Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
BagFullOfLizards
Some bag, mostly lizards
- Location
- A bag
[X] She would ask Zheng Fu to lay in wait. (Slight delay, less obvious tip off)
Allegoriest
Entomology Enthusiast Extraordinaire
- Pronouns
- It/She
[X] She would ask Zheng Fu to lay in wait. (Slight delay, less obvious tip off)
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
[X] She would agree with Cao Chun to allow Jin Tae to spot. (Longer delay, No tip off)
We were told we could trust him to keep Security in mind at all times, if he is making this recommendation, he genuinely believes it would be a good move.
More importantly, it means he's the one who eats the backlash if Jin Tae plays fuckfuck games and in doing so, makes the Ministry of Integrity look... Lacking in Integrity, and I don't think he's willing to risk that. He wouldn't make this offer if he didn't feel it was a good move to make. He might very well give him a talisman or something to tilt the scales or something, but hasn't bothered to mention that to Ling Qi because of operational security concerns.
We were told we could trust him to keep Security in mind at all times, if he is making this recommendation, he genuinely believes it would be a good move.
More importantly, it means he's the one who eats the backlash if Jin Tae plays fuckfuck games and in doing so, makes the Ministry of Integrity look... Lacking in Integrity, and I don't think he's willing to risk that. He wouldn't make this offer if he didn't feel it was a good move to make. He might very well give him a talisman or something to tilt the scales or something, but hasn't bothered to mention that to Ling Qi because of operational security concerns.
I must stress how important it is to have Zheng Fu as a look out.
Allowing Cao Chun to uncover the masterminds is obviously important.
But so it is to protect the potential victims of the attack, as well as actually catching the perpetrators on site.
I don't want to read "20 workers died or were severely hurt, but they were a calculated risk".
I don't want Ling Qi to think callously like that. But even beyond moral reasons it's also the best course of action for the Summit.
The saboteers have an unknown main objective during the negotiations, so they want to pull away Cao Chun's attention with an incident.
But a severe enough "accident" would suffice by itself to endanger the resolution of the summit. Tensions are high, and the General is still present. She won't take kindly to imperial lives being put in jeopardy.
So minimizing the attack's damage is critical.
I don't agree that the MoI is enough for doing so satisfactorily. Zheng Fu has much more experience and skill with the liminal than Jin Tae.
I don't want to approach an attempt to innocent lives with a "surely this is enough" attitude. We should ascertain their safety by allocating as much safeguards as possible without endangering the main investigation.
This is my main discrepancy with the Jin option voters.
I don't believe Zheng Fu's absence would change the saboteers actions in any significant way. They are too deep already to alter their plans just because a Zheng isn't sitting through a boring discussion of legal matters.
The "less obvious tip off" may make them a bit wary, but it won't preclude Cao Chun of carrying out his role.
In contrast, the immediate action of Zheng Fu on site would ensure any serious harm is avoided and the active perpetrators are apprehended.
As I see it, that's much more valuable that this weird belief that "no tip off" equals flawlessly catching the saboteers before they can hurt people.
To capture the culprits in one go, we don't only need to catch them unawares, we also need to have the necessary resources on site to carry out the arrest.
Since the saboteers are using liminal arts, Zheng Fu's presence since the minute zero is vital to achieve it.
Allowing Cao Chun to uncover the masterminds is obviously important.
But so it is to protect the potential victims of the attack, as well as actually catching the perpetrators on site.
I don't want to read "20 workers died or were severely hurt, but they were a calculated risk".
I don't want Ling Qi to think callously like that. But even beyond moral reasons it's also the best course of action for the Summit.
The saboteers have an unknown main objective during the negotiations, so they want to pull away Cao Chun's attention with an incident.
But a severe enough "accident" would suffice by itself to endanger the resolution of the summit. Tensions are high, and the General is still present. She won't take kindly to imperial lives being put in jeopardy.
So minimizing the attack's damage is critical.
I don't agree that the MoI is enough for doing so satisfactorily. Zheng Fu has much more experience and skill with the liminal than Jin Tae.
I don't want to approach an attempt to innocent lives with a "surely this is enough" attitude. We should ascertain their safety by allocating as much safeguards as possible without endangering the main investigation.
This is my main discrepancy with the Jin option voters.
I don't believe Zheng Fu's absence would change the saboteers actions in any significant way. They are too deep already to alter their plans just because a Zheng isn't sitting through a boring discussion of legal matters.
