A/N: This is "Peace in Chaos", a collaboration between my boyfriend and me. It wasn't completely written by me, he came up with a lot of the beginning text and basically most of the idea, I just put it to words. Just know that he deserves credit too :P
Peace in Chaos
"Halt! Who goes?"
"General Cao Cao, general in His Majesty's army! Have you no eyes?"
"My apologies, my lord, but I was ordered that none should pass without id-"
"Bah! You know who I am, so let me pass."
"Yes, my lord."
With this exchange, Cao Cao, general in the royal army, magistrate of Xu Chang province, and royal strategist passed the gates to the imperial palace at Luo Yang and entered the verdant courtyard, having dismounted his horse and left it at the gates. Looking around haughtily, he seemed more to be looking through the surroundings than at them, his gaze seeming as if it was looking at something hundreds of yards away.
The trees were in full bloom, cherry blossoms littering the verdant green grass as sunlight streamed off of the reflecting pool in the center. The galleries surrounding the courtyard were shaded from the light by thick stone walls and roofs rising up from the ground, their passages interspersed by pillars supporting the stone above.
A total of three levels, including the ground-level pathways, made up the galleries overlooking the center of the courtyard. The whole area was large, but not so large as to warrant anything more than two-score guardsmen. The walls, pillars and walkways were made of the same drab grey stone, skillfully cut and shaped by skilled engineers and craftsmen. Benches surrounded the reflecting pool, their wrought stone seats covered in cherry blossom petals and shade. In the small nooks and depressions in the surrounding ground-level galleries and pathways, guardsmen stood out of sight, silently watching the area for any semblance of trouble. This was the center of the imperial palace, and nothing would happen if these guards had anything to do about it.
"Is it not beautiful, my lord?" One of the imperial guards lining the walkways spoke up.
"I suppose so. More importantly, it's a defensible position...a small group of good soldiers could hold off an army at the choke point of the gates, and anyone who walked into the open would be cut down by archers. My job is not as an artist, I am a tactician!"
"Yes, my lord." The guard replied subserviently, having long since learned not to argue with any who were important enough to be allowed into the inner courtyards. Indeed, very few were even allowed into the outer walls of the palace, so someone who was allowed into this most guarded of areas had to be very important and powerful indeed.
Cao Cao walked through the sunlight pierced courtyard, stepping carelessly on the cherry blossoms strewn about and bypassing the walkway entirely for the most direct route to his destination. In the center of the courtyard, at the end of the reflecting pool and surrounded by more blooming cherry trees, was a medium sized pagoda, fully furnished and built from the finest stained mahogany, many of the furniture pieces lacquered to a fine sheen. A handful of chairs surrounded a table built of mahogany, inset with a beautiful granite stone slab upon which sat glasses, empty at the moment, provided for each seat. The dour man selected a chair and sat down and closed his eyes, waiting for his companions and contemplating the business at hand. For while the man was skilled in battles of spears and swords, he was out of his depth when it came to battles of words and wit. And this would be a challenging battle indeed.
The next man to arrive at the gates was much like the first, quiet and all business. His only interaction with the guards was a quiet grunt and a nod, the guardsman having been told to expect him, Xiahou Dun, bodyguard to Cao Cao and renowned swordsman. Dismounting his horse, he brought it alongside his lords and tied it next, allowing the horse enough room to drink from the trough below it and move it's head. Passing the guards, he walked into the courtyard with a curt nod to those present, and began walking to the pagoda. Along the way, he silently eyed the rest of the guards, sizing them up and silently contemplating the dynamics of the situation to come. He, also, was not one suited to speaking, and while he was skilled at driving his troops to feats of greatness, he was less suited to the politics required off of the battlefield.
