14. Chapter 14

Meng Zhi wakes up to the familiar sounds of bickering. It pounds on his brain like a hammer and he’s pretty sure he hasn’t been this hungover in years.

“For fuck’s sake, husband, kick Lin Chen the hell out of our private tent!”

“You are in my tent and I make the rules!” Lin Chen shouts in his ear.

“Fuck off, you horrible jackass.” Meng Zhi shoves his hand into Lin Chen’s ugly face and pushes him away.

“Ah-Zhi,” a soft voice carries over to him and the tenor of it lights Meng Zhi’s brain up like lightning.

“Xiao Su!” He sits up, or tries to — he’s on a medical gurney, stretched out like a corpse, and his left hand is bound to Mei Changsu...

Who is alive.

Their hands are tied together with so many cords and bandages, he can’t even see skin. He holds up their hands and stares at them, then at Mei Changsu.

Who is alive.

“Husband!” Meng Zhi tries to sit up again.

“Damn it, stay!” Lin Chen puts a hand on his chest and pushes him down again. Meng Zhi is overcome by a wave of dizziness and nausea. “Ha! Serves you right! You—”

“Lin-ge, stop.” Mei Changsu says quietly, which is more effective than all the shouting in the world. Lin Chen huffs at them then goes to back to fiddling with whatever he’s doing, which Meng Zhi can’t see fully from his position. He takes a deep breath, pushing down the nausea, and tips his head to look at Mei Changsu.

“Xiao Su,” he says, soaking in the beautiful face he loves so much. He registers, then, that Mei Changsu does look even paler than usual, and Fei Liu is sacked out over his lap and lower legs, snoring. “Your chest—”

“I bound it up, it’s fine. The treatment worked wonders on stemming the blood loss and infection, so then it was just a matter of stitching him together again, which unfortunately I have had a lot of practice at doing.” Lin Chen hops up to sit akimbo on top of a trunk, hands on his knees. His hair is down again and there is nary a single drop of blood on his robes.

Meng Zhi blinks, looks around at the darkened tent. “What time is it?”

“More like what day. You’ve both been unconscious for five.”

“Five days?” Meng Zhi asks in horror.

“Stop fussing, you are as bad as Mei Changsu, good grief. We’re still winning the war, all your generals know what they are doing.”

“Because I left instructions,” Mei Changsu says, his voice still low and raw, but sounding petulant nonetheless.

“Yes, yes, you are brilliant and have amazing foresight, congratulations.” Lin Chen rolls his eyes.

“Five days?” Meng Zhi repeats, as he feels that is important.

“Five days,” Lin Chen says, this time sounding genuinely tired. “Five very long and treacherous days.”

“Lin Chen, what the hell did you do?” Meng Zhi asks.

“Actually I would like to know that myself,” Mei Changsu chimes in, then looks over at Meng Zhi. “I have not been awake much longer than you.”

Lin Chen pulls a fan out of his sleeve and slaps it open, which by now Meng Zhi knows is simply a nervous habit. He looks around and sighs heavily. “It’s not worth my time to give a technical explanation to people who don’t have any inkling about medicine.”

“Lin Chen,” Mei Changsu growls.

“Fine. Fine!” He turns to look at Meng Zhi. “Remember when I snuck out of camp?”

Mei Changsu balks. “You did what? Lin Chen! I specifically—”

“Oh, shut up. I wasn’t talking to you!”

“Yes, I remember,” Meng Zhi says. He’s getting feeling back into the bound hand and realizes that their fingers are intertwined beneath all the bandaging. He squeezes softly. “Let him finish, Xiao Su.”

Mei Changsu grumbles but nods. His free hand is petting Fei Liu, keeping him still and asleep. The boy must have also stayed awake the majority of those five days, to sleep so soundly through this conversation. It distracts him for a moment and Meng Zhi smiles.

“I climbed up the Meiling Cliffs. I found those damn snow beetles.”

Meng Zhi stops smiling. Mei Changsu’s hand twitches in his, a look of horror on his face. “No.”

