Chapter 5: New Suspicions

There was a knock on the door of Su-Tan's room and the three of them froze.

"Su-Tan?"

Chen perked up. "That sounds like Mulan!"

"Su-Tan. It's Mulan. Chen's big sister. Are you there?"

Chen nodded to Su-Tan, who went out and opened the door, letting Mulan in.

"Hi, Su-Tan," she said, shutting the door behind her.

"Hi."

"Can I speak to Chen?"

"Uh…"

"I already know that he's here, Su-Tan. Chen? Mushu told me that you're here. Come on out. You too, Mi-Ying."

The trick panel opened and the two of them crept out of the hidden chamber, looking guilty and nervous. Mulan could see the little monkey perched on Chen's shoulder. Apparently, he could make himself visible to other people besides Chen.

"Chen, who is that on your shoulder?" Mi-Ying asked.

"That's Ming. He's my guardian, sent by my ancestors to help me. He didn't make himself visible to anyone else until now."

"Let's all talk now," Mulan said, indicating Ming as well.

"Who is the dragon?" Su-Tan asked.

"Oh, Mushu, you can make yourself visible, too, apparently. This is Mushu, Su-Tan. My guardian."

"Hi, Mushu," Chen said, smiling at the little dragon perched on Mulan's shoulder.

"Hey, kid."

"We were looking for you, Mulan."

"You were?"

"Yes. We were hoping you could help. Um, did you say anything to Shang?"

"No. And Mushu already told me about what Ming did, Chen. I know that he intercepted the message from your grandfather."

Chen bowed his head. "I know. He told me, too."

"Can we go in that room?" Su-Tan whispered. "I don't like staying out in this room."

"Sure," Mulan said.

They all went into the secret chamber and Chen explained how Su-Tan was scared in the palace and had left.

"What are you scared of, Su-Tan?"

"I don't know. I'm just scared here. I can hear footsteps out there all the time." She pointed in the direction of the secret passage.

"Oh, I see."

"I'm afraid they'll come in here," she said, starting to cry.

"Oh, they won't, Su-Tan. I know how scary it must be. There are a lot of strange things going on here, but no one would have any reason to hurt you."

"Mulan, things here are not what everyone thinks," Chen told her.

"I know, Chen. I'm in the middle of it."

"But those men are okay."

"Which men?"

"The ones that Su-Tan has been hearing in the passageway."

"Do you know who they are?"

"I think I know one of them."

"Do you know his name?"

"No."

Mulan had an idea suddenly of how she could pull off her assignment for Ying. "Well, I think I know who one of those men is, at least. I have an assignment that I have to carry out for him. And I have an idea that may work, if you could help, Ming."

Ming grinned.

"I already know what you are thinking. It's a great idea. But we must protect you as well. There is no reason for you to have to be a red herring to carry out your assignment. We must work things out quickly."

She turned to Chen then.

"Chen, I know you wanted to help, but didn't you learn from last time?" she asked him.

"But I knew something bad was going to happen to Su-Tan in the forest."

Mulan sighed again. "I understand, Chen. But you already saw how upset and scared Shang was last time when you were missing and then when your life was in danger. Did you try to tell Grandfather about what you knew would happen to Su-Tan, before you just decided to run off?"

"No. He couldn't have done anything."

"He could have told Shang or me."

"It would have been too late!" Chen insisted, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Besides, it's a good thing we came. Now you can…"

Mulan covered his mouth. "Alright, Chen. You're right. As it turned out, it is a good thing you came here and that Ming came here, too."

Chen hugged her. Mulan laughed and hugged him back.

"I'll send a message to Grandfather tomorrow, and to your parents, Mi-Ying. I am sure they are very worried about you. I'll tell them that you are with Shang and me and that you are safe."

xxxxxxx

Chen pulled the hood of his cloak up and he and Ming walked out of the palace. Ming had transformed himself to look like an adult man that Chen didn't even recognize.

"This is not a bright idea, Li Chen. What if we run into your brother? He could be out here working with his troops."

"We'll hurry and get it done so we can get back inside before we're seen."

They went to the edge of the city where Chen had left his pony earlier. The little horse looked at Ming and, seeing what looked like a man with him but not detecting any scent, began to buck and whinny nervously. Chen spoke to him softly and patted him until he calmed down, then untied him and brought him into the Imperial City to the palace stable. He fed and watered him, then left him there for the night.

"You know, your brother may come here and recognize him."

"I know. But I can't just leave him out there to starve. He's my friend."

