Two Moons Later ...

Wuying practiced his forms as he usually did in the mornings. And was pleased to find that the blade was working smoothly in his hands. It suited him better than he had expected, to tell the truth. And it fitted his hand much better than any of the practice blades that he had used this far. Of course, the weapon was refitted with a new scabbard in the more modern style, that allowed him to wear it on an attached, military styled belt.

His day at the Manor had settled into a rather single-minded routine, after his meeting with Major Duan Jiu. He would wake at dawn and work on his swordplay at once. Then, one of the Uncles would stop by and guide him through some of the other physical skills that he would need, including other weaponry. Then he would spend a little time in the stables and with the horses, so that he could learn to handle them too. There was a clever young man, a Luli Ping, who was an absolute genius with the mounts, and he picked up a lot from him.

Then it would be more drills and he would settle down to a chess or checkers game by the late afternoon. Just to keep his wits sharp, the Uncles had said. But honestly, he thought it was no more than an excuse to push him around the chessboard. He had never won a game in all those moons. Although, he had to admit, the Uncles did make the game a lot of fun. And he did learn a lot from them, especially about enemy strategies.

And from time to time, he would be called to the kennels, to deal with the estate's dogs. There were a good number of hunters and such on the estate, and Uncle Fu had told him that the Shadows - the enemy at White Tiger Gate, were likely to take on the shape of dogs and wolves, as well as other creatures. Finding out their limits and common reactions would help him gain an edge over the enemy.

But honestly, he spent most of his time training with his new sword.

Not that it had any mysteries about it, apart from its name. The weapon's steel had turned black, and no amount of polish seemed to counteract that! Not that Wuying cared too much about that. He had less than a half year left to prepare for the examinations, and there was still a lot that he had to learn.

With such a schedule, it was hardly any surprise that he didn't have very much time to worry about what was going on with Little Peach.

She was supposedly recovering from her deliberately re-broken leg by then. It had been almost a season, since the Physician took that drastic step, and he had been receiving the odd report from Master Yue Ling about her recovery. But he would have liked to be able to see her, all the same. But between his schedule and her own therapy, there just didn't seem to be any time.

To be honest, he had the belief that she was avoiding him. As though she was afraid that he would insist that they head home, and out of Yue Manor the moment that she was fit to travel. To be honest, he was a little reluctant to leave as well. He was surrounded by all these uncles - veterans from the various services of the armed forces of the Kingdom! And he was learning a great deal from them, day after day. He didn't want to leave either, to tell the truth!

But it was a little overstepping the hospitality of the Manor, staying on for so long. And he was a little worried about how things would look, if Xiao Tao insisted on staying on at the women's wing. He trusted Master Ling completely, but it would look a little bad for the family if it happened.

The sudden noise of raised voices in the outer yard penetrated his haze just then, and Wuying looked up to see servants rushing along the corridors around him, giving him a start. This was the first time that he had seen the people in the estate in anything resembling an uproar. Or any flurry of activity at all! What had happened?

As it turned out, he did not have to wait too long to find out: two of the 'uncles' that had taken charge of his training soon came bustling over to the inner yard, clearly to speak to him.

"Uncle Fu. Uncle Ling. This one greets you both," Wuying dropped into a polite bow as soon as he saw the pair coming towards him. It was a little odd to be seeing them both there. This was usually when the pair would be engaged in a game of war chess in the lower gardens. What happened to bring them both back up to the manor? Did it have something to do with all the unexpected activity that he saw earlier?

The two old men grinned at him as he straightened up. And they moved to pick up the clothes and the other items that he had left on one of the stone tables. "Ah! I see that you have yet to be informed. Baisheng is coming home for a visit. And he mentioned that he is bringing his old friend the merchant, along with his young nephew, from the capital too. For the Autumn Festival," Uncle Ling told him, as Uncle helped him to shrug into his coat, "You had better clean up and get ready to greet them."

"Oh! That is great news!"

It certainly explained all of the activity that he saw all morning. "When will he get here?" he asked at once. He will need some time to clean up and get ready.