The "less obvious tip off" may make them a bit wary, but it won't preclude Cao Chun of carrying out his role.
In contrast, the immediate action of Zheng Fu on site would ensure any serious harm is avoided and the active perpetrators are apprehended.
As I see it, that's much more valuable that this weird belief that "no tip off" equals flawlessly catching the saboteers before they can hurt people.
To capture the culprits in one go, we don't only need to catch them unawares, we also need to have the necessary resources on site to carry out the arrest.
Since the saboteers are using liminal arts, Zheng Fu's presence since the minute zero is vital to achieve it.
- Location
- Spain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm too undecided to vote 😅
[X] She would agree with Cao Chun to allow Jin Tae to spot. (Longer delay, No tip off)
Seen a few mentions that sending Zheng Fu has a low risk of tipping anyone off because of the Zheng's reputation. Crucially, this is only reliably true if the saboteur is an Imperial. White Sky, Ith-ia, or other outsider actors have no reason to be especially familiar with the Zheng's reputation.
[X] She would agree withCao Chun to allow Jin Tae to spot. (Longer delay, No tip off)
I'm inclined to take some risk of injuries or, yes, even death here if it means maximizing our chances of disrupting and identifying the larger plot at play. This isn't likely to be their planned climax. We need to stop this before it gets out of hand.
That said, we're not being blasé or callous about the risks. We're taking concrete action to protect people. And when things inevitably start going wrong (as they will under any option), I think there's enough flexibility in our baby liminal squad to respond decently.
[X] She would agree withCao Chun to allow Jin Tae to spot. (Longer delay, No tip off)
I'm inclined to take some risk of injuries or, yes, even death here if it means maximizing our chances of disrupting and identifying the larger plot at play. This isn't likely to be their planned climax. We need to stop this before it gets out of hand.
That said, we're not being blasé or callous about the risks. We're taking concrete action to protect people. And when things inevitably start going wrong (as they will under any option), I think there's enough flexibility in our baby liminal squad to respond decently.
[X] She would make her excuses tomorrow and lay in wait. (Immediate response, Obvious tip off)
[X] She would ask Zheng Fu to lay in wait. (Slight delay, less obvious tip off)
[X] She would ask Zheng Fu to lay in wait. (Slight delay, less obvious tip off)
[X] She would agree with Cao Chun to allow Jin Tae to spot. (Longer delay, No tip off)
Oliver_Twister
Idea-Man, He Who Shits Ideas
- Location
- West Africa
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I just gotta say that I really don't get how the idea that Jin Tae is less skilled than Zheng Fu when Yrs has said that the inly reason his response is longer is because of cultivation limits.
Like, we've seen that Cao Chun is not one to mince his words. If he (the guy whose last act of active duty was hunting down Hui sleeper cells) thinks Tae is good enough for it, I wouldn't jump in and call Tae unskilled. Like, there's a 2-4 stage gap here? And Jin Tae is still fast enough to be considered? That actually speaks of skill to me.
And while I agree that no tip off doesn't immediately equate capture, it means that the culprits won't be able to hide their activities from a fifth realm investigator, Shu Yue (if they're on the scene) and possibly some Crows too since, you know, the accident is meant to be a distraction from something that's probably worse since the culprits are actively trying to hide it from Cao Chun.
Like, we've seen that Cao Chun is not one to mince his words. If he (the guy whose last act of active duty was hunting down Hui sleeper cells) thinks Tae is good enough for it, I wouldn't jump in and call Tae unskilled. Like, there's a 2-4 stage gap here? And Jin Tae is still fast enough to be considered? That actually speaks of skill to me.
And while I agree that no tip off doesn't immediately equate capture, it means that the culprits won't be able to hide their activities from a fifth realm investigator, Shu Yue (if they're on the scene) and possibly some Crows too since, you know, the accident is meant to be a distraction from something that's probably worse since the culprits are actively trying to hide it from Cao Chun.
- Location
- somewhere over there.
- Pronouns
- They/It
I understand that, but I could also say that risking letting the saboteur get away to try again puts people at even more risk, since there's no guarantee we see it coming the second time.
There is no option that is Ling Qi "thinking callously". There is nothing in the text presented that says she's thinking in such a way. Cao Chun, her elder and a respected expert, has made a recommendation, and she's thinking whether or not to accept it or offer her own solution. There's not going to be any "Ohohoho, all this victory costs me is the lives of some paltry peasants!" if someone dies because Jin Tae can't hack it.
