Page 57

Steadily, the advisors filed out, one by one. Until Caikun, Siwang, and I were the last three standing.

“You too, Caikun.”

I stole a glance up at Caikun, whose icy gaze made every muscle in my body go tense.

I’d lost my fight earlier. Was he ashamed of me? Or was this a warning?

Just as Siwang had been raised to rule and to lead, Caikun had been raised to protect Siwang with his life, to study beside him, support him, and be everything the prince needed him to be. A best friend and a guardian.

Relax, you saw how quickly he beat me earlier,I wanted to say.The person you need to worry about is me.

With a reluctant bow, Caikun exited the tent.

In his absence, the full weight of Siwang’s gaze descended on me like the judgment blade of an executioner, precariously balanced at the nape of my neck.

The Crown Prince of Rong, and the chief general of the Third Army: if he wanted me dead, I would not live.

Siwang exhaled, a soft sound that dispersed the tension, if only a little. “Drop the act, Fei.”

Words I’d been dreading since his eyes caught mine in the courtyard.

He’d recognized me. Of course he had. He was Siwang. It was fatuous, thinking I could bypass those eyes.

When I finally met his eyes, Siwang’s lips were curled at the edges, his eyes clear and benevolent—for now. This meant nothing; I was not safe. More than once, I had witnessed those eyes change fast as a summer’s storm.

I slipped the headband from between my brows.

He might hold the power, however I had the advantage of foresight. Though it was unlikely, if I was smart and fast on my feet, then maybe—just maybe—I could outscheme my beloved playmate and beat the prince at his own game. Whatever that game might be.

Siwang’s eyes lingered on me. Lips woven into a conspiring smile, he perched at the desk’s edge. “When I saw your name on the enlistment sheet in place of your father’s, I thought I was dreaming again.”

Something in my belly turned sour. “You knew my father was conscripted, and you didn’t do anything to stop it?”

Did he not remember how Father had struggled to walk up the steps of Heaven’s Hall on rainy days, how the imperial doctors consulted him on his ailing heart, constantly telling him to rest and not to get angry?

“I was the one who put him on the list.”

Something cold coiled in me, freezing my every muscle, every thought, every heartbeat. I wanted to grab that blade at his hip, slash that ravishing neck of his, and watch him choke on his own blood.

In the end, the only thing I could manage was silence. A stray tear gathered in the corner of my eye.

“Relax, Fei. I did not intend for him to serve as a soldier and fight the war. I wanted him to be my advisor.”

“My father no longer serves the crown,” I replied. “You have no right to take him from his home, his family, without his consent.”

“As long as he lives within Rong’s borders, he must serve me as Iwish,” Siwang replied, his voice deep and words heavy like a warning. Iwas treading dangerous waters. “Your father might not be of the court anymore, but he’s still one of my best teachers: someone whose morals I respect, whose knowledge I revere, whose opinion I trust.And,with his year spent far from the politics of Yong’An, he has no allegiances in court anymore. No one can use him to sway my choices. Things have changed since you left. I have as many enemies as I have supportersnow.”

“You always have as many enemies as you have supporters,” I murmured.

“Things have gotten worse since Lan waged this war that is draining all our resources. There are cowards in court who want Father to surrender.”

I didn’t want to say it, but I wondered if those men had a point. “Siwang, I’ve heard that as enlistment grows, the numbers of men who farm our lands and keep food in our bowls are dwindling. If we don’t have enough men to plant crops when spring comes, it can affect this year’s harvest, and the rice prices will rise again,” I said, which made Siwang raise his brows. “You are not the only one who paid attention in class. I care about Rong the same as you. Hungry peasants will lead to angry rebellions if things don’t improve. And I have met many hungry peasants in the past year.”

“Are you telling me we should surrender?”

“I think you should stop forcing men to enlist, or—”

“No.We need the soldiers.”