Despite the darkness of the night, Ming Yue walked quickly along the winding paths through the mansion gardens.  She had no idea why Weisheng had sent for her at this hour, and from his private chambers no less.  It was more than a little risky.

Fortunately, as she approached, she recognised the two guards on duty outside as being Luo Jian's most trusted men.  Giving them each a nod, she entered the building and closed the doors behind her.  Immediately, Kuai rushed over to give her an enthusiastic greeting, and she bent down to scratch under his doggy chin.

Looking up, she saw Weisheng across the room, but he made no move to come towards her.  She stepped forward, and noticed that his eyes were bright, and he appeared to be holding back a smile.  She raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"Secretary Li," he said, "I have decided to ask Jin for the princess's hand in marriage."

Ming Yue's mouth fell open in shock.  She moved forward swiftly and put her hand on his arm.

"Weisheng, you mustn't.  Think of what would happen!"

The prince smiled and walked her across to the bed.  Sitting her down on the edge, he knelt down in front of her and took her face in his hands.

"That's just it, Ming Yue.  Nothing will happen.  Think about it.  My brother is gone.  My parents have never seen you up close.  You may as well be invisible as far as the ministers are concerned, and you were in the harem for hardly any time at all."

She looked at him blankly, so he continued.

"The only people who see you day in day out are the people here in my mansion.  They are the only ones who would be absolutely certain to identify you if you entered the palace as the Jin princess.  Your encounters with everyone else have been too brief.  Even if they did notice a resemblance, it would be just that.  They would never be confident enough to accuse the wife of the crown prince as having masqueraded as a servant."

Ming Yue thought for a moment.  It was true, she admitted to herself.  The prince's staff and Luo Jian's royal guards were really the only people who knew her well and, even if a few of them may not like her too much personally, they were all completely loyal to Weisheng.  To everyone else of note, she was just a faceless servant.

She looked up to see Weisheng gazing at her with a wide smile on his face, willing her to agree.  She smiled back.

"Alright," she said.  "If you think it is worth the risk, it just might work."

Weisheng got to his feet and pulled her up to meet him, enveloping her in a tight embrace.

"There's no 'might'," he gently chastised.  "It will work."  He tilted her head upwards and leaned closer to her.  In the instant before his lips met hers, he whispered, "my future wife."

Then, he kissed her with such tenderness that she felt as though her heart would burst inside her chest.

***

King Xuanming was in shock.  Of course, he had been the one to suggest the marriage alliance, but he had certainly not expected his son to accept it so readily, particularly as he had always been adamant that he would choose his own bride and that it should be a choice from the heart.  Now, just a few days after he had broached the subject of a political union with Weisheng, the crown prince was in his study agreeing to the match.

After finally coming to his senses, the king sprang into action before his son could reverse course.

"Excellent.  I will send an emissary with a formal proposal.  You have met with members of the Jin royal family recently, so I will expect you to advise me on what gifts should accompany the offer of marriage."

Weisheng just nodded calmly, and once again King Xuanming wondered at the young man's sudden change of heart.  Still, his son knew his own mind, and would not be pressured into anything he was strongly set against.   Consequently, it was not for the king to second guess him.   He was dragged from his thoughts when he realised Weisheng was speaking.

"I will send over a list of suitable offerings as soon as possible.  I see no reason to delay now that the decision has been made.  If there is nothing else, Father?"

All King Xuanming could do was shake his head in response.  However, as Weisheng left the room, he called out one more instruction to his son.

"You can tell your mother!"

***

The queen had been a little more difficult to deal with than her husband.  Whilst she did not oppose the match, she had demanded more of an explanation as to why Weisheng was acting so contrary to the wishes that he had previously expressed to her several times regarding his eventual marriage.

After much reassurance and a reluctant but necessary lie – that he had seen a portrait of the Jin princess in the possession of the Jin crown prince at the summit and been instantly smitten with her – Weisheng was finally able to escape his mother's mansion and retreat to the safety of his own.

Finding Ming Yue in her usual spot in his study, he gave her the good news.  She beamed at him, but then her face suddenly turned serious.

