未雨绸缪 (wèi yǔ chóu móu) – Before it rains, bind with silk, i.e. plan ahead.
----------------------------------------
They had barely crossed the border into Zhang when it became apparent that both Yuan Yi Feng and the necromancer were in dire need of rest. When Zeyi suggested that they all stop at Yuan Wei Temple, her Junior Sibling shook their head.
“I can't go back yet.” Their smile was tired and overused.
So Gong Lau Yan diverted her flight path south, and the land below changed from dry grassland to scattered trees to sudden mountains to rolling green hills, and they were cruising above the basin of Chun.
Yuan Yi Feng and the necromancer took everything in with curiosity. Gong Lau Yan slowed to allow them a better view, although she remained high enough to skim over the crests of low clouds. From the isolated little hermit's huts and remote villages at the country's edge, over increasingly larger and larger towns, until the capital, Qianbian, appear before them.
The structures of wood and stone were achingly familiar to Zeyi, but at the same time, a deep feeling of loss clutched at her. She no longer belonged here.
It was too risky to continue in loong form. Zeyi summoned her white lotus, while Yuan Yi Feng produced a giant ginseng leaf, and they all floated slowly down together. Occasional drifts of rain pattered on their hair and clothes.
“Hey, is that Guk Lung?” Gong Lau Yan gestured with her chin at two figures who had just appeared at the tallest tower of the palace. One was a gangly man in embroidered, spring green robes, and the other was a much more solid man in military uniform.
“Cousin. Commander.” Zeyi greeted them with bows as they all landed on the tower, then introduced them to the newest additions to the party. Sunny grumbled suspiciously when Yáng Jìn held out a friendly hand, but she immediately changed her mind when he produced a strip of jerky.
“What kind of damned guard dog is she?” The necromancer's voice was husky and his tone rough, but there was a gentle look in his eye as he watched Sunny eagerly eat the jerky.
“I'm afraid that's our fault, cride,” Yuan Yi Feng said gently. “She hasn't eaten so well as she should have during our travels.”
“We can remedy that,” Cheng Guk Lung offered. “Please, come with me. Actually, I'm glad you came by, Cousin. There's something I needed to tell you.”
After some discussion, the group ended up within the antechamber beside the throne room. There were even more papers piled on the table and the floor than when Zeyi had left; she eyed everything guiltily as servants brought food and tea. Sunny and the necromancer ate with similar gusto.
“You can see the family resemblance,” Gong Lau Yan laughed, provoking a real smile from Yuan Yi Feng.
“This is what I wanted to show you.” Cheng Guk Lung carefully spread a large map on the only horizontal surface left, a patch of floor, and everyone crouched down to look at it, careless of decorum.
“A map of Ming Yuet, the capital of Dzue?”
“Do you recognise this writing?”
Gong Lau Yan stared at Mun Gong's brushwork. “I have no idea what they mean.”
“You don't know why she would have written this?”
“Not at all.
“How did you know he hid Smiling Moon wine there?”
Gong Lau Yan coughed. “I have no idea what these notes mean.”
“Neither do I,” said Zeyi, trying to temper her amusement. She saw Cheng Guk Lung's expression. “Don't worry, we can have a look when we go there. If there's anything left to see.”
“Do you even know what the situation is right now, in Dzue?”
“Last time we visited, the curse was definitely still in effect. We were able to get to the city and explore a little, but we couldn't stay long.”
“Shi jie...” Yuan Yi Feng interjected. “Could you, perhaps-”
“Explain what the feck ye're gabbing about?” the necromancer finished.
As Zeyi quickly explained the knowledge they had gathered so far, Cheng Guk Lung said to Gong Lau Yan, “Lady Gong, how did you manage to stay so long in Dzue? I can see you're still not recovered.”
“A certain miracle doctor made me some elixirs.” She tipped out her last pill and showed it to him.
“I always sthought that Miracle Doctor Dzue Yi-sang was related to the old kingdom.” The Regent of Chun turned the spherical pill in his hands, admiring its smooth, shining surface. “Who is she, really?”
