Jihûn preferred to own useful things instead of bling. Despite that, it was hard not to be impressed by the Jewel Box. As secret chambers on the Imperial Mound went, the Jewel Box was small. It was so decorated with carvings, statues, mosaics, and jewels, however, events transpiring inside it took on an aura of elevated relevance.
Important people huddled with the Emperor. Jihûn's father looked more like the dean of a history department than an emperor, but the mood inside the room was far from collegiate. Abi d'Ilga's ultimatum to vacate the Mound had provoked calls for tough action.
When it came to volunteers, however, everyone had an excuse.
If the Fifth Princess had been present, she would have volunteered. Where the Third Prince thought practical jokes and pretending to be drunk were equivalent to having a personality, the Fifth Princess thought that refusing to acknowledge an adversary's strength proved she was the only person capable of true leadership. So where was she?
Probably off on a self-appointed secret spy mission only she could complete.
Despite being the tallest and most muscular prince, as well as one of the best fighters in the royal clan, Jihûn accepted that there were people who could take him down. Consort Chen and Abi d'Ilga had recently proved it. The Fifth Princess knew some good moves, but was not even Jihûn's equal. It was for the best that she wasn't present.
The First Prince was present, which was unusual, and shared Jihûn's perspective. Having seen more of the War of One Tyrant and Ten Brothers than any of his siblings, the First Prince had become a cautious geomancer. He talked philosophy with Grand Prince Wei, the Emperor's only surviving brother, and revered the Grand Preceptor as his master. The loss of the old man must have hit the First Prince hard. Despite that, he insisted on restraint.
The First Prince never attended court. The Fifth Princess never missed it. Was the reversal a trick of Fate; or… did that reincarnated witch in the body of a chubby little girl have something to do with it?
Jihûn looked around at the distinguished ministers and statesmen present. Among available princes, only One, Two, Three, and Eight were in the crowd. Consorts Su and Yan kept Five, Six, Seven, and Nine out of all politics. Whenever the Emperor tried to pull them in, one Mom or the other showed up. Jihûn suppressed a chuckle.
If either Consort Su or Yan showed up, the Emperor's mystique would take a hit.
Leading up to and during the War, Jihûn's uncles surrounded themselves with generals and armies. In contrast, Jihûn's father surrounded himself with dangerous women. The history dean suffered ridicule for that in the beginning. Once the generals and armies softened one another up, however, the dangerous women cleaned up their mess — and Jihûn's father became Emperor.
But the dangerous dimension to each Consort had not evaporated during peace.
"Jihûn," sighed the Emperor. "You haven't said anything."
Jihûn stood.
"I believed His Majesty's lie about exiling Ten and Eleven to the South," he said. "I am therefore too gullible to come up with a solution to His Majesty's self-inflicted problem."
The Emperor leaned back, startled. Distinguished statesmen stammered for Jihûn to apologize and beg forgiveness.
"Jihûn," said the Third Prince. "That was too much."
The Third Prince was "brilliant." Jihûn wanted to punch him.
"Usually," said Jihûn, "I stay quiet and you never shut up. Although you've said an awful lot today, nothing has been particularly clever or useful. In light of that, how could I possibly help?"
Jihûn waved his hand and sat back down.
"Jihûn," said the Emperor. "You were not lied to."
"Another lie," sighed Jihûn from his seat. "If you want my advice, start packing."
The Emperor wanted to be angry, but was running out of heavy hitters. Jihûn hit hard, but was not so conceited as to consider himself a heavy. With the Grand Preceptor missing, the Empress and Old Red Bird dead, and Consort Chen on the opposing team, however, Consort Yeon was the last force of pure destruction the Emperor could call on.
That did not stop distinguished statesmen from expressing condemnations and demands for the Eighth Prince to reflect on filial virtues. The Third Prince, Golden Smartass, struggled to find words.
That alone was worth spending all morning in the Jewel Box.
"I can't know what will happen," said the Emperor. "I can only try to create the circumstances for a favorable outcome. What I told you would have been a favorable outcome if it had been allowed to develop. The fact it did not means I can't control fate. It does not mean I lied to you."
"The Ancient Bailey is a good place to park inconvenient people," said Jihûn. "They live in supervised luxury. You live secure in the knowledge they aren't circulating. But you broke the arrangement. Now you're in a bind even the Golden Smartass can't solve."
"Jihûn," said the Emperor. "Your brother is not responsible for the situation."
"I wonder," said Jihûn. "This plot has all the hallmarks of a Golden Smartass scheme."
"Jihûn," said the Third Prince. "I don't know why you've become hostile, and apologize if I offended you. If you don't believe my sincerity, you can believe my self-interest. There is no benefit to me from antagonizing you — or anyone in the Ancient Bailey."
The Golden Smartass excelled at sounding reasonable.
"No benefit?" asked Jihûn. "You're clever. I wasn't clever enough to see it at the time. But now I do. Edrus has a lot of sympathy. His mother died avenging his brother's assassination. If Old Red Bird were to use him to challenge you, well, nobody actually likes people who are too clever."
"Jihûn!" barked the Emperor.
Most people in the room begged him to appease his anger.
"If you don't want to start packing," said Jihûn, "the best plan I've heard is to commit all of Moonlight Chamber and Ancient Arsenal Garrison to arresting the Ilga clan. Off with you, Alistaire! You'll lose. At the end of the day, however, this big rock is just a rock."
The Emperor ordered everyone except Jihûn out.
"Rulers must make difficult decisions," he said. "Outcomes cannot be known in advance. You were not deceived. Your pettiness is not moving us toward a solution."
"Using one threat against others is how you survived," said Jihûn. "I get it. You are incapable of recognizing that your behavior is deceitful. But everything you do is in fact a deceit meant to put opponents, real or imaginary, at a disadvantage. It worked. But now you're up against opponents who exist on a different level."
Tense silence persisted for several moments.
"You think I tried to get you killed?" asked the Emperor.
"The Golden Smartass is the most clever among us," said Jihûn.
"He's your brother!"
"You had nine brothers," said Jihûn. "Only one is left — a 'guest' of the Ancient Bailey."
"That is exactly what I am trying to avoid!"
"The Crown Prince was sincere," said Jihûn. "He was also a master swordsman. Soldiers and common people loved him. Bureaucrats and merchants respect the Third Prince's ability to solve unsolvable problems, but nobody loves him. If the prince most like you was to succeed, the Crown Prince had to go."
"I had nothing to do with that plot!" raged the Emperor.
He sounded sincere, but was his generation's Golden Smartass — and a gifted actor.
"You never have anything to do with it," said Jihûn. "You expected me and Old Red Bird to die."
"That is not true!"
"I survived," said Jihûn, "but Richan and Edrus believe I tried to sacrifice them. You've eliminated the biggest military threat to the Golden Smartass, and created a rift between me and my youngest brothers. Clever. I may be as handsome as I look, but not as dumb."
"It's one thing to see what might be true," said the Emperor, "and another to discern what is true."
Jihûn approached his father. The Emperor did not flinch.
"Good line," said Jihûn. "The Golden Smartass hasn't caught up to you yet. But if you followed your own reasoning, you wouldn't be in this mess. Storming the Ancient Bailey against two Millennia Souls is hopeless. The Attendants are over there too. They listen to Abi. You've lost. Your only choice is to leave the Mound and make the best of it."
The Emperor leaned back.
"The framing of your analysis could be improved," he said, "but is not fundamentally wrong."
"I'm going to go help Mom pack."