#muse‚ lie zhanying.

[yishuns]

❝ sitting here feeling sorry for myself won’t solve anything. ❞

[ for lzy, from shēng yuán, who definitely just spent the past however-long making an incredibly compelling argument for why he ought to be able to go visit the military camp to boost the troops' morale, even tho he literally just got done coughing up blood --- 8)c ]

in most circumstances, lie zhanying believes himself to be a capable general. at least — in circumstances where his skill set as a general is relevant. even as the emperor’s final line of defense, he doesn’t know what to do with this one.

he had stood and listened patiently as sheng yuan outlined his reasons for heading to the war zone, of course. zhanying wasn’t so rude as to disrespect the emperor by interrupting him, no matter how many times he’d wanted to interject with his opinion (that’s stupid) or object to sheng yuan putting himself in danger (foolish and unnecessary), so it was a testament to his self restraint that he’d managed to keep his silence throughout the argument.

because really, and there was no kind way to say it, but the truth of the matter was this: in the condition sheng yuan was in, zhanying feared that contrary to any noble intentions, the emperor’s presence in the camps might instead demoralize the troops. zhanying shudders to think of the chaos that would befall the troops if sheng yuan started coughing up blood, like he’d just done, or worse still, the revolt that could erupt if their emperor fully collapsed in front of them.

but that didn’t bear thinking about, especially when it hadn’t happened yet. zhanying can only do his best to ensure that scenario never comes to pass.

it was times like these that makes zhanying almost wish for jiu’an’s presence — for all that the relationship between them was a rough one, he was the only one who understood sheng yuan — the advisor always had the right words to say, knew the emperor well enough to steer him away from his own hubris, certainly could put intent to speech much better than zhanying was able to — if jiu’an were here, zhanying could look to him for the correct answer, could trade commiserating looks of exasperation for their emperor’s self destructive tendencies, could find sympathy in someone who shared the struggle of being fond of sheng yuan. jiu’an would know how to keep sheng yuan safe, from both his enemies and, perhaps especially, from himself. as frustrating as it was to admit, zhanying only really had experience with one of those things.

the general may not be sure what his emperor is trying to solve, exactly, but zhanying is a logical man, and he has his own guesses.

(as a logical man, zhanying values his life; but above that, he values the trust that sheng yuan has placed in him. concealing the truth in favor of acceding to sheng yuan’s wishes might be the easy way out, but the voice in his heart calls, when have you ever chosen the easy path? if the truth will sway the emperor’s resolve, what blame can be laid on zhanying?)

“your majesty,” zhanying speaks haltingly, each pause heavy with the weight of thought put behind every word that leaves him, “this one thinks… if your majesty goes out there, it will be more of a distraction to the soldiers than anything else.”

it’s a tightrope that he’s balancing on, toeing the line between being truthful and being manipulative. zhanying is aware that while he’s only speaking his mind, it doesn’t preclude him from playing on sheng yuan’s aversion to being an inconvenience. still, it’s the best he can do with such little notice and no help. zhanying can only hope that his best is enough.

(still, it’s undeniably a manipulation, a crossing of lines drawn in the sand, and zhanying feels guilty about it, but if this is the price to pay to keep sheng yuan safe…)

he hesitates again, partly out of fear of overstepping, but eventually his concern overrides even that as he adds in that same halting manner, “perhaps… would you. that is. would your majesty like to… talk about what’s bothering you? this one would be honored to listen.”

@tiantangs, prompt.