Dynasty: The Glorious Strategist (Dynasty Saga Book 3) (25 page)

“Thanks,” Lymee said rather flatly then she turned her attention to Niimu. “And this is Clea,” Lymee motioned at Yoni who bowed respectively at the lords. “She is my vassal and personal adviser. She was also one of the soldiers inside the Fox Statue.” Lymee felt it necessary to add her accomplishments to help show that Yoni was far more than a simple adviser and should be taken seriously. 

“It would seem that the Su family has a habit for heeding the counsel of people not of noble birth,” Lei stated with an amused smile as she looked Yoni over.

“Is there a problem with listening to people who you know to be smarter and wiser than yourself?” Lymee asked with a bit of bite to her words. Yoni seemed to tense up, her nose crinkling slightly in confusion as she glance over at Lymee.

“Forgive my daughter, Lord Sun,” Niimu asked raising a hand in front of Lei signaling for her to back off. “She meant no disrespect. She was simply commenting on an observation. My daughter at times forgets herself and does not realize how such observations may be perceived by others.”

Lymee narrowed her gaze as she first stared at Niimu then at Lei trying to decide if Niimu was being honest or just trying to smooth over the situation. Either way Lymee decided to just let the matter drop. She was to sore and to hungover to be worrying about being slighted.   

“Mind if I ask you what that meeting was about?” Lymee asked gesturing her head back towards the door where the others had departed from.

“Temporary administration work,” Niimu stated letting out a long frustrate sigh. “Until the next Empress appoints officials of her own, someone has to make sure that things keep running, if not a bit roughly. I would have wished for you to join me but I was unable to find you or your advisor.”

“Fair enough,” Lymee nodded not needed to hear any more.

She could not be to mad about being excluded from the party when she made herself unavailable to be invited. But Niimu seemed to understand Lymee overall mistrust and did not seem to take any offence to it. While Niimu had assured Lymee that she was in no way going to try and rule from the shadows and make Lymee into her puppet Empress, Lymee would imagine that would be exactly what someone who was trying to do that would say.

“Lord Sun, I would like to apologize for my behavior last night,” Niimu said. Both Bao and Lei seemed shocked. It was almost like this was the first time they had ever heard such words come out of their mother’s mouth. “I was trying to force a decision from you and spoke out of turn. That was both insensitive and unbecoming of me.” Niimu bowed her head and closed her eyes to help show her sincerity.

Lymee closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she listened to Niimu speak. “I understand,” Lymee said if not a bit reluctantly. “And I may not have reacted the way I should have,” she admitted.

“You were distressed, Lord Sun,” Niimu said. “You were stricken with grief. It was only natural that you would react the way that you did.”

“That is no excuse for poor behavior. And while your words may have been ill timed.” Lymee pursed her lips together glancing her eyes at Yoni hoping for her support. “They were not wrong,” Lymee said letting out a breath.

Niimu’s eyes shot wide with surprise. “Do this mean our Lord has decided to-”

“I have,” Lymee said raising her hand to cut her off. “But we are doing this my way. Is that understood?” Lymee glared at Niimu showing that she was being completely serious.

“Of course, my Empress,” Niimu said dropping to one knee clasping her fist in her hand as she bowed her head. Her two daughters were soon to follow suit. “May I ask?” Niimu raised her head so she was looking up at Lymee but did not drop her hands. “What made you change your mind?”

Lymee let out a snort as she heard the question. “You did not seem to give me much of a choice in the matter,” she stated.

“There is always a choice in everything we do,” Niimu stated. “We simply must be willing to live with the consequences of our choices.”

“Funny,” Lymee mumbled. “I said almost the exact same thing last night.” Lymee crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath raising her head as she did so.

Lymee was not fully sure of her reasons herself. While she had never wanted to be a Lord or the Empress, she would be lying if she said she had never wished to be. She found the very idea of being responsible for so many lives terrifying, but at the same time she could not deny that having so much power at her command was also exciting.

