Divine artifacts. Powerful relics from a higher realm—arms, armor, and tools used by gods themselves. Yoshika had a wealth of them inherited from the Bloody Sovereign, Chou. He had kept a vault of them, not to use or even trade, but as a hoard of trophies collected from his many enemies across the aeons.
It wasn’t like Yoshika wanted to hoard them herself. As far as she was concerned, such powerful artifacts were meant to be used. The trouble was, they were too powerful. Most of them required divine essence to wield properly, and even then it was impossible to draw out their full strength within a mortal realm. They were the tools of gods, and they were designed to be used accordingly.
Even when she’d gone out of her way to curate the most compatible artifacts, it was a challenge to find anything that would provide enough power to protect the wielder from the kind of attention it would draw on them. As a result, she’d only given out two, and only under extremely dire circumstances.
In a way, they were surprisingly useless for how valuable they were. Yumi and Rika had powerful weapons which they would perhaps one day grow into, but if she just handed an artifact to someone at random, they’d most likely have to wait until divine ascension to use it.
No doubt Long Xiaofan knew that, having been born in the divine realm, but her haste to take Yoshika up on her offer sent the grandmasters into a frenzy like sharks smelling blood in the water. On some level, they too must have understood that such powerful artifacts would have limited use in a mortal world, but at the same time none of them wanted to stand idly by while their rivals got first pick.
It was naked bribery, and Yoshika wasn’t ashamed to admit it. She needed their cooperation, and she needed it now. If playing into their greed and competitiveness was what earned her that cooperation, then so be it.
From there, the negotiations hit a turning point. It was no longer a matter of whether the sects would agree to her treaty, but instead working out the details and limitations. Sun Quan didn’t want criminals fleeing across the border—in either direction—which required them to work out a system for extradition that included provisions that the laws would apply equally. Qian Shi wanted assurances that demons would remain in Jiaguo, which conflicted with Yoshika’s system for demons to earn freedom via rehabilitation.
On and on it went, but by the end of the night, official documents were being drawn up for each party to sign. Qin Yongliang observed it all in silence, neither participating nor putting a stop to it. The great sects were, after all, self-governing, and by officially recognizing Jiaguo as a sovereign entity, the imperial clan had allowed it.
It was only when seals were being produced to place stamps of approval on the drafted agreements that he folded his hands in front of him and spoke directly to Yoshika.
“There is one more matter to address, Empress Yoshika, esteemed grandmasters. You, of course, have every right to sign any agreements you please, but Jiaguo remains a nominal enemy of the Heavenly Empire.
“We recognize the sovereignty of dragons in the Southern Isles, and those under their protection. However, as our honored guest notes, the Draconic and Heavenly Empires are tied together by way of Lady Imperial Consort Long Qiuyue. We have no such promises from Empress Yoshika, beyond the word of a woman who has conquered two nations in a decade.
“I see your domain, Empress, and I understand your desires. Yet you do call yourself ‘Empress’ and Unity, for all that it may engender mutual cooperation, nevertheless abhors a rival. As long as We—by which I mean the Heavenly Imperial Clan of Qin and our illustrious patriarch—remain your rivals, we must always count you among our enemies.”
Well then. Even the more enthusiastic supporters of Yoshika’s treaties hesitated at that. It was one thing to accept a gift, exchange apologies, and shake hands on a deal with a former adversary. Quite another to wilfully engage with a certified enemy of the state.
She hadn’t expected the prince to take such a hardline stance, knowing that he favored Qin Zhao, and had even acted on Yoshika’s behalf in the past. But she supposed that he still had to uphold his duties as the penultimate arbiter of imperial law before the God-Emperor himself. Regardless of his own opinions and preferences—whatever they may be—he had to represent his father in good faith. It was, she thought, a truly unenviable position.
Yoshika smiled, sympathetically, at the old man.
“I understand your concern, but as I said, I am committed to peace. I’m prepared to make precisely the sort of ties you speak of. Indeed, we have already received overtures to that effect.”
It was time at last. A political marriage would have left a bad taste, but she wasn’t above harnessing the political advantages of her engagement.
Qin Ling and Qin Xiang eyed her suspiciously.
“Have you reconsidered our offer, then?”
“We were under the impression that you had no interest in becoming an imperial consort.”
Yoshika nodded.
“That hasn’t changed. However, yours was not the only proposal I received. I have agreed to be engaged to marry a noble scion of one of your great sects. Would that be a sufficient gesture of my sincerity?”
The grandmasters exchanged curious looks, wondering who’d managed to secure that agreement, but the twins just narrowed their eyes further. Qin Yongliang frowned slightly before responding.
“I believe it would, yes. However, I was not aware of this engagement—to whom exactly are you engaged?”
She exchanged a significant glance with Yue, neither of them able to hide their smiles.
“Yan Yue. I believe this will also satisfy the obligations to her clan and put the matter of her succession to rest.”
Her announcement was met with stunned silence. The shock and confusion among most of the grandmasters was so great that they forgot to school their expressions, though Lin Xiulan had the good grace not to be surprised—she just held one hand to her cheek and sighed in faint disappointment. The twins, meanwhile, had donned expressions so stony that Guan Yi would have taken notes if he’d been present.
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The moment ended as suddenly as it had begun, with the men immediately bursting into protests and arguments.
“You can’t marry a—!”
“There is no precedent for—!”
“But the clan line—!”
“Who’s supposed to pay the dowry?”
“Silence!”
Qin Yongliang’s voice cut through the clamor as he fixed Yoshika with an unamused glare.
“There are a number of problems with that, Empress, as you are no doubt aware. It complicates family lines, breaks with tradition, and perhaps most critically, no marriage between members of the same sex has ever been recognized.”
“Actually it has.”
