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His Majesty did not leave the Imperial Palace that night, nor the following night and Ah-Duo breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn 't sure she could have resisted the urge to tear her younger foster brother 's beautiful beard right off his face if he had shown up, her anger ever-present under the calm surface she showed to her household. Sui had at least picked up on the fact that something was wrong, but as long as it didn 't affect her directly, she continued to help look after the rest of the Shi children without comment. The former Shaou shrine maiden listened to a condensed explanation before shaking her head and wishing Ah-Duo good fortune in the coming days.

She received a letter from Anshi the third morning, informing her that the conversation between her and Yue had gone about as well as could be expected, considering the circumstances. He had been calm, asking questions about what exactly had happened, and why. Anshi wrote that she had been careful to emphasize that, at the time, they had been trying to make the best decisions possible for both babies and that Yue seemed to at least understand that there had been no malice behind their actions.

But a lack of malice didn 't mean that he wasn 't hurt.

On the third night, one of the guards approached, bowing his head. 'Lady Ah-Duo. The Moon Prince has been spotted on the approach path. He 's riding masked, with a minimal guard. '

She pushed her tea away, what little she 'd managed to eat for the day sitting like a stone in the pit of her stomach. 'I understand. When he arrives, please see to the horses, and that his guards are welcomed. You may direct the Moon Prince to the garden. '

'Understood, my lady. ' The guard left to fulfill his orders as Ah-Duo made her way to a particularly lovely corner of the garden, a painted wooden bench set beside a tiny, burbling creek that filled the night with the trickle of water. Small, fragrant white flowers bloomed in one last burst before the autumn chill, scenting the air, while the stars and half moon provided enough light to see by. She reached down behind the bench to pull out a mostly full flask and took a drink, wincing only slightly at the burn of the liquor inside.

Despite the temptation, she limited herself to that one sip to steel her nerves, waiting for her son.

He was heralded by the soft crunch of gravel beneath his feet, black silken hair ruffled by the breeze, the scar on his face hidden in the shadows. Others might have seen a celestial maiden who had deigned to descend to the earth to walk her garden, but lovely as he was, Ah-Duo still saw the little boy she 'd had to love from a certain distance, the youth who had matured too young to understand the use others wished to make of his body, the man who had attended to her as the Pure Consort with careful diligence, ruling the Rear Palace with the proverbial iron fist inside a silk glove.

The obsidian eyes were hard, his mouth tight with control as he approached her for the first time with the full knowledge that she had sacrificed her womb to bear him, had struggled to nurse him at her breast and, ultimately, had given him up to save him.

The moon illuminated them both, her characteristics echoed in the mold of his grandfather 's face, staring at each other in silent acknowledgement for a moment that felt agonizingly long before Yue bowed his head to her, arms before him, the genuflection of a child to a parent. 'Mother. '

Her chest clenched at the unexpected shock of finally hearing him call her that. She breathed slowly, forcing back the tears that had sprung to her eyes. 'Yue. '

He took a deep breath. 'Surely you could call me by my true name now. '

'It was almost half a day between when you were finally born and when His Majesty was able to see us. I had you to myself for that time - and as I held you, I named you Yue. Because you had a little, round face like the moon. ' A tear dropped to fall on the back of her hand. 'When the day came for your official naming, after you had been established in your uncle's place, my mother in law insisted on the name Zuigetsu to the Empress Regnant and His Former Majesty. She told them it was so that her sun and moon would always be paired, but it meant I could keep the name I had given you. '

The mask broke and his face all but collapsed into agony. '

Why didn 't you tell me?!

' he cried out.

'Before the succession, we didn 't dare do anything that would have threatened revealing your true parentage. Your great-grandmother would have killed me, at the very least, if she had discovered who you were. ' She winced. 'She might very well have killed both of your grandmothers as well. '

Yue gasped. 'Suiren is 'she 's my grandmother. ' Somehow, in the chaos of everything, that realization had just occurred to him, a new shock written across his face to poke Ah-Duo with silent recrimination.