"Very well. Now let's hurry and get back inside before we're seen."

"I'll have to come back and take care of him."

"No, you won't. There are palace stable hands. They will take care of him when they take care of the other horses. They'll think it belongs to one of the kids that live in the palace. Now come on. Let's get back inside before we're seen."

xxxxxxx

Mulan lay in bed brooding that night. She had been deeply troubled about the circumstances of her assignment in the palace all along; and now that she'd received her special assignment from Prince Ying, she was especially so.

She had a plan, and Ming would be helping, along with Mushu. But she hated the fact that she couldn't tell Shang about this assignment. She hated that there were so many other things that she knew that she could not reveal to him right now. And she was sick as she thought of what he was going to think after she carried out Ying's order. He probably wouldn't know what to think, other than that she had gone nuts.

He was her husband. She should be able to tell him everything. She knew she could trust Shang. She wanted his opinion and she wanted to express her concerns to a friend and lover who would understand and believe her.

She'd already violated Ying's instructions anyway. Though she hadn't given them specifics, Chen and the two girls knew that she had a secret assignment that involved Ying, and Chen already seemed to know more than that just from reading her thoughts. At least they wouldn't be talking to anyone in the palace.

And of course, the mere presence of Chen and Mi-Ying was yet another problem.

But there was more than all of that bothering her. A terrible thought had crossed her mind as Prince Ying gave her the assignment, and the more the suspicions permeated her thoughts, the more she was sure that her suspicions were correct.

At first, she had been suspicious of this ruse that Ying wanted her to carry out, not only because it put her in a precarious position, but because he didn't want anyone besides the two of them to know. It was possible that he was setting her up. She would have to be careful and continue to keep a close watch on him, even while carrying out his order.

But Ying's ruse seemed to be designed to reveal Ting. She'd had her suspicions about Ting all along, too. There were too many possibilities and no immediate answers.

And another, much more disturbing conclusion had started to form in her mind as well, as difficult as it was to believe.

It was something that had crossed her mind a few months ago, too, during the last crisis, but then everything had worked out. They had stopped the rebels and prevented the Emperor from being assassinated. And she never had the thought again until now.

She decided that she would have to be very careful around Jiang Shen-Li. And she would have to keep an eye on him; inconspicuously, so that he didn't know that she was watching him.

xxxxxxx

Shang had to go out and give additional instructions to the troops stationed on the night watch. When he returned, Mulan was already in bed and he lay down next to her. She had her back to him and he put his arms around her and pulled her against him.

"Hi," she whispered, softly.

"Hi." He kissed her shoulder. "Mulan, is everything alright?"

"Yes, why?"

"You seemed very disturbed all evening."

"I'm fine. I'm just very uneasy here. There is too much going on."

"I know. Have you found out anything else about the assassination of the Emperor or about his sons?"

"No."

She sighed heavily and he squeezed her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Shang. I don't mean to be so moody."

"It's alright. I'm uncomfortable with everything that is happening, too."

She turned over to face him and kissed him.

"So, was it easy enough to keep things under control out there, today?"

"Yes. It was a huge crowd, but everyone was very respectful and calm."

He was silent for a moment, deep in thought.

"The thing is, any riot that would have been incited would have been implemented from within the palace. Not just some odd person in the crowd acting on their own."

"I know."

He looked into her eyes. She looked so anxious and troubled. He stroked her cheek gently.

She smiled at him and kissed him again. "Don't worry about me, Shang."

"How can I not worry about you?"

She changed the subject to a lighter topic then. "How are our three friends doing?"

"You mean the new captains?"

"Yes."

"They're fine. Although I ran into Ling today and he was acting strange. I think Chen's friend Su-Tan was with him. And I thought you were with them."

"Me?"

"Yes. There was someone with them in a black cloak. The hood was up so I couldn't see their face, but she was exactly your height. Your size."

Mulan looked surprised for a moment.

"It wasn't me."

"Hmm."

"Why would I have been there?"

"I don't know. Maybe you were in on one of Ling's pranks," he laughed.

A serious, worried expression crossed her features.

"No, it wasn't me. It was someone else."

xxxxxxx

The Imperial City was still mobbed the next day. The people who had made it to the city to pay their last respects to the old Emperor were going to stay to see Prince Ying presented as the new Emperor.

Shang stood on the platform between the palace and the square and surveyed the scene. Everything looked okay. A division of soldiers flanked either side of the main street, and there were guards around the perimeter of the palace and at the entrance. The rest of the soldiers were stationed at the entrances to the city and around the Imperial Square.

