Author's Note: So I see I got the reaction I was expecting from Chapter 6. *rubs hand*
Death threats for Shang and what not. I LOVE IT! xD All I have to say is the truth is about to emerge, so just like my mother once told me...be patient. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan or any character from Mulan. I only own Li Xieng, Lee Mei-Ying, Chin-Hwa, and Chun Ushi.

Chapter 7: Confrontation

Li Shang couldn't concentrate throughout the whole time when training the soldiers. He was practically daydreaming throughout the whole time. Why wouldn't he? He had no one to really talk to about how he was feeling. He wouldn't dare comment it with the generals or any of his male friends. For what? So his reputation can be ruined? Li Shang was always known to be a serious man, especially for his age, which made him a tad different than the other the others. If one of them ever found out he was confused about another woman, they would simply think he's a part of them, since they show no shame on having relations with a concubine. After all, it was a male thing. And of course he couldn't even ask advice to his sister, Xieng. Li Shang and Xieng, since they were mere tykes, never really met eye to eye. She had a very unusual personality, well at least that's what he thought, and could never really share ideas with one another. Although they were now grown adults, Xieng had become more mature, but the two of them just never clicked. The only person he could ever really open up to was Mulan. Although Mulan was his total opposite and were completely different from each other, he always felt like he could discuss anything with her, as if she were his human 'diary' or 'journal'. But how could he even talk to her about this matter? She was clearly still upset at him for the whole issue of Mei and she was bound to be furious at him, if she just knew who he had been meeting with every noon.

"It's not like I was cheating on her..." Shang thought for a second. "Mei is just a friend."

Maybe Mulan wouldn't even see her as a friend. Regardless of the fact that nothing extreme had ever happened between him and Mei, she think so highly of her and saw her as a 'tramp'.

"General, are you alright?" said a voice near Shang.

Shang came back to reality and turned around. It was one of his fellow soldiers standing by his horse.

"Yes, I am. Why did you think something was wrong with me?" he questioned

"With all due respect General Li, but you were just standing by there daydreaming. You didn't even notice your horse attempting to escape. But no worries, I was able to catch him" said the young soldier as he handed Shang over the reins of his horse.

Shang chuckled nervously and took the reins. He thanked the good soldier for being on watch and dismissed him. Shang rode on his horse and slowly took off, on his way home. As he rode slowly, he thought to himself a lot.

"Maybe it's best if I tell Mulan the truth" he said to himself.

Could that be the best solution? He hated the fact that he was lying to Mulan. Maybe it was time to stop being so damn proud and just swallow his pride. The thoughts of confronting Mulan began to cloud upon the young general...

Meanwhile, back home...

"What do you mean he was with ANOTHER woman?" Mulan yelled out as she paced around the kitchen wagging a wooden spoon in her hand. "And she had a child?"

Mushu was calmly sitting on the kitchen counter next to the worried cricket, smirking at Mulan. He just as upset as Mulan was to see Shang with another woman.

"That's right girlfriend. Not to mention she was PREG-O. He was eating with her like if he was the man of the house." Mushu continued to rant, "See? This is why I NEVER liked pretty boy for you."

Mulan groaned in frustration as she kept pacing back and forth.

"Why didn't even Shang bother telling her anything? So what if they're upset at each other" Mulan thought to herself, "That gave him no right to lie to her!"

Then she thought...

"Could he be cheating on her...?"

"Did you happen to get the girl's name?" Mulan questioned curiously as she stopped pacing and continued to cook.

Mushu rubbed his chin and then scratched his head. How could the girl's name escape from his head? Cri-Kee eyes widen as he looked at Mushu. He began to chirp excitedly as he jumped up and down. Mushu, like always, was annoyed that Cri-Kee was cutting his concentration. But then Cri-Kee pulled out a leave and gave it to Mushu. Of course! Why didn't Mushu think of it! He had asked Cri-Kee to take notes of anything important that went on when he spied on Shang. Mushu pulled out his glasses as he began to read through the whole leaf.

"Her name was Ming." he stated.

Mulan raised her eyebrow and looked at Mushu. Ming? She didn't know anyone named Ming...

"No wait!" said the dragon as he looked closely to the leaf.
"It's Ting? Ling? Ying?"

"Mushu! Make up your mind already!" Mulan said as she rolled her eyes.

"Why don't YOU try reading a cricket's handwriting?" Mushu answered back. Cri-Kee frowned and chirped angrily at Mushu. But like always, Mushu ignored the cricket.

