Stratagem Twenty-Six 指桑骂槐: Point to the Mulberry Tree while Cursing the Locust Tree
- The Thirty-Six Stratagems, Ancient Chinese Proverbs and Military Text
Master Cang bowed. "I’m glad to be back, Lady LanLan."
Lady LanLan smiled. "You’ve arrived a few days earlier than usual. Were you able to find what you were looking for in the Fragrant Mountains?"
"The Mountains have always been generous to me. I hope my early arrival doesn't cause any issues?"
"Grandma Hongmi and Grandma Shuan are supervising the girls to get your suite of rooms ready. Can I offer you some tea in the meanwhile?"
"Something warm would be much appreciated," Master Cang said.
He hesitated, then touched his collecting basket. "I also have an urgent matter I would like to discuss with you. May we go to your rooms for tea?"
One of Lady LanLan’s eyebrows rose, she nodded and gestured for Master Cang to follow. They walked into the estate and around a row of bamboo that served as the spirit screen for the entrance, preserving the feng shui by blocking direct views and rebuffing evil spirits. A foot bridge arched across a small pond with large carps swimming lazily back and forth around rockeries. Walkways, covered with dark glazed tiles, connected a series of courtyards and rooms. They walked along a covered corridor, entered and exited a large courtyard with a towering willow before arriving at a small, private courtyard overflowing with chrysanthemum blossoms.
Lady LanLan opened a set of doors made of dark wood lattices and oiled paper. Inside, a wooden stove kept the room warm, its flickering light illuminated a canopied bed, a huge carved wood wardrobe, a table and several cushioned chairs. Lady LanLan helped Master Cang set his basket on the floor before turning to light oil lamps around the room and closing the door.
While Master Cang settled in, she added logs to the stove in the corner and carried a hot copper kettle over to fill up a teapot on the table. The scent of fragrant green tea steeping and vanilla orchid filled the room with warmth and calmness.
"The tea will be ready in a few minutes. While we wait, why don't you tell me what’s on your mind Master Cang?"
Master Cang reached into the basket by his feet and gently lifted Autumn from it.
"Do you have room here for another orphan?" he asked ruefully.
Lady LanLan was shocked but quickly recovered. "Poor thing," she said. "Let me get something for her."
She found a large woven basket along with a blanket in the wardrobe. Filling a dried gourd bottle with hot water, she placed both on her bed before taking Autumn from Master Cang. Lady LanLan laid the little fox down in the basket and gently wiped off the worst of the caked soot from her fur with a wet cloth. Finally, Lady LanLan covered her with a blanket and nestled the warm gourd beside the little fox. They watched as Autumn snuggled closer to the hot water bottle and deeper under the blankets. Lady LanLan tucked the blanket securely around Autumn and both returned to their chairs.
While pouring tea into two cups, Lady LanLan asked, "what happened to the little fox?"
Master Cang drank the tea thirstily and relayed the events after he had arrived at the burned clearing following the smell of smoke and the sounds of screaming.
After he was done, Master Cang asked something that had been bothering him. "You referred to the little fox as a girl?" he asked. “Are you sure it is female?”
“Yes,” Lady LanLan said with certainty. “She is a girl. No older than a kit.”
Master Cang sighed. “Then this is a deeper mystery than I initially thought. When I first saw her, she was in the form of a human boy.”
Lady LanLan looked puzzled. “She is too young to transform on her own. Although foxes can change into humans, it requires at least fifty years of cultivation.”
Master Cang nodded. “The clearing I found her in was one valley over from the hunting grounds favored by members of the Celestial Court. Her home was burnt down, and I think they killed her family.”
“You think she might have stolen the power of transformation from them, and they destroyed her family for revenge?”
“That thought had crossed my mind.” Master Cang admitted. “A human, animal or plant can greatly accelerate their cultivation if they were to drink tribute wine or eat a peach of immortality. But if she had stolen magic from the Celestial Court, then she is bolder than Sun Wukong. Even the Monkey King waited until he was an adult before incurring their wrath.”
Lost in thought, Lady LanLan took a sip of her tea then said, “it’s true that many of my charges achieved human form far earlier than they would have after unknowingly ingesting foods of the gods. However, I don’t know of anyone who transformed into the opposite gender. Is it possible her transformation was the result of an illusion spell?