'When your father ascended to the throne, he had already been the de-facto ruler for about eighteen months. I believe he intended to tell you then along with permanently declaring you as Crown Prince rather than the heir apparent - and officially making me mother of the nation, even though I could no longer bear children. ' She paused and arched a brow at him. 'I understand that you challenged him to a bet before he could do so? '

He laughed without mirth. 'I challenged him to a game of Go. '

'Well, you won it, and the right to take the name Jinshi for yourself, as a eunuch. You gave His Majesty one hell of a shock, but after he 'd had a chance to think, he believed it might be for the best. You didn 't look like a child anymore, but in some ways you were still one. I think your father hoped that acting as a eunuch would give you a chance to make some peace with your appearance and the possessive desire it can evoke, while also giving you a bit more time. ' She moved to the side of the bench, making room for him to sit if he would.

Yue sat down next to her heavily, all precise grace forgotten, burying his face in his hands. 'He said it would be useful to sniff out corruption - and I guess it was, ' he mumbled to the ground.

Ah-Duo smiled at that. 'Why do something for only one reason when you can do it for many? '

'Hah. ' He huffed out an approximation of amusement. 'Please tell me you have something to drink? '

She handed over the gourd and her son immediately put it to his lips, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. Ah-Duo watched his throat work, swallowing over and over again until the flask was dry and he finally broke off gasping, his shoulders forcibly relaxing under the alcohol. 'I also thought he meant to tell you that evening before undergoing surgery - instead he and I finally cleared the air about how the baby swap happened. '

'He didn 't know from the beginning? ' Yue looked up, eyes a little wild.

She shook her head. 'Not at first. He honestly thought you had died and drove Doctor Kan from the palace in his rage and grief. It only added to the Empress ' distress; she gave her son to me to raise because she was terrified she couldn 't actually be a mother to the baby, given the circumstances of his conception. '

'Circumstances? ' Yue looked puzzled.

Ah-Duo took a deep breath, wondering if she even had the right to tell her son this part of the story. But if she wasn't honest with him now, after everything he had learned, would he ever trust her again? 'She never confessed it directly, but very shortly before she was discovered to be with child again, His Former Majesty abruptly stopped visiting his favorites and withdrew into his chambers. '

A shudder next to her - they all tried to avoid thinking too hard about those poor girls who had been sent as sacrifices into the Rear Palace. 'You think she made him stop? '

'Yes, I do. But the consequence of forcing him to stop meant she fell pregnant with a child whose conception cast a very long shadow, no matter how innocent the poor boy himself actually was. The fact that I failed to raise him properly still weighs on me to this day. He was a sweet little baby who smiled early and loved to snuggle. He deserved a chance to grow up too. ' She looked her Yue in the eyes and placed one hand on his cheek. 'But I was also so relieved it wasn 't you. Your poor uncle died proving my worry about what would happen if I raised my own child. '

Tears welled, spilling over before he closed his eyes and sniffled, nuzzling into the embrace of her hand on his cheek.

Ah-Duo scooted closer to her precious boy on the bench and wrapped her arms around him for the first time. 'I 'm so sorry, Yue. We never, ever meant to hurt you with this knowledge. All I wanted was for you to live and find some happiness in this world. '

A heartbeat of time passed, followed by a second before his tears began to soak her shoulder. She felt him inhale sharply before a single sob ripped from his chest and he returned her embrace, clinging to her, his whole body shaking with the force of three days of pent-up misery. She did her best to cry her own tears silently into his hair as she rocked him, arms holding him safe for this single moment before the world could intrude again.

The bench was hard under her bottom and her arms were stiff before Yue finally began to calm. He picked up his head, eyes swollen and red merging with the flush rising on his face from the alcohol. 'His Majesty is sending me on a tour of the empire. To get me out of the court while things calm down, he says. '

It was not the worst move Yoh could have made. 'That sounds like a good idea. How long do you expect to be gone? '

He shrugged. 'Given the number of stops, the glad handling and other diplomatic pap, not to mention the scandal? About six months. ' He did his best to wipe the tear tracks away with the palm of his hand.

