Young Dragons Ascend
By Indigo Siren
Disclaimer: Dynasty Warriors/Shin Sangokumusou © Koei-Tecmo and any characters and situations from the franchise are being used for non-profit storytelling. The only elements I own are any original characters and the premise of the story. All rights reserved.
A/N: Wow, it's been a very long time since I have written anything to do with Dynasty Warriors, and actually, this is my first multi-part story for the game. My focus is primarily on the Guan siblings, Bao Sanniang, Xingcai, Sun Shangxiang and Liu Shan. Many of these are some of my favourite characters in the series, though most aren't particularly popular by all accounts. Aside, I just wanted to give them some limelight. Just to note, while I'm using stuff from the games and ROTK as basis, I won't be completely accurate in some details – many liberties will be taken, particularly with the timeline, but they won't be too major in any case. The setting is a short time after Shu takes Chengdu as its capital. Shangxiang, much like the games, is with still with Liu Bei, and Bao Sanniang is now included much earlier. My knowledge of geography and Chinese language/culture are very basic at best, so please forgive any erroneous elements!
Finally, please leave the flames on the pyre – friendly commentary only, thank you. Anyway, on with the story!
Chapter 1
With the peach blossoms in full bloom, it was needless to say that the winter season had become a very distant memory. Gone were the heavy set grey skies, the frost-bitten earth and the brittle topiary, replaced by lush green pastures and the unearthing of new saplings. The fresh, sweet scents of new flora filtered through the crisp air like a welcome hint of spring's fine perfume. It was a true testament of the wonderful things that life had to offer.
Chengdu basked in all of spring's vibrant offerings, bringing such an aura of happiness and joy to the people who resided there. They seemed more upbeat in the way they carried themselves about their daily business, despite the times being ones fraught with uncertainty. The land was still very much in turmoil, waiting for one greater power to unite the land under one banner. In the last dying days of the Han, the people truly hoped their Lord Liu Bei would be the one to bring them the peace they so desired. With such faith in their hearts, they allowed themselves to wander the city with such carefree energy.
Such sentiments of cheerfulness were certainly shared by those within the Guan household. In fact, the only war they seemed to be fighting that day was one to clean the entire household from top to bottom. They were endeavoured to wipe away the remnants of a dreary winter as they packed away the clothing and bed linen suited for colder months and brought out the spring garments for airing, preparing them to take over for the coming season.
At the forefront of these activities was Guan Yinping, carrying her bodyweight and more of heavy folded bedding, taking them to be laid out on one of the long tables in the inner courtyard for airing in the morning sunshine. There were household staff members already at the tables, some carefully unfolding linen while others beat rugs to rid them of their accumulated dust, dirt and any bugs. She had offered her assistance to do the latter, but they hadn't seemed too keen on the idea, not after the previous year anyway. She was still adamant that the old rug she'd been tending to had been incredibly flimsy, though there had been clear mutterings that it had been far from the case. As such, she was tasked with fetching and carrying only.
Though, she wasn't alone in this task. Her brother, Guan Suo, who had returned from a morning of training had been quickly dragged into assisting the clean up. Their mother, Lady Hu, had been quite insistent on everyone pitching in so the work could be done faster. Notably, most of the other members of the family had made themselves scarce when they could, legitimate reasons or not.
Suo was handed a small stack of thick folded blankets and he went through the sliding door out of the courtyard into a nearby corridor where there was a large floor to ceiling cupboard that contained other winter cloths. He stood on a small stood to reach the highest shelf and carefully placed the blankets on the growing mound. He quietly sighed to himself, wondering how he'd never noticed they had so much bedding. Some of it had probably seen better days as well, not that they could tell their mother that, who always prided herself in using things until they fell apart, and even then she'd try to have them stitched back together. He wasn't quite so sure that her thriftiness was such a great virtue.
Yinping stepped back inside, arms no longer ladened with items, and approached her brother just as he stepped back onto the floor. "I don't think there is much more to do for now," she said. "Though I'm sure we'll be called up to help bring in the aired items later."
"Don't relax just yet," Suo said, moving to sit on the stool. "Knowing our mother, she will find us a lot more to do in the meantime."
Yinping sighed, perching on a windowsill across the way. "Well, I guess we can't fault her meticulousness."
"I knew I should have waylaid myself before returning," Suo said, partly in jest. "Xing certainly got out of it with dealing with Bao."
"Oh?" Yinping leaned in, her eyes curious.
