Chapter Forty-Eight : Dilemma
It didn't take long for everything to return to normal. From inside the tent, I could hear soldiers leading the horses away to the fields once again, and I could even hear laughter – they were already making jokes about all this. I presumed that there were no casualties as no-one bothered to inform me. Even if they did, what could I do? I was no medic.
Just as I was about to relax and enjoy the quietness, an overwhelming sound of galloping hooves forced me to my feet. What was that noise? Was Wu attacking after suggesting a peace treaty? If they were, then it was a good plan – we weren't prepared for this sudden attack. I grabbed my spear from where it was propped against the table, and hurried out, expecting to find Wu's cavalry stampeding through the camp. However, the cavalry stopped a little distance away from our frontlines, and the leader drove his horse forward couple of steps. To my disgust, it was Zhou Yu.
"Ice Princess of Wei, we only wish a path to Jian Ye. If you attempt to stop us, we will fight our way through. It would be pointless bloodshed, therefore we request that you move aside!" he shouted from the top of his horse, eyeing me with equal disgust and hatred. Well, at least I was sure that my face showed nothing. What a loser.
"Princess, I think it would be safe to let them go," Sima Yi popped out of nowhere and whispered in my ear. "They're diminishing their own power. Besides, wouldn't it be fun to watch Zhou Yu take on Zhuge Liang? It'll be such a pity to let that pass."
For once, I agreed with him. The battle between Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang would be fun. I moved away from Sima Yi and ordered the soldiers to move aside and let them pass. The Wu cavalry rushed past us and for a briefest moment I locked my eyes with Zhou Yu. You're gonna pay for what you've done to Da Qiao, my glare spoke for itself. And when you do, Sun Ce would be there to punish you for eternity.
"Neutral area, one companion, huh?" Lu Xun muttered to himself, pacing around the meeting room in He Fei Castle. "Sounds reasonable."
"But of course, we can never be sure of Wei's treachery," reminded Lu Meng, who was tapping the table with his fingers thoughtfully.
"Hu – I mean, the Ice Princess is not the type for treachery, even if it cost her her life. Surely you know that?" the younger man asked, a little too sharply than he had intended. Lu Meng sighed as he leaned back into his chair.
"I know that. What I'm saying is that I don't trust Sima Yi. Who knows what he's plotting? For all we know, Sima Yi might be plotting something behind the Ice Princess' back."
Lu Xun looked out the window to hide his expression of understanding. Of course he understood. He didn't trust Sima Yi, either. It was almost impossible to trust any strategists, as treachery was considered as strategy. But there was another reason why he wanted to go for negotiation. The wrong reason. The dangerous reason. The illogical reason. And yet, it made sense to him, somehow. He didn't want to lose this chance.
"I'll take the risks. You don't have to come if you don't want to, sir. Actually, it'd be better – if something happens to me, you could take over," he said, turning his face back to his teacher. Lu Meng's face was grave and solemn, as if he had known that this would be the answer.
"Very well. I trust your judgement, Lu Xun. I will remain in the castle. But then who will accompany you?"
The commander shrugged as if it wasn't important. "I will go alone if necessary. It shouldn't matter very much."
Lu Meng stood up with finality. "I certainly hope not."
It was the day of negotiation. Sima Yi was already up and about, obviously pleased about his plan. He made his way towards the princess' tent, but found it surrounded by layers of guards. Wondering what had happened, he attempted to enter the tent, but was blocked by the guards who crossed their spears to bar his way.
Enraged, Sima Yi snarled at the guards. "How dare you, you imbeciles! Don't you know who I am?"
"Our most sincere apologies, sir," one of the guards said, clearly unmoved, "but the situation allows no-one to enter the princess' tent except for the medic and General Zhang He."
"What? What is this? What is going on?" the master strategist demanded, his rage turning into confusion and concern. "The medic, you say?"
"Yes, sir. This is an emergency and–"
"And it's not something that should be discussed in such a public area," Zhang He's voice sounded and Sima Yi lifted his eyes to find the butterfly general coming out of the tent. "Master Sima Yi, I'm afraid I have some bad news."
Even Sima Yi was beginning to lose his calm. "Bad news? What has happened to the princess?"
"Well… Come and see for yourself," said Zhang He, moving aside and gesturing Sima Yi to enter the tent. The guards uncrossed their spears and allowed him to pass at Zhang He's words. Sima Yi couldn't help but feel slightly nervous as he entered the tent.
The first thing he heard was intense coughing. The next was a sigh of pain and last was gasp for breath. He saw the Ice Princess seated on a mattress, covering her mouth with a white piece of cloth that was stained with blood. Next to her, the medic was furiously mixing chemicals from the glass vials, preparing for the medicine. The princess lifted her eyes towards the entrance to find the intruders and quickly removed the blood off her face.
"Bad timing, Master Sima Yi," she said, her voice weak but her eyes flashing strangely. "I'm not in my best shape."
"Are you alright, princess? What has happened?"
"Of course she's not alright, Master Sima Yi. She's coughing out blood!" Zhang He quickly retorted, clasping his friend's shoulder as she began to cough once more.
"But I don't understand… She was fine just yesterday! How could she become so ill overnight?"
"You're not understanding at all. This is no illness," Zhang He replied darkly, "she's been poisoned."
Although the medic had long left the tent, I waited until I was certain that no-one else could hear us. It was only me and Zhang He in the tent, and he was smiling triumphantly, handing me the prescribed medicine in a bowl. I gladly took it, drinking it without a word. By the time I drained the cup, I could already feel the medicine working its magic.
"I would've thought that you'd be more careful of what you drank from now on," Zhang He joked as I placed the empty bowl on the nearby table.
