Arguments with the Emperor

Lily had been somewhat hands-off after assisting Primrose in her plan to fake an assassination attempt. Lily had set things up to unfold by themselves, and it had been going rather beautifully. Inevitably, however, Primrose had pushed too hard, and Lily had to step in to clean up for her. Primrose's schemes were perfect for destroying her own reputation, but only if it was allowed to continue long enough.

The next time the emperor visited, she said, "Your Most Exaltedness, this one cannot help but speak, for the good of the empire."

The emperor's expression tightened up in irritation, but he gestured vaguely for her to go ahead.

She bowed before speaking in a much quieter voice than normal. "This one is concerned about the damage being done to our most honourable army. This one does not wish to comment on the character of the Viridian Flint, but this one has fears about his experience. His own time within the military was with an army rather different in nature to our own great empire's army. Given the reports from the frontline, this one would urge Your Most Exaltedness to consider placing someone with more direct experience in charge of the northern war."

The original story glossed over the attack with a bare mention and the original Goldenwood general had finished the whole thing before the rains had returned. Flint was already into the second year of the war and had yet to show anything approaching success. If Lily didn't speak up to harden the emperor's position, the imperial advisors might well finesse him into backtracking his decision.

"Do you mean like one of your relatives?" asked the emperor with exactly the desired irritation.

"This one would not presume," said Lily, blatantly untruthfully, "but certainly it would seem to make sense to appoint someone who has succeeded in such a position before."

The emperor slammed his hand down on the table. "You know very well why I couldn't put someone from the Goldenwood clan in charge of the military."

Lily cultivated a look of complete confusion. "Forgive this one, but this one is not aware of any reason. The Goldenwood clan has always served diligently and competently for the good of the empire."

"Must I say it aloud?" said the emperor. "Do you think I am an idiot? I was almost assassinated by exactly those diligent and competent servants."

Lily revealed some temper of her own. "Does Your Most Exaltedness believe that this one is an idiot in return? Does Your Most Exaltedness believe that the entire Goldenwood clan are idiots? Would the clan truly be so stupid as to attempt an assassination attempt without a blood heir of Your Most Exaltedness? When the only imperial son that the Her Royal Highness Primrose has permitted to live is her own?"

"Don't slander her in front of me," said the emperor, but it wasn't a strong denial.

The emperor might be looking the other way because of how smitten he was with Primrose's exceptional beauty, but he was nowhere near as naïve as Primrose herself was. He was only self-deluded, not deluded in fact.

Lily took a deep breath as if she was going to respond, then slowly exhaled as if she had reconsidered.

"Your Most Exaltedness ruled yourself that the evidence against the Goldenwood clan was manufactured. The attempt to frame this one's family was so inept that it was a joke in the capital for weeks."

In fact, Lily had calibrated both the evidence and the following rumours very precisely. Those who supported the Goldenwoods would see the incriminating elements as a clumsy attempt to frame them. Those who did not would see the non-incriminating elements as a clumsy attempt at a cover up. That even such a poor cover up had apparently succeeded was more proof that the Goldenwoods were too powerful and corrupt to be allowed to remain. Both sets of gossip, naturally, painted Primrose herself in a negative light. But since Primrose wouldn't have managed to successfully pull off the fake assassination attempt at all without Lily's behind the scenes assistance, there wasn't much the kitten could do except complain.

"The evidence was meaningless," admitted the emperor. "But who else could have done it? You surely can't blame the Viridians!"

"This one most certainly can," said Lily, raising her chin as if her stubbornness had gotten the better of her. "The Viridians have achieved exactly what they wanted, didn't they? Your Most Exaltedness appointed that man to general, and he has been draining the resources of the empire ever since."

Lily couldn't quite decide if Flint did have some sort of nefarious plot going on, or if he just wasn't particularly good at his job. Either way, he was being a bit too obvious about it.

Lily continued, "And even a silly female like this one knows enough about the weather to be properly concerned with future crops. With the army using up all our emergency supplies—"

"Enough!" said the emperor. "I do not need some 'silly female' telling me how to run the empire. Just because your clan has produced many generals does not mean that they are the only people who can be generals. Flint is doing a thankless job and deserves every support we can give him. I will hear no more about the matter."

The emperor left, outrage in every line of his body. Lily smirked. It would be at least a year or more until the emperor would even consider replacing Flint, no matter how badly he performed.

"See?" she said to the kitten privately. "Once again, helping Primrose with her schemes."