Uncle Fu laughed at that. "Ah. I believe that has already reached the Outer Gate. It seems everyone had expected Ling er to let you know. But I suppose ... Well, there are too many details for the day's events, I'm certain, that has caused ... Suffice to say that Ling er forgot!"

"But that leaves you in a dilemma. You see, you don't have much time to get ready now," Uncle Ling chuckled at the look of surprise that crossed his face, "Best that you take the time to change out of your practice clothes at least. But take care to bring along that new sword of yours! I'm sure that Baisheng will be interested to learn just how much you have improved! That boy tends to be a little single-minded."

Wuying felt a wave of anxiety crash into him then. But he had gotten a little used to it, after the last few shocks he had received, living there in the manor. It certainly seemed like another one of Yue Ling's little jokes. So he bowed quickly to the pair and made his retreat back to his room to change. He didn't have much time to ready himself, to be honest. Not with Baisheng already at the Manor Gates. But he was more concerned about that the tall man would say, once he learned that Wuying had already been a guest at his house for more than three moons!

In any case, he couldn't afford any mistakes now!

So off he hurried, to maybe to wash up a little, and get changed. And to retrieve that new sword that Ling er had given him, in place of the one that he had received from the older brother. He would have to explain himself there, if Yue Ling hasn't shared the tale already!

*

By the time that he got cleaned up, and changed into an adequate set of clothing, it had already taken him close to half-an-hour.

Wuying was rather nervous about meeting with Baisheng again. Especially when he had refused Green Dragonfly and returned it to his ancestral hall. And he wondered how he was supposed to thank the older man, for all that he had done. Xiao Tao would not be able to walk properly, and he would not be as fit as he was, if not for the efforts of the Yue Family, after all.

But it turned out that Baisheng was still stuck with his family members. Which left someone else to entertain all of the guest instructors that were stuck on the estate:

The familiar fat merchant was holding court at the front hall of the main house when Wuying finally got there. And he was already surrounded by the elders and sharing what he had seen of the recent troop movements closer to the capital. He managed to sneak into the room, unnoticed, just to catch a snatch of the same:

"... and young Ming Jing of Malangfu was sent out to take care of matters at Red Rock Pass. And you all should know what kind of place that is," the fat man was sighing as he said that, "I'm sure the Nine Dragons Group will have something to say about his actions there, no matter how he convinces the merchants there. It seems like a very troublesome matter."

Then he looked up, and his eye caught Wuying's entrance into the place at once. "Oho! And there is the young man who got us out of the fire last year! We were likely to have missed muster without his help, as I'm sure you all must have heard! And that of his good friend, Lieutenant Lan. How have you been, Wuying di? I was telling them about the recent movements of the troops. You might be interested to learn what happened to your Lieutenant Lan Xiao Kang, no?"

Wuying hid his embarrassment at being picked out behind a deep bow at once. And his face was still warm when he looked up again. He would have preferred to slip into the room quietly. Now everyone knew that he had just arrived!

But the crowd of old-timers parted for him without a single comment. Indeed, some of them even seemed pleased that he had finally showed up! And Merchant Xiang even went so far as to catch him by the hand when he straightened up and dragged him over to the chair beside his!

"Ah! I see that you have put on a little more meat on your bones! Look at you! This suits you better than the scrawny farm-boy that we had met, more than half a year ago!" the fat man declared, "This speaks well of Ling er and Yue Manor! It is clear that everyone here has been treating you well since you arrived here! What was it? Three, four moons ago?"

"What are you saying? As if we would ill treat one of our own!" scoffed Uncle Ling at once, although the grin that he wore told everyone that he was just having fun with the red-faced younger man, "And it has almost been half a year! I'll have you know that we are just waiting for the right time to ..."

"The right time to let him show off his skills. That is what my good friend is trying to say," interjected Uncle Fan, just then, with a scowl at the taller Uncle Ling, "As usual, he is so in love with his own voice that he interrupts all of us. So just ignore him, Xiang ge! I would very much rather to hear you tell the tale!"

That was more than enough to bring another ripple of laughter through the crowd, and make Wuying blush all over again. To think that he had caused this, with his late entry! But Merchant Xiang only grinned back at him. "Oh dear. I think I have heard something about this plan of yours too. Most amusing! You know, I am almost tempted to share this with ... my best investor back at the Capital. You know what an avid fan he is of the opera. This has shades of [FengLingQiuMei] all over it!"