'Here. ' She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to him.

Yue blew his nose and cleaned his face as best he could. 'The escort will be fairly small - Basen, enough bodyguards not to be an easy target, but traveling light enough to move quickly. A few staff. And a food taster. '

She smiled at that. 'You always find a way to bring Maomao. '

'No. ' His voice hardened, hands clenched into fists on top of his thighs. 'Not this time. '

'What does she think about that? ' Ah-Duo probed gently. This news would not have shocked Maomao, when she had been specifically warned about her son 's true heritage - and what a relationship with him could mean.

Yue pressed a hand to his side, covering the brand she had learned about from Chue 's spying. Empress Gyokuyou 's seal and Yue 's oath of loyalty. 'I promised her. I

swore

to her that I would never let her become Empress Gyokuyou 's enemy. That I wouldn 't let my feelings tear her loyalties in two. ' He started to laugh softly, with an edge of hysteria that brought fresh tears to Ah-Duo 's eyes. 'I was a fool to believe I could keep that promise. It seems I was destined to become Gyokuyou 's enemy no matter how hard all of us tried to prevent it. '

'You 're not the Crown Prince yet, unless His Majesty decreed it sometime between dinner and now? ' She rubbed his back in gentle circles.

He scrubbed at his face with his hands. 'No. But this trip is just delaying the inevitable. His Majesty has the nation to think of. His direct line isn 't an excuse anymore for why a grown man shouldn 't be given the title as opposed to a two year old boy. ' He shook his head. 'Besides, it doesn 't matter if I 'd condemn the assassination or not, the poor child would be just as dead when some idiot who thinks they 're securing my claim to the throne kills him. ' He hung his head again, his fingers threading through his bangs to pull violently on his own hair. 'I wish he 'd just declare it now and get it over with, ' he ground out.

'Hey. ' She twisted a lock of his hair between two fingers and pulled, hard enough to sting his scalp and shock him into looking at her. 'Do not give up. Not before it 's done. '

He gently tugged his hair out of her grip. 'Fair enough. Someone may try to off me first. '

'A distinct possibility - and one I will drag you out of your next life to yell at you for if you die on me, Yue. Do you understand? ' She looked him dead in the eyes.

A soft, heartbroken smile. 'Yes, Mother. '

She returned his smile at the address. 'Back to my original question. What does Maomao think of this? '

'I ' ' he broke off, looking at the ground. 'I haven 't seen her since everything happened. '

She sighed. 'A mother should know better than to intervene in her grown child 's love affairs. I won 't tell you what to do - but may I make a suggestion? '

Yue nodded, eyes bright, the flush across his face deepening as the consequences of emptying the gourd as quickly as he had began to catch up with him.

'Whatever your decision, be brave enough to see her before you go. ' She wiped away the fresh tears that had begun to fall down his cheeks with her thumb.

He swallowed hard at that, but nodded. 'I will. '

She stood. 'Now. There 's no way you 're fit to ride back home in that condition - you 'll tumble off your horse and end this succession crisis in the most embarrassing possible manner. '

He started laughing again, but the hysterical tone had faded. 'I 'm fine - whoa! ' He stood up quickly and swayed alarmingly where he stood. Ah-Duo wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him. 'Okay. Crap. Maybe not. ' His words began to soften around the very edges, even as he fell back on shorter, clear phrases.

'Come on. Things usually look a bit less overwhelming after you sleep. Let 's put you to bed. ' She kept one hand on his back as she guided him through the garden and into the house where his bodyguards to a man began glancing at each other at their master 's unsteady gait and flushed face.

Basen stepped forward. 'Lady Ah-Duo. A pleasure, as always, ' he managed to dredge up courtesy before looking at Yue with utter exasperation. 'If you think I 'm letting you get on a horse like that, I will tie you facedown over the saddle and let you puke the whole way home. '

Yue waved his hand. ' 'Mm not an

idiot

, Basen. '

'If you say so, sir. ' He shook his head. 'I 've got him, my lady. ' He slung one of Yue 's arms over his shoulder. 'Where can I settle him? '

'I 'll have guest chambers prepared for all of you to spend the night. ' The housekeeper nodded and took over where to house the contingent of bodyguards for the night, even as one pulled away and followed Basen. 'You three, follow me. '

'I can walk, y 'know, ' Yue complained.

