…

“...wake up?” the side of my face was patted brusquely.

“Ahhh!” I screamed, opening my eyes to see the brilliant grin of the obnoxious, scar-faced general.

“..." Zhou Liang gave me a look like I was crazy, then said, "You slept like a corpse. Got an illness?”

I swept the disheveled hair off my face and remembered getting forced down Plum Blossom mountain. Before I woke up, in my dream Dad was chasing me through the city with a whip saying he'd beat me straight again...that's weird, he never did that. I was handed lukewarm tea by rough hands covered in scars and nicks of varying shape, size, and depth. The tea was made crudely, with a lot of film on the top, but I didn't mind it, and after a few sips I came to terms with reality and let my eyes roam around the space.

I was inside a large tent. There was a comfortable sleeping mat beneath me while Zhou Liang sat crossed-legged to the side. His sword eyebrows were gently raised as though amused to watch me glance around like a confused duck out of water.

The shadow of a person appeared, looming through the fabric of the door.

“Tie the door open—” said Zhou Liang, twisting his body around. “Let some light in.”

The man outside stepped in and did as he was asked, movements concise and efficient. My pupils were immediately under attack by glaring sunlight and a headache was incited, I can now sympathize with cave bats disturbed from slumber. As I continued to blink my watery eyes, everything blurred further, but the two seemed to nod at each other, then the man left. 

I scarcely noticed that a bowl had been passed into my hands. The first thing I felt was the steam that hit my face, then the pervasive warmth of the ceramic. Finally, my eyes adjusted and I saw that it was a bowl of thick rice congee¹Rice porridge made by boiling rice in a great deal of water until it breaks down into a pudding-like consistency.. I started digging in, finding it creamy, delicious, and filling. If I’m going to see sunrise tomorrow there’s no point in starving, I've no interest in a slow death, that'd be a masochist…or did I already miss sunrise? There was no sign of Plum Blossom Mountain on the horizon outside, either.

“Oi—”a hand waved in front of my face.  

“Huh?”

He rolled his eyes, and I wondered how many times he’d repeated himself. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah.”

Zhou Liang nodded, as though that was all very well and good, then rested his chin on his palm. “We’ve yet to greet each other. Should I call you by courtesy name²Also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This will NOT be used frequently. That would be confusing., Fang Zichen?”

I feigned surprise. “You know my identity now?...how long did I sleep?”

“Over half a day.”

He had time to go to the capital and come back. Did he tell others where am I, what I was doing? I fiddled with the inside of my sleeve, wanting to rip it into pieces. Then I glanced at Zhou Liang, thinking about ways to take revenge for his meddling. Make him trip in mud, make him eat a durian³Named in some regions as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, strong odour, and thorn-covered rind., make him nude in public…

Zhou Liang said, “You had callouses on your hand from an ink brush and mentioned cartography, but I couldn’t tell what words were true. So I inquired at the Ministry of Personnel⁴Ministry of Personnel was in charge of civil appointments, merit ratings, promotions, and demotions of officials, as well as granting of honorific titles. Military appointments, promotions, and demotions fell under the purview of the Ministry of War. during my visit to the imperial palace. Retired early, a close confident to the previous Minister of Revenue⁵In general charge of population and land censuses, assessment and collection of taxes, and storage and distribution of government revenues, and usually divided into specialized bureaus.. Right?”

I passed the imperial exams as Tanhua⁶探花, lit. "flower snatcher", graduate ranked first class in the court exam. Third within the top three individuals nationwide. Basically, he was smart, and had a high rank as a scholar. at twenty and six years. I first slunk my way into the department were the money was kept, then curried the favor of the Minister. If not discussing Confucius or studying ethics with pedants, the majority of time was spent sorting the census, filing taxes, and budgeting day and night.

I hurried to ask, “Did you tell others you met me?”

He raised an eyebrow. “No, I found that it could make matters complicated.”

There was relief, as several people I knew would be especially annoying if they found me. Zhou Liang was doing it so he could drag me back to his residence without any issues, but at least he shouldn’t have to eat a durian now. No one should have to suffer that.

“You're more perceptive than I expected,” I say.

Strictly speaking, the officials looked at the military men as philistines and the military see the officials as stuffy pedants. So, one would know the major powers in either faction, but not a person half shadowed by the minister of revenue. Who cares about math and banking anyhow, it’s only funding the infrastructure and base of the empire’s economy, that’s all.

Zhou Liang repressed a laugh. “There are some interesting rumors,” he said, “most notable is that you’re a big flirt, and haven’t-”

“I don’t get intimate with women. So?”

He paused a moment, his dark pupils looking at me with what I'll interpret as vague respect. “Getting to the point is good. Why don’t you also tell your reason for climbing Plum Blossom Mountain? I was being serious, if there's something troubling you...”

“…” I stiffened, opened my mouth, then shut it, and my expression wanted to twist into a snarl like the desperate behavior of a weakened animal, but I wouldn’t do that. I smiled, although it was dry and mirthless.

“Nothing in particular. I was just bored.”

"Huh."

