Chapter 133 - The Fox And The Wolf Listen To The First Princess Complain

The soldier led them through the camp. Xiao Zai and Hua Nanyi dismounted their horses and another soldier came to take them to the stables.

There wasn't much to the training grounds, the facility was simple and devoid of any luxuries. The buildings were all one floor, wooden constructions, and the ground was simple gravel and packed dirt, made muddy and soggy by the frequent snowfall.

It was hard to tell which buildings were dorms, which were administrative just by looking at them. But when the soldier took them towards a single lone tent at the back of the precinct, Chu Yun knew right away it was Xiao Ziyi's.

She was a woman who valued her privacy, and was probably pissed they were about to intrude on it.

The soldier pushed back one flap of the red tent and stood behind, his back ramrod straight.

"That will be all, Private Jin," Xiao Ziyi's voice rang from inside the tent.

The man shot them all a withering look and beat in retreat.

Chu Yun was the first to duck his head and walk inside Xiao Ziyi's tent. It wasn't lavish, but her station was made obvious by the several banners behind her tall desk, and the thickness of the tent's canvas, covered on the inside with silk.

Despite that, it was obvious the First Princess hadn't done much to make the place more comfortable than it was by design. The cot pushed up against a corner was narrow and sparse. And the brazier burning beside her desk was plain cast iron, probably no different than the ones heating the soldiers' barracks.

She only lifted her eyes from the paperwork in front of her when Hua Nanyi walked in, joining Chu Yun and Xiao Zai in front of her desk. Xiao Ziyi returned the brush to its holder and laced her fingers together.

"What's this all about?"

Chu Yun didn't miss how she seemed to be asking the question to Hua Nanyi.

He cleared his throat. "We hope her Highness can help shed some light regarding Su's dealings in Zui."

She frowned. "I don't see how that's relevant. I mentioned at the wedding ceremony that Su and Zui have been in talks to establish treaties, I think that's as much as his Grace needs to know," she said, her expression dark. She was looking at Chu Yun as if he was a spy.

"What do you know about what happened at the hunt?" Xiao Zai asked, his expression equally dark.

His sister frowned. "Not much," she cleared her throat, "I don't encourage gossip among the troops."

Chu Yun smiled, slow and meaningful. "Her Highness needs to be caught up to speed, then."

---

They told her all the details about Xiao Yuan's concubine's miscarriage, the sham trial, the hunt that followed, the suspicious death of the Crown Princess, the even more suspicious disappearance of Chu Hean, and his supposed connection to someone from Su.

"We know the Crown Prince of Su was in Haolin around the time of these events," Chu Yun said, showing Xiao Ziyi the token Hua Nanyi had found. "Do your recognise this?"

Xiao Ziyi turned the token around in her hands, inspecting it. "This is the seal of the royal family of Su."

They knew that already. "Yes, but the name, is it familiar?" Chu Yun said, tapping the characters.

She shook her head. "No, I've never met anyone from Su by that name."

"So, it's not the name of the Crown Prince of Su?" Xiao Zai asked, tentatively, already sounding disappointed. 

Xiao Ziyi returned the token to them. "No, it's possible it could belong to someone in his employ, but," she frowned, one of her eyebrows climbing up her forehead. "Why would the Crown Prince of Su be involved with your brother in a conspiracy?"

Chu Yun bristled at that. "We don't know if it's a conspiracy." He couldn't shake off the feeling that she suspected him of something.

"It is odd that the Crown Prince of Su left on the same night Chu Hean disappeared, no one saw him at the hunt either," Hua Nanyi said. Her words merited more attention from Xiao Ziyi, maybe because she was a human from Su herself. "Supposedly, he left before the hunt, but did anyone see him leave? Everyone who could have recognised him was at the hunt."

Xiao Ziyi hummed. "You're a human, weren't you born in Su?" she asked Hua Nanyi, far more kindly than she had spoken to Chu Yun.

Hua Nanyi told the First Princess the tale he was himself very familiar with. As far as she knew, she'd been born in Su, but raised by a family of betas in Xin. After some time her adoptive father died, and her adoptive mother got sick. Fearing for her future she sought out Chu Yun's father to take in Hua Nanyi as a servant.

Her adoptive family had had some means, so Hua Nanyi knew how to read and write and had formal teaching in other areas, such as mathematics. Chu Yun's father thought it would be a waste of her talents to give her menial housework, and so she joined their household as Chu Yun's maidservant in name only, as she was mostly a study companion, and playmate for most of his adolescence. 

All her 'servant' duties she had taken up herself of her own volition, because, in her own words, Chu Yun could be terribly dull at times. She had naturally fallen into the role of spy, after the events that marked the start of Chu Yun's total and complete disinterest in Xin court politics.

She didn't mention that last part, but to everything else Xiao Ziyi listened with quiet interest. "Then, would you consider yourself loyal to Su, or Xin?"

That brought Hua Nanyi to a screeching halt. Chu Yun could tell from her expression that was something she had never considered.

Finally, she made up her mind. "I'm loyal to the adoptive parents who raised me, and are unfortunately now dead, and to the Chu family for taking me in," she cast Chu Yun a meaningful look. "I'm loyal to his Grace for being my friend."

Chu Yun lowered his eyes, not wanting to show any emotion in front of Xiao Ziyi, with her probing intrusive questions.

She leaned back in her chair and smiled, apparently happy with the answer she got. "Loyalty is a complicated matter. Should one be loyal to the country they were from, or the country that welcomed them? What if that welcome was less than positive? What if it was effusive? What if everything your country had denied you, you were promised somewhere else?"

Xiao Zai looked from Hua Nanyi to Chu Yun in confusion. "I don't think I follow."

His sister spread her arms wide. "In simple terms, Zui is losing some of its beta population to Su."

That was a surprise to Chu Yun. "I thought usually it were the humans migrating to either Xin or Zui."

She nodded. "It was so, not long ago, but things have changed. Su has made some necessary improvements to its infrastructure, they are prospering." She sucked in a breath. "That was the nature of the Crown Prince's visit, we were hoping to stop the exodus of beta population from our border towns into Su."

Chu Yun's brain made some quick calculations. The border towns were strategically important, key points of defence for any nation, but often unappealing to live from the common people's perspective. More than a garrison, it was population which ensured the defence of border territories. Without people, the army was left defending a ghost town, at the easy mercy of sieges.

"Is this a deliberate effort from Su to weaken Xin?" Chu Yun asked, his blood pumping faster.

Xiao Ziyi sighed, her expression pinched and uncomfortable. "It's hard to say. The Crown Prince surely wasn't forthcoming. The problem is that it's obvious the people of Xin aren't treated equally, betas pay higher taxes. The ones from wealthy families can hope for good marriages, perhaps, but most of those who set out on their own either work for exploitative wages, or try to set up their own business only to be burdened with higher taxes than an alpha competitor."

Her frustration was obvious. This was clearly an issue she had long pored over. "This happens to all betas, regardless of whether they are wolves, snakes or cranes. It's easy to see why they would think it would be better to set out for Su, where they wouldn't be unfairly taxed. Everyone is a beta there, after all."

"Except betas comprise the majority of the population in Zui" Xiao Zai said, his expression guarded.

"You're seeing the problem here," she rubbed her temples. "I've had many talks with father about the importance of lowering taxes, but he refuses to listen to it. He says it's the revenue from those taxes that keeps the coffers full and allows for public investment."

"Except most of it ends up embezzled," Chu Yun said, recalling the many ministers he met with.

He was about to say something to Xiao Ziyi about how she could help turn the tide on all that, when Xiao Zai surprised him by speaking first.

"So let's get rid of him."