72 Into the Dungeon (1/2)
Unlike other dungeons in human history, the dungeon under the palace of the emperor of Yuqui was actually pretty well-lighted. Torches light the pathways, the stairs, even the musky corners. It was not saying though that it was not a pretty scary place. After all, the last visitors in this labyrinthine underground dwelling were the enraged prime minister and his entitled daughter who bled like a pig when the executioner sliced her head off.
Vice general Sei Sei was an attractive woman and one of the top commanders of the Yuqui army so there were concessions. She was not strung up like a pig, she was not tortured, she was not hurt, there were clean water and food on the table. That's right. She was given a table inside her dungeon cell. A table with food and clean water without poison. Most importantly, she was given a perfectly nice futon with a blanket on which to rest. So, compared with the PM and his tiresome daughter, one might say that the vice general was lucky.
Looking at Du Lu and the Min brothers' dour faces though, one would think that vice general Sei Sei was anything but.
The empress dowager, who was unusually jovial and was even whistling under her breath, gave a pshh sound when she saw these green, I've-just-swallowed-a-bitter lemon expressions. She was tempted to laugh but of course did not first, because it was an inappropriate place in which to display a certain friskiness, and second, because she was a woman and can read at a glance how utterly pathetic yet oddly cinematic the three men's suffering faces were right now. Were they thinking perhaps of starring in an ancient world version of the Three Musketeers by any chance?
Vice general Sei Sei was standing on a corner with her back straight as an arrow when they arrived.She was thankfully not in hysterics, near to it or might not want to be in it, which was a blessing as far as the empress dowager was concerned. It was no fun torturing frightened people. No challenged at all.
A guard clicked open the cell door and they all walked in. Nobody spoke. The three stooges were still wearing their long faces, with Min Ling the saddest sad sack of the three.
”Sei Sei,” the empress dowager greeted. ”I heard that your family is from Laniang?”
That was An Ning, straight-to-the-point gut puncher.Du Lu and the Min brothers sucked in painful breaths. The emperor coughed. Kang Jun was wide-eyed. Yi Hai wooden.
The vice general, whose smooth perfectly preserved white skin gave off a dramatic pearly sheen, looked at the empress dowager like she was, huh?
An Ning stepped closer. She was dressed in one of those military fatigue outfits she found in one of the boxes hidden inside Enxuo's ring. Dark green slim-fitting trousers and jacket. A dark, leather belt encircling a trim waist which exposed the shape of a pert derriere and shiny leather boots, which made her look totally out of place and alien-like in this perfectly garish setting.In looks, An Ning was merely average compared to the pearl-like shine of the vice general's beauty, still, she dominated that tiny cell like a fascinating venomous cobra whose real power lies not on its poison but its ability to kill its enemy by a simple sting from its deadly tail.
She smiled and Du Lu visibly swallowed.
”Laniang has such a fascinating history, I'm told,” the empress dowager continued lazily. ”No government or imperial supervision, just a tithe each year. Pretty cool arrangement. Your parents were born there, I take it?”
Sei Sei was silent, her confused gaze falling on the three men she was closest to. Min Ling took an impetuous step as if to reach her side but the empress dowager barred his progress by flicking a riding whip in his direction. Min Ling stopped and gave the empress dowager an ugly look. The empress dowager sneered.
”True love. How fascinating,” she drawled, watching Sei Sei's expression like a hawk.
”Address?”
”Your majesty, I'm not...” Sei Sei stammered in confusion.
”The address of your home in Laniang,” the empress dowager clarified. ”One might go for a visit and surprise the Sei father and mother.”
”The courtyard in the south side, your majesty. The one with the big acacia tree.”
”Age?”
This time, Sei Sei knew what was expected of her.
”Seventeen this year, your majesty.”
”Military or civilian?”
”Civilian.”
”Both sides?”
”Yes, your majesty.”
”One wonders why one chose to embrace the military life.”
”For the glory of protecting Yuqui's freedom, your majesty.”
The empress dowager smiled.
”And have you?”
”Your majesty?”
”Protected Yuqui's freedom, that is.”
”I...”
”What is this all about, your grace?” Min Ling's anger and impatience could not be contained anymore. His voice was angry, the look he threw at the empress dowager was furious and could curdle mud. He looked at her like he wanted to strung her up and dangle her at the highest peak of the Sierra Mountains. He was fast losing control, which sharpened Du Lu's eyes into snake-like slits. ”Why did you order vice general's arrest? For what crime? She's done nothing wrong. She's innocent!”
”Get out.”
The empress dowager didn't raise her voice. Her eyes, when they settled on Min Ling's red and angry face, was calm. But the way she held herself, her military-clad body fully facing Min Ling, was a threat. Du Lu could see it on the seemingly relaxed way she tapped the riding whip on her leg. She didn't look at him but he could feel her displeasure. Du Lu restrained the urge to curse then finally issued an implacable command.
”Leave the room, soldier.”
”General, surely you....” Min Ling's voice was outraged.
”Come on, I'll take you back,” Min Song said, hastily steering his angry brother out.Min Ling left but not quietly. They could hear his angry curses, his incoherent threats and Min Song's soft responses as the sound of their voices finally drifted away.
”Love the water?” An Ning resumed her interrogation as if no interruption occurred.
”No.”
”Oh? Any reason?”
”I nearly drowned when I was a child so it gave me a fear of water.”
”Music?”
”No affinity for it, your majesty.”
”Mother's favorite or Father's?”
”Father's.”
The empress dowager's lips curved in approval.
”I am, too. Daddy's girl. Sports?”
”What does her majesty mean?”
”One must have an activity that one likes to do to keep the body strong and healthy.”
”Swimming, your majesty.”
This time, the empress dowager's smile was cold and deadly.
”But one fears water, doesn't one?”
”I...,” Sei Sei stammered, her face flushing with the beginnings of panic. ”There is a small pond in the mountains where one used to swim when one was a small child. One did not clarify that one is afraid of the vast ocean but perfectly happy to swim in a small pond.”
”I see. That explains a lot.” The empress dowager seemed satisfied.”We will now take our leave so vice general can rest. Benggong will be back to speak to vice general again after she has had her rest.”
The empress dowager turned to leave but stopped when something caught her eye. It was a round stone, bluish in color and shiny. The empress dowager bent down and picked it up then held the stone up to the light.
”A blue agate. How surprising,” she murmured then with a flick of her whip, she was gone.
Du Lu waited until the emperor and the rest of his companions left before turning to Sei Sei.
”Keep yourself safe. I'll have you out of here in two days time.”