Lin Xin's Audience Hall - Panyu

[Deng Wei]

"Ah, that is fine, my lord." Zheng Xiong replied when told that his services were no longer required. He was relieved that Lord Lin seemed calmer, and Zheng walked to Lin's side. He turned around, and eyed Taishi curiously; clearly the man was eloquent. Zheng Xiong said nothing, waiting to hear what the man had to say next.

[Nanjun Tiger]

At the mention of the court physician checking on his health, Guang immediately sighed inwardly. He wished to not show weakness in front of the Marquis, but he also recognized that it was a gesture of kindness and concern. There was no way that he could refuse. "Thank you Marquis Lin. I shall speak with Doctor Zheng at the conclusion of our meeting..."

Raising his fist to his mouth, he coughed slightly, but immediately returned his attention to the matters at hand. "As a matter of fact I do... For starters, there must be a mutual understanding and respect for each others lands and borders. Yue is off limits to me and my forces, and Changsha would be off limit to your forces... Also, I would propose some sort of 'non-aggression defense pact'. In this case, we would perform no hostile acts against one another, and in the case that either of us was attacked, we would be obligated to send forces to fight in the other's defense. Both of these proposals would allow us to retain our sovereignty and privacy of our respective internal administrations, while at the same time allowing mutual growth..."

Pausing, Guang turned his eyes towards the ceiling as he thought of other ideas. "Also, if any information regarding the other force was to come across our desk, we would immediately warn the other force. Such as, one of the leaders in Wu was planning to attack Yue and I found out."

Swallowing hard, and wincing slightly, Guang struggled to continue. "Do these proposals sound adequate, Marquis Lin?"

[Lin Xin]

Xin leaned back in his seat, chuckling a bit, and said with narrowed eyes, "Forgive me for being difficult, but I'm just not completely grasping your point here. Are you telling me that you have ways of finding out the inner workings of leaders in Wu before I could? Your spies would either have to travel through Yue, which I obviously cannot allow, or Jiujiang, while Wu is my neighbor...a friendly neighbor, might I add."

"Don't get me wrong," he continued, leaning back forward, "I understand the intent of your words. But, like I said previously, other than an assurance that you will not send your armies into Yue, which your army is not ready to do at this time anyway, I only see a proposal which primarily benefits you."

[Nanjun Tiger]

Guang pursed his lips at Lin's words, in deep thought at the man's response. "No, it was mearly an example of cooperation and trust, Marquis Lin. But if your feelings and preoccupations are not in that same realm, then I am afraid that I must retire to Changsha. I thank you for your time and hospitality." Bowing deeply, along with Fang Lu, Guang then turned about and prepared to leave Panyu...

[Deng Wei]

Zheng Xiong realized that Taishi had picked a wrong example to illustrate his point. After all, Wu was under the control of Zhi Cheng, a vassal of Marquis Yi. However, he felt that his Lord might be letting his duty to his ally's honor override diplomatic courtesy. Zheng himself admired Taishi's eloquence, and was quite dismayed as he began to leave.

Hurriedly, Zheng Xiong moved towards Taishi and said, "Sir, would you like me to take a pulse for you? Perhaps I could recommend some herbs for your health?" Hoping that his Lord would not hear him, Zheng whispered, "My lord is an honest man who speaks his mind. Do not hold it against him, I beg of you."

[Nanjun Tiger]

Halting and then turning his gaze, at first sternly, to the physician Zheng, Guang sighed and nodded in agreement. "I suppose Doctor Zheng...", he began, keeping his voice low, "but honesty will always lose in the face of deception. I guess that sometimes the truth is harder to bear than the falsehoods we have become accustomed to."

Clearing his throat, he then gave out another sigh. "I may need some treatment, if that is still fine with the Marquis, of course. It will be a long ride back to Nanjun..."

[Lin Xin]

Xin rose and returned Taishi's bow. Somehow, the meeting had not gone according to plan. He was at a loss for words unfortunately but Zheng Xiong saved him by stepping in.

Giving the doctor a nod of thanks, Xin said, "Of course, Lord Taishi. Also, because it will be such a long trip, I will arrange quarters for you and your men, if you wish to stay and rest for the night."

"I apologize but I have some other business to attend to, perhaps we can speak again in the morning before you depart?

[Deng Wei]

Zheng Xiong turned to his lord. He seldom saw Lin quite so at a loss for words; perhaps he required more time to recover from his injury. Zheng Xiong bowed to Lin and turned to Taishi, and said, "Well, we may proceed to the pavilion at the gardens where I may take your pulse."

((Yue Provincial RP if you wish))

[Nanjun Tiger]

Clearing his throat, the young leader of Changsha nodded his head in agreement, then bowed politely to Lin Xin. "We would be gracious for your hospitality, Marquis Lin. We are in your debt." Holding his head down until the Marquis left the room, he then turned his attention to Zheng Xiong.

"Aye, let us go to the pavilion. Please, lead the way good sir."

(Yue PRP. Your turn )

[Kaori]

A covered palanquin made its way inconspicuously through the streets of Panyu, keeping to the side of the road and yielding to most other traffic. Few people on the street gave it any attention but those who did were startled to find a pair of luminous eyes staring back at them through the cloth. Rin snickered at a rather large man's reaction to seeing her and was rewarded with a sharp tug on her ear. She made a pained squeak and turned to glare at her Grandfather.
"That was mean, you can just say something you know," He remained silent and continued to read over a letter, or some kind of financial record. Rin wasn't sure. She huffed and returned to the window, laying her hand on her cheek.

The Palanquin came to a halt outside a tall wooden gate and Rin watched her Grandfather lift himself from the seat before turning to offer her a hand. She shielded her eyes with a hand against the bright sun and stepped gingerly to the ground, favoring her right foot. Her left foot was rapped in cloth to cover a nasty cut she'd gotten after losing her sandles in Wei. She wore a starkly beautiful gown which had been ripped and covered with cloth to hide the damage. her hair, which usually fell haphazardly around her eyes was set into an intricate braid and she wore a deep red, jade embroidered amulet around her neck.

As Rin followed her Grandfather to stand in front of the gate she took a moment to smell the water nearbye. She'd never seen anything larger than a river and tried to imagine what it would look like.

Sun Bai noted his granddaughters reverie and frowned. He was a tall thin man with a stern face. His posture spoke of military service and his hair was tied into a long gray braid to match his beard. Bai craned his head to look at the watchtower and shouted with an air of command in his voice

"I am Sun Bai, here on behalf of Sun Rin to see the Marquis, open the gates" Rin started at the barked command and wondered at her Grandfather for being so bold. She fidgeted nervously and began to wish he hadn't come. It was fairly likely he'd say something she would regret.