Dear Adlai,

Time passes by so quickly that it has been weeks since you've returned to your homeland. Much had happened since then on my side that we shall talk about when we meet. But I hope this letter finds you well, not just in terms of your physical health, but in your heart as well.

I might have only spent a very limited amount of time with Chieftain Burat but I knew that he was a great man with a greater vision for our relationship as two nations. No even my grandmother could compete with him in terms of foresight. I had enjoyed your company during your stay with us and it would have not been so without his arrangement. It was refreshing to have a friend who I needn't worry about status and schemes with.

With that said, I do not believe whatever was happening right now was in any way your scheme. At least I hope that I know you well enough to know that you are surely not a willing participant in the situation that both our countries are currently embroiled in.

Since I trust that you have exhausted all alternatives to prevent this situation from unravelling, I am ready to let go of part of our northern region to trade as a token of friendship in return of maintaining the peace between both our countries. I am ready for negotiation tonight. You could bring whomever you think should be in the meeting.

I hope to see you soon. And please take care of Xi Chen for me while he's there.

Always your friend from across the border,

Ye An

Prince Adlai folded the piece of paper neatly when he finished and pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed as Xi Chen looked on. Prince Adlai then slowly let go of the bridge of his nose. "I've tried many times. Many times, to stop what is going on." The prince halted to sigh again. It was as if he was carrying a burden so great that it was chipping away at him. "But it is as if my uncle was under His Im- Sze Chang's spell. Or maybe it's the haze from his own greed."

"Is Sze Chang really the grandson of the late Great Emperor Lee Gang?" Xi Chen figured out that if anyone was to give him a straight answer, it would be Prince Adlai.

"I'm not sure but it's probably true. If anything, I know that my uncle wouldn't jump into something if he hadn't done his research. He's the kind of person who would only join a plot if there is a guarantee of a reward." It was obvious in the way that the prince was speaking about it that he disapproved of Leader Wakhia.

"What did Sze Chang offer him that he's going to war for him?" Xi Chen asked.

"You mean going to war for them. General Shao is in it too. Uncle hasn't let me in on his meetings with Sze Chang and General Shao but fortunately, there are still some people who remained loyal to my great-grandfather. Like Master Akara here." Prince Adlai gestured to the master.

"May his soul be blessed with peace." Master Akara uttered solemnly with a hand placed over his heart.

Prince Adlai placed his hand over his heart as well before he put his hand back down and continued. "Apparently they promised my uncle that he would co-rule your country alongside them." The prince paused. "I assume your defection is a disguise of yours?"

Xi Chen nodded in affirmative.

"The promise for co-ruling is obviously a gimmick. I'm as sure of it as the sun surely rises from the east. Uncle Wakhia wouldn't admit this but he doesn't know them, or at least Sze Chang, as well as I do. There is no way in hell that he would co-rule with my uncle. It would be fortunate enough for us if Sze Chang and General Shao don't swallow the entire North with our troops along with it when this ends." Prince Adlai's eyes hardened but Xi Chen noticed that the prince was anxiously scraping the skin off his forefinger with the nail on his thumb.

Xi Chen watched the prince's nervous fidgeting thoughtfully before his eyes fell on the now covered wrists of Prince Adlai. "What exactly happened after you returned?"

Prince Adlai noticed Xi Chen's gaze and subconsciously tugged at his sleeves as if his scars were still exposed. He averted his gaze from Xi Chen and turned to his side before he continued.

"At first, nothing much. I was grieving the sudden loss of my great-grandfather. I was losing sleep. I wasn't eating much either. So Uncle Wakhia 'came to my aid'." There was a hint of mockery at the end of the sentence that might have been aimed at Leader Wakhia, but Xi Chen felt that it was more so directed toward the prince himself. "At least that was how he framed it. Anything to justify his subsequent actions, I guess."

Prince Adlai let out a humorless bark of laughter. "He took over the leadership role with General Shao and Sze Chang by his side and restructured the entire formation of our military behind my back with men who only listened and reported to him. All of my great-grandfather's men were gone when I finally came to."

Prince Adlai turned back to face Xi Chen. "Everything that my great-grandfather had spent his entire life working so hard to build was gone. Just like that." He snapped his fingers. "Every. Single. Thing."

Prince Adlai lowered his gaze. "And I felt ashamed. I felt like I've let him down somehow." As he said those words, he rubbed almost instinctively at his wrist through the fabric of his sleeves.

Xi Chen sighed. He looked over at Master Akara and realized that he himself must have had the same somber expression on his face. Xi Chen cleared his throat before breaching the subject. "And what actually happened to Chieftain Burat?"

If it was possible for Prince Adlai's gaze to get any lower, it would've grazed the gates of hell. But alas, that was not possible.

