Tracing her steps from the previous day, it took Ye An no time before arriving at the infirmary. A tarp was draped over the courtyard earlier to help keep the snow out and numerous lanterns dotted the covered courtyard to break the oppressive darkness of the night sky.

The bright lanterns looked over the injured soldiers and the physicians who were attending to them. Even though the soldiers still overflowed out of the infirmary, there were fewer of them today.

"Your Imperial Majesty." As with yesterday, Yue Fei was the one who greeted Ye An.

"I'm here to see Xiao Yan." Ye An declared simply.

"She's on the far side of the courtyard." Yue Fei gestured in Xiao Yan's direction. Ye An could see that Xiao Yan was currently attending to a soldier herself as Yue Fei continued speaking. "She has been a great help all day."

Ye An raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I didn't know that she knew her way around bandages. Alright, thank you. Don't let me hinder your work, Yue Fei."

"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty." Yue Fei answered before curtsying and leaving to attend to the injured soldiers.

"Xiao Yan." Ye An called when she was only a couple of steps away.

Startled by Ye An's sudden presence, Xiao Yan almost ripped the wound that she was stitching. The soldier hissed.

"There, there. Be careful." Ye An's voiced in concern.

Xiao Yan finished her stitching before addressing Ye An. She stood up and eyed the soldiers surrounding them before curtsying stiffly. "Your Imperial Majesty."

Unaccustomed to the formal way that Xiao Yan was behaving toward her in the presence of the soldiers, Ye An made a suggestion. "Why don't we find a quieter place to speak?"

"As you wish, Your Imperial Majesty." Xiao Yan curtsied once again before following Ye An.

Ye An led the way and kept walking until they arrived at the secluded area near the empty pavilion. She turned to face Xiao Yan and started amicably. "I didn't know that you knew how to stitch a wound."

Xiao Yan smiled. It wasn't the calculative smile that Ye An was so used to seeing plastered on Xiao Yan's face. This smile was much softer and gentler. Ye An fidgeted nervously at the slight shift in the quiet, wintry air.

"It took me years to perfect after you saved me from the well. It was difficult because of how tiny these hands were at the time." Xiao Yan mused as she looked at her palms before she returned her gaze to Ye An. "I hated how helpless I felt when you cut yourself because of me."

Ye An shifted her feet anxiously, unsure where this conversation was heading towards.

"I've always admired you, Your Imperial Majesty. No, I fancied you." Xiao Yan admitted before giving a tiny shake of her head. "I still fancy you. Even after I found out that you were actually a woman a few years ago. I couldn't believe it when my informant reported that information to me." Xiao Yan scoffed at herself.

Ye An cleared her suddenly parched throat in discomfort.

Xiao Yan noticed and laughed, the glittery yellow eyeshadow on her eyelids turning into sparkly moon crescents. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything to you that you're unwilling to receive. I still have my pride, you know. However, I do want to be of use to you. That was the main reason why I stayed at the brothel for all these years. It was easier to get information at a place like that."

There was a pregnant silence after Xiao Yan's sudden declaration.

"Thank you.." Ye An started awkwardly. ".. for thinking so highly of me.. You've been a great asset to me and I'm always grateful for all of the help that you've given me throughout the years. But.. I think you know that I don't see you in the same way that you see me."

Xiao Yan laughed again, this time a little sharply. "Of course. I've known about you and Lieutenant Yun probably before anyone else in this realm. There aren't that many walls in this country that I don't have my ears on."

Ye An's eyes softened in empathy. "I'm sorry."

Xiao Yan huffed. "What's there to be sorry of? You did nothing wrong. Your feelings are yours; and my feelings are mine and only mine to bear."

It was obvious to Ye An that Xiao Yan didn't want anyone, much less herself, to pity her. So, Ye An let out a deep breath after a slight pause and got down to business. "I'd like to know more about Governess Hsu."

Xiao Yan looked relieved at the subject change and answered immediately. "As I've mentioned, an internal coup is brewing. On the surface, it's as if General Shao and Minister Hu masterminded the incident. But I think that there's more than meets the eye."

Ye An frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I've ordered my informants to investigate the reason Minister Sze was on the flyers." Xiao Yan said, mentioning the flyers that she had passed to Ye An earlier today. "No matter how hard they tried, they could only trace as far back to General Shao and Minister Hu. But one thing is for sure, the thread doesn't end with them both. And the person at the end of that thread might be Minister Sze, for all we know."

"Minister Sze might just be a pawn." Ye An refuted.

"Yes, I understand that perspective. But considering that there wasn't any correlation between him and both General Shao and Minister Hu, there's no reason why his face is on the flyers unless he was behind the entire thing."

"So, you're putting your money on Minister Sze?"

"Yes." Xiao Yan answered without a hint of hesitation.

Ye An's eyebrows furrowed. She replayed all of her interactions with Sze Chang in her mind's eye like scenes in a theater. But no matter how she tried to look at it, she still couldn't believe that Sze Chang had any malicious intent. Ye An decided to put this matter to one side for now. "What about the Imperial Palace?"

"The Imperial palace burned down, and the fire wiped out most of the people who worked in the palace."

Ye An closed her eyes and pinched her nose bridge. "What about their bodies? And.. Governess Hsu's body?"

