When the concubine fell into the river and weakened her lungs, the doctor prescribed complete rest for a year. She needed a quiet place to rest so the emperor bought this place and renovated it according to her wishes. The cost of the renovation, however, went over budget, which angered the empress, who traveled to the address, inspected the unfinished buildings around it, and immediately fired the old architect for being incompetent. She hired a new one, which of course, worked under her guidance. The house was finished, still slightly over the budget, but within the time limit enforced by the empress.

A week later, the empress packed her maids and her bags and her eunuchs and took residence in the newly renovated house. The favorite concubine meanwhile traveled a hundred miles away to a private resort up in the mountains, where she met and got in the way of a rampaging tiger.

The emperor was inconsolable in his grief so the empress invited him to share the house with her. Ten months later, Gu Fang was born. In the coming years, after a somewhat protracted marriage, the emperor and empress would often spend one month a year in this house alone together. It became their refuge from the outside world and this practice continued until the emperor's death when Gu Fang turned eighteen.

The house now belonged to Gu Sheng, who gave it to An Ning, saying he had no use for such an antiquated love nest with horrendous pieces of furniture. An Ning agreed but she actually liked it. The house was quiet, peaceful and she would often stay there to read books, practice her target shooting, and laze around to relax.

This morning though, the house that originally belonged to a concubine then usurped by an empress and again occupied by another empress from the future, played host to a dozen of men wearing simple robes. These men were obviously not aristocratic types or royalty. They were the plain folks one may find in the streets of Yuqui. They go about their business and lives quietly and without fanfare. They play and work within their own little world and were seldom involved in worldly matters like war or conflict. In short, they represent the common citizen found in other cities in the world: ordinary fathers, ordinary husbands, ordinary brothers, ordinary neighbors, ordinary sons, ordinary people.

Seated among them as their reluctant host was a once failed scholar and now personal a.s.sistant to the king, the very nervous Kang Jun who was there to ask, even beg them for a very important favor.

"What's this about, Kang Jun? You said you wanted to talk to us about something important. What is it? Speak!"

The speaker was a man whom Kang Jun recognized as his former neighbor, Ling Wan, who owns a barbershop in the district where he and his mother used to live. Ling Wan's wife recently gave birth to a son after ten years of marriage. The couple was well-known in the district because they loved to bicker and Ling Wan, who would always lose to his tiny wife, would often threaten to take a concubine so he could have someone he could bully in return. He never did though, never even looked at another woman, and was so happy and overjoyed with the birth of his son that he announced the happy occasion on a sign proudly displayed in front of his shop.

Kang Jun looked at Ling Wan's honest face and swallowed his saliva.

"Well?" Ling Wan prodded impatiently.

Kang Jun took a deep breath and immediately plunged into his rehea.r.s.ed narrative.

"Yuqui is about to declare war on the people of Laniang," he announced, sounding pedantic and very foolish. "Let's start with that and go from there, shall we?"

"Is this a joke?" Ling Wan said, after a stunned silence. "I think you've just lost your marbles, Kang Jun."

"War with Laniang?" Ye Ming, who owns an apothecary on the south side park of the district, called out. "Aren't they related to his majesty the emperor?"

"You're talking treason, man," Ling Wan warned grimly.

Kang Jun sighed.

"Let me explain."

The men listened as he started his explanation. Somebody from Laniang sent someone to kill Gu Fang, the emperor. His mother, the empress dowager, whom he was very close to, died from a broken heart. Then it was the emperor's new wife's turn but she was lucky and survived the a.s.sa.s.sination. Turns out, the army under General Chen was involved in these shenanigans.The current empress dowager was wise though. She immediately put vice general Sei Sei in the dungeon to test the loyalty of the general and his men, which was later revealed to be false because vice general Sei Sei was actually the one who poisoned and killed the emperor, her cousin.

The empress dowager put the vice general to death in the hopes of further angering her co-conspirators, which as it turns out also included the vice general's brothers Min Ling and Min Song, and forced them to show their hands. The traitors tried to wheedle their way out of suspicion by accusing the empress dowager of defaming the vice general's fine reputation. Driven by their hatred and fear that their plans were already uncovered, the brothers Min Ling and Min Song attacked her majesty the empress dowager, who fought valiantly and killed the two traitors. Then she immediately captured General Chen and threw him inside the dungeon.

As he spoke, the men listened to this riveting story without even blinking. Kang Jun deliberately infused his voice with awe and wonder when mentioning the empress dowager's name, while sneering and mocking the names Sei Sei, Min Ling and Min Song.

