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rainbowfic2024-05-14 11:30 am
ilthit) wrote in rainbowfic2024-05-14 11:30 am
Electric Sky #27, Vienna Orange #3: Zhu Chen's Gentleman Caller (Lin Moniao Series)
Name: Zhu Chen's Gentleman Caller
Story: Lin Moniao Series (AO3 link)
Colors: Electric Sky #27 (Dreaming), Vienna Orange #3 (It's not regret, just an unexpected accounting of debts)
Supplies and Styles: gesso, nubs, seed beads; interactive art, silhouette
Word Count: 3,564
Rating: general
Warnings: Allusion to past sexual slavery, lies.
Summary: Zhu Chen receives the suggestion of a possibility of an engagement. This scene takes place during The White Cloud Technique, soon after Lin Moniao leaves Kaifeng.
Note: Co-written withminutia_r. Also available in full and with an illustration on AO3 here (specific chapter link). This kind of starts an adventure that has not been published, so apologies for the thread that unravels into nothing there.
*
When Zhu Chen receives an informal invitation to Master Wu's house for a morning visit, it is already understood that it would not be Master Wu that she would be going to see. Madame Zhu is an independent woman with her own fortune; Sha Zhengtian a widower with grown-up daughters; the usual form of courtship does not quite apply to them. In any case, nothing official has been said, nor any matchmaker or fortuneteller engaged. It is a subject yet to be discussed.
His family might expect him to marry a younger woman in the hopes of securing a son, but Sha Zhengtian is the master of his own house, and quite successful, and so inclined to make up his own mind about these things. By reputation he is at intervals dry and dull, and at other times restless and likely to roam, but he has never strayed from his duties since he passed the exam at the age of thirty-eight and entered the palace's treasury department. Then a junior official, he is now of a respectable rank, and well set to be comfortable until his old age.
You need not come, Master Wu appends at the end of the invitation. All will be understood.
Zhu Chen sets the invitation down on the table and lifts her bowl of tea to her lips, considering. In front of her, the window of her narrow sitting room looks out over the bustling streets of Kaifeng. Moniao told her, the night after the party and before his hasty departure, that Sha Zhengtian meant to sponsor him. An appointment out in the provinces somewhere, far from his new father-in-law, in accordance with the Emperor's anti-nepotism measures--but with opportunities for advancement for a clever and ambitious man. And she would be an official's mother. Real security, and real wealth, beyond the carefully constructed semblance of it that she's made here.
It's what she's been patiently working towards for twenty-three years, ever since she birthed a son and decided to keep him alive. Then, it had been her own future she was thinking of, and the red, wrinkled scrap of life rooting at her breast only a means to secure it. But over those twenty-three years, without her noticing it, that had changed.
Her beautiful, charming, devoted son--he should have a position where everyone can see his excellence, and gives him the respect he deserves.
Mother--Moniao had asked--do you like Sha Zhengtian?
She didn't answer. She doesn't know. It's been so long since she's considered a question like that; maybe she never has. But she's raised her son so free and so fearless that that's what he considers important. And that is her achievement, in the teeth of the whole world.
She sets down her tea, picks up a brush, dips it in the pool of ink on her ink-stone.
I will come, she writes.
--
The morning sees a little light rain falling on Kaifeng, settling its dust and muddying its streets. It patters on the roof of Master Wu's gatehouse as Zhu Chen is admitted and shown into Master Wu's social room. Despite the weather, or perhaps because of it, the double doors to the inner courtyard with its new pond and freshly planted trees have been thrown open, letting in cool and moist air.
Master Wu comes up directly to welcome her with his usual warmth. Sha Zhengtian is already there, standing at the back. He pulls himself up at the sight of her, puffing out his chest and shifting on his feet like a nervous schoolboy. He is not handsome and never has been, but at the same time there is nothing wrong with him, with his round features and somewhat bulky height. "He came early," Master Wu mouths as he shows her in. "He must really like you."
Zhu Chen gives Master Wu a small, satisfied smile. That's as it should be. If she has no power over Sha Zhengtian now, how is she to have any once--if--the marriage takes place? Still, his earnest manner appeals to her; there's really something endearing about it.
