It was true.  Weisheng had known exactly where she would be.  The same place she always retreated to these days when she needed to feel safe.  He had pondered letting her be, but his anger and impatience got the better of him, and he ventured into the orchard after her.

It had not taken long to find her.  She was facing away from him.  Her costume from the banquet was shimmering brightly in the moonlight, and her long, dark hair was loose, moving gently in the breeze.  She looked ethereal and delicate.  Weisheng took a deep breath, and hardened his resolve.

"I knew you would be here."

She turned to face him.  She noticed that his expression was grim, and before she had a chance to say anything, he spoke again.

"It was Li Jun, wasn't it?"

Her eyes widened.

"Don't bother to deny it," he said.  "I always had my suspicions, but now I know for sure."  He moved closer to her, but she stood her ground.  Not receiving any response, he continued.

"I saw you stumble when you were facing him.  And I saw the look in your eyes."  He moved closer again, and again she didn't move.

"There's no other reason why you would have left so quickly after the banquet.  You were trying to avoid him, weren't you?  Weren't you?"  Weisheng's last, repeated question was almost a shout as his voice raised along with the level of frustration.

"I can't," cried Ming Yue, almost in tears.  The prince's jaw clenched, and he tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist.

"It ends here," he said, grimly, and turned around to leave the orchard.

"Please don't go to him.  For me, please don't. I'm begging you, Weisheng!"  In desperation, she ran forward and threw her arms around him, pressing herself tightly against his back.

The two of them stood like this for some time, with only the sound of the orchard leaves rustling lightly breaking the silence.  Finally, Weisheng spoke.

"I don't understand," he said quietly.  "Why would you protect him like this?"

"I'm not," she replied, with a strangled sob.  "I'm protecting you."

Weisheng felt like he had been punched in the gut.  Finally, he saw what he had been too blinded by anger and frustration to accept previously.  Ming Yue had known all along what naming his brother as her attacker would to do him, to his family and, not wanting to put him in that position, she had bottled it up inside of her, suffering in silence for so long.

The fact that Ming Yue would sacrifice so much for him shattered his last ounce of self-restraint.  Slowly, he turned, and looked down into her eyes.

"Very well, then," he said.  "I'll stay." 

She gave a slight smile but, he was surprised to note, did not remove her arms from around him.  Taking his cue from her, he lifted his left arm and wrapped it around her waist.

"But now," he said, "it is you who does not understand."  She looked up at him quizzically, and he pulled her closer.

"I am the one who should be protecting you."

Ming Yue opened her mouth to speak, but the question that came from her lips was not the one he had expected to hear.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked, almost shyly.  Weisheng smiled.

"Silly girl," he said, softly.  "I would know you anywhere."  With that, he tilted her face up towards his, and kissed her.

***

Ming Yue pulled the door to her room closed and leant against it, her fingers moving involuntarily to her lips.  Her mind was in turmoil.

When Weisheng had kissed her earlier, she had reacted with her heart rather than her head so, after a brief moment of surprise, she had kissed him back, reaching up to clasp her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer.  His mouth on hers had been insistent, but not forceful, and she had willingly allowed herself to surrender to his attentions, feeling the warmth from his hand on her back radiating through her.

However, when they finally broke apart, realisation of the line they had both crossed had come crashing in, and she had run from the orchard like a frightened child before they could even say one word to each other.

Ming Yue silently cursed herself for her own weakness, but at the same time acknowledged that it was becoming increasingly difficult to fight against her own feelings for Weisheng.  She loved him deeply.  She had not needed the fact that it was he who had triggered the full release of her powers to tell her that.  In the last few months, her suspicion that he felt the same way had grown, in spite of her low status in Han, and now, of course, she was certain.

The question was, what to do about it?  The two of them had shattered the fragile barrier between them, and now it was impossible to go back to the way things were.  The best thing to do, of course, would be to confront their feelings and talk to each other.  But that was easier said than done.

Ming Yue sighed heavily.  Oh well, she thought.  She was already taking one huge risk.  What was one more complication in her life?  If Weisheng said anything to her about it, she resolved, she would be honest with him.  If he didn't, well...she hadn't quite worked that out yet.  But he should definitely be the one to make the first move.  After all, it was he who had first kissed her.

***

Meanwhile, Weisheng was still standing in the orchard where Ming Yue had left him.  Unlike Ming Yue, he was consumed only with happiness.  He knew he had not imagined it.  He had kissed her, and she had definitely reciprocated.

