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The day had sped by quicker than Yi-Nuo realized. It had become near dark by the time she finally got a chance to slide past the guard.

She stood with her ear placed up against the door of her room, listening for any type of opening she could get to escape.
She had been there for a while now, and to her luck, there was a loud crash followed by hurried footsteps. She guessed they belonged to the boy standing guard. Then she heard a muffled voice.

Slowly, she slid the door open and peeked out, seeing just across the hall someone had dropped a crate of small oranges.

"Be more careful, you could hurt yourself."

The boy had leaned down to help the female pick up the mess. She wore the same type of outfit as the young man, as she was probably one of the veiled man's underlings as well.

Sensing her chance, Yi-Nuo hurried to light a few lanterns in her room, then she slid out the door and closed it.
She darted across the hall to the side veranda near a small garden area, heartbeat thumping quickly in her chest as she hid behind the wall.

Though, before she managed to sneak away, something that the maid said caught her ear.

"Thank you, Young master Tao. You're always kind to me."

She halted in her footsteps, eyes wide as she tried to listen closely.

'Young Master...Tao??'

She felt her stomach lurch, half from hunger and half from fear.

She seemed to remember the veiled man addressing him as 'Lei,' as well.

'Tao...Lei?'

Her hand flung to her mouth as she had a sudden realization.

The young man had been strangely familiar to her, and now she realized why that had been.

He had an uncanny resemblance to her dearest friend.

Tao Mei.

It was no coincidence, they had to be related...brother and sister, perhaps twins...as they were too alike.

'But...that would mean....she actually...lied to me??'

She remembered specifically one time, when the two had been chatting while washing clothes for a concubine, Mei had told her about how her family was killed in a fire. She had been out playing in the fields when it happened, so she had narrowly avoided death. But in turn, she had to watch her home go up in flames and hear the pained cries of her mother and father without being able to do anything.

Yi-Nuo squeezed her eyes shut tightly, shaking her head as to rid her mind of those memories.

None of this seemed right to her. Why would a girl like Mei want to scheme and kill....why would she hide all of this from her friend?

'That is...If she ever actually thought of me as a friend. I suppose....she was probably working for the veiled man all this time, just like this boy....her brother...? But what on earth could be their objective??'

She pressed her lips together and peeked over at the hall once more, lingering at the walls of the household, the Palace of Universal Happiness.

The young man had leaned down and was picking up the oranges one by one from the floor. The young woman wore a smile as she held the crate for him.

For some reason, the whole thing was rather heartwarming...in a cold sort of way.

It reminded her of Mei. She was always so kind to her, and never-not even looking back- had Yi-Nuo felt as if she was being untruthful.

That's what bothered her so much. It was almost as if...she was told to do those things against her own will.

Perhaps this was true...and yet, she wouldn't get the chance to ask her for herself.

Turning back to the corner of the veranda, Yi-Nuo exhaled a heavy sigh as she backed up against the cold stone wall.

'Ok...time to focus on the problem at hand....I need to find Master Zheng.'

With another deep inhale, she turned and crossed the veranda with light steps.

Walking along the backside of the Palace, she tried to be as quiet as possible to avoid catching anyone's attention inside.

As the night crept closer, the sun became hidden behind the looming double eaved roofs, making the yellow tiles appear more of a grayish tone. Though soon, candles and lanterns inside the lattice-paper walls flickered on, casting a warmth across Yi-Nuo's determined expression and her make-shift disguise.

Feeling grateful that she lit the lanterns in her room to remain unsuspicious, she continued down the veranda until she came across the end of the palace structure.

She peeked over the side, looking both ways to make sure there was no one walking into the gardens.

As soon as she was sure, she stepped down off the veranda into the cold, wet dirt.

"Hey. You there, why are you sneaking around at this time?" a voice echoed into the chilly air.

She paused in her steps, her breath catching in her throat as she looked to the side. A eunuch had entered the gate, brow furrowed when his gaze met with Yi-Nuo's.

"Uh...I.." she stammered, suddenly feeling embarrassed at the clothes she wore. "I was just...looking for something I lost. But I found it, so I'm going to go back to my duties now."

The man held up a hand as she hurried forward, her head low.

"Ah, stop right there young man." he clicked his tongue. Yi-Nuo swallowed a lump in her throat as she paused.

"What's your name? I haven't seen you around here."

She felt her heart beat race at the question, her mind suddenly scouring for an answer.

"Um....my name?" she repeated, straightening up a bit.

"Yes, your name, boy, what is it?" He added, seemingly becoming irritated.

Yi-Nuo glanced around, thinking of what a suitable answer would be, before something popped into her mind and she quickly blurted it out.

