The following day’s event was supposed to be similar, but with imperial nobles. Yu had asked to be excused, being not a noble, but she was denied instantly by her master, and with quite a bit of irritation. The idea was simply not up for discussion. The reason, however, was as fascinating as it was disturbing.

***

“You have to go. There is no question,” her master stated firmly.

“Why though? Are you trying to antagonize them? Use me to slap their faces or something? Won’t this just be just a bunch of powerful people who are going to talk about things I don’t have to worry about and can’t influence? Do you just want me there to remind them of they can’t do beast poop about you?”

“I may or may not be using the event, pointless as it is, as an opportunity to remind them of their place. And who says you are right in your assessment of what is going to go on and your ability to influence it? Well, you are, but…” Then he waved his hand. “Either way, none of that is truly important. What you do not understand, what none of those attending understand, is that this event is for you.”

“What?” Yu squeaked. “What do you mean?”

“You will find out. Now get ready.”

Then he turned around and walked away.

Yu, completely beside herself, chased after him. After two steps she found herself in her dressing room, surrounded by multiple maids with firm and unflinching looks on their faces.

***

No further clarification or discussion was welcome, and her repeated entreaties for information were rather forcefully quashed. He even pressured her with his Qi to get her to shut up about it.

Thus, Yu was going to have to endure meeting with people who hated her and could squish her like a bug in equal measure, and she had no idea why. That squish part was a rather stark reminder that it was only her master’s protection that kept her alive.

And so, a frustrated and nervous Yu, dressed in a court formal white qipao with the left shoulder slightly exposed and embossed with a single massive sinewy black dragon flying from the bottom left hip to top right shoulder, was preparing to exit out of the carriage when he stopped her with a raised hand.

“I am making an addition to your normal wardrobe today,” said her master who was wearing his normal sect robes, except with an accessory. On top of his bald head was a stuffed peacock, its massive tail feathers falling down his back.

Yu, already a bit of a mess from the discussion, his impertinence, and that idiotic hat, looked at her master, dreading him adding some mad adornment like his.

Three years of constant, unending, and abusive training. Three years of his inane madness, constant insults, horrid training, senseless orders, and cryptic messages. She was exhausted.

“Master, aren’t you doing enough to me already?” she asked, frustrated. “Do you have to turn me into spectacle too? Can’t you just… stop?” Then she sighed, tiredly and sadly. “Why can’t you just stop?”

He didn’t answer for quite a few breaths, silence permeating the small space. Then his hand appeared in front of her face, holding a piece of white cloth.

Yu blinked at it, then looked closer.

Upon inspection, she saw it wasn’t only a piece of cloth, but a bit more. There was indeed a piece of white cloth, but it was partially transparent. If looked through, it would block the wearer’s details, but not shapes or colors. For example, it would show the general shape of her lips and that she was wearing strong red lip paint. Additionally, across one edge was a line of solid black jade that seemed to have a particular shape. She couldn’t figure out what the whole thing was for until he shifted his position and held it up for her with both hands.

“A veil?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes, a veil.”

Yu couldn’t figure out the purpose. Everyone who wanted to know what she looked like could easily find out. It wasn’t like she had been in hiding for the last three years.

“Why?” she asked simply.

“You will know when the time comes. Put it on.”

Yu hesitantly took reached out and took it from his hands. She looked at it and then him, waiting for some sort of test or trick. Not a single part of his hairless head moved.

Letting out a breath, she nodded and looked it over, trying to figure out how to wear it. The black jade went beyond the cloth to have slightly hooked ends which clearly held it to her head. Never having worn a veil before, Yu slowly brought it to her face, reaching behind her head and tried to hook the ends together. It was apparently enchanted to stay because the moment they touched, they melded into a single piece of jade.

It felt like it fit perfectly, from the shape of the jade wrapping the bridge of her nose to the rise of her cheekbones to the shape of her head. A breath later, she felt a tingle emanate from where it touched her. She looked down and lifted the cloth, noticing a very subtle dragon appeared on it, just like the one on her qipao.

