The next morning, Ming Yue arrived at the prince's study at the usual time.  Surprisingly, on consulting her own feelings, apprehensiveness was not among them, not even when she saw that the two eunuchs usually stationed outside were not in attendance.  She tapped lightly on the doors, and entered when she heard Weisheng's voice, closing them behind her.

The prince was sitting in his usual seat.  He looked up and smiled at her as she walked towards him.

"Good news, Ming Yue," he said.  "I couldn't tell you before, as my father wanted to keep it quiet until it was confirmed.  Jin Kingdom have agreed to meet on the borders, to affirm the peace accords and discuss opening trade routes."

This was excellent news indeed.  Ming Yue had no idea that Han had made such an offer to Jin, but then, Zhenli had returned to the palace some time earlier, so it was quite possible he had been on his way back to her before her father had received the invitation from Han and had a chance to send a message back.

"That's wonderful, Your Highness" she said, with genuine pleasure.  Weisheng registered her enthusiasm, then continued.

"I will attend on behalf of my father, and we assume that King Huiwen will also send one of his sons.  I believe they are all now of age."

Ming Yue pondered.  "Wang Wei," she thought to herself.  Yes, it would probably be her eldest brother.  He was the most diplomatic of the three.  Her second brother was more interested in poetry and literature, and Zhixing, the youngest, whilst more ambitious than her more artistic sibling, preferred militaristic pursuits.

She focussed her mind back on the prince when she registered the fact that he had started speaking again.  What she hadn't realised, however, was that she had muttered the eldest Jin prince's name out loud.  Hearing her words, Weisheng had quickly masked his surprise, and carried on as if nothing had happened.

"The meeting will be held in just over a month's time, on the anniversary of the initial signing of the peace accords, so we don't have long to prepare.  We will need to arrange everything, as we are the ones who initiated it.  The first thing to do is choose a suitable neutral location, just this side of the border.  Then we can start working on the details." 

Ming Yue nodded. It was a sensible place to begin.

Weisheng spread out a large map of Jin and Han  on the table and motioned her to come closer.  She moved around to stand next to him, so as to avoid having to crane her neck to look at the chart the right way up and, as she bent down to the same level, they both gazed intently at the terrain laid out in front of them, drafted in exquisite detail.

"A lot of our border towns and cities are walled," said Weisheng.  "I am not sure the Jin delegation would want to meet somewhere they might feel a bit hemmed in."

Ming Yue agreed.  Whilst she knew that the delegates attending on both sides would meet with the best of intentions, that did not mean that other less well-meaning parties wouldn't try to interfere, so her brother would no doubt want to proceed with an abundance of caution.

"What about a temporary location?" she suggested.  "We could erect several large tents in an open area right on the border.  It would give more of a feel of neutrality, and both sides would be happy that they could identify any oncoming threats from a distance.  It would be easier to guard as well"

Weisheng looked at her with more than a hint of admiration.

"Perfect!" he said, then peered back at the map.  "What about..."

"Here!"  Both of them spoke at the same time, as their fingers pointed at exactly the same spot on the parchment.  They laughed in unison.

"I will visit my father this afternoon and tell him of the plan," said Weisheng.  "We should get Jin's agreement to the location as soon as possible so we can start on the rest of the preparations."

Ming Yue nodded, and gave him an encouraging smile.  She went to withdraw her hand from the map and stand up but, before she could do so, it was firmly clasped in Weisheng's own.  Rather than resist, she turned to face him directly, looking slightly down towards where he sat.  She wondered if this was the moment when they would both acknowledge what had happened the previous night.

They gazed at each other for a while, until the moment was broken by a tap on the door.  Ming Yue quickly moved back around to stand in front of the desk, in her usual position.

Inwardly cursing the interruption, the prince called out for the visitor to enter, but his irritated expression relaxed when he saw that it was Luo Jian.

"Luo Jian," he said, "we have decided on a location for the summit with Jin.  I will visit my father this afternoon to inform him."   Of course, Weisheng had confided in his friend about the plan.  After all, he trusted the man with his life.

"Ming Yue," he continued, "can you start drawing up a list of what you think we might need?  Also, we should take suitable gifts to present to the Jin delegation, yes?"  At this, he shot a sideways glance at the woman, who was busy writing things down, wanting to see how she replied.  Ordinarily, he would not expect a palace maid to have any idea what to gift visiting dignitaries, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the task would not faze her at all.

As he suspected, she replied confidently.

"Of course, Your Highness.  Leave it with me."

Weisheng filed her unperturbed response away in the back of his mind, where an inkling of a thought was starting to take shape.

***

Ming Yue had left Weisheng and Luo Jian walking together in the garden discussing other matters, while she herself went to the orchard.  This time, however, her step was much lighter than it had been in recent weeks as she neared her favourite place, and she had a tiny scroll tucked into her robes.

