[Editor: Ajax_Flameborn, Rain, Dazzling_Radiance]

“You did very well.” Official Wu said while smiling kindly.

He was the head of the Ministry of Appointments, the main government branch tasked with negotiating with foreign powers. To his equals or juniors, he was the Appointments Minister Wu; He was considered powerful and well respected in Lanhua. But to the royal family, not just himself but all Ministers and below, were simply “officials”.

Usually, a person of his status and position wouldn’t dare talk casually to the Queen Consort. But he was a grandchild of Wu Tengfei and Pei Zhi and had grown up calling the Queen “Granny Mei”. He had a bit more leeway than others.

Currently, there was only Official Wu, Duke Lin Ye, and Shu Fu Jing in the room with the Queen Consort.

Mei Hua sat slumped on her throne and looked like a wilted flower. She glanced at her friend’s grandson and tiredly squinted.

“You’re not just saying that just to make me feel better are you?”

With his perpetually straight face, Official Wu said, “Never. I thought how you throttled the Chengshi representative was particularly satisfying.”

She grunted, smirking slightly.

“I really felt like I was channeling Jin in that moment.”

“You were beautiful MeiMei.” Ye added, his expression doting.

“It’s good that your Highness dealt with that discourteous man before the Minister of Finance got to him.”

Ye sighed and said longingly, “Ah, I’d have liked to see Big Zou take a swing at that Chengshi guy anyway…”

“Duke Lin Ye, if Official Zou had gotten to him that would have been an international incident….”

Ye chuckled maliciously, causing Official Wu to flatten his lips.

“If Duke Lin Ye is going to be like that, then the Duke can deal with Official Zou sobbing all over everything afterward.”

Ye’s whole face scrunched in horror and he waved his hands around as if fending off the invisible sobbing official.

“I take it back, aiy! I didn’t mean it!”

Fu Jing stood there feeling hopeless at their behavior.

He’d never experienced anything like today in his political career. The sudden disappearance of the Emperor had made the dignitaries suspicious. The Lanhua side used the excuse of the Emperor dealing with the aftermath of an earthquake to explain his sudden absence, which only barely worked. A few dignitaries thought the Emperor’s absence was a good opportunity and tried to “bully” the Queen and renegotiate in their favor.

The Lanhua officials had all been furious at the blatant disrespect. It really looked like a fight was going to start and Official Zou was on the top of the list of who would throw the first punch. The Queen had stepped in and fought the worst offender before anyone else could.

It’s not that Fu Jing thought the visitors should behave impertinently, but throttling them wasn’t, technically, an option either. Foreign nobles don’t get throttled! You can throttle your own nobles from dawn till dusk, but not someone else’s nobles! At worst you just put them under house arrest or kicked them out of the country.

Instead, Fu Jing had to wade in the middle of the “fighting” to separate his sister-in-law and the dignitary. No matter how the dignitary cried and demanded justice, all the Lanhua officials had just turned their heads and pretended like they didn’t see anything. As for the other dignitaries, they’d just witnessed the Queen lift a full-grown man over her head with ease, they didn’t dare side with their offending compatriot and anger her further.

The “barbaric” Queen was currently furrowing her brow in puzzlement. “Why do we have a Minister of Finance that looks like he can snap a person in half anyway?”

“MeiMei, it can’t be you think people who are good at math are pale weaklings who stay indoors all the time? Tsk, tsk!”

Mei Hua didn’t meet Ye’s eye and coughed in embarrassment. This was exactly how she thought. The previous Minister of Finance had been a thin, pale grandpa-type after all.

Ye laughed. “You’re right though, he doesn’t fit the part, does he? Big Zou is the Sixth child of a big military family—”

“Military family?” Mei Hua’s face stiffened in realization, “It’s not THE Zou’s, famous for throwing both son AND daughter into the military with cult-like fervency?!”

“That very one.”

“Goodness, no wonder he’s like that…” Mei Hua muttered.

“These Zous send their daughters into the military?” Fu Jing asked in surprise. Occasionally women would join the military in his country, but it wasn’t at the family’s behest. Usually, the women went despite their parents protesting.

Ye and Official Wu nodded and then explained the Zou Family history:

The Zou Family was originally a well-regarded military family from the western Greater Peak Country. During the formative years of Lanhua, the border disputes between Greater Peak and Lanhua put the Zou Family in direct conflict with Lanhua’s army. No matter how brilliantly they fought, Lanhua always beat them.

