Ginginya Liu-Er
Liu-Er Ginginya (a.k.a. Six)
Ginginya Liu-Er, known to most as "Six," is Emperor Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen's assistant, bodyguard, and companion. He is also the chief eunuch in Liliakinyosa and head of the Ministry of Imperial Security and Household. His protege is Cao Qigong, known as "Seven," the assistant and bodyguard of Crown Prince Yixing-Jiumin Jinhai.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Despite the trauma he suffered when he was made a eunuch, Six is in good health. As an aide to Emperor Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen, he has access to the best food and medical care that Senyon has to offer.
Special abilities
As a bodyguard and attendant of Emperor Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen, Six is adept in many forms of martial arts, assassination, and observation.
Specialized Equipment
Six carries with him at all times, hidden in his sleeve, a dagger of the highest quality gifted to him by Emperor Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen called Sergkatjel na Azazala, the Silver Needle of Azazala.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
"Hide in here! Quickly!" His mother hissed. "Don't make a sound! Don't come out until I tell you!" Fourteen-year-old Liu-Er scrambled into the wardrobe, and his mother piled some blankets over him. The door closed and darkness enveloped him. It was stuffy and hot. He felt like he was going to suffocate. He heard shouting and thunderous pounding on the front gate of the manor. There was a crash, then screaming and crying, and the sound of swords and spears clashing. What was happening? Liu-Er was terrified. He felt guilty that he was hiding while his mother was alone out there.
The door of his room crashed open. He heard his mother scream. A man shouted at her, "On your knees! On your knees, or you will die now!" He heard her shout back, "Do you know who I am? How dare you!" The man said to her, "You are the wife of a traitor. You and your entire clan will die to the eighth generation. On your knees! Where are your children?" Liu-Er heard someone slam his mother to the ground, and she cried out in pain. The man yelled at her again, "Where are your children!?" She spit, "I don't have any children, you pig." The man laughed, "You are a liar! Two of your sons are already dead, and the men are having some fun with your pretty little daughter. I must congratulate you. She looks like quite a treat. I'm going to get to know her myself, as soon as I'm done with you. Now talk! We know your youngest son is here. Tell us where he is, and we'll go easy on you." She spat at him again and yelled, "I'll tell you nothing, you scum. Get out of my house!" The man snarled, "Very well. You've earned your fate." He heard a sword whistle through the air, then strike flesh and bone. The man yelled, "Search! Find the boy!"
The dungeon cell was dark and dank. Liu-Er lay on the floor, covered in bruises and cuts from the beating he'd been given. What happened to his family? This wasn't possible! They said his father was a traitor. How could that be? He was a marquis, a war hero! He couldn't be a traitor! A sniveling little man came with three big guards. They bound him with thick leather straps, then carried him to a room where there was a table and lots of knives. The floor was clotted in horror and maggots. The smell made him heave. They stripped him and strapped him to the table with his legs spread. The little man said, "Well, there's no use in saying otherwise. This is going to hurt, a lot. You might survive. I can't say you'll be lucky if you do." Then he started cutting. Liu-Er screamed until he couldn't scream any more. Then he passed out.
