Fate's Attendant 1.15

The punishment of the gambling ring cast a pall over the house. Everyone knew a person affected by it. A noble house was like a small war camp—from maids to gardeners to guards, one couldn’t help getting into the other’s business.

When Hong Fei stopped by the main kitchen for lunch, the bowl was the same size, but the amount of meat in it had been halved. The young girl serving him looked down as if embarrassed. She started to reach for the ladle again, but stopped herself.

“It’s all right,” he whispered so only she’d hear him. “I understand.”

He tried not to see the grateful look she gave him afterward. Instead, he noted the glares from her seniors in the kitchen. They were no doubt friends or acquaintances of the punished soldiers.

Hong Fei carried the bowl back to his courtyard. Auntie Ling appeared as soon as he set it down on the bench under the cherry tree. She nosed the contents, while he told her about the consequences of his “successful” investigation.

The sinking feeling in his stomach wouldn’t go away. He’d made a right hash of things, all because he’d refused to place himself under Chen Wenbin. It’s the steppes all over again, he thought.

###

The next morning, the duchess sighed at him as soon as he appeared before her. The two of them were alone that day, the steward occupied with the discipline’s aftermath.

“When you told me you’d unite the soldiers of our house, I did not expect you to turn yourself into the villain from a storybook.” The duchess clutched a handkerchief in one hand and gestured with it as she spoke. “You’ve certainly succeeded.”

“The xiàowèi is jealous of the duke’s attention. Is there a way he may be brought into our councils?” Hong Fei asked, the question tentative. He was mindful of the black 3 above Chen Wenbin’s head. Its meaning was still unknown.

“I dare not,” the duchess replied and set her hand down on the blanket. “The only reason I brought you into my confidence… well, you’ll think me foolish.”

“It wasn’t the duke’s high esteem of the Hongs?” he asked, his brows furrowing.

“That was part of the reason,” Yu Hui replied, “but not the entirety of it. You know that our steward is devotee of Sanzu?”

“The goddess of the sea, yes.”

“And also of motherhood and children,” Yu Hui clarified. “At least here on Wild Green Island. You might see how it would be so given how many families depend on the sea for their livelihoods.”

Hong Fe recalled that there’d been an icon of Sanzu in the junk he’d taken from the mainland to the island. He nodded to show his understanding.

“I had Zhang Dehua go to the main temple and ask for a divination.” The duchess looked away as if embarrassed.

“And that led to me joining the house?” Hong Fei asked, incredulous. “A decision so important…”

“I said you’d think me a fool.” She gripped the handkerchief tight and pressed both fists onto the blanket, holding them down. “And I am, a desperate one.”

“What did the divination indicate?” Hong Fei asked, curious now.

“A great storm at sea with all sailors in danger of being lost.” Yu Hui looked up to meet his eyes. “Except for a single ray of light, a break in the clouds that promises respite.”

“That’s awfully general…” he began.

She interrupted him. “A ray in the shape of a sword.”

Hong Fei shut his mouth, and the duchess took gratification in it.

At the time, she’d struggled to understand the meaning behind the divination. That was, until Fortune’s Favor came to her door. The irony was laughable. The emperor’s gift signaled the family’s salvation from troubles caused by another of the emperor’s gifts.

Surely, Hong Fei saw the situation similarly. The furrows on his brow deepened as he gazed down at the sword by his side.

“So here we are,” Yu Hui said. “At sea and awaiting the storm.”

“That is a great deal to put on one man,” Hong Fei replied.

“I told you before—I’ll do anything to save my family. If that means heaping a mountain onto your back, so be it.” The words weren’t said unkindly, but there was iron under their softness.

Hong Fei took a long breath, then cupped his hands and saluted. “I understand.”

“I know you do,” the duchess replied. Her strength was fading, and she didn’t want the dūtóu to witness her collapse. “You’re dismissed.”

He nodded briskly and left, just like the soldier he was.

###

Hong Fei paced his courtyard, sweating and not because of the weather. The damp, awful heat of summer was still a goodly number of days away, and the clouds above continued to shade the windward side of the island.

What the duchess demanded of him was impossible, and yet he was honorably bound to attempt it. Retreat was an option now that he was healthy, but where would go? One of the mercenary companies? To go live in one of the barbarian nations? Those would’ve been unheard of choices at one time, but now seemed to be almost reasonable.

If he had a horse and could go riding, he’d be able to think more clearly.

Auntie Ling watched Hong Fei stride a triangle from the salon to the storerooms to the empty servants’ quarters and back to the salon to repeat the pattern. He looked desperate, which to her seemed to happen too often when people—human people—talked to each other. And the more they talked, the more upset they became.

Should she nudge him toward the training sword? He would wear himself out doing something useful, then.

She huffed a sigh and let go of the idea when a light rain began to fall. Training in the courtyard didn’t sound so appealing now. She moved into the salon for cover.

The rain thickened not long after, like a bucket spilled from the sky. Hong Fei walked heedless through it and quickly became drenched.

When Auntie Ling gestured for him to join her, he simply shook his head. Whatever he was thinking, it was apparently more important than the rain.

###

Later that afternoon, a freshly toweled Hong Fei went to Zhang Dehua to ask about the Yu grandchildren. The youths hadn’t attended his lectures since the disciplinary action two days prior.

The steward looked up from the papers on his desk and told him, “Chen Wenbin is putting them through a special course of instruction that is taking up all their time. You shouldn’t expect to see them for another four or five days.”

Hong Fei made himself take a breath. “I see.”

“I hope you do,” Zhang Dehua said dryly.

The xiàowèi was solidifying his grasp on the house, which became all too clear after Hong Fei left the steward’s office.