Some of the old-timers looked a little alarmed at that. But the fat man seemed to have caught that too. "Oh, do not worry! I know how to hide the truth from him! I'll just change the names and the location, and maybe even the period, so that he doesn't link it to what is happening here. But it will certainly pique his interest. It might make things easier at the West Court Tower, you know? For me, at least!"

Then he turned back to Wuying as the echoes of laughter died down around him. "But I did promise to tell you about your old friend, Lan Xiao Kang, didn't I? Well, the short version is that he was promoted to captain, and sent off to the North. It seems he's there to help with the repairs of the Wall there. But I think that it has something to do with looking after his aged mother. He certainly seemed pleased. He has family thereabouts, doesn't he?"

"His mother and a sister, I believe. The latter is a little old for marriage, as I recall. That was why he was so concerned. He was hoping that his promotion would allow him to squeeze more coins into her dowry, so that some of the men in her village would be tempted to consider her more seriously," Wuying found himself explaining. Merchant Xiang did have that effect on people, to make them want to share their troubles.

"I suppose that is why we were so close. Since I have Xiao Tao to worry about too."

"Ah! I have heard that tale. From all my old friends here," the rotund merchant waved a hand to take in all of the men in the chamber around him then, smiling as he did so. "But I can see what you mean. You are planning to go into the army, after all. And that will leave Xiao Tao all alone at the farm. Not the safest thing, eh? Especially for a young, unmarried girl."

Wuying bit down on his sigh. The merchant had the right of it. He was hoping to get back to the village and arrange for her marriage to one of the village lads at least. They were a decent sort, and would know how to take care of her. As well as of the farm. But her healing had taken longer than he had expected. The harvest should be already over. That was the best time to broach the subject, to be honest. He was a little worried that some of the more promising fellows would have been snapped up by those with sisters and daughters of their own! And he did not relish the long walk back, or the long winter ahead, back on the farm.

"Well, taking care of someone else will make matters more difficult for you, I suppose. And I am speaking from experience here," laughed Xiang ge, as he shook his head at him, "My niece is precocious, as I am sure you will recall. It seems we may be able to help each other out, in this case though."

"Your niece?"

He blinked at that. He did not recall meeting the fat merchant's family. Was Xiang ge confusing him with someone else? They had only met briefly, during that one occasion when the merchant stopped by at the farm. And at that time, he was accompanied by his ...

"Oh! That wasn't your nephew then?"

"Ha, ha, ha! Oh, you really didn't notice, did you? Oh dear, oh dear. I fear there is a serious gap in your education, my friend. Or a flaw in your observation skills. It will happen again, I suppose. So you had best be ready for such surprises," the rotund merchant declared, amidst the laughter that surrounded the two of them. Most of it seemed to be coming from the uncles in the room, and it seemed to redouble, after Xiang ge's response.

Then the older men seemed to recover, and the merchant leaned a little closer. "Now, as I was saying, I might be able to arrange for your adopted sister to come and stay with us, as a companion to my niece. They are about the same age, and they seem to have gotten along well enough. Not to mention, the two of them are probably conspiring to run away together even as we speak," chuckled the fat man.

"Run away together?"

"Well, it seems my niece has been ... a little isolated where she is. No playmates of her own age, you see? And dealing with old men like ... Well, suffice to say we are not interesting enough for her," he managed such a bland tone that there were chuckles in the crowd once again, "So I was thinking of adopting your sister as my own. That should cover all the necessary protocols. And we will be bringing the pair of them to the Inner Ring - that's the City of Jianchiang. Well, in the Western district anyway. Jianxi's a rather large and prosperous place with a lot more people. And I have a rather sizable home there.

"And you needn't worry about her marriage either. With my connections, I can probably find her a good match with little trouble at all. Although she is a little young. Getting her married off at thirteen does seem a pity. She can afford to wait a year or two, don't you think?"