Liu-Er lay in the straw on the floor of the cell, filthy, sweating, and delirious. He didn't know nor care whether he would live or die. He was too weak and mutilated to stand. The guards brought him some water and gruel, and he tried to eat and drink, but he vomited a lot of it. He didn't even know what he was any more. He couldn't bring himself to look at what they'd done to him. It burned. His mind felt out of control. He sobbed, unable to make sense of what had happened. After maybe two weeks, his fever broke, and he started to heal. After three months, he began his training. An old eunuch brought two guards to fetch him from his cell. They hauled him to the courtyard of a manor where there were some other young eunuchs to be trained. Most were younger and much smaller than him, peasant boys sold into slavery. The old eunuch told them all to line up and kneel, forehead on the ground. He said, "You all will enter the imperial palace as slaves, lowest of the low. In the palace, you are nothing. A rat has more worth. If you complete your training properly, you will wash clothes, clean the grounds, haul bricks, whatever you are ordered to do, and you will do it without question! If you do not complete the training, you will be beaten to death, then dumped outside the city for the dogs." Liu-Er stood to his feet and said, "Sir! There has been a mistake! My father is Marquis Ginginya! I am not supposed to be here!" A guard hit him on the side of his head with a truncheon, knocking him to the ground and stunning him. The old eunuch shouted, "You are nobody, do you understand? Beat him! Beat him!" The guards laid into him with their truncheons until he was bruised, bloody, and nearly unconscious. The old eunuch spat, "We know who you are, pig. You will be sent to The Plaza of Imperial Purity. Beat him!" The guards set on him with their truncheons again. It wouldn't be the last time.
A few months later, Liu-Er was sent to The Plaza of Imperial Purity in Liliakinyosa, the imperial palace. The next day, the greasy, stunted eunuch-in-charge called him into his room, leering at him. "You certainly are a handsome boy! I am so pleased you have been given to me! Or, ah, I mean, assigned to work here. We can do some favors for each other, yes? Sometimes, I feel frustrated, and I know a boy like you can help me with that. I'm quite sure you can." Liu-Er lowered his head and replied as he had been taught, "I'm sorry, master, this lowly slave doesn't understand your words." The eunuch glowered at him. "Oh, you will. A pretty face like yours mustn't be wasted, yes? Now, go scrub the chamber pots! The chief eunuch complained yesterday that they weren't clean and threatened to beat us all if they weren't done properly. He said he will check them again tomorrow, so clean them right!" His father had taught him from an early age never to shun hard work and always do his best. Liu-Er scrubbed all of the chamber pots until they were spotless. They stank, so Liu-Er begged for some charcoal from the blacksmith and some soap from the laundry. When he was done, they were nearly like new and smelled clean. The next day, the chief eunuch came to inspect the entire Plaza of Imperial Purity. But to all the slaves' surprise and terror, the young imperial Crown Prince, Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen, was with him. One wrong word could get them all beaten to death or even beheaded. All of the eunuch slaves, except the eunuch-in-charge, knelt in the courtyard of the Plaza, their heads to the ground. When the chief eunuch inspected the chamber pots, his face lit up. "Never have the chamber pots looked and smelled as good! Her Highness the Empress will be very pleased! Tell me, who has done the cleaning?" The eunuch-in-charge of the Plaza answered, "Well, of course, several eunuchs under my direction cleaned them..." The Crown Prince shouted at him,"Silence! I have seen your previous work. It has been unsatisfactory." The eunuch-in-charge dropped to his knees and banged his forehead on the ground. The Crown Prince addressed all of the eunuchs, "Which of you cleaned these chamber pots?" Liu-Er raised his head slightly and said, trembling, "Your Majesty, this lowly slave is responsible for this inadequate work. Please have mercy. I will strive to improve." The Crown Prince said to him, "We are quite pleased. You will be rewarded. What is your name?" Liu-Er hesitated, not wanting the Crown Prince to know he was the son of a traitor, "My lowly name is too disgraceful to sully your imperial ears, Your Majesty." The Crown Prince said, "Nevertheless, I want to know. Stand up and tell me." Shaking, Liu-Er rose, his head lowered. "Your Majesty, my lowly, disgraceful name is Ginginya Liu-Er." The Crown Prince, startled, said, "What? Ginginya Liu-Er? Are you the son of Marquis Ginginya?" Liu-Er replied, tears leaking from his eyes, "Yes, Your Majesty. I am deeply ashamed to have my disgraceful countenance within your imperial sight. I beg your forgiveness." Liu-Er overheard the Crown Prince say to himself, "So, this is where she stashed you, hidden in plain sight." Then he said to the chief eunuch, "This slave has earned a better place. He will be coming with me." The chief eunuch said, "As you command, Your Majesty."
