Chapter Text
A flock of birds flew across the sky as dawn arrived, the morning sun casting down a particularly bronze glow. Farmers toiled tirelessly at the rice fields, harvesting the fruits of their labour in the form of golden paddies that ripened during autumn.
Firecrackers popped loudly as celebration and festivity filled the air. The whole village was coloured red for the wedding ceremony between the youngest Wei son and the youngest Hua daughter, an auspicious union between the two families via marriage.
It was a joyous occasion for everyone, including the couple, whose names were Wei Dingshan and Hua Xiu, but especially for the bride and groom’s respective parents.
The Wei family had a similar background to the Hua family. The fathers of the newlyweds were both veterans who became farmers after the war ended. The only major difference between the two households was that the Wei family had two sons while the Hua family had two daughters.
It was rumoured that Hua Mulan was supposedly the one who should have married into the Wei household since she’s the eldest daughter, but now due to her merits in the military, invitation to the Emperor’s Guard, and her popularity as “saviour of the dynasty”, her current status was considered far too high for the Wei family or anyone in her home village.
In fact, everyone treated Mulan as their most esteemed “guest of honour” during the wedding ceremony, as if she were a wealthy visitor from a faraway city and hadn’t been living in the same tulou as them her whole life.
Really, the highlight of the wedding should be given to the couple getting married, yet the bride’s unmarried older sister who saved the Emperor received the most fanfare that evening. It didn’t help that Mulan’s mother A-Li liked advertising her highly-accomplished, super great and filial daughter to everyone in public by making a bigger praising party out of her heroism than what Mulan felt was necessary, on the day of her other daughter A-Xiu’s wedding no less. Maybe A-Li thought it would increase the chances of Mulan getting matched with somebody from who-knows-where one day.
Embarrassed from the whole ordeal, guilty for taking away A-Xiu and her husband’s special night and exhausted by a whole day of polite greetings and smiling for others, Mulan decided to detract herself entirely from the wedding celebration using the excuse of needing to go to the loo.
Using the free moment to get some fresh air, Mulan relished in the chilly breeze blowing at her face and the serene landscape facing outside the tulou. The weather was cool tonight without any sign of rain, and tall grass was swaying gently to the mild gusts of wind. Such good weather would be ideal for Mulan to ride on Black Wind and gallop across the fields for fun, enjoying the sense of freedom.
Not too long after, Mulan heard the telltale sound of walking cane and feet clomping against the wooden floor and realised she was followed by her father Hua Zhou, who came closer and settled next to her.
“I see you staring outwards for so long, you must be wanting to go to the capital.” Hua Zhou suddenly brought up, as if it was a statement of fact.
“How long have you been watching?” Mulan asked back, a tinge of surprise in her voice.
“Twenty years.” Hua Zhou answered almost offendedly, but quickly laughed it off and patted his daughter’s shoulder.
“It’s been a month, and I haven’t decided yet.” Mulan answered seriously. That was how long since Commander Tung and his troops came to the doorsteps of Mulan’s village with a new sword and a second offer from the Emperor.
Mulan had thought long and hard about whether she should go to the capital. The prospect of moving across half the country for a brand new life in an unfamiliar place would no doubt be troublesome in the short run, but the long-term benefits seemed endless in Mulan’s eyes.
“You haven’t decided yet, or you are not brave enough yet?” Hua Zhou shot back fondly.
Mulan hesitated, then she decided to be frank, “I will be leaving you alone again.”
After running away from home to go to war because she wanted to, Mulan didn’t want to repeat the same mistake and make her entire family worry for her once more. Hua Zhou understood Mulan’s meaning.
“It was wrong for you to run away from home the last time, but look at where that got you.” Gaining Mulan’s full attention, Hua Zhou proudly continued. “You have brought home the greatest honour the Hua family could ever receive. You have saved the Emperor and the dynasty.” He took Mulan’s slender hand and gently patted it with his wrinkled one. “You want to do great things outside, you shall have my blessing, and your mother’s.”
Mulan stared back at Hua Zhou in the eyes, the two sharing a quiet but familiar moment between father and daughter.
With an officer’s position in the Emperor’s Guard, Mulan would be earning a regular income in the form of fiefs, and given enough time, she could use her accumulated savings to buy a private residence in the capital for her elderly parents to move into. Her mother and father won’t have to continue working in the rice fields in order to sustain their livelihood, but instead enjoy the rest of their twilight years comfortably without worries or burdens.
