Novel The Great Game - The Young Master (Ch.308) [finished]

Thanks for the catch.

 

Well, tomorrow I'll be checking my father in at the hospital for the pre-op check-up. The procedure is set for the day after. The next release could be be delayed as I might need to stay over.

In the meantime, I have ambitiously set up a Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/rdawv

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“Inanimate objects can be classified scientifically into three major categories: those that don't work, those that break down and those that get lost. The goal of all inanimate objects is to resist man and ultimately to defeat him.”
--Russell Baker

Chapter 111 – The royal banquet (2)

Lord Aidi smirked when he saw the curiosity that he had stoked in the hall. In his mind, the people of Wu were indulgent and easily distracted by luxuries. Decadent softies spoiled by riches that they did not fully appreciate. How weak willed these people were, compared to his country of Jin?


Then he chastised himself, remembering that he had a mission from the Princess of Jin to fulfil. “Do not underestimate them,” she had warned. But it was still hard for him take the Kingdom of Wu seriously, seeing how its king had spent so lavishly on his own palace.


“I have heard that the peoples of the southern kingdoms are fond of puzzles and tricks,” Lord Aidi said slowly as he walked over to his giant female assistant, ignoring the hardening looks on a few of his audience. He knew he had annoyed them by calling them southerners and insinuated that they were treacherous.


He slowly opened the box resting on the woman’s hands and fished out with his delicate fingers two interlocked jade rings. The deep green colour immediately caught the eyes of those who saw it; the large size and vividness of the material made it clear that the rings were extremely costly. Well, to call them rings would be inaccurate, each ring a little larger than a wrist bangle. They were exquisitely carved out from a single block of jade and were nearly identical, but they were linked one over into the other and thus were inseparable.


Or so it would seem.


“What I have here is a little plaything, which I hope will be a source of amusement for the Princess of Wu,” Lord Aidi said, raising the rings so that everyone could see their interlocked nature.


“Of course, you might think these rings are not very useful in their current state,” Lord Aidi said with a chuckle. He gently tugged the two rings, and they came together with sharp clink that caused some to wince at the rough handling.


“We call these magic rings, and it will take someone magical to unlock them,” the young lord said dramatically. In a display of showmanship, he spun the two rings this way and that before pulling them apart violently. The interlocked rings became two separate rings, unbroken and intact.


The attendees in the banquet hall gasped. Before they could truly register what had happened, Lord Aidi moved the rings together with a flourish, the two rings became interlocked once more. Lord Aidi then held up one ring and allowed the other to dangle freely, to show that they were truly interlocked.


“I’m sure the people of Wu will find a way to open it cleverly,” he continued, his eyes sweeping around the room before finally resting on Princess Wu Liying. In a sweeping movement, he lowered the interlocked rings back into the box, closed the lid and spun it around before presenting it to the princess.


Those who saw the spectacle immediately realized it was a test designed to humiliate Wu. The loyalists of the royal court that still exist despite Prime Minister Tong Xuan’s machinations were indignant, the fires of anger burned in their chests. Yet they could not speak out, for they too were helpless. The Prime Minister himself was silent, his eyes a frozen mask.


The princess who was so imperious towards Huang Ming earlier was now pale-faced and struggled to maintain her composure. The banquet hall’s atmosphere turned heavy as the officials did not know what to do, while the foreign dignitaries who were invited could barely contain their malicious glee at Wu’s quandary.


“This gift is too precious,” the princess finally said, hinting at refusal.


The smile on Lord Aidi became wider. He opened the box once more and tilted it slightly so that the princess could see the rings resting within.


“But it a gift from our Princess of Jin; from one princess to another. I do hope your highness would not disappoint her,” Lord Aidi said, his brows wrinkling in mock despair.


Huang Ming was watching the entire play with boredom, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the drama. In the banquet hall, there was no one more disinterested, no one more disappointed by the reveal of the rings than he. All that dramatic build up, and it turned out to be an expensive version of the linking rings magic trick that he had known from Earth. Sure, they were made of jade instead of metallic hoops, but to Huang Ming’s eyes they were the same thing.


He did however appreciate Lord Aidi’s slick performance. The young ambassador had pulled the wool over the eyes of everyone in the banquet hall when he placed the rings back into the box, and the way he had pressured Princess Wu Liying by opening it a second time. Huang Ming wondered if anyone else had caught the tricks.


‘He’s only missing a pair of white gloves and a top hat,’ Huang Ming grinned to himself with one hand propping up his chin and his eyes half-lidded lazily.


Then, a voice near him broke his train of thought.


“Sir Huang Ming is smiling so leisurely, surely you have a solution?” the Prime Minister asked loudly, drawing attention to him.


Of course, it meant everyone turned to stare at Huang Ming who grimaced. He cussed himself for lapsing into the moment and forgetting the presence of Tong Xuan.


Lord Aidi frowned, he too had turned to stare. “You are…?”


“This is Sir Huang Ming, the Hero of Tigertrap Pass,” Princess Wu Liying said grandly, eager to direct the ambassador away from herself. She deliberately emphasized the latter title to that effect. Indeed, Lord Aidi’s brows shot up in recognition.


“Ah, the young strategist! Your fame has even reached our kingdom of Jin,” Lord Aidi said smilingly. Much to the relief of the princess, the ambassador turned away completely from her so as to face Huang Ming.


“Surely the stories exaggerate,” Huang Ming said humbly.


