"O-Oh, it's probably the sun." Xi Chen was flustered at Prince Adlai's query.

"Is the sun that hot?" Ye An looked to the sun questioningly. It was already autumn and she could barely feel the heat of the sun.

"The rays are pretty bad even if you can't feel the heat." Xi Chen explained clumsily.

"Really?" Ye An shrugged. "Well, let's go somewhere indoors then. A place where Adlai can have a proper breakfast as well. Adlai, I assume that you haven't eaten yet, am I right?"

Prince Adlai nodded.

"Then, I'll bring you to the best porridge restaurant in the capital." Ye An declared.

Prince Adlai paid for a book of bound paper and a self-inking brush before they headed to the restaurant.

Ye An led both of the men to the quieter area of the market as she spoke to Xi Chen. "Lieutenant Yun, do you remember the porridge that I bought for us from before? This is the place I got it from. I hope you're already accustomed to the local taste bud by now."

Xi Chen nodded and replied. "No worries, I think that I've somewhat gotten used to the food here. But, the more important thing now is whether Prince Adlai would like it. I remember thinking that it's really bland when I first tasted it. It would be even more so for a Northerner."

Prince Adlai pulled his notebook and self-inking brush out. "Don't worry about me. I'm open to trying it. Besides, I'm not really picky with food. Food is scarce in the North, so we just eat whatever we can. Also, please just call me Adlai, Lieutenant Yun."

"Ah, alright, Adlai. Then, please just call me Xi Chen. My apologies for making assumptions. I hope that I didn't offend you."

Prince Adlai shook his head graciously. "Don't worry about it. I know that you were only thinking about me."

"Ah, here we are." Ye An announced as they arrived at the restaurant. "And don't worry. There's actually a variety of condiments to add to the porridge and I believe one of them is chili oil. The owner is actually from the northern region. I just prefer to eat porridge without any condiments. That's why the porridge I bought the other day didn't have any. But both of you could add them if you want."

"Ah, my lord!" The stout restaurant owner shuffled to the entrance when he spotted Ye An. His pudgy red face gleamed at the sight of her. "And you brought some friends!"

The porridge restaurant was small and cozy. The interior of the one-story building was lined with dark oak. Even the furniture was of the same shade of dark wood. The floor of the restaurant was cobblestoned similar to the pavement outside but with less dust and dirt, indicating that care was given to ensure that cleanliness was maintained. The radiant morning sunlight that was shining on the three of them only moments ago dimmed as they stepped into the room that was lit with the warm light of flickering candles.

"Yes, thought I'd bring them to the best porridge restaurant in the capital." Ye An smiled at the restaurant owner.

"Oh, pshh. We are hardly the best!" The restaurant owner waved his hand as he personally ushered the three of them to one of the tables in a secluded corner of the restaurant. "I assume that you're here to dine in? Come, come. Sit here, gentlemen."

"Thank you." Ye An and Xi Chen thanked him unanimously while Prince Adlai nodded his gratitude.

"So we have pork, chicken, and fish porridge. What would you like to have today?"

"I'd like the pork porridge." Ye An was the first to place her order.

"Please give me the chicken porridge." Xi Chen ordered politely.

"What about you?" Ye An asked Prince Adlai.

He took his notebook and brush out again. "Fish porridge, please."

"Oh, he couldn't speak?" The restaurant owner turned to Ye An and considerately whispered into her ears.

"Uh, yes." Ye An figured it was easier if the restaurant owner thought that Prince Adlai was mute instead of trying to explain that he was a Northerner without divulging her real identity as well.

The restaurant owner straightened and looked at Prince Adlai in pity before saying, "Alright. I'll get your orders in no time."

"Your Imperial Majesty, how many times have you snuck out of the palace?" Xi Chen asked Ye An quietly once the restaurant owner left. For someone who was supposedly the most far-off person from the commoners, Xi Chen thought that Ye An knew quite a lot of people outside the palace.

