Chương 579: Chapter 571

"Honestly, I'm kinda surprised at how well things worked out." Cheeks smarting from smiling for too long, Sarnai shook her head in mock reproach and lectured her brilliant son.

"This is not the sort of thing a confident young hero is supposed to admit. Better for you to keep quiet and behave as if you had planned it all out in advance."

"No, that's too cold and calculating, and not at all like me. No one would ever believe it." Never one to accept credit even where it was due, Rain grinned and asked, "Besides, what's more intimidating? Someone who makes intricate plans and carries them out to perfection, or someone so naturally talented they don't need to plan at all?"

"The first one, child." Rolling her eyes, Sarnai reached across the table and rapped his head lightly.

"What sort of question is this? The first is a brilliant mastermind, and the other a lucky fool."

"If given the option, I'd take luck over brains any day of the week, but alas, fortune is a fickle mistress." Filling her porcelain teacup like a dutiful son, Rain deftly abandoned the topic to discuss some trivial matter with Zheng Luo. He'd always had a peculiar way of seeing things, this sweet son of hers, and delighted in bucking trends to approach things in whatever manner he deemed best.

Perhaps this was the secret to his unprecedented Martial success, for it was common knowledge that each warrior must forge their own Path, and Rain's approach seemed uniquely suited for the task. Question everything, verify all answers, and above all else, trust your own instincts. A somewhat cynical and calculated world view in Sarnai's opinion, but considering his traumatic childhood, she could hardly blame him for becoming suspicious and self-reliant.

Happy to sit back and let Rain and Zheng Luo enjoy themselves, Sarnai sipped her delicious herbal tea and surveyed the Peony Pavilion tea house once again, knowing their conversation was being relayed to anyone and everyone of importance within the Citadel. There were no private rooms in this three-storied dessert restaurant, a decision which was sure to see the lovely hardwood flooring stained with blood sooner rather than later, but perhaps things were different here in Central.

Their Nobles did so love to preen and posture, but it was difficult to show off your latest dress or jewellery with everyone of worth hidden away in their own rooms, and thus the popularity of this 'open concept' dessert store. It'd become something of a statement to be seen eating here in one's most fashionable finery, which meant the other diners around Sarnai had been drawn from the highest echelons of society and looked like a pack of painted fools in feathered frippery.

Who, as a whole, were making great efforts to not notice Rain and Zheng Luo while simultaneously paying attention to their every move in hopes of solving the mystery which was Falling Rain. Good luck to them, as Sarnai had known him for almost a decade now and still didn't understand his mind. Alsantset and the twins were so much easier to deal with, sweet children who learned things step by step instead of all at once and only when absolutely necessary.

Much as Sarnai loved her son, Rain was a jumbled patchwork of confusing contradictions. Loyal and loving as a hound, yet aloof and capricious as a cat, he was a terrified boy possessed of boundless courage, one not at all suited for the rigours of war and conflict yet so phenomenally talented it was as if he were born to tread the Martial Path.

There were times when she wondered if he would be happier as anything besides a Warrior, but then she saw how hard he worked to regain what he'd lost in the wake of his shattered Core, and she didn't know what to think anymore. In the end, she defaulted to what she always did. Let Rain decide what he wanted in life, and she would simply do her best to support him, like she did here in Central.

Games of politics being what they were, Sarnai ignored them and sipped her tea, her eyes glancing over every fop, dandy, hussy, and trollop without stopping to acknowledge them. A subtle insult, disregarding them in such egregious fashion, but if they expected her to simper and tacitly invite them over to introduce themselves and insult her son, then they were all in for a rude awakening.

While they pretended to ignore her ignoring them, she scanned her surroundings for threats and tried Rain's trick of comparing what she saw with her memory of their surroundings, which she'd spent a half-hour thoroughly memorizing from Concealment before leaving to pick up her son from the theatre.

She found no discrepancies, which was upsetting because she knew there were Concealed Sentinels inside the restaurant, so either Rain's method was flawed, a Mother-Blessed Talent, or Sarnai simply wasn't observant enough to pick up on the minor differences. How frustrating. Rain made it sound so simple, yet she couldn't replicate his success even when she knew a Concealed Martial Warrior was standing right in the room...

