Deep within the Imperial Palace, three figures sat inside a grand hall.
The Third Prince, Chu Yuanchen, stood before a window with his hands clasped behind his back. He gazed out at the overlapping silhouettes of the palace walls, silent.
Beside him, the Fifth Prince, Chu Yuanhao, sat in a zitan wood chair, his fingers tapping a light, rhythmic beat on the armrest.
On a soft couch by the window, the Seventh Princess, Chu Qingyi—one of the Ten Beauties of the Imperial Capital—held a scroll, but her gaze wasn't on the pages. Her thoughts were clearly elsewhere.
A soft knock came from the hall doors.
A eunuch bowed and entered, carrying a zitan wood tray. On the tray rested a dossier.
"Your Highnesses," he announced, "the intelligence report on Fang Han of Qingyang County has been retrieved."
Chu Yuanchen turned around, a barely perceptible ripple passing through his gentle eyes.
"Read it."
The eunuch unfurled the dossier, his voice clear and steady.
