The Untamed Princess

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Difficult Separation

Zhao Weisheng looked up at the sky.  It was completely clear.  On any other day, that would have been a good thing, but not today.

It had been over a week since Ming Yue had been smuggled out of the palace, and she should have been back in the Jin capital by now.  Maybe something had happened to her on the way.  He knew he should have insisted on Luo Jian accompanying her.

Forcing himself to stay calm, Weisheng did a quick calculation in his head.  To his chagrin, he quickly realised that he had been wildly optimistic.  Even if Ming Yue was home, she still had to explain the situation to her father, and then Zhenli would have to fly all the way back to Han with her message.

He turned as he heard Luo Jian approaching.

"Minister Shen is in the study waiting for you."

Weisheng snapped his thoughts back to more immediate concerns.

"Excellent.  Let's hope he has some good news."

An hour later, Weisheng sat back and rubbed a hand across his face.

"How certain are you?" he asked the older man.

Minister Shen thought for a second.

"Not completely," he answered, honestly.  "At least, not enough to go to His Majesty.  But enough to convince me that it's time we started taking a few more risks."

The prince sighed heavily.

"I'm not surprised about Minister Guo," he admitted.  "The brazenness of some of the attempts on my life convinced me that the most powerful of the six had to be involved, and he was always too ambitious for his own good.  And as for Minister Su, he was far more likely than General Tan to be the one pulling the strings at the imperial prison.  But Minister Xie?"   He shook his head.  "The man barely has the courage to question my father in morning court."

Minister Shen leaned forward.

"In any group, large or small, there must always be leaders and followers, Your Highness.  Ministers Guo and Su are both forceful personalities.  It will have suited them to have a more pliable co-conspirator."

Weisheng nodded thoughtfully.

"Very true," he said.  "And also, if we were in any doubt, the fact that some of the rare properties of the poison that almost killed Ming Yue came from the south-west of Han has all but confirmed it.  Minister Xie is the only one amongst the six from that area."

He looked up at Luo Jian whose expression, as always, was inscrutable.  Seeing that his friend had nothing to add, he continued.

"Are you positive we aren't walking into a trap, Minister Shen?" he asked.  "After all, these are intelligent men.  It seems strange that they would lower their guard enough for your spies to catch them out now."

"Not necessarily.  Every day brings us closer to the date when the Jin princess is due to arrive in the capital, and your marriage will cement your position as crown prince.  I believe they are growing desperate, and desperate men take risks.  Even now, my conclusions are based only on logic and the evidence of a few night-time meetings between the three men and some of their closest associates.  We still don't know what was discussed at those meetings."

Weisheng frowned.

"At the moment, it's enough for me.  If I have my way, we will end this before Ming Yue even sets foot in Han again, or she will become as much of a target as I am."

He glanced over at the older man, who was looking rather sheepish.  The prince raised an eyebrow.

"Something tells me that you already have a plan in mind, Minister Shen, and that I'm not going to like it.  Care to share?"