"What a pleasure to see Sha Zhengtian again." She bows over her hands, then shakes out her skirts with a rueful laugh, although she hasn't allowed the mud to touch them. "Even the clouds are eager to descend from the sky for his company."
"And, and you, madame. It--ah, you are the only poet here."
"I have been known to turn out a good couplet or two," Master Wu interjects, even though nobody is speaking to him or even looking at him. He seems amused.
A smile plays across Zhu Chen's lips as she looks up at Sha Zhengtian. "Yes, it's just as well that you didn't bring your brother." Then she shakes her head, dispelling the moment of levity. "I appreciate that you're a practical man. Shall we speak of practical things?"
Master Wu looks as if he might want to linger, but sighs and declares he must look into some bookkeeping, and would they excuse him for a moment, and so they are left alone.
"Right," Sha Zhengtian says. "We should. I shall tell you the worst of it first, madame: my family, apart from my daughters, is a bunch of stiff, boring, mean blockheads. Some of them are less mean, but make up for it by being more blockheaded. I can make no excuses or prevaricate on the matter, I can only hope you might consider what I have to offer a suitable counterweight for being saddled with such in-laws."
"Oh dear. I hadn't previously considered my lack of family to be among my charms." She paces the length of the room by his side, watching raindrops glisten on leaves before dripping desultorily into the pond. "I found your brother to be quite bearable, for an hour at a time at least. Still. To be expected to play the subservient daughter-in-law, at my age, and after being used to my independence for so long... it would chafe. You're right to think of it, and considerate to bring it up."
"Ah, here we come to the positives." His spine is beginning to unstiffen at the more business-like tone. "My parents have both passed away and my sister is married and, as you know, I have no wives. My two unmarried daughters should show proper reverence to my wife. So, in her own house, she would take the lead among women. Above which I understand that a woman already a mother, who has been independent for so long, should not be expected to keep to the women's quarters like a traditional wife. My horrible family will kick, but can do nothing about it. I see how Madame Tong travels and conducts her own affairs under her husband's protection--this is how I envision us." It has already been quite a speech, even as quickly as he's been speaking, so he clears his throat and turns to face her directly. "I should like my wife to be a friend and a companion."
"I would like that too." She lowers her eyes, and it's not an affectation; his sincerity both touches and embarrasses her, making it hard to look at him directly. She isn't used to it, and can't match it. "And is that truly all you wish for--friendship and companionship? I confess I was surprised when I heard of your interest. I have no connections in Kaifeng, no great wealth, no family beyond my son. Nothing to recommend me as a wife to a man of your station. I hope you will not think I am being modest, or fishing for compliments--I would simply like to know why."
"It is a fact, not a compliment, to say that elegance, sophistication, and impeccable manners do recommend a lady to such a position. And your son is accomplished and ambitious, and I..." he inclines his head from side to side, "well, I could use a son. Whether he wants to forge his own way or take my estate, I would support him like a father. But I do not know if what I have to offer would appeal to you. Or... or my person. You already have the things one wants in life--friends, a home, and things to occupy your time. This is why I come to you a supplicant, madam. What do you say? Will you think about it?"
Zhu Chen nods. Of course, who would not want Moniao as a son? It's true that the same thing could be accomplished by marrying him to one of his daughters, but she's not actually blind to her own attractions. If compelling reasons for the match exist anyway, she can see why he would prefer to take her for himself.
"I do... like you, Sha Zhengtian. It's true what you say--what one really wants in life are occupation, a home, friends. I think I would cherish you as a friend, perhaps my closest friend. But also, as you are a practical man, I am a practical woman. You ought to know..." She folds her arms at her waist, tapping the inside of her elbow with her fan. "Please understand. My late husband didn't leave me with as much as I have let everyone believe. When I came to Kaifeng with my son, it was important to me, for the sake of my reputation and his prospects, that we maintained a certain style of living. You may call it spendthrift if you like. I have preferred to think of it as an investment. And it has paid off--we have come to the attention of people who otherwise would not have noticed us." She makes a brief gesture including Master Wu's fine house and Sha Zhengtian himself. "Be that as it may, it has been some years since whatever I had was gone. These days, I am entirely supported by the sect, both directly and indirectly through Lin Moniao. And... I have debts. Not massive ones, but not insignificant either. You understand that these are not facts I like to give out. But you will have to know."