In fact, Kang Jun's storytelling surpa.s.sed the effort made by the regular storytellers one usually listened to in public squares and dining places. But this time, the story was actually true. Well, Kang Jun was a person of the emperor so probably he was telling some sort of the truth regarding the story but to hear it from his own mouth...the men nodded and whispered among themselves.

Ling Wan, however, was unconvinced.

"You're telling us a story. You still haven't told us why we're here."

The men stared at him then at Kang Jun, who wanted to curse Ling Wan and throw a shoe at his stubborn head. You idiot, you're ruining my momentum, Kang Jun cursed while crying silently inside.

"I will get to that part," he said, with a smile as gentle as rain.

"Your preamble is too long," Ling Wan grumbled impatiently. "There's n.o.body here but us simple folks so tell us, what do you, or rather the empress dowager, want from us?"

Ling Wan's eyes were honest and true and in the face of that straight, unwavering stare, Kang Jun straightened his spine and finally came to the point.

"The empress dowager asks that you help the kingdom defeat this enemy. They are stronger than us, they have the numbers, and they have the incentive. But she also believes that if everyone of us work together then we will prevail and defeat this enemy."

Kang Jun's tone was honest, his words, however, were too lofty. This group of simple folks whose lives stay true to the salt of the earth, looked at him with sudden suspicion.

"Who's house is this?" Ling Wan suddenly asked.

Kang Jun was surprised but answered.

"Her majesty, the empress dowager's."

"May we talk to her instead of you? No offense but public speaking is obviously not your forte. Besides, there are questions to be asked and honest answers to be given."

Kang Jun unconsciously looked towards a closed door but the empress dowager strolled in from the outside, the garden in fact where she was waiting while reading and drinking tea.

"Ask your questions," she said without preamble.

"Why us? Why come to us? This is a matter for the army," Ling Wan said.

"The army is compromised. Its general and vice general were both involved in this treason. Min Song was General Chen's advisor and Min Ling carried his orders. We don't know who else are involved but suffice it to say if the top was rotten it follows that the bottom is already contaminated."

"What about the palace guards, your grace?" A youth wearing the notable gray robes of the school of Yuqui asked.

"They will be our main guard," the empress dowager answered. "We've seen the forces in Laniang. They number about 50,000," she let that number sink in before adding, "the palace guards are only 5,000 strong."

The men paled, deflating like balloons encountering heavy wind.

"I do not want this war, none of us do. But it will be here whether we like it or not. And when I say here, I mean Yuqui and the capital. They mean to take us and the country if they can. It's only a matter of weeks before they arrive."

Ling Wan opened his mouth but no words came out.

"If I am given a choice I will not drag you into this mess. This is not only dangerous but suicidal. I would rather you stay safe within the palace walls and let us fight this fight. But I'm afraid the numbers are against me, against us," An Ning continued.

She walked to a long table covered with a white cloth and tagged at it. Revealed were firearms of all sizes, the same firearms the Laniang soldiers most likely carried in their a.r.s.enal.

"There is also this, new weapons to kill. You've never seen one like it before but I have. Any of these weapons can kill within seconds."

An Ning picked up a pistol and fired. The ceramic vase on a nearby table exploded with a loud bang. Bits and pieces of porcelain scattered on the floor and on the messed up table cloth.

An Ning looked at her audience and saw their terrified faces. She waited, her eyes looking down to hide the pity she felt.

"We cannot fight such force, your grace," Ling Wan stammered. "We will be annihilated."

"If there is a chance we can retreat...," said the young man helplessly.

"Where?" Ye Ming asked. "Abandon our country and go where? Anyway, even if we escape they will hunt us down and kill us."

The scent of fear was thick in the air and with it, the pervasive sense of hopelessness. An Ning sat down, trying to look smaller and un.o.btrusive as she listened to the men start to talk their hidden fears out loud.

"My son is not even a year old yet," Ling Wan muttered. "And Seda, what will happen to her if the enemy...my parents, they've lived here all their lives."

The hopelessness in his voice seemed to infect his listeners.

"If we don't do something though, it would be like killing them ourselves, wouldn't it?" the young man asked out loud. "Just a week ago, I confessed to a cla.s.smate in my cla.s.s. She's a very serious girl and told me that although she likes me, she feels she is too young to accept me as her man. I told her I will wait for her. It is enough to know that she likes me, too. Yesterday, she asked me to make it official. She is my woman and I am her man," he said, sobbing brokenly. "I don't want to die and leave her. But I don't also want to fail the country and see her die. What should I do? What should I do?"

The men stood rooted in their spot, staring at the boy until their eyes almost bugged out.

"What is your name?" An Ning asked, smiling at the young man.

