The door to the room closed behind Xi Chen. But before the door could shut completely, Khenbish's thick accent rang through loud and clear from inside the dark room. "Let us go and we'll take you to see Adlai! Both of you are cousins anyway!"

Ye An's hand was already hovering over the door handle when Xi Chen opened the door so she heard Khenbish's words. Her eyes widened questioningly at Xi Chen.

"I'll explain later." Xi Chen answered quietly as he latched the door and nodded at the men who were guarding the medicine room. "Let's get you cleaned up first. Those men aren't talking and I don't see them budging anytime soon."

Ye An looked at Xi Chen for a moment and only nodded. "Go ahead and lead the way."

Xi Chen led Ye An to his favorite spot under the waterfall. Their walk was silent in the dead winter except for the crunching of snow beneath their boots. As both of them arrived at the waterfall, the fierce gushing of the currents that carried water from the river over the waterfall was heard.

Xi Chen finally broke the silence between them when they reached the base of the waterfall. "The water might be icy but I figured that we'd at least have the entire place to ourselves."

Ye An observed their immediate surrounding as a light breeze picked up tendrils of her hair that were loosened from the battle earlier. "That's certainly true."

They settled by the side of the small lake where the waterfall ended before Ye An spoke again. "So would you care to fill me in about what I've heard earlier?"

Xi Chen tried to hide it as best as he could but reluctance was clear in Xi Chen's slightly pursed lips and the way he avoided eye contact. He quietly took a piece of clean cloth from the folds of his clothes and wet it with some water. Ye An waited patiently with the rush of the waterfall filling the silence again as Xi Chen gently wiped the crusty dried blood from her face and neck. When he was done, he finally took a good look at Ye An's clothes as he lightly swept some stray hairs away from her face. "We need to find another set of clothes for you to change into."

Ye An gently held Xi Chen's cheek as she directed his gaze towards hers. Xi Chen sighed dejectedly upon meeting Ye An's eyes and eventually told her everything that he had gleaned from the Northerners.

"Well, that's.. Surprising." Ye An remarked before backtracking. "And yet, not really. I've never told you this but I mistook Adlai for you a couple of times when I wasn't looking properly. So it doesn't seem like a farfetched story."

"Yes, I don't think that he's lying either." Xi Chen answered softly.

Ye An took some time to observe Xi Chen before deciding to probe as gently as she could. "So does that mean that Khenbish is also your step-uncle?"

Xi Chen took a heavy breath before replying. "I guess so."

Ye An started to pace with her eyes fixed on the rushing waters as the wheels in her brains turned. An idea suddenly sparked as sunlight pierced through the dense, grey clouds. Her eyes illuminated but their brightness dulled when she faced Xi Chen again. "I have an idea. But you might not like it. And truthfully, I don't either."

Xi Chen was intrigued. "Enlighten me."

"Khenbish offered to bring you back to the North and keep you under his wings, didn't he?"

"He did. Right before he spat at me after finding out who my mother was."

"But I doubt that he would do anything to you without reporting it to Leader Wakhia, would he?"

"If their organization is anything like ours then yes, it is likely that he would report about me to Leader Wakhia before anything else."

"Hmm.. Then we would need to hope that's the case. I was about to head to the messenger office to send Adlai's letter but I realized that I couldn't fully trust them to the send letter. And even if the officers from the messenger office managed to send the letter out, I can't be sure that my letter won't be intercepted before it actually reaches Adlai."

There was a slight pause before Xi Chen spoke again. "So you want me to personally hand it to him?"

"Essentially, yes." This time it was Ye An who avoided eye contact. "Besides, we could also gain more intel and locate Minister Sze quicker this way."

"Is that an order, Your Imperial Majesty?" Xi Chen asked calmly, once again returning to being the emperor's subordinate.

