After she had bathed and changed, Ming Yue had insisted on returning to her own room.  It was just too awkward to stay in the prince's chambers, and it would have been virtually impossible to explain away if anyone had discovered her there.

Zhao Weisheng had let her go reluctantly, understanding her need for solitude, but he had organised for two guards to be stationed within sight of her door at all times.  He told her that she was to rest for at least another three days.  All food was to be delivered, and it had been arranged that Xu Rong would help change her dressings and bathe her wounds every day.

Ming Yue had agreed to everything, albeit under protest.  Despite the brave face she had put on things when she first regained consciousness, the fact that she'd had an extremely close call was now sinking in, and she was struggling to regain her usual, sunny disposition.

Fortunately, it was fairly easy to hide her misery from the prince now that she was back in her own room and Weisheng was busy with other matters.  This morning, one day into her three-day recuperation period, Xu Rong told her that he had gone somewhere in the palace grounds with Luo Jian, and Ming Yue stared absent-mindedly out of the window as she wondered what had captured his attention.

In fact, Zhao Weisheng and Luo Jian had not gone far.  They had made another journey to the summer house, this time in the full light of day.

When they had left the building with Ming Yue's unconscious body, they witnessed it being crushed by the woman's merciless protectors.  However, they expected to find the forest floor strewn with debris from the unlucky structure.  What they hadn't anticipated was that they would find absolutely nothing.  Not a single floorboard or soft furnishing.  Not even a solitary candlestick.  There wasn't even a hole where the building's foundations should have been.  It was simply as if the summer house had never existed.

Weisheng took a deep breath, and Luo Jian looked around at the trees apprehensively.  The prince noticed his uneasy stance.

"Don't worry, Luo Jian," he said.  "They wouldn't have let us take her away from here if they thought we had any ill intent.  I think we're among friends."

The other man visibly relaxed.

"But I wouldn't draw your sword," Weisheng said quickly.  "Just in case!"  Luo Jian gave him a look that said he was suitably unimpressed.

They investigated the path through the forest that lead back towards the inner palace, but there were no clues as to who else might have been at the summer house that day.  Then, as there was nothing further for them to see, they made their way back towards the prince's mansion, not without glancing back several times at the trees behind them.

***

The three days passed slowly for each of the three friends.   Weisheng worried about Ming Yue.  Ming Yue worried about Weisheng.  And Luo Jian was thoroughly sick of the both of them worrying about each other.  Consequently, everyone was heartily relieved when Ming Yue insisted that she was well enough to return to work as Weisheng's secretary and, even though he was privately concerned that she was still not sufficiently recovered, the prince agreed.

It would be easier to keep an eye on her when she was by his side, he reasoned, and Doctor Xiao had privately suggested to him that a return to some semblance of normality might aid with her emotional recovery after Weisheng had quietly raised concerns with him over Ming Yue's more subdued manner.

The days passed quickly now that they were back to a regular routine, and at the present time, they were immersed in finalising the running order of the performers on the evening of the queen's birthday celebration.  Zhao Weisheng had agreed that the acrobatic dance troupe should open the festivities, and they had correspondingly arranged for the more traditional dancers to perform at the end, finishing on a suitably patriotic note.  The musicians would play during the feast itself, and the singers would provide entertainment while the guests waited for new dishes to arrive.  In all, Weisheng was delighted with how things were shaping up.

Now that the big event was only a few days away, Ming Yue had arranged to bring the dancers into the palace to rehearse in the prince's mansion.  His hall was in no way as grand as the main palace's, but the layout was the same, so it was a more than adequate space to practise in.

Ming Yue attended every rehearsal, sensibly telling Weisheng that it was so she could answer any questions about the actual performance space itself or the timetable of the event, which had been recorded down to the finest detail.  Of course, Weisheng knew that, in reality, she was just spellbound by the dancers and their performances, but he would never have refused her the time spent in their company.  It was a distraction from recent events, and he was pleased to see her looking happier, even if he would have liked to have been the one to put the smile on her face himself.

By the time the day of the banquet arrived, Ming Yue had seen every performance at least four times, and she knew them all off by heart.  Her memory was exceptionally good in any event, and it was not difficult to recall the details of something that had given her such pleasure.

Ming Yue had danced often at home in Jin.  She remembered asking her shifu, Master Zhong, if he thought it was a silly girlish pursuit, but he had answered her quite seriously, saying that dancing and martial arts were more similar than she knew.  Both required grace, focus, flexibility and coordination.  Consequently, each one complimented the other, and she should have no hesitation in perfecting her skills in both.

When it came to the plan for the evening, Ming Yue and Eunuch Wang would be in charge of making sure everything went smoothly.  Luckily, the eldest prince's task this year had been selecting the menu, so his role was fulfilled well ahead of the actual event.  That meant that Ming Yue and Eunuch Wang would not have to worry themselves with minor scuffles for control over the proceedings.