A hand-mirror materialized in her hand from her ring. She used it to look at herself and gasped. It was… beautiful. Stunning even. The veil somehow managed to both hide and show her face in a way that accentuated her best features. Her silver eyes swirled, her pale skin almost glowed, and the veil itself waved slightly, making the dragon look like it was flying across.

Yu knew that her face betrayed her surprise as she looked at her master with wide eyes.

Before she could speak, he nodded once and did first. “Good. Now, this delay has already brought more attention to us. Let us depart the carriage.” He turned to the window and yelled, “Open the damned door already!”

Yu watched as the carriage door was swung open by some sort of guard in glistening white armor and face helm with a turtle embossed on the chest in green and gold. Then her master started berating the poor woman for being slow and stupid and having a horrible heritage and so on and so forth. Then he complimented her on her lovely armor, asking where she got it, and then went back to berating her.

Climbing out after her master, Yu ignored the scene he was making. Looking around, she found herself for the first time standing within the Imperial Palace grounds. She’d been told before that this discussion was being held in one of the many villas within the grounds but outside the palace proper, and the view did not disappoint.

A large courtyard stood before her, mostly stone but with patches of nature interspersed. Green grass encompassing patches of flowers was separated by a few thin brooks with flowing water glistening in the sun. Yu found the area to be an interesting mix of humanity and the wilds, but the natural elements were so controlled and engineered that she felt it was trying to send a message: humanity is above the wilderness here.

Nodding to herself, she looked to her master who had just ended his tirade.

“Lead us on, young woman,” he ordered what Yu figured was a palace guard. “Why is it taking so long for you to get us inside?”

“I will be taking you directly to the meeting hall, my lord,” the guard said with a bowed head. She then turned and started walking towards a large round building, Yu’s master following. Yu herself walked slightly to his right and one step behind, as she had been instructed the prior day.

“I can’t wait see whose lovely home this is,” her master said happily. “Isn’t this exciting?”

Yes, exciting. Just the word I was thinking…

***

Yu stood straight with her hands behind her back, two steps behind and one to the right of her seated master. He was at a round table with ten wooden seats around it, nine of them identical. They were padded and ornately carved with various animals and affinities. The tenth had a taller back and was the only seat with color. It had golden turtles carved throughout, specifically with turtle heads wielding sharp beaks, including behind the head and where the hands would be on the armrests.

The other four sect masters were sitting already, just like her master along one side of the table. The other half of the seats were empty at the moment. Yu was ignoring her master’s lunatic attempts at riling up the others by looking at the disciples, who like her, were standing stoic, but also showing twitching lips, all trying not to openly react to the madness in front of them.

Additionally, Yu noticed that against the walls of the round room stood a number of pristinely dressed servers, their green and gold servant hanfus showing their station. Each carried trays atop which sat various forms of drink. They had not approached to offer the sect leaders anything yet, which Yu found odd, but she was not exactly familiar with the etiquette for imperial meetings, so she wasn’t too concerned. She figured it was intended as either an insult or a reminder, but she saw it more as flailing at the wind.

Interrupting her musings, a man dressed in ornate robes half embossed with red flames and half light blue ice stepped through the large double-doors, carrying a staff with a pair of turtles at the top. In their mouths were red and ice-blue beast cores, carved to look like gems and glowing enough to catch attention.

He lifted and lowered the staff once, releasing a thumping sound.

“Please attend. Lord Shen Wenyan, Minister of Security, representing the Shen Clan. Accompanying him, Lord Shen Nian Bing Wa, third scion of the Shen Clan.”

I guess sect leaders don’t rate big fancy introductions, Yu though with a mental laugh. She obviously didn’t care about it even a little and just found the image in her head of her master being announced with all the pomp while wearing his peacock hat hysterical to the point that she almost laughed out loud.

Shen Wenyan was an unremarkable man who looked in his seventies were he mortal. The man accompanying him, while younger, was still old-looking in his fifties. Neither stood out to Yu in any meaningful way. Both looked rather boring.

I’m sure if I could sense power through a domain I’d be thoroughly awed and impressed, but right now, to me they’re just… old men.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

As they walked to their seats, each scanned the room with narrowed eyes, making sure to give all the sect leaders superior looks. As expected, when they came to her master, they gave him disdainful glares, which immediately transferred to Yu. She could almost feel the Qi in the air solidify, but it went away almost immediately when they stopped looking.

