Xi Chen followed Ah Lin's gaze.
"Lieutenant Yun. Captain Zhang." Sze Chang nodded at both men as he approached them.
"How many times do I need to tell you? Just call me Ah Lin." Ah Lin said dryly.
Sze Chang only smiled. "Captain Zhang, I'll call you by your given name next time when we're not on a business engagement."
"Eh. I guess that's fair." Ah Lin shrugged.
"Lieutenant Yun, thank you for inviting me to join this convoy."
"Oh, that was all His Imperial Majesty's idea."
"Oh, really? Then I should thank His Imperial Majesty when I see him. I've never been to the southern plains much less attend the Mid-Autumn celebrations there."
"Hold on. Does that mean that it is the first time for all of us, including His Imperial Majesty and Adlai?" Ah Lin quipped.
"I think you're right." Xi Chen came to a sudden realization.
"This is amazing! We should all go to the festival then!" Ah Lin declared.
"Sure." Sze Chang agreed.
"We need to ask Adlai to join us too." Ah Lin said before looking around the open space for the foreign prince. "Where is he?"
"He said that he didn't want any lunch and decided to take a nap in the coach that we're sharing instead. I'll probably just get some snacks for him to nibble on later." Sze Chang replied.
Ah Lin nodded at Sze Chang. "Then I'll leave it to you to invite Adlai for our group outing."
The grand eunuch just finished tasting the emperor's meal and determined that it wasn't laced with poison. He handed the food to Xi Chen.
"Thank you, grand eunuch. His Imperial Majesty requested to be left alone so please make sure that he has his privacy." Xi Chen said. He then turned to Ah Lin and Sze Chang. "I guess I'll see you when we arrive at the Temple of the Full Moon."
"Yes, see you." Sze Chang replied as he bowed at Xi Chen respectfully.
Compared to Sze Chang's calmer demeanor, Ah Lin was a charged ball of energy as he dismissively said goodbye to Xi Chen as he dragged Sze Chang to join him for lunch.
*******
Due to her persistent nausea, it took Ye An longer than usual to finish her meal. Initially, she didn't want to take even one bite of the food that Xi Chen had brought her but she relented after the lieutenant's patient coaxing.
"Do you feel better now, Your Imperial Majesty?" Xi Chen asked as he stacked up the empty plates and cutleries neatly.
"Yes, thank you." Ye An answered as she looked out of the window, finally able to appreciate the scenery.
Noticing the emperor's yearning for the outdoors now that her stomach had settled, Xi Chen made a suggestion. "Should we go for a walk?"
Ye An turned to look at Xi Chen. "But you haven't eaten, isn't it?"
"I'm fine with skipping a meal or two." Xi Chen shrugged lightly.
"Are you sure?" Ye An asked. However, the answer that she wanted to hear from him was clear as day to Xi Chen.
Xi Chen smiled gently as he nodded. "Yes."
As they stepped out of the coach, the people who were having their meals under the clear afternoon sky were nowhere to be seen. Ye An assumed that they had all gotten into their own coaches for some rest after finishing their meal. She did take quite a long time for her meal today.
"Your Imperial Majesty." The grand eunuch greeted Ye An when he saw her exit the coach. "Are you ready to continue the journey?"
"Not quite. I'll just take a short walk before we continue." Ye An said. "I'd like to be left alone. Only Lieutenant Yun would be accompanying me."
"Understood, Your Imperial Majesty." The grand eunuch replied before returning to his place at the coachman's seat.
Xi Chen looked at Ye An as she took in a deep breath of fresh air. The mountain air cooled her airway like it carried the essence of menthol. It was the kind of air Ye An had never breathed in before, especially on an afternoon in autumn.
Ye An noticed a grove that was overgrown by bamboos near the royal chariot and walked towards it. Xi Chen dutifully followed behind her.
Only when they were a few steps into the bamboo grove that they realized there was a stone path leading somewhere. The sun shone on the stone steps, enticing Ye An to continue down the path. Taken by her own curiosity, Ye An entered deeper into the bamboo grove.
"Your Imperial Majesty, this place looks like it hasn't seen visitors for a long time. We should probably leave." Xi Chen said as he cautiously surveyed their surroundings. With the evergreen bamboos dancing lightly in the gentle mountain breeze and the orchestra of animals that still haven't died down in this part of the country, one might even mistake it to be spring if not for the chilly wind biting at their cheeks.
"It's alright, I think we're nearly there." Ye An said before turning back to face Xi Chen. "And didn't I ask you to call me Ye An when we're alone?"
"My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty. I still find it hard to call you by your given name." Xi Chen gave her a look that was similar to an apologetic kitten that made Ye An feel like she should be the one who's apologetic. She was about to look away but the rustling bamboo leaves gave way to sunlight right at that moment. The lieutenant's lightly-tanned skin seemed to glow ethereally from the rays of sunlight that were peeking through the constantly swaying bamboo. Ye An snapped herself out of her momentary reverie and turned to the front abruptly to clear her thoughts.
She spoke to Xi Chen while still leading him deeper into the bamboo grove. "Anyway, I think I've read about this place before. If I'm not mistaken, this bamboo grove leads to one of the ancient watchtowers that marked the southern border before the country's territory expanded into the southern plains."
