Chapter Five
Shang hated the fact that his grandfather was so bitter about Mulan. He had thought that he would have known who she was and how Shang was the lucky one to be chosen by someone like Mulan. He saw the pain in her body despite her not looking at him. He reached a hand out for her and saw her flinch. "I'm here," he told her and Mulan reached back to squeeze his fingers. "Tell me what you need to do? Did you need me to leave?"
"I would like to see your mother," Mulan told him and Shang smiled, he nodded.
"I'm sure that when she hears about you, when she meets you, she'll be happy to have you here," he tried to encourage Mulan and saw her half smile. "My father would be honored by your presence. I wish that he had lived long enough to have properly met you."
"I wouldn't have been an embarrassment to him?" Mulan asked and Shang held her close. He wanted to make sure that she felt supported by him. He was a little bit clueless when it came to relationships. What he didn't know about love and interpersonal communication, he made up for in dedicating his life to fighting and training and being a skilled leader.
"Come here," Shang said as he took her hand and before Mulan had said anything, he pulled her through the house, passing the way of different servants. She took a slow breath in. Servants? Her family had never had servants. She had always been one to do the chores which her mother didn't. She didn't even have any siblings, giving her puppy the name Little Brother instead, so those chores were her responsibility. She wasn't used to this wealth.
"Where is my mother?" Shang asked. Mulan didn't know what to say to him. She was certain that Shang didn't know he was gripping her wrist with a strong hold. No. She could have broken out of it if she really cared, if she really wanted to argue against him. She just wanted to see what he was doing. Observing and analyzing the situation was necessary.
Some of the servants gossiped between one another before a few scurried off. Shang took some deep breaths as he let go of Mulan's hand. "I'm sorry," he apologized to her. "I should have been thinking about whether you wanted to do this or not."
"As I said," Mulan smiled as she shook her wrist. "I would very much like to see your mother. I might not be the ideal daughter-in-law to her but I want to -"
"Remember that the emperor wants you to be an adviser to him. Remember that you saved China. Remember that we all owe you our lives and our freedom. I'd rather be a poor beggar cast out onto the street than choose anyone else."
Mulan looked into Shang's eyes and blushed. He definitely was passionate for her and it made her feel special. She had often heard girls say about how certain men had given them this feeling of being a prized jewel but she hadn't felt that such things would come to her. She reached across and slipped her hand into Shang's again. He was just a boy in some ways, inexperienced, but so was she.
Soon they heard hurried footsteps and Mulan suddenly dropped into a deep bow, kneeling upon the floor before Shang could do anything to stop her. He turned to see the elegant woman and she ran to him, sobbing and throwing her arms around him. She definitely looked as if she were in mourning and it was a miracle that their own house hadn't been ransacked during the war.
"Your father would be so proud," she whispered to him as she cried onto his chest, having not seen the woman beside him. Shang laughed weakly and Mulan could hear the hurt in his voice. The two were suffering with the general's death. She should have realized that the love in this house was of a somber kind. "You must be fed at once until you're stuffed. My poor boy," she said lovingly and Mulan closed her eyes, still in her kneeling position as she thought about the love her family had for her. She had missed her father terribly during their separation.
"Mother," Shang said as he finally took a couple of steps back, "I am not sure what you have heard about the palace, about the end of the war, but I have someone who I would very much like you to meet."
Shang knelt down beside Mulan who nervously looked up at his mother. She bit her top lip and her mother gasped, looking at her. It was as the tales had been told. This was the girl who seemed almost like a myth. She was a troublemaker, breaking many important rules, but she had done so with a purpose and she had met an important goal. Saving China from the Huns.
"Could you be…" the woman asked and Mulan looked at her as if she were an innocent kitten. "Oh…my…" The woman helped her up and Shang helped support her. The woman then bowed herself. "It is an honor to have you in our home, Fa Mulan." Shang saw Mulan gasp a little, still not used to this prestige that was given to her by the emperor. "For what purpose -"
"Shang and I…we love one another," Mulan explained seeing Shang smile as he wrapped an arm around her. "He has already asked my family for their blessing to our relationship. I wanted to come and ask for yours."
