Back at the East Palace, Xi Chen approached Ye An slowly like he was approaching a small jumpy animal.

Xi Chen started in his gentlest tone. "Your Imperial Majesty, Governess Hsu is preparing the medicine for your pain. She left me here in case you woke up."

"But.. My clothes, the wound.."

Realizing her concern, Xi Chen replied calmly as he poured a cup of water for Ye An while still keeping an eye on her. "Don't worry, Governess Hsu was the one who tended to those. Here, drink this."

Ye An drank the entire cup of water in one shot to calm herself. Once her mind was settled enough, she asked quietly, "Do you know now?"

"About?" Xi Chen asked in genuine curiosity.

Ye An pursed her lips and shook her head. "Nevermind. You can leave now that I'm up and fine."

Xi Chen ignored Ye An's dismissal. Taking an educated guess, he replied to her question from before. "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty, I know. The grand eunuch confirmed my suspicions and Governess Hsu briefly told me about it when we were on our way back." Before Ye An could answer to that, Xi Chen continued, "But don't worry, I don't have a habit of spilling someone else's secret."

"Alright." Ye An sighed as she propped herself up and looked out the window by her bed. Realizing the lieutenant wasn't leaving, she asked, "Why are you not leaving?"

"I'm also in charge of your well-being until Governess Hsu comes back." Xi Chen replied simply.

"Suit yourself then." Ye An replied as she turned to look out the window again.

After a long time, Xi Chen picked up his courage to ask, "May I ask why?"

"Why what?"

"Why disguise yourself as a man?" Xi Chen asked bluntly.

Ye An wordlessly looked at the wind chime hanging over her window that was tinkling with the slow mid-afternoon breeze. She had always loved the quiet tinkling of the wind chime which could always calm her nerves but it was only jangling on them now.

Seeing that Ye An wasn't answering, Xi Chen's eyes softened. "It's alright if you don't want to answer."

Ye An sighed again as she started, still not looking at Xi Chen. "Do you know about the rebellion that happened twenty-two years ago?"

"Yes, I've heard of it. But I don't really know about the details."

"I was born that night. And I was the only heir to Emperor Lee Hwi. A girl. But the Empress Mother decided to announce that a prince was born instead."

"But you could've just become the first female emperor. The position is your birthright."

Ye An smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, according to history and the Empress Mother, not everyone is as forward-thinking as you, Lieutenant Yun. I don't want to admit that the Empress Mother's right, but she's probably right about that."

Up until this point, there were no records of a woman being an emperor. There were regents who were women but those were also historically unwelcomed by the court. The Empress Mother was an exception and it was all due to her having General Shao who was well-respected by the court officials by her side.

Ye An finally turned away from the window as she passed the empty cup to Xi Chen. "So to ensure that the imperial family stays in power, the Empress Mother decided that I should be announced as a male heir. And things just escalated from then on."

Silence followed until Ye An saw the facial expression that Xi Chen was wearing on his face. "Don't need to put on such a long face, Lieutenant Yun. I'm used to this life."

Xi Chen frowned. "I just think that it's a shame that you spend your entire life living a life that's shrouded in secrets."

Ye An could only give Xi Chen a sad smile. "That is the life that was handed to me."

Xi Chen's frown deepened. "But what about when the time comes to pick a bride? It would be happening soon, isn't it? Since the coronation was months ago."

The lieutenant did have a point. What then? "Ah, well. I'll think about it when the time comes."

"Ye An!" Governess Hsu exclaimed as she stepped into the emperor's chambers while holding a tray with a bowl of freshly-brewed medicine on it.

"Governess Hsu, you startled me!" Ye An said as she held a hand over her heart. It was quickly succeeded by a joke. "I would've gotten hurt more often if I knew that it would make you call me by my name."

"Hush! Don't say such a thing!" Governess Hsu haphazardly placed the tray on one of the small side tables as she rushed over to fuss over Ye An. "How are you? Any pain anywhere?"

"Yes! I have a terrible pain.." Ye An said as she clutched at herself.

Alarmed, the governess asked worriedly, "Where?! Your wound??" Even Xi Chen was agitated.

"In my heart. Because you scolded me." Ye An gave Governess Hsu a mischievous smile at the end.

"Don't joke about such a thing!" Governess Hsu slapped at Ye An's arms.

"Ouch! You're abusing a patient! You're making my wound worse!" Ye An complained. Xi Chen had never seen the emperor being so carefree with anyone else.

"How funny, like I don't know that it was the other side that got hurt." Governess Hsu expressed matter-of-factly.

"I agree with Governess Hsu. It's not even a funny joke." Xi Chen suddenly added in a serious tone.

Ye An raised an eyebrow at the lieutenant. He had always been so pleasantly accommodating to her. It was refreshing to see him stand up to her for once.

However, Ye An's attention quickly returned to Governess Hsu. "Anyway, to answer your question seriously this time, there's a slight pain at my wound but I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me."

"That's good to hear." Governess Hsu said as she brought the medicine over to Ye An. "Here, drink up. It's for the pain and to speed up your recovery."

