The Divorcee Is A Wicked Black Belly

The prime minister"s daughter, Mo Chou, however, was not impressed. Fear a sixteen year-old girl with little influence in court? Not b.l.o.o.d.y likely. Mo Chou was very confident. Her father was the most powerful man in Yuqui, more powerful than even the newly-crowned emperor, whom everybody considers a replaceable idiot.

The court didn"t like him, the ruling families hated him. The daughter of a f.u.c.king maid....This was the mighty emperor they were supposed to follow? What was that old man thinking? And then to marry a foreigner and crown her as the empress...it should have been her, Mo Chou silently fumed. She should have been the one sitting on the throne besides that war-mongering, good-for-nothing old man.

Mo Chou entered the harem five years ago when she was only fifteen. Her father, Mo Zhi, had been insistent, wheedling his way into old Gu Fang"s heart until he grew weary and finally allowed Mo Chou into the harem. Five years and he only f.u.c.ked her that one time, Mo Chou resentfully thought, which was not even enough to give birth to a tiny eel.

Gu Fang was a very strange man. He was surrounded by luxury and had different kinds of women at his beck and call yet he seemed indifferent and bored by it all. A month after Mo Chou entered the harem, the old emperor, his majesty Gu Fang, declared war on a kingdom miles away from Yuqui. It didn"t make any sense, his advisers said, bewildered. Yuqui had been at peace for centuries. It had prospered in peace and prosperity so what the h.e.l.l was the use of going to war in a far away country for?

But Gu Fang was deaf to all entreaties. After naming his fifty year old mother regent, Gu Fang gathered his army, set out into the horizon and was never heard from again until a year ago when he arrived with a young girl and announced in court that she was going to be his bride and his empress.

The silence in court that day was deafening. The ministers didn"t know what to say. How do you say to an obviously reinvigorated and infatuated king that he already had too many women? Why not just pick from the lot and get on with the program? He can even draw lots if he liked. No need to pick a foreign girl who will only arouse resentment and hatred from everybody.

But again, the emperor was stubborn. He seemed to have been seriously infatuated with the girl. Admittedly, she was very beautiful but she was also young and seemed out of place in a harem setting. And she was a foreigner....the old emperor had really lost his mind.

When Gu Fang unexpectedly died, the kingdom suddenly faced a crisis on their hands. The old empress dowager, who for many years aided her son in running the kingdom, died soon after. For many years, the old lady had been the de facto empress ruling along with her son the emperor. Mother and son were very close and ran the country to prosperity since the young emperor took over the throne.

Gu Fang had never married, even though his harem was full and active. When he named Gu Sheng as crown prince, the empress dowager never once questioned his decision. Neither did she say anything when the emperor came home from his travels and introduced a young girl as his bride and empress.

The sudden death of the old empress dowager stunned everyone. Everybody said she died of a broken heart. The emperor had been her only son, that is, the only child who survived her vicious and harrowing compet.i.tion with the old emperor"s other wives.

Gu Fang survived only because she sent him away to the mountains under her family"s protection. Gu Fang"s mother came from a family of hunters and not only of the four-legged kind. Gu Fang survived and took his place as emperor when his father died. The blood which flowed after he was crowned had become legendary in Yuqui"s history. Legendary for its viciousness, brutality and cruelty. Almost half of the population was decimated. The ruling cla.s.s was scattered. Then a new ruling cla.s.s emerged, which now confronts Gu Fang"s son, Gu Sheng.

On the other hand, the death of the young empress following the emperor and his mother was shrugged off as nothing unusual. Her husband was dead. She was a foreigner in a strange country. What else could the poor child do but kill herself? And that was that. No tears shed for the lovely yet foreign-born empress.

The prime minister, Mu Zhi, took advantage of the crisis by proposing that a new regent should be elected. The crown prince, Gu Sheng, was only fifteen. He still needed guidance and a few years to mature on the throne. Mu Zhi was, of course, presenting himself as the contender for this so-called regent as everybody knows.

The court ministers, although wary of him, were also frightened of the consequences of putting an immature child on the throne. And Gu Sheng was disliked. The ministers were put in a bind between choosing the devil they already know and the other devil they don"t. Scenting success, Mo Zhi"s faction pressed to put the motion in a vote but that day, someone or something unexpected thwarted Mu Zhi"s ambition.