"Of course," the woman smiled happily. "To have the honor of such a woman in our family is -"
"A woman," the grandfather sneered. "She is more like a stray and rabid dog than a woman," he said as he tried to dismiss her. "If it wasn't for her then the general would still be alive. My son would still be alive," he said and Mulan opened her mouth to apologize but Shang stepped in front of her.
"She did nothing of the kind. How can you expect a foot soldier to have the burden of our Imperial Army's defeat? She was one of the soldiers I trained, not that it would make any sense at all, but the failure perceived of her training, if there exists any at all, rests on my shoulders," Shang said passionately. "If we are not welcome here then we will leave."
"Hush," his mother said before looking over Mulan. "It is true that your beauty might be increased by finer clothes, a bath, some makeup but your character is beautiful. Would you be willing to be trained in how to be a true wife? I am sure that if you endure that training, our whole family will embrace you."
Shang turned back to look at his mother in horror. He didn't want some perfect bride. He wanted someone he could have a conversation with, he wanted someone who he wanted to talk to about the deeper things in life, he wanted to have a sparring partner. Maybe doing this to Mulan would ruin her. "She's already beautiful," Shang said quickly. He reached for Mulan's shoulder. "You don't have to do this," he tried to encourage her and Mulan nodded.
"I understand but I am willing to become one of those beautiful flowers, my parents tried to take me to a matchmaker but I was too free spirited," Mulan laughed gently and Shang stared at her. He shook his head not wanting to hear this. To him Mulan was perfect and though going through those steps to prepare to be a wife wouldn't be enough to ruin her, he didn't want to crush her by making her believe she wasn't good enough.
"You should be careful, Shang," his grandfather said to him and Shang put a hand on Mulan's shoulder protectively. He didn't want to hear how his grandfather thought Mulan was a snake or a worm or any other degrading remark.
"Why should I be careful?" he asked in a balanced manner.
"You must enter a relationship with a woman, there are already rumors that your romantic desires are disturbed and that you entertain fantasies of men," the grandfather said bluntly and Shang opened his mouth to argue. Was that true though? He had felt something behind Ping's disguise but if the charade had continued, would he have felt that he held love for Ping despite his male gender.
ShMuShMuShMu
Shang had paced in front of the room where Mulan had been sleeping in all morning. His grandfather had told him that he shouldn't allow himself to be tied down to one woman whilst everyone else praised Mulan for her bravery and her passion for her country and her family. He wanted to talk to her, ask her if she felt comfortable staying here where such judgment was heaved upon her.
Shang sighed as he sank to the ground and looked up. Why couldn't his family just honor and love Mulan as he did? He wasn't lying to himself that his family wanted his happiness most of all, was he? His father would have been honored by having Mulan enter the family had he survived the war. Shang wished that he could speak with him and ask his advice but he could only do so at the family altar.
Shang blinked as he saw that one of his mother's handmaidens had exited the room where Mulan had been staying. He stared at her and then looked at the gap in the door. He knocked on the door and was surprised to see Mulan sitting in front of the mirror. Her face was covered with white powder and heavy makeup as if she were about to audition to be someone's wife.
He looked at her. He would never call her ugly but she didn't look as beautiful as she usually did. He saw her smile fade, her eyes had no light in them. No, she was still beautiful but she wasn't glowing like she usually would. She turned to him with a forced smile. "How do I look?" she asked. "Will your mother approve?"
"You look beautiful," Shang said as he tried to hold himself back from his comments that she didn't need any of this and she shouldn't be hiding her natural beauty, he knew how unskilled he was with matters of love. The last thing that he wanted to do was make Mulan feel worse. "You always look beautiful."
"Thank you," Mulan nodded and Shang's mind went back to what she had said before leaving the palace. Had he just said the wrong thing to her?
End of Chapter Five
Thank you for reading
Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Four
ElsaAnnaSnowQueen, Guest (x2) ,HistoryISculture, Kagome Avalon, KathyMesser, kotoko-98, Vero Diaz, yaly.97cello