“Yes! Don’t worry, I killed the ones I collected. They are very dead. In fact, they have been ground to powder.”

Meng Zhi is, as he has to constantly remind his sons, not stupid. “Dear gods, that horrible tea!”

“Correct! Wow, you aren’t stupid, are you? Who knew?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Meng Zhi sighs, rubbing his face with his free hand.

“Tea?” Mei Changsu looks even more horrified. “Lin Chen—” His voice is shaking.

“Mei Changsu, did you honestly believe I only followed you out here to watch you die?” Lin Chen says, his mood shifting seamlessly to become low and dark and dangerous. “You take me for a fucking fool? Did you believe for a single second that I would come all the way out to this backwater wasteland and not harvest those things?” He looks away, clearly aggrieved.

“Yes! I didn’t think you would be so stupid!”

“How dare you—”

“Thank you,” Meng Zhi says, stopping the argument in its tracks. “Thank you for trying to save my husband’s life.”

“I did not try to save his life. I did save his life.” Lin Chen bats the fan viciously. “You’re welcome.”

The silence that descends is as dark as the night outside of the tent. Mei Changsu looks like he is in shock again. “What?”

“I cured you, because I am a genius. You are cured. Do you need me to repeat it again?”

“Lin Chen,” Mei Changsu starts, gulps, then starts again. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I created a cure for the poison of the bitter flame, which incidentally neutralizes the effects of the baixu pill.” He finally looks over at them again. “Unfortunately, it means that your body is once again weak and frail. I cannot undo the damage of fifteen years of poison on your organs and muscles. You’ll experience impotence again at times, and you will be susceptible to colds and coughs. You will get stronger, though, with time...and you have time, now. Maybe not as much as you could have had naturally, but I would guess at least ten years, perhaps longer if you take proper care of yourself. Like, say, not getting speared in the fucking chest. That wound was a bitch to clean up. Be grateful it more a shoulder wound and managed to miss your lungs.” He bounces off the trunk as if he did not just resettle their entire world. “You will be bedridden for weeks, my friend. I would send you back to Jinling if I could, but I know you won’t go. You will, however, be leading this war from your bed. That is not up for negotiation.”

Mei Changsu nods, still processing the fact that he is going to live. Meng Zhi himself is having a hard time. His joy is boundless but it is a stark change from the last time he was awake and expecting to lose Mei Changsu forever. The emotional whiplash is numbing.

“I gave the cure to your husband and linked you together, as he has an abundance of yang energy which is exactly what you needed.” He turns to Meng Zhi. “I am not of the habit of forcing people into being medical subjects, but I did not think you would mind, in this case, and I was running out of time.”

“I do not mind at all. In fact, I owe you a life debt. Anything—”

“Oh shut up. No one owes me anything other than some damn peace and quiet. I’m going to go to sleep. You two stay here and recover. Qin! Get in here and keep them in bed. No hanky panky allowed!” He storms out and a young medic comes in, looking very apologetic and asking if they want pillows.

Meng Zhi squeezes Xiao Su’s fingers again, and lets the poor medic know that yes, they both want all the pillows he can spare.

---

The war lasts another full month. It is almost as if since Mei Changsu originally expected to die at exactly the three month mark he then planned their victory accordingly. Meng Zhi knows better, as he was there for all of the strategy sessions with the other generals, but it still sends chills down his spine how close he came to losing his husband, and how certain his husband was of his own death.

Nonetheless, Mei Changsu is bedridden for the majority of those months. Lin Chen circles him like a hawk whenever he can get away from his duties and oftentimes when he shouldn’t. He admits openly to Meng Zhi that Mei Changsu is a “miracle case” that both fascinates and infuriates him. Meng Zhi concedes that Mei Changsu is indeed very infuriating and that gets him and Lin Chen kicked out of Mei Changsu’s tent for the rest of the day.

Meng Zhi doesn’t even mind, because Xiao Su is alive and that is all that matters.

Victory comes quietly, with a messenger from the Da Yu holding a white flag aloft and bearing the jade seal of his own commander, who died of his wounds, and a written plea for peace by the King of Da Yu.