“For a long while, I thought she was the only surviving member of the Dzue royal family. A distant relative, not from the main branch.”
“Hm... Well, the family registers do need officially updating...”
At length, the group dispersed. The necromancer and Sunny wandered, yawning, to find the rooms that had been set aside for them. Gong Lau Yan and Yuan Yi Feng disappeared outside to talk, despite the gentle rain that was now falling.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
Zeyi sat alone with Cheng Guk Lung amongst the piles of paper.
“I'm sorry I missed your official instatement, Cousin.”
There was a soft clack as Cheng Guk Lung set down his tea cup on a tiny square of visible wooden floor. He sighed and leaned back a little, to the sound of his spine crackling faintly.
“Guk Lung. Even if I had ten mouths, I would have no words to express my disgrace. Cousin, I handed this kingdom to you and ran away...” She bowed her forehead to the ground. “.... and now I shamelessly come back-”
“So you do know.”
“Yes.” Zeyi remained with her forehead pressed to the floor.
“Sit up, Zeyi.” Cheng Guk Lung sighed again. “Cousin... Ah, you're too trusting. Do you really think you already know everything about me? You tossed an entire kingdom at me and walked away-”
“I wasn't about trust, Guk Lung. I'm just not worthy. I'm not a child of Chun Shenzhi. I have no blood ties to the royal family...”
“How do you think regents became regents in the first place, Zeyi?” Cheng Guk Lung groaned.
“Do you think someone worthy of managing a country would throw it to one side like I did? Cousin... I'm weak. I didn't want Lau Yan to leave me behind again. The people I loved... they're all gone now. Or it turns out that they hurt me badly. I didn't want to be alone again.”
“Oh, so that's what you think of me and Shu Kui,” Cheng Guk Lung said, half-jokingly.
“... I'm sorry.”
“Well, it's not like I don't understand.” Cheng Guk Lung spoke lightly, but he lowered his voice. “Shu Kui stopped eating properly for a while after you left. We had to force her to eat.”
“... I'll see her before I leave.”
“Good.” The tea in the pot was cold by now, but Cheng Guk Lung poured himself another cup and drank it. “Zeyi, you're my elder, and a Third Dantian cultivator, but... Your experiences with managing people were limited to the relief and rescue effort during the Great Rains. Somewhat similar to a country at war, but during peacetime? Administering a kingdom for the day-to-day? And Lady Gong... I understand that she wasn't really involved with the everyday work of overseeing Dzue.”
“That would make sense.”
“Have you not spoken with her about it?”
“Only a little. It's hard for her to talk about.”
“Lady Gong needs to come to terms with it someday. Perhaps she needs to spend some time at Yuan Wei, as you did.”
It was Zeyi's turn to sigh, and she sat up. “Should I stay here then, Cousin?”
“I think it's a good idea, at least for a little while. The people here miss you. The Divine Lotus, princess of the people, your presence would reassure the citizens. But it's your choice.”
“I was concerned... that Gong Lau Yan wouldn't want to go back to Dzue if I wasn't with her. I hope to break the country of the curse as soon as possible. I've become increasingly aware of how the survivors are living.”
“The prejudice against them is deep-rooted,” said Cheng Guk Lung. “Jealousy and misinformation fanned the flames. I've made it illegal to force the Dzue refugees to wear those 'worm patches', but many of the people would already be recognised by others, and in the remote parts of Chun, enforcement is difficult. I suspect some Dzue people would continue to wear the patches as a mark of resistance too.”
Zeyi stared at her own cold cup of tea. The liquid began to swirl. “I met a group of Dzue people in Wong, on our way to find my Junior Sibling. They were living as bandits.”
Cheng Guk Lung let the silence stretch, pouring himself another cup of tea.
“I... sliced off their little fingers.”
“You didn't execute them?”
“What right did I have to do that? The world is against them. How would they find legal employment? Who, aside from Dzue Yi-sang, would give them medical care? How many of them are working as hard labourers, little better than slaves, or exploited sex workers? How many became thieves or bandits?”
