Ye An read the first sentence on the piece of paper and realized that this must be how the rumors had circulated. Besides the statement about Ye An being a woman, there were also side-by-side drawings of the late Emperor Lee Hwi and another man who the writer claimed to be the long-lost eldest son of the late Great Emperor Lee Gang. 

"Who's spreading these goddamned flyers?" Ye An's worry had morphed into the beginning embers of fury. "If the grand eunuch was telling the truth then this should be something that was prepared by General Shao. And since he's not here, that means at least one other person knows about the truth. Or else they won't be so brazen as to do this. I don't gamble but my bet is on Minister Hu. Or Minister Peng. Or maybe even both of them." Ye An gritted her teeth as she brusquely passed the flyer to Xi Chen. She had half her mind on stopping the chariot there and then to find the culprit. But she knew this was not the time. Ah Lin needed them and the northern troop needed them.

Xi Chen scrutinized the flyer in his hand. The drawing of the man that was beside the portrait of the late Emperor Lee Hwi looked exactly the same as the late emperor, except for the small tilt in his smile and the gauntness in his cheeks. "Or General Shao might have been colluding with the ministers." Xi Chen commented solemnly, well aware of the weight of what that meant.

Ye An knitted her eyebrows. "If so, this would end in a disaster." She knew that if General Shao had conspired with the court officials against her, the scene from that blood-drenched night twenty-two years ago would be repeated. Even the most puritanical of the court ministers were defending the honors of the now disgraced general. She then shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Doesn't matter. For now, we will deal with it once the disturbance at the northern border is quelled. Let's handle things one at a time."

Ye An's eyes then suddenly widened. "Come to think of it, I haven't heard from Minister Sze for almost a week now." Ye An said, suddenly remembering that Sze Chang had not returned from the time he attended Chieftain Burat's funeral in her stead. The last time she had heard from him was when he wrote to her informing her that the funeral had gone smoothly and he would be expected to return a few days later. Their communication went silent after that and Ye An was too preoccupied with the Empress Mother's funeral and the subsequent adjustments to follow up with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Ye An frowned in concern. "I hope he's safe."

The rest of their journey continued in silence. But as they were nearing the northern border, the tumultuous noises of battle and war reached their ears. The closer they get to the military barracks just stationed by the border, the louder the commotion became.

Xi Chen's eyes sharpened as his adrenaline skyrocketed. "Your Imperial Majesty, I might need to leave you once we arrive at the military barracks. Wait for me in my room."

Ye An merely looked at Xi Chen in calm defiance. "Do you think I asked to join you here just so I could take a nap in your quarters?"

"That's not what I meant." Xi Chen replied in a calm manner similar to hers, knowing instinctively that he was treading dangerous waters.

"Then, do you doubt my military abilities? Or is it because I'm a woman?" Ye An raised an eyebrow in question.

Xi Chen sighed but didn't even hesitate when he answered. "Your Imperial Majesty, I never once, and never will, doubt your abilities and capabilities. In fact, I revere them. The reason for my request is not because you're a woman either. It's because you're our monarch and sovereign. Even when other people question it, I'll never have any doubts about it. Not in a million years. And that's why I worry." Xi Chen paused.

Ye An thought he had finished talking and was about to tell him he should just worry about himself and that she could take care of herself all too well when Xi Chen spoke again.

"I worry that I wouldn't be able to protect you in the chaos of the battle. That it takes only one second, one lapse of judgment, and I'll lose you." There was another pause, this time shorter, where Xi Chen looked to the bamboo floor of the chariot, his face conflicted. It might have been because of the adrenaline currently coursing through his veins, or maybe there was some doubt in his mind that they might never see each other again after the battle, that when he made eye contact with Ye An again, he added, "And it also doesn't help that I'm hopelessly in love with you."

Ye An felt as if she was unceremoniously swept off her feet by the sudden confession. All of a sudden, the large coach of the royal chariot felt stiflingly intimate. She pulled her gaze away and cleared her throat. "Don't worry about me. I might not possess your level of swordsmanship, but I did train under the best swordsman in the country. I'd like to think that those excruciating lessons paid off and I could hold myself in a battle."

Xi Chen was still reluctant to have Ye An follow him into battle but he understood that Ye An was a person of her own right and respected her decision. Besides that, he just knew that he wouldn't be able to win Ye An over on this matter anyway. For those reasons, Xi Chen decided to drop the subject and honor her wishes. "Alright."

Ye An brought her gaze back onto Xi Chen again to give him a smile of gratitude. However, before that, Xi Chen added, "But don't you dare die on me." This was the first time Xi Chen spoke to Ye An with an almost threatening tone that it made her do a double-take. However, she managed to recover almost instantly.

"Of course I won't." Because I love you too. She wanted to say the last part out loud to reciprocate Xi Chen's confession but the words got lost in her throat as they were on their way out. It's alright, there's always next time.

The royal chariot pulled up on the far side of the military barracks.

