Chapter Fifteen: Journey to the South
After great deliberation, Liu Bei finally sets sail to the South Land to meet his young bride.
A brisk, cold wind blew across the rolling waves of the Chang Jiang, as a small Shu fleet, proudly flying its green dragon banners high, navigated across that river. Save for Lady Yue Ying, however, no other women were onboard any of the teakwood ships. As such, there was naturally very little need for attending handmaids.
Lonely for companionship, Xi Tian wandered aimlessly up and down the deck. Thanks to her earlier upbringing in Jingzhou, she was familiar enough with ships and naval voyages to overcome any hints of seasickness once on the Chang Jiang. Yet this restless health only left her bouncier than ever, as the nineteen-year-old fruitlessly tried to find some source of entertainment or distraction.
Unfortunately, her search was in vain. Her only hope of some amusement would have come from the loudmouthed and hot-tempered Zhang Fei…and, Xi Tian reflected morosely, he was on a different ship. Liu Bei and Zhao Yun, fearing that the swarthy Tiger General's drunken tirades and crude, insensitive jokes might upset delicate young ears, had made sure of that.
In an effort to kill some time, Xi Tian lifted her rosy skirts and climbed onto the ship's railings, absently kicking her legs back and forth over the waters as a means of amusement. Amah would be calling me a monkey if she could see me, she reflected with a gleeful grin, one much like a mischievous child might wear after having avoided punishment for doing something naughty.
Xi Tian carefully shifted her position and smoothed down her skirts, smiling down brightly at her wavery reflection. Was that a loosened lotus flower in her hair? She leaned slightly forward to get a better view of her reflection in the waters, adjusting the ornamental blossom as she pleased.
She was so busy preening over the Chang Jiang, however, that she failed to take notice when Zhao Yun strode toward her. At the sound of his voice, speaking so suddenly and coming from directly behind her as he started to caution, "Orchid, it's not safe to be sitting so close to the edge—" Xi Tian gave a startled little shriek, almost jumping several feet from the teak rails…and then promptly tumbled right into the river, hitting the cold green waters with a splash.
Zhao Yun blinked, stunned by the reaction his appearance had evoked, before leaning over the rails—almost reflexively—to see where Xi Tian had fallen. Seeing her splashing around the river, coughing but somehow managing to stay afloat, the young warrior wasted no time in stepping back to strip off his heavy silver armor, then diving into the Chang Jiang after her.
Almost immediately, he began to sink, for as soon as he hit the water, his heavy boots started to weigh him down and drag him to the sandy river bottom. With a mighty effort, Zhao Yun managed to kick his way back to the surface, swimming toward the choking and floundering Xi Tian. As soon as he was within reaching distance, he flung out one arm and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her toward him as he began heading back toward the ship.
The added weight only caused him to falter and begin to sink again. Zhao Yun thrashed out his free arm and began to kick desperately toward the towering wall of teakwood, which seemed so close and yet, at the same time, so far away. He inevitably discovered that he could not get Xi Tian safely onboard where there were tall railings, so he took a deep breath and began struggling toward the front of the ship, where no such imposing iron bars could block his way.
Reaching it, Zhao Yun eased the coughing and thoroughly soaked Xi Tian onboard…then promptly floundered and began to sink again.
Before he could drop back into the watery depths, a small hand reached out and grasped onto his arm as he was going under, pulling him back up as best as its owner could. This initiative, weak though it was, proved enough for Zhao Yun. He gave one last powerful kick and heaved himself out of the river and onto the ship, where a coughing and rather unflatteringly drenched Xi Tian was waiting for him.
Zhao Yun tried to regain his breath as he wiped some water off his face, only to have his wet hair swing across his forehead and render his previous efforts in vain. Despite her own pitiful appearance, Xi Tian couldn't help but giggle at this sight.
"Here." She let go of Zhao Yun's arm and reached into her satiny rose sash, offering the Tiger General a completely soaked slip of embroidered silk that had once been her handkerchief.
Zhao Yun tried to act gallant about her useless gift.
"I will forever cherish this, fair Orchid," he told her dryly.
Knowing that his oath was made in jest, Xi Tian proceeded to laughingly wipe at his face with her handkerchief, purposely squirting more river water onto him.
