Into the Array C4

This chapter is information overload.

I am regretting that amount of siblings.

The room is a simple one, but it have everything Ivan need for a night's rest. The other soldiers are downstairs drinking, but Ivan decided to retire to his bed early. It's been a long day of travel and honestly he felt exhausted.

However, the warning of the soldier kept nagging at the back of his head.

'Be careful. The God of War is not the only one you should look out for.'

It kept Ivan thinking. Thinking about the royal family, yet somehow his mind decided to wandered to the 9th son of Emperor Wang; Wang Yao. Perhaps, it was because he have heard so much of him, too much in fact. Their country was at war during his grandfather's time and it lasted until Viktor took up the throne. Under Ivan's advice, Viktor declared a ceasefire and despite the fact that Han demanded tributes from them, Ivan insisted that Viktor need to make peace with them. And so they specially sent their emissary to Han to request for a reduced tribute until they recover.

Even though it looks like a bad deal on their end, what made Ivan gave that advice was the stories he heard from their own commander about the newly appointed general from Han. The new general that wore a demon mask so horrifying it strike fear to all who laid eyes on him, the army that accompanied him are describe as monstrous and his skills in battles are a different league from their own men.

Ivan stare at the ceiling of the room contemplating about this man. He thought about his predecessor, his sister Wang Huang Huan, the 8th daughter who was so ugly that people started calling her a Beauty. But she was so adept at using fire to take down enemies that her fiery moves gain an name of their own, the Phoenix's fire.

'But what made her step down? If she was doing a good job all along.' Ivan find himself asking. 'And what about their brother, the first one? What happened to him? What happened to them?'

Ivan closes his eyes shut, feeling frustrated at all these unanswered questions, he pulled his blanket up and held it close to his ears, trying to block out the questions. He wants to know, his curiosity is insatiable, and now that it's piqued, the only solution is to find it out.

'Please sleep Ivan, think about it tomorrow!' he chanted it over again and again, but the drunken commotion from below kept him up, and he find himself unable to sleep.

After some time of trying, Ivan's blood shot eyes flew open, and he decided that he might as well have a drink or two.

Opening the door to the lights was a nightmare, as it temporary blinded him while his eyes take its time adjusting to the lights. It took some time to clear and when it does, Ivan walked down the stairs to find that those soldiers are gossiping again.

'Hey! Come over and join us, since you will be going into the palace, we might as well impart you some things to look out for.' Man Man shouted, gesturing to the seat beside him. 'Come on, it will make your life easier!'

Shui have been knocked out, and the rest are blabbering drunken speeches. Only Man Man seems even vaguely sober.

Ivan nodded and quickly join them.

'Now listen carefully. I think no one have told you this before, but our country have 8 princes and 5 princesses.' Man Man started.

'I think I know that.' Ivan interrupted.

'Shh shh shh. Listen to me boy, you don't know. 8 princes and 5 princesses.' Man Man slurred, giving a hiccup at the end.

'Okay.' Ivan replied, figuring that its useless to talk sense to a drunkards, he poured himself a drink in one of the tiny cups. Musing over why do the Eastern people drink with such small cups when you can drink straight from the bottle.

'So...'

'Uh-huh?' Ivan nodded, sipping over the wine. 'This is good.'

'So.. The first prince, is called Zhu En. Everyone thinks he should be the next emperor, and I think that people's words are finally heard because there are rumours that the crown prince coronation that is undergoing will be for him. But it's just a rumour. But he's is a good prince, so I think he should be the next emperor, and Han will prosper for a thousand years!'

Ivan nodded again. Drunkard people really do spill everything huh, he thought.

'And that's what you're here for. You. Foreigner. Draws well. Paints well. Our emperor wanted to draw portrait of his family to show his people their royalties, as well as to celebrate the coronation. So you're going to draw.' Man Man hic again.

'Okay, that explains a lot.'

'2nd and 3rd princes, Li Shi and Rong Chao. Twins. They are very clever, they made every policies for our country, they gave us fair tax and laws that punish heavily on the corrupted. Very good people. I was their bodyguard before this trip so I know them, but they are very mischievous despite their age, and the only way to make them stop talking is to shut them with a riddle. Just remember this.'