Very quickly, a second pair entered. These were from the Ling clan, and carried the names of Ling Fa Ran for the senior and Ling Su Sing for the junior. They paid little attention to anyone, but Yu felt the senior’s eyes linger on her longer than the others.

Next to arrive was the Bao clan. That went about as well as Yu expected in regards to how they reacted to her and her master.

“How dare you bring that brutal, dishonorable tramp here, Bingwen!” Boa Kong Wen, the junior of the two, spat furiously. The senior looked unhappy, but otherwise let his “junior,” who had speckles of gray in his hair and beard, speak for him.

Well prepared for this, Yu made no move, nor did she respond verbally. She simply gave him a wide white-toothed smile.

If master wants to rub their faces in their impotence, then I might as well play along.

Plus, she enjoyed antagonizing the Bao. It had become one of her favorite recreational activities over the last few years. Add in the fact that these two were part of the clan faction that had proactively ostracized Bao Qing, well, she really wanted to poke their egos a bit. And if her master was going to slap them around, figuratively at least, she wanted to contribute and watch the show.

“Huh? Who?” her master said back confusedly. Then he started looking around, trying to find the tramp in question. “Heavens above, why did they let that kind of person in.” Then he let out a big sigh, scratched his peacock, and looked up at it. “Isn’t that right little Poki? Wait, what’s that?” He tilted his head and the peacock’s head wobbled back and forth. “Don’t be rude now, Poki. It’s not his fault he can’t make an heir. That’s a private matter, you shouldn’t spread it around.”

Gasps, coughs, and even a few titters filled the room. Suddenly the Qi in the room became oppressive and crashing sounds were heard all over the room from the servants dropping their trays from being pressed into the floor from the pressure. It didn’t seem to negatively affect Yu – she figured it was likely because her master was protecting her.

“No, Poki,” her master said to the stuffed bird while ignoring everything else. “He’s the one who started calling people tramps when he’s been sleeping around to try to pop out a kid. I mean, he’s failing, but it’s still not something we talk about. That’s very rude, you know.”

Hells, he’s not just slapping their face, he’s completely embarrassing them. Those weren’t politically subtle, they were overt humiliation. Gods, they might actually attack him.

Then she wondered if that was what he wanted. He’d have an excuse to kill them if they did. She could only hope.

A flash of red and ice-blue light filled the room followed by a banging of the staff of the man who had been doing the announcements. The Qi immediately vanished.

“I remind all those present,” the man said firmly with a voice that resonated with Qi, “that this is the Imperial Palace grounds. Any further aggression will result in the slaughter of the perpetrator or perpetrators by the imperial guards. Your clans can send replacements.”

He cleared his throat then. “Ahem. Please attend. Lord Fan Yang, Minister of Foreign Affairs, representing the Fan clan. Accompanying him, Lady Fan Qinxue, second lady of the Fan Clan.”

Yu looked on as Fan Ran’s uncle entered, followed by one of his sisters. Ran had prepared her for these two, so Yu was unsurprised by the only other female cultivator in the room.

As they scanned the room the same as the prior clan representatives did, Yu saw that they were utterly neutral with their facial expressions, but nodded their heads twice, once to the pair from the Ling Clan, and once to… Yu. The lady even showed a very brief half-smile before her indifferent mask returned. Yu hoped that was a good sign that she had an ally – or at least a potential one.

Unlike the others, Fan did not sit when he arrived at his seat. He stood behind it and placed his hands on the back.

“The representatives for the light of the empire, his imperial majesty, Emperor Gui Shun, as well as the Gui clan itself, will be arriving shortly. As the first part of this meeting involves foreign affairs, I was asked to take the lead. Please sit and get comfortable.”

That was apparently the signal for all the servants, who either had been replaced or bore new trays, as they slowly walked to the table and placed two things in front of each of the seated individuals. One was a shiny gold ping decorated with lotus blossoms holding red wine, and the other was a steaming jade tea cup with gold edges and pear blossoms.

