King of China

Orchard

Minghao, Junhui and Jeonghan were almost by the river.

It was the first place they had thought about. After all, Prince Youngjae would need water pretty soon in his journey. He had left the palace as fast as he could and hadn't stopped by the kitchen to take provisions with him.

According to Jeonghan, their Palace guide had talked about a nearby orchard the day before, so their guess was that Prince Youngjae would try to reach that place to gather some food before continuing fleeing.

They had the advantage of knowing the territory very well, and thanks to that, Minghao was almost sure they would find him before dawn.

They crossed the bridge in silence and as they were reaching the other side of the river, Minghao heard Jungui saying something.

He turned around, only to see Junhui getting closer to a bush, shining the light of his lantern on it.

"What is it?" asked the Prince.
"That's Prince Youngjae's night robe!" explained Jeonghan. "A piece of it rather."

The ripped cloth hung there, giving proof that the fugitive had passed here before them.

"Perfect" said Minghao. "Let's keep going, we need to find him."

~

Youngjae was out of breath, and so was his horse.
However, it had been worth it. He had finally found the orchard he had heard about and he would be able to take some apples with him.

He left some coins on the orchard's small stone wall and started picking up some fruits. He was no expert, but he tried his best to choose fruits that were ripe. The last thing he needed now was getting sick.

He took as many as his horse's packages could carry and got ready to leave. Just before he made his horse gallop, he saw something else that could be extremely useful.
He stopped his horse and hesitated for a second.

He had already taken many apples without the consent of their owner... but on the other hand, he really needed to be discreet.

With a sigh, he let himself slid down his horse and walked towards the drying clothes hanging from a thread.

~

"Look!"

This time, Jeonghan had spoken.

Minghao looked where Jeonghan was shining his light on, and discerned something shiny.

"He left coins to pay for the apples" mumbled Junhui.

"Let's keep moving" encouraged Minghao.

He needed to find the Prince, and soon.
The piece of cloth and the coins were proof that he had passed here before.

But how long ago?

As the trio continued their way, Minghao saw a shape taking form to his left: the farmer's house.
Encouraged by the familiarity of this place, he urged his horse to go even faster, closely followed by his two companions.

The night was slowly dissolving into morning lights, which meant that soon they wouldn't be needing their lanterns anymore.

However, before Minghao could think any further, he finally saw it.

"Is that?"
"Wait"

"IT'S HIM" shouted Jeonghan.

~

Youngjae thought he had heard a familiar voice behind him. As he turned around, he saw his worst nightmare becoming reality.

He didn't even know if it was worth trying to go faster to escape from Jeonghan. To be honest, he was just exhausted from everything.
And he didn't even know where he was going.

So let his horse go slower until he heard Jeonghan's horse and two others reach him.

~

"My Prince!" said Jeonghan out loud. "Why would my Lord do this?"

Minghao opened up his eyes quite widely, as he wasn't expecting a valet to talk to his master that way.
Apparently, Jeonghan realized that too as he added an apology.

"I got so worried about you, my Prince" he whispered.

Jongdae looked into Jeonghan's eyes and let a sight out.

"I'm so tired Jeonghan" he said.
"Let's go home and rest" suggested Minghao with a smile.

For the first time since they had reached Korea's Prince, the latter actually looked at Minghao.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused" he said. "I realize now that I have to go back. There's no escape from any of this."

Minghao nodded.

He didn't know how he would react if he was told he had to marry someone he didn't even know. He could understand why Prince Youngjae had tried running away.
However, he was also extremely grateful the latter had accepted coming back with them, because otherwise things would have escalated quickly in the court.

They started their way back, and Prince Youngjae gave back the farmers clothes he had stolen not that long ago.

"How much trouble have I caused?" asked the Prince in a low voice.
"For now, no trouble at all I think" replied Minghao. "Except for my brother worrying sick."

Prince Youngjae nodded and kept his mouth shut for the remaining of their trip.
Minghao and Junhui had shared an intense gaze and the latter knew how much his Prince was upset and overwhelmed, however this wasn't the place nor the time to talk about it.