He disliked the backstabbing and underhanded tactics that one had to master to become anything more than a mere vassal, and greatly disliked the constantly revolving loyalties that defined the court. Friends and enemies changed places seemingly daily in these turbulant times, emerging crises causing shifts in loyalties that were never permanent. It seemed that the only friend you truly could depend on was yourself, and the only justice was at the end of the point of a spear. Xiahou Dun wished to unite the land, not for personal glory, but merely to serve his lord's ambition. He didn't care whether or not people knew his name, if he held a high office, or if he was considered politically powerful. He simply wished to serve as his master's right hand, performing his duty as his orders commanded.
Entering the pagoda, he silently took a seat next to his lord, making sure that his sword was kept close at hand should trouble arise. Opening one eye, Cao Cao looked at his bodyguard and with a curt nod, acknowledged his presence. Returning the nod, Xiahou Dun continued to scan the immediate area, his senses constantly on the alert for any potential danger to his lord. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. Regardless, he couldn't seem to shake the uneasy vibe he was getting.
The pagoda offered an outstanding view. It was hard to believe that the vast land lay out before it suffered the plague of war. Innocent peasants were struck with the disease, along with not-so-innocent bandits, who seemed to flourish in times such as these. In the far off distance, the gallant marching of horses could be heard. It had appeared the rest of Cao Cao's army had caught up with him.
"Halt! Who-"
"Save your words, I believe my lord is here?"
The guard nodded, assuming this phrase was directed at the arrival of Cao Cao. Without much more ado, the gates were flung open once again, and the remainder of the Wei army, well, all of the Wei army expected to show up, entered the courtyard. The man who seemed to be in charge of these extra forces was of small stature. He didn't stand very tall, although without a doubt his girth made up for it, not to mention the strength he had to be masking beneath his tons of armor.
The general had a rumbling low voice, it bounced off the stone walls and carried through the courtyard. "Li Dan! I require your presence!"
Without a nanosecond wasted, Li Dan, a lieutenant under this certain general, appeared at his master's side. "Yes Lord Xiahou Yuan?"
"Heh heh, I get the feeling Lord Cao Cao didn't look very hard into the structural capabilities of this palace. He probably scanned the outside and assumed to know everything. Why don't you and your men inspect further? I'll make sure there's a bonus involved!" Xiahou Yuan always seemed to be laughing at nothing. Generally, he was just an extremely perky person.
Li Dan bowed and returned to his unit. "Alright guys, we've been given the order to patrol, so... Start patrolling!" Whenever Li Dan gave his soldiers that command, it always seemed to me 'Take a break.' His underlings did just that. Sun Ci Li, a sergeant beneath Li Dan, was ecstatic to acquire this "break." He used the time to stroll about the courtyard paths, finding his way down to the southern side, eventually.
It seemed as though no one had visited the southern side of the palace in quite some time. Vines twisted up the walls, clinging for dear life to the cracks and crevices. It wasn't nearly as neat as the rest of the palace, which made the area stick out like a sore thumb. The path became riddled with rocks and small patches of grass peeking up through the walk. Regardless, Sun Ci Li made his way to a wooden door attached to one of the south side's walls. As he pulled the door open, it creaked and squeaked, but it surprisingly didn't put up a fight, it opened without effort. Stepping inside the new room, he was taken aback by how pristine it was, especially compared to the outside. Every step he took made the room echo, alerting one of the inhabitants.
"Who's there??" A voice called out to him. Obviously, this room wasn't prone to unexpected visitors or perhaps, no visitors at all?
"Uh... Sergeant Sun Ci Li, of the Wei army, I was given orders to patrol the palace, and I happened upon your... library?"
The figure, now much less frightened, made an appearance, strolling out casually from behind one of the many bookshelves. "This isn't just a library; it's a branch of the imperial archives."
Sun Ci Li gazed upon the well lit room. The ceiling was covered with mosaics, ones that depicted Chinese legends and history. Every bookcase was well dusted, but all the same, the room seemed to be lacking something. Visitors. "A branch, hm? Is that why there aren't a lot more librarians? Or guests?"
The woman rolled her eyes and resumed what she was doing, straightening up books. "No, we don't get many guests because I'm the head librarian, and I'm a female. Supposedly, the other branches are better because the head librarians there are male. That's also why I'm the only one who works in this branch."