Those standing were offered nothing as the servants returned to their stations, their initial responsibilities apparently complete.

“I will begin with—”

“I object to the girl’s presence!” Bao Wang Sa, the senior of the Bao’s, said forcefully with jabbing his finger towards Yu and rising to his feet.

With a sigh, Fan Yan rose to his feet as well. “Respected Bao Wang Sa, your feelings towards the illustrious sect leader of the Black Dragon Sect and his disciple are well known. They both were permitted to attend by the Gui clan as hosts and as the imperial family. Your objection, while understandable, is unwelcome.”

Her master was completely oblivious to everything going on, as he was busy showing the ping to his stuffed peacock while wine dripped all over.

Bao Wang Sa’s fists closed so tightly they creaked, and he glared menacingly at her. “Just because she’s in the bed of that young upstart trying to take the third prince’s place as crown prince, doesn’t mean—”

Yu gasped, and she was not the only one.

“Enough!” Fan Yang called loudly as his fist hit the table with a bang. “That’s enough. This is not the place for a discussion on succession, Bao Wang Sa, as you well know.”

Yu narrowed her eyes at the man who had just insulted both her and Zihao. After releasing a breath as well as her anger, she realized he had done something very clever. First, he associated her with Zihao in an intimate way. Second, he associated Zihao with “stealing” the third prince’s spot as crown prince, which was also the third clever thing. He made it appear as though the position of crown prince was already the third prince’s and thus Zihao was attempting to take something belonging to someone else and thus, he had no right to.

It also, cleverly, associated Yu with the theft. Given her reputation as a unique powerhouse and her great potential, the Bao elder’s words also insinuated that Zihao could be using her to conduct the previously mentioned theft.

And to top it all off, he had done so in a way that was an insult to her honor. Unlike for mortals, pre-marital sex was an obvious and widely-accepted practice for cultivators. Things were different when you lived hundreds or thousands of years. It could be years, or even decades or a century or more before marriage was worked out and nobody was going to wait that long. The idea of waiting was absurd.

However, motivation mattered. If it was simply the act of the young, or to have fun, or even to build a relationship, all of those were fine. On the other hand, a cultivator sleeping their way into positions of power was frowned upon from a perspective of honorable behavior, at least officially. And imperial nobles especially were held to higher standards in regards to that. Nobody cared what commoners did after all, except for other commoners.

As Bao Wang Sa said, no imperial noble wanted to be considered a “tramp.” That it was known that Zihao was supposedly in marriage talks, or at least potential marriage talks, with her family only added the questions of who was sleeping with whom for what gains. His commentary was very derogatory and offensive.

It was also brilliant. Frustratingly so.

This man is quite something. The Bao really do earn their reputation as clever schemers.

Thankfully, Yu had been prepared by Zihao to expect some negativity regarding their relationship. And it was not like she was expecting the Bao to say anything nice about her.

The Ling representative shot to his feet, causing his chair to skid backward. “How dare you! Your slanderous words are bordering on treasonous, Bao Wang Sa!”

“We agree with the honorable Bao representative,” said the Shen clan representative who slowly rose as well. “I know the imperial family is certainly not afraid of the truth coming out. So why are they encouraging such behavior by not only allowing, but inviting one such as her to be here? Is the seventh prince so blatant in his disregard for honorable behavior among the nobility?”

“This wine is quite fine, wouldn’t you say?”

Those words echoed throughout the room with such force that cups rattled. Then, from seeming nowhere, a burst of wind blasted from the center of the room. Not a single piece of furniture, cup, or candle responded, but every single person in the room, save Yu, had their hair sweep forcefully and their robes pull tight behind them. Most surprisingly, the gems on the announcer’s staff, which had been giving off bright red and blue light, dimmed to the point of almost going dark.

Yu’s master apparently had had enough. He sat there calmly, swirling the wine in his ping, looking into it.

“I spent a century or two making wine, you know. I was traveling to the west of the continent, far beyond the reach of this… empire, into another land. Europa I believe the empire was called. They had the most spectacular wines and they use different fruit from us. Something to do with the weather. Anyway, while I was there, one of the countries of this Europan empire sent an invasion force to take over the vineyard I was working at. This was of course something like a millennia ago, so I was just a soft cultivator then.”