"Oh, I forgot to mention! Bao injured his ankle during training."
It wasn't unknown for Zhang Bao to come out of a training session a little worse for wear, so Yinping hardly seemed shocked, though she did feel somewhat concerned if Xing had had to hang back to help out over his injury.
"How bad was it?" She asked.
"He was creating quite the scene. But you know him; he's always so loud and vocal about everything that sometimes you can't tell how bad something actually is." He stretched his arms, folding them behind his head, a smile suddenly picking up. "You should have seen Xingcai's face. She was really unimpressed."
Yinping grinned knowingly. She could only sympathise with Xingcai for how embarrassing her brother could be. "Well, let's just hope it's nothing too serious!" She said aside before giving a doleful sigh, looking out at the house attendants coming and going, still hard at work. "I wish I could have gone out to train too, but mother cornered me early to help out. I'll be glad when it's all done today!"
A kindly maid, at a perfect moment, appeared with cold drinks for them, which they gratefully accepted and consumed in no time. They returned the cups to the maid with thanks. Suo offered further compliments to her for her graciousness with bringing such delicious drinks. The young maid flushed deeply, bashful at the praise from him. Bowing deeply to them, she skittered away, her cheeks bright pink.
Yinping had to smile. No girl seemed to be immune to his charm, not that he ever seemed aware that he enthralled the opposite sex with his sweet words. It probably helped that he was astoundingly good-looking with those soft pretty-boy features of his. Yinping could only roll her eyes at his oblivious nature, especially when the likes of Bao Sanniang bombarded him regularly with her unbridled affection. Despite being so good around the ladies, he constantly misread their adoration – though what he thought their reactions meant, she would never know. Maybe one of these days something would happen to make him realise what was going on.
"I suppose we should see if we're needed anywhere else," Suo said, standing up with a bounce. "Though, I really don't want to get stuck sweeping if I can help it."
"Neither do I."
The two walked together back into the inner courtyard, where all the spring linen and silk garments were laid out. Some of the items that had slight damage were being painstakingly repaired by a number of attendants. Yinping asked if they could be of any further assistance, but there didn't seem to be anything more they could do out there for now, though they did volunteer to wander around the house to make sure nothing had been forgotten.
They took to their new task at a gentle pace, keeping an eye out for any stray linen or clothing. It was an easy and relaxed task. At the same time, they hoped they didn't come across their mother, who was sure to give them an even more tedious job to do, like weed pulling or winding up yarn balls. They assumed she was probably off somewhere dusty everything within an inch of its life, or overseeing the gardening with an iron hand. Wherever she was, they only had sympathy for anybody else in her path.
With all the windows and doors open, the house was airy and fragrant with fresh scents, a far cry from how stuffy it had been for months, which they're tried to get around with the burning of incense. Not that it had helped all that much – it had just left a heavy smell of sandalwood and jasmine constantly stifling the air. They certainly appreciated the more subtle scents of the peach and plum blossoms drifting in from the palace grounds just a stone's throw away.
"Things have been really quiet recently," Suo said offhandedly as they glanced into the bedrooms along the upper landing. They noted that all the bedding had been stripped bare, awaiting fresh linen.
"I know what you mean. There hasn't been much action at all," Yinping agreed. "Well, nothing that has required an army to deal with. But it does make you wonder if our lord has plans for any big campaigns. You'd think after everything we keep hearing about Cao Cao's battles in the northwest that we would be pushing to try and expand our lands in opposition."
"I'm sure Lord Liu Bei is preparing something. He's probably just had a lot of work to do with securing stability across Yi Province."
Yinping concurred with a nod. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, though I'm sure we'll be the first to know if something happens." She thought she saw something significant behind a curtain, but it was just a lone glove, maybe belonging to one of the attendants. She moved it onto a table close by, glancing back with a smirk at her brother. "Is the waiting getting too much for you? Don't you like a peaceful life?"
"Don't get me wrong," Suo assured hurriedly. "I like a little peace and quiet. I just... miss the action sometimes. And I don't like the idea of sitting around and waiting for someone to attack us."
"Well, it's a good thing we have Wu as our allies. It's one less thing to worry about!" As they passed a window at the front of the house, they noticed Guan Ping was coming up the path towards the house. She stopped to wave at him enthusiastically, which he acknowledged with a smile. She noticed he was dressed in much finer garb then he usually wore generally. He looked very dashing albeit mature in his vibrant green layered silk robes. "I wonder where he's been dressed like that."
