Tailong spoke Elshaidian flawlessly. He was assigned to be the imperial prince’s minder.
That’s a relief. We’ll have more luck talking to Tailong.
The sight of Tailong, a bespectacled man who seemed a textbook-perfect government minister, put my mind at ease a little.
“Prince Eric, I apologize for Master Liu’s impertinence. I will be in attendance at today’s council alongside Master Liu, if that is permissible.”
“Of course. You’d be doing us a favor by attending.”
“I deeply appreciate your consideration, Your Highness.” Tailong respectfully bowed his head.
There were a handful of bodyguards standing behind him, but they would not attend the meeting. I was still a little surprised that the Ren Empire would send one of their princes to Elshaid as an envoy… The timing felt especially odd.
If their aim was to put pressure on us, that might have been a strategic move, but it made no sense otherwise. Perhaps that was yet another way in which our cultures differed, since they had so many heirs to the emperor’s throne.
“Prince Liu, it is an honor to have you here as our guest. I am Dale Elshaid, second-eldest prince of Elshaid. I will accompany my brother to today’s council.”
“Cool. Nice to meetcha, Prince Dale.”
“Thank you. Now, shall we go?” With his usual peaceful smile on his face, Dale gripped Liu’s hand cordially. Then he escorted Liu and Tailong toward the reception room.
In the reception room, we promptly took our seats at the table. Representatives from Elshaid sat on one side, the Ren Empire on the other.
“Now, I’d like to get straight to the heart of this meeting…but first, Prince Liu, you trespassed on palace grounds a few nights ago. Why did you, an envoy, do such a thing? We need an answer.”
When Eric said this, everyone in the room tensed their muscles, me included. None of us thought he would pounce so soon. But this was very true to form for direct Eric. He probably wanted to give his opponent a strong poke and see his reaction.
“Trespassed? Dunno what you’re talking about. Since arriving in Elshaid, I haven’t set foot out of my lodgings.”
Liu sat across from us, looked us straight in the eye, and lied without shame.
I was right. We had to be hyper-vigilant around this man… I scrutinized Liu with my gaze.
He smiled like an innocent angel and watched us, clearly enjoying our reaction.
Maybe he really is provoking us on purpose, trying to make us angry…
“Well…Leia here testified that she not only witnessed your trespass, but she also engaged you in combat.”
“That’s news to me. Besides, I’ve got no reason to come here without permission.”
Even when pushed, Liu calmly played dumb. Eric’s eyes sharpened a little at the sight of him—perhaps Liu’s attitude had angered him a little.
Eric…hold it in, I silently prayed.
He couldn’t succumb to his anger now. He had to keep a cool head while dealing with Liu, or these talks would be a complete wash.
“Crown Prince Eric, why dwell on whether I trespassed or not? It doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, isn’t Elshaid dealing with a much more serious problem right now? I’m referring to the twelfth imperial princess of our empire, Xu Lingsha…and how you kidnapped her.”
Eric and I exchanged horrified glances. We imagined that he would bring up Lingsha, but to say that she—a political refugee—was kidnapped was quite audacious.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Besides, that matter has already been settled. Elshaid has given Lingsha asylum—the Ren Empire’s minister of foreign affairs signed off on that. There should be no further concerns on the matter.”
“Crown Prince Eric,” Tailong said, “I see where you’re coming from. However, the aforementioned minister of foreign affairs and his subordinates have all passed away, so we cannot confirm the veracity of your claim.”
His assertion was indeed reasonable…but the details were absurd. The minister of foreign affairs and all his subordinates died simultaneously? That was impossible.
“Mr. Tailong, do you honestly believe that’s a valid excuse?”
“It isn’t a matter of validity, Your Highness. The concept of defecting to another nation does not exist in the Ren Empire, so we must discuss the very premise of Princess Lingsha’s citizenship first before we can make any progress elsewhere.”
“Wow, you’re just making up rules left and right, aren’t you? You really expect me to swallow that premise of yours?” Eric glared at Tailong with rage in his eyes.
But the latter calmly brushed the prince’s anger aside.
I was naive to think we’d have more luck communicating with Tailong. He’s just a different flavor of obstinate…
As for Liu, he glared balefully at us, arms crossed.
“May I interject?” Dale raised his hand. Tailong glanced in his direction. Even in such a cutthroat atmosphere, Dale maintained his tranquil demeanor. I would expect no less from the man who spent most of his life winning the trust of the four most powerful noble houses while covertly acting on Eric’s behalf.
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you. As you said just now, in the treaty between Elshaid and Ren, both states signed a pact of mutual non-interference in the matter of immigration. Interfering with Princess Lingsha’s immigration to Elshaid would be in violation of that treaty.”
Dale calmly refuted Tailong’s claim. His voice was placid yet firm. He would not take no for an answer. Dale was well-versed in Renese affairs, which was why Eric had asked him to participate in these talks.
If memory served, Dale studied abroad in the Ren Empire because he was fascinated by the culture. He was even wearing a bespoke suit made by a Renese immigrant.
Good. Looks like Tailong’s struggling to find a good comeback.
Tailong inclined his eyebrows and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “On the surface, you make a very sound argument, Prince Dale… But how sound is it, really?”
“Smooth, Prince Dale! You’ve certainly learned a lot during your studies in the Ren Empire…” Liu took on a challenging tone and added, “But doesn’t that mean you’re familiar with Renese negotiating tactics?”
“Your negotiating…tactics?” Eric asked.
“I am well aware that the Ren Empire sometimes employs forceful tactics in their negotiations,” Dale said. “However, I must say that fabricating the kidnapping of a princess is a bit extreme.”
“Oh ho. Fabricating, you say?”
“Prince Dale, watch your mouth. Our claim is no fabrication,” Tailong snapped. “The Ren Empire considers it a kidnapping—that’s the truth.”