Basen shook his head. 'If we want to sleep sometime before dawn, I doubt it. ' For all that, he let Yue take more of his own weight as they guided him into a guest chamber and poured him into bed, pausing just long enough to strip him down to his inner robes and put his boots by the side of the bed.

'Master Basen? ' The other bodyguard stuck his head through the door. 'I can take the first shift outside the door. Are we still on schedule? '

Basen nodded. 'Yes. I want everyone to be well rested and alert. I 'll stay in the room with him, though. '

'Understood. ' The other man took up his position on the outside of the door.

Yue was asleep almost before his head hit the pillow, the exhaustion on his face clear in the brighter lamplight. 'Let me guess - he 's been pushing himself? ' Ah-Duo asked Basen, who was pulling a couch over so that he would be between Yue and the window.

'Yes. I 'm not sure he 's actually slept since 'well. ' Basen sighed.

Ah-Duo smiled. 'You were very good with him, tonight. I see a lot of your father in you. '

'Oh! ' Basen began to blush, furiously. 'Um, thank you. Father 'he pulled me aside after. Well. Everything. He told me that there were some times to defer etiquette and that this situation was one of them. And I wasn 't letting him ride drunk, so ' ' he shrugged.

'I 'm glad he has a friend with him. He 's going to need that more than ever, now. ' Ah-Duo placed her hand on Basen 's shoulder. 'Look after each other. '

He nodded, quite seriously. 'Yes, my lady. ' He offered a short bow. 'Now that he 's sleeping, though, I think we should follow his example. '

'So wise for one so young, ' she teased her son 's milk sibling for the mischievous pleasure of watching him flush bright red yet again. This boy was so easy to tease - and it wouldn 't hurt to evaluate him as Lishu 's likely husband, now would it?

She made her way to her own suite. Anshi was right - that had gone just about as well as could be expected. Perhaps a little better.

She was awoken in the small hours of the morning by her housekeeper 's hand on her shoulder. 'Lady Ah-Duo. Master Gaoshun has arrived, with what appears to be the rest of the Moon Prince 's escort. '

She sat upright quickly, reaching for her sleeping robe. 'Has something happened? '

'I don 't know. He 's waiting for you in the parlor. Shall I wake the Moon Prince? '

She shook her head. 'Let me speak with Master Gaoshun first and see what 's going on. We can wake him afterwards, if necessary. ' She bound her hair with a simple tie, preferring speed over anything else. Her other milk sibling wouldn 't care how she was dressed in any case.

When she entered the parlor, she found her older foster brother waiting for her, a furrow in his brow. The poor man always seemed perpetually put upon, even when the three of them had been children, but this morning his shoulders were also set with a fine tension. 'What 's happened? ' she managed to ask calmly.

'Ah-Duo. Listen to me. ' Gaoshun looked at her. 'Before I say anything else, I want you to know that your mother is going to be all right. '

Her heart clenched and she immediately sat down on a nearby sofa. 'Oh dear ancestors - was there an attack? '

'Not as such. A small group of malcontents from the Empress ' faction threw torches into his pavilion last night. Most of them hit the flagstones, but one was unlucky enough to catch the roof of the servants ' sleeping quarters. Fortunately, Lady Suiren woke quickly enough to escape, but the building burned and she inhaled some of the smoke. She was moved to Lady Anshi 's residence and Xiaomao was summoned to the Inner Palace to provide treatment. '

And to make sure that two pieces of her Yue 's heart were safely behind the aegis of the Empress Dowager 's own protection. Although that wouldn 't be worth much. 'Were the instigators caught? '

'Very quickly - they were quite young, drunk and easy to find. The gallows are going up as we speak. ' Gaoshun 's face was hard - young and stupid boys or not, he had no sympathy in him for this crime.

