A Cruel Romance

Commander Ho hadn’t had such a good time in ages .

Dorbod Banner wasn’t any more prosperous than Luyang, but he no longer fretted about not living in a city . After what had happened, he’d learned his lesson . He saw things clearly now: without power, he’d be nothing but a helpless duckweed . Retirement? Withdrawing from the world? Hiding away in the city? All hogwash .

– : –

On a crisp autumn day, a cheerful Commander Ho took in another stray .

He’d just had lunch and was strolling through camp amid a squad of guards when he spotted a large dog by the gates . It huddled there in a ball of black fur, its breed indistinguishable .

Curious, Commander Ho went up to take a better look . A guard saw him approach and gave the dog a kick, his voice faint in the distance: “Get out of here, little brat! Our commander is here!”

Commander Ho had no tolerance for misbehavior, and he quickly approached the guard . Before he could question him, the dog extended its body and got up—no, not a dog . It was a child in dirty fur .

The grime on the child’s face concealed their features, their long hair tangled in a matted lump, probably full of lice and flees . Other than the fur, they wore only tattered bits, their legs bared to the autumn cold . One of their feet wore a straw sandal, the other a felt boot . It was a sorry sight—the child looked worse off than a beggar . Perhaps startled by the arrival of armed soldiers, the child stared up at them dumbly, their mouth hanging open .

Commander Ho took in the child’s appearance and turned to the guard, letting out only a “hm?”

The guard straightened his back nervously, too frightened to look directly at Commander Ho . “Sir, this kid… comes by for food sometimes . Probably not a spy . ”

Commander Ho turned to the child impa.s.sively, retrieving a handkerchief from his pocket and handing it to the guard . “Clean him up . I want to see his face . ”

The guard hurried to comply . He opened his water bottle and dampened the handkerchief, then bent down and began a frantic scrubbing .

The child shrank back against the hand holding their head, but didn’t protest or cry . Once the guard was done, Commander Ho said to Feng Guo-Chung with a smile . “Little thing’s got good features . ”

Feng knew about his hobby and quickly responded: “Absolutely . He’s going to make a good kid once you clean him up properly . ”

Commander Ho gestured at the guards behind him and continued on his way with Feng .

– : –

When he came back home in the evening, he saw the child again, now nice and clean .

He stared at the child’s hair . “What’s going on here?”

The blushing orderly looked down at the kid’s fluffy bowl cut and said with some embarra.s.sment: “Sir, she turned out to be a little girl . I didn’t want to shave all her hair off, but I did wash her several times with lice powder . I promise she’s got nothing on her, I checked . ”

Commander Ho sat regally in a large couch he’d just purchased . He removed his gloves with a thoughtful look, his movements slow and proud, tugging off each finger one by one . Finally, he tossed his white gloves on a gla.s.s coffee table .

“Little girl…” he smiled, looking up at that mop of hair . “La.s.s, what’s your name?”

The girl met his gaze easily . “Yang’s my family name . Yang TNiu . ”

“How old are you?”

“Ten,” DNiu said crisply .

His interest piqued, Commander Ho waved TNiu over . “Come here, la.s.s . ”

TNiu hesitated briefly and came over to him .

Commander Ho reached into a leaf-shaped candy tray and placed a big pile of sweets in front of TNiu . “What happened to your parents?”

TNiu blinked at him and looked away, her voice softening . “Killed by bandits . ”

Commander Ho ruffled her hair, using the opportunity to make sure she really wasn’t carrying any lice . “Poor thing,” he said . He unwrapped a candy and gave it to TNiu . “What did your parents do?”

TNiu took the candy and threw him a quick glance, her bright black eyes whirling a little with childlike shrewdness . “My parents were merchants . I used to live with my aunt, but my aunt got into a fight with my dad, so my parents took me with them . ”

Commander Ho took TNiu’s hand and examined it, then gripped her chin and had her open her mouth . He nodded at the sight of her white, straight teeth . “Stay here . I’ll feed you . ”

“Thank you,” TNiu bowed deeply and said around the candy in her mouth .

Commander Ho leaned back into the couch and let out a lazy yawn . “TNiu… We’ve already got a Hsiao-Shun, and now TNiu . How unseemly . ”

Shutting his eyes, Commander Ho ruminated for a moment . “La.s.s, I’m going to give you a new name . From now on you will be Ho Chu-Chu, taking my own family name . Will you remember this?”

