snarky_panda (snarky_panda) wrote in mulanficspace, @ 2007-06-06 23:19:00 |
|
|||
Fandom: Mulan
Title: New Home
Author: snarky panda
Theme: #3, Moving
Pairing/Characters: Fa Mulan/General Li (Shang’s father, NOT Shang)
Genre: Drama
Rating: NC-17 (Rating for sex, adult situations, and for safety)
Disclaimer: Anything from the Disney movie belongs to Disney. Anything from Raise the Red Lantern belongs to Su Tong.
Summary: 1st part of a crossover fic (sort of) inspired by Raise the Red Lantern and alternate storyline based on another outcome that could have occurred because Mulan failed the matchmaker’s test. (Link to beginning of story)
*******
Chapter 4
General Li returned home after four months. Fu-ling came to Mulan’s house one afternoon and announced to her that he had arrived that morning and would be paying her a visit shortly.
“What’s this I hear about you practicing with your father’s sword?”
Mulan smiled sweetly, careful to keep the dismay that she felt hidden. She just knew that those stupid servants would say something. Or maybe it was Yun.
“Just getting exercise. He taught me self-defense when I was little girl and I don’t want to forget what he taught me. Besides, I need to get a bit of a workout.”
“Hmm.”
“You don’t want me to get all flabby and grey-faced from going without fresh air, do you?”
He chuckled. “You’re several years away from looking like that.”
“I missed you,” she cooed as they lay together a short time later, her lips drawn into a slight pout. Acting cute and coy with him came naturally; but she was genuinely glad for his return. She was tired of being surrounded by people like Yun who talked about nothing; General Li was a sophisticated, well-traveled man who had much more interesting things to say.
“It’s good to be home,” he answered, his fingers lightly caressing her chin then moving up to rest against her cheek. “Nowhere did I see a face as beautiful as yours.”
Mulan couldn’t help but giggle. She doubted that he’d seen too many women in battle.
The corners of his mouth turned down momentarily and he frowned. “Unfortunately I may have to leave again at some point.”
“Are we in danger still?”
He smiled and began to stroke her hair soothingly. “No. Don’t you worry.”
“But you think you may have to fight again?”
“I will always need to fight again,” he sighed. “We force the enemy to retreat and push them back; but they always come again.”
“Doesn’t the Great Wall keep them out?”
“There are gaps in it. The Emperor has commissioned its completion and men are working night and day to build new sections to close them off and keep the barbarians out for good.”
“Oh. But this time…well, this leader seems to already have a reputation…”
“Yes. Shan-Yu is a fierce and ruthless leader. But nothing that I can’t handle,” he added rather pompously.
“Shan-Yu? I remember my father mention him.”
“The Emperor is very familiar with Shan-Yu, as is his army. Your father was an honored general, who no doubt met Shan-Yu in battle at least once.”
“He said Shan-Yu was smart. What if he didn’t retreat back over the border? Would he hide out somewhere on this side of the wall?”
“Well, aren’t you the inquisitive little one?” he laughed mirthfully. “Yes, there’s a chance that he’s camped secretly with his men on this side of the wall. Or perhaps he’s gone back for reinforcements. Either way, until we fortify the wall I have no doubt I will meet him again in battle.”
He chucked her under the chin then pulled her into his arms once more.
“But enough of this talk. This is nothing that a young girl should be concerned with.”
oooOooo
“Be careful with the scissors,” Yun demanded, her voice soft but firm.
“I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” Mulan asked, ceasing her Second Sister’s haircut. The hand holding the pair of scissors began to shake slightly.
“No. But it’s been a long time since I had anyone cut my hair. The last time I had my ear cut.”
“Oh! What happened?”
“Fourth Mistress. I asked her to give me a haircut so I could look nice for the general when he came to me that night. She was an evil one, let me tell you. Jealous because she’d lost favor with the general through her own doing. Cut off most of my hair and nearly cut my ear off. I still have a scar, see on the right one?”
Mulan didn’t see any scar, but wishing to avoid an argument she concurred that she could still see the scar.
“That’s terrible, Yun. I’ll be very careful.”
