Chapter 205 - A Friendly Visit

Prince Yi opened his eyes and frowned. The room was dark and cold, it's been that way the last few days. His mood has been too foul and none of the servants dared to disturb him. He let out a breath and then sat up as he held his aching head. Then he suddenly grabbed the sword behind his pillow and jumped up.

"There is no cause for alarm, I'm a friend...Or I will be. If I wanted you dead, you would be long dead already. You kept me waiting quite a while. Nice wine though..." Chun Hai said as he raised his cup to Prince Yi and then took a sip. He was currently sitting where Prince Yi had been sitting and drinking earlier. Chun Hai had made himself comfortable while he waited for Prince Yi to wake up.

Prince Yi stood, sword ready with a deep frown as he scrutinized his uninvited guest.  

{...What is the meaning of this now?... How did he get in here? Those useless -...}

"No one knows I'm here yet...but if you want them to know, then I will return the favor and let your precious younger brother know you wish to continue a war he wants over. I'm sure Prince Rui will be willing to testify as well...It's a wonder why he hasn't, I guess he must have some reservations against your Emperor, but I don't particularly have any..." Chun Hai finished casting Prince Yi a side glance as he took another sip.

"What do you want?" Prince Yi asked through gritted teeth as he sat back down on the bed, still holding on to the sword, ready to strike.

"You're not going to ask who I am?" Chun Hai asked raising an eyebrow.

"State your business." Prince Yi coldly retorted.

Chun Hai sized Prince Yi up for a bit and then shrugged, "The question should be 'what can I offer you?'" He waited but Prince Yi did not say anything and so he went on, "Haiyan, have you heard of that name?"

Prince Yi raised an eyebrow but still remained quiet. Of course, he had heard of the name, one of the richest merchants out of Zou kingdom, who built a trade empire in just five years with the backup of his closest friend, Prince Houyi. And as for Prince Houyi, while he might not be his father's favorite, his influence in the country ran deep and long thanks to his maternal family's influence. 

"If you don't believe me, we can go find Prince Rui together..." Chun Hai said when the silence stretched on. Prince Yi let out a breath and simply repeated, "What do you want?" He was really not in the mood for anyone's games or threats. 

"To offer you the opportunity you want." Chun Hai waited this time and finally, Prince Yi showed some interest, "And that is?"

"War." Chun Hua simply responded. Prince Yi was quiet for a long while and Chun Hai waited again.

Prince Yi sized Chun Hai up and then asked, "Why should I trust you? After all, your Zou princes already have a record..."

Chun Hai ignored Prince Yi's bitter tone, "As you know, the power structure in Zou is a bit complicated. Zou is a country compromised of clans. The king holds the power to issue the order for war, but he does not hold the entire army in his hands. The Lords of the clans control their own military and territories, of course, all under the king's "rule"...Do you know why the Zou king chose Prince Rui to lead the battle over Houyi?" Chun Hai suddenly asked.

But Chun Hai did not wait for a response and continued, "Houyi is the better leader, the better warrior, the better general...but Houyi is ambitious, too ambitious and that worries the King. Houyi's maternal grandfather is also the most powerful Lord in Zou with many allegiances and loyalties that run deep..."

"...The current Zou king rules on a past glory from his father's time, he is considered timid and easy to sway but that can only take you so far and as you can imagine Houyi and his grandfather were not pleased with the King's choice of Prince Rui...Also, quite a few Lords are not pleased with Zou becoming a subordinate of Long country, especially those who have had to "sacrifice" for this peace...A war is inevitable for Zou, it's just a matter of time and you chose the wrong Prince."  

Prince Yi frowned and thought about it and then quietly said, "Houyi is ambitious..." And then he raised his eyebrows at Chun Hai, "What makes you think I am that desperate?"

Chun Hai snorted and raised an eyebrow at him, "That's not what I saw...or heard."

