Jiang Gunian Made A Change

Part 15

Jiang YanLi strode past the Jiang encampment, idly noticing that her disciples were practicing diligently. And that the fortune teller, Xia KeXin, was sitting in... something. A chair? But with curved slats on the bottom? And she had a bowl of yarn and was using some sort of metal stick to weave the yarn into something. Odd woman.

However, YunmengJiang disciples weren't her destination. Walking into the Nie section, she spied her goal: Meng Yao. "Please take a walk with me, Meng Gongzi," she entreated.

"How can I be of use?"

"I know all about you. I know who your parents are." His face darkened. "I know what kind of people they are. Or were. I know how intelligent you are. What I don't know is if you can be an asset to this rebellion or a liability. I would prefer you as an asset to be retained rather than a liability to be discarded."

He stopped walking, facial emotions smoothing out to blankness. "I'm not sure what Jiang Guniang means. I am a loyal servant to Nie ZongZhu, his brother, and the sect."

"Servant?" Jiang YanLi tipped her head sideways in thought. "Perhaps. Loyal? I am well aware of where your loyalties lay. Speaking of which... how many are on your kill list, and how many are here?"

"Kill list? I do not have a kill list, Jiang Guniang."

"Don't play stupid," she admonished. "I know you have a list of people who insult you because of your mother's profession. I know you fully intend to remove them, permanently. I need to know how many of them are here."

"Why?"

"Because we are going to war. I need every able bodied fighter I can get. I don't need you taking advantage of a situation and taking out any of them before the battles begin. If you need them dead, it's much easier for me to send them to the front lines once the war starts. So." She looked straight at her potential adversary. "How many. And who."

"Why would you do that for me?" He sounded genuinely confused.

"I have been elected leader of this camp. I can do some of the work. But strategy? That's not one of my strengths. It is one of yours. You can think of moves and countermoves and plot out the shape of the war, change plans as new information comes in. I need that. But if I have to execute you for murdering the men who call you a bastard, I lose that expertise. I have no desire to lose an asset to idiocy. So. Answer me."

He seemed to think, then nodded. "I have fourteen men on my kill list. Three are here. That one, black ribbon, bronze guan, the one with blueish gauntlets next to him. White ribbon, overly gaudy sheath, laughing like a donkey."

Jiang YanLi looked at each of the men indicated, trying to memorize their faces. "Just those three?"

"For now." He seemed amused.

"Meng Yao... Obviously I've never met your mother, but I do know what kind of woman she had to be. A woman who would use her meager earnings to educate you in hopes that you would be accepted by your whore mongering father? I wish I could have met her. She seems like a woman worth knowing."

"She was a prostitute."

"Do you know why there are prostitutes?" He just looked at her blankly. "It's because there are men who refuse to not use them. If all men would stay celibate except within the bonds of marriage, there would be no need for women to sell their bodies. I would hazard a guess that the men on your kill list have gone to pleasure houses and availed themselves of the services there.

"Your father is more to be despised than you. He used your mother and refused to accept responsibility for the consequences." She laughed lightly. "Wouldn't it be poetic if you were to lead the rescue party that saves him?"

"I think I would like that."

"Do we have a deal then? You become my strategy advisor and I will handle those on your kill list."

"Agreed."

"Excellent. Now, as my advisor, please tell me how you communicate with Nie ZongZhu." He looked blankly at her. "Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi are leaving on a reconnaissance mission. You have a way to communicate. I need to know if it is something they can use to communicate with me."

Meng Yao looked around at the Nie soldiers drilling or relaxing. "I have a set of boxes. The boxes are paired. What is placed in one is teleported to the other. They're small, about the size of a box for rouge. The spiritual energy required to operate them is almost negligible."

"And you have been in contact with Nie ZongZhu all this time?"

"Yes."

"May I have a pair?"

"Of course." He bowed.

"Thank you, Meng Gongzi," she bowed in return. "I look forward to our new partnership."

Dear readers.

You will (in a few days if you don't follow me on Tumblr) be happy to read I've written two chapters for WWX and LWJ. One fulfills their demand: to have part of their story told by them. And the other fulfills my request: to have part of their story told via letter to JYL. I have no idea how explicit one can get on Tumblr, so I leave some of their, ahem, behaviors behind the scenes as an exercise to the reader. Let's just say that our favorite duo end up in a place they never expected to be and get an education they absolutely need to have.

I'm still giggling envisioning JYL's serene face as she reads about her shidi's escapades, and I posted the chapter hours ago. Then again, I laugh at a LOT of my writing, and... crickets from the peanut gallery.

I loved writing this chapter. JYL knows, from the fortune teller, that MY is not to be trusted. She knows his strengths and weaknesses and has made the decision that she needs his mind more than she needs him dead. We all know MY is absolutely loyal to the people who respect him, despite his parentage, and his mother, despite her profession.

The girl is growing up! Sniff. Growing a backbone.

"Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be." – Clementine Paddleford

Speaking of.... The poem For My Daughter by Sarah McMane is an exceptional read. I highly recommend it.

Thank you for reading.

 - Aitch.