Incense sticks and tea were a method to measure time. One incense took about five minutes to burn down, drinking one cup of tea was about one minute, brewing a cup of tea about two to three minutes.

The ministries: Appointments, Rites, Revenue, War, Justice, Personnel/Work. Every ministry has one minister and two assistant ministers (at least in China, but I'll assume that Korea was not much different based on what I've seen in dramas of both countries).

Yoongi focus

A cold and wet slap woke Yoongi up.

"What the...?" he asked while wiping his face. It was tea. "Which imbecile dares to wake- Jungkook."

The black-clad personal guard was standing next to his bed with a grin on his face and the teapot of yesterday's remains in his hand.

"You ruthless wretch, disrespectful retard..." Yoongi kept cursing the man while chasing him down the stairs with kicks and punches while the younger was just laughing at him.

"Namjoon wanted me to wake you up," the soldier said after Yoongi had bent over to calm his breath. Exercising in the morning was not his thing.

"You dare to speak the crown prince's name?" Yoongi raged breathlessly. "Watch your tongue or I'll cut it out personally." This young man had not been punished enough for his impoliteness. Yoongi should show him what the royal ruler was.

"We're in private, aren't we?" the younger just asked mischievously. "No harm in using that name."

"Just because you're the third prince's bedwarmer that doesn't mean that you can run around offending everyone," Yoongi growled and straightened his back, breath back to normal.

"I'm not sleeping with Taehyung!" the soldier said quickly, stupid grin finally wiped off his face. But then a nasty smile creeped back onto it. "But people thinking so certainly makes life easy."

Yoongi looked into the pair of dark eyes with a stare as cold as Rouran's winter. "One day you'll burn for claiming to be above others. One day you'll suffer and there will be no one to help you out of your misery, not even the third prince."

"Is advisor Min cursing me?" the younger asked pretending to be shocked.

"Shut up and tell me why I was woken up so rudely," Yoongi snapped, no longer in the mood to argue with someone so thick-headed.

"Namjoon wants you to accompany him for lunch," Jungkook told him.

"Lunch? What about breakfast?" he wanted to know, whipping the tea off his face with his sleeve.

"It's already a late lunch," the soldier said with risen eyebrows that spoke of doubt in Yoongi's ability to hold up his position.

"What day is it?" Yoongi asked instead of being offended. The days had blurred with too much work and little sleep.

"The little prince's birthday," the soldier stated dryly.

"Oh Buddha save me," Yoongi groaned. He had completely forgotten about that. "I'll be ready in a moment."

"You'll want to wash up. The tea is the nicest smell coming from you," that arrogant little dunghead told him with a grin and Yoongi finally chased him out of the tower.

But Jungkook was right. He should take a bath and change into new clothes. He was smelly.

Luckily concubine Oh's bathhouse could make any man smell perfectly fine within the duration of an incense. When he entered, he asked one of the servants to make him a small cold bath and chose his favorite soap from the collection of exquisite odors. The bathhouse was a blessing.

"Everything is ready for advisor Min," the male servant told him with a lowered head and gestured him to one of the side rooms.

Yoongi slipped in, got rid of his week-old clothes, and stepped into the ice-cold well-water bath. Quickly he ladled some of the water over his head and upper body, suppressing the unmanly sounds that were trying to slip from his lips and began rubbing the soup over his body. Somehow concubine Oh had captured the scent of the spring forest with her soap and Yoongi enjoyed it far more than he should.

"Advisor Min?" a voice asked through the door.

"What?!" Yoongi snapped back. Could one not even take a quiet bath?

"One of the guards wants me to tell you that the crown prince is awaiting you for lunch," the servant said and Yoongi could swear that his mood was enough to cause the water around him to cook.

"I! Know!" he shouted back, dropping the soap back onto the tray next to the bathtub and ladling the remains off his skin. He hated birthdays.

Five minutes later, he left the bathhouse with fresh clothes and a fresh odor, hair slowly drying in the summer heat. The guard who had carried the reminder to the bathhouse was now accompanying him on his way to the office, making Yoongi feel like a stranger. But the guard seemed new, so he would forgive this man for being ignorant of who advisor Min was.