"Eughk-" Ye An's face was getting a full workout from the grimace that she made after swallowing the medicine. The medicine that the governess had prepared was brewed for the few hours when Ye An was unconscious. Its main palate profile was dark and bitter with an unnatural thickness to it that mimicked the sludge from an abandoned mine. Ye An made a vow there and then that she would care for herself so well that she wouldn't need to consume such a vile thing for the rest of her life.

"Alright, I finished it. But I have to say, I can get used to this treatment. Having you fuss over me."

"Me fussing over you? Or us close to death when you got injured? Lieutenant Yun here almost had a heart attack." Governess Hsu reprimanded Ye An again.

"Yes, I wouldn't want to relive what had happened." Xi Chen replied gravely.

"Oh, by the way, how's the hunt? Did it end already? What time is it now?" Ye An asked, trying to distract Governess Hsu and Xi Chen from the conversation.

Seeing how Ye An was avidly talking, Governess Hsu was relieved. "One by one, Your Imperial Majesty. It's already close to five in the evening. I believe that the event ended about half an hour ago."

"Oh? So who won?" Ye An turned to Xi Chen.

"I'm afraid we don't know yet. The grand eunuch hasn't returned from the event site. He was supposed to help close the event and to apologize on your behalf for your early exit." Xi Chen replied.

"Ah well." Ye An slumped back into her bed but noticed that Xi Chen was clearly agitated about something else that he wasn't disclosing.

"What is it, Lieutenant Yun?"

Xi Chen looked up at Ye An when he was addressed but hesitated before he spoke. "Your Imperial Majesty, speaking about the hunt.. I heard something weird when I was getting our horses. I'm not sure if I should tell you about it." Xi Chen remarked.

"I knew that there was something when you brought our horses around earlier. So, what about it?"

"Have you heard about someone named Lee Han?"

Governess Hsu was preparing some tea for Ye An to wash off the bitterness of the medicine when she heard the lieutenant's question. The teapot she was holding came crashing down.

"Ah, my apologies." Flustered by her mistake, Governess Hsu apologized.

"Governess Hsu! Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?" Ye An stood up from her bed and started walking towards the governess.

"It's alright! Stay in bed!" Governess Hsu exclaimed with a little bit too much force in her voice which startled both Ye An and Xi Chen.

"Al-alright." Surprised by the sudden change in the governess's demeanor, Ye An sat back on her bed.

"My apologies. Your Imperial Majesty. I-I'm fine. I'll just clean this up." Governess Hsu continued.

"It's alright. Just call one of the servants to clean it up. You don't need to do everything yourself, Governess Hsu." Ye An said to the governess softly before bellowing in the direction of the door. "Is there anyone out there? Please come in and clean up this mess!"

One of the court maids who were waiting outside the emperor's chambers entered. She quickly swept the broken teapot away before replacing a new one for the governess.

Once the mess was cleared, Ye An continued as the governess brewed a new pot of tea. "Now, where were we? Oh yes. What about this Lee Han?"

"Well, I heard General Shao telling someone about him."

"What nonsense was the man spouting this time? And who was he speaking to?"

"I couldn't see the other man's face but I heard General Shao said that Lee Han was Emperor Lee Hwi's identical brother."

Ye An scoffed at the idea. "Ridiculous. The entire country knows that Emperor Lee Hwi was an only child."

Governess Hsu brought the newly-brewed tea to Ye An and started timidly, "Your Imperial Majesty, actually... I think it's time you know the truth."

Sensing the weight of what the governess would be revealing, Ye An asked quietly, "Do I need to dismiss those people outside?"

"Yes, it might be better."

Ye An gazed at the governess briefly before giving a signal to Xi Chen. He took long strides towards the door and ordered, "His Imperial Majesty would like some privacy, please wait outside in the courtyard."

The servants merely nodded and left.

Xi Chen came back in and gave Ye An a small nod.

"Go on." Ye An prompted the governess.

Governess Hsu had her eyes trained on the floor when she answered. "The truth is.. Emperor Lee Hwi did actually have an identical brother."

Trying to hide her shock, Ye An asked diplomatically, "What happened to him?"

"Unfortunately he passed away on the same night as your mother and Emperor Lee Hwi." Governess Hsu said sadly.

"Did he fight beside my father then?"

Governess Hsu gave Ye An a meaningful look and took a deep breath before continuing, "Ye An, what I'm about to say is something that I believe even the Empress Mother knows nothing of."

"What is it?"

Governess Hsu paused as she glanced at Xi Chen.

"Do you.. Need me to leave?" Xi Chen asked hesitantly.

Governess Hsu shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. "That's up to Ye An."

Ye An's eyes traveled between the governess and the lieutenant. One whom she trusted all her life, one whom she came to trust only recently but would gladly place her life in his hands. "There's no need. Go ahead, Governess Hsu."

"Alright, then. If you're asking if Lee Han worked with Emperor Lee Hwi, to some extent, they did. But not in the end." Governess Hsu paused before continuing. "However, Emperor Lee Hwi was never your father, Ye An. Lee Han was."

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