"Does Prince Adlai know that we're coming to get him?" Sze Chang asked when the three of them were in the chariot and well on their way to the inn.

"I already asked Ah Lin to relay the message this morning." Xi Chen replied.

"Oh? Captain Zhang is still here?" Sze Chang raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

Ye An answered this time. "Yes, he'll be escorting Prince Adlai back once his stay here is over." To which Sze Chang merely nodded in acknowledgment.

Since the inn was only a street away, the chariot arrived at its destination in no time. When they arrived, they saw Ah Lin and Prince Adlai practicing martial arts on the front lawn of the inn. Ah Lin had the foreign prince hold a cushion out for him to use as a punching bag.

"Adlai, hold it up and out a little bit. Yes, yes. A liiiittle bit to the right. Yes. That's perfect." Ah Lin gave Prince Adlai a thumbs up and a wink before hitting at it without even attempting to soften his blows.

"Ah Lin! What are you doing?!" Xi Chen yelled in disbelief as he entered the front lawn. He couldn't begin to fathom how his friend had actually made the foreign royalty his personal martial arts assistant.

Ah Lin jumped at the sudden outburst and held a hand over his heart. "Goodness! Xi Chen, you scared me!"

"My apologies, Prince Adlai. My brother is a slow wit and doesn't understand social cues." Xi Chen apologized hurriedly on behalf of Ah Lin before turning to Sze Chang. "Minister Sze, could you help me translate my apology to Prince Adlai."

"Hey! No! Don't translate that!" Ah Lin pointed a finger at Sze Chang in a hurry to stop him and then turned to Xi Chen. "Who are you calling a slow wit, huh?"

While Ah Lin was bickering with Xi Chen, Prince Adlai spoke to Sze Chang in Northern. "I hope he's not being misunderstood. I was the one who wanted to join him because I didn't have much to do."

Sze Chang smiled. "I'll relay your message then, Prince Adlai."

"Please. Just call me Adlai. Even the Northerners only call me by my name."

"Of course, Adlai."

On the other hand, Ye An gave an exasperated sigh at being the one sandwiched between Ah Lin and Xi Chen. "Come on now. Break it off."

Ah Lin reluctantly stopped his verbal attacks on Xi Chen and Sze Chang took this window of opportunity to explain the situation.

"See! I saw him lingering when I was practicing and I just knew he wanted to join even if we don't speak the same language. Now, who's the slow wit?" Ah Lin glared at Xi Chen.

"Alright. I'm sorry." Xi Chen apologized.

Ah Lin grabbed Xi Chen in his signature headlock and cracked into a smile. "Fine, you're forgiven. One of the reasons I like you is that your apologies come quick."

"Alright, I'm glad both of you made up. Can we go now?" Ye An asked in disinterest.

That made Ah Lin look up at Ye An from his headlock on Xi Chen. "Go? Go where?"

"Around the capital. Before moving the prince to the palace." Ye An explained.

"The prince is moving to the Imperial Palace?" Ah Lin asked innocently.

"Yes, and you'll be moving in with me. Can you let go now? I can't breathe." Xi Chen choked.

"Oh, oh. Sorry, I forgot I had you in a headlock." Ah Lin apologized.

Ye An suddenly remembered that she haven't informed Prince Adlai about his change in accommodation. "Minister Sze, could you inform Prince Adlai of the arrangements?"

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty." Sze Chang bowed at Ye An. However, before he got to relay Ye An's message, Prince Adlai already replied.

"But I have a few servants with me, will they move in with me as well?" Prince Adlai frowned.

"Oh, and Minister Sze." Ye An suddenly added. "His servants could move into the servants' quarters in the palace with the other palace servants."

"He's saying that they could move into the Imperial Palace as well?" Prince Adlai asked Sze Chang.

"Yes, Adlai. Do you perhaps understand our common tongue?"

"Yes, my great-grandfather wanted me to learn the languages of all our nearby countries so that we could forge friendships easier. But I'm not good at speaking it and my accent is too thick, so I'm a little bit embarrassed to speak out loud." Prince Adlai smiled meekly.

"Oh, you shouldn't be. It's admirable that you know a foreign language. And besides, you could practice while you're here. My accent is also all wrong when I speak Northern." Sze Chang said reassuringly.

"You're too humble, Minister Sze."

"Oh, you can just call me Chang."

"Alright, Chang. Please also let the rest know that I'd preferred it if they just call me Adlai."

On the other side of the front lawn, Ah Lin's voice rang from the inn's entrance. He was about to put all the stuff he took out for his martial arts training earlier back in his room. "Do I need to pack everything now? Or will we come back here afterward before heading back to the Imperial Palace?"

"Just put your martial arts stuff back. We'll come back later." Ye An answered.

"Understood, Your Impe-" Ah Lin yelled from across the lawn before noticing Xi Chen's and Ye An's glares of warning. "Understood! I'll be quick!"

"Your Imperial Majesty, I think I'll help Ah Lin and watch over him in case he does anything stupid." Xi Chen informed Ye An quietly with his eyes still on Ah Lin's disappearing figure.

"Sure, go ahead." Ye An replied. Then, she turned to Sze Chang. "What were you talking with Prince Adlai about, Minister Sze?"

"Oh, he just mentioned that he wants us to call him Adlai. That even his people only call him by his name. And he actually knows our common tongue but is just too shy to speak." Sze Chang smiled.