Serving in the Crown Prince's manor outside the palace eased Liu-Er's mind and body. He was treated fairly and with some dignity, and he was trained in the numerous duties he was to perform there. He began to come to terms with what had happened to his family and to himself. He was orphaned, alone, and he was a eunuch. Those were the bare facts. They couldn't be changed by his rage or weeping. Soon after, one of the maids came to his quarters and said that the Crown Prince wanted to see him. Liu-Er hastily made his way to the Crown Prince's personal quarters within the manor. When Liu-Er arrived in the Crown Prince's quarters, Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen asked, "Ginginya Liu-Er, are you getting accustomed to your duties here?" Liu-Er knelt and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. This lowly slave is eternally grateful for your imperial grace and kindness." The Crown Prince then said, "Excellent. I am glad to hear that. Liu-Er, there are some things that you deserve to and must know. First, your father and family were unfortunately caught up in a power struggle in the imperial family. The Empress Dowager knew your father was supporting me to take the throne and decided he was becoming too influential, so he had to be removed. Her court lackeys trumped up the charges against him. My imperial father, the Emperor, was forced to go along, but my imperial father and I both know that your father, the Marquis, wasn't a traitor. Second, not a word of this must ever escape your mouth. If it does, the Empress Dowager will make sure you die a horrible death, and I cannot and will not make any effort to protect you. In fact, I may have to kill you myself. Third, you are no longer Ginginya Liu-Er. You are now just Six. Do you understand?" Six answered, "Yes, Your Majesty." The Crown Prince said, "You no doubt were taught by your family, so I assume you can read and write. Can you fight?" Six said, "Yes, Your Majesty. I was trained by my fath...by my family." He stopped, knowing he shouldn't say more. The Crown Prince said, "Good. You get it. From now on, I want you to be my aide. The training will be very, very difficult. Can you do that?" Six said, "You have saved me, Your Majesty. I will follow you through oceans of fire and over mountains of blades." The Crown Prince said, "The palace is a treacherous place, Six. You just may have to."
The dungeon cell was dark and dank. Liu-Er lay on the floor, covered in bruises and cuts from the beating he'd been given. What happened to his family? This wasn't possible! They said his father was a traitor. How could that be? He was a marquis, a war hero! He couldn't be a traitor! A sniveling little man came with three big guards. They bound him with thick leather straps, then carried him to a room where there was a table and lots of knives. The floor was clotted in horror and maggots. The smell made him heave. They stripped him and strapped him to the table with his legs spread. The little man said, "Well, there's no use in saying otherwise. This is going to hurt, a lot. You might survive. I can't say you'll be lucky if you do." Then he started cutting. Liu-Er screamed until he couldn't scream any more. Then he passed out.
Liu-Er lay in the straw on the floor of the cell, filthy, sweating, and delirious. He didn't know nor care whether he would live or die. He was too weak and mutilated to stand. The guards brought him some water and gruel, and he tried to eat and drink, but he vomited a lot of it. He didn't even know what he was any more. He couldn't bring himself to look at what they'd done to him. It burned. His mind felt out of control. He sobbed, unable to make sense of what had happened. After maybe two weeks, his fever broke, and he started to heal. After three months, he began his training. An old eunuch brought two guards to fetch him from his cell. They hauled him to the courtyard of a manor where there were some other young eunuchs to be trained. Most were younger and much smaller than him, peasant boys sold into slavery. The old eunuch told them all to line up and kneel, forehead on the ground. He said, "You all will enter the imperial palace as slaves, lowest of the low. In the palace, you are nothing. A rat has more worth. If you complete your training properly, you will wash clothes, clean the grounds, haul bricks, whatever you are ordered to do, and you will do it without question! If you do not complete the training, you will be beaten to death, then dumped outside the city for the dogs." Liu-Er stood to his feet and said, "Sir! There has been a mistake! My father is Marquis Ginginya! I am not supposed to be here!" A guard hit him on the side of his head with a truncheon, knocking him to the ground and stunning him. The old eunuch shouted, "You are nobody, do you understand? Beat him! Beat him!" The guards laid into him with their truncheons until he was bruised, bloody, and nearly unconscious. The old eunuch spat, "We know who you are, pig. You will be sent to The Plaza of Imperial Purity. Beat him!" The guards set on him with their truncheons again. It wouldn't be the last time.
