THE VEILED GENERAL

The Prisoner's Last Words

By sunset, the palace had stopped pretending everything was normal.

Soldiers occupied every major corridor.

The western gates were shut.

The servants had been ordered to remain inside their residences unless summoned, and even the concubines had been instructed not to leave their assigned quarters without permission.

The beautiful imperial palace had become a fortress.

Shuishui stood beneath the eaves of her residence, watching soldiers pass through the garden.

Their armor clinked softly with every step.

She had never liked being watched.

Tonight, she disliked it even more.

"Lady Shuishui."

Zhen'er hurried toward her.

Her cheeks were flushed from running.

"General Han has been brought to the Hall of Physicians."

Shuishui turned.

"Is he alive?"

"Yes."

"Conscious?"

"Apparently."

Shuishui's eyes sharpened.

"What did the guards say?"

"They said His Majesty ordered everyone involved in the incident to be questioned before dawn."

She was silent.

Then she looked toward the palace.

"I want to see him."

Zhen'er's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I want to see General Han."

"Lady, he's a prisoner."

"I know."

"And he's dangerous."

"I know."

"Then why—"

"Because someone went to considerable trouble to make him disappear."

Shuishui's voice was quiet.

"And I want to know why."

The Hall of Physicians was overflowing.

Medical attendants hurried through the corridors carrying bowls of water, bandages and medicine.

The sharp smell of herbs filled the air.

At the end of the corridor, two soldiers guarded a closed chamber.

Shuishui approached.

One guard immediately stepped forward.

"Lady Kang, you cannot enter."

"Who gave that order?"

"His Majesty."

Shuishui looked at him.

"Did His Majesty say I couldn't enter?"

The guard hesitated.

"He ordered that General Han be protected."

"Then I'm not here to hurt him."

The guard looked uncomfortable.

Before he could answer, another voice came from behind.

"Let her through."

Shuishui turned.

General Lu Jianyu approached.

He had removed his outer armor, leaving him in a dark military robe. His sleeves were rolled slightly above his wrists, revealing several shallow cuts along his forearm.

He looked exhausted.

But his eyes remained alert.

The guard bowed.

"General."

Jianyu looked at Shuishui.

"You're stubborn."

"I've heard that."

"Then we're going to get along."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"No."

He pushed open the door.

"But it probably is."

Shuishui almost smiled.

Almost.

General Han lay on a narrow wooden bed.

He looked nothing like the terrifying commander described in military reports.

He was perhaps in his forties.

His once-dark hair was streaked with gray and tied loosely behind his head. His face was pale, and a deep cut ran along his temple.

Bandages covered his shoulder and ribs.

His breathing was shallow.

Two physicians stood beside him.

One of them was a young woman.

She looked no older than twenty-five, with neatly tied black hair and a calm, serious face.

"General."

She bowed to Jianyu.

"This is Physician Bai Xue."

Shuishui nodded.

She had heard of her.

Bai Xue was one of the youngest physicians attached to the imperial medical court.

She was also notoriously blunt.

Her eyes moved to Shuishui.

"Who is she?"

"Lady Kang."

Bai Xue nodded.

Then looked at Jianyu.

"Does she need to be here?"

"Apparently."

Bai Xue sighed.

"Fine."

Shuishui glanced at her.

"You don't seem impressed."

"I'm a physician."

Bai Xue returned to her work.

"Everyone looks equally inconvenient when they're bleeding."

Jianyu snorted.

Shuishui looked at him.

"You know her well."

"Unfortunately."

Bai Xue gave him a flat look.

"He's been injured three times this month because he thinks swords are decorative."

Jianyu looked offended.

"I was fighting."

"You were being reckless."

"You stitched me up."

"Against my better judgment."

Shuishui watched the exchange.

There was something oddly familiar about it.

They argued like people who had known each other for years.

Jianyu noticed her expression.

"Don't encourage her."

Bai Xue answered immediately.

"She doesn't need to."

Shuishui smiled.