The empress who had been dead for three days and whose wake attracted thousands of curious visitors excited to see her dead body, came back to life. Two days later, an edict from the reanimated empress dowager signed by the emperor was read by the head eunuch in the large hall inside the imperial harem.

What was written in the edict literally staggered everyone who was there to hear it. Fear, despair, and overwhelming panic gripped the hall.

The edict was very stern and straight to the point brutal: the empress dowager had decided to dissolve the harem. The old emperor was dead. His wives should now leave and make lives for themselves outside the palace. The emperor was young and needed a fresh start. The edict did not even mention Gu Fang"s other wives who bore him children. The harem was given ten days to pack and go. There was going to be no arguments or hearings. The decision was final and irrevocable. Signed, An Ning, the empress dowager.

It was as if giant tectonic plates quivered and rocked the kingdom. Panic spread in the hearts of the concubines. The harem was a simple yet very complicated hierarchical cla.s.s. There was the legal wife and the other women who served the emperor or prince s.e.xually, supposedly with the wife"s permission. The other women were also broken down into categories, which really comes down to two layers: the favorites who were given privileges, and the despised who were hidden away to rot until they die naturally or poisoned or drowned, whichever their enemies prefer.

The compet.i.tion between the emperor"s women was intense and brutal. The favorite, after all, wins the crown for her son and her family. But since the harem operates on a die or be eaten law of the jungle rule, the favorites today could also become the despised tomorrow. It all depended on the cunning and scheming skills of the person involved.

The eunuchs guarded the women, but they were also p.a.w.ns used by these women to advance their causes, which was to win the emperor"s heart and if she had a son, for him to be chosen as crown prince and ascend the throne. The end-game was always the throne so friendships seldom flourished, and family relations strained as little boys with different mothers but the same father were taught to hate and despise each other.

The previous emperor was actually s.e.xually restrained for a man of his high position. He liked women, yes, but he never gave them any thought until the itch comes and he calls for someone to scratch it. Thus, he only had a total of one hundred and twenty one women in his harem, a very small number compared to other harems in other kingdoms, or the number of women in his ministers" houses.

Still, one hundred and twenty one may look small but it"s actually not, if you factor in the children, and the servants attached to each of these women. And for them to lose the political and financial protection of the palace....it was an unthinkable nightmare.

That very day, Mo Chuo demanded to see the emperor. She was dismissed without any explanation. Then she demanded to see the empress dowager. The same thing happened. Desperate, she smuggled a letter to her father, telling him everything that had happened, including the fact that the emperor and the empress dowager had rejected her pleas for her to see them.

Mo Zhi was outraged. He and a few ministers loyal to him then stormed the palace and demanded to see the emperor. They were met by the head eunuch who tearfully told them that the emperor was indisposed and was not seeing anyone. No reasons were given except that his majesty was in seclusion, and busy with other things. What these things were not even the head eunuch knew.

So, everyone concerned steamed in gathering fury as the deadline neared and the emperor and the empress dowager remained hidden and inaccessible. The panic was reaching catastrophic heights and the fear was making everyone crazy insane. During this period, five servants died of unknown causes, one eunuch was found drowned in the pond, and a fifteen-year old yu qi was found outside an outhouse with her neck broken.

The tension and stress of the abnormal situation were obviously getting to everyone. Murder had become so common n.o.body even evinced surprise by the deaths let alone cared who were behind it.

On the ninth day of the deadline, the head eunuch was back, not with an edict this time but an announcement. The emperor and empress dowager were now out of seclusion and will meet the representatives of the harem in the throne room at one that afternoon.

After the head eunuch left, there was a mad scramble. The women were fighting for their lives and future so everyone had the same idea: present themselves to the emperor in their very best, their most seductive, so he will change his mind and talk his mother out of dissolving the harem. It was unthinkable what she was doing. Unthinkable and frightful. What will become of them if they were forced to leave the palace?