"I have passed by your house, I believe..." Sha Zhengtian considers her words, giving them proper weight, and paces a few steps, making calculations. "Forgive me, I am about to be impertinent. One would usually never ask this even indirectly, but since we are being practical...." He draws in a breath, steeling himself. "How much, to whom, how have you economized, and what repayment plans have been made?"
He really has a sweet mouth, like two slices of plum; it's his only remarkable feature.
"Practical indeed. That is truly an impertinent line of questioning--unless it came from a husband, or one who intended to be one." She gives him a sidelong smile. "I had to borrow from Lu Bank to buy my house, but I have always made my payments promptly--I am not such a fool. I will not skimp on my wardrobe. Otherwise, I keep my household expenses low where I can. I have only one servant, who is my housekeeper and also my maid--I can get away with this because as a widow whose son is often away, I am not expected to entertain, whereas as a poet of some note, I am often invited to grace others' gatherings. If you wish for more details, I can send you copies of my accounts."
"Owing Lu Bank and managing the debt honorably is something I consider an accomplishment in household organization." He is visibly relieved. "Madame, I don't believe anything more needs to be said about it."
His hand instinctively reaches for hers before he checks himself and withdraws it. "If you'll allow, I'll engage a fortune-teller...? The best I can find! I will get references. I, I don't suppose we need to bother with a matchmaker. Unless you would like that?"
"Sha Zhengtian..." Just as he withdraws his hand, she reaches for it, then thinks better of it. She isn't, after all, ready to give him her answer. If this is his reaction to the least of her secrets, it's a good start, but it's not enough.
She could wait until after they're married to tell him about her past. Then he wouldn't be able to expose her without damaging his own reputation and his daughters' marriage prospects. But that wouldn't be kind to do to Sha Zhengtian, nor safe to do to someone who would have so much power over her. He might not be able to expose her, but there are other things he could do, with no fear of consequences.
"You must have been considering this step for some time," she says finally. "But for me, it's so sudden. I must have more time to think about it. Will you give me that?"
"Of course." He reins in his excitement a little, but there is a smile on his lips. "I confess I have been considering and wishing to remarry for a while, and... appreciating you for some time, but I only recently put the two thoughts together. Some time to consider--very reasonable." He pats about his robes and produces a lacquered box. "This isn't an official bride gift, of course, nothing of the sort. Still, I... saw it in a shop and thought you might like it."
"Oh! You shouldn't have--I shouldn't accept--" Nonetheless, she reaches for the box.
He opens it and places it in her hands. "As a thank you for today, and no obligation or meaning beyond that. My word for it." In the box lies a white jade comb, the top of it carved into a parrot with spread wings. It's hardly the sort of thing that one might happen across on the display shelf of any given jeweler.
Zhu Chen makes a severe face. "Found in a shop? Sha Zhengtian. Is this sort of blatant dishonesty any basis for our future marriage?" Then she bursts out laughing, lifting the comb out of its box, running her fingers over its cool, smooth surface. "This is wonderful. Thank you."
He makes an apologetic sound, but it carries little conviction with the deeply pleased smile that accompanies it.
Wu Zhenghao has almost certainly not been listening, as that would be ungentlemanly, but makes a few stomping sounds and coughs loudly as he comes up the few steps from the garden. It has stopped raining, and there is only a light smattering of droplets on his shoulders. Sha Zhengtian stands back, a somewhat more respectable distance from Zhu Chen.
"Apologies for my protracted absence," says Master Wu, his eyes glinting with laughter. "Would anyone like some tea?"
The visit does not last long after that beyond a few more courtesies, since its primary objective has been accomplished. Once Sha Zhengtian has left, still in high spirits, Wu Zhenghao turns to Zhu Chen. "Well, what do you think?"