“On the contrary, even the Princess of Jin believe in your genius,” Lord Aidi said. “She said that you are someone worth watching over, a person with unlimited potential.”


Huang Ming smiled, but his heart was cold. Coming from another person, it might be very high praise indeed. But seeing how Lord Aidi was paraphrasing someone who could very well be the enemy Avatar, Huang Ming was less than thrilled. Apparently his few exploits had already gained her attention.


Lord Aidi then noticed the presence of Sunli beside him. “And this must be Zhao Sunli, the warrior woman who had struck so much terror in Wei,” he breathed, marvelling at the short-haired woman.


Hearing that, his own female military officer became very interested. The gigantic woman turned her blazing eyes up and down Sunli, and a smirk slowly etched on her face. It was a smile of self-belief in her own superiority over the smaller woman. Sunli did not back down from her condescending look, she coolly glared right back at her.


“Well, I look forward to see how the Hero of Tigertrap Pass fare with these rings,” Lord Aidi said with delight. He looked back at the Princess of Wu in askance. “That is, if your highness permits it?”


“Of course,” Princess Wu Liying said immediately, pleased to have passed the problem to someone else.


“Sir Huang Ming, if you please,” Lord Aidi said, his smile all too fake as he presented the rings to him.


“If I must,” Huang Ming sighed and affected a tiresome breath, unimpressed by the entire affair. It was a direct and rude gesture, and it made Lord Aidi’s smile freeze as he did not expect Huang Ming to be so blatantly ill-mannered. The ambassador narrowed his eyes in anticipation as Huang Ming reached for the rings.


The entire hall held its breath as Huang Ming took the rings, one in each hand. They were still interlocked, and Huang Ming’s expression remained flat and his eyes half-lidded as he turned and pulled and twisted the rings in an obvious demonstration of their predicament.


The seconds felt like hours as Huang Ming’s hands manipulated the rings, the clinking and scraping of the jade rings on each other only heightening the tension and grating on their nerves.


Even though Huang Ming’s face remained calm and blasé, Lord Aidi’s smile grew.


“Well, can the Hero of Tigertrap Pass unlock it?” he asked smugly.


Huang Ming paused to give him a impassive look. It was a poker face, unemotional. And yet, Lord Aidi felt nothing but utter contempt from his eyes.


Then, without warning; Huang Ming raised the rings high and flung them down with full force onto the floor. A thunderous crash filled the hall as the jade rings shattered into a several large pieces, the fragments scattering over the polished flooring of the banquet hall. A shrapnel even touched Lord Aidi’s feet.


“There, it’s unlocked,” Huang Ming said calmly.

There were some rings,
Destroyed with a fling.​

 

That was a waste of work, time and money. (Talking about the Jade Rings) -.-
Thanks for the chapter!

 

My father's heart procedure went well... or as well as it could be. What was thought to be a 60% blockage on one artery turned out to be 90%, and he had two other minor blockages on the smaller arteries. The doctor recommended a bypass surgery, but my father decided with just the angioplasty. He was more annoyed by the tests and bureaucratic paperwork than the actual procedure itself which only took barely 30 minutes. One day after the procedure he's back at home and taking it easy. If not for the long weekend (Monday is a public holiday), he would probably jump back to work.

The shadow of a possible heart attack still looms over him, but I think he has accepted that it is something that he will try to manage with exercise and diet. Actual heart surgery is just too daunting for him.

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“After lengthy femputations, I, Femputer, have decided the fate of the men. Femputer sentences them to death... By snu-snu!”
--Femputer, ‘Futurama’

Chapter 112 – The royal banquet (3)

The echo from the shattering of the jade seemed to ring agonizingly forever before dissipating. As it faded away, the shock felt by the attendees gave way to horror. The atmosphere in the royal banquet hall became ghastly as the enormity of Huang Ming’s violent action slowly took hold.


“How dare you!” Lord Aidi shouted. The Jin ambassador’s handsome face was a twisted visage of fury, his voice reverberating through the stunned hall.


“They are just toys. Why so serious?” Huang Ming replied smilingly as if enjoying a private joke.


“They are gifts from the Princess of Jin!” Lord Aidi howled as the veins on his neck bulging.


“Since they have already been gifted to us, it is no longer your concern what we do with them,” Huang Ming said nonchalantly. Then he took a slow, exaggerated look at the broken remains of the jade rings. “Well, they didn’t seem particularly well made,” he added blandly.


“You impudent scoundrel!” Lord Aidi sputtered.


Huang Ming sighed and shook his head, giving the impression that he was treating Lord Aidi like a child throwing a tantrum.


“Well, if it matters so much to you, I’ll fix it,” Huang Ming said.


Those who heard this ridiculous statement stared at him, their mouths slack-jawed like startled fish.


“Can you really?” Princess Wu Liying asked, her eyes as wide as saucers. Her earlier icy demeanour towards Huang Ming disappeared, it was as if a mask had fallen off her face to reveal her true self: a young woman who was forced to be calm and regal due to her station.


“Of course,” Huang Ming said easily. “For a fee,” he added with a devilish smile.


Princess Wu Liying stared at him in disbelief. Having grown up in the palace, she was not accustomed to such casualness. If she were ever to meet his father General Huang Zheng, then she would know that he too shared the same unease of dealing with Huang Ming’s flippant attitude.


“You are mad,” Lord Aidi sneered. “You broke it, and now expect to be paid to restore it?”


