The Untamed Princess

Chapter Thirty: The Impending Summit

Usually, the prince's temporary chambers would have been in the centre of the ring of tents, for security.  However, it was well-known that he valued his privacy highly, so instead, the only structures separating his own accommodation from the open plain were a few smaller tents for Luo Jian's handpicked royal guards and Luo Jian himself.  The royal advisers were located at the centre of the camp, and the tents of servants and guards were scattered about the rest of the ground.

As with back at the prince's mansion, Ming Yue had been allocated her own small tent, which was not far from the prince's own.  It was here where she was currently waiting.  She knew it was unlikely that Weisheng would summon her tonight.  The following day would just be another stretch of travelling, so her services would most likely not be required, and it would be risky for the prince to ask to see her outside of the privacy of his own mansion when there was no obvious reason to do so.

Consequently, what Ming Yue was waiting for was the rest of the travellers bedding down for the night, other than the guards and soldiers patrolling in shifts.  When they were setting up the camp, they had deliberately done so near a source of fresh, flowing water, and Ming Yue was now keen to use that water for her own ends and in pursuance of her usual routine.  Of course, it would not be as relaxing as the hot, fragrant water of the mansion's bath houses, but right now, the only thing she was concerned with was washing the dust from the road off her skin before it sank deep into her pores.

Gradually, the noise from the camp lessened until, finally, silence descended.  Ming Yue slipped outside and looked around.  Behind her own tent was a row of evenly spaced small tents, each housing several guards.  After these, a strip of open ground then a cluster of trees.  Beyond the trees was the large stream where she intended to bathe.  She had taken a look at it earlier, while the camp was being made, and had noticed a small rock pool to one side where the water was not as fast flowing.  It was perfect.

Getting out of the camp would not be a problem; the night guards were more concerned with watching for people trying to get in.  As for the return trip, Ming Yue had an idea, and was hoping her new-found ability would come into play to assist her.

Sure enough, as she suspected, it was easy to slip past the guards and use her qinggong to leap up into the trees and out of sight.  However, her exit from the camp hadn't gone completely undetected.  By sheer coincidence, someone had been gazing intently at Ming Yue's tent from the shadows at the exact moment she emerged and made her way into the night.

Weisheng had been unable to sleep.  He had barely seen Ming Yue all day, and if the rest of their journey to the meeting place went the same way, time would slip away from them and they would lose this valuable opportunity to confront their feelings away from the eyes of any palace spies.  He pondered over this as he stood silently in the darkness.  Originally, he had only come outside to take a look at the stars, away from the pollution of the lights in the capital, hoping it would give him some inspiration when it came to his love life.  However, he had found his eyes drawn to Ming Yue's small tent, not far from his own.

Imagine his surprise when the woman herself appeared and made her way swiftly past the patrolling guards and into the trees.  In an instant, Weisheng's curiosity had gotten the better of him and, without a second thought, he followed her.

Ming Yue quickly located the pool she had spotted earlier, and immediately removed her dusty clothes and sank into the water.  Thankfully, it had been a hot day, and the residual warmth from the sun meant that it was not as cold as she had feared.  As she looked out across the water, she suddenly felt at peace.  The moon was high and bright, so she could clearly see the trees just beyond the banks either side of the stream, and the moonlight was now reflecting off the surface of the calm rock pool.  Ming Yue lifted her hands and watched the clear liquid running through her fingers.  Then she ducked her head underneath the surface, and all the sounds of the world suddenly disappeared.