Ning Ren didn't refute this. "I will hope you will be more civil when the bloodlust isn't upon you as it is now. Father would be very interested to know if this continues."
"They call me the wolf you know. Not that you've won any such honor as a person in the borderlands. Father was disappointed you know when you said you'd rather be an official than be a soldier."
Ning Ren nodded, "I don't have servants here so I can offer you neither tea or a meal. The only bed that's made is mine."
"I'll take it. You leave with your woman to Jungpi in the carriage outside. I've been wanting this house for a long time."
"You can have it as a present upon your recent ascension. The deed is in the bottom drawer." Ning Ren wrapped Bingquing in blankets and hoisted her like a bale of hay over his shoulder. Ning Fan emerged from the shadows and took Bingquing in her mass of blankets away through the corridor.
Ning Ren stood and dressed behind the partition while his brother sniffed at the blood which had stained the bed. Ning Ren tightened his belt and found his brother's face close to his neck. He sniffed twice and then moved backwards.
He bowed to his brother lounging in the bed before departing to the back door. He locked the gate behind him. It would be a simple thing to jump the wall, but he wanted to stall the crown prince for as long as possible. Ning Fan sat in the front with the whip at the ready. Ning Ren climbed into the back and they were off.
Bingquing had crawled out of the sticky blanket and was looking at him in disgust. "Is this pig's blood?"
"Do you want to have a mark on your back? Do you want him to find you again?"
"He knows we are going to Jungpi."
Ning Ren smiled mischievously, "My dear cat, he thinks we are going to Jungpi. Father knew he was being watched so he had the characters written in a code." He produced the parchment with the imperial edict and showed Bingquing where he had circled the actual message with red ink.
"But all your staff and servants are in Jungpi? How will we get to Yan?"
=//=
Emperor Tong sat in his phoenix throne clutching his head from considering all the sons of his own blood who would be fighting like dogs over this chair he occupied once he was gone. He had educated them using the best tutors available. He had no more or less affection for his true born sons, compared to those borne to concubines.
Someone was shaking him, "Your highness, you highness . . ."
"SPEAK OR I SHALL HANG YOU!" He shouted in irritation. The emperor opened his eyes at his serene head eunuch, Wong Mo, who was not a bit flustered by this.
"Your highness shall I let in the officials? They have been waiting outside for a long time. I'm sure that you've punished them enough for the rebel disaster."
"No, let them wait a little more."
Wong Mo nodded, "I'm sure that you know best, your greatness. Under your rule the country has been the most harmonious out of the past three generations. But let me also lighten your mood, the younger three princes all received their degrees. And as your imperial instincts predicted, a certain assassin was seen killing people with an x shaped final blow. It's quite a way to make a reputation, but also does leave a livid trail."
"You know, Wong Mo it could just be an imitator. Young men these days will do anything for a thrill."
"If murder is becoming a fad, I am becoming too old. I know Ning Zhuo is supposed to be in the border minding the rebel insurgents and looking at what's causing the farmers to not be able to meet their quotas. But otherwise which direction did each prince head off to?"
Wong Mo bobbed his head as he had expected the king to ask him this. "Ning Qu has gone to Wei. Ning Yu is gone to Yan. Ning Ren--the black sheep--is nowhere to be found. His country manor you so carefully gave him is now in the hands of Ning Zhuo. I heard from reliable sources that his staff has gone ahead to set up a house in Jungpi. Ning Zhuo has also sent his servants to Jungpi."
The emperor nodded. "That's enough. I have sent my two stupidest sons to be corralled by an idiot king as he watches them fight over what is probably an incomprehensibly vapid girl. I really hope they do kill each other this time so I will have less to worry about." The king laughed to himself, "What a strange plan, Official Chu, dreamed up? He's in Jungpi to see it happen . . . I do hope things work out. Alright then, send in the first official!"