The youth self-consciously wiped the snoot from his face and reddened when he met An Ning's kind stare.

"Ling Nam, your highness," he mumbled self-consciously.

"He's my younger brother, your grace," Ling Wan said, affectionately ruffling the boy's hair. "And Mei Mei is right. You are too young to be betrothed."

"You were younger than me when you married Seda," Ling Nam forgot his embarra.s.sment as he glared fiercely at his elder brother.

"Mei Mei? As in my younger daughter Mei Mei?" the voice of an elderly man rang out in anger. "You little rascal! I knew there was something fishy about the two of you. No, absolutely not! My Mei Mei is too young for marriage!"

The outrage in the elderly man's voice caught everyone's attention. The laughter that followed as he and the youth and his brother began a lively argument cleared the air somewhat. After a while, Ling Wan hushed the elderly man and turned to An Ning.

"You still haven't told us what your plans are, your grace."

"Simple really. Train you and prepare you for battle. We only have a week's time to get ourselves ready. The palace guards will advance. The rear, meaning you, will guard the capital. I will be somewhere, creating some distraction."

"You make it sound so simple," Ling Wan smiled wryly.

"No, it's not. It means more lives will be lost unless we act fast."

"Training? With those things?" Ye Ming asked, pointing at the objects on the table.

"Yes."

"I don't get it. Why Laniang? Why us?" Ling Nam's young voice was bewildered.

"Power, gold, position, supremacy. Pick one. Anyone of those is reason enough to power a war," An Ning said.

"Does the little emperor know, your grace?" Ling Wan's shrewd eyes met An Ning's.

"Enough but not everything," An Ning conceded honestly.

"It will break his heart," Ling Wan observed.

"It broke my heart," An Ning's smile was wobbly.

Ling Wan was silent but his gaze was sympathetic when he looked at An Ning.

"I forgot to add something," An Ning said, her voice suddenly carrying across the length of the room. "I know the value of this sacrifice and what this means to everyone here. If we lose, we will lose everything. Even if we win, we will still lose something. Lives that we cannot bring back, futures that will change forever.

"So, here's my end of the bargain: 10,000 taels of silver for every man or woman who stands on that wall and defend it with his or her life. Dead or alive, the money will be paid in full to the heirs of the deceased. Second, five acres of land to each family that signs up. If we take back Laniang, the land around it is yours. Twenty miles from here is also land that is part of the dowry I bought with me when I married emperor Gu Fang. It's yours, every piece and rock of it I will give to you. Third, a year from now the imperial civil exam will reopen. Every son or daughter of the names in this piece of paper, if they pa.s.s the exam, will be guaranteed a place in the council of ministers in the emperor's official court."

The silence that followed was deafening.

"This..." Ling Wan croaked. "Does the emperor know?"

"He was the one who suggested it," An Ning smiled.

Kang Jun's mouth was agape with shock. He had no idea of the magnitude of her majesty's plan until he heard it just now. The empress dowager had deftly cleared all venues for refusal by opening her purse as wide as a whale's. With one surprise announcement, she changed the color of the argument by injecting a once-in-lifetime opportunity for growth and rebirth. He wondered what she would say if he were to tell her to add his name to the list. She wouldn't mind but he would, he thought wryly.

"Can we have that in writing, your grace?" Mei Mei's father suddenly lost his humor and became serious.

"I have copies of it here. Noted and signed by the emperor himself. We will add your name to the blank s.p.a.ce next to his after you've signed up."

"When will training start?" Ling Wan asked, lining up behind his brother, who seemed to have shed off his glum and was even joking around with Ye Ming.

"Tomorrow at five. Present yourself in the barracks tonight and we'll start from there."

As the hours pa.s.sed, Kang Jun and An Ning were not at all surprised to see the lines growing longer in front of the house. The word had already spread out. Yuqui was preparing for war. And anyone interested to fight in the battle was welcome.

Looking at the line, An Ning smiled in satisfaction. No one was willing to fight any battle with only the promise of cheap returns as incentive. Her deal, however, put value on the loss of a life so more people were willing to overlook the 'loss' part as long as the end-profit was good and betters the life of those left behind.

An Ning's gaze strayed outside. How many dead, she wondered. How many widows? How many orphans? That man over there, that happy barber, will he live long enough to see his son grow up? What about his scholarly younger brother? Will he get the chance to marry his sweetheart?

The life and death of these people mean nothing to her but at the same time they mean something because they mean everything to someone. In the meantime, she has Gu Sheng to think about. He was not her everything but he was to Gu Fang. And she promised him.

Noon came and went but the lines grew longer until the shadows covered the earth and slowly enveloped everything in darkness.