THE VEILED GENERAL

The Broken Military Seal

The palace did not sleep that night.

Neither did Shuishui.

She sat beside the open window of her chamber, watching the moon disappear behind clouds.

A single lamp burned beside her.

Its flame trembled whenever the wind slipped through the wooden lattice.

On the table lay the brush Yin had given her.

She had not touched it since returning from the medical hall.

Her thoughts kept returning to General Han.

Someone inside the palace.

The words had followed her all evening.

She had heard soldiers whispering in the corridors.

Three guards had been questioned.

Two had claimed they had seen nothing.

One had disappeared.

And General Han remained unconscious.

Something was wrong.

Shuishui knew it.

She just didn't know what.

That was what frustrated her most.

She hated mysteries she couldn't solve.

She stood.

"Zhen'er."

No answer.

She turned.

Her maid was asleep in the adjoining room.

Shuishui sighed.

Of course.

She picked up a dark outer cloak and wrapped it around herself.

Then she quietly opened the door.

The palace at midnight was almost unrecognizable.

During the day, it was filled with music, servants, silk and sunlight.

At night, the same corridors became endless stretches of shadow.

Shuishui walked silently.

She knew these halls well.

Four years had taught her every shortcut.

She reached the western courtyard.

Two guards stood outside.

They immediately crossed their swords.

"Lady Kang."

"I need to speak with General Lu."

"He's inside."

"Then let me pass."

"We were ordered not to allow anyone inside."

Shuishui stared at them.

"By whom?"

The guards exchanged glances.

"His Highness Prince Yin."

She folded her arms.

"Then tell His Highness that I'm here."

One guard hesitated.

The other looked toward the door.

Before either could answer, footsteps sounded behind them.

"There's no need."

Shuishui turned.

Yin approached from the shadows.

He was dressed entirely in black.

His hair was tied loosely, and the usual warmth in his face was gone.

He looked tired.

Not ordinary tiredness.

The kind that came from carrying too many thoughts without allowing anyone to see them.

"You shouldn't be wandering around at this hour," he said.

"Neither should you."

"I have an excuse."

"So do I."

He stopped in front of her.

"What is yours?"

"I couldn't sleep."

His expression softened.

"Because of General Han?"

She nodded.

Yin looked at her for a moment.

Then stepped aside.

"Come."

Inside, General Lu Jianyu was standing over a table covered in maps.

He had changed into a dark blue robe, but his sword remained at his waist.

Several military officers surrounded him.

Among them was a young man Shuishui had never seen before.

He appeared to be around twenty-six.

Tall.

Lean.

With dark hair tied high and a narrow scar beneath his right eye.

His clothing was expensive but practical—a deep navy robe beneath a black half-cape embroidered with silver thread.

He looked at Shuishui.

Then at Yin.

His expression became curious.

Jianyu noticed.

"Lady Kang, this is Duke Marcus."

Shuishui paused.

"Duke?"

Marcus smiled.

"Don't let the title intimidate you."

Jianyu snorted.

"He's lying."

Marcus looked offended.

"I was trying to be friendly."

"You've been trying for ten years."

"And I'm improving."

Shuishui couldn't help smiling.

Marcus bowed elegantly.

"Duke Marcus Valen."

His accent was different from Zhao's.

Softer.

His homeland lay beyond the western mountains, and his family had maintained trade and military relations with Zhao for generations.

"I arrived in Zhao three months ago," he explained. "My father sent me to oversee our trade agreements."

Yin glanced at him.

"And now you're standing inside a military investigation."

Marcus spread his hands.

"Apparently I have terrible timing."

Shuishui studied him.

He seemed relaxed.

Almost too relaxed.

But she didn't dwell on it.

Jianyu tapped the map.

"We found something."

Shuishui approached.

A military seal lay on the table.

Broken directly down the middle.

She recognized it immediately.

"That's General Han's."

Jianyu nodded.

"It was found near the northern wall."

Yin leaned over the table.

"Where exactly?"

Jianyu pointed.

"Here."

Shuishui looked at the map.

The northern wall.

The medical hall.

The western gate.

Then the old servant's passage.

Her eyes narrowed.

"That's impossible."

Everyone looked at her.

Jianyu asked, "What?"

"The distances."

She pointed toward the map.

"If General Han escaped from the western carriage, he couldn't have reached the northern wall without crossing three heavily guarded courtyards."

Marcus leaned closer.

"Unless he didn't."

Shuishui looked at him.

Marcus tapped the broken seal.

"Unless someone moved him."

Silence.

Yin's gaze sharpened.

Jianyu straightened.

"Why?"

Marcus shrugged.

"To make us think he escaped."

Shuishui stared at the seal.

"Then where was he actually taken?"

Nobody answered.

A cold breeze entered through the window.

The lamp flame flickered.

Then one of the military officers spoke.

"There's another possibility."

Everyone turned.

The officer swallowed.

"The seal may have been planted."

Shuishui's eyes narrowed.

Jianyu looked irritated.

"Why would someone plant it?"

"To make us search the northern wall."

Yin's fingers tightened around the edge of the table.

"Which means they're controlling our movements."

Nobody spoke.

The room became very still.

Then—

A soldier burst through the door.

"Your Highness!"

Yin turned sharply.

"What?"

"We found the missing guard."

Jianyu immediately stepped forward.

"Where?"

"Near the old eastern well."

"Alive?"

The soldier hesitated.