As Ye An finished her explanation, the bamboo grove opened up to a field of tall silver grass. Compared to the bits of light they were exposed to when they were in the dense bamboo grove, this place was fully enveloped in sunlight. With the autumn sun shining through the translucent grass, the entire field glowed. It was like an other-worldly scene that only lived in famous poems. The feather-like tip of the tall silver grass gently swayed in the wind, the abandoned watchtower peeking through the grass every now and then from the edge of the cliff a few yards away where it stood.
As Ye An and Xi Chen waded through the tall silver grass and inched closer, both of them could see that the dilapidated building was neither large nor small and was most likely attended by only a handful of people during its heyday. It was missing a roof or two, but other than that, the building itself seemed to be pretty sturdy.
Ye An's face lit up at the sight. "Let's go in!"
"Your Imperial Majesty, I'm not sure that's a good idea." Xi Chen said warily.
"It's fine, we'll just take a look around and leave." Ye An said as she entered the building without looking back at Xi Chen. Worried about Ye An's safety and the kind of trouble she'll get herself into, Xi Chen kept close.
The floorboards creaked as they walked across the atrium of the building. There was a large spiral staircase in the middle of the atrium which led to the top of the watchtower where men stood watch hundreds of years ago. Ye An climbed up the stairs without hesitation with Xi Chen following close behind her. She unlatched the trap door at the top of the stairs and both of them climbed up. The scene that met them took their collective breaths away.
The top of the watchtower was a small area with only pillars at each corner to support the curved roof. From this high up, Ye An and Xi Chen could see the distant hubbub of the more modernized capital with its closely packed manmade structures on one side of the mountain; and the relaxed pace of the southern plains with its open-spaced countryside on the other. They could see everything on both sides but were far removed from the bustling activity at the same time. Ye An could even spot the Temple of the Full Moon from this far away. Serene stillness clung to the air as they took the landscape in. The only thing they could hear was each other's breaths and the occasional cry of a crane.
"This is.." Ye An whispered, unable to find the exact word.
"Breathtaking." Xi Chen completed Ye An's sentence for her as he too was taken by the scenery before them.
Ye An turned to Xi Chen to agree but was hooked into the look in his eyes as he surveyed the landscape. Feeling Ye An's gaze on him, Xi Chen glanced back at her. Something shifted and clicked when they made eye contact. In that moment, both of them were thinking of the same thing as they looked deep into each other's eyes that were illuminated by the soft sunlight.
Xi Chen was mesmerized by the hidden soft brown hues of Ye An's usually dark eyes; while Ye An was entranced by the glitters in Xi Chen's hazel eyes. She knew that he had an eye color that was lighter than anyone else she had ever met but she had never had the chance to look at it so closely under the sunlight. Both of them leaned into each other unconsciously as if they were pulled in by each other's gaze, coming closer until their breaths mingled.
Xi Chen was the first to come to his senses and turned away abruptly, breaking the spell between them. He cleared his suddenly parched throat with his back facing Ye An as he removed a nonexistent lint from the corner of his shirt. "Your Imperial Majesty, I think we should head back now."
Ye An blinked and stuttered. "Y-yes. We should."
Their walk back to the plateau was filled with awkward silence and both of them were actively avoiding any eye contact. Even when they were in the chariot and on their way to the Temple of the Full Moon, the prickly silence lingered.
*******
Since the convoy spent quite a long time on the mountaintop during lunch, it was almost nightfall when they finally arrived at the temple. The outside of the temple was already crowded with locals who were waiting to offer their prayers after the sacrificial ceremony. When they saw the arrival of the royal convoy, the locals gave their warmest welcome.
"Long live, Your Imperial Majesty!" The locals yelled as they kneeled and bowed at the sides of the street.
The gates to the temple opened to receive the royal convoy when Xi Chen finally spoke to Ye An again. "Your Imperial Majesty, I'll be sorting out some security protocols with my men while the servants set up the altar. So, I'll only see you during the ceremony."
Ye An only nodded in acknowledgment, still not trusting herself to speak to the lieutenant.
When the chariots were parked in the large courtyard of the temple, the head monk came rushing to escort Ye An and the Empress Mother to rest indoors before the ceremony began.
"Nice to meet you." Ye An greeted the head monk when she exited the royal chariot. "I have some guests with me in the last chariot. Please assign someone to assist them as well."
"Your Imperial Majesty, of course." The head monk bowed before giving orders to the monk beside him who left after receiving his orders.
The Empress Mother exited her chariot while Ye An was talking to the head monk.
"Your Majesty, good to see you again." The head monk greeted the Empress Mother.
"Yes, it's nice to be back. Shall we head indoors?" The Empress Mother replied gracefully.
"Of course, Your Majesty." The head monk replied as he escorted both of them indoors.
The head monk led both royals to the temple's sitting room. It was a small room decorated with simple fixtures and furniture. Even the artwork that was hanging on the walls was just simple calligraphy.
"Please excuse me while I get some warm tea for you, Your Imperial Majesty, Your Majesty." The head monk informed as he left both royals in the room.
Once they were left alone, the Empress Mother finally addressed Ye An. "I heard that you got sick when we were on our way here."
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