"Weisheng, we must get a message to my father."

He looked at her, confused.

"He will never give his consent to the marriage without my agreement, and if I am not there to consult, he will simply stall until my return."

Weisheng frowned for a moment.

"Zhenli?" he queried.

"I'm afraid not.  He still hasn't returned from his last trip to Jin, when I sent word of you being named crown prince."

They both went quiet for a moment, lost in thought, until Ming Yue gripped Weisheng's arm, and he knew she had found a solution.

"I will write a letter to accompany the betrothal gifts, from the crown prince's secretary addressed to Eunuch Song.  He will understand my meaning and go to my father."  She smiled, and Weisheng sighed with relief.  It was a good idea.

From there, the plan came together relatively quickly.  With Ming Yue's help, it was not difficult for the prince and Eunuch Wang to draw up a list of generous offerings that would please the Jin royal family.  Weisheng had penned a personal letter to Crown Prince Wang Wei pledging his sincerity towards his sister even though he had not yet had the pleasure of meeting the princess of Jin, and Ming Yue had crafted a suitably innocuous letter to Eunuch Song that was beyond suspicion.  However, the wily old eunuch should have no problem in deciphering its true meaning.  He was just as sharp as Eunuch Wang in that respect.

Speaking of Eunuch Wang, Weisheng had not confronted him about their encounter several days previously.  It was enough for the prince to know that his chief eunuch had been aware of the whole truth for some time but had never once questioned his actions or sought to expose the couple.  No words were necessary.

In reality, Weisheng felt a little guilty, as if he had underappreciated all that the eunuch had done for him and the loyalty he had shown him over the years.  Consequently, he had resolved to bring the man much deeper into his confidence.  Besides, he could probably learn a thing or two from him about subterfuge.

Within just a few days, the envoy to Jin was dispatched, King Xuanming having decided that it was better to act swiftly without giving any of his ministers a chance to object.  Although, realistically, it would have been highly suspicious of them to have done so.  It was very difficult to deny the fact that, on the face of it, this was a very savvy political move for both kingdoms.

Consequently, the only option for Minister Guo and his fellow schemers was to hide their displeasure and step up their plan to rid themselves of the crown prince once and for all.  To that end, their person in the palace who would be trusted with delivering the killing blow had been successfully won over, on the promise of revenge for the departed Prince Li Jun and a substantial boost to their own status.  It had not been a difficult sell.

The assassination was to be carried out in three days' time.  With two, more direct approaches having failed, this attempt called for stealth.  If all went well, the crown prince would be caught completely off-guard, and the idea of a marriage alliance between Han and Jin would simply crumble into nothingness.

For Ming Yue and Weisheng, they had been growing increasingly nervous with each day that passed since the Han envoy departed.  Neither of them were particularly good at just waiting around, so each had been trying to fill their days with as much activity as possible.  Weisheng threw himself into the palace's administrative matters, and Ming Yue went on regular trips into the capital to visit Lin Yang, as the two young women were quickly becoming fast friends.

More often than not, she was accompanied by Luo Jian, who insisted it was for security reasons.  However, Ming Yue strongly suspected that the captain was developing a strong attachment to the attractive young herbalist with the warm, sunny personality.

As for Lin Yang's brother, Lin Xing Fu, he was rarely to be seen unless it was in consultations with patients.  These days, he was spending more and more time locked away with Xiao Yu discussing progressive medical treatments.

At present, Weisheng and Ming Yue had found a precious few moments during the day to spend together and, being who they were, they had decided to spend the time practising swordplay in the orchard.  Using the reasoning that Ming Yue would not be able to personally receive any of the betrothal gifts they had sent to Jin kingdom, Weisheng had given her a weapon; a beautiful sword.

The blade was long and narrow, and looked as though it could have been forged from pure ice.  The handle was carved from ash, and the overall balance and weight of the sword was perfect for Ming Yue's slight frame.  She had been delighted with the gift, and named it bing ling.  Currently, she and Weisheng were sparring together as she got used to her new weapon, while Luo Jian looked on with a bored expression.

