A PERTINENT QUESTION

POV: HE JIN- GENERAL OF THE IMPERIAL HAN FORCES

LOCATION: THE ROYAL HUNTING GROUNDS- THE IMPERIAL PALACE OF LOUYANG

TIME: AFTERNOON - EVENING OF THE NEW YEAR (AN HOUR BEFORE THE LAST CHAPTER)

As soon as the emperor gave his predictions about that bastard prince as a leader of men, your whole body became heavy with discomfort. This is because even though his predictions about the bastard is not as flowery as that of your nephew, a man who can lead men will always triumph over one who can merely fight no matter how powerful he is. The fact that he can do anything for victory as well as the bizarre but impressive manner he is able to tame one of the kings wildest horse also goes on to convince you that this viper must be put down before he starts to grow wings and breathe fire.

You and the emperor's retinue continue your slow moving journey to the royal hunting grounds and you slowly ride towards Hanfu Song.

"Has the money being paid?" You ask

"It was sent this afternoon general." He replies

"And did he agree?"

"He will send twenty of his best men general" Yizhen (Hanfu Song courtesy name) replies

"With all due respect Sugao (He Jin's courtesy name) why would you hire twenty men to kill one boy?"

"Because I do not wish to take chances." You coldly reply

"That boy young as he is, has already aquired land in luoyang and has built a tavern and a new wine that is bringing him money. This proves his skills as a foreseer and an administrator. What has my nephew done in comparison to that?"

"Your nephew is an accomplished martial artist who is talented beyond his years." He answers

"Is that not something?"

"In the quest for power Yizhen,martial strength can only take you so far." You counter

"And it certainly cannot take you as far as connections, money and support of the emperor."

"Isn't that why you have hidden the main purpose of this hunt?" He asks

"To stop Liu Xie from knowing and to make sure that your nephew hunts the tiger first? What better way to gain the emperor's approval than that?"

You are about to say something in response but the emperor loud call interrupts you.

"Who is bold enough to put it down? Step forward"

You watch with joy as your nephew rides forward and nocks an arrow into his bow.

However your joy quickly turns to horror when he misses and your horror increases when you watch the bastard prince draw two arrows and fires them with such speed that your eyes could bearely follow.

"Get over there Yizhen." You order coldly

"And no matter what you do, make sure that you keep him off the tiger's trail at all cost."

Hanfu Song bows to you and quickly rides towards the target.

"I take it the young prince is becoming a thorn for you as well."

You turn to see Zhang Rang riding by your side. Normally you would have drawn your sword at the first sight of that corrupt wasteful eunuch but for some reason you find him rather agreeable today.

"A rather irritating one I might add." You confirm

"It seems to me as though he is trying to manipulate the emperor"

"It dose not seems like it general, it is it."

Zhang Rang adds with some heat

"And if we do not stop him at this stage I can only wonder how long it will take before the emperor falls completely under his spell."

"Is his spell really that potent attendant?" You ask

The eunuch eyes blazed with red hot fury

"How do you think he got the crannies?" He counters

Just then Hanfu Song returns and he does not look happy.

What happened Yizhen." You ask Hanfu Song .

"He knows." He replies

"Who knows?" You ask in confusion

"Who knows what?"

"Prince Liu Xie Sugoa." He cries

"He now knows the purpose of the the hunt and he is going after the tiger by himself. Should we follow?"

I turn to look at the eunuch and he takes it a signal to leave. As soon as he is out of earshot you say coldly

"No. If the bloody crown are as quick as their reputation then not only should they be here by now but they have seen their prey separate from his pack. They will follow him and they will make sure that he dies at the jaws of the tiger."

Hanfu song nods at your words and say

"And the emperor?"

"Leave him to me"

You quickly ride towards your nephew who you can see is still sulking over his missed arrow.

"Do not tell me you are still upset over your arrow now are you?"

"I should have hit it uncle but the cursed wind just had to change direction." He replies fiercely

"It should have been me who draws and not my dimwit brother."

You place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"Your chance will come Liu Bian but for now I need you to do something for me." You say

"What do you need uncle?"

"I need you to distract your father for a while." You answer

"Keep him talking and drinking. Can you do that?"

You watch him take a wine jar to his father and start a conversation with him and while you do not know what he says, it did not take long for you to see the emperor recline and start conversing intently with his son.

"It seems like your nephew knows how to follow directions dose it not?"

You turn to see Zhu Jun

"Of course añd that is exactly why he will make a good crown prince." You reply

"And Liu Xie?" He asks again

"Liu Xie is much too independent and stubborn." You reply in a voice that could freeze mountains

"I will not let a boy like that rule china just so he can run it into the ground and be worse than his incompetent father."

"And what if he proves to be the opposite?" He counters

"After all he has shown some degree of competence in ruling the crannies has he not?"

"Ruling all of china can not be compared to ruling a slum Zhu Jun." You say with some heat

"And if he proves to be competent then I will personally admit I was wrong. But I know very well that that will not be case."

"And why is that?"

"Because a child who disregards the advice of his elders no matter how talent he may possess, will see all his efforts come to ruin."

"Really? Is it not the same elderly advice that the eunuchs give to the emperor that left china in this state?"

You are about to give him an appropriate answer when your conversation becomes interrupted by a loud cry.

