Ye An was at the desk in Xi Chen's quarters with a screen separating her and Xi Chen. She had followed Xi Chen back here. Ah Lin remained at the commander's post just in case there were any new developments with the enemy lines.

Without the grand eunuch by her side, Ye An took the inkstone and started preparing some ink. While she did that, she could hear the muffled sounds of clothing rubbing against each other as Xi Chen changed behind the screen.

It's curious how domestically normal it felt to Ye An to be in this situation.

"What are you writing?" Xi Chen asked when he heard the grinding sound of the inkstone.

Ye An didn't answer.

"Ye An..?" Xi Chen called out, testing the waters. He knew something was off. There was an unusual tensed silence that had accompanied their walk back here.

Still, Ye An didn't answer.

"Ye An?" Xi Chen called out once again.

"A letter." Ye An answered a little too harshly.

By then, Xi Chen was already dressed and ready to leave for the infirmary so he came over to Ye An to peer over her shoulders.

"Who are you penning that letter to?"

"Adlai." Ye An gave no further explanation.

"For?"

"I don't think you need to know all of my business." Ye An said out loud but continued in a mutter. "When I don't know all of yours."

Xi Chen was not only blessed with an observant eye, but also sharp ears too so he definitely caught that.

Xi Chen couldn't help but notice that this was out of character for her who was, albeit a little bit stubborn, mostly level-headed. "...Alright. Do you want to join me at the infirmary? You might suddenly think of questions to ask the Northerners."

"Why would I want to?"

Xi Chen sighed. He gently plucked the brush out of Ye An's hand and hung it back on the brush rack before turning the entire chair so that Ye An was now facing him which startled Ye An. With her now directly in front of him, Xi Chen confronted Ye An. "Alright. That's it. Do you want to tell me what's wrong? I know that I could usually guess what was upsetting you but this time I really couldn't figure it out."

Ye An was jarred. But then realizing that she was being a wet rag, she sighed as well. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way. It's childish."

"No, no need for an apology. Tell me what's bothering you. I want to know." Xi Chen held her hand in his as he kneeled on one knee in front of her.

For some reason, Ye An was embarrassed to admit what was suddenly so clear to her. She turned her head away to avoid eye contact. "It's nothing. I'm being ridiculous."

Xi Chen scooted up and towered over her with his hands planted firmly on the arm rest on both sides of the chair, effectively trapping Ye An so that she couldn't escape. He then delicately turned her face to him with one hand and placed his forehead on hers. "Tell me."

Ye An's eyes wavered as she looked into Xi Chen's gold-speckled ones. "You never told me about Yue Fei."

Xi Chen raised an eyebrow in surprise as he stood back up. "Oh."

"Oh?" Ye An was flustered at the lackluster response. "Oh?"

"No. No. Wait." Xi Chen said when he sensed Ye An's building infuriating.

Ye An let out a breath to calm herself. "Fine."

"Did Ah Lin tell you?"

"Thank goodness he told me or I would've been in the dark for god knows how long."

"Did he also tell you everything that I've confessed to him after I met you? Even when I thought you were a man at the time?"

Ye An cocked her head in sudden intrigue.

Xi Chen nodded. "Of course not. He's such a troublemaker." He ended the statement with an exasperated shake of his head.

"What I felt for Yue Fei was merely a childish infatuation and nothing else. She was someone I came to rely on because I was a child who just lost everything that I was familiar with. That is all. I was a child who wanted other people's affection to make myself happy. With you, it was different. I wanted to give you whatever I could so that you are happy. So that you are safe. To me, my happiness is secondary to yours. And I don't see that changing. Not now. Not ever."

Ye An ruminated on those words. The clearness in Xi Chen's eyes as he said them wiped away any lingering thoughts that she might have had. She was suddenly aware of how foolish her actions and words were and was thoroughly ashamed about it. "I'm sorry for acting so childishly."

Xi Chen only shook his head and took a step towards her to give her an embrace and a tender kiss on top of her head. "There's no need for any apology. And thank you for telling me about it."

When he let her go of her, he asked again. "Would you like to go to the infirmary with me?"

"You go ahead. I'll join you later after I sent this letter."

"Do you want to tell me what the letter is about now?"

"It's just.. I'm trying to see if my gut instinct is right."

Xi Chen nodded in understanding. "Alright. Then you take your time. It'll probably take some time to interrogate them anyway."

Xi Chen then placed another kiss on her forehead before leaving.

Ye An couldn't help herself from feeling the flutters in her chest at the gesture. She tried to savor and bask in the moment, but it was short-lived. She had a letter to write.

Even though she only met Prince Adlai a couple of months ago, she felt strongly that the prince is her greatest ally right now. She hoped that she was right.