The entire harem contingent walked the few distance to the throne room and waited inside for the emperor and his imperial mother to arrive. They were an hour early. They were all fidgety and obviously scared, which not even makeup and sophistication could hide. In the end, they were rendered ordinary by their fear, its scent lingering in the air. They were like everyone else now, afraid of losing a privileged life they all had grown accustomed to. Afraid to leave the long stretch of imperial power they"ve grown comfortable of using to hide under, in fair or foul weather. Instead, they were staring at a bleak future, which was both cold and frightful.

Punctual as usual, the emperor and the empress dowager arrived at exactly one o"clock. The young emperor seemed to have grown taller. He was now a head taller than his equally young stepmother who surveyed the silent crowd like a tiger about to unleash its tail. The emperor sat on the throne. Everyone seemed to wilt when the empress dowager took her sit and sat down on the chair beside him.

The crowd offered their greetings by kneeling and bowing their heads. They remained in that position for a long while before the emperor ordered them to rise.

Mo Chou"s eyes immediately sought the emperor"s, who was talking to the empress dowager, his crowned head almost touching hers. A flash of irritation boiled in Mo Chou"s eyes. She wanted to jump up and rage at this d.a.m.ned p.r.i.c.k"s indifferent face but she controlled herself. Now was not the time to lose her temper. She needed to charm this little b.a.s.t.a.r.d if she wanted to win the throne. Her father had already told her what to do. All it needed was deceit and manipulation, which she was already a master of.

"You demanded to see us and now you"re keeping quiet," the dowager empress said sourly. "If you don"t start speaking in ten seconds, we"re out of here."

"Your majesty," Mo Chou stood up hurriedly. "Thank you for seeing us today. I know the majesties are both busy people so..."

"Get to it!" the dowager empress cut in impatiently.

Mo Chuo firmed her lips angrily.

"Why dismiss the harem for no reason, your majesty? I don"t understand. This is our home. The only home we"ve ever known for many years. Even if the old emperor is gone, we are his widows. And these kids are his children. We were promised security when he accepted us in the harem. We"ve served him faithfully and devotedly and yet this is our reward?"

The two people sitting on the throne stared at her with unblinking eyes. Suddenly, the empress dowager left her chair and walked down the dais until she was on the level of Mu Chuo.

"How old are you?" she asked.

Mo Chuo was startled.

Your majesty?"

"I"m asking about your age. How old are you?"

"Twenty, your majesty."

"Twenty," the empress dowager said, "hmnn. Do you know, in the country where I came from, a twenty-year old woman goes about independently. She has her own career, she has her own money, she works, she basically has a life."

The empress dowager looked her up and down.

"You look healthy. You don"t have a physical disability. You have good looks. I a.s.sume you have intelligence since you have the b.a.l.l.s to poison me. Don"t. Stop with the drama," the empress dowager said when Mo Chuo paled and opened her mouth to speak.

Mo Chuo was so scared, she was trembling where she stood. The empress dowager sneered at her fear. The other concubines didn"t know what was happening but they kept quiet and tried not to attract any unwanted attention.

"I don"t know what her majesty is talking about," Mo Chuo stammered. "I demand an investigation, your majesty. I am innocent."

"Cut the f.u.c.king c.r.a.p," the empress dowager laughed. "I despise women who only work with their v.a.g.i.n.a instead of their brains. Do you think I"m going to kill you? I"m not an amateur, young lady. And so I think are you."

Mo Chuo straightened. The fear was wiped from her expression. Instead, there was a haughty glint in her eyes, a mocking smile on her lips and she was looking at the empress dowager as if she truly despised her.

"Do you really think you"ll win?" she asked with a sneer. "My father already owns the court ministers. And the army will not side with this idiot who calls himself the emperor. What else can you do? Better give up, you b.i.t.c.h."

The empress dowager smiled then quick as a striking snake, her fist struck Mo Chuo between the eyes. The blow was so hard, it cracked Mo Chuo"s nose bone. Her head snapped back so that she staggered backwards, falling to the floor in a swirl of silk and satin. Her eyes rolled around her head then she lay still.

"What a puny c.u.n.t. One little blow and she"s out for the count. Okay, where were we? Oh, yes. You"re here to beg me not to dissolve the harem. Give me a good reason why not. Convince me."