CHAPTER TEN - THE KINGS COURT

The court doors open, and the Eunuch announces Prince Mu Chen's presence.

Eunuch Zhang" Fourth Prince Mu Chen is now entering"

Chen walks into the massive hall, with Eunuch Zhang following after him. Dozens of officials in red robes lined up on each side. Chen walked in the middle off both sides, doing his best not to pay attention to the dozens of eyes looking through him. He gets to the end of his path and the emperor sited upon his throne. Eunuch Zhang moves up and stands at the emperor's right hand. He kneels and bows to his father.

Chen "I have returned father"

Mao Zedong "welcome back my son, you may rise"

Chen stands up.

Mao Zedong "I heard that you were attacked on your way back, shot with a poisoned arrow and was at deaths door, sorry that this father couldn't do anything, regardless of how much power I wield, hope you can understand"

Chen "Your concern for me gladdens my heart father, thank you" bows

Mao Zedong " but why are here, son. Shouldn't you be resting"

Chen "even if both my legs were caught off, that wouldn't stop me from coming to see you, your highness"

Mao Zedong " I admire your filial piety, later we will discuss, and you'll tell me all about your journey and all the knowledge you have gathered for the 10 years you've been away"

Chen "yes your highness" he bows once more and moves to the right-hand corner where his brothers were standing.

Mao Zedong "on that note I guess I'll be rewarding general Xiao Dai Yu for saving the prince's life, I order that 50 roles of silk, 20 horses, a chest of 1000 gold coins and two plots of land in whatever location she chooses, be awarded to her"

The whole court in synchronization bow and praise the emperor "your kindness is infinite my liege. Congratulations general"

Dai Yu dressed in a red robe "thank you your majesty" bows

The First Prince Mao Chuan Li steps up, bows "your kindness will forever be infinite, but your majesty, Dai Yu is undeserving of all these rewards"

Dai Yu "are you implying, a prince's life isn't worth that much" flustered

Chuan Li " I never implied such." kneels in front of his father with one foot. "Father, I believe Dai Yu should be ridiculed instead of rewarded"

The court begin to murmur

The emperor gives eunuch Zhang an eye signal and he asks the court to be quiet "let us be quiet" and everyone shuts up immediately.

Mao Zedong "why do you think that"

Chuan Li "sire, Dai Yu is the general over seeing 3 of the 4 fractions of the military and also the strongest warrior in this empire. Her duties are in the palace if she is not on the battlefield. However, she disregarded them and went on her own selfish ventures"

Dai Yu "excuse me brother, but I have equal rights as you do, I have my freedom and can do whatever I want. I am no one's servant or bodyguard, my duties are to my king alone" she said aggravated.

Mao Zedong "tone" a warning for her to mind how she speaks in his court.

Chuan Li "well it is still the same, if your duties are to your king. You should be by his side 24/7, you should live for him. Even if you wanted to, there are procedures and protocols to seek permission"

Dai Yu silent.

Su Yin falls to the ground immediately, bowing and with her face to the ground she lays her plea to the emperor "it was I; word was sent to me from the travel troupe, that Chen had been separated from the group, when the enemy attacked. I was desperate and worried and therefore sought the help of my daughter, I asked his sister to go look for him. Dai Yu disobeyed you, I begged her to"

Mao Zedong "I know of your good intentions my queen, you may rise. And there was never an order to disobey"

A maid standing next to her helps her up.

Mao Zedong "now back to you, my suspicious son. You said she went on her own selfish ventures, so saving the life of my son is her being selfish"

Chuan Li "no, your majesty not at all, I..."

Mao Zedong cuts him short, not allowing him to finish "What is wrong with Dai Yu saving my son, do you know that saving my sons life is like saving mine. Or are you pissed that she foiled your plans, are you responsible for your brother's attack"

Chuan Li kneels on both knees and begins to plead not guilty "father have mercy, it did not occur to me that she did it on the queen's orders, I have nothing against my brother, I promise"

Mao Zedong sigh "didn't you think this through before starting an argument. All you do is lay in wait for the slightest opportunity to fulfil your malicious intentions, ugh" disappointed "get out of my sight... you scheming idiot"

Chuan Li hurries back to his stand.

The empress Yan Mei who is sitting on a throne next to him " your highness, that is a bit harsh, the lad said he had no idea"

Mao Zedong doesn't say anything but looks at her with disgust.

Yan Mei squeezes a portion of her fabric, pained by the embarrassment from the emperor.

Mao Zedong let out a long sigh, before continuing to speak "anyways I would like to invite you all to my party this evening, to celebrate my sons return. Now, let us continue with the day's work"

And the court started the days discussions, all the women, the empress included left the court room. They can only enter when the king has an announcement, in this case the return of his son. After which they must all leave, women aren't allowed to participate in matters of the court. The only woman allowed in court is general Xiao Dai Yu, for special reasons. After the meeting for that day ended, the emperor left first, and every other person could leave after him. As they left the court room, Chen ran to Dai Yu.

Chen "good morning, general" bows

Dai Yu "good morning prince" bows

Chen "I want to thank you for saving my life, I am indebted to you"

Dai Yu "you are welcome and that wouldn't be necessary. I only performed my duty" bows "I'll be on my way then" she walks away.

Chen looked at her as she left and memorised her whole story " Xiao Dai Yu, the only member of a powerful clan of warriors, the Xiaos. The Xiaos are believed to be a clan blessed by the gods, with superhuman abilities. Members of the Xiao clan are blessed with super strength, speed, agility, wisdom, sharp eyesight and strong immune system. The Xiao's have twice the strength of a gorilla, the speed of a cheetah, the eyes of an eagle and an immune system that is as strong as steel. A single member can take down over a hundred men. Xiaos rarely, very rarely do they fall sick or be weakened by a physical injury, unless it is in a vital area. However, with every blessing comes a curse. It is believed that, so that the Xiao's won't multiple enough to form an army and take over the world. They were cursed with difficulty bearing children and each generation has had just one heir and most times very late in life. So, they tend to marry very early. All Xiao warriors in history were men, the one time a female child was born it was discovered that the god's blessings only affected the males, because she did not manifest those abilities. That was the problem when Dai Yu was born, they thought that because she was a female, she wouldn't inherit the blessings. They thought she would be useless. They were wrong and Dai Yu became one of the strongest Xiao warriors in history, although she would end up being the last. Dai Yu lifted her first rock weighing over 30kg, when she was just 6 years old. She lifted it out of anger and threw it at me (Chen) when we were playing in the palace. I dodged the stone, but it ended up crushing my elder sister and killing her. After this Dai Yu was sent off for training, and I after one year was sent away as well to go to foreign lands and gain knowledge. We both stayed outside for 10 years, Dai Yu went one year before me and came back one year before me.