"That was what I had asked myself over and over again for the last twenty-two years. But I don't have an answer. I'm not sure if he was behind it but I do believe that he was definitely one of the contributing reasons to the rebellion." Governess Hsu replied somberly, her eyes back to the floor.
Ye An suddenly stood up from her bed. A bout of dizziness came to her at the sudden movement causing her to stumble in her steps.
"Your Imperial Majesty." Xi Chen looked at Ye An anxiously, his arms already stretched out just in case.
"It's alright, I need to pace to get things in order." Ye An waved him away as she walked around the room. "Governess Hsu, weren't you in the birthing chamber when I was born?"
"Yes."
"Was he there?"
Governess Hsu paused before answering. "Yes. For a while. He exchanged some words with the Empress. She told him about you."
Ye An was quiet. She swallowed and asked. "Did he- Was he the one who murdered my mother?"
"No, not directly. When he had arrived, it was too late. Your mother passed away as he held her in his arms. I-I think that devastated him. He was furious. He had a look in his eyes that told me he was going to kill whoever had done it. I was holding you close, afraid of what he might do to you. But he just took one look at you and left without saying a word."
Ye An tried to process that information but couldn't seem to go past the first sentence. "Not directly.. That means his men did it?"
"No one's really sure if they were his men or he was simply working with them."
"Then what about my fath- Emperor Lee Hwi? Did Lee Han kill him too?"
"That, I'm not sure. But I did hear rumors that he.. That Lee Han was directly responsible for the slaying of Emperor Lee Hwi."
"Ha.. So I'm the daughter of a traitor?" Ye An knew that the governess was not a fan of rumors and would only speak of them when there was some truth backing those rumors.
The large room somehow felt larger and emptier in that moment.
Ye An continued to pace the room without uttering a single word. After a while, she finally slumped down into one of the chairs in the room.
"Please leave. Both of you. I need a moment to myself." Ye An ordered dejectedly. Governess Hsu quietly gathered the medicine bowl and tray that she brought in earlier and left.
"Your Imperial Majesty, about the formal meeting with Chieftain Burat later.." Xi Chen asked uncertainly, unsure if the meeting would still be proceeding.
"Right. That's in an hour, isn't it? Come back in half an hour. Now, I would really appreciate it if you leave, Lieutenant Yun." Ye An's pleaded tersely, barely able to keep her emotions reined in.
"Yes, of course, Your Imperial Majesty."
*******
Xi Chen stood guard at the door of the emperor's chambers even after he had left the room. It didn't sit right with him to completely leave Ye An's side when she was in such a vulnerable state.
The doors of the emperor's chambers were exquisite but they were not made to be soundproof. As such, Xi Chen heard the range of emotions that Ye An went through for the past half an hour. During the first fifteen minutes after he had left the room, there was only complete silence. When Xi Chen started to worry and was thinking whether he should check up on her, he heard Ye An's frustrated scream as she trashed the room and sent everything flying. And now, for the past few minutes, the only sound that he could hear was Ye An's quiet sobbing. Soon, even the sobs ebbed into silence as the half-hour mark arrived.
"Lieutenant Yun, I know you're out there. Please let the servants in. I need to get dressed for the meeting." Ye An ordered softly from inside the room, her voice slightly hoarse.
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty." Xi Chen replied from where he was standing guard.
Before he left for the courtyard, Ye An added, "Oh, and I would like to have the meeting in the banquet hall instead. If the grand eunuch's back, ask him to inform Chieftain Burat and the royal cooks. And we will be walking to the banquet hall. I need some air."'
"Understood." Xi Chen replied and went outside.
"His Imperial Majesty is ready to be dressed." Xi Chen informed the servants who subsequently shuffled into the residence.
Xi Chen spotted the grand eunuch standing behind the succession of servants. "I didn't know that you're back. Why didn't you enter the residence?"
"I came back and saw the rest of the servants out here and thought that it was best for me to be here with them as well." The grand eunuch answered simply.
