Sharing a Pavilion With You
Chapter 80: You’re a Geji

Chapter 80: You’re a Geji

Meili stood with Manni and Tricky outside the training camp where Bai Li was preparing his troops for the campaign in the north.

She knew he was very busy these days, with no time to see her; that was okay, but she did worry about him working so hard all the time.

Her First and Second Brothers had told her that the man was frenetic, barely finding time to sleep.

As a friend, she felt that she must encourage him to eat and sleep properly while he worked night and day for the people.

She had specially prepared him some healthy foods and supplements in small portable containers for easy consumption while he was living at the training camp.

There were guards on duty at the gates and standing on the walkway along the very high log fence line.

Meili tried again.

"I’ve brought some food for your Commander Bai. Please allow me in to see him."

"Just leave it with us, we’ll take it to the Commander," said one, eyeing the boxes of food off covetously.

Meili moved the boxes behind her back and shook her head.

"No, I must take them to him myself."

"The Commander’s a very busy man, beauty."

"I’ll only take a few minutes of his time."

"Everyone wants a few minutes of the Commander’s time, beauty."

"He knows me. I’m sure he would tell you to let me in."

"What are you to him, beauty?" asked the second guard. "We know he’s single and has no fiancée."

"Exactly," said the first guard. "What’s your relationship with our Commander?"

The two guards thought that they had better be a bit careful with this woman. She looked beautiful and wealthy. She could be his sister or a relative of some variety.

"I... I’m just a good friend of his," she stuttered over describing her relationship with Bai Li.

"Just ’good friends’, huh?" laughed the guard. "We’ve heard that one before. You’re a geji aren’t you?" he crowed with delight. "Don’t bother about the commander, we’ll pay you whatever he would have paid you, and more!"

"Yes, yes," cried his companion, "we’ll all put in, won’t we fellows?" he called up to the guards who were currently leaning over the walkway above the gates, hanging on every word between the beautiful woman and the men on gate duty.

"Yes! Yes!" the men above her cried out.

"I just got paid," came the cries.

"I can contribute handsomely, beauty!"

"See, you’ll be very well compensated, beauty," said the guard who started the geji discussion.

"Of course I’m not a geji," she said with annoyance, stamping her foot. "Why do men keep assuming I’m a geji?" she huffed. "What would possibly make you think that?"

"You’re just so lovely and fair of face. A good family would not allow you out without a male chaperone, so we assume you must be a geji," said the other guard, with less certainty now in the face of her outrage.

"Well, newsflash, I’m not!" she exclaimed. "Now, please let me in to see your Commander!"

The guards faces shut down.

"We have been given strict instructions not to allow any women into camp. You can’t come in, Miss."

"If you just send word to your Commander, I’m sure he’ll instruct you to allow me in," she pleaded.

"We have our orders," replied the guard, and the two men returned to staring straight ahead.

She could see she had no hope of getting past these two.

She thought for a minute, then returned to her carriage.

"She gave up quickly," said one guard to the other.

"Yes, much faster than some of those other trollops who hung about here and whined for hours trying to get in," his friend chuckled.

Meili wrote a short message on some parchment then curled it into a tiny scroll and called Tricky over. She pushed the parchment into a tiny bamboo tube on his collar, then walked back to the gates.

"Alright," she said, "it’s good to see you two following your orders to the letter, I’m sure Commander Bai would be proud. Now, please let this dog here into your camp. He’s carrying a message for your Commander. I’m sure you don’t have any orders to refuse entry to dogs, do you?"

The two guards scratched their heads, their fellows who were still leaning over the ramparts above them, roared with laughter.

"Oh, she’s good this one."

"Yes, much smarter than those other women."

"Much more beautiful too!"

"Beauty and brains, a lethal combination!"

"She’ll lead her husband a merry dance!"

The gates cracked open a smidgen, to allow Tricky to enter.

Meili knelt down. "Tricky," she whispered, "go find Bai Li, your good friend. Off you go. Good boy."

Tricky looked back at Meili uncertainly as he stood at the open gates. She waved him onwards.

"Off you go, good boy, you’ve got this. Find your friend, the Commander."

Tricky turned and trotted off into the camp, raising his head to sniff the air.

Bai Li was striding about at the front of his troops while they practised sword fighting in pairs.

He watched over them with an eagle eye, calling out instructions here and there, moving down the lines to examine their techniques more closely.

It was among the noisy shouts and hubbub of this military scene that he felt something nudge the back of his calf.

He turned around to see Tricky-Wu behind him, pushing his nose up against his leg.

"Tricky," he smiled a rare smile, rubbing the dog’s head and looking around for Meili, "where’s your mistress?"

The dog whined and ran off a few steps, trying to get Bai Li to follow him.

The Commander strode off immediately, a fierce scowl on his face, his Lieutenant, Ju Rong, marching behind him.

Lieutenant Ju motioned at one of the sergeants to keep going on the exercise; the man saluted and shouted a set of orders to the men.

Meili, meanwhile, had returned to her carriage to wait for the commander.

"Open the gates!" called one of the soldiers on the ramparts, "the Commander’s approaching!"

The gates creaked open, and Meili poked her head out of the carriage in happy expectation.

Here he was! her heart gave an excited little flutter.

Bai Li came striding through the gates, looking very majestic in his full armour and flanked by his men, Tricky trotting closely at his heels.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.