As Ye An took the brush in her hand again, she tried to chain the words that would be written on the letter. Then, she pulled a piece of paper towards her. It had been some time since anyone used the stationery in this room and so there was dust on the items that were bound to accumulate. Ye An simply brushed the paper with the back of her hand and flicked the brush towards the floor to get rid of most of the dust on the bristles before dipping the tip of the brush into the well of ink on the inkstone.

She held the brush over the parchment for some time as she ruminated on her choice of words.

"Dear Adlai-"

*******

The infirmary was actually located quite near to Xi Chen's quarters. Therefore, it took him no time before he arrived at the entrance of the courtyard that housed the building.

As Xi Chen stepped into the threshold, he saw that there were patients that poured out from the main infirmary building. Makeshift beds made from dried hay were laid on the cobblestoned courtyard for soldiers with injuries that were deemed less serious; while those with more severe injuries were treated in the infirmary building if the moans and yells were to be interpreted. Yue Fei who was nursing one of the soldiers in the courtyard hurried towards Xi Chen when she saw him.

"Both of them are currently in the medicine room." Yue Fei said, indicating the smaller building separate from the main infirmary where all of the medicinal supplies were stocked. "I figured that it would be better to have them separated from the rest."

"That's a good call. You go ahead with what you were doing. I'll need some privacy with the Northerners." Xi Chen said.

"Of course. I have a couple of my disciples guarding the room. Just let them know if you need any assistance."

"Sure." Xi Chen replied and was ready to head towards the direction of the medicine room before turning back to Yue Fei. "Oh, and His Imperial Majesty would be here soon. Send him my way when he arrives."

"Sure thing." Yue Fei nodded thoughtfully as she returned to the soldier she was attending to earlier.

"Give us some privacy." Xi Chen nodded at the men guarding the medicine room as he arrived. The men nodded back in acknowledgment before unlocking the door for him and stepping away from the room.

The wooden door creaked loudly as he pushed it open. The bittersweet aroma of medicinal herbs and spices instantly assaulted Xi Chen's senses.

The room was originally a wooden shed that was used to store outdoor tools before being converted into a storage room for medicinal ingredients and supplies. The windows were boarded up so that the room was always kept cool and dark to preserve the herbs and spices that were being kept here.

Therefore when Xi Chen entered, the room was dim with only a few rays of sunlight peeking through the cracks of the wooden wall. He could only see snippets of the two men who were currently lying on the same makeshift bed made of hay that he saw outside in the courtyard.

Xi Chen remembered that there was an oil lamp that was always placed near the door. He held a hand out to his right and tried to feel for it. His hand hit the cold glass on the lamp and a small bundle of dry wooden sticks beside it which he used to light the oil lamp with.

The warm glow of the flames instantly filled the room. Both men on the makeshift beds squinted their eyes at the sudden brightness.

The men had vastly different physiques. The man on the left was bulky in size and stature. He had a closely-shaven head with a thin braid running from the nape of his neck to his waist. The one on the right was a scrawny man with a large scar running down from the edge of an eye patch that was over his left eye that disappeared into the collar of his shirt. The men collectively ignored Xi Chen and looked away as soon as they laid eyes on him.

Xi Chen then started asking questions. "Do you know how to speak our language?"

Both men continued to ignore him. Xi Chen pursed his lips. He was sure that he caught the bulky man rolling his eyes at his question, but both of them continued to look at anywhere but in Xi Chen's direction. Xi Chen suddenly wished that Sze Chang was here to be the translator. At least then they wouldn't be able to feign ignorance.

"Who gave you the order to attack our wall?" Xi Chen continued sternly, his eyes never leaving those impenetrable men.

"Why-" Xi Chen continued, slowly losing his patience. "-did you attack us?"

Both of the Northerners remained still as rocks.

"I've been too lenient, haven't I?" Xi Chen's voice was still, his eyes suddenly sharpening. "I guess you'll talk better in the prison underground."

As Xi Chen had observed, the bulky man wasn't as good as the scrawny man at concealing his emotions. He turned to Xi Chen to scoff at him but suddenly stopped when he properly laid his eyes on Xi Chen.

The bulky man nudged the scrawny man beside him who was still adamantly ignoring Xi Chen. The scrawny man seemed pretty annoyed by his own comrade as he turned to look at him.

"Look at his eyes." The bulky man gurgled in Northern.

The scrawny man with an eye patch finally rested his gaze on Xi Chen. His only visible eye held the most unkind eyes Xi Chen had ever seen. But Xi Chen also noticed that even under the orange light of the flames, the man's eye color seemed eerily similar to his own.

"Huh. So what those people who fought Emperor Ye An said was true then. Didn't think that one of us would be so close to the throne." The scrawny man muttered to himself before finally addressing Xi Chen in the common tongue. "My boy, those are some pretty Northern eyes that you have right there."

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