Journey

Arrangements took a little longer than expected, since both Yue Baisheng and Yue Ling were heading over to Kangning at once. Although it was clear that they would not be travelling together. Baisheng had only a small measure of his leave left, and Merchant Xiang had to rush back to his business in the Capital as well. Besides, he was already largely packed and ready to go, so Wuying was left a little lost, after the merchant's team headed out the door first, bringing Xiao Tao along with them.

Yet, what had surprised him most of all was the decision that he should accompany the young Yue Ling to the neighbouring town. The uncles, for the most part, seemed reluctant to explain why, and Baisheng had only laughed when he was questioned. But all of them seemed to agree that it was needful for Yue Ling to be accompanied. So he had agreed.

The household had also made a fuss over his packing, in particular his choice clothing and his accouterments, as soon as that was decided. And he was told to give the House Dagger a good polish before he left. Apparently, it had something to do with the good name of the family, so he had done so at once. Again, he had not been given any reason for this.

Only two of the uncles would be accompanying them, and they had a second wagon to themselves, while he was clearly meant to share one with Yue Ling. The younger nobleman had looked a little annoyed when he was told about the arrangement. But since it was his older brother's instructions, before he left with Merchant Xiang, there was nothing that Ling er could do about it. Wuying decided that he had better stay out of the way until they had to board the wagon himself, lest the boy was more upset about the decision than he revealed.

In the end, it was almost a day after Baisheng left that they were finally ready to go. And from all that he had heard, it was close to a three to four day journey to the neighboring City of Kangning.

There was a map of the road, that Uncle Fan showed him before they left. He was one of those who had been to Kangning City before, so he was familiar with the Duan family there, as well as the local situation. The City stood just North of the Great Yan River, and there was a bridge that connected it to the Great Western Road, that ran just South of the same.

That was the route that they would be taking, since Kongmin Town lay on the South Bank of the Yan as well.

Besides him, Uncle Qin and Physician Nian were also going to join the group. Evidently, Yue Ling was more comfortable to have someone trained in medicine that she knew and trusted along. Especially when it involved his aged grandmother.

There were riders and House Guards to take care of the train, and he noted another wagon, heavily laden with items rather than people, traveling about with them. Some of these were what he had expected, from all that he had read in the old journals that he was studying. It was close to winter, after all, and there was a great deal written in the same about travel during the cold period. Yet, there were a lot of additional information that he picked up, just by watching the same, and their interaction with the outriders.

By the time that they stopped to make camp for the night, it soon became clear just why they were carrying such a extra load with them. Especially when it became clear that there wasn't any suitable inns along the way, or even poorer hovels where they could beg shelter for the night. That made all the additional camping gear and fodder all the more reasonable.

But he had to wait until the night of the second day, when they were about to settle down to sleep on the floorboards of their wagon, that Ling er finally opened up, and broached the subject of his sick grandmother with Wuying.

They were already lying down, wrapped up in their thick cotton sleeping blankets - they should actually be called sleeping bags, he thought. But while they were wide enough and thick enough to qualify, they were not constructed like the rest of the House Guards' sleeping gear. And Yue Ling too, had seemed a little glum as he bundled himself up in the same.

Although Wuying did think that it was a good idea, since it was getting frightfully cold at night. And the magic stones that provided the heat for their beds wouldn't work as well out on open ground. Ling er, however, surprised him that night, when he started chatting instead of dropping off to sleep straightaway, as he usually did:

"We are headed to Kangning Town, so I should probably tell you something about that place," the handsome young boy sighed as he looked sternly at Wuying, "It was one of the largest settlements that was hit by the Sixth Moon Invasion, about a hundred and twenty years ago, when the Abyssal Beasts came over the Wall. And as you might expect, my maternal family has a rather strong influence in that place."

He sighed then, and looked up at the ceiling boards rather than at Wuying. Not that it bothered the latter, of course. It was something that made the story come a little more comfortably, he thought. And it didn't seem like an easy thing, this talking about his maternal family.

"The Duan family had been soldiers for generations, like the Yues. So we have been allies, and friends, for generations. Most of our ancestors fought in the same campaigns in the lowlands, and they have lived in the White Tiger Sector, here in the West, for more than ten generations.

"And there has been intermarriages too, between the two families, for as long as anyone can remember. Well, great-grandmother Xiuxiu had just given birth to her daughter before the attack came, and to everyone's horror, great-grandfather Jianghong perished in the fight. He was only eighteen at the time, and the last of the core family.

"Well, after the funeral rites and such, the Inner Family Group was trying to come up with someone to name as the new head of the family when my paternal great-grandfather Yingchiang arrived to pay his final respects. He was only twenty-two at the time, but was accepted as a great warrior, due to his efforts during the Sixth Moon Invasion. Suffice to say that he disapproved of their politicking before his close friend's bones were even buried. So he told them that there was a promise made to the Yue Family to join their lines."

Wuying had read a lot about the Sixth Moon Invasion in the Yue Manor library, about how the Shadow Creatures from beyond the West Gate, creatures of demonic essences, had crashed through the defenses and stormed through the fringes of all of the White Tiger Sector. That had happened close to two hundred years ago.

