On the following morning, the Fifth Princess was once again a no-show in the Jewel Box. That improved the chances of reaching agreement, but also meant the tomboy with oppositional disorders was causing trouble in some unknown location.
Jihûn studied the Second Prince for clues. What was that family up to? Both the Second Prince and the missing tomboy were Consort Da's children. The Consort's family came from eastern nobility. Easterners were always up to something. They were thin, worshiped business fluency, considered muscle mass an indicator of manual labor, and relied on inner arcana to make up for their physical mediocrity in a fight. Easterners were never the backbone of any army, but did put on good magic light shows with weird weapons.
The Second Prince had a smidge more muscle mass than most of his countrymen. He was also tall, which was admirable. His sharp silhouette admittedly looked cool whenever he stood in a doorway. In conflict, the Second Prince relied too much on light shows like the rest of his kin, but had better form than most. Under the authority of his mother, who was effectively the Dynasty's top cop, Two had been leading the charge against official corruption for years. To the credit of mother and son, the empire was more efficient than at any other time in recorded history.
But they were up to something.
There was never anything to learn from the Second Prince's expressions. Forensic accountants and masters of weird weapons were naturally inscrutable. Jihûn shifted his attention from Two to One to Three and back. The Emperor hated factions, and was quick to crack down on "too much" bonding in the court, but consistently overlooked the Eastern Clique.
The Dowager Empress, Consort Fu, and Consort Da all came from eastern nobility.
The First and Third Princes were Consort Fu's children. Consort Fu and the Empress Dowager were killed by the Empress in revenge for the Crown Prince's poisoning. Before she died, the Empress could also have attacked Consort Da but made no effort to do so. Once back in good standing with Abi d'Ilga, Jihûn would ask the ancient witch if the Empress made a mistake in that regard. On account of the Empress's forbearance, Consort Da became mother hen to all three older princes, and de facto leader of the Eastern Clique.
The Third Prince was the frontrunner to assume the throne. That made Consort Da the frontrunner to become Empress Dowager. She had an interest in plotting against Edrus, and would have avoided involving Three to give him plausible deniability.
"Jihûn," said the Third Prince, "I feel you judging us. It's uncomfortable."
"I am judging you," agreed Jihûn. "But on reflection, you've never been this clumsy. I apologize for blaming you yesterday."
It was enough to brighten the Third Prince's mood.
The Emperor entered the Jewel Box and sat on his gold bench.
"I've decided to retreat in order to advance," he said.
Protests erupted. Most arguments revolved around the proposition that abandoning the Imperial Mound meant abandoning imperial authority itself. The Third Prince started to open his mouth several times, but for reasons Jihûn could not guess, closed it each time without saying anything. The Emperor allowed the noise to continue. Finally, the Third Prince stepped forward.
The anticipation of his brilliance brought silence.
"I admit it's counterintuitive," said Three, "but this is a great opportunity."
That caught a lot of people off guard.
"I see necessity," said the Emperor, "and would love to see opportunity. Continue."
"That girl has done us a favor," said Three. "Perhaps it was her plan all along."
Jihûn wasn't sure the gears in his brother's "genius" brain were whirring quite right. Old Red Bird would definitely take exception to the Third Prince's formulation. If the Golden Smartass was right, however, then Jihûn's actions only advanced Abi's plans — and he should be able to regain her favor quickly.
"The Imperial Mound is suffocating under a legacy of twenty thousand years," continued the Third Prince. "The weight of that history is too much. Great Yao is a new dynasty. It belongs with the people, not on a rock carved by giants and elves."
"Poetic," chuckled the Emperor. "But it's better to embrace a sour reality for what it is."
"The sour reality is," said Three confidently, "we have nothing in common with giants and elves. This place should be given to the past, and Great Yao should move into a new future. Once we are off this rock, the people will embrace our legitimacy more — not less. The treasury is full. Reinvesting that wealth in the nation by building a new capital will foster further prosperity, creating new opportunities for commercial advances. The people will rejoice."
"I appreciate your enthusiasm," said the Emperor. "Where should we move to?"
"I do not have an answer," replied Three.
"You always have an answer," said the Emperor.
"The First Prince is our geomancer," said Three. "He will know the answer."
The First Prince fidgeted. Answers were not his comfort zone. However, he pledged to consult with the Ministry of Works on solutions. Voices began to lobby for locations. The Emperor quieted them, confident the First Prince and Minister of Works could perform the task well. Jihûn agreed with his father. The First Prince had been a weird kid, and was still weird even though he was almost thirty, but he was competent — and so was the plump, amicable Minister of Works.
Jihûn had to hand it to the Third Prince. Reframing the family's humiliation into an initiative to strengthen its bonds with the population was remarkable. By sharing glory with his older brother and a popular minister, he strengthened his standing within the court. Once the masses inevitably learned of his effort to bring them an economic windfall, his status as the heir would be further reinforced.
But if it was Abi d'Ilga's plan the whole time, then it came with a catch. Jihûn returned to his mother's palace. She might be able to see what the ancient witch was plotting.
"Does Jiji stay a prince?" asked Jieun after hearing the news. "Do we still move?"
The Goddess of Glaives wandered around her favorite garden for a while.
"Jiji stays a prince a little longer," she said, "but we still move."
"Why?" asked Jieun.
"The Third Prince is right," said Consort Yeon.
"It's his most irritating habit," said Jihûn. "What's he right about?"
"Moving off this rock puts the Dynasty closer to its people," said Concert Yeon.
"But there's a catch," said Jihûn. "Isn't there?"
"Yes," agreed his mother.
"The major noble families will smell a vulnerability?" said Jieun.
"The Emperor is stronger than ever," said Jihûn. "The armies are loyal."
"Once the hocus-pocus of twenty-thousand years goes away," said Consort Yeon, "the Emperor becomes just a man with a lot of armies."
"A lot of armies is a good reason to remain obedient," said Jihûn.
"But," said his sister, "there's no reason why any other army man couldn't be in charge."
Jihûn performed a small victory dance.
"I knew there was a catch!" he said. "But Mom! If I have more time, can we drop the joke about marrying the Great Turtle's grandson?"
"You're in a stronger position for longer," agreed Consort Yeon.
Jihûn sighed heavily.
"But there's a catch," he suggested warily.
"Trouble will take longer to get here," said Consort Yeon. "But trouble is coming. Princes need their own people to survive trouble — and they have to be the right people."
"That's how Dad became Emperor," said Jieun.
"I don't want to be Emperor," protested Jihûn.
"Only half of those Ten Brothers wanted it," said Consort Yeon. "But other than your father, only one is left. He has a nice villa in the Ancient Bailey — but can't leave."
"What kind of people did Grand Prince Wei choose?" asked Jihûn. "Gangsters?"
"The right people," said Consort Yeon.
"Mom!"
"We don't live in the Ancient Bailey yet," said Consort Yeon. "We can leave. So let's go have dumplings to celebrate the good news."