An aircraft landed twenty-four hours before the wedding ceremony of the princess of Yan and the prince of Higashi.
As people were pouring out of it, Ch'en could be seen in the crowd. She looked around and saw a person at the landing pad. This must be the person assigned to welcome her. With that, Ch'en carried her things and walked towards the blond woman.
When they were close enough to each other, Leizi greeted her, "You must be Officer Ch'en from Lungmen," She then offered her hand towards her as she introduced herself, "My name is Leizi. I am the representative of Yan, here to escort you to your stay."
"Nice to meet you," Ch'en nodded at Leizi as she shook her hand. She noticed Leizi was a Kylin, based on her horns, "Thank you in advance for helping."
"Think nothing of it," Leizi let go of her hand and ushered her, "Follow me. Do you need any help with your luggage?"
"No. I can carry them just fine," Ch'en politely declined her offer and followed Leizi.
As they were walking inside the airport, Ch'en noticed that there were many people there.
"It's very lively here, no?" Ch'en noted off-handedly to her escort, "Is this something common here?"
Leizi debated with herself on whether to entertain Ch'en's question or not. Her job was only to be her escort. However, she remembered she was the representative of the prince, Zhen, no matter what people say. Leizi needed to take care of his image. That and the prince knew that woman based on what he had told her on the phone.
"... This is a rare occasion," Ch'en heard the woman answer beside her. With how long it took her to respond, Ch'en thought that the woman would not bother answering, "The princess is getting married after all. People all around the world want to see this event."
"All across the world?" Ch'en hummed, "Is it safe to let so many people come here?"
"I understand you are worried, truly I do. However, I can reassure you that everything will be fine," Leizi nodded, "The defense department of Chang'an is not something to look down on. If that isn't enough to satisfy you, the Imperial Guards of Yan are also here because of the presence of the royal family here. "
Listening to what Leizi said, Ch'en noticed that there were a lot of guards spread out in the airport. They must have tight security here. And the Imperial Guards of Yan? She really did not have anything to worry about. Said group was responsible for protecting the royal family from harm. Although Ch'en knew that not all of them were here, even a small number of them were strong.
This made her realise that Lungmen was really lacking in power compared to other major cities in Yan, like, for example, Chang'an. Maybe she should talk with Wei Yenwu about the topic.
Ch'en then shook that idea away from her head. No, she was not here for work. She was here for Li, the princess and one of her friends from childhood. With her connection with Wei Yenwu, she could meet the princess and forge a bond with her. They shared a lot of similarities. They were both regarded as the little sisters of the family and had their siblings as their role models. For Li, it was the third prince, Zhen, while for Ch'en... It did not matter.
Their friendship did not last long. It was the reason that the cause was also related to their older siblings. They did not meet each other for a long time.
However, that changed when Wei Yenwu said that she will be the representative of Yan to go to the wedding ceremony of the princess.
"So, about the event," Ch'en glanced back at the Kylin, "Can you tell me more about it?"
"Tomorrow at three o'clock in the afternoon, Her Royal Highness the Princess will exchange rings with the Crown Prince of Higashi under the watchful eyes of the priestess, the Second Prince, Ying Jie and the people that are attending this event," Leizi explained, "After all of that is done, they will sign the marriage contract. "
"Isn't the exchangement of rings done at a wedding?" Ch'en asked, curious at the way the event was being held. To her memory, this was not a wedding and more of a congratulation type of event.
"The wedding will be held in Higashi. There, the emperor will give his blessing," Leizi answered, "Here, they are just going to exchange rings and sign a marriage contract. After all, Ying Li is married to the prince of Higashi, so the wedding can't possibly be held in Yan. This event is just a way to send her off in a glorious manner. She is, after all, the only princess of Yan. Since the engagement ceremony is not a formal wedding, the current emperor didn't show up, not even the eldest prince. Only the second prince is here," Leizi continued, "Both of them will say their vows under the statue of the first emperor, which symbolises the supremacy of the imperial power of Yan."
Hearing this, Ch'en's hand tightened into a ball, and her body bristled. Although this was an important day for Li, both her father and eldest brother did not bother to come to this event. Ch'en knew that the only reason that the second prince was here, was that he was the one that planned this event, to begin with. Ch'en was sure that if that was not the case, he would not come either. Truly, the royal family did not care in the slightest about Ying Li.
No... That was not true. There was someone who cared. The problem was he was dead. Presumably at least. However, Ch'en was sure that she knew that was not true. She just needed enough evidence to show that Ye was Zhen. It was sad she was too late. Maybe if Ch'en was fast enough, Zhen would come in and save Li from all of this.
Yes. She said saved.
Ch'en knew Li was being forced to be married off. It was clear as day for her. From her memories, Li was not someone that was interested in getting married at all, especially if she was going to marry someone of royal standing.
Ch'en knew Li hated that.
"The princess, where is she?" Ch'en asked Leizi, "Can I see her?"
Leizi hummed at this. Normally, she would refuse this type of request. Based on what she gathered, the princess was sick and needed her alone time. So she should refuse Ch'en's request on the spot. However, this woman was a special case.
Ch'en was a niece of Wei Yenwu, the brother of the emperor, making her related to the princess in a way. She was also a good friend of the princess, Added to the fact that she was on good terms with the prince, Zhen - or was it Ye - Leizi considered this.
