"Did you see the bulletins posted around Orchid Town?"

"Aye, can't believe it myself - how can the King and Queen keep someone like that in the Palace, even if she's family?"

"Sleeping around with all the diplomats just to get them to sign trade deals and treaties - it's an absolute disgrace!"

"And themuns are the ones who preach to us all the time about morality - one rule for them and another for us, huh? Who cares if she was born here, she was raised by those Witches, how could they just bring her over like that?"

"I don't trust her all the same, how are we to know she won't betray us in a war? Or influence the royal family with her wiles? I've heard there's even word going around that the Crown Prince wants to take her as a wife-"

"As Queen?!"

"I know - she's a nasty piece of work, I don't support her at all, a Queen can't have such a vile reputation."

"I thought the Crown Prince was running around with one of the special advisor - forgot her name, though, what was it..."

"Lady Anna!"

"Yeah, Lady Anna! She might not be a royal but she's a much better choice, don't you think?"

"I wouldn't know anything about all that - no one really knows what goes into deciding things like that. Sure remember when Queen Yun was crowned, everyone thought the queen would be his cousin, Princess Jing?”

"That's true, aye."

Lady Dana couldn't help but listen in on the conversation between the two vendors as she ate through a bowl of dumpling soup. The Outer Palace was the best place to hear all the latest gossip - a surprising amount of which seemed to not only be true, but to have spread before any official news came out of the Inner Palace that confirmed it. But where had this rumour come from? Ranhara was such a small country that most citizens of Revenet were never aware of its existence until they took it back.

She knew she shouldn't indulge in rumours, but Princess Shiyao's past wasn't something she knew much about aside from most of the decision making responsibility having fallen to her while she was their head Witch or whatever. She hadn't heard anything else about her, but now she was curious.

If it were true, did His Highness know?

If she made him aware of it, would he come back to her instead?

There was no harm in checking it out, right?

Dana pulled her cloak hood up over her neat hair and collected her things, heading out of the shop and down to the main gates.

Orchid Town wasn't a far walk from the Outer Palace, twenty minutes by foot, and she could always take a carriage on her way back - no one outside knew who she was, not everyone inside the Palace knew who she was either, but it was still too risky to have anyone know where she was headed, just in case.

The evening began to creep up as she finally set foot in the busy town, and she didn't have to look too far before spotting a bulletin. Small groups of people were crowded around here and there, all of them whispering amongst themselves while they pointed towards the red letters on the large hanging pieces of scroll. As she passed by, some it was clear that quite a handful of them weren't completely sure about what, exactly, was written and Lady Dana snorted at the last Kingdom Report that boasted literacy figures of almost one-hundred percent.

She rounded a corner, past a butcher and a cobbler, where the street was much quieter and finally came across a bulletin that no one was looking at - though no one had bothered to remove, either. Her eyes widened as she scanned down the document, the accusations rather damning:

"Princess Wang Shiyao, eldest daughter of Wang Merchants and Trading and the powerful Magistrates of this country, was formerly known as The Witch Ara of Ranhara. During her time in Ranhara where she served the royal family, Wang Shiyao engaged in prostitution among the rich and wealthy, diplomats and politicians in order to seduce them into doing her bidding. These are not baseless accusations, but accounts told by many a nobleman of good moral character and standing.

While our Crown Prince has finally come of age to Challenge His Highness King Yun for the throne, how can we accept that this woman is around the most dignified and powerful people in our nation? How can we allow her to be around the Crown Prince and the Royal Family? How can we know for sure - while she is in the Guorun Palace - that she will not manipulate the Royal Family into doing her bidding, too?

While Wang Shiyao is in the Palace, how can we rest well at night not knowing whether anything the Royal Family do from now on is or isn't an evil trick from this Witch, in an effort to bring down our great nation? How can we know that she isn't here to get revenge for the fall of Ranhara?

People of Revenet!

Protest the Princess!

For our King and for our country!

Let's protect ourselves from evil!"

Well.

That was quite a statement.

Lady Dana looked around, making sure there were no eyes on her as she carefully removed the poster, folding it several times and hiding it within a book in her satchel.

"You lost, miss?"

Lady Dana froze as a gruff voice came from somewhere behind her, and she turned on her heel to find a man with a greying and untidy beard had appeared in the doorway to a warehouse a few steps away. He held what looked like an entire skinned sheep in one hand and a huge meat cleaver in the other, his rubber apron covered in blood splatter and black marks.

"Not at all." she smiled politely. "I was just passing through."

"You interested in those signs?"

