Chapter 242: Chapter 222 – Plots against Prejudices

"Any culture, any society, no matter how idyllic and utopian they might seem, always had their prejudices. Some built their traditions and rules around it. Some came together *because* of such prejudices. None were exempt." - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

In the end, all four of them adjourned to the bathhouse in the imperial palace instead, where Layla - with the help of two experienced old nurses - changed and cared for Farah, while Cal shucked off her wet clothes for cleaning and washed herself.

 

After they all cleaned up - not without some good natured teasing about the incident - all of them went into the bath, Layla gently cradling Farah in her arms. The baby girl seemed to like the bath a lot, given how she giggled happily as her arms and legs splashed water all over her parents' faces.

 

"A feisty one, ain't she?" said Cal with a teasing tone of voice. She couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of her, while she allowed the warmth of the water to soak into her and relieve some of the built-up tensions in her muscles. "I wonder who she takes after~"

 

"Definitely not me!" denied Layla with a girlish giggle as Farah sort of swam her way to her father while thoroughly soaking him with the warm bathwater. "I was definitely a good, quiet girl when I was her age. You ought to know since you helped raised me!"

 

"Hey now! I wasn't that bad as a kid!" protested Xain at the teasing from his wife and godmother. His daughter seemed to not care for his protestations, however, as she giggled more and splashed more water with both hands while her father held her afloat in the bath. Xain sputtered for a bit to Cal and Layla's amusement when the water she splashed went into his nose and open mouth.

 

The two nurses from before had left after the imperial couple went for the baths, and unlike the norm, none of the servants were around in the bath, just Cal and the young imperial family. That privacy clued her that Xain must have wanted to discuss something in private with her.

 

"So, I take it you got something you want to keep quiet then?" asked Cal bluntly while Xain handed Farah back to Layla with some difficulty due to how active the child was. "Does it involve those plans you mentioned, and Ying Xiao? Speaking of which, where is that girl?"

 

"She's out on maneuver training right now, though we do hope to keep the knowledge of her being your disciple a secret for the time being," replied Xain with a more serious expression. By the side, Layla calmed their child down so she wouldn't disturb their conversation. "Things have progressed… better than planned to be honest, much of which was due to Ying Xiao's own suggestions."

 

"Oh?" Cal said as she raised an eyebrow in curiosity at Xain's words. "Do elaborate."

 

"You are aware that right now, the only true opposition to the throne that remains are the traditionalists, no?" asked Xain. The question was rhetorical as Cal was well aware of that fact. She had just never thought that the thorn still remained even five years after she left. "By this point, we have long ruled out the option of peaceful compromise with them. They are far too stubborn and dogged with their outdated views. There is no longer a place for them in this Empire."

 

"To be fair, those old coots had always been good at positioning themselves at the moral high ground, on top of the natural fortress they called home," said Cal in reply, as she noticed the grim finality in Xain's words just now. "I take it you've recovered enough force to get rid of them for good then?"

 

"And whittled down their influence as well, yes. Nowadays only the north-eastern islands where they are based could be considered their domain," replied Xain with some grim satisfaction in his voice. "They tried to stop and disturb it where they could, but the reforms were in the end, to the people's benefit. Once they had a taste of it, most balked at the idea of returning to the old ways."

 

The main conflict between Xain as the current Emperor and his faction of ministers and generals against the old traditionalist faction who were composed of old noble lines who had been in support of his grandfather and not jumped ship to the Usurper were their views on what constituted the "correct" way to do things.

 

Xain had been a reformist. He had inherited much of his grandfather's idealistic ideas, but with more cunning and as Cal noticed, ruthlessness. He was willing to do what it takes to see his ideals come true, unlike his naive grandfather who was easily cowed by his ministers.

 

Those reforms quite naturally repelled those of the traditionalist camp, who had favored things to remain as they always had. Xain's reforms would have reduced the authority of nobles to nearly nothing, and gave the whole idea of nobility far less meaning.

