‘So you intend to stay at Shao a little while.’
Hudan gave a noncommittal nod. ‘We shall keep an eye on the weather and see how it goes.’
Shao was located in a valley that opened to the east and was surrounded by hills on the other three sides. The location was strategic to control the pass through the Qin Ling mountains of Qiang and the upper Jia-ling River.
The fields of the outlying farms were dormant at this time of year, but the village outside the stronghold was busy at the midday hour of this brisk sunny day.
‘To think our sister is the first lady over everyone and that this is only the gateway to all Shi’s provinces,’ Fen said, and gave an impressed whistle.
When considered that way, the fact was rather surreal, and Hudan wondered how Huxin was coping with her life as a ruler, wife and mother? She was suddenly very excited at the prospect of seeing her sister again and learning of all that had transpired during the last year or so.
At the end of the thoroughfare through town, they came to the stronghold’s estate. Fen announced himself as Zhou Bo Fen Gong, and Shanyu Jiang Hudan’s name was well known in these parts, so the huge gates of the fortress were opened to permit them entry.
Inside the gates, they both dismounted and were led by a guard across the courtyard to the stairs of the main house, at the top of which Huxin and Shi stood, appearing very official. Huxin descended the stairs to greet them formally. ‘Welcome to Shao,’ she said as she came to stand before them, her expression serious. ‘My brothers,’ she broke into a smile and flung her arms open wide to hug them both. ‘I cannot believe you are both here!’
‘I feared you might have become reserved and ladylike,’ Fen grinned, mocking Huxin’s boisterous welcome.
‘We do not stand on formality here,’ Shi assured from the top of the stairway, and Hudan broke away from her sister to scale the stairs and hug Shi. ‘You both appear to be thriving.’
‘We love it here!’ Huxin told her, grabbing Fen’s hand to drag him up the stairs with her. ‘I cannot wait for you to see the twins!’
‘But where is Ling Hu?’ Shi queried, looking about for the albino tigress.
Huxin came to a stop, also interested in the answer. ‘Did you not bring her?’
Fen frowned and grinned at once, as he eyed the area. ‘Ling Hu, there is no need to be nervous,’ he called. ‘You can come out.’
‘Come out?’ Huxin queried with a frown, as there was nowhere to hide in the immediate vicinity.
Fen let go of Huxin’s hand and walked away from everyone. ‘Here, girl,’ he called quietly. When the tigress still did not appear, Fen gave a quiet whimper, at which time Ling Hu manifested alongside to lick his face.
Huxin and Shi were both completely floored by this occurrence, and Huxin lowered her hand from where it had momentarily hidden her shocked expression. ‘She is like you!’ Huxin exclaimed in wonder, looking at Hudan who was grinning broadly.
As Huxin moved to be introduced to her extraordinary offspring, Hudan noted Shi’s amusement. ‘This is going to add a whole new dimension to hide and seek,’ he told her, chuckling.
The twins, Zhen and Kao, spent much of their day romping around the huge courtyard enclosure that was an extension of their large nursery. They still had the appearance of cute and fuzzy cubs, no bigger than a small dog or a human toddler, which is exactly what they were. Huxin had been teaching them the game she had been taught by Wu Yi as a child, where she would call out ‘skin’, or ‘fur’, at any given time, and they had begun to compete to see who reacted and transformed the fastest. This was important training, for they needed to be able to maintain one form or the other according to their will, and not just shift randomly, as they did more often than not at present.
Their party watched the cubs in the courtyard, rumbling with each other, from inside the nursery. The cubs were blissfully ignorant of the fact that they had an audience.
‘Shall we go meet your siblings?’ Fen asked his tigress, who raised her eyebrows, worried, whimpered and vanished again.
‘Scaredy cat,’ Fen teased, ‘they’re not going to bite —’ He observed Kao clamp his jaws around his sister’s head. ‘Well, maybe they will? But you are bigger than they are.’
‘And I was worried she would be too aggressive with her smaller siblings,’ Huxin said, boggling at the timidity of her spirit daughter.
‘Just don’t threaten Fen,’ Hudan warned, letting them know the tigress had a dangerous streak. ‘She seems to read situations according to his feelings.’
‘Are you scared of your niece and nephew?’ Huxin asked Fen, playfully poking him.