For the first time that day, the tension in her chest loosened.

Then General Han moved.

Everyone turned.

His eyelids fluttered.

His breathing became uneven.

"Water," Bai Xue ordered.

A servant hurried forward.

Han drank only a little.

Then his eyes opened.

They were dark.

Sharp.

Frightened.

His gaze moved across the room.

Soldiers.

Physicians.

Jianyu.

Shuishui.

His expression hardened.

"Where am I?"

"The imperial medical hall," Jianyu answered.

Han tried to sit up.

Pain immediately crossed his face.

Bai Xue pressed him back down.

"Don't."

Han ignored her.

"How long?"

"Several hours."

His eyes narrowed.

"The carriage?"

"Destroyed."

"Your men?"

"Two dead."

Han closed his eyes.

His breathing shook.

"General Han," Jianyu said, "who attacked you?"

Han didn't answer.

Jianyu stepped closer.

"Who attacked the carriage?"

Han opened his eyes.

"Not..."

His voice was barely audible.

"Not Beiyuan."

Silence.

Shuishui's eyes narrowed.

Jianyu's expression changed.

"What did you say?"

Han swallowed.

"They weren't Beiyuan soldiers."

"How do you know?"

"I saw their armor."

His fingers curled into the sheets.

"Zhao."

The room went still.

Jianyu's jaw tightened.

"You're saying Zhao soldiers attacked you?"

Han shook his head.

"No."

His breathing became ragged.

"They wore Zhao armor."

Shuishui understood immediately.

A disguise.

Jianyu's eyes darkened.

"How many?"

"Five."

"Faces?"

"Covered."

"Who ordered them?"

Han stared at him.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his gaze moved toward Shuishui.

He seemed strangely hesitant.

"I don't know."

Jianyu frowned.

"You expect us to believe that?"

Han's voice suddenly became desperate.

"I don't know!"

The effort sent him into a coughing fit.

Bai Xue immediately leaned over him.

"Stop talking."

Han gripped her wrist.

"No."

His eyes were wide.

"You don't understand."

Bai Xue froze.

"What?"

Han looked toward the door.

Then toward the guards.

Then back at Jianyu.

"Someone inside..."

His voice dropped.

"Someone inside the palace..."

Jianyu stepped closer.

"Who?"

Han's lips parted.

"Someone..."

A sudden sound came from the corridor.

Crash.

Everyone turned.

A servant screamed.

Then footsteps thundered past the door.

Jianyu drew his sword.

"Stay here."

He rushed outside.

Two soldiers followed.

Shuishui instinctively moved toward the doorway.

Bai Xue grabbed her sleeve.

"Don't."

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

Another crash.

Then silence.

Shuishui's heart hammered.

She looked at General Han.

His face had gone white.

"Someone inside the palace," he whispered.

Then his eyes rolled back.

"General Han!"

Bai Xue immediately checked his pulse.

"He's unconscious."

Shuishui stood completely still.

The words echoed inside her mind.

Someone inside the palace.

But who?

She didn't know.

And she refused to guess.

Jianyu returned several moments later.

His expression was grim.

"What happened?" Shuishui asked.

He sheathed his sword.

"One of the guards collapsed."

"Dead?"

"No."

Jianyu glanced at Han.

"Someone struck him from behind."

"Did you catch anyone?"

"No."

Shuishui frowned.

"Again?"

Jianyu looked at her.

"Again."

Something about that answer bothered her.

She walked toward the doorway.

"Where?"

"Lady Kang."

"I want to see it."

Jianyu hesitated.

Then sighed.

"Fine."

The corridor outside was empty.

A guard lay unconscious against the wall.

His helmet had been knocked several feet away.

Bai Xue followed them.

She crouched beside him.

"He'll live."

Jianyu nodded.

Shuishui examined the corridor.

There were no broken windows.

No open doors.

No visible hiding places.

Only a long passage ending at a locked courtyard.

She looked at Jianyu.

"How did whoever attacked him escape?"

"We don't know."