Sun Ci Li nodded to show he understood. "I'm amazed. You keep such a big place like this tidy? All by yourself? It must take a lot of work... What do you do all day?"
The librarian giggled to herself. "I'm in a room full of books. Reading seems like a good time consuming activity, does it not?"
Sun Ci Li laughed awkwardly. "I suppose so..."
Meanwhile, Xiahou Yuan chatted with his brother, Xiahou Dun, who had long since left the pagoda with Lord Cao Cao. Just by looking at them, one would never suspect Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun to be brothers. Although they shared the same dark hair, most aspects were not shared, such as their body shape, facial features, and ultimately, their personality. However, it isn't very rare to see families with non overlapping characteristics in times like these.
Xiahou Dun watched his sibling get into the monologue he appeared to be giving; after all, Xiahou Dun hadn't gotten much of a word in. Xiahou Yuan kept going on and on about his past battle, imitating all of his weapon movements, laughing hysterically. Xiahou Dun lent an ear, until he couldn't put up with the babbling much longer. "Well, brother, I'm glad to see you survived." His comment seemed to kill the conversation.
Li Dan had called all of his men back, and was initiating a roll call sequence. He always appeared to be short a man. Sun Ci Li sneaked into the ranks, finding his place, and fulfilling the roll call requirements. He hadn't noticed how much time had gone by while he conversed with the librarian. Hopefully, he would get to check out a few of the archives the next day. That is, of course, if Cao Cao decided to stay. It was getting late, the sun was setting, and there didn't seem to be many other options, so he ordered camp to be built outside of the palace walls. Anyone not "important" enough was to sleep in the camp's tents. Cao Cao didn't see much of a problem. He got to dream peacefully on a comfy bed surrounded by guards for protection. It didn't bother the soldiers very much, either. Such were the conditions of war.
Sun Ci Li found it difficult to sleep these days. Images played in his head incessantly whenever he tried to rest his mind, whether they be of his home long since gone, or of the battles he had been a part of. Lately, it had been the latter, as he had been a part of a large attack force that had nearly been crushed by the enemy.
The smell of blood, soil and steel wafted over the battlefield; distant yells and screams denoting fierce fighting not yet abated. Beneath one of the few trees on this blasted moor sat a lone soldier, his wrecked armor still bearing the markings of a private in the Wei army. Panting and holding a shoulder, he stared at his knees, blood soaking the cloth of his armor and dirt smearing his face. Sweat dripped off his brow, causing tracks of mud to run past his eyes. Before him lie the bodies of a score of soldiers, nearly equally split between the forces of Wei and the soldiers of the Yellow Turbans. Horrifying as it was, the man could not pull his eyes away from the faces of the fallen, looking into their lifeless eyes wondering who they were and what lives they'd left behind...
Awaking with a start, Sun Ci Li nearly fell out of his cot. Staring blankly up at the ceiling, he wondered if being a soldier was everything it was cracked up to be.
"Rise and shine, boys!!" Xiahou Yuan was (as he always had been) the first one up. He just decided to wait before verbally shaking them from their pleasant dreams. Sun Ci Li, of course, was already up. He dressed himself and headed out to resume his task from the previous day.
Arriving at the library, he realized no one was there. The girl from yesterday (he couldn't seem to remember her name, at the moment) was nowhere in sight, he couldn't hear her, and no sound escaped the sound-reflective walls of the imperial archives. With nothing better to do, he thumbed through the pages of a book lying out of place, alone on the desk. He didn't read it word for word, but it seemed like the book was a plan devised to end the warring clans of China. Abruptly, the door opened and slammed shut. An extremely upset woman slammed a file down on the desk in front of him.
"What do you think you're doing?" The woman snatched the book from him.
Sun Ci Li looked up at her, the same librarian from the day before. "It's quite good..."
The female sneered, "Glad you think so. That idiot of an advisor to the Emperor wouldn't consider it."
Sun Ci Li just shrugged. "I'm sure he's read it already. Not much use restating it for him."