Ye An hesitated. As the sovereign of the country, she had the obligation to ensure that her plan was carried out with minimal hitch. On the other hand, she knew of the dangers that Xi Chen might face in enemy territory and she cared for him too much to cool-headedly order him to enter what was surely a tiger's den. Ye An's eyes fell to the ground and faltered as she debated with herself.

Ye An's inner conflict was not lost on Xi Chen. His gaze on her softened as he repeated, "Is that an order, Your Imperial Majesty?"

This brought Ye An's gaze back to Xi Chen's soft hazel eyes. She knew exactly what he was doing by enunciating her official title while he repeated the question which made it more difficult to put her feet down on the matter.

Looking at Ye An's indecisiveness over this, a small warmth blossomed in Xi Chen's chest despite the wintry weather but he knew what must be done. He smiled gently. "That's a brilliant plan, Your Imperial Majesty. I've been meaning to propose that exact strategy."

Ye An frowned. "But-"

"In the situation that we are currently in, I am your lieutenant general first and foremost. A tool that is all yours to utilize. A pawn to be used for the sole purpose of protecting this nation. A blacksmith does not hesitate to use his hammer, a cook does not think twice when he wields his knife. Likewise, you shouldn't waste your time ruminating on whether to use me or not."

Ye An stared deep into Xi Chen's eyes. If there was an ounce of hesitation there, she would've brushed her initial plan off. However, there wasn't any. Not even a ghost of it.

Ye An closed her eyes and took a deep breath in surrender. She gritted her teeth before giving her final order. "Lieutenant Yun, I hereby order you to infiltrate the North."

*******

Khenbish's only visible eye squinted at the sudden opening of the door even though the sun was already setting outside. His eye finally focused on the tall frame as the door was closing behind the man.

Xi Chen lit the oil lamp as he did earlier.

Khenbish smirked. "You came back. Did you change your mind?"

"I did." Xi Chen answered simply.

Khenbish raised an eyebrow, surprised at how quick Xi Chen answered when he was so adamant about refusing the offer just hours before. He looked over at Baagvai and both of them exchanged a look.

Khenbish narrowed his eye suspiciously at Xi Chen. "What made you change your mind?"

"What made you think that I changed my mind? Maybe I already had it in my mind before you even asked." Xi Chen expertly evaded the question.

Khenbish and Xi Chen stared at each other as if they were waiting for the other to break. After a few minutes of a battle of wits, Khenbish spoke. "Convince me then."

*******

Night had fallen when Ye An was back at the wall after changing out of her soiled clothes. Her hair was back in its neat bun with a small golden crown decked with dragon carvings securing it.

Ye An headed straight towards Ah Lin who was monitoring the enemy lines by the wall. Ah Lin shuffled and bowed when he saw Ye An. "Your Imperial Majesty."

"Any updates on the situation here?" Ye An asked as her eyes swept over the Northerners' camp that was currently dotted with bonfires.

"The Northerners have settled at their camp and there are no signs that they will be attacking again anytime soon." Ah Lin reported.

Ye An merely nodded at the report.

Ah Lin then added. "But we couldn't be sure that the next battle wouldn't commence right after our conversation."

"Indeed." Ye An acknowledged gravely before adding, "This is looking more and more like it will escalate into a full-blown war."

Even the usually cheerful Ah Lin sobered up at the thought. "Yes, it certainly seems like it would."

Ye An pulled her gaze from the Northerner's side to the ground that she was standing on. The flickering fire from the torches that were lit on the wall around them made shadows dance on the uneven stone slabs. Ye An bit her inner lip.

Concern suddenly clouded Ah Lin's eyes. "What is it? Is Xi Chen alright? Did his wound get infected? It shouldn't be. Yue Fei is an excellent physician."

"It's not that." Ye An quickly explained. "It's-"

"What is it?" Ah Lin continued asking anxiously.

Ye An's eyes darted around to make sure that no one was within earshot before she answered in a whisper. "He'll be traveling to the North at midnight."

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