He had known he was taking a big risk.  Other than in her most vulnerable moments, or when both their lives had been in danger, Ming Yue had always maintained a relatively safe distance between them, physically and emotionally, and he had been the one trying to edge his way closer to her.  But now that both of them had willingly stepped into unknown territory, he didn't care about any difficulties they might face.  He only wanted to move forward with her at his side, and he would protect her with every fibre of his being.

The sound of a throat being cleared penetrated the silence, and Weisheng turned to see his friend standing there, waiting patiently.

"Luo Jian!" He smiled widely and the other man blinked in surprise.  This was definitely a strange turn of events.  

Luo Jian paused for a moment.  He didn't want to bring down the prince's mood by mentioning a certain person, but he knew he would want to hear what he had to say.  Weisheng raised his eyebrows slightly in invitation, so he spoke.

"I followed your brother, like you asked.  He went straight back to his own mansion."

Weisheng nodded, relieved, but his smile faded.

"What do you intend to do?"  Luo Jian asked.

"Nothing, for the moment.  He won't get away with it, but he isn't going anywhere for now.  We have time."  Weisheng thought for a moment.  He hated subterfuge, but there was really no other choice now.  Having come to a decision, he spoke again.

"I know you have trained spies under your control as well as royal guards.  Put two of them on my brother at all times to watch him when he is outside of his mansion.  Tell them they should not intervene directly unless he tries to attack another woman.  Meanwhile, make discreet enquiries to see if there is anyone in his mansion who could be persuaded to inform on him." 

Luo Jian nodded, and the two men started to walk back towards the prince's chamber.  The captain continued the conversation.

"What about your mansion?" he asked.  "We know that someone here must be acting against your interests.  Since the assassination attempt, I have been investigating everyone who knew about us leaving the palace.  Eunuch Wang is beyond suspicion, but that leaves only the ten royal guards, and I was so sure that they were trustworthy.  Even now, there is nothing unusual about any of their behaviour."  Luo Jian looked down and rubbed the back of his neck in frustration.

Weisheng knew how his friend felt.  The man had always displayed impeccable judgment, and the fact that one of his own soldiers might have betrayed them would be weighing on him heavily.  The mere fact that he had just spoken more than three sentences in a row was a testament to his emotions.

"Don't worry, my friend," he said.  Then, a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Why don't you look into their families and friends?" he suggested.  "It may be that they are loyal to us, but they themselves have put their trust in the wrong person without realising it."

Luo Jian looked up quickly.  Of course, Weisheng was right. If he was confident that none of his men were traitors, then it was the only logical explanation.

"It's a good idea," he conceded.  "I will make some enquiries."  Then, he turned the conversation to a different subject.

"Did you speak to her?"

Weisheng knew exactly who he was asking about.

"Yes," he said, a smile slowly spreading across his face.  Luo Jian surmised that the encounter had gone well, though he did not know quite how well, and he resolved to leave the matter there for the time being.  Instead, he turned the conversation again.

"Eunuch Wang told me about the drugging of the dancer," he said.  "She's fine, so no harm has been done, but I think it's pretty clear that she was not the ultimate target."

Weisheng pondered for a moment.  He had not really thought about it, but now, after only a brief moment of consideration, the answer seemed fairly obvious as to who was behind it and what their motivations were.

"It is just the sort of petty, sneaky thing my brother would do," he said.  "No doubt trying to sabotage my contribution to my mother's banquet.  Luckily for me, he failed in spectacular fashion, so we need say no more about it.  My only regret" he continued, "is that Ming Yue had to see that devil's face again.  And he recognised her, Luo Jian.  I'm sure of it."

Luo Jian considered his words.

"Don't worry.  He must know by now that she survived the incident, and from the way he has been so quiet, I would say that he is not going to do anything about it, at least not in the short term." 

Weisheng nodded his agreement.

The two men parted at the entrance to the prince's chambers, and Weisheng dismissed the waiting servants.  He wanted to be on his own for a little while, to organise his jumbled thoughts.

Once he'd had an opportunity to think things through properly, he came to the decision that the next move had to be Ming Yue's.  It would, he reasoned, require some bravery on her part, but he knew that she had never lacked for courage.  The reason for this, he had concluded, was that she had much more to lose than him because of their differences in status.  What could be written off as an unfortunate dalliance on his part could lead to imprisonment or even death on hers.  Of course, he would never allow that to happen, but neither could he ask her to take such a risk.

He resolved that he would find a way to be alone with Ming Yue the following day, so that she would have the freedom to speak to him however she chose.  He was not worried that she would suddenly turn all shy and retiring on him.  That simply wasn't her way.