The losses stung the Zou Family because Lanhua always had a substantially smaller force. Often Lanhua’s Princes would fight too, causing the most damage to Zou Family forces. If it was just being defeated the Zous would have stayed in Greater Peak Country, but the King at the time started demoting and punishing the Zou Family for failing to beat Lanhua.

What could the Zou’s do? Anyone who saw the Lanhua army, particularly those terrifying blue-eyed Princes, would know they weren’t normal. It was like trying to fight several Immortal Emperors at once! It just wasn’t possible for mortals to win against them! If they were the greedy sorts, Greater Peak Country would already have been wiped off the map!

But none of that mattered to their King. He had insisted on fighting because Lanhua wouldn’t give him any face. All the battles up until now had just been for his pride, not for national safety. The constant defeats meant he lost even more face. Rather than take the reputation blow, he found someone else to blame: the famous Zou Family. Not only was the King able to save face, he also took much of the military from them as well, further securing his power.

The Zous were repressed and bullied everywhere they went thanks to their King. Then, one day, the last General of the Zou Family decided he’d had enough. Lanhua was ruled by gods while Greater Peak only had a tubby, spineless king for a ruler. Why should the Zou Family lower their heads to a mortal who would whip them for losing to gods when they could fight side-by-side with those gods of victory?

It didn’t take General Zou too much convincing to get the rest of the family on board. They packed up what they could and promptly defected to Lanhua. Along the way, loyalist soldiers to their family joined them. Soon, a great caravan of people were heading into Lanhua.

If it had been some other country, defectors like the Zou’s definitely wouldn’t have been accepted. They were too high ranking and taking them in could have turned border disputes into a full-blown war. Then there was the problem of broken loyalty. A servant who turns traitor once could definitely do so again.

But who ruled over Lanhua? Whether it was war or lies, the Fairy Emperor wasn’t afraid of either. He would crush any enemies and he could see into the hearts of men. The Emperor accepted the Zou Family and their loyalists as long as they were willing to be thoroughly used by him.

When the Zou Family met Emperor Jin, they were starstruck. They respected raw strength more than status. They knew the Princes were like death gods on the battlefield but they’d only heard about the Emperor. Power rolled off him in waves that they could almost feel, pressing down on them, demanding absolute obedience. Their warrior’s hearts trembled and they felt that, finally, here was a lord worthy of their service.

The Zou family ever after that was extremely, excessively, dedicated to serving Lanhua. Particularly in a military capacity. They practically worshipped Yan Li, the second prince who was in charge of the army. If they’d been able to marry off any of their daughters to Yan Li or the other princes, they definitely would have… but it turned out the princes had all taken a vow not to marry until their mother was cured.

Right after Mei Hua was cured, Yan Li was married off. And then shortly after that, several laws came out stating that those serving in a government capacity could no longer take in more wives and concubines. Lovers were absolutely forbidden. Future leadership could only have a single wife. This included royalty and those in the military. The Zou daughters lost any chance of marrying Yan Li.

They tried seducing the other princes but that didn’t work very well. Even Lu Shao, the most promiscuous of the princes, couldn’t be tied down. When it came to serious relationships, it seemed that all the princes but Yan Li were ambivalent. Eventually, just the sight of a Zou daughter would cause a prince to make a run for it. Thus, the Zou Family had to very begrudgingly give up on the idea of marrying into the royal family they adored.

The Zou girls settled down while the Zou boys all joined the military. The years passed quietly until the third generation of the Zou Family. This generation, unlike the last two, had been thoroughly educated in Lanhuan morals and philosophy, shaking off the last vestiges of Greater Peak cultural influences.

The first of the third generation to come of age was a girl. By then, it was well known that women could join the military. Rather than marry a military man as the women before her had done, this Zou girl decided to directly join the military. Her parents were cautious at first, but when she did well they stopped objecting. Then her young brother joined and did just as well. Both children got praised directly by Prince Yan Li for their dedication.

This caused all the other Zou family members to be jealous. Those parents got double honor by having their girl join as well as their boy. So all the Zous began sending their daughters into the military. Of course, the standards were high and not many women could successfully join, but that didn’t stop any of them from trying. Sometimes multiple times.