A few months later, Liu-Er was sent to The Plaza of Imperial Purity in Liliakinyosa, the imperial palace. The next day, the greasy, stunted eunuch-in-charge called him into his room, leering at him. "You certainly are a handsome boy! I am so pleased you have been given to me! Or, ah, I mean, assigned to work here. We can do some favors for each other, yes? Sometimes, I feel frustrated, and I know a boy like you can help me with that. I'm quite sure you can." Liu-Er lowered his head and replied as he had been taught, "I'm sorry, master, this lowly slave doesn't understand your words." The eunuch glowered at him. "Oh, you will. A pretty face like yours mustn't be wasted, yes? Now, go scrub the chamber pots! The chief eunuch complained yesterday that they weren't clean and threatened to beat us all if they weren't done properly. He said he will check them again tomorrow, so clean them right!" His father had taught him from an early age never to shun hard work and always do his best. Liu-Er scrubbed all of the chamber pots until they were spotless. They stank, so Liu-Er begged for some charcoal from the blacksmith and some soap from the laundry. When he was done, they were nearly like new and smelled clean. The next day, the chief eunuch came to inspect the entire Plaza of Imperial Purity. But to all the slaves' surprise and terror, the young imperial Crown Prince, Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen, was with him. One wrong word could get them all beaten to death or even beheaded. All of the eunuch slaves, except the eunuch-in-charge, knelt in the courtyard of the Plaza, their heads to the ground. When the chief eunuch inspected the chamber pots, his face lit up. "Never have the chamber pots looked and smelled as good! Her Highness the Empress will be very pleased! Tell me, who has done the cleaning?" The eunuch-in-charge of the Plaza answered, "Well, of course, several eunuchs under my direction cleaned them..." The Crown Prince shouted at him,"Silence! I have seen your previous work. It has been unsatisfactory." The eunuch-in-charge dropped to his knees and banged his forehead on the ground. The Crown Prince addressed all of the eunuchs, "Which of you cleaned these chamber pots?" Liu-Er raised his head slightly and said, trembling, "Your Majesty, this lowly slave is responsible for this inadequate work. Please have mercy. I will strive to improve." The Crown Prince said to him, "We are quite pleased. You will be rewarded. What is your name?" Liu-Er hesitated, not wanting the Crown Prince to know he was the son of a traitor, "My lowly name is too disgraceful to sully your imperial ears, Your Majesty." The Crown Prince said, "Nevertheless, I want to know. Stand up and tell me." Shaking, Liu-Er rose, his head lowered. "Your Majesty, my lowly, disgraceful name is Ginginya Liu-Er." The Crown Prince, startled, said, "What? Ginginya Liu-Er? Are you the son of Marquis Ginginya?" Liu-Er replied, tears leaking from his eyes, "Yes, Your Majesty. I am deeply ashamed to have my disgraceful countenance within your imperial sight. I beg your forgiveness." Liu-Er overheard the Crown Prince say to himself, "So, this is where she stashed you, hidden in plain sight." Then he said to the chief eunuch, "This slave has earned a better place. He will be coming with me." The chief eunuch said, "As you command, Your Majesty."