“If you’re good at something, never do it for free,” Huang Ming quoted, and his grin grew wider as he recalled a memorable fictional villain from Earth. A few in the hall tittered when they heard his quip, some already mentally noting it down for reference.


“Very well. We shall let you try,” Princess Wu Liying said, as she was too curious about his methods. “If you can surprise us, you shall be forgiven for your transgression.”


Huang Ming inwardly praised her shrewdness: the princess was only offering clemency and not an actual payment.


Lord Aidi’s face changed colour. “I shall not be part of this farce. Our goodwill has been repaid with ill intentions, and it is obvious you do not respect our Princess of Jin,” he snorted and made as if to depart.


Seeing his abrupt attempt to leave only reinforced Huang Ming’s suspicions.


“You can go, but leave the box behind,” he said, pointing to the small case that had held the jade rings.


Lord Aidi’s face became ashen, an interesting contrast from the furious outrage only seconds before.


“Are you adding insult to injury? Do not push us too far!” Lord Aidi said in a bluster. It was forceful, but Huang Ming knew that he had struck a raw nerve.


“The box is part of the gift, it is fitting that it should remain. Or are you suffering from a case of a bad elbow?” Huang Ming asked snidely and made a gesture of pulling something back with one hand. It took the surrounding guests a few moments to register what he had meant, and then they realized it was a literal phrase meaning to ask for something back after having given it away as a gift.


A few guests hid their smiles and laughed quietly, and were more than happy to explain to those who were still bewildered. As for the king of Wu, he merely leaned back on his throne and stroked his beard, watching the proceedings with a detached manner.


“Does the box really matter?” Princess Wu Liying asked. She was honestly puzzled by Huang Ming’s insistence. But one look at her quivering phoenix brows made it known that she too was amused at Lord Aidi’s discomfort as she sensed that there was something wrong about the entire matter.


“For my next trick, I’m going to need it,” Huang Ming said dryly.


“I have heard that you Wu people are fond of trickery, but I did not expect such treachery!” Lord Aidi said indignantly. He turned away in a huff to leave, only to have Huang Ming stand in his path.


“You keep insulting us as if there’s no such thing as a sword in our country,” Huang Ming said coldly.


There was a collective gasp at his barely veiled threat. Lord Aidi drew a deep breath, puffing up threateningly like some cornered lizard.


“Are you picking a fight?” he growled, and the hall became tense once more. The guests in the banquet hall held their breath as they were witnessing a so-called ‘diplomatic incident’ that could very well lead to war.


“Historically, it is the Jins that love to start a fight,” Huang Ming said mildly, evoking the precedents of Jin incursions into Wu. Huang Ming knew he was treading on dangerous waters, but the die was already cast when the Jin ambassador attempted to humiliate Wu with the jade rings.


It was then that the King of Wu broke out in laughter, clapping his hands as he did so.


“Ha ha ha! Why so serious about a mere box?” the King of Wu said merrily, defusing the situation.


“It is not about the box! It is him insulting our country with his childish demands!” Lord Aidi said gloomily.


“But he says he needs it to restore the rings,” Princess Wu Liying pointed out.


“Which he himself destroyed in the first place!” Lord Aidi reminded her loudly, making sure that everyone in the hall could hear his aggrieved voice.


Huang Ming shrugged. “You wanted someone to unlock them,” he said.


“Not by smashing them into pieces!” Lord Aidi shouted back at him.


“And I said I can fix it. With the box,” Huang Ming said, bringing the conversation back to full circle.


“You are nonsensical!” Lord Aidi exclaimed, flicking his sleeves in frustration.


By now it was obvious to the banquet guests that the ambassador was extremely reluctant to hand over the box that had contained the jade rings. Even the most dull among them realized that was something fishy going on. Huang Ming smirked, for he knew the reason why Lord Aidi was dragging the issue.


“Impossible or not, you will find out once you give me the box,” he said.


“Sir Huang Ming, you must not harry our esteemed guest from Jin like this,” Prime Minister Tong Xuan interrupted with a grave expression.


‘Crap, I forgot about this old fart,’ Huang Ming thought with annoyance.


“Prime Minister, you must do us justice! Is there no sense of decency in your kingdom?” Lord Aidi demanded passionately.


Of course, the entire affair only came about due to the ambassador’s attempt to humiliate Princess Wu Liying, but the upper crust guests of the banquet hall knew better than to accuse him directly. They had already seen how precarious the situation was and had no wish to expose themselves to unnecessary attention.


Tong Xuan bowed his head as he stroked his long beard, as if deep in thought. After a brief moment, he raised his head once more.


“This is just a misunderstanding between young men,” he said slowly, giving Lord Aidi and Huang Ming meaningful looks. “Though our countries have been enemies in the past, we still admire your fighting skills and martial spirit. Surely there is a way to resolve this quarrel,” Tong Xuan continued.


Lord Aidi’s nodded, having an inkling on the prime minister’s path of discourse. It was the perfect segue for the Jins to salvage the day.


“That is right,” Lord Aidi said, giving Huang Ming a sidelong glance full of resentment. Then he launched into a passionate speech: “We know that the southern countries think of us as simple nomadic people that only know how to hunt. But times have changed! We Jins are no less inferior when it comes to matters involving careful thought, and our Princess of Jin decided on this gift of rings to demonstrate that we are not the roving barbarian tribes of the past! Who could have imagined that this simple gesture would be so ruthlessly stomped by malicious intent?”