It was hard to believe that Honglian had purposely cut Yun, but she also couldn’t see how she could have done it accidentally unless she was paying no attention to what she was doing. Mulan managed to remain undistracted, succeeding in completing the haircut without cutting her Second Sister’s ear off. Still, she fidgeted nervously as Yun examined herself in the mirror, checking her work.
“I like the way you did the front.”
She picked up a smaller hand-held mirror so she could look at the back.
“Here, let me help you.”
Mulan held the small mirror up behind her so she could see it.
“I hope I didn’t cut too much off.”
“It’s perfect. I don’t cut my hair very often and when I do, I like to crop it short the way you did.”
This was the first time Mulan had cut anyone else’s hair and she was glad that she hadn’t completely messed it up.
Second Sister stepped away from the mirror, looking quite pleased, and thanked her.
“You’re welcome.”
Mulan suspected that Yun was probably just relieved, as she was, that her ear didn’t get cut off.
oooOooo
“Is it true that Fourth Mistress nearly cut off Second Sister’s ear?”
He started at her words.
“Did she tell you that?”
“Yes.”
“Hmph,” the general grunted. “I don’t know why she’s even discussing her with you.”
“It’s not her fault. I asked about it.”
“Curiosity killed the cat, Mulan,” he chided, his voice firm.
Her heart sank with dismay as she noted the sudden coldness and anger in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I saw her in the back…”
He cupped her face in one hand and began to trace circles on her cheek with his thumb, his face softening. “It’s alright. There’s no need for you to look so upset. I don’t like to think about her anymore, that’s all. As you know, she went mad.”
“Yes. It’s very sad.”
“It is. But that’s what happens to people who can’t adapt to their situation and cope. I’m the master of this house and I set the rules. I always make sure to be good to everyone in my household. But when they don’t abide by my wishes, it makes it very difficult. Do you see what I mean?”
“Of course. You’re very kind and a very fair master.”
General Li leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
“Keep away from Fourth Mistress. She has never harmed anyone other than Yun, but just in case, stay clear. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, little one.”
“Does anyone even use that well that she always hangs around?”
“Not anymore. The servants are very superstitious about it now that two people have died in it. They view it as a place of bad luck and death. It’s complete silliness if you ask me. But as long as they get the water that we need, I don’t care where they take it from.”
“Two people died there?”
“Enough about the well, Mulan,” he answered sternly. “Come to bed.”
oooOooo
The general didn’t stay at home for very long. As he had predicted, the enemy rose up again. After being home for just three short months he had to leave once more. And though he’d spent nearly every night with her, two weeks after he left again her period began to flow.
She began to truly worry about her standing in the household now, wondering if Honglian had lost favor with the general because she hadn’t conceived either. Although he already had a grown son and several daughters with his First Wife, as well as Ping, his little son from Shan-hu. Wasn’t that enough children for him?
Left alone, bored and isolated again, she ventured out to the back of the vast garden one sunny day, making her way toward the well. She’d been dwelling on it ever since General Li had slipped that two people had died there. Who else had? And what had really happened to Honglian? Yun had called her evil, accusing her of purposely trying to harm her. But Mulan wondered if there was something else to it. Honglian was clearly a victim as well. Perhaps she was provoked when she cut Yun’s ear.
Yun was a sneaky one, she was coming to realize. Mulan was fairly certain that it had been Yun who told the general about her father’s sword and her practice, maybe to cause her to lose favor with him. In fact, her Second Sister had prompted her lately to think on a story that her father used to tell her about Zheng Xiu, the wife of the King of Chu.
Like every other officer of the Imperial army Fa Zhou had studied and committed Sun Tzu’s The Art of War to memory. In addition to the strategies and lessons of Sun Tzu, her father was aware of other, less honorable tactics.
“Hide your dagger behind a smile,” was one of the sayings he had repeated to her, going on to tell her anecdotes, such as that about Zheng Xiu.
During the time when China was divided into several states that were at war with each other, the King of Wei sent a beautiful courtesan to the King of Chu. His queen Zheng Xiu, knowing that her husband was taken with the girl, treated the newcomer as a sister, supplying her with gifts and treasures and whatever she needed.