Given even more time, Mulan could invite Hua Xiu’s husband Wei Dingshan to the capital to find work and eventually move the entire family, including her little sister and in-laws, to live together in the same city with her. And finally, Mulan herself could happily retire with enough money to take care of her parents and herself without having to go through the hardship of working in the farms in her old age.
What commoner could pass such an irresistible opportunity to move up the class ladder, especially one that was bestowed by none other than the Emperor himself?
Reaching that goal would be a long arduous journey, Mulan knew. Travelling was an issue on its own, but the location of the Imperial Capital wasn’t as north as the army camp or the northern border. Money, on the other hand, was the true elephant in the room. In the capital city alone, everything was priced at a much higher rate.
This was different from registering and enlisting in the army to fulfil one’s conscription duties. Because it was a draft decreed by the Emperor, everything from food to shelter was provided by the military. Mulan would be all alone to feed and fend for herself if she decided to enter the capital city.
With seemingly no other connections other than Commander Tung and the distant reassurance of the Emperor, Mulan would face an uphill battle if she wanted to secure financial and social status. It was already a difficult task for a man of common background, what more it would be for a woman of common background? It could take up years and years of hardship before she could be in a safe position to move her parents over to the capital.
But Mulan had been through wars before, Mulan told herself. She had been through the toughest training drills. She had fought with Rouran soldiers head on in the battlefield, and gathered a body count greater than any woman could possibly achieve in the history of her country.
How harder could moving to the Imperial Capital be?
Just like that, the wedding ceremony of her sister Hua Xiu and her newlywed husband passed by in a flash. The merry cheers and party noises from the previous night all quietened by the next morning. It seemed as if a day hadn’t gone by, the sun hadn’t moved an inch from its position in the sky.
With certain determination pervading her mind, Hua Mulan considered her options and finally made her decision.
......
In the Hua residence, the clear sounds of metal and leather being worn could be heard from within. Armour was donned and leather belts were being buckled. The process of wearing military attire was completed in no time.
Dawn hadn’t broken yet when Mulan opened up the window. She tried to make out the sky above her to the best of her vision, and let out a pleasant hum at the sign of no clouds.
Mulan then went to make breakfast for herself and her parents. The woman had learnt the hard way the lesson of not travelling on an empty stomach when she first ran away donning her father’s armour. By the time A-Li and then Hua Zhou woke up, their eldest and still-single daughter had already prepared three bowls of white rice with three eggs, two vegetables and a dish of chicken meat on the dining table.
“Wah. You never woke up this early in your life before, A-Lan.” A-Li exclaimed. “And you cooked us breakfast too!”
“Haha, hopefully my cooking skills don’t disappoint you, Mother.” Mulan simply laughed in response. She had to remember that in the Imperial Capital, there would be no Mother cooking meals for her anymore, and a commoner like Mulan couldn’t afford herself a chef to do the work.
Both A-Li and Hua Zhou’s exchanged looks between each other before sitting at the dining table quietly, Hua Zhou’s walking cane resting by the side of the table, all while the couple’s gaze studied the look of their daughter with a man’s topknot and in a military officer’s uniform.
“Look at our daughter. All grown up and mature and wise, ready to venture into a new life.” Hua Zhou said with a proud smile and eyes filled with pride and admiration.
Returning a glance towards her father, a smile slowly appeared on Mulan’s face as she took her own seat as well.
“You have been wearing armour since you woke up? Doesn’t it make you uncomfortable walking around in that all the time?” A-Li asked, her tone more curious than concerned.
“Not to worry. Once you’ve gotten used to it, wearing armour would never be uncomfortable at all. It is meant for soldiers to wear to battle, after all.” Mulan answered.
“This new set feels a little heavier, but it’s manageable.” she added.
This set of armour given to Mulan wasn’t too tight and was quite comfortable, but it was less flexible than the one she previously wore as the lowest ranked cavalry soldier in the Imperial Army. The way the armour wrapped around her body was reminiscent of the feeling of wearing Hua Zhou’s rusty armour on that fateful night, and the many golden carvings on it reminded her of the armour Commander Tung always donned. She could imagine how much more fitting this particular set of armour would be for either of them than for herself.
