Eastern Wu: Realm of the Sun Clan sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne

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Lu Su sipped tea from his dish and said, “You’re not suggesting that we have another morbid conversation about ‘worst case scenarios’, are you…?”
“Bofu entrusts his legacy to his brothers, Lü Fan and me,” Gongjin explained. “He knows that stray arrows and missteps are a fact of life, and even a hero such as he is not infallible.”
“…It would be a shame, what with him having a little family now,” Lu Su sighed.
“Sun Jian lived and died, and so will Bofu,” Gongjin said. “My own wife will soon be blessing me with a child, but I know that I might not see them grow to adulthood and have planned for it. Now, Zijing, let us discuss the various alternatives that-”
“Forgive me for asking, Gongjin, but why…?” Lu Su asked. “I am unpopular. Lord Sun’s mother dislikes me, Lord Sun dislikes me, and most of the lord’s vassals, inherited and earned, have little to say to me.”
“I’m always fighting to change that,” Gongjin promised. “Now, please, let us talk of our options…”

While Gongjin and Lu Su had their conversation, the banquet ended and Bofu began his own discussions with his family regarding Cao Cao’s letter.
“Being a son-in-law to the brother of the Han’s Excellency of Works might be a good thing,” the sickly Sun Kuang suggested. “I’m sure that Lady Cao will be pretty, since the Caos are marrying most of the most beautiful women in the land.”
“You sound like you don’t mind going ahead, ‘Little Marquis’,” Bofu noted. “Boyang, I know that you’re not sure, but-”
“It wasn’t the case that I was - or am - against it,” Sun Ben insisted. “You’ve made it my choice, which you didn’t have to do as the head of our clan.”
“Is that a slight?” Xu Kun asked. “If it is, Ben, then-!”
“It wasn’t, I assure you,” Sun Ben replied. “I yielded the chieftainship willingly, and I have never openly or privately contested Bofu as our lord. I truly gave way to a worthier man.”

Sun Quan looked at Sun Ben and studied his expression for signs of dishonesty.
“…I don’t think that you’re somehow ‘less worthy’ than I am,” Bofu said. “Your father and my father were twins, you’re older than me… you’d be right to wonder why, given what a great job you did as clan chieftain, that you-”
“I am not unhappy,” Sun Ben insisted. “Now, returning to the matter of my daughter marrying Cao Zhang: what word is there about his nature…?”
“Is he a pig?” Shangxiang asked.
“…You shouldn’t even be here!” Bofu complained. “Go and-!”
“I do have a right to be here,” Shangxiang retorted. “If Mother can be here, and Lady Chen, then why not me…?”
“It’s more about age, sister, and experience,” Sun Yi suggested. “You’re twelve, and never leave the confines of the estate, so what do you know about the world…?”
“Whose fault’s that, though?” Shangxiang retorted. “I want to go out and talk to people!”
“…And after the one time you did, I’m not keen for you to do so again,” Bofu admitted. “Honestly, that market trader didn’t know what to do after you had a go at him.”
Lady Wu smiled and said, “Shangxiang, please retire. This is a discussion between people that understand all of the politics. I’ll be sure and tell you all about it when we’re done.”

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