Huang Ming had to give the ambassador 6 points out of 10 for his attempt to change the matter from black to white.


Lord Aidi glared accusingly at Huang Ming. “We tried to act ‘civilized’ and you smeared mud on our faces. Did you think we have forgotten our roots as a warlike people?”


He signalled with his eyes, and his giant female military officer stepped forward. In an eye-catching move, she stuffed the box deep into her bodice. After adjusting her clothes accordingly, she cracked her knuckles and flexed her fingers menacingly.


“You want the box so much, go get it yourself!” Lord Aidi challenged.


Huang Ming smiled wryly as he looked up to the towering, muscular woman from the north. She could easily give his brother Huang Ke a pause, such was her intimidating presence. He wondered if she would make a better match for Huang Ke if he was still single. The image of two gorillas hugging each other flashed across his mind, causing him to chuckle.


“What’s so funny?” the gigantic woman scowled as she finally spoke, her voice a deep timbre.


Huang Ming looked her squarely in the eyes.


“I don’t hurt women,” he said with a roguish grin.

Hidden by a giantess,
In a valley so perilous.​

 

Thanks for the chapter! Hope everything works out for the best with your father!

 

Thanks for the chapter

 

“You spin me right 'round, baby, right 'round
Like a record, baby, right 'round, 'round, 'round”
--Dead or Alive, ‘You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)’ (1985)

Chapter 113 – The royal banquet (4)

“I’m no mere woman!”

The giant woman roared in fury and lunged forward towards Huang Ming, her arms spread wide so as to catch him. The banquet hall erupted into uproar and shock, but nobody dared to step up to stop her. The guards stationed in the hall stiffened, but one gesture from Prime Minister Tong Xuan stilled their movement.


With everyone distracted by the commotion, nobody thought to question Tong Xuan’s ability to silence the royal guards, not even the King of Wu. He too was focused on the impromptu bout.


Huang Ming easily avoided the Jin woman’s telegraphed move, sidestepping out of the way at the very last moment so that she grabbed nothing but air. Some of the guests who led sheltered lives were shocked at the sudden outbreak of violence; and for a brief moment Huang Ming wondered if these nobles and officials would faint should they ever experience anything similar to ancient Rome’s gladiatorial exhibitions.


Another charge, another sidestep. Each failure inflamed the giant woman even more. Huang Ming was enjoying the rush from brushing with danger, akin to a matador toying with a raging bull. Ever since he had arrived he had dealt with troubles big and small: from the courtship of his brothers to the naked plot from the former Marshal Gao Fang to harm his family. Here he was, in a situation where he might be responsible for an act that could very well lead to war. Yet the workout allowed him to push aside his accumulated stress, to temporarily forget all of that.


At the sidelines, Sunli had shot to her feet to intervene. She was about to jump into the fray when she saw Huang Ming’s half-smiling face. Then she relaxed her fists, knowing that he had the situation well at hand. Still, her fingers flexed every now and then, yearning to grip an imaginary sword that she wished she had.


Another person who was worried was Lord Aidi. He did not expect Huang Ming’s agility; he had assumed that the so-called hero strategist would be a bookish person who did not value the physical. After all, Huang Ming looked every inch the ordinary scholar with his unassuming clothes and untarnished complexion. Lord Aidi knew a little of Huang Ming, having only heard of his literary compositions previously. There were also rumours of his womanizing in the past.


So how was it that the one visibly having trouble was his trusted giant henchwoman, while the scholarly-looking man was still smiling with barely a sweat on his brows?


Nettled by his warrior woman’s inability to actually touch Huang Ming, Lord Aidi exclaimed derisively, “Sir Huang, do you only know how to run away?”


Huang Ming laughed. “This is new to me. I have long chased after women; I did not expect to be chased by one!”


From her seat, Sunli rolled her eyes.


Meanwhile, the giant woman’s face was absolutely red with fury; the veins on her neck and arms bulged as she roared out like a lioness. Her cry echoed throughout the banquet hall, shocking the guests with her display of bestial wrath.


“Stop dancin’ around!” she shouted.


“Dancing? If I was dancing I would be doing this,” Huang Ming said nonchalantly. Then, right before the eyes of all present; Huang Ming performed this particular world’s first ever moonwalk.


The banquet hall was filled with guests who had slack-jaws and saucer-wide eyes as Huang Ming seemingly walked in a forward motion and yet travelled backwards. He ended the few steps with a spinning flourish, his hands stretched as if to invite applause.


Instead, he received a stunned silence.


‘Oops, I got carried away,’ Huang Ming thought sheepishly.


“Sorcery!” a particularly superstitious person yelled.


Huang Ming winced, remember the times he had been burned at the stake after similar accusations.


“Nonsense, it was just acrobatics!” a skeptic shot back, albeit in an unsure tone.


Huang Ming was about to explain himself when the giant Jin woman took advantage of his lapse in attention to launch a punch at him. However she had severely misjudged his alertness. Huang Ming easily avoided her attempt and once more stepped aside slightly from her lunge. But this time his own hand jabbed forward open-handed to meet her punch, like a fencer striking forward.


The banquet guests gasped, horrified that he was meeting her rock-like fist directly. Surely he would break his fingers on her fist!


