Li Zhu's Audience Hall - Zhaoge

[Hitredblue]

Hitredblue

Thinking he thought he saw some uncertainty in his visitor, or, perhaps, sensing some discomfort, Xi tried his best to give Shang Feng a warm smile, but it wound up coming out wrong and just looked goofy. He nodded his head along with the visitor's dialogue and added a "mmmhmmm" in there once or twice. When he finished, Xi said, "Those are worthy talents. It seems odd that someone's talent might be in finding others of talent, but if nobody could do that, all of the talented people would just wander around aimlessly and be lost. Then again, shouldn't the talented people be able to find the people looking for them instead of the other way around?" Zhenfeng started to chuckle a bit, before realizing he didn't make any sense. "Well, I am in need of a talent-herder such as yourself. If it is still your desire to serve, I am pleased to accept you."

Shang Feng was happy that Xiang Zhuang accepted him, since Shang Feng never thought something as obscure as what he did would actually be useful to a ruler.

"The pleasure is mine. I will not let you down."

With that, Shang Feng bowed to Xiang Zhuang and Xi's daughter. He then turned to the guards to be led out of the building and hopefully get his knife back.

[Xiang Zhuang]

Ren chuckled at the last few words of Xia Xi, but again he said nothing since it was Shang doing all the talking. "I concur with your reasoning, Lord Xia." Shang replied. "We also believe that it would be in our best interest to aid one another. Help each other prosper."

"Well then," Xi replied, "is there something you have in mind? A way that we can help one another? In my own mind, the most advantageous thing I can think of is to be able to stand back-to-back, so that we do not have to worry about the Yin-Liang border. Perhaps, though, your lord has greater insight into our collective situation, and can see other ways we can be of assistance."

[crosby123]

Deng Yung walks to the to the entrance of the Audience Hall with a letter on her hand. Gripping it hard, she approached the guards.

"I got a letter from Lady Xia. Search me all you want as I got absolutely no weapons. Now may I go in?"

[RuffRydeR]

The guards search her, gingerely, for she was a woman, and not seriously as well. Besides, Lady Xia could handle herself...right?

Then, one nods, and she is brought onward to the Lady Xia, who is simply chatting with her father in the main hall. She smiles, and welcomes her, as the guards announce her name,

"Why, hello Lady Deng. Glad to see you recieved my letter. I trust the trip here wasn't too hard?"

[crosby123]

"No it wasn't. Just had to get through a few hundred people on the streets, that's all."

With a smirk on her face, she handed the letter to Lady Xia.

"So yeah, I got a letter in my mailbox. And guess what? Someone is looking to hire me! Only as a personal bodyguard to Lady Xia. Is this a joke or something? Or have the standards of becoming a bodyguard has greatly lowered?"

[RuffRydeR]

"A bodyguard? Oh my..."

She frowned. Two of her scribes must have gotten mixed up with their orders. She hastily apologized,

"Ah, must have been a little blunder by the two. Still, you were on a list to be hired for something...I'm just not sure what. Definitely not a bodyguard though, if you can't fight."

Ruffling her hair, rather embarassed, she asked,

"So...umm... exactly what are you good at then?"

[crosby123]

Yung shakes her head a bit.

"Lady Xia, if you are looking to hire someone, you should at least know what you are hiring them for. You turn around and ask me what I am good at? Is this what a good leader does when he or she is looking to surround themselves with the best?"

She pauses to catch her breath. A look of disappointment could be seen on her face.

"I don't know what will happen to the force should something unfortunate happen to Lord Xia. Not with that sense of responsibility you take on now..."

OOC: I might want to rp a few guards later on. Would you mind?

[Xiang Zhuang]

Yung shakes her head a bit.

"Lady Xia, if you are looking to hire someone, you should at least know what you are hiring them for. You turn around and ask me what I am good at? Is this what a good leader does when he or she is looking to surround themselves with the best?"

She pauses to catch her breath. A look of disappointment could be seen on her face.

"I don't know what will happen to the force should something unfortunate happen to Lord Xia. Not with that sense of responsibility you take on now..."

OOC: I might want to rp a few guards later on. Would you mind?

Xia Xi, for the most part, was content to watch the exchanges between his daughter and their visitor. It was an amusing and somewhat delightful change of pace. However, it wasn't like him to keep his mouth shut for long, and when he found an opening to speak, he took it. "Please be sure you are not reprimanding my daughter," he said. He was looking directly at Deng Yung, bearing an odd smile on his face. "Certainly you must understand that there are many peoples' names who come to us as being worthy men and women. It would be unseemly for you to press us for forgetting one, especially when we often come across many different people who we only know from vague rumor.

"Further, my own safety is as of yet not your concern. I retain control over the safety protocols here, and maintain a vigilant watch over those who are meant to watch me. I'm not exactly sure what you are getting at with your comments there, and would appreciate it if you would tell me." He frowned at the young lady, but then realized he may have been coming off too strongly. He added, "I don't claim that everything is at its best. However, I am curious about what authority you speak of, and what it is that worries you. Certainly this cannot be just about my daughter inviting somebody here to speak with us and then promptly forgetting why she invited them in the first place?"

[crosby123]

Deng Yung lets out a tight smile in response to Xia Xi.

"Lord Xia, I am not here to evaluate whether your safety measures are up to standards or not. That is not an area that I have studied in. What I look into is the long run. I will apologize beforehand if that sounds offensive, but no individual is immortal. Not even you, Lord Xia. Obviously, your lovely daughter will be the next one in line to call the shots. I was wondering whether she has received proper training as a leader, accumulated enough hands on experience, and surrounded herself with subordinates she can trust yet."

She turns back to the Lady.

"Guess I will answer your previous question then, Lady Xia. As you can see, I bring nothing but an open mind and a sharp tongue to the table. These are the best, and the only weapons I have. You don't need a bodyguard. You need an adviser."

[RuffRydeR]

Liangyu was a storm of emotion as offended anger stormed inside her. And yet she realized the lady spoke the truth. She did need advise... But she didn't remember sending letters seeking those.

Letters to intellectuals? What did she write, exactly? Oh, yes!

She had been encountering lots of brainy people lately and it had finally opened her up to what she was missing. though, she had dropped it through no fault of her own. Liangyu was still a bit miffed about the book burnings of four years ago, for her favourite stories had gone up in ash...

She had stopped having scholarly tutors then, and turned fully to the ways of a warrior. Lately, it had occurred to her that with the book bans easing along with Qin control, she could have...

"A tutor! That's what I was writing to people to! I was going to hire you as a tutor! Ah...Sorry about that. Must have been a mistake with the scribes..."

Flushing, she bowed to her father, and noted,

"With the book bans of the Qin seeming to ease, scholarship seems to matter again... I think having an adviser would be a good idea. What do you think, Father?"