บท 16: Building a fortress
Ah Yue Rong roamed the City, from tea houses to entertainment houses, gathering information for her master.
"Did you hear?" A man asked his friends in a low voice.
"Hear what?" Friend two responded.
"I heard the emperor is planning to erect a strong wall around the whole kingdom as a fortress," friend one said and sneered.
"I heard that too, but so what? What is he afraid of? Does he think that even if he gives us his head it will be enough to quench our hatred for him? Let him dream on!" Friend three added.
"I support you on that friend. After his evil twenty years ago, he thinks he can wash away his sins by building a fortress around the whole kingdom. What does he think Hua Xia kingdom is? A small village that can be walked through in just a few minutes? I have always known that the man sitting on that throne is only a bloodthirsty maniac without brains." Friend four chimed in.
"Yes, you are right. The moment he ordered the three generals' execution, I immediately knew that Hua Xia kingdom would be dying and see, it's only been twenty years and he's erecting a boundary to prevent enemies that haven't even made an attempt to invade our kingdom." Friend two agreed.
"What an insecure, power-hungry, and bloodthirsty man we have sitting on that throne!" Friend three sighed.
"How are you people sure that other kingdoms and countries are not having their eyes on our kingdom?" Friend one asked in confusion. It seems he heard a different version somewhere.
The other three looked at each other and laughed out loud.
"Listen friend, don't you know how big this kingdom is? Hua Xia kingdom is the second largest kingdom with four smaller countries guarding Xia country in the middle. On the left of Xia country is western Du, on the right, we have eastern Yang, then we have northern Wei in the north and southern Hua in the south.
With those four great countries protecting Xia country in the middle, do you still think enemies would be able to invade us?" Friend four snorted.
"Brother, what are you saying? Xia country isn't the only country that made up Hua Xia kingdom. The other four smaller countries together made Hua Xia kingdom! However, what I don't understand is the emperor building a fortress across the whole of Hia Xia kingdom, isn't that deflating the money the kingdom had in store over the years, including the money and resources left behind by the late emperors? I'm confused, someone, Please enlighten me," Friend two asked.
"I'm as confused as you are, brother. In regards to my third brother-in-law, he said that building a fortress around the whole kingdom would take more than a hundred years. If there is going to be war, then aren't we going to be short of resources when the war starts?" Friend four asked with worry lacing his tone.
"That is also my problem. By the way, which country would dare to invade our Hua Xia kingdom? All I see is the emperor being wasteful and stupid, just like his decision twenty years ago," Friend three asked with confidence.
Friend one looked to his right and left and waved to his friends to come closer. "The Chǒu Lèi kingdom."
The minute it was said, the other three men immediately shut their mouths with eyes widened like saucers, and Ah Yue Rong who had been quietly listening to their low conversation abruptly raised her head with her eyes widening a little more than usual.
"C– Chǒu Lèi kingdom?" One of the men finally asked after a long time.
"B– brothers, I need to run along, my wife will be home soon." With that, one of them rushed out of the tea house.
"Me too, I have things I forgot to do." Another left after that, and the other two didn't wait either.
Ah Yue Rong's brows creased. 'If that was true, then why has little brother not brought back information? Ah Jin, what is going on?!' she thought in her mind. Her eyes slowly darkened as she thought of the thorough thrashing Ah Yue Jin would be receiving in a while.
After the people left, Ah Yue Rong also left and went to change into male clothing before choosing the wealthiest brothel to visit.
She walked along the streets and stopped in front of four beautifully decorated houses with red lamps hung in the front of the buildings to match the green and red silk sashes intertwined around the houses.
The place was beautiful, but she was not here to admire the beauty, so she walked towards it.
By the door, the guards stopped her and asked for her pass which she didn't have, so they ordered her to go get a pass.
To get a pass, she ought to have a nameplate, and to get a nameplate, she will be visiting the house registration official which she didn't intend to do, so she gave up and continued to wander around the streets until nightfall.
… ..
In the middle of the night when everything was quiet and only the sound of the chirping crickets and the howling of the wind could be heard, a figure in place could be faintly seen running through the roofs and jumping around trees like a flash of light.
Whoever saw the silhouette at that time of the night might think they were hallucinating.
The figure stopped at a house with, "LEFT PRIME MINISTER SU'S MANOR." boldly written on the placard that was hung on the gate. Ah Yue Rong's face was covered, leaving only her eyes to behold one of the names her master hated the most.
A while later, in a courtyard located at the back of the large manor, a shadow flashed by and squatted on the roof. The shadow removed a roof tile and threw something into the room with precision– just like she had done it a lot.
Inside the room that housed a few men sleeping on mats, the one sleeping on a small mattress abruptly opened his sharp eyes and slapped an incoming object away to not hit his face. He looked up and saw a small space on the roof.
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