The Legate's note implied there would be danger here, and Ryo Da'in made great efforts to ensure Rain's friends were otherwise occupied, so Sarnai expected the worst and intended to use this as a show of force to eradicate anyone and everyone who dared move against them.

There were no less than sixty Peak Experts stationed in and around the Peony Pavilion tea house, and Sarnai ached for the chance to take up her spear and show the Empire that Falling Rain did not stand alone and the People were a formidable force to be reckoned with. Not that her son needed coddling. No, he was doing fine on his own, and she could not be more proud.

While putting the final touches on her preparations for their mother-son tea date, Sarnai received an urgent Sending from Naaran telling her to check in on the opera house, where Rain's phenomenal (and frankly unbelievable) performance took her breath away. He looked so lively and heroic from behind the lens of her Scrying, but she worried for him so, and even with Naaran narrating the dialogue to her through Sending, she felt so lost and unsure of what to do next.

Only MuYang's many quiet assurances had kept her from rushing in to spirit her son away to safety, because so much could have gone wrong in that short exchange, with her frail, helpless boy standing on one side and a formidable young warrior of no small renown on the other.

She could easily see some Imperial Noble ordering the sacrifice of the Ishin family in exchange for taking the contentious Falling Rain off the board, her poor son's life lost with an errant swing of Ken-Shibu's blade, and then their calamitous path would be set. Sarnai's heart almost stopped multiple times during their brief dialogue, not only when Rain carelessly hoisted himself on stage and away from the safety of his Concealed guards, but also again when he requested the use of Ken-Shibu's swords.

The Ishin boy could have even Guided his weapons while they were in Rain's hands to make him look the fool or worse, but he knew what he was doing. Ken-Shibu was either too enraged by Rain's flippant attitude to Guide while also Lightening and Honing his weapons, or he simply didn't think it was wise to try after the initial demonstration. Or a multitude of other reasons she couldn't fathom, for political dealings were akin to speaking another language in her eyes.

Games is what they were, games to entertain Martial Warriors with too much time on their hands and no Defiled tribes to defend against. Pleased as Sarnai was over her son's stunning victory, she hated seeing him risk his life so often just to keep politically afloat. The Citadel would soon be abuzz with the news of his phenomenal Martial demonstration and how he copied Ken-Shibu's dizzying movements with only a single glance, but few saw the toll it took on her poor boy.

They only saw the valiant and dazzling young man who strode off stage after dealing a grievous blow to the Ishin boy's reputation, but it was Sarnai who had to bite her tongue and stealthily push Rain up the stairs to his carriage, so exhausted after this gruelling bout of physical and mental exertion he could barely keep his head up.

According to Healer Abjiya, who'd been Concealed and waiting inside the carriage at his explicit request, he'd pulled thirteen muscles in total across his arms, back, and calves during his short demonstration on stage, mostly thanks to Ishin Ken-Shibu varying the weight of his swords through Lightening. The worst part? Sarnai hadn't even noticed any sign of distress until he faltered at the carriage steps, for her son was far too well-practised at hiding his pain.

It all came to light once there was no one to see him save for Sarnai, Zheng Luo, and Abjiya. No one else saw Rain sink into his seat, his skin drawn, cheeks pale, and brow glistening with sweat, or watched him tremble from head to toe the entire twenty-minute ride from the opera theatre to tea house, staring at his bamboo flask the whole way over until the carriage came to a stop.

Finally trusting his shaky hands enough to bring the flask to his lips, he emptied the entire thing in one go, desperately gulping it down as if it held liquid courage itself. Then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and like magic, the nervous, anxious, exhausted young man was gone, and in his place was the calm, confident, and smiling warrior, Falling Rain. This was a part he played, Sarnai saw this now, and it was much like the Baledagh persona he supposedly relied upon for so many years as a teen.

At least now the difference was less pronounced and he was more honest about his acting. Taking her eyes off the crowd, Sarnai watched her son smile and chat about his Laughing Bird with his beautiful concubine, showing the watching crowd and Concealed spies exactly what they expected to see from Imperial Consort Falling Rain and Imperial Servant Zheng Luo.