"I don't know, he didn't say anything at breakfast... did he?" They exchanged stumped glances.
"To be honest, all I remember was Mother going on about her spring dresses."
"He did leave training earlier than usual," Suo also recalled, "but even then, he didn't say much about where he was going."
"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Yinping said, rushing for the stairs. Suo grinned at her enthusiasm and followed right behind, though at a less frantic pace.
They both arrived down in the entrance hall where Ping was shrugging off his outer robe and handing it to an attendant.
"Ping!" His sister greeted. "You're dressed up more than usual! Where have you been?"
He smiled at her eager curiosity. "I'm barely through the door and I'm already being interrogated."
"It's not like that! I'm just interested!"
"Was it business?" Suo enquired in much more restrained way.
"Yes it was. I was with Father, Lord Liu Bei and Master Zhuge Liang." His siblings were all ears, though he waved them off. "Can I at least sit down with a drink first? It has been quite the morning."
"You're not the only one who's been busy, you know!" Yinping huffed, following at his heels. "Mother has had me working all morning swapping all the clothes and bedding." She shot in front of him, halting his progress. "Don't think you're going to get off lightly," she warned. "We're all going to be roped in at some point. She'll have us polishing the lacquerware next!"
"I didn't say my morning was harder than yours," he assured soothingly, giving her head a gentle pat as he stepped around her to enter the next door into the living area, going to sit on one of the mats in front of a large table in the centre of the room. Yinping and Suo flanked him on either side, patiently waiting to hear what had happened to have him summoned in front of their lord.
Ping called for a passing maid to bring them some refreshments, which she did so a few minutes later. With drinks at the table, he couldn't hold off his siblings intense gazes any longer. They desperately wanted information out of him about his meeting.
"Our lord summoned me to give me a mission," he told his younger siblings, whose eyes lit up with both surprise and intrigue. "He chose me to be the leader of a supply party to travel to the most north-eastern outpost of the territory."
The outpost was a fortified allied city northwest of Badong, close to Wei's border. It was in a very treacherous frontier of Yi province and wasn't a favoured place to be stationed, and had taken the nickname 'Longpigu' – Dragon Buttocks. It was a key outpost for certain, but it was a dreary place in the middle of rocky, unforgiving terrain. It was a weather-beaten place that always seemed to have one misfortune or another. In this case, they had not fared too well during the winter months.
"They have suffered due to terrible weather," Ping explained between sips of his drink. "That and they had a fire which destroyed some of their supplies. While they had managed to replace some of the items through good relations with close by towns, there have also been cases of pillaging of carts that have travelled the tracks to the city, so some of their most needed supplies were lost. They are in dire need of provisions and other materials to rebuild their damaged storehouses."
"Those poor people," Yinping empathised.
Ping shared her sentiments. "Their fortunes have been very poor. It's really been quite terrible."
"It's going to be quite the responsibility," Suo interjected. "They will be truly grateful to you."
Ping was in no doubt that the people of 'Longpigu' would have immense gratitude. They were certainly long overdue for some serious aide.
"Our lord has left it in my hands to gather a small group to help take the supplies," Ping carried on. "He did suggest that I consider other young officers for the assignment for the prime experience it would bring. I need to make quick arrangements to leave in a few days. It will take about a week to get there all being well, maybe a day or so more."
Yinping was giddy with enthusiasm. "That's exciting! What an adventure!" Ping laughed as she bounced up and down on her knees. He hoped she wouldn't get too excited and break the table by accident. Again.
"I hope you'll consider us as worthy travelling companions," Suo said, determined not to miss out. "This could be a good chance to show how much we're grown as warriors."
"Don't worry, I had thought about you when he said I could choose who could join me," Ping assured them, which delighted the two instantly. "I was also thinking about asking Xing and Xingcai as well."
"Yes, we'd make a formidable team!" Yinping declared, fist pumping the air. She glanced over at Suo. "See, here is the action you wanted!"
Ping raised an eyebrow to his brother. "What's that?"
Suo waved it off. "Don't worry about it... just something from an earlier conversation."
There was movement in the hallway. The creaking floorboards announced the arrival of Guan Xing just as he slid open the door. He peered in, offering that familiar placid smile of his.
"Ah, I thought I'd heard you here," he said in greeting.
"How's Bao?" Yinping asked Xing as he stepped into the room, joining his siblings around the table.
"He has a broken ankle," he informed them.
Ping was bewildered. "He broke his ankle? When did this happen?"
