"Which aspect do you mean?" Zhao Ruyue looked at her younger brother.
Zhao Chen said with a smile, straight out, "We're family; there's no need to be all veils and concealments about it. By the Starlight Empire's present situation, in the future we'll have to pick a side. The Prince Faction, the little Princess — or else, neutrality. If we choose neutrality, then we'll have to draw a clean line severing ourselves from the little Princess's forces. Big Sis, after you left the Owl Dragon System, you've all along followed at the little Princess's side, and are very familiar with the little Princess — you may even have developed feelings for her. And so, I want to inquire into your opinion."
Zhao Ruyue hesitated a moment, and said with a grave countenance, "If from a personal angle — the little Princess is quite a fine person. Though at times she appears somewhat as though she doesn't partake of the mortal world's smoke and fire, all naive innocence, at the least she hasn't too much of that ingrained rotten-rootedness of the profligate noble brat. To her own people she's especially good; the crew within the Princess's fleet, for instance, are all treated by the highest welfare standard within the imperial army — though, of course, that's no comparison to your Owl Dragon Legion's welfare standard; that's far too extravagant." And thereupon, Zhao Ruyue turned the drift of her words, her expression somewhat complex.
"But if you're asking from the standpoint of the larger picture… supporting the little Princess is, at present, beyond doubt an exceedingly unprofitable act. Because of the First Prince's passing, and the stretch of maneuvering by Consort Zhen and the Prince Faction just now, the little Princess has, straight off, been left with no chance whatsoever to strike back. To support the little Princess would be, beyond doubt, to set oneself against well over half the Starlight Empire."
At this moment, Zhao Ruyue's heart was a jumble of five mingled flavors.
From a personal angle, she was, beyond doubt, for supporting the little Princess; over these years following at the little Princess's side, she'd already come to regard the little Princess as her own younger sister.
But if from the Owl Dragon Legion's standpoint, then supporting the little Princess was, beyond doubt, a very unprofitable piece of business.
"Considering all this much — how tiring. Let me just ask you: what is it that your heart, Zhao Ruyue's, wants to do?" Zhao Chen pointed at Zhao Ruyue.
Zhao Ruyue bit lightly at her crimson lips, and in the end said resolutely, "I… want to help the little Princess."
Zhao Chen gave a clap of his hands.
"Well, there it is, then. A person lives one life; what it's all for is to do the thing one wants to do — why bother caring about all the rest of it? Since you want to help the little Princess, then we'll stand on the little Princess's side. And help her take back the things she's lost!"
Zhao Ruyue was dumbfounded; she looked at Zhao Chen in astonishment.
"You'd decide it just this easily?"
Zhao Chen gave a shrug.
"Is there some problem?"
"But… this, for us Owl Dragon… carries risk…" Zhao Ruyue was somewhat worried.
Zhao Chen said, "Risk there is, of course, risk; for, after all, risk and profit exist side by side. If we can prop the little Princess up to the position, then we'll come by all the more!"
"But… the Prince Faction…"
Zhao Chen went on, "I know what you're worried about, Big Sis — isn't it just that the Prince Faction holds the upper hand right now? To speak truly, I personally have, on account of some matters, already formed a grudge with the Prince Faction — and so, of the three choices, the one of supporting the Prince Faction is one that absolutely can't be chosen. But if I choose neutrality, then, once the Prince Faction truly comes to hold power, or even the Second Prince Qin Ming ascends the throne — I have Governor Chu of Chu River sheltering me, so there'll be no danger; but one can imagine how stifled and aggrieved a life we'd live by then." Zhao Chen could foresee it: by that time, the Prince Faction would, by all estimates, strain every effort to curb the development of the interstellar forces connected to Governor Chu of Chu River — boiling the frog in slowly warming water, wearing this force away bit by bit.
"So… you really do mean to support the little Princess?" Zhao Ruyue looked at Zhao Chen in astonishment.
Zhao Chen nodded.
