"What has got the General bean's curd?"

"Excuse me?" muttered the Conqueror, currently hard at work translating ancient manuscripts atop his bamboo desk. Reports, golden decrees, and letters from court ministers lay scattered across the floor before him, clearly in disarray.

Sauntering boldly into the hall, the young prince smirked, content at disturbing his brother yet again.

If it were not for him, the almighty ruler would never rest. It was nearly night after all; sometimes, he felt that his brother forgot that they were at most a couple years apart in age.

"I said..."

Dropping his scroll, the Conqueror sighed. "I heard what you said."

"Then?"

Glancing at the Sixteenth Prince, the Conqueror asked, "What are you referring to?"

Plopping himself on the floor, he supported himself with his hands, wiggling his feet underneath a table. There was quite a distance between the Conqueror and him still, but he figured that should he step closer, he might possibly incur his wrath.

Most would not guess their ruler was so touchy on his private space, however the Sixteenth Prince was long used to it.

Maybe his past military days had something to do with it.

"Does he ever speak?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Do you really want to know why or are you bored?"

"Both," he answered, now standing up and loitering around the grand hall. The large study room housed a miniature collection of scrolls, writing desks, and tables scattered around haphazardly. While the Royal Library housed more books, his brother personally preferred keeping his own company except for the rare occurrence when the Sixteenth Prince barged in.

Otherwise, the Conqueror stayed in his Fortress of Solitude all by himself.

"If I tell you, will you leave?"

"Perhaps."

"It was a long time ago. Back when I was still a prince, the General, the crown prince, fought many battles on behalf of his father, the King."

"He was the Crown Prince?"

"Let me finish. He also had a brother, born mute through no fault of his own. Unfortunately, there was a certain eunuch who had his eyes on the throne."

"How dare he!" He clicked his tongue, upset recalling how his brother had gained the throne.

The Conqueror sipped his tea, waiting for the Sixteenth Prince to calm down.

"Mute brother. Bad eunuch. And?"

"On a day he came back from battling a neighboring country, he was caught in a trap. A whole regiment of his was lost. It was to his shock, he discovered the eunuch had betrayed him, and set his brother up on the throne while his father lay dying on his deathbed."

"What a...."

"Do you want me...", his brother started, his breaths becoming more ragged as his patience wore thin.

"Continue." At this, he leaned in, eagerly listening to his brother's story.

"Of course, the court would not agree to a mute ruler, and a minister informed the Crown Prince of what went down. However, he would not let them harm his disabled brother, so he walked into the city gates, and proceeded to negotiate with the eunuch. The eunuch saw no reason, yelling at others not to step closer as he placed a knife to the young prince's throat, a court official panicked, ordered the men to fire, and the General could only run in horror as they struck down the eunuch..."

"What's so bad..."

"And the young innocent mute prince which he had used as a shield."

Now, the Sixteenth Prince remained silent as he imagined the scene before him.

A distraught Crown Prince, two men without a father, a raving lunatic screaming he would control the kingdom one day while arrows rained down upon them from above. Sitting down, the Crown Prince reached for his brother, gently tracing over his face, embracing his little brother as he sobbed. Ultimately, knowing it was all his fault.

If he had been there sooner, if he had suspected the eunuch earlier, if he had protected his brother, if...

"His coronation was the next day, but it was no cause for celebration for his brother was dead. The General that rose up from the ranks without mention of his royal heritage, the legend that people extol, left mourning all because of the power struggles belonging to the royal family."

"And a year later, you besieged his country, laying waste to it, right?"

The Conqueror neither confirmed nor denied it, just continued sipping his tea.

"It was his brother dying that made him speak no more," the Sixteenth Prince mused.

"Yes, he has taken a vow of silence from then on."

The Sixteenth Prince glanced at his brother; a hint of sympathy undetectable in those eyes.

"For a great general, he certainly does not know how to avert disaster," he noted.

"Sixteenth!" cried the Conqueror, slapping the table, moving his other hand as to rebuke the younger prince.

Even he, a known ruthless individual, could feel slight pity towards a fellow older brother's plight.

His own brother turned away, looking up at the golden murals above as a translucent pearl rested in his orifice.

Not that the General did not irk him to no end, however, he could only imagine what losing a brother might be like. Just the simple thought of it was what motivated him to seek glory in battle as opposed to excelling in academics.

As much as he would hate to admit it, the Conqueror was all he had left in the world.

What was a country?

The Emperor was the country. And he, a servant for the people's well-being.

The kingdom would fall before he let his brother die.

Albeit reluctantly, he sighed, deciding not to press the issue. For now, letting the General be would be wise.

However, should the General show any trace of resentment for the invasion of his country, the Sixteenth Prince would not hesitate in striking him down where he stood.

"Now have your studies been?", the Conqueror inquired, looking towards his brother with concern hidden in his eyes.

The Sixteenth Prince furrowed his eyebrows. "Alright."

"Do not lie to me. You are spending more time in the training grounds than at the academy."

"I do not need to..."

"Which reminds me, I would like you to escort a Japanese Shogun's daughter back to the palace."

"What? Plan to make her another one of your concubines, aren't you?", he jested.

"Stop smiling. You know that not to be the case." The prince pursed his lips, once again looking away.

"Because she will be your wife."

"What?", he yelled.

"Time for you to contribute to our national prosperity," he joked, using his own words against him.

"Not in that way!"

"What about the Chieftain's Daughter, would you the say the same for her?"

"You denied me that honor. Thank you very much," he said, crossing his arms as he pouted.

"As long as you remain a royal, I must watch out for you."

"Even when I'm dressed like a eunuch like now?", he asked, referring to the fact that to sneak into the palace, he would disguise himself as a eunuch. His place was supposed to be at the academy, but the Sixteenth Prince refused to stay there for long.

"You have to stop doing that or else you will get caught."

"Master Chen already suspects..."

"By the Minister of Education."

"Now there is a refined man whose not a royal...but speaking of royals. Hmm. What about Lyu Biming? The son of the Prime Minister? IS he not a royal?"

Instantly, the Conqueror scowled. "Not that name."

"What pains you so much about the dancer? I've seen him, he's pretty good."

"Pardon? Have some respect. You are younger than him so please do not refer to him so casually. He is a renowned poet and scholar, and you should address him as such," the Conqueror snapped.

The Prince laughed. "As if you treat him with any..."

"Me not liking him has nothing to do with his abilities. Just...with his...temperament."

"You don't like you can't control him," he teased.

"Scram!"

The Sixteenth Prince laughed, as he skipped out on from there, leaving the Conqueror to think out loud.

"That's one benefit of the General at least," he murmured.

He keeps his mouth shut.

_____________________________________________

Author's note: It will be explained further, and addressed in a chapter soon enough on why Lyu Biming is disliked by the Conqueror. It has nothing to do with him being a dancer. In fact, his dancing is celebrated in the kingdom. (Written so y'all see I mean no offense towards dancers.) That's all I will say for now.

Author's note: Writing this chapter made me cry. Not gonna lie. (Movie the OST is from: Immortal Demon Slayer. Good movie, recommend. Kinda fanfic prequel to Journey to the West.)