As for Big Zou, though he was large and looked dangerous, he lacked the tenacious quality found in the rest of his family. He got queasy at the sight of blood, had a low pain tolerance, and hated seeing people suffer. His personality was the exact opposite of his appearance. He preferred order, cleanliness, and numbers. Though he’d risen to be the head of the Ministry of Finance, he was still considered the “black sheep” of the family.

Other than his looks, the only Zou “quality” Big Zou retained was an overzealous adoration to the royal family. Though he was usually peaceful and quiet, if he saw someone disrespecting the royal family he would be the first to lose his temper. And being so large meant it was easy for him to accidentally hurt a person. But since he hated the sight of blood, if he actually hurt someone he turned into a blubbering mess afterward.

“Wait, wait, wait…” Fu Jing held up his hand. “Are you telling me the Official Zou comes from a family of defectors? That you just let them waltz right in and integrate into your military and government?”

They all nodded.

“And that didn’t bother you at all?!”

Mei Hua raised a tired eyebrow, “If Jin says they’re good, then they’re good.”

“It’s not like they all got in anyway,” Ye added. “Some got kicked out shortly after arriving.”

“Why were they kicked out?”

Ye tapped his chest, “Filthy on the inside. We can tell the ones that mean us harm.”

“Even so—”

“Think of it this way,” Ye cut him off. “If Xui had brought someone to you and said they were a good, loyal person, would you argue with her? Even if their past was questionable?”

Fu Jing immediately shut up.

Mei Hua rubbed her forehead, which was aching slightly. “Anyway, I’m glad that’s over with— ah!”

She looked at her hand, which was now covered in smeared red and white, and said sheepishly, “I ruined my makeup.”

————————

Later that day, shortly before dinner, Shuya appeared in the Palace again. She gave the journal back to Fu Jing without saying anything, only giving him a strange stare, and then went to find Mei Hua.

“Little Sister…” She called out gently into the study where Mei Hua was looking over paperwork.

Mei Hua eyed her angrily. “You left me to the wolves today.”

“Hehehe, don’t be angry. It was only today, I’ll be there to help tomorrow.”

“Who wants your help!”

“Don’t be like that—” Shuya walked over and hugged her, putting all her weight on the smaller woman. “I love you so much. If you ignore me, how will I live?”

“Arg, you’re heavy— so heavy—! I can’t ignore you even if I want to!” Mei Hua pushed her away and harrumphed, glaring at her. “Well, don’t just stand there being useless, help me look over these documents.”

Shuya grinned broadly and pulled up a chair. Mei Hua pushed some papers towards her, smiling innocently. When Shuya picked them up, her nose wrinkled.

Last year’s tax summaries. This year’s tax updates and adjustments. Even internal audits carefully itemized and explained. One long row of numbers after another.

These were the worst!

She opened her mouth to complain but stopped at Mei Hua’s dangerous smile. Shuya cleared her throat and decided not to argue. Sometimes a person had to accept the annoying jobs to get forgiveness.

They were silent for several minutes while they both worked.

“So…” Mei Hua finally spoke, “...you read the journal?”

“En.”

“You want to talk about it?”

Shuya was silent for a moment before saying, “You know Little Sis…”

“Hm?”

“It’d been so long since Master left I forgot…”

“What did you forget?”

“That Master of mine is so easily distracted, ah!” She slapped the table and pursed her lips, looking annoyed and a little sad. “Jin is really obsessive, you know? But Master… Master is always chasing after the next interesting thing. Whether it’s us trees, or fairies, or humans, or even the whole wide world… if she weren’t tethered to the mountains, I really think Master would explore every inch of the world and only think about the people she left behind in passing.”

Mei Hua looked at Shuya in surprise, “She can’t be that bad. She left all that information in the Traveller’s Cave…”

“Mountains have a different view of time than everyone else. I’m ancient, but she’s even older than I am and by quite a lot. Everything in the Traveller’s Cave was barely a ripple in her life. If it’s interesting, she does it. If she loses interest, she doesn’t think twice about it. To you, it seems like a long time, but it’s not in the big scheme of things.”

“Huh, I guess that’s true.”

Shuya sighed heavily, “You know why I think she liked humans? They changed, not just themselves but the world around them. Trees and animals can change things too, but it takes longer and it’s not intentional. It’s just a byproduct of how we are… but humans think and plan for change. They mean to do it. And they’re creative, you know, compared to us trees… naturally, we’re not as interesting as humans… why would she bother with us...” Shuya muttered, deflating at the admission.

