Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 291

The Prince of Shanghai
Yew Chung International School, Tai, Sum Wah - 11
Thunder crashed down on the majestic Shanghai Princess, as her passengers and crew fled for their lives.
Sailors hastily unloaded their treasured cargo of gold, gems and silks to offload excess weight, while they
frantically screamed for their own lives. The smaller ships in the fleet were gone, swallowed by the
ginormous waves and blustering wind. Only the Princess and her crew were left to their fate on this
dreadful, stormy night. People were trying to calm each other down, but to no avail! There was now a
huge, gaping hole in the hull of this magnificent ship. As the Shanghai Princess began to list, many sailors
and passengers scrambled to jump overboard in order to survive. Crack, crack, crack… went the ship. The
Princess slipped deeper and deeper into the dark, unknown depths below. Heading straight towards the
Shanghai Princess was yet another monstrous wave. Those who had escaped overboard into the icy waters
were either scrambling for their lives, or had already drowned. The cruel wave enveloped everything in its
grasp, including the passengers and the crew. Almost everything! The journey was a total disaster. Only one
survivor was picked up by a passing ship -- only that one survivor had been spurred to tell the tale.
Back on land in Shanghai, the sad news had finally reached Emperor Jin. “What do you mean, the Shanghai
Princess has sunk? Impossible! What about the treasures? The crew? The passengers?” roared Emperor Jin.
“I’m sorry, Master, but it has been rumoured that the Princess has gone. Almost everything has gone, except
for one sole survivor who was rescued, whom we are still waiting to speak to. The whole fleet of three ships
went down in that terrible storm everyone has been talking about,” said the messenger.
Emperor Jin, dazed and lethargic, lounging on his magnificent throne, which had been passed down for
generations, now looked up and sighed. He was too numb to speak. Jin had been convinced that the
Shanghai Princess and her fleet’s journey to India would be a success, since he had received reports that all
was going well until that terrible day. Jin was agonised by the horrific news. The huge loss of life, as well as
the loss of his much treasured ship, the Shanghai Princess.
Finally, Emperor Jin mumbled, “Very well, I suppose in a few months, we’ll just send another ship to carry
our trading supplies to India, via Canton. The obedient messenger bowed, and scurried out through the
palace gates. Emperor Jin sat sadly, mumbling to himself, “The first fleet lost in a crash. The second fleet lost
to pirates. The third fleet along with my beloved Shanghai Princess lost in a storm. Am I being punished?
What are we going to do? My fleet is drastically shrinking.”
That night, Emperor Jin was sitting on his bed, and staring at his bedroom door. He wondered, “Why do
our quests keep failing? Have all my father’s magical stories of his amazing sea voyages been untrue? Have all
the victorious acts in my father’s life that he had described in such detail to me, been lies?” Jin quietly rolled
over and snuggled down in his bed. So many thoughts were spinning round and round in his head. He was
dizzy. Jin couldn’t help but wonder if he really was the “chosen one” to be the Son of Heaven.
“Jin! Why are you still awake?” whispered the sweet voice of a girl. Jin rolled over to catch the sight of a
young woman who he now recognised as Annchi, the servant girl. As Annchi neared Jin, he sat up.”I can’t
stop thinking about what happened yesterday, Annchi.” Annchi looked at him, confused. “What happened
yesterday?” inquired Annchi. Shaking his head in disbelief, he suddenly realised that she hadn’t heard about
the terrible fate of the Shanghai Princess. “Oh, you haven’t heard?” exclaimed Jin. “Yesterday, we lost the
Shanghai Princess and her fleet to another storm. All the expensive supplies of gold and other treasures we
were sending to my second brother, Jun’s, kingdom of Canton, which were to be forwarded to our friends
in India, have gone, along with all the ship’s crew and passengers.” Annchi bowed sadly but politely and left
the room. Jin lay anxiously, tossing and turning. He turned towards the door to see if Annchi was still there.
She wasn’t. He gradually dozed off, thoughts spinning around in his head.