Standing at the base of the Cloud-Stepping Stairway, Zian basked in the glory of Shen Yun, the City of the Divine Cloud. Though he spent his early years and late teens at the Society Headquarters, this city would forever and always be his home. The first time he saw the city, he was overwhelmed with awe as he stared up the staircase, trying to count how many steps before he reached the top. He remembered asking if they stretched up into the Heavens and if the Mother Herself sat waiting at the top. The city was so different from the neat, orderly streets of the Society Headquarters or the refined elegance of Feng Huang, a unique setting unseen anywhere else in the Empire. Built into a range of mountains, Shen Yun was a city which combined the grand majesty of nature with the sheer ingenuity of humankind. Each mountain was covered in stone hewn buildings from base to peak, an achievement only made possible through centuries of toil and effort. A plethora of detailed carvings and massive statues broke up the otherwise monotonous view, alongside a multitude of bridges and stairways connecting the various mountains and levels of the city.
Both beautiful and practical, this was Shen Yun, his home, his city, a mountain-turned impenetrable fortress. Wholly self-reliant and utterly unassailable, Zian was confident that even if the North were to be overrun by Defiled, Shen Yun would continue to stand in defiance for decades to come, perhaps even as the last bastion of humanity. Thrilled to escape the confines of his carriage, Zian dismissed the litter bearers and climbed the stairway on foot, taking in the cluttered maze of winding streets and anarchic skyways as he strode ever upwards two steps at a time. The city was alive with movement as its inhabitants carried about their day, though many stopped to lean over the barriers and gaze down upon the glorious northern army making its way through the Imperial Gorge, bypassing the city entirely on its journey to Nan Ping. A shame they’d miss seeing Shen Yun’s grandeur, but time was of the essence.
To fully appreciate the City of the Divine Cloud, one must ascend into the clouds themselves. The base of the mountains were reserved for farming and animal husbandry, blossoming with verdant greenery even now at winter’s near end. Above it was the lower city, little more than a cluttered mess of winding streets and anarchic pathways, hardly worth seeing at all. Even then, so long as you overlooked the smell, it had its own rustic sort of charm. Moving up a dozen levels was the factory district, where craftsmen and labourers plied their trade, with every building both home and workshop. Not the most pleasant way to live, but given the lack of space, it was a necessary hardship to live in this most celestial of cities.
There were many who saw the lower levels and judged Shen Yun ugly and uninhabitable, but such were the mutterings of the ignorant and blind. Only after one ascended to the peak would one see the true beauty of Shen Yun, with every one of the eleven ancillary peaks boasting a magnificent twenty-seven-storey pagoda. Man-made marvels sitting atop a work of nature, each pagoda was large enough to house ten-thousand inhabitants, serving as both military barracks and Imperial Embassy. At the top of the Cloud-Stepping Stairway stood Zian’s home, the Magistrate’s Palace, a grand estate overlooking the entire city. On a clear summer day, Zian would look out the window and see the vast, untamed wilderness stretching out in all directions, a view previously reserved for celestial beings alone.
This was the true face of Shen Yun, his home, his City.
Only the hardiest of warriors could make the trek to the peak in one day, so Zian had been forced to leave most of his retinue behind. Only Jukai accompanied him this time, as Uncle Yang was ‘too busy’ to visit Mother. Given the circumstances, he couldn’t blame Uncle for avoiding her. Given the choice, Zian would be down in the Imperial Gorge with him, avoiding his mother until he was safely past the Society Headquarters and in Nan Ping before sending her a letter regarding his intentions, but she left orders for him to come see her and he didn't dare refuse. While he had yet to make public his decision to relinquish his status as young patriarch of the Situ Clan, Zian couldn’t help but worry Mother might discern his intentions. Growing up, he knew better than to keep secrets from her as she proved time and time again how she knew and saw all. Even if something escaped her notice, there was no hiding before Situ Jia Ying, a shrewd politician capable of reading volumes from an errant tic or nervous shuffle.