Yang TNiu—Ho Chu-Chu gave it some thought, but this took only a brief moment . The death of her parents and the ensuing months of drifting had made her smart, pragmatic .

“I will,” Ho Chu-Chu said as she nudged the candy into the hollow of her cheek, her voice clear .

– : –

The addition of Ho Chu-Chu to Commander Ho’s household was like wind in the spring, rain in the summer, instantly spicing up his life . Commander Ho had merely found the idea amusing at first—he’d never adopted a stray of this particular variety . But now that a little sparrow has taken shelter under his roof, amus.e.m.e.nt aside, he found himself feeling inexplicably happy .

In his bedazzlement, he asked Chu-Chu to call him “Papa” .

“Come on, la.s.s,” he set her down in his lap . “Say Papa, and you’ll be a mistress of Ho . ”

Chu-Chu was dressed in a tawdry pastel pink, but against her bright adorable face, even the garish colour seemed to grow radiant . She wrapped an arm around Commander Ho’s neck and flashed her white teeth in a smile . “Papa . ” A large plum appeared in her other hand . “Have a plum, Papa . ”

That “Papa” had Commander Ho’s heart bursting with joy . “Papa isn’t hungry . Why don’t you eat it yourself?”

Chu-Chu shook her head . “I already ate all the small ones . I saved the largest one for you!”

And just like that, Commander Ho was won over by a little la.s.s and a big plum .

– : –

Spending time with Chu-Chu was a source of joy and warmth, as well as a feeling of security . Commander Ho finally found a target for his affection . In truth, he had plenty of love to offer, and his tendency to give it away for free had caused him quite some trouble in his youth . He eventually understood the inappropriateness of his love, so he’d kept it to himself .

When Commander Ho was home, Chu-Chu spent most of her time in his lap . He asked Chu-Chu: “la.s.s, is Papa good to you?”

Chu-Chu dove into his arms, her voice soft and impish: “Papa’s best person in the world!”

Commander Ho patted her little back, saying to himself: then why don’t you marry Papa when you grow up?

This was just a thought; he’d never seriously consider it . It was certainly a good thing to have a wife, but considering his prowess in bed, he was better off keeping it to himself .

But then again, Chu-Chu was already ten . If he really wanted to make a wife out of her, a few years more would suffice . In theory, it wasn’t impossible .

Chu-Chu seemed to grow bored on his chest, and she reached for Commander Ho’s face with a warm little hand . Unused to this kind of physical contact, Commander Ho turned away . “Stop that . ”

Chu-Chu pulled away and sat up straight . “Papa, let’s go play outside!”

Commander Ho took her pointy chin in his hand and smiled . “What do you want to do?”

“I want a pinwheel! A big, rainbow coloured one, the kind that goes ‘whooosh’!”

Commander Ho’s smile grew . “The kind that goes ‘whooosh’?”

Chu-Chu nodded vehemently . “I want one this big!”, she said, gesturing with her hands .

Commander Ho cradled her face and placed a kiss between her brows . “All right . Let’s go get a pinwheel that goes ‘whooosh’!”

– : –

Commander Ho had wanted to shower Chu-Chu with toys, but their options in Dorbod Banner were limited . They strolled through the market, but other than scaring the customers away, their efforts only yielded a few pinwheels and rubber b.a.l.l.s .

Fortunately, Chu-Chu soon forgot about pinwheels once she got into the car, distracted by the novelty of riding in a big moving box .

When the car drove them back to Commander Ho’s residence, Chu-Chu took a hold of Commander Ho’s arm . “Please, Papa, let’s go for another ride!”

Commander Ho drove her around well into the evening, until they all grew hungry and went home for dinner .

When night fell, a nanny came by and took Chu-Chu to bed . Commander Ho went to bed as well, sliding into Hsiao-Shun’s arms with practiced ease . “That la.s.s, funny little thing!”

Hsiao-Shun pulled the covers over him and turned off the lights, then wrapped an arm around his back and pulled him toward himself . This series of actions where carried out in a single fluid motion, his movements even more natural than Commander Ho’s .

Commander Ho closed his eyes contentedly . The bed was cold in the autumn chill, but not yet cold enough to turn on the heat . Only in the warmth of Hsiao-Shun’s arms could he boldly extend all his limbs . Besides, the heat of a furnace was nothing like the heat of a human body . Hsiao-Shun wouldn’t overheat; sleeping next to him was guaranteed to be healthy and hygienic .