At the last moment, his palm deftly snaked around her fist so that he was able to spin and latch onto her wrist. It was almost comical because she was so much larger than him and he could barely get a grip around her thick hand. In one swift motion, he stepped back and pulled. With the woman’s forward momentum from her own punch, Huang Ming was able to easily swing her outstretched arm down and back in a circular movement. It applied a leverage action on her arm and up to her shoulders, causing a chain reaction whereby her entire body tumbled forward in a clumsy roll.


There was a sharp cry of pain and then a floor-shaking crash as the Jin woman was literally forced to rotate under herself to land on her back. Despite the harsh fall, her outcry was due to the dislocation of her shoulder from the way Huang Ming had torqued her arm like a wrench.


The impact of her crash was such that the cutlery on the tables jumped, and small puffs of dust rose from the ground where she had landed.


Once more the banquet hall fell into silence; the guests were absolutely stunned by Huang Ming’s manhandling of someone much bigger. It was as if he was performing juggling with a great ball.


They did not know it, but Huang Ming had performed this world’s first ever Aikido wrist throw.


Then there was a wail from the fallen woman. She wriggled and trashed about on the ground as she cried, her free hand clutching the affected shoulder and loosely dangling arm. It was obvious that the entire limb was disabled.


Huang Ming sighed and knelt beside the stricken woman. He tapped on her other shoulder to get her attention, but she was simply in too much pain and moving about violently to notice it. Thus Huang Ming slapped her gently with three fingers, it was strong enough to shake her off her delirium. Her eyes glared furiously when she saw who had struck her face, but she was too preoccupied with clenching her teeth from the pain to shout profanities at him.


“Hold still, I’ll fix it,” Huang Ming said. Before she could protest, he unceremoniously grabbed hold of her tree-trunk like arm, placed one knee beneath her arm pit and quickly yanked. Again she issued a painful scream. She trashed free and scrambled to her feet to deliver vengeance on Huang Ming, raising her fist high to cave his skull in.


“Better?” Huang Ming asked mildly, looking up unblinkingly at her.


The woman paused, and found herself surprised by the movement of her previously dislocated shoulder. She lowered her raised hand, hissing as she realized that most of the debilitating pain had disappeared.


“You have lost,” Huang Ming stated.


The giant woman hung her head in miserable acknowledgement of her failure. Then she jerked back up to belatedly stare in panic at her superior, Lord Aidi. She had admitted defeat without his permission!


Like the rest who had witnessed the entire spectacle, Lord Aidi’s mouth was hanging open. It was only when his henchwoman had turned to look at him that he realized that it was all over.


The ambassador’s face flushed with shame and anger.


For a minute, nobody knew what to say or do.


“I thought you said you don’t hurt women,” Sunli commented, breaking the silence.


Huang Ming shrugged. “She’s no mere woman,” he said, echoing the Jin’s own words.

With one turn,
He made the Jins burn.​

 

Woot Moonwalk! Thanks!

 

Thanks for the chapter

 

Sounds like a rebellion is in the works.

 

Prepare to enjoy.

 

Then he moonwalks out the door.

 

“You’re a wizard, Harry.”
--Hagrid, The Harry Potter series

Chapter 114 – Prevention

“Wonderful! Wonderful skill!” the King of Wu praised as he clapped slowly. The sound echoed loudly in the still banquet hall, stirring the stunned guests out of their stupor. Very quickly the guests added their hands to the applause, and Huang Ming could only bow deeply in acknowledgement.


When he rose, he turned to the ashen-faced Lord Aidi.


“Let it be finished,” Huang Ming said simply.


Utterly defeated with no avenue of retreat, Lord Aidi could only lifelessly motion to his female officer. The giant woman then retrieved the box from within her bodice and presented it to Huang Ming.


Huang Ming approached to take it, and in his path he brushed past Lord Aidi.


“Don’t worry, I know what to do,” Huang Ming whispered, causing the young ambassador to look up in surprise.


Huang Ming picked up the box from the giant woman, handling it gingerly as it was slightly warm… and damp from her body heat. He crinkled his nose in distaste.


‘The things I do for my country,’ he thought wryly.


“How are you going to repair the rings?” Princess Wu Liying asked from her throne, vocalizing the thought of everyone present.


Huang Ming gave the banquet guests a lopsided grin. “Well, let’s gather the remains first,” he said.


Princess Wu Liying quickly bade the servants to gather the fragments of the jade rings, but it was obvious to all that there would be minute pieces missing. Nobody believed in Huang Ming’s claim, but their eyes remained glued to him as the remains were dropped into the box like so much trash.


A few noted the shrinking posture of Lord Aidi, his unease was as plain as the day.


Once all the debris was placed into the box, Huang Ming made a huge production of slowly closing the box and slowly caressed the sides, his brows knitted and his eyes focused. Seconds tick pass and the spectators inched forward to have a better look.


“Reparo!” he exclaimed at last, quoting a fictional magician from Earth. Then with a flourish, he opened the box and fished out two intricately carved and interlocked jade rings.


They were identical to the ones which he had smashed earlier.


The crowd gasped, their mouths hanging open and lost for words. In a discreet move, Huang Ming slipped the box into his sleeve and held the two rings above his head so that all attention were on them. As he slowly lowered the rings once more, there was a gentle pulling motion and… the interlocked rings were separated!


