Xi Chen reacted when he heard Ye An's guttural scream. He was ready to run into the tent but the grand eunuch held his arm firmly. "No, stay here. You can't enter. Governess Hsu is doing her best and the emperor wouldn't want us to see her in that state."

Realizing the grand eunuch was using a female pronoun, Xi Chen asked, "Y-you knew?"

"We've been serving her since she was born. Of course we know. Besides, why do you think the rest of her servants are all deaf, mute, or both?"

Yes, that was another thing that seemed weird to Xi Chen when he first entered the palace. He thought that it was normal for the servants serving the imperial family to be deaf and mute but soon realized that they only applied to the servants who were serving directly in the emperor's private residence.

"The rest of us were instructed to keep our mouths shut since day one." The grand eunuch continued simply.

Xi Chen finally took his helmet off dejectedly, knowing that the order most probably came from the Empress Mother herself and they would be putting their lives at risk if they ever reveal the secret about Ye An.

Governess Hsu opened the entrance flap of the tent. "The arrow is out. I've stopped her bleeding and dressed her wound. But there's no change of clothes so she's back in her bloodstained shirt. I think we should transport the emperor back to the Imperial Palace as soon as possible before this place fills up with people again."

Xi Chen only nodded numbly.

Governess Hsu glanced at the lieutenant before she turned to the grand eunuch. "I believe you'll be able to take care of things here?"

"Of course, Governess Hsu. Leave it to me." The grand eunuch replied.

"Alright. Lieutenant Yun, you follow us back to the palace." Governess Hsu ordered.

"Huh? Al-alright."

It was easy to track down the royal chariot as it was parked just by the stables. The coachman was resting at the coachman seat when Xi Chen carried the emperor with the governess by his side.

"We need to head back into the palace immediately!" Governess Hsu brusquely ordered the coachman as she opened the door to the chariot allowing Xi Chen to enter with Ye An in his arms. The governess followed behind them.

Once they were all settled in, the coachman directed the chariot towards the direction of the Imperial Palace without any delay. Governess Hsu wasted no time and started asking the question that was burning in her mind since she ran into the messenger on her way here. "What happened at the hunt, Lieutenant Yun?"

"I-I'm not even sure. I had all my men check the perimeter before the event."

"That means it's either one of the participants or the servants accompanying them."

Xi Chen pulled his thoughts together. "I'm certain that the person who did this was a competent archer. No way would it be a servant."

"Was it a Northerner?"

"I don't think so. I only saw him briefly and from a distance but I don't think he's dressed like one. And there's this distinct smell when I passed by the place he took his shot."

"What smell?"

"Incense."

"Well, that's certainly proof that it wasn't a Northerner." Governess Hsu deduced.

"Yes." Xi Chen agreed.

Incense was used by ministers to make their clothes fragrant when they were granted an audience with the emperor. Some ministers would only scent their official uniforms that they wore to court meetings but a lot of them made every piece of clothing they owned fragrant with incense as a status symbol. So unless the Northerners somehow studied the code of conduct of their neighboring country, which was highly unlikely, they wouldn't own any scented clothes.

"Do you remember the exact scent?" Governess Hsu asked. Even though everyone at court scented their clothes, each family had their own concoction for the incense that they used.

Xi Chen furrowed his brows as he tried to recall the smell. "I'm not sure. But I think I'll be able to identify it if I ever come close to the same scent. The aroma of star anise was particularly pungent."

Governess Hsu mulled over the information but no one in particular came to her mind. "Lieutenant Yun, listen to me. If it's indeed one of us, it's all the more urgent to deal with it quickly because it might put His Imperial Majesty in more danger the longer that this drags on."

Xi Chen nodded before asking the question that was at the tip of his tongue. "Governess Hsu.. About His.. No, Her Imperial Majesty.."

Governess Hsu stopped him with an urgent whisper. "Lieutenant Yun. It has always been and will always be His Imperial Majesty. Best not let it slip. We have too many eyes and ears everywhere."

Xi Chen nodded. "Understood. Then with regards to His Imperial Majesty, what is going on?"

"Lieutenant Yun, what does it look like?" Governess Hsu answered Xi Chen's question with another question.

Xi Chen's laid his wary eyes on the governess. "But.."

Before he could continue, the chariot came to a stop in front of East Palace which spurred Governess Hsu into motion. "We're here. Quick, we need to bring her in before anyone else notices."

Xi Chen carried Ye An once again and brought her out of the coach and into the emperor's chambers. He could hear the governess speaking to the coachman as he entered the building.

"Make sure no one hears about this." Governess Hsu warned in a hushed voice while pushing some silver coins into the coachman's palms.

"Yes, ma'am." The coachman left right after.

When Governess Hsu entered the emperor's chambers, Xi Chen already laid Ye An down on her four-poster bed on the far right of the enormous room. The governess walked over to the dresser to grab a set of clothing before sitting on the edge of Ye An's bed. She gently placed a hand over Ye An's forehead to check for her temperature as Xi Chen stood protectively over the both of them. Ye An wrinkled her forehead and whimpered at the contact.