"I got it! Her name is MEI!" he said as he smiled.

Mulan gasped as she dropped her bowl.

Mei?

As in Mei, the girl he met at the market?

Mulan shut her eyes and clenched her small fists as she groaned angrily.

"Is something wrong...?" Mushu questioned as he raised his eyebrow.

Mulan sighed hard as she shook her head in disbelief.

"That's the girl he met in the market, weeks ago." she mumbled furiously.

Mushu gasped as his eyes widen.

"Oh that's the last straw that broke the dragon's back!" Mushu yelled out furiously. "I'm gonna whup his butt and knock him into last week!"

Mulan sighed as she looked down.

"No..." she said softly. "Leave it to me..."

As night approached, there was still no sign of Shang...

"Ma'am, would you like for me to put dinner on the table?" said Ushi as she held the tray of tea.

Mulan, with a very upset look on her face, sighed and closed her eyes.

"No Ushi. There will be no dinner tonight. You can go to bed, I'll take care of putting everything away." she said dryly.

The woman was surprised to see that there was going to be no dinner.

"But what about Master Li?" she questioned with concern.

"Don't worry, I'll handle 'Master Li'" she said as she narrowed her eyes.

After Mulan dismissed Ushi, she waited up for a couple of minutes for Shang. Once she heard his horse come in the stables, she knew now was the time.

The confrontation.

Shang walked in the door with dreary eyes, looking very tired and exhausted. After going through a long day of training, he just wanted to get some sleep. He knew it was best to talk to Mulan the next day.

"You and I need to talk." Mulan said seriously as she crossed her arms.

Shang turned around and saw Mulan staring at him very angrily as she had her candle next to her. He sighed as he looked at her with sad eyes.

"Mulan, can we please -"

"No." she said sternly. "It's now. End of story."

Shang looked at her oddly and crossed his arms. He didn't like the fact that Mulan was being so harsh on him for no apparent reason.

"So what seems to be the problem now?" Shang said as he rolled his eyes.

Mulan shook her head and smirked at him.

"What's the deal with you and Mei?"

Shang's surprised eyes widen. How did she know about her?

"How did you -"

"Mushu told me." she cut Shang off before she even let him finish his sentence.

"Mushu." he muttered angrily to himself. "I'm going to kill him."

He had forgotten that Mushu had spied on him. Of course! Now this made sense. Mulan was angry because she found out before he told her.

"Mulan look, it's not what you think. She's just a friend." he pleaded.

He felt guilty for saying that. Inside he knew he felt something towards her.

"Just a friend?" she said as she chuckled sarcastically. "What kind of friend do you hide from your wife?"

"You're becoming a little too compulsive." Shang mumbled.

"Excuse me?" she yelled out. "Compulsive? Oh so now seeing that my husband is cheating on me -"

"I'm not cheating on you Mulan! I haven't done anything with her!" he yelled back

Mulan scoffed as she turned around. Shang groaned out of frustration and squeezed his eyes shut.

"What's wrong with you?" Shang said dryly. "You're not the same woman I used to love."

Mulan's eyes widen as she heard Shang say that. She turned around and looked at Shang with disbelief.

"What did you say?" she said softly.

"Forget it." Shang mumbled as he began to walk away.

"No" Mulan yelled out as she attempted to control her tears. "Say it."

Shang rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You're not the same woman I used to love." he said dryly. He didn't understand why she was making him repeat that.

"Used to?" she said as her tears began to roll down her cheek.

"Mulan, not like that" he corrected.

Mulan disregarded what he said and began to walk away crying. Shang called out her name several times and even went after her. After his final attempt, Mulan stopped and turned around.

"Maybe people were right." she said softly "We went ahead of each other and married too early. We're always fighting and ugh" She turned around and began to make her way to where she accommodated her room. Shang ran behind her and stopped her. He pleaded to forgive him for his wrongful words and embraced Mulan throughout the whole time. Mulan broke away from the embrace and attempted to leave, but Shang didn't give up. He grabbed Mulan by her wrist and pulled her. Mulan turned around and slapped him.

"Gheez, I didn't know you slapped this hard." Shang complained as he rubbed his cheek.

"You're forgetting that I was in the army, smart one." she said sarcastically as she walked in her room and slammed the door.

Shang knew he had made a huge mistake.

How could he tell his wife that?

He felt empty and confused.

Of course he loved Mulan.

But what about Mei?

"Maybe it's best to talk to her..." Shang thought to himself.