A tall young man with a distinctive scar running along his chin, stepped in front of Chenhui, and asked, "Where are you running off to?"

"My team needs me at the stables," Chenhui ducked his head and tried to squeeze past the man.

"Not so fast, your papa wants to see you," the man poked Chenhui in the chest. Chenhui looked around for an escape route but saw more members of the Slack-harbor gang gathering around.

"Well, he better make this quick, I have duties."

"Duties, is it? Fancy name for being somebody's dog's body, all running, fetching, and if- you-pleasing." The man's followers laughed dutifully and Chenhui hid a sly smirk behind his hand as they jostled him forward.

"Son! How good to see you," his father enthused from across the alleyway leading to the stables. Chenhui nodded toward his father and stared pointedly at the escort that had pulled him off course. "Oh, don't worry about my associates. They mean you no harm. I just told them how surprised I was to see you, that's all."

"Yes. Well, I train with a couple of the competitors. You might remember Kim Hae-sung from when he used to race in Dageon?"

"Indeed, I do. I have been trying to explain to these gentlemen that if folks here had ever seen him race the odds would be a lot more even. It seems like you don't get much support unless you grew up competing in the capital. Should I put money on your friend? What do you think?"

"I think any extra money you might have should go to mother. She knows how to make it stretch. Did she come with you?" Chenhui asked already knowing what to expect.

"No, your mother was not up for the trip. She will be upset to hear she missed seeing you." His father put on a sad face but it only lasted a few seconds. "It's great you are here and can give your papa the inside track on some of the competitors. Look they have posted the individual standings, let's see how your friend made out on his first day."

"Friends," Chenhui corrected and went along because he wanted to confirm his own notes. He frowned at how familiar his father seemed with the gang members and tried to edge away from their group.

"Ah, there you are," A hand came down on his shoulder.

"Knight-Master Lei," Chenhui grinned with relief, "May I present my father?" He turned only to find that his father and the gang members were weaving away through the crowd, "Oh," he said with surprise, "I guess they are a bit shy around royals."

"More likely shy of my guards but if you have finished getting the scores down let's get back to the others," the Knight-Master leaned on his cane and nodded toward the stables. "I did not know we were expecting any of your family."

"I wasn't expecting my father but when he thinks there are odds to beat, he shows up like a bad penny. Now he thinks he has an inside track because I am with our team," Chenhui's voice got huskier with each word.

"You are not responsible for his choices. Besides your grandparents were pretty open about the situation with Scout Jia and we still signed you on. You are not the only one with a difficult family member. Why the Dowager thought she should make her interests so obvious is beyond me." Knight-Master Lei shook his head.

"I wanted to ask about her. There was chatter about it being unusual for her to leave the palace grounds," Chenhui said.

"Not just unusual, more like unheard of since the rebellions," the Knight-Master sighed.

"Surely, it wasn't just for the sake of seeing your team. I mean there must have been other reasons. Maybe someone related to one of her ladies in waiting?"

"It would be helpful if there were. I will get Manager Doak to investigate and maybe we can plant a few different stories around the pubs tonight." He nodded to himself then sent Chenhui to join the other boys while he made his way over to where the adults had gathered and caught the tail end of their discussion.

"I won't have someone with no standing questioning our training master's assessment of the boy," A man in Sun Temple robes said with a frown. "How dare they? If any grand master had doubts, they should have come to us long before now."

"I would think the time for objecting was long past. Didn't Park Junseo earn his placement at the senior tournament with the same ranking. I recall we had to make a special effort to find appropriate sparing partners," Minister Go's assistant turned to his boss.

"I am sorry I can not rule on this matter directly but I am loath to bother the prince with such trivial concerns. What do you suggest?" He turned to Knight-Master Lei.

"I am certain Trainee Park would be content to spar at any level you want to assign him but don't expect the competitors in the lower classes to be happy to face him. Why don't bring over representatives from the training yards and academies with competitors in both senior and intermediate ranks and ask for their views. I don't think any independents are in the top tier." Knight-Master Lei looked to one of the referees to confirm this point.

"Your information is correct. The rest of the officials would prefer not to change the rankings awarded from the qualifying competition but more consultation will not hurt. It will give us another chance to explain how, given the low numbers in the upper tier, they will have a round-robin."

"Is that fair?" the man from the temple looked puzzled.

"It is customary," the referee explained.

"You will need time to re-set the flights if Trainee Park moved to a different tier. Shouldn't we try to gather everyone before they leave?" Knight-Master Lei suggested.

Minister Go looked over to his staff who quickly departed then he led the way to a tent at the edge of the field where spare equipment was stored. "This might slow down the usual eaves-droppers," he said with a sigh then made himself comfortable on a stack of mats. He looked over at Knight-Master Lei and gestured for him find a seat nearby. "I don't suppose you know what your grandmother was up to earlier, no I didn't expect you would," the Minister stared into space for a moment before giving himself a shake and adding, "The Crown-Prince won't be pleased so I hope we can resolve the ranking quickly."

Minister Go need not have worried. The training master from the Prince's training yard was most persuasive. "How could it possibly matter? If the boy is competing beyond his level he will do poorly. I would be more worried if it was the other way as he no doubt drills more than one level and style. I heard you have a coach from the Moon Temple with you now." He turned to Knight-Master Lei who nodded slowly.

The man from the Sun Temple looked startled for a moment but then glanced around to the others. None of them seemed concerned.

"I agree. Let the youngster challenge himself. The temples know what they are about and if he overreached it will serve as a good lesson," the Headmaster from the leading classics academy then asked, "Are there any more objections? I am swamped with visitors and would like to get back to campus." His comment signaled the end of the meeting.