Happy, carefree, filial, and in good health, this was what these people would say when asked how he appeared, which was exactly what he needed to keep the Imperial Legate from abandoning him. Of course, this was assuming he hadn't already been thrown to the wolves, which was questionable at best. The opera show had been nothing more than a thinly disguised attempt to assassinate Rain's character, and he would never have been in that position if not for the Legate's meddling.

Inside the carriage, Zheng Luo had explained what she believed was supposed to happen, with Rain rattling off a detailed critique of the opera performance and proving he was still sound of mind, while other planted members of the audience did their best to disprove his points. So long as Rain put forth a few good points and counterpoints, Zheng Luo assumed Ryo Da'in would eventually step in to defend Rain's honour and defeat Ishin Ken-Shibu soundly.

Unfortunately, Sarnai couldn't bring herself to trust the fox-eyed vixen, nor did she wholly agree with Zheng Luo's optimistic conclusion, especially considering that Ken-Shibu tried to push for a duel against one of Rain's friends at the end. The Legate most likely expected Rain to embarrass himself beyond all compare, at which point Fung, BoShui, or Zian would stand to defend his honour, but against Ken-Shibu, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

Falling Rain humiliated, his allies defeated, a pawn sacrificed, and a rebellion averted. Multiple birds with one arrow, while the Legate's archer, Ryo Da'in, sat and smiled from behind half-lidded eyes while her inaction revealed the truth of the matter to anyone with eyes. Games within games, Pei. Still, had the Legate's schemes come to fruition as Sarnai envisioned, it would not have been the worst outcome to be had.

The Legate lost no face in sacrificing a pawn, and Rain could retire from the public eye in a mostly bloodless manner, albeit at the steep cost of face and reputation. Of course, there was a good chance the Legate would not have left things there, but Sarnai's sweet boy ruined all these carefully laid plans by falling asleep only minutes after the lights went out, much to her amusement. He had such an infuriating way about him at times, and it was good to finally see it put to good use against his enemies.

Still, a small part of her wondered if they might have all been better served if her son hadn't 'lucked' his way into an overwhelming victory at the opera house, but it was hard to believe the Legate would ever, under any circumstances, let Rain go home to live in peace. An investment had been made without turning profit, and Sarnai had yet to hear of an Imperial Noble who was gracious in defeat.

Regardless of what might have been, there were still a number of pressing concerns to deal with, first and foremost whatever danger was supposed to strike here at the tea-house. Then there was the matter of rumours going around that Falling Rain had somehow faked the destruction of his Spiritual Weapons, though the reasons varied wildly.

Some claimed it was out of cowardice, despite Rain holding the record for most consecutive days spent out on patrol and overall time spent on the front lines at the time of his injury. Others shouted about how he was shirking his Mother-blessed duties, even though there were thousands of entitled Martial Warriors who had yet to set foot beyond the Citadel walls.

There were also whispers of Rain having arranged Mitsue Hideo's death in Sinuji, supposedly out of jealousy even though Rain was ten times the man that entitled idiot of a Central brat would ever be, or that Rain was somehow in league with the Defiled Emissary Gen and therefore responsible for every death in Sinuji.

No one cared that Rain helped lay the groundwork for the trap which killed three to five-hundred thousand Defiled on the fields of Sinuji, or that he'd proven himself time and time again whilst out patrolling the front lines, or that he selflessly provided the Empire with the means to make cheap paper, iron, fragrant soap, and a whole multitude of other innovative discoveries all for free. None of it mattered.

The truth was an unwelcome guest in the minds of these unrepentant nitpickers, because the truth was that they only held Rain up to such impossible standards because they didn't like seeing a 'tribal savage' surpass them. He wasn't like them, and ergo, not what a hero should be, so he must not be a hero at all. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. And all of this was before Rain's Martial demonstration at the opera house.

Sarnai had heard several groups whispering about Rain's 'fake injuries' firsthand while shopping, and she could only imagine how those fools would see his actions at the opera house as proof of their unfounded suspicions. Hell, they might even accuse Rain of making disparaging remarks which were detrimental towards morale with regards to his closing statement, or twist his words to make it seem like he looked down on any warrior who had yet to face the Defiled on the field of battle, like his own 'ally', Ryo Da'in.