'Gallows? Not whipping? '

Gaoshun shook his head. 'Arson by itself would already be borderline between the two. Arson directed at the Imperial family? An example must be made. '

She passed a shaking hand over her face. 'So Yoh is sending him now? '

'Yes. A moving target is harder to hit. His itinerary has also been juggled - he 'll be spending some time outside the main cities as well, which should please him. I believe the Red Plum Village will be one of their first stops, in fact. A chance to give the prince a chance to rest in a quiet setting with no urgent political obligations for a week or so. ' Gaoshun smiled slightly at her - of course, the fact that Lishu was there and Basen was courting her at a pace that could only be described as glacial had not weighed heavily on the Emperor 's mind when making this decision. But it was certainly a nice bonus.

'Can we let him sleep just a little longer? He wasn 't in good shape when he arrived and I applied some alcohol to the situation. ' She twisted her hands in her lap.

Gaoshun sighed. 'Until dawn. No later. '

She nodded before her agitation drove her to stand, then pace. 'I could kick him. '

'So could I, ' Gaoshun responded, eyes dark. 'I suspected something when I saw just how much Yue resembled you as he grew, but it wasn 't my place to say anything. If he was going to be told, it should have been years ago, not in front of the whole damned court. '

'How is Lord Hao faring? ' her smile more of a chance to bare her teeth than an expression of pleasure.

The furrow on his brow somehow deepened. 'Well, his faction has gained ascendancy overnight. The Moon Prince has more support than I suspect he realizes in some quarters. Many who were neutral on the current Crown Prince 's appointment have been pushed into supporting him now that the Emperor 's direct line would continue either way. The appendicitis didn 't help the situation either - the fact that His Majesty could die early is no longer a vague possibility in many eyes. So, for now, the bastard is riding high, although apparently you sent him back with his tail between his legs? '

'Yes. I pointed out that it 's not as easy to control a twenty two year old man as it is an infant. If that was what he wanted, he 'd have been better off sticking with Consort Lihua 's boy. '

'Talk about a man who lives on luck alone. ' Gaoshun shook his head. 'I suspect the Emperor intends to freeze Hao out over the next six months. The Empress Dowager is refusing to see him as well. '

She sighed. 'Sit down, at least, if we 're going to wait a couple of hours. '

Gaoshun sat on the couch, watching her continue to pace. 'How are you doing? ' he asked gently.

'Apparently I 'm not as good at keeping secrets as I thought. ' She huffed. 'It feels like this has been trickling out around the edges for years until the dam finally burst. Now everything 's destroyed - and nothing has actually changed. '

'I suspect both of you are jumping to the worst case scenario, ' her friend tried to reassure her. 'If nothing else, the Emperor is beyond angry. Leaving Yue out of it for a moment, he loves all of his children and Gyokuyou 's boy is now in even more danger than he already was. '

'That 's because he won 't make a decision! ' she nearly shouted, just barely keeping her voice down in time. 'It doesn 't seem to matter how many times Yue says he doesn 't want that damned throne, Yoh keeps asking as if he 'll change his mind! '

Gaoshun raised his brows. 'A great many young men do change their minds about what they want. For something as momentous as the succession, I can 't blame him for wanting to be absolutely sure that Yue 's resolve was set. If he were to suddenly change his mind in a year or so? '

'He wouldn 't! '

'Because you never did? ' Gaoshun continued to watch her closely.

Ah-Duo paused her pacing. 'What 's that supposed to mean? '

Her guest leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and steepling his fingers together for a moment. 'There is a great deal of you in the Moon Prince - the fineness and coloring of his features, the charisma that draws people to him, the quickness of thought coupled with a kind heart. But you are not who he inherited his devotion from. That 's all his father. '

'I fail to see your point? ' She tilted her head, puzzled.