A maid smiled politely at a joke made by the dūtóu, then bowed before returning to work, ignoring him standing at the door.

The gardener, Li Chun who’d had him sniff dirt, listened to Hong Fei talk about the life soldiers shared in common, but didn’t say anything about his own experiences. As soon as the dūtóu let him, he bent down to focus on the indoor potted plants he was tending.

Ma Zhi snubbed him entirely as they passed each other in a corridor. The number over her head had increased from 6 to 8. Could it be a coincidence that it had happened after the ring’s punishment? Hong Fei’s gut told him the answer to that question was no, though he still didn’t have enough information to understand what the change signified.

A member of the day patrol stopped when Hong Fei called out to him, then inquired if the dūtóu had orders for him. “If not, then I have my duties to attend to, sir. I wouldn’t want to shirk them now, would I?”

If Mei Hua had been present, she would’ve called Hong Fei a crow for certain. He glowered mightily as strode away.

###

When Hong Fei was ten-years old, his older brother Hong Ren was seventeen. That year, he’d served a six-month apprenticeship under their father and come back a font of soldierly wisdom. That had also been the year of Little Fei’s disastrous duel with Duke Yu.

In the immediate aftermath, Hong Ren found his younger brother hiding in a closet meant for winter linens. The boy had stuffed himself between two of the thick woolen blankets.

Doing his best to control his grin, Hong Ren noted, “That was bravely fought.”

Little Fei squirmed deeper into his hidey hole. “No, it wasn’t. The duke was humoring me!”

Hong Ren nodded, since the truth had been plain to see for everyone watching the duel. “Duke Yu is your senior by several decades. Was the result really in question?”

Now, that lit a fire in Little Fei’s eyes. The brat burrowed out from between the blankets to glare. “I can beat you in a duel. Isn’t the duke just a bigger version?”

“Is our father a larger version of me? Would you expect to best him, sword against sword?”

“No!” Little Fei protested. “No one can beat father.”

Hong Ren hesitated, but refused to protect his brother’s innocence. “Ever?” he challenged. “Your sword path is still incomplete now, but what about the future? Can you say you’ll never catch up?”

“No, because father’s sword path will continue, too.” Little Fei replied, angrily.

Hong Ren sighed and shook his head. His younger brother was the stubbornest in a stubborn family. “I’m trying to tell you that father won against the duke in a duel, so that when you one day win against father, you can say you also won against the duke, too.”

“What? Father fought Duke Yu in a duel?”

Hong Ren let his grin loose to spread across his face. “He did, and the duke held back his cultivation, so that it was purely a contest of skill with the blade.”

The young boy put his head in his hands in genuine anguish. “I didn’t see it. I didn’t see how to win.”

“If you’d stayed, you would’ve,” Hong Ren mercilessly pointed out.

“How? I was so ashamed. I’d blundered so badly.”

Little Fei moped, but instead of bringing out the switch, his older brother sighed. “We all blunder eventually,” he said. “You know that.”

“I do, but I hate it. Hate it so much.” Little Fei’s fists clenched as he’d spoke, then he realized that there was a witness to his father’s duel in front of him. Cautiously, he asked. “What do you want?”

“For what?” Hong Ren asked, feigning ignorance.

“To tell me about the duel I missed.”

Hong Ren scratched his chin in thought. “About that… let me think. I know you won’t concede to me in a match.” His eyes widened as if in sudden realization. “How about a favor?”

Little Fei’s eyes narrowed. “A small one.”

“Oh no,” Hong Ren said. “A favor should match the size of the request, and you want to know about the duel so badly. You made a mistake in letting me know how much.” He tapped his brother on the cheek. “It’ll be a big favor, and I can call on you for it at any time, or there’ll be no deal.”

Wariness of his older brother’s treachery warred with Hong Fei’s terrible desire to learn more. “All right! You have a deal.” He swung his legs out from the closet and stood to face Hong Ren fully. That way, the older boy could demonstrate what he’d seen. “Tell me quick, how did father win against the duke?”

The older boy got into his own ready stance. “I’ll play father, and you’ll play the duke.”

“But I want to be father.”

“You’re the duke, or it’s no deal.”

“Fine,” Little Fei said grudgingly.

Before they could begin, however, Hong Ren paused. He considered himself and his younger brother, and a hint of the experiences he’d had during his apprenticeship came forward.

He licked his lips, as he stepped closer to place his hand on Little Fei’s shoulder. “Let me…”  He thought a moment. “Let me explain the strategy first, so that you know what to look for in the fight.”

His younger brother stared at him in confusion, then shrugged. As long as he got to learn about the duel, that was all that mattered.

Hong Ren said, “When faced with an obstacle too difficult to overcome, go around it. Don’t challenge the enemy’s strength head on; find another path to victory based on your own strength.”

Little Fei’s confusion only deepened. “Isn’t that the way of the wood element?”

“It is,” Hong Ren confirmed, “but we must remind ourselves of this principle whenever we can.”

###

Hong Fei remembered the details of his brother’s demonstration clearly, even twenty-three years later. More importantly, he recalled the words Hong Ren had shared.

There were several ways by which Hong Fei could build on his strengths and change how people thought of him. Perhaps a brief trip to the forest was in order, and the low city, as well.

----- 

ToC | Next Chapter >

Characters Mentioned this Chapter 

• Chen Wenbin, the commander of Duke Yu's troops at the estate

•  Li Chun, a servant of the Yu family

• Ma Mo, a Yu soldier, Ma Zhi’s cousin 

• Ma Zhi, a Yu shízhǎng 

• Mei Hua, Yu Ning's companion 

• Yu Hui, the duchess 

• Zhang Dehua, the Yu steward