A voter saying "we should take Jin Tae option so the MoI looks bad if he screws up" does not influence Ling Qi's thinking, any more than my joke about advancing Zheng Fu's romance path.
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- Location
- Washington
The only thing that is not a calculated risk would be completely cutting off the project we expect to be sabotaged preemptively, which isn't an option and for good reason. Even the immediate response option is still a calculated risk betting that Ling Qi is going to be good enough to save their lives. She probably is but she doesn't know that for sure.
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
Cao Chun is as far as we know, incapable of making that sort of trade unless he can actually predict that more imperials would die otherwise.
Its not a sacrifice he's capable of making unless those sacrificed are not imperials. Then yes, he'd probably bulldoze a tribe to save one imperial mortal
- Location
- E
[X] She would ask Zheng Fu to lay in wait. (Slight delay, less obvious tip off)
I'm sure the families of the workers and soldiers that became victims would wholeheartedly agree with you.
On a serious note, if you want to catch a terrorist cell that is planning an attack, it's important to catch them unawares so they don't run away or rush their plans. That's true.
But you don't let them actually carry out the attack! You don't use innocent lives as bait to catch the mastermind. The priority should always be to save lives.
Because Jin Tae's lower cultivation is critical. No matter how "skilled" he is, he is a year younger than Ling Qi and that implies limits.
Since the opponents are using liminal arts, if they are more numerous or of higher cultivation there is a very real chance they can overcome him. Just long enough to achieve their objectives before Ling Qi and Zheng Fu can reach him.
I can easily picture the scenario where Ling Qi and Zheng Fu arrive on site just to find Jin Tae overwhelmed and the culprits fleeing through the liminal after causing significant damage, so they have to engage in a mad chase to apprehend them.
That's a terrible situation that could be likely avoided if both Jina Tae and Zheng Fu are on site at the moment of the attack.
Because I have no doubt that the attack would be executed anyway even if Zheng Fu is absent from the negotiations.
Black and White
Xiao Fen moved, center of gravity low, limbs tucked in. Her tread left cracks in the stone, and black fire burned on her brow, a crown of eyes that made her awareness of this space absolute.
The crack and hiss of metal lashes displacing air around her was louder than thunder. One tore her sleeve, another kissed her cheek, drawing a weeping slash in her skin, another nearly caught her ankle.
But she yanked her foot up, hopped over, the back of her hands bloodied as they batted away two more ribbons of immortal steel. Terrifying. In her short life, the black viper had never experienced such gut churning terror. Her heart in her throat, her eyes prickling with something close to tears.
Her arm trembled, almost spasmed as she lashed out, a sharp knife hand strike, meant to drive her fingers between the enemies ribs and dig into their vitals, injecting toxic qi directly into their meridians.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her hand jerked, shooting past her opponents side and into the open air.
"That is your point, Xiao Fen. I suppose I have been neglecting my physical arts," Bai Meizhen said, lowering her hand. The metal lashes skirled and hissed, dragging across the sparring room floor.
Xiao Fen's breath hitched and her shoulders hunched. "N-no, my clumsiness- I- Your form is much superior, my Mistress."
"Ah, I did not understand how hard this might be for you," Bai Meizhen said. Xiao Fen could feel her frown, and felt even more miserable. "Nonetheless. I am proud of how far you have come with your clan arts, to be able to touch me in a spar."
"Mistress, I did not-"
She stiffened as she felt her lady lay a hand on her head. Fingers cool and soft in her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut. Her Mistress, Lady Meizhen, was truly beyond compare. Every Black Viper must think such of their White Serpent, but she was certain that among her generation, only her estimation was correct.
"It was I who asked you to go against your training in this. You have no fault. But I am pleased to have a companion who can show me where my guard is lax."
"...Lady Bai very slightly favors her right, and the pattern woven by your fangs leaves a very small gap when switching between the third and seventh movements," Xiao Fen said quietly. Criticizing her Lady made her stomach churn, but it was what she had been commanded to do. She wouldn't shamefully fail her command twice in a row.
The hand on her head did not leave, nor tighten its grip, digging nails into her scalp and injecting venom as some of her youth instructors had done to show the folly of opening one's guard to affection.
"I see, I will have to remedy that. Thank you, Xiao Fen."
Warmth in her chest helped to wash away the nausea in her stomach. Her Mistress was uncommon among her kin. Xiao Fen had begun to understand this. But it failed to dispel the deeper discomfort in Xiao Fen's heart. She had considered many expectations in what her White Serpent would ask of her as a young girl.