‘Of course not.’ He considered his feelings. ‘Perhaps it is more that I am anxious for this reunion to go well.’
‘Then let us proceed.’ She smiled nervously, and then looked back to the courtyard. ‘Zhen! Kao!’ Huxin called, and the twins broke off their combat to come bolting toward her.
‘Skins!’ she cued. Both cubs skidded to a halt to focus on their transformation. Once complete, and finding themselves on all fours, the twins propped themselves onto their unsteady feet and tottered over to their parents. Kao reached his mother just ahead of Zhen, who cast herself into her father’s awaiting snuggle.
The scene was heartwarming as it was rare to see a noble family so close and attentive to one another. Huxin, who had a good serve of yang in her, and Shi, who was very yin in nature, were a perfect balance and obviously very much in love with each other and their children. Hudan, who did not have a maternal bone in her body, still felt her niece and nephew were the cutest, happiest babes she had ever laid eyes on.
‘You need some clothes,’ Shi told Zhen.
‘No!’ She shook her head.
‘No?’ Shi made a ‘brrrr’ sound, wrapping his fur-lined vest about her. ‘I think you’ll get cold.’
But Zhen’s attention had been diverted to the other side of the room and her eyes lit up as she pointed and said, ‘Tiger!’
Kao turned about in Huxin’s arms and squealed with delight upon seeing the pure white tiger vanish.
The toddlers gasped and wriggled their feet to get down on the ground, and Huxin looked to Fen as she let them go.
‘It will be all right,’ he assured her. ‘Ling Hu’s had plenty of practice with the prince.’
Zhen and Kao were searching the nursery cautiously and when Ling Hu suddenly appeared again, they both released an earpiercing squeal of shock and ran laughing back to their parents waiting arms.
Ling Hu ran to Fen, who gave her plenty of praise and reassurance.
Utterly delighted by it all, Hudan couldn’t wipe the smile off her face, as it had been some time since she’d felt so grateful just to be alive and in the moment. Life was simple here in Shao — the last outpost before the wilds of the mountains to the east, south and north. Strangely, it already felt more like home than Li Shan ever had, and something told Hudan that she would be in no hurry to leave.
I believe I made the right decision, she told herself. Hudan may have missed this happy occasion if she had chosen differently. Such good fortune was surely a sign from Tian that she was on the right path.
In her heart she felt at peace with what she’d done.
To Hudan’s delight, Huxin and Shi practised Dao Yin in the morning, and Fen joined them to make it a real family affair. They then ate together and Fen joined Shi in the afternoon to attend to state matters, affording Hudan and Huxin time to catch up on the events of the past year.
They spoke of the loss of Ji Fa as they strolled through the winter garden, and reminisced about their adventures with him. Hudan conveyed the story of Fen’s kidnapping and of how Ling Hu’s gift had been exposed during that dramatic rescue.
‘I must say I am surprised to see you and Fen here and no Zhou Gong.’ Huxin held both hands, palm up, in wonder. ‘You haven’t said a word about Ji Dan all afternoon.’
Hudan was disturbed by the topic. ‘What do you want to know?’
‘Is he still your guilty pleasure?’ she asked openly, as there were no servants within earshot in the garden and a good steady breeze to drown their conversation.
Hudan shook her head. ‘We were nearly caught by Ji Song, the night the twins were born.’ She knew Huxin would find the information juicy.
Huxin gasped, unsure of whether to frown or smile. ‘Not dull!’ She was happy for Hudan, and Hudan served her a look that implied she thought her quite demented. ‘So where is he?’
‘Back at Haojing, serving the royal adolescent, I imagine.’ The comment caused Huxin to grip Hudan’s arm with both hands as she nearly collapsed laughing.
‘I thank heaven Ji Song has yet to summon Shi to the capital,’ Huxin said, but toned down her mirth as she spied the head of the exterior rushing double-time up the path behind them.
‘My lady. The master told me to let you to know we have another guest …’ He appeared very excited. ‘Zhou Gong is here!’
Hudan’s heart leapt into her throat at the announcement.
Huxin raised her eyebrows, utterly delighted. ‘Not at Haojing, after all.’