 

It was amongst Xain's ideals that background and status should cease to matter at all, so long as one proved competent. Quite naturally, those born privileged as nobles had not liked those changes one bit and were the most vocal against it.

 

Early in his reign, Xain had compromised. The traditionalist faction was militarily quite strong, as they had weathered the civil war mostly intact, and the people were tired of war. In the years since, the army had rebuilt around a core of old loyalists from the civil war, and Xain had slowly pushed his reforms more and more of late.

 

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"In some ways, we do owe those old bastards a little. We might not have survived the early years had the usurper not been busy trying to cow them," said Cal as she lounged back in the water. "They were a bigger thorn in his ass than Dinah, so he never did pursue us as intensely as he could back then."

 

"They just turtled for all those decades, safe and sound behind their thick walls," replied Xain with evident disdain. The traditionalist faction had remained to this day because the usurper found them too difficult to deal with, as his forces were not that plentiful at first. By the time he had the forces to force his way in, the loyalists had struck back. "I still remember their arrogant faces when they came and offered their help during the final siege. The condescending looks in their eyes. They were just vultures, circling around and waiting for a carcass to feed on!"

 

"For what it's worth, you did the right thing in denying their aid back then," said Cal soothingly as she reminisced on those days in the past. "We might have lost less people, might even make them bleed some for us, but they would have been far more insufferable at court."

 

"I still stand by those words I said in private before I left, kid," Cal said with far more seriousness as she leaned forward and looked at Xain in the eyes. "If you want me to spearhead the charge on their citadel, just send me a letter and I will come."

 

What the traditionalist faction had depended the most to survive the civil war - and made themselves a thorn in the usurper's side - was the unique geography of the island they called home.

 

Tian-Mao was dominated by a massive caldera that encompassed most of the arable lands of the islands. The steep cliffs that surrounded it made the island a natural fortress, and the fertile lands within made them self-sufficient.

 

Only a single path led from the harbor to the inside of the caldera itself. A natural chokepoint that was very defensible, and the reason why the island had never fallen to invaders in their long, storied history.

 

Strong resistance paired with the natural defenses had stymied the usurper's armies for decades after the coup. Yet the traditionalists rightly feared the resurgent loyalists more, or rather… they had feared the Blood Demon.

 

Those vaunted defensive advantages were perfectly suited for holding against an army, but they had no proper way to counter a practically invincible opponent thrown directly into their midst to open the gates from within. A tactic the loyalists had abused very often in the war.

 

When Cal had retired and left the Empire five years ago, it was partly also intended as an offering, to extend an olive branch of cooperation to the traditionalist faction. An offer they had refused in their obstinacy.

 

"No need. Ying Xiao had demanded that role should the time come," replied Xain with some grim satisfaction when he recalled the young girl's impassioned request. "I guess she wished to drive the point home herself, in the most violent manner possible."

 

"Heh. That does sound like something she would do," replied Cal with an amused snort. "I assume you are just waiting for something in particular then, since you have not mobilized the army already?"

 

"Those old bastards love holding the moral high ground so much," said Xain, once more with evident disdain in his voice. "I wish to infuriate them so much they'd hang themselves on those values they love so much. Ying Xiao had repeatedly frequented my chambers at night on my summons, of late." he added with a wink.

 

"They're just plotting together there like two wannabe criminal masterminds from the stories," assured Layla with an amused chuckle. "Even though we both assured him that she'd be fine if he wanted more, he said he would not touch her until he made her empress officially."

 

"The image given still counts, though," said Xain in reply. "Ying Xiao had also opted to not hide her past. While we hid the fact that she is your disciple for the time being."

 

"Just the idea of a whore's child being summoned to attend to the Emperor after being given an official position probably caused some aneurysms amongst those old bastards already," said Layla with an amused chuckle. "If that failed to push them into outrage, making her a general, or failing that, the second Empress, ought to do it."

 

 

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