"I've told you. I've been out here too many times. You just won't believe me." Ye An answered nonchalantly.

"I'm curious. Since when did you start sneaking out of the Imperial Palace?"

Ye An mulled over it for a while. "Probably since I was nine or so?"

"Nine?? And you're just out here alone?"

"Yes."

Xi Chen shook his head in disbelief. Ye An ignored him and spoke to Prince Adlai instead.

"So, Adlai. I've asked Minister Wu to make arrangements for you to stay at the Southern Wing of the Imperial Palace. The residence is near the banquet hall that we had our dinner with your great-grandfather. And your servants would be sent to the servants' quarters at the Northern Wing."

Prince Adlai nodded.

"You'll be shadowing me the entire day except during court meetings. A lot of the ministers haven't warmed up to the idea of this alliance between our countries. So it's best we take one step at a time. I'll arrange for you to join me during the meetings when things thawed. But other than that, you'll join me day in and out."

Prince Adlai nodded and wrote in his notebook. "Sounds good."

"Here are your porridge!" The restaurant owner carried a full tray to their table. He placed the bowls of porridge down with some cutleries before placing a plate of you tiaos for them to share, followed by a long rectangular wooden box and a bottle of chili oil. "Enjoy!"

Ye An slid the lid of the wooden box open. There were six separate compartments all filled to the brim with different condiments which included sliced green onions, fried shallots, fried ginger shreds, chopped century eggs, roasted nuts, and dried pickled cabbage.

"Here. Both of you can add these to your porridge if you want." Ye An said as she displayed the contents of the wooden box to both men. She also pushed the bottle of chili oil towards them. "And here's the chili oil."

Xi Chen added everything into his pork porridge except for the century eggs; while Prince Adlai only added fried ginger and some chili oil into his fish porridge.

"These are the usual condiments from the northern region!" It was the first time Ye An saw the lieutenant's eyes sparkle this much in front of food. Maybe she should ask the royal cooks to prepare more dishes from the northern region. Ye An quickly shook her head. What was she even thinking?

"Lieutenant Yun, I thought you said that you've gotten used to the local cuisine?"

"Still. I'm excited to see such familiar condiments." Xi Chen replied with a boyish grin.

Ye An was mesmerized by the smile on Xi Chen's lips and the sparkle in his eyes. She smiled fondly at the lieutenant's antics before realizing it and promptly took the smile back as she shook her head for the second time. She turned to Prince Adlai in an effort to distract herself. "Adlai. How's the fish porridge? Do you have fish porridge in the North?"

Prince Adlai was in the midst of getting another spoonful of porridge into his mouth but hurriedly took his notebook and brush out again. "No, fishes are pretty rare in the North so it's not usually in our diet. And even if we occasionally had fishes for our meals, they're always grilled. So this is a first. That's why I ordered it, I wanted to try how it tastes like. It's pretty good."

"Ah, I'm glad that you're enjoying it. My apologies for interrupting your meal. Please continue." Ye An apologized for inconveniencing the prince and refrained from asking too many questions to Prince Adlai while he was eating.

Both men finished their meal in no time.

"You're done?" Ye An asked both of them who nodded at the question. "Since we still have some time before we need to meet up with Ah Lin and Minister Sze, do you want to go to the other market? It might be a long time until the next time when we could come out together again, Adlai."

Xi Chen saw that Ye An didn't finish her porridge. "Are you done, Your Imperial Majesty? You didn't finish your porridge."

"Yes, I couldn't finish it. I'm still full from the meal in the palace. And the pancake we had just now was oddly filling."

Xi Chen nodded before turning to Prince Adlai. "Then, shall we go, Adlai?"

The crowd was slowly dissipating as the sun gradually made its way to its highest point in the sky. This made it easier for the three of them to maneuver their way through the crowd to reach the other market on the west side of the city square. As they entered this market, a waft of smells ambushed their olfactory senses.