Gaoshun sighed. 'Making Yue the Crown Prince has never only been about restoring his firstborn son 's rights. It was also about making you the mother of the nation. '

Ah-Duo blew her breath out in an angry huff. 'All because I asked him to make me the mother of the nation when we were children! I didn 't mean it! '

'He did. '

The words fell into the pre-dawn silence of the parlor. Gaoshun watched her with a steady gaze that, to her surprise, held an unmistakable light of criticism. 'You have never truly reckoned with the depth of Yoh 's feelings for you, Ah-Duo. '

'What 's that supposed to mean? ' She sat opposite her older foster brother in a chair, feeling as though the fine tension holding her upright had suddenly snapped.

Gaoshun pressed his lips together for a moment, a gesture she knew meant he was considering exactly how much to say. 'To you, he has always been your younger foster brother, your milk sibling, your playmate. You seem to think that he decided to ask for you to be his first lover because it was a whim for him. '

'I know it wasn 't just a whim. He was young and I was getting ready to finally leave the palace and explore the world - and that frightened him. He was clinging to what he knew rather than being willing to explore the new avenues that were opening to him as well. ' Ah-Duo sighed, feeling the old disappointment rise.

'Strange, then, that a decision made on the whim of a thirteen year old boy resulted in maintaining only one consort from that day until the day of his ascension when he was twenty nine. ' Gaoshun watched her closely. 'Sixteen years, Ah-Duo. Fiercely resisting any and all other possible consort candidates, despite the fact that your physical relationship only lasted until the Moon Prince 's birth and settled into a stable, warm friendship that you could tolerate. '

'That wasn 't a sentimental decision. The Empress Regnant had made it clear that Yoh was disposable once there were alternate heirs. If he was going to take power, he had to keep Yue as far away from her influence as possible and deny her any more spares. He and I agreed that we would have more power to do that as a united front, along with his mother. '

It had been a near-perfect arrangement, as far as she had been concerned. She could stay close to Yue, even if she couldn 't raise him herself. And by helping the Crown Prince stay in his position, slowly building his own alliances within the palace, she secured her son 's safety. One had to be careful with their only spare, after all.

Gaoshun pinched the bridge of his nose. 'All of that is true, but it 's not why he did it. '

'What are you saying? ' Ah-Duo breathed, the shape of some realization she had never wanted to look too closely at began to come into focus.

'I am saying that, until his duty demanded that he beget more heirs, he remained absolutely faithful to you. ' His eyes bored into her, demanding that she hear and understand him. 'That he was content with whatever affection you were willing to give him, just so long as he could have you near. Regardless of whether or not you could bear children. That is not indecisiveness in politics, nor is it whimsy. That is utter devotion inspired by all the passionate love of a youth who looked up and realized that the girl he 'd grown up next to was all he ever wanted. '

Ah-Duo sat, stunned into silence. Was this -?

Gaoshun passed his hand over his face. 'Like father, like son, it seems. We tried so hard to train what we thought was a tendency toward obsession out of Yue, to ensure that we did not repeat the mistakes of our generation. If he became too attached to a toy, we removed it, trying to get through to him that fixation on a single object was a weakness he couldn 't indulge. In retrospect, I wish we had not done it. That we had defied the Empress Dowager 's order. All we taught him is that everything he loves will eventually be taken away from him. '

He put his hand back down on his knee, squaring his shoulders. 'What Yoh did was wrong. I will not defend him on that point. What he wanted was something that only had value if it was freely given - and he learned that lesson too late, after he had already clipped your wings. But it does not change the fact that making Yue the Crown Prince has always been about showing his love and pride in Yue by restoring his son 's birthright - and honoring you as the only woman he has ever loved. '

She buried her face in her hands, breathing deeply. How utterly sentimental, and stupid and hopeless he was! She sat, rearranging the pieces of her life, checking to see if how she felt about Yoh had changed its shape at all.

Only to discover that she did not have devotion to offer in return. Indeed, she didn 't think she had it in her to allow anyone that close to her own heart, except for Yue, and that was an altogether different kind of love. If her life had not turned out as she had dreamed, she still had her duties and her pleasures. All in all, she had settled into a sort of contentment that had deepened after Yoh had extended the leash and moved her out of the Rear Palace into this villa she now called home.

