Many people stopped and stared, but most screamed and ran away when they saw Byakko as he carried Yuelan through the capital to Guangfeng’s palace. Yuelan tried to pretend she didn’t notice the panicking people, but it was hard. She felt a bit guilty for inciting the panic and she leaned over to rub behind the white tiger’s ears. “I think maybe I should take a carriage from now on if we’re in a town. People could get hurt if there’s so much panic every time they see you.”

They will grow used to it and it will allow word to spread that there is now a priestess, Byakko replied. Eventually they will stop screaming at my presence.

“And what of the people who are injured before that?” Yuelan argued. “It’s something that could easily be prevented. Don’t be selfish, Byakko.”

The tiger made a snorting noise, but didn’t continue to argue with her. When they finally reached Guangfeng’s Heping Palace the tiger lay down on the ground to let Yuelan slide off of his back. At the same time one of the soldiers in front of the palace came over.

“Who are you and what business do you have here at Heping Palace?” the guard asked. He frowned at Yuelan and Byakko.

“I am Long Yuelan and I came to see my fiance, the third prince,” Yuelan answered calmly.

“His Highness has not returned from court and did not mention anyone coming today. Do you have some identification to show you are who you say you are?” the guard demanded as a carriage pulled up nearby.

The carriage had the same symbol on the door as there was on the large, wooden gates to Guangfeng’s palace and Guangfeng himself stepped down from the carriage. He looked surprised to see Yuelan. “I didn’t know you were coming. Why didn’t you send a messenger?” Guangfeng asked as he hurried over to her. “Was the guard causing trouble for you?”

“He was just wanting to make sure I am who I say I am,” Yuelan answered. “It’s no trouble. And I decided to come last minute. We put off Laurel’s matter while we went to Zhongshu, but we’re back now and I want to deal with it right away.”

Guangfeng nodded and looked over at the guard. “The tiger is her identification. Next time just let her in. Make sure all the other guards know. I’ll have her portrait distributed among you as well just in case.”

The guard saluted and stepped out of the way as he gestured for someone to open the gates to Heping Palace.

“I’m sorry. I should have done that already, but I didn’t expect you to come here before I’d had a chance to bring you,” Guangfeng said to Yuelan. “Laurel has been in the prison, so I’ll send someone to bring her here. While we wait for her we can listen to the reports from the investigations I had done. You should summon Yun Cai, too. He had a part in what happened.”

Yuelan nodded and put her hand in Guangfeng’s. She felt him stiffen for a moment before gently wrapping his hand around hers. “They wouldn’t have done anything to her in the prison, would they?” she asked anxiously. “Was she at least treated decently?”

“I haven’t had a chance to check on her situation there yet, so I don’t know,” Guangfeng answered honestly. “I did leave instructions that she was not to be mistreated, but we left right after the incident.” He shrugged and led her into his palace and toward the main hall.

“How do I summon Yun Cai? He didn’t tell me where he was going when we got back to the capital yesterday and just disappeared.” Yuelan frowned as she followed after Guangfeng. “And what did he have to do with my kidnapping?”

I can let his crow know to tell him to come here, Byakko answered as he calmly followed the couple in through the gates. The guards tried to hide it, but it was still obvious from the tightening of their hands on their weapons and the way they were watching the tiger that he made them nervous.

“Please do, Byakko. Thank you.” Yuelan turned her head and smiled at the tiger, who didn’t respond.

When they reached the main hall, Guangfeng let Yuelan sit down in the main seat and took the one next to her. He ignored Yuelan’s protests that it wasn’t proper. While they waited for Yun Cai and Laurel to arrive, Guangfeng had the hidden guards he’d sent to investigate come and report their findings to him and Yuelan.

As it turned out, Laurel’s younger brother had been taken by a eunuch from the palace. The description of the eunuch was too generic, so it was impossible to find out for certain which person had brought the child in. Laurel’s brother was the only son in her family, so her parents had panicked when their son had been taken to the palace. They had begged Laurel to do something about it. The rest of the details were unknown and the hidden guards hadn’t managed to discover which palace Laurel’s brother was in and were unable to go and bring him to be questioned.

Yun Cai arrived before Laurel did and had no problem explaining everything he knew when Yuelan made the request. “Every time I’ve been hired by anyone in the palace it has always been through the same eunuch. I don’t actually know who they work for for certain, but I believe that it’s the empress,” the information broker explained. “The eunuch said I would be given double my usual fee to get the priestess out of her residence and hand her over to someone else, who would be waiting at a specified location. I didn’t know the person I was being sent to abduct was going to end up being the priestess, Miss, or I wouldn’t have done it. I was asked to contact your maid, Laurel, a couple of times before her brother was taken away and then I was instructed to tell her that her brother would become a eunuch if she didn’t do as she was told. I gave her the drugs to make you sleep and when I got in to take you away I made sure to use a spell that would keep you asleep longer.”

Yuelan nodded. “Thank you for the explanation, Yun Cai. If there’s anything else you remember please let me know.”

“Of course.” The information broker saluted her, smiled, and stepped to the side as a pair of guards brought a haggard and tired-looking Laurel into the hall.