"You're probably right. Anyhow, His Imperial Majesty would like the meeting to be moved to the banquet hall. Please make the arrangements and inform the royal cooks."
"Yes, my lord." The grand eunuch answered and hurriedly left to perform those tasks.
Xi Chen waited outside as Ye An got dressed. It was already ten minutes before the agreed meeting time. If they were to walk to the banquet hall, they should start soon. At that thought, the doors to the emperor's residence opened. Xi Chen instantly noticed Ye An's red-rimmed eyes.
It had been some time since she stopped crying, so the reddish tinge was not as prominent as her pallid complexion from the blood loss that she had suffered from her wound. But Xi Chen couldn't help but notice her slightly bloodshot eyes. It felt like something was twisting in his chest as he looked at her and he was frustrated that there seemed to be nothing he could do to help.
Ye An turned to the servants who were following behind her. "I would like to be escorted by only Lieutenant Yun today. The rest of you stay here."
The servants nodded and stayed behind.
"Let's go, Lieutenant Yun." It was a phrase that Xi Chen heard countless times since he entered the Imperial Palace. But he had never heard of it being uttered in such a quiet manner. Without any joy or vigor.
Xi Chen followed a few steps behind Ye An for a while before finally walking by her side. Walking by the emperor without being ordered to do so was against the royal protocol of the internal court but he decided that if there was any time to break those rules, it was now.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Xi Chen asked gently.
Knowing what the lieutenant was asking, Ye An answered in a feeble but resolute tone, "Not right now."
Xi Chen thought about it before continuing with the best subject to distract Ye An. "Alright then, why don't we talk about who shot you during the hunt earlier?"
Ye An immediately perked up. "You have someone in mind?"
"No, not specifically. But I do have my suspicions."
"Tell me about it."
"I've already told this to the governess when we were on our way back. It might have been one of the court officials. I'm not sure who. But I'm pretty sure I would be able to recognize the scent of his incense if I happen to come across it."
"I see. So the person was using incense on his clothes?"
"Yes. But I might be wrong, so you might still need to be cautious of the Northerners. I've seen how cruel those Northerners could be firsthand." Xi Chen's eyes darkened.
"But anyone could have an affinity for cruelty. Not just because they are Northerners." Ye An said diplomatically. "Even if you're royalty, you could still be cruel." Ye An added darkly, thinking about Lee Han again.
Xi Chen turned to face the emperor and saw her intense gaze.
When they arrived at the banquet hall, Chieftain Burat was already seated at his assigned place with two of his men flanking at his side slightly to the back and sitting at their respective seats. Since it was a meeting only between Ye An and Chieftain Burat, the guest seat was arranged to be right in front of the higher platform where the emperor would be seated instead of located to the side of the emperor's seat. Sze Chang was also there seated beside the chieftain. Much like the banquet the night before, he would be joining the meeting as a translator.
"Your Imperial Majesty." Sze Chang stood up to greet Ye An. Chieftain Burat and his men followed suit and gave her a bow.
"Am I late? My apologies for making you wait, Chieftain Burat." Ye An apologized as she took quick strides to her seat on the platform. At the bottom of the platform, there was a table for Xi Chen as well.
Chieftain Burat spoke softly to Sze Chang to which Sze Chang translated as, "Chieftain Burat said that it's not a problem. He was just early. He didn't know where the banquet hall was so thought that it was better for him and his men to travel here earlier."
Ye An nodded. "That's really wise, Chieftain Burat. I thought that it would be nicer for us to move the meeting here so that we could share one last meal together before your return."
Sze Chang translated once again. "Chieftain Burat would like to express his gratitude for your graciousness, Your Imperial Majesty."
"Food should be out soon. Shall we wait until then to commence the meeting?" Ye An suggested.
Chieftain Burat gave an affirmative nod. Ye An answered with a warm smile. Xi Chen couldn't help but keep stealing glances at Ye An to make sure that she was alright. Seeing her now, it seemed like the episode earlier had never happened. Ye An had all of her emotions perfectly wrapped under a perfect smile which made Xi Chen worry more.
