Hushiyi shuffled to the window in his guest room on the second floor of the primary residential hall in the Grand Prince's residence. He pulled the shutters open and gazed at the empty main courtyard below.
The sun's position and the direction of the shadows told him it was the mid afternoon. Where did everyone go? The main courtyard was usually buzzing with maid servants and sweepers at this time.
Hushiyi thought he heard men shouting during his nap. Not usual for a large, fortified compound. He didn't hear horses, so it wasn't Yinyue returning from the Black Mountains.
Besides, he received news of Yinyue's delay, but everything was fine.
The fresh, cold air blasted his face and made him sneeze. A small grassy plant sat on the windowsill, its leaves drooping from neglect. It wavered in the breeze, half dead. Hushiyi glanced at it with indifference.
His ears pricked up at the same shouts he heard in his dream. Followed by noisy clinking noises typical of soldiers running in lamellar armour. The pitter patter of leather boots grew louder.
Hushiyi dashed to his sword on the table and pulled it out of its scabbard. His hands gripped the hilt of the sword while walking to the open window.
"GET THE INTRUDER, DON'T LET HIM GO FURTHER!" the captain of the guards hollered.
A flash of a red shadow zipped into his guest room. Hushiyi had no time to react. Or think of swinging his sword. An icy hand gripped his neck, tight enough for him to be held back.
Hushiyi felt limp, like a kitten being grabbed by its mother cat. His sword dropped on the floor.
"Is that any way to treat your uncle?" A smooth silky deep voice of a man whispered into his ear, his warm breath brushing his ear.
Hushiyi rolled his eyes and muttered, "Uncle Chiyin, don't you know how to come by the front door?"
Released from the neck hold, Hushiyi's first thought was to jab him with the elbow. Instead, he felt a push. He stumbled forward. An upward rush of air made him look up.
A tall, slender young man of twenty-five, dressed in a long flowing crimson red hanfu gown, fanned himself with a golden tipped black fan. He sat on top of the hanging beam in the room with his legs crossed. As though he never moved.
His pale face, with a straight nose and naturally arched eyebrows enhancing his large doe eyes, created a beauty, which belonged more to a woman. A flair of flamboyance surrounded Chiyin.
To others, they would marvel at his beauty. However, to Hushiyi, Chiyin represented the personification of trouble made with flesh and blood. Nothing good ever came out of his uncle's visits.
Yinyue and he had to clean up the mess Uncle Chiyin left them with after his visits. Including those annoying women he attracted.
"This isn't a tea shop where you could just …," Hushiyi said while picking up his sword. "I don't know…WALK IN?"
"I don't like to announce my presence," Chiyin said.
Hushiyi straighten his back and glanced at the closed doors of his guest room. Vibrations on the wooden floor boards, feet shuffling and the clinking of the lamellar plates announced the approach of the residential guards towards the stairway.
"And those guards after you don't count as attention?" Hushiyi pointed to the door as the creaking grew audible.
"Ah, you can explain," Chiyin replied with a big smile on his face.
Hushiyi clenched his fists, gnashing his teeth to force a smile. In his mind, his temper was simmering into a boil. What he wouldn't give to slug his shameless uncle in the face. Or a good beating.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts on the 101 ways of punching his uncle senseless. Hushiyi's smile faded. He threw Chiyin the dirtiest look he could muster.
"Your Highness, are you safe? We spotted the intruder entering your room," a voice of a guard came from the outside.
Hushiyi folded his arms and his smile relaxed into a look of smugness. Chiyin shuddered for a moment. What was his damn nephew up to?
Without a warning, Hushiyi threw the doors open, revealing the guards standing outside. It wasn't one guard. Ten guards stood in view, but Hushiyi knew there were more behind.
Besides, Chiyin needed a good lesson taught on basic courtesy — he can't just come swaggering into their guarded residences whenever he pleased.
Hushiyi pointed upwards at Chiyin sitting on the top ceiling beam with his legs swinging like a little kid in the air.
"You mean this intruder?" Hushiyi asked with a grin, glancing up at Chiyin's fading smile.
The guards stared at Chiyin. None of the guards dared to move past Hushiyi.
"Oh, come on, nephew…I have news for you…" Chiyin trailed off as his eyes followed the number of guards entering. His purpose wasn't to engage in a fight.
Chiyin knew Hushiyi, like his younger sister, Yinyue, possessed the mantle to order the guards to engage. Those two little bastards made a perfect brother and sister, he griped to himself.
Still, Chiyin could guess what the guards were thinking. The dropping of his status as their uncle was intentional. Some guards thought him familiar. Chiyin came twice to this residence. Enough to know the layout. Not enough to know the staff. Whispers rose among the guards.
They showed hesitance. Besides, he could flee out of the window from his spot. He preferred not to.
The guards hesitated with their heads turned to Hushiyi in a silent plea to let them off. This so-called uncle in the devilish red gown didn't look like any commoner. His demeanor and the way he spoke sounded like one of those from the noble or official classes.
The guards are commoners, their social status below both parties. They have families to feed. If the man in red was a real intruder with no relationship to the Imperial Prince Hushiyi or their Grand Prince Yinyue, they had no problems striking him because enemies are enemies.
The man wearing red didn't appear to be an enemy. What if Hushiyi ordered them to take him down and they actually do?
A moment of anger can lead to an order they cannot disobey. If Hushiyi regretted his decision, those who injured or kill this uncle could end up being whipped or, at worst, executed.
Hushiyi stared at the guards, who didn't move forward. Their eyes shifted from Chiyin to him.
"My dear nephew, don't put the guards in a difficult position," Chiyin smirked. "Some of them met me before."
"All of you dismissed," Hushiyi said in a huff, waving them off.
The guards left as quick as their legs could take them. No one wanted to be called back.