"You should try being in my position. It's so painful that I'd drink anything to soothe the pain," I replied flatly, doing well to conceal my pain. Oh, I was going to get Zhang He back for this one. So going to make him pay.
'Here Hua,' he had said, entering my tent last night with a cup in his hand. Subconsciously – and idiotically – I'd taken it, looking at him blankly.
'Where have you been? You weren't around for a while,' I had said, taking a sip from whatever was in the cup. It tasted sweet.
'Oh, I've just been doing some research on poison,' that slimy jerk for a friend had said and even then I didn't make the connection. 'Your negotiation tomorrow, wouldn't it be better if you didn't go?'
I was bemused by that question. 'Why's that?'
'I have my reasons. But I think it'd be better that way.'
'Well, whatever you're thinking, I have to go. What do you think that bastard would do if I said I won't go?'
A smug grin began to appear on Zhang He's face as he casually walked to the other side of the tent as if looking at the table. 'I didn't say you won't go. I think you can't go.'
'Really, He, what're you talking about?' I had been an utter fool. 'What is this, anyway?' I asked, lifting the cup to indicate. I had never tasted something like that before.
'Ah, well, that is…' he trailed off uncomfortably, before whispering a single word.
"So," I said, looking up at him from the mattress, "I did as you wanted; I drank that poison you stole from the medic. So now tell me the reason."
My friend sighed dramatically as if regretful. "I couldn't possibly let you go there – it'll ruin your reputation if you were to use such a dirty trick. Now it'll be Sima Yi who gets the dirty reputation."
"If it could get any dirtier," I muttered, knowing full well what others thought of Sima Yi. "Alright then. You did this just for my reputation?"
"Well, no."
"Then what?"
He suddenly turned serious, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "Hua, have you thought about what Sima Yi would do to the Wu commander if he is caught?"
"Kill him," my voice sounded so emotionless and hollow even to my own ears. "Knowing Sima Yi, he would toy with his prey first."
"Exactly. Will you be able to stand that?"
Good question. Will I? Probably. I've been through more misery than this. I could survive this. "Yes."
"You don't know what you're saying, my friend," Zhang He said sadly for some reason. "I remember when your mother died. You were so out of your mind, and then – puff! – you were gone. The bright little girl I once knew wasn't there anymore. Is that gonna happen again?"
"Then what do you suggest that I do?" I snapped without meaning to. But really, what choice did I have? "My father and my brother's fatally ill, and it's all up to me now to defend my kingdom and people. I am not about to lose because of some personal feelings! He's my enemy, Zhang He. As long as he's on the other side of the battlefield, that fact would never change!"
"What if I told you I had a plan? A way to save your brother without being manipulated by Sima Yi? A way to save your friend's life?"
At those words, I could not help but ask back stupidly. "What?"
"I'm gonna need you to trust me and act naturally. Can you do that?"
"O-Of course, but what're you…?"
And as Zhang He began to whisper his plans, I could finally see rays of hope shining through.
The two strategists sat opposite each other on prepared seats, ready to negotiate. It was the Wei's master strategist who dared to open his mouth first.
"Despite the fact that we were allowed to bring one companion each, neither of us did. Isn't that interesting."
"And I was hoping to speak with your commander face-to-face," came the reply of the Wu's commander, doing well to hide his disappointment. Why didn't she come?
"I'm afraid that our princess didn't see you fit to grant an audience," Sima Yi said haughtily. Who do you think you are, boy? Know your place! You're not a match for the princess!
"Is that so. Very well then. I presume that you have the full powers of your commander for this negotiation?"
Sima Yi let out a laugh. "Ha! The full powers of my commander? You're talking to the princes' fiancé. I don't need my commander's powers. Mine is strong enough."
At his words, Lu Xun could feel his body tense up and he clenched his fists under the table. "Right. So you're the princess' fiancé."
"Correct." See? You can never have her. She's already mine. "Shall we get started?"
"Yes. The terms." Calm down, Lu Xun, calm down. This is not the time…
"Hmm," Sima Yi narrowed his eyes as if re-evaluating the other man. "You are dedicated, aren't you? I'm surprised that you haven't asked about the princess."
The Wu's commander had an unreadable expression on his face. "Should I be? We're here to negotiate the terms for our peace treaty."
"On the surface, yes. But as events turned out like this…" Sima Yi shrugged unimportantly. "I bet you came here, thinking that you'd get to see the princess, didn't you?"
Lu Xun was not liking this man's attitude. Not at all. "Perhaps I did, perhaps not. This has nothing to do with our negotiation," he replied, doing his best to bring back the conversation to the work at hand.
"Ah, but you see, this has everything to do with our negotiation. You're in no position to deny us anything. If we continue to lay siege on your worn-out castle, how are you planning to survive our all-out attack?" Sima Yi asked slyly, enjoying himself as uncertainty clouded the younger man's eyes. When Lu Xun didn't reply, Sima Yi cleared his throat importantly. "I have a term. And I'll promise that we will immediately retreat if you'd give me just one thing that you possess."
"One thing…?" Lu Xun couldn't help but feel fear slowly engulfing him as a cruel grin spread across Sima Yi's face.
"Yes. A single thing."
dancing-dolly : So that's it for today. I planned to update 5 chapters, but of course, things never go my way. Roar. So guys, how did you think of my three new chapters? Probably disconnected because it's been so long. I even wrote ending for Perspective, but it seems a far way off still. *Sigh* I really hope I will still have readers by the end of the story. T_T
Btw, happy New Year for everyone~! It's already half past midnight in New Zealand! I'm just so glad that my laptop didn't break from that earthquake on Sept 4th because that would've SUCKED. It's a little creaky, though. But that's always been like that. XD
Here I go, blabbing off again. My point is, have a Happy New Year, and please review! Love ya all~!
