Jin couldn't quite look the emperor in the face. She didn't want this weary, almost broken man to be the last image of her Emperor. So she shut her eyes briefly, trying to banish the sudden urge to cry, just a bit. Tears could wait until it was all over. 

Her eyes flew open as they made a choice. "We'll take the passage. Less chance of being spotted, plus, it will be awkward getting you out of the window with that basket on your back. We'll have to deal with the hazards as they happen." Noticeably, she did not say 'the Prince'. It was best to banish that word from their lips now, lest they have a slip of the tongue later.

Once the basket was shifted aside, she opened the passage and padded down the old stone steps carved there. It was damp, and murky, and smelled of wet mold, but it was their best hope for freedom. 

"...My Emperor." Jin bowed, one last time, then headed down to scout. Not 5 minutes later, she found the thinnest line of rope she'd ever seen. Another step and she would have missed it. Praising the Two-Faced Monkey for her luck, she snipped the thread with her dagger. A thin blade, hidden Gods knew where in the wall, shot across the path and embedded itself neatly in the wall adjacent. 

"Huh. Well that would have been bad." She plucked the still quivering dagger from the wall, and fled back to the beginning to report. "The very first part of the way is safe. Let me lead for the rest."