"Yes."

"Bring him here."

"He can't walk."

"Then carry him."

The soldier bowed and rushed away.

Ten minutes later, four soldiers carried the unconscious guard into the room.

His uniform was torn.

His face was bruised.

One arm hung strangely at his side.

Bai Xue followed behind them.

She immediately knelt beside him.

"Put him down."

They lowered him onto a mat.

She examined his pulse.

Then his eyes.

Then the wound behind his ear.

"He was struck hard."

"Will he wake?" Yin asked.

"Eventually."

"How long?"

"Perhaps an hour."

Yin nodded.

"Then we'll wait."

Bai Xue looked at him.

"Your Highness."

"What?"

"You haven't eaten."

He stared at her.

"I'm fine."

She gave him a flat expression.

"You people always say that."

Jianyu quietly laughed.

Yin looked at him.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing."

"Then stop."

Marcus covered a smile with his hand.

Shuishui watched them.

Despite the danger, something about their strange familiarity made the room feel less cold.

Then the guard groaned.

Everyone turned.

His eyes fluttered open.

Bai Xue leaned closer.

"Can you hear me?"

The guard breathed heavily.

"Yes..."

"Do you know where you are?"

He looked around.

Then suddenly grabbed Bai Xue's sleeve.

"The prisoner..."

Jianyu crouched beside him.

"General Han?"

The guard nodded weakly.

"Where is he?"

The man's breathing quickened.

"He..."

"Tell me."

"He wasn't taken."

Jianyu frowned.

"What?"

The guard's eyes filled with fear.

"He left willingly."

Silence.

Shuishui's stomach dropped.

Yin's expression hardened.

"What are you saying?"

The guard swallowed.

"General Han..."

He looked around the room.

"...escaped himself."

Jianyu stared at him.

"Why would he?"

"I don't know."

"Who helped him?"

"I don't know."

"Then what do you know?"

The guard squeezed his eyes shut.

"I saw him."

"Where?"

"The carriage."

Everyone leaned closer.

"He was already free."

Jianyu's face changed.

"What?"

"The chains..."

The guard's voice trembled.

"They were already unlocked."

Shuishui stared at him.

"Then why did the carriage crash?"

The guard looked at her.

"I don't know."

"Who attacked you?"

"Men in armor."

"Zhao armor?"

He nodded.

"Did they attack General Han?"

"No."

Shuishui's eyes narrowed.

"Then who did they attack?"

The guard looked terrified.

"Us."

Jianyu went still.

"They attacked the guards?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

The man's lips trembled.

"To make us believe someone was rescuing General Han."

Shuishui slowly stood.

"So the entire attack..."

"Was staged," Yin finished.

No one spoke.

The guard suddenly grabbed Yin's sleeve.

"Your Highness."

Yin looked down.

The man's eyes were wide with fear.

"There's something else."

"What?"

"The person who opened the chains..."

He struggled to breathe.

"...wasn't one of the attackers."

Yin's expression changed.

"Who was it?"

The guard looked toward the door.

His lips parted.

Then—

CRACK.

A sharp sound came from the courtyard.

Everyone turned.

An arrow had struck the wooden window.

Pinned to it was a piece of white cloth.

Jianyu drew his sword.

"Stay back!"

He rushed toward the window.

Two soldiers followed.

Shuishui stared at the arrow.

The room had gone silent.

Yin stepped closer.

"Don't touch it."

Jianyu stopped.

"Why?"

Yin pointed.

The arrowhead was coated in something dark.

Poison.

Bai Xue's face changed.

"Nobody touch it."

Marcus approached from the other side.

His expression had finally lost its playful ease.

"What does the cloth say?"

Jianyu carefully removed it using a pair of metal tongs.

A single sentence had been written across it.

Five characters.

Everyone stared.

Shuishui read them silently.

THE WAR WAS NEVER OVER.

Her blood ran cold.

Jianyu looked toward Yin.

"Is this a threat?"

Yin didn't answer.

He stared at the words.

Then at General Han.

Then toward the sealed palace doors.

The guard suddenly whispered:

"That's..."

Everyone turned.

The man's eyes were fixed on the cloth.

"That's the sentence."

Jianyu frowned.

"What sentence?"

"The one General Han said..."

His voice became weaker.

"...before they took him."

Shuishui stepped closer.

"What did he say?"

The guard swallowed.

"He said..."

His eyes slowly closed.

"...the war was never meant to end."

Silence filled the chamber.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

Outside, the palace bells began ringing.

Once.

Twice.

Then continuously.

A servant came running through the corridor.

His face was ghostly white.

"Your Highness!"

Yin turned.

"What happened?"

"The emperor's private archive..."

The servant struggled to breathe.

"...has been broken into."

Yin's face became completely still.

"Was anything stolen?"

The servant nodded.

"One document."

"What document?"

The servant looked at him.

"The original peace agreement between Zhao and Beiyuan."

Nobody spoke.

Shuishui felt her fingers go cold.

Yin stared toward the darkened corridor.

And for the first time that night, he looked genuinely shaken.

Not frightened.

Not confused.

Something deeper.

Something personal.

Then he quietly said:

"Seal the palace."

Jianyu looked at him.

"Already sealed."

"No."

Yin's voice was low.

"I mean completely."

His eyes hardened.

"Nobody leaves."

The palace bells continued ringing.

And somewhere beyond the walls, the rain began again.