“And so, your guilt pushes you to follow Gong Lau Yan about, hoping she will return with you to Dzue to solve matters?”
“I love Lau Yan,” Zeyi said simply. “Being with her brings me great happiness. In those small moments when we have no cares, when it's simply the two of us and the open skies, I feel as though I never want it to end.
“But there are deep fears in her. I can only imagine how it was to return to her home and find everyone she loved, especially her Dze-dze, who she clearly respected above everyone, was gone. I don't blame her for avoiding Dzue.”
“She can't keep living in this way.”
“It's not living, Cousin.” Zeyi sat very upright, but her eyes were cast down unseeingly. “If... If I asked to stay a little while... Just until Yuan Yi Feng and their friend... Well, that's not right, is it? Until they've recovered a little...”
A hand appeared in her field of view. She hesitated, but placed her own into it.
“Stay as long as you like, Zeyi,” Cheng Guk Lung said. “It's very noble of you to want to charge out and save the people, but if you're not ready, then you're not ready. You might do more harm than good. Besides...” He looked around at the sea of papers in the room and gave a wicked grin. “I could do with a little help around here.”
“I accept my punishment.”
“Can't you just see it as being nice to your dear cousin?”
“Hm... I'll think about it.”
----------------------------------------
“You wished to speak with me, Lady Gong?” Yuan Yi Feng asked with a polite smile.
The two of them stood under a pagoda in one of the gardens, the soft sound of rain falling on the tiled roof above them. Gong Lau Yan scratched lightly at her arm.
“Yeah. I wanted... You grew up under Yuen Muk, didn't you?”
“I did.”
“How was he, during that time?”
“I understand you met Master recently, Lady Gong, I-”
“I don't mean... I want to know how he seemed to you, as you were growing up.”
Taking a seat on one of the stone benches circling the edge of the pagoda, Yuan Yi Feng neatly folded their hands in their lap. “Master has been well. He has always treated everyone with kindness and care.”
“You're very close to him, aren't you?” Gong Lau Yan said softly. “You even have that same smile he has when he's acting polite.”
Yuan Yi Feng continued to smile that same smile, with an additional quizzical lift of their eyebrows.
“You've every right to dislike me. I pushed your Senior Sister away, and I... I abandoned your master too.” The loong's voice was so soft, it could barely be heard over the rain. It began to crack and waver, and she extracted her water flask to drink from it.
“I'm not aware of your history with Master, Lady Gong.”
“I'm telling you now. I knew Yuen Muk when he was Gou Dzing, eldest son of the Gou Family. We went through the Great Demon War together. When it was over, we promised to look out for one another... and I didn't. I almost forgot that he went by the name Yuen Muk.”
She sat on another bench, close, but not too close. “Perhaps it's too late now to try, but I'm going to try.”
“Lady Gong, you're the child of Lady Maang Dzeung, the Azure Dragon of the East, Divine Guardian of Wood, aren't you?” asked Yuan Yi Feng. “My true Master, so-called.”
“.. she's my mother. So-called.”
Yuan Yi Feng had dark eyes that contrasted strikingly with their hair. These rested thoughtfully on Gong Lau Yan. “Your relationship with your mother was not a good one, then?”
“Next question.”
The small cultivator shook their head, rising. “I think both of us are too tired for this conversation, Lady Gong. Let's speak again when we're better rested.” They smiled, and this smile was a little less for politeness' sake. “I would like to ask you about Wood Cultivation practices next time. You have strong Wood energy.”
With a small chuckle, Gong Lau Yan extended her hand out into the rain, her dry skin thirstily soaking in the water. “Sure.”
“Then, thank you, Lady Gong.” Yuan Yi Feng bowed, and with a light tap, soared away into the cloudy day.
For a little longer, Gong Lau Yan sat in the pagoda, hands outstretched to the rain. At length, she stepped out, letting the drops soak into her hair and clothes, her face turned up to the sky and eyes closed.
She only turned when she heard a light step behind her, as Zeyi landed in the rain beside her.
Wordlessly, they reached out to each other, and stood a while longer, uncertain as to who was holding up whom.