‘The relevant question being why not,’ Hudan mused, folding her arms in bafflement. She drew a deep breath for courage.
‘Let us go find out … shall we?’ Huxin pulled her sister back toward the house.
Once Shi had sent a servant to inform his wife that they had another surprise guest, he looked back at Dan, who’d collapsed into a chair in the council chamber. He’d never seen his older brother appear so dishevelled. ‘What has happened?’
‘I quit the regency,’ he informed them bluntly, through barely parted eyelids.
‘No, you cannot have!’ Fen exclaimed. ‘What of our late brother’s wishes?’
Dan held his head, which clearly ailed him. ‘It is better this way,’ he replied, eyes lowered to the floor, despondent. ‘There will be no revolt.’
‘Have you been drinking?’ Shi noted Dan’s words were a little slurred.
‘The House of Yi Wu Li Shan has vanished from the face of the earth!’ Dan blurted out.
‘You have been drinking,’ Shi deduced.
‘Hudan is gone!’ he mumbled, tears of distress rimming his eyes.
‘No, Hudan is here,’ Shi was happy to inform him, although deeply concerned for his brother’s mental health.
When Dan looked at Fen and he nodded to confirm Shi’s statement, he was overjoyed. But his happiness quickly deteriorated into horror as he found his sobriety. Reaching up, Dan grabbed hold of Shi by the shirt to appeal. ‘Please … I cannot face her like this!’
After a close whiff of him, Shi had to agree. ‘Right you are,’ Shi said as he released himself from Dan’s grasp and asked his master of the interior to have a bath prepared.
‘Why did you quit?’ Fen moved in close to get Dan to focus. ‘And what do you mean, Li Shan has disappeared?’
‘House, lake, jetty, ferry, gone! Poof!’ Dan twirled his hands once to mark his words. ‘I was starting to wonder if any of you were really here.’ He gave Fen a couple of friendly slaps on the cheek, happy to see him in the flesh, then had a more serious concern. ‘Did Song receive the Great Mother’s mandate?’
‘Yes,’ Fen nodded, ‘I was there when he did, and she predicted that one day he would be remembered as Zhou Cheng.’
‘Yi Wu said that?’ Dan was clearly baffled to hear this. ‘What was she thinking?’ He forced a laugh. ‘Song is not accomplished and is anything but sincere. The Jade Book prophecy unfolds,’ he said mysteriously. ‘But then the Great Mother was the author, so her actions are not so remarkable. Still, at present I have more faith in the babe Yu living up to the name Cheng.’
Both Fen and Shi stood with jaws flapping in the breeze in the wake of Ji Dan’s rant, which was bordering on treasonous and was arrogantly disrespectful to the Great Mother.
‘You are not yourself, brother,’ Fen croaked, finding his voice.
‘We should get you to a bath and rested before you see anyone,’ Shi suggested, giving Fen a hand to get Dan to his feet. Only once he’d recovered from whatever trauma he’d been through would they be able get any sense out of him.
‘Come, I shall heal your head,’ Fen said, noting his lord was bloodied both on his forehead and the back of his skull.
‘I have dreamt of little else all week.’ Dan was grateful as he staggered to standing. He leant heavily on Fen to make good his timely retreat to the guest chambers.
When Hudan and Huxin arrived to greet Zhou Gong, Shi apologised for dragging them inside so quickly, as Dan was weary from his journey and needed to rest.
‘But why is he at Shao,’ Hudan asked, ‘when he should be at Haojing advising the new king?’ The pained look on Shi’s face told Hudan something wasn’t right.
‘My brother has had a bump on the head, and until Fen is done with him and he has had time to rest, I shall not be able to tell you.’
‘He is hurt?’ Hudan was alarmed.
‘Not beyond Fen’s healing,’ Shi pointed out, ‘but Dan has been through something traumatic —’
Hudan was already heading for the guest quarters. ‘I should see him.’
‘He does not wish to see you until he has recovered.’ Shi’s statement stopped her in her tracks.
‘He knows I am here?’ Hudan swung back around to rejoin the conversation.
‘He does,’ Shi confirmed.
‘And he does not wish to see me?’ The hurt she felt caused her voice to crack, and she cleared her throat, as a painful emotional lump had formed in it.
