Yu qi waited anxiously for her return. 
She had gone to the town nearby to try and see if she could fetch Hai Lin back home, since sending any of the men in the home would risk them getting drafted. It was clear that she was reluctant to involve herself in the affairs of the Wei again, but she made it clear that she didn't want her family to be tangled up in the messy world of war. 

By she, Yu qi obviously meant her highness, who she had struggled to name throughout their time here. On one hand, she wished to follow her wishes and call her by the name she had adopted while she was in the Wei, but it felt wrong for her to do so. After all-- her father made her when she was young to forever serve the royal family, and it was out of place for her to be calling the crown princess by a name that was not hers. 

But if it was her wish to leave her identity behind, then it's her duty as a servant to follow it. 

Some servant she is, following the wrong royal for years believing the main royal family was dead. Now she can't even help her in her time of need in any meaningful way. Yu Qi looked back at the family she had entrusted her to protect while she was gone. That lady from the Wei, Xue Hua, had gone back the same day she had left for town, which meant that things went back into relative normalcy. Winter was coming, and they needed to prepare. 

"Auntie, I finished organizing the last of the harvests. Is there anything else I should do?"

The old woman smiled pleasantly, happy to be addressed in such a younger way. She reminded Yu Qi of the late empress-- her highness' mother.  Though they had a significant age difference, both of them had a sort of twinkle in their eyes. The only difference between that gaze was the late empress had a more mischievous glint to it-- something that her highness had inherited, but this elderly woman was gentler. "Good girl. If only Xin er was as dutiful as you are! You must be tired-- would you like to take a break?"

A pot of porridge and the wolfberries they have harvested were simmering on the outdoor stove the two remaining men in the home had set up, and one of her highness' maids-- Ye Bing-- was tending to it. Though there was no aroma to the concoction, Yu qi could feel her stomach rumble. It wasn't lunchtime, and she needed to fulfill her promise to her highness. 

"I'll eat later, thank you. Where are the children?"

"They went with Bai Yan in the forest to collect the last of the chestnuts of the season," Ye Bing answered, stepping away from the stove to give the old woman a cup of warm water to warm her hand and tugged on Yu Qi's sleeves to beckon her over to take a seat. "They should be back soon. Why don't you take a seat? Ten minutes won't be much of a difference." Though her words were merely suggesting a rest, her actions told Yu Qi that she had no other choice but to take her on her offer. 

 Now that Yu Qi was settled onto a still propped next to the fire, she realized how sore she was. Who knew peasant work could be so hard on your body? She couldn't help but think about the fires she and her highness had set in the Song. Farmers had poured their blood and sweat into those fields to produce that harvest, and yet they had burned it so easily. She didn't think too much of it at the time as she was just following orders, but now she was starting to feel bad. All that hard work over the course of a year is gone with the light of a match. If all this food was going to be barely enough to feed them, how much did they put the Song at a loss for food? 

Her highness must have foreseen that outcome, she reasoned with herself. Without food, the Song will be forced to surrender early. More lives would be saved that way. I must believe in her actions. 

A bony, wrinkled hand pressed against her icy cheek. She could hear the old woman click her tongue and shake her head in disapproval. 

"Goodness, child. Lean in closer to the fire. You're not saving us any warmth from us by leaning away." She chuckled.

Yu Qi's cheeks grew warm from embarrassment as she scooted closer to the fire. Who knew autumn weather could be so cold? She had known, of course, but she had always been bundled in warm clothes provided by the Song. Now, she was only wearing the spare clothes they had, and it was terribly thin. 

"Did Xin er ever say when she'll be back?" The old woman asked after a bit of silence. "It can get quiet without her and Hai Lin." Yu qi sat up straighter at the sound of that. She had promised to keep them safe and happy in case she was gone for more than expected. If it was liveliness that they missed, then perhaps she could--

The sound of horses stole Yu Qi's attention away from the two, and she stood up immediately in defense. She recognized the man on the horseback and the people he was being led by. It was the man her highness had asked her to rescue back in the Song-- the one that ultimately failed to defend her highness from exile. In front of the prince of Wei was Bai yan and the children, whom he no doubly saw on the way and forced them to show him where they were. 

Yu qi reached for her sword but came up empty. Her highness had insisted that they put away their weapons when they arrived, so she would have to face him unarmed. Though he didn't seem hostile, you could never be too sure.  

"You!" 

The prince looked surprised that she was here. "Aren't you-- Aren't you the person who freed me?"

"And you're the person that left her highness alone to defend for herself. Perhaps I shouldn't have obeyed her and set you free." The words 'shouldn't have obeyed her' felt foreign on her lips, but she still spat it out as if it was poison. 

He looked uncomfortable with her words and didn't move as Bai yan and the children ran behind her. There was a bit of an awkward standoff between the two as neither of them knew what to say. What was there to be said? Yu Qi assumed he would have enough common sense to leave them alone-- or should she capture him and make sure he doesn't leak this location to the wei? what if he already has?

