Love in War

Love in War - Chapter 5: Houses of Li and Fa

This was no news to him, it had been known. Since he had revealed his interest in Mulan to his mother, she had been anything but supportive of his decision. In the month following, she had done all she could to change his mind. She'd insisted that she had the finest girls in China lined up for his choosing. When he showed no interest, she pushed the fact that he was still young and that there was no need for him to rush into such a life-changing decision. She turned to experts on horoscopes and fortune tellers in an effort to extract any reason the two shouldn't be together, but Shang would hear none of it, insisting that Mulan and he were a perfect match. She'd only learned of Shang's planned proposal the morning of, and wasn't able to restrain him before he left to do so. Once the deed was done, he and Mulan had been summoned by the Emperor for their mission, and she hadn't seen him until now.

For the longest time, Shang had been avoiding any notion of Mulan or her family meeting his mother, in fear that she would scare them away from him. He'd hoped he could warm her up to them before their inevitable encounter, but as their engagement had now been set in place and marriage dawned on them, it became clear that a smooth transition wasn't going to occur.

"Mother, I really don't understand the issue with this..." Shang tried to comment.

"Shang, a son of Li should be wedding a woman of the court or the nobility! Not simple countrymen," Shu replied.

"Mulan is the daughter of Fa Zhou! He was one of father's most trusted soldiers!" Shang hated having to reduce Mulan's worth to her family, but he knew what his mother responded to.

"He was simply a soldier Shang. Your father was a general. You are a general! Fa Mulan will bring no honor to the House of Li," Shu asserted.

"No honor?!" Shang questioned, completely taken aback, "She's the hero of China! She saved every single one of us! She..."

"And she did so through lies and deception! She betrayed her family and her role in it!" Shu interjected, "One miracle is not enough to justify the defiance of generations of tradition! A girl like her will bring nothing but misfortune to our home!"

Her words hurt him. Not because he agreed with what she said in the slightest, but because this must've been how he sounded to Mulan throughout their mission. How he had mocked her when she told him she felt a duty to her heart. How he scolded her on her disregard for rules and tradition. The very things that made her stand out in the first place; the things that made her who she was! What was he thinking!? Why should tradition interfere in doing the right thing? It shouldn't! There was no reason for anyone to undermine Mulan's actions and heroism for the fact that she "broke the rules". He needed his mother to know he was serious about this and that she wasn't going to change his mind, only then might she respond.

"Mother," Shang started with as much confidence as he could muster, "this is going to happen either way ... so I am asking you to meet with the Fa family and be a part of the customs and ceremonies. If you choose not to, that is your decision, but it won't stop mine." He could feel tears forming in the corners of his eyes, but he maintained a stiff face as he asserted himself.

Shu gave him a look that told all. She clearly had no desire to meet with the Fas, but she knew Shang was serious. He'd go through with this with or without her; he was very stubborn that way. Allowing him to wed without her approval would be worse for their family's image than his wedding Mulan in general. With that, she reluctantly agreed to the meeting and the two called it a night.

The next morning filled Shang with both relief and further apprehension. He'd finally gotten his mother to agree to a meeting with Mulan's family, but he now had no idea how this meeting would go. Shu still didn't want the two of them together. Would she assert that? Or would she accept his decision in light of his ultimatum?

He spent the day trying to plan out every possible scenario he could in his mind, hoping to cover all the possible bases he could. He occasionally tried to inform his mother of simple facts about the family and certain things she should and shouldn't say, to which she harshly responded that she knew what she was doing; this did anything but ease Shang's tension, but it was all he would get from her.

As evening drew near, the two finally began to make their way to the house of Fa. When they arrived Shang could see that Mulan had taken what he had told her about his mother to heart. In light of her traditional nature, Mulan had put up her short hair best she could and wore an elaborate dress in an effort to make a good first impression. The revelation that she had considered taking those steps helped to ease some of his tension. Not that it should matter. His mother should learn to accept her either way! Shang mentally scolded himself, not sure what he should think at this point.

The two of them were greeted at the gate by Fa Zhou and Fa Li, who both did a quick bow in respect to Tàitài Shu before helping to escort their horses into the stable and leading them all inside. There, they entered a small sitting area, where Shu chose the corner seat stationed farthest away from Mulan's grandmother and the Fa couple. Not long after, Mulan arrived with a tray of teacups, that she simply handed out in order of whoever was closest to her as she rounded the area, earning a scoff from Shu who by coincidence happened to receive her's last.

"In our day, we served our elders first," she whispered to Shang before lifting the cup to her lips.

Shang wiped a hand down his face at her comment as Mulan seated herself next to him.

"You alright?" she asked him.

Shang immediately put his hand down, "Yes... I'm fine," he responded much faster than he intended.

"If you say so," Mulan said skeptically as she smiled at him. A few seconds later, she placed her hand on his before leaning next to his ear, "Your mother is really pretty by the way," she whispered.

Shang just looked at her for a moment, not knowing what to say before Fa Zhou relieved the burden by breaking the silence.

"I would like to welcome you to our home," he said, gesturing to Shu, "your husband was an honorable man, and the two of you have raised an amazing son. You should be very proud."

Shu looked at Shang before facing Fa Zhou once again, "Thank you. I am."

Shang could've sworn he saw a slight smile forming in the corner of her lips when she spoke, and it sent a bit of joy circulating through him. He hadn't gotten such validation from her in quite some time.

"My husband often wasn't around, so I did my best to raise Li Shang myself," she sipped a bit of her tea before continuing, "well versed in our traditions and properly disciplined."

"Well you did a wonderful job," Fa Li assured her, "Shang is a fine young man. One of the most tactical minds I've ever encountered!"

"He's handsome too," Grandma Fa added, "his dad wasn't much to look at, but meeting you, I finally see where Shang gets it!"

Her comment earned a small death glare from Fa Li, a smirk from Fa Zhou, a silent giggle from Mulan, and a look of pure shock and dread from Shang. Meanwhile, Shu was taken aback and took a few moments to regain her composure before responding with a hesitant, "Yes."

When Fa Zhou finally finished his tea, he placed his cup on the table and lightly clapped his hands together, "Now, why don't we begin our discussion?"