Prince Yi narrowed his eyes but before he could respond, Chun Hai continued, "You know, in Zou, there is this interesting custom, when a father dies, the son inherits everything...including the wives - Well, not your own mother of course, but you get my drift. The same would apply to say, brother on brother?... I thought you might be interested in adopting some of our customs to solidify our budding friendship..." He finished with a smirk in Prince Yi's direction. 

Prince Yi knit his brows and instantly an image formed in his head as he stared at Chun Hai, "It was you."

Chun Hai ignored that and continued on, "I have heard your Emperor is quite taken with her and it seems that you are as well, quite the conundrum. She is, after all, just one woman who can only belong to one man, a powerful one as it turns out, which you're not at the moment s-"

Prince Yi's hand on his sword tightened and he shot up, "Did you come here to insult me?! I am not an idiot who wou-!"

"How much longer do you think he'll keep you alive?" Chun Hai cut in and Prince Yi glared at him, but he was unfazed and continued,  "How much longer do you think he can tolerate you? How can he keep a Prince who once reached for the throne?" Prince Yi immediately froze on hearing that.

"From what I heard you were on the verge of crowning yourself Emperor if not for a dubious secret edict from nowhere. You must have felt cheated." CHun Hai lightly chuckled, "I guess the question should be, how much longer can YOU tolerate him?"

Prince Yi stood still taking deep breaths to calm himself and then he sat back down, "You drugged her...why?"

"A plan in motion. She is apparently quite the stubborn one....or perceptive maybe. It depends on how you look at it. If she cooperated, we would not have had to result to this -" When Chun Hai saw Prince Yi frown, he quickly added, "Ah, the plan was not for her to kiss you...I honestly expected her to strip or something of the kind, something humiliating for your Emperor...Publicly assaulting a strange man would have worked well, but you were just the convenient choice or perhaps, her instincts screamed for you..." Chun Hai finished with a smile and Prince Yi's frown deepened.

{...Screamed for me? She regretted it....as she should have...as I should...}

Chun Hai went on to reassure Prince Yi's, "The plan was definitely not to kill her, just in case your brother decided to take forever to mourn his lost love. A broken angry heart is much more useful. You know they say, the best way to mend a broken heart is with a new love and a man many wives has plenty of love tales to choose from. A dead love is harder to move on from than one of betrayal. Although it seems your brother is a lot more smitten than we perceived...Enough explanation?"

Prince Yi rested the sword next to him and knit his brows in thought.

{...A betrayal...and yet he still - *snort* I wonder what he would have done if she wasn't drugged? Kill her or keep her? If he killed her, he would lose the Lei family; his love, his friend and his support. I would have liked to see that...If I were thinking I would have thrown her at someone else and then dragged her, the person and all the witnesses before him and all the world...He would have had no choice...I could have and should have...been thinking...}

Prince Yi let out an exasperated breath and then asked, "What do you want in exchange?" Even though he considered Prince Houyi a dangerous option, it was better than being a sitting duck here, doing nothing. He had nothing to lose and so he could take the risk. 

"I need to get inside the palace prison, a map and a guide, a clear way in and out." 

"I take it your person inside has been captured. That explains why you're here..."

Chun Hai simply stood up, "Time is of the essence, have it ready for tomorrow." 

As Chun Hai headed for the window, Prince Yi spoke up again, "How do I know I can trust you? Even if yo-"

"You don't know and I can't know either...But I am a man of my word, and as I said, a war is inevitable. Prince Houyi will be happy to have you. I'll be back tomorrow." And with that, he jumped out the window and left Prince Yi alone.

Prince Yi stared at the window and then frowned. 

{..."Man of my word", aren't we all... It has to be one of those maids...And he seems to care quite a lot. That will be good enough...}

Prince Yi got dressed and left his room, with steady strides, suddenly feeling himself again, a person with purpose.

He had not been paying attention to what has been going on in the palace in the last few days. While he might not have people around the Emperor, he did have people scattered around in the palace, after all, it was his territory for years. He would help Chun Hai but then that maid would be his, as insurance.