Slowly letting out her breath Lymee opened her eyes and looked down at Niimu. “Where I am from,” Lymee started her words slow and deliberate. “I doubt I would have grown up to be anyone special. I probably would have gone to college, or higher education,” she corrected making sure they understood. “I would have probably gotten an average job and lived a rather normal, and probably exceptionally boring, life. But here,” she glanced over at Yoni flashing her friend a smile. “I have lived more in these past few years then I had in my entire life before. I have met people both good and bad. I have made wonderful friends and have lost people very dear to me.”

Lymee paused for a moment placing her hands on her hips as she looked at Niimu who continued kneeling in silence as she listened to Lymee speak. Lymee was not sure if Niimu was understanding any of this. Lymee was not sure if she understood any of this herself, but the words just kept coming.

“My older sister,” Lymee smiled warmly thinking about her discussion with Keo the previous night. “She wanted to make this world into a place where she could run off and live happily with the person she loved. That even if she would never be able to enjoy it herself, she still wanted to make it for others. Now that she is gone I wish to create that world in her stead. I know that I may never achieve this and you may say it is foolish and pointless for me to even try. But I think that all the more reason why I have to try. A world where everyone can find happiness. That is the world I want to make. And in order to make that work I know I will need power and authority. I will have to become the Empress.”

Everyone was silent for a long time, Niimu especially. Her gaze was fixed on Lymee as she seemed to process what she had just heard.

“You know,” Niimu said starting of softly her words gaining power as she continued to speak. “I talked to many lords over the past few weeks. I would often ask them why they would wish to become Empress and what they would do if they ever did. Their answers varied from ‘because they thought they would be the best’ to ‘they were the most worthy of the title’. Very rarely did anyone ever say anything that was not self-aggrandizing and even then it seemed mere lip service more than anything else. They merely gave the answers that they knew they should give. However you,” Niimu gave Lymee a very pleased half smile. “You spoke your true thoughts on the matter. I will not lie, I do not fully understand your reasoning but I do understand that the reasoning is yours. And that you believe it to be true.”

Niimu then dropped her head as she leaned forward on both her knees pressing her forehead to the ground her fingertips touching in front of her. Following their mother’s lead the other two women did the same. Getting on both knees and placing their foreheads to the ground.

Lymee could not help but smile, a bit humbled by the gesture. She looked over at Yoni intending to share the laugh with her but the woman had also dropped to her knees and planted her head to the ground.

“Alright that’s enough of that,” Lymee said pretending to wipe something off her face in order to hide a tear that had formed. “Get up, all of you.”

“As you say,” Yoni said starting to rise to her feet. “My Empress,” she added with a bit of a snarky smile.

“Yeah that has already gotten old,” Lymee mumbled. “Alright,” Lymee turned to Niimu who had now risen to her feet. “The first order of business is you need to withdraw your forces out of Xia and send them back to Gon,” Lymee stated. “So long as your army is here and it so greatly outnumbers my own, people will never believe that I am the one giving the orders.”

“Understood, my Empress,” Niimu nodded. “However, I would ask one favor from you if I may.”

That was fast. Lymee thought. “You may,” Lymee said crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes defensively.

“I would ask that my youngest daughter, Lei,” she gestured to the woman standing next to her. “Would remain here as one of your advisers. I do not ask that you give her any official position, only that you make her one of your vassals.”

Lymee cocked her head to the side as she tried to figure out what Niimu was after. “Correct me if I am wrong but if Lei here were to become one of my vassals she would essentially but swearing her loyalty to me over that of her loyalty to you and Gon Dynasty.”

“That is correct, Empress,” Niimu nodded. “I feel this is the best compromise. While I do not wish to use you to rule myself, that does not mean I do not want my voice to be heard. Lei is not a general nor is she skilled in the art of combat but she does know tactics and has a very sound mind both politically and militarily. If you allow her she could be of great use in the coming days.”

“And you,” Lymee turned to face Lei. “You would be okay with this?”