"Bats! They're everywhere. Are you sure this is a good idea, highness?" Bingquing ducked her head as a stalactite brushed the top of her head. She clutched a stalagmite to brace herself."It's not. It's the complete opposite of that. It's a genuinely horrible idea. But I think you'll notice many of my horrible ideas lead to a safe Ning Ren, Ning Fan and Qing. This is the only thing that mattered."Ning Fan tapped against the side of the cave and got some of the cave slime between his fingers and tasted it. "It's salt and dirt."Ning Ren slapped his shoulder as he gestured at the broad expanse, "This is a fine cave that I shall make into a new manor to house all of my servants and horses and cannons and cavalry." His voice echoed through the cave as Bingquing looked on in disdain.They continued on their walk. As they came to a fork, Ning Fan knocked against a section of the wall. Ther
JUNGPI - CHU RESIDENCE"Daughter, is that all that really occured? Are you compromised? Did he hurt you? Did the crown prince see your face? How much danger has been caused by this incident" Official Chu put his hands over his face in horror as his eyes couldn't believe that his daughter was alive and before him."Yes Father." They were in a secret room where only they were present in an underground area of the house. Bingquing was not surprised that such trapping were available for her faher here in Jungpi too. "Ning Ren is a surprising honorable man. I did not think I would escape without becoming his concubine. I thought of you every single day so I would not be slipped away in the net that was drawn tightly around me. But he did not force any such arrangement on me as I did not want to do anything without my father's approval. I wanted to be there only with you." Bingquing h
Later in the afternoon, Bingquing was sewing in her room, when a maid of the manor came to gossip."You are the daughter of Official Chu who was thought to be dead, but was rescued and brought back to him? The whole palace harem is buzzing with the news of such a strange miracle to brighten up our days. Such a legend has heavenly implications so it is thought that you are a divine being who has come to earth. Since you are here in the harem it is throught that you are bringing a light to the palace."Bingquing was embroidering a sleeping black cat on a white background. The imaging was calming to her, as she would often a black cat that she would feed in her previous manor. She smiled wryly. "A family reunion is always joyous. But how do you know of such things inside the palace?"The maid was known as Du Ni and was the daughter of her old nanny so the two had played together and been tutored together as children.
At dinner, Bingquing was unusually quiet. Official Chu set down his chopsticks for a second and glared at her. He sighed, before picking up a piece of meat and placed it on top of her bowl with a defeated expression."Ah, you spent a month at some strange place without me. You need to put on some weight so that I can start to feel like my daughter is coming back to me.""Why are you presenting me at the Jungpi court instead of the Caiwong court? Haven't you said that one of the most traits in a men is his dedication to the country of his birth? What happened with this truth which you made me memorize? What is the point of memorizing morals if no one bothers to follow them?""Who said that?" Official Chu looked at Bingquing's long face with some amusement. "Sometimes for survival there must be some sacrifices. The dynasty has continued in Caiwong, this is much more important than there to be continue to be an
"Your majesty," A eunuch kneeled low in front of the queen of Jungpi as her maids buzzed around her. Her hair was done half up so that the hair hung down in cascades of shine so whoever stood behind her would be looking at a scenic waterfall. The scene was punctuated with four phoenix hairpins which were arranged in the four cardinal directions. In front, right abover her forehead was a small nest replete with a phoenix couple and a nest of eggs. It was a haven reprieve from the business of the golden array of clouds and valleys. Her eyes were winged with setting clouds made of shadows of purple, orange, and yellow. The sun itself set red in a painted mark between her delicate eyebrows. The scene was set so it would appeal to the court, but she was under no illusions about her looks.She was by no means beautiful. Her own mother, the former queen, had always referred to her as having the misfortune of her father's brutish face.&
Bingquing bowed before the Queen of Jungpi with a care to the position of this strange bow. She had never thought before that someone would change simple things like the way a person should prostrate themselves in a bow had done since she was small. But the book of Jungpi womanly virtues that her tutor had given her was full of strange positions and placements. There were resting positions for hands even which were irritating to hold as her fingers would cramp. But she did them as her father watched. Her head was starting to ache from the metal nest of birds she had been made to wear by her maids with an assurance that it had been granted to her from the palace. It looked absurd, but it was a mirror of what the queen had chosen for herself. She knew her father was relying on her to made a good impression so she was making painsaking efforts to please. Bingquing hoped it would not all go to rot.The queen's look was made to look
Official Chu sighed, "Alright if you are threatening me in front of my daughter, I should really betray my confidences to the fullest as a good example to her. Your highness, you've made me no more promises than the food that fills this table. After this meal, how will I know that I will have my life? I'll gamble that you'll take my life in exchange for keeping my daughter. The imperial house of Caiwong is as simple as you think. Ning Ren is the least influential. Ning Qu is a drunkard. Ning Zhuo is a killer. The weakness of Caiwong is in that it's line of succession is weak. None of the princes despite their training are ready or set for the crown. None of them has the right temperment as all are young and spoiled by their mothers who are slowly going mad in the imperial city. I'm assuming Ning Yu has not offered because he is a child who has yet even to ride a horse."The king nodded, "Then my source was corr
"Nothing." Queen Langhua stood in front of Bingquing as she looked longingly in the direction of her father's retreating carriage. Tears poured down her face as her arm was jerked by the queen's hand. Langhua's nails were sharp against her forearm as she turned Bingquing to face her.Bingquing feeling the aforementioned nails claw into her arm turned to face the queen. Her clothing now was much more simple than before, but the odd bird nest in the center of her hair remained. Bingquing on the other hand wore a simple set of hydrangea pins that had come as a gift after the letter had been sent to the palace. She was adamant as she tried to wave to the retreating carriage. "Why can't I say goodbye? If this is the last time that I will be allowed to see him, why are the rules changing so quickly? It's not fair for it to be different when I know no one or nothing about anything. Who decided that things were going to be l