Serving in the Crown Prince's manor outside the palace eased Liu-Er's mind and body. He was treated fairly and with some dignity, and he was trained in the numerous duties he was to perform there. He began to come to terms with what had happened to his family and to himself. He was orphaned, alone, and he was a eunuch. Those were the bare facts. They couldn't be changed by his rage or weeping. Soon after, one of the maids came to his quarters and said that the Crown Prince wanted to see him. Liu-Er hastily made his way to the Crown Prince's personal quarters within the manor. When Liu-Er arrived in the Crown Prince's quarters, Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen asked, "Ginginya Liu-Er, are you getting accustomed to your duties here?" Liu-Er knelt and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. This lowly slave is eternally grateful for your imperial grace and kindness." The Crown Prince then said, "Excellent. I am glad to hear that. Liu-Er, there are some things that you deserve to and must know. First, your father and family were unfortunately caught up in a power struggle in the imperial family. The Empress Dowager knew your father was supporting me to take the throne and decided he was becoming too influential, so he had to be removed. Her court lackeys trumped up the charges against him. My imperial father, the Emperor, was forced to go along, but my imperial father and I both know that your father, the Marquis, wasn't a traitor. Second, not a word of this must ever escape your mouth. If it does, the Empress Dowager will make sure you die a horrible death, and I cannot and will not make any effort to protect you. In fact, I may have to kill you myself. Third, you are no longer Ginginya Liu-Er. You are now just Six. Do you understand?" Six answered, "Yes, Your Majesty." The Crown Prince said, "You no doubt were taught by your family, so I assume you can read and write. Can you fight?" Six said, "Yes, Your Majesty. I was trained by my fath...by my family." He stopped, knowing he shouldn't say more. The Crown Prince said, "Good. You get it. From now on, I want you to be my aide. The training will be very, very difficult. Can you do that?" Six said, "You have saved me, Your Majesty. I will follow you through oceans of fire and over mountains of blades." The Crown Prince said, "The palace is a treacherous place, Six. You just may have to."
Current Location
Species
Year of Birth
9122
38 Years old
Birthplace
Children
Current Residence
Sex
Male
Gender
Eunuch
Presentation
Male
Eyes
Long, oval, dark brown
Hair
Black, cut short
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Smooth, medium brown
Height
6'1" (185.5 cm)
Weight
180 lbs. (81.5 kg)
Aligned Organization
What a harrowing journey! I really like the line "the floor was clotted with horror and maggots." It's a nice graphic description. Liu really is strong to have survived so much at such a young age. I'm curious why the Dowager didn't kill him, especially after what the guard said to his mother. (Does this mean his siblings are alive as well?) I hope we get to learn more about the adventures he and the prince go on.
I've been a student of Chinese culture and history for many years, and actually speak some Mandarin (though I would never claim to be fluent). There's a fair amount of Chinese history as background to this article, and I would have included more in the article that might have made some things more clear, but I was running up against the 2000 word limit. As it was, I had to edit it down a fair amount, which was a little frustrating, as it left some gaps in the story. On the other hand, I tend to get pretty verbose when I write sometimes, so the limit forces me to tighten my writing up. To answer your specific question: historically, the sentence for traitors in China was for them to be killed (usually horrifically) as well as their entire family (the "to the eighth generation" thing was actually what they did for the worst crimes), except that children under 16 years old were spared and sold into slavery. The boys were castrated. Liu-Er's brothers are dead, as they were older, and they fought the Dowager's people that invaded the family's manor. I watch a lot of Chinese television palace dramas, and I tried to give the article a little of the flavor of some of the scenes in some of those dramas. I'm nowhere nearly as good as the scriptwriters, though. Some of them are really incredible. Anyway, thanks for reading and commenting! I appreciate your feedback a lot. I definitely want to write more about Six and Emperor Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen. Royal palaces are great settings for interesting stories! Have you submitted a character for this contest?
Okay, that makes sense. I thought it might have been something along the lines of his age. That's nice that you put so much thought and research into it as well. I'm working on my character still, but she'll turn up soon enough! I look forward to hearing more about Six and his emperor!