The best way to deal with Mother was to present a rational, valid argument for his actions. To convince her to let him move to the Society Headquarters, Zian presented the facts as they were. First, he would be surrounded by experts, visiting dignitaries, and their respective families. Training there would not only allow him to advance his Martial Path faster, he could also liaison with his peers and future allies. Every word was true, and although his definition of liaison differed greatly from Mother's, it didn't take much effort to ignore a letter. Despite his promiscuity, his martial skills progressed rapidly after being crowned Champion in the contests, and he became the uncontested number one talent in the north after condensing his Aura, so Mother couldn’t forcibly recall him back to Shen Yun without good reason.
Unfortunately, this time Zian didn’t have a rational argument to present. Society politics were so bothersome, something she couldn’t possibly understand. As young patriarch, his every action reflected on the Situ Clan and Society. While it wasn’t a problem when he was the triumphant golden child, everything changed after his humiliating defeat at Rain’s hands. Zian’s detractors came out in full force and his supporters all but vanished, with every tongue speaking as if his defeat were the sole reason for the Society’s decline. Were it not for their idiotic purse-measuring competitions and miserly ways, none of this would have ever happened. No one ever mentioned the two young masters and powerful slave who died beneath Rain’s blades before him, no, Situ Jia Zian was an incompetent warrior, undeserving of his supposedly fabricated and hyperbolic reputation.
If Clan and Society could discard him so easily, then why should he bear the hardship as their young patriarch? It might seem like a childish, immature, knee-jerk reaction to his defeat, but Zian knew it was the right thing to do. The Society was full of backbiting bootlickers and petty grievances. He wanted nothing to do with their internal squabbles and even less to do with their outward posturing, so he was determined to carry out his plan. The revived and revitalized Uncle Yang supported his decision, but even the great Situ Jia Yang wasn’t willing to confront Mother over this, so for the first time since he was seven years old, Zian set out to hide his intentions from the all-seeing Magistrate of Shen Yun.
Mother Above, this humble servant implores you for the courage to stop shaking in his boots so he might make it through this coming tribulation unscathed.
Greeted at the main gates by the Chief Steward, he was told Mother awaited his presence in her personal quarters. Feigning fatigue from the long climb up, Zian slowed his pace and stopped often to take in the view until Jukai cleared his throat and said, “Young master, we’ve a schedule to keep.”
“Right.” Steeling his nerves, Zian proceeded into the personal quarters where he spent most of his childhood. Stopping at the double doors outside Mother’s quarter’s, Zian signalled for the servants to wait as he mustered his courage. This is merely an innocuous visit. You’ve done nothing wrong so you have nothing to hide. Go in, kiss her cheek, mention how beautiful she looks and how much you missed her, then leave. The Emperor calls and whatnot. You are Situ Jia Zian. You’ve duelled the greatest talents in the north and faced the Defiled in open battle. This is nothing.
Back straight and head held high, Zian ordered the servants to announce his arrival. Striding through the opened doors, he flashed his most charming smile. “Hello Mother. Your filial son has returned. Miss me?”
Sitting at the tea table, Mother pursed her lips and rolled her eyes, holding her tongue until he took his seat the doors closed, leaving the two of them alone. “Foolish child,” she said as she cupped his cheeks, pinching them ever so softly. “You have some nerve avoiding me for so many months.”
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Don’t flinch. She’ll sense something is off. “My most sincere apologies Mother,” Zian lied as he refilled her cup and poured one for himself. Damn it all, he shouldn’t have looked away. It implies guilt. Ah, he forgot to kiss her cheek. “How have you been? Your hair looks lovely. Is that a new dress?”
With an amused titter, Mother ran her fingers through his hair and forced him to look her in the eyes. “How adorable. My sweet child thinks that just because he’s formed his Natal Palace, he can hide his secrets. Tell me, do you understand what it means to reject your status as Heir Intended?”
Gaping like a fish on land, Zian’s face ran hot as he withered beneath Mother’s knowing smile. How did she know he’d formed his Natal Palace? Only Jukai knew, since Zian worried Uncle Yang would want to make a big spectacle of things. Worse, how did she learn of his plans?