Zhou Liang's gaze was sharper up close, as long as he wanted it to be so, he could look high and mighty. I was used to withstanding these unspoken battles of will, yet the circumstances had left me unusually agitated. The closet thing I could fidget with was the spoon in the empty bowl on my lap. This, unexpectedly, broke Zhou Liang’s concentration, as he glanced at my hand and placed the bowl to the side. Now his mood shifted to a frown of dull confusion, seeming uninterested in trying to coerce out a specific answer and carelessly cupped his hands⁷"Saluting" or "Hand cupping" is an open palm over a closed fist. A gesture commonly used in polite greetings, farewells, congratulations, and to show respect to another., his words were a lazy drawl.

“I serve as the General of the Eastern Division Army, but don’t worry about any formalities. Just call me Zhou Liang.”

We knew each other’s identities, so this was pointless, but better than the previous conversation. I sloppily returned the gesture.  

“I’ve admired you a long time⁸Said courteously when meeting someone you've heard of. Fang Shuren is being sarcastic., to meet in person is an honor. This insignificant one is the third son of the humble Fang residence, Fang Shuren. To spend time far from home in Chong'shan⁹The capital., General Zhou must be incredibly idle after the battle at Fei Xuan pass. I suppose his Majesty doesn’t care to supplement the granaries in the eastern provinces and you’d come to plead again.”

I said he was 'idle', I said he'd have to 'plead', and thought it was demeaning, but Zhou Liang seemed to have selective hearing because he was not ruffled in the slightest. Was there anything I could say to annoy him, perhaps outright calling him an a**hole? 

He said plainly, “Unless you prefer to return to your family, accompany me to Xi'an City.”

I stunned. “You…were being serious?”

"Unlike you, who lied about having an entire family...I was serious about helping, serious about bringing you back. I don't lie."

Perhaps it’s because he’s Zhou Liang. He has loyal subordinates, heritage from an outstanding father, informants in the capital, and sixty-thousand troops at his disposal. Simply put the man could do what he wanted outside of rebellion, and if that's bothering a person who’s at least five years his senior...

“...to be escorted by the General is a privilege I don’t dare refuse.”

“Agreeing so easily? You won't slap my face with a branch again?”

Whoa, there's no need to hold a grudge over that...

“I’ve nowhere else better to go,” I replied, smiling all pleasant. “Although, I may prove a hindrance. I’ve not ridden in a long while, so I’m not very skillful with horseback riding and the road to Xi'an is far.”

“Don’t worry. That man from earlier is called Qi Fengge, my younger brother and Vice-General. You can ride with him.”

I was befuddled. “...why do you have him do servant’s work? He made the congee I just ate, right?” 

“It’s just him and I that rode to the capital on short notice. As usual, I've got some assassins to worry about near the capital, so it's better to lie low and bring less people. So, between the two of us I’d rather saddle him with it. Not like he can complain, I’m his superior!” he laughed about that.

Yeah, assassins, as per usual...I stared at him and said, “I’m going with you, but what are you planning by concerning yourself with me? You say I've angered you, but how so? I've no grudge against you and we've never crossed paths prior.”

“The reason is more personal than that.” Zhou Liang leaned closer and smiled with sinister intent, two canines in full view. “Tens of thousands of lives are lost to drive those barbarians away from our borders. Those fine blue robes of yours represent the wealth and security you’ve been granted. When I returned to the heart Chong, I saw you on the mountain, throwing it all away. I was so irritated I decided to bite into this matter, and won’t withdraw until your mindset has been torn to bits!”

He truly bit off each and every word, as though he had a strong distaste for me but was holding back.

Hah...as if I can believe him. He said he didn’t like that I was ungrateful towards my life, but the emperor himself is more ungrateful. Everyone takes something for granted, so how can I believe that’s what bothered him to the point of taking me captive? No,I suspected that it was a matter of pride. A general has a larger investment in pride and valor, a bigger pedestal to maintain, of course he’d be annoyed if I ignored his words, slapped a branch in his face and ran. There is little a man wouldn’t do for his feeble pride; Forcing me back to his residence under the virtuous guise of ‘fixing my mindset’ is nothing extreme.

It wasn't the first time I’d dealt with a hypocrite in denial; An army can conquer a general, but no man can rob one of his ambition. Likewise, if Zhou Liang had an irritating itch to meddle with me, then I’d have an irritating itch to make him eat his words.

Zhou Liang remarked, "I think your attention span is short. You'll space-out in the middle of a conversation. Are you aware of that? Do you have a memory problem?"

"..." There would be no more defiance, no more arguing for the time being, everything is invested in putting on the right act. I forced a smile and said, 

“Just now I’ve thought about it, and found out that while those at court always boasted of our Chong Empire’s fearsome Eastern Tiger, General Zhou is also as patient and generous as one wearing saffron robes¹⁰Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition typically wear saffron robes.. I simply can’t decide in which way to praise you.”

From now on, I would be polite like this, and would definitely find an opportunity to trick this man and get away from him!

Zhou Liang shook his head with a chuckle, as though searching for the poisonous insult hidden beneath my words, but he only said, 

“What a smooth tongue.”