"Your highness," he growled out his greeting and bowed his head unwillingly. To send two people after him like he was some lazy palace employee who needed to be hurried to do his job was just too much.

"Advisor Min," the crown prince greeted him with a smile. "Please take a seat."

"Why did you send Jungkook?" Yoongi wanted to know when he let himself fall onto the cushion across from the prince on the side table that was covered under numerous dishes and side dishes.

"Jungkook?" Namjoon asked confused. "I did not send Jungkook."

Yoongi froze. Had the boy been eavesdropping on the crown prince? Or was it because of the new guard? Had the newbie asked around where he could find advisor Min and Jungkook had allowed himself a joke? That sounded very much like Taehyung's personal guard. He had probably told the poor man a lie about Yoongi's whereabouts and then came over to do the job by himself. Damn rascal.

"That man needs the royal ruler, I tell you," he said to the prince and finally took the chopsticks to dig in.

Namjoon chuckled. "What makes you think that?"

"He's overstepping his boundaries," Yoongi said over a mouthful of rice and fish.

"In which way? Whenever I see him, he looks well-mannered and speaks politely," the prince objected.

"Yeah, in front of you," Yoongi frowned. "He woke me up by emptying the teapot over my face."

The expression on the crown prince's face was a mix of shock and amusement and Yoongi knew that he would not be supported by the other. Jungkook had a free pass for everything because of being the third prince's rumored bedwarmer. Even Namjoon let things slide for the sake of his younger brother.

"Where is the evidence?" the crown prince asked him, suppressing a grin.

Now Yoongi regretted having gone to the bathhouse. Next time he would straight away go to the crown prince and show him his pitiful state.

"Never mind," he said instead of diving deeper into this petty matter. There were bigger things than an arrogant personal guard.

"Have you gotten a gift for my son?" Namjoon changed the topic.

"My gift is my devotion to his father," Yoongi replied dryly. As if he would buy a four-year-old some expensive nonsense. The ministers would take care of that. Yoongi would take care of keeping the royal family alive.

"I was looking forward to hearing this," the other replied. "Since that is your gift, I have something to ask of you." Bright ebony eyes looked at Yoongi radiating seriousness.

"What is it?" Yoongi asked just as serious.

"Master Heo will be our guest of honor," the prince said. "Although I had the pleasure of talking to him, I do not want to draw any conclusion before your man has come back from Jungseon."

Yoongi jumped at that. "I almost forgot!" he interrupted the younger hastily. "The name Heo sounded familiar to me, so I searched all the information we had about the Daejeon court." He had never been aware of the amount of paper in the ministry of war. "And it turns out I was correct. Heo is the name of Hwon's mother, the grand princess and second wife of late king Hwon."

Namjoon put down his chopsticks at this information and leaned closer. "What is their relationship?"

"I don't know," Yoongi admitted. "But what I know is that the Heo family is to Baekje what the Park family is to Silla. They're a family of martial artist and soldiers in important ranks. Not as omnipresent as the Park sons in our army, but they're quite powerful."

"That is why their daughter was married to the late king," Namjoon drew the conclusion. It was the same as marrying princess Dahee to Park Bogum, a political decision to keep the military in check.

"But we can't be rash with our conclusions," Yoongi warned. "The Heo family is big, far bigger than the Parks, and master Heo might only be a far cousin of the grand princess. After all, how likely is it for a close relative of the late king's wife to leave the army and open a school in Goguryeo? It sounds rather absurd to me."

Namjoon nodded, visibly relieved by Yoongi's words. "I would not be surprised to find out that master Heo was cast out of the army and exiled. He appears to be a man who likes to speak his mind. And we both know Hwon's temper."

Yoongi agreed. The Baekje king was bold enough to behead a general without a trial, so it was not farfetched to be exiled for less. Still, the connection to the Baekje court was concerning.

"So, what was it that you wanted me to do?" Yoongi found back to their original topic.

"I want you to watch master Heo when I cannot," Namjoon replied. "A banquet such as this is a risk. Poisoning, backstabbing, even just the contact with the ministers is a possible threat."

Yoongi nodded. "I'll be his shadow."

"Good," the prince said and leaned back to resume eating lunch. "Now dig in. We have a long night in front of us."

