Xi Chen woke up with a start. The morning sun was already filtering in through the only window in the room. He immediately cast his gaze towards the bed and found it empty. Seeing the empty bed was like having his head plunged straight into ice-cold water, which instantly jolted Xi Chen wide awake. He cursed silently as he tried to calm the sudden spike in anxiety by looking for traces of the young emperor in the room.

After taking in everything else in the scene, Xi Chen came to the conclusion that the rest of the room was seemingly untouched and it didn't look like there was a struggle. He also noticed that the emperor's hat and bag were both gone and deduced that the emperor was not forcefully taken. Xi Chen finally let out a breath that he wasn't even aware he was holding until just now but his anxiety was still running high and rapidly turning into a panic. He couldn't believe that the young emperor managed to sneak out right under his watch.

Xi Chen was about to rush towards the reception desk to ask if the innkeeper had seen anything when he caught a movement outside the open window on his periphery which made him automatically reach for his sword. Ye An was dangling nimbly from the top of the window sill with one hand, another hand holding what seemed to be breakfast.

"Morning, Lieutenant Yun. You look like you're seconds away from hyperventilating." Ye An swiftly slid into the room through the small window, the black organza on her hat flowing gracefully with her movement.

"Your Imperial Majesty! Where were you?" Xi Chen asked, his tone severe.

Ye An raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "I haven't even chastised you for your lack of vigilance. You didn't so much as flinch in your sleep when I left. How could I even trust my life with you?"

Xi Chen's ears reddened. For all his years in the military, he had never made any mistake or given others any chance to doubt his credibility. But he had a restless night and stayed up all night long before he was able to fall asleep right before dawn.

Judging from his facial expression, Ye An guessed that the young lieutenant was probably berating himself internally and decided to let it go. She handed him the breakfast she brought them. "Let's just quickly have some breakfast and head back. I still need to give my morning greetings to the Empress Mother. I don't want news of me sneaking out to reach her."

"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty." Xi Chen opened up the package that was handed to him and saw that it was going to be yet another bland meal.

"This is the most famous breakfast in the city. Pork porridge with you tiao." Ye An declared proudly. "The cooks at the palace should learn a thing or two from these vendors."

The porridge was in takeaway containers made from cuts of a large bamboo, while the you tiaos were wrapped in paper. Ye An dug into the food ravenously while Xi Chen took his time with it.

Noticing how the young lieutenant was picking at his food again, Ye An remarked seriously as she watched the lieutenant. "You better get used to the food here quick. Because I'll need to you be at your prime for what's to come."

When Ye An left the inn earlier, she didn't think that she would be back here having breakfast with this man in front of her. She was ready to return to the Imperial Palace without him to prove a point to Governess Hsu and maybe the Empress Mother.

But there were questions that she needed answers to and the first of all the questions that were bubbling in her mind was the invasion from ten years ago. It was something that bugged Ye An incessantly after hearing about the lieutenant muttering about it when he read the letter the day before. It was an invasion that she had never heard of.

After mulling over the pros and cons of having the lieutenant by her side as she strode along the empty streets in the wee hours of the morning, she came to a decision that being on good terms with the young lieutenant may be more advantageous. At least for now. A temporary alliance. So Ye An ended up buying some breakfast and headed back to the room that they shared.

"First of all, tell me about the invasion from ten years ago." Ye An started while the young lieutenant was in the midst of his meal.

"No one told you about it?" Xi Chen asked in between spoonfuls of porridge.

"If someone told me, do you think I'll ask you?" Ye An answered a bit spitefully.

"No." Xi Chen looked straight into Ye An's eyes.

Ye An only gave a sarcastic there-you-go face to the young lieutenant. Xi Chen hesitated for a moment. Everyone who was involved in what had happened or was in the northern region ten years ago was given strict orders to not spread the news of the incident. But this was the emperor, so Xi Chen decided to lay it all out.

"There was a similar invasion at the northern border ten years ago. I was recruited because of that." Xi Chen said simply before continuing with his meal.

"Hold on. How old were you then?" Ye An asked, trying to gauge how old the young lieutenant currently was and calculating his age ten years ago.

"I was thirteen."

"Thirteen.. That's too young." Ye An's eyebrows furrowed. The minimum age for official military conscriptions was sixteen and sixteen-year-olds would only be conscripted if there were no other older males in the family who could take the mantle.

"Not when there's a war."

This made Ye An put her spoon down in astonishment. "A war? I've never heard of a war. And proper military conscriptions should have been held if there was a war. They shouldn't be recruiting children." First, it was an invasion that she had never heard of. Now a war?

"There were many others like me at the time." Xi Chen said calmly and added after a slight pause, "And not many were lucky like me and survived."

"I have zero knowledge of this." The crease in between Ye An's eyebrows deepened.

"You were probably too young." Ye An would have just been a child ten years ago. It was understandable that the young emperor was not informed of the invasion and what happened afterward.

"I was only a year younger than you were. And even if the commoners don't know about it. I should have known."