The king hearing of this summoned his queen and said, “A woman serves a man with her beauty and thus jealousy is a part of her very nature. Yet you, knowing how much the new woman pleases me, have treated her more kindly than I have myself. These actions are those of a child to her parents or a minister to his ruler, how unexpected it is to find this in a queen to a woman that her husband is fond of.”
Zheng Xiu thus knew that her husband did not suspect her of jealousy. When she next met with the new courtesan she told her, “His majesty is much taken with your beauty but he dislikes the shape of your nose. When next you serve him be sure to cover it with your hand.”
Grateful for the advice, when the new courtesan next served the king this is what she did.
The next day the king asked his queen, “The new woman covers her nose when she is with me. Do you know why?”
“I know,” replied Zheng Xiu, but she offered nothing further.
“No matter how unpleasant you must tell me the reason.”
“It seems she does not like the way your majesty smells.”
In a rage the king ordered that the unfortunate girl’s nose be cut off.
“That’s what it is about her,” Mulan spoke aloud to herself as she made her way across the expansive yard, thinking about Yun’s serene demeanor and outwardly kind ways. “That is her tactic.”
Today Honglian sat underneath the large tree near the stone wall, staring into space, her lips moving deliriously but making no sound.
“Fourth Mistress?”
Receiving no response at all Mulan decided to try a different tactic, addressing her on a somewhat more personal level.
“Fourth Elder Sister?” she began.
Honglian’s lips stopped moving and Mulan knew that she had gotten through, at least a little.
“It’s a beautiful day today. Would it be alright if I joined you?”
“Younger Sister,” Honglian whispered.
Mulan smiled and crept closer.
“I wasn’t sure if you knew me. We haven’t been formally introduced.”
She took a seat on the grass, beside her but at some distance just in case. Honglian seemed more apt to harm herself than anyone else; but she didn’t want to take any chances lest the woman suddenly become frenzied and try to scratch her eyes out or something along those lines.
“My name is Mulan. How are you feeling today?”
Honglian closed her eyes, an expression of anguish and pain on her face.
“I won’t jump,” she repeated her usual mantra several minutes later.
“Not like the other two people, right?”
She received a nod in response.
“I know Shan-hu jumped, Fourth Sister, but I don’t know who the other person was.”
“Su.”
“Su? Yun’s daughter Su?”
“Su.”
A soft breeze blew and the weather had turned warmer. Mulan remained quiet, offering companionship without pressing Fourth Sister but glancing at Honglian every once in awhile to see how she was doing.
Honglian turned and met her gaze, intense dark eyes clear again as she reached one of her rare moments of presence and clarity.
“We’re not human beings here.”
“Of course we are. It’s just that he is the master and we have to abide by his desires.”
Her remark was met with silence.
“I know how lonely it’s been for you, Fourth Elder Sister. I get lonely here, too.”
“You need to get yourself a doctor like Shan-hu.”
She began to laugh hysterically, her remark and loud cackling completely jarring.
“A doctor?”
But Honglian had retreated back into her own world already, her laughter ceasing as suddenly as it had begun.
Mulan watched sadly as she stood up and drifted over to the well, beginning her usual circle around it, her pace becoming more and more frenzied with each circuit.
That evening she pondered over Honglian’s words about Su and her remark about Shan-hu’s doctor. Who was the doctor that Honglian mentioned? And why would Su, a little girl, jump in the well? Had she been playing too close to the edge and fallen in? Or had Su been killed for being born a girl, as had occurred to her when she first learned of Yun’s daughter; thrown in? And if Su had been thrown into the well, could it be possible that Shan-hu hadn’t jumped at all, as everyone suggested, but had also been thrown in?
Maybe that’s what Honglian’s cries of murder were about.
An involuntary shudder passed through her, creeping down her spine, radiating up into her neck and scalp, making her hair stand on end.
What if it was General Li that had killed Shan-hu? Was that the price one paid for failing to abide by his rules?
oooOooo
“Where are you from, Honglian?”
She didn’t necessarily expect a response, but every once in awhile Honglian emerged from her trance and answered. In the meantime, Mulan conversed with her, hoping to continue to draw her out by demonstrating that she had a friend there if she wanted one. And she liked being able to talk about herself to Honglian; it helped her stay in touch with who she was. It was so easy to lose touch with that in this place.
