Sixteen-year-old Jiang Chu sat at the far end of the Imperial Council's observation gallery, her legs crossed and shoes resting on the back of the chair in front of her.
At the head of the table, twenty-two-year-old Rowan was reviewing documents. Her red hair was pinned up tightly, and she wore the platinum-white Imperial uniform. She looked at the holographic screen, occasionally swiping her electronic stylus.
Jiang Chu yawned.
Boring.
The scenes played out in the Council chamber every day were predictable from the moment they started—old nobles crying poverty, newly appointed officials angling for power.
Rowan sat on that throne everyone watched, keeping the peace like a master tightrope walker.
Jiang Chu turned her head and looked out the window.
Beyond the spaceport, three heavy-class starships bearing the insignia of Cloudrise Group were docked.
Tinia had just put those into Jiang Chu's name last month—her personal fleet.
Farther out, in low orbit, a well-armed squad was stationed.
Baal had trained them as her personal armed guard, a birthday gift for Jiang Chu's sixteenth year.
As for Jiang Chu's optical brain, it held the Supreme Access Key to the Senluo Pavilion, given by Tianyan and Tianque, and full access to the Imperial Academy of Sciences' core database, courtesy of Chiron.
Five fathers had thrown everything they could—and even what they couldn't—at Jiang Chu.
Their hearts were as skewed as the galaxy.
Even though they had watched Rowan grow up, even though Rowan had called them "uncle" for over a decade.
But when it came to a child of their own blood, the time spent together and the bonds of familiarity couldn't outrun instinctive favoritism.
Even if Jiang Chu carried only Jiang Lijin's genetics.
Resources, connections, military force, wealth.
Any single card Jiang Chu held, played carelessly, could throw the entire star system into chaos.
What did Rowan have?
An empty throne, a gaggle of double-dealing old aristocrats, and a codex thick enough to stun someone to death.
By all rights, Jiang Chu should have been satisfied.
She lacked nothing. She could strut sideways through the galaxy and no one would dare block her path.
But she had set her sights on that throne.
"The mining rights to the energy ores in the southern star sector—the Crown must lay out a clear allocation plan," an elderly duke with graying hair banged his fist on the table. "My family has guarded the south for generations. If not merit, at least we have effort. But now Cloudrise Group has barged in and bought up two-thirds of the ore veins. That's against the rules!"
Rowan didn't look up. She kept reading the document in her hands and was about to speak when Jiang Chu cut in.
"Whether it's against the rules or not isn't for you to decide."
Her voice was loud and carried weight. The chamber fell silent instantly, and every person turned to look at Jiang Chu in the observation gallery.
Jiang Chu stood up, walked over to the conference table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"Cloudrise Group went through the legitimate bidding process. They offered double your price. What, are you southern nobles so poor you can't even scrape together the bidding deposit, and now you come crying at the emperor's feet?"
The duke's face flushed crimson. He raised a trembling hand and pointed at Jiang Chu. "You... you're twisting words! The Empire has its anti-monopoly laws. Cloudrise Group is maliciously cornering the market!"
Jiang Chu let out a laugh. She tapped her optical brain, and a file appeared as a holographic projection in the air.
"This is your family's shipment records from last month, smuggling contraband arms on the black market. My Papa Tianyan's people intercepted it."
She swiped her finger, pulling up another document—a deployment map.
"These are anomalous space-time fluctuations detected by the Federation military at the edge of the southern star sector. You've been mining unregistered satellite ores, and Papa Baal's fleet has locked down the coordinates."
Jiang Chu leaned back in her chair, folded her arms, and looked at the duke.
"Monopoly? Even if I bought the entire southern star sector today, what could you do about it?"
No one in the chamber spoke.
Jiang Chu turned to Rowan at the main seat.
Rowan put down her stylus and met Jiang Chu's eyes.
"Done causing trouble?"
"No." Jiang Chu showed no fear, lifting her chin at her. "I'm taking those two-thirds of the ore veins."
"Imperial Anti-Monopoly Law, Clause 3, Section 7. For acquisitions involving strategic energy resources, the Crown holds a veto."
Rowan pulled up an electronic statute and affixed the Crown's digital seal.