"They did it." Prince Adlai's voice cracked and Xi Chen heard an audible sigh from Master Akara. The prince let out another cold laugh. "And uncle had the audacity to say that it was all for me. For my freedom from my great-grandfather's clutches." Prince Adlai scoffed. "What a joke. Did they ask for my opinion? No. They just did whatever they wanted to and labeled it to be for my own good!"

Noting Prince Adlai's increased agitation, Xi Chen paused, unsure of how he should continue. He gave the prince some time to recompose himself before he quietly voiced his question. "Did they-"

Xi Chen's question trailed off as Prince Adlai's eyes landed on his. Xi Chen had never seen the mild-mannered prince this cold. Prince Adlai's voice was frigid when he spoke. "Did they murder him themselves? Probably. Even if they didn't bloody their own hands, they were the ones who gave the order. Doesn't make much of a difference in my eyes."

Xi Chen pursed his lip before giving his earnest condolences. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

Prince Adlai's eyes widened before softening. He looked like he was on the verge of tears almost as if this was the first time anyone had offered him a heartfelt consolation. Prince Adlai swallowed. "Thank you."

However, those eyes turned to steel again in a split second. "I need to tell you something. Uncle is planning to invade tonight. This time, it's for real. Yesterday was just an exercise, a practice round to gauge the troop on the other side. This time, the number of our men would be quadrupled and there won't be a retreat."

*******

Present

"Fortify the walls this instant!" Ah Lin yelled as he crumpled Xi Chen's letter.

The trap door to the commander's post suddenly creaked open to reveal Yue Fei with a familiar figure following behind her.

"Xiao Yan?" Ye An exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Your Imperial Majesty." Xiao Yan curtsied. It was a contrast to her usually flirty self.

"You knew?" Ye An asked, without a hint of surprise at the unfamiliar way Xiao Yan was addressing her.

"Of course, I'm the Yellow Canary." Xiao Yan said with an underlying pride.

"Indeed, you are." Ye An nodded. "So what brought you here?"

"This." Xiao Yan took a piece of paper out when she spoke.

Ye An reached out a hand to receive it and instantly frowned.

"What is this? Another one of those damned flyers?" Ye An asked nonchalantly as she received the piece of paper, but stiffened when she read the contents.

Noting Ye An's troubled demeanor, Ah Lin scooted over to look at the paper. It was longer than both the flyers that were spread in the capital and in the military barracks the day before. But it was undoubtedly the same handwriting. This time, however, instead of talking about the long-lost eldest son of the late Great Emperor Lee Gang, the long-lost prince, and Ye An being a woman separately, this flyer encompassed all of those into one.

Additionally, there was another paragraph added at the bottom with a drawing of the alleged long-lost prince. It was a portrait of Sze Chang in the emperor's full regalia.

Ah Lin's eyes widened. "This is-"

Ye An was equally shocked, if not more.

There was a palpable silence that was steadily growing heavier as the rest of them collectively held their breaths in anticipation of Ye An's response.

Still, Ye An didn't utter a word. As her gaze burned a hole through the flimsy piece of paper, her grip tightened with every second that passed.

Ah Lin cleared his throat and slowly tugged the flyer out of Ye An's hand. He knew he was treading dangerous waters when he said his next words. "Your Imperial Majesty.. Dare I say that the flyer might not be an empty rumor? There is.. some resemblance between both of you. In the corner of your eyes and the angle of your mouths. It's not obvious if you don't take note of them, but I don't think we could deny the similarities."

Ye An took the flyer back into her hand without uttering a single word. Before, her eyes only grazed the drawing carelessly. Now, she took her time to scrutinize the drawing of Sze Chang.

"I see." Ye An's voice was still like the pregnant pause in heavy clouds right before a thunderstorm. "Is this true?" She directed the question to Xiao Yan, knowing full well that she was the best person to ask for answers about this.

Xiao Yan looked as though she would rather not reply but answered Ye An's question anyway. "Yes. I immediately sent my men to investigate about said long-lost eldest son of the late Emperor Lee Gang when the flyers were distributed in the capital yesterday. And we just found out about Minister Sze when these flyers were distributed all over the capital."

Noting that Xiao Yan didn't mention that she sent anyone to investigate about her being a woman, Ye An asked, "I assume that you already know that I'm a woman?"

"Naturally." Xiao Yan curtsied.

"Huh." Ye An let out a huff noncommittally before returning her thoughts to Sze Chang and letting out a self-degratory laugh. "Who knew? That means all this time-"

Ye An couldn't continue and merely shook her head. While she worried about him, he was plotting against her all along. Besides his excellent linguistics ability, she had respected him due to his seemingly adamant stance of not joining in the politics among the ministers. She thought he was a friend. Who knew, indeed?

Xiao Yan gave out a dainty cough to grab Ye An's attention. "Your Imperial Majesty. There's another thing."

Ye An's eyes sharpened. "What is it?"

"A coup is brewing in the Imperial Palace." 

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Writer's note: Dramaaaa. Honestly had no idea this would turn into a palace+war story when I first started but here we are lol