Chapter 85: The Young Lord
The attendant walked quietly down the corridor. He led me through two interior courtyards and past a long wooden gallery toward the eastern wing of the estate.
I thought through my situation as I walked.
Lord Shen Yue had detached me from Hekou with a single wooden token.
Refusing the order was treason and would bring soldiers to Hekou within two weeks. Accepting meant tying myself to a dying Lord and his young son. If the boy died on my watch, I would be executed. If he liked me too much, the court officials would view me as a rival. If he hated me, my position would be worthless.
"The Young Lord is waiting in the eastern pavilion, Master Pei," the attendant said. He stopped at a pair of iron-studded doors, bowed, and stepped back.
I adjusted my leather belt and pushed the doors open.
The eastern pavilion contained an open stone yard built for training. Weapon racks holding dull wooden swords, iron bars, and archery targets lined the stone walls.
A young man stood in the center of the yard wearing a plain blue tunic. He was nineteen years old, broad-shouldered, and light on his feet. He held a wooden training saber in his right hand. Sweating from an hour of practice, he showed no sign of laziness.
He set the wooden saber on a rack and turned toward me as I entered. His face was calm and watchful.