With a grave expression, Huang Ming slowly spun the two rings on his arms to demonstrate that they were indeed apart from each other. The spinning rings travelled up and down his arms. When they reached his hands once more, he stopped them from spinning and violently collided the two rings together. But instead of the expected loud collision, the two rings effortlessly slipped through each other, becoming interlocked once more. He demonstrated this by holding up one ring and allowing the other to dangle, that yes, the two rings were locked within each other again.


In the continued silence, he reverently returned the rings into the box, closed the lid and presented it towards Princess Wu Liying. The fresh-faced eunuch that had led Huang Ming and Sunli into the banquet hall earlier hastened forward to receive it and gently placed the box before the princess. There it sat quietly, the centre of attention of everyone present.


Then someone exhaled, and almost immediately the banquet hall erupted into shocked applause.


Once more Huang Ming bowed deeply to acknowledge their acclamation.


“How… how did you…” Princess Wu Liying stuttered, her own eyes still as wide as saucers. The box was on her table and yet she did not dare to touch it.


“They are magic rings after all,” Huang Ming said dryly. He nodded in a friendly manner towards Lord Aidi who was staring at him in a mixture of incredulity and relief. “They are very well made,” he added.


Lord Aidi managed to muster a sickly smile and nodded, still unsure why Huang Ming did not ridicule him. Was this an olive branch?


“That does not explain anything. How did you do it?” Princess Wu Liying demanded.


“Ah, but to answer is to tear away the mystique,” Huang Ming chastised in good humour. “Some things are better left to to the imagination, where it can spark imagination and discussion,” he continued, gesturing to the whispering and gossiping banquet guests.


The princess was not satisfied with his answer, and was about to mount another query when her father the king decided to intervene. He bade the eunuch to take the box away.


“Well, that is enough excitement today. Let the banquet begin,” the King of Wu ordered.


Whereupon the guests settled down on their respective seats, including Lord Aidi and his giantess. Servants and maids began the banquet service, doling out dishes of rare delicacies and expensive drinks. Led by Prime Minister Tong Xuan, the ceremonial toasts to heaven, the gods and then to the king were made before the consumption of the food.


“How did you do it?” Sunli whispered to Huang Ming as they began to eat.


“Magic,” Huang Ming deadpanned and slowly waved the fingers on one hand downwards.


The facetious gesture only served to annoy the warrior woman. She swore to wrangle the answer of him later.


Another person with a similar quest was Princess Wu Liying. She stared daggers at Huang Ming who was eating and drinking normally.


The banquet itself proceeded normally, quiet to the point of solemnity. It was almost a letdown after Huang Ming’s magic performance. Huang Ming himself was glad that this was an oriental type of banquet where the guests were expected to remain at their seats, and not the sort where the guests were allowed to move about to mingle. Otherwise he would be inundated and pestered by people who want to know how he had accomplished the ‘repair’ of the rings. Still, there was little he could do to prevent stories of his feat from being spread beyond the palace walls.

A treacherous gift from Jin,
Designed to cause chagrin.
The young hero did not let them win,
He was the lord of the rings.​

The King of Wu and his daughter quietly withdrew halfway through the banquet, as was the norm in this world. The royalty were seen as descendants of divine beings, and thus it wouldn’t do for them to be seen eating and behaving as ordinary people for long periods.


Eventually the last dish of assorted fruits were served, and Huang Ming found out that this was the accepted signal for the end of the banquet. The guests did not actually touch the offered fruits and instead solemnly bowed towards the empty thrones as a sign of gratitude. There was no commotion, no fuss as the guest were quietly led away by the palace eunuchs in succession.


By luck or by design, Huang Ming and Sunli found themselves escorted out at the same time as Lord Aidi and his giant Amazon. The two pairs quietly followed the eunuchs down the long corridors, but Huang Ming could almost feel the prickly hostility from the young Jin ambassador. The eunuchs who were trained to be alert and discreet hastened their steps ahead so as to give them some privacy.


“Well done,” Lord Aidi said venomously.


“You asked for it,” Huang Ming replied with a smirk.


“Why did you not expose me?” Lord Aidi asked as he kept his temper in check.


Huang Ming chuckled softly. “What good would that do? Do you want to go down into history as being responsible for causing a war?”


“If anyone was to be responsible, it would be you!” Lord Aidi snorted.


Huang Ming narrowed his eyes. “You came bearing a gift. But you don’t give respect. You don’t offer friendship. You come into our house and insult us. Do you really expect anything but unkindness in return? Go back to Jin! Tell your Princess of Jin that the people of Wu are not so easily bullied!”


Lord Aidi’s giant henchwoman had murder in her eyes when the Princess of Jin was mentioned so irreverently. The giantess made as if to attack Huang Ming there and then, and Sunli raised her fists and lowered her stance as if to meet her.


Ahead, the two eunuchs that led the way stopped but did not turn around, their hearts pounding with worry.


“Enough!” Lord Aidi snarled. “I will pass your words to our Princess of Jin. Rest assured, you will receive a answer soon enough.”


One of the eunuch exhaled with relief and quickly moved forwards. With a swish of his sleeves, Lord Aidi followed him, his giantess close behind.


The other eunuch beckoned Huang Ming and Sunli towards another direction.


A few moments later, Huang Ming frowned. “This isn’t the way we came from,” he said.


“Princess Wu Liying requests your presence,” the eunuch answered.


Huang Ming groaned inwardly.


‘More trouble!’

Called to a private audience,
Reaching the end of tolerance.​

 

Love the references lol. Thanks! Father doing ok?

