The Divorcee Is A Wicked Black Belly

As predicted by An Ning, the number of partic.i.p.ants who arrived in Yuqui and who signed up for the games more than doubled the total of the previous year. Yuqui had recently survived a domestic attack and everyone it seemed was curious to see how the capital was bearing up.

The choice to put Ling Wan in charge of the ministry of public works turned out to be the right one. The man practically worked himself to death, trying to restore order in the capital in time for the talent contest.

At first, Ling Wan encountered fierce resistance from the angry and deeply resentful prisoners of war, who refused to sign the contract drawn up by the court ministry and signed by the emperor. Ling Wan solved some of the cantankerous complaints by hauling the men out of jail and putting them in an abandoned courtyard formerly owned by the duke of Zeyin.

The courtyard was built northwest of the east market and had been reclaimed and cleaned by the palace with the idea of later converting it into an army barrack. But when Ling Wan sought an audience with the emperor and asked permission to house the prisoners there instead, the emperor immediately granted his request.

Ling Wan didn"t want to confine and restrict the movements of his unwilling labor force. The insurgents were prisoners of war but since the emperor"s edict came out, they became conscripted a.s.sets used by the crown for a particular purpose. And Ling Wan wanted to be fair. So, he minimized the resentment by easing the men into their duties. He didn"t put any guards except inside the courtyard. He didn"t force them to wear any tags or wear anything that might make them stand out as the enemy. Ling Wan was very strict but also very fair so except for the initial b.u.mps the restoration work went smoothly without any further hitches.

The ministry of public work"s hard efforts quickly became self-evident when visitors trickled in to the capital and entered the newly restored gates. The surprise expression on their faces was priceless.

The ramparts and watch towers that bore the brunt of the attack had been rebuilt using the same stone materials quarried from a mine some distance away. The architects even improved on the original by adding a layer to the walls and parapets and by building the watchtowers into the defensive walls instead of stand-alone structures.

Although some of the dwelling houses have yet to be restored and some buildings torn down and rebuilt, the liveliness of the people of Yuqui seem to belie the traces of carnage that befell the capital under the insurgents" attack. The curious and envious were expecting a city hobbled by death and destruction only to find that the G.o.ds obviously still favor Yuqui. The sun still shone brightly on the capital and the people who call it home.

The five hundred or so visitors and partic.i.p.ants who arrived to either watch or take part in the Battle of Talents streamed into the capital like avid locusts. The influx of visitors congested the rooms in many inns, drove prices higher, sold thousands of mementos, and basically became a windfall after heavy losses suffered during the attack.

The partic.i.p.ants looked around with lively eyes, noting the high morale and smiles of the people who greeted them when they walked to the school grounds to register their names, the names of their affiliations, and the events they were partic.i.p.ating in. Everything seemed to be fine in the capital, which seemed to disappoint one or two of the partic.i.p.ants for some reason.

The games opened on an auspicious day. The sun was glorious, the clouds blue, the square in the grounds of the school looked well-kept and immaculate. The school covered a large courtyard that extended all the way to the old temple, which had been destroyed during the fighting. The manner in how it was destroyed remained a mystery though, even more so the presence of a large square container that nearly covered the structure.

The square was already packed with people when the emperor and empress arrived. There were no court officials accompanying them, no concubines, no servants even the ubiquitous eunuchs so everyone was surprised to see them arrived with only a few people and a small number of palace guards in their retinue. Everyone looked at each other and wondered, Where the heck was everyone?

The emperor and empress took their places in the dais and nodded and smiled to everyone. An Ning was totally bored and was zoning out when a loud boom was heard. Everyone was alarmed and frightened but gradually relaxed when they saw what it was that made the sound, a long tube-like thing that, when ignited, spits confetti in the air.

Another boom sounded and confetti again rained down on the surprised onlookers. The sight of those bright and colorful small bits of paper seem to gladden everyone"s heart. Even the emperor was seen to be laughing as he picked out bits and pieces which had fallen on the empress" long unbound hair.

An Ning was smiling back at him, oblivious to the looks thrown her way. She came to the opening games dressed differently as usual, in a long mustard yellow summer dress with coordinated matching shoes. The dress was frilly and short-sleeved, the length ending just below her knee. The women eyed her outfit covetously, wondering why, although the outfit bared a lot of skin, the empress still managed to project an innocence even a young girl fully-covered will have difficulty in achieving.

The games kicked off with the archery contest. Ten archers from Yuqui were competing. They were considered on par with the team from the Zhengyi sect, a large Taoist community which hails from the northern mountains.

The Zhengyi sect sent one hundred fifty representatives to compete in the games, the biggest contingent so far in the entire compet.i.tion. The sect had the most number of martial arts students entered in the Kick Me, I"m Yours category, a humorous t.i.tle chosen by Mu Xing to refer to kicka.s.s martial arts moves. Zhengyi students were proudly arrogant, confident and occupy top tier ma.s.s worship among teenagers.