After taking a sip of her tea, she motioned for him to do the same. “Oh, my son, so naive and foolish. All these years and you still don’t understand. You can keep no secrets from your Mother. Now, answer the question. Do you understand what will happen once you defect from Clan and Society?”
“Defect?” Zian shook his head. “I’m not defecting, I’m stepping down from my position of Young Patriarch. Little Gulong can take up the mantle, he’s a skilled duellist.” Another one of Falling Rain’s defeated foes, even if the entire Clan pretended like it never happened. “The Patriarch will be thrilled to name his own son the successor and I will be free to follow my Martial Path. Everyone wins.”
Mother sighed and shook her head. “As I thought. All those years of debauched lechery have rotted your mind. I never should have let you leave Shen Yun but I thought you smart enough not to fall so low. Alas, I’d forgotten how easily young men are swayed by the sight of bare flesh. It’s not entirely your fault, I expected as much, though you were far too enthusiastic for my tastes.”
Frowning, Zian asked, “You’re saying I was led astray on purpose?” The thought never crossed his mind. A man had needs, and great men had great needs.
“Not only were you led astray, I hoped as much. You were too skilled as a child, a rising dragon with little loyalty to Clan or Society. Rang Min’s pawns convinced you to go to the Society and better yourself but his true goal was to ruin you.” Taken aback by Mother’s disrespectful use of the Patriarch’s name, Zian’s jaw dropped as Mother continued her explanation. “While his plan to turn you into a hedonistic dandy succeeded, your heaven sent talents defied all expectations, mine included. Winning the contest bought you a few years in the public eye and condensing your Aura more time still, else I fear you would have long since fallen victim to some foul ‘accident’.”
It seemed Zian had never been the Situ Clan’s golden child. No wonder opinion turned against him so quickly. By ruining Zian and Uncle Yang’s reputations, Patriarch Rang Min snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, the wily old fox. “Is that what'll happen to me? And what happened to Father? Some ‘accident’? Is that why you brought me north and took office as Magistrate?”
Pursing her lips, Mother glared at the closed doors, as if able to see through solid wood. “How much did that windbag tell you?”
“Jukai told me nothing.” Fixing Mother with an expectant look, Zian added, “He claimed it wasn’t his place to say.”
“Hmph.” Mother’s glare softened as she sipped her tea and reached for a cookie, a delaying tactic if Zian had ever seen one. Nibbling daintily on the biscuit, she continued to sit in silence which offered Zian a chance to really see his mother for the first time in close to a year. She looked... Older. Tired lines surrounded her eyes, lines which weren’t there a year ago. Although older than Uncle Yang by three years, Mother barely looked half her age, a dignified woman who never remarried despite having both wealth and power. It couldn’t have been easy on her, but he’d never heard her utter a single word of complaint. She thrived in her position yet she never taught him her craft and left him to his own devices. No matter how incredible his accomplishments, she rarely praised his efforts, at most patting his cheeks and saying ‘as expected of my son’.
Yet now, he learned she’d been sheltering him from the world at large, shouldering their family hardships all on her own. Reaching over to take her hand, Zian said, “Mother. Your son is a grown man and his shoulders broad. Let him help carry your burdens.”
Slumping in her seat, Mother closed her eyes, weak and vulnerable. “You must promise to heed my instructions,” she whispered. “Otherwise, I will kill Jukai and bring this secret to my grave. Better for you to live in ignorance than to die in futility.”
“I promise.”
Taking a deep breath, Mother straightened up and squeezed his fingers, glancing out the window as she told her tale. “As a young woman, I spent several years at the wall seeking Nian Zu’s affection.” Smiling at Zian’s visible discomfort, Mother smiled and shrugged. “Relax, I won’t go into details. I pursued Nian Zu because if I didn’t, the Clan Patriarch of the time, Rang Min’s grandfather, would have married me off to some worthless fop. Needless to say, I failed to catch the Living Legend’s eye but not without good reason. Once I realized my efforts would never bear fruit, I lost myself in despair.” With a sad smile, she added, “And then I met your father. Lu An Jing, a young ‘Nian Zu’ is what they called him, a rising dragon of humble origins. His father owned a shipping business, carrying goods from Shen Huo to Shen Bin. Your father was so handsome and charming, but so naive and foolish, just like you.”
