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A eunuch careat Jia Jui, but His Imperial Majesty, the Glory of the East and the Bane of All Evil, wishes to see the student Evuh Rosethorn ith the emperor, Briar followed Evvy for protection As she trotted along behind the painted and perfurinned up at him "This is better than all those pavilions and that throne room, isn’t it, Briar? You lad you’re having fun"
"It’s easy to talk to Parahan and Jia Jui Would you believe Parahan wanted to knohat I could do with stone roaned He knew all too hat his inventive student could do with her power
"Just rees keeping watch all over this place for ic? he wondered Would they even knoas there?
The eunuch led thereat oaks Each table was under an awning, and each setting was roup of servants At last they stood on an elaborate strip of carpet that led to the longest table There the eunuch dropped to his knees Briar bowed to the eeneral, Hengkai, on his left Like all of the Yanjingyi people, Evvy went to her knees and touched her forehead to the carpet
"Evu to make sure that she hadn’t wrinkled her skirt "How do you find our gardens?" Weishu asked
"There are no rocks in them, Your Imperial Majesty," she inforardens Rocks don’t hurt flowers," she said as the courtiers hid their smiles behind their sleeves
"Parahan shall escort you to our rock gardens tomorrow Would you like that?"
"Yes, please, Your Iardens on our way to Gyongxe, but I was told that you have beautiful ones at your palaces It would be a very great honor to see them"
"Then see them you shall," Weishu replied with a smile "May I ask a sht at Evvy, wishing she could hear him in her head as his sisters did
Whether or not she heard him, she said, "If I can, Your Imperial Majesty I’m only a twelve-year-old student"
"We have seen the power of Dedicate Initiate Rosethorn, and in future I hope to see Nanshur Briar display his skill," the ee General Hengkai, will you let Evueneral stared at Weishu, startled "But -- Shining One --" he began to protest
Weishu raised his brows "Mage General? Neither your power nor your necklaces helped you to win your last battle in Qayan Given this is the case, you should have no objection to letting a girl hold your beads Hand thekai took in a breath, then slowly let it out Carefully he unwound three loops of beads fro them in one knotted hand, he held them out over the table
Rosethorn leaned forward Briar, too, was ready in case anything rong The beads had to be protected for people to wear theeneral to wear them in battle Still, Briar felt better when he saw Jia Jui walk into the space behind Weishu and Hengkai She should prevent anything fro ae General," she said, and gave hiht Just because the ekai with disrespect doesn’t mean that we can
Evvy backed away until she stood next to Briar, running the long strands of beads through her fingers They clicked musically, like the conversation beads used by merchants back home on the Pebbled Sea
"Evumeimei, tell eneral ju, only I uards who had been standing behind the e their halberds down, crossing thery eneral Then they pulled back on the crossed blades, pressing the man down into his seat Once he was there, they kai could not even raise his arms
Jia Jui shifted into the space behind Weishu and Rosethorn
"So long as you ree General, you will stay unharmed," Weishu said, his voice as sulped "It’s all right," Briar whispered in Cha "I don’t think this lesson’s for you"
She ran the coers twice The third tiled out a section of the etting titles in her absorption with her task "Old bone, really old, that’s half gone to stone, but it’s bone all the saic" She squinted at the lettering on some of the beads "This is sonize it"