POV: Xu Chu (captain of the imperial prince militia)
LOCATION: The crannies
TIME: The evening of the last day of the year 183AD (almost one year after the last chapter)
The evening meets you sitting down beside the young prince watching intently as a young girl takes on the whole militia. Her strikes were quick, deadly and so unpredictable that even you had to admit that if they were using real weapons, you would have lost half of your men by now.
"Do you think she is still angry that I replaced her with madame yin as manager of the inn?" The prince asked while looking at her
"Who Ming?"
The prince nods
"Well I can not say for certain how she feels about your order my prince but I can tell you how I see it."
"And how do you see it?"
You hesitate for a while because you know that he would not like your answer at all. In fact you were already cursing yourself for bringing up that line of discussion.
"How do you see it Xu Chu?" He repeats strongly
"I believe you should have left her at the tavern my prince." You say with reluctance
You brace yourself for the outburst and insults that often come from those of high birth when their servants speak ill of them but the young prince simply threw his head back and laughs.
"Has she been that hard on the men?" His voice vibrates with amusement.
"My prince?" You ask with a bit of surprise, unsure of what you heard
"Has she been hard on your men?" He repeats
"Worse my lord." You reply candidly
"Ever since you made her the steward of your new land, she has worked us all to the bone. As it is we can bearely work on our own farms without finishing yours first"
"And you do not like it?" His tone was still light.
"Personally no." You answer
"Though most of men might think differently"
"Meaning?"
You clamp down on your desire to heave a sigh of relief as his actions rips apart the huge sense of unease you feel within your heart.
"She knows how to keep the men working my prince." You say as she knocks two more men to the ground
"Let's leave it at that."
"She really is something isn't she?"
You shrink back at the sudden sound, draw out your dagger and point towards the source.
"Must you scare me like that bosi?" You cry as you sheath your dagger
"You make it too easy Chu." Madam yin counters as she pinches your cheeks
"How could I resist?"
You were tempted to smile but you quickly school your expression and gently clear your throat due to the situation.
Taking the hint, she quickly kneels down before the prince and present a sealed scroll.
"Greetings to the prince of heaven." She says with all formality
"Your humble servant has brought the records of the year as per your highness's request."
"Is all our profit from the last year recorded in the manner I prescribed?"
"Every single word my prince." She replies swiftly
"Though a part of me much wonders why you would impart such a simple yet remarkable technic unto we of common birth."
"Is it really that useful Bosi?" You ask
You fight to keep the disinterest in your voice but it seeps out in some way because Bosi tone becomes defensive
"Of course it is you uncultured brute." She replies with all the venom she could muster
"The prince's double entry technique is not only simple to understand but it also saves me a lot of unnecessary stress spent in writing a lot of unnecessary materials. And besides..."
She continues her explanation for some time but she fills it with so many words best left for the imperial court that you end up having no idea at all what she wished to say.
"Do you understand?" She asks in all seriousness
"Ummm....I think so?"
She lets out a frustrated sigh and mutters
"Brute"
Meanwhile the prince who has hardly been paying attention to your antics suddenly looks up from the book Bosi gave him with a frown.
"Are the harvest from this year really so low?" He asks
"It is far worse than that my lord." You answer gravely
"I dare say that if the taxes have been any higher we would barely have enough to live on."
"And if the rumors are to be believed, this drought is not just happening in the capital alone my prince." Bosi added
"It is affecting every single city in the nation."
"And have you received any relief from the imperial court thus far?"
You turn to look at Bosi
"Were we to expect relief from the imperial court?" She counters
The young boy simply looks back at the book for some time and says
"If the twenty percent of your grain comes to me as tax would you have enough to feed yourselves from today's harvest to the next?"
" Without strict rationing I believe so." Bosi replies
"Then set aside the grain that belongs to me as well the one that comes from my personal farm. Use them to establish helping centers all throughout the city and try as much as you can to provide food for the city's poor at least twice a day."
Words cannot describe the surprise that comes to your bones upon hearing his command and you almost bleed your brains while trying to guess what in the heavens was the prince thinking. On the contrary, Bosi swiftly kneels before the young prince as a sign of gratitude.
"May the heavens bless your generous heart my prince." She says with a... strange look in her eyes
"I will see to it that the people do as well."
As she leaves to carry out his order, you can not help feeling as though you were the only one in that gathering who was unaware of something crucial. Already you are well aware that even though the young prince can be generous at times, he is not someone who gives without expecting something in return. So why will he just give a good amount of valuable grain away to strangers? Is it because of honor? Of charity?
"You have questions?"
You have not notice him staring at you.
"With all due respect my lord, do you know when the drought will end?" You begin
"No" he answers
"Then why would you think it wise to hand over our cherished grain to strangers? Do you know for certain if the harvest would be good next year? " You struggle to keep the frustration from your voice
"Do you know why I like you Xu Chu?"
His tone felt patronizing
"It is because you are not afraid to state clear when you think I am being foolish."
Even though he says this in a gentle tone your bones could not help but shake due to the meaning of the words themselves. For a mere servant to speak to his master was a crime worthy of death. How much more when he dares to question his master's actions?
And how much worse will things be when his master is none other than the son of the emperor?
You quickly kneel down before him and place your face to the floor
"Forgive me my prince I spoke out of turn"
"There is nothing to forgive." He counters sharply as he raises a hand to order you to stand
"I would have thought much less of you otherwise."
He takes a deep breath as he seems fond of doing and then says
"How do you keep your men happy Xu Chu?"
"Pardon me my prince?"
He points at the training ground where a woman were stil humiliates your men.
"How do you keep them happy?" He asks again
"By paying them my lord."
"And what do they do with the money?"
"To buy food and everything else they need."
By now you were wondering the purpose of this line of questioning
"And what will happen when you stop to pay them?"
The confusion on your face wipes out in an instant.
"You expect trouble from the crannies?"
He shakes his head
"This famine is not only in the crannies Xu Chu. If anything I expect trouble from every where else aside the crannies."
He pauses for some time
"There is nothing that drive a man to madness more than hunger Xu Chu and knowing my father well enough, this country will soon be filled with hungry people willing to kill for the smallest piece of bread.
The rest of the evening passes in silence between the two of you but as you head to bed that night, you make sure to pray to the ancestors that the crown prince's prediction does not come true.
The next day the heavens proved the crown prince right as you woke up beneath a yellow sky.
There is nothing that drive a man to madness more than hunger Xu Chu..... This land will soon be filled with hungry people willing to kill for the smallest piece of bread.
"Please be wrong my prince, please be wrong."