"I suppose I will know better when I start to hear rumors about my financial troubles, or not. Or if he cools down after thinking about it some more." She glances over her shoulder, looking after where Sha Zhengtian left. "It will be a very good thing for Lin Moniao, which is what we both want. Unless it's a very bad thing. There was that unfortunate exam candidate, you recall--I do like Sha Zhengtian. But I'm not such a fool as to trust a man, just because I like him."
"Very wise." Master Wu nods. He should know, being a man himself. "Even if he is sincere now, he can change, and if you decide you no longer accord, the shackles will be in place. Let me speak plainly, the marriage would be a very good thing for the sect. He isn't half as clever as you are; you could influence him. His income would be welcome, and his connections even more so. But would I recommend it to you, personally, as a friend?" He shakes his head. "It is rather endearing, though." The laughter he has clearly been suppressing for a while bursts out now. "How he looked at you! Oh, to be a beautiful woman! No, no... I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. I don't know how you do it."
"Years of practice," Zhu Chen says dryly. "Years and years and years."
It's the opposite that comes to her with difficulty--to speak without weighing the effect of every word. And yet it seemed that this morning, once or twice, she had managed it. The box with the jade comb sits open on the table in front of her, and she runs a finger along the carving idly. A thank you for today, he said, with no obligation beyond that. Well, she will hold him to that, if nothing else. It's a habit she retains from her youth, and she cannot afford to change it now any more than she could then. A gift is a gift.
"I'm lucky to have a friend like Wu Zhenghao, who offers me sincere advice regardless of his own interests," she sighs. It isn't what she wanted to hear, perhaps. But it's true.
"Let him stew for a while. As you say, we'll soon find out if he is careless with your secrets. In the meanwhile, there is a matter in which I would like to ask your assistance. Beggar Huang's people have found out the location and current owner of the Heart-Shaping Crown--a weapon that the sect leader has long wanted to acquire. How would Madame Zhu feel about a trip down south? If it does what they say it does, money would be no object."
"Oh?" Her ears perk up at the phrase money would be no object. "But, to acquire a weapon--surely the sect has members more suited to that sort of work?"
"We are rather short on elegant, poetical ladies," Wu Zhenghao admits. He himself is partially to blame, having been recruiting mainly from the ranks of imperial examination candidates. "And it so happens that the current owner of the Heart-Shaping Crown also fits that description, even if she isn't as respectable as a widowed mother. You've heard of Sun Lan? She resides in Ao Town these days, and that is where she has taken the Crown."
Sun Lan's poetry is known everywhere under Heaven, whether one has a taste for it or not. She is spoken of in the same tone as one speaks of the Sword Goddess, Xie Lijuan, or even Beauty Niu herself, as if the typical restrictions of sex do not apply, but where the other three have gained fame through martial or political success, Sun Lan's power flows from her pen. Still, there is something just a little disreputable about her fame. So, it is perhaps not so surprising that she would live in a lawless outpost like Ao Town, where pirates mix with officials in gambling dens without much interference from the Empire.
"Who hasn't heard of Sun Lan? How strange, that she should have come into possession of a legendary weapon--and you wish for me to negotiate for its purchase? I will do what I can. It will help to know exactly what it is I'm trying to buy." Zhu Chen sits a little straighter, all business now.
"What they say it does is change minds. The theory is that the Crown forms a vibration that will put a person in a state in which they believe whatever they are told. It could be a way to defuse an attack, or..." He shrugs. "It may have other uses. It would certainly be better to have it than to have anyone else possess it."
"I see. Of more interest to a poet than a legendary sword, I would imagine. As I said, I will do my best, but it's a long journey and it would be unseemly of me to go alone. And you have sent my son away."
"I have," he says with regret. "But we have other able-bodied young men here. Would you take Dong Yuan off my hands? I believe if I keep him here any longer he will begin to gnaw on the furniture. And my furniture is not cheap."
"Oh, well, we can't have that," she laughs. "Very well, I will try to get this crown and take your excitable young man out for an airing."
