A Wuxia Tale: Blade in Training

Offer

(DAYU)

Mei and his children are my visitors. My cousin and I were having a fun time helping ZhouLin build his mock village using wooden blocks and carved animals.

But the real reason why Mei came is to report to me.

"It looks to me that they is something intriguing about the princess that arrived here in the Capital." Mei said while I urge ZhouLin to place one block on top of another.

"What is intriguing about her?" I asked with a frown. I will admit to not thinking deeply about the Mughal princess who arrived with a formal invitation from Princess XiLen's family. It's mainly because Hua is not feeling threatened about that princess. If my daughter doesn't deem that Mughal princess as a rival, then that royal is of no consequence to me.

"Our sources told me that there is no princess with that age in the Shah's family. The princesses in that empire are either old enough to be shipped away to get married and bore children or are too young to leave the nursery. The current Shah of the Mughal Empire has fifteen living daughters from different concubines in his harem, half of them are still infants." Mei explained.

"What is the appropriate age for a princess to be shipped away and bore children?" I asked Mei.

"Late adolescent. Seventeen to nineteen years. Princess Nadira is fifteen. Marriageable by any means but not in the ideal age to bear children." Mei replied easily.

"That means..."

"At her age, she should be inside their palace, surrounded by servants and being sheltered by her Shah and four solid walls of a castle. Not traveling across foreign lands and greeting royals from another kingdom."

"She is surrounded by servants," I pointed out. "I think Princess Nadira has two hundreds servants and people around her. Sufficient protection if you ask me."

"It might be. But two hundred guards doesn't compose an army, Dayu ah. Princesses in Mughal Empire are guarded by a full militia in their castles. They are political assets and pawns for royal families. No sane Shah, Kings or Emperors will let an asset like a princess to prance across lands with almost bare protection, unless there is war in their land. Last I heard, the Mughal Empire is not at war right now."

I nodded while processing what Mei is saying. "But Princess Nadira traveled thousands of miles from the South Indes to here...with minimum guards with her. Why? How?"

"There are two possibilities," Mei showed one finger to me. "One, she is here with sufficient guards to protect her but a bigger army is coming to secure her safety or..."

"She is no princess of the Mughal Empire," I supplied the other option.

Mei nodded, "Or she is not a real princess..."

That confused me a bit, "If she is not a princess...why is she here masquerading as one? What's with all the parade when she arrived?"

"A farce? A show? A trick?" Mei shrugged. "I am not sure. But all I know is since Princess XiLen arrived, I feel like we are watching an ongoing play in a big stage."

I nodded in agreement. "You are right. There is something theatrical about this whole thing. It's like a huge distraction to hide something..."

"What could be that something?" Mei asked.

"I think I can answer that," a new voice joined our conversation. We all look to the direction of where that voice is coming and I smiled upon seeing my lover entering the room where we are lounging to watch ZhouLin play.

ZhouLin stood up upon seeing Captain Wang. "Uncle Wing!" The little boy shouted as he run towards my lover.

Captain Wang chuckled as he welcomed ZhouLin with his arms and lifted my nephew up. "Argh! It seems to me like our  ZhouLin is getting heavier every week. Am I right?" My lover entered the room deeply while carrying our nephew.