Chapter 6: New Acquaintances
The Emperor greeted both Mulan and Shang and their families warmly. He took an immediate liking to Chen, who was very nervous but seemed to like the venerable old Emperor also.
Chi Fu passed them at one point and Yao remarked, "I thought the Emperor fired him."
"No, he couldn't, remember? He wanted to give the job to Mulan but she turned it down," Chien-Po said.
"You should all quiet down," Shang reprimanded them. "He may be able to hear you."
"What's the matter with your brother?" Chien-Po asked, suddenly. "He looks like he's in agony."
Shang looked at Chen. There was an expression of profound pain on his face and his entire body was rigid. He had his hands pressed to his head and was taking deep breaths like Shang had been showing him, clearly trying to calm himself down.
"Chen, what is it?"
"Too…much," Chen sputtered.
"Too much what?"
Chen didn't answer.
Shang excused himself from the company and took Chen by the arm. "Come on, Chen, let's go outside and get some air before dinner is served."
Chen seized Mulan's arm.
"Do you want Mulan to come, too?"
"Yes."
"Mulan, do you mind?"
"No, not at all."
Shang led Chen out to the palace garden and found a bench. He sat down with Chen and held him. Mulan sat beside them.
Chen was calming down a little now that they were outside.
"What was there too much of, Chen?" Shang asked.
"People."
"Oh, I see. Yes, there are a lot of people in there. I guess you're not used to being around so many people, are you?"
Chen shook his head no.
"Oh, don't worry. No one will hurt you. And you'll get used to it."
"The skinny man..." Chen began. "I don't like him."
"Who? Chi Fu?"
"I think so."
Shang laughed. "No one likes him, Chen."
They were interrupted as Jiang Shen-Li, one of the Emperor's councilman and Captain Tang Tien, his first captain approached.
"Captain Li. Fa Mulan. The Emperor requests that you stay after the banquet. Rooms have been arranged for you to stay overnight. We have asked that the rest of your regiment remain as well, Captain," Captain Tang told them.
"Yes, sir," Shang answered, tightening his grip on Chen who he could feel was beginning to tense up again. He was also trembling now.
When they had left, Mulan turned to him.
"I hope we're not going to war again, Shang."
"So do I."
They sat in silence for a long time. Shang felt Chen's trembling begin to subside finally.
"What do you think, Chen? Dinner will be served soon. Aren't you getting hungry?"
"Yes."
"Ready to go back inside?"
Chen looked a little wary. "Okay."
"If you get scared by all the people when you're in there you can hold my hand. Or Mulan's if I'm not around."
Chen looked at Mulan and she nodded, smiling.
xxxxxx
Chen had been too overwhelmed to remain inside where there were so many people. So many images, thoughts and emotions flooded him and pounded against his head that it was impossible to separate anything out. He felt like his head was going to explode. He couldn't shut any of it out and it terrified him.
He had tried to do the meditation exercise that Shang had taught him, but it wasn't working as it had been when they were at home doing it. He'd had to get out of that place.
He wanted to return to the garden that he'd gone to with his brother and Mulan earlier but had forgotten which way it was. He ended up outside in the square and saw a carriage there, a horse hitched to it already. There was something about the carriage that drew him irresistibly to it and he found himself beside it. He climbed in.
The cloistered feel of the carriage calmed him down. He looked around and saw that the carriage was packed with someone's belongings, as if for a trip or a move. His eyes fell upon a wooden toy dragon. He picked it up and had an odd feeling as he touched it. He looked it over, curiously, shuddering as the odd feeling got stronger. He felt uneasy and he dropped the toy dragon as if it was on fire.
He lay down then. He tried to calm himself but he ended up bursting into tears instead. Before he knew it, he'd cried himself to sleep.
xxxxxx
Captain Tang and Jiang Shen-Li led Shang, Mulan and the rest of the regiment to the Emperor's council chamber. They bowed before him and he advised them that they were being enlisted to protect the palace due to rumors of a possible rebel uprising in one of the provinces to the east. They would all be reporting to Captain Tang, with Shang as second in command.
"Fa Mulan, you will not be remaining here with the troops. We have another assignment for you that Captain Tang will discuss in detail with you."
Mulan raised her head and looked at him, somewhat stunned. "Yes, your Majesty."
She glanced at Shang. He looked stunned also and extremely concerned.
"Except for Fa Mulan, you will all report to Captain Tang in the main hall tomorrow morning. He will discuss your responsibilities and strategies with you. The servants will show you all to your rooms later on."
They were all dismissed except for Mulan. She and Shang exchanged glances as he left the room with the others.
"Fa Mulan, please go with Captain Tang. He will explain your assignment and then bring you back here for additional preparation."
Mulan followed Captain Tang down the hall and to another room. He explained that she was being sent as a scout to search for signs of truth to the rumors of the uprising. She was to report back directly to him with any information she gathered. He advised the route that he wanted her to take to the eastern province where they believed the trouble to be. He advised her that she was to go on foot, not on horseback, and to look as inconspicuous and unobvious as possible.
