"Did you meet Adlai there?" Ye An asked curiously over her shoulders.
They were both on horseback with Xi Chen's arms circling around Ye An as he held onto the reins. The snow crunched under the horse's hoofs as he replied."He was."
Ye An tensed. "Was he the one who did this to you?"
Xi Chen gave out a rueful half-smile as he placed a hand over Ye An's with his thumb rubbing the back of her palm reassuringly. "No. He was there but he had no say in the matter. In fact, he had no say in any matter. Leader Wakhia was the one in control. And from what I had gathered, assuming that I'm not blind or deaf, Adlai's not fond of what Leader Wakhia has in mind."
"And what does Leader Wakhia have in mind?"
Their bodies swayed in harmonious rhythm as the horse climbed the mountainous terrain while Xi Chen recounted everything that he had learned of the Northern tribe leader during the short time that he was in the North. His story started from his encounter with Minister Sze to speaking to Prince Adlai in secret. "But this might have been a long time coming since Adlai told me that he suspected Chieftain Burat's assassination was an inside job. More specifically, that his uncle masterminded it." Xi Chen shook his head ever so slightly, reminded of his own connection to Leader Wakhia. "Our uncle."
It felt unfamiliar, strange, and almost distasteful for Xi Chen to admit to their familial ties when he knew of the man's penchant for cruelty. Voicing out that the Northern tribe leader was in fact his uncle left a bad taste in Xi Chen's mouth.
Ye An, troubled by the information, especially on Xi Chen's chat with Prince Adlai, picked at the nail on her thumb. "I expected as much."
"What do you mean?"
"Despite his age, the last we've seen Chieftain Burat, he was still strong and healthy. Someone of his nature wouldn't put his guard down." Ye An paused. "The only time I saw him visibly letting his guard down was when he was having drinks with his men. So unless he was around friends or family, especially family, he would have been on his best wit. Adlai was with us during the time of the assassination, which only leaves Leader Wakhia."
Xi Chen nodded as he digested Ye An's words. Suddenly realizing Ye An's lack of reaction when he told her about Sze Chang, he asked, "Did you know about Minister Sze? About his claim to the throne?"
Then it was Ye An's turn to tell Xi Chen what had transpired on her side with the flyers and how Ah Lin and even she herself could see the resemblance between her and Sze Chang like they were made of the same mold. The mold being the late Great Emperor Lee Gang. "General Shao would've been planning for this moment for a long time. Probably even before any of us were born. We were probably just tools for him to reach his goal, whatever that may be. Minister Sze might've just been a pawn, but who knows anymore?"
Both of them fell into silence, leaving Ye An's remark up in the air with only the clip-clopping of horse's hoofs filling the space.
Ye An gazed over her shoulder when she spoke again. "Well, enough about them. You haven't told me what exactly happened to you."
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...
