Fifteen
A wise general discerns that a battle is won long before it is fought. For if one can signal the certainty of victory, then victory is already within grasp.
—Book of Odes, 856
Lei didn’t seek me outagain, but he didn’t seem to hold a grudge either. Only a few weeks later, a series of damning letters and financial records were delivered through Lily. The Ximing prince had even uncovered accounting statements that demonstrated how rations, housing, and stipend expenses had doubled, despite the number of official reported soldiers remaining unchanged.
I showed up at Winter’s quarters at the crack of dawn, heeding Lily’s warning against making my relationship with Winter obvious. Rumors of an illicit affair between us were already circulating, though those within the palace’s inner circle knew there was little truth to them.
Sure enough, when Winter met me in his sitting room, wrapping a robe around his bare chest, I caught sight of Captain Tong in the bedroom before Winter shut the door behind him.
“This couldn’t have waited?” he asked, voice scratchy with sleep.
“I wanted to avoid gossip,” I said.
Winter scoffed. “This will only fuel the…” But he trailed off as his gaze drifted to the documents I’d arranged on the table before him.
Over the next hour, he pored over the Imperial Security Commissioner’s private correspondence, his hand often lingering on the crimson red stamp left by Yuchen’s name chop.
“I have to say I’m impressed,” he said, after some time. “You’re certainly cleverer than I gave you credit for.”
I blushed. “I have clever friends.” At Winter’s look of confusion, I busied myself with rearranging the pages. “Don’t ask,” I said, before echoing his own words: “A gentleman never tells.”
He laughed, a clear sound like wind chimes. “How are you planning to deliver the evidence?” he asked.
“I’m going to ask for a private audience with the Imperial Commander.”
Winter raised a brow. “You’re trying to take down Yuchen that way?”
I nodded.
Winter sighed, riffling through the documents again. “Do you want my advice?”
My shoulders stiffened before I nodded reluctantly.
“Only a fool makes herself the face of the opposition,” he said. “Gather the necessary evidence, then give it to Prince Keyan.” He smiled grimly. “An enemy of an enemy is a friend.”
“Then Keyan will take the credit,” I said, bristling.
“Yes, and the blame,” he said. “Rule number one of palace politics: always leave yourself an exit.”
I stroked my jade pendant, mulling this over. Winter’s gaze flicked to my necklace, before just as quickly flicking away. Still, my hand tightened reflexively around my seal; when it came to my jade, my defensiveness verged on paranoia.
Chancellor Sima had once believed Winter to be the nextsummoner of a Cardinal Spirit. And yet, despite his powerful affinity, Winter seemed to have no interest in spirit wielding. Or was he only biding his time?
Can I really trust you?I wondered.Or are you lying to me—just as so many others have before you?
Winter stared back at me, unblinking, his eyes as dark as tea leaves. And this was what made me trust him: he’d had so many opportunities to seize power, and yet he’d taken none of them. He’d been born a prince of Anlai, yet had no interest in competing for the throne. He possessed the greatest lixia affinity of anyone I had ever met, and still had never made a deal with a spirit. Instead, he seemed content to lurk in the shadows, learning to fight not with swords but with sharp eyes and sharper words.
I had once thought him weak, but now…now I envied him.
“The Imperial Commander will be furious if he learns of Prince Yuchen’s treachery,” I said, returning to the matter at hand. “If he thinks Prince Keyan is the one who uncovered the plot, he’ll be grateful to his son—and convinced of his ability. I’ll only be setting him up to succeed.”
“You help him, and you make a friend,” said Winter. “Then, when you stab him in the back, he won’t see it coming.”
The words were ruthless, made more so by the fact that he was speaking of his own brother. But who was I to judge?
I rose to my feet. “Give the files to Keyan, then, when he returns from Saiya,” I said. “But tell him to act quickly.”
