Ch. 18
Disclaimer: "Whenever my mother did something I didn't like, she'd tell me: 'It's for the best.' And I'd say: 'For who's best?' And she'd say: 'Shut the hell up.""
It was dawn, and Ling Yi was awake and in the kitchen, preparing the meal she knew her master would be expecting when he woke up. It was quiet, mostly due to the fact that she was the only servant (or indeed, the only person in the entire palace) who bothered to wake up this early. She did not mind being alone. In fact, she preferred it. The presence of people generally bothered her, especially when she was trying to cook. Or devise plans for murder. Ling Yi had done something yesterday that she had never done in her life: she had asked for help. She did not like doing this, not one bit. It meant that she was admitting failure, and failures, however minor, were unacceptable. However, she had no choice; her master's life was at stake. So she had asked. There was, to her knowledge, only one person intelligent enough---and pragmatic enough---to help her kill the pirate. Lord Sima Yi. She had not, of course, been able to tell him the entire story, but she had been able to tell him all the parts that mattered. She had been able to tell him that complications had arisen, that a more expert hand was needed to extract whatever vital information the pirate was withholding. She had also been able to tell him that the man was too dangerous to be allowed to live, sealing the pirate's fate. Lord Sima Yi, she had discovered, was very much like herself in the sense that he hated loose ends. Their plan would be set into action in a few days time. Lord Zhang He of course had no knowledge of this plot, and lord Sima Yi did not know that her master did not know. The entire thing would happen without either of them being the wiser, and she already knew what she would tell lord Zhang He, how she would explain the ruffian's disappearance: "He ran away."
She was startled out of her ruminations by the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen. She was irked, and vaguely curious. She wanted to know who was interrupting the serenity of the early morning, and more importantly, why. Her irritability was replaced with astonishment as her master's voice softly called her name in an urgent whisper. She almost spilled the skillet of food as she let it clatter to the tabletop and hurried to her lord's side. When she found him, she almost did a double take. His hair was unbound and un-brushed, falling around and in front of his face like an unruly curtain, clothing disheveled and clearly chosen hastily and without care. This was so entirely unlike her master that she was actually rendered speechless, mouth gaping like a carp. Lord Zhang He smiled grimly at her reaction, morbidly amused. He made a sweeping, up and down gesture with towards himself with his arm, as if displaying some sort of scientific exhibit.
"I take it you've noticed that I was slightly hurried in dressing this morning. Shocking, isn't it? I don't believe you've ever seen me in such a state of disarray, have you little one?" Realizing that she was gawping quite rudely, she quickly snapped her mouth shut and dropped her eyes, bowing low in apology and shame. "A thousand pardons, my lord. There is no excuse for my unseemly lapse in manners---" He raised her up by the arm, patting her head affectionately and smiling down at her. "My dear child, you get so worked up over everything. It's perfectly all right to be shocked. I look a mess. I expect that if I were to be seen by anyone other than you, I would kill myself out of sheer embarrassment. Thank the ancestors no one else has the willpower to be conscious at this ungodly hour." Ling Yi smiled a little, one of her rare, genuine smiles. "If they did see you, my lord, they would not believe it to be you. They would merely dismiss it as a bad dream of some sort, or perhaps a hallucination." He chuckled at this, and Ling Yi felt immensely happy that she had brought even this small bit of joy to her master. Something was bothering her, though. "My lord, if I may be so bold as to inquire, why are you up and about so unusually early? And in search of me, no less?"
The humor drained from his face. "Ling Yi," he said solemnly, "I need your help. I know you're not going to like this, but…I need you to think of a way to safely smuggle Gan Ning back to Wu." He was right. She didn't like it. Her first impulse was to flat-out tell him "No", but that was something she could never do. So she held her tongue and mulled things over as lord Zhang He looked on anxiously. Was there any way she was going to help free the pirate? No. Was there any way to pretend she was going to, while instead using the situation to her advantage and eliminating the wretch? Yes. With lord Sima Yi's help? Absolutely. This actually fit perfectly into her plan for destroying the pirate. Everything would go off without a hitch. Affecting a look of distaste, she nodded slowly and said, "As you wish, my lord. I will dwell upon this matter and have a solution for you as soon as possible."
Lord Zhang He's worried face split into a relieved grin, and he put a hand on her shoulder, stunning Ling Yi by kneeling until he was eye-to-eye with her and giving her a brief hug. "Thank you so much, you wonderful, brilliant little girl! I knew I could count on you to put that brain of yours to the task!" He let go of her and ran out of the kitchen like an over-excited child, and Ling Yi stood frozen where she was, watching him go. She felt an unexplained pang of guilt, and shook her head furiously. She had nothing to be guilty about! She was only doing what was best for him! She was trying to save him!
…So why did she feel like she had just betrayed him?
Did anybody have a pet die when they were little? And your parents would get rid of it before you could notice and tell you it "ran away"? I think Ling Yi is just like one of those moms. Except she's going to murder the pet. …Does that mean Gan Ning is just like a goldfish? Or a hamster? Maybe he's a gerbil… I would like to apologize in advance to any Sima Yi fans, because he's going to be an evil creepy crazy dude in this story. Er…more so than usual. Don't get me wrong, I adore Sima, I really do. Especially his pretty dress. I just happen to think he's a psycho. He will, however, have a major part in the story, starting with…lessee, I think after the next couple of chapters or so. Also, good news for any fans of Shang Xiang and Lu Xun: They will definitely be appearing in this fic with significant roles, though it's more towards the end. Before you freak out, this will not randomly turn into a Shang Xiang x Gan Ning fic. I don't even understand that pairing. Nothing against it, mind you, I'm just baffled by it. It's not looking good for the Shu people right now. Sorry, but they just don't fit. Plus, to be perfectly honest, I don't love Shu like I love Wu and Wei. So nyah. I leave you with this parting thought: Gan Ning in a hamster suit!
