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2020-12-08 08:32:05Emperor Tong of Caiwong, was unique in that he choose not to name a prince as a successor. There was a crown prince whom was named, however, this was only a placeholder as he wanted there to be someone for the younger brothers to look up to, but it held no power other than the position of the name to sound nice to whom was speaking. He wanted to avoid the normal battle amongst princes for that position so he kept the position with someone who did not live in the capital often. Also, to save his intended successor from assassination and usurping attempts from his relatives who were always griping for what did not belong to them.
He'd kept his final edict inside of a special box that he had hidden away behind a painting in the main imperial hall. It was guarded day and night by a crew of specially trained soldiers. Many assassins had come for the prize, but so far all of them had been defeated soundly. The emperor was confident in this solution would benefit all of his children to keep the balance of the rule.
But it was not to be peaceful as he intended with all of the great plans he had spend so much time planning and procuring.
. . .
An army of rebels approached the capital from the west. It was secretly funded by the eldest prince, Ning Zhuo. The army was lead by Ning Zhuo's allies in disguise--the Duke of Zhen and his 4 middle sons.
"Father, we need to ride harder if you'd like to get there before the gates close." One of the boys shouted at his father from behind his white ghost mask.
"Be quiet. You're going to give us away you idiot. You must not let your tongue move when we get inside of the castle walls." The Duke shot back coldly as he ordered his horse forwards.
They were all riding their horses hard in the midst of their soldiers. The horses' mouths were foaming as they were whipped again and again. The gates to the imperial city loomed before them as they rode gathering dust behind them. A sentry began to sound the alarm but an arrow was shot through his throat before he could complete it. The guards then sprung into action closing the gates and shot a rain of arrows upon the approaching mass of troops.
The head guard at the West Gate looked through his spyglass at the approaching army and spit in dismay. "The dust is making it impossible to know if it's an approaching company of a couple hundred or a couple thousand. What are the orders from the commander officer of the gate in this kind of a situation? Something like this feels extremely strange."
A guard was prostrated on the ground awaiting orders, "Should we alert the king? Should we send a runner to warn the cavalry."
The head guard had a vein twitch in his forehead as he considered the consequences of the action. It would not be good either way if he was right or if he was wrong. "Send a messenger to the king."
The guard bowed profusely before getting off his knees and running off to a pair of waiting eunuchs.
Both of them padded off quickly in the direction of the palace.
=//=
"Bing-er you shouldn't have." Official Chu rushed towards his daughter as she dropped into a bow before him with her retinue of servants. She was dressed more like his concubine than was proper for a dressing of a daughter. If someone saw her here, it was bound to bring gossip and trouble to him. She was naughty, but this was something that was beyond her usual tricks. He wondered if she had intended to dress instead to dress like a court woman to make him less uncomfortable.
His servants all came forwards and immediately began to fuss around her. Official Chu told them to leave them for sometime and they cleared out. On the way, they set the meal Bingquing had brought onto the table and opened up the dish compartments so it would be easy for their ducal master to access.
Official Chu pulled his chopsticks out of it's holder and began to taste the dishes that his daughter had brought for him. He made a face, "Plum Blossom Soup . . . again?"
Bingquing laughed gaily, "Do you think I would let you be free from trying my new recipe? I was trying to recreate mother's recipe, but you're the only one who remembers it. This is the last one that I have to perfect."
Official Chu sighed and let his ladle sift through it. Not many spoke of the former duchess in such a fond light. His wife had been ill for most of her life so had been kept indoors.
As he was doing this a eunuch entered the room and bowed. "Official Chu I have an urgent matter to report."
Official Chu exchanges glances with his daughter, "I made specific orders that I would not be disturbed while my daughter is here to visit me."
The eunuch's hands trembled. "I am aware of your order sir."
Official Chu put a hand to his head in mock irritation to amuse his daughter, "And what is it that is of such importance? Is an order from the emperor?"
The eunuch's folded hands trembled, "The Western Gate has been breached by an army your excellence, There are soldiers approaching the inner palace."
Official Chu stood up abruptly, "What did you say?"
Bingquing looked out the window nervously to see dust gathering in the distance.
Official Chu clutched Bingquing's shoulders and shook her, "You get out of the palace immediately." He turned to the eunuch, "You, servant. How close are the soldiers? What are they doing? Are they pillaging the palace? Who is the leader?"
The eunuch dropped to his side, "Highness, I do not know the answers to your questions. The army did breach the harem but the commander forbade the soldiers from touching any of the palace women."
Official Chu suddenly relaxed, "They're aiming for the Imperial Palace Hall where the king is situated. Bingquing, I have to go there to hear orders from his majesty."