"Shortly after you left this morning," Xing confirmed, rubbing hands down his tired cheeks. "He was a little too overambitious with a kick and landed off kilter, right on his ankle. The doctor has fixed him up; though you should have seen the fuss he kicked up before it was reset. I have a bruise on my stomach to prove what a bad patient he makes."
"Maybe he'll learn not to go over the top next time," Ping said, somewhat unsympathetic. They all knew what Bao was like, a hothead and a show off.
"That'll be the day," Xing said, a small smile forming. "Anyway, I left him to rest after all his simpering over his treatment. Really, I don't blame the doctor for hitting him over the head with his cane. He was very rude to him." The others chuckled, shaking their heads.
"So I suppose Bao is out of the question for this mission," Suo said without a doubt.
"Mission?" Xing inquired with interest, to which Ping relayed what he had told the others about his given task.
"Doesn't it sound like fun?" Yinping said excitedly.
"Not my choice of word," Xing replied, brushing his hair back from his face. "Though it does sound like a good assignment, and I would be very glad to join you."
Ping, happy to have his siblings onboard, was even more motivated. "Excellent, now I just have to ask Xingcai." He didn't doubt she would be in board with the mission. She wasn't one to shy away from any task, particularly where it offered her further training in the field. And secretly, he was quite looking forward to the prospect of journeying with her at his side. It meant they could spend a little more time together. Her time had been so consumed with Liu Shan recently with his training that he barely had time to talk to her. He missed the days they used to have inspired conversations about the future while lounging around on the grass after a hard afternoon's sparring.
Interrupting their cheerful moment was the maid who had previously brought their drinks, who appeared rather sheepish. "Please excuse me," she said. "Lady Hu has asked if you could help clean out the stock cupboard. She requires all the boxes removing so the floor can be cleaned."
Suo sighed. "It didn't take Mother long to realise we were all here at a loose end."
Yinping slapped her legs with exasperation. "I told you! Didn't I say we'd all get roped in eventually?"
The palace was a tranquil spectator to the activity bustling about the city, standing like a regal giant painted in splendour. Walled off and surrounded by thriving peach, plum and apple trees, it was almost in a world of its own – as was Sun Shangxiang, sat in her palace quarters high up in the grand building. There was a wonderful breeze that late morning, lifting delicate peach blossoms up high into the air, even high enough for her to gracefully lean out and capture a single petal between her fingers, letting it dance over each digit before releasing it back into the currents, letting the thermals take it up higher and further away.
It was a truly peaceful day – maybe a little too peaceful for her liking – but the weather was bright and clear, and she could see everything happening on the ground below, a hive of activity with the kingdom's subjects going about their business in such a cheery manner. Far beyond the walls of outer Chengdu she could make out peasants walking the dirt paths, travelling with their wares, passing through groves of spruce firs and foxglove trees, free to come and go as they pleased whether in trade or for leisure. And here she was, somewhat constrained, like a bird in a rather large ornate cage.
She could almost laugh at herself for such overdramatic thoughts. A bird in a cage, of all things! As if she were some feeble damsel; but even so, her world did feel a whole lot smaller than it used to be.
There was only so much training she could do that morning before she wore out her armed maids, and after that she was required – for some reason beyond her – to sit for almost an hour discussing dresses with the lady staff, who wanted to completely change her wardrobe. She had a great dislike for dresses, but begrudgingly dressed in them to befit her position as a lord's wife and dignitary. Even then as she sat there she was decked out in a lightweight dress in crimson red with billowing long sleeves – something not particularly made for moving about in at any respectable speed. How sad it seemed that she constantly had to dream up excuses to wear more comfortable and less restricting clothes some days.
Thankfully, she had managed to sort out the dress debate relatively quickly once they'd stopped prattling on about patterns, after which she escaped back to her room, now finding herself suddenly at a loose end. It was at times like these she missed Jianye, her brother and Lianshi, even more so after receiving a letter from the latter. Just reading about her homelands, the progress of the state and Lianshi's obvious budding romance with her brother made her miss her former carefree lifestyle. In some ways she wanted to be back there, to tease her former bodyguard about Quan's bumbling pursuit, maybe even take a boat out while the water was calm and go fishing. But they were simply dreams now. She'd given up everything she knew for her beloved Liu Bei, the man who had captured her heart and respect on their first meeting. They might have been a generation a part, but it was a very forgettable aspect of their relationship. Nevertheless, the thought of him often made her heart skip a beat. He was as accommodating to her as he could be, even allowing her to bring a small troop of armed maids with her after they married – though they seemed to unnerve him on a regular basis.
