Alright… Time for another chapter. Let's see what I can come up with today… Okay, I know they probably used like baskets back then to put babies in, but I was too lazy to change it after I wrote it, so they now used cribs. Hehe…Oh, and I was also too lazy to include breaks in this chapter… You know, the little line of x's and dashes. I hope that won't mess you up. There really aren't many places for breaks in this chapter, though.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors.
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CHAPTER 20 START
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The next few weeks for the parents were torture. Of course they were happy to have a child, but he kept them up all night with his incessant crying. For some reason, little Zhan insisted on sleeping during the day so he would be awake at night, wanting attention or food or a dry diaper, which consisted of only a few layers of cloth wrapped and pinned around him.
This did not really bother Ying as much as it did Liang. She had still not yet returned to her normal duties in the army, so she could sleep some during the day. Liang, however, was busy with his studying, planning, and meetings. His lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll. No matter how hard he tried not to, he would often fall asleep at his desk and he even fell asleep twice at his meetings with Liu Bei and the other generals. When he tried to work on his plans, he found that he couldn't think clearly and what work he got done was sloppy.
Finally, he decided to do something he had never done since he had joined Shu: he took a day off. Not even the day after Zhan had been born did he take off. He might not have done as much work as he normally did, but he had still worked some.
The night before his day off, both him and Ying stayed up the majority of the night, once again due to their son's crying. Upon the rising of the sun, the shadows of the night vanished from the room and Zhan finally decided to sleep. His parents did so as well, relieved to get some sleep themselves.
Since she had more sleep than Liang lately, Ying wasn't as tired as he. She only slept for about three hours before getting up. She quietly changed out of her nightclothes and gently picked up Zhan, so as to not disturb him. She walked out of the room, heading towards the courtyard to make sure that Liang would not be woken if Zhan began to cry again.
It was quite peaceful outside. Spring had started popping up and the temperature was mild. The birds were chirruping and flitting around happily. Ying was sitting on one of the benches, Zhan still sleeping in her lap. There were no other generals out, only the occasional maid or servant passing by.
To pass the time, she watched the pond, which was visible from where she sat, and the fish, who would often jump out of the water and create a series of ripples when they came back down. The peacefulness was broken by a sudden loud yell. Ying looked over in the direction that the yell had come from and saw Pang Tong coming around the corner of the castle. He was running as fast as his legs would carry him, obviously trying to escape from something. That something came soon behind him. Holding up her long skirts came a maid, the same one he had tricked with that fake snake.
"Get back here, you scum!" the maid practically screamed, close behind her prey.
"What? I beg you madam, stop chasing me!" Pang Tong called back, seemingly frightened by the small, ferocious woman. Lucky for him, he was a tad faster than she. What was not lucky for him was that he tripped over his own feet and fell over. The maid was on him in a flash; kicking, hitting, slapping, and screaming.
Yue Ying watched, confused by what was happening, but still amused by the show. Zhuge Liang, who had woken up and gone in search for his wife and son, came in the opposite direction of the fight. He stopped for a minute, watching the odd scene before spotting Ying, who was still engrossed in the battle between a maid and a strategist. He walked over and sat down beside her.
"Just what I have always wanted to see… Pang Tong being beat up by a girl," he commented. "Do you know why that happened…? What did he do this time?"
"I do not know…" Ying answered, taking her attention off of the fight and looking down at Zhan who, despite all the noise, was still sleeping.
"Someone help me!" Pang Tong cried in mock pain as he cowered on the ground. He could have easily taken care of the maid and gotten her off of him, but he had his honor code and he would not harm a woman, or at least an unarmed one. The punches and kicks didn't hurt him much, but he still pretended to be helpless and in extreme pain just for the fun of it.
"How do you like that?" the maid said triumphantly and gave him a last kick to the stomach before walking away in a lofty manner. Pang Tong stood up and readjusted his hat, now unruffled by the attack. Seeing Yue Ying and Zhuge Liang, he walked over to them.
"What was that about?" asked Liang, who had taken Zhan from Ying and was rocking him.
Pang Tong shrugged. "Well, let's just say that after the incident with the "snake", I've managed to pull a few more pranks on her. She just… got a little mad."
"No kidding…" muttered Ying under her breath.
"Anyways, what are you going to do on your day off?" Pang Tong asked Liang, trying to get a conversation going.
