20. Bored
The following day the emperor, commander Fu , Rushuang and Xie left for the capital. They would make a short detour to bring Xin back to the border town. After they said goodbye, the Marquis and Pei left for the military camp, Fei Yuan of course following his young master. Su had opted to remain in the mansion. She went to the forest for a long walk, on return had lunch, then she found a book in the library to read. By the time Pei and the Marquis returned she had fallen asleep on the sofa she had been seated on. Pei wok her by stroking her forehead and cheek. "You are back." Su commented, after she had opened her eyes to see her husband back. Pei nodded, he was on his knees beside her, his hand still resting on her cheek, his thumb stroking her. Lovingly he looked at her: "How was your day?"
"Good, did you enjoy training the troops?" In the capital Pei often went to the military camp that he had set up eight years ago, when his father had given him the Tiger Tally. Though the camp was now officially a government camp under the mark of the Emperor, the troops stationed there were still very much Prince Qi's army, maybe not in name, but definitely in spirit. Always when her husband returned from his visit to the camp he was in an excellent mood, Su saw the same passion and enjoyment in his eye now. "Yes, the Marquis has trained them well."
"You enjoyed yourself, my dear husband. I can tell." Su reached out and placed her hand on his cheek, looking deep into his smiling eyes. Pei smiled and then hugged her, he had enjoyed himself, but he had missed her, as he always missed her when they were apart. In the capital they would during the day go their own ways, he had often court related business and she had her work for the Mingjing office. But when they were traveling, Pei and Su would almost never separate. And now he had been away from her for an entire day. He felt Su lean into his hug, closing one of her arms around his waist, and placing the other on his shoulder. He heard her sigh of contentment, warming him to his core. "Come, dinner will be served soon." Pei helped Su get up and together they went to find the Marquis and Fei Yuan.
The following day the Marquis and Pei left for the camp directly after breakfast. Though Su enjoyed the walk around the garden and the walk through the forest, by the time the servant girl brought her her food Su was bored. The wife of the Marquis had died a while ago, he had no female relatives and no concubines, so there was no one to keep her company. Fei Yuan had once more followed Pei to the army camp, so he was also not nearby to provide a distraction. There were no cases that needed solving or reviewing, no town close by to visit and so Su was bored. She finally admitted it to herself on the third time she walked the path in the flower garden. With a sigh she sat down in the pavilion where a servant had placed a tea set. She poured herself a tea and drank it. Then she walked through the mansion ending in the room where she and Pei slept. She read the Honggu reports Pei had brought, without really taking in what she had read. She attempted to do some embroidery, but nothing really captured her attention. Sighing in annoyance Su fell on the bed and with unseeing eyes stared up at the canopy over her head. That's where Pei found her, he looked around, seeing the room in disarray: the Honggu files opened on the desk, her embroidery next to the bed, his wife half on the bed, with her shoes still on, feet hanging of the side. He couldn't help but smile at himself. "How are you?" he asked, from his place in the door. The look his wife send him told him more then her words: "I'm good."
"Really?" He asked, stepping closer, sitting next to her on the bed. Su looked at him, not even trying to sit up. "I'm bored." Pei gently helped her sit up. "I can see that. Tomorrow is the last training. The day after we're going home. Al right?" Though she still had a small pout Su said: "Yes, I want to go home and have you all to myself for a few days. I missed you." Pei stroked her hair and then kissed her cheek: "I missed you too. I'm sorry, I should have realized you would have been alone here. I shouldn't have accepted the offer to train the troops." Su vigorously shook her head: "No, you love training the troops. You would have regretted it if you hadn't done this. I can wait for you." Su snuggled closer to Pei, who promptly placed his arms around her, drawing her even closer. After having seated like this for a while Pei stirred: "Let's eat dinner." Su nodded and together they walked to the Marquis, already seated for dinner.
"Your Highness, Your Highness." He greeted them. During dinner the Marquis and Pei discussed several military aspects, the Marquis noticed that Su remained largely silent. "I'm afraid we are boring you, Lady Pei." The Marquis observed. Su quickly shook her head. "Oh no, marquis, please continue."
"My late wife always made sure the conversation at dinner was suitable for everyone. Later my daughter made sure of that. Since her passing and the passing of my dear daughter I have had no one to direct the conversation. I'm sorry." Pei had taken Su's hand in his, watching her closely. On all matters in the city, palace or empire they would talk and discuss together, but the military world was something she readily left to him. He didn't mind that, understanding that to her it was logical to leave all military matters to him, but now that the world of investigation started to mingle with the military it might be wise to make sure SU understood some more of the military. "Why don't you join us in the camp tomorrow? You could even train with the troops." Su laughed, slightly nervously, then said: "I'll come to the camp, but I won't embarrass you by joining the training."
