In the city of Beijing, a German man dressed in a lavish suit sat patiently while drinking from the tea that had been provided to him by a rather beautiful Chinese woman. Sitting across from the man was the Ming Prince Zhu Zhi, who had visited the German embassy, which had been established over the past two years as a means to maintain friendship between the two empires.
The man in the exquisite suit was the ambassador that Germany had selected to represent their interests in the East. In truth, he was Adela's older brother Gerhard. Though Gerhard had once nearly sparked a conflict between his father and Berengar, he had since redeemed himself in the eyes of the Kaiser.
Zhu Zhi had a stern expression on his face when he heard the words that were spoken by Gerhard. He could only ask for the German ambassador to repeat himself, believing that perhaps he was mishearing things.
"I'm sorry. Can you repeat what you just said?"