Chapter 3
From that day on, Chu Yuan’s attitude toward me changed completely.
Whenever he committed some wicked deed or lost his temper because people were cursing him, he would summon me to offer a strategy.
He never actually used any of them. The point was that hearing them always left him feeling at least one notch saner.
With his mental health now leagues ahead of everyone else’s, Chu Yuan even adopted me as his goddaughter.
But idleness has a way of making people think about their dreams.
A comfortable life of full meals and the occasional opportunity to tease the heir apparent no longer satisfied me. I packed my belongings and prepared to resign from the service of a lord who refused to respect my strategic genius.
“My lord, if you have no intention of using my counsel, why not let me leave?”
Chu Yuan’s expression changed dramatically.
“My dear daughter, who upset you?
“Was it the heir? Beat him as hard as you like. Your father won’t say a word!”
I thought of the poor heir apparent I had tormented these past few days and felt a little guilty.
“This has nothing to do with Chu Yunmo. It’s about me!
“Godfather, I am a woman of dreams and ambition! I must go out into the world and realize my aspirations!”
Chu Yuan fell silent. Then he drew his sword again.
“If that is your wish, don’t blame me for being ruthless.
“Keeping you costs next to nothing, but if I let you loose on the world, your father will suffer for it!”
The moment the blade left its sheath, my knees went weak.
“Dreams? What are those? How much do they cost by the pound?
“Come to think of it, the heir hasn’t finished his studies. How could I, his elder sister, abandon him now?
“Dad, put the sword away. I’ll go drag little brother Yunmo off to recite his lessons this instant!”
Two years later, Chu Yuan unified the Central Plains and ascended the throne, while I finally found the leisure to wander the realm.
I never imagined that only five years later, Chu Yuan—the godfather I’d picked up on the cheap—would have me dragged back again.
“Lord Cheng, the late emperor entrusted you with his heir on his deathbed. He named you Imperial Tutor and ordered you to return to the palace to assist the new emperor.”
Shadow Guard Forty-One knelt before me and relayed the final edict.
According to him, Chu Yuan had possessed tremendous martial strength but little talent for governing. Years of warfare had also left him with old ailments that flared up often, so his will had exceeded his strength.
Over the years, the imperial in-laws had grown powerful, the enfeoffed princes had begun harboring ambitions, and generals had gathered armies loyal only to themselves.
As death approached, he worried that Chu Yunmo would be unable to keep them under control. So he ordered the Shadow Guards to bind me and bring me back overnight to assist the new emperor.
Remembering the boy who used to cry whenever I teased him, I rolled my eyes.
What possible use would dragging me back be against men like that?
Was I supposed to be a mascot?
They never used my plans anyway. Did they think I existed for their amusement?
I cursed all the way to the capital, right up until I saw Chu Yunmo again before the late emperor’s memorial altar.
He wore dark imperial robes. Tall and straight, he had shed the softness of youth; his features were now deep and sharply defined, and the severity in his taut expression lent him the killing air of an emperor.
His eyes were cold and distant. Suddenly enraged, he swept everything before him aside, sending object after object crashing to the floor.
Chu Yunmo roared, “Better that I betray the world than let the world betray me!”
My eyes lit up.
My eager, expectant gaze met Chu Yunmo’s across the room. Perhaps I imagined it, but his expression seemed to freeze in a most peculiar way.
After a moment of silence, he spoke in disbelief.
“Father actually found you and brought you back?
“Surely matters haven’t become that desperate…”
I rolled my eyes and was just about to unleash a devastating retort when a guard’s hoarse bellow cut through the room.
“Assassins! Protect His Majesty!”
The palace attendants descended into chaos. The clash of weapons drew ever closer, and the smell of blood spread through the air.
Damn it all. What had they done to the realm I had left behind?
I had needed the late emperor’s edict just to sneak into the palace, while these assassins had strolled right in as if they owned the place.
Fuming, I jumped up and down while rummaging in my sleeve for a command token. Before I could find it, Chu Yunmo yanked me aside so abruptly that I stumbled.
“Shadow Guards Forty-Three and Forty-Six, protect Cheng Ruo!”
Chu Yunmo’s expression was grim, his gaze fixed on the fighting ahead with an icy glint.
Thanks, but no thanks.
I tucked away the token I had finally found and slapped Chu Yunmo’s hand off me.
“Save them for yourself, you absolute menace.”
I thrust the token high above my head and shouted at the top of my lungs.
“Shadow Guards One through Seven, protect me! Everyone else—beat the hell out of them!”
Seven black figures dropped around me at once, forming an impenetrable wall. Beyond that dense ring of bodies, a vast host of shadows seized control of the battlefield, crushing the enemy through the noble art of superior numbers.
Chu Yunmo looked conflicted. Shadow Guards Forty-Three and Forty-Six looked radiant.
Shadow Guards Forty-Three and Forty-Six: Never in our lives have we fought such a lavishly staffed battle!
Chu Yunmo: “Good grief! Was I even his biological son?”