‘Not until he has had a chance to recover,’ Shi repeated, and Hudan found that very curious.
‘Since when has he needed his strength to face me?’ If he was ailing Dan usually wanted her near … there was something seriously wrong.
‘Please do not worry,’ Shi said hastily, hating that he’d upset her. ‘He is very eager to see you, and was overjoyed to learn you are here.’
She forced a smile, so that her brother-in-law would not feel bad. ‘Please let me know as soon as he is prepared to grant me an audience,’ she said graciously, and backed up a few paces to turn and make for the door.
‘Hudan —’ Huxin moved to go after her, but her sister held up a hand to bid her stay.
Quickly departing the halls of governance, Hudan took another turn into the garden, where she hoped to work off her discontent.
Some time in nature practising her craft had lessened Hudan’s tension, and despite Ji Dan’s all too obvious absence at the dinner table, she suppressed her intuitive concerns and made the most of the happy occasion. Fen joined them late, to report that the patient was resting peacefully and should be as right as rain by tomorrow.
I can be patient, had been Hudan’s mantra for the evening.
Dinner was a lovely drawn-out affair, and she enjoyed playing hide and seek with the family before the twins’ bedtime. The adult banter around the fireplace afterward continued well on into the wee hours of the morning over too much warmed wine. Only at festival time did they ever have nights like this together, and all four of them might have fallen asleep in front of the fire, had the head of the interior at Shao not humbly suggested they call it a night.
Hudan had actually fallen asleep on Fen, but once roused and sent off to her room and having changed and settled into bed, she was wide awake again. Her inebriated thoughts turned to Dan, in the room down the hall. She was starting to really worry about him, as he never rested this much. I should check in on him, she thought, and clambered out of bed, then stood up and swayed about a little. ‘I am good,’ she decided as she found her balance.
She managed to walk a straight, quiet, line down the hallway and, looking back to ensure no one had been alerted, she collided into someone and made a muffled sound as a hand was slapped over her mouth.
‘Hudan?’ She was swung around to view her assailant.
‘Aaan!’ Hudan hummed, as the lord dragged her back into his room, where a lantern was s
till burning.
‘I was coming to see you —’ they both said at once, as Dan let her go to close the door. Hudan suppressed a laugh and tottered about in the wake of being released, as it felt like the room was swaying.
‘Are you … drunk?’ Dan queried her unusually good cheer, and Hudan pinched her index finger near her thumb to imply ‘a little’. ‘And I was concerned about you seeing me thus!’ He gave a laugh, amused to see her so uninhibited.
‘You were drunk …’ Hudan raised her eyebrows, intrigued, as she found her centre and stilled. ‘That’s why you didn’t want to see me?’
‘That, and …’ He hesitated to spoil her good mood. ‘After what happened at the Gao Mei rite, I wasn’t sure you would want to see me.’
‘Why? What happened?’ Hudan queried, and Dan was curious about her response.
‘His majesty told me that you were chosen as his goddess,’ Dan informed her, and her eyes grew wide in comprehension. ‘He identified you by your birthmark.’
Hudan was so angry she couldn’t speak for a second. ‘His boast to you is impossible as I left Li Shan immediately after Ji Fa’s burial, before the goddess rite even began.’
Dan breathed a huge sigh of relief. ‘The Great Mother allowed you to forgo the rite?’
Hudan shook her head. ‘I chose banishment.’
Dan caught his breath.
‘However sordid our love life might have been in another life, I am not about to repeat those shortcomings in this one.’ Hudan became teary; the wine was making her over-emotional.
‘No …’ Dan took hold of her hands. ‘Hreen said that you had always had a connection with the son of the sky within Song, but that you had never been his.’
‘I’d like to connect with him right now!’ Hudan threatened under her breath. Then as the full wording of his statement fully sank in, she did a double take. ‘When did you speak with the Lord of Time?’
‘More important is that I did, and he assured me you have never willingly betrayed me, nor I you.’
The moment they both realised all was well between them, their lips met and their bodies entwined. Hudan had not expected to be awarded the opportunity to see Dan before departing on her quest, so this was another happy blessing from Tian. But in the midst of their mutual emotional delirium, Hudan realised there were still questions to be answered, and she pulled away, compelled to question him. ‘Why are you here at Shao?’