What Lies beneath the Ground
Chapter 20 – Jing Mei’s Success

Four days after the previous three and the Lu family was causing a ruckus. Lu Ning was found with a rather intricately decorated fan piercing his throat. It was a creative way to kill someone and while Jing Mei was considered a main suspect, Lu Dian believed that her reputation was far too important to ruin over a mere man. Instead, it was decided that one of Lu Ning’s concubines prior to his marriage with Jing Mei was responsible. And in order to find some kind of justice for their older brother, Xiang and Dian personally beheaded each concubine.

The townspeople were pleased, although discreet at showing such. They decided to wait a twenty-four hour period for grieving. Then the revolt came together and they crushed out Xiang and Dian’s remaining troops. (Jing Mei had already done so much of the work herself as Cai Shang. She felt that what was left over could be handled by her followers.) This resulted in the obtaining of You’s lands once again. And nothing pleased Mei more than knowing she had succeeded on three levels: Lu Ning was gone forever, You was back under her control, and there wasn’t a single person who would or could turn her in.

Of all the people involved and whispering rumours, Lu Xiang was the wisest. She knew what had happened, knew what Mei’s plans had been all along. Had the world not seemed against her, she would have confronted the other woman without a second thought. Not being the case, however, she could do nothing except watch and stare at her brother’s broken dreams. Even if she’d had the ability to see Jing Mei hung for her actions, it was safe to assume that the younger lady was long gone.

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Her hair was pulled back into that ponytail and radiant red hues decorated her apparel. Mei was back to being Shang. She couldn’t stroll into Ye the other way, after all. For just a bit longer she’d keep up the charade. Her plan had been to build the reformed Wei Dynasty and then leave Daio in charge. Then Cai Shang could disappear forever. Daio would be able to handle everything, especially with Li Gan and Zheng Yu at her side. They’d make formidable opponents and an impenetrable force. And she…? Well, she could go back to living quietly in Ping Yuan. She’d never have to bring up this ordeal again, and she could pretend that nothing ever happened.

Those were some wonderful thoughts right there. Unlike Daio, Mei did not want to spend the rest of her life fighting. She didn’t care if they were fighting for peace, fighting for their land, or even fighting for what they deemed as precious. Jing Mei’s lust for battles had diminished, as had her lust for life. Her form was nothing sort of an apathetic and indifferent vessel. As long as her family’s lives were in jeopardy, however, it seemed she wouldn’t be allowed to leave such a tormenting lifestyle.

A delicate hand reached forward and she scratched behind her horse’s ears affectionately. “I am pleased that you chose to wait for me, Fei.” The name caused her to pause for just a moment. Thinking about that man, the one she deemed as her rival, made her wonder about the other paths she could have chosen. If she had accepted the offer to join his force, where would she be at that moment? And once he discovered she was a woman as opposed to a very feminine man, would he have retracted his offer? In the age she lived in, women were possessions, not living creatures. She’d wanted to change that, but it was far too difficult to do so on her own. She couldn’t ask for help, though. Her pride made sure of that.

In any case, it was true. Her beloved Mongolian horse shared the same name as her former nemesis. In all fairness, she assumed that Zhao Fei was probably older than her horse. She did not, however, name is after him. Mei wasn’t so sure why she was getting so worked up. It wasn’t like she’d ever see that man again. In fact, that very well might have disappointed her. She liked having a rival of sorts, and he’d certainly made himself a great one.

She tapped on Fei’s head again, “How much longer do you think? It has been a few hours, I believe. It is pleasant not to be rushed back and forth. I assume that once you and I return to Ye, Daio and Li Gan will be pressuring for us to put an end to everything and obliterate Lord Cao Cao’s force. I am not entirely certain I wish to move against him without some sort of strategy. I am indeed hoping that Li Gan has a plan formulating in his complex mind.” Imagine that. The conversation she had with her horse would probably be longer than one she’d ever have with someone who was not her sister.

The thought of Li Gan silenced her. She was fairly certain that he had not done anything to Daio. She couldn’t be entirely sure, though. Mei was still having difficult trusting him, although she had finally accepted the effort he expended in saving her life. He had seemed genuinely concerned about her. Then again, she felt he was the type of man who would do anything and act sincere about it if it meant he could get a woman into his bed. She shuddered at the possibility.

No, thank you.

It occurred to her that she didn’t interrogate Li Gan at all when he requested to join her force. At that time it was due to the news that Zhao Fei had been completely washed out. Then Gan showed up and that was that. It didn’t mean that his former leader couldn’t rebuild his army. If that happened, there was no guarantee that they’d be fortunate enough to win again. Last time it’d been dismissed due to Lu Ning’s interference. It was about this time that Mei was vaguely regretting her choice of killing him.

She shook her head slowly, more as a way of scorning herself for giving it too much contemplation. Straightening her posture, her hands grew a firmer grasp upon the leather reigns. “I am worrying far too much. We have gone too far to just fall now. I refuse to lose to anyone. My ambition cannot be stopped.” Again, success was so close that she could scarcely taste the vibrant flavour upon her tongue. It was coming soon and while she had uncertainties, she was not about to let those control her.

The sight of the village coming into her view brought her some kind of peace. She could only hope that Gan and Daio had possessed some kind of sense to remain situated there. She didn’t want to spend her first day back writing letters to everyone. That did not sound pleasant. That did not sound like an appropriate use of her time.

“Lord Cai Shang has returned! Let us sing to the dragons of the heavens in thanks!” There was a growing sound of chants coming from behind her. It seemed once one began everyone else was eager to join in.

