Chapter 11: Back to Chang'an
It was dark already. Shang and Mulan were approaching the edge of the city from the east and they were now able to see that there was a guard at the entrance, searching all of the carriages as they reached the outer walls. They were still hidden by the forest.
Mulan stopped and dismounted from Jia-Nin's horse and Shang followed suit when he saw her.
"Shang, they're probably looking for you," she said, softly.
Shang nodded. "I know. They may not recognize me with the way I'm dressed, but if they search the carriage and find the Xins…"
"I'm going to check to make sure the Xins are hidden. If we're lucky they won't be too thorough in their search and we'll get through as we are."
She went back and got into the carriage. Only Chen and Su-Tan were visible. Chen smiled at Mulan and she gestured for him to stay quiet. Then she turned to Mushu and spoke to him in a whisper.
"Mushu, get Chen away from here. Take him and go this way in the forest. You will see a large tree there with an odd knot sticking out of the trunk, about one hundred yards from the palace. Go there with him and keep him safe. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"You got it."
She turned to Chen. "Go with Mushu. And stay quiet. I'll be with you soon."
She got out with Chen and Mushu and pointed Mushu in the right direction in the forest, glancing back at Shang to make sure he didn't see Chen. He was busy watching the entrance to the city.
Mulan closed the door of the carriage quietly and walked back to Shang.
"They look like they're being very thorough," Shang said quietly.
Mulan thought for a minute. "I have another idea. I don't know if you're going to like it, though."
"What?"
"You can hide underneath the carriage. Grab onto the bottom and keep yourself off the ground while we ride in. They would make you take your hood off to see your face and they would search inside the carriage, so you can't hide there. But hopefully it wouldn't occur to them that anyone would be riding underneath."
Shang just stared at her.
"What?" she said, puzzled by his stare.
"Where do you get these ideas?"
"What? It's not that strange."
"No. But it's not something everyone would think of."
"So. What do you think?"
"I think it's the best way for me to get into the city unseen. I'm just not sure if I'll fit under there without scraping the ground the whole way."
"Here," she handed him the dispatch to Chi Fu. "Just in case they detain me for any reason, you can get to the Emperor or Shen-Li as soon as it's clear."
He put the dispatch in his waistband. He sent Shen-Shu's horse off in the direction away from the city, then he lay on the ground beside the carriage and slid underneath. She leaned down and watched as he grabbed hold of one of the wooden bars across the bottom and suspended himself above the ground.
She stood up and mounted Jia-Nin's horse. She began to move forward, slowly. She went a few feet like that, then dismounted and went back and knelt down, looking under the carriage at Shang.
"How is it under there when we're moving?"
"Oh, just great."
She laughed. "I'll go as slow as I can so you don't get dragged under."
She went back and mounted, then went forward to the entrance to the Imperial City. Two guards gestured for her to pass through, then stopped her and approached.
"Dismount, please," one guard said. "Remove your hood."
She obeyed, silently.
"Who are you and what is your purpose here?"
"I am Xin Jia-Nin. I am traveling with my daughter. We are here to join my husband, Xin Shen-Shu."
"Xin Shen-Shu," said the other guard. "Oh, yes, he works for Captain Tang."
"Yes, sir."
"Very well. We will need to search your carriage. There is an enemy of the Emperor who may be hiding there. Then you may go forward."
As the two guards turned to go, she unharnessed Jia-Nin's horse from the carriage and let it wander away. Then she hurried to the other side of the carriage and lay down on the ground. Shang was no longer there. He had probably gotten out from under the carriage while the guards were busy talking to her, and hopefully was on his way to the palace with the dispatch. She slid underneath the carriage and grabbed the wooden bar, hooking her legs on a bar at the other end and suspending herself above the ground, waiting as she heard the door to the carriage open.
There were a few moments of silence as the guards searched the carriage. Then she heard one of them exclaim, "What the…quick, help me untie them and take off the gags."
The next voice she heard was Xin Shen-Shu's. "Get to Captain Tang and tell him that Fa Mulan and some man are both on the way into the palace."
"The man must be Captain Li," one guard said.
"The woman is here," the other guard said.
"Uh, no, it looks like she's gone, too."
"Hurry!" Shen-Shu urged. "They're going to kill the Emperor! You must get to Captain Tang!"
Mulan heard the two guards call out to their comrades at the eastern entrance and then heard them run off.
Then she saw Shen-Shu's and Jia-Nin's feet.
"We have to get to Captain Tang and Chi Fu and tell them that they have the dispatch."
"Your horse is gone!" Jia-Nin exclaimed. "And my horse has been unharnessed."
Shen-Shu cursed.
"I'm going on your horse so I can get to Captain Tang and Chi Fu. Take Su-Tan and go into the forest and wait for me."
Mulan eased herself back to the ground and slid out from under the carriage. Then she slipped off the cloak and shoved it under the carriage. She peered around the carriage at the entrance to the city. The guards had all abandoned their post to chase after her and Shang.
'Some competent guard they are,' she thought to herself.
She nonchalantly exited the city, then ran into the forest to the tree where Mushu was waiting with Chen. The exit from the secret tunnel that she had come out of two weeks before was at that tree. And she needed to make sure Jia-Nin didn't find Chen in the forest.