“I would be honored if the Empress were to make me one of her vassals,” Lei said bowing her head.

Lymee seemed convinced but she looked over at Yoni wanting to see what she thought. Yoni shrugged giving a few nods of the head as if saying ‘why not’.

“Alright,” Lymee nodded at Niimu agreeing to her request.

“Thank you Empress,” Niimu said placing both hands on the front of her hips as she bowed deeply.

“You honor me,” Lei said bowing the same way her mother did sealing the promise. There would be an official ceremony at some point, there always was, but that was just a formality at this point. “I swear that I will not disappoint you.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Lymee said in a lowered voice. “For now we need to plan what we do next.” She looked over the papers spread out across the table not finding what she was looking for. “Can we get a map of the Kingdom?” she asked.

“Right away,” Lei said moving to another table in the room and grabbing a large almost tapestry size parchment and laid it down on the table on top of everything else. She used her hand to push out any folds or lumps.

“Alright,” Lymee said looking down at the map. “We need to figure out what Dynasties will support me and my fancy new title and which won’t. I think it fairly safe to say that Su Dynasty will fall in line,” she joked taping the small dynasty at the center of the map. “And I will assume that Gon will too,” Lymee looked up at Niimu. Niimu smiled as she nodded back. “Who else do we think will back my claim?”

“Hong Dynasty for sure,” Niimu stated pointing at the large Dynasty at the southeast side of the map. “After all, it was Lord Voy who originally suggested to me that you should become the next Empress.” Niimu looked up at Lymee flashing her a smug half smile.

Lymee just let out a ‘humph’ as she looked back down at the map. “Who else?”

“I have no doubt that the Lord of Song Dynasty will support you,” Lei stated touching her finger to another large Dynasty further north. “However the trouble comes from her two daughters. As our Empress is already aware, her daughter, Lord Tuwa, is currently in a power play with her half-sister and rightful heir for the throne after their sickly mother passes. And after our Empress made such a fool out of Lord Tuwa at the Lords’ Counsel, I think it safe to assume that she does not have a very high opinion our Empress. Depending on who wins their bid for the throne will determine which side Song Dynasty truly falls on.”

“And Tuwa’s half-sister?” Lymee asked folding her arms. “You think that she will support me if she wins?”

“I think she will if we leave her no choice,” Lei smiled devilishly. “If we back her when the time comes I doubt she will be able to do anything but support you. To do otherwise would make her seem an ungrateful traitor and none of the other lords will ever support her.”

“Fair enough,” Lymee nodded. “And what about Fu Dynasty?” The last of the big three. If Lymee could get all three of the major Dynasties to fall in line the others would have little choice but to do the same. “Do we think that Lord Yung will just play nice and fall in line?”

“I have no doubt that Lord Yung wishes the throne,” Niimu stated. “If she does not think she can take it conventionally then she will more than likely bide her time. She will probably take some sort of neutral stance and wait for an opportunity to seize power herself.”

“It is possible,” Lei stated folding her own arms as she thought it over. “That she might try to find another candidate much like our Empress and back their claim instead.”

“Giving her the auspice of not being a power grabbing noble and possibly bringing other lords to her as well,” Lymee nodded pleased with herself for being able to actually use a word like auspice. She was already sounding more like an Empress. “Meaning if we are not careful this could turn into a very bloody civil war.”

Lei tilted her head to the side as she examined the map like she was getting an idea. “What if we used Mjon Dynasty?” Lei tapped the Dynasty at the northernmost region of the Kingdom. The Dynasty bordered the northern edges of both Song and Fu Dynasty.

“How do you mean?” Lymee asked examining the Dynasty closer trying to see what strategic advantage it had.

“Mjon Dynasty supported the former Empress,” Lei stated leaning back and placing her hands on her hips in triumph. “It would only be natural for the Empress to send her forces there to secure their land and force their submission. And in order to do that from here we would have to march our armies north through Fu or Song Dynasty.”