"Aha! The Princess of the Sung Emperor?"
"Yes, and the princess who once made the thai-ciangkun amazed when the ciangkun visited the palace," added Ciang Sun Hok.
"Quickly bring her in here!" the grand commander ordered, his heart intrigued.
Hearing that the woman was the Princess of the Sung Emperor, the matter certainly took a different turn. When the princess was brought in and stood with her head bowed in front of him, he smiled broadly, and his handsome face lit up. He remembered the princess who was skilled in dance, and when he visited the Sung Emperor's Palace and was treated to this princess's dance, he was utterly infatuated, but helpless because the dancer was the Emperor's daughter! And now, it turned out that Prime Minister Jin could send the princess who once made him crazed to him, even present her to him! "Ah, the princess who is skilled in dance!" he said while looking at her with admiration.
Sung Hiang Bwee lifted her face and looked at the commander with furrowed brows.
"If you already knew that I am the Emperor's daughter, quickly send me back if you don't want the Emperor's anger directed at you!"
The grand commander just laughed and ordered several maids to take the princess into his mansion. Hiang Bwee was then escorted by several maids inside, each holding her arms from both sides.
Now the commander's face brightened, seemingly forgetting about the death of his beloved assistant, Hak Bu Cu.
Si Muka Tengkorak, who was seeking praise, reported that he also captured a key rebel leader because that young man was very skillful and a prominent figure of the Kun-lun-pai sect.
"Hmmm, Kun-lun-pai dares to openly oppose us? Bring him in!"
Souw Cun Ki was dragged in, shackled. He stood upright in front of Commander Wu Chu and only kneeled after Si Muka Tengkorak kicked the back of his knees.
"Is it true that you are a figure from Kun-lun-pai?" asked Commander Wu Chu while looking at that handsome face. "What's your name and who instructed you to resist Kin's Kingdom?"
"I am indeed a Kun-lun-pai disciple named Souw Cun Ki, but my resistance against Kin's invader is not on anyone's orders, but my own will! If you want to punish me, go ahead, I am not afraid of death!"
"Hmm, we don't believe that Kun-lun-pai is openly opposing us! If that's the case, we will send troops to exterminate Kun-lun-pai! Guards, put him in jail while we investigate whether Kun-lun-pai truly opposes us!"
Four guards stepped forward and dragged Cun Ki to be taken and put in jail. After that, Commander Wu Chu entertained Ciang Sun Hok as the envoy of Prime Minister Jin Kui while discussing the situation in the Sung Kingdom.
"Please don't worry, thai-ciangkun. Jin-taijin is doing his best to destroy those rebels, and we believe we will be able to capture the murderer of Hak Bu Chu," said Ciang Sun Hok during their feast.
"I trust that and express my gratitude to Jin-taijin for sending the princess." Wu Chu said joyfully imagining how he would be served by a pure princess, even a princess from the Sung Emperor.
A tremendous honor! Even his own king did not receive such honor!
But, how disappointed the heart of Grand Commander Wu Chu was. When he entered the room of Sung Wang Bwee that night, the princess did not want to receive him well at all, let alone serve him. The princess even scolded him as a shameless person. "You used to be the Emperor's guest and were received with full honor. Who knew you were only a lowly man, a big coward who had people kidnap me. Do not approach me. If you touch my body, I will kill myself!"
Grand Commander Wu Chu was a man. So far, almost every woman hoped to become his concubine. He was a powerful figure in the Kin Kingdom, the second person after the king. He was gallant and generous, so no woman would refuse him.
Now, in front of Princess Sung Hiang Bwee, he was even scolded! He was not a man who liked to force or rape women. So, of course, he became extremely angry because he felt insulted.
"Take her to jail! Throw her into a cell until she is willing to serve me!" he shouted angrily after his attempts to coax her, both softly and harshly, failed to win her over.