"Hmm… I suppose I will just spend some time with my wife and son," answered Liang. He put an arm around Ying and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"My eyes! My eyes! They burn! They burn! Ahhh!" Pang Tong fell down to the ground, pretending to claw at his face. Liang rolled his eyes and stood up.
"Come on, Ying. Let us go somewhere else… Somewhere without Pang Tong."
"Once again, you make me feel so special! You know, I could just keep on following you around. I've done it before and I can do it again!" Tong removed the cloth around his mouth for a second so he could stick his tongue out.
"Not if we go to our room and lock the door!" Zhuge Liang stated. Yue Ying laughed and walked off towards the castle with her husband following. Pang Tong ran after them.
"I can still get in if you lock the door! Ever heard of a window?"
"The window?" Liang snorted and turned around to face Tong. "The window is five stories off the ground! Do you seriously think that you can climb up to it?"
"Of course! I just need to remember that it's all for a good cause! If I wasn't there to annoy you, who would?"
"Our official annoyer! We are so lucky, my husband! Do you know of anyone else who has their own personal annoyer?" Yue Ying asked, smiling at Tong.
"Indeed not, my dear. It is quite a rare thing to find! In this day and age it is hard to find someone who is so skilled as our friend here in that profession!" exclaimed Liang and then added, "Though, despite its rareness, I find it better to not have one." He and Ying turned back around, briskly walking towards the castle once more to try and escape.
"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Pang Tong yelled after them. "I swear I will find a way to get into your room if you lock it!" At this Liang turned back around, a smile playing on his lips. He knew he probably shouldn't say this, but he just couldn't help it. It was too good not to.
"Oh, but it is best to not pry into what is going on behind locked doors… Who knows what is happening in there?" He looked over at Ying, who got what he was suggesting and blushed a little bit before chastising him.
"Zhuge Liang! There is no need to say something like that! Who knows who may be listening in? What has gotten into you today? You usually don't make such… comments." Pang Tong started laughing, hard. He clutched his sides and fell over.
Somehow he managed to get out, "He-he… The great strategist… ha-ha… is getting… he-he… chewed out by his wife! Ha-ha-ha!" Zhuge Liang only smiled and gave a small shrug, for he was still carrying Zhan and couldn't move too much. How the child was still asleep was a mystery.
"Every man needs a woman to keep him in line. That is why I suggest you go find one, Tong," he responded and then turned back to Ying. "I apologize, my wife. I just could not help it. This short period of time where I need not worry about anything has taken quite a lot of stress off of me and has put me in a very cheerful mood."
Yue Ying sighed and shook her head a little. "Whatever you say… Let us go back now. I am sure that you would like to put little Zhan down now…"
As they turned and headed towards the castle for the third time, Liang answered, "Oh no… I really do not mind it. I actually like holding him. With all my work, I probably will not have much time to be with him in the future, so I must take my advantage now…"
Upon reaching their room, Zhuge Liang placed Zhan in his crib and locked the door to the hall so that Pang Tong could not get in.
"So you are actually locking the door? I thought you were just kidding with Tong…"
"Kidding? I never kid around with him. Everything I say to him I mean." Liang walked back over to the crib and watched his son as he slept. Yue Ying walked over and joined him, wrapping her arms around one of his and leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I still cannot believe that we made him…" Zhuge Liang said softy, taking his free hand and touching one of Zhan's small hands.
"Neither can I…"
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CHAPTER 20 START
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meliemeloe - Yup. Hehe… I have a tendency of going overboard with the length when I write sometimes. I'll try to update more. Summer break is coming up soon, so I'll most likely have a ton of time then. I'll also try to work on Veiled Emotions some more too. I'll start working on it soon after I have posted this chapter. Oh, and I posted the other story you asked me to, if you haven't seen it… But anyways, thanks for reviewing!
Tdino - Yup yup! Of course he cares about his wife! Hehe… Anyways, thanks for reviewing!
zhugeliangsgrl - Hehe… Glad you think it's funny :p. Thanks for reviewing!
CrazyInsanity - Heh. Actually, the more I thought about it the more I liked the name for some reason :p. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!
Mrs.SleepingDragon - Yup yup… Well… That is… odd…. But anyways… Yes! Zhuge and Yue are the best pairing other! There is no who can even come close to them! Except… maybe Cao Pi and Zhen Ji, but that's just my opinion :p. Thanks for reviewing!
