Introducing Kai Low to the court of the Camelia went much more smoothly, but only because both sides seemed to have forgotten how to speak.
There hadn't been much ceremony, because everyone was still recovering, half the court was still out on the battlefield, and the estate itself was still trying to rearrange everything in a way that actually worked after the war had been cut short.
After a few awkward minutes, Chenzhou had ended the introduction and dismissed the court, and Kai Low had disappeared off to his rooms and wondered how badly this situation could go.
Then he went to find Henri. He hadn't had a chance to sit down with him and talk about everything that had happened while Chenzhou was away.
His news wasn't as good as Chenzhou had been hoping.
"For the most part, the estate is functioning as it should be," Henri commented and pushed a pile of reports towards Chenzhou. "A few stumbling points here and there, as to be expected. The bigger issue is the situation with the Zhao's."
"It's escalated?"
"Significantly." Henri ran his fingers through his carefully coifed hair, sending it into disarray. "Lady Zhao has taken personal affront to the rumors and has taken steps to identify their source. What few intelligence assets we have left in the estate are mostly experienced with working in the borderlands-"
"Which doesn't help us here." Chenzhou pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and tried to fight off the headache he knew was coming.
"No, it does not. Henri agreed. "I'm concerned Lady Zhao may try to take things into her own hands if things don't quiet down soon."
"I'd hardly be able to blame her." The exhaustion made Chenzhou admit it.
Henri was less sympathetic. "Until she starts leaving bodies in her wake. The Zhao's have every right to defend themselves; these rumors are spiteful garbage, but the more they do so, the guiltier they look." He cut Chenzhou off when he started to speak. "Which is bullshit, I agree, but we both know how this game is played."
Chenzhou's frustration with games of power was nothing new. He was certain everyone felt it at one point or another. What he couldn't understand was why people continued to play them in spite of that. What sense did it make to continue a cycle of habits they all knew did more harm than good? Even if that was the way it had been done, and it was what they had all been taught for generations.
Why not simply put an end to it for the betterment of everyone?
"That is easier said than done." Henri mused. The young Lord Colfax had learned at the feet of his own father, the same man who had been Chenzhou's regent as a child. He possessed, in Chenzhou's opinion, a superior intellect to Chenzhou's own, and because they'd essentially been raised by the same man, they shared most opinions.
The biggest difference between the two of them seemed to be that Chenzhou clung to hope despite all reason and his own claims. Henri, like most of his family, was a harsh realist and refused to see the world as anything but what it was.
Henri would never have walked up to the Bandri camp alone, but he would take advantage of Chenzhou doing it.
"Have you had any lunch, figuring out where they started?" That would tell them a lot about the why.
Henri frowned. "Unfortunately, we did."
The tone of his voice unsettled Chenzhou.
"It came back with the soldiers."
Chenzhou blinked, confused. "How is that possible?" None of Mingzhe's soldiers had survived aside from the one company, and they were still deathly loyal to the Zhao's.
Henri sighed. "It looks like there were some murmurs here after it happened, but those were mostly confined to the court and probably would have faded in time. But once our forces started heading out on patrols, rumors started to come back from them about the same thing. If it were just a bunch of jealous, gossipy nobles, it would be one thing. But soldiers concerned for their safety because they think their commander might betray them is another entirely."
Chenzhou's heart sank. "That's what they believe?"
"Not all of them," Henri assured him. "Not even a majority, but enough that the rumors are not dying out, and they've caught the attention of the court. That is the biggest issue."
Of course it was, Chenzhou thought, resigned. It was ammunition none of them would have been able to come up with on their own.
Military commanders never recovered if their soldiers decided they were untrustworthy, and for a military dynasty like the Zhao's, it would be a particularly painful way to fall.
Which made it seem all the more personal. In terms of rank, the Zhao's were in the top three families of the Camelia; it was completely possible someone wanted to bring them down solely to take their place or as revenge. Mingzhe's growing relationship with Chenzhou and Eirian didn't have to be the motivating factor.
….
But the rumors hadn't started until after they'd become close, and Mingzhe had only rushed to get his troops out first because he'd been trying to help out Chenzhou. If another commander had managed to get their forces to the outposts first, they would have been ambushed and killed just the same.
Right?
~ tbc