"Mom." Startling her out of her thoughts, Rain placed his hand over Sarnai's and squeezed it tight, his concerned gaze showing over a feigned smile.

"Relax. Have fun. We're here to enjoy ourselves, which is difficult to do with you scowling at everyone who looks in our general direction."

"Sorry." Cheeks colouring with embarrassment, she Sent, " All this waiting has me on edge. I almost wish the assassins would make their move so we can get this over and done with."

"Don't worry Mom." Smiling wryly at her embarrassment, Rain gestured at the desserts in front of her, laid out so artistically on her plate.

"I highly doubt we need to concern ourselves with assassins. Hidden daggers were a fine option while we were still on the road, sure, but here in the Citadel, everyone needs to keep up appearances, even if only for the sake of face." Leaning in close, he whispered, "There are five Colonel Generals and three Marshals present in the Citadel, and if they can't be trusted to keep the peace, how can they be trusted to work together and defend the provinces against the Defiled?

It would only cause fear and unrest, a grave risk and steep price considering how bad I am at dying. No, whatever our foes are planning here, it won't be so... direct." Popping his last cube of almond jelly into his mouth, he waggled his eyebrows at her plate.

"So eat your desserts before I steal them all away."

"Incorrigible fool." At least his appetite was still good, though Sarnai was mildly miffed he hadn't shared his thoughts with her earlier." You really think nothing will happen?" She Sent, trusting his judgment more than her own when it came to matters of politics. He proved himself in that opera house today, and Sarnai was not too proud to listen to her son's advice.

"That's not what I said Mom." Patient and calm, he feigned another smile and added, "But don't worry. Things are well in hand." Gesturing at her plate for the third time, he stressed, "Finish your food, and then we can go." Oh Mother Above, he was waiting for her to finish so they could leave. Or at least that's what she thought, before he turned around and ordered a single bowl of tofu pudding.

The Legate's note said it would be lacklustre, but it was still one of Sarnai's favourite desserts, so she found it odd that Rain only ordered for himself, which was not at all like him. Still, she trusted him to navigate through these muddied political waters, so she obediently cleaned her plate and jealously watched him gulp down the single bowl of tofu pudding they brought him.

She didn't even bat an eye when he grossly overpaid to settle the bill sight unseen, tossing gold cards onto the table and pressing gold bars into the server's hands like a drunken wastrel at a whorehouse. A good thing they broke him of that habit early on, else who knows what sort of irresponsible rascal he might have grown into... Linking his arm with hers, Rain led them out to their waiting carriage, which he promptly boarded without greeting Ping Ping or waiting for Roc to hop off of his perch.

That was the first clue Sarnai spotted which indicated something was wrong, and as the door closed behind her and Zheng Luo, she spotted her second clue as Rain picked up a waiting chamber pot, clutched it to his chest, and proceeded to stick his fingers down his throat and vomit up everything he'd just eaten. So surprised by his actions, Sarnai almost called for the carriage to stop, but MuYang's warning arrived just in time to keep her from panicking.

"Say nothing," he Sent, playing the part of carriage driver today.

"He knows what he's doing. The carriage is guarded against sound and Scrying, so let us not spoil his efforts with hysterics." Though burning to know why her son was vomiting, Sarnai sat still and let Rain go about his work.

"How's it look," he whispered a few minutes later, gratefully accepting a water skin from Abjiya while she checked his health, her hand resting on the back of Rain's neck.

"Again," the taciturn woman said, gesturing at the chamber pot.

"Then finish the water before vomiting a third time." Audibly groaning at the command, Rain dutifully stuck his fingers down his throat once again and set himself to work, with Sarnai's heart in pain the whole while. Oh how she yearned to wipe his brow, pat his back, stroke his hair, do something to help soothe his nerves, but physical contact with Rain might interfere with the Healer's efforts.

A long ten minutes later, Abjiya nodded and said, "This is acceptable for now, though the concoction you drank is still there. You should have nothing to worry about." This said, Sarnai couldn't help but notice Abjiya continued monitoring Rain's health...

"Good. That means its doing its job." Accepting another water skin from Zheng Luo, he used this one to rinse his mouth and hands before sealing the chamber pot and putting it aside.