"As a woman, you will already be disregarded as a threat. But it may not be a bad idea for you to take the little one with you."
"The little one?" Mulan asked, confused.
"The little boy who was in the garden with you and Captain Li when we came out to talk to you."
Mulan bit her lip, fighting back an urge to yell at him. Was he insane?
"That is Shang's little brother. I don't think he would approve of me taking him along with me."
"It would be a cover for you."
"I appreciate that, Sir, but I believe it is out of my hands."
"Very well. You leave tomorrow morning. Well, good luck to you, Fa Mulan. I will take you back to the Emperor now. He wanted to talk to you."
She followed him back to the Emperor's council chamber. The Emperor dismissed Captain Tang and the door closed behind him. The Emperor silently gestured to Jiang Shen-Li, who went to the door and listened. He turned back and gestured with his head and to Mulan's great surprise, the wall that had appeared solid behind the Emperor was suddenly open. The Emperor beckoned for her to follow him and she found herself in a room inside the wall. Shen-Li came in and pulled the trick door shut.
"Fa Mulan," the Emperor began. "We believe that there is at least one traitor here in the palace. And we believe that the rumors of this so-called uprising are being stirred up to distract us from the real danger. There may be rebels in the eastern province that are involved as well. Captain Li and the other soldiers will be here to protect the palace. You are going out to the province as a spy, scouting for evidence of a possible rebellion in that province. But we will also need you to keep an eye out for any signs of communication or suspicious activities between there and anyone here. You look troubled, Fa Mulan."
"I am very flattered, your Excellency, that you think so much of me to give me such an important assignment. But…are you sure I am the right person for the job? I have never trained to be a spy."
"Shen-Li will talk to you before you go. You will make an excellent spy, Fa Mulan. You are clever, you have common sense, and you know how to be inconspicuous. You passed yourself off as a man for several months and nobody knew. The only reason you were discovered is because you were wounded. You are perfect for the job.
"Shen-Li will be stationed as a spy here in the palace. Any information you obtain is to be given either to him or to me directly; you must not speak of this to anyone else. It is impossible to know at this point who is involved. It could be anyone, even Captain Tang."
Mulan frowned at that.
"What is it?"
"Captain Tang only told me about scouting in the province…"
"Yes, that is the only information he has received. What we are saying here is between the three of us only."
"The thing is, your Majesty…he wanted me to bring Li Chen, Shang's little brother, with me as part of my cover. Is he crazy? I would never endanger that boy's life like that! Or any child's! How could he even suggest such a thing?"
The Emperor looked at Shen-Li.
"Well, he might have seriously thought it would be a cover. Or he might have been trying to set you up to be identifiable. Yes, I believe we need to be very careful about Captain Tang."
"What else did Captain Tang say to you?" Shen-Li asked.
"He told me what route to take to get there and to go on foot."
Shen-Li exchanged a glance with the Emperor.
"It is as you suspected, your Majesty. Fa Mulan, you must be extremely careful. If Captain Tang is indeed involved he probably already contacted his allies and they will be on the lookout for you. I will give you another route to take. And you will be leaving tonight, not tomorrow."
"Will I be able to see Shang before I leave tonight?"
The Emperor looked at Shen-Li who shook his head.
"We really need to get you on your way without anyone knowing."
Mulan was devastated. Her family had already left earlier in the evening. But Shang. She wouldn't be able to see him and say goodbye to him.
"I understand how you feel, Fa Mulan. I know how you and Captain Li feel about one another. But the less he knows, the better. He is brave and honorable and trustworthy, like his father was; but he is going to be working closely with Captain Tang and others here and if he were to inadvertently slip it could prove very dangerous for you."
Mulan bit her lip and swallowed, trying to force back the lump that was beginning to form in her throat.
"And now if you would go with Shen-Li. He will get you traveling clothes and prepare you for your journey tonight. Good luck, Fa Mulan. You have my gratitude and my deepest respect."
Mulan bowed to him and thanked him, then followed Shen-Li. He did not go back out into the outside room, though. He led her down through a labyrinth of tunnels inside the walls of the palace. If she wasn't so upset about Shang she would have appreciated it. But now she was worried, wondering what Shang would think and feel to find her gone, having never said a word to him.
"Hey, baby."
Mulan smiled at Mushu and motioned toward Shen-Li to indicate that she couldn't answer out loud until she was alone.
Shen-Li brought her through a doorway in one of the tunnels and she found herself in another room. He went to the trick door across the room and exited, telling her that he would be back with traveling clothes and further instructions.
"We have a problem, Mulan. Chen is gone."
"What?"
"He's on his way to wherever this family that he is with is going."
"What family? Did they kidnap him?"
"No. He climbed into their carriage and went to sleep."
"What?" Mulan buried her face in her hands. "This can't be happening. Where is Shang? Where is his grandfather? Doesn't anyone realize he's gone?"
Mushu shrugged.
