A numb, cold feeling came over Chenzhou.
Lady Ye's expression didn't change, a mixture of apology and sympathy and iron determination.
Part of him didn't know why he was surprised, but he was.
And he was hurt, but not in a way he could ever admit to.
What was he going to say? I'm hurt you don't think as highly of me as I thought you did? I'm hurt you think I'm doing a terrible job?
None of this was about him.
Or at least, his feelings.
Lady Yang would never put anyone's feelings above the betterment of the estate.
"If you would like to ask me anything before I speak to the High Court, I will answer honestly." She promised.
But Chenzhou couldn't think of any. His mind blank, dark, lost. "I…what is there to say?"
Lady Yang nodded, unsurprised.
But she never looked surprised.
At least, not where Chenzhou had ever seen.
He wasn't…
He didn't…
What was he supposed to say?
To do?
Lady Yang had made her choice. It would be wrong, not to mention illegal, for him to try to talk her out of it.
She stood, smoothing her robes. "I'll take my leave then."
Chenzhou stood automatically. "I'll walk you out."
"No need." She shook her head. "I'm sure you need a few minutes."
That stung, and Chenzhou bit back a childish response. As satisfying as it would have been, it would have just been more ammunition for Lady Yang to take to the High Court.
He smiled tightly instead. "Thank you for your concern."
She nodded, bowed again, and left in a swirl of silk.
Chenzhou watched her go and then just stared at the door after it closed.
He didn't know how long he stared. He didn't even really think while he was staring; it was just a fog. An awareness of everything and nothing as he tried to absorb her announcement.
Foolishly, he'd thought they had more time to find evidence, to prepare.
But it had always been on the horizon? So why did he feel blindsided?
It made no sense.
When he finally came back to himself, he was seated at his desk, just staring at the ink on his papers without understanding any of the words.
This was either the beginning of the end or the end of this troubling time, but the problem was Chenzhou had no idea which it was.
And there was no way to find out until after what were likely to be their darkest days. The High Court left no stone unturned when it came to finding the truth in the name of justice.
He thought about telling Eiran or Mingzhe, but realized just as quickly that he couldn't.
Any advanced notice before the High Court's announcement would be treated as a show of favoritism. It was a small mercy then that Lady Yang was going straight to the High Court, and the notice would go out no later than tonight or tomorrow morning.
Chenzhou would just have to avoid them until then, because he didn't think he could keep it to himself if he had to face either of them.
***
Something was happening that Yuze didn't like, and for once, at least in the recent months, it had nothing to do with Kai Low.
The air had changed in the Camelia, and it set his nerves on fire, but he had no idea what.
It made him short and snappy, and Kai Low had taken the brunt of it. His eye had already started to twitch whenever Yuze opened his mouth as they went over guard logs and rotation assignments to try to narrow down the window of when everything had been stolen.
Their only break had been when a guard had stuck his head in and warned him that Lady Yang was visiting Chenzhou. That was concerning in and of itself, but there were plenty of innocent things that conversation could be about.
Plenty of not innocent things, too, but Yuze didn't have the clout to storm in and demand to be part of that discussion, so he'd have to wait for Chenzhou to tell him what it was about.
And hope that it wasn't the thing that would sink them all.
Eirian had taken Finn's sisters on a tour of the Camelia, under the guise of visiting everywhere Finn went more than once, to try and see if they could find anything that might help or some hint about Patrick and Emmy.
Yuze had sent a message to Rat that morning, asking for a report, but he hadn't heard back yet. He was starting to worry, even though it had only been a few hours.
"What's wrong with you?" Kai Low suddenly demanded, throwing down the logs he'd been reading. His disgust was palpable.
Yuze frowned. "What?"
Kai Low took a deep breath, clearly trying to stay calm. "You're being weird."
"Do you know me well enough to know that?" Yuze deflected.
"Yes." Kai Low's answer was quick and blunt.
Yuze was taken aback, and he stared at Kai Low, his mind trying to adjust and change direction so quickly.
"You're worried about something. Spit it out." Kai Low demanded.
Yuze didn't want to, but he did. He wanted to, but he didn't want to want to.
Rock's sake, he was losing his mind.
Why was Kai Low the one doing this to him? He didn't even remember being like this with Akari during their happiest days. Or even with Fox on the days when it seemed like they could have been something.
~ tbc