She raised an eyebrow. "I highly doubt that, this is the only copy. I wrote it myself, gathering from the sources here. But of course, who would listen to a woman's words? My first 20 years have loathed this country's belittling of women, and a gut feeling tells me it'll abhor me for the remaining 40 as well!"
The rant had the potential to continue, but Sun Ci Li tried to halt it right then and there. "Forgive my asking, but what did you say your name was again?" He waited patiently, wondering what her reaction would be. Most women he came across didn't enjoy his habit of forgetting their names.
She paused a moment. "Oh... Pardon me, I never told you, did I? It's been forever since someone took the time to want to learn enough about my character to deserve the blessing of knowing my name. I detest the name... Mei-Ying."
Sun Ci Li thought a moment. Hearing her name told him loads about her. First of all, she had no surname, which meant she wasn't married, and she wasn't of high nobility, but the fact she had a compound name said she wasn't "normal". Mei meant beauty, Ying meant intelligence, she was obviously intended to work in a position such as this her whole life. The inflection of her voice as she pronounced the simple word made it seem like she was spitting out poison. Without a doubt, there was a history plaguing her about this name. "Care to tell me what you hate about your name?"
Mei-Ying sighed and shook her head. "The Emperor gave it to me."
Sun Ci Li cocked his head to one side. "Well, why don't you go by the name your parents gave you?"
This remark clearly hit a chord in her heart. Her eyes became clouded, but she didn't cry. She was a hardened woman, thanks to a life of limitations, full of disheartening events. "I don't even remember it... When I was very young, my parents traded me away to the Emperor. My family was poor, they had many debts, and nothing to give but my brother or me. Guess which one they picked..."
It was not uncommon for women to be treated as things rather than people. Many shared the same past as Mei-Ying. Some other destinies for women awaited, such as being married away for peace that never came. Countless men had several women that "belonged" to them. General Cao Cao was no exception, having 25 sons with multiple women. Being born a female was like being branded with a restrictive sticker forever.
Thankful he was born a male, Sun Ci Li needn't worry about a fate similar to any of Mei-Ying's. Regardless, he still felt sympathy for her. "I'm sorry you had to experience that..."
Mei-Ying half-smiled a fake smile. "It's not really your fault. If you want to take responsibility for my gender's ridicule, you can help me out around here..."
Sun Ci Li blinked. Was she joking? He was a soldier, not a bookkeeper, though the archives did capture his attention. Why not give it a try?
Loafing about the library, tidying up at his own pace. He hadn't lived so peacefully since he was young, back in Xu Chang. He used to nap under the blossoming pink and white peach blossom trees. Before his brother joined the army, they used to go adventuring together through the overgrown fields, accumulating baskets full of intriguing insects. Many a time had both he and his brother received a scolding for interrupting the work of the rice paddy farmers past the fields. Of course, times like those couldn't last forever. Once China encountered civil disrest due to the death of the emperor, Qin Shi Huang, it became divided into six separate states, it warred with itself. His brother joined the army to help his Lord unite the land once again under one name. Alas, he was killed. Sun Ci Li, seeking revenge and a life worthy of his brother's praise, joined the army once he came of age. Such is how he ended up in this library, while on the outside the land remained separated. Needless to say, the building never looked cleaner.
Mei-Ying smiled up at him shyly. "Well now, nothing more to get done around the archives, except reading... I couldn't thank you enough, Sun Ci Li."
For the past few weeks they had been polishing the archives to perfection. He was quite proud of his accomplishment, however, as with his life as a child, his peacefulness wouldn't last forever. Cao Cao grew sick of the "repetitive" scenery and decided it was long passed time to continue his conquest. The entire Wei army was to move out the next morning. "Mei-Ying, just make sure you soak up enough peace and tranquility for both you and I. That shall be all the thanks I need."
The thundering of horses woke everyone in the palace. Rain poured out of the clouds, a gloomy farewell for Cao Cao's army. Never to be heard from again, they marched into the fog, back into the chaos that knew no peace.