The Last Dahlia

027

By daybreak the next morning, news of the regency had spread across the entire kingdom of Hwa, with the king's decree plastered on every notice board. Within the palace, the royal court was up in arms at the proclamation. The ministers and officials had all gathered in the grand hall, engaging in irate discussion about the king's seemingly illogical decision.

"Has he gone out of his mind?" one of the ministers exclaimed, his rotund face flushed from agitation. "Maybe he is too ill to think straight. How could he name the princess as regent of the kingdom!"

A murmur of agreement went around the hall, with many heads nodding in response to what had just been said. No one had seen the princess in over three years, since she had mysteriously taken ill and was confined to her chambers, and even before that, her public appearances were far and few between. Hardly anyone in the royal court could still remember what she looked like, much less what sort of a person she was. Up till this morning, many had even forgotten that the king even had this sister. In short, it was ridiculous that the king had even considered leaving the kingdom in the hands of a frail, sickly girl.

"The king must be getting desperate. The crown prince is still a child, he's even less likely to be able to take over the throne," another said, his brows tightly knitted with worry.

"That is no excuse for putting the kingdom in the hands of a girl! The prime minister is in a much better position to be the regent, isn't that right? The king has always depended greatly on him."

The prime minister, a wizened old man by the name of Jing Bohan, was standing silently near the front of the hall, listening but not participating in the animated conversations going on around him. Already in his sixties, he had served under three kings and was the most senior member of the royal court, although his star had only begun to rise when the current king inherited the throne. It was a well-known fact that the kingdom of Hwa was built on horseback, and the generals of the army had always been held in a revered position compared to the scholars in the royal court. It wasn't until the gentle and bookish young crown prince became king did the balance of power in the court begin to shift. Now, in times of peace, the prime minister and his faction had overturned the long-standing order, rising in influence to rival the generals of the Hwa army.

Hidden behind an elegant set of blinds made from bamboo slats, the newly appointed regent observed the prime minister in amusement. If he had been surprised with the king's sudden decree, his expression betrayed no sign of it.

"Exactly!" one of the officials echoed. "Prime Minister Jing deserves the position much more than the princess. What does she know about running a kingdom! When word of this gets out, the other kingdoms will be sending their armies our way and the end of Hwa will be near. Jin fell to Gi precisely because its ruler was weak!"

"Surely they wouldn't do that? We have the strongest army of all the kingdoms. Anyone would need to think twice before launching an attack on our borders."

"Where is General Han, why isn't he here yet?"

Heads began turning left and right, searching for any sign of the commanding general of the Hwa army. Like the prime minister, General Han was a long-serving member of the royal court and besides the king, he was the only one who had been given the right to command all the armies of Hwa. This was the one thing the prime minister would never have, and because of that there existed the uneasy tension between the two men.

"Even General Han opposes the appointment of the regent!" someone shouted. "That must be why he isn't even here this morning." All ministers, minor officials and generals of the army were supposed to attend court daily, but other than the commander of the city and palace guards, none of the other generals were present.