Mei Hua reached out and gave Shuya’s hand a sympathetic pat. “I think you’re very interesting.”

“Why not just be my mother and tell me I’m beautiful?” Shuya snorted but laughed immediately afterward. “Jin is the only one, I think, who occupies her mind consistently. The one person she never loses interest in, no matter how long time passes.”

“What about Shu Fu Jing?”

“That guy…” Shuya paused, brow furrowed, “...it’s too early to tell. But would it even matter if one day she lost interest in him too? His corpse won’t even exist anymore by the time she moves on from him.”

“Still, if that’s true… Poor brother-in-law… he loves her so much...”

“He’s got a better chance than I do, so I don’t feel sorry for him.” Shuya looked bitter. “He’s human, he can change. If she starts losing interest, all he’s got to do is spice things up a bit to get her attention again. What am I gonna do? Really, so unfair, ah.”

“You say that, but you did change. Aren’t you like this now?”

Shuya blinked and then brightened, “That’s right! Thanks to a human, I’ve changed too! When she comes back, she’ll definitely be interested in me again!”

“...you aren’t going to forget about your Little Sister the moment she comes back, are you?” Mei Hua asked suspiciously.

“Eh? Forget Little Sis??” Shuya thought for a moment and then answered seriously, “Probably... for a little while.”

Mei Hua looked at Shuya unhappily, her brows scrunching together. She smacked her head with a scroll.

“Ow, at least I’m admitting to it ahead of time...”

“Aya, yes, it’s so much better to know in advance I’m going to be tossed aside!”

“I didn’t say I’d toss you aside! Just be distracted for a while!”

“Hah, how’s that any different? You might not be a mountain, but don’t think I don’t know. I might not see you for a hundred years!”

“Hey! Don’t pick on only me! You think I’ll be the only one? Jin will—” Shuya covered her mouth, shutting herself up and looking guilty. It was fine to rip into Jin, but not at the expense of her Little Sister.

Mei Hua set down the brush she’d been holding to write with and leaned back, face glum.

“It’s not like I haven’t thought about it. In some ways, I’m just a placeholder for her, right? When she comes back, he will be whole and he won’t need me.”

“Little Sis, that’s not true...”

“Really? If they’d never fought and she’d never left, would he have even looked twice at me?”

“Blue Flower Village would still be here if they hadn’t fought. The Villagers would have picked you up and found you a new family. You’d have married some mortal man and had his children. You know how old you are right? You’d already be dead by now. You would never have looked at him either.”

Mei Hua quieted and then chuckled.

“At least mortal men don’t cause earthquakes.”

“They wouldn’t love you the way he does though.”

Mei Hua raised an eyebrow, surprised at Shuya’s admission.

“I said before, didn’t I? Jin is the opposite of Master. He doesn’t let many things into his heart, but the things he lets in can’t ever leave.” Her face puckered. “You do realize he had a huge falling out with Master over a dead deer right? You’re at least at a deer’s level at this point, give yourself that much credit.”

Hearing this Mei Hua couldn’t help bursting out into laughter. “I’ve got to be the only wife in the world who feels relieved at being at a deer’s level.”

Shuya huffed, “That guy is just so weird. I’ll never understand why it had to be deer… not very masculine if you ask me. A wolf or mountain lion… bears… even badgers would have worked… but instead, it was deer...”

“That's more like you.” Mei Hua said suddenly, smiling.

“Huh?”

“You were being so positive about Jin while being so negative about your Master, it was worrying me a little.”

“Well…” Shuya scratched the tip of her nose. “...I was reminded that my Master isn’t perfect and Jin is… not all that bad. Sometimes.”

“Speaking of your Master, I haven’t had a chance to read that journal yet. I’ve only heard a little bit from Ye and my sons.”

“You want me to recount it for you? I can do it word-for-word.”

Mei Hua stared at the stacks of reports and law revisions she was supposed to be reviewing and suddenly felt she could use a break. After she nodded, Shuya stealthily set aside the paperwork she was suppose to be doing and got comfortable. She began recounting what she’d read, her voice gently lilting as she spoke.

“There is a mountain, far to the East, that has existed as long as the earth grew green and small creatures crept upon it…”