The answer came, unexpectedly, from Princess Ming.
A letter arrived for Yuan five days after his conversation with Lei about Ren, carried by a private courier rather than official diplomatic channels, sealed with Ming's own personal mark rather than any formal court seal. Yuan opened it with trembling hands, some instinct already telling him this correspondence carried more weight than the careful, cheerful updates they'd exchanged since her departure.
*Yuan Wei,* it began, the handwriting rushed, urgent in a way her previous letters had never been.
