Migong - Book 1

Chapter 25: Tribute

Kingdom of Moutan

Present, 5th Year of Fangbei, Late Autumn, 1471

Feiyan's breath hissed silently out her mouth when she arrived at the great audience chamber of the Royal court, dressed as the Crown Prince. Waiting only a moment, a eunuch announced her presence as she strode into the hall with dignified and purposeful strides, emulating Feiyu's normal pace to perfection. Behind her, dressed as a Shadow guard, Feiyu smiled into his silver mask and followed, taking his place beside a column next to the wall. Feiyan noticed that he had purposefully made his steps silent.

Our martial arts skills are probably on par now...how we go around with this mirror game...

Moving to the spot reserved for the heir designate, Feiyan turned towards the King, who only briefly acknowledge her presence with a flick of his eyes. Feiyan sensed his tension even from where she was standing when the Shoban envoy was announced, but then she had to hold back her own gasp as rush of feeling filled her chest with a suffocating pressure.

The man striding down the line of officials was ornately dressed in a vibrant peacock coloured silk that was heavily patterned, the pleated outer vest forming wings over his shoulders, making him seem broader in the chest than he actually was.

She could already hear the murmuring: The fine quality of the cloth only served to highlight the austerity and muted colours of the Moutan court around him.

As he came closer, Feiyan noted that the envoy wore his dual swords openly in the presence of the King and was looked upon with great hostility for this breach in etiquette, but it was not this that had made Feiyan's stomach roil. Although there was now a long sword scar that marred his features and left him with only one working eye, she had not forgotten their narrow, tilted shape or the brushy eyebrows, the brown hair sharply pulled back from the face into a top knot, or that unusually luxurious beard that he had always worn, though it was now tightly trimmed. The damaged eye was covered with a leather flap, giving the man a rakish look.

"Furusawa Ranmaru, Tribute Envoy of the Shobu Kingdom, greets his Majesty Xiao Jing Feng of the defeated Moutan Kingdom," said the man who was striding in with the arrogance of one who had seen their enemy yield to them on the field.

The entire court froze at the deliberately provocative words, but Xiao Jing Feng's expression didn't change.

"Furusawa Ranmaru, Tribute Envoy of Shobu, you are welcome to the court of Moutan," he said calmly. "It's been a long time. You are looking as lively as you did so many years ago, though I think I prefer you better with a sword in your side."

Xiao Jing Feng smiled, and Furusawa actually laughed in response.

The corner of Feiyan's mouth lifted very slightly at the King's words. She had heard from her father that Furusawa had very bravely stepped in front of his unit's battle commander and taken Xiao Jing Feng's sword to protect the man's back. That loyalty had turned the tide of that particular battle, but Furusawa did not return to fight for Shobu and spent the rest of the war at his family compound convalescing. Since the men of Shobu had a reputation for fighting to the death, Xiao Jing Feng's words showed his praise and contempt equally.

How is it that people thought Xiao Jing Feng was useless and untalented before he became King? That was a clever barb...but I suppose he hid himself well back then...only Lord Mu knew it and chose him from amongst the other Princes.

Feiyan thought she heard a muffled snort coming from direction of the pillar where Xiao Feiyu was keeping watch and it snapped her back to attention. Obviously, her Prince was also carefully taking everything in.