[Third Person POV]

It is half-past twelve when YiJun's eyes flutter open. Feeling parched and finding the water sack empty, he grabs the cloak, wraps it around himself, and makes his way towards the kitchen.

Having had his fill, he is on his way back when he catches a movement from the corner of his eyes and decides to investigate. 'Who would be up and about at this time of night?' he wonders, walking closer.

He sees a man push at the sword in a painting of a knight on a horse, hung in the guest reception area of the mansion, making the wall sink in. What surprises YiJun more is that the man is none other than their master, Lung Chi.

Inquisitive, YiJun follows his housemaster as he enters the dark tunnel on the other side of the wall with a lit flame in his hand and takes a flight of stairs down to the underground.

Having the miraculous invisibility cloak helps YiJun go undetected, but the young man soon gets weary of keeping track of the turns the stout man takes. 'How many fucking tunnels are there in this kingdom!? Did father know about them?' He thinks woefully.

Already a directionally challenged youth, YiJun knows that if he loses track of Lung Chi now, he would never find his way back in this labyrinth of inter-connected tunnels.

After walking for a while, Lung Chi slows down. A moment later, he stops in front of a wall that looks similar to the one at his home.

*****

 As the night falls over Dezhutang, the queen, Wang Lai, instead of returning to her husband's bed, walks to her private chamber.

A message had arrived for her in the late afternoon, just as the council room had started to empty. Leaving a few noblemen and officials who were in discussion with the king, everyone had left. 

The queen did not know the serving boy personally. So when he had come to her and offered her the only remaining glass of wine, she had suspected nothing. She had picked up the glass and taken a sip before noticing a small folded parchment at the base of the glass. When she had looked at the server boy again, he had nodded. The queen had discreetly picked up the paper while returning the cup before dismissing the boy.

Wang Lai enters her chamber and locks it. She goes over to her cupboard and takes out a pot and a metal contraption. Then, emptying a sachet of herbs and black powder in the container, the queen places it on the metal equipment; rolling her sleeves, she points her finger at the hollow under the pot. A split second later, a small fire comes to life under the vessel.

She sighs softly and pours a pint and a half of water in it before pulling out a paper that had caused her great distress over the past few hours.

"Meet me in your chamber, same time." The cryptic message read. It had not surprised or upset the queen. Instead, it was the man who had sent her the message that worried her.

"Fucking Lung Chi!" The queen swears, pacing her room, worrying her bottom lip. "Who the hell gave him the right to tell me what to do!" She bites out, crumpling the parchment in her palm.

The wall behind her bedpost squeaks; it drags her attention to the secret tunnel.

A moment later, Lung Chi emerges from the other side and bows to Queen Lai. He doesn't notice the movement behind him as he closes the door. "My apologies for beseeching you like this, Your Majesty. But I had no choice. The king will send his men to my home tomorrow. I don't think I can hide the ingredients from them. Can you dissuade him?"

The queen beckons the stout man closer, and the two make themselves comfortable on the elegantly carved wooden chairs.

"I don't think I can do that. You better burn it all."

"Your Majesty! I can't do that; I will suffer huge losses. I have kept your secret for almost eighteen years. I have risked my life to make sure that I acquire everything you need when you need it." Lung Chi falls at the queen's feet and sobs.

"You will be compensated for your troubles when the official ceremony takes place." The queen replies decisively.

Lung Chi stops sobbing abruptly. The mask of despair slips. He stands and snorts. "Official ceremony! Ha! So it does have something to do with the princess!"

The shadow behind Lung Chi stiffens. 

 The unexpected statement makes the queen's calm composure slip; her eyes widen like a dear caught in headlights.

Lung Chi is quick on the uptake. His doubts confirmed, he continues, "Tell me, your majesty, what have you been doing to the princess?"

The queen holds her peace.

"If you don't, I will have no choice but to come clean to the king." Lung Chi threatens.

"How dare you!?"

Lung Chi smirks. Leaning in and breaching the queen's personal space, he whispers, "I have been bullied by you for far too long, wicked woman. I dare much more than you can imagine."

Beads of sweat appear on the queen's forehead. Looking like a defeated general who is at the mercy of his opponent, the queen's head slumps, "Fine, I will tell you. I will tell you everything. But you have to promise me that... "

"You are in no position to bargain, Lai. You are through telling me what to do!"

"Lung Chi, we were friends once!" The queen looks at the merchant with pleading eyes. The man's smirk widens.

"Lai, " He starts but goes silent, for just then there is a knock on the door, and a voice floats over, "Your Majesty, the king demands your immediate presence."

The voice startles the occupants of the room in equal measures: all three of them. 

 Lung Chi is the first to recover. "Go to him."

"Lung Chi, why don't you hide the ingredients in the tunnel? Barring us, no one knows of its existence."

"Your Majesty, are you there?" The voice enquires.

