Mizu: ... binge watching, have to find inspiration somewhere.
Chapter Nine
"Why is it that you have gotten ill so much this month?" Katsuro asks me, he obviously doesn't know that I am conscious. "If you are awake you should respond, it's common courtesy."
"Why should I care? I kind of gave up being a gentleman a long time ago." I say turning onto my side.
"Well that is good, you aren't a man, you are a woman. You should act like a lady not a gentleman." He says attempting to pull me into an upright position. I just stay where I am with a stubborn will, eventually Katsuro just gives up and rests on the bed too. I tried to kick him off but he wouldn't budge. Life just wasn't fair to me.
"Don't you have something to do?" I ask him begrudgingly, what does he do all day if he has time to sleep. Isn't he aspose to be the single ruler in the north?
"I do but this is so much better!" He says in a gleeful tone, I just wonder how he managed to consolidate his power with this attitude. I haven't seen him work once and I have been here for what, five days?
"Then get to work!" I order him attempting to kick him off the bed. He just jumps up into a standing position and laughs at me. He then walks out of the room with a smirk on his face.
"Will I get to rest all day after I complete my work?" He asks me.
"No, why don't we take the doctors suggestion and go visit my family. Actually I guess that could be considered a break anyway so just finish your work." I rant, it's not that I don't know that the doctor is obviously paid by mother-in-law it's just that I don't care anymore.
Madam Izo can go attempt to kill me for all I care, if she succeeds then I am out of this body. If she fails then she is leaving a trail back to her and she might lose all the power she is trying to maintain in this house!
I am sitting in the shade under the tree meditating when I get interrupted for the eighth time! First is was one of the maids asking me what I was doing, then it was Madam Izo asking where Katsuro was. Why would I know where he was, then the steward thought it a good time to try to talk about my expenditures. He was curious about why I suddenly stop spending so much money, which brings up an even bigger question. How did she even spend any money?!
The fourth person to disturb me was Hana asking me if I would like lunch, I have been meditating for a long time and you don't think I would get hungry. Don't mention food, I am meditating. After her it was the gardener, he tried to move me because I was in his way. Well he did succeed for the record, the sun was beginning to bother me as it shifted onto me so I took it upon myself to move. I may have also have ate the food that Hana had brought.
The sixth person was the martial who was a pleasant surprise, even though he obviously looked down on me he handed me the information on the military. Apparently in the past Mizuki was allowed to handle important information if Katsuro and Junichi weren't there to receive it. It must have had something to do with the fact Mizuki couldn't read and she was a trustworthy person. Little intrigue in her entire body.
The seventh person to interrupt me was a lady who was looking for Madam Izo, I may have implied that she was at the other end of the building. The next person was already on my nerves, what point of a serene figure sitting in the shade meditating did they not get. Shouldn't people be able to tell when they should leave a guy alone, isn't there a way to tell if a man wants to be alone? Doesn't he give off a certain vibe?
"Young Madam?" The Eighth person asks me in a scared tone, so they do know that I am irritated and chose to bother me anyway.
"What?" I respond in a harsh tone, the person jumps in surprise. He probably wasn't expecting me to respond in such a rude way. Apparently there were many ways to adress somebody in Lotai, one to address people of a higher standing, same standing and a lower standing. There was also one to address somebody you don't like, that was the one I used to address him with. So it was only natural that he flinched back in surprise.
"I... Um, I have a message for Young Master Izo." He says, looking at his figure he seems to be a little boy, well he was probably a year or two younger than me. Which I would like to mention I am somewhere around the age of eighteen.
"Just hand it to me, he is out of town." I say extending my hand, the kid nods and puts the item down into my hands. He seems a little less afraid of me because I switched my way of addressing him. Once he walks off I start reading the scroll, it says The foundation has been shaken at it's base, If the roof were to collapse then the house would be no more.
Interesting, the message is pretty much means that the south plans to rebel and if the north rebels at the same time that the empire would be no more. What are the politics going down in the south, if this actually happens the north would be threatened and would be a point of weakness to the empire.
The south is separated from the capital and would take to long to capture any important cities but the north could possibly take Beitei, a city which overlooks the only entrance into the empire from the north.
Actually it would be more accurate to say the Mahcu Empire because the ruling dynasty is the Mahcu dynasty, the dynasty name means everlasting so it would translate into the Everlasting Dynasty or Everlasting Empire. To this very day the royal family hasn't even been broken once, this means that support for the rebellion within the heart of the empire is almost entirely impossible.
I go back to meditating but it isn't long before I sense another visitor, will I make it to ten people before I am done with my meditation?
