The princesses' concerns

Three days later, Xiuying visited again as promised and the same scene unfolded again. Elizabeth was unwilling to say a single word, while Xiuying could only shake her head. In a sense, Elizabeth was lucky that Xiuying was not black hearted. One word from the princess and she could unleash a world of torture on Elizabeth, breaking her into total submission. However, the fact that she did not provided Elizabeth with complex feelings. Was this truly the evil empire she remembered that would torture and kill indiscriminately? Her family was ravaged by the Xingyuu soldiers, yet this Xingyuu princess was earnestly talking to her politely. Was it a ruse? She did not know. If it was, then what was Xiuying's goal?

"Believe me when I say I don't intend to do you harm," Xiuying said.

Elizabeth smiled incredulously before blurting out, "You don't intend to harm me? I can't believe the princess of the Xingyuu Empire has the nerve to say that!"

"The situation in the Xingyuu Empire is more complicated than you think," the princess said remorsefully.

"Hmph! How complicated could it be? You seem to be doing an excellent job in starting the war, killing my family, and then kidnapping me! If it wasn't for you, I would still have a life on New Havens!"

"What the Xingyuu Empire did to King Harth was…"

"King Harth?" Elizabeth interrupted. "He might be my blood father, but trust me, for someone who abandoned me on New Havens, I couldn't care less! I'm talking about my family that raised me up and how your Xingyuu Empire decided to torture and kill them mercilessly! A town of harmless people was executed by your soldiers! What do you have to say about that? Can you still flaunt that you mean no harm?"

Elizabeth flashed a look of ridicule at Xiuying and stopped talking. Xiuying was unexpectedly quiet and did not fire back with arguments like Elizabeth hoped. Only after some time did the Imperial Princess finally respond, "On behalf of the Emperor, I would like to apologize. Normally, this would never happen."

Elizabeth was confused and thought, Normally? And an apology too? What is happening?

"You might not trust me, and I understand but take this. I cannot help you beyond this," the princess said while fetching a key from her dress and passing it onto a befuddled Elizabeth.

***

Princess Xiuying returned to her temporary residence in the Yunyun Stronghold. As appropriate of her status as Imperial Princess, it was the largest manor, normally used by visiting members of the Imperial Council. She stepped out of her carriage when a maid passed on a message. It was from her sister. Xiuying smiled awkwardly and nodded before heading to Ming's quarters on the top floor. When she arrived, Ming was sat at her table, reading over the hundreds of documents spread in front of her. The girl was so engrossed in her work that she failed to notice Xiuying's arrival.

Xiuying coughed. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Oh, Xiuying? I heard you went to visit the heir. How did that go?"

"Ha… You knew I was visiting her?"

"Of course, I knew. Despite how busy I am, I always make a note to keep an eye on you," Ming grinned. "So how was the heir?"

"The heir was very different from what I expected. I couldn't help but sympathize with her. Have you heard about New Havens? Apparently, she was from there, but I never heard of it before."

"New Havens?" Ming wondered. "I remember seeing that name in a military report from a while back. If I remember correctly, it should be from General Fuwu whose acting in the Etera Province of Melgar. New Havens was a recently discovered floating island that General Fuwu prioritized in capturing. Unfortunately, for the people living there, they were exterminated under his orders. It's not a pleasant story."

"How horrible," Xiuying sighed. "I can understand Elizabeth's hatred a bit better now."

"I know that you want to act, but we shouldn't invite any trouble to ourselves until absolutely necessary."

"Yes, I understand," Xiuying meekly answered.

"The heir will be transported to the provincial capital Guanhuang where she'll be publicly tortured. She will then be taken under a strict military convoy towards Yongtein where she'll be executed."

"So fast?" Xiuying was stunned.

"These are direct orders from the Emperor and the Imperial Council," Ming replied quietly.

"Our father…" As Xiuying mentioned to Elizabeth previously, the situation in the Xingyuu Empire was not simple at all. "How goes the investigation?" she said with a hint of urgency.

"As you can see," Ming gestured to the mess of documents. "I've been looking over what we've learned, and the information collected by the Li Family. As expected, Minister Linshi is our prime suspect."

"Minister Linshi," Xiuying repeated with a cold glare. "Have we heard back from Chang and Tai?"

"Not yet," Ming sighed. "Maybe leaving them with this task was too much."

"Tai aside, Chang should be fine."

"You forget that Protector Chang is too easily swayed. With that ox Protector Tai, it is easy to see where it may go awry."

Unexpected, the two individuals they were referring to were Imperial Sentinels! Much like the Alzar Kingdom, key figures were assigned Imperial Sentinels as Protectors. Chang Jian was the Protector of Ming. Tai Shui was the Protector of Xiuying. Together with the Li Family, the Jian Family, Shui Family, and Jun Family were known as the Four Great Nobility Families. Different from the Alzar Kingdom where the hierarchy of nobility ranged from unranked, High, Great, and finally Grand, the nobility in the Xingyuu Empire was dominated by the Four Great Nobility Families! Each of the four families are extraordinarily powerful, wealthy, and influential, such that they even outclassed an equivalent Alzar Kingdom's Grand Nobility Household.

"We need to be careful around Minister Linshi," Ming emphasized. "Being the Minister of Information, the information that she has access to is on another class from the information we have access to. We cannot act without proof."

"I know, but our father is…"

"This is all we can do at this point," Ming said.