Master Po and Huaizong were received by the Tran brothers, Tran Lys and Tran Dinh Bo, the younger siblings of Lady Huyen Tran. Both were scrawny teenagers, not yet full height, and both looked terrified.
For decades, Annam had protected the three other kingdoms from the East. When the Shi escaped from the strike that spared Huaizong’s life, they fled here. Annam was at constant war with the Cham, the Goryeons, and the Shogunate, who all understood a strategic truth: Annam must fall first if the kingdoms behind it were to be conquered. Its coastal stretch connected four kingdoms, making the interior easy pickings. Annam had been noble in its defense, but it was now in a state of decline. At the palace, only the two young princes remained with their doddering advisors.
The rice harvest was minimal. When the Shi captured the Lotus Throne, forcing Huyen to abdicate, four princes—Zhenjin, Huaizong, Mahintha, and Tan Po—along with a battalion of the Song-Xinese Palace Guard, had appeared like a thunderstorm to rescue them. Then, the Cham attacked the Shi from the south. Caught in a pincer between Zhenjin’s infantry from the mountains and the Cham charge, the Shi were destroyed. The champion Agatub caught Shi Dao’swidow and sons at the Eastern Wall and killed them with his bare hands.
The next morning, Master Po and Huaizong received an invitation to the Royal Court. Lys, thirteen, sat on a throne too big for him; Dinh Bo, eleven, played on the floor behind it.
"We would be honored if the Khazan Zhenjin would attend the wedding of the Champion Agatub and our sister, Huyen Tran," Lys said.
"The Khazan is grateful," Tan Po replied. "Would it be possible to meet with the Princess?"
"Tradition isolates the bride," the advisor informed them. "But she will be on the west balcony on the Afternoon of the Tiger to receive flowers. We can disguise you as tribal folk; I’m sure she will recognize you."
"We would also like to see the Cham Agatub," Tan Po requested. "To see if he is the fighter the rumors claim."
"He has a commanding physique, yet he is gentle with our sister," Lys said.
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"I'm told he stutters," Huaizong put in, hoping for a flaw.
"Not at all. He is a natural leader," the advisor stated. "He will be taking his yearly bath at the river before the Hour of the Ram."
"His yearly bath?" Huaizong and Tan Po broke into laughter, leaving the young princes looking confused as the guests backed out of the courtroom.
The PingNan River
At the banks of the PingNan, Agatub and his men were enjoying the water. Agatub rose from the river looking like a god—tall, muscular, with a friendly face. He recognized the two princes immediately. Completely nude, he invited them in. As they scrubbed with pumice, Agatub spoke.
"I know why you’re here. Tell Zhenjin I shall take care of her. I will never force myself on her. Tell him he is a lucky man to hold the love of Huyen. I will be patient. Perhaps one day she will come to me, and on that day, I will be a lucky man, too. Thank Zhenjin for the gift he so gallantly gives me. I shall cherish her."
Huaizong and Tan Po left, formally bowing to the nude, ferocious warrior as he splashed like a boy in the current.
The Balcony of Flowers
That evening, they snuck into the plaza with the tribespeople. Women and children sat stringing jasmines while the crowd chanted ragas for a marriage bed of flowers. When Huyen stepped onto the terrace, she spotted them immediately—they stood out like sore thumbs. As she reached down for gifts, it was a simple matter to slip Zhenjin’s silver ring-box into her palm.
Huyen clasped it to her heart, slipped the ring on, and tucked the box into her sleeve pocket. She whispered to Tan Po, "I will wear it forever. Tell him."
"Damn it, she still loves him," Huaizong sighed as they moved away.
"Jealousy. Thank God I'm a monk," Tan Po teased.
"What does he have that I don't?"
"Plenty. He’s more handsome and isn't an outrageous flirt," said a man beside them. It was the falconer, Guvercin, wearing a turban as always and carrying the most beautiful red roses.
"Guvercin, you devious snake," Master Po whispered. How long have you been watching us?
“I saw you come in from the mountain trail. The Madjapahit Empire no longer exists," Guvercin warned, his bushy eyebrows low. "General Durjana has taken the palace. The Queen Gitarji has escaped on a balangay. She and the Princess Rajidewi her mother Gayatri will land in Dhaka. They are on foot, hoping to get to the Imperial Highway before winter."
"Zhenjin will be headed that way," Tan Po noted.
"Durjana has sent assassins after them," Guvercin added. "He wants the Queen’s wealth and thinks marrying the Princess will force her hand."
“A damsel in distress! We must rescue the Queen!”, exclaims Huaizong
“And what about ChengDu?” TanPo reminds him.
“I’ll tell you what will happen in Chengdu, Mahintha and Dusshela will buy bolts of brocade. Dusshela must have a particular shade of blue and Mahintha is in love with a pattern. The rest will take bhang and watch that Earth and Sky merge . There’s no swash buckling there. This is the Madjapahit Queen we are talking about
"To Dhaka, then," Tan Po decided.
"To Dhaka," echoed Huaizong. "We get there before they anchor."