"How many guards were here?"

"Four."

"Where are the other three?"

Jianyu's expression changed.

He looked toward the opposite corridor.

"Find them."

Two soldiers immediately ran.

A moment later, one shouted.

"General!"

Jianyu hurried toward the voice.

Shuishui followed.

They found the other guards near the stairwell.

One was unconscious.

Another was missing.

The third stood frozen against the wall.

His face was pale.

"Where's your commander?" Jianyu demanded.

The soldier swallowed.

"He..."

"Speak."

"He went after someone."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

Jianyu grabbed his shoulder.

"Where?"

"The eastern corridor."

Jianyu immediately turned.

"Lock every eastern gate."

Soldiers scattered.

Shuishui watched them go.

Her mind raced.

Someone had attacked General Han.

Someone had disguised themselves as Zhao soldiers.

Someone had reached the medical hall.

Someone had attacked a guard.

And now another guard was missing.

This was no longer an isolated incident.

She turned toward Jianyu.

"General."

He looked at her.

"Yes?"

"How many people knew General Han was being transferred yesterday?"

Jianyu went silent.

Shuishui continued.

"The transfer route."

"The time."

"The number of guards."

"Who knew all of that?"

Jianyu's expression slowly hardened.

"Very few."

"How few?"

He looked toward the palace corridor.

"His Majesty."

"The prison commander."

"The transfer guards."

"And the military officials who arranged the transfer."

Shuishui's eyes narrowed.

"So whoever attacked him knew the schedule."

"Yes."

"Which means..."

Jianyu finished quietly.

"Someone had information."

Neither of them spoke.

Then a voice came from behind.

"Or someone inside the palace is talking."

They turned.

Prince Yin stood at the end of the corridor.

His expression was completely different from the warm, teasing man Shuishui knew.

His dark robe was slightly disordered.

His hair had loosened around his temples.

His eyes were cold.

Focused.

Several soldiers stood behind him.

Jianyu bowed.

"Your Highness."

Yin's gaze moved to the unconscious guards.

Then toward Shuishui.

His expression softened for only a moment.

"You shouldn't be here."

Shuishui crossed her arms.

"I've been told that several times today."

"Then perhaps everyone has a point."

She almost smiled.

Almost.

Yin walked closer.

"What happened?"

Jianyu explained everything.

Yin listened without interrupting.

When he finished, Yin looked toward the medical hall.

"General Han."

"Alive."

"Conscious?"

"Not anymore."

Yin nodded.

Then he looked at Shuishui.

"Did he say anything?"

She hesitated.

"Yes."

"What?"

"He said the men who attacked him were wearing Zhao armor."

Yin's face became unreadable.

"He said anything else?"

Shuishui looked directly into his eyes.

"He said someone inside the palace was helping them."

Silence.

Yin's expression didn't change.

But something in his eyes became sharper.

"Did he name anyone?"

"No."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

Yin nodded.

Then he turned toward Jianyu.

"Nobody speaks about this outside this corridor."

"Understood."

"And find the missing guard."

"Yes."

Yin turned to Shuishui.

"You should return to your residence."

She looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because the palace isn't safe tonight."

Her expression hardened.

"I'm not frightened."

"I know."

"Then—"

"I didn't say you were."

His voice softened.

"I said I want you somewhere safe."

She stared at him.

For a moment, neither moved.

Then she sighed.

"Fine."

Yin nodded.

He stepped aside so she could pass.

As Shuishui walked away, she heard him speak to Jianyu behind her.

"Send word to me the moment General Han wakes."

She kept walking.

But her thoughts remained behind.

General Han had escaped.

Someone had attacked him.

Someone inside the palace had helped.

And now one of the guards was missing.

The peaceful life she had known for four years had suddenly become something else entirely.

Not because of a rumor.

Not because of a jealous concubine.

Not because of the emperor's return.

But because, somewhere within these enormous palace walls, people were moving in silence.

And for the first time in four years, Shuishui found herself wanting to know why.