Mei and Ling'er were seated in the throne room with the Emperor and General Gao. Ling'er was complaining about how Mei's arrival in the ghost world had distracted her from her most cherished pastime, and how her famous list hadn't been updated recently.
"Is he not enough to look at for you?" Mei questioned, pointing at the General.
Ling'er looked at the General, holding her chest. "He very much is!" she said.
The conversation between the Emperor and General Gao then turned to the General requesting to be deployed to the borders, which shocked Ling'er out of her seat. "Why are you leaving?" she said, as if he could hear her.
Mei could see the Emperor was also shocked by the suggestion. "Why do you ask for deployment?" he asked.
"Your Majesty, I feel like my knowledge can be better used at the border than in the capital," he responded.
"That's not true!" Mei retorted. "Tell him it's not!" She turned to the Emperor, demanding.
"You know they can't hear you, right?" Mei said.
"I know that, Mei," Ling'er said as a matter of fact. "But I enjoy the capital and him. If he decides to leave, I have to make a choice between him and you!" she said. "Plus, the borders are filled with bloodthirsty male ghosts who died in battle. A flower like me will suffer there."
Mei shook her head. Ling'er had a talent for adding absurd claims to her regular sentences that never failed to make her speechless. "You know the Emperor can never let him go, right?" she said.
"I know," Ling'er said, sitting down. "I just wanted to be dramatic," she added. "I once saw a play about a soldier and his wife and was trying to re-enact the scene when the husband was leaving for the border," she said, laughing.
True to their word, the Emperor firmly denied his request. "You know I cannot lose this palace, General," the Emperor said. "You are my eyes outside, and there are some things I can only trust you with that I can't with other soldiers. I need you here."
"I know you are bored, so remove those thoughts from your mind until you are absolutely needed on the borders. If you are too bored, let me send you some drawings of the young ladies in the capital. It's time for you to settle down."
Ling'er jumped from her chair, shouting, "Why would you suggest such a rotten idea to the General?!" This time, she wasn't acting; she looked at the Emperor, her chest heaving up and down. "You are going to move down in my list!" she added. "To think that I was your biggest supporter!" she said. Luckily, the General opposed the idea fast, and Ling'er calmed down.
Mei sat there, giggling, tickled by the whole situation. "You know we are ghosts, right, and will never have any chances with the living?" she said.
"I know," Ling'er grumbled. "But I would rather not think objectively at this point. Let me be in my delusional state; it makes me happy," she added.
"Okay, calm down. You see, the General doesn't want to get married; he clearly rejected the idea fast. And even the Emperor is using marriage as a threat, so it means it's the General's Achilles' heel," Mei reassured Ling'er.
"I know, that's why I like him!" Ling'er added. "I wish he stays this single for as long as I'm a ghost," she said.
Then the conversation between the Emperor and the General turned to the envoy coming, and that captured Mei and Ling'er's attention again.
"Who did they send this time?" the Emperor asked.
The General replied, "They sent the Third Prince and a General." He added, "They will be here in a week."
"What do you think they are coming for?" the Emperor asked.
"I'm not sure, but I guess it has something to do with the Princess," the Emperor said. "I don't know why, but she is somehow hell-bent on marrying someone from Da Long. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about it," he added.
"If they insist so much, let's get something out of it," the General said.
"What do you suggest?" the Emperor asked.
"Three border cities," he said. "If they are too desperate to let her stay in Da Long, we will let them. In the meantime, I will plant someone close to her to monitor her movements," the General said.
"What about the Duke?" the Emperor asked. "Do you think he is involved in this?"
"I don't think so," the General said. "He is not that intelligent. I think he is just being used."
Ling'er laughed. "You are right, he is too unintelligent! You see why we are made for each other?" she said, looking at Mei. "We think alike."
Mei rolled her eyes. She knew Ling'er would never skip any opportunity to belittle the Duke. She hated him with passion, and Mei was grateful for Ling'er's care and concern for her.
The Emperor and the General turned to the envoy coming, and that captured Mei and Ling'er's attention again.
The Emperor called his guard. "Go and summon the Minister of Rite." After the guard left, he turned to the General and said, "We need to organise a party to welcome the envoy. I know the Minister of Rite is capable, but I need you to oversee the preparations, as you know this is a national matter."
"Okay, Your Majesty, don't worry about that. I will make sure everything is ready for the party," the General said. "About the Duke, I have a maid who used to serve the Duchess who is willing to testify, but I'm sure we need more than that. Although the Duke is stupid, the larger Chiang family are clever. We can't topple them with just a maid's testimony."
"It's okay," the Emperor said. "Take your time. When I decide to act against them, I want every one of them completely gone, so take your time and get me evidence that they can't get out of."
"General Ma might take action fast, which will destroy our plans," the General replied.
The Emperor stayed quiet for a while, thinking. "I know how to deal with him. Invite the Madam. I will talk to her; she is the one making rules in that household," the Emperor said.
And the three people in the room laughed. "Despite being a fierce General, he is a cat in his house," the General said, laughing. "In the battlefield, he is someone I look up to," he added.
The Emperor smiled. "Summon the Madam. Tell her I would like to talk to her, and we will discuss that matter further," he said.
"Okay, Your Majesty. If there is nothing else to do, then I will go; it's my time to practice," he said, standing up.
"Okay," the Emperor said. "And don't let me summon you to the palace next; take the initiative of coming to see me."
"Your Majesty has a harem full of beauties; I wouldn't dare disrupt you," he said, and the Emperor looked at him sternly. He slapped his mouth. "Apologise, Your Highness," he said, but he didn't look sorry at all.
Ling'er looked at the General, shocked. "He knows how to joke?" she asked.