Mei Changsu is enthroned on a chair outside of his tent, covered in blankets and furs, with his generals aligned around him. Meng Zhi knows that despite his renewed frailty, he cuts an impressive figure for the messenger, beautiful and imperial as his heritage dictates.

General Wang hands the missive to Marshal Mei, who reads it over carefully. He then folds it up and hands it back to General Wang. “One behalf of His Imperial Majesty Xiao Xuan, I accept this conditional surrender.”

The messenger is clearly an experienced diplomat and does not shift on his feet or give any overt signal to his emotions, but there is a slight slump to his expressions that suggests he was not expecting to have it accepted at all. It is a wise choice on Mei Changsu’s part. It may not be the brutal defeat some generals were arguing for, but it will result in a much longer lasting peace.

And so, with a whimper and not a bang, the war ends.

---

“It will be good to get home,” Meng Zhi says with heartfelt appreciation as he sups with Mei Changsu that night in his tent. Lin Chen had put a moratorium on marital relations during recovery, insisting that the only way for Mei Changsu to “keep it in his pants” was for them to live separately. Given how Mei Changsu has nonetheless tried to seduce Meng Zhi every time they are left alone for more than a few seconds, Meng Zhi feels it was unfortunately a proper idea.

“Mmm.” Mei Changsu focuses on his soup in a suspiciously quiet way.

Meng Zhi frowns. “What is wrong?”

Mei Changsu looks up with a polite smile that is obviously fake. “Now that you ask, I was thinking of perhaps returning to my manor in Langzhou, as there are some Alliance matters I need to—”

“What the hell?” Meng Zhi puts his own bowl down with, possibly, too much force. He glares at his very clever and cunning and nefarious husband. “What haven’t you told me?”

“There is no need for this anger, I am only—”

“Mei Changsu,” Meng Zhi growls. “If you want sex again in the next year you will tell me why you do not want to return to Jinling.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“You’re right, I absolutely wouldn’t have sex with you for a whole year. I’ve done it before, I can do it again.” He holds his hand out as if expecting Mei Changsu to pay up on a bet. “Now, the truth.”

Mei Changsu is still looking too scandalized to talk, so Meng Zhi waits him out. Finally, Mei Changsu slumps forward and stares at his clasped hands. “I gave the emperor my word that I would not return to the capital.”

“You did what?”

“He made a demand. I honestly did not expect to live long at that point, anyway, so it was an acceptable bargain.”

“Are you saying that after nearly four months out here in this hell hole I am not going home to see my sons and sleep in my own bed?” Meng Zhi throws his hands up in the air.

“Of course you are! I will...I will just not be going with you.”

“The hell you aren’t!”

“I can’t, as I have explained—”

“I am writing to Prince Jing this evening!”

“No! No, you cannot. The emperor himself—”

“And also the war minister! Who is that, now? I forget his name. Zhao? Zhang? Ping!”

“No! Meng Zhi, you listen to me!”

“What in the hell is going on in here?! ” Lin Chen stomps into the tent, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Mei Changsu has promised the emperor that he is not returning to Jinling!” Meng Zhi sweeps his hand around.

“Oh thank goodness, saved me the trouble.” Lin Chen sighs and then smiles smugly.

Meng Zhi slaps his knees in frustration. “We live in Jinling! Our home is in Jinling! Our sons are in Jinling! Need I remind you that I am re-assigned to be the commander of the Imperial Guards with the end of this war? I cannot do that from Langzhou!”

“I am not asking you to! I will go to Langzhou—”

“We are married and we will not be keeping separate houses!”

“Would you shut up and listen to me?”

“No! Because you have bad ideas, Mei Changsu! Terrible ideas! I hate all of your ideas! This is the worst one yet!”

“I don’t see you suggesting better! ”

“Wow, you two really can put on a show,” Lin Chen says, wandering over and inspecting Mei Changsu’s soup. “Finish that, it has medicinal properties.”

Mei Changsu grabs the bowl and angrily slurps like a five year old at a street vendor’s stall.