"You wouldn't embarrass me. Remember, you're the only on in the empire, who received private training by me." Pei encouraged her.
"I know, my dear, but I also know my ability is not nearly as good as most of your soldiers." Su replied. Pei smiled, knowing he couldn't push farther: "All right, how about we do a training session here, just you and me, before we go to the camp together?" Su nodded, going to the camp would at least result in a more interesting day then the day she just had.
They spend the next day together in the camp. Su marveled at the training abilities of her husband. He knew exactly what to say to improve stances, thrusts and swings almost immediately. He had done that wit her as well, but she had always thought that was because he always trained her hand in hand, performing the movements with her, guiding her body with his. But now she saw how well he understood the moves, so he could see what the soldiers needed to correct to perfect the move. After the midday break the soldiers were invited to fight with Pei on e on one and those fights showed clearly that there was no exaggeration in the often stated fact that Prince Qi was the best warrior in the empire. None managed to defeat him. It filled Su with pride and admiration, even though she had always admired Prince Qi from the folklores. While Pei freshened up Su waited in the generals quarters where more maquettes showed the military situation. At one point a man walked in, looking for the Marquis. "The Marquis will be here soon." Su said, she looked at the man again thinking something seemed familiar about him. "Have we met before?" She finally asked.
"No miss, I've never seen you before." The man quickly replied. He looked around clearly not really at ease: "I have to leave. Could you give this message to the Marquis?" He handed a letter to Su, who nodded. The man bowed and left. Curious Su read the envelop, but it only stated: 'To the Marquis'. Once more Su had the feeling that something was familiar, like she had seen the handwriting before, but she couldn't recall where she could have seen it before. "Dear." Pei said when he and the Marquis walked in and saw Su deep in thought. "Oh, I'm sorry. Marquis a man came in just now. He left this letter for you, he said he couldn't wait." Su handed the letter to the Marquis. "Thank you." The Marquis took the letter and read the envelope, then he put it in his pocket. Su turned to her husband: "Are you finished with the training? Are we going back to the mansion?"
"Almost, I just want to bid goodbye to the men." Pei said, turning to walked out of the tent. The Marquis and Su followed, but at a maquette near the entrance Su halted. "Marquis, may I ask you something?" The Marquis nodded, wondering what made Su stop at the maquette. "On this maquette the cabins are depicted, but this area here has no shelters why?" Su pointed to a large blank area on the maquette. "Well spotted Lady Pei. That part of the forest is so dense no paths run through it, so there is no reason to build a shelter there."
"I see." Su once more observed the maquette, and then turned to join the Marquis to find Pei again. While they walked back to the training ground, Su saw her husband in front of the troops, who were listening intently. "The troops seem to still hold him in high esteem. That makes me happy." Su commented. The Marquis first looked at Su and then to Pei and his soldiers. He knew the soldiers venerated Prince Qi, he had a legendary status, not just among his men, but also the troops of the other generals. As he had suspected when he spoke for Prince Qi in court five years ago, the soldiers had not been happy about the removal of the military power from Prince Wi, even if it was at his own urging. "Yes, Prince QI, to most of my soldiers is still the highest general and they would follow him if he asked, with or without the Tiger Tally." As the Tiger Tally was still a sensitive issue, Su merely inclined her head as affirmation that she had heard the Marquis. In the silence that followed the Tiger Tally still floated.
"Do you think he would take it, if the Tiger Tally was presented to him?" The Marquis asked. Su remained silent for a while looking at her husband and considering a response. Slowly and carefully selecting her words she finally said: "I can't speak on behalf of my dear husband on this. He loves the empire and the emperor and he is loyal to them. He has put his live in the balance to protect them so many times and yet court officials then and now still question his loyalty. His honor and sacrifice have been discarded, would you take the Tiger Tally if it was presented today without words of reconciliation or trust? Could you expect him to bear that humiliation?" The Marquis considered her words and then answered: "You are a true match to Yan Zhi. Thank you for your words." Once more Su inclined her head. "Please excuse me. I think I should speak some words as well." The Marquis said pointing to the gathered soldiers. From a small distance Su watched and saw the ease in her husband. This was his world, this was where he excelled and where he met like minded people. This was taken from him and Su still found it hard to forgive those people. But seeing the relaxation and enjoyment in Pei, it filled Su with gratitude that he could still train the troops he held dear to his heart.