“I’m from Wan County,” she continued, not waiting for a response. “My father was Fa Zhou, a well-known general of the Emperor. He taught me some martial arts, enough that I can defend myself. And I learned how to horseback ride. I had a beautiful black horse at home. I rode him everyday. I wish I had a horse to ride here. But at least I can come out to this big garden and practice. I loved my father and I don’t want to forget the things he taught me, even if they aren’t things that women usually do. It’s the only thing I have left that I can honor his memory with.”
Mulan caught sight of Yun in the distance and ducked behind the tree quickly before she was seen. She peered around the trunk and watched as her Second Sister strolled away, into the main wing of the compound. Perhaps she’d seen her with Honglian and was on the way to report her to First Mistress, the next best thing to reporting her to General Li. Or maybe she hadn’t seen her at all.
She decided that it would be wise to end this one-sided conversation now and get back to the compound. Judging by the angle of the sun, it was time for the midday meal anyway. Besides, she was beginning to wonder if her own mind was beginning to snap, given that she sat and spoke daily to a madwoman that rarely answered at all, yet alone with a semi-coherent answer.
“It’s time for me to go in for lunch. I’ll come back and visit tomorrow, Honglian. Okay?”
Honglian gave no answer as Mulan stood up and headed back to the main wing.
oooOooo
“Aren’t you feeling well?” Yun asked as they sat together later that afternoon. “You look under the weather.”
She looked up with a start. “No, no. I’m alright. But…in case I do ever get sick, is there a doctor that the family uses?”
“Doctor Liang cares for the family now. General Li fired our previous doctor.”
“Wasn’t he any good?”
“Very good. And quite good-looking. But they had a bit of a falling out, I’m afraid.”
“Oh.”
Yun gestured for the servant to refill the empty teapot that sat between them.
“I’ve always been coming here, Yun,” Mulan began as the servant disappeared. “Maybe next time I should serve you at my house so you’re not constantly inconvenienced.”
“Nonsense. I enjoy having company.”
Moments later the servant returned with the newly-filled teapot and set it down. Yun dismissed him and turned back to Mulan.
“If you aren’t feeling well, you can let me or one of the servants know. Usually General Li would be the one to have the doctor sent for, but with him away, First Mistress will do it.”
“Oh.”
Mulan bit her lip, turning over a thought in her mind.
“Was Third Mistress ill?”
“Obviously. She committed suicide.”
“I mean physically.”
“She complained a lot about not feeling well. It was her way of monopolizing General Li so that he would be spending his time with her. He’d be here sometimes and would have to leave in the middle of the night because the servants came banging on the door, announcing that Third Mistress wasn’t feeling well and was asking for him.”
“Oh.”
“Why do you ask such a thing?”
Mulan shrugged casually. “I’ve been thinking about my father. He was very ill and in a terrible amount of pain before he died.”
“And you think he may have killed himself to end it?”
“I don’t know,” she sighed.
“No, Shan-hu was just overly dramatic and she found a way to manipulate the general into spending his time with her. There was nothing wrong with her physically.”
Later, as Mulan lay in bed alone, she put it together. Shan-hu must have cheated on General Li. That’s what Honglian’s remark that she should get a doctor like Shan-hu meant. Obviously their affair had come to light. The doctor was fired and Shan-hu was murdered. And Honglian had witnessed it.
She shivered and pulled her blanket tightly around her. Of course. Men could remarry, take as many wives as they wanted. But a widow was supposed to choose not to remarry; though there was no law prohibiting her from taking on a new husband, there was an unwritten expectation for women to remain faithful to their husbands even after their death. It was all the fault of some woman of high stature that lived hundreds of years ago and had set this example. Everyone had admired her virtue in making that choice and now all women had to live up to that standard.
And a husband could have an affair; it was his natural right for being born male. But not a wife; a wife could be executed for cheating on her husband. Even if General Li did throw Shan-hu into the well, the law wouldn’t recognize him as a murderer, as Honglian called him.
He was merely meting out justice for a punishable crime that had been committed.
(Link to Chapter 5)