What bothered Mulan the most when she first wore it was the shape of the chest plate. No matter how she tried adjusting it, it couldn’t quite fit nicely with her breasts. She thought binding her chest would solve the issue, and surely enough, she felt much better after wearing that.
Clearly, all armour produced by the military was designed to accommodate the body shapes of men. When she figured that out, Mulan was shocked but not surprised by this.
Her mother A-Li couldn’t make up a response, staring at her daughter as if she was stunned by her words. A-Li only did that whenever she felt fed up reprimanding Mulan, but this was definitely not the case. Eventually, she sighed and picked up her egg with her chopsticks to give it to Mulan, “You should take this. You will need all the food you can get before you travel.”
“Mother, I really don’t need–” Mulan immediately protested.
“Listen to your mother, Mulan.” Hua Zhou intercepted his daughter’s speech as he also put his own egg into Mulan’s bowl. “We old folks couldn’t eat too much, so just eat whatever we give you.”
“Father, I already have enough–” Mulan retorted again.
A-Li: “Have some more vegetables. It’s good for your health.”
Hua Zhou: “Eat more chicken. It will make you strong.”
A-Li: “Yes, eat more chicken. It will fill your stomach.”
Mulan: “Mother, Father, please. Is my cooking that bad? The food is meant for you two–”
......
The sun had risen by the time Mulan stepped out of the confines of her house, unprepared for the unexpectedly loud burp that escaped her mouth at that moment.
“Ugh, I have eaten so much that this armour may not fit my stomach soon,” she complained to herself as she patted her full stomach.
“Eh! Don’t go off running and then forgetting to bring something important. Your clothes, food, water, documents, the extra money I gave you.” A-Li suddenly reminded Mulan from inside the house, her voice travelling loud and wide.
“They’re all packed, Mother.” Mulan replied likewise, glancing at the backpack she was carrying on her shoulder. Her other hand was holding a military-issued helmet, and hanging by her waist was the new sword gifted by the Emperor, its sheath a jade-like green colour, and its blade engraved with four virtues: loyalty, bravery, honesty, and filial piety.
“Jiejie!” A familiar voice called out. Over the opposite side of the tulou lived the Wei family and their new family member Hua Xiu. Hua Xiu was in the middle of doing a chore and was heading out of her husband’s house when she spotted Mulan in shining new armour that she had never seen before.
The sight of her little sister made Mulan call out with equal excitement, “A-Xiu!”
In a blink of an eye, the two sisters ran towards each other and met with their arms wide open, ready for an embrace.
“You look so good in this.” Hua Xiu exclaimed, glancing up and down at the attire her older sister was donning.
“Thank you.”
“You look so handsome. If you were really a man, you are going to woo so many women.”
“Don’t speak nonsense, A-Xiu. Are you really going to say that your sister is not a woman?” A-Li cut in sharply, coming up from behind Mulan.
“Nonononono, Mother.” Hua Xiu hastily shook her head. “Jiejie also looks very beautiful as a woman. Being handsome makes a woman doubly beautiful, just as being beautiful makes a man doubly handsome.”
“A-Xiu!” Mulan shushed, wanting to stop her giggling little sister from continuing joking and embarrassing her with praise.
“Jiejie, you are really going off to the capital now? Are you not going to say goodbye to me?” Hua Xiu now asked in a serious voice.
“Of course not,” Mulan eagerly replied, “I would be knocking at your door if you hadn’t noticed me. It must have been this armour that caught your eye so quickly.”
Hua Xiu only giggled at that.
Standing a distance away from them was Wei Dingshan, who was watching over the two Hua sisters by his house’s door. His expression looked neutral, blank, and nothing exceptional, but his eyes had a timid, gentle air to them even from afar. He was a little shy, Mulan remembered her sister telling her before.
Hua Mulan made a glance at her brother-in-law for a moment, then asked her sister quietly, “Is Dingshan taking good care of you?”
“Yes. He has treated me well, and he’s a good person.”
“Hearing that from you, jiejie’s heart can be relieved.”
She then proceeded to wave at Wei Dingshan, “Brother Dingshan.”
The man hesitantly waved back.
“Eh! Is it Hua Mulan?” Someone called her. Mulan looked around to find the Wei family’s mother, Wei Dingshan’s mother and Hua Xiu’s mother-in-law, peeking out the window of their house before dragging her elderly husband out to see her.