She could not comprehend her Mistress' intent even now. It was her failing, and it shamed her, to not be able to follow her thinking.
Bai Meizhen's hand slid out of her hair, and Xiao Fen straightened up. They were in the sparring chamber of her Lady's domicile, a compact space not fit for greater battles but well enough for martial displays.
"I have pushed your limits a great deal, haven't I Xiao Fen?" Bai Meizhen said, she flicked her wrist and metal slid across metal as the lashes of the ribbon blade curled themselves back up and vanished from her grasp. "How is your friend, Liu Xin?"
She straightened herself, shaking out her sleeve, the small tear was repairing itself, and she flared her qi, cold fire burning away the blood of small cuts, cauterizing them. They would be healed within an hour. Mistress had been holding back a great deal. "He is well. I have ensured his physical cultivation does not lag while he focuses on his alchemy."
"I see," Bai Meizhen said.
"And I am perturbed by his infatuation with this Wang Chao. It will only hurt him. Their ranks are too far apart, and I have some reason to believe Wang Chao is already engaged in indiscretions with another disciple."
"Ah."
"Which I have informed him of, but he has discounted my efforts to gather intelligence on this. It is frustrating."
She only realized how much she had rambled as the final words left her lips. She felt her cheeks grow hot with shame. An apology began to form on her lips.
"Do not, I am pleased with your answer."
Which should have filled her with relief, but instead only made her furrow her brow. She did not understand. But then, did she need too? She was only a vessel for her Mistress' command. She observed her Mistress as she took up a warm cloth and delicately patted her brow.
"Mistress, I do not understand."
Bai Meizhen turned to face her. Xiao Fen felt as if she would shrink to nothing and disappear. The admission burned.
"What do you not understand, Xiao Fen?"
"Anything," she admitted, lowering her head. "From the moment I came into your service, I have not understood your intentions."
Bai Meizhen was silent, and Xiao Fen waited for her reprimand. She had more than earned it. But she could not continue to serve with so little comprehension. It only led to errors and her acting in ways which harmed Bai Meizhen's interests.
"I see. I would like to know what your best guesses are then, Xiao Fen."
Xiao Fen pursed her lips. It was frustrating, so frustrating. Why could her Lady not simply tell her what she was meant to think? And that pernicious little thought, that criticism hurt too.
"I assume it is part of Lady Suzhen's program," she said slowly. "That you want me to better understand outsiders. Hence your command to 'make a friend'. I was not suited to a diplomatic role. But then it seems you intend to keep me by your side, as a bodyguard? If it is about not bringing you shame at public events I could merely be your shadow, but…"
"You're not wrong, Xiao Fen," Bai Meizhen said. She took a seat on the stone bench set against the wall and gestured for Xiao Fen to follow her. "My Aunt… After being here for nearly two years, I truly believe she is right. But I wonder sometimes if she does not go far enough."
Xiao fen tucked her hands into her sleeves, taking a seat beside her Mistress. She listened carefully. There was a relief in finally unburdening herself of her failure to comprehend her Mistress' desires.
"The Bai clan is broken," Bai Meizhen said, and Xiao Fen stiffened. "Did you know I have been studying our history under the Ambassador? My Aunt has begun to provide me with my Mother's journals and manuals as well."
Xiao Fen silently shook her head.
"We have, through the ages, made ourselves mighty. We have grown beyond reproach or challenge. But I think somewhere, we deviated from the proper path. In making ourselves impossible to challenge, in seeking that goal beyond all others…. We have excised our own ability to recognize errors. We have not rotted so much as… grown brittle."
"...And I admit, the pure eyes you look at me with Xiao Fen. I find them frightening."
"Mistress-"
"I am a woman prone to errors, to temper and ill thought out passions. Do my indiscretions with Bao Qingling bother you?"
Xiao Fen bit down on her reflexive no. She understood implicitly that her Mistress would not be satisfied with that. She feared for her Mistress' safety, sometimes stewed on what she would do if the gangly foreigner harmed her Lady's heart, but… no. It was just one of her Mistress' secrets, one more thing for her to keep and protect.
Some Xiao were moved by lust. Those caught in congress with each other during their education were harshly punished and underwent severe revisionary training, but she knew that there were those in her creche who had some fantasies of being with their Master in such a manner, this was allowed. She had not lied to Liu Xin back when he had asked her intentions. She had never felt such impulses. She would gladly comply if her Mistress commanded it, but she did not feel any jealousy.
"It does not. I only worry for the danger it brings you."