 

Thanks for the chapter.

 

How's ye father?

 

He's back to normal. I mean, doing everyday things as usual. In fact one day after the discharge he was already back to walking exercises, and the day after he was back to work.

 

And NUF Thread Watch strikes again.

Thanks for the chapters

 

Sorry for the late chapter. Had a brain fart due Monday being a public holiday causing my internal calendar to go awry.

---

“I believe it is peace for our time.”
--Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, 1938

Chapter 115 – Aftermath


The eunuch led Huang Ming and Sunli to an annex where Princess Wu Liying was waiting.


“Greetings to the princess,” Huang Ming and Sunli said with a salute.


“Dispense with the ceremony,” the princess stated and gestured for them to be seated with her. The eunuch then served them tea before quietly withdrawing.


“Is there something troubling your highness?” Huang Ming asked.


“What did you do with the rings?” Princess Wu Liying demanded.


Huang Ming smirked. “It’s a kind of magic.”


The princess then took out the box and waved it, causing a rattling sound to be produced. With indifference, she then tossed the box onto the table. It was a stark contrast from the hesitation that she had shown before.


“I am not an idiot,” Princess Wu Liying said curtly. “From the noise, it is obvious that the broken pieces are still in the box.”


“You are right,” Huang Ming said. He opened the box and retrieved the interlocked jade rings. Then he shook the supposedly empty box, but once more there was a rattling sound.


A look of recognition dawned on Sunli’s face. “A hidden compartment!” she exclaimed.


Huang Ming nodded. “One of the oldest tricks,” he said. He ran his fingers over the sides of the box and pressed gently at several points.


There was a soft click, causing Sunli and the princess to lean over to peer into the box. Now they saw that the box had a false bottom which could be lifted, revealing bits and pieces of broken jade within.


“So that’s it! There were two sets of rings!” Sunli gasped.


The princess leaned back, her curiosity satisfied. “I thought so,” she said to herself. Then she frowned at Huang Ming. “How did you discover it so quickly?”


“I have some experience with magic tricks,” Huang Ming said with a faint smile.


When Lord Aidi first opened the box in the banquet hall, it was all perfectly normal. But Huang Ming had paid extra attention when the Jin ambassador placed the rings back into the box before opening it a second time to present them to Princess Wu Liying. The additional step seemed superfluous, and Huang Ming realized that the box itself was a trick too, and memorized the ambassador’s method of opening the secret compartment.


“And the rings?” Princess Wu Liying asked, arching a brow at the jade rings. Whereupon Huang Ming held them up and demonstrated the trick. There were small groove openings that allowed the rings to pass into each other, to conceal them was a simple matter of covering them with one’s palms after the trick. It would be difficult for an audience to detect the openings from a distance. Enlightened by Huang Ming’s slow demonstration, it was a simple matter for Princess Wu Liying and Sunli to understand how it was done.


“This set works normally; they are designed to be unlocked in the way I showed you. But the other pair, the ones that I had broken; that really was carved out of a single block of jade. There was no opening at all. The ambassador deliberately presented them so that we would fail,” Huang Ming explained.


“Despicable!” Sunli said in anger.


The princess of Wu turned towards Huang Ming. “Still, you could have handled the situation with a bit more tact,” she criticized. “You have offended Lord Aidi and who knows how the Jins would retaliate.”


“Would you prefer if I said nothing and let our country be publicly humiliated?” Huang Ming replied tonelessly.


Princess Wu Liying sighed. “What is humiliation compared with lost lives? After your heroics in Wei, do you really want another war?” she asked.


Huang Ming did not back down, he gave her a stare of his own. “The Jins were deliberately provoking us. I did not start it. I did not even volunteer myself to solve it,” he said.


“But you certainly relished it. I saw the look on your face while you were sparring with Lord Aidi’s fighter. You enjoyed yourself,” Princess Wu Liying said accusingly.


Huang Ming saw no reason to deny it and merely shrugged.


Princess Wu Liying’s eyes fell onto the jade rings. “Still, I do not understand why they have deliberately provoked us,” she mumbled.


Huang Ming gave her a shrug. “They have heard of our campaign in Wei, perhaps they wanted to see if our country is weak.”


Princess Wu Liying’s eyes flashed. “That Wei campaign has brought us nothing but trouble,” she said frostily. “That Marshal Gao Fang is a true traitor for causing that particular disaster. It seemed that the military is filled with glory-hounds who think nothing about the cost of war.”


“Not everyone,” Huang Ming interjected, and Sunli nodded in agreement.


Princess Wu Liying narrowed her eyes. “You know of my letter to your father?” she asked quietly.


“Yes, it was quite impressive how you had written it in blood,” Huang Ming replied mildly, remembering the letter that was hidden in his father’s belt.


The princess was in no joking mood. “Why then did Generals Huang Zheng and Zhao Tong not come to the capital immediately? Instead they went to join Marshal Gao into that ill-fated campaign in Wei. One might think that the generals preferred to go to Wei rather than to the capital,” she demanded.


Huang Ming’s expression turned cold. He did not like her insinuation at all; she was basically accusing the two generals of being greedy for battle honours instead of obeying her summons for help.


“Don’t be ridiculous,” he growled. “Marshal Gao was the leader of the armies; what can the generals do? To disobey would bring accusations of rebellion and that would not help anyone. And it was true that Wei was amassing their forces right at our doorstep. We went along with Marshal Gao’s foray into Wei with the intention of nipping the problem in the bud. But he still plotted for our demise every step of the way, and it is only with hardship that we managed to extricate ourselves.”