Maintaining a pleasant smile, Mei nodded kindly in acknowledgement, inwardly praying that they wouldn’t actually sing. If that happened, she honestly thought her eardrums would burst. And the only thing she could do in that instance, was sit and look pretty.

She was actually more than a little happy to find that Daio was pushing herself through the growing crowd. If she could have, she would have helped her out. It seemed, though, that she was a little overcome by her own fans. And the last thing on Mei’s mind was hurting innocent people for getting in her way. Instead, she looked over to Daio and spoke only with her eyes, in the language only close-knit people would understand.

Aid me in escaping from this situation.

Daio had lifted her hands and was even beginning to shove people aside. There would be no obstructions between her and her older sister. The temptation to call her by her given name was so strong, but she didn’t dare. “Lord Cai Shang!” was what she reluctantly pushed out instead. Then when she reached the horse, she pushed herself forward. Her arms outstretched and were thrown around Mei’s frame, knocking the two from the steed and onto the ground.

Mei hadn’t even really been given the chance to respond accordingly. She recognized a faint pain, but couldn’t quite pinpoint where it was coming from. She decided it was better to turn her attention to the younger female attached to her mid-section. As she glanced around, she could feel her cheeks filling with that rose hue that she disliked so much. A hand lifted and she smoothed Daio’s hair carefully.

That was not what I had in mind.

Instead of voicing that, however, she ducked her head, pulling Daio closer. This certainly was nicer than being back with that Lu Ning brute. Not to mention Mei was much more comfortable with women rather than men. She lowered her tone, so that only her direct companion could hear.

“You are causing a spectacle. Get off of me now.” Instead of watching her orders be followed, she received a series of mumbled words as a response. She began to ask Daio to repeat herself when her attention was pointed elsewhere.

“All right, everyone. Show’s okay, eh? This ain’t some circus, so go back to yer borin’ lives an’ let Lord Cai rest. God damn.” Li Gan was swinging his axe back and forth to make his point. He found it increasingly common for people to ignore words as opposed to actions. Therefore he decided to incorporate the two into one idea. So far it looked like he was successful.

A few minutes passed and Mei had finally regained her composure and dignity (what was left, anyway). Gan had been kind enough to take her horse and not pull insulting moves on it (not that he would have on account that it was a male). On the other hand, Daio was talking her ear off with lectures and sentimental concepts. Jing Mei didn’t mind, though. After all, she preferred this any day to reliving the experiences in Bei Ping.

“Have you even heard a single word I’ve said, Lord Cai?!” Daio was getting in her face again and she was tired. If possible, she would have muted her younger sister and then dealt with everything the following day. How nice it was to dream. Instead she nodded to the fellow female, daring to glance over to Gan. He gave an idle shrug, which Mei did not find too helpful or amusing.

About the time Daio claimed she was going to test her elder, Mei finally spoke up, “Little Daio, I have had a long day. Please put your chiding o a temporary halt for today. You may resume tomorrow if you so choose.” Then she slipped an arm around her immediate companion. “For the rest of the day, I would just like to take it easy. I have a copious amount of things on my mind.” She didn’t sound too displeased by that, though.

The final statement she made echoed within Daio’s empty mind. What could that possibly mean? Her dark eyebrows furrowed and she looked up at Mei. Then she started in with the clinging again. “What are you talking about? Did something happen?” Mei obviously wasn’t hurt. If she had been, she never would have made it back to Ye the way she had. Perhaps she had seen something that frightened her. That seemed unlikely also. Nothing scared Mei as far as she knew. In any case, Daio didn’t like the way this was going. She was being left in the dark.

Mei laughed and then mussed up her hair for amusement. “You are being absolutely ridiculous. If something had happened, I would have spoken of it first thing. I do not conceal as much as you think.” What she was concealing, however, was not something she felt like sharing with anyone…even Daio.

She withdrew from the younger and as soon as they came to the rice fields by their designated abode, she stopped. Mei was beginning to crave for Ping Yuan. It didn’t matter how nice the villagers were. It didn’t matter how much fruit she was given on a daily basis. It didn’t matter how neatly the fields of rice were kept. None of that could hold a candle to her home. And that was where she wanted to go more than anything at the moment.

Li Gan, who had done his best to remain quiet the entire time, looked over to Daio. She was growing that concerned expression again. He didn’t want to see that anymore. A week was more than enough. “Somethin’ wrong, Lord Cai Shang?” That was probably the inquiry that weighed upon Daio’s heart the most. And it was the only one he could ask without coming off as suspicious or creating some kind of animosity between the three of them.

That was not something Mei expected from him. She turned her posture to the two again and shook her head. She didn’t want either one getting worried. “No. I was merely thinking. My apologies.” She wasn’t alone anymore. She couldn’t space out as often as she would have liked. She’d have to wait when there was no one around.

Trying to think of what to say next, she enfolded her arms over her chest. There were so many things that seemed like they needed to be addressed. There was her succession over Lu Ning. There was her faint concern over Zhao Fei, as well as Li Gan and Daio. Then there was the talk of where they were going from this point.

Finally, she felt it was best to take care of two things at once. She gestured to Gan, “I would very much like to speak with you.” Watching Daio pout, she shook her head and vaguely smiled. “It concerns manly things. If you would be so kind, Daio, please find an empty stall for Fei. He had a difficult journey as well. He deserves something like sugar cane or some fruit.”

When Gan consented to giving her some of his time, she waited for him to head into the rice field, and then nodded to Daio. Of course she would tell her what was going on. She needed to take care of these things first, though. She couldn’t afford to wait anymore.