"Yes, I will be right outside. Tell the king that I was brewing his favorite tea for him."

 "Yes, your Majesty. I will inform him right away." The voice acknowledges.

The queen turns to Lung Chi, whose lips purse in a thin line. "Just this once, Lung Chi." She begs again.

"Fine." The merchant nods condescendingly, "I will meet with you same time tomorrow."

Once the queen is left alone in her chamber, she pours the hot concoction into a cup and leaves her room, locking it behind her.

******

 Having heard the conversation between his aunt, the queen, and his current employer, YiJun's mind is filled with questions as he follows Lung Chi out of the queen's private chamber. The most prominent one being the mention of the ceremony, 'Did aunty mean my marriage ceremony? But she must be aware that the guards lost me. Then how... '

YiJun is pulled out of his reprieve when Lung Chi exits the tunnel and makes his way towards Bai Luo's room after pressing on the sword's hilt in the painting.

He enters the sleeping boy's chamber unannounced and slaps him awake.

Furious, YiJun almost reveals himself but holds back at the last moment, thinking it best not to alert Lung Chi. The last thing he needed was for his master to put his guards up.

"Master!" The young boy pulls himself out of bed immediately and bows.

"Fetch the wheelbarrow and come to my chamber." Lung Chi commands. A few moments later, the young man arrives with the item. He enters the chamber, where Lung Chi is waiting for him. 

Lung Chi nods his head towards the bed; ignoring his surroundings, Bai Luo makes his way towards the bed and moves as if to remove his garments.

Lung Chi holds him by the back of his collar and shakes his head, "You are not here for that right now."

A look of relief crosses the boy's features; he bows and asks, "What do you need, master?"

Lung Chi walks to the rust-colored cupboard adjacent to his bed and gestures the young boy over, "Open it."

The boy does as is told, and a familiar scent fills the room.

'Why do the ingredients smell like the drink Aunt used to make me drink every month!' YiJun thinks, moving closer as Bai Luo starts unloading the wrapped items onto a wooden wheelbarrow.

Soon, the cupboard is empty, and the wheelbarrow is loaded. Bai Luo follows his master out to the hall where Lung Chi dismisses the young boy before ordering him to push the wheelbarrow in front of the portrait.

Making sure that no one was sneaking around, Lung Chi repeats the steps to open the tunnel door and enters it. This time, however, he doesn't bother going inside. Instead, he pushes the goods carrier just beyond the threshold. Then panting, for moving the cart had exhausted the overweight man, Lung Chi closes the entrance.

 YiJun watches the events unfold and waits for Lung Chi to leave so that he can inspect the mystery items in peace.

But when Lung Chi finally leaves, he moves towards Bai Luo's chamber instead of his, and try as he may, YiJun doesn't find it in him to ignore it. Once again, he follows Lung Chi as he enters the young slave's room.

"Already asleep!" Lung Chi exclaims, slapping the boy's upper thigh. Bai Luo jerks awake and instinctively cowers, "Master, you said that... "

"I don't remember telling you that your duties are complete." Lung Chi smirks, looking around the tiny room.

 "I am too tired to walk back."

Bai Luo's face falls, and his shoulders slump as if in defeat. He nods, "Yes, Master." and proceeds to discard his upper garments.

As the awareness of what is about to happen dons on YiJun, rage fills him, 'Unacceptable! I won't let this happen!' He decides and starts looking around. 'I need to save him, but I can't expose myself.' He contemplates. His eyes fall on the window, and he pushes it open. 

 The window creaks, startling Lung Chi, who Bai Luo is helping out of his garments. "What the hell was that!?"

"It must be the wind, Master."

"It's not windy today, you fool! Go out and check for intruders." He commands, wearing his garments. Bai Luo, only too glad to get away, runs out.

As soon as the servant boy is out of sight, Lung Chi dashes towards the secret tunnel. He finds that the goods as he had left them, untouched. 

 He turns and starts towards the younger man's room when he slips and falls on the floor, face first.

"Aaagh!" He yells as crimson fluid starts dripping down his mouth, drenching his goatee. He winces again, trying to sit up, and fails. "Luo!" He calls and calls a couple of more times before the delicate man rushes inside, "Master, what happened!?"

"Uuus oor eess!" Lung Chi slurs, blood dripping down his jaw.

Bai Luo nods and helps him to his room. Lying him down, he informs, "There was no one outside, Master; and Master, the wind has picked up."

Lung Chi waves his hand and winces again.

"I will get physician Yi." The young man offers, and when Lung Chi nods, he leaves after settling the latter in his room.

'Bai Luo is safe.' YiJun sighs in relief but soon realizes that his actions had put the house on alert. Servants were swarming all over the halls, fussing about the tantrums Ling Chi was throwing. Thus, thinking it best to return to his room for the night, he leaves, but not before vowing to take a look at the contents of the mysterious packages the following night.

{Word count: 1980}