Master Cang looked worried. “That would seem more likely if she is indeed a girl. However, only someone extremely powerful can cast such a spell. They could tip the scales in the fight for the throne of heaven. I do not know of anyone who could’ve done it. This little fox could become a game piece if the wrong people found out."
"Poor little thing," Lady LanLan sighed, then added. "Master Cang, if members of the Celestial Court are interested in her, is The Blossom and Willow Park a safe place for her? You know that all gods, immortals, and spirits are welcome here and members of the Celestial Court come frequently, even if they do keep to themselves. By staying here, she might be getting closer to the fire, instead of away from it."
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Master Cang bowed deeply. "I apologize for bringing trouble to your doors again, Lady LanLan."
"You know I bring plenty of trouble on my own.” Smiling ruefully, Lady LanLan looked down at Autumn and stroked her fur gently. “Behind all this soot, she is as red as the flames of a wildfire. I guess if she stays here, at least I can keep her away from the most dangerous embers.”
Master Cang bowed again. “Thank you.”
“You don’t get away with only thanks, Master Cang. If we want to conceal the fact that she is a fox with unaccounted for magical powers, she will need a backstory to explain why she is here. Do you have any ideas?”
“We can claim she is a distant relative of the Dragon Clan, recently orphaned. There are so many branches in my family tree that it would be very difficult to prove or disprove anything."
Lady Lanlan hesitated. “If she is a member of the Dragon Clan then people would expect her to return to the Ocean Court.”
"A bastard child then?”
Lady LanLan nodded. “Yes. That could work. She can pass as the son of a member of the dragon clan and a plant spirit. That would explain why she came here after losing her guardians, her human form and the lack of other powers. We will need to give her just a tiny bit of each of our powers to make it believable.”
“Agreed. Should we do it now?"
Both moved to stand over Autumn's basket. Individually, each reached inside of themselves and tugged on the strands of magic stored within their inner pools of power. Pulling a slender thread, Lady LanLan cast her magic toward the basket. Master Cang could suddenly smell the scent of damp earth and the sweet fragrance of orchids. His pool of inner magic was vast. It crashed and crested like the ocean under high winds. Carefully, ever so carefully, he pulled out a slender thread and stretched it to fit over the little fox.
Under the blanket, Autumn twitched.
"That should have done it," said Master Cang breathless.
"Here," Lady LanLan handed him a fresh cup of tea.
Just then a knock sounded at the door. A young girl in a lemon-yellow tunic entered. Her hair was pinned up, but multiple strands were busy escaping her hair pins. A teenage girl walked in behind her wearing a black dress over white pants and white hair ribbons.
"Master Cang!" The girl exclaimed happily. "Welcome back! Do you remember me? I’m YangEr!"
Master Cang grinned but before he could respond, the teenager scolded the girl.
"YangEr, I said you could come with me to say hello but you needed to stay quiet."
"But Miss YanZi, how can I say hello if I stay quiet?" YangEr asked wide eyed. Miss YanZi pursed her lips and chose to ignore this comment. She turned to the adults and curtseyed pointedly.
"Lady LanLan. Master Cang," she said in a polite tone. "Master Cang's rooms are ready."
"Thank you YanZi," Lady LanLan said, smiling softly. "YangEr, I’m sure Master Cang remembers you from his visit last year and will be happy to be greeted by everyone. But he is exhausted after traveling. I’m sure you can greet him properly in the morning. Maybe you can brew him some herbal tea in the morning."
"Of course I will!" YangEr chirped.
“I look forward to that and thank you Miss YanZi for preparing my quarters.”
Miss YanZi curtseyed again, then grabbed YangEr's elbow, urging her out of the door with her.
Alone again, Master Cang turned to Lady LanLan. "Thank you again. You’ve always been gracious in lending a helping hand."
"Everyone needs a helping hand sometimes."
"I fear he more than most," Master Cang said, looking toward the little fox. "I bid you goodnight."
Lady LanLan watched Master Cang leave, an eagerness in his step. She smiled wistfully before turning back to the little fox.
