70 Rumors about a Witch (2/2)
”We?” The word spouted out of their surprised mouths at the same time.
”Of course I'm going with you. Isn't that clear enough?”
”You can't!” Now, it was An Ning's turn to protest and dissuade. ”What if something happened and you're not here? You're needed here, your majesty. This servant is not afraid to do her job and avenge the late emperor's death. You can't go!”
The emperor's eyes narrowed.
”Are you trying to say no to Benggong?” he said, his words dripping with ice.
”Yes, your majesty,” An Ning met his furious eyes calmly. ”This servant is afraid something will happen to his majesty. We do not know what is waiting for us when we finally meet this poisoner assassin. Frankly, this servant is afraid that she will not be able to protect his majesty's safety. On his deathbed, I've promised your father...” An Ning's voice broke. ”I don't know what I'm going to say to him if...please, your majesty. Just stay here and be safe. I promise to avenge my husband and your father's death. In this one, I will not fail you.”
The emperor sighed and a sad smile split his face for an instant.
”An Ning, I'm afraid, this is the one time that you cannot protect me,” he said softly, his gaze tender as he gazed upon his stepmother's stricken face. ”I have to go. You understand, don't you?”
An Ning turned away jerkily, as if she was suddenly too racked up with emotion to continue. The emperor looked at her sadly then turned to Du Lu.
”What do you have in mind?”
”While we're waiting, I'll send out some scouts to draw a working map of the area around the Sierra mountains. If I remember correctly, those mountains border a small fishing village to the east so it might be better to start our search from there. I will send some men to scout the area out. We don't want to spook the target and let her escape.”
”We're also going to need maps,” An Ning rejoined the conversation which made everyone gave a sigh of relief. Du Lu's eyes softened with approval. ”I'm going to check the archives.” She stopped then frowned in sudden thought. ”Wait. You said those mountains border a fishing village?”
”Yes. To the east, which is farther north of Yuqui.”
”Have you ever been to this village?”
”No, but Sei Sei's family lives there.”
Du Lu stopped as he locked eyes with An Ning.
”What is this about, An Ning?”
”Maybe we are looking at this from a wrong point of view.”
”What do you mean?” the emperor asked.
”We're all assuming that since the old man said that the witch lived in the forest then the poison must be extracted from some plants or animals with toxins strong enough to kill. But some fish are also poisonous like the sting ray or the lion fish whose poison can cause severe pain and cardiac arrest that leads to immediate death.
”If this poisoner is good at disguises then what's stopping her from sourcing the fish ingredients of this poison outside the jungle? It's easy enough to leave the mountain, go to the village and buy provisions such as meat and fish. Nobody would think it suspicious if she did so. In fact, what's so suspicious about buying fish anyway?”
They all looked at her stunned at the implications of her words.
”Or somebody who is actually a spy for another country could enter Yuqui's army and pretend to be a faithful citizen but in fact is working to undermine the monarchy.” An Ning continued thoughtfully.
”Are you telling me that Sei Sei, my second in command, is an enemy spy?” Du Lu's voice was indignant. ”That's preposterous. Sei Sei has been with me for many years. She's saved my life once or twice. And that goes for Min Song ang Min Ling.”
This last sentence was directed at Min Song but Min Song seemed to have not heard because he was frowning, his thoughts kept close to his chest.
Du Lu laughed bitterly. If even his close adviser doubted Sei Sei then it's up to him to stand up and defend her honor. He couldn't believe Sei Sei was a spy. He just couldn't.
”Your majesty,” he began.
”Yi Hai,” An Ning said, cutting off the rest of his sentence.
The commander of the guards silently approached the group. He had been sitting and pondering, turning over the meanings of the various conversations he had been allowed to hear tonight. He knew it wasn't coincidence that nobody asked him to leave even when the general's adviser shooed everyone out. This small group of people, including the quiet yet obviously nervous Kang Jun, now forms the core of the emperor's circle. He met the empress dowager's eyes and bowed deeply.
”Have you ever been to this fishing village before?”
”If her majesty means the Laniang village to the north then yes, I have been there before, your grace.”
”Tell me about it.”
”It is free land, your grace. Meaning the village pays a yearly tithe to the kingdom but is basically left on its own. We don't even have an outpost in there or a government office.”
An Ning frowned.
”Since when?”
”Since the time of his late majesty's father, your grace. I think the village was left alone because it was part of his majesty's late grandmother's dowry when she married into the family. Part of the agreement was that Laniang was to be part of the imperial dowry but control of it will remain with the late empress dowager's family.”
An Ning turned to the frowning emperor.
”Did you know about this?”
”Emperor father never spoke of it to me. All Benggong knows is that his grandmother's family were fierce hunters and that father lived with them since childhood. The harem was getting messy and grandmother feared for emperor father's life so she asked permission from emperor grandfather to move him out of the palace.”
”Hunters...or assassins?”
The emperor looked at her in dawning horror.
”And since Laniang is a free land and never misses to pay the tithe every year, everybody left them alone and never asked questions. What does a small fishing village mean to a kingdom as large as Yuqui anyway?” Du Lu filled in the rest.
”You mean, somebody from my grandmother's family plotted to poison and kill my father? I refuse to believe that,” the emperor's face was red with anger. He shot a look at Du Lu who pretended not to see it. ”They were my father's people. They protected and took care of him when he was a child. If they wanted him dead, they could have done it when he was still living with them.”
”Free land,” An Ning said, looking at the emperor. ”Laniang is free land. It pays tithe every year, yes, but there's no government presence, no government supervision. Which means, the people of Laniang practically rule themselves as a free state. As such, everybody could come in and take over, just like that. And after taking over a small insignificant village that nobody's even heard of what else is left than to plot to take over a kingdom ruled by a child with no parents, no backing from the ruling class. And since nobody is expecting it, the plot is carried out in full view of the world. And the first to die is, of course, the emperor, the empress dowager, then his new bride.”
”Why kill the new bride?” the emperor asked, the full horror of what his stepmother was saying clear on his young face.
”What if she gets pregnant with the new heir?” An Ning's smile was ugly. Her blood went cold at the extent of this massive conspiracy. Gu Fang and his mother died because somebody wanted to take over and control Yuqui. Meanwhile, she had her sights focused on exterminating the entire aristocracy, never once suspecting the presence of an enemy that still hides in the dark with his face hidden from sight.
”Are you telling me that somebody other than my grandmother's family now controls Laniang?” the emperor's horror-stricken voice intruded into An Ning's private thoughts with a jarring sound.
”Seems like it, your majesty,” Du Lu said with an angry sigh.
”And vice commander Sei Sei is part of it?” Min Song's voice was equally incredulous.
”We don't know that yet,” Du Lu said with a frown. ”It could be just a coincidence that her family hails from there. It's not conclusive proof yet.”
”I don't believe in coincidences,” An Ning scoffed. ”Yi Hai, how long would it take you to form a small group and take a little trip to visit Laniang?”
”Give or take two or three days, your grace.”
An Ning nodded.
”It might be difficult to blend in though,” she said, frowning. ”Everybody will be suspicious of the presence of the imperial guards. The same is true if you just go there and pretend you're an ordinary visitor or something. You'll stand out like a sore thumb either way.”
An Ning's frown deepened. Yi Hai didn't say anything, merely waited for her next instruction.Du Lu and the rest of the group went back to discussing Sei Sei's place in the army and what role, if ever, she had in this massive takeover plot.
”I got it!” An Ning's excited voice broke the uneasy conversation. ”I should have thought of this sooner. Drones!”