The Empress Mother's implication was not lost on Ye An.

"Please excuse me. I have other engagements that I need to attend to." It was one of those rare days where Ye An didn't have anything planned but she needed to get out before she suffocated in this suddenly stuffy room. Ye An thought that she would burst out brashly again if she stayed any longer. It was better to leave while she was still able to do so and stood up to leave without waiting for an answer.

When she was at the door, Ye An turned back to face the Empress Mother and added, "I do hope that I don't see you again at the court meeting tomorrow, Your Majesty. I appreciate your gesture at the previous meeting but I, your humble grandchild, would like to take care of matters myself. Your understanding would be highly appreciated."

She then opened the doors forcefully which startled the servants who were positioned just outside of the Empress Mother's doors. Xi Chen however was undeterred and quickly followed the emperor's footsteps until they were back at the East Palace.

"You can dismiss yourself. I don't have anything scheduled for today. I just needed an excuse to get away from her." Ye An waved her hand to dismiss the lieutenant once they arrived at the main courtyard of the East Palace.

Xi Chen gave the young emperor a suspicious look which wasn't missed by Ye An.

"Don't worry. I promise I won't get you into trouble. I'll only be in my chambers for the rest of the day. And rest assured that making empty promises is not something that I have a habit of doing." Ye An sighed. "Go back and rest, Lieutenant Yun."

"Alright, Your Imperial Majesty." Xi Chen obliged. Truthfully, he would like nothing better than to finally have a proper rest.

Ye An expected the young lieutenant to head straight back to his residence after that but he was still following behind her. "Why are you still following me, Lieutenant Yun?"

"I'll return to my chambers once I've escorted you to your door." Xi Chen said lightly.

Ye An sighed again and just replied "Fine."

She had more stuff to worry about than arguing with the lieutenant. Especially considering that she had already made the decision to have him as her ally. Besides, it was only a few more steps before she'll be rid of him.

*******

As Ye An promised, she stayed in her chambers for the rest of the day until the next morning when the court meeting was scheduled to be held. She went through her morning routine as usual but omitted her morning greeting with the Empress Mother. After yesterday's encounter, Ye An decided that enough was enough and it was time for her to do away with the routine of having unpleasant conversations at such early hours in the morning. When she was ready, Ye An headed to the Throne Hall with a small procession of servants and the young lieutenant by her side.

Once everyone had settled down, Xi Chen's clear deep voice rang throughout the hall. "His Imperial Majesty would like to thank all of you for attending this meeting today. As was mentioned in the previous meeting, Minister Sze would be presenting the terms of agreement for the peace treaty with the Northerners."

To Ye An's surprise, the Empress Mother and General Shao were nowhere to be seen. Ye An had little hope that the Empress Mother would do as she had wished and thought that they would still attend the court meeting even after her outburst yesterday.

"Your Imperial Majesty. We still disapprove of an agreement with the Northerners." One of the ministers from the old noble families declared boldly even before the presentation of the agreement terms.

Ye An rolled her eyes behind the bamboo screen and turned to the lieutenant to prompt him to deliver her message to the floor.

"Gentlemen, His Imperial Majesty would like to remind everyone present here that we will still be voting at the end of this meeting to decide on our course of action so please grant a courteous audience to Minister Sze." Xi Chen announced to the floor before turning to Sze Chang's direction and said "Minister Sze, please go ahead."

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty." Sze Chang fumbled at his place before walking to the front of the platform where Ye An and Xi Chen were at and bowed in Ye An's direction.

"So, here are the terms that I have drawn up for the agreement."

Sze Chang unfurled a scroll that he brought along with him to the meeting and started reading from it. "This is a peace treaty between the Middle Kingdom and the North. The agreement terms dictate that the North would cease any invasion attempts in the future. In return, the Middle Kingdom would supply knowledge on architecture and technology to the North and would aid in the modernization of the North for as long as the North requires. Unless stated otherwise down the line, this peace treaty would be effective for all future generations to come." Sze Chang rolled the scroll after reciting the details of the treaty which were not well received by the court.

"Your Imperial Majesty, this is a mistake! It's implying that we would effectively be the Northerners' eternal caretaker while leaking the expertise that our ancestors have gained through thousands of years of hard work with no actual tangible benefit to us."

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. We are not a charity organization."

"Your Imperial Majesty, I was intrigued to learn about the agreement terms before making my final decision today but that is too much to ask for."

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. With war, we would be able to take them down like a thunderstorm does scarecrows and nip the problem in the bud."

Ye An allowed the ministers who were present to let it all out before prompting Xi Chen to deliver another message to them.

"Gentlemen, His Imperial Majesty would like to point out that there have always been invasion attempts by the Northerners even when the Great Emperor Lee Gang sat on this very throne. A war would only quell their attempts temporarily and might even build resentment in the Northerners that might result in deadlier invasions in the future." Xi Chen declared calmly as the court settled down.

"Your Imperial Majesty, that may be true but there were zero invasion attempts for the past twenty-two years when the Empress Mother was regent." This time it was Minister Hu who spoke.