In truth, over this stretch of time, Zhao Chen had been pondering this question all along.
Though what he wanted was merely to develop his own one-mu-three-fen plot of ground[1], and live a carefree, worry-free life in which he wouldn't be bullied by others — yet a great many matters were beyond one's own mastering, and Zhao Chen would, sooner or later, have to make a choice.
And since he had to make a choice, then he might as well choose one he liked.
At the least, this candidate, the little Princess, was pleasing to Zhao Chen's eye, and had, besides, a fine relationship with his own eldest sister.
"But that still hangs on whether the little Princess is obedient." Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes.
"In the present situation, every single step needs care and caution; if the little Princess is not a target suited to being propped up, then I naturally won't support her either. And so, next I'm to have a face-to-face talk with the little Princess."
Zhao Ruyue nodded; she could understand what Zhao Chen was thinking.
"This matter of the meeting, I'll arrange it."
Having said all this, Zhao Ruyue looked at the Zhao Chen before her; she felt, now, more and more, that this younger brother of hers had changed far too much.
Before him, even she appeared very small and slight.
……
The matter of the meeting with the little Princess was soon nailed down.
In fact, the little Princess had, all along, been looking forward to meeting Zhao Chen too — for, after all, Zhao Chen counted as her savior, her benefactor in life.
Zhao Chen came to the Lion King System; from atop his own command ship's bridge, from a great distance off he could see the several hundred interstellar warships hovering.
So as to guard against any leaking of identity, the hulls of these interstellar warships had long since been camouflaged, and the Starlight Empire royal crests upon them all removed.
They looked, for all the world, like an ordinary imperial-army interstellar fleet.
For this meeting, Zhao Chen had chosen not his own T3 Phoenix, but the little Princess's T4 Boreas.
On the one hand, it was Zhao Chen giving the little Princess this face; on the other, it was that Zhao Chen wanted to take a look at this nation-guarding divine artifact of the Starlight Empire's — a T4 interstellar warship!
The greatest reason was, still, the latter.
Aboard a shuttle, Zhao Chen and Zhao Ruyue, the two of them, boarded the T4 Boreas.
As they walked out of the shuttle, a squad of the Princess's fleet's women-soldiers had long been waiting here — and there was, besides, a young girl of a single passing acquaintance.
"Your Highness the Princess." Zhao Chen placed a hand over his chest and made a noble's courtesy.
The little Princess Qin Xiaolei, too, returned the courtesy.
For, after all, this one still held the identity of a princess; the surface niceties, one had to mind a little, at least.
"Your Excellency Zhao Chen, it's my great honor to meet you here. On behalf of the Princess's royal fleet, I most sincerely thank you for rescuing us earlier. Thank you," Qin Xiaolei said sincerely.
"This is what one ought to do, as a subject," Zhao Chen said with a smile.
"Sister Yue said you want to talk with me about the matters of the Starlight Empire as things now stand. Then let's move to the meeting room." the little Princess Qin Xiaolei said, forthright.
"Very well."
Zhao Chen and his party passed through the interior cabins of the T4 Boreas, and soon arrived at a meeting room.
Zhao Chen, Zhao Ruyue, and Qin Xiaolei sat within the vast, spacious meeting room.
"Your Highness the Princess, since we're meeting today, I'll speak of it straight, opening the door to see the mountain. The Starlight Empire's situation at present — you could say you've already thoroughly lost your standing. Though there may still be some forces within the Starlight Empire supporting you, in the present situation, to try to take back the power that rightly belongs to you is very hard," Zhao Chen said in earnest.
Qin Xiaolei nodded.
"I know the present situation; the matters of the Capital Star I've heard of too. Whatever the case — my mother-empress is still at the Capital Star! And though, as for the throne, I'm not overly interested in it — it originally belonged to my elder brother; I can do without it. But Qin Ming and Qin Hu cannot just seize it by force and snatch it by main strength!" Qin Xiaolei clenched her fists; one could see that she was very much enraged at the Prince Faction's present doings.