Folk Stories from Shennam (Vol 1, 1692)

"A Myriad Fish"

One day, Emperor Zhongnu and his beloved male favourite, named Hongmao, were out together fishing. The two peacocks were deeply attracted to each other, though their romance was built in the trials of war. Emperor Zhongnu had relied on Hongmao during those tough times as his general, when a rare stroke of luck and the death of the old former general let Hongmao take his place. In the time it took for Zhongnu and Hongmao to win the war, the two peacocks had become close lovers. A bond forged in desperation had work-hardened and turned from a tryst of two lonely souls to a lifelong companionship.

Zhongnu sat at the edge of the pontoon, gazing lovingly at Hongmao, whose red feathers glinted in the soft evening light.

"Do you feel at home with me, Emperor?" Hongmao asked the larger, blue peacock.

"Well, of course I do." Echoed Zhongnu, his soft eyes watching his lover with admiration and adoration.

"Despite everything I have done? Despite all my... ...mistakes?" Hongmao said, looking down as he cast his fishing line.

"Why wouldn't I? They are what have made you yourself. If I wanted a perfect lover, I'd have found one. But I don't want a perfect lover. I want Hongmao." Zhongnu replied, his heart swelling.

Hongmao nodded. He tried to hide his fears from Zhongnu, but it was only in these tranquil sunsets that he found the confidence to speak them out loud.

"I love the house and its crow." Zhongnu replied.

Hongmao was suddenly pulled from the tender moment by a tug on his fishing line. He pulled back on the fishing rod, tugging a small carp from the deep. The elder red peacock's face lit up, looking at Zhongnu with pride and satisfaction as he reeled in the small catch, and put it in a small, ornately decorated lidded pail on the side of the pontoon.

Hongmao rejoiced again, though slightly less so, catching another small fish. He placed it in the bucket enthusiastically, before casting his line once more. As the sunset continued, the two peacocks laughed and joked, their tail feathers rustling with love and wanting for each other, and the bucket continued to fill with fish.

As the evening continued, Hongmao continued to catch small fish. With each catch, it was as if Hongmao became more and more disappointed. Catching small fish after small fish just wasn't the same, and it seemed like each time it got a little less exciting when he reeled the fish in.

The elderly red peacock cast his line again, and this time, he felt a mighty pull. He stumbled slightly, adjusting his stance to not be at risk of falling again, and reeled in his newest catch. The fish was a huge carp, thrice the size of the others.  He went to place it in the bucket and almost did. However, as he pushed down on the bucket's lid, he found it was just slightly poking up, stopping the lid from closing.

Hongmao sighed as he lifted up the bigger fish, reaching under it and grasping the first fish he had caught in his wing. He looked down at it, his face slightly regretful, before he turned to face the edge of the pontoon and threw the fish back into the lake.

After he did so, he sat at the pontoon's edge, his legs dangling above the water as he looked down between them into the deep. He covered his face with his wings, and tears began to flow from his eyes.

The old, red peacock softly sobbed, as if grieving for the fish. Zhongnu wondered what could have possibly struck his lover in such a way. He had caught a bigger fish, and simply made space in the bucket. The big fish fit now.

"Hongmao?" Zhongnu asked, the Emperor's voice concerned for his darling partner. "Why do you cry like this..?"

Hongmao refused to answer, as some tears fell into the calm water of the lake, forming circular ripples that ultimately faded, failing to disturb the lake's stability.

"Talk to me, dearest Hongmao." the Emperor repeated, gently nuzzling his beak against his partner's bent neck.

"Zhongnu... I am scared." Hongmao replied, his voice timid, trembling with anxiety.

"Scared..? There is nothing to be scared of out here." Zhongnu said, his tone reassuring.

"Zhongnu... I'm scared that you will lose interest in me and reject me, and that you will cast me back in the lake for the sake of bigger, prettier peacocks... like I did that fish." The old peacock's voice trembled, his throat tight. "I... I don't want to lose you, Zhongnu, I never want to leave your side... ...I wouldn't continue living, if not for you."

Zhongnu gently embraced his lover from behind, his wings pressing on Hongmao's shoulders, his beak gently nuzzling the space between the back of Hongmao's head and neck. "What they say is true, about a myriad fish in the sea. But even if I caught every single one, it would never be the same. I would never catch my Hongmao." he said, his deep, rhotic accent a soothing massage to Hongmao's troubled brain.

Hongmao sighed, leaning back into Zhongnu, his beak meeting Zhongnu's in a gentle, tender kiss. As he pulled back, his eyes met Zhongnu's in adoration and love. "Th... thank you, Zhongnu..." the old peacock breathed out.

"And any peacock who tries to make you leave me for him will be killed. I shall not toss you into the lake, even if you are not the most beautiful or the biggest. You are my Hongmao, and that means more to me than a vibrant feather or a strong wing." Zhongnu says.

"I love you..." Hongmao said, looking back and up into Zhongnu's eyes sweetly.

"I love you too." The Emperor replied, nuzzling his beak against Hongmao's cheek.

And thus, the two lovers never ceased their evenings on the lake, and are still together to this day, and so may they stay.