"Cloudrise Group's acquisition: rejected. Rebidding is to reopen. The southern nobles will forfeit twenty percent of their profits as penalties to the Imperial Treasury. The remaining ore veins will be taken over by the Crown's direct engineering corps."
The duke winced at losing twenty percent of his profits, but at least he kept the rest. He nodded quickly in agreement.
Jiang Chu stared at the rejected acquisition order, her eyes darkening for a moment. She said nothing.
She watched, transfixed, as Rowan signed.
The stylus touched the screen. After finishing, Rowan spun it half a turn out of habit, then tossed it casually onto the desk.
Exactly the same.
The exact same way Jiang Lijin used to sign.
Whenever things got troublesome, she'd rather slack off. But at a critical moment, she had everyone figured out.
Rowan had learned it to the letter.
Jiang Chu felt a surge of irritation. She was Jiang Lijin's biological daughter.
The meeting adjourned.
The nobles filed out of the chamber.
Only two people remained.
Jiang Chu didn't leave. She pulled her chair over and sat across from Rowan.
"Your methods for meddling in state affairs are getting cruder these days." Rowan took a sip of her cold tea.
"It works, that's what matters." Jiang Chu looked at Rowan. "Isn't your balancing act exhausting?"
"Good governance is about duty. The position demands it."
"Oh, is that so? That position—I really want it."
Rowan stopped drinking. She stared straight at the girl six years younger than her.
Jiang Chu had a face that was aggressively sharp. Genetic recombination had given her Jiang Lijin's bone structure, but the wildness in her brows and eyes was nurtured under five men's indulgence.
Want something? Go take it. That's what Baal taught.
The most efficient way to take it. That's what Tianyan taught.
"You want the throne?" Rowan set down her cup.
"Not allowed?"
"Why?" Rowan asked. "The resources you already hold surpass the economic gravity of an entire Empire. To be emperor, you'd have to go through piles of paperwork every day, appease those double-dealing nobles, and worry about the treasury deficit. None of that suits your nature."
Jiang Chu really did hate work. She'd inherited Jiang Lijin's tendency to slack off—if there was a way to lie down, she'd never sit up.
But she wanted to pull Rowan down.
If she had to give one reason, it was because Rowan was too much like Jiang Lijin.
Jiang Chu was the biological daughter, but she'd grown to resemble her five fathers in spirit—arrogant, dominating, lawless.
Rowan was an outsider who had inherited the core of Jiang Lijin's soul: tolerance, restraint, cold on the outside, warm within.
Every time Jiang Chu saw Rowan sitting in that seat, looking at people with the same eyes as Jiang Lijin, a wave of competitive fire surged through her.
"Because I feel like it." Jiang Chu leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "What, afraid I'll take it?"
Rowan smiled. She stood up, walked over to stand in front of Jiang Chu, then placed her hands on the table and looked down at her.
"Jiang Chu." Rowan's voice was quiet.
"The cards in your hand are excellent. But an Empire isn't a business deal or a battlefield. You want the throne? Fine. Then come and take it. Use your own ability. Don't try to smother me with your fathers' resources. That won't work."
"Sister relinquished power to me six years ago. I haven't made it this far by luck. Go ahead, try to see if you can pull me down from here."
Rowan's gaze was icy, but Jiang Chu met it without flinching.
Even as the five big shots openly and covertly ostracized and suppressed her, Rowan remained on the throne, running the empire with flawless efficiency.
Jiang Chu stood up. She was slightly shorter than Rowan, but her presence was no less commanding.
"Fine," Jiang Chu said, patting the wrinkles on her clothes. "Let's just wait and see."
She turned and walked toward the door, stopping when she reached it.
She glanced at the time: 5:30 PM.
Turning her head, she looked at Rowan, who was still organizing files.
"Two hours left."
Rowan lifted her wrist to check her own holographic device. Their eyes met.
"Today's Sunday," Rowan said, tossing the documents onto the desk and grabbing her coat as she headed out.
"I came in a starship, parked at Dock Three," Jiang Chu said, following.
"Your heavy starship is too slow. Take my small shuttle and use the military corridor."
"The military corridor is closed today. Papa Baer's running drills. We'll take the Senluo Castle smuggling route—Papa Tianyan gave me the coordinates."
"Smuggling?"
