The Empress Mother narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Why don't you announce that on top of the Heavenly Gates?" Her quiet voice glazed with frost.

Ye An knew that she had crossed the line so she held her tongue this time.

The Empress Mother waved a hand elegantly and curtly ordered, "You can dismiss yourself. Make sure that Governess Hsu is informed of Lieutenant Yun's arrival."

Ye An could only purse her lips and reply, "Yes. Your Majesty.", before she stood up and left her grandmother's private residence.

*******

Ye An returned to the East Palace and let out a huff of frustration once she was alone in her chambers. She went straight to the low table at the corner of the room and started reading the scrolls that came in from the court officials of different provinces early this morning. After the fifth scroll, Ye An realized that nothing was registering and she was still immensely frustrated over her earlier interaction with the Empress Mother.

She took the emperor's crown off the top of her head and untied her formal robes, scattering those items haphazardly across her room before quickly changing into her hunting attire. Ye An tied her hair back into a neat bun, grabbed her bow and arrows, and was ready to head out to the archery range to let off some steam when Governess Hsu knocked at her door.

"Your Imperial Majesty?"

"Come in, Governess Hsu." Ye An replied.

Governess Hsu opened the doors and was surprised to see Ye An in her hunting gear. She closed the doors with one hand while balancing a breakfast tray on the other before turning back to Ye An.

"Your Imperial Majesty, I wasn't aware that you had archery scheduled on today's agenda." Governess Hsu remarked.

"Governess Hsu, how many times do I need to tell you that you can just call me by my name when it's just the two of us?" Ye An said.

"But it's never just the two of us, Your Imperial Majesty." Governess Hsu spoke demurely, insinuating the presence of the countless eyes and ears roaming around the palace.

Ye An paused for a moment. "You're right. How foolish of me. Anyway, I just needed some time alone to shoot some arrows."

Governess Hsu sighed knowingly. "But before that, you'll need some fuel. You probably haven't had your breakfast yet. Come, I've made you your favorite dumpling soup." Governess Hsu ushered Ye An back to the low table at the corner of the room.

Only then, Ye An realized that she was famished and her stomach rumbled at the smell wafting off the breakfast tray. Having some dumplings before archery wouldn't hurt. Ye An sat back down at the table and cleared the scrolls off it as Governess Hsu laid the tray down.

Being a royal, Ye An had her fair share of exotic foods from all over the country, and some were even imported from other parts of the world, but nothing could compare to Governess Hsu's dumplings. To Ye An, the dumplings were a reminder that she had someone who cared enough about her to fold intricate little meat pockets just for her and that had never failed to warm Ye An's heart every single time she had them. It also helped that Governess Hsu was such a great cook.

Ye An started on the dumplings as Governess Hsu sat opposite her, smiling fondly as she watched her eat like a mother would a child. In a way, Governess Hsu had filled up the motherly role in Ye An's life. The governess even went so far as to turn down every single marriage proposal that came her way just so that she could remain at the palace to personally take care of Ye An. To Ye An, Governess Hsu was like a beacon in a cold, dark place. Someone she could trust and rely on to support her regardless.

"Have you heard that the Empress Mother had arranged for a spy to follow me around?" Ye An said in between bites of dumplings.

"A spy?"

"A bodyguard." Ye An put her chopsticks down to put up quote marks as she said those words.

"Oh, yes. General Shao sent someone to notify me not too long ago." Governess Hsu replied amicably.

"Huh. How nice of him." Ye An remarked sarcastically.

"Your Imperial Majesty." Governess Hsu scolded gently.

"What? He's probably just a spy for the both of them." Ye An could barely contain the urge to roll her eyes.

"How do you know for sure that he's a spy? Maybe he's just an innocent bodyguard." Governess Hsu remarked, trying to be neutral regarding this matter.

Ye An scoffed at the idea. "Anything in relation to the Empress Mother will definitely not be innocent."

Governess Hsu saw that there was no point for this discussion to continue and just gently advised Ye An, "Just keep an open mind."

The only wish Governess Hsu has ever had for Ye An was that she would still see the good in anyone and anything no matter the circumstances, just like how the late Empress used to be. She was the gentlest and most pure-hearted person Governess Hsu had ever had the fortune to meet.

Governess Hsu looked at this young woman in front of her and saw the physical resemblance between her and her mother. For a moment, the image of the late Empress overlapped with the young woman in front of her. But unlike the late Empress who always wore an easy, gentle smile, Ye An had always had a facial expression that was far too serious for her age.