'Okay. I'll take note of it.' Ivan take another sip of the wine, this time directly from the bottle itself.

'4th princess, Fang. Nobody I've known really seen her, in the palace or outside. No one. I, myself don't know how she looks like. But despite that, you can always feel her presence around the palace because she plays her instruments every day, those music are like fragrances that pleases your ears, and evoke such emotions that you will cry and laugh along her music. People who had a chance to visit the palace often tried to replicate it for the outside folks, and even though it's nothing compared to the original, it was still amazing and she have become quite well-known due to that. I look forward to your portrait of her, she must be beautiful too.' Man Man said, eyes turning dreamy from the thought.

'You must have like her work a lot.' Ivan replied, taking a huge gulp of the wine.

'Yeah.. I am, I'm a huge fan of it. Then came the 5th princess. The infamous one. I think you've heard of her.'

'Yes I do. She almost married our King. It was a really big news.' Ivan knitted his brow. He recalled suggesting against the marriage to Viktor.

Man Man laughed out loudly. His voice echoed through the quiet night, bouncing about the empty spaces, making it seems especially loud.

Ivan cringe at the volume.

Patting hardly on Ivan's back, he continued: 'Thank god she did not. Have you ever notice that the countries she was married to all fell? I did not know why but one thing is for sure; she is beautiful and extremely spoiled. And so people gave her a nickname of Princess Vamp. Not without a reason, I have friends from palace who..who..' Man Man suddenly stopped, and turned around and puked on a floor much to Ivan's grimace.

Ivan wanted to take another sip of his wine, but the smell of puke sting his nose. He did not want to appear rude but the smell is so overbearing that he pretended to rub his nose.

'Who told me that this Vampy princess seduces every men she finds vaguely good looking. And the way she flirt with visitors and begged her father to be married to men from other countries are disgusting, she was rotten to the core. And the Emperor allows her. ' Man Man continued after wiping his mouth on the sleeves.

The saliva that smelt of puke stained his sleeves, and Ivan knitted his brow in disgust.

'Do you.. Want to go bed?' Ivan asked.

'No no no, young man. You have to be careful, don't get smitten with her looks or her honeyed words. She must be a reincarnation of a vixen spirit.'

'I'll take note.'

'6th prince. His name is Ping, he was a general for the army briefly, and was dismissed soon after. Nothing much was heard about him except that his tongue was cut off by Prince Yao one day.' Man Man shut his eyes, thinking hard with his half-working brain.

'Cut off by Prince Yao? Why would he do that?' Ivan can't help but asked.

Man Man shrugged. 'Like hell would I know, that man is crazy!' he said. 'The 9th prince not only cut off his brother's tongue, but he even killed his own wife, slit her right across the throat.'

'He killed his own wife!? Why would he do that?' Ivan asked again, his curiosity started nibbling on his heart again.

'It happened right after he came back to the palace after a failed campaign. It was a devastating loss, and people figured that he took it out on his wife and his brother who just so happened to be there.'

'Oh..'

'The 7th princess, Gui Ying was not that known much. Except that she fell in love with one of the commoner when her father have plans to marry her to some noblemen. It anger our Emperor so much that she was lock in her part of the palace since then. Nobody visited her since, not even her own mother dared.'

'That's sad.' Ivan commented thoughtfully.

'That's the life of a princess.' Man Man added. 'The 8th princess, Huang Huan. I think you would recognize her as the general before the 9th prince.'

'The Beauty of Han?' Ivan asked.

'Yes, the Beauty of Han. Such a demeaning name for a noble soul like her. Did you know that she disfigured herself to join the army, because the Emperor claimed that she could never survive in the military. She became so ugly from infection that the Emperor could not find any suitor for her. Treat her with respect, and she will return you with respect.'

'What happened to her then, why did she suddenly stopped being a general?'

'She just announced that she decided to retire and have been staying in the palace quietly since.'

Ivan knit his brow at this revelation. 'But...' he started, but shook his head and instead, phrased it a little differently; 'All of the sudden?' he asked again.

'Yeah.'

Ivan looked down from Man Man, who was looking slightly sober now. But something doesn't feel right with that revelation, and Ivan can't pinpoint exactly why.

'I guess I don't need to say much about the 9th prince, Yao. Do I?'

