Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 53

The Missing Emperor
Good Hope School, Fu, Karina - 15
‘Are these all?’
The old man shook his head and pointed the burnt end of the stick to the side, where a stack of documents were
waiting to be burnt.
‘Augh! It isn’t enough that the whole ridiculous journey emptied the country’s vaults, it’s causing me burdens now!
‘The boy mumbled while the other quietly threw a few more books into the flame.
‘Hey, you! Were you on that fleet as well? ‘The boy asked. The man did not answer, but the silence spoke for itself.
Nowadays, those voyages are no longer a national pride, but instead a sheer waste of energy that exploited the people.
‘Aha! So you were! Then tell me, what could those barbaric lands possibly have that bewitched the former Emperor to
ruin his own country?’ The boy sneered, but again, there was no answer. The silent air was filled by the soft, drowsing
crackling of the fire, which sometimes flared up when new books were tossed into it. It was only when the boy finally
started to doze off, did the old man speak for the first time to him.
‘None of us had thought it would last this long. No, not at the beginning....Our goal was simple - to find the missing
Emperor and bring him back…….’
‘Your majesty, I express my deepest gratitude for your hospitality during the past two months. As much as we would
hate to leave your wonderful country, I am afraid the time of our departure is drawing near.’ Zheng He said in his most
sincere tone, he sounded almost apologetic; a tone the translator by his side failed to copy, but the king seemed too
worried to care.
‘Sir Zheng...’ before the king could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by one of Zheng He’s men, who rushed
into the chamber with two of the king’s own guards at his heels. The King frowned at the intruders.
‘My deepest apologies, your majesty. But I have brought urgent news for Sir Zheng.’ The man said, still panting as he
kneeled on one knee.
The king waited for a translation before looking towards Zheng He for a reasonable excuse of his man breaking into the
palace.
‘Your majesty, this is my most trusted subordinate —Wong Jing-hong. He does not mean to offend you, but important
news must have come to us.’
Despite his annoyance, the king still smoothened his expression and waved an approving hand at them.
Then Wong Jing-hong immediately ran to Zheng He, who has already stood up at this point, and whispered in his ear.
By the time the messenger had finished, Zheng He’s expression was dead serious. He stood up and bowed to the King
again, ‘Your majesty, I do not mean to be rude but we must set off immediately.’
‘May I ask why?’
‘On our way here, we sent a team to persuade the pirate Chen Zu-yi to surrender. That team had just returned and
brought back the news that he accepted our offer.’ Zheng He paused for a moment before continuing, ‘They said that
he knows where our missing Emperor is.’
The Sumatran King sighed. ‘I have no intention to rain on your parade, but that news is most likely to be false. He is a
cunning and ruthless pirate who has attacked and tricked our neighboring countries many times before. We have tried
to pay our tribute to your Emperor before,’ Here he gave a nod to Zheng He as a gesture of respect, ‘but our ships
were all robbed by him. This is the worry I was about to tell you before your messenger arrived.’
‘I am aware of your concerns. But your majesty needn’t worry, as we will capture him and bring him back to our
capital for trial and execution.’ Zheng He answered.
‘I will await for your good news then.’ Despite saying so, the worry and doubt was still apparent in the king’s eyes.
Zheng He understood that, because Chen Zuyi had been rampant for years without being defeated. Somethings need to
be proven by actions, not words.
‘How do you know so many details?’ The boy interrupted.
‘I was the Captain’s right-hand man.’
‘Oh! I remember your name now; it is Wong-something-Hong, right?’
The man ignored him (much to the boy’s dismay), but instead continued, ‘It didn’t take us long to arrive at Jiougang,
where he was waiting for us. The moment our fleet approached him, he lashed out at us…....’