"Also, if we ever have to do this again, please remind me to specify that I would like a new receptacle to vomit in, not just one that's been washed. That was highly unpleasant." Unable to wait any longer, Sarnai wrung her hands and growled, "Explain." Oh her poor, sweet boy. She had half a mind to turn this carriage around and burn that overpriced snack shop to the ground...

"Sorry I didn't tell either of you in advance." Even discomforted as he was, Rain still forced himself to smile.

"I was worried you'd bring me away if I told you the food was probably poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Sarnai scoffed even as Zheng Luo squeaked in fright. No courage in this one, but Rain had more than enough to make up for it. Hopefully their children would take the average and come out somewhat reasonable, neither craven and cowardly nor suicidally brave.

"Impossible. Any poison strong enough to bring low a Martial Warrior would have overpowered the flavour of the food."

"True, but I'm not entirely sure I still count as one." Shrugging, Rain clarified, "Technically, anyone with a Core is considered a Martial Warrior, and there are plenty of people who barely qualify, but enjoy the same near immunity to poisons and diseases. The problem is, we don't understand the mechanics behind Martial Warrior immunities. Is it metabolic, meaning our bodies are improved by Heavenly Energy to where it can break down poisons on its own?

Or does the presence of Chi moving through our Core and Spiritual bodies cleanse away the impurities? If it's the former, then poison shouldn't affect me, but if it's the latter, then I'm as vulnerable as your average farmer or fisherman, and considering how sick I was for the first few months after shattering my Core, I'm leaning towards the latter." These were the musings which made her boy's Martial Path so unique. It was like asking why fish swam in water and birds flew through the air.

That was simply the way of the world, but Rain's boundless curiosity pushed him to learn more.

"Then what could you possibly stand to gain from ingesting poison? Why would you take such a risk?" Oh Mother Above, please see him safely through this...

"He wants our enemies and allies alike to believe he is in perfect health." It was clear by her tone that Zheng Luo had only just arrived at this conclusion, and she was almost as concerned as Sarnai.

"But Lord Husband, you should refrain from doing this again. There are poisons that will merely inconvenience a Martial Warrior but are instantly fatal for commoners, so... so..."

"It's okay." All but glowing with pride, Rain puffed his chest and said, "I have good reasons for going through with this. First off, I was pretty sure they wouldn't use any poison that would affect a Martial Warrior, just in case one of you two noticed something amiss and got me to a Healer. Secondly, I didn't think they'd use a fast acting poison either, mostly because they wouldn't want my death to be too obvious.

If I die at the tea-house, then it would turn into this big, public affair which warrants a public inquiry and can turn into a scandal, and if I show symptoms while I'm still awake, then I can just go running to Teacher and all their hard work goes wasted. The smartest move is to use a slow acting poison, something that will take effect in the middle of the night when no one is watching, because then it just looks like I died in my sleep of some health complication or the other."

"... So what now?" Zheng Luo asked, all teary and doe-eyed while she asked the question Sarnai dared not ask.

"Will you... will you be alright?"

"Should be." Eyeing Abjiya to see if she disagreed, Rain gave an almost imperceptible shrug and said, "Teacher helped brew this medicinal tea I remembered reading about, something to coat the lining of the stomach and inhibit digestion. Supposed to help settle gastrointestinal problems or something, but we all agreed it might buy me enough time to purge everything I ate before I digested any of it."

"I am not able to tell if it worked yet," Abjiya absently murmured, so focused on inspecting Rain's health.

"A clever trick and the theory is sound, but it is difficult to prove the absence of poison without going through every nook and cranny, especially if it is a subtle poison like what was used in Nan Ping. So far, he looks healthy though, no clots, arrhythmia, temperature spikes, or adverse reaction, but I will remain close by and check his health every half hour." Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Sarnai gripped her spear tight.

"Good, good. So now we return to the manor, where Taduk will help you purge what remains of the poison." Leaving her free to go hunt the perpetrator. The poisoner was probably long gone by now, or worse, dead and disposed of, but their absence would be noted, unless of course the rest of the staff was in on the plan too...