And thousands - no! Tens of thousands, had perished in that brief invasion. And the old Captain of the Gate forces had been executed for his neglect. Along with several administrators under the Chancellor's command, who were blamed for the tragedy.

Not that it did anything to prevent the Shadow Beasts from storming through most of the White Tiger Quarter. Some were still lingering in the wooded regions even then! All the Kingdom had managed to do was to reclaim some of the more important towns and cities along the Western stretch of the Great Yan River. And it spent more men and more money to do that. Leaving much of the forests in the West still infested with the Shadows!

Fortunately, their old allies, the Long-lived People of the Woodlands, took responsibility clearing the Shadows out of the Northern Woods and the Silver Hills that covered more than half of the Quarter. That was according to the Ancient Treaty between the two peoples. So the Kingdom was more than thankful for that.

But that reliance on the Long-lived had resulted in a slow erosion of the Kingdom's forces in the West. So when the Blood Red Spring arrived, and the Shadow Creatures burst out of the Forestlands once more, some sixty years ago, the pitiful army in the White Tiger Quarter was ravaged again!

That event had also resulted in a drastic revamp of the White Tiger Gate's forces. And another round of executions of the wastrels that had resulted in the weakening of the Guard. After the Invasion, it was clear that the old organisation in the West was completely inadequate. So that had resulted in a great many changes to the army there. As well as certain privileges meant to encourage the soldiers posted there.

The same that had attracted Wuying to a job in the White Tiger Guards in the first place!

Ling er shook his head at this point of his tale, and laughed as he leaned back against the wagon's wall. "No one knew if it was true or not, but it didn't matter. It was strong-arm tactics but it worked. Great-grandmother kept her place as the matriarch of the Duan Family, and grandmother was later married into the Yue Family.

"Well, I suppose that the intention was for one of their offspring to be adopted back into the Duan Family once things have settled, but father was an only child, and once he was dead, my brother and I were the only ones left. Grandmother had always taken good care of us while we were young. That's one of the reasons why Uncle Ling and Uncle Bai are coming with us. They were father's old army friends, and they have been training us for as long as we can remember."

He chuckled then, and waved a hand at Wuying. "You remember Uncle Duan Jiu, of course? Well, he's one of the uncles that are in line to succeed Great-grandmother, once she passes on. He was one of those who refused to play by the rules and ran off to join the army once he was old enough. His family has more or less disowned him, but he makes enough as a Major in the Royal Engineers to ignore them. He also married a low noble, which made matters worse! Not that it matters to him! He seems more than content at his rank and position at the Inner Ring!

"Well, his sons joined the army and the administrative services once they were old enough, and that didn't make the rest of the family very happy either. But Great-grandmother is proud of him, and his offspring. My cousins - his children, at least, are well respected in all of our holdings. The rest of his kin seem content to while away their days," the boy sniffed, almost disparagingly.

Then he sighed. "There is more to the story, and there are subtleties involved that are too complex to explain to you now. I can only ask that you trust me, Wuying ge. And to remember what my brother said to you, when he handed you this sword." He reached down and patted the beautifully decorated scabbard beside him then.

The same blade that Wuying had carried all the way from Tortoise Mountain to Kongmin town, almost sixty miles away. It wasn't likely that he was going to forget that!

So he simply nodded, and watched as Yue Ling turned aside, and seemed to fall asleep at once. For him, it certainly did not sound as simple as he had first thought. For one thing, he was not related to the family - to either family! He was just there to as an escort, a bodyguard, if he dared to call himself that! But from what he had just heard, there was something more, and it had to do with the blade at Yue Ling's side. The same one that was in his hands for close to half a year!

Yet, he had already returned that sword, and received another in its place. The younger of the Yue brothers had been responsible for that, so he should know it better than anyone else. Or was this meant to be a warning to him? About his role to come, once they arrive at the Duan Manor in Kangning City?

Still, he could not help wondering, as he laid himself down to sleep, just what he was meant to do once they got there. And he was up half the night, wondering about that.

*

The journey took them five days. It would have been quicker, if they had been traveling on horses alone, but decorum demanded that Yue Ling use a wagon. And that took up more time, and a number of additional arrangements.

But they were there in the end. And that was all that mattered.

There was a small crowd of women at the entrance of the Great Hall, and all of them fawned over Yue Ling as soon as he stepped inside. Wuying was little too far away to hear what was being said, but there were enough looks in his direction that made him nervous. But the uncles that had accompanied them soon caught hold of him once he was out of the wagon that he shared with the young nobleman.

"Ling er has arranged things for you already, Wuying jiandi, here at Duan Manor," Uncle Qin told him as he waved for the young man, "We should occupy ourselves with the unloading of the medicines and the personal items, before they come for us. This is a family affair, you know? So things are likely to take a little longer. I do hate it when we have do deal with such. The women can get so ... weepy."

Uncle Fan laughed in response to that, and turned to Wuying at once. "Oh, don't be too concerned about that. Your uncle Qin is just unhappy because he is barely qualified as a apothecary. Which makes him almost as sought after as Physician Nian, since they will all take advantage of him to treat all of their bothersome ailments, real or imaginary. As you can well imagine, he gets really tired of that!"

