@Sikozu
The Captain took the bow with all due care and handed it to one of his subordinates, to be taken to the guardhouse for safe keeping. Meanwhile the captain bade Lin Ying follow on behind as he entered the palace compound and strode towards the palace proper.
As she was lead through the courtyard and into the palace, the sense of faded grandeur of this place would not have escaped the slightly dishevelled traveller, for everywhere around her were signs of the Kingdom of Lu's heydays. Stone statues of tigers, cranes and other majestic animals were abundant, their finer details faded now by the wind and the rain of several centuries. So too was there no shortage of greenery and plantlife in the gardens, but it had taken on a wild, unkept look now: not unpleasant but not the manicured perfection that one might have expected from a place that once housed a Prince. However, there were signs that restoration work was underway, as surveyors looked over every inch of the place and joted little notes to themselves with charcoal on stone tablets. Within a month or two the palace would be restored to its former oppulence, but Lin Ying was given little time to dwell on the state of the palace and soon found herself within the Audience Chamber. This room shared the signs of neglect and old age that the outside of the palace displayed, but it was at least tidy and did not detract from the decorum of the rooms chief occupant. Sitting on a simple wooden chair and backed by four soldiers, Cai Xingzhe looked down the hall at his visitor and smiled.
"Come in and be seated, Lin Ying. My guard informs me you have read my statement of intent and wish to speak with me on it. Have a cup of wine and then speak your mind." the Prefect indicted a similar seat to his own which sat ten feet or so from his dais. Wine was brought forward by a servant.
@ShowBlizz
A few of guards exchanged glances and then looked to their captain for orders. He nodded and seemed to relax slightly, a change which was mirrored in the demenour of the men in his charge.
"Alright then. We'll take you to the palace and see if the Prefect is available." the captain rumbled and waved a hand signal to his men, who formed an escort around the horseman.
"Sergeant close the gates now."
As the city gates thudded closed behind them, the escort moved off towards the centre of Qufu, presumably with Zhang Xing, Tuan Ai and Ban Ren in tow. There was little activity in the streets at this hour of night, only the occasional civilian and the odd patrol here and there but the sounds of activity within the homes still buzzed in the ears of the visitors, giving Qufu a sense of life, even after dark. However, the sounds from within the palace were stronger and harsher, almost as if there was a fight going on in the courtyard beyond the walls. The grating of steel against steel, the thudding of feet on cobbles and - from time to time - the gasp of a men exerting themselves in combat. The captain of the guard detatchment here, a man with strong arms and shaggy beard, looked positively delighted to hear the sounds of combat from within.
"A Master Zhang Xing to see the Prefect, Captain Zhuang... tonight if possible." he added as an afterthought.
"Private Yi, go inform Lord Cai of his visitor." the bearlike captain commanded his subordinate.
The soldier disappeared within the palace gates and almost immediately the sounds of swordplay ceased. Soon the man returned and nodded to his officer.
"If you'll dismount surrender any weapons you might have in your possession now, then we'll let you in to see the Prefect and make sure your rides are fed. Acceptable?" he said firmly but without malice.
"Lord Cai is a cautious man."
Assuming that this was acceptable to Zhang and his companions, the gates were opened and the three visitors permitted to enter the courtyard beyond, where a cadre of troops were gathered behind the Prefect. Haoqi himself was bare to the waist, a sword in his belt and a thin film of sweat glistening on his body. Not even poor lighting could hide the fact that the nobleman was not in peek physical condition for his ribs were easily visible beneath his skin and there was an absence of any real muscle bulk in his scrawny arms as well.
"I must confess I'd rather be in my study with a book in hand or with my wife, than be here enduring the ceaseless burning in my limbs that comes with sword practice. However, it is a necessary evil for so poor a swordsman as myself to put up with the endless drills and sparring, if I am to wield a blade in my own defense one day." he said jovially and regarded Zhang Xing with an unwavering gaze. After a while he added:
"Sordid History, Master Zhang? You make it sound as though we stole through the night and commited all manner of misdemeanours together. Try not to put wayward ideas into the heads of my soldiers in future."
The Prefect waved to Zhang to follow on as he headed across the courtyard, through the gardens and into the palace, his instructors never far behind. In the main audience chamber, a picture of Lu's faded glory, Cai took his seat on the dais and accepted a cup of wine from a servant, who also brought the visitors some refreshment.
"How fairs Guiyang then? I hear there is a certain Lin Xin has become powerful in those parts." he asked and then drank gratefully of his cup.
((What sort of "Sordid History" did you have in mind?
))
