Chapter ten. "Someone brought a very disturbing issue to my attention," The Empress began as soon as she was left alone with her daughter in-law in her chambers. "What happened?" Taeyeon asked. Her playfulness had all disappeared and she stood with her back straight and stiff, like the real soldier that she is, listening attentively at what the Empress has to say next. "Yun ho is planning an attack tonight, we need to get ready for him. I want him stopped before he could cause harm to my people." The Empress's tone was filled with worry. Taeyeon wrinkled her forehead. "Not to intrude...can I ask who was the person that brought you this news, your majesty?" "His wife, Yun ho's wife is a distant cousin's daughter, I raised her here in the palace when her parents died. She heard him talking about the attack with his cousin, the same man I asked you to dismiss from his position and some of their men." The Empress explained. "And do you trust her?" Taeyeon needed to be sure the Empress isn't going to make the same mistake she herself had made. "I do, I'm like a mother to her, she'll never lie to me." Her mother in-law ensured. "I believed that once and I'm still regretting it, your majesty." Taeyeon smiled sadly. "Can I talk to her myself?" The general needed to be meticulous. "Of course, I'll have someone get her." The Empress said and walked up to her door, knocking on it once and before she could turn back her eunuch opened the door and waited for her instruction. "Get Sunmi here now." She ordered and the eunuch nods and left immediately. "Your majesty," he called a few moments later. "She's here." "Good, let her in." She said and the door opened revealing a very disturbed looking woman, with a bruised face. "You are Yun ho's wife?" Taeyeon began her inquiry. "Yes," The woman answered. "I want you to tell me exactly what you heard your husband talk about and I'm sorry about your face." The woman nods with a sad smile then began her narration without hesitation. "Last night, we had a fight and he was beating me like he always does, I was saved only when his cousin arrived, I pretended to have fainted and continued to lay there. I heard the visitor telling him about some men which they hired, he said they were ready now and then they left to his private chambers, but after hearing that I managed to pull myself up, without their knowledge I went outside and stood by his window. Then I heard how my husband plans to have you assassinated first and then take control of the throne once you are out of the way. His cousin promised to help with the conditions that he gets to own the princess as his..." Sunmi paused seeing as Taeyeon's body began to shake with rage at the mention of the princess in Yun ho's wicked plot. "What did he want with my wife?" Taeyeon asked, her eyes darkening. Sunmi gulped before adding. "He wanted to make her his mistress, and his second condition was to have his position back, they plan to attack at night and I came to warn my Aunt as soon as I could. Please, If we don’t act now then he’ll destroy this great city and it's people." "Damn that stubborn boy, he always does things without thinking." The Empress wished he was there right then, so she could kick his herself. "And where is your husband now?" Taeyeon asked the woman. "I don't know, he rode with his cousin and some men since dawn, I think out of the city..." she trailed. "In that case we have no more time to waste, we must prepare for war now and hopefully we can stop them before they could reach the city, that way we'll be able to minimize bloodshed of innocent citizens." Taeyeon said turning to look at her mother in law, the woman gave her a nod as a go ahead. "I trust you Taeyeon, I know you will never let any harm come to your family and the people of this kingdom." With that Taeyeon was dismissed. There was no enough time for the general to see or say goodbye to her wife because as soon as she left the Empress's chambers, she mounted the available horse she saw and rode to the soldiers camp. "Heech, she called for her friend and comrade, jumping down from her horse hastily. "Get our best men ready, there's an emergency." She informed him and without waiting for the obvious question to slip out of his lips, she continued to her quarters to get ready for war. Soon enough, the general, two of her most trusted commanders and the rest of the available soldiers marched out of the city to intercept Yun ho's army before they could reach the city. And the pace they were marching at, they would reach Yun ho's army in no time. Taeyeon now as the princess's wife and soon-to-be regent was suppose to ride behind her own infantry troop, surrounded by her own archers for maximum protection but the general refused all of that luxury. Taeyeon only wanted to put an end to this senseless war before it even started and so her horse rode out in front of the entire army. Yun ho and his cousin were riding side by side. At their pace they’d also reach the city within a few hours to set up their camp just outside the gates. And after an evening of proper rest they’d attack in the darkness of the night as they have planned. He looked at his army and smiled proudly, "I will get the throne tonight and after that I will pay you all for your loyalty, you'll have everything you ever wished for." He said, his men cheered for him. He smiled widely as everything was going according to his plan, at least it had been until one of the front men of his army stopped their movements, "What’s the matter?" he barked at the man as he rode over to him. "Your Majesty," he smiled proudly at the title. "The dust is rising on the southern horizon, and that's the city's direction." The man said meekly and Yun ho immediately understood. Only two things could make a dust rise, a sandstorm or the marching of an army, and if his suspicions were correct and the Empress army were marching towards them then it might as well have been a storm coming their way. "How far are they?" he asked quickly as he too gazed at the direction. The beating afternoon sun making it harder for him to see but without a doubt something was approaching them and approaching quickly by the looks of it. "About three miles," The front man responded after a bit of observation. "It must be that damn general and her army, but how is she matching towards us? One of the commanders of Yun ho's army piped up angrily. "Someone must have informed her about the attack, if not how could she have known?" Yun h