The Untamed Princess

Chapter Three: The Suspicious Prince

After shooting daggers with her eyes at Bu Hong's back and looking around to check she had not been seen using martial arts, Ming Yue looked at her friend with frustration.

"Tell me Wen Mei," she said, "does she hold a more senior position in the palace than you?"

"No."

"Is she your senior in age?"

"No."

"Did she enter the palace before you?"

"No. We arrived here at the same time."

"Then why do you let her treat you this way?"  Silence.

"Listen to me. There are those who have power and abuse it.  There are those who have no power and crave it.  For someone who is the latter, the only power they can ever have is the power you give them.  In the future you may be able to stand up to both, but for now, do not allow yourself to be bullied by this second type of person."

Ming Yue smiled and threw an arm around her friend's shoulders to lessen the harshness of her words, and Wen Mei looked up gratefully, but still with doubt.

"What if I am not strong enough, Ming Yue?"

"Then I will be strong enough for the both of us!"

"Ming Yue, you are so clever and brave."

Ming Yue raised an eyebrow.

"My siblings would laugh to hear you say that."

"You must miss them very much," said Wen Mei.

"Every day.  But I know what's expected of me.  I won't let my family down," said Ming Yue, cryptically, her mind now firmly on her mission.

The two young women walked away, completely unaware that the events of the last few minutes had been watched with interest by two tall, strikingly handsome young men from a balcony partially obscured by trees.  Zhao Weisheng, second prince of Han, turned towards his loyal bodyguard and friend, Luo Jian.

"Who is that maid?" he asked.  "I thought I knew every face in the inner palace, but I have never seen her before."

He definitely would have remembered her.  Even the simple maidservant's uniform and hairstyle couldn't hide the fact that she was beautiful.

"I don't know, Your Highness.  I don't recognise her."

Zhao Weisheng thought for a moment.  The young woman had martial arts, that much was obvious, but it was more than that.  Something in the way she carried herself.  He couldn't quite put his finger on it.  Also, her accent.  There was a slight hint of something.  He shook his head and looked at his friend.

"Make some inquiries and find out who she is.  But be discreet.  I don't want to draw unwanted attention to her."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Oh, and Luo Jian.  Remember what I told you about calling me 'Your Highness' when it's just the two of us?"

"Yes, Your High...Weisheng."

The two men continued their journey to the prince's quarters in amiable silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

For Weisheng, they mostly revolved around his father.  The king's health had not been good recently, and it could not have come at a worse time.  The flooding in the north had been particularly heavy for the time of year, and corrupt and overly ambitious officials were always squabbling amongst themselves.  Also, the peace accords with Jin were still relatively young, and the relationship between the two kingdoms was yet to stabilise.