For the last fifteen minutes or so, they had been evenly matched, moving amongst the trees (being careful not to hit any of course) trading blows.  Finally, Weisheng's foot landed awkwardly on a dead twig and he skated forward, momentarily caught off balance.  Seizing the opportunity, Ming Yue flicked her wrist and bing ling sent the prince's sword flying from his hand.

In an echo of the move he had used on her all those months ago at the training grounds, she spun around behind the disorientated man and rested her blade gently against his throat.

"Do you yield?" she whispered, playfully.

"To you?" he replied.  "Always."

Luo Jian rolled his eyes.

***

After going their separate ways for the afternoon, the three met again that evening in Weisheng's study to discuss more serious matters.

By their calculations, it should only be a few more days until word from the Jin palace arrived regarding the proposed union.  Even though she had complete confidence in Eunuch Song, Ming Yue could not help feeling some anxiety that her message to her father's chief eunuch had not been phrased in strong enough terms.

Weisheng meanwhile, was less bothered about the marriage contract.  He was determined to have his way, whatever response they received from Jin.  However, he was worried about the fact that the last few weeks had been free of incident.  There was no way that those opposed to the current line of succession would allow his engagement to proceed unhindered, and the only sure-fire way to prevent it would be to engineer the demise of Weisheng himself.  Even so, there had been no suspicious activity at all, and Minister Shen's investigation, as the prince was now explaining to the other two, had hit a bit of a dead end.  Unfortunately, their enemies had taken great precautions to conceal their identities.

Had he known that their adversaries were, at that very moment, putting their latest plan into action, and that within only a few hours one of the three friends would be clinging desperately to just a small spark of life, he would have had even greater cause for concern.

***

Eunuch Wang's assistant cast an eye over the maidservant stood in front of him holding a basket.  He thought he vaguely recognised her, but he couldn't be sure.  Servants had been coming and going all day from various court officials and the king's concubines, bearing gifts in premature celebration of the anticipated marriage news.  The woman spoke without raising her eyes.

"Please, sir, I am here with the compliments of Concubine Shu to deliver this thirty-year aged wine to His Highness, to congratulate him on his forthcoming engagement."  She showed her waist tag indicating that she was from the harem.

The young eunuch reached for the basket but, to his surprise, the maidservant tightened her grip.

"My apologies sir, but I was instructed to deliver it personally to His Highness."

The man sighed.  Security around the crown prince was particularly tight, in accordance with Luo Jian's instructions.  But, even if it had not been, there was no way he was going to let a lowly maidservant have an audience with the future king.  Opening his mouth, he spoke with authority.

"I don't care what your instructions are.  While you are here you will follow the rules of the prince's mansion, and no one is permitted to appear in front of His Highness without prior approval from the captain of the royal guards."

The young woman's jaw tightened as she thought for a moment.  Finally, she reached out and reluctantly handed the gift to the eunuch.

"Then I will trouble you to deliver this, sir.  Concubine Shu has asked me to ensure that the crown prince samples the wine this evening, as it is intended to be consumed under a waning moon to bring good luck and future prosperity.  If I cannot tell my lady that the prince has been handed the wine tonight, I will be punished severely."

The young man nodded.  Concubine Shu had always been fond of the crown prince.  It made sense that she would be overly invested in his well-being.

"Don't worry," he said.  "I will ensure that His Highness receives it."  Reassurances given, he turned on his heel and headed back towards the prince's study.

As she passed through the shadow of the entrance to the prince's mansion and into the palace grounds, Bu Hong allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction.  Her task now completed, she had no doubt that her benefactor would fulfil his promise to take her out of the palace and marry her to an official's son.  She would finally have the status she deserved, and Prince Li Jun, the only man in the palace who had appreciated her true worth, would finally have his revenge on the younger brother who had undermined him at every turn.  If she was lucky, it would also mean getting rid of that smug, arrogant nobody, Ming Yue, if the prince that valued her so highly was no longer around to protect her.