"I'll keep an open mind once the Empress Mother doesn't try to sabotage me every chance she gets." Ye An remarked carelessly, shrugging away Governess Hsu's advice. "So where would you arrange his chambers to be?"

"He would be right across." Governess Hsu replied quietly.

"What? But that's your residence! It has always been your residence!" Ye An exclaimed. Governess Hsu knew that Ye An was going to react this way.

"Not always. You've known your whole life that it's the residence of the emperor's personal bodyguard and I would need to move out from that place one day, Ye An." Governess Hsu used Ye An's name to soften the blow.

"No! It's not a residence for bodyguards! It is a residence for the person who is the most trusted by the emperor and I trust you the most, Governess Hsu! Not some hotshot lieutenant! I'll go talk to the Empress Mother right now!" Ye An stood up hastily and was ready to confront the Empress Mother herself.

"Your Imperial Majesty, this is not the behavior of an emperor." Governess Hsu grabbed Ye An's arm in a calm manner and said firmly. "Please sit."

Ye An could barely give order to her agitation but sat back down at Governess Hsu's request.

"Ye An, I know that this is hard for you. It's difficult for me too. But give it a chance. You do need a bodyguard now that you'll be going out in public. He could probably protect you better than I ever would. I've checked Lieutenant Yun's background. I don't think he'll cause you any harm." Governess Hsu told Ye An gently.

"I find it hard to believe. I find him, no, them hard to believe." Ye An stated.

"I know. But you do believe me, don't you?" Governess Hsu's eyes softened.

To which Ye An replied without hesitation. "Yes, of course."

"Then just trust me on this. And it's not like I'll be moving too far away. I'll still be in the East Palace, just another courtyard away. You could still call me over when you need me to be around. Hmm?" Governess Hsu tried to cheer Ye An up.

Ye An realized that the governess had made up her mind and just sighed in resignation. "Fine."

Governess Hsu seemed to be satisfied with the answer and nodded. "Now, finish your dumplings."

*******

At the archery range, Ye An was hitting the bull's eye again and again. The servant by the shooting board had a red flag which he waved into an 'O' signifying that it was yet another bull's eye.

All of a sudden, someone clapped boisterously behind Ye An as she was nocking another arrow. She turned around to face General Shao who was also in his hunting attire.

"General Shao." Ye An acknowledged General Shao's presence in the deeper voice she had been practicing. The deeper pitch just managed to pass as a male voice. If there was anyone who so much as suspected Ye An to be a woman, they might have noticed the slightly higher than average pitch.

"Your Imperial Majesty, that was a great shot. And I see that all of your previous shots were true as well." General Shao praised.

"Thank you. That's such a high praise coming from an accomplished archer such as yourself, General Shao." Ye An attempted to flatter the general. Two can play at this game.

"I am merely speaking the truth." General Shao replied unabashedly.

"I believe you're the one I need to thank for my new bodyguard?" Ye An asked, already getting tired of the interaction. The archery range was situated in the private residential area of the imperial family. Throughout the years, Ye An had an inkling of the true nature of the relationship between her grandmother and the general. So she didn't even bother asking why he was here. As long as they didn't interfere with her life, she didn't care one way or the other.

"Ah, yes. Lieutenant Yun. One of our finest officers in a long time. People call him the White Tiger like the namesake of his sword." General Shao answered.

Like Ye An cared about whatever he just said. The man could be the White Tiger, Black Bear, Anaconda King, and she still couldn't care less.

Outwardly, Ye An pretended to be engaged by the topic and replied, "He sounds like a trooper."

"Of course. Your grandmother wanted the best for you." General Shao said.

"Of course." Ye An nodded, wishing that their conversation had ended before she was even born. "I guess I'll leave you to your practice then. I don't want to intrude."

"It's alright. It would be my pleasure to have the emperor intruding on my archery sessions."

"I'm done with my practice so there's no point in me hanging around here anymore. Besides, as you've said, I'm an emperor now and I have emperor matters to attend to. But, please, enjoy the rest of your day, General Shao." With that, Ye An left the archery range. She thought she couldn't leave any quicker. General Shao had always given Ye An the creeps. She had no idea why the Empress Mother would choose this man to be her lover. Ye An shivered in disgust as she quickened her pace.

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