She knew Shang had gone off to get to the Emperor. But everyone was still looking for him and now Shen-Shu was going to alert Captain Tang and Chi Fu.
She found Chen and Mushu.
"I have to get into the palace to help the Emperor."
"Mulan, they're going to hurt Shang," Chen whimpered.
"Not if I can help it, Chen."
"I want to come with you, Mulan. Don't leave me out here. They're going to find me."
"Who's going to find you?"
Chen was becoming extremely agitated. "Don't leave me out here. I can help."
She sighed. "Alright, Chen. But you must listen to everything I tell you, okay?"
"Okay."
She found the hidden entrance and went into the tunnel with Chen and Mushu.
xxxxxx
Shang reached the back of the palace and used the black cloak to climb up one of the columns to the second story. It was night now and he was headed for the council chamber, which would be empty at that time. He climbed over the ledge and dropped softly to the floor in the chamber.
"Welcome, Captain Li."
Shang looked up with a start. Captain Tang was standing in the doorway of the council chamber.
"We were wondering when you were going to honor us with your return," he said, sarcastically, moving toward Shang. "We've had the whole guard waiting to arrest you. And you came right to me without them having to do anything."
"The Emperor will not want me arrested after I talk to him," Shang said, keeping his voice impassive.
"I'm afraid the Emperor won't want to talk to you, Captain."
"I think he will," Shang replied, firmly, indicating his waistband where he had the message to Chi Fu stashed. "This dispatch is from the Henan Province."
Captain Tang's eyes widened with shock then narrowed in anger; and in a flash he had drawn his sword and was lunging fiercely toward Shang.
Fortunately, Shang was quicker and his sword was drawn in time to deflect the blade of Captain Tang's sword as it came toward him.
xxxxxx
Mulan hurried through the labyrinth of tunnels and found her way back to the room that she'd gone to with Shen-Li before she left. Mushu was on her shoulder and Chen was behind her, his hand clasped in hers, the lucky cricket that Mushu was friends with sitting on his shoulder. She indicated quietly for him to stay in the room and crossed to the door that would lead her into the main room.
The room was empty. She went back into the hidden room, closing the trick door and took Chen's hand again, leading him back out into the secret tunnel.
"I wish I'd made a better note of how I got from the other room to here," she muttered to herself.
"What do you mean?" Mushu asked.
"We need to find the Emperor and Shen-Li. I think they'll be in that room that I spoke to them in before I left."
She sighed then vaguely remembered that she'd come from somewhere to the left that time. She turned that way and ran this way and that through the labyrinthine maze, holding Chen's hand so she wouldn't lose him.
"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Mushu said.
"No," she muttered.
Chen gasped as they came to a door finally and pointed. Mulan went through that door and crossed to the far side of the room to the door leading to the main room. She was about to open it when she heard Chen gasp again and felt him grab her hand.
She looked at him. Then she got as close as she could to the door so she could listen to what was going on in the room outside. She heard two voices but couldn't hear what they were saying.
Chen was beginning to whimper. Mulan put her arm around him and tried to quiet him down, desperately.
She recognized one of the voices. It was Chi Fu's.
She listened for several minutes then heard the sound of a door outside closing.
Chen was crying softy. But he whispered, "He's gone."
"Which one of them?"
"The mean skinny man."
Mulan opened the trick door and stepped out into the main room. The Emperor was there, lying face down on the floor. He was moving slightly but he was severely wounded and bleeding profusely. She knelt down beside him.
"Your Majesty!" she gasped.
But when she turned him over she saw it wasn't the Emperor. It was Jiang Shen-Li, wearing the Emperor's yellow robe.
"Shen-Li! Where is the Emperor?"
"He is safe."
"Where is the doctor at? I'll get him here as fast as I can."
Shen-Li shook his head. "No. Stop Chi Fu first. Him and Captain Tang. Chi Fu is going to meet up with him."
"Shang! He's going to kill Shang!" Chen suddenly cried out. He leaped toward the door and ran out.
"Chen! Chen, no!"
Mulan leaped up and ran into the hallway. She turned to the left as she heard Chen shriek and saw that Chi Fu had grabbed him. He ran down the hallway dragging Chen with him and disappeared into a room to the left off of the hallway.
Mulan cursed and ran down the hallway to the room. She found Shang in the room fighting with Tang, his back to the doorway. Chi Fu was moving toward the fighting pair and Mulan saw that he had a knife in his hand. Shang ran his sword through Tang and a minute later Tang was lying on the floor dead.
"Shang, look out!" Chen cried out.
Shang whirled around and his face fell. "Chen?"
He saw Chi Fu and started toward him, his sword poised to strike.
"Don't take another step toward me, Captain," Chi Fu commanded, threateningly, pulling Chen in front of him as a shield and bringing the knife up to Chen's throat.
"Chen," Shang repeated, his voice filled with the anguish that was already in his face.
"Drop the sword, Captain." Chi Fu forced Chen's head back and brought the knife in even closer when Shang didn't obey right away. "Drop it, Captain. Or I'll cut his throat."
Shang dropped the sword to the floor.