Another well-known school in the south, the Lu w.a.n.g school of alchemists, sent fifty students headed by their top contender, the honorable Wu Xiang Yun. This Wu Xiang Yun turned out to be a girl who was one of the famous Wu sisters, four young beauties who dazzled the world with their talents in music, the arts, and alchemy. Xiang Yun, the youngest sister, was entered in the Mirror and Magic category, which was scheduled to take place on the third day of the compet.i.tion.

Another school, the Duo Xing school of pugilists, sent the Jawbreakers, one of the strongest fighters in the kingdom based on bare-knuckle knock outs alone. The Jawbreakers were composed of a dozen or so tough-looking young men with big burly bodies and fists the size of mini-trucks. Due to the number of combatants who signed up for the archery contest, it was decided that the boxing contest will share top billing with the cooking contest, which was scheduled to take place on the second day of the games.

A new and surprising entry to the games was the contingent from the kingdom of Chengdi, whose amba.s.sador had sought an audience with the emperor a day earlier. Gu Sheng welcomed him warmly, while deflecting at the same time the man"s seemingly indifferent questions about the attempted coup. The emperor of Chengdi it seemed had heard of the attempted takeover and sent the amba.s.sador to inquire and offer help if needed. Gu Sheng laughed and told the amba.s.sador to thank the emperor for his kindness. Any help was appreciated but no longer necessary since the rebellion ended peacefully.

The contingent from Chengdi was composed of six people, including the amba.s.sador, a tall and lean elegant man with a soft and melodious voice. The other members of the party were two unruly youths, two men in their twenties who stood and walked like grizzled military officers, and a tall young man whose lower face was covered in a black mask. This young man didn"t say anything, just stood respectfully behind his amba.s.sador but he seemed to be listening to everything since his eyes would occasionally flicker with interest.

"And you"ve decided to join the games?" the emperor was saying.

"If we"re allowed to, your majesty. This is the first time we"ve seen something like this. The boys here thought it might be fun to try," the amba.s.sador smiled.

"It"s open to anyone who might want to join," the emperor shrugged. "That"s what the name of the games imply, after all."

The archery contest was held in the back lot of the school where an archery field had already been set up. The archers were divided into two groups. The first group will shoot at the top target while the second group shoots the bottom target from a distance of fifty yards.

It was obvious from the start that the Zhengyi sect meant to overwhelm their opponents not only with superior skills but by sheer number as well. For the archery game, they fielded a total of twenty contestants against Yuqui"s ten, Du Xing"s six, Lu w.a.n.g"s five, and Chengdi"s one.

Yuqui"s team captain, w.a.n.g Sao, was grim-faced. He knew that Zhengyi was a tough opponent, the team to beat in the annual Battle of Talents. The sect had already taken home more prizes than they could possibly display inside a trophy room but it seemed like they wanted more. Zhengyi had never been this hostile before but it seemed they were more than willing to trample Yuqui"s pride if that"s what it takes to mow them down. A rebellion didn"t cow them? Then their superiors in the athletic field of the Battle of Talents will make that happen.

"b.a.s.t.a.r.ds," w.a.n.g Sao muttered, then turned beet red when he unexpectedly encountered the amused glance of the empress.

It was as w.a.n.g Sao had expected, Zhengyi not only creamed his team, it wiped the floor clean with other teams as well except that black mask dude from Chengdi, who took his position in the firing range and fired his arrows like he owned the d.a.m.n thing, the range, the teams, the spectators and judges, the distant target. Bullseye!

When the shot turned out to be not a fluke as expected, w.a.n.g Sao and the other teams started eyeing the Chengdi contender with something like approval. The bow and arrow team from Zhengyi were expert marksmen who started hunting when they were barely old enough to catch their prey so what right do they have to be so c.o.c.ky about shooting an arrow? But the black masked dude was giving them a run for their money, which was starting to p.i.s.s off Zhengyi"s team captain, the beautiful yet highly volatile Chang Chang.

Chang Chang was the daughter of the sect master and his second wife. She was the only daughter in the five-boys family so she was very spoiled and ent.i.tled. Chang Chang could have been just another spoiled rich b.i.t.c.h if she hadn"t turned out to be just as intelligent and skillful in other matters. It was said that her martial arts skills were as good if not better than her father"s, who, rumors had it, wanted to proclaim her as the next heir. And let"s not talk about her swordmanship, which was learned from a master.

Chang Chang was only seventeen years old but she certainly had high ambitions. It was said that she had already entered into a marriage agreement with the son of the duke of Zeyin before the new empress arrived and killed and ma.s.sacred the entire family. The duke was said to have a deep friendship with the sect master so the marriage was a very much antic.i.p.ated affair on both sides. But it was not to be because for some reason, the duke and his entire family, including Chang"s Chang"s dashing young fiancee, incurred the royal family"s wrath and died tragically by the empress dowager"s hand.