Then he sighed, and waved a hand at the boxes that they were faced with. And at the servants that were now stepping out to help with them. "Still, I think that you should be careful. Some of the people here can be rather spiteful, compared to the Duans that you have met. Just stick to the two of us for the time being, and we shall steer you straight. We should be done with the formalities in an hour or two, and concentrate to making the old woman feel better thereafter."

Wuying, however, had been a little distracted by the early part of the old man's warning. "Spiteful? What do you mean?"

Uncle Fan shook his head, and nodded at the buildings that were beyond the Inner Gate. They were just passing through that at the moment, so it was becoming clear that the Duan Manor in Kangning looked a lot more concerned about its image. At least, compared to the Yue Manor back at Kongmin Town.

"The two families are close, and you should have heard the saying about how family members can often treat each other worse than complete strangers? Well, that is exactly the case here. And I do not doubt that you will soon have a firsthand taste of that yourself."

That was enough of a warning to make him a little worried about how his presence might be taken by the rest of the Duan family, Wuying thought. Well, he had met with Duan Jiu before, so he could always throw himself into the Old Major's hands, if things got a little rough.

Although he couldn't think of a reason for the people there to be particularly interested in him, a simple guest of the Yue family. And honestly, he doubted that they would be too hard on such a boring person like himself. After all, what sort of amusement would that provide?

But just as they were headed towards the same, a pair of servants intercepted them. And after they made their greetings, they informed the pair that they were supposed to head to the Audience Hall, where the Grand Old Lady was waiting to meet them.

So Wuying could only agree, and started to follow after them.

Uncle Fan however, had something to say about the situation, and he held Wuying back and waited for the pair of servants to moved away. Before he began to speak in a whisper:

"I think you should be a little cautious when you get to the Audience Hall," he warned as he pointed after the pair that had stopped to wait for him, a little further up the corridor, "Needless to say, the family are all eager to meet you. Luckily, both Baisheng and Ling er are already there, so they should be able to handle most of their queries. I would be careful not to say too much, if I were you. Just leave the talking to them, and keep a smile on your face, and you'll be fine."

He found the advice a little curious, but he did not think too much of it. From what he could see, the Duan Family was on par with the Yues, and their manor was even more scrumptiously decorated. Given that Duan Jiu had warned him that most of his aunts and sisters were lurking in the fringes, he supposed that Uncle Fan's caution was not unfounded. It wouldn't do to reveal too many of his shortcomings, when he had just arrived there.

By the time the servants led him to the Audience Hall, he was more than a little nervous about the whole thing. But he noted that Uncle Duan Jiu was already there, clad in his usual undress uniform, at the front of the Hall, as was Merchant Xiang and Baisheng ge, so he calmed down. They weren't going to let him make too many mistakes, he was sure! Or, at the least, not big ones.

But at the end of the room, seated in the positions of honor were two women, clad in resplendent silk. One was a young woman, and dressed in the latest fashion. Her hair was neatly combed away from her face, and tied atop her head in a delicate swirl that seemed restrained. But the pair of green jade pins that held it in place were lovely pieces that highlighted the pink flowers that adorned her brow, and matched her dress. There was also something familiar about her, but he didn't have too long to dwell on that.

The other was a much older woman, who wore her grey-white hair in a usual bun at the back of her head. A silken tie of pale yellow - so pale that it was almost white, and highlighted with a single piece of jade the size of his thumb, bound her forehead and held her hair away from her wrinkled face. Her gown was a darker shade, and she wore a coat with long, full sleeves, in a deep crimson colour that reminded him of a sunset, fully embroidered with threads of gold and bright red, and flowed from her shoulders down to her feet. Indoor shoes of silk, in a similar shade, covered the last, and it did not surprise him to note that there were tiny pearls and gemstones sewn into the same.

She looked rather pale, and was leaning heavily on the tall arms of her throne. It seemed clear enough to him that this was the Great-grandmother that Ling er, and everyone else, had warned him about. She may look really old to him, but her eyes seemed alert, and she tracked every step that he made across the length of the room.

"Ah! This one is Wuying then? This is the one that your brother had picked for you, Xiao Ling?" she asked in a vibrant voice, that rang out through the hall. And it was certainly strong enough so that everyone could hear it.

That was when her eyes swept away from him, and turned to the younger woman beside her. And when the younger bit her lip at the older woman, he almost tripped and fell down in shock. He realized then that he knew her! But what was the supposedly gravely-ill grandmother asking?

And what was Ling er doing in a dress?

Wuying was certainly confused. So completely confused that he found that he had stopped, there in the middle of the room. And the words of greeting that he had prepared had all flown away!

Which was enough to make the young man in front of him ... or was it the young woman? He simply shook his head and gave out a sigh.

Then Yue Ling turned to the older woman then, and bowed her head most respectfully, even as Wuying remained stunned motionless by what was before his eyes. And she made a gesture at the man in the centre of the Hall, even as she spoke:

"That is correct, great-grandmother. This is Yue Wuying.

"My betrothed."

* * *