"Thank goodness, she's not having a fever. It doesn't seem like the arrow was laced with poison. Could you turn your back to us? I need to change her out of these bloody clothes."

Xi Chen immediately turned his tall frame towards the opposite direction without needing to be told twice. "But why is she sweating so much?" Xi Chen asked, concern deeply etched in his face.

Governess Hsu looked at the lieutenant's tensed back momentarily before turning her attention back to Ye An. "It's probably the pain. I'll go and brew something for it once I'm done dressing her."

As the governess lifted Ye An's arms to dress her, Ye An took in a sharp breath. Xi Chen's frown deepened.

"Done. Lieutenant Yun, you can face us now. I'll go and prepare the medicine, so you stay by her side. Pour her some water if she wakes up." Governess Hsu ordered Xi Chen bossily.

"Understood."

As the governess was closing the doors behind her, she looked at Xi Chen thoughtfully as he wiped Ye An's damp forehead tenderly using the sleeves of his shirt and tuck her more snugly into her blanket.

*******

Ye An trashed and turned as she lay on her bed, feeling a burning pain on her side. It felt as though a red hot poker was boring into her wound. The pain woke her up but she could barely lift her eyelids. Ye An had some flashes of memory that Governess Hsu was with her as she slipped in and out of consciousness earlier. Groggily, she moaned the governess's name while reaching out for her.

A large warm hand caught hers midair, swallowing Ye An's small feminine hand in it. She could feel the calluses on the hand that was clasping hers as she strengthened her grip which confused Ye An. Even though Governess Hsu was always doing labor work with her bare hands, her hands were definitely smoother than the hand that was currently in her grip.

Ye An opened her eyes slowly and her gaze immediately fell on the tanned hand that was holding her much paler one. Following the hand, Ye An raised her gaze to its owner and realized that she was actually holding the lieutenant's hand. She jerked her hand away and apologized, "M-my apologies, Lieutenant Yun."

As she slowly gained consciousness, Ye An realized that her wound was already dressed neatly and she was wearing a new set of clothes underneath the blanket. Alarmed by this realization and the fact that the only other person in the room was the lieutenant, Ye An pulled her blanket closer to herself and fidgeted nervously, "Why are you here?! What- Did you-"

*******

The bright striking of a gong that signified the end of the hunt was heard throughout the forest where the Annual Hunt took place. The participants who were in the midst of hunting immediately put down their bows and arrows before galloping back to the assembly area on their horses with their personal chariots following behind them.

At the assembly area, the grand eunuch was busy ticking off the names of the participants who had arrived and jotting down their results. Beside him, there was a young eunuch who was responsible for counting the points that the participants had gained. Small animals such as squirrels and rabbits would be awarded a point each, while medium-sized animals such as pheasants and ducks would gain the hunter two points. In rare cases where large animals such as deers, tigers, or bears were caught, the participant would be awarded five points for every animal.

"Minister Hu. Middle Kingdom."

"One squirrel, three rabbits, two pheasants. 8 points!"

"Chieftain Burat. North."

"Six rabbits and a duck! 8 points!"

"Leader Wakhia. North."

"Two squirrels and five rabbits. 7 points!"

"Minister Zhan. Middle Kingdom."

"Four rabbits, one pheasant.  6 points!"

"Minister Peng. Middle Kingdom."

"A squirrel and a pheasant. 3 points!"

"Minister Sze. Middle Kingdom."

"Two ducks, three pheasants, one deer! 15 points!"

Everyone at the assembly area who was listening to the announcement gasped in awe at Sze Chang's result. Sze Chang sheepishly scratched the back of his neck and smiled shyly at the sudden crowd of attention that he was getting.

After that, the rest of the participants slowly trickled into the assembly area and had their results announced. But no one came close to Sze Chang's astoundingly high score.

"The winner of this year's Annual Hunt goes to Minister Sze with 15 points!" The grand eunuch announced on the stage that was prepared for the closing ceremony.

"Wait, where's His Imperial Majesty? Shouldn't we calculate his score as well?" Sze Chang asked.

"Unfortunately the emperor wasn't feeling well earlier and excused himself from the event before he had the opportunity to complete his hunt. He would like me to apologize to all of you here on behalf of him for his leaving." The grand eunuch informed. "Now, Minister Sze, could you please step up to the stage to receive your reward?"

"Oh. Alright." Sze Chang strode quickly up the stage. The grand eunuch handed him a folding fan with a tassel attached to the base. Intricate knots of the tassel held a piece of jade in its midst, giving the light fan a steadying weight. Sze Chang opened the fan and saw the words 'Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?'.

"His Imperial Majesty personally wrote this quote. It is one of his favorite quotes." The grand eunuch explained.

Sze Chang's eyes were transfixed on those words as he replied, "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

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