"Now then, anyone knows who won the hunt?" Ye An asked.
"Uh.. I did." Sze Chang declared gingerly.
"Minister Sze? You won? Congratulations and well done!" Ye An beamed at the young minister.
"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty. I merely got lucky and encountered a deer." Sze Chang said sheepishly.
"A deer! Still. It takes tremendous skill to take down something as majestic as that!" Ye An praised.
"Thank you for your compliment, Your Imperial Majesty. But I doubt that I could win if Your Imperial Majesty was in the hunt until the event ended. I heard that you fell sick all of a sudden during the hunt. Is everything well? Forgive me for saying this, but you looked paler than usual." Sze Chang asked in concern.
"Yes, thank you for your concern, Minister Sze. It was just something insignificant. Nausea. Might have been caused by nerves." Ye An laughed heartily to cover the blatant lie.
"Ah, is it because of the pressure? I could only imagine what it must have felt like." Sze Chang blurted. Sensing that he might have crossed the line, he added, "My apologies for that unwarranted remark."
"Oh, it's fine. Yes, I felt quite a bit of pressure since it's my first time leading the hunt. Hopefully, it would be better next year." Ye An replied Sze Chang graciously, actually thankful for that remark that she could piggyback on.
She then turned to Chieftain Burat. "Chieftain Burat, I hope you and your men enjoyed your time here at the capital so far."
Sze Chang once again became the in-between. "They certainly did and Chieftain Burat would like to thank Your Imperial Majesty again for the invitation."
"Well, that's good to hear." Ye An remarked gladly.
At the same time, the door to the banquet hall opened to servants bringing in trays of food and wine. Food was laid on each table as a few court maids poured wine for everyone.
The food that was spread out on Ye An's table was a full course meal that consisted of appetizers, main courses, and desserts. Among the food, there were a few dishes that were unfamiliar to Ye An but lit up Chieftain Burat's eyes.
"I've arranged for the royal cooks to work together with the servants that you've brought here for this meal. I noticed that you and your men didn't quite enjoy the banquet last night and thought that you would like to have some food from your local cuisine tonight. Even our lieutenant had problems getting used to the food here when he first arrived from the northern border. Didn't you, Lieutenant Yun?"
"Yes, indeed, Your Imperial Majesty. Chieftain Burat, I see some of your food is quite similar to the food I had when I was still at the northern border." Xi Chen finally spoke.
"Yes." Chieftain Burat suddenly replied with his heavy accent which surprised both Xi Chen and Ye An.
"Oh? You know our common tongue?" Ye An asked.
"Only a little bit." The chieftain replied in his guttural accent before turning to Sze Chang to help him translate the rest of his words. Ye An could make out the Great Emperor Lee Gang's name from their conversation.
"Chieftain Burat said that he had lived since before the Great Emperor Lee Gang came to the throne. Before that, there were no walls and merchants would travel between the two lands to trade. Subsequently, exchanging food and culture. And since his father was a merchant, he used to travel with him all the time in his youth and managed to pick up our common tongue. He used to be able to converse more freely but is now limited to only a few words and phrases as it has been a long time since he spoke the language."
For all the history lessons that she was required to take, Ye An had never read about what happened before the Great Emperor Lee Gang's unification of the country and before the wall was built. The way her history books were written, it was as if nothing happened but chaos before the country's unification. She realized now how one-sided the history she was exposed to was.
"Chieftain Burat would also like to express his apologies for the gift that he had presented to you yesterday. It was an action he only did to gauge Your Imperial Majesty's intention to forge a friendship between both countries."
"Oh?" Ye An didn't know whether she should take it personally or let things slide. "Well, it certainly doesn't feel good. But I wouldn't say that I'd blame him for wanting to make sure."
Sze Chang continued to translate Chieftain Burat's words. "He was impressed that you were serious enough about the alliance to put aside trivial matters. This time, the chieftain would like to give you a proper present, Your Imperial Majesty."
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