“Hello, Wei Uncle and Auntie.” Hua Mulan politely greeted the two elderly as they approached her.
“Wah, you are so tall and so handsome! You are going to save our country again, aren’t you?” Auntie Wei began showering her with praise.
“I wouldn’t dare, thank you.” Mulan laughed and brushed the compliments off, her set of reactions in response to this kind of flattery already a familiar routine by now. Luckily for her, Uncle Wei nudged his wife with an elbow to stop before she could continue. Auntie Wei snapped back with a ‘I know, I know’ but refrained herself from actually slapping her husband with force in front of Mulan.
“Oh right, you are going to the Imperial Capital, aren’t you?” Auntie Wei asked.
“Yes.” Mulan replied.
“That’s just too good! Our eldest son is in the Capital too!” Auntie Wei then handed out a piece of rolled paper to Mulan, “We’ve been keeping in touch with him through letters, but you know how expensive delivery service is. We would be grateful if you could pass this to him when you reach there.”
“How would I know what he looks like?” Mulan asked honestly. It had been quite a long time since she last saw the eldest son of the Wei family, Wei Dinghe. She couldn’t remember him coming back to his hometown for the Lunar New Year Festival every year. If he had been in the Imperial Capital all this while, it made a lot more sense.
“He is also a soldier.” Uncle Wei provided before Auntie Wei could say anything.
A soldier in the Imperial Capital… Could he possibly be working in the Imperial Palace too?
If she was lucky, maybe knowing this fella Wei Dinghe would be helpful to her. Either way, Mulan figured it wouldn’t hurt anyone doing the Wei family a favour. “Alright, I will take it to him.” Mulan sighed as she took the letter and threw it into her backpack, Auntie Wei thanking her profusely.
“Mulan.” Hua Zhou called out, his voice gravely but spirited. “Your horse is ready. He’s all yours.”
To Mulan’s surprise, the horse Hua Zhou had brought out was not Black Wind. Instead, it had a body covered in chestnut colour from head to toe and a bright reddish flowing mane. The fiery appearance of the horse mesmerised Mulan for a second.
“Father bought a new one?” Mulan asked with a gasp.
“Of course. You are entering the Imperial Capital. You must want to make a good first impression when you reach there.” Hua Zhou explained.
Mulan patted the brand new horse’s muzzle, receiving no resistance for her act. It looked young and energetic, docile yet full of spirit. She thought they would get along very well very soon.
“Father doesn’t have to do this for me.” Mulan told Hua Zhou. Her father must have paid quite the amount for such a fine horse.
“It’s nothing we cannot afford.” Hua Zhou merely brushed it off. “Besides, don’t you think Black Wind is getting too old to get involved in your shenanigans, my little flower?”
“Right.” Hua Mulan bashfully conceded. Black Wind had saved her life countless times during the war with the Rourans. It certainly deserved a break.
Right after she said that, Mulan stepped away from hugging the horse to hug her father instead, startling him so much that he almost dropped his walking cane.
“Thank you, Baba.”
Hearing her thanking him, Hua Zhou could only return his daughter’s hug in kind. Feelings of adoration flooded his heart.
Seeing Hua Mulan and Hua Zhou hugging each other, A-Li and Hua Xiu walked up to them and joined in the embrace. They remained hugging for a long while, staying close to each other for as long as they physically could.
A minute later, Mulan broke away from the embrace and said full of determination, “As soon as I get there, I will find a way to move you all to the Capital. I promise.” She even gave a glance to Uncle and Auntie Wei as she made that promise.
“We will miss you, A-Lan.” A-Li tearfully told Mulan, her hand gripping onto Mulan’s arm. Mulan nodded, then gently released her mother’s grip from her.
When Mulan gave her little sister a gentle caress to her cheek, Hua Xiu’s eyes were framing red and spilling with emotion.
Grabbing the reins and pulling herself up onto the horse’s back, securing her backpack by her side, she was about to turn the horse around away from the tulou when she heard: “What are you going to name him?” Hua Zhou asked.
Mulan considered it for a moment, then she gave an answer, “I think I will name him: Autumn Wind.”
With a whip and an urging ‘Ha!’ to move, Hua Mulan gallantly rode off to the Imperial Capital, her mother, father and sister, her entire family watching on as her back disappeared into the horizon.