"Your Majesty," Bai Li bowed. "I have good news. The young Miss Mei is fine. Her Third and Fourth Brothers and I were not far behind her when she was stung by a murder hornet. Her brothers were able to treat the hornet sting, but we couldn't move her last night."
"Good, good," said the Emperor, his suspicions immediately aroused by the tale.
He would have his men thoroughly investigate it. The players were moving in interesting, though not entirely unexpected, directions.
His second son had shown serious interest in this young lady, and the Prime Minister's daughter, Li Fengfeng, had designs on his second son. It was highly unlikely that the two things were unrelated; he didn't believe in coincidence.
"It's good that she was with her brothers at the time, not alone with you, Commander Bai," the Emperor raised one eyebrow at him.