He finally looked up from his wine then. Nobody in the room moved, Yu wasn’t even sure if they were breathing.

“Only in the fifth stage at that point. I could barely control my own Qi constructs. Weak and small, trying to make my way in the world, experience some things, learn what was what. It was quite enlightening, watching a powerhouse come out of a little shack, and, in a drunken stupor, accidentally wipe out an army of stage four, five, and even a few stage six cultivators. They use different terms for cultivation, but the rules are similar. This wizard I believe he was called, was just a guard you see. A monstrous powerhouse was so weak to them, that he was only a guard in a shack, getting drunk to appease his sorrows of having such a low position.”

Yu got the message. This Europa had so many powerhouse cultivators that someone who could accidentally slaughter an army of a tier of what this empire would consider their peak talents.

“I think it’s important sometimes, to remember the difference between who we believe we are, and who we really are.” Then he sighed and cleared his throat. “Yes, well, this wine just reminded a bit of some of my travels. Sorry to interrupt. Don’t mind me. Go on then.”

It was at that point that the brightness of the beast cores on the staff returned to their full luster. But still, nobody spoke for quite a few breaths.

“Ahem.” Fan Yang cleared his throat. “Yes. Thank you, honorable Long Bingwen, for the story. And the reminder. Please keep enjoying the wine.”

“Oh, we will,” he said with a mad laugh. “Hehehe! Piko just loves it!” Then he held the ping up to the stuffed peacock and dribbled it all over its head.

“Right. Yes, well… As we want to keep this meeting moving forward, why don’t we all take our seats and I will bring us to the first topic.”

Yu watched carefully as the Ling representative sat immediately. He looked smugly at the Bao and Shen men as he did so, not hiding in the least that he was thrilled.

The others, however, had drastically different reactions. The Shen elder sat slowly, his fists clenched tightly and, Yu noticed, slightly shaking.

Bao Wang Sa leaned forward onto the table, looking like he might object while glaring at her master the entire time. He gave up waiting for a reaction eventually and sat, his unhappiness obvious for everyone to see.

“Excellent. The first topic for discussion is how we, as a united empire, wish to represent ourselves to the visiting dignitaries from…”

***

Two hours and numerous discussions about running the empire later, Yu was bored out of her mind. This was exactly the kind of thing that reminded her she had no interest in running a clan. Housing, ambassadorial appointments, trade relations, even tournament preparation updates… they were all utterly inane to her.

Why am I here? This is a total waste of my life. Well, I know why I’m here. Cause my lunatic of a master needed to remind these blowhards of their power in front of him. Or more specifically, lack their lack of it.

Yu nearly rolled her eyes at the sixth attempt by the Shen rep to derail the discussion by bringing up the third prince’s qualifications to deal with a particular issue involving one of the visitors and their well known negative attitude towards the Gui Empire when he was interrupted by a small commotion at the door.

Yu looked, along with everyone else, when the announcer slammed his staff down three times.

“Please attend. Please attend. Please attend. Rise for their highnesses, representatives of the Light of the Empire, Sun of the Gui Clan, his Emperial Majesty Gui Shun, and the Imperial Gui Clan. Welcome, his highness, Gui Shan, Minister of Finance, accompanied by her highness, Second Princess Gui Min Qui.”

Everyone stood, well, everyone except her master, who looked around confused. Then she shrugged and stood up too, asking his peacock why everyone was standing and whether it was time to stretch, which he immediately did, raising his arms high into the air and cracking his back and neck loudly into the silence.

Yu tried to stop the smile from forming, she really did. But she failed, and the corner of her mouth rose despite her attempts. Still, she watched the Minister of Finance come forward, wearing gold, purple, and green robes. He appeared middle aged and walked with a straight back and proud look. He seemed pretty close to what Yu had been expecting. As he walked to his seat, Yu’s eyes slid to the woman.

Yu froze. Images flashed through her mind. Memories of…

Qi roiled in Yu. Fury burned in her like she had not felt before in her life. She thought maybe the sun had appeared in her chest and was raging inside of her.

It’s her!

The world froze.