"I can not promise you anything," Leizi glanced at Ch'en and said, "I can only tell her you want to meet with her. That's the best I can offer."
"Thank you," Ch'en nodded gratefully, "I am sorry for bothering you with all of my requests."
"As I said, think nothing of it," Leizi said, "I am just doing what is best for the princess."
".. I see," Ch'en nodded as she smiled at her, "She is lucky to have you."
Leizi did not comment on what she said as they continued to walk in the airport.
As they were making their way, a sudden glint of light hit Leizi's eyes. She looked at where it came from and saw it from a sword's scabbard hanging on Ch'en's waist.
Ch'en noticed her gaze on Chi Xiao, "What's wrong?"
"Is that Chi Xiao?" Leizi asked.
Ch'en nodded, "Yeah, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Leizi shook his head. She was not very interested in Chi Xiao. However, when she saw Chi Xiao she couldn't help but think of a certain reason an unfortunate prince got exiled from his country for pulling out a sword.
She could never accept this.
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
"So, Lin Ye? What's the plan?" Warfarin asked as she leaned closer to him across the table, "You do have one?"
"Can't really say." Lin Ye shamelessly admitted.
The group was now all gathered around the dining table. The only ones who were sitting were Lin Ye and Warfarin. Well, Nian was also sitting, if sitting on Lin Ye's lap counted. Skadi was leaning on the wall. As for Messiah, she was standing beside him. This earned her some glares from the local orca but it did not bother her.
Nian did not really care about what the others were talking about. What she did care about was how comfy it was sitting on Gege's lap.
"Huh?" FEater was not amused at what he said. Her eyes glared at him as she walked towards his side, "Please be more serious about this!"
"I am." Lin Ye hummed, not bothering to look at her. He was too busy with his thoughts, "I have ideas, not plans."
"Let's hear them then," Grani said beside Warfarin, "Maybe we can use them."
"First, I will list down all of the information we have," Lin Ye said, "Is that okay?"
Everyone nodded.
"First, the venue. Everyone should know this. It is at the palace near the beach," Lin Ye raised a finger as he said this. Then he raised another, "Second, the time. It will be in the afternoon."
Grani and FEater were getting impatient. Although Lin Ye understood their reaction, he needed to tell them this. Warfarin and Skadi were fine listening to him.
He smiled tiredly.
"Third, the people who will be there," He raised his third finger, "As expected, the royal family will be there, the same goes for our target Lily." They did not comment on the way he called the princess, "From what Leizi told me, there are a few individuals that caught my attention."
"Hoh?" Warfarin was intrigued by this, "Who are these people?"
"Enciodes and Hui-Chieh," He smirked, "You might know them as the head of Karlan Co. and L.G.D."
Warfarin's eyes widened. Then she slowly smirked back at him, "Your talent of knowing important people in this world really comes in handy."
"Oh, I know," Lin Ye hummed, "For Hui-Chieh, we can't ask her for help. She might be loyal to the royal family. I do not want to force her to do something she hates. However, in Enciodes' case, I think I can come up with something for him."
All of them nodded.
"Finally, our route of escape," He raised another finger, "I know some secret tunnels in the palace that we could use. And no Warfarin, I will not explain how I know them."
Warfarin shut her gaping mouth. She then glared at him.
"Only I know about it, that means that I need to be the one that get her," He said, "What is important is that the exit leads far from the palace. We will use this as an escape route."
All the people present nodded.
Seeing that they were now all focused on him, Lin Ye continued, "We only need a plan on how to get me inside of the palace to take away Lily with us. The others need to wait near the exit to escort us out of there. After that, I already assigned Mr Hu to get a boat for us to take."
"After we get her, where will we send the princess?" Warfarin asked, "And don't even think about letting her stay on the Island."
"Of course not," Lin Ye shook his head. His eyes then landed on Messiah, who was smiling at him when she noticed he was looking at her, "We will send her to Kjerag."
"Yes," Messiah nodded, "I can assure you that nothing will come of her if she stays by my side."
"Thank you," Lin Ye smiled at her, "You do not know how much this means to me."
"You're welcome," She gently smiled back.
Skadi's eyes narrowed at both of them, but she said nothing.
As Lin Ye was about to discuss the plan more, he felt Nian tugging on his shirt.
"Nian?" He looked down at her, "What's wrong?"
Nian said nothing. Instead, she looked at him and pointed at the balcony.
Lin Ye picked up Nian and walked toward the balcony. Now outside, he looked up at the sky. The night sky was as clear as ever. He could see different stars with different colours painted on the black sky. Just as Lin Ye was about to go back inside, he felt a raindrop hitting his nose.
"Rain?" Lin Ye muttered. He looked down at Nian, "Is this what you want to show me?"
"Mhm," The child nodded.
"But the new forecast said that it shouldn't be raining any time soon," Lin Ye's eyes narrowed back to the sky.
Then a sudden realisation made his eyes widen. He sighed tiredly. Lin Ye knew what was happening.
The image of a hooded man smirking at him flashed in his mind.
The urge to punch something grew inside of him.
Luckily for Lin Ye, he had a few candidates for his fists to meet.
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
Draft: Jaq
Proofread: Jaq & Discord Server
Edit: Jaq