Marquis Yan Que continued to stare at Mei Changsu. He looked at every detail of the man, from his facial features down to the simple blue gray robes he wore. Yan Que had watched Xiao Shu grow up. This was not him. No matter how he looked at the person in front of him, it was not and could not be that boy. There was no resemblance. No trace of Lin Shu, the child he remembered that was vibrant and full of life. Fearless, confident, and outspoken. This man was the complete opposite of that. He..he was not Xiao Shu, he was Mei Changsu. He must have heard wrong. He must have.
But Yan Que knew he had not heard wrong. What should have felt like joy, to see his da-ge's son resurrected in front of him again, it didn't. Tears formed in his eyes, but not of sorrow, it was of anger. Rage. What had the boy endured to become like this? What had that bastard Emperor done to his own nephew?
Slowly Yan Que approached Lin Shu, he was so focused he had forgotten Noble Consort Jing was in the room as well. Noble Consort Jing seemed to understand and stood away, to give space to the confrontation that was going to happen.
"How. How is it it's you. How..." Yan Que's voice cracked, but he didn't care. He couldn't understand why he wasn't able to tell. For nearly two years this man had been in the Capital, manipulating and setting up a storm and Yan Que had watched it all happen. They had even spoken to each other, face to face, sitting across the room from each other. Yet he had not seen through it. Not one bit. The closest he had been to figuring out who he was, was when he asked if he was a former member of the Qi household. He had been close. Had he said Lin, he would have been right. But no one had survived from that household. The Emperor, Xie Yu, Xia Jiang, they had made sure of that.
"Uncle Yan."
Yan Que's body felt rigid at the greeting. It was like a ghost had touched him, he felt cold and weak at the knees. The acknowledgement in the man's voice…he didn't know what to say. Yan Que's eyes, however, had caught the Noble Consort Jing's, who had tears held back and understanding as well. She had gone through this before, he realized. So she had not known from the beginning either. Who else knew then? But the most important question wasn't that.
"Xiao Shu, why, why didn't you tell me?" Yan Que finally asked. He wanted to know. Did Lin Shu not trust him? He would have aided him in any way he needed.
"I did not tell you, for the same reason I did not want to tell the others. I was here to do something, to make a change that could either fail or succeed, in equal weighting. I did not want to involve you or anyone in it the case it did fail." Lin Shu paused. "I could not use your sentiments towards me as a form of manipulation."
Yan Que only continued to stare at Xiao Shu. His words made sense. But the way he had said it, it was so calm, so logical. Lin Shu seemed so distant even though he was right in front of him. Then came back to the question, how? What could have made Xiao Shu this way? What could have wiped all resemblance of a person away like that?
"You used to look just like your father," he started and he regretted it seeing the flicker of emotion that he was clearly trying to hide. Hiding. That was exactly what Lin Shu had been doing since his arrival in the Capital. How had he managed to change his persona completely, so much that even the closest to him could not have seen. But that wasn't true, was it. Noble Consort Jing saw through it.
And it was she who answered Yan Que's question.
"Xiao Shu was poisoned at the battle of Meiling. That is why he has been ill…and why he is still ill now."
"Aunt Jing -," Lin Shu started, looking at her, hoping to stop her from continuing what she wanted to say.
"No, I will say what I must," said Noble Consort Jing. "Because I have done what you asked before. I did not tell Jingyan. I kept your secret, no matter how much it pained me so to do it. But do not ask me to keep this from Yan Que as well. You," her voice seemed to crack, "have sacrificed enough, to at least let others know all that you have done for us. For Jingyan. For Da Liang. You will not stop me from speaking today."
Lin Shu said nothing, though on his face there was a slight show of fear. If the situation were not so serious, Yan Que would have smirked. While others could trial Noble Consort Jing's temper, especially Jingyan, Lin Shu was quite fearful of her when he was younger. In fact, he was fearful of the Ladies of the house. But terribly sneaky when it came to the rest of them. Xiao Shu was quite the trickster. The number of times his Lin Xie da-ge had punished the boy, Yan Que could not begin to count.
"Xiao Shu," she started again, regaining more composure, "you brought the truth to the surface of all the injustice done to the Chiyan army. To Prince Qi. To the Lin House. It is now all resolved. Why can you not share the truth of what has happened to you. We too, are your family, Xiao Shu."
As she said those words, she came closer to Lin Shu. "Do not take this away from us, to share your burden. You are not alone. You never should have been alone."
Yan Que could not agree more with what she said.
Noble Consort Jing's words, although they were full of concern and sorrow, they held firmness in them. That she was not taking his reluctance to speak so easily like the others. Yan Que noticed however, there was some sort of communication happening between Lin Shu and her. There was a look that was exchanged between them, an agreement of some sort. What she was agreeing to, Yan Que was not sure, but it seemed to put Xiao Shu more at ease when she nodded subtly.
"We will go to my gardens," she said more gently, "I have some fine tea that I know you will like to try."
Yan Que had noticed Lin Shu's silence in all of this. It was likely because of Yan Que's presence, his discovery had unsettled him. Mei Changsu, no…Lin Shu, was not a person that was easily taken by surprise.
At Noble Consort Jing's invitation for tea, however, the tension seem to ease from him and he responded with a smile, "I would very much like that."
He then looked at Yan Que as well, "Uncle Yan."
"Lin Shu. Noble Consort Jing."
Yan Que looked at the memorial plaques, and both Lin Shu and Noble Consort Jing moved to allow him space for his prayers.
There was a moment of silence as Yan Que bowed in front of the Lin memorial. Instead of his prayers for hope for their fight against Da Yu, he now thanked the heavens and to his Lin Xie da-ge that Lin Shu was alive. When Yan Que raised his head again, he took notice to a red cloth that hung over a plaque. He deduced then that it must have been Xiao Shu's. He swallowed the bitterness away. Thirteen years of heaven nor hell. Yan Que wanted to know everything that had happened, all the trials that Lin Shu had to go through to reach to where he was today.
Yan Que looked at Noble Consort Jing and Lin Shu and indicated he was ready to leave.
As they headed out to the courtyard of the Lin manor, Fei Liu stopped playing with his wooden toy to greet Lin Shu.
They stopped for a moment as Lin Shu said something cryptic to Fei Liu.
"Remember what I asked you to do for me earlier."
Fei Liu nodded.
"Su ge-ge, I haven't forgotten."
The boy raced back to where he had been playing and grabbed a small wooden box that rested on the ground next to his other toys. And in a quick instant, the boy was inside the Lin Manor.
Yan Que shook his head both in bafflement and amusement. Indeed. Lin Shu had met many interesting people along his journey. Looking at the man now, Yan Que looked forward to hearing his story. Indeed. It would be a longer day than Yan Que expected. But he would not have it any other way. Today, he regained someone he had thought was lost forever. Looking at Xiao Shu, who stood walking beside him, and the simple smile he shared with him; it was a moment of connection, of old friendships and joy. But had Yan Que seen flicker of sadness that also came across on Noble Consort Jing's face, he would have known that fate was cruel, and it rarely did things half way. But he hadn't. Because he was too grateful to see Xiao Shu again. Happy that someone from the noble house of Lin was still alive.
End.