The kitten turned around and lifted its tail, pretending it couldn't hear her.

#

But before that scheme had a chance to collapse, Lily found herself having to answer for a different scheme from Primrose. She was surprised to find herself genuinely angry at the emperor.

"Your Most Exaltedness cannot believe this one would hurt a child."

Lily held her breath and mentally counted backwards from fifty in sevens. She was just playing a role. She did not care what this man thought of her, or what anyone else in this realm of existence thought of her. She was the villainess, and she was good at her job. The fact that someone had used her as a smokescreen to attack Primrose's young child did not and should not matter. This outcome had been within her range of expectations. It was just another element to weave into the tapestry of her own plans.

This emperor sighed. "It doesn't matter if it's true or not. Everyone else believes it. The advisors would revolt if I don't get you out of the palace."

Lily doubted that. The voices in her favour within the court had faded along with the fortune of the Goldenwood clan, that was true. But for there to be any significant voices in favour of Primrose? It didn't seem likely, not with the way Primrose had scorned or ignored any slight assistance she had received from the court in the past.

"Is it the advisors who would revolt?" asked Lily. "Or is it Her Royal Highness, Primrose?"

"Can you blame her?" asked the emperor, showing no embarrassment at being caught out. "Her son was almost killed."

Her son. Not their son. That was an interesting way of phrasing it.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Just as Your Most Exaltedness was almost killed the last time Her Royal Highness, Primrose, wished to make an unreasonable request."

Lily did not actually think it had been self-inflicted this time. If this was a scheme by Primrose, then it would be the first one that Primrose would have succeeded in without Lily's help. Primrose had made enough enemies within the harem that it could have been done by almost anyone.

Emperor fidgeted slightly, giving away his own guilty conscious. "Why would she want to do something like that?"

"This one's cousin has recently fallen pregnant," said Lily. "And Your Most Exaltedness cannot see any reason why Royal Highness, Primrose, does not wish this one to be around to adopt the child?"

Lily could see the emperor almost begin to waver. "You are simply attempting to evade responsibility for your actions. Something must be done."

Something. Not any particular thing. Lily knew that meant the emperor did not like any of his options and was hinting for her to solve the emperor's problem for him. If Lily hadn't been playing a role, this would have been horrific. He was asking her to volunteer to destroy herself to make life easier on him. But, she reminded herself, she was playing a role. She could use even her own death to achieve her purposes. Solving this problem for him was little more than a speed bump.

"If Your Most Exaltedness wishes to take Royal Highness, Primrose, as his lawful and uncontested empress, there is a way," said Lily.

"I have already married you," said the emperor, suspiciously. "Even if I– even if something happened to you, and I married Primrose, she'd still only be the second-empress."

"Not if we have our marriage annulled entirely. It turns out that this one has always been a deep and devoted follower of the Daughter. In kind consideration of that Your Most Exaltedness never insisted we consummate the marriage. As the years have passed, this one has grown even more uncomfortable with the trappings of worldly life and is now seeking to be freed to join a sisterhood. Your Most Exaltedness graciously intends to reveal that we have no lawful marriage in the first place and set this one free."

"Would people believe that?" asked the emperor.

No one would possibly believe it. The most that could be hoped was that they would pretend to in front of the emperor.

"There has been no quickening in this one's womb to prove otherwise," said Lily. "How would anyone dare to have an opinion about the personal actions of the emperor?"

The emperor immediately nodded to that ridiculous hypothetical question. As Lily had thought, Primrose had been filling his head with nonsense about privacy and personal agency that simply didn't apply to a direct ruler. The emperor had no personal actions. Everything he did or said could materially affect the lives of every person within the empire, and a few outside it as well. But her task was not to make the emperor a better ruler. Her task was to make sure that Primrose really deserved her happy ending – and to make sure she didn't get one if she didn't deserve it.

"You'd swear to that in court?" asked the emperor, sounding awestruck by this solution.

He had completely forgotten that this was supposed to have nothing to do with allowing Primrose to be promoted and was 'about' punishing her for the attack on his son.

"Naturally," said Lily. "Now that this one can no longer live comfortably with Your Most Exaltedness, then the best thing is a solution that allows us both to live comfortably apart."

"We'll do that," said the emperor, smiling at her. "That sounds perfect."

Lily smiled back. Why not? The emperor wasn't going to have many good days in the future. Let him be happy while he still could.