Lost in her memories, Mother sat in silence until Zian could no longer bear the suspense. “What happened next?”
Blushing like a schoolgirl, Mother feigned a frown and pinched his cheek. “What do you think happened? We fell in love, I got pregnant, and then we married in secret. The Patriarch was not happy with our actions, but by the time he found out, the rice was cooked. Your father agreed to marry into our family and for many years he represented the Clan interests.” Glowering with anger, Mother continued. “They worked him like a dog and openly mocked him to his face, but he endured their scorn because it meant we could be together as a family. Yet even after years of meritocratic service, they still had him killed.”
Finally. Confirmation of what Zian suspected. “Who?” He asked, jaw clenched breath short. “Who killed him?”
“Presumably, the Defiled.” Patting his shoulder to soothe his anger, Mother lamented, “Even after all these years I’m still not sure if our enemies killed him directly, but I’m certain your father was set up for failure at the least. Someone wanted him dead or dishonoured and made efforts to make it happen. His retinue was delayed, intelligence reports falsified or altered, his water skin drugged, and more, all because he refused to play politics and serve beneath a lesser man.”
“A name.” In Zian’s eyes, the details mattered little, only the result. His father died and someone was to blame. Zian would avenge him, or die trying.
“I have no proof, so I will not say,” Mother said, silencing his protests with a glare. “Better you don’t know. You’re incapable of hiding your thoughts. Now, off with you. I’ll see you in Nan Ping after I arrive, there’s still much left here for me to do. Oh, and I left a present in your room, so stop in before you leave. It’s to your tastes, I’m sure of it.”
And just like that, the discussion was done as Mother summoned her maids to see him out. Fuming with anger, Zian looked Jukai in the eyes and Sent, “Who is to blame for my Father’s death?”
“Myself,” Jukai replied, solemn and grave. “For I was not at his side when he needed me most.” Placing a hand on Zian’s shoulder, the old man added, “I’ll not let his son suffer the same fate.”
Considering the old man’s guilt, Zian swallowed his anger and turned away, heading towards his room in search of his present. Hopefully it was a new Runic Armour, to replace the one he’d lost to Rain. “I didn’t know him, so I cannot say, but do you think he’d blame you for his death? Don’t be foolish old man. Tell me the truth. Even if you don’t know, surely you have a suspect in mind.”
“... Situ Rang Min."
Still reeling from the reveal, Zian opened his bedroom door to find a buxom, raven-haired beauty, kneeling in wait, her milky white skin and deep, brown eyes demanding his attention. Though still enraged by what he’d only just learned, Zian couldn't help but marvel at her impeccable poise and flawless beauty. Lowering her head into a kneeling bow, the young beauty spoke with a charming, sultry voice. “This one is Ong Jing Fei,” she said as her forehead rested on the ground. “This one is to be Situ Jia Zian’s concubine, with orders from Mother-in-Law to bear her a grandchild as soon as possible.”
Zian’s tongue felt five times larger and his chest tightened as he struggled for breath. Staggering back, he reached for Jukai in search of support only to hear the older man drop to the floor like a sack of turnips. Raising her head, the devilish Lady Jing Fei gave him a sweet smile which both chilled him to the bone and enflamed his passions. “A small warning, husband mine. Though this one is a mere concubine, she will not tolerate being humiliated or shamed. You licentious ways will end, or there will be dire consequences.”
Falling to his knees, Zian stuttered, “You... Fung...”
“Yes,” she said, pulling him close to rest on her ample bosom. “I was once betrothed to Tong Da Fung, but fear not dear husband. My chastity is still intact.” As the world fell into darkness, Zian’s cringed as he recalled his mother’s cryptic parting statement. ‘It’s to your tastes, I’m sure of it’. Mother even knew about his crush on Sumila and found Ong Jing Fei to be his concubine.
Fierce and untamed, a brutal, ruthless woman who poisoned her husband as a mere warning, this was a woman after his own heart.
Truly, Mother knows best.
Chapter Meme