Ye An had always sneaked out of the servants' supervision to sit outside the Throne Hall during court meetings that were held by the Empress Mother and General Shao to eavesdrop on the meeting agendas. She had never missed a court meeting since she turned nine. There would have been a commotion if there was a war, not secret recruitments of untrained children to fight for a war that was never transcribed into any of the history books.

"How long did the war last?" Ye An continued in concern.

"About three months."

"Three months.. That's a considerably long time. It should have been reported in some way during court meetings." Yet no reports were made and life at the capital and probably the rest of the country continued as usual.

"I think General Shao might have known about it and reported the situation to the Empress Mother. And they might have decided to not have the news out for whatever reason. We were ordered to not spread the word of what had happened when the war ended. If anyone else asked me, I wouldn't have answered."

"Huh." Ye An mulled over that thoughtfully. It was entirely possible for the Empress Mother and General Shao to cook up this cover-up. They probably didn't want people losing faith in them. Everyone in court seemed to think that everything was smooth-sailing for the twenty-two years that the Empress Mother was regent. Hold on, maybe not everyone.

"What was the name of the minister yesterday? The one who traveled over the northern border. He would have known about the war, wouldn't he?"

"Do you mean Minister Sze, Your Imperial Majesty? He probably wasn't affected as much since he lived in the Temple of Ninety Nine Blessings that's located so high up from the ground. But yes, he might have known about the war. At least heard about it. Besides him, there might have been other ministers in court who were from the northern region as well and were more affected by that incident. However, they might have been ordered to stay silent as well."

Ye An munched at the last of her you tiao thoughtfully before saying, "Lieutenant Yun, let's head back."

********

Back at the palace grounds, Ye An rushed to dress out of her commoner's clothes and into the emperor's formal attire. Once dressed, she headed towards the Empress Mother's residence with the young lieutenant.

"His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has arrived." One of the servants at the Empress Mother's residence door announced this time instead of the grand eunuch since Ye An didn't have her usual procession with her today.

"I, Ye An, am here to greet the Empress Mother." Ye An bowed as she entered the Empress Mother's residence, the beads on her crown swaying with the movement. Xi Chen took his place by the door outside as the doors closed.

As per usual, the Empress Mother was leisurely taking her morning meal on a low mahogany table as she sat on a soft cushion seat.

"Ah. Your Imperial Majesty, join me." The Empress Mother opened her arms welcomingly.

The servants hastily set up a place for Ye An that was directly opposite the Empress Mother.

"No need to fill my rice bowl." Ye An ordered the servants. She thanked the servants as an empty bowl was placed in front of her with the rest of the cutleries.

"Not hungry?" The Empress Mother raised a well-groomed eyebrow.

"Hmm." Ye An answered noncommittedly while helping herself with the dishes on the low table between her and the Empress Mother.

"I don't hear your usual procession today." The Empress Mother commented.

"Lieutenant Yun came with me today. He's standing guard outside." Ye An replied plainly as she picked at the vegetables before biting into them.

"Ah, right. So what do you think of him?" The Empress Mother visibly perked up at the mention of the young lieutenant.

"He's alright." Ye An answered frankly.

"Good to hear. Good to hear." The Empress Mother gave a superior smile that Ye An didn't like.

A tense silence fell between them throughout their meal until Ye An decided to speak again as they were finishing.

"So tell me, Your Majesty, why did you decide to attend the court meeting yesterday?" Instead of cutting through the tension, Ye An's question only managed to fuel it even more.

"What do you mean, Your Imperial Majesty?" The Empress Mother quirked an eyebrow as she picked up the teacup in front of her elegantly, lifting her pinky finger that was encased in a dainty metal nail guard in the process.

"I think you know what I mean." Ye An held her teacup and ran her thumb over its rim as she responded tersely,

"As I mentioned, I was simply trying to help my beloved grandchild along during this challenging transition period." The Empress Mother replied smoothly as she sipped on her tea.

"I don't believe you." Ye An's voice was resolute as she looked square into the Empress Mother's eyes. She came to a sudden realization that those eyes were probably more frigid than the coldest winter in the north.

"Believe what you want, Your Imperial Majesty." The Empress Mother replied indifferently before continuing. "So. About the invasion. You're not really considering an agreement with the Northerners, are you?"

"Why are you so invested in this matter?" Ye An's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she finally had her first sip of tea.

"Isn't that to be expected? My husband was the one who united this nation. Don't you think that keeping the country's unity is my duty as his wife to honor his memory?" The Empress Mother replied as a matter of factly.

"Your husband, Your Majesty, was also my grandfather. Or did you forget that? And if you must know, yes, I plan to go through with the agreement." Ye An declared, determination seeping into her voice.

"You're making a mistake here, Your Imperial Majesty. And I doubt that the court officials would agree to it." The Empress Mother warned Ye An dangerously.

"Even if I end up making a mistake, at least I won't shroud the entire issue in secrecy like a coward." Ye An finished the last of her tea before standing up and getting ready to leave.

The Empress Mother looked at Ye An pointedly. "Sometimes secrecy is what holds everything together." 

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