The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind - Some master shifu in the middle of no where
________________________________________________________________
The royal archery range was a place of disciplined silence and rhythmic thuds. It was also, currently, a stage for my greatest performance yet.
"Lift your elbow, Prince! Higher! No, not that high!"
The instructor, a grizzled veteran named Master Bu, sighed loudly, making sure everyone within a fifty-foot radius heard his exasperation. "Your stance is... enthusiastic, Prince Jumong, but your aim wanders like a drunkard."
I stood twenty paces from the target, holding a standard-issue bow. I took a deep breath, feigning intense concentration.
I drew the string. My muscles screamed to snap into the perfect alignment I had mastered the night before, but I forced a slight tremble into my forearm. I released.
The arrow flew wide, thumping into the straw bale near the edge of the target, well away from the bullseye.
"Better!" Master Bu lied, clearly trying to spare my feelings. "At least you hit the bale this time."
From the sidelines, I heard snickering. Youngpo and a few of Daeso's sycophants were watching during a break from their spear drills.
"Look at him," Youngpo jeered loud enough to be heard. "He holds a bow like a serving girl holding a ladle. 'Unparalleled insight,' indeed. He can't even hit a stationary target."
I lowered the bow, wiping sweat from my brow. I turned to them, offering a sheepish, lopsided grin.
"The wind is tricky today, Brother," I called out. "And this bow is... stiff."
"The bow is fine," Daeso said, stepping forward. He looked magnificent in his heavy lamellar armor, the Spear of the Iron Arm resting on his shoulder. "The weakness lies in the archer. Perhaps Father was wrong. You shouldn't be training for war; you should be training to mix dyes with the craftsmen."
He laughed, and his men joined in.
I bowed my head, hiding the cold, predatory calculation in my eyes. Laugh, Daeso. Every arrow I miss today is an arrow you won't see coming when it counts.
"I will try harder, Brother," I mumbled.
Later that afternoon, the mask of the fool had to be swapped for the mask of the diplomat.
I was summoned to the Iron Chamber. Mo-Pal-Mo was there, bouncing on his heels with excitement, standing next to a mountain of raw salt and several bubbling vats.
And standing amidst the steam and noise, looking entirely out of place yet completely in command, was Lady Soseono.
She wore robes of deep blue, her hair pinned back sharply. She was inspecting a sample of the processed dye Mo-Pal-Mo had produced based on my instructions.
"Prince Jumong," she said, turning as I entered. Her eyes scanned me, looking for the inept archer the rumors were already describing. "Your Head Smith is a genius. This pigment is concentrated enough that a single pouch equals the value of a cart of salt."
"Mo-Pal-Mo is the genius of metal and fire," I agreed, stepping up to a vat. "I merely gave him a direction."
"A direction that saved my caravan," she noted coolly. "We leave for the Han border in two days. I am here to ensure the cargo is ready."
She signaled her guards to step back, creating a bubble of privacy around us.
"I watched you at the archery range today," she said quietly, her voice dropping so only I could hear.
I froze, internally. Externally, I just blinked. "You were there? I didn't see you. I was too busy embarrassing myself."
"Yes, you were," Soseono said, her eyes narrowing. "You were terrible. Your stance was wrong, your release was sloppy, and you flinched."
"I am a lover, Lady Soseono, not a fighter," I quipped.
"And yet," she stepped closer, the scent of jasmine cutting through the sulfur of the workshop. "When you stumbled in the mud at the bog, you landed without a bruise. And today, when Youngpo threw an apple core at you from behind, you caught it without looking. You hold that bow like a novice, but you move like a cat."
Damn. She's sharp. The Essence of the King had warned me she was perceptive, but this was dangerous.
I dropped the grin. The air between us shifted instantly. I let a fraction of the King's Presence leak out, just enough to let her know she was right.
"There are many eyes in the palace, Lady Soseono," I murmured, my voice losing all trace of the fool. "Some look for weakness to exploit. Others look for strength to crush. A wise man shows them exactly what they want to see until it is too late for them to look away."
Soseono's breath hitched slightly. She stared at me, seeing the transformation.
"You are hiding," she whispered. "Why?"
"Because Buyeo is a nest of vipers," I replied. "And I am not yet ready to bite. But I need this trade caravan to succeed. Daeso will try to stop it. He cannot attack the policy, but he can attack the execution. He will send bandits to raid your caravan to prove my plan was a failure."
Soseono stiffened. "Bandits? On the King's road?"
"Mercenaries disguised as bandits," I corrected. "He will try to burn the dye. If the shipment fails, I look like a fool, and you lose your fortune."
I reached into my robe and pulled out a small, sealed scroll.
"This is the route Daeso expects you to take. Do not take it. Use the mountain pass through the lush forest. It is longer, but my... associates... tell me it is clear."
Soseono took the scroll, her fingers brushing mine. " associates? You mean you have spies?"
"I have eyes," I said enigmatically. "Will you trust the fool, or the partner?"
Soseono looked at the scroll, then back at me. A slow smile spread across her face, the smile of a gambler who just realized the game is rigged in her favor.
"I never trust fools, Prince," she said, tucking the scroll into her sleeve. "But I suspect I haven't been talking to one for the last five minutes."
She bowed a genuine bow of respect, not protocol.
"I will take the mountain pass. Ensure your dye is ready."
As she walked away, Mo-Pal-Mo bustled over, wiping soot from his face. "Prince! Did she like the dye? Is she happy?"
"She's happy, Mo-Pal-Mo," I said, watching her leave. "And she's alive. Which means we're still in the game."
Daeso wants a war? I thought, touching the hidden dagger beneath my sash. He's going to find out that 21st century economics can be just as deadly as a spear.