Along Came the Horses
Guan Dong Highlands 1427
Episode 7
Perhaps it was pure luck or maybe the Gods of Summer played a part, but Pek Chen was unscathed. His aunt was not, an iron-tipped arrow pierced right through her heart.
The great feast that the kindly magistrate prepared right after the ceremony was bounteously overflowing that the street dogs did not even had to contend for the leftovers. Fifty roasted pigs and twenty selected hiefers in an array of smoldering spit manned by adept grillers and attendants that was enough to feed the entire people of the town for a two harsh winters were ostentatiously displayed along the main artery of the town. Mounds of bread, dumplings and pastries along with an assortment of native delicacies that were stacked to the brim in each of the fifty long tables that lined up along the periphery of the compound overflowed in abundance that brought awe and admiration from the momentarily dumbstucked townfolks. In each long table, rows upon rows of culinary creation by the regions well-known chefs and culinarians graced the occassion, where all kinds of fruits in baskets harvested from the sorrounding orchards and the blessed forest compete. The wine flowed like the river Han, tantalizingly red and crystal vivid against the lucid goblets that were specifically allocated for the event.
From the raised flatform the magistrate and his entire family stood up, raised their glasses in salutation amidst the blaring of trumpets and thundering of drums, and the great feast had began.
It was also during this moment that the first volley of a thousand arrows rained down into the midst of the compound from beyond the walled town. Surreptitiously, from their protective hiding places, men with long swords and spears that were stealthily smuggled into the town in advance suddenly charged into the crowd with blistering speed, mangling and slashing their way into the terrified populace, all but a few heading straight into magistrates compound. The day guards manning the east gate manages to peal the alarm bells just for a short time as they were mercilessly overpowered by the marauders beforehand. Then the raiders opened the huge east gate and along came the horses. The massacre of the town of Guan Dong up above the highlands of Fujian in 1427 had just began.
There was a valiant stand rallied by the few remaining royal guards that protected the office of the magistrate but were no match for the two hundred forest bandits in their thundering mounts and merciless sharp blades.
Two hours later into the atrocity and the town was laid bare and burning. Along with the magistrate and his lovely wife Wah Ya, six hundred seven people lay dead including all but one of the royal soldiers who was coincidentally named Chan Pek, Pek Chen's namesake. Shui Dem and the magistrates daughter Rang Be survived the onslaught after concealing themselves under the raised flatform along with the remaining soldier who vowed to protect the heiress with his life. Pek Chen, though bloodsoaked and pinned under the weight of his dead aunt, remained in silence throughout the carnage which probably saved his life. Most of the surviving children however were forcedly taken and carried off by the attacking horde of forest bandits and were never to be seen again.
There was a concensus among the surviving circle of elders that the magistrate's daughter should be in Shui Dem's trust until she will be of age to inherit the magisterial position, a move that was favorably sanctioned by the royal provincial administrator when he came to assess the devastation of the town. Chan Pek, the remaining soldier who was bound by royal commission, went to live with them willingly.
The Gods were indeed generous that day for they have given Pek Chen not just a childhood friend but also a family.
Eighteen winters had passed and Rang Be turned up to be lovely and gay. She had not only inherited the bedazzling beauty of her mother but also the kindly comportment and wisdom of her father that have inspired poems and agreeable admiration in her entire constituency and throughout the region.
Chan Pek married Shui Dem, their secret tryst of long ago finally laid open, and Pek Chen became the youngest scribe to pass the Royal Examination in the whole province of Fujian.
The raiders and their swift horse were all dead and gone.
♧
'So what happened next?' Chan Pek inquired.
'Well, Pek Chen and Rang Be were supposed to be married right after her confirmation ceremony as the new magistrate but he was immediately whisked away to the Forbidden City by the royal constables in acccordance to the Emperor's mandate to further his studies and serve him personally. She gave that pendant to him as a reminder of her chastity, fidelity and pledge to wait for his return', the old widow replied pointing to the pendant hanging from his neck. 'He gave her this puzzle box in return', she added while affectionately clutching the cherished box in her spindly shriveled hands.
'Did my namesake came back to the mountains?', Chan Pek inquired.
'Well, my dear, I guess we should continue the story tomorrow as I am quite tired now', the old widow replied.
'But before you go, I would like to ask you one simple favor. Just this once. Will you allow me to wear that pendant in my sleep, just for tonight?', the old woman earnestly begged.
Without batting an eye Chan Pek replied.
'It will be my honor, your grace.
'It will be a great honor'.
The next morning she never woke up.
It was the 11th day of the 3rd month in the year 1925.
It was also a Tuesday, in early summer.