Stalls selling various types of fish were laid out right at the entrance. Some of the stalls were selling small fishes that could fit the palm of Ye An's hands; others sold fishes that took up the entire stall space. There were also stalls that sold other seafood such as octopuses, prawns, and crabs. As they walked deeper into the market, stalls selling meat and vegetables greeted them. Compared to the market on the eastside, this market seemed to have a larger crowd as the people rushed to make their last-minute purchases before the cold weather set in and the supply of fresh food eventually trickled to a stop.

Prince Adlai stopped at one of the meat stalls, "I've never seen such an abundance of fresh food in my life."

"Do you not have markets such as this in the North?" Ye An inquired.

"As I've said earlier, we have a limited supply of food in the North. Since it's cold most of the time in the North, our food is usually dried in the cold air so that it could last the entire year. We might get fresh meat and sometimes fish if we hunted on that day but it's rare. And we don't have markets like this. We usually only hunt for our own family."

"Maybe you should start something like this when you're back in the North." Ye An suggested.

"Maybe I should." Prince Adlai wrote on his notebook to reply and then flipped to the last page of his notebook to take some note.

They continued strolling through the market until it was time to meet Ah Lin and Sze Chang. When they arrived at the city square, Ye An only saw Ah Lin standing by the chariot that was already waiting for them.

Before Ye An could ask, Xi Chen had already asked the question that was on Ye An's mind. "Where's Minister Sze? Don't tell me that you haven't apologized."

"Who do you think I am? A thug? Of course I apologized. I just thought that it's better if I stayed outside while he's in the chariot. I might be a sore spot in his eyes if I waited in there with him. I have tact sometimes too, you know." Ah Lin pouted.

"Alright, alright. You did great." Xi Chen patted Ah Lin's back.

"Alright, let's go, all of you." Ye An said as she entered the coach and indeed the Minister of Foreign Affairs was already in there. They stopped by the inn to get Ah Lin's and Prince Adlai's belongings as they had planned earlier before heading back to the Imperial Palace.

*******

The rest of the day passed by without much to do, so Ye An spent a good portion of the day processing what Governess Hsu had told her yesterday. The night had deepened as she brooded over the secret of her birth. Without any plausible resolution, Ye An let out a rattled breath of frustration. She then picked up her guqin and headed towards the Forbidden Garden in her sleeping robe.

Xi Chen tossed in his bed as Ah Lin snored at the bottom of his bed. Xi Chen had been roommates with Ah Lin from the day they entered the military until his recent promotion which came with his own room. He knew that it was rare for Ah Lin to snore but he would do so if he was extremely exhausted. Contrary to his graceful deer-like features, Ah Lin's snore sounded like a large bear's. It was loud enough to keep Xi Chen awake so he decided to go out to the courtyard for some fresh air until he was sleepy enough to drown out Ah Lin's snores.

He took one last look at Ah Lin who was sleeping soundly before closing the door quietly. He barely managed to catch sight of Ye An's back as she walked to the Forbidden Garden with her guqin and made the hasty decision to follow her. Remembering her anger the last time he entered the garden without her permission, Xi Chen stopped at the entrance and leaned against the wall by the archway with his arms crossed.

In the garden, Ye An already had her guqin laid out on the table. Unlike the last time when she was here, the scent of the night-blooming jasmine was long gone. However, there were still leaves on the trees and they were rustling harmoniously in the gentle night breeze. The same breeze that was also lightly blowing at Ye An's untied hair.

Accompanied by probably one of the last concertos by the crickets before they hibernate for the rest of the year, Ye An started playing her guqin and gradually let herself get lost in the melody. With each octave, her frazzled mind slowly settled as the music organized her thoughts. When the last chord was picked, she abruptly came to a decision.

It was then that Ye An finally picked her guqin up and left the Forbidden Garden.

As she crossed the archway at the garden's entrance, she spotted the lieutenant who was waiting for her. "Lieutenant Yun! What are you doing here?"

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