><

Yoongi had spent his afternoon with fishing in the banquet hall pond and cursing away Jungkook several times who would throw stones into the water to disturb the koi. He had watched how tables and cushions had been prepared, how the emperor's pedestal had been built, and how the minister of rites Choi had exercised the procedure of this evening with the servants.

Now, all the guests were gathered, smiling and talking under the warm light of the evening sun, waiting for the banquet to be opened by the king's words. But Yoongi did not care for the jolly atmosphere; his eyes were solemnly focused on one person.

Master Heo was conversing with the minister Park who was seated next to him, but Yoongi could not hear the words that were spoken. However, it was not necessary. Minister Park, although Namjoon did not like the man very much, had proven to be incorruptible, so he was a good choice to place next to their special guest.

"Nice dress-up, advisor Min," a low voice said behind him, making him pull out his sword by half and turn around.

"I swear to all that's good and rightful, I will kill you one day," Yoongi growled at the stupid personal guard of the third prince. But Jungkook just grinned.

"You look nice with a beard. And the red looks good on you," the idiot said with a wink. Yoongi ignored him. He pushed the guard uniform's sword back into the sheath and stood straight. His task asked of him to be invisible, so he had decided to take on the position of one of the royal guards who stood watch around the edges of the banquet hall's peninsula.

"Why is advisor Min not sitting next to the crown prince? You two seem so close that I thought you'd be important enough to take part today?" the assassin kept talking, but Yoongi stayed silent. He could not get distracted today. Master Heo was not the biggest thread they faced. The banquet hall was open to its surroundings and prone to attacks by arrows, so he had to keep his eyes open for any possible threat.

"You're not talking to me?" Jungkook asked, crossing his arms with a pout. "Oh, should I call you advisor Min?"

"You should do many things," Yoongi gave in, growling in a low voice. "And one of those is to sit down, so that you don't miss his majesty's speech."

The king has risen from his place at the top and was holding his cup up. Jungkook ran to his seat behind the consort and Taehyung and got hit by Jimin for his being late. Yoongi smiled satisfied. At least one person was keeping that rascal in check.

"Today is a good day!" emperor Kim began his speech in a full warm voice. And Yoongi decided that he was no interested in empty words. He was much more interested in master Heo who was still exchanging looks with minister Park who nodded at him. What had those two been talking about?

"While the sun is still up, let us see the gifts," the emperor ended his speech and two lines of maidservants in flowy robes came to fill everyone's cups with liquor and present plates with fruit to every table, an excuse for the growling stomachs to endure that procedure of gifting, which was really only meant to please the king and not Namjoon's son Yusin. The boy was sitting with his father who entertained him with whatever it was that four-year-old were entertained with.

Yoongi thanked the crown prince for the rich lunch they had.

The first to present their gifts were the members of the royal family, of which consort Kang gifted the boy books for character drill and a set of delicate brushes for that he might become well-spoken and brilliant. Taehyung presented the boy with a beautiful bow which was eagerly grabbed by the boy unlike the books before. Concubine Oh and first prince Seokjin were delivering a salve that would help with bruises from sword practice which would start soon.

The royal family's gifts were thoughtful and sincere, much unlike the ones from several ministers who had come with expensive table wear, boring sparkling statues, a bow that was completely made of gold and therefore useless... the list went on. Only few ministers had thought about their gift and received a pleased nod from the crown prince and the emperor. Minister Park for example had employed a smith to create three swords of same design but different size which should accompany the growing prince through his cultivation until he was ready to lead the kingdom and the army.

The sun had already set when the last important guests presented their good and the banquet hall was bathed in warm light of dozens of torches and lanterns. Now it was time to eat and drink and converse. But to everyone's surprise, master Heo rose to step in front of the royal family.

"Your majesty. Your highness," he greeted the emperor and the crown prince. "I'm not rich nor do I know what pleases a child of this age, but what I know is that princes begin to cultivate the sword at the age of four."

The king nodded and Namjoon watched their guest attentively. Yoongi grabbed the haft of his sword.

"My martial arts school might not be well-known in Silla, but in Goguryeo disciples from all over the kingdom come to seek my teaching."