"My dear madame." Wu Zhenghao takes both her hands in his; he does not have Sha Zhengtian's compunctions about propriety, there. "What would I do without you?"
Story: Lin Moniao Series (AO3 link)
Colors: Electric Sky #27 (Dreaming), Vienna Orange #3 (It's not regret, just an unexpected accounting of debts)
Supplies and Styles: gesso, nubs, seed beads; interactive art, silhouette
Word Count: 3,564
Rating: general
Warnings: Allusion to past sexual slavery, lies.
Summary: Zhu Chen receives the suggestion of a possibility of an engagement. This scene takes place during The White Cloud Technique, soon after Lin Moniao leaves Kaifeng.
Note: Co-written with
minutia_r. Also available in full and with an illustration on AO3 here (specific chapter link). This kind of starts an adventure that has not been published, so apologies for the thread that unravels into nothing there.*
When Zhu Chen receives an informal invitation to Master Wu's house for a morning visit, it is already understood that it would not be Master Wu that she would be going to see. Madame Zhu is an independent woman with her own fortune; Sha Zhengtian a widower with grown-up daughters; the usual form of courtship does not quite apply to them. In any case, nothing official has been said, nor any matchmaker or fortuneteller engaged. It is a subject yet to be discussed.
His family might expect him to marry a younger woman in the hopes of securing a son, but Sha Zhengtian is the master of his own house, and quite successful, and so inclined to make up his own mind about these things. By reputation he is at intervals dry and dull, and at other times restless and likely to roam, but he has never strayed from his duties since he passed the exam at the age of thirty-eight and entered the palace's treasury department. Then a junior official, he is now of a respectable rank, and well set to be comfortable until his old age.
You need not come, Master Wu appends at the end of the invitation. All will be understood.
Zhu Chen sets the invitation down on the table and lifts her bowl of tea to her lips, considering. In front of her, the window of her narrow sitting room looks out over the bustling streets of Kaifeng. Moniao told her, the night after the party and before his hasty departure, that Sha Zhengtian meant to sponsor him. An appointment out in the provinces somewhere, far from his new father-in-law, in accordance with the Emperor's anti-nepotism measures--but with opportunities for advancement for a clever and ambitious man. And she would be an official's mother. Real security, and real wealth, beyond the carefully constructed semblance of it that she's made here.
It's what she's been patiently working towards for twenty-three years, ever since she birthed a son and decided to keep him alive. Then, it had been her own future she was thinking of, and the red, wrinkled scrap of life rooting at her breast only a means to secure it. But over those twenty-three years, without her noticing it, that had changed.
Her beautiful, charming, devoted son--he should have a position where everyone can see his excellence, and gives him the respect he deserves.
Mother--Moniao had asked--do you like Sha Zhengtian?
She didn't answer. She doesn't know. It's been so long since she's considered a question like that; maybe she never has. But she's raised her son so free and so fearless that that's what he considers important. And that is her achievement, in the teeth of the whole world.
She sets down her tea, picks up a brush, dips it in the pool of ink on her ink-stone.
I will come, she writes.
--
The morning sees a little light rain falling on Kaifeng, settling its dust and muddying its streets. It patters on the roof of Master Wu's gatehouse as Zhu Chen is admitted and shown into Master Wu's social room. Despite the weather, or perhaps because of it, the double doors to the inner courtyard with its new pond and freshly planted trees have been thrown open, letting in cool and moist air.
Master Wu comes up directly to welcome her with his usual warmth. Sha Zhengtian is already there, standing at the back. He pulls himself up at the sight of her, puffing out his chest and shifting on his feet like a nervous schoolboy. He is not handsome and never has been, but at the same time there is nothing wrong with him, with his round features and somewhat bulky height. "He came early," Master Wu mouths as he shows her in. "He must really like you."
Zhu Chen gives Master Wu a small, satisfied smile. That's as it should be. If she has no power over Sha Zhengtian now, how is she to have any once--if--the marriage takes place? Still, his earnest manner appeals to her; there's really something endearing about it.
