EMPEROR AND I

PRINCESS LE-ANNE

THE PALACE

Le-anne woke up to an already made breakfast on her bedside, with a hot water bathtub on the corner of the room. By its side were clean plain clothes that she could change into.

After dressing up and eating, she was ushered to a stylish palanquin that awaited for her by the gate. She couldn"t help wondering whether all this was to woo her or simply it was the General being courteous? Before leaving, she asked the maid that had been escorting her around for permission to go and kindly bid the General farewell but the maid flatly mentioned that he was no longer around, for he had left.

Later on, she was cordially dropped at the palace gates. The palace was eerily quiet than usual. She headed straight for the Rose palace to report her return to Grand Consort Shu. Since she didn"t manage to present herself for the consort"s morning routine, her mistress was likely annoyed with her.

"Have you tasted this one?" Someone suggested with a chewy voice. She looked around and spotted two eunuchs tasting herbs while sitting under a deciduous tree. Her eyes enlarged in shock.

Who knew she could be so lucky within one moon?

"No, no, no that tastes horrible," the other eunuch s.n.a.t.c.hed the herb and threw it back into a clay pot.

"Look who we have here?" Le-anne"s hands folded on her stomach as she approached them. They looked at her, startled by her being there.

"Brother, do you know this girl?" First looked away trying to fan ignorance.

Second shook his head and picked his eunuch black hat that aimlessly lay by the tree trunk. They eyed each other then abruptly picked their clay pot to leave.

"Not so fast," she blocked them by her stretched hands.

"It was not us! We are eunuchs and have been in the palace for years now." Second was a bad liar.

"Did I ask you that? Look at yourself, already exposing yourselves so easily." She pondered on what they were doing wearing eunuch uniforms when just yesterday they had sat as Military Grounds Camp"s gate guards. "Why did you treat me wrongly by giving me incorrect directions?"

"What is she talking about?" First was better at being deceitful.

"I"m talking about―"

"Aah, brother I think she is confusing us for our other two brothers at the Grounds Camp," he explained.

"Yeh… yes!" Second tagged along.

"Really now?" Le-anne took a step and pushed First to the tree by the collar.

"Young Miss, please don"t blow hot airs…" Second pleaded as he tried to push away her hand.

Le-anne wondered what would be the right way to punish them. If not for them she would have come back the previous day and not suffered being in the presence of the Grand General.

"What is going on here?"

Le-anne turned around to see a palace guard behind them then quickly, she bowed her head in docility.

The palace guard slowly approached them further.

"Heh? Is she not the palace maid that Dowager Empress w.a.n.g issued an arrest warrant for?" He pulled out a sketched paper and examined it.

First laughed heartily, clearly enjoying this. "For what felony?"

"She broke palace maid code of conduct by delivering the letter to the wrong person. She is responsible for the bloodshed of last night."

Le-anne froze, confused by what was clearly news to her ears. General had betrayed her, that wench! Her mind raced.

She could get away; it was just one palace guard and two measly eunuchs. If she got away and ran to Grand Consort Shu, the bitter and hateful consort would defend her, not for Le-anne"s benefit of course but because of her pride. The consort would hate to have her own attendant arrested, and then her looking powerless to do anything about it.

However that was too stupid. What help would that serve her? Rather, it was better to be imprisoned for just being a disrespectful maid, than to walk around free and possibly be caught as a spy from Huticah. The palace was too tense for her at the moment, one wrong move and she could be wrongly accused for the poisoning and even Grand Consort Shu wouldn"t be able to defend her for such a serious matter.

She stepped forth. "Our Elder is right. It is I who delivered the letter."

S.V