"I see… that is relieving," Bai Meizhen said, looking down at her own hands, folded in her lap. "Xiao Fen, you asked for my intention. I do not believe the Xiao clan's methods are good. Your training leaves you incomplete. I will admit, at the beginning when you came to me I did not have a clear plan. I only knew that I needed more than obedience. Ling Qi-she, well she ruined me in some ways."
Pride in her clan warred for a moment with deference to her Mistress. Of course the latter won out, even if it left her feeling unpleasant. Dislike flared in her heart. If there was anyone who she envied it was that obnoxious girl, who was so close to Bai Meizhen, who laughed with her and traded teasing barbs as if they were…
Friends.
"I am afraid I will continue to be a hard Mistress to serve, Xiao Fen. Perhaps I have been too long among those who do not show me reflexive deference, and listened too long to Cai Renxiang speak. I am going to have many enemies. I will need you to walk beside me, not behind."
Xiao Fen felt a lump in her throat, but she nodded. "I understand."
For the first time, she felt like she actually might.
The crack and hiss of metal lashes displacing air around her was louder than thunder. One tore her sleeve, another kissed her cheek, drawing a weeping slash in her skin, another nearly caught her ankle.
But she yanked her foot up, hopped over, the back of her hands bloodied as they batted away two more ribbons of immortal steel. Terrifying. In her short life, the black viper had never experienced such gut churning terror. Her heart in her throat, her eyes prickling with something close to tears.
Her arm trembled, almost spasmed as she lashed out, a sharp knife hand strike, meant to drive her fingers between the enemies ribs and dig into their vitals, injecting toxic qi directly into their meridians.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her hand jerked, shooting past her opponents side and into the open air.
"That is your point, Xiao Fen. I suppose I have been neglecting my physical arts," Bai Meizhen said, lowering her hand. The metal lashes skirled and hissed, dragging across the sparring room floor.
Xiao Fen's breath hitched and her shoulders hunched. "N-no, my clumsiness- I- Your form is much superior, my Mistress."
"Ah, I did not understand how hard this might be for you," Bai Meizhen said. Xiao Fen could feel her frown, and felt even more miserable. "Nonetheless. I am proud of how far you have come with your clan arts, to be able to touch me in a spar."
"Mistress, I did not-"
She stiffened as she felt her lady lay a hand on her head. Fingers cool and soft in her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut. Her Mistress, Lady Meizhen, was truly beyond compare. Every Black Viper must think such of their White Serpent, but she was certain that among her generation, only her estimation was correct.
"It was I who asked you to go against your training in this. You have no fault. But I am pleased to have a companion who can show me where my guard is lax."
"...Lady Bai very slightly favors her right, and the pattern woven by your fangs leaves a very small gap when switching between the third and seventh movements," Xiao Fen said quietly. Criticizing her Lady made her stomach churn, but it was what she had been commanded to do. She wouldn't shamefully fail her command twice in a row.
The hand on her head did not leave, nor tighten its grip, digging nails into her scalp and injecting venom as some of her youth instructors had done to show the folly of opening one's guard to affection.
"I see, I will have to remedy that. Thank you, Xiao Fen."
Warmth in her chest helped to wash away the nausea in her stomach. Her Mistress was uncommon among her kin. Xiao Fen had begun to understand this. But it failed to dispel the deeper discomfort in Xiao Fen's heart. She had considered many expectations in what her White Serpent would ask of her as a young girl.
She could not comprehend her Mistress' intent even now. It was her failing, and it shamed her, to not be able to follow her thinking.
Bai Meizhen's hand slid out of her hair, and Xiao Fen straightened up. They were in the sparring chamber of her Lady's domicile, a compact space not fit for greater battles but well enough for martial displays.
"I have pushed your limits a great deal, haven't I Xiao Fen?" Bai Meizhen said, she flicked her wrist and metal slid across metal as the lashes of the ribbon blade curled themselves back up and vanished from her grasp. "How is your friend, Liu Xin?"
She straightened herself, shaking out her sleeve, the small tear was repairing itself, and she flared her qi, cold fire burning away the blood of small cuts, cauterizing them. They would be healed within an hour. Mistress had been holding back a great deal. "He is well. I have ensured his physical cultivation does not lag while he focuses on his alchemy."
"I see," Bai Meizhen said.
"And I am perturbed by his infatuation with this Wang Chao. It will only hurt him. Their ranks are too far apart, and I have some reason to believe Wang Chao is already engaged in indiscretions with another disciple."