Obviously, Weisheng himself would need to attend the banquet, together with his brothers, the consorts and, of course, the king and queen.  Other invited guests included senior palace officials, and some of the more influential nobles.  Weisheng had also managed to swing an invitation for the newly installed governor of the most heavily flooded province in the north, reasoning that it would make the man's life a little easier if the local gentry knew that he was favoured by the palace.

The hour of the feast was now fast approaching, and Weisheng was dressed in his formal attire, as required for royal occasions.  If he was honest, it wasn't the most comfortable clothing.  It was heavy and cumbersome, and made him feel like a bit like a peacock.  But, while there were times when it was acceptable to buck tradition, this was definitely not one of them.

Weisheng looked up as Ming Yue entered his chambers.  He had asked her to call in before he left, just to run through any last-minute issues that may have arisen.

"Well?" he asked as she approached.

"I think you look very dashing," she teased as she came closer, deliberately misunderstanding the question.

Zhao Weisheng raised an eyebrow and gave her his best 'unamused' look.

"Okay, okay," she laughed, relenting.  "Everything is going according to plan.   No need to worry."   She came closer, noticing that the collar of the prince's robes was slightly askew. Stepping in close to him, she reached up to adjust it.

Suddenly, both of them were painfully aware of the last time they had been this close to each other, the morning after Weisheng and Luo Jian had brought her back from the summer house.

Ming Yue went to move away, but Weisheng brought his arms around quickly, locking her in place.  He felt her body stiffen, and released her immediately, realising his mistake.

"As I said, everything is in order, Your Highness, so I should go and find Eunuch Wang," she said, leaving the room.

Weisheng sighed and rubbed his face.  He knew that Ming Yue was not yet fully recovered from her ordeal.  For all her attempts at good humour, he had noticed that her step was not quite as light as usual, and she avoided physical closeness with others, particularly men, spending more and more time on her own.  He wished there was something more he could do to help, but he feared that the only medicine that would really be of any benefit was time.

***

Ming Yue left Eunuch Wang in the Great Hall overseeing the staff in the final stages of setting up for the event.  The thick rope for the large golden ring had been successfully looped over the central beam of the ceiling, and the pulley system was now being checked, to make sure the prop could be raised and lowered smoothly.

She headed across the courtyard to a building that was presently being used as a changing room for the performers.  It was now time for the principal dancer of the opening act to take her place on the ring so that she could be raised up to the ceiling without any of the arriving guests noticing.

She expected to see a flurry of activity when she arrived, but instead she saw a crowd of people in various states of readiness clustered around something on the floor.

"What on earth is going on?" she asked, and the group of people parted to reveal the principal dancer lying motionless.

Ming Yue rushed over to check on her and was relieved to find that she was simply unconscious.  Her eyes narrowing suspiciously, she picked up the water cup lying beside the woman and brought it to her nose.  Sure enough, there was a slight medicinal scent that should not have been there but, right now, she did not have time to investigate further.

"She'll be fine," she told the other dancers, as they moved the young woman to a nearby chair. "Quickly, which one among you can take her place?"  The performers shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, until one of them took it upon themselves to answer for the rest.

"Miss," she began, "there is no one else.  No one has the inner core strength needed to control the ring as well as perform the routine."

As they all pondered the problem, nobody noticed the slim figure of a palace maid slipping out of the open door behind them.

Meanwhile, an idea was forming in Ming Yue's mind.

"I will do it," she said.  Stopping the protests with a raised hand, she continued.  "My martial arts are at an advanced level and my inner core is strong.  I have seen the routine enough times to replicate it, and I have some dance experience.  You must trust me, and I will be responsible for whatever happens," she finished, looking around the room.  To her relief, she saw a chorus of nods as the others were persuaded by the conviction in her voice.

"Then it is decided," she said.   "Someone, quickly, help me with a costume and bring me a veil.  Everyone else, carry on as usual.  No one outside this room must know that there has been a change of plan."  The dancers all hurried to comply.

Meanwhile, Bu Hong smiled to herself as she made her way quickly in the direction of the eldest prince's mansion.  It had been her good luck to be transferred there after the concubine she had been serving had fallen into disfavour, and she had since decided to tie her colours firmly to Prince Li Jun's mast.

After all, as the eldest son, it was he who was most likely to be named the crown prince, and if she could worm her way into his good graces, her opportunities for advancement within the palace would be almost limitless.

Also, it was the icing on the cake that carrying out the prince's instructions meant that she was able to teach a lesson to that self-righteous second prince – how dare he disrespect his eldest brother - and act on her intense hatred for his secretary and her former maid colleague, Ming Yue, now so smug in her new role.