Xiao Yan averted her gaze. "Unfortunately, my informants weren't able to retrieve any of them."

Ye An sighed and looked up into the starless night sky. She stood there for quite some time that the snow had returned. She lowered her head to stare at the snow that had landed on her boots.

"Xi Chen is in the North."

"What?" Xiao Yan exclaimed in surprise.

For some reason, maybe because of Xiao Yan's soul-baring confession earlier, Ye An felt compelled to tell her everything. Xiao Yan didn't speak but she didn't need to. Her eyes showed her sympathy.

"Do you have any informants in the North?" Ye An asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Sensing Ye An's distress, Xiao Yan consoled her. "I'm sure he'll be back in no time."

"Yes. Yes, he said he'll be back so he'll definitely be back."

"Let's head back, Your Imperial Majesty."

Ye An nodded.

When they arrived at the infirmary, Yue Fei was talking with a man who was holding a child's hand by his side. He handed the child over to Yue Fei before giving her a small hug and proceeding to rush off somewhere.

"Who's that?" Ye An asked out of curiosity when she stepped into the courtyard.

But, it was the child who answered. "That's papa." The child looked to be merely three or four years old with a lisp when he spoke in his child-like voice which tugged at the corners of Ye An's mouth despite her heavy heart.

"Ah Xian! You need to bow to the emperor before speaking." Yue Fei gently reprimanded the child who immediately pouted. Despite that, he clasped his tiny fists clumsily in front of him and bowed at Ye An.

"I apologize for my son, Your Imperial Majesty." Yue Fei apologized as she curtsied. "That was my husband. He's a fletcher at the forgery and he was just summoned for work so he sent Ah Xian here."

Ye An raised both eyebrows in astonishment. Yue Fei was married and with a child? She thought about the jealousy that she had felt during their first meeting and smiled at her own foolishness. "It's alright. No harm done."

Ye An squatted down to the little boy's level. "So you're Ah Xian?"

"Yes!" Ah Xian replied enthusiastically but eyed his mother nervously and bowed clumsily again.

Ye An laughed. "Don't worry. You don't need to bow each time. How old are you?"

"I'm three years old!" Ah Xian answered while holding out four fingers.

Ye An smiled as she corrected him and helped him bend another finger so that he held up three fingers this time. "Ah Xian, this is the correct way to show three. Here, one, two, three."

Ah Xian's doe eyes sparkled as he marveled at Ye An's counting. "Thank you for teaching me, Your Imperial Majesty!"

Yue Fei gave Ah Xian a loving smile which reminded Ye An of Governess Hsu. Ye An swallowed at the sudden lump in her throat.

Yue Fei ushered her son towards Xiao Yan. "Xiao Yan, could you perhaps look after Ah Xian for a while? I need to speak to His Imperial Majesty." Yue Fei turned to look at Ye An. "Is that alright for you, Your Imperial Majesty?"

Ye An stood back up. "Of course."

Yue Fei led Ye An to the medicine room where the Northerners were imprisoned just a couple of days ago. Since the room no longer held any prisoners, there wasn't anyone around.

Yue Fei took a deep breath before facing Ye An. "Your Imperial Majesty, could you tell me where Xi Chen is?"

Ye An's gaze didn't waver one bit when she spoke. "I told you, he traveled back to the capital."

Yue Fei stared straight into Ye An's eyes for a couple of seconds and merely nodded.

Ye An knew that Yue Fei was an intelligent lady and she wouldn't fall for whatever she was talking about. It was obvious to her that she was letting it go despite knowing that those words were nothing but deceit.

Yue Fei turned away. "Is he safe, at least?"

With Yue Fei's back to her, Ye An fidgeted. "I.. Believe so."

Yue Fei turned back to face Ye An again. "Your Imperial Majesty, he may only be your bodyguard. But he is a dear younger brother to me. And it would crush me if anything happens to him."

Those words tugged at Ye An's conscience. Xi Chen might have been an orphan but he had so many people who loved and cherished him. First, it was Ah Lin. Now, Yue Fei. Maybe it was a mistake that she sent him to the North. If what Xiao Yan reported earlier about Sze Chang's suspected hand in this matter was true. And if Xi Chen lost his life because of her foolish decision to save Sze Chang, Ye An would never forgive herself.

As she watched the conflicted emotions played in Ye An's eyes, Yue Fei had a sudden realization. "You love him."

Those words were barely a breath of a whisper.

Ye An's eyes widened like a deer that caught sight of an arrow.

Yue Fei gave her a small smile. "No wonder. It's not because you never stopped him. Xi Chen insisted on going, didn't he?"

Ye An didn't answer but she didn't need to.

Yue Fei's eyes were gentle as she reached out to Ye An to console her.

"He- He promised me that he'll be back soon." Ye An spoke quietly.

"Don't worry, if he promised you then he'll be back soon. He might look easy-going but he's pretty stubborn when he wants to be. Especially if he made a promise with someone he loves." Yue Fei's softened gaze reminded Ye An once again of Governess Hsu. 

This time, she could no longer stop herself from weeping.

+* Thanks for reading! Please vote, comment, and follow if you like the story!*+

Writer's note:
I'm currently a sad potato. There are so many people who love and worry about XC while YA just lost someone who loves her and is worrying about XC, the other person who loves her. </3