"Actually, no." Sheepishly staring at his feet, Rain said, "I kinda, sorta, asked Teacher to err... go be publicly seen with Grandpa Du. And to not come home until late at night, or if possible, stay... somewhere else. Or else I wouldn't have bothered with the tea and the puking. Also, we're not going home, we're meeting up with Lin-Lin, Song, and the twins to visit the Ryo household so Da'in can 'introduce' us to the Colonel General."

"... Why?"

"To keep up the illusion." Meeting her eyes, he sighed and sank back into his seat with a tired but genuine smile, which earned him a grunt and a frown from Abjiya who was still monitoring his health.

"As you may have noticed, poison is hard to defend against and I can't keep being this cautious forever, which means the best course of action is to trick everyone into believing that this plan worked, but the poison failed without Teacher's intervention."

"And thus making our enemy believe you still have the constitution of a Martial Warrior." Furrowing her brow in her pouty-lipped fashion, Zheng Luo asked, "But Lord Husband, what if more than one of your foes uses poison against you?"

"Oh no worries, I'm sure the Legate will tell everyone all about it." Seeing their puzzled glances, Rain blinked in surprise before breaking out in a grin.

"Oh wow, you guys didn't know? Would you look at that. Falling Rain, Superrrrrrr Genius!"

"Less gloating," Sarnai growled, exasperated to the extreme.

"And more explaining."

"Sorry. It's not everyday I outwit my mother and my consort." Faintly gesturing back towards the tea-house, he said, "All of that was the Legate's ploy. He told us himself, in a roundabout fashion." Taking on the air of an Imperial Noble, he menacingly intoned, "The tofu pudding. Is to die for. Wah-Ha-Ha-Ha!" So that's why he ordered a single serving of tofu pudding before leaving. She even watched him drink it down without blinking, while knowing full well it might kill him, oh her courageous, idiotic son.

Rain was right not to share his suspicions, for Sarnai would have never let him go through with it... Mother in Heaven, why must you torment this poor child so?

"Stop moving," Abjiya barked, cutting short Rain's maniacal laugh.

"Hard enough to monitor your health in this bouncing death trap without you squirming about."

"Sorry Abjiya." Few people could put Rain in his place like so, and Sarnai favoured the stern Healer with an approving nod as he continued, "Anyways, the Legate will probably 'find out' that 'his Seneschal' tried to kill me with poison and failed, then go complaining to all his friends about how difficult his life is.

'Oh, woe is me, it's so hard to find good help these days', or something to that effect, while making it clear that I am impervious to common poisons. I should probably thank him, since this'll save me a lot of headaches in the future, though it seems weird to thank someone for poisoning my food." Though he made it all out to be some sort of joke, Sarnai knew he was putting on a brave face. Unable to take his hand for fear of interfering with Abjiya's work, she leaned forward and sighed.

"I'm sorry, son. Your old mother is useless in these matters and can do nothing to ease your burdens." What a fool she'd been, guarding him against assassins in the middle of the Citadel itself. She should have sent her Peak Experts to watch the kitchen instead, or anticipated what Rain intended and convinced him to take a less dangerous route.

"There's nothing to apologize for Mom. The People's strength is the only reason I'm allowed to play these games to begin with." Patting himself on the chest, he said, "I can still handle this much pressure, so don't you worry about a thing. Besides there is something you can help me with." Leaning a little forwards, he whispered, "Could you keep all this a secret from Major Binesi, and tell him my schedule is going to be packed these next few days?

I promised him I'd stay safe in the manor, but if the Legate is going to throw me into the fray, I'd rather make my own plans and give myself reason to refuse. You can frame it as me trying to drum up support for Colonel General Nian Zu's proposal, and maybe he won't have me whipped for disobeying orders."

"Of course, dear child." As if she'd ever let that mule-headed fool lay finger on her son, much less take a lash to his hide. Frowning as she settled back in her seat, she asked, "What proposal are you helping the Colonel General with?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" As much as Sarnai loved her son, she had to admit, there were times when he was almost too infuriating to put up with, especially when he thought he had the upper hand. Ishin Ken-Shibu might be a sore loser, but poor winners were almost equally reviled, and Rain was nothing if not ungracious in victory. Chapter Meme