Akechi and Kazim vowed to be earlier to serve but were shocked to find that, once again, Shaugn was already dressed and waiting for them. He was dressed in plain black and looked like one of the guards instead of the empress. His hair was pulled into a neat bun at the back of his head without adornment revealing his full face. His eyes were dark and piercing.

Pursing her lips, Akechi bowed respectfully and greeted him. "It's early, your majesty."

Shaugn gave a slight hum then looked at Radagar. "We need to make a change to the guards' dress. We're going to the military camp this morning."

Radagar's eyes flashed in surprise. "You want to go to the military camp, your majesty?"

"Yes." Shaugn looked at their dumbfounded expressions and raised a brow. "Is there a problem?"

Even Rou who protected him in secret, frowned at this as he listened to their conversation from his hiding place.

"No, majesty. It's just...you've never been there." The implication was that he didn't know anything about the military so why was he going?

Akechi's disgust was written on her face. "The camp is dirty and there are sick and wounded."

"And dangerous weapons," Kazim added.

Shaugn rolled his eyes. He was not some clumsy, delicate maiden from the movies. Rubbing his chin with narrowed eyes, Shaugn looked outside the window. Originally, he was going to go to the camp later in the week. He didn't sleep too well last night and this morning when he got up, there was a nagging feeling that he needed to go there today -before reviewing memorials.

He couldn't tell them 'something tells me I need to go there.' People were still superstitious in these times. They would think he was a demon or worse. They would question is ability to be empress.

Tugging a black fan out of his sleeve, he flapped it open with loud snap and covered his mischievous smile. "The generals in the capital are complacent. They have full bellies every day and things are too peaceful so they have been arrogant and condescending in the court. It's hard to get anything done with them. It's time to shake things up a bit."

Radagar's brows drew together. "What do you plan to do, your majesty?"

Shaugn smoothed out a non-existent wrinkle on Akechi's shoulder and smiled. "Depends on what I find. I can't do too much without the emperor, though." He tapped his fan against Radagar's chest and his mood turned serious. "But it's enough to let them know I'm watching them and not to keep taking me lightly. I'm not the same empress from before."

Akechi looked him up and down. "Do you not need to dress a little more like the ruler of the empire, your majesty?"

Shaugn snorted. She just wanted to dress him up like some pretty doll. "These men are warriors. They are bathed in blood and hardship. Their bodies are used to secure the peace and harmony of the empire. They are plain men with no care for jewels and extravagance. Me showing up looking like a wealthy aristocrat will make my task there harder."

Biting her lip, Akechi acquiesced to his demands. There weren't too many restrictions on how men were to wear their hair like many other cultures during the feudal period. They just couldn't cut their hair. Most nobles chose to put their hair into buns with adornments. Men in the military often only wore a braided ponytail or a half their hair pulled up into a ponytail so it stayed out of their eyes when fighting and exercising.

After a light breakfast, Shaugn called Nirik and Toshi to check in on them. After good bath and new clothes, Toshi looked like a nobleman's son. His hair had been washed and detangled. His dark, wavy hair was pulled into a braid over his shoulder. He wore an embroidered blue tunic with matching pants and boots. Nirik was dressed in the same outfit and his hair was put up in a bun.

Seeing the two, Shaugn smiled. "You look like brothers."

Akechi touched Toshi's small head and smiled with affection. "If I didn't know better, I'd think Toshi was related to our royal family."

Shaugn raised his brows with slight smile at his little brother-son. "Isn't it possible?"

Nirik looked Toshi up and down with his hand on his chin. "Though I was small when he passed away, I was told my father only had children with his wives and no one outside. We know most of our cousins. Though it's not impossible for an elder of my father's generation to have a lost seedling outside."

Shaugn was surprised. Many rulers had children inside and outside of the harem. "It's not common?"

"Our family values...family." Nirik frowned at his own words as if he had spoken incorrectly. After a moment he gave a shrug and continued. "The elders stressed the importance of protecting the young and caring for the old."

"Ah."

"They also didn't condone infighting in the harem."

Shaugn gave him a curious glance. For one who was a toddler when his father passed, Nirik sure knew a lot about the matters of adults.

Nirik coughed into his fist and a little color crept into his cheeks. "That's what I've heard."

Toshi looked up at Shaugn with large eyes. Shaugn chuckled and handed him a candy. "Today you two will attend classes with tutor Meng. When I return, we will have lunch and go for a stroll." He grabbed the rest of his things and headed out.

"Where are you going?" Toshi hurried after him and held his hand.

Shaugn slowed his steps and held his hand firmly. "The military camp."

Nirik's face wrinkled. "Why are you going there?"

"If I'm to stand on equal footing with Xoan, I need to have an idea of how things are going."

"That's what the ministers are for; to tell you things you need to know so you can rule effectively"

"But how do you know your ministers are truthful?" Shaugn smiled at Nirik's wrinkled brows. "How do you know the ministers aren't stealing or hiding things from you?"

As if they also understood his mission, Akechi and Kazim - who had been quick to stop him before-understood. Seeing them nod in agreement, Shaugn continued. "I need to see things with my own eyes. It's easy to hide things when no one is paying attention."

Nirik finally acquiesced with a slight nod. "Are you taking more guards?"

There was a slight lift to the corner of Shaugn's lips. "It's the military camp. It should be the safest place in the empire besides the palace."

****

Not counting shadow guards, there were fifteen armed forces in the entire empire. There were four major armies stationed at the various borders. Halfway between the borders and the capital were four reserve forces that were responsible for reinforcing the border or assisting the capital or local towns and villages. There were also four garrisons in the capital to protect the capital and surrounding towns and villages. The palace guard was responsible for the palace and the imperial family. There were guards that protected the citizens inside the walls of the capital. There was also a navy with four fleets protecting the waterways under their control. The size was easily five times of that of any army in history of the same time period. There was plenty of room for spies and traitors to infiltrate their forces.

Shaugn had been racking his brains. How to flush them out?

"Your majesty, we've arrived."

The carriage came to a stop at the military camp which was a half hour ride from the capital. There was a small farming village less than a mile away that provided vegetables and meat. Many of the soldiers' families lived there as well.

A light wind blew up yellow sand on the ground outside the camp. Shaugn looked at the thirteen foot stone wall with guard towers on top. There was a place for archers and a signal tower. If there was trouble in the capital or any other garrison, the fire signal would be ignited and a colored smoke would be used to advise of the situation.

The sentry on the wall glanced down at them then turned back to picking his nails with the tip of his arrow. The wooden gate was open and soldiers hurried back and forth doing their own thing. There was a lot of laughter as the soldiers leisurely came together.

No one acknowledged the arrival of the empress.

Shaugn chuckled to himself. The attitude of the general in charge of the camp and his subordinates was out in the open for all to see. How long could they all live if the emperor knew?

"Shall we wait for the leaders of the camp, your majesty?" Radagar asked as Shaugn dismounted from the carriage.

A young soldier walking by looked at their group and his eyes widened. Shaugn looked in the soldier's direction. His eyes narrowed as the soldier took off running into the camp as if he'd seen a mortal enemy. They'd only just arrived. What was this soldier spooked for?

Shaugn rubbed his chin in thought. Coming here unannounced was definitely the right choice. Seems things weren't as they should be.

He rolled his shoulders and straightened out his posture. The cowardly empress façade gave way to a confident domineering ruler. He pulled down on the edge of his tunic and motioned for them to move forward. "Let's check out this army camp that everyone in the court is so proud of."