"May I, Your Majesty?" the diplomat asked for permission.
"Go ahead," the king returned.
The diplomat bowed to show gratitude. She then stepped to the middle of the court and faced Ma La. She was old and frail, having to rely on a cane to move around. After getting permission from the king, she sat down on a wooden wheelchair to face Ly's chancellor.
"Sa's diplomat official, Dao Phong," she greeted. Her voice was so clear and full of life, the complete opposite of her outside appearance.
"Ma La, chancellor of Ly," he returned. He smiled at Dao Phong and quickly glanced over the court room. He commented, "It seems like I shouldn't be at ease for any second. Even an old senior here that looked peaceful at first turns out to have a fierce spirit of a warrior."
"Ha ha…" Dao Phong gently chuckled. "You are being too humble, chancellor. If there's anyone worthy of having a fierce spirit. Wouldn't it be you?"
Ma La raised his eyebrows. "Why do you say that?" he curiously asked.
The diplomat locked her eyes on Ma La's, her gaze as if trying to pierce through his soul to see what truly was hiding inside that mortal body. But in an instant, her expression relaxed, and she gave a friendly smile. "I must be too old. Please don't mind an old person rambling."
"You shouldn't belittle yourself, senior Dao Phong. His Majesty has his trust on you," Ma La returned with his own smile. At that moment, I realized that to these people who control nations, their words are swords, praises are attacks, and smiles are shields.
Dao Phong nodded slightly and moved on. "Chancellor, we appreciate your thoughtfulness in wanting to clarify potential misunderstandings. Since you have openly stated that we can ask questions, I must question what the attack on the capital last month was about.
I have to be honest, many of our officials were already against signing the temporary peace treaty prior to the massacre. But after this disaster, there are even more bad sentiments growing against the Ly in many officials and our people. You must be feeling the unfriendly gazes surrounding you at the moment." Then her voice became fierce, full of murderous intent, something any politician would be hiding.
"There were twenty thousands of civilian and refugees waiting outside the capital for entrance. And after the attack, there was less than one hundred that were alive. We demand to hear a reasonable explanation from Ly!" At the end of it, she was practically shouting right to the face of Ma La, the person that was only under the king of Ly.
"Ah yes, about that incident," Ma La spoke with such relax in his demeanor. In a sudden shift, he lowered his head. "There is no excuse that would reasonably explain the attack on Sa's capital recently." his sudden shift to seriousness surprised everyone. "The two countries have signed the treaty, and yet, one of our generals couldn't come to settle with the agreement. His heart was blinded from losing the lives of his father and brothers to Sa, so he made the unforgivable decision of attacking Sa's capital that shocked all of us when we got the news. By the time we sent his superior, Great General Ly Va, to stop him, it was already too late," Ma explained with tears flowing down his face. "I couldn't imagine how painful it is to have twenty thousand of your citizens killed…"
"Massacre!" Dao Phong cut him. "A barbaric, psychotic massacre that discriminate no one. Women, children, even the elderly, none of them were spared from your cold blades." She recounted the tragedy.
Ma La lifted his face as if he didn't expect his heartfelt speech to be disrupted. "When I first heard about the attack, I rushed to the capital's gate. But by the time I was there, it was already dead silent. Even before the guards opened the gates, blood was already seeping into the capital. They were inches deep." Slowly, Dao Phong rolled her wheelchair closer and closer to Ma La, who was kneeling and weeping on the floor. "When the gates opened, bodies were stacked on one another so high that I couldn't see the horizon anymore. So chancellor Ma La, please rephrase your last sentence!"
The look on Ma La was a mixture of shock, discomfort, and admiration all at the same time. The tears were long gone already. It was as if that was the first time where he was cornered, leaving no gap to argue his way out. "I appologize. Please understand that I was not trying to belittle what happened." he had to give in. "I couldn't imagine how painful it is to have twenty thousand of your citizens… massacre."
Dao Phong, who was just inches away from Ma La, seeing her winning the exchanges so far, leaned in close to whisper. I guess no one else in the court beside the two of them could hear what she said. But since I was underneath the floor, I was able to silently move close and listen.
"Chancellor is too well at hiding yourself to the point that even you are not allowed to find yourself," she spoke as though she had seen him through.
…
But unbeknownst to her, the moment her body leaned close, she unknowingly covered his eyes from the king and officials. Ma La gave the most insidious smile and soul-crushing look through her. "Little diplomat, do you think you've seen me?" he whispered as if the devil was speaking. I immediately started shivering and turned away from fear. I couldn't see it, but Dao Phong must feel similar to me, too. Because the next thing I heard was her falling out of the wheelchair.
There was yelling and chaos from the court upon seeing what had just happened. Officials left their seats and ran to check on Dao Phong, one after the next, causing a big chaos inside the royal court. Royal doctors rushed in to check on her.
After some time, they shook their heads and announced, "Diplomat Dao Phong… has passed away!"
I had to force myself to look up, to see what would come next. And the thing I saw made me wish to never beg princess Sa Mi to be here.
Ma La… was mourning.