Filling her wash basin with lukewarm water, Lady LanLan took a cloth and gently wiped more soot from Autumn’s fur, throwing out the basin of water once it turned black. She repeated the process until the little fox’s fur was completely clean.
Autumn woke slowly; her whiskers twitched at an unfamiliar scent. What had she been doing that caused every muscle in her body to ache from soreness? She opened her eyes, and her heart leapt at the sight of a small flickering flame. Her body tensed as she tried to get up, but her legs collapsed beneath her and her paws found no traction on the soft, slippery surface of the bedsheets.
"You are awake. It’s alright. You are safe."
Autumn stilled at the sound of the calm, gentle voice. She didn't know why but she felt she could trust the speaker. Turning her head, Autumn saw a woman, her face a slender oval, walking toward her dressed in a flowing blue robe with lavender embroidery. Glowing green threads of magic flowed around her, the same color as Grandpa Fu, the earth god who ruled over the Fragrant Mountains. Autumn’s heart began to race at this reminder of home and suddenly she remembered what had happened.
Autumn opened her mouth to speak but only a yip emerged. I can't have a human conversation in fox form, she realized. Autumn tapped into the small pool of magic inside of her and realized she had enough to transform.
It must have been more than a day since she - No. Don’t think about that. Autumn gritted her teeth. Focus on what you need to do now.
Recalling the warmth of magic flowing down her spin, Autumn transformed into the boy in maroon robes. She heard the woman gasp in surprise.
"Water?" Autumn rasped.
The woman handed her a cup and Autumn drank thirstily. A plate of root vegetables and dried fruits appeared next, and Autumn grabbed at the food with her bare hands and shoved everything into her mouth. She was ravenously hungry and didn't stop until everything was gone. She licked her fingers relieved to be full.
"Here," Lady LanLan handed Autumn a clean, wet cloth.
Autumn looked at it in confusion.
"You can clean your hands on this. My name is Lady LanLan. What’s your name?"
"I’m Autumn. Where am I?"
"You are at The Blossom and Willow Park. Master Cang Hai, the man you met, he brought you here."
Autumn didn’t know who Master Cang Hai was at first, then realized it must have been the man she attacked at the clearing.
Seeing her expression change, Lady Lanlan continued. "Master Cang is a doctor, an herbalist. He was collecting medicinal plants when he met you."
Autumn felt a pang of guilt. He wasn’t part of the hunting party, he was just there by chance, and she had attacked him. "I hit Master Cang,” Autumn confessed. “I thought he… Is he okay?"
"Master Cang’s fine. He would be happy to know you were worried about him."
Autumn nodded. She was grateful that she hadn't hurt an innocent bystander. But the reminder of their meeting brought a fresh flood of pain. She looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers together.
"Autumn, I know the story might be too much for you to tell tonight. But am I right in assuming you didn’t steal anything in order to gain the power for your transform?”
Autumn looked up in surprise and shook her head vigorously. Should she tell Lady LanLan about Prince Jin? She’s not even sure who he was. What if Lady LanLan doesn't like him and throws her out? Where would she go? She only knew how to live as a fox and that option no longer seemed possible.
Lady LanLan patted Autumn’s hand then continued. “It’s alright child. You don’t have to explain anything more tonight. The Blossom and Willow Park is a refuge for anyone looking for a new home. I’m an orchid immortal. I was born a vanilla orchid plant. Centuries ago, my home was destroyed in a war. I came here, and with the help of my patrons, we built this estate. Gods, immortals, dragons, phoenixes, spirits and sometime even human mages can safely interact here without the restriction imposed by their realms. This is a place of sanctuary."
“Can I stay here?” Autumn asked wonderingly.
"Yes, you are welcome to make your home here as long as you follow the rules: no fighting with anyone else - whether they are guests or residents. Since you are a child still, you have to mind what the adults here tell you to do.”
Autumn nodded. She can't imagine wanting to fight anyone this graceful lady accepts into her home.
Lady LanLan smiled kindly. “We can discuss the details in the morning. You can sleep here tonight and I will show you the children’s quarters tomorrow. You will enjoy meeting them. Now, rest before dawn arrives."
