5 The Truth

Ming Er hearing the knocking smile, and said to our child in her belly

"My child, your father's home. Let's welcome him and hear the news from him"

She stands up from the chair and walks to the door to open it.

"MING ER! DON'T OPEN IT!! RUN! RUN AWAY FROM HERE!!"

Although I know it's futile I still scream from the top of my lungs with the hope she will eventually hear it and run away from the house. But like before, my scream seem through the deaf ears.

Ming Er put a smile before she opens the door. She always greets me with a smile every time I return from Palace Kitchen, which makes me able to forget all my tiredness and soreness from working in the kitchen. But that beautiful smile froze when she open the door and see its royal guard that stands in front of the door with an unsheathed sword on their hands. She startled and takes some back step.

"Officers, what happens? Where's my husband? Is there something wrong?"

She still tries to find out why those royal guards come to our house with such killing intent. Too bad they only listen to King order, they will not negotiate or talk with other people. When they give the order to kill, they're just killing without blinking an eye. That's why they did not answer Ming Er question, instead, a sword trusted and stab my wife's chest. Ming Er saw the sword prick her chest with widened eyes, disbelief with what she saw, she walks limply some step back which make the sword unplugged from her chest before she falls to the floor

"Ben ben…sorry…I can't…be with you …anymore"

That's the words Ming Er said with the power from the last of her breath.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

I scream and cry with all my strength I have. Ming Er, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry to make you die like this. If we can't live in this world together, let's live together in another world. I cry and calling her name beside her now a breathless body in the floor, but I don't see her soul at all.

My parents who heard the commotion in the front door also comes out, but only to get killed by those Royal Guards. After killing all my family members, they also chopped their head as proof to the King that they already finished they duty, which later, those heads showed up to the public as criminals.

With bloodshed eyes, I return to the palace. I want to know the truth behind my death. I'm sure nobody touches my cooking and put that fishbone in my cooking. Then who? Who puts that fish bone in my soup? How can that fishbone be put in my soup? What's the benefit from killing a junior cook like me to him? I return to Palace Kitchen, I believe the one who responsible for my death is still there.

Before I arrived in the Palace Kitchen, I saw senior cook Bao and Eunuch Hong talking in a quiet corner of the Palace. They talk in such secretive ways which make me want to know what they talking about.

"Bao! Your action makes some innocent people killed"

"I'm sorry your excellency Hong, that beyond my expectation. I only want your highness angry and make him kick out from Palace Kitchen"

"That bone you give to me prick your highness tongue, He's not just angry, he furious!"

"What else can I do, your excellency? The dead can't be brought to life again, besides, there's hundreds junior cook like him. Losing one or two is not a big matter for the Kingdom"

"Humph, Don't forget our agreement. When you become Kitchen Head, you must deliver to me the same dish that king eat every day. I'm tired only take a bite of those delicacies every day. And also 1 gold coin every month.

I dumbfounded. For such trivial matter, I must die? 1 gold coin is wage for the senior cook, while the head of the kitchen will get 5 gold coins each month. Junior cook like me only 50 silver which hardly enough to support me, my wife and both my parent with each person need 10 silver each month for the basic necessity. I don't want to be the head kitchen, why senior Bao so afraid if I become the senior cook. I only want a decent income when my child born, am I asking too much for that?

My sight becomes dark and I can't see anything else except darkness. I'm so sad and let this grievance shrouded me. I can't feel anything anymore and slumber in darkness.

What I don't know is one month after my death, the locust swarm invaded Shi Kingdom and wreak havoc on crops that almost harvested. This locust swarm spread into the whole area of Shi Kingdom, devastating all farming and agricultural field barely leave nothing to eat for the people. This disaster forces the Kingdom to spend half from its treasury to buy food from its neighbor kingdom. But the disaster still continues, 2 months after locust swarm, the rain that expected to come and give chance to plow and planting the land doesn't come at all, and so the next month, the next month after that which bring drought to Shi Kingdom. Many streams and small rivers become dry soil and can't give water anymore. Famines happen in all area of Shi Kingdom. Many Shi Kingdom citizens that choose to migrate to another kingdom, creating mass citizen exodus from Shi Kingdom. King Shi Lie The realize that his Kingdom facing heaven tribulation forced to give You Ben and his family proper burial to appease heaven anger. But it's all too late. The disaster is greatly weakening Shi Kingdom and invites the neighboring kingdom around Shi Kingdom to invade this powerless kingdom. Against enemy from everywhere, King Shi from his desperation chooses to end his life by suicide. Without a leader, Shi Kingdom defenseless and become easy pie for the neighboring kingdom to invade and divide its land. Less than three years, Shi Kingdom that once powerful and prosperous country, removed from the map of ancient China.