Shang and his troops were continuing to keep watch on the city and protect the palace from the outside. Mulan was working with Shen-Li to watch over things on the inside. Along with whatever other mysterious people worked for him.

Shang was very worried about her. She had been so anxious the night before, more than he had ever seen her. And he could see in her eyes how troubled she was, no matter how much she smiled and tried to reassure him that she was fine.

He knew he couldn't force anything out of her. If she didn't want to tell him what was wrong, she wouldn't. And it was possible that she couldn't. She was still a special advisor to the Emperor, including the new Emperor that was about to officially succeed to the throne. She was given special assignments; and he knew that there were probably many things that she was privy to now, things that had to remain between her and Shen-Li and the Emperor.

But it concerned him greatly. The knowledge that she now possessed put her in a very precarious situation. He knew that she could take care of herself just fine. But he still couldn't help but worry about her.

xxxxxxx

Prince Ying wanted to meet with Mulan again that day. Mushu came with her, hiding in her collar.

Mulan followed Prince Ying through the labyrinth once more. She thought she was beginning to recognize some of the twists and turns, and some of the rises and falls of the floor; but it was impossible to know really. Though there were lanterns lit, they were spaced sparsely in the passageways, so it was still very dark.

They ended up out in the forest again and at the same temple.

"I have decided that you should carry out the plan before I am to be presented. Not the day of."

"Your Majesty," she began. "I will do as you wish."

"I will be fine. And so will you," he assured her. "Just worry about pulling this off convincingly."

"Your Majesty, I have a plan as to how to pull this off without you being there."

Ying's eyebrows went up. "Really?"

"Yes, sir. You would be safe and no one would know that they weren't seeing you."

"Interesting. You are quite an intelligent young woman, Captain Li."

"Oh-oh, I don't like where this is going," Mushu muttered in her ear. "Careful, Mulan. He is too complimentary."

"If you have a method of carrying this out without me being there, then by all means, that would be better."

"Yes, your Majesty."

"I promise I will explain everything to you as soon as the time is right, Captain."

"Yes, sir. How soon do you want me to arrange this?"

"As soon as possible. And it must be done in the evening when there are people around, but not too many people."

xxxxxxx

Mulan left the palace after Ying had brought her back to the council chamber. She walked out to the stable to visit with Khan for a little while, hoping that being in the presence of her old and faithful friend would ease her anxiety a little.

The palace stable hands had been taking good care of him. In fact, he was becoming rather spoiled here. But Khan was as glad to see her as she was to see him. She patted him and spoke to him softly.

He nuzzled her, then caught a glimpse of Mushu and snorted at him.

"Hey, hey," Mushu retorted, raising himself up threateningly. "Don't be disrespectful, Khan. I'm a bona fide guardian now."

Khan whinnied in a manner that sounded like laughter.

Mulan laughed and patted Khan. "Don't worry, Khan. Mushu has been taking good care of me."

"And speaking of that, I think that Ying fellow has a thing for you, Mulan."

"His brother is the one that was looking me over, Mushu. In an obvious way, too. Not him."

"Sometimes it's the subtle ones that you have to watch."

"I'll be careful."

"So, what's the plan now?"

"We will talk in private with Ming. I am troubled by many things around here and we need to talk about everything first."

xxxxxxx

Mulan sat with Mushu, Ming and the three children in the hidden chamber behind Su-Tan's bedroom. They spoke in hushed tones, just in case, but Mushu was keeping aware of what was going on inside the passageway.

"I think that Prince Ying is alright, Mulan," Ming was saying.

"Is that the man you were with before, Mulan?" Chen whispered.

"Yes. You already know, Chen?"

"He's okay. I think he is one of the people out there." He pointed toward the passageway.

"Yes, I thought he must be. So, you think he seems alright, Chen?"

"Yes. He is worried that someone will hurt him."

"Did you ever meet him, Chen?"

"No."

"You said you know one of the men."

"The other man."

"Is the other man Shen-Li?"

Chen shrugged. "I don't know."

"You saw him last time he was here. He was with the Emperor."

Chen suddenly winced and put his hands to his head.

Mulan put her arm around him and rubbed his back, watching him as he calmed himself the way Shang had taught him.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded again.

"You know who I'm talking about. You don't like Shen-Li?"

"No."

"I have my suspicions about him, too, Chen."

"Shen-Li?" Mushu whispered. "The one who let himself get stabbed to save the Emperor last time we were here? How can you be suspicious of him?"

