"The Lady with Three Daggers"

"This is it," Dai Fu said, stepping down from the driver's seat.

I hesitated, glancing between him and the alley. "Are you sure?"

He nodded, brushing rainwater from his sleeves. "Well, this is the Dragon Alley she wrote in the letter," He said, pointing towards a damp, deteriorated wooden board, nailed to one of the walls.

I squinted at it through the rain. The faded characters etched into the wood were barely legible, but there it was—Dragon Alley. 

Sure enough, The first thought that came to my mind was that the alley was nothing like its name suggested. The narrow passage before us seemed more suited for stray cats and forgotten things than a place to meet someone.

"This is a very peculiar place to meet someone, don't you think, Dai Fu?" I sighed, noticing that there was not a single sign of anyone down that alley. 

"The Capital has its ways, Young Master. Not everything important happens in the open." Dai Fu said, opening the carriage door. 

I sighed, pulling my cloak tighter around me as the rain continued to fall. "Let's not keep Lady Zhao waiting, then," I said, stepping cautiously into the alley.

The space seemed to close in on me immediately, the damp walls narrowing as though the alley itself was reluctant to let us through. The ground was uneven, with cracks in the stone that filled with water from the rain, forming shallow puddles that splashed underfoot. The faint smell of mildew mingled with the rain-soaked air.

"Stay close, Young Master," Dai Fu said, his voice low as he followed behind me.

The further we went, the quieter the world seemed to grow. The distant hum of the city faded, replaced by the steady drip of water from rooftops and the occasional creak of wood as the wind nudged an old shutter or door.

Ahead of us, the alley bent sharply to the left, disappearing from view. Dai Fu stepped ahead of me, his hand seeming to instinctively rest on the hilt of his blade as we approached the turn.

Watching him, I was immediately reminded that I carried nothing on me except the letter and my clothes. No weapon, and no means to defend myself if this meeting turned out to be something sinister.

The thought of asking Dai Fu for his blade briefly crossed my mind, but I dismissed it. I knew well that He was sure more adept at handling it than I would ever be. Besides, I trusted him—at least, I had to trust that he would protect me.

Still, as we rounded the corner and stepped into the courtyard, the absence of even a small dagger at my side weighed heavily on my mind.

When we rounded the corner, I stopped short. The alley ended in a small, open courtyard. It was dimly lit by a single red lantern hanging from a post in the centre, its glow casting long, flickering shadows on the uneven ground.

The courtyard was empty, save for an old well at its centre and a figure standing beside it. Clad in a long, dark cloak, the figure's hood was pulled low, obscuring the face. Immediately, I noticed the light from the lantern caught the edge of something metallic—a sword, perhaps, or an ornament on their belt.

The figure turned its head slightly, as though acknowledging our presence, but said nothing. The silence hung heavy in the air, broken only by the rain.

I glanced at Dai Fu, who gave me a subtle nod before stepping forward. "We're here to meet Lady Zhao," he said, his firm voice breaking the ambience.

The light of the hanging lantern happened to fall on the figure, and the face of an old man, maybe in his late sixties, appeared in the mildly dark and damp alley.

He raised a hand, motioning for us to stop. Then, with deliberate slowness, reached into his cloak and withdrew a small object. Holding it out, He let it catch the light of the lantern. It was a jade pendant, carved with the intricate design of a dragon coiled around a lotus.

Dai Fu inhaled sharply. "That's her seal," he whispered, his grip on his blade relaxing.

The Old man lowered the pendant and finally spoke, his voice low and smooth, with an edge of authority. "Lady Zhao sent me to escort you. Follow me."

Without waiting for a reply, He turned and disappeared through a narrow passage on the other side of the courtyard.

I looked at Dai Fu, who nodded again, his expression almost reflecting mine. "Let's go then," he said, motioning for me to follow. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and stepped after the cloaked figure. Whatever lay ahead, there was no turning back now.

A person with a little bloated figure came running to me, bowing down in respect, he exclaimed-"Second Prince of Xijin is welcomed by the Caizhou city guards squadron leader Chen Ming; on behalf of the Royal court, I am here to escort you to the Royal Residency!"

As I looked out of my carriage, I got a clear image of the man who was welcoming me, this Chen Ming indeed had a bloated face and figure, but with his muscles on hand and shoulders, I speculated his proficiency in Martial Arts.

Added to that, I saw his cloak had a hint of the strange stench of Blood, Having an assumption of the character of the person, I was a little scared to answer him, though I managed to speak by ignoring these "Facts".

"Lord Chen, Are you really from the Imperial court?", I asked in a curious tone.

