The Untamed Princess

Chapter Forty-Two: The Fourth Truth

"Well?" said Luo Jian, as the two men conversed privately in the prince's study the following day.

Normally, he would never press Weisheng to divulge anything, preferring instead to wait until the prince chose to confide in him, but this time his impatience was getting the better of him.

"She admitted it freely," Weisheng replied.

He gave Luo Jian a mostly full account of his and Ming Yue's conversation the night before, obviously omitting some of the more personal details of their interaction.  Luo Jian showed little emotion at the revelations, only raising his eyebrows and nodding slowly.

"The only thing she wouldn't tell me," Weisheng continued, "was who she actually is."  He pondered further.

"The mission is quite an important one, so she's obviously not an amateur.  And she hasn't been in Han kingdom for long.  She was sent here specifically for this purpose.  Also," he finished, "from the way the Jin princes took such an interest in her, it's clear to me now that they knew her."  At this, Weisheng felt, rather than saw, Luo Jian stiffen beside him.  Immediately, he looked across.

"What is it, Luo Jian?" he asked, and for the first time he saw a slight trace of fear in his friend's eyes.

"Tell me what you know," he said, quietly but insistently.

Luo Jian wavered for a moment.  He knew that he had withheld from Weisheng the scene that he had witnessed back at the border, but he had believed it to be for the best.  Knowing Ming Yue as he did, he was certain that she loved the prince as much as he did her, and he did not want to cause a rift between them over something that could have just been a simple misunderstanding.

However, it was not in his nature to lie, particularly to his closest friend, and now this could have a direct bearing on the matter of Ming Yue's true identity.  Ultimately, he decided, he would come clean and take the consequences.  He took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I think they know each other well," he said.  "Back at the border, I saw Ming Yue and Crown Prince Wang Wei speaking together privately, behind his tent.  When they had finished, before he left, he embraced her."  His explanation was characteristically brief, and he looked across at Weisheng, meeting his eyes guiltily.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he continued.  "I didn't know what it meant, if anything, and I was certain that it bore no relation to her feelings for you."  Uncomfortable discussing such matters, Luo Jian decided to stop there.

Unbeknownst to the man in black, Weisheng's mind had been pulled back to an incident some time ago, when Ming Yue had whispered the name "Wang Wei" in his study, without using any accompanying honorifics.  Was this the reason she felt she had to return to Jin?  Did the commitments she spoke of include a certain understanding with the impressive young prince?

Weisheng felt his heart tightening in his chest as he considered the unthinkable.  He knew that Ming Yue loved him.  He was not so stupid as to doubt her affection now.  But that did not mean that she did not have some lingering feelings for another, or feel some sense of obligation if promises had been made back home in Jin.  It would explain why she was so reluctant to reveal her true identity.

He jumped to his feet, stumbling slightly.  Luo Jian was alarmed by his friend's uncharacteristic lack of coordination, and immediately put out a hand to steady him.  Weisheng looked at him.

"I have to know," he said.  "Whatever it is, I have to know.  I already misunderstood her once, with Li Jun.  I will not allow it to happen again.  Things must be clear between us."

"If she trusts me," he reasoned, "she will tell me everything."  He walked out of the room into the late morning sunlight and, on this one rare occasion, Luo Jian did not follow.