Naturally, Ah Lin was flustered at the sudden ambush of a development. "W-what? Why?"
Ye An shushed him before continuing her whisper. "Because I just gave him an order to infiltrate the North."
"Then I'm going with him." Ah Lin answered with a voice that was hardened with his resolution.
"No." Ye An rejected his proposal at once. "We need you here to keep our troops in check, especially when the others arrive tomorrow."
"Then I'll go in his stead. He was supposed to be the one leading our troops anyway, not me." Ah Lin spoke in his unwavering determination. "Besides, Your Imperial Majesty, with all due respect, how could you willingly send Xi Chen over to the North? Especially during this time. Do you not care for his safety at all?"
Ye An didn't miss the barely concealed disdain that weaved through Ah Lin's words. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this would probably be her reaction too if she was in Ah Lin's shoes. "Whether you believe it or not, I do care about Xi Chen. But this is something that only he could do. Especially during this time."
Ah Lin frowned as he cocked his head at Ye An. "What do you mean?"
"Xi Chen's mother was a Northern priestess." Ye An answered plainly.
Ah Lin blinked dumbly. "Huh??"
By then, Xi Chen had just cleared the stairway that led to the top of the wall and heard their conversation as he stepped into the clearing. "You heard that right."
"You're here!" Ah Lin jerked his head towards Xi Chen in surprise. "But didn't your family live in the capital? Oh wait.. So that rumor about the late General Xia marrying a foreign woman wasn't just a rumor?"
"I guess so." Xi Chen replied without as much as a shrug.
"And she's a Northern priestess? Aren't all Northern priestesses destined to marry into Northern royalty?" Ah Lin asked.
This piqued Ye An's interest. "Really? Why?"
Ah Lin turned back to face Ye An. "It's been their tradition since ancient times. It's so that the Northern royal family has spiritual help to remain in power. I guess it's similar to our mandate of heaven."
"Except it's in a form of a human instead of events?"
"Except that."
Xi Chen raised an eyebrow. Ah Lin was more resourceful with his information than he initially thought. "Yes, that's what I heard from the Northerners.. Apparently she was arranged to be married to Chieftain Burat's only son, Adlai's late father."
Ah Lin raised both eyebrows in shock. "Hold on. She was supposed to marry into the main family of the Northern royalty? That's exclusive to the most talented priestess of her generation."
YOU ARE READING
THE DAY EMPEROR: 阳明王 【The Night Emperor Book 2】
Historical Fiction"There are enough bad things in life, hold on to whatever it is that gives you joy." In the months after Ye An had ascended to the throne, she has learned about all the secrets that were kept from her. Secrets that had spanned generations. But is th...