"Yes...?", he looking with confusion at my face continued-"...Yes, your Excellency!.. I am here to escort your way to the Residence,(answering with some hesitancy). I hope your Excellency doesn't have any appointments with someone? (he looked on my face with gesturing eyes)"

As he looked at me like that, I understood this Chen Ming is a man of Lady Zhao, In immediate, I speculated that this Lady Zhao doesn't want to let the Crown Prince know about her and my meeting.

"No!Not at all! lead the way from here then."

"As you say, Your majesty!", Chen Ming exclaimed and took the reins of the Horses from Daifu, letting Daifu sit beside them.

"Welcome to Caizhou, Your Excellency!"

NEIGH!!

As I entered the City's second gate, My eyes finally saw the charm of a big Chinese capital city in this chaotic past.

A chaotic city indeed it was, my cart faced the streets crowded with People and Merchants, with Traders and Craftsmen Along the streets, The smoke and scent coming from the Restaurants besides the streets filling the air, with some people amusing others to make a living, and besides all this, a sweet tune of Chinese flute soothing the mind between this chaos, chatter and Mess of the city can be heard.

At the end of the Street, I saw the big shops of the Traders which were can be told from their tidiness; only for the rich. With their Extravagant company, my Carriage turned from Main Street leaving behind the Chaos of the Market.

As we got some forward my Carriage came across a lonely alley. Suddenly My Carriage slowed down and Chen Ming exclaimed, "Lady Zhao wanted to see you, Your Excellency! Please get down from the Carriage and take the carriage at the end of the alley, I will handle the rest."

From this sudden break inflow of the journey, I was indeed startled for one moment, But my nerves settled down as I somehow expected this type of move from Chen Ming.

Gesturing Daifu to come inside the Carriage, I wore the large black cloak which was inside the Carriage and got down to the alley. With, the sound of my Carriage wheels fading with the time, indicating Chen Ming is faking my presence in the Carriage by keeping on the move while giving me a chance to meet that mysterious woman he serves, Lady Zhao.

As I dazed my eyes into the silent and lone alley, I observed a black Carriage at the end of the alley with no one around to be seen. Even if I can sniff some real danger, I had no choice other than to go forward and embrace destiny. So, with fast and steady steps I walked towards the Black Carriage, being alert for any surprise in my way.

As I came across the Carriage, A voice broke the silence -

"Second Prince, you are welcome in Caizhou. Please enter the Carriage.."

The voice was soft and feminine but it broke the silence of the alley well with its unhearable echo.

I entered the Carriage still being on my guard. As I got in, I saw a beautiful and really tender girl sitting inside, wearing a gorgeous traditional dress, with a face really shocking for a person like me who had expected Lady Zhao to be a woman in her middle ages.

She was ridiculously beautiful with a face you would really be fooled by. As I observed her hands, I noticed the strong structure of her tender-looking hands which I can clearly predict to be proficient for Secret martial arts.

My predictions got confirmed after seeing the shining dagger fastened on a hook of the wall of the Carriage, but even if having seen these, I didn't keep my fear show up and ruin the show. Remembering what Daifu had said to me yesterday, I suddenly remembered what shameful act i "had" done yesterday.

Feeling ashamed normally, I decided to start the conversation with a Sorry for "my" shamefulness.

"Lady Zhao! I am very sorry for what I had done yesterday, I had been pretty much fooled by the wine, I am dearly Ashamed for my shameless mistake, I really hurt your reputation yesterday...I hope you can understand it.."

As I said these words, her straight lips covered with lip rouge bent to create a flurry of a smile, which was elegant as well as spooky for me. I was really cold for a second, but before I could think or speculate about her, the words she said in answer startled me greatly.

"Prince Yun! You are really an interesting guy...you act really well."-she smiled.

"It a pity that no one here knows about our agreement that we made yesterday...You can put down the show now. Relax!"

"Really?"-being taken aback by the reply, I spoke as I still thought about a reply.

"..Okay then...I thought I should continue the show, But how cannot I help myself in not being sorry to a nice lady, whom I have done wrong to..."- I said, sitting inside the carriage slowly.

Though I was surprised by her answer, I felt a deep sigh of relief over my character as I thought of Lady Zhao to be my enemy once.

When she said about putting down the Act, I speculated what i "had" did yesterday was actually an act of making the Crown Prince believe that Lady Zhao is not an ally of Ruoyun.

And, due to such an 'act' been happened between Zhao and "me" meant, We would not be on the same side, hence not being under suspicion from any threats which we two can face from our enemies.

At least "I" have kept one way out "myself".

You are really lucky to be unlucky. RSK!