Wuying blinked again. Did he just hear that? Was Merchant Xiang offering to adopt Xiao Tao as a daughter, to become his niece's companion? That was usually for families with prominent lands and a respectable name - No, an exceptional name! Would it be too much for Xiao Tao to handle? Wouldn't her humble background be too much of a hurdle for something like that?

"But ... but ... "

Uncle Fan chose that moment to clap him on the shoulder and grin at him. "Ah! This is a perfect arrangement, Wuying. Think about all the things that she will have a chance to learn, once she is there in Jianxi. And living with Xiang ge's niece! I don't doubt that she'll have to continue with her lessons too. That will make a nice bonus, wouldn't it? Whoever she chooses as her husband after this? They will certainly be better than the village boys you had in mind."

Wuying had to agree with that. It was not anything that he had previously considered. The mere fact that she would get a chance at an education was something that most people out in the village would never even dream of! And living as a companion to a wealthy woman? How could he toss this chance away?

"I would be very grateful, of course, to you if you would consider her favorably. Of course, I believe that the choice lies in the hands of your niece? Hopefully, she will find Xiao Tao a suitable companion for her."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that. She is in the women's wing of the manor now, probably chatting with Baisheng and Ling er over her plans. Your sister is probably with them, giggling over the same. Besides, she has been nagging at me to visit, once we had word that you arrived in late spring!"

Then the fat merchant laughed, and shook his head. "I should warn you though, that Baisheng has been wondering how all this training has been working out for you. I have a feeling that he's going to ask for another match, the moment that he sees you!"

*

As it turned out, Baisheng did try to convince him to take him on once again, a short while later. But Wuying managed to wriggle his way out of the same, pushing that to the following morning. After all, it was already late in the afternoon by the time the Royal Guard Major made his appearance, and they would soon have to change, and get ready for dinner.

That turned out to be a rather elaborate affair, given the quality of their guests. Merchant Xiang was naturally the guest of honor, while Yue Baisheng played the role as the host. Yet, from the way that things were turning out, it became more of a rowdy gathering among former army friends, with heavy drinking involved!

Wuying, who had already been living in the company of these rough men, was rather surprised when they completely let their hair down. The simple dinner gathering turned into a raucous party!

Which was almost enough to make him want to throw up his hands and run away!

Not that he had a chance to do that, given the amount of attention that he was getting from Baisheng and Merchant Xiang. Wuying ended up drinking more than he should, by the time the remains of the food was cleared. Which was probably why he was sitting quietly at the main table, sipping a cup of tea, while the others continued to guzzle their wine.

That was when the messenger arrived. Not a Royal Messenger, Wuying realized with mixed feelings. Part of him was hoping that something had happened, and Baisheng would be recalled to Court, so that he could escape the thrashing that was coming for him in the morning.

But, as it turned out, the messenger was not garbed in Royal Colors. And only turned out to be someone who worked for the City of Kangning, further up the road.

He was welcomed into the Grand Hall at once to give the news. Wuying was out in the gardens with the Old Men and Baisheng ge, chatting about the latest improvements that had been made to the estate and the attached farms. So when the word came, and the latter rushed back to receive the message, he had been left with all the old soldiers, frowning and wondering what had happened.

As it turned out, they didn't have to wait very long.

"Stay calm! It is not something earth-shattering! And it does not concern the Kingdom," the tall warrior declared when he came back from the Hall, "We have just had word, and it seems we shall need your help, uncles. I shall need to head over to Kangning town immediately. Or rather, Ling er and I need to go!"

Baisheng shook his head after that, and picked up his wine cup almost absently. Wuying could tell that he was upset, because he set it down almost at once. And untouched at that.

"It appears that my grandmother - my maternal grandmother, has fallen seriously ill. Over at Kangning, the next town. That is curious indeed! She looked perfectly fine when I dropped in on her just four days ago. But this is big news, and Merchant Xiang is concerned. So we shall be dropping everything tomorrow morning and rushing over."

Then he turned to Wuying, who bowed at the sudden attention. "I'm afraid that we shall have to cut short our discussion of the finer points of our little spar, brother. But do come along with Ling er. It will take a little longer for the arrangements but ... This is our grandmother, and I'm sure that Ling er will want to be there too.

"And I've just been given a hint that your presence might help to ease the tension there."

* * *