Suitors Part II

After leaving the runner and his superior with express instructions to admit the prince and an entourage of no more than a dozen people in total into the city, I returned to my father’s side, whom I found entertaining Mu and the Kahn at the sand garden.

“Ah, here she is!” My father beckoned me forward with a hand before patting the seat on his right. I had always sat to his left, so the change in positions felt strange, but it left me closer to Mu, whose eyes never left me. The attention I received from him made me feel both elated and shy, something that was almost foreign to me. “What happened, Xiao Hu?”

“The Wu. They somehow learned of the war and came with reinforcements.” I shrugged, noticing that both the Kahn and Mu were impassive, but that my father grimaced. “Of course, I told them that the war is already over. Still, prince Fuchai would like to visit with us.” Now it was my turn to grimace, and my father noticed.