"I hear you have some scrolls for me." Katsuro asks revealing he is the ninth intruder. I do have some stuff for him but why should I just give them to him, well I guess if I don't give it to him it will cause me problems so I might as well give it to him.
"Yeah, they are very interesting. Especially the second one, makes you wonder how the future is going to be." I say pulling the scrolls out from my sleeves. I then hand them to him and watch his face for any flicker of emotion while he reads them.
"Yes, too bad the Mahcu Empire makes sure all the roofs on top of the buildings are strong enough to withstand the collapse of the base." He answers when he finishes reading the second scroll, it is obvious that he plans on taking no part in this civil war that is happening in the south.
"Besides a foolish man tries to take down a house by first destroying the base. It is wiser to destroy the infrastructure of the building and then take away the base, the house would collapse under the weight of the roof rather than the roof needing to collapse for it to work." I give him my opinion on the matter, the south is foolish in hoping to beat the Mahcu dynasty even with the help of the north.
"A wise interpretation of the poem." Katsuro says eyes glued onto the scroll. He then tucks it into his belt and walks towards the study, I follow along with him because I have nothing better to do.
"Do you think we will have to worry about the north?" Katsuro asks me without turning his head. Honestly Beitei is such a strategic city that if it falls the north falls, the one who controls it chooses when and where the engagements take place. Especially since the northern empire has better ships than ours, we have no hope in beating them in an all out navy battle.
"They will be too worried about Beitei, in fact I think that they will be too worried about the sword in front of them that they will forget about the dagger behind them." I answer him, they won't forget about the dagger really. It's just that they will worry about the sword more than the dagger.
"What if they deal with the dagger first?" Katsuro counters my statement. That probably would seem preferable but in reality it wasn't.
"The swordsmen would have time to position himself in a preferable position." I respond walking in step with him, the chances of winning would be highest if you attacked Beitei. Sure you risk the dagger but it would be worth the risk if you took the city fast enough, but you had to do it without taking too much casualties.
"Hm, so the wisest choice is to prepare in case they decide to attack Zanori first but expect their march to Beitei." He says opening the door and letting me in first, I then pull out the map of Taolyi.
"If we place some scouts at Yu lake then either they head south towards Beitei or north towards Zanori. If they try to double back then this city can serve as a warning signal." I say pointing at Mao, similar size to Beitei but way less important strategically.
"What if they double back around the lack and skip Mao?" He asks me but I don't answer him. Is he testing me? What would the old Mizuki have done in this situation? Obviously she would have not gotten into it to begin with. "We should probably have multiple scouts, a system to ensure we know their movements."
"I agree, after all Sun Tzu once said know thyself, know thy enemy. You need not fear the result of any battle." I think out loud.
"Who's Sun Tzu?"
"Knowledge gap!" I say pointing at him.
"I just want to know since he is my kind of man." Katsuro dejectedly replies. To answer him, I would have to say I agree. Katsuro seems to know a lot and likes to figure people out. Which gives me an idea once I return, maybe I want to completely remodel the workforce within the house. They are all too loyal to either Katsuro or Madam Izo.
"You probably would never hear of him again."
"Why not?"
"Ever heard of him before?" I ask him what seems to be a simple question but really carries a lot of weight. It seems like there are a lot of scrolls in this building, almost an unnatural amount for a time period where there are little military strategy or poetry and most are documents containing either business or history.
"No... I guess you have a point. Must be a sage!" Katsuro seems to be energized by this new thought. You know interesting point about the word sage? In this language there is no Tanma, Vaxu or Ral equivalent to it, it only exists in Yui. Yui is the form of addressment used to one's superior, while Vaxu is for people of equal standings and Tanma is for servants. Ral would be for enemies or people you really don't like, emphasis on the really. You just don't use Ral on somebody, which probably was why the servant earlier flinched.
"Ku na, ku bo, ku fa, ku raj." I say outloud, in order it is the way to say I am in forms. Starting from Vaxu, then Tanma, next Yui and finally Ral. Ral seems to use a lot more consonants than any of the other forms so it sounds harder than the other forms.
"Why are you saying the forms?" Katsuro says leaning towards me, he seems to be relaxing a bit. Maybe that is just me over analyzing the situation though.
"I just wonder about the complexities of this language. One would have to be a scholar to fully understand how to abuse it. It's so simple in many aspects but quickly becomes a tool to cut one's tongue off at the drop of a dime."
"It's getting late, we should take a rest and head out tomorrow." Katsuro says, tonight seems to be a restless one. One can never underestimate the safety of home, never be lured by the adventure outside for it could be your last.
Mizu: I think different cultures are cool and interesting, languages especially so...