"Why did he do it?" Mulan muttered to herself. "Was he trying to run away?"
"He wanted to get out of the palace."
"Why?"
"Because of all the people. I think the poor kid was picking up the thoughts and emotions of everyone in the room and it made his brain come to a screeching halt. He couldn't handle it. He went outside to get away from it and he went into that carriage because it was quiet."
"Aiyah! Of course!" Poor Chen. And poor Shang and Grandfather Li. They were going to be sick with worry. "Mushu, would you please get to Chen and stay with him? I have to go on this mission. I can't go looking for him. Please just stay with him and see that he's alright. Will you do that?"
"Of course, baby. Cri-Kee's with me, too. I left him to keep an eye on Chen while I came to talk to you."
"Do you know where the carriage is headed?"
"East. Toward the Henan province."
"That's a coincidence. That's where I'm going."
"Hey, maybe you'll be able to catch up on your way there. Isn't that convenient?"
"A little too convenient," Mulan muttered, narrowing her eyes as a suspicious thought crossed her mind. "Thank you for your help, Mushu. If you can, check in with me and let me know where he is."
"You got it, baby. See you soon. And be careful yourself, you hear me?"
She smiled wanly at him. He darted off out of sight.
Shen-Li returned shortly after with clothes for her. He left the room while she changed then came back in. He led her back out into the labyrinth of tunnels. They reached one tunnel and he pointed.
"Keep going straight. The tunnel continues underground and the direction is east. You will come out in the middle of the forest. I will meet you there with Khan."
Mulan did as she was told, feeling uneasy. She was nervous about the mission. She was desperately worried about Chen. And with all the talk of trusting no one she was wondering if Shen-Li was alright after all. The Emperor seemed to trust him. He seemed to be loyal and honorable and very shrewd. She made a silent prayer to the ancestors as she continued through the seemingly endless tunnel, praying for her safety, for Chen's safety and praying that she would be reunited with Shang when this was over and that they could get married in peace.
After what seemed like miles of walking she noticed that the ground in the tunnel was now sloping upward. She came to what appeared to be a dead-end, thinking maybe she'd gone in the wrong direction. But there wasn't a wrong direction. It was a straight tunnel. She went up to the wall that stopped the tunnel so abruptly and pushed. It gave and she pushed it open and stepped out into the forest. As promised, Shen-Li was there with Khan. He bid her good luck and she mounted Khan and headed off, staying off the main paths as he had advised her, riding toward Henan province.
xxxxxx
It had been several hours since Shang and his men had met with the Emperor and he was becoming panicked as he stood there with his grandfather, Yao, Ling and Chien-Po.
"Grandfather, have you seen Chen?"
"Isn't he with Mulan?" Ling asked.
"Mulan was with Captain Tang," Shang answered.
"She isn't finished yet? I saw the Captain. There he is."
Sure enough, Captain Tang was across the room. Mulan was not with him.
Shang had an uneasy feeling about everything that was going on. He had come down to bid his family goodbye. But Chen was not there and no one had seen him. And now Mulan was nowhere to be found either. The Emperor had another assignment for her and he had no idea what it was. He felt very concerned for her. And he had an uneasy feeling about everything, including the reason why they were there and why they had received the assignment. Things just didn't feel right. There was more to the situation than they were being told. If there was a rebel uprising somewhere, why were they being stationed at the palace instead of in the place where the so-called uprising was?
They searched frantically for the next hour but no one had seen the little boy anywhere in the palace.
The Emperor and Jiang Shen-Li came out to see what was wrong. Shang explained that his little brother was missing. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach as he caught the glance that the Emperor and his first councilman exchanged. They knew something.
"We will do everything we can to find your brother, Captain Li," said the Emperor.
They turned and went off somewhere.
Shang was terrified for Chen's life. Why wouldn't they tell him what they knew? He saw that his grandfather had his eyes closed and was praying.
Shang's attention was suddenly drawn to a family squabble that was occurring in the hall now. It was a couple and their little girl. The little girl was crying and upset and the father was now beating her. Shang didn't know why the scene distracted him so, given how upset he was over his own predicament. But he felt sorry for the girl. She hadn't done anything except tell her parents that she wasn't feeling well and wanted to stay home.
"You little ingrate! It's always a complaint with you! We are going to visit your aunt, Su-Tan, and you are coming with us," her father scolded, beating her.
Shang watched the couple drag the girl out of the front door of the Imperial Palace and down into the square. There was a carriage waiting there and he watched in shock as they tossed her into it as if they were tossing an object. Then the woman mounted the horse that was hitched to it and the man got on his own horse along side of it. They set off and disappeared from view. He found himself staring after the carriage, feeling an odd premonition. He didn't know what it was and he shook it off. He had his own situation to worry about and that was more important than this family. He couldn't believe he was even paying them any mind when his own little brother was missing.
Shang closed his eyes. "Ancestors, please," he prayed softly. "Please watch over Chen, wherever he is, and see that he is returned to us, safe and well. Please."