"There are things that have crossed my mind. Even back then there were moments when I wasn't sure about him, Mushu. But then everything worked out and we stopped the rebels. But what if he was in with them all along, then when he saw that we had succeeded in uncovering the information he changed his plan until the next opportunity presented itself? Part of being successful at plotting intrigue is having the ability to improvise and change strategies at the last minute when one plan fails."

"You think he could do that?"

"I think he is a very smart, very clever man and that he is capable of doing anything that he puts his mind to. And he was the first one to blame the Emperor's two sons when he spoke to Shang and me. He already has them set up in our minds as suspects, drawing attention away from him."

"And what about getting stabbed last time?"

"Maybe he was in with Chi Fu all along, but Chi Fu realized he was going to turn on him. Or maybe he came up with some other plan and told Chi Fu to stab him without mortally wounding him. Or maybe it was just an accident. We all thought he was the old Emperor's closest friend. I'm sure the Emperor thought that."

"Do you think he is working with either of the Emperor's sons?"

"I don't know. Or he could be working alone."

"For what purpose?"

"To take over the throne himself. Or maybe to control things from behind the scenes. The old Emperor respected Shen-Li as his closest council, but he listened to ideas and opinions from all of the members of his council as well as him. And he still made his own decisions after listening to everyone's opinion. Maybe Shen-Li wants to have someone on the throne that doesn't have their own opinions, that he can have total control of."

"And you think that he can control Prince Ying?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I think Ying has his own ideas and opinions, but he may be unsure of himself and young enough that he would listen to whatever Shen-Li says. And if Ying is eliminated, Prince Ting would become Emperor. And I think with Ting on the throne, Shen-Li would really be acting as the Emperor. Ting is a playboy and pursues his own pleasures. I don't think he has any interest in running the country. And maybe that's what Shen-Li wants. A puppet on the throne who would leave the running of things to him."

"Then there's Ying's ruse that he wants you to pull off," Ming said. "Could that have something to do with Shen-Li?"

"Maybe. I thought it was aimed at exposing his brother. But maybe it's so he can observe Shen-Li; see how he behaves when he thinks Ting will be the Emperor."

"That actually makes the most sense," Ming commented. "It is also the most logical explanation for Ying's orders to you."

"Yes. And even though I know it seems like I have over-thought this, the more I think about it, the more sure I am that Shen-Li is not what he seems."

"If he has any idea that you are suspicious of him, and your suspicions are right, you will be in great danger," Mushu said.

"Although, you will have done something that Shen-Li wanted done," Ming said.

"That doesn't mean anything." Mulan dropped her head into her hands and groaned. "And I'm sure he has people that we don't know about working for him. I still have to worry about them, too. Ugh, this whole thing is so ugly. And Shang. Shang is not going to understand this at all. He's going to think I've gone insane."

"I don't think Shen-Li will harm you," Ming continued. "He might think he has an ally. But what we need is a stand-in for you, Mulan. That way, you won't be anywhere near him when this happens."

"Who is going to be a stand-in for me? You're going to be the stand-in for Ying. Can you be two people at once?"

"No. But Mi-Ying looks like you when she's dressed in that cloak with the hood up."

"No."

"She is exactly your height and has your build."

"No way. I will not put her in danger."

"She won't be. I'll be there. And they will see that she is a child and they won't harm her. In fact, it will confuse everyone too much. It will work."

"It'll be okay, Mulan," Chen whispered, touching her arm.

She looked at him for a moment. Then she nodded.

"Okay. I still don't like it, though."

She sighed and then turned back to Ming.

"Ying wants this done as soon as possible, and in the evening. It is almost evening now, and there are still details to work out. I think we need to wait until tomorrow."

Ming agreed.

xxxxxxx

"Chen, are you sure you should be doing this?" Mi-Ying asked.

"I have to go out for a little while. I've been inside all day. It's dark out. We won't be seen."

He pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and followed Su-Tan into the outer room. She opened the door and peered out into the hallway.

"Okay."

Ming jumped onto Chen's shoulder as he followed Su-Tan out the door.

Chen wanted to go outside for a little while. They turned in the direction of the staircase and headed down the corridor. As they were walking they noticed a servant approaching from the opposite direction.

The servant got closer to them and Chen suddenly gasped in surprise as he recognized the man's face. The man put his finger to his lips, indicating that he should be quiet. Chen obeyed and smiled.

The man smiled back and patted Chen on the head as he walked past him. Then he disappeared into one of the rooms down the hall.