At that moment, a voice spoke up from behind them, "What's going on here?"
The couple turned at hearing the drawling question, to find Liu Bei standing a few paces back, holding Zhao Yun's hastily discarded armor in one hand and wearing a look of amusement on his face.
Xi Tian and Zhao Yun guiltily pulled apart, as the former blushingly withdrew her hand from the latter's face and tossed her handkerchief into his lap.
"I…ah, fell into the water, and General Zhao, um, fished me out," she admitted in a tiny, embarrassed voice, while said general discreetly tucked away her handkerchief into his sleeve.
Liu Bei turned his head to hide a smile.
"That's very gallant of him," he remarked as he stepped forward to hand back Zhao Yun his armor—which the younger man accepted with a rather sheepish look—before adding with cheerful nonchalance, "Although I have to admit that when I came looking for my Tiger General, I didn't exactly expect to find him with my newest handmaid, holding each other on deck like a perfectly matched pair of yuan yang(1)."
Was that actually a blush creeping up Zhao Yun's neck? the equally pink Xi Tian wondered to herself. Seeing the mirthful twinkle in Liu Bei's eyes, laughing at her and Zhao Yun's obvious discomfort, she wrinkled her nose and decided to turn the tables on the Shu king, unless she and Zhao Yun never wanted to live down this river episode.
With a well-practiced toss of her head so that her earrings danced merrily, Xi Tian began to prattle on about a certain princess in the most embarrassing and obnoxious way possible.
"Oh, but I'm sure that my Lord Liu Bei and his Lady Sun will make an even more perfect pair of yuan yang," she declared pertly. "Even better than yuan yang, in fact: I'm sure you two will make an equally lovely pair of geese, or magpies, or chickens. Oh, if only a magical wind would come and sweep this ship to the South Land right this moment; what a delight it would be for all, to see my lord and his princess standing together like a beautifully matched set of poultry!"
Any other woman mentioned, and Liu Bei would have surely interpreted her comments as a deliberate insult. However, Xi Tian had been clever enough to drop the one name which would send a surefire red flush flooding the Shu king's face.
As it was, Liu Bei merely turned as crimson as Zhao Yun had been a few minutes earlier, and rather than chide Xi Tian on her horrible yuan-yang-and-true-love analogies, he merely mumbled, "We're almost at the Wu harbors; I should go and make the necessary…ah…preparations."
He ran off before the girl could prattle any more about Sun Shang Xiang or winged animals.
This lame excuse earned Liu Bei one last enthusiastic chatter of, "Oh, yes, my lord must look his handsomest for his first meeting with Lady Sun!" Xi Tian then turned around, only to see Zhao Yun giving her a strange look: a mixture of bewilderment, gratefulness, and almost amusement. She laughed at the confounded expression on his face, before asking innocently, "Silly little me; did I say something I shouldn't have?"
Aboard the second ship in the small Shu fleet, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stood side-by-side on deck, looking out at an expanse of rolling, white-crested waves and wooden docks beyond. Apart from some local fishermen and a scattering of small children playing games in the sand, no other people could be seen…and certainly no high-ranking officers of Wu to greet their guests.
Understandably, both of the mighty Shu generals were more than a little bit miffed at this seeming snub.
"Wu were the ones who proposed this damn marriage alliance in the first place," Zhang Fei grumbled loudly. "The least those pretty boys could do is properly welcome our Elder Brother."
Guan Yu silently stroked his long, luxuriant black beard, indicating his agreement with a nod and a heavy sigh. The proud colossus looked like he was about to add his own opinion, when he abruptly frowned and squinted at what appeared to be a cloud of dust approaching the docks.
"Hn, looks like a welcoming committee wasn't forgotten, after all—it's just late," Guan Yu observed with a hint of contempt in his voice.
Meanwhile, the first ship in the Shu fleet docked at the port, and Liu Bei stepped out, accompanied on one side by Zhao Yun and on the other by Zhuge Liang.
At the same time, a black-and-blue Sun Ce—leading the equally battered Zhou Yu, Gan Ning, and Taishi Ci—dismounted from his horse and walked forward to welcome his noble guest.
1. Mandarin duck. The Chinese believed that mandarin ducks were symbols of love—or, specifically, of a happily married couple, because they always appear in pairs: a male and a female.