What an arrogant man. No wonder that Jungkook had turned out the way he had turned out. Modesty was a virtue which these two still had to learn.

"So, I am offering myself as a teacher to the young prince," master Heo concluded and kneeled down into a full bow.

The banquet hall was eerily silent.

Emperor Kim exchanged a look with his son who stood up. "Father," he said towards the king. "I have been conversing with master Heo for the last days and found him to be a bright and sharp mind. As for his skill, the master might be amenable to present a show fight to us with his disciple Jungkook, so that father can judge for himself."

Namjoon looked at the old teacher who nodded back at the prince.

"What a great idea," emperor Kim agreed. "Since my grandson will begin to practice the sword this year, we might as well honor the occasion with a show of the art. Please." He gestured the man to rise and proceed.

"Jungkook," master Heo called for his disciple who stood up while giving Taehyung and Jimin confused glances. The two waved him to hurry up and move, but the personal guard seemed hesitant.

"Master," he greeted the old man and bowed before he stood next to him to face the king.

"My technique knows defense as well as offense," master Heo explained calmly. "So, I shall present the position of defense while Jungkook will attack."

Emperor Kim nodded and took a sip from his cup.

A sharp look from the sword master at his disciple seemed to remind the young man not to embarrass him, but when Yoongi saw Jungkook's face he was sure that this show would be anything but a mess. The young soldier was determined like Yoongi had never seen him before.

The two stood in front of each other in the wide aisle between the tables on the left and right of the banquet hall and fixed each other, ready to react to the smallest twitch of the other.

"Begin," Namjoon said and sat down again, gesturing his son to look closely.

But before he had even finished the word, Jungkook's sword had already left its sheath and was colliding with his masters. Their dance began.

The style Jungkook presented was more offensive than anything Yoongi had even seen before. It provided the bare minimum of protection to the attacker himself and completely depended on the wielder's speed. But protection was barely needed since there seemed to be no chance for the opponent to do anything but defend himself from the flying blade that was quickly changing the owner's hand for a moment only to change back and attack from another side. It was the man that was moving, not the sword, Yoongi realized.

Master Heo was no less impressive. A normal man would have long caught two or three blows from Jungkook's sword, but master Heo looked like he did not even sweat. His defense seemed to consist of minimalistic moves that guaranteed effectiveness and low exhaustion. It was as if his sword was dancing around his body without him doing much more than turning his head left and right to catch sight of the next attack.

A foreign kind of elegance resonated from the fighting pair and Yoongi could not help himself but stare and drool over so much skill. It was beautiful to watch.

"Enough," emperor Kim said eventually, and the blades calmed down. "I am convinced of this master's skill. A cup to the new teacher of my grandson." Everyone hurried to fill and raise their cups while master Heo bowed deeply in gratitude and sat back down when Namjoon nodded at him with a smile.

The chatter was almost hurting Yoongi's ears when the dishes were finally served. The small show had woken everyone from the slumber they had fallen in during the gift procession, because which man would not be elated by such a display of finesse and elegance?

Many of the ministers came over during dinner to drink with the new teacher of the young prince and praise him for his knowledge, and bit by bit the gathering became funnier and more drunk. The instruments of the musicians sang with frivolous joy, and small prince Yusin had fallen asleep in his mother's lap.

Yoongi felt his eyes slowly closing and allowed himself to walk over to Namjoon to ask the prince when he would end the fest.

"Your highness," he murmured next to the man and received a tipsy smile.

"Advisor Min. Join us. I do not think any harm will come from this night," the prince said and tried to pull down Yoongi but failed because the alcohol had weakened his hands.

"I'll go to bed then," Yoongi replied. He would rather sleep than endure these loud and noisy people.

"As you wish," Namjoon sighed. "I will not ask for you tomorrow."

Yoongi nodded gratefully and stood back again to leave the party behind. But just as he was about to leave the banquet hall peninsula, a scream of princess Soojin made him turn around and run back.

"The emperor! The emperor!" she screamed and pointed at the man in the throne whose eyes were rolling back weirdly and whose mouth was dripping with foam.

"CLOSE DOWN THE ISLAND! GET THE SERVANTS! NO ONE LEAVES!" general Shin shouted behind him, overpowering the chaos, while Yoongi sprinted to the front.