"What a pleasure to see Sha Zhengtian again." She bows over her hands, then shakes out her skirts with a rueful laugh, although she hasn't allowed the mud to touch them. "Even the clouds are eager to descend from the sky for his company."
"And, and you, madame. It--ah, you are the only poet here."
"I have been known to turn out a good couplet or two," Master Wu interjects, even though nobody is speaking to him or even looking at him. He seems amused.
A smile plays across Zhu Chen's lips as she looks up at Sha Zhengtian. "Yes, it's just as well that you didn't bring your brother." Then she shakes her head, dispelling the moment of levity. "I appreciate that you're a practical man. Shall we speak of practical things?"
Master Wu looks as if he might want to linger, but sighs and declares he must look into some bookkeeping, and would they excuse him for a moment, and so they are left alone.
"Right," Sha Zhengtian says. "We should. I shall tell you the worst of it first, madame: my family, apart from my daughters, is a bunch of stiff, boring, mean blockheads. Some of them are less mean, but make up for it by being more blockheaded. I can make no excuses or prevaricate on the matter, I can only hope you might consider what I have to offer a suitable counterweight for being saddled with such in-laws."
"Oh dear. I hadn't previously considered my lack of family to be among my charms." She paces the length of the room by his side, watching raindrops glisten on leaves before dripping desultorily into the pond. "I found your brother to be quite bearable, for an hour at a time at least. Still. To be expected to play the subservient daughter-in-law, at my age, and after being used to my independence for so long... it would chafe. You're right to think of it, and considerate to bring it up."
"Ah, here we come to the positives." His spine is beginning to unstiffen at the more business-like tone. "My parents have both passed away and my sister is married and, as you know, I have no wives. My two unmarried daughters should show proper reverence to my wife. So, in her own house, she would take the lead among women. Above which I understand that a woman already a mother, who has been independent for so long, should not be expected to keep to the women's quarters like a traditional wife. My horrible family will kick, but can do nothing about it. I see how Madame Tong travels and conducts her own affairs under her husband's protection--this is how I envision us." It has already been quite a speech, even as quickly as he's been speaking, so he clears his throat and turns to face her directly. "I should like my wife to be a friend and a companion."
"I would like that too." She lowers her eyes, and it's not an affectation; his sincerity both touches and embarrasses her, making it hard to look at him directly. She isn't used to it, and can't match it. "And is that truly all you wish for--friendship and companionship? I confess I was surprised when I heard of your interest. I have no connections in Kaifeng, no great wealth, no family beyond my son. Nothing to recommend me as a wife to a man of your station. I hope you will not think I am being modest, or fishing for compliments--I would simply like to know why."
"It is a fact, not a compliment, to say that elegance, sophistication, and impeccable manners do recommend a lady to such a position. And your son is accomplished and ambitious, and I..." he inclines his head from side to side, "well, I could use a son. Whether he wants to forge his own way or take my estate, I would support him like a father. But I do not know if what I have to offer would appeal to you. Or... or my person. You already have the things one wants in life--friends, a home, and things to occupy your time. This is why I come to you a supplicant, madam. What do you say? Will you think about it?"
Zhu Chen nods. Of course, who would not want Moniao as a son? It's true that the same thing could be accomplished by marrying him to one of his daughters, but she's not actually blind to her own attractions. If compelling reasons for the match exist anyway, she can see why he would prefer to take her for himself.
"I do... like you, Sha Zhengtian. It's true what you say--what one really wants in life are occupation, a home, friends. I think I would cherish you as a friend, perhaps my closest friend. But also, as you are a practical man, I am a practical woman. You ought to know..." She folds her arms at her waist, tapping the inside of her elbow with her fan. "Please understand. My late husband didn't leave me with as much as I have let everyone believe. When I came to Kaifeng with my son, it was important to me, for the sake of my reputation and his prospects, that we maintained a certain style of living. You may call it spendthrift if you like. I have preferred to think of it as an investment. And it has paid off--we have come to the attention of people who otherwise would not have noticed us." She makes a brief gesture including Master Wu's fine house and Sha Zhengtian himself. "Be that as it may, it has been some years since whatever I had was gone. These days, I am entirely supported by the sect, both directly and indirectly through Lin Moniao. And... I have debts. Not massive ones, but not insignificant either. You understand that these are not facts I like to give out. But you will have to know."
