In the Fifth Prince's residence, Xue Liulan watched the messenger leave, his hand tightening around the letter.
"Since when do you correspond with Li Yan?" A laughing voice came from behind the screen.
Xue Liulan turned. Gongzi Suyi walked out, his black robes setting off his jade-like face.
"A simple courtesy," Xue Liulan said, leaning back in his chair. "My Fifteen have been watching the Yanyun. The news of their internal division must have been very useful to our seventh brother." He toyed with the sealed letter. "What do you think he says?"
Suyi tilted his head. "More than just 'thank you', I expect."
"Hah. If it were just pleasantries, he would have used ten pages." Xue Liulan propped a leg up on the chair, resting his chin on his hand.
The servant had said the letter was in Li Yan's own hand. But Li Yan was Xue Feiyan's man. This message came from the Seventh Prince.
He broke the seal. His eyes scanned the page, and he shot to his feet.
"Trouble?" Suyi asked, pausing with his tea halfway to his lips.
"You could say that." Xue Liulan sat back down. "Aren't you curious?"
"You'll tell me if you want to." Suyi set his cup down gracefully. "Publicly, I am a hostage prince. I dare not disobey your command. Privately, we are brothers. If you wish to discuss something, I will listen."
"Hah! You really are the 'Leisurely Gongzi'." Xue Liulan laughed. "Calm as a still lake."
"You flatter me. But since praise from the famous Fifth Prince is rare, I accept." Suyi gave a mock bow, and they both laughed.
"Bringing you to Jindu was worth it. It would have been dull without you," Xue Liulan said. "Besides, being a 'hostage' keeps your third brother off your back, doesn't it?"
The Third Prince of Yin, Suyi's half-brother, wanted him dead.
"Speaking of brothers," Suyi said, a hint of sadness in his voice, "I envy yours. Even fighting for the throne, you still care for each other."
Xue Liulan's smile faded.
When the Crown Prince was alive, he had taught them well. Even now, they honored his wish: never take a brother's life.
But in this game, he wondered, how long can that promise hold?
"The letter says there's been a steady stream of elite Yanyun soldiers entering Qishi Town," Xue Liulan said, burning the paper over a candle flame. "They were sleeper agents, hidden in the dynasty, waiting for orders. They've been recalled, but he thinks some might have been left behind. He wants me to find them and wipe them out."
The paper curled into ash.
"Hidden in the dynasty?" Suyi frowned. "A single unit of elites… it's not enough to cause chaos in a kingdom this size."
"When Murong Jin and I went to assassinate the Khan, we learned someone in the court was colluding with them. They traded our formations for soldiers. This must be them." Xue Liulan paced, his steps heavy.
The room was silent, save for his footsteps.
Suddenly, he stopped. "But a hundred men could strike a fatal blow if they hit the right target in Jindu."
"True," Suyi agreed.
"Any ideas?"
"Do you have the right man for the job?" Suyi countered.
Xue Liulan laughed. Brothers didn't need words.
"If we want to lure the snake from its hole, we don't have much time," Suyi said, sipping his tea. "I came alone. You can't count on my Windless Blades."
The Windless Blades were Suyi's elite assassins. Even the Fifteen had been trained by them.
"You're confident in your own sword, then? The line of people who want you dead stretches from the East Gate to the West."
"Life and death are fated. I don't worry about them." Suyi smiled, serene. "None of your Fifteen can do it?"
"They all have missions. And the remaining ones… might not be able to blend in."
Lightness skill, disguise, the ability to hide in plain sight among Yanyun soldiers. He needed someone who had all three. Thousand Day Drunk were killers. The Fifteen were spies. Neither specialized in deep cover infiltration.
The silence stretched.
"Ah," Xue Liulan said, punching his palm. "I forgot about him."
"Now that that's solved, one more thing," Suyi said.
"What?"
"I know you won't kill each other. But remember: all is fair in war."
Xue Liulan hesitated, then smiled. "I'll be careful."
Suyi nodded and left.
Xue Liulan took a deep breath. The sun was setting. I wonder what she is doing right now?
Murong Jin sat in her room, bored. She tapped a Go piece against the board, the black and white stones a chaotic mess that mirrored her mind. She threw the piece down and leaned back on the couch.
It had been two months. She hadn't seen him. Only Ning Bi and the physician. Even Yi had disappeared, only showing his face every twenty days or so.
"Who made you so angry?" His voice, warm with laughter, came from the door.
She looked up. He walked in, brushing a dusting of snow from his shoulders.
Her heart leaped, but she forced it down. She turned away. "What are you doing here?"
"To see you." He ignored her coldness and sat on the edge of the couch. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine, thank you, Fifth Prince." She kept her back to him, her fingernail tracing patterns on the fur rug.
He was thinner. She had heard he was the pillar of the court now, often staying in the palace overnight. He must be tired.
"The physician said you're still weak. Read a book if you're bored, but don't tax yourself with chess." He began to sort the pieces on the board.
"I have nothing else to do." Her voice softened. "You must be tired from court. You should go rest."
He paused, a half-smile on his face. She was still tracing patterns, pretending not to care.
"If you care, why not turn around?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "If you stay angry, it's bad for the baby."
She sat up, turning to face him, but keeping a small distance between them. She stared at her hands.
He rubbed his nose, awkward. "Murong Jin, are you truly this dense?"
"What do you mean?"
"My reason for confining you."
She looked away again. "I'm pregnant, not invalid. I'm a general. I don't need this much protection."
"I just care too much." He sighed.
Her heart trembled. Her nose stung. She stood up quickly, pretending to get tea, turning her back to him.
"Do you need something?" she asked, forcing her voice to be calm.
"I want to borrow someone from you." He assumed her calm meant she was no longer angry.
But the moment the words left his lips, she whirled around, her dark eyes blazing with sudden fury.