While the rest of the court officials agreed, Xi Chen noted that a few of them were avoiding eye contact, including the young Minister Sze.

With Minister Hu in lead, the rest of the officials became bolder, convinced that their collective perspective was in the right.

"Anyway, are there any other terms for the agreement? If not, I believe we would all like to start voting." Minister Peng who had always been Minister Hu's faithful sidekick asked Sze Chang.

"That is all, Minister Peng. Unless His Imperial Majesty would like to add any terms to the agreement." Sze Chang replied.

Xi Chen turned to eye the young emperor. Sensing the lieutenant's eye on her, Ye An turned to him and only shook her head slightly.

"Then those in favor of a peace treaty with the Northerners, please raise your hands." Xi Chen's voice sounded through the room.

The few ministers who avoided eye contact earlier looked at each other before looking away. Xi Chen gave the floor ample time to raise their hands but no one raised them.

"Anyone in favor of a war with the Northerners?" Xi Chen continued.

The entire court raised their hands to vote. The few ministers who avoided eye contact raised their hands uncertainly.

Xi Chen sighed and announced "Then it has been decided. We shall go to war."

Ye An shook her head in disbelief. Even when she wasn't here herself, it seemed as though the Empress Mother had won this time.

*******

"Announcement from the Imperial Palace! We are going to war with the North! Soldier conscription starts today!" By the end of the day, messenger boys were handing out flyers, and news of the impending war spread rapidly throughout the nation like wildfire.

"We are going to war?"

"What is happening? This is so sudden."

For the residents of the capital, the announcement came as a shock. They had lived in peace and prosperity for the longest time and this announcement was a bolt out of the blue.

Residents of the capital witnessed men dressed in military gear heading out of the capital on horseback. Military personnel were dispatched to every corner of the country to conscript new soldiers from every household.

There was a noticeboard erected at the city square in the capital where announcements from the Imperial Palace would be posted on and a number of residents were currently crowding in front of it.

The announcement read, "Good people of the blessed Middle Kingdom, there has been an invasion attempt by the North on our northern border recently. As retaliation, the court has decided that it is time that we declare war on the Northerners. Every household that resides in this nation has to provide at least one able man, aged sixteen and upwards, to fight for this war. Nationwide conscription starts today."

The announcement ended with the emperor's imperial seal.

"What? When did we have an invasion? And war??" A middle-aged man asked while scratching his arms repeatedly in anxiety that his skin was starting to blister.

"Mama, what's an invasion?" A young boy tugged at the hand of a woman and asked innocently. The woman was rendered speechless, stunned by the announcement. On the other side of the woman, she held the hand of the boy's twin sister who also tugged at her hand. "Mama, what's war?"

"Didn't the emperor come to power only a week or two ago? And we've already had an invasion and are going to war??" A man commented while biting at a piece of straw, the pitch of his voice getting higher with each word.

"Oh dear.. War? This is not good." An elderly man said worriedly as his legs gave out.

"Great-grandpa! Are you alright?" His great-grandchild who was still a teenager helped him up.

"The last war that we had was years ago. When Emperor Lee Gang was still around. The Thirty Year War. It was devastating. We had famine during the entire war and it took us nearly fifteen years after the war ended for things to turn better. This is not good. So no, boy, I'm not alright. We all won't be alright if war is coming to our doorsteps." The elderly man called out in despair.

On the opposite side of the capital, joyous laughter reverberated throughout a private room in a brothel during the middle of the day. It was the largest room of the brothel but as large as the room may be, it could still barely hold everyone present. One side of the room was separated using a fine paper screen where a man was seated with a table full of the finest food and liquor in front of him. It was from this side of the room that the laughter came from.

"Well done, gentlemen!" The shadow behind the paper screen exclaimed.

The rest of them could only see his shadow through the screen. They were seated at two long tables. Each table was filled with the same feast that was on the mysterious man's table. Unlike the man behind the screen, the rest of them each had a woman accompanying them while they dined and wined.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Minister Hu bowed at the shadow while seated at his table, the parts of his face that weren't covered with his white beard were reddened either by the liquor or the skimpily dressed woman by his side.

"Everything is moving according to plan, Your Majesty." General Shao added from his seat. Unlike Minister Hu, he was seemingly undeterred by the alcohol and women.

"Yes, yes. Indeed. This is cause for a celebration. Have all the food, liquor, and women that you want today. Everything is on me!" The shadow declared jovially.

"Once the formalities of military conscriptions are out of the way, we shall move forward as soon as possible, Your Majesty." General Shao continued, a sly smile slowly emerging on his face.

"Yes, yes. We are nearing our goal, gentlemen. Let's drink to that!" The shadow behind the screen called out, lifting his liquor cup. The rest of them followed suit.

"Here's to another successful step towards a better future! With our rightful emperor!" One of the men from the table proclaimed boisterously.

"To a better future!" The others echoed before clinking their cups with vigor.

Their jolly chatter extended late into the ominously dark night that was void of the moon or any stars.

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