially not servants of the Duke.”
“It’s not like that!” Yilie yelped, his face flushing red.
“Even better that it isn’t,” Tabuyir said. “Since you’re his wards, he’ll likely arrange a good marriage for you with someone of a good family. You’d be slapping his face to fool around with his maids before that.”
“I don’t want to get married and it’s not like that,” Yilie insisted. He gave Tabuyir a pleading look. “It’s really not!”
“Alright, alright,” Tabuyir said. “I know, Yilie. I just can’t help but worry. You’re still so young, but because of me, you’ve left behind your family to enter that household alone. I can’t be at your side to help you or protect you. How can I not nag when we meet?”
“I get it, I get it. You’re as bad as my mother is whenever I leave the house,” Yilie grumbled, but his shoulders relaxed. “Don’t worry, uncle. Everything’s fine, really! Let me tell you, just the other day, I tried this cool new trick with the bow.”
Tabuyir nodded along, smiling as Yilie began recounting an exaggerated tale of his grand exploits in archery class.
This is for the best, Tabuyir assured himself. Both for Yilie and for our family.
It had to be.
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Cultural Notes
Classics: Refers to the Four Books (The Analects, Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, and Mencius), as well as the Five Classics (Classic of Poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, Book of Changes, Spring and Autumn Annals). Part of a basic Confucian education curriculum.
Mencius: One of the Confucian classics, it contains transcripts of Mencius’ speeches to kings, officials, and students. Mencius was known for talking a lot, so memorizing his speeches were often tough.
Tea in the Tang Dynasty: We generally see Wenyuan and the other Han characters drinking clear tea (pure, steeped tea leaves), but a type of tea that was popular in the Tang Dynasty had a notable influence from other cultures, with spices grounded in with the tea leaves to produce a thicker concoction. Nomadic cultures often added milk as well as butter.
Fried doughsticks: So the ones I’m referring to are a common snack in Northern China, believed to have a long history. It’s cheap (if you have enough oil), crispy, and tastes good dipped in hot liquids. Looks like this:
image [https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbkimg.cdn.bcebos.com%2Fsmart%2F241f95cad1c8a786c604e1496a09c93d70cf504e-bkimg-process%2Cv_1%2Crw_1%2Crh_1%2Cpad_1%2Ccolor_ffffff%3Fx-bce-process%3Dimage%2Fformat%2Cf_auto&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2ee16b924fe1ddc60aad023ce90bbce77a48a2f99839c44c14d1d96a8627576b&ipo=images]
Civil Exam: The national examination held to select civil bureaucrats. Open to people of all classes and backgrounds. However, one generally has to pass the local and provincial tests to make it to the national one, but practices differ by era.
Martial Exam: An exam held to select officers. This also varied greatly by era. Often wasn’t as open to everyone as the civil exam was.