“You too, General Meng. I had that meal prepared for you specifically. You’ve been celibate for weeks now, you need some cooling energy to offset all that—” He points at him up and down, smirking. “Yang.”

“You are genuinely the most annoying man I have ever met other than my husband,” Meng Zhi snaps before picking up his bowl and chopsticks to shovel food into his mouth.

“It’s a family trait,” Lin Chen says with a shrug before plopping down to sit between them. “This is what we’re going to do. You—” He points at Meng Zhi. “Will write Prince Jing and ask for your furlough from the Imperial Guards to be extended for another six months due to family matters. You—” He turns to point at Mei Changsu. “Will write to whomever is managing your household and tell them to pack up the boys and a wagon of supplies for travel and meet us in Wuhai in two weeks. Tomorrow we will break down your personal tent and you will give orders to all your generals on what needs to be done. Then we will grab Fei Liu and also set sail for Wuhai. From there we will all spend the next few months wandering around the jianghu like gentlemen on vacation.” He looks between them. “What?”

“When did you decide this?” Mei Changsu asks.

“Just now. But you two weren’t going to come to a comprise in my lifetime so I had to do something. Anyway the emperor will be dead within six months, and then you can return to the city.”

Meng Zhi pales. “How do you— Lin Chen, how do you know—”

“Calm down. That’s not a threat or anything of the sort. I’m the master of Langya Hall! I hear things.” He glances over at Mei Changsu with might, on other people, be a guilty expression.

Mei Changsu stares at him for a long moment, but Meng Zhi can see the very second he figures it out because his jaw twitches. “How in the hell did you ever meet my aunt?” He squawks.

“Wait, Grand Princess Liang?” Meng Zhi looks between them. “Or—” He thinks for a moment. If Lin Chen is aware of the emperor’s health in such intimate detail, then he must have a contact in the inner palace. He gasps and puts his hand over his heart protectively. “Noble Consort Jing?”

“I admit nothing! I have contacts in important places, that’s all you need to know.” He gets back up. “Now, tomorrow will entail a lot of packing and preparations, so both of you be nice to each other, finish your food, and no sex.”

Mei Changsu snarls at him as Lin Chen walks back out. Then he looks over at Meng Zhi speculatively for a long moment before raising one eyebrow at him in invitation. “Do you want a hand job?”

Meng Zhi has done without for so long, he’s already out of his seat to get to him when Lin Chen walks back in dragging Fei Liu and dumps him next to Mei Changsu. “Chaperone!” He says, pointing between Meng Zhi and Mei Changsu. Fei Liu, who may or may not know what that means, nods decisively.

“I will get you for this, Lin Chen!” Mei Changsu yells as Lin Chen walks out again, laughing.

---

It actually takes three days to sort everything out, from packing supplies to delegating responsibilities. It takes over another week for them to get to Wuhai, which is not easy travel and is slower than it would be otherwise because of Mei Changsu’s still precarious health.

On their second day in the city, Li Gang shows up on horseback trailing two boys on ponies. They are all filthy from fast, heavy travel but that does not stop Meng Zhi from grabbing his sons and squeezing them tightly. The war had been a victory but a costly one, and there were times he thought he might not see his family again. The boys tolerate it for a moment then go to hug their father while Lin Chen yells at them to be gentle and Mei Changsu clutches at them like a life line.

“Sorry, Sir Meng. The boys wanted to get here as soon as we got Chief Mei’s letters. I figured I better bring them myself before they up and ran away,” Li Gang says while Mei Changsu is fussing over how dirty the boys are. They try to slap his hands away, laughing, and in turn poke at Fei Liu.

“Understandable. I like their initiative, but you made a wise choice.” My boys, he thinks, proud of their independence but also wary of it. Are they growing up so fast already? He just found them! But he realizes that was almost three years ago, now, and feels a pang of nostalgia.

Li Gang lets out a long breath that he had obviously been holding, then smiles with a very self-satisfied expression. “The rest are following.”

Mei Changsu overhears and stares at him. “The rest?”