But now she wondered if Yoh ever looked at Yue and his apothecary and wondered 'what if? '

Regardless of whatever revelations the night held, the dawn broke. Ah-Duo 's housekeeper, well trained, spoke to the guard on duty in front of the Moon Prince 's door and instructed him that Master Gaoshun had arrived with the rest of the royal traveling party. It was less than ten minutes after that when the prince himself arrived in the parlor to find a light breakfast laid out that Gaoshun and Ah-Duo had already begun to partake of.

'Gaoshun. What happened? ' No trace of any hangover in his face or voice - ah the invincibility of youth! - as his demeanor hovered somewhere between formality and worry.

As Gaoshun explained the events of last night to him, reassuring his former charge that his household was safe, but with some damage to the pavilion itself, Ah-Duo watched her son 's face change. Anger, terror, worry at first, followed by grim acceptance of the necessity for both the executions and an early departure. 'I understand. We 'll be on the road in under an hour. '

'Eat something before you go, ' Ah-Duo encouraged, pushing a bowl of congee toward him.

Yue shook his head. 'No, thank you. But may I use your desk? I have a couple of letters to write. '

Ah-Duo nodded. 'Of course. ' She lifted a hand and the housekeeper silently stepped forward to show Yue the way to her office.

Her son was nothing if not prompt and diligent. Thirty minutes later he emerged and immediately began coordinating with his men. Basen appeared and Yue smiled grimly when he realized that every single one of his guards would be traveling masked - allowing them to use a decoy in the carriage while Yue himself rode, as was his preference.

It had taken young Basen some time, but he really was coming along quite nicely. Gaoshun clearly disagreed with his son 's decision - his preference would have been to keep the prince in the protected position - but seeing the tension in the set of her own son 's shoulders, she rather thought Basen had managed an acceptable compromise between safety and his charge 's need to be doing something.

In a short moment when Basen and Gaoshun were speaking about the changes to the itinerary, Yue approached her, sealed letters in his hand. 'Will you deliver these for me? '

'Of course. ' She took them and glanced at the recipients. His Majesty, Suiren and Maomao. Exactly as she might have guessed, if it were not so obvious.

'Mother? ' The lovely voice was quiet, slightly hesitant still.

'Yes? ' She looked her boy in the eyes, still feeling her heart clench in her chest at the address she 'd never allowed herself to imagine coming from him.

He swallowed and held her gaze, heartbreak coloring his expression. 'Will you watch over Maomao for me? Just 'I need to know she 's safe. '

Her fingers tightened on the letters. She had a feeling she knew what her son 's decision had been. He has said as much, the night before Yoh 's surgery.

If I must bind her to me alone, setting her free would be the better option.

Her boy would make his own mistakes, but his father 's would not be repeated over another generation. He understood that what he wanted, Maomao could only give him freely. And her ability to do so would become strained if the man who loved her was forever trapped in the palace. The prince was powerless to escape his duty and his duty would be the death of their love.

It might even be the death of her prince.

She squared her shoulders. No. This fight was just beginning. Yue was doing his part and she would do hers. But in the meantime, she smiled at him. 'Should I ask Chue to make a point of spending time with her? '

'No. ' His face fell further. 'Chue 's arm means she 's not suitable for bodyguarding anymore except in desperate circumstances. Besides, she 's known to have been attached to my household. It would draw the wrong kind of attention. '

Ah-Duo couldn 't disagree with his assessment. 'I 'll speak to His Majesty about putting an eye on her, then. '

'Thank you, ' he breathed in relief.

She cupped the side of his face with her hand, fingers tracing over the scar that had faded into a soft white line against his cheek. 'Take care of yourself. '

His eyes closed briefly for a moment. 'I will. ' When he reopened them, however, the proverbial court mask was firmly back in place, his expression calm and dignified, his shoulders squared and his stride sure as he got his new traveling household moving.

The sky had just begun to turn a hazy blue when the masked company left Ah-Duo 's villa, the prince anonymous among the outriders, their dust slowly disappearing over the horizon.