Zhenli had been back at the palace for quite a number of days now, so she was sure he wouldn't mind another trip home, and besides, if Han were going to send Weisheng to the border on their behalf, Jin should get things off on the right foot as well by sending someone of equal standing.  Consequently, it was important that her father knew as soon as possible who would attend.

As usual, she had kept her message brief, and it simply said, "Second prince to attend summit for Han.  Suggest send Wang Wei.  Ah-Yue"

She called out to Zhenli with her mind, and he alighted on a nearby branch within moments.  Sparing a moment to send a greeting and some thanks his way, she tied the tiny scroll to his leg, then watched as he set off to fulfil his mission.

***

"What a magnificent bird," remarked Weisheng, as he saw a large falcon soaring over the rooftops of the palace buildings, heading in the direction of the Eastern Plains near the border with Jin.   "It has only appeared in the skies recently, but I have seen it several times now.  Perhaps it has a nest nearby."

Luo Jian just grunted in response.  He cared little for such things.  Weisheng went back to what they had just been discussing.

"As I was saying, Luo Jian, I thought she might have at least tentatively broached the subject of last night.  I mean, it's not as if things can go back to the way they were.  Not after we...," he tailed off, aware that Luo Jian probably had no interest whatsoever in listening to the finer details.

Luo Jian responded in his usual, pragmatic way.

"What's the rush?  It's not like the two of you are going anywhere."

Weisheng sighed.  His friend was right.  He and Ming Yue had danced around each other for so long that a few more days wouldn't make much difference, and, in any event, he had promised himself that he would not put any pressure on her whatsoever.

***

Later that evening, Ming Yue was pondering much the same dilemma.  Compared to his actions the night before, Weisheng had been positively business-like today other than that one, brief moment before Luo Jian had arrived.  However, before she could turn her thoughts to how she was going to respond, she heard a knock at the door.

Opening it, she was surprised to see the back of a red uniform of a royal guard.

As she started to ask the man what he wanted, he turned quickly, covered her mouth with his hand, and ushered her back into her quarters, closing the doors behind him.

Safely inside, he stepped back and looked at her.

"Weisheng, what on earth do you think you are doing wearing that!" she chastised, having quickly recovered from the initial shock.  The prince looked a little hurt at her reaction.

"I thought it was safer," he said.

"And what if someone recognised you dressed up like that creeping through the servants' courtyard?  How would you possibly explain it?" Ming Yue demanded, her hands now firmly planted on her hips.

"Why should I have to explain anything?" he argued, in a rare moment of petulance.  "I am a prince, after all."

"Fine then," she retorted, unwilling to be beaten.  "What about me?  I know relationships between guards and maidservants in the palace are relatively common, but do you really think I want the rest of the mansion staff gossiping that they saw a royal guard leaving my room in the dead of night?  And it's not like I could dress as a man and come to you.  That would be ridiculous!  No one would ever be fooled by that!"

Weisheng thought for a second, then grudgingly admitted to himself that she was right.  However, just before he could offer an apology, he stopped, suddenly struck by something she had said.

"Wait!" he exclaimed. "Repeat what you just said."  She looked at him, puzzled.

"You mean about not wanting people in the mansion gossiping about me?"

"No, no, not that," he said.  "Before that."

Ming Yue cast her mind back.

"I said that relationships between guards and maids are quite common."

Weisheng looked at her for a moment, then spoke.

"Woman, you are a genius!"

Before she could react, he quickly kissed her on the forehead, then immediately turned to dash out of the room, calling out, "See you tomorrow!" as he left, not even realising what he had done.

Ming Yue stood there, slightly stunned, then spoke aloud to the empty room.

"Well, that was...unexpected."

Then, she sat down and picked up a book.

***

As Weisheng had anticipated, Luo Jian fell into step with him not minutes after he left Ming Yue's room, but he waited until they were inside his chambers to speak his mind.

"Luo Jian, tell me quickly," he said.  "How is the investigation into the guards going?  Have you found the traitor in my mansion?"  Luo Jian's falling expression told him that the answer was no.

"There's nothing," he admitted.  "The men have rarely had a moment to contact their families recently and, as for friends, they mostly socialise with each other." 

Weisheng nodded.  He had suspected as much, but Ming Yue's words had led him to consider another possibility.

What about any...," he struggled to find the right description, "special relationships they might have with other staff in the palace?"  Luo Jian just looked at him.  Weisheng continued.

"I'm talking about...lady friends.  Maidservants, perhaps?  Particularly anyone who might be connected with Li Jun's mansion."

Luo Jian gaped at him.

"Come on, Luo Jian!  Your royal guards are all young men after all.  Do you think they are completely oblivious to the opposite sex?"

Luo Jian gaped some more, and Weisheng suppressed a laugh.

"Close your mouth, man.  You look ridiculous."  

A long silence.

"I will make some enquiries," Luo Jian eventually said.