Ye An faced the coachman when they had disembarked from the royal chariot. "You should travel back to the Imperial Palace. I'll send a pigeon when things are settled here and you can come and get me then. This is no place for a civilian."

The coachman bowed at Ye An in grateful reverence. "Thank you for your grace, Your Imperial Majesty. I will forever keep your kindness in mind."

After they bid farewell to the coachman, Xi Chen brought Ye An to the armory which was fortunately located on this side of the military barracks.

The door to the armory was locked but Xi Chen pulled a key out from the folds of his clothes to unlock it. As the heavy door creaked open, Xi Chen said, "Your Imperial Majesty, just pick whichever weapon that you'd like to have."

Ye An's gaze was immediately attracted to the lightweight double-edged sword that was sitting on the worn surface of a wooden table to the right of the armory. Unlike the conventional heavy sword that she usually practiced with during her training, the blade of this sword was sleekly narrow with clean lines. Ye An picked the sword up and weighed the weapon in her hand before noticing the soft smile on Xi Chen's mouth.

"What is it?"

"That was the first sword I used during the invasion ten years ago. Even though White Tiger could give a heavier blow, I'm still partial to this sword. It's light and efficient. It's a sword you would use when you want the battle to end quickly."

Ye An returned her gaze towards the sword as she palmed the well-worn handle in her hand and imagined young Xi Chen brandishing it. A faint smile appeared at the thought. "I'll take this."

"Are you sure, Your Imperial Majesty? Don't get me wrong, it is a good sword but there are other better swords here." Xi Chen asked.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Xi Chen nodded. "Alright, then do you want to get anything else?"

"I think I'll take a crossbow." Ye An said as she walked towards the other side of the armory where a tall rack was situated. On the rack, there were only a few crossbows left.

"I guess the archers on the wall took most of them." Xi Chen remarked as he looked at the bare rack, the light colors in his hazel eyes suddenly turning dark as he came to fully realized the severity of the situation. He knew that the soldiers always joked about how there were too many crossbows at the troop's disposal because only about half of those were used during every shift. But now, the rack was almost empty.

Xi Chen turned to look at Ye An. "Your Imperial Majesty, we need to make it to Ah Lin as soon as possible."

"Sure. I'll just grab the crossbow and arrows."

Ye An picked the nearest crossbow and a quiver of arrows while Xi Chen selected a few daggers that were sitting on a stool beside the rack of crossbows and slid them into the hidden compartment just inside his boots.

Xi Chen stood back up. "Are you ready, Your Imperial Majesty?"

"Yes."

"Then, let's go. Please stay close."

Ye An followed Xi Chen toward the massive fortress of a wall that marked the border between the two nations. The wall was dotted with towers every five hundred or so meters. At the base of these towers, there were small doors made out of weathered wooden planks. Xi Chen entered through the door of one of the towers with Ye An right behind him. The door opened to a narrow stone stairwell lined with uneven stone steps worn out by generations of soldiers.

Both of them hurriedly climbed up the tower until they arrived at the top of the wall. When Ye An climbed out of the stairwell, she could see that they were in a room with a roof covered above them, but it was not a conventional room enclosed by four walls. On both sides were wide open arched doorways and Ye An could see that all of the towers were connected by walled corridors with small bonfires lighted up at intervals. And currently, they were filled with soldiers rushing about with a sense of urgency coloring the atmosphere. Most of them were archers who were shooting out arrows but there were a few of them who were manning catapults to send fireballs towards the invaders.

Each of the catapults was manned by two soldiers. One to adjust the tension of the catapult and another to douse balls of fabric in oil and lighting them up. "Ready. Set. Fire!"

"Lieutenant Yun! You're here!" One of the soldiers finally recognized Xi Chen as he rushed past them and stopped to greet him. As he took in the dragon motifs on Ye An's clothes, the soldier quickly kneeled. "Your Imperial Majesty!"

"At ease. Don't waste time on formalities. Stand up, soldier." Ye An ordered.

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty." The soldier stood up hastily.

Xi Chen had a stern look on his face. "Where's Captain Zhang? Why isn't he here at the commander's post?"

"The Northerners tried to knock the door down a while ago and soldiers on the ground were having some difficulties holding the door. Captain Zhang brought some men down to ward off the Northerners' efforts." The soldier informed.

Xi Chen furrowed his brows.

Just then, a loud boom was heard as the Northerners tried to break through the border. Xi Chen and Ye An walked out of the tower and into the corridor on their right to peer toward the direction of the gigantic door of the wall.

On the other side of the wall, an enormous piece of tree trunk that seemed to be cut from a century-old tree was secured under a gargantuan frame made of similarly sturdy tree trunks. While both of them were watching, the Northern army pulled the tree trunk back, letting it sway away from the border doors. Ye An could hear the guttural voice that must have been an order to release the heavy tree trunk because the Northern soldiers let go of it the moment the order was given. The hefty tree trunk swayed towards the door in an earth-shattering boom.

A loud crack was heard as the door finally gave in. And all hell broke loose.

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