Princess Yun was running down the imperial palace hallway—fast, giggling, and completely ignoring the rules of royal manner. Behind her, her personal bodyguard, Shanjun, jogged at a slower pace.
"Princess, stop running already. You're a royalty, not a—" He broke off with a sigh that sounded older than his years. "Why am I the bodyguard of a tiny tornado in embroidered robes? I signed up to guard, not nanny."
Princess Yun spun around mid-run, her sleeves fluttering. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "We have to hurry and kidnap my brother before his study eats him alive!"
Shanjun stopped in his tracks, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Kidnap the Crown Prince. Great plan. Should I bring rope or just my will to live?" Still, the corners of his mouth betrayed him with the faintest twitch upward. "Come on. I'll carry you. You'll fall if you keep bouncing like that."
"I won't," she giggled, skipping backward. "If I fall, I'll get up and run faster!"
When they reached the West Palace, she began to tiptoe like a spy. She crouched behind a very expensive rosebush, probably imported from three states over, and peeked through the flowers. Shanjun stood behind her, arms crossed.
"Look!" she whispered, pointing through the leaves. "There's my brother!"
Crown Prince Yun was training in the courtyard, his spear spinning with deadly grace. Each movement sharp, precise, impossibly fast.
Princess Yun's jaw dropped. "My brother is the BEST!"
Shanjun raised an eyebrow. "I thought the princess told me I was the best last time."
She snapped her head around and declared seriously, "Last time was last time. Now and in the future, my brother is the best."
Shanjun just shook his head. Of course. Last time she had said that to convince him to sneak her out of the palace for snacks. He really should've known her loyalty had the shelf life of a meat bun. Still, like the responsible (and clearly doomed) bodyguard he was, he crouched into the bushes beside her, preparing himself to chase her again when the "kidnapping" began. At this point, he didn't know if he was an imperial guard, an undercover gardener, or an unwilling sidekick in the princess's ongoing comedy show.
Princess Yun crouched low, eyes sharp, lips pressed into a serious line—as serious as a mischievous princess could look while hiding in roses. She watched her brother spin his spear in sharp arcs, her face full of admiration.
Shanjun glanced at her sideways. "You're not actually going to try to drag him out of there, are you? He's twice your size. And he's holding a spear."
She didn't answer. Because right then, the Crown Prince stopped his practice, lowered the spear, and started walking toward the palace doors.
Her eyes widened. "Shanjun!" she whispered loudly. "He's escaping! Initiate phase two!"
Shanjun pinched the bridge of his nose again. "I regret asking… but what's phase two?"
"Ambush!" she whispered. Then before Shanjun could stop her, she shot out of the bushes.
"Big Brother!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, tackling him from behind in a hug. "Let me kidnap you!"
Crown Prince Yun turned, not even surprised, he had long since mastered the art of catching his tiny, chaotic sister mid-attack. He caught her under the arms and lifted her effortlessly into the air, spinning her once.
"Again?" he said with a soft laugh. "You're going to get into trouble for this."
"It's fine," she said confidently, completely ignoring his very reasonable concern. Her eyes sparkled with the self-assurance of someone who had been spoiled since birth. "I'm cute. Father will scold me for one minute, then give me pastries the next."
Shanjun stepping out of the bushes and muttered, "Not wrong."
Crown Prince Yun chuckled, shifting her to rest on his hip. "Alright, little bandit. What's the grand plan this time? Do I need to pack a bag, or is this another one of your five-minute kidnappings?"
Behind them, Shanjun let out his third sigh of the morning. It was shaping up to be one of those days again. He gave the sky a tired look, as if asking it to grant him strength or maybe just snacks. Snacks would be fine too.
Princess Yun giggled and clapped her hands together. "Today, let's—"
A soft cough interrupted her mid-scheme. All three of them froze. Slowly, they turned their heads.
There he was.
Emperor Yun. Tall. Calm. Glowing faintly with the terrifying aura of a father who has definitely heard everything. He walked toward them slowly, robes flowing behind him.
Princess Yun's face stiffened into a polite, nervous smile. "F-Father… are you here to watch Big Brother train too?"
The emperor raised one elegant eyebrow. "Oh, you came to watch your brother train? How believable."
Shanjun made a sound. A small, pitiful choking noise. Then like any loyal bodyguard in mortal danger, he attempted to quietly step behind a tree and merge with the scenery. Too late. He was already part of the crime scene.
Princess Yun, still held in her brother's arms, deployed her most powerful and dangerous weapon: Big. Shiny. Eyes.
"I want to learn swordsmanship too," she said sweetly, her voice dripping with pure, weaponized cuteness. "I want to help Big Brother."
Emperor Yun gave her a long, tired look and sighed. "How old are you, little princess?"
"I'm already five," she announced proudly. "Didn't Big Brother start learning everything at this age too?"
The emperor's eyebrow arched so high it was in danger of leaving his face. "He's going to rule the empire. You, on the other hand, are a little girl."
Crown Prince Yun nodded, like a proper future emperor. "That's right, Little Sister. You don't have to learn anything. Big Brother will protect you."
Princess Yun puffed out her cheeks. "But it's not fair! Big Brother is so busy every day. He doesn't have time to play with me! I want to help him learn so we can play together!"
Emperor Yun narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "So you can play with him more… or so you both can cause trouble together?"
Shanjun whispered to himself in despair, "Both. Definitely both."
Crown Prince Yun let out a nervous chuckle. "We're not causing trouble, Father. We were just going to, uh… play inside. And read a storybook."
The emperor laughed, deep and amused, the kind of laugh that made ministers squirm in their seats and small children realize their snack-stealing days were numbered.
"Read a storybook?" Emperor Yun repeated, his eyes twinkling dangerously. "Is that what you were doing when you snuck out of the palace during my meeting with the ministers last week? Do you think I didn't know?"
Princess Yun froze. Her head whipped around to glare at Shanjun, her innocent bodyguard-turned-accomplice-turned-traitor. He immediately looked away, shoulders stiff, pretending to be part of the landscaping. A tree. A very innocent, very uninvolved tree.
Her eyes said one thing clearly: Traitor.
Then just as quickly, she turned back to her father and smiled so sweetly it probably gave the emperor a cavity on the spot. "We were just going out to… find more storybooks," she said, her voice dripping with innocence that fooled exactly no one.
Shanjun closed his eyes. He was too young to die like this. If the emperor didn't kill him, the princess surely would, for treason. But before the royal doom could descend, soft footsteps padded across the courtyard. A calm, graceful voice floated after them.
"Alright, alright," said Empress Yun as she came into view, smiling at the dramatic scene in front of her. Her husband glaring like a general, her son standing stiff, her daughter clinging to her brother like a baby panda, and Shanjun looking ready to dig his own grave, and laughed softly.
"I made your favorite moon dumplings. Let's go inside first."
Princess Yun's eyes lit up. "Moon dumplings!" she squealed, suddenly forgetting her failed kidnapping mission entirely. She wiggled happily as the Empress took her from Crown Prince Yun's arms and carried her with ease, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Emperor Yun sighed, shaking his head with an indulgent smile. He reached out and gently took Crown Prince Yun's hand. "Come, future ruler of the empire. Let's go eat dumplings and discuss how to deal with your rebellious little sister."
And just like that, the imperial family walked together toward the main palace.