Gift of the Fox

Chapter 50: The Quest of Wang Wu

While Beilangshen, his viziers, and his troops were still away in Qartland, his brothers - Wu, Hu, and Jong - ruled the empire together. They followed the eldest brother's guidance but did not shed much blood like he used to - Wu preferred to punish noblemen by simply gathering them on a council and poisoning them with snakes, while Hu punished the wrongdoers by throwing them to the wild tigers for lunch. Jong did not participate in punishments as he was against bloodshed whatsoever. Instead, he was occupied with sealing small orders they needed to issue while the emperor was gone. So, once, he called his brother Wu on a very important matter:

"Big brother, I think you might want to read this."

It, of course, made Wu much intrigued. He grabbed the scroll his little brother had handed out to him and ran through the lines.

"A revolution broke out in Frankheim?!" he was shocked - in Frankheim, where just a few decades ago, reigned King Louis le Soleil, a revolution had occurred, and most of the noblemen were decapitated? "Goodness... Such dreadful news!"

"Yeah... Ming's got it from the city. It is fresh news." Jong sighed. "But look at the bottom. There are the surnames of the people who were decapitated and those who were thrown into prison."

Wu shuddered as he guessed his brother was hinting at something. He quickly cast his eyes onto the bottom left of the scroll, only to grow more bewildered - Lord De La Fer under the imprisoned lords' list!

"No! Lord De La Fer... you don't mean, her father?!" he clutched the scroll and ran out of the hall, into his room. "Lizette!"

Liz was sitting on her bed, writing lyrics for her new song. Once she heard her husband's call, she gave him a questioning gaze:

"Yes?"

"Lizette, look at this!"

Wu gave her the scroll with a troubled face. Liz glanced through it with surprise, but once she got to the bottom left part, she gasped in horror and put a hand to her mouth:

"Oh, my God!"

"Liz, I'll do anything to help your family. Just tell me what to do!"

"Wu, if my father got imprisoned, what happened to my mother, Lady Schettner?!" Liz shed tears in worry and fear, "I must travel to Frankheim! I must find my mother and bring her here before they've reached her! Those rebellious peasants won't stop until they kill most of the noblemen! It looks like King Louis le Soleil's reign was too harsh and unbearable for them..."

Here, Wu understood why his brother was a genius:

King Louis le Soleil fed the already wealthy noblemen and had them as his strength, while my brother feeds the poor - the multitude of the empire - and thus gains their trust. It is easier to fight noblemen who are already few than to fight the people who are the root of the country...

So, that was why Beilangshen fought the noblemen so ruthlessly and was so gracious towards the people - he knew where the true strength of the country lay.

He awoke from his thoughts and grabbed Liz's hand, squeezing it with love and determination:

"I'll do everything for you, Liz! We shall travel to Frankheim together."

"What? You can't! You were assigned as a leader of the country by the emperor while he's away. You must stay here or you'll be defying his orders!"

"It is of no importance now!" Wu frowned. "My two brothers can handle the task well. I shall come with you. Now the top priority is to find your mother and bring her here where it's safe."

"But, what if Wolf Emperor gets angry?" Liz got worried. She knew too well how pitiless Shao could be when enraged.

"Trust me, Liz. I'll handle it." Wu beamed at her. "I will beg him for forgiveness, but later, when your mother is safe. Please, let me help you!"

Seeing such devotion from her beloved husband's part, tiny tears streamed down Liz's cheeks - the tears of gratitude.

"Oh, Wu..." 

She sniffed and cuddled with his robust chest. She felt the young man's arms embrace her, and his soft kiss land on her head:

"We'll save your mother, Liz, you'll see..."

On that day, Wu discussed the matter with Hu and Jong, left the empire in their hands, mounted his red-to-brown horse, and, together with his wife Liz, who had mounted her grey steed, rushed out of the palace, accompanied by a small army of guards. They headed to the west, towards Frankheim.