To her surprise, the old woman rose from her chair with a sigh. "Young man, I don't know who you are, but it must have been hard to travel from wherever you came from in this time of year." She smiled, and Yu Qi knew from that she knew exactly who he is. "Lunchtime is approaching. Why don't you sit down and tell us what you want?"

<>

When arranging the table, Yu Qi made sure that the prince was kept as far away from everyone as possible, and that she would be the first one to move if he decided to make any moves. She had asked Hong Hui for a knife she could use just in case something happened, and he gave it to her without any hesitation. It comforted her greatly that they were just as wary of the prince as she was, and weren't giving him any special treatment just because he was royalty. 

Speaking of not taking him like Royalty, instead of giving him the best chair at the table, they gave him the uncomfortable stool that Yu Qi was sitting on before, and it gave her pleasure to see him humiliated in what way. 

As for him, he looked as uncomfortable as anyone who has longer legs than a child who would be sitting in that chair and was the last one to be passed his bowl of rice. He hadn't spoken except for some 'thank you's, but he largely looked nervous to be around people who stared daggers at him. 
After all-- they had all heard from her how much of a coward he was at court. If he had spoken up some and defended her, no one would be in this situation now. In fact, Yu qi would bet her right hand that the idiot of an emperor ordered him to find the one person who can save them, and he had likely demanded a location from the poor maiden who had probably just gotten home. 

In her thoughts, she didn't notice the silence that hung around the table until the old man cleared his throat, breaking the silence and calling everyone's attention towards him. "This is the countryside, and you're at our mercy," he said slowly, looking down at the prince from where he was sitting. "You won't mind if we don't follow formalities, right?"

"Oh... No. I don't mind."

Yu Qi let out a huff of air from her nose, her lips tugging at a smirk. She knows that the prince can see her, and she wanted him to know that she found this situation funny. 

"Good, now let me guess: You came for our family's Xin er'?" He asked-- though it felt more like he was mocking him rather than a genuine guess. 

"... Is she home?"

The old man leaned back, adjusting his seat, and chuckled. He reached out, took a chunk of the grilled fish from the plates in the center, and put it in his mouth nonchalantly. "No."

"When will she be home? I want to see her."

"Want? Young man, the survival of your country is more than a want. You need to see her for the sake of the Wei."

"No... well, yes. I do need to see her on that matter, but I also want to apologize to her."

Yu Qi slammed her chopsticks on the table, causing everyone to jump. "Apologize?! " She shot up her feet. "You're the reason why we're here!" Even she wasn't so sure why she was so angry at him. She's only met and talked to him once before, and only knows what he's done through her highness' words. perhaps she just didn't like the idea of betrayal ... or perhaps it was because it was her highness that he had betrayed that made her so angry. "What can you say to her for her to forgive you and the country that exiled her?"

He was quiet, which made her even angrier. 

"If you can't even stand up to me, how are you going to stand up to her?" 

"I don't know, but I want to try."

Yu Qi scoffed. "Try. She won't go back and save the Wei with you trying. How spineless are you Wei men? I don't like the Song, but at least I would say their emperor at least tried to scheme against her. You men don't even dare to speak to her!"

At that comment, a flash of annoyance sparked in his eyes. "Watch your mouth. There is more than that going on here--"

"What If I don't watch my mouth?" Yu Qi asked, subconsciously placing her hand on the hilt of the knife she had tucked away. "What are you going to do? Arrest us? Then She'll be even angrier at you. Perhaps she'll even join the Song just to watch you fall."

That thought seemed to scare the prince, and he looked away again-- which only served to infuriate Yu Qi. She didn't-- she couldn't-- understand how some men can be so weak. This man and some other general was someone who had caused trouble for the song in military campaigns. This man was someone she put great faith into, and yet this is what he's like? 

One of the children, Nian Zhen, tugged on her sleeve for her to sit down. She had been standing there, fuming, for a few awkward seconds now, so she sat back down begrudgingly. 

The old man spoke again. Clearly, he had been waiting for them to finish bickering. "Xin er' will return in a few days. She went off to see if she can bring back one of my sons from the draft." He answered-- much to Yu Qi's horror. He was just going to tell him like that? 

The prince stood up. "Thank you. I'll go over to the village now and--"

"No, sit down." 

The prince sat down. 

"Imagine the scene you two are going to cause-- A prince arguing with a regular peasant woman? Remember, the people there don't know who she is. You'll just look delusional if she pretends to have been attacked by you." He laughed "Imagine how much face you'll lose if she does! No, not if-- she will."

"So I have to wait here?!" 

The old man looked up without lifting up his head. Everyone had stopped eating in some way or another. Some had their chopsticks frozen in the air and the others have simply put them down, but he had never stopped eating. "What else can you do?" he asked, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Oh, and: Room and food aren't free here. If you want to be at least slightly comfortable while you're here, you better not mind doing labor." He looked at his wife with a smile "how do you feel about telling a prince to scrub the pig's pen?" 

A/N
Sorry for the late update!
I'll be posting another chapter hopefully soon to make up for last month. Thank you for waiting, see you then!