Bingquing nodded, "I'll switch clothes with one of my maids and sneak out through a side gate father. The soldiers will pay no mind to another common maid. I can get outside."
Official Chu shook his head. "Such a plan is of no use. We are not in danger. I'm an official who is out of favor with the current king. This is the meddlings of the officials with the treasonous princes. Someone is eager to know the name inside of the emperor's successor box."
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Bingquing held in her sobs as she watched her home burn. The ghost of her innocence was hiding so far behind her that she could no longer remember what it was like to not know the sight of so much death. It was so dissociated that her yells had faded to action. There were bodies strewn about like ragdolls only here she could not be indifferent. These were people that she knew. These were her own . . .They were lost . . . but there must be something that she could save.The horse pulled at his lead as Bingquing neared the entrance. The flames roared as she came closer. She grew irritated with the horse's fuss so she let go of his reins. The horse bolted in the opposite direction, but Bingquing's face didn't follow the direction. She had tears streaming down her face as she was rocked with rolling emotions. She entered the main atrium and her sobs turned into a scream as she recognized the bodies strewn about.
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The swaying of a cart is what woke Bingquing. She awoke with a start from the pain in her blistering hands that were chafting as they were tied tightly together with a rough biting rope that was threaded with small rivers of glass. It was hot and she felt a sting of pin and needles in her head. She looked up and realized a flimsy bandage that had been tied too tightly around her head. Upon seeing it, she felt against her chest and was relieved to see the scroll was still there. She knew her idea to cut the document out of it's scroll would have some raised eyebrows, but she knew it would be better than leaving it there for someone to stumble upon when a new tree was potentially planted in that spot. It was not simple to have something like this anywhere honestly.There were many girls in a similar state who were all sniffling or in various stages of crying. The one closest to Bingquing had a burlap cloth roughly shoved into her mouth.
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"Qing! Qing!" Mo'lan shouted as she was sold and being taken away in a cart. Bingquing shook her head, but Mo'lan's shouts only increased to a shrill level. The well-dressed man buying her shoved her into the cart and then put his hand around Bingquing's neck. He had the body of a soldier and his direct gruff manner was off putting and typical of men of his class.He smelled too of unwashed man and the beef he had consumed the night before. He jingled coins in the handler's face, "How much for this one? I already bought the most expensive one, can you make this one at a discount?"The traffickers exchanged glances at each other as they considered this."She's not of much use to us, other than as a back door, if you understand what I mean. I doubt she'd sell for more than a couple cents."A couple cents, Bingquing scoffed internally. Her father would have started crying from laughter if someone had presented this s
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Mo'lan sat down in a huff. She wrapped her hands around her knees and raised an eyebrow at Bingquing who was obeying the command. "Qing-er, I thought we were going to meet someone rich. This looks like some old geeser's house whose run into hard times. I don't want to be the wife of a crumbling old man. I'm still young. This is the opposite of what you promised me . . . I know I'm not supposed to trust someone who is more intelligent than me, but I feel like you're very nice to me.""Maybe he'll be nice to you, mam. You should kneel like the guard said. It might not be what you think." Bingquing said quickly. She said this more out of a fear that the guard was a fan of collective punishment. She did not want then, for Mo'lan to be whipped for being ostentatious.Mo'lan complied in an irritated fashion, "You know the only reason I'm doing this is because I don't want to see his ugly face when he coos over
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Cat Who Walks Thru The Wall march 29
“Who dares to disturb the emperor after the court session? That’s bold of whatever minister can even bear the thought of death for his point. This is not the time to keep pushing a point that has died through discussion. Tell that courtier that I will execute him if he persists with his petition. I am not in the mood to entertain anybody under any circumstances. I will not be forced into doing more things that I have no care for.” Ning Zhuo nursed his head as his head was spinning after reading so many memorials. Even though the pile to the left of finished memorials was more in height than the one on the right, he knew there was a whole pile of them that his eunuchs had hidden behind a pot to encourage him to continue. It was incredibly annoying as work now was never ending. He already knew all the sides to the argument so he was irked that some small person was still trying to push after being re
Cat Who Walks Thru The Wall march 28
Langhua, the queen of Jungpi, put her arms around Yan Sha tightly and started to cry as Yan Sha was too shell shocked to move or react. “You’re healthy. My daughter has finally returned to me the way that she does in my dreams. To see such a beautiful sight is beyond what I have hoped for so many years. I am so happy. You’re healthy finally. I have felt such guilt as your mother for sacrificing so much just to stabilize the reign of the incumbent. I searched so hard for an answer to my question of how to stabilize what I had put up for slaughter.” “Mother I—“ Yan Sha didn’t know what to say as she was so used to the brutality of the ruler. To be even here to see the tears and true joy in her return to a better state of health made Yan Sha realize that her aunt really did love her even if she preferred her own daughter above Yan Sha.