When it came to their life together, it was one predominated by the affairs of state. He was a very busy man, always at the forefront of military and domestic dealings of his burgeoning kingdom. As time had gone on during their short marriage, they were spending much less time together. It made her heart heavy with loneliness.
Besides her personal maids, whom bustled about to fulfil her every whim, she really didn't spend much time with anyone else. Despite the kindness she had received from Liu Bei's people, she was still somewhat an outsider. They were either overly cautious of her – on top of their nervousness of her elevated position as their lord's wife and Princess of Wu – or very reluctant to speak with her at all, merely cordially bowing before hastening away. Not that she spent much time mingling in the city; she only ventured outside of the palace grounds on occasion, and even then she was accompanied by any one of Liu Bei's most trusted generals, more often than not, it was Zhao Yun. She didn't know if it was her husband being overprotective – of her of all people, the bow princess! – Or someone had been having a word in his ear to keep an eye on her, just in case – of what she couldn't surmise. She always assumed it was Zhuge Liang, his unreadable strategist. She could never quite tell what he thought of her.
She wasn't particularly fond of Zhao Yun. He was obnoxiously regimental and postured way too much – both verbally and physically. He didn't seem to realise he was doing it, but it grated on her nerves anyway, even more so since some of her armed maids were a little smitten with the handsome general.
She heaved out a heavy sigh, bring her knees up so she could rest her arms and chin against them. How sad it felt that she hadn't fully integrated in with the people of Shu. She wasn't one to give up that was for sure, but it was depressing even after all this time she was still struggling to make deeper connections beyond her husband.
What I need is a distraction from this ridiculous bout of misery, she thought. Just something that breaks this monotonous way of life. Maybe I could arrange a hunt, get a few of the generals on board. I've got more of a chance of integrating with a bit of fair sport.
She saved those thoughts for later, knowing it was nearing lunchtime now and her husband would be back soon. She was almost like an impatient puppy waiting for its master's return. Maybe he could spare her a moment in his busy schedule to eat with her today.
Lo and behold, she could hear approaching feet, and in her excitement, jumped to her feet. It was just unfortunate that her legs entangled themselves in the bundled material of the dress and she stumbled, falling head over heels into an unceremonious heap on the floor, leaving her slightly winded.
"Stupid dress," she mumbled grumpily, looking up as the door opened and her husband and one of his attendants entered. "Hello, my lord," she greeted cheerily, even though she looked a complete fool.
Liu Bei seemed startled to find her splayed out on the ground, legs knotted up in her dress. "Shangxiang, are you alright?"
"Just a mishap, my lord," she assured, starting to unravel herself from her predicament. "I'm still not fully used to the, uh, mechanics of dresses." He moved over to her to offer an assisting hand, though his expression seemed unsure if she would want his help or not. Shangxiang didn't refuse and took his hand so that he could help her to her feet. "Thank you."
"Some things just take a little time and perseverance to get used to," he said supportively.
"Yes, I suppose so," she said agreeably, even though she didn't quite like the idea of accommodating these cumbersome dresses into her everyday life.
He smiled and moved across the room towards the bedroom, the attendant following after him silently, on hand to help him get changed. Shangxiang went to sit on a small couch near the bedroom door, peaking through the gap to catch a glimpse of tanned flesh as Liu Bei disrobed. Her cheeks pinked, and she cursed her whimsy. She wasn't some innocent maiden after all.
"How was your morning?" She called, her voice raised for him to hear her.
"Tiring," he admitted, allowing the attendant to slip a fresh long robe over his shoulders. "I had quite a few meetings."
"Was there anything of interest?" She enquired, though she wasn't sure if he'd tell her much, and even so, not really certain if it would be anything fascinating anyway. She was well versed in the politics of war, but when it came to civil and domestic affairs, she came to a stumbling block. She had to give him all her respect for running the city in such an orderly manner.
"I had private council with Zhuge Liang." She knew she'd get little information out of him on that front. "And I spoke with Guan Ping over a supply run I wanted him to be in charge of."
"A supply run?" She asked keenly, watching him emerge from the other room, now dressed in fresh robes – pale green with a phoenix pattern, ones she fondly liked to see him wear.
"Yes, to our far most outpost on the eastern Wei border," he explained. "It would be an opportune assignment for him. It would make useful training for his leadership skills. I did recommend he take some of his young comrades with him to benefit from the experience."