“That little la.s.s knows exactly what I want to hear . Never met a clever kid like this . ” Commander Ho grew drowsy, his voice dropping off . “Little la.s.s, funny little thing!”

Hsiao-Shun didn’t speak or find the little la.s.s funny .

– : –

Commander Ho woke up next morning to Ho Chu-Chu calling for him from the other side of the door . “Papa, it’s snowing!”

Commander Ho hurried to the window . He saw a sea of white—it really did snow overnight . He answered Chu-Chu with some puzzlement . It wasn’t even November; too early for snow .

Chu-Chu called out again: “Papa, come have breakfast! Then we can go build a snowman!”

Commander Ho hollered out an acknowledgment, thinking suddenly of his own father . Out of the blue, grief hit him so hard he was nearly brought to tears .

– : –

The saying goes that everything has its bane . Commander Ho, the cold-blooded, monstrous terror of Hetao, had found his match in a little girl .

Commander Ho seemed to be harbouring some sort of secret trauma, the idea of “papa” hitting a sensitive nerve . Or perhaps unable to reach his own father, Commander Ho could only rise to the task himself and play the role of a loving father .

He did not like the cold, but after Chu-Chu’s repeated requests, he agreed to go build a snowman with her . Chu-Chu was wearing a brand new red Mongol robe, her collars and sleeves lined with white fur . Her bowl cut was put into high pigtails, both adorned by hair bows . Her outfit was completed by a belt around her waist, a smart look on a little la.s.s .

She gathered some snow in her bare hands . Her cheeks were frozen red as her clothes, but still she ordered Commander Ho around excitedly: “Papa, make a big s...o...b..ll! I need one for the snowman’s head . ”

And so Commander Ho went to make a s...o...b..ll .

– : –

Commander Ho hadn’t made a s...o...b..ll in years and was very much out of practice . He ended up tumbling to the ground alongside the s...o...b..ll, and when he tried to get back on his feet, he came sprawling down again and landed right on top of Chu-Chu’s half-finished snowman .

Chu-Chu let out a shriek and pummeled him playfully with tiny fists, demanding that he make it up to her like a jubilant little bird . Commander Ho sat in the snow wordlessly—he’d landed on his tailbone, and he could endure the pain with gritted teeth and teary eyes .

At this moment of great turmoil, an orderly made a sudden appearance . “Commander, Chairman Fu of the Guisui government has a message for you . ”

Commander Ho extended a hand toward him tearfully . “Help me up . ”

– : –

With the orderly’s help, Commander Ho made his way back to his room . He took off his coat and lay down in bed on his front, then finally began to comb through the letter . Chu-Chu sat next to him with a candy jar filled with pine nuts and peanuts, munching on them unhurriedly and sticking one in Commander Ho’s mouth once in a while .

Commander Ho put down the letter and stared thoughtfully out the window .

He didn’t know this Chairman Fu from Suiyuan, but for some reason Chairman Fu was really interested in knowing him . According to the letter, this Chairman Fu would love to have him at his mother’s eightieth birthday banquet, which would of course take place in Guisui . In other words, Chiairman Fu wanted him in Guisui—whatever for, he didn’t know .

Commander Ho gave it some thought and shook his head at himself .

He couldn’t go . The moment he met Chairman Fu, he’d end his future with Prince Yun .

But if he refused the offer, he’d be taking a clear stand against the Central Government . What did the Mongols’ war for independence have to do with him? It wouldn’t make sense to antagonize the Central Government over this .

But what could the Central Government offer him? Prince Yun, on the other hand, he owed a great deal to .

The Mongol Military Government had little manpower to speak of . They had no chance of defeating the Central Government, so they’ve fostered close ties with the j.a.panese Kwantung Army . As for the j.a.panese… They’d opened fire on Wanping Castle on July seventh, no doubt getting ready to take down the entirety of China .

Commander Ho liked Prince Yun, but he loathed the j.a.panese .

He sat up and pulled Chu-Chu into his arms . “La.s.s, Papa’s got a question for you . Do you like the Chinese better, or do you like the Mongols?”

“I don’t like Mongols,” Chu-Chu said without a second thought .

“Why not?”

Chu-Chu lowered her head . “Mongol bandits killed my parents . ”

An ominous feeling came over Commander Ho .

“You don’t have parents,” he snapped . “You’re the eldest mistress of Ho, I’m your father . Didn’t I already tell you this?”