The princess looked away. “I cannot pretend to understand what happened in Wei. But now you had needled Lord Aidi. If a new war with Jin breaks out, we will need a new marshal and then we will have the same problem all over again.”


Huang Ming sighed, unsure on how to respond.


Princess Wu Liying saw the pensive look on his face and assumed that he was remorseful. “I know you tried to do the right thing by standing up for our country,” she said softly. “But if we can have peace, I would gladly bear the humiliation myself.”


“What makes you think appeasement will lead to peace?” Huang Ming asked cynically.


“We have to try. The Princess of Jin is famous for her forward thinking, surely we can all work together for a better world,” Princess Wu Liying insisted.


Huang Ming shook his head. How was he going to explain to her about the Princess of Jin being his enemy in this world? ‘Just so you know, war with Jin is inevitable because we are Avatars roleplaying in a game involving cosmic entities…’ he thought humourlessly.


“The world is not as clean as you think it is,” Huang Ming told her bluntly. “The Jins are building up their military, it is obvious that they are readying for war. Today’s provocation is just a way for them to see if there’s anyone in our country to stand against them.”


The princess gave him an odd look. “I have heard that you are a poet and scholar, but it seems you are quite willing to see war.”


Huang Ming frowned. “I do not enjoy it, but sometimes it is necessary to fight.”


“Necessary, like your methods in Wei? You chose to slash and burn their crops, and now their people face possible starvation,” the princess said, her lips trembling.


Huang Ming looked her in the eyes. “It was war,” he said, and the princess flinched from his harsh frankness.


‘You grew up in the palace, what do you know about the realities of war? It was us or them,’ Huang Ming thought.


“Well, in any event, the Marshal is gone, and now only Prime Minister Tong Xuan remains,” Huang Ming said instead.



“The Prime Minister is not all that bad,” Princess Wu Liying said slowly.


Huang Ming’s eyes goggled at her. “As I recalled, your letter called him and Marshal Gao as ‘tyrants’,” Huang Ming reminded her.


“After the departure of Marshal Gao, the Prime Minister has reined in considerably. I think he was acting the way he did to counter-balance the marshal’s influence. With him now gone, Tong Xuan seemed to be less forceful in court,” the princess explained.


“Are you sure that he isn’t just acting and biding his time?” Huang Ming asked sceptically.


“Perhaps,” Princess Wu Liying admitted reluctantly. “People accuse him of having too much influence, but he is the Prime Minister after all. The rumours about him came about during the time when my father was ill. But now the king is well again, and I think the rumours were simply fuelled by jealousy.”


Huang Ming smiled. “Well, if you trust him this much then there is nothing more to discuss, is there? Gao Fang is gone, and you have a change of heart regarding Tong Xuan. So all is well.”


The princess was annoyed by his tone. “It seemed that you wish the Prime Minister ill. Are you so bloodthirsty?”


“You’re the one who invited our fathers to capital to deal with him, and earlier on you complained about why they didn’t do so!” Huang Ming said indignantly.


Princess Wu Liying avoided his glare. “That was because I was too impulsive and did not know the full facts,” she said in embarrassment.


“Then, it is the prime minister’s good fortune that we did not actually follow through your highness’s summons and stormed the capital at your whim,” Huang Ming said sarcastically, causing the princess to flush.


He was thoroughly annoyed. Was this princess deceived by the prime minister? Or was the prime minister really a victim of malicious rumours? Was he really acting the tyrant to keep the former Marshal Gao in check?


He shook his head, remembering that his elder brother Huang Lang was missing while investigating the prime minister.


The princess saw his gloomy mood, and the atmosphere became awkward.


“Your highness, you must stay on your guard regarding the prime minister,” Huang Ming said at last.


The princess stiffened, but managed to nod in acknowledgment.


“You must be tired from the banquet, you may withdraw,” she said, bringing the meeting to an end. Huang Ming and Sunli bowed once more and left.


The entire occasion brought nothing but mixed feelings. The princess thought he was brash and eager for conflict, while Huang Ming felt utterly let down by the princess’s pacifist feelings.


But how was he to know the truth?


The princess sighed heavily. As if on cue, a hidden wall panel opened, and a young man appeared.


“I warned you,” the man said softly. “They only think about etching their names into the history books. They wage war because they think it is a game. They do not care about ordinary civilians.”


Princess Wu Liying gave him a sorrowful look. “I did not believe this at first. But the Prime Minister told me. I was there when the marshal outlined the truth behind the Wei campaign… and the prime minister was right. These military men are like wolves.”


Her eyes took a far away look. “But I expected so much more from this Huang Ming. I am disappointed that he is just as eager for war as they are,” the princess murmured.


“Though Marshal Gao waged war against Wei, it was General Huang who first attacked Tigertrap Pass. Now his son Huang Ming had provoked the Jins. You see that we did not lie to you, father and son are warmongers,” the man said.


Princess Wu Liying’s eyes hardened. “I understand now.”


She stood up to her full height and turned to face the young man.


“Nangong Xie, what do you think we should do?”

The hero’s candour,
Became open to slander.
The princess was cheated,
By layers of deceit.​

 

Well, you certainly managed to make want to slap this girl till she faints. Also, this is the heir of the kindgom? The king is garbage at educating his heir.