How lucky... Is what she wanted to say, instead she put on a smile and said: "Yes, most opportune."
Shangxiang noticed her husband seemed to be preparing himself once more to leave. She became deflated. "You're not staying for lunch?"
He noticed her sad expression and approached her, gently resting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Shangxiang, my schedule is quite hectic today. I'm due for another meeting with a minister of foreign trade. I believe we will be taking lunch together. Forgive me, if I had remembered earlier..."
"Please don't worry yourself," she said, mustering as much understanding as she could despite her disappointment. "I don't mind taking lunch alone."
"I promise I will try to join you tomorrow, even if only for a short time." He gently kissed her forehead. "See you tonight."
She smiled as she watched him and his attendant depart, which instantly slipped as the doors shut behind them. He probably wouldn't be around for dinner either. He seemed to struggle to accommodate her anymore. She bristled at the thought he would probably take time out at some point that day to spend time with his sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. All she would get was him tiredly crawling into their bed, only exchanging the most meagre of pleasantries before he drifted off to sleep. She didn't want to start taking her disappointment out on anyone else – particularly his sworn brothers, who were a dear part of his life. The thing she dreaded was becoming some needy wench pandering for his every attention, but at times, she wondered what would happen if she really did kick up a fuss.
It wasn't that she wasn't privy to a lot of his meetings with her position, but many of them were either private councils for his ears only or about things she wasn't able to contribute to. The idea of sitting listening to some stuffy men prattle on about the ins and outs of one domestic trade or another almost made her yawn just thinking about it.
She went and sat back down at the window, unable to stop herself from sulking. Though with little else to do, her mind wandered back to what he'd mentioned about Guan Ping's mission: an excursion to run supplies to one of their outposts. At any other time, it wouldn't have been particularly exciting, but right there and then, it sounded a lot more fun than pottering around trying to fill in the day doing the same old things.
Just then, a knock came to the door. She called for them to enter. It was one of her trusted armed maids, Bihua. She bowed upon entering.
"Are you ready for lunch, my lady?"
"Yes, I'll come now," she said, following after the other woman.
They walked side by side down the long hallway in silence, passing by palace attendants gently cleaning beautifully painted wall panels and ornate hanging lanterns. They bowed to the princess upon her passing, which she acknowledged with a nod of the head. Her footfalls sounded unnaturally loud all of a sudden, but that could have just been because she had been focusing so hard on the echoes bouncing off the walls around her. Even though there were people everywhere she looked, there was still an emptiness around her that she couldn't shake.
At the end of the hallway, Bihua opened a pair of large doors for her to enter a private hall where she would take lunch.
She sat down at the small table that awaited her, tucking the skirts of her dress carefully beneath her. Bihua brought her a small jug of wine. She welcomed it gratefully as it was poured into her cup, and she consumed it swiftly, the sweet taste hitting the back of her throat with a sharp tang. She quietly sighed in satisfaction and beckoned her maid for another.
"Are you alright, my lady?" Bihua asked her, eying her cautiously.
"It's... just been one of those days," Shangxiang said, refraining from downing another cup full so hastily. She would wait for her food – which was due to be brought in shortly – and then she would sink them back while she lined her stomach. She stared thoughtfully at her reflection in the wine for some time before glancing up at her maid. "Bihua, you always seem to be on top of all the latest information that circulates around here."
"I try to be, my lady."
"Do you know much about the mission that has been given to Guan Ping about delivering supplies?"
"No, my lady." Bihua said, shaking her head. Shangxiang's shoulders sank. "But I can always try to find out more for you."The princess instantly brightened up.
Bihua – like many of her armed entourage – was her eyes and ears in places she couldn't reach. If there was something she wanted to know, Bihua would go out of her way to try and uncover as much information as she could. Shangxiang knew she could deftly rely on her.
"If you could, I would like to know more about it: who is involved, and when they are setting off, things like that."
The princess was resolved. She wanted to involve herself in this mission of Guan Ping's. She wanted to get away just for a little while, to roam freely without constraint and experience more of the land. Liu Bei certainly wouldn't agree to her joining the expedition, though while she seemed to continue on as a secondary commodity in his everyday life, she felt that she was well within her rights to make this choice, to do something that benefited her for a change, and finally get some real excitement. Besides, he probably wouldn't miss her presence for a short while.
There was a certain thrill to this sneaky little plan, but nothing deterred her from the thought of going through with it.