Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 239

Another line of men pushed carts. There were more sacks in their carts, as well as wooden boxes.
They had ornamental carvings covered with pearl. The carvings were of lotus flowers and scenes of country
life by a river. Bronze surrounded the edges of the box, with a lock in the middle. Some of the wooden
boxes were placed on two parallel bamboo poles as they swayed in time, carried by several men. One of the
men tripped, a wooden box fell with a thud and the lid flew open. A guard stormed over to the men,
yelling and kicking them. The men kept apologizing, kneeled down and picked up the……
“Gold! Silver! Jade! And even silk!” I cried in wonderment. The wooden boxes contained all sorts
of treasures and precious goods. Quickly the box was sealed, the men continued towards the large curved
ships. Such treasures in one box, yet the vessel was filled with one box after another. Indeed, a treasure ship.
My stomach growled. After all, our meal was interrupted by the two men. We’ve both finished the
dates when we were at the gutter. Sneaking back to the storeroom, the two men had moved to the the
other side, sweeping. Sister and I found a sack with ham. We enjoyed as much ham as we liked, until we
were full. Yet, the smell of something fermented lured me towards it. Slitting open the sack, eyeballs glared
at me with fins and scales sticking out of the bag. Fish! That was the source of the salty and fermented smell!
We took the dried fish out and ate their flesh, leaving bones on the ground.
As we ate, a line of men opened the door with a loud bang and marched in. They confronted the
two men sweeping on the other side of the storeroom. Luckily we were already eating at the dark corner,
therefore no one spotted us.
“Wei! Stop sweeping and help us! We will be leaving soon and we need to bring these cargo to the
ship!” said the leader of the group.
“When will we be leaving?” Asked the sweeping men.
“Soon! As soon as one week! So hurry!”
“Why are we leaving so soon?”
“The Ming princess is coming, accompanied by five hundred retainers As soon as she arrives we
will depart.”
“Why are we even going on this trip? Is it really worth all this effort just to escort some gifts and
the princess to the barbarian king beyond the South Seas?”
“The Emperor likes to shows off, he wants to establish his dominance and power over the world.
We are the Middle Kingdom, after all. We Mings are to bring brightness to the world, don’t you know?
Besides, the barbarian king sent a delegation, asking for a princess to be his wife.”
“Bah!” one of the men standing at the back said, “This is all a charade! The emperor wants to find
his nephew who fled beyond the seas!”
“Hush! Do not speak of that! You will get yourself executed for speaking treason! I was at the final
battle of Nanjing. The charred corpse of the young emperor was presented to Emperor Zhu Di.” Whispered
the leader.
“Not right! Not right! The second emperor dressed up as a Buddhist monk and escaped! Haven’t
you heard?” Said another man in the middle.
“We will stop speaking of this. Our Lord Admiral led Emperor Zhu Di’s forces at Zheng Cun Ba
outside Beijing and defeated the young emperor’s forces. That is why he was given the name Zheng He by
the emperor himself! The Lord Admiral is a righteous man who does not eat pork and prays five times a day.
I will not tolerate anyone speaking poorly of our Lord Admiral or emperor.” Said the leader firmly. Quiet
filled the room.