"I have passed by your house, I believe..." Sha Zhengtian considers her words, giving them proper weight, and paces a few steps, making calculations. "Forgive me, I am about to be impertinent. One would usually never ask this even indirectly, but since we are being practical...." He draws in a breath, steeling himself. "How much, to whom, how have you economized, and what repayment plans have been made?"
He really has a sweet mouth, like two slices of plum; it's his only remarkable feature.
"Practical indeed. That is truly an impertinent line of questioning--unless it came from a husband, or one who intended to be one." She gives him a sidelong smile. "I had to borrow from Lu Bank to buy my house, but I have always made my payments promptly--I am not such a fool. I will not skimp on my wardrobe. Otherwise, I keep my household expenses low where I can. I have only one servant, who is my housekeeper and also my maid--I can get away with this because as a widow whose son is often away, I am not expected to entertain, whereas as a poet of some note, I am often invited to grace others' gatherings. If you wish for more details, I can send you copies of my accounts."
"Owing Lu Bank and managing the debt honorably is something I consider an accomplishment in household organization." He is visibly relieved. "Madame, I don't believe anything more needs to be said about it."
His hand instinctively reaches for hers before he checks himself and withdraws it. "If you'll allow, I'll engage a fortune-teller...? The best I can find! I will get references. I, I don't suppose we need to bother with a matchmaker. Unless you would like that?"
"Sha Zhengtian..." Just as he withdraws his hand, she reaches for it, then thinks better of it. She isn't, after all, ready to give him her answer. If this is his reaction to the least of her secrets, it's a good start, but it's not enough.
She could wait until after they're married to tell him about her past. Then he wouldn't be able to expose her without damaging his own reputation and his daughters' marriage prospects. But that wouldn't be kind to do to Sha Zhengtian, nor safe to do to someone who would have so much power over her. He might not be able to expose her, but there are other things he could do, with no fear of consequences.
"You must have been considering this step for some time," she says finally. "But for me, it's so sudden. I must have more time to think about it. Will you give me that?"
"Of course." He reins in his excitement a little, but there is a smile on his lips. "I confess I have been considering and wishing to remarry for a while, and... appreciating you for some time, but I only recently put the two thoughts together. Some time to consider--very reasonable." He pats about his robes and produces a lacquered box. "This isn't an official bride gift, of course, nothing of the sort. Still, I... saw it in a shop and thought you might like it."
"Oh! You shouldn't have--I shouldn't accept--" Nonetheless, she reaches for the box.
He opens it and places it in her hands. "As a thank you for today, and no obligation or meaning beyond that. My word for it." In the box lies a white jade comb, the top of it carved into a parrot with spread wings. It's hardly the sort of thing that one might happen across on the display shelf of any given jeweler.
Zhu Chen makes a severe face. "Found in a shop? Sha Zhengtian. Is this sort of blatant dishonesty any basis for our future marriage?" Then she bursts out laughing, lifting the comb out of its box, running her fingers over its cool, smooth surface. "This is wonderful. Thank you."
He makes an apologetic sound, but it carries little conviction with the deeply pleased smile that accompanies it.
Wu Zhenghao has almost certainly not been listening, as that would be ungentlemanly, but makes a few stomping sounds and coughs loudly as he comes up the few steps from the garden. It has stopped raining, and there is only a light smattering of droplets on his shoulders. Sha Zhengtian stands back, a somewhat more respectable distance from Zhu Chen.
"Apologies for my protracted absence," says Master Wu, his eyes glinting with laughter. "Would anyone like some tea?"
The visit does not last long after that beyond a few more courtesies, since its primary objective has been accomplished. Once Sha Zhengtian has left, still in high spirits, Wu Zhenghao turns to Zhu Chen. "Well, what do you think?"
