The Untamed Princess

Chapter Thirty-Two: The First Impression

Zhao Weisheng's gaze slid past Ming Yue to Luo Jian and, whilst to others it may have looked as if his expression remained as it always was, Weisheng noticed a slight narrowing of his eyes and knew that he, too, had witnessed the strange incident.

He took two steps forward until he was directly in front of the taller of the two men approaching them.

"Crown Prince Wang Wei, I presume."  He smiled at the man and gave a shallow bow.  The man returned the gesture and spoke, showing no difficulty with the Han dialect, but displaying the hint of an accent.

"Indeed. It is nice to finally meet you, Prince Weisheng."  He gestured to his left.  "May I also introduce my youngest brother, Prince Zhixing."  The younger man bowed and smiled, but his gaze looked distracted, as if he wanted to turn his attention elsewhere.

"A pleasure," Weisheng responded.  "We are blessed indeed to have two members of the Jin royal family here.  You must be tired from your journey.  Let me show you to your accommodation, and we can take care of the other formalities when you are rested."  Weisheng gestured back towards the camp, and the three men naturally fell into step with one another.

Ming Yue hung back as much as possible without drawing attention.  As the three men passed, she caught Wang Wei's eye briefly and gave a slight, almost imperceptible shake of her head.  She saw her brother give an equally subtle nod and knew that he had understood.

Unfortunately, Zhixing was less composed than his older sibling, and was clearly having a difficult time stopping himself from staring openly at his sister.  Ming Yue gazed intently at the floor, as if hoping it would open up and swallow her whole.  Finally, after what felt like an age, the three men passed by where she was standing, and she was out of their line of sight.

Focussing her attention back on the Jin delegation, she was delighted to see the familiar figure of Eunuch Song.  The man had been with her father for years, and there was no way the king would not have confided in him about Ming Yue's whereabouts.  Sure enough, the man's expression bore only a faint look of surprise.

Ming Yue resolved that it would be much less risky getting a message to her brothers via the eunuch than trying to speak with them directly.  Luckily for her, she did not need to think of an excuse to approach him, as Eunuch Wang had already identified him as his counterpart in the Jin delegation and was moving towards him.  Ming Yue quickly fell in behind.

"I am Eunuch Wang, Prince Weisheng's chief eunuch," he said, by way of introduction.  Noticing Ming Yue at his shoulder, he added, "This is Li Ming Yue, the prince's secretary.  If you have any questions or requests, please feel free to approach either of us."

Eunuch Song nodded, and responded to the introduction with one of his own.  When he had finished, Ming Yue spoke quickly.

"Eunuch Song, would you like to hear the itinerary for the next three days?  I know that letters have been exchanged on the matter, but I can give you a more detailed explanation if you wish?"

Eunuch Song took the hint.

"Yes of course, Secretary Li.  Perhaps you could show me to my accommodation and explain it to me on the way."