After the Legend by Wen Wen Yang

After the Legend

Truth is relative. Ask a thief, “How is the law enforcement in this province?” and he will quip, “Too strict, punishing a man for trying to feed his family.” Ask the same question to his victim, and they will growl, “Lazy, corrupt swine.”

For the children, the truth was dulled, simplified, even changed. For the truth, you must end your prejudices and step away from the picture.

It was true that theXiongnu invasion on China failed. It is also true that without the soldiers, all of the Middle Kingdom would be under the invaders’ cruel reign. Perhaps it is true that at the head of these soldiers stood a brilliant general, a woman disguised as a man.

However, it is not true that no one knew of her disguise. Without being crude, there are differences that a simple child would notice, giving the time with this general. Nevertheless, few people but the soldiers and her general allies knew that she was not all she appeared. For instance, she never shaved. While they needed to take a blade to their face every week, her cheeks remained hairless. The doctors knew of course, but seeing such courage brought tears to their eyes.

At the end of the war, she rode home and presented her parents her medals. Their anger washed away when they saw their daughter’s prestige. During the years she was in the battlefield, they had kept their grief and sorrow silent. Now, with such honor, they could not stop themselves from spreading such news.

The Emperor soon heard the chatter of one of his generals being a woman. He immediately called for her to be brought before him. Mulan trembled in the sedan chair the entire way. Was it treason for deceiving the Emperor? It did make him seem like a fool. Yet, could he now see that both genders were equally loyal to him?

The sedan ride suddenly ended, and Mulan was brought to the imperial court. As soon as the Emperor saw her kowtowing before him, his breath caught in his throat. It had been a year since he last laid eyes on his general. She had allowed her hair to grow long, as it now rocked with her humble bows. She no longer bound her chest with cloth to hide herself. Instead of bulky armor, she adorned her best robes for this meeting.

“Are you certain?” The Emperor whispered to his advisor, an old man with a bent back. “How could she pass for a man?”

“It has been a year, Your Highness. A change of dress does not cheat my eyes. She is the same.”

The Emperor sat back on his throne and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I will take her as a concubine.”

Mulan drew back a sharp breath. “Your Highness,” she knocked the floor with her forehead. “This humble one implores you to rethink such a decision. I am of no noble birth, and have no dowry for one as grand as you. I would be better suited for a peasant.”

The Emperor laughed. “Lack of nobility and dowry makes you suit for a concubine, not a wife. Besides, it is unlucky to see one’s bride before the wedding.” He waved his hand briskly. “You may return home to retrieve your things. I expect you here by the end of the month.”

The heralds announced his departure. The entire hall shouted their blessings, save for Mulan. She mouthed hers as she rocked in the bows, shaking the tears from her eyes.

--

“Such an honor!” Her parents cooed at the news.

“I will pack your things.” Her mother said as she rushed off down the corridors. Mulan nodded at her parents’ words and excursed herself to wander the grounds. Her eyes scanned over the grounds, trying to remember every flower and cooling stream.

The last time she had done this was the night before she ran from home. She had been courageous then, or a fool. She had returned a celebrated general, high among the warriors. Now, she became a woman again, and would have to take the place of a dutiful woman, a wife and mother.

Only now, her mind and soul saw no wisdom in such an action. Enlisting had been against tradition, true, but her father’s life was saved. She had fought well amongst the largest men with her intelligence and wit. Now, she would be stripped of that, and become even less than a wife, a concubine. If she did conceive a son for the Emperor, there was nearly no chance her son could follow the dynasty.

Her anger took her to the family well. The moon reflected in the clean water stared cautiously at the former warrior. Mulan shed her last tears, and listened to the drop shake the false moon as it reached the bottom.

Several moments later, the great woman warrior kissed the false moon, and drowned.

When the Emperor learnt of this, he realized his error. He immediately ordered a funeral with honors and the construction of monuments to the warrior who refused to be a woman. Despite his admiration for his general, he ordered that all recruits be verified as men so that no woman could serve in his army ever again.

Their rightful place was beside their husband with an arm full of sons. They should not experience freedom as this legendary woman had.