"Sheng! My name....its Fu Sheng, sir." She cleared her throat, trying her hardest not to meet his gaze.

"Ah, I see. Then, what is your duty, Young Fu?" He questioned further.

Yi-Nuo chewed the inside of her lip.

"Umm....charcoal....sir, I was told to bring charcoal to....Lady Ning. She's probably wondering where I am, so can I go?"

The man quirked a brow, looking over the female once more before motioning to the gate.

"Don't keep her waiting any longer then, hurry it up now,"

Relief spread through her veins, and she nodded her head without a further word.

Passing him, she hurried out the gate of the western six palaces and breathed a heavy sigh.

'That was close. I need to hurry and figure out where Master Zheng is before I get caught.'

Since holding prisoners in the forbidden city was seen as inauspicious, they didn't have a special area or designated jailhouse, so it was particularly hard for Yi-Nuo to figure out where the Master was being held.

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"Alright, that should be good. Young Master Zheng and Liu, stand behind Peng and don't say a word unless someone questions your presence, alright?" Master Cheng instructed as he placed the last crate of medicine on the carriage cart. Luckily, it was time for the monthly supply delivery for the palace, so the two would have a realistic reason to enter.

"And Young master Zheng? Wear this. It will hide your identity, and if anyone asks, just tell them you are a scholar who wishes to stay anonymous."

"Got it," The young master voiced, taking the thin, white silk veil he held out. After tying it gently over the bridge of his nose, he looked to Haoran with a nod.

"And one more thing....if anything happens, this will go back to me. I know you said that it's serious and that even the emperor could be in danger, but it's still a very big risk to sneak into the palace, a matter of life and death if not dealt with accordingly. So whatever you do, do not let them know of your identity, Young Master Zheng. Understand?"

He nodded yet again, steeling himself as he digested the male's words.

"I understand. I'll do my best to figure out what on earth is going on."

Master Cheng nodded once and gave him a look of approval. It seemed everyone in the city trusted the Young Master.

"We'll be off then." Said the other male, Xiao Peng. He was the student assigned to accompany them.

They set off through the greenery-filled path leading to the city, the two following the horse-drawn cart. It was near dark, the sun casting long shadows as it etched its way toward the horizon.

Haoran nudged Mingze, his tone gentle as he spoke in a whisper.

"How are you feeling now? I mean...the pain. Has it come back at all?"

Mingze took in a breath, almost unknowingly.

With a smile, he shook his head.

"I'm alright. The pain rarely comes more than once a day. There's no need to be worried about me."

Haoran chewed his lip in thought. His mind drifted to Daiyu's words from earlier.

"Young master Liu....who is Wu Yi-Nuo to Young master Zheng?" She had asked as they made their way to the Cheng mansion.

He had been not surprised by the question, but surprised at his lack of knowledge regarding the answer.

"I'm...not completely sure now. Mingze would do pretty much anything for someone he only met a few times, especially if he feels they are a good person. He has good judgement of character....and I'm quite sure he sees that she is a good person. What makes you ask?"

"Well....before you arrived at the streets...when he fell to the floor, he muttered her name as if her presence would make his pain go away.....that could only mean one thing. And I personally don't believe he is going to follow through with his reasoning for being alone all his life....It's nonsense."

She had said this with a certain type of understanding not many would know. Because she knew what it was like to love someone and not be able to be next to them, to long for their presence like some sort of cure for an illness.

"I had seen it in his eyes as he looked at me on the streets...as if he was expecting someone else....someone else entirely."

This made him tense for whatever reason.
Haoran liked Yi-Nuo and wanted to get to know her better. She was a kind, -charming in a way- individual that he felt himself gravitate toward, even if they were only just acquaintances, he felt as if he could become close to her rather quickly.

He didn't know at first about why he felt this way, so he pushed it to the side and focused on helping his dear friend for now.

"Ok. Just...make sure to tell me if it comes back...alright?" He voiced, determination lacing his tone..

Mingze nodded with a smile as they continued forward, the creaking of the cart wheels and occasional snort from the horse filling the silence between them. Finally, they reached the city.

The chatter of the crowds and shouts from vendors echoed through the streets as people moved out of the cart's way.
Xiao Peng pulled at the reins, bringing the cart to a slow halt as some children sat playing in the middle of the road.

"You kids, you could get hurt playing right there, move out of the way!" Xiao Peng shouted from his spot behind the horse.
Mingze exchanged a glance with Haoran, and the two walked to the front of the cart.
A group of children kneeled at the stone floor, playing and searching through the pebbles and straw.

"Children...we're carrying medicine for the palace, it would be a lot of help if you could clear the path for us." Mingze voiced as he approached them. They all looked to him, blinked a few times, then scurried away like baby water deer.