"Ah."
"Which I have informed him of, but he has discounted my efforts to gather intelligence on this. It is frustrating."
She only realized how much she had rambled as the final words left her lips. She felt her cheeks grow hot with shame. An apology began to form on her lips.
"Do not, I am pleased with your answer."
Which should have filled her with relief, but instead only made her furrow her brow. She did not understand. But then, did she need too? She was only a vessel for her Mistress' command. She observed her Mistress as she took up a warm cloth and delicately patted her brow.
"Mistress, I do not understand."
Bai Meizhen turned to face her. Xiao Fen felt as if she would shrink to nothing and disappear. The admission burned.
"What do you not understand, Xiao Fen?"
"Anything," she admitted, lowering her head. "From the moment I came into your service, I have not understood your intentions."
Bai Meizhen was silent, and Xiao Fen waited for her reprimand. She had more than earned it. But she could not continue to serve with so little comprehension. It only led to errors and her acting in ways which harmed Bai Meizhen's interests.
"I see. I would like to know what your best guesses are then, Xiao Fen."
Xiao Fen pursed her lips. It was frustrating, so frustrating. Why could her Lady not simply tell her what she was meant to think? And that pernicious little thought, that criticism hurt too.
"I assume it is part of Lady Suzhen's program," she said slowly. "That you want me to better understand outsiders. Hence your command to 'make a friend'. I was not suited to a diplomatic role. But then it seems you intend to keep me by your side, as a bodyguard? If it is about not bringing you shame at public events I could merely be your shadow, but…"
"You're not wrong, Xiao Fen," Bai Meizhen said. She took a seat on the stone bench set against the wall and gestured for Xiao Fen to follow her. "My Aunt… After being here for nearly two years, I truly believe she is right. But I wonder sometimes if she does not go far enough."
Xiao fen tucked her hands into her sleeves, taking a seat beside her Mistress. She listened carefully. There was a relief in finally unburdening herself of her failure to comprehend her Mistress' desires.
"The Bai clan is broken," Bai Meizhen said, and Xiao Fen stiffened. "Did you know I have been studying our history under the Ambassador? My Aunt has begun to provide me with my Mother's journals and manuals as well."
Xiao Fen silently shook her head.
"We have, through the ages, made ourselves mighty. We have grown beyond reproach or challenge. But I think somewhere, we deviated from the proper path. In making ourselves impossible to challenge, in seeking that goal beyond all others…. We have excised our own ability to recognize errors. We have not rotted so much as… grown brittle."
"...And I admit, the pure eyes you look at me with Xiao Fen. I find them frightening."
"Mistress-"
"I am a woman prone to errors, to temper and ill thought out passions. Do my indiscretions with Bao Qingling bother you?"
Xiao Fen bit down on her reflexive no. She understood implicitly that her Mistress would not be satisfied with that. She feared for her Mistress' safety, sometimes stewed on what she would do if the gangly foreigner harmed her Lady's heart, but… no. It was just one of her Mistress' secrets, one more thing for her to keep and protect.
Some Xiao were moved by lust. Those caught in congress with each other during their education were harshly punished and underwent severe revisionary training, but she knew that there were those in her creche who had some fantasies of being with their Master in such a manner, this was allowed. She had not lied to Liu Xin back when he had asked her intentions. She had never felt such impulses. She would gladly comply if her Mistress commanded it, but she did not feel any jealousy.
"It does not. I only worry for the danger it brings you."
"I see… that is relieving," Bai Meizhen said, looking down at her own hands, folded in her lap. "Xiao Fen, you asked for my intention. I do not believe the Xiao clan's methods are good. Your training leaves you incomplete. I will admit, at the beginning when you came to me I did not have a clear plan. I only knew that I needed more than obedience. Ling Qi-she, well she ruined me in some ways."
Pride in her clan warred for a moment with deference to her Mistress. Of course the latter won out, even if it left her feeling unpleasant. Dislike flared in her heart. If there was anyone who she envied it was that obnoxious girl, who was so close to Bai Meizhen, who laughed with her and traded teasing barbs as if they were…
Friends.
"I am afraid I will continue to be a hard Mistress to serve, Xiao Fen. Perhaps I have been too long among those who do not show me reflexive deference, and listened too long to Cai Renxiang speak. I am going to have many enemies. I will need you to walk beside me, not behind."
Xiao Fen felt a lump in her throat, but she nodded. "I understand."
For the first time, she felt like she actually might.