"...Don't ask."
The two of them sprinted through the royal corridors.
There was only one reason.
The rule Jiang Lijin had set: no matter how fiercely they fought outside, they had to return to Netherhome for Sunday dinner every week.
One minute late, and she'd break their legs.
...
At Netherhome, the dining room was brightly lit.
The long table was laden with dishes.
Jiang Lijin sat at the head of the table, peeling a steamed intergalactic crab.
To her left sat Tinia and Baal; to her right were Tianyan, Tianque, and Chiron.
All five males sat obediently at the table.
The main door swung open.
Jiang Chu and Rowan rushed in, panting, hair disheveled by the wind, their clothes a bit rumpled.
"Five fifty-nine," Chiron said, glancing at his holographic device and adjusting his glasses. "Cutting it close."
Jiang Chu pulled out a chair and sat down, grabbing a glass of water and gulping it down.
Rowan sat beside Jiang Chu, smoothing her hair and reclaiming a composed posture.
"Wash your hands and eat," Jiang Lijin said without looking up, putting the peeled crab meat into her own bowl.
Tinia pushed a plate of snowflake pork toward Jiang Chu. "Chuchu, eat more—you've been looking thin lately. Has someone been bullying you? Tell Daddy, and I'll buy up their entire family tomorrow!"
Baal snorted. "Forget buying—just blow them up. Chuchu, name anyone who's wronged you."
Rowan ate her meal, turning a deaf ear to all the favoritism.
Jiang Chu picked up a piece of snowflake pork, chewed a couple of bites, then turned to Rowan.
"Salt shaker."
Rowan set down her chopsticks, reached for the distant salt shaker, and placed it by Jiang Chu's hand.
"I'm out of juice," Rowan said, looking at her empty glass.
Jiang Chu rolled her eyes, grabbed the juice pitcher beside her, and poured Rowan a full glass.
Tinia frowned, about to say that Xiao Yi could handle those little tasks for them.
But Jiang Lijin tapped her chopsticks on the table.
"Tap."
The five men fell silent, barely daring to breathe.
Jiang Lijin wiped her hands, leaned back in her chair, and looked at Jiang Chu and Rowan.
The skirmish over the mineral vein in the council hall had been reported to her holographic device that afternoon by Su Han.
She even knew all about Jiang Chu's audacious claim that she was going to seize the throne.
"Food not to your liking?" Jiang Lijin asked without raising her eyes.
"It's fine," Jiang Chu and Rowan answered in unison.
"Then eat well."
Jiang Lijin picked up her chopsticks again and took a piece of fish.
"After the meal, go do whatever you need to do. The empire is vast enough for you to make a mess of."
She didn't intervene—whether Jiang Chu wanted to usurp the throne or Rowan wanted to strip power.
Jiang Lijin left the choice to them.
Jiang Chu took a big bite of rice, her cheeks puffed out, and glanced at Rowan.
Rowan took a sip of juice and looked back.
Around that dinner table at Netherhome, they were simply two daughters who had to come home for dinner on time.
After the meal, Jiang Chu collapsed onto the sofa, refusing to move.
Rowan helped Xiao Yi clear the dishes.
"Are you really going to fight her for it?" Tianyan strolled up behind the sofa and lowered his voice to ask Jiang Chu.
"Of course. Why should she get to sit so steady?"
Tianyan smiled like a fox. "If you need intelligence support, just say the word. All of Papa's intel network is at your disposal."
Jiang Chu didn't reply. She turned to watch Rowan's back in the kitchen.
Rowan was putting the washed plates into the sanitizer.
Jiang Chu smiled.
Fight her for it, sure.
But if anyone else dared to touch Rowan's position,
Jiang Chu would be the first to pilot a starship over and blow up their whole family.
After all, no one else had the right to mess with Rowan except Jiang Chu.
As if sensing the gaze, Rowan looked back over her shoulder at the two on the sofa.
But all she saw was the back of Jiang Chu's dark head. She smiled helplessly.
She suddenly remembered, fifteen years ago, at Jiang Chu's first-birthday grab ceremony.
After Jiang Chu had gathered up every single item on the cloth, she had pulled out the miniature crown Rowan had placed there, and then, giggling, had set the crown on Rowan's head.
