Blood Bonds And Golden Ties

Chapter 26: The Beginning Of Exam Preparations

[Shi Han Jun]

It was just a bit after dusk when Han Jun arrived at the dining hall. As he approached the door, two servants who stood in front of the doorway greeted him. "Cān jiàn Er Huang Zi," they said as they held up their hands and bowed.

He walked past them and stepped into a spacious hall. A couple hundred feet in front of him stood an elevated spot where there was a table. Banners hung down from the beams of the building and on both sides of the room, seven golden columns supported the roof. A long red carpet lay on the floor and led all the way up the steps to the elevated table directly in front of him. Along the left and right side of him were rows of tables a couple feet apart from each other. On each table, there was a small strip of white cloth and a variety of foods: brown roasted duck that glistened with oil, fried bamboo shoots mixed with red peppers, tofu lathered in a reddish brown sauce sprinkled with onion and shrimp that was deep fried in sesame oil.

Servants helped direct the guests to their assigned seats according to rank in the court. One servant came up to Han Jun and bowed slightly, and said. "Third Prince, please follow me." Han Jun obliged and the servant led him to the right table closest to the table that sat on the platform.

Han Jun took his seat and sat on the back of his heals behind the table as was customary. He poured himself some wine from the jade teapot. After a bit, Jing Chun appeared and took his seat at the head of the room. This was where the host sat. Pouring himself a cup of wine, he held it up and proclaimed, "This celebration is held in honor of a very important guest, Third Prince! I want to drink this cup of wine as a blessing to him!" Everyone lifted their cups into the air as well and then together, everyone in the room tipped the wine into their mouths.

After everyone had finished, Jing Chun said, "Tonight we will have fun! Eat and drink your hearts away! Bring up the dancers!"

A line of women entered from the door and danced their way in. They were lovely to look at. They had buns in their hair and thin purple face coverings. The women's dresses floated in the air gracefully as they whirled around and constantly changed dance positions. All who saw them dance were mesmerized by their beauty and their elegance. The night was getting late and the women had been dancing for a while when some of them started to engage with the men by taking their teapots and then dancing with the teapots in their hands. After a moment of dancing, they would return the teapot to the owners.

A slender woman danced around Han Jun's table and took his teapot. Then she whirled around and set it in front of him gently. Han Jun, by now, had drunk much wine and was not fully aware of his surroundings. He poured himself a cup of wine. "Good! Very good!" he said drunkenly as he held his glass up high and bellowed, "Cheers!" He downed the cup greedily and threw it on the ground. It shattered. He got up but then suddenly, his head started to hurt severely and his world started to spin. Dropping to the ground, he moaned. His thoughts blurred together as his head screamed in pain. A blade flashed. Before he could react, Jing Chun stepped between them. The blade stuck out of Jing Chun's body. He lay there paralyzed, his consciousness started to slip. He whispered hoarsely, "Ge Ge."
***********************************************************
Jing Chun was pacing restlessly in front of Han Jun's door when his body guard came up and said, "First Prince! Why are you standing here when you yourself should be resting? You got hurt too!"

Jing Chun said, "My wounds are merely surface scrathces. Don't worry about me."

The door opened. He rushed to his the doctor's side and asked, "He alright?"

The doctor smiled kindly. "Don't worry. He will be fine. Someone tried to poison him but I was able to force the poison out. He just needs to rest for a couple of days."
Jing Chun nodded. "You make take your leave."