"But there's no need to. I don't even know how to speak Northern. He should be proud that he knows a language that's not his own mother tongue."

"That was what I told him. And I even told him that he could just converse with us as practice."

Ye An nodded in agreement.

"So does that mean that he understands what I say?" Ye An asked Sze Chang but it was Prince Adlai who nodded, affirming his understanding of the local common tongue.

"We'll just bring you around the city and come back in the evening for your belongings and your servants could follow us then. Do you have a palanquin of your own to carry you and your stuff later?"

Prince Adlai nodded before requesting Sze Chang to translate a sentence for him.

"Your Imperial Majesty, Adlai is saying that he needs to head back in to inform his servants to pack so please excuse him."

"Yes, sure. Go ahead, Prin-, Adlai."

"Do both of you want to come in while you wait? The sunlight is getting stronger." Prince Adlai asked and Sze Chang translated to Ye An.

"Oh, it's fine. The weather's not that bad and this is probably one of the few times I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face before the cold settles in. But, Minister Sze, if you'd like to head indoors, please go ahead."

"I'm fine with staying outside as well." Sze Chang simply replied.

Prince Adlai nodded understandingly and turned away.

"Oh! And Adlai, here's a change of clothes." Ye An said as she walked over to hand him the packed clothes that she was holding. "It'll help you blend into the crowd. And it would be less stifling than the clothes you're wearing. The size should fit you alright."

"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty." Prince Adlai thanked in his heavy accent and went inside.

There was an uncomfortable silence once Ye An and Sze Chang were left alone. The usually bright Sze Chang always seemed to dim whenever he met Ah Lin. For some reason, he couldn't perk himself enough to be as playful as he usually was with Ah Lin around who was still able to remain as his mischievous self even in the emperor's presence.

Ye An decided to break the silence. "So, I haven't gotten the chance to ask you more about how you've learned Northern. You mentioned that it was a man who was recuperating at the Temple of Ninety-Nine Blessings who taught you?"

Sze Chang was momentarily stunned by the sudden question but replied, "Yes."

"What made you decide to learn Northern though?"

"When you're up in the mountains, you don't really have much to do." Sze Chang smiled. "But it was mostly because I found him interesting when the monks brought him back. Up until then, I've never really been in contact with anyone other than the temple monks. Of course, I've been to a nearby town a few times before that but it was always only a short trip and I've never met a Northerner before."

Sze Chang's eyes turned glassy as he reminisced. "I was a shy and quiet kid when I first met him. But he fascinated me and I started hanging around his room more and more. Whenever I was finished with my daily tasks at the temple, I'll drop by the courtyard where his room was. He noticed this and invited me to join him. He probably just wanted someone to kill time with. And that's why he decided to teach me Northern."

Sze Chang smiled at the memory. "He was a warm and friendly person. Captain Zhang actually reminds me a little bit of him. He was always energetic as well. Even though he was bedridden the entire time he was at the temple, his spirit had never suffered. My father actually passed away just a few weeks before the monks brought him in and he was a really good distraction for me then."

Ye An smiled wistfully at Sze Chang's softened expression. "What was his name?"

"Enkh." Sze Chang said in a heavy Northern accent.

"Did you ever get to meet him again?" Ye An asked softly.

Sze Chang's eyes darken at an unpleasant memory that resurfaced, but it was so brief that it wasn't caught by Ye An. "Unfortunately, no."

"Well, I hope that you'll meet Enkh again once things settle down between our two countries." Ye An clumsily attempted to pronounce Enkh's name.

A facial expression complex with emotions took over Sze Chang's usually calm and pleasant face but Ye An missed it yet again as she turned away in that split second to walk towards a stone bench just beside the inn's entrance.

"Come, Minister Sze. Let us sit while we wait. They're taking longer than I expected." Ye An said as she patted on the space beside her that snapped Sze Chang out of his trance.

"Oh. I don't think that it's appropriate for me to sit with you like an equal, Your Imperial Majesty." Sze Chang bowed apologetically.

"Oh, don't worry, Minister Sze. I'm not out for official business so I'm basically just a regular lord now."

Sze Chang hesitated before plopping himself beside Ye An. "Alright, Your Imperial Majesty."

"So, Minister Sze. How long did it take for you to master Northern?"

Sze Chang chuckled. "I'm hardly a master; it's still difficult for me to read the language. But Enkh was probably there for at least a few months. He was brought in during the beginning of summer and left the temple during late winter. Except for the first few weeks when he was too weak, he was teaching me the entire time. So I guess, I learned for at least seven months?"

Sze Chang's statement sobered Ye An. "Oh? Seven months? I thought that I'd take up Northern while Adlai is here. But he'll be here for less time than that."

"At least seven months, Your Imperial Majesty. It might have taken longer. I just don't remember the exact time. Another thing to be taken note of is that I didn't have other obligations at the time and studied for hours every day without rest. Language is such an intricate matter that it might take a very long time before one could converse in another language."

Sze Chang's statement drove Ye An deep into her thoughts.

"Don't worry, Your Imperial Majesty. Since Prince Adlai will be with us until the end of the winter, you'd probably be able to at least pick up some phrases."

As they were talking, Xi Chen and Ah Lin came out of the inn with Prince Adlai trailing behind them.

Ah Lin bounced in jolly exuberance, closely resembling a puppy who was excited about a walk. "Are we ready for some adventure?!"

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