The day prior, things were not faring much better in the Imperial Palace. The princesses nor the soldiers had any prior knowledge of Mei and Yao's departure, and that made the event so much more frightening. No one knew when this was planned and where the two of them could've possibly gone.
Even worse, the Emperor wasn't yet aware of Mei's truancy.
Should they tell him or do they leave him to find out himself? Would they be betraying Mei and Yao by informing him? If they don't tell him, will he suspect them as accomplices!? And if so, what about Ling and Chien Po?! What will become of them? Should they make a run for it? Or would that make things even worse?
After harsh but heartfelt deliberations and debates, the four finally ruled it best to tell the Emperor themselves, mainly for the safety of the two remaining men. They weren't part of this, so it wouldn't be fair to let them take the fall. They didn't deserve to suffer the consequences for Mei and Yao's actions.
It was early afternoon when the four of them arrived at the large doors of the throne room. While they knew the matter was urgent, they didn't want to take any drastic actions that would upset their father. Ting Ting timidly grabbed the door handle, memories of their last conversation flooding her mind as she touched it. He won't listen. You heard him yesterday! He'll probably be glad that Mei left! She took a deep breath to cleanse her mind before finally knocking it against the door.
"Enter." the Emperor responded after a few moments.
The team made their way inside respectfully, but quickly, not wanting to waste any time despite the numbness that took over their legs as they came closer to the throne.
A slight look of annoyance grazed the Emperor's face as he recognized his two daughters as part of the team that had interrupted his meeting.
"Please keep this brief, I am quite busy and I don't have time for light affairs right now!"
There was a small team of advisors surrounding him presenting piles of charts and scrolls alongside various figurines positioned on a table map. They were planning for a war.
"We're so sorry to intrude, your majesty," Chien Po started, his hands together, and his head down in a bow, "but we have a matter of the utmost urgency!"
His statement got the Emperor's attention, and he held his hand up to the men he had been talking to focus his attention on what they had to say.
"Mei is missing!" Su finally cried, "We can't find her anywhere!"
"We're afraid she's run away!" Ting Ting warned, a tone of urgency in her voice.
"What!?" The Emperor's annoyance was now replaced by anger as he rose from his seat.
"We have absolutely no idea when she left and where she went!" Ting Ting immediately added, trying to offset any suspicion, not quite sure whether she's succeeded or just made it worse.
While clearly still upset with his daughters by the events of the day prior, he wasn't going to just accept the situation and allow Mei to leave. He immediately called on his men to scour the land in search of the missing princess, intent on getting her back safely and surely, the utmost urgency in his gesture.
Once the order was given, he sat back on his throne and stroked his beard in immense contemplation. Something in this story simply wasn't adding up for him. Mei simply packing up and leaving didn't seem plausible. There had to be a piece missing.
"And to your knowledge, she acted alone?" he asked the party, who remained in the room.
The four looked at each other, wondering what to do. They knew if Mei was brought back, she'd be extremely upset with them, maybe even never forgive them, but at the least everyone would remain safe. Yao was a different story. They had tried to keep from mentioning his involvement, knowing that if they did, the narrative may turn to one of a possible abduction, and he could face great consequences for such a crime, one of which could possibly include death.
Noting their reluctance to respond, the Emperor's gaze intensified, focusing in on Ling who had yet to speak.
It was too much for him. The implications of his silence would be worse than the truth, and the last thing he wanted to be known for was lying to the Emperor's face! "This morning, our friend was also missing," he admitted, hanging his head in shame at the betrayal he'd just committed.
Chien Po, Su, and Ting Ting were shocked by his decision as well, but ultimately understood his reasoning. While they still felt the circumstances were dreadful, there was really no other choice. They couldn't hold it against Ling for trying to protect himself in this situation. He felt awful enough about it as it was.
Seeing as their colleague was involved in the scandal, the Emperor took it upon himself to interrogate both Ling and Chien Po. By the end of their conversation, his limits had been pushed to their maximum, and the situation had become further strained. While his questioning asserted the fact that they had no information about the runaway at hand, it also revealed their involvement with his daughters and the failure to unite China and Qui Gong. As a man of honor, he recognized that they had violated no laws through their actions and acquitted the two men of any involvement in the crime, but ordered them home, not wanting to deal with them any further. After the mess surrounding his daughters' and their decisions, he had already had a pile of burdens to deal with. He didn't need any more.
Why must everything result in chaos and loss? Why can nothing go according to plan?