Mingzhe enjoyed the crisp morning air as he made his way across the south bridge of the Camelia. The fall morning had a chill to it, but the sun was out and slowly brightening, and the air had that clearness that only came with the cold. When all moisture was gone and everything was sharp and brilliant.
It was his favorite time of the year as he found a beauty to the dying season that all the others lacked. Something in its clarity appealed to him.
Now more than ever.
Hikari had written him that morning, a short note requesting time to speak about the reallocation of their forces now that things were settling down. He hadn't specified a time, just wanting to alert Mingzhe to his concerns, but Mingzhe was eager to get out and do something since he was starting to feel trapped between his family and Chenzhou and Eirian. They were all trying so hard to shield him from what was happening that it was starting to feel suffocating. Standing by and letting someone else fight his battles was not something Mingzhe was used to or liked.
He sent a sparrow telling Hikari he was on his way and started walking. It only took half an hour to reach the Yang manor. An imposing house whose main color was black from the stone that built it and silver from the metal decorations. If there was ever a manor that looked like it belonged to a military family, it was the Yang house.
It was far from Mingzhe's first time there; Hikari had been his closest peer when they were growing up, and they'd spent extensive amounts of time at one another's homes. Hikari had visited less since his marriage, but that was to be expected. Mingzhe's visits had definitely dropped off once Eirian arrived at the Camelia.
A guard let him in, but Mingzhe waved off the butler. Hikari had been granted his own office once they'd graduated from training, and it hadn't moved in the decade since. Mingzhe could probably find his way there blindfolded.
He knocked briefly before opening the door, since his sparrow would have arrived well before he had.
Hikari's office reflected the man himself. Neat, orderly, with minimal memorabilia. What little there was was all about the Yang family as a whole, not Hikari himself. The whole family was like that. Mingzhe had never met another family that was so…united? Obsessed with the family? Everything the individual members of the Yangs did was for the family. There was little to no concern for individual advancement, unless it benefited the family.
As the oldest son, Hikari was one of the family's staunchest supporters, even though he'd had to fight his mother for some of the responsibility he carried now. Mingzhe had been on the fringes of that fight, and it had taken several years before Lady Yang had been willing to move past it. Things seemed much better between them now.
Hikari looked up from sorting papers as he entered. He looked relieved when he saw Mingzhe and gestured helplessly at all the papers. Impossibly, it seemed like there were more here than in Chenzhou's office.
Mingzhe turned wary, closing the door behind him. "I hope you don't want to go over all of these."
Hikari gave a weak laugh. "Gods no. This is…this is a lot of different things. Mother wants to do a complete review of the Crimson Army's forces and finances."
Mingzhe raised an eyebrow. None of that information was secret, but a review was well above Lady Yang's current position, despite her family's influence. Typically, Chenzhou or Henri, when he was filling in for him, were the only ones who should have been doing comprehensive reviews like that.
Hikari knew all of that, of course. "She's just worried. She wants to help, but she'd not…great with boundaries sometimes."
Mingzhe had been privy to enough of their family moments to know that was true. Lady Yang was usually well-meaning, but there were times when she considered herself or her family better to handle something that wasn't actually their responsibility. "Now is the time to be careful with that," Mingzhe advised. Chenzhou was already displeased with the court; adding to that wasn't wise.
Hikari grimaced and nodded. "Given how much work is involved, I'm pretty sure it won't be finished until long after all this…nonsense is finished."
Mingzhe snorted in amusement. The last audit of the Crimson Army had been under Chenzhou's regents when he was a child, and it had taken three years in total. "You're not wrong."
Hikari cleared a seat in front of the miniature atlas they used to track and plan movements. "I didn't mean to rush you with my message."
"It's fine. I don't have much going on at the moment." Mingzhe managed a smile that was only somewhat bitter.
Hikari shot him a sympathetic look and brought tea with him as he took a seat next to Mingzhe. The smoky scent of laihi tea, robust, green leaves that were dried with woodsmoke, giving them their signature taste, rose from the pot. It was hard to come by and generally only available in the cooler months, since the warmer parts of the year were too hot for the smoking. It was one of Mingzhe's favorites, but he could rarely convince himself to spend the gold it cost.
He accepted a cup from Hikari and inhaled, letting the smoky scent permeate everything as he took a minute to enjoy it.
"How are Lord and Lady Ye?" Hikari asked quietly, loath to disturb him.
Mingzhe took a big sip and sighed. "As well as they can be. Frustrated by everything, but determined to find out the truth."
Hikari tensed. "Oh? What if…"
Mingzhe gave him a sad smile. "They will follow the law based on whatever is found. They are too good of leaders not to."
Hikari thought about that for a second and then relaxed. "Well, I suppose that's for the best. I have no doubt you will be vindicated." His face twisted into something fierce. "Whoever it is will be punished harshly."
It sounded like a promise. It even made Mingzhe feel a bit better about the whole situation, the reminder that he did have a few friends who would defend him. "I just want to know why me?" He confessed. That was the one thing he couldn't answer, despite his mother's long list of suspects.
Hikari's gaze softened as he sipped his own tea. After a moment, he said, "It probably has nothing to do with you. Realistically, it could have been anyone who'd sent their forces to that outpost. It was bad luck that it ended up being you. I'm sure of it." He added at the end, his eyes intense and dark.
It felt oddly like he was apologizing, but none of this was Hikari's fault. He was probably hurting his own reputation by maintaining his friendship with Mingzhe right now, but Hikari had always been loyal to a fault.
It was one of his best qualities.
~ tbc