64 Fulfilling the emperors wishes (2/2)

”Is there something else?”

”That...that thing, your majesty,” Yi Hai said awkwardly. ”Is it a monster or something else? I've never seen one like it before.”

”You mean the tank?” the empress dowager was amused.

”A tank?”

”That's what we call it in the kingdom where I came from.A tank.It's very good and effective for mowing your enemies down in battle. Do you want to take a look inside? I might even teach you how to drive it one of these days.”

”Inside? It's hollow inside?”

”How else can you get to it? Come on, I'll show you around.”

Commander Yi Hai was nothing if not curious.His legs almost quake when he looked at the enormous tank but he managed to wrest a decisive win from his inner wimp by climbing up the tank and dropping down inside after the empress dowager opened the hatch. It could be said that the commander's manhood not only regained its potency but his inner love for anything shiny was roused. And the inner chamber of this particular tank was really very shiny.

When the empress dowager finally managed to drag him away from his new toy, they discovered that a large crowd had already gathered and were now surrounding the tank. The crowd, thankfully, remained in their shock state so everyone was silent as a mouse even when the empress dowager and the commander slid down the side of the monster and descended to the ground.

”Commander Yi, what did it look like inside?” a subordinate finally couldn't help himself and called out to Yi Hai.

”Shiny,” Yi Hai quipped.

Eh? The subordinate was confused. What's shiny about it?

”Can you watch over the tank while I ride back to the palace and report to the emperor?” the empress dowager was saying, looking at Yi Hai.”It's alright. They can look inside but don't touch anything!”

With that stern warning, the empress dowager again hurried to her carriage. The crowd watched as the horses revved up and carried the carriage away until it disappeared from their sight. The crowd, as if one body, speared Yi Hai with shining and excited eyes.

”She said we can go inside to see,” a young man excitedly said. ”Can we, Commander Yi?”

Yi Hai sighed. We're going to be here until morning if this keeps up, he thought looking morosely at the growing crowd before him.

”Yes. She said it's alright to see inside. Can we, Master Yi?”

Yi Hai swallowed his annoyance.

”What I can't understand is, how in hell did this monster get in here? Did she pull it out of air? Did it drop from the sky?” a bearded man said, frowning.”I've been thinking about it and I can't find an answer.”

”Then don't think about it,” his wife answered. ”Stop with all these questions. It will only hurt your head.”

”But...”

”I want to go inside to see. Come on, ask Commander Yi. Didn't you say he was your classmate or something?”

Stumped for words, her husband didn't know whether to laugh or cry,

Finally harassed into allowing the crowd to see the inside of the tank, Yi Hai got into the groove and used his authority to set new rules.

”Okay, group yourselves in fives...I said fives not six or seven.What are you, deaf? Line up. I said line up! No pushing now. And no jostling either!”

The emperor was waiting at the same steps and the same door as before when the empress dowager's carriage finally pulled inside the compound. It took several minutes before the empress dowager alighted, however. She had in fact fallen into a light sleep and was feeling a bit groggy when her eyes finally opened.

She was home. With a yawn, she opened the door and stepped outside. The emperor's eyes moved fast as lightning around her head and body to check for injuries. He swallowed a deep sigh when he found none. His stepmother was home, unhurt and unharmed. At this moment, that was all that mattered to him.

The empress dowager lightly covered the distance between them. When she reached the top stairs and stood side by side with him, she pulled him into her strong arms and gave him a hug.

”It's over, Sheng. It's finally over. I've promised your father. Today, I have fulfilled that promise and set you free.”

The emperor didn't answer, in his eyes were a turmoil of unsaid and unacknowledged emotions. The empress dowager seemed to understand because she cupped his pointed chin a gave it a little pinch.

”Don't leave,” the emperor finally took his courage in his hand and whispered. ”Don't leave me, An Ning. If you go, take me with you.”

The empress dowager stared into eyes as clear and deep as a pool but not as tranquil. She could see her face reflected in it. Her face was younger, her cheeks still carrying traces of baby fat. The eyes that stared back at her looked unfamiliar though. Unhappy. Sad. Coldly blank. What happened to change the old her into this? That old version of An Ning gone. Was this the newer, better version of her then?

The emperor was still waiting, his hands clasped together as if in silent prayer. The empress dowager opened her mouth to speak but instead her body gently folded to the ground, as if the will that had contained the power of her wrath was spent, eroded by fatigue and some worries even she was reluctant to admit.

The emperor caught her as she was about to fall to the ground unconscious. He saw that she was crying, big, fat tears staining the blush on her cheeks with a pale trail of woe. The empress dowager was dreaming. She was being pulled reluctantly back into the past and it was hurting her. It felt like her chest was about to burst with love, pain and the unreasoning demand of sorrow. She was trapped in it and there was no escape.Not even a tiny window where she could breathe fresh air.

The dream pulled at her, angry and demanding. She allowed herself to be possessed.There really was no choice this time.