The Life and Times of Master Han Fei

Chapter Fourteen

"The enlightened ruler reposes in nonaction above, and below his ministers tremble with fear."

-Master Han Fei

Years Later

Han Fei paced around his prison cell impatiently, annoyed at the fact that his audience with the king had not yet been granted. "Guard!" he bellowed. "Go forth to the 'king' and inform him that I am still waiting. I have waited far too long. I shall not wait a moment longer." The guard stared at him blankly.

"Go to your 'king'!" repeated Han angrily, jabbing a finger at the guard.

The dimwitted sentry finally complied, sprinting out of the room in fear. Han sighed with exasperation, and continued staring at nothing in particular, bored beyond belief in his prison cell.

"Brother, you have done well," Zhenghua told him. "Due to your unwavering loyalty and dedication, the Northern Tribe of Qiang thrives yet again! The elders have agreed with me; you will be permitted to stay here for as long as you like! We will gladly welcome you here, whenever."

Han sighed at the memory. The chief-his brother-had been ecstatic, thrilled that he had pledged his loyalty to him. All had seemed well; he and Zhenghua had spent months on end researching human nature, writing essays on the most correct form of Legalism and its applications.

Little by little, the righteous waves of Legalism eroded his moral foundation of Confucianism, and he soon became as, if not more zealous, than his brother in creating their treatise on Legalism.

Everything had made sense in that period of self-discovery. Han knew what he was now, as a person, as a prince, and ultimately, as the heir to his father's throne.

"I must go back to the Kingdom of Han," he said to his brother after a pregnant pause. "It is the right thing to do. This way, we can finally put the tenets of our creed into practice, and convert a major state to Legalism. As King, I shall have the royal prerogative to do so."

Zhenghua agreed to arrange transport to the Han kingdom, going as far as to assign two watchmen to guard him. "Your safety is of paramount importance. You, and our treatise on Legalism. We must not risk anything.

A melancholy Han stared at the bars in his prison. We must not risk anything, indeed! He had been sent to this cell the moment he had set foot on the land of which he was supposed to have been the Crown Prince. Instead, he had been thrown into this hellhole, by the new king.

Oh, the embarrassment he felt! Of all the humiliations inflicted upon him in his lifetime, this was by far the worst. This supposed king had not even thought it important enough to jail him in person!

He glared at his cell, before exploding. He aimed a kick at the bars, howling in pain as his foot connected with metal. "Ohh..." he groaned as he lay on the floor, clutching his foot.

"Any regrets?" a contemptuous voice laughed mockingly. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once a prince, now a Legalist! A traitor too, but that goes without saying, doesn't it? Legalist?"

"Who are you?" asked Han, turning to the face the speaker. "What do you want?"

"It doesn't matter who I am," answered the speaker, who was, judging from his fine robes, some sort of noble. "And the only thing that matters is what I will have done to you."

"And what will you do to me? How dare you? Do you know who I am? Out with it, you coward! Release me I say!" yelled Han, banging his fists against the bars. "I will have you know that I am a prince, in fact, I am the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Han! The nerve of some people!"