"They certainly made some bold claims, anyone would be interested to read them." she replied gingerly. "I don't suppose you know who posted them?"

"A group of young lads."

"Local boys?"

"Aye."

"Oh." she nodded, every fibre of her being screaming at her to get away from this man before she gave herself away. "Okay. Well, have a good day."

"Uh huh." he grunted, his beady eyes stuck on her as she briskly made her way past and disappeared around the corner from where she came.

Dana didn't dare take a carriage back to the Palace. She couldn't quite gauge if that man was hostile towards her because he could tell that she was from the Palace, or because she asked a question, whatever it was, she was wondering if the people really were angry at the Palace for allowing Princess Shiyao in.

There was certainly a lot of work that needed done on the infrastructure of Orchid Town, the roads were uneven, unfinished and full of pot holes and the smell from the drains alone was enough to raise a dead man. All the while the Palace had celebrated and welcomed Wang Shiyao back with such fanfare, such pomp and ceremony.

The more loyal of citizens would argue that it was the right thing to do, because the royal family were chosen by the universe and everyone had their place in society, and it wasn't proper for such dignified people to not hold such a ceremony to welcome back one of their own. Others would feel more bitter about the no-expense spared approach while they couldn't so much as have one road that was smooth to travel on. Dana wasn't sure who she agreed with more.

* * *

"I WANT TO KNOW WHERE THESE RUMOURS ARE COMING FROM! PRINCESS SHIYAO IS BEING TARGETED BY WHO ONLY KNOWS, TRYING TO DEFAME HER AND TARNISH HER REPUTATION AND I WON'T STAND FOR IT!"

The room of special advisors and civil servants kept their heads down as Crown Prince Jing Han ranted, his black robes still flowing gracefully as he became more animated. Zixuan stood by the side of the table, head and eyes forward as he was instructed to look for anyone suspicious.

Jing Han's shoulders rose and fell, fists curled against the dark wood of the head table of the hall they occupied.

"I will be setting up an investigation into this - if any of you are found to be part of it I'll have your tongues and your hands." he threatened, straightening up at last. "Princess Shiyao has just as much right to be here as anyone else in this family, an attack on her is spitting in all of our faces."

The bulletins had made their way into the Outer Palace, and it didn't take long before everyone in the Inner Palace, from servant staff to the ministers, was talking about it. Shiyao knew fine well she wasn't popular with everyone even in Ranhara, though given her position, was spared from most of whatever animosity there was towards her.

She'd never experienced this before, though.

When she stepped outside on a pleasant but chilly Wednesday morning, she couldn't help but notice how all eyes turned towards her, how they narrowed in suspicion and how everyone lowered their voices to whisper things to each other that she couldn't hear. If it were just one or two people, perhaps she wouldn't have given it much thought, but to have it happen every time she passed another person, every time she rounded a corner and to have the people she usually interacted with - the teachers at the academy - suddenly be so very cold towards her - made her feel more like an alien than ever before.

Just when she was really beginning to feel at home.

She had asked Ina, but Ina claimed she didn't know. Jae practically bolted the second he saw her return to Kingfisher Residence. The servant staff in her home only told her to ignore it before they carried on with their work. Ina wasn't helping by being extra-cheerful because it only confused her more. Just what was everyone talking about and why was everyone around her trying to keep her occupied with food, books and painting?

Shiyao had always believed that she never gave a damn about what others thought of her, but upon reflection, she realised she must.

As night fell and the house went to sleep, Shiyao slipped out of bed, throwing on a thick long coat to step outside where Yixing was standing guard, faithfully as always.

"Your Highness." he greeted her.

"Yixing." she began, her head tilting up so she could look at him properly. "What on earth is going on?"

"We were instructed not to tell you, Your Highness." he replied.

"By who?"

"His Highness Crown Prince Jing Han."

"Is it very bad?" she asked. "What they're saying about me?"

"I think that anyone who believes such rumours, anyone who would think less of you, Your Highness, for it, does not deserve to serve the Royal Family."

"I see." Shiyao managed a half-smile. "They think that I'm some scarlet woman."

"Your Highness is not to be blamed." Yixing replied.

"And yet it matters to everyone, it seems." she pulled the coat tighter around herself.

"Crown Prince Jing Han has already declared an investigation to find out who the culprit is. Please be assured, Your Highness, you are still the apple of his eye."

"That's very kind of you, Yixing." she said softly, placing her hand on his arm momentarily. "Thank you."

With that, Shiyao slipped back inside and back into her plush bed, pulling the covers up high around her ears and curling up tight.