Cat Who Walks Thru The Wall march 27
Yan Sha was led to an unmarked carriage on the side gate of the Jungpi palace. It was odd at this time of day and she tensed when she saw it. This was out of her usual routine. No one had left her a note or explained why there was such a deviation so she was instantly alert. Her daggers were with her and she brandished them quickly in a way that would disarm the people around her. But as her movement was swift, there was a clothed man in animal skins who was silent and unexpected to Yan Sha such that she had not thought that such a person would be waiting for her. She couldn’t remember what happened after as the disgusting taste of medicine filled her mouth and she slipped out of consciousness. Her body was dragged into the carriage and the wild man drove off in a huff as all the servants scattered.
Cat Who Walks Thru The Wall march 26
Yan Sha looked at Ning Zhuo with a sigh as she could feel the world around her come crashing down. Her breath came in harsh strokes as she tried not to breathe at all, if this was a dream she had to fight hard to make sure that she didn’t wake up. But reality was quick to set in. The bath house behind them was abruptly searched. They could hear the sounds of the maid explaining that there were people just here. “Don’t you feel bad for them?” Yan Sha said with a forlorn expression as she could see their panic and expressions. “They work for me. They are all paid well and even if they are taken into the Prefecture Penitentiary. I will take care of their families and make sure that their descendants are well.”
Cat Who Walks Thru The Wall march 25
The black melange was moving up her body which as her clothing disintegrated covered all of her up to her neck. All below the water was pitch black and pulsating. He dropped the torch and there was a hiss as the fire went out. “Crown prince you cannot. I have burned many people. Everyone gets burned as they come close to me. You should not. You cannot. I am poison to everyone. Crown prince, please.” He picked up her body and the black color dripped down onto his hands. He moved swiftly out of the lake. Yan Sha touched his face and bounced back as she remembered what was wrong with her. “Crown prince? Since when have you called me that? If I truly am the cause of this, then I will search day and nig
Cat Who Walks Thru The Wall march 24
Yan Sha laughed as she heard this. “Sister, I can’t believe that I hear you say this that you want to share me with others and even outsiders. If the Duke would hear of this I’m sure he would be positively shocked. He would say that someone has stolen away his beloved concubine sun and replaced her with a pious monk. He would look all around the moon for you until he found you right at home where he left you. But truthfully, sister, business is not for me. I could never keep all of the older matrons happy with tinctures. It would be a lot more talking than simply giving medicine.” “Well then you can be in all of their good graces and then they will want to invite us to all of the good gatherings and food tastings. Who is to know what nice things that they will share with us then?” “
Cat Who Walks Thru The Wall march 23
“What kind of school are we talking about, your highness. I have definitely never heard of it. Whom is this legendary teacher? But on second thought I would say he has been brutal to you. Your back is full of burns and scars and marks. It doesn't sound like a place where a delicate princess should be sent, even if you are the spare.” “I am not one who has been confined to private quarters like my sister all of her life. One sibling must learn of the outside world to keep the other safe while ruling. It is my duty to protect her and guard the line in front of our house. But these is explained in the words of men, I guard the land so I may have a place to go home to and a bed to sleep on and a sister whom I know will raise my children if I am to die first.” “If you say it in this way
Cat Who Walks Thru The Wall march 22
The person was walking upside down now and Yan Sha wondered how that could be. Then she realized that the ground was by her face. She struggled listlessly as the person dragged her away and out of sight. The scene that she had left behind was strange as there was just cloth and bones that were swept away by the morning sweepers as they wondered why this area of town had gotten so dusty. The local magistrates guessed all that ash had come from fires. Not knowing the whole area was hallowed with human remains. =\\= Yan Sha spat up black phlegm again and she coughed to clear her throat. No matter how much she coughed her throat continued to burn until she just gave up that she had gotten used to it that there was no point trying anymore.
Cat Who Walks Thru The Wall march 21
Ning Zhuo then turned and saw a shadow in his study. He strutted back to find his bookcases trembling. His movements to fix everything were quick. Maids immediately rushed behind him and one poked him, “Crown prince, your man from Jungpi has arrived to see you.” Yan Sha froze as she sat on the roof. There was a good opening to jump over the roofs but she was torn as she knew that it was incredibly difficult to get spies into this manor. She was proud of her former partner but could not stop the lick of nostalgia. She wanted to say that she knew him. Below her, Ning Zhuo replied. “Oh good. Send him into my study. I want to hear what he has to say immediately.”