The guards then led Hiang Bwee into jail. Apparently, the commander wanted to sow discord so the princess and the Kun-lun-pai person could talk about the secrets of the rebellion, so he ordered the princess's cell to be adjacent to Souw Cun Ki's cell so they could talk through the gaps in the steel bars that separated them.
When she saw her helper in the next room, Hiang Bwee's heart was somewhat comforted, and she quickly approached and grabbed the steel bars while looking into the next room. Souw Cun Ki was surprised and perplexed to see the princess put into the prison cell next to his.
"Eh, why are you also imprisoned, Miss?" he said, and in such a situation, he forgot about the etiquette of speaking and behaving towards the emperor's princess! Hiang Bwee also didn't mind the young man calling her 'miss' and reaching out to him.
"I refused his damned will and he got angry, so I was imprisoned!" she answered. "Let me be killed, I will not surrender to him!"
Cun Ki looked at her in awe. He was amazed to see an emperor's daughter be so firm in facing such cornering difficulties.
"Ah, you are courageous, miss. I truly admire and respect you."
"But you, Souw-enghiong. For helping me, you yourself ended up getting caught and your life is threatened."
"I'm not afraid of death, miss. Dying in a fight is an honor for me. Death means nothing to me, but I am very concerned about you, miss... You are threatened with great danger, even possibly death." The girl smiled! Cun Ki almost couldn't believe his own eyes. In such a situation, the girl could still smile so sweetly.
"In terms of bravery in facing death, you are not alone, enghiong. I myself am not afraid of death if my honor is threatened. I value honor more than death."
"Miss... you... you are a noble and wise woman, I admire you very much!" said Cun Ki with a touched voice.
Commander Wu Chu was furious when he heard the report from the guard about their conversation and ordered the continued detention of both of them.
0oo-dw-oo0
The palace was in uproar again the next day when the emperor heard reports from the guards and maids. Princess Sung Hiang Bwee was kidnapped again by a man in a black mask! The emperor then called all the ministers and commanders and ordered them all to find the princess and punish her kidnapper with the heaviest punishment.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. In my opinion, the kidnapper must be the young man named Tan Tiong Li."
The emperor furrowed his brow. "Ah, that doesn't make sense! The young man is the one who helped her from her first kidnapper. How can you now accuse him of being the kidnapper?"
"With precise calculation, Your Majesty. According to the results of the investigators' reports, there was a relationship between that young man and the princess since he helped her. And considering that the young man recently joined the Gak Liu rebels, even causing the death of my son, I am certain that he is the kidnapper! Not a kidnapper, but already in league with the princess who wanted to escape from the palace to be with that young man!"
"Jin Kui, if you turn out to be making an untrue allegation, we can be very angry with you!" the emperor scolded.
"But what if I am telling the truth, Your Majesty? If the young man can be caught, surely the princess's whereabouts can be found."
"Then catch him!"
"But, previously you promised him a position, now without your arrest order, how can I execute it?"
Glossary
Thai-ciangkun: An honorific term for a high-ranking person, often used in martial arts societies.
Ciangkun: A respectful term used to address a leader or elder in martial arts societies.
Si Muka Tengkorak: Literally translates to "Skull Face," a nickname for a character in the story, probably due to his physical appearance or attributes.
Kun-lun-pai: The name of a martial arts sect in the story.
Hak Bu Cu: The name of a character in the story, possibly holding a significant role as the favorite assistant of the commander.
Commander Wu Chu: A character in the story, he is a high-ranking military officer.
Emperor's Princess (Puteri Kaisar): The daughter of the Sung Emperor, a key character in the story.
Prime Minister Jin Kui: A character in the story, he holds a significant political position as a Prime Minister.
Jin-taijin: An honorific term used to address or refer to a respected person.
Gak Liu rebels: A rebel group in the story.
Souw-enghiong & Souw Cun Ki: Names of a character in the story, possibly a martial artist from the Kun-lun-pai sect.