Though one girl stayed put. Around the age of 5 or 6, she wore a simple linen mamianqun skirt and a wrapped blue hanfu robe. Her dark hair was left down her shoulders, and it looked quite messy as if she had no one to take care of it for her.
Her dark eyes never left the male, a pout forming on her chapped lips as she fiddled with her sleeve. After a few seconds, he reached up to untie his veil, then smiled down at her.

"Young Lady, is something wrong?"

Her eyes widened immediately as if she recognized him, and her expression shifted. She opened her mouth to speak, but she hesitated.
After a moment, she ran off as well.

"Alright, come on you two. Let's get going before it's completely dark."

Mingze nodded at Xiao Peng's words, then re-tied his veil, brow furrowed slightly. Something seemed off about the way that girl was acting....almost as if she was scared to speak, or something like that.

They continued down the city path, until finally they arrived at Tiananmen square gates.
The two eunuchs standing on duty approached them, eyes scanning the cart and the two males that stood behind.

"State your business." One of them voiced sternly, gaze landing on the young master. He tensed immediately and held his posture firm.
Xiao Peng was quick to answer.

"Monthly supply delivery of medicines and herbs. Those two are my assistants. One is my apprentice and one is a scholar who wishes to learn about medicine. May we enter?"

The eunuch quirked a brow, still eyeing Mingze.
After a moment, he stepped back.
"We've got orders to not let anyone into the palace today, so unload the crates and get going, we'll take it from there."

Xiao peng hesitated for a moment, glancing over his shoulder to the two.
A quiet sigh left the young master's lips, but he sent him a nod.

'This is probably that man's doing. I suppose we have no choice, if we push it, it will be too suspicious. I'll have to find another way to get in.'

"Very well," Xiao Peng said, looking back to the eunuch. "We'll unload everything quickly."
As they began to remove the crates and bags, the young master tried his hardest to conceal his injured arm. He took only bags with his left and things he could carry with one hand, though it hurt even just from being out of the sling.

Finally, after a few minutes, all of the crates and bags were piled right at the gates, ready to be taken in by the eunuchs.
"We'll be off then," Xiao Peng said, sitting back down atop the cart.
They turned around and urged their horse forward, yet again pulling the cart across the stone and pebble ground.

"We can cross that off our plan, what now?" Haoran whispered as soon as they had gotten far enough.

Mingze pressed his lips together, wracking his brain for an answer.
There was only one way to go about this now. But he would need to do it alone, as it was too much of a risk for Haoran, and he didn't want to tarnish the Hua Cheng institute's reputation.
He was going to sneak in. He'd find a way to get past the eunuchs, then he'd find his Ba and Yi-Nuo, too.
After a moment, he spoke.

"Haoran. It's getting late, won't Master Liu be worried if you're out for any longer?"
The male's expression became wrinkled, and he quickly shook his head.

"Nonsense. I'm my own person, if Ba wants to get angry because I'm helping a friend, that's his doing."

A soft sigh left the young master's lips.
'It's going to be difficult to get him to back down now....but I'll need to be cautious about my words.'

"Haoran." he began again, this time taking him by the shoulders as their gazes met.
Xiao Peng halted their horse, bringing the empty cart to a slow stop as he sensed the energy shifting. He glanced back toward them.

"...I have another idea. It's risky, and I know you're not going to like it...but we're running out of time. I need to get into the palace by daybreak, and the only way I'll be able to do that is if I sneak in undetected...alone. Alright?"

Haoran's expression faltered for a moment as his words settled in. He scanned his friend's face, recognizing the urgency and determination that glinted in his eyes.

He had always been like this....responsable but in the most reckless way. He cared about others to the max, but when it came to his own safety, health or reputation, he wouldn't give it a second thought if it meant it would help someone else.

Haoran had figured that it stemmed from growing up with what he dealt with...never knowing if the next day would be his last.

It angered him in the slightest. Seeing someone so kind being so careless with their own life, all because ...'it didn't matter.'....or 'he was probably going to die soon anyway.' or whatever else he had going on in his mind that caused him to be like this.

Zheng Mingze was likely the most 'good.' person Haoran had ever met. So he couldn't help but feel a bit of brotherly protectiveness over him.

His brow furrowed slightly as the male let go of his shoulders, still holding his gaze.
"...It's too dangerous....If they catch you, I have no doubt that they'd execute you on the spot!" He stated, his voice raising.

The young master's expression hardened. After a short moment, he spoke again.

"I know....but this is serious. There's no other way."

Haoran sighed once more, knowing full well that once he set his mind to something, there was no persuading him otherwise.

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Authors note
Ahhh this chapter :,) painful to write for some reason, but now I've got past it and I can get started on the juicy stuff, so stay tuned :D