'No. But... I still want to listen more about him.'

Man Man laughed heartily at Ivan's words. 'Be careful not to get smitten with this one as well. Especially not this one.'

'I won't. I'm a man and I like females.' Ivan retorted.

Man Man leaned in close and with a serious face, he muttered with deep disdain 'Don't be so sure. Do you know why we take pride in our army even though we are this technologically advanced? Because we go to war. Do you know why we go to war? It's because Wang Yao.'

Ivan was stumped at his sudden anger. He always thought that only people from the other countries hated the God of War, but as it turns out, they are not alone.

'Pardon me but, Shui was telling me the same thing as well, and he looked pretty angry about it. Is there.. anything going on?'

'Of course we are.' Man Man replied, slamming the bottle he have been gulping down hard on the table. 'Princess Vamp might have fell other countries, but none went to war with us yet. The Northern nomads are fierce and tough, something even the God of War have trouble with. And so he have to personally lead the battles most of the time, and of all times, his mask have to drop during one of the campaigns against them. The commander who was fighting him saw his face, that Barbarian was so absolutely smitten by that face that the war was immediately ceased and the North sent an emissary, something that have never happened before. The condition for permanent peace was for the 9th prince to be given to their commander, who was their leader as well. But guess what?'

'Wang Yao refused?' Ivan said.

'The North send a total of 10 emissary. That's sincerity at its finest, especially from the North isn't it? It was all rejected.'

Ivan nodded grimly, he have heard Shui talking it before.

'Well, I .. would have rejected it as well.'

Man Man let out a bitter laugh. 'And that's why you're a foreigner. After the 10th proposal was rejected, those barbarians wiped out all the villages near the border. Shui's family, are from the borders.'

Ivan's eyes widened before he hastily add a 'My condolences.' Perhaps, it's a bad idea to continue opening the wounds of others.

'It's okay, I'm just repeating what I've heard from Da Lao just now. He told me that there's a legend in the army where the 9th prince demanded bath water in the middle of an exhausted battlefield, but there is not much water left to even drink and there is no river nearby. When no one can reproduce any, he jump on his horse and went out. After a very long time, he came back drenched in blood. Telling the men that the nearby camp have water and force his worn out men bring it all back for his bath. Still, it was not enough, and so he told his men to collect 100 enemy bodies he killed and drain their blood in the tub for his bath. Specifically reminding them to add in the petals of flowers as always, and he went to war the next day smelling like the rust of dead. '

'I've heard of that story!' Ivan's eyes brightened, this story was shared by many people in his country as well. 'In my country, we do not call him the God of War. We call him, the Demon of Han.'

Man Man chuckled. 'I think it suit him more than a God.'

'I'll decide if he is a Demon or God when I see him.'

'Oh, remember to bring some brilliant jewels or rouge for him as a gift if you want him to cooperate.' Man Man suggested.

'What?'

'You must have forgotten that he is a Vain God as well.'

'Why is that so?'

'There's lots of rumours about that. You can ask around when you're in the palace.'

'I'll take note of that.'

'The 10th princess, Xiu Qing is playful and carefree. Talk to her, it's a great fun. And the 11th prince is Prince Yao's second in command, Cheng Chang. He was a prince born from a lowly concubine, but other than that nothing much prominent.'

'Okay.'

'The 12th prince, Hsiao Zheng is suave poet. He left the palace to travel the world writing poems, and his poems are so popular. He is rarely home, so we, palace guards don't get to see him at all. The last child of Emperor Wang is the 13th prince, Bao. He loves to play, so he's constantly running around the palace and he also love to eat. Feed him some food and he will follow you anywhere.'

Ivan nodded thoughtfully while Man Man's eyes are barely opened by now. He was slurring his words all the way at the end.

'An-' Ivan turned back to Man Man and was greeted by the sight of him falling asleep sitting up, Ivan have to say he was really amazed. He looked around the table to find the other sleeping heads and decided that they will all definitely catch a cold tomorrow morning.

Being the last man standing, Ivan sudden realise that he is awkwardly huge sitting beside all the soldiers on the table, with only Man Man who was sitting by his side even vaguely on par with his size.

'Well, guess it's time for my bed' he shrugged, with the alcohol setting in, he retire once again to his room, yawning.