"Make way!!! Make way!!!! I have an urgent for the emperor"

You look and see eunuch Zhao Zhong who is riding like a mad man for the emperor's position.

Knowing that his message must be from Liu Xie, you quickly mount your horse and move to intercept him.

"What is the meaning of this disrespect Zhao Zhong?" You cry in pretense heat

"Have you no manners anymore?"

"I have come bearing urgent news from prince Liu Xie." He replies

"And you consider that a good enough reason to disrespect the emperor?" Zhu Jun adds

"Let him judge me of disrespect." Zhao Zhong says with finality

"I have no business with the both of you."

He tries to leave but you draw your sword and place it on his neck.

"Be careful who you disrespect eunuch." You say in a voice as sharp as your blade

"Some men do not take it kindly"

"And you should be careful where you place your sword as well general." He counters in an equally frosty tone

"I do not believe that the emperor would be happy about his favoured attendant getting killed by an over eager blade."

"What is the meaning of this foolishness He Jin?" The voice of the emperor boomed and you immediately drop your sword.

"Only a small squabble my emperor." You get from your horse and Kow-tow

"Nothing to bother yourself over."

You Kow-tow again but simply ignores you and turns to the eunuch

"You said you had an urgent message for me, what is it?"

"It is prince Liu Xie my emperor." The eunuch responds

"He has found a tiger trail one li to the south and has followed it."

"Bohei (Liu Xie's courtesy name) went after a tiger on his own?" The emperor asks in shock

"Why did you not follow him?"

The eunuch quickly leaps down from his horse and hurriedly Kow-tows to the emperor.

"Believe me my emperor, I tried." He cries

"But he gave me a direct order and threatened to kill me if I followed him."

"And you were afraid of a little child's threat? You scorn

"That boy has the strength of ten men and the speed of lightning He Jin." He counters defensively

"I am quite sure that even your esteemed nephew will not survive a fight against him."

You are about to respond but the emperor cuts you off with a sharp whistle.

"Take me to the tracks immediately." He boomed as he mounts his horse.

"Yes my emperor." The eunuch replies and leads the way.

Just like that, all your efforts at keeping the emperor distracted ends up failure as he pursues the trail with a single minded intensity. Luckily the trail was not always clear and you often had to come down and check it.

On one of such occasions you come across a group of corpses dressed in black that have been piled up at the middle of the road.

"Did the tiger do this?" The emperor asks in confusion

"Let me go and check my emperor." You volunteer mostly because you had a nagging feeling.

Just as you suspect, when you examine the bodies you find out that they were killed by some kind of arrow and they had dagger marks that were made with such accuracy that it can kill in a single strike. In addition to that you also recognize the bloody crown tattoo on their shoulders and you quickly realize that these must be the twenty men that the bloody crown had sent to you.

From their position of death someone or some people must have watched them entered the forest, carefully tracked their footsteps, waited for them here, slaughtered them without mercy and arranged their body this way in order to make a statement.

You clench your fist in helpless fury.

"He Jin." The emperor calls

"Is it the work of the tiger?"

"These men are covered in bite marks son of heaven." You answer

"We should find this tiger before it kills anyone else"

Without saying another word the emperor has his horse leap over the bodies and continues down the trail and his retinue follows him leaving you and Hanfu Song behind.

"Were those men of the bloody crown?" He ask

You nods

"Whoever killed them was fast, skillful and precise." Your voice then turns cold

"It seems the prince had his own protection. He would not be that easy to kill."

You quickly rejoin the retinue but when you eventually get to the prince, you see him mixing various medicinal herbs in a paste, applying it to bandages which he made out of his own garment and tying it to the tiger exposed wounds.

"Should you not be inflicting wounds on the tiger rather than healing them?" Zhang Rang asks in astonishment

"The tiger now knows its place Zhang Rang." You reply

"So you plan to keep it alive." You can not hide the surprise in your voice

"Why not? It helped me took care of some unwanted pest." He subtly points you to a man who has been eaten beyond recognition but you manage to avoid giving anything away.

"Son of heaven will you really allow this?"

Hanfu Song cries

The emperor looks at the prince for a while and says with finality

"If you will raise it yourself you can keep it."

He then turns back and leaves with the rest of his party.

"Is there something you wish to tell me uncle Suigoa?" The prince asks as you are the only two people left.

Rather than reply you swiftly knook an arrow to your bow and fire a shot right into the tiger's right eye.

The shot quickly turns the tiger's eye into a bloody mess and you watch coldly as the prince tries in vain to remove it.

"It is no use." You say coldly

"The poison on the arrow is a fast acting one and within moments your precious tiger will be dead."

The prince turns to you with eyes streaked with tears and ask

"Why do this?"

"This is to remind you that while the emperor's favor may make you feel like a wolf, you are still a small dog and dogs should avoid trouble."

You turn your horse to leave but a sharp pain at your back made you stop and when you reach for it you feel an arrow shaft protruding from your back. You turn back ready to ride down the shooter but stop when you see that he has another arrow which he aims at your eyes.

"You are forgetting something general." He declares

"For wether it is a dog or a wolf, both bite terribly. You have done me a great wrong today general and whether it is this day or next, this month or next, this year or next, this life or next,

I WILL REPAY

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