Yue, rather than Yoshika, spoke up at that. The prince sighed at yet another person speaking out of turn, but gestured for her to continue.
“By imperial decree, acknowledged by princesses Qin Ling and Qin Xiang and witnessed by Elder Xin Hai, Lee Jia and An Eui are lawfully wedded under imperial law.”
For the first time, the prince’s carefully muted expression twisted into a genuine grimace instead of a curated display of slight displeasure. He gave his older sisters baleful looks, but they refused to meet his gaze.
“As prime minister, I do have the right to veto decrees made by my designated representatives.”
Yue nodded.
“Of course, Your Highness. But as that was the same declaration which recognized Jiaguo’s sovereignty, you would render that void as well—not only destroying everything we’ve worked towards today, but also retroactively entangling each of the great sects represented here in an unsanctioned war.”
He sighed heavily, and it said a lot that he had to take a moment to seriously weigh the enormous political quagmire of retroactively denying Jiaguo’s sovereignty and completely ruining the peace talks against recognizing same-sex marriage. Before he could voice a decision, however, Long Xiaofan interrupted once more.
“The Draconic Empire has long since recognized such unions, and has already signed into a treaty with Jiaguo. If Qin denies them now, they deny us as well. I will consider this a grave personal insult, and annul any standing agreements.”
“Is that a threat, Emissary Long?”
“Yes. Accept your loss and end the war, or tell your father to prepare himself for a much larger one.”
Yoshika felt Jianmo chuckling gleefully at her side—though they were thankfully silent to everyone else. This was exactly what they’d been waiting for. The dragon lady didn’t mince words or make idle threats. She came to the table, set her pieces on the board, then kicked it over and punched her opponent in the face.
Qin Yongliang sighed, defeated.
“The ruling stands, then. My father will hear of this, you know. You may think him an inactive ruler, but he is not blind or ignorant to the world’s movements.”
Yoshika smiled and bowed.
“I hope he does. I would be honored to meet him, that we might discuss a deeper cooperation between our realms.”
He didn’t respond, except to shake his head incredulously.
“Very well, then. In that case, there is one more matter to discuss, and that is the details of your marriage to Grandmistress Yan Yue. There are...many irregularities to account for.”
“We’d be happy to discuss them at length. You are, of course, all invited to attend the wedding.”
Not even the thought of yet another long session of political negotiations could spoil Yoshika’s mood. Some small part of her was pleased with her victory—a veritable coup, even if she hadn’t secured as much aid as she’d hoped for—but that was completely overshadowed by the giddiness that washed over her from the moment she’d announced her engagement.
It was real, it was happening, and even the Qin Empire had to recognize it. Yoshika was getting married to Yan Yue.
To say that Gao Yuanjun had been having a strange day would be unlocking entirely new pathways on the dao of understatements. After the revelations of the summit—or at least, the brief segment of it that he’d been party to—he’d needed to meditate in private to sort through his thoughts.
He felt that he was on the precipice of a breakthrough. Not to xiantian, but rather a fundamental shift in the foundation of his identity. He had been a soldier, a warrior, and a brother. A man who did as he was told and followed the orders of his superiors. Gao was the first to admit that he’d never been an especially decisive person or a great leader. He was a follower, through and through.
Those foundations had been shaken, and as the dragon emissary had said, Gao found himself on the verge of collapse. After seeing for himself the leaders he was following and the ‘enemies’ they set him against, it was difficult to be the model soldier or the stoic warrior. Instead, he found himself focusing on himself as a ‘brother.’
He had no living family, aside from some rather distant relatives he’d never met. Shun Song and Wen You were also far from the first young men he’d taken under his wing and mentored. Yet he felt that the bond he’d formed with his brothers was different. For them, he’d cast aside the soldier and betrayed the tenets of the warrior. For them, he’d embraced himself wholly as their brother, and in doing so felt more like himself than he could ever remember.
Loyalty. A crucial part of who he was, and yet he had betrayed his sect and his empire. It didn’t feel like a contradiction.
There was an insight there that he was just on the verge of crystallizing when his rest was interrupted by the very same brothers he’d sworn himself to. It was frustrating, but when he saw the looks of joy and relief on their faces, he couldn’t bring himself to be upset.
“Brother Gao! News from the city!”
“Apologies for the interruption, Senior.”
Wen You, at least, had the good grace to bow and apologize, but Shun Song barrelled forward, undeterred.
“We’re getting a full pardon! And there’s talk of some kind of alliance with Jiaguo!”
“Non-aggression and a limited opening of borders.”
“Tsk, don’t be pedantic, Wen. It’s an alliance proper for the Awakening Dragon, in any case. We’ve even been invited to the wedding, Gao!”
Gao blinked at his brothers, trying to keep up with what they were saying.
“Wedding? Whose?”
“Empress Yoshika. She’s marrying the Awakening Dragon’s scion.”
“Yan’s heir is a woman.”
That should have been the end of that, but Shun just chuckled and shook his head as if Gao had told him the sky was blue.
“I know that, Brother. Empress Yoshika is engaged to marry Grandmistress Yan Yue. You know, three of the empress’ aspects are already married? Two of them to each other—Lee Jia, the one we met, and An Eui the er, Slayer of Mountains?”
Gao stared at his brothers, looking for the joke or prank and finding none. At length, he heaved a sigh and shook his head slowly.
“With every encounter, I find Empress Yoshika broadens my horizons further, until I’m compelled to wonder just how large the sky can possibly get.”
Shun laughed and slapped him on the back.
“You said it! Now come on, they’re having a feast in the city and now that we’re pardoned everyone’s striking camp. I want to get there before Lee Jia eats everything—if you ever need proof that she’s four people in one, by the emperor, you should see that girl eat!”
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