So, when Chang Chang started berating and scolding the dude with the black mask, w.a.n.g s...o...b..came alarmed. He walked over to where the two were standing, arguing. Rather, Chang Chang was speaking with her voice raised in anger and the dude just looking at her with a pair of white, fish-like eyes. He tried to smooth things over by asking what the matter was about.

"Get the f.u.c.k out of here! This doesn"t concern you!" Chang Chang screamed shrilly, her face totally inflamed with anger.

w.a.n.g Sao ignored her and turned to the still silent masked guy.

"What the h.e.l.l happened?"

"She said I was using the wrong arrows," the guy mumbled, his voice a bit incoherent behind the mask.

"Wrong arrows?" w.a.n.g Sao said, frowning. "What wrong arrows?"

"I told you to b.u.t.t out! This doesn"t concern you."

"What wrong arrows are you talking about, girl? There are no wrong arrows when you"re pulling a bow. There"s only a lack of technique."

"How dare you!" Chang Chang was livid. "This guy was obviously cheating. Look at his arrows. They"re bigger than what all of us are using."

w.a.n.g Sao took the arrow she was pointing at and looked closely at it. The head was flatter and a bit bigger than normal. But it was the blades that gave him pause. They were made of some sort of solid steel, serrated and razor-sharp. They were the type of arrows that would fell a much bigger game than the normal-sized wild boar or deer.

"They look deadly and razor sharp but I don"t see anything wrong with them," w.a.n.g Sao said. "You"re just sore because he"s creaming your team."

w.a.n.g Sao was smiling, expecting Chang Chang to be angry and yell at him at him some more. What he did not expect was the feral gleam in her eyes as she pulled her knife and stabbed him on the stomach with it. w.a.n.g Sao crumpled to the ground, looking stupidly up at Chang Chang, who watched him with a sneering smile. She then raised her arm and was about to stab him again when something wheezed past her arm.

Chang Chang looked at the thing restraining her arm. It was a very thin string looped around her wrist, the end of which was held in the slim, white hands of her majesty, the empress dowager. The empress dowager pulled at the string until it dug into Chang Chang"s arm, sc.r.a.ping the skin and blood began to appear.

"Mighty brave of you, to attempt to do murder in front of my eyes," the empress dowager quipped. "Don"t struggle or I might be tempted to wring your neck this time. Put that knife down and get away from him."

The presence of the empress dowager started to attract people"s attention to the little group. The masked guy was standing to one side, staring at the empress dowager. w.a.n.g Sao was on the ground and who seemed to be bleeding. A furious looking Chang Chang was also nursing a bleeding arm and shooting angry looks at the empress dowager, who looked totally cool yet mighty p.i.s.sed at the same time.

w.a.n.g Sao"s teammates have now become aware of what had happened. They rushed to him and pulled him to his feet, half-dragging him to the tent where the first-aid kit was located.

"Kang Jun!" the empress dowager called out.

"Yes, your grace."

"Call for the doctor. He might die if he doesn"t get treatment."

"Yes, your grace," Kang Jun said, then hurried away.

"What the h.e.l.l happened here, your majesty?" Mu Xing panted as he arrived, taking deep breaths before turning to An Ning.

"Ask her," the empress dowager said, looping and putting the thin string away.

"Nothing," Chang Chang said with a sick smile. "w.a.n.g Sao and I were just playing and he suddenly keeled over and fainted."

"Fainted," Mu Xing said, his eyes questioning.

"They were arguing about arrows and stuff then she grabbed her knife and suddenly stabbed him in the stomach. She was about to finish him off when I stopped her."

"That"s a lie!" Chang Chang cried. "I didn"t do anything to him. We were playing as I said then he suddenly keeled over and the next thing I know, she was tugging at my arm with a string. Look, it"s still bleeding from how she manhandled me!"

Chang Chang showed her bare arm. The scar from the string was still there. It had deeply chaffed the skin and the blood was still pooling around the fresh wound.

Mu Xing looked at the empress dowager and opened his mouth but before he could say anything, nearly half of Chang Chang"s teammates hurried to the scene, shouting and exclaiming angrily over the wound on her arm. Chang Chang"s tears again fell as she saw the concern in her teammates" eyes. She explained what happened between hiccoughs and when she was done explaining, she again bared her arm and showed them her wound.

By this time, everyone"s heart had already hardened with fury at what they thought was a miscarriage of justice. Chang Chang didn"t even want to be here in this G.o.dforsaken capital. She said it was too painful still, since Yuqui would only remind her of her loss, the fiancee she was looking forward to marry. And now, this happened. Everyone was angry and they needed a target and that target was standing just a few feet away, listening to Chang Chang"s tale with a curious smile playing around her mouth.

The empress dowager braced herself against the attack and when it came, it surprised her more than it surprised Chang Chang and her furious teammates.