In his run he plugged two needles from his sleeve and rammed the first into the neck of shocked master Heo and the second into Jungkook's.

"Watch him!" he instructed Taehyung when Jungkook collapsed, knocked out by the needle to his acupuncture point. "Protect the royal family," he ordered Jimin who looked starstruck and confused.

"Guard master Heo!" he shouted at two guards who had hurried to the emperor's side.

He took the king's pulse but there was no longer any sign of life in the old man's face. Emperor Kim was dead. Poisoned on his grandson's birthday. Why did Yoongi have such a good idea of whose work this was?

"Who was it? WHO WAS IT!?" Namjoon's voice boomed next to him and he turned to look at the crown prince.

Red rage burned in the prince's eyes and Yoongi knew that this man was useless right now.

"Seokjin!" he called for the first prince who had just watched everything with wide eyes. "Calm him down!" he ordered the prince and gestured at the raging half-brother. The handsome man was quick to comply and reached for the hand on Namjoon's sword haft.

Yoongi left them behind to find general Shin.

"QUIET!" minister Park shouted next to him when he passed the man and the horde of panicked minister's finally shut their babbling mouths.

"Thank you," Yoongi told the man who sat down with a nod. Finally, someone who did not lose their head in such a situation.

"General Shin, where are the servants?" Yoongi asked of the red-robed giant at the end of the banquet hall.

"Over here," the man told him and gestured at the eastern side of the hall where the whining girls were cowering.

"Who of you served the king?" Yoongi asked calmly. No one answered, as expected. But innocent scared people could never refuse the reflex to look at the person whom they considered suspicious. And all the eyes turned towards a beautiful girl with huge black eyes, a sharp small nose, and thin lips.

"Get up," Yoongi ordered her and when she did, he knew he had the right person. No maid would dare to stand straight and look at him directly. He grabbed her right arm and searched into the sleeve, then the left and finally he tore apart the lapels of her outer robes, ignoring the gasps behind him.

A small piece of paper fell to the floor, not bigger than the palm of a hand. He lifted it up and turned around to grab the cup from the closest table. Everyone's eyes were following him silently like they watched something gruesome but fascinating that did not allow them to look away.

Yoongi poured a drip of wine onto the paper and it sizzled quietly. But over the silence of the hall it was clearly audible and multiple voices murmured in response. With his free hand he grabbed the girl's arm to pull her with him.

"Minister Choi," he spoke to the minister of justice, brother or minister of rites Choi. "I have the evidence of who poisoned the emperor. What's the sentence?" he asked coldly. The girl next to him did not even waver in her step.

"I-I..." the minister stumbled before he collected himself and stood up. "The law states that a woman who kills must hang."

"Thank you, minister. Put her into prison," he told one of the royal guards.

Now was the time when the girl finally started to struggle. "I'll come for your, Kim Namjoon!" she screamed. "And I'm going to make it painful. How benevolent and good will you be when I'm done with you!?"

Before Yoongi could react, a shadow had passed him and the crown prince had grabbed the girl. "Who sent you?" he asked breathlessly.

She smiled as if mad. "I know his highness knows who sent me," she said quietly.

"Namjoon." Prince Seokjin had hurried after his brother and was now placing a hand on the younger man's arm. "We will find the truth, but you must let go for now."

Slowly Namjoon's hand let go of the slim servant arm, but his eyes were still those of a mad man, staring at the girl and at the same time through her as if he saw someone completely else.

"This is Hwon," he whispered. "He has come for me."

And a new ripple of whispers rolled through the ministers.

Yoongi gave Seokjin a look and the older slung an arm around Namjoon to guide him back to his place.

"General Shin?" Yoongi asked. The man came over to him. "Help me transport the sword master and his disciple to the prison as well. I need to question all three of them," he said quiet enough for no bystander to hear them.

"Yes, advisor Min," the man said and turned to do his job. General Shin had acted well. This could not be the first time he had been faced with a situation like this. Yoongi learned to value him once more.

>><<

Men and woman had different sentences for some things. Men would be beheaded for killing, but beheading was never used for women. I don't know why though.