"I suppose I will know better when I start to hear rumors about my financial troubles, or not. Or if he cools down after thinking about it some more." She glances over her shoulder, looking after where Sha Zhengtian left. "It will be a very good thing for Lin Moniao, which is what we both want. Unless it's a very bad thing. There was that unfortunate exam candidate, you recall--I do like Sha Zhengtian. But I'm not such a fool as to trust a man, just because I like him."
"Very wise." Master Wu nods. He should know, being a man himself. "Even if he is sincere now, he can change, and if you decide you no longer accord, the shackles will be in place. Let me speak plainly, the marriage would be a very good thing for the sect. He isn't half as clever as you are; you could influence him. His income would be welcome, and his connections even more so. But would I recommend it to you, personally, as a friend?" He shakes his head. "It is rather endearing, though." The laughter he has clearly been suppressing for a while bursts out now. "How he looked at you! Oh, to be a beautiful woman! No, no... I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. I don't know how you do it."
"Years of practice," Zhu Chen says dryly. "Years and years and years."
It's the opposite that comes to her with difficulty--to speak without weighing the effect of every word. And yet it seemed that this morning, once or twice, she had managed it. The box with the jade comb sits open on the table in front of her, and she runs a finger along the carving idly. A thank you for today, he said, with no obligation beyond that. Well, she will hold him to that, if nothing else. It's a habit she retains from her youth, and she cannot afford to change it now any more than she could then. A gift is a gift.
"I'm lucky to have a friend like Wu Zhenghao, who offers me sincere advice regardless of his own interests," she sighs. It isn't what she wanted to hear, perhaps. But it's true.
"Let him stew for a while. As you say, we'll soon find out if he is careless with your secrets. In the meanwhile, there is a matter in which I would like to ask your assistance. Beggar Huang's people have found out the location and current owner of the Heart-Shaping Crown--a weapon that the sect leader has long wanted to acquire. How would Madame Zhu feel about a trip down south? If it does what they say it does, money would be no object."
"Oh?" Her ears perk up at the phrase money would be no object. "But, to acquire a weapon--surely the sect has members more suited to that sort of work?"
"We are rather short on elegant, poetical ladies," Wu Zhenghao admits. He himself is partially to blame, having been recruiting mainly from the ranks of imperial examination candidates. "And it so happens that the current owner of the Heart-Shaping Crown also fits that description, even if she isn't as respectable as a widowed mother. You've heard of Sun Lan? She resides in Ao Town these days, and that is where she has taken the Crown."
Sun Lan's poetry is known everywhere under Heaven, whether one has a taste for it or not. She is spoken of in the same tone as one speaks of the Sword Goddess, Xie Lijuan, or even Beauty Niu herself, as if the typical restrictions of sex do not apply, but where the other three have gained fame through martial or political success, Sun Lan's power flows from her pen. Still, there is something just a little disreputable about her fame. So, it is perhaps not so surprising that she would live in a lawless outpost like Ao Town, where pirates mix with officials in gambling dens without much interference from the Empire.
"Who hasn't heard of Sun Lan? How strange, that she should have come into possession of a legendary weapon--and you wish for me to negotiate for its purchase? I will do what I can. It will help to know exactly what it is I'm trying to buy." Zhu Chen sits a little straighter, all business now.
"What they say it does is change minds. The theory is that the Crown forms a vibration that will put a person in a state in which they believe whatever they are told. It could be a way to defuse an attack, or..." He shrugs. "It may have other uses. It would certainly be better to have it than to have anyone else possess it."
"I see. Of more interest to a poet than a legendary sword, I would imagine. As I said, I will do my best, but it's a long journey and it would be unseemly of me to go alone. And you have sent my son away."
"I have," he says with regret. "But we have other able-bodied young men here. Would you take Dong Yuan off my hands? I believe if I keep him here any longer he will begin to gnaw on the furniture. And my furniture is not cheap."
"Oh, well, we can't have that," she laughs. "Very well, I will try to get this crown and take your excitable young man out for an airing."
"My dear madame." Wu Zhenghao takes both her hands in his; he does not have Sha Zhengtian's compunctions about propriety, there. "What would I do without you?"
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