Chapter 21
"Oh my," His mother says and poor Tion look up. We have not seen her come up behind us. "Look at you two lovebirds." She says and smiles at us, it is not that nice a smile. One thing is not liking guys myself. But he should at least not feel ashamed of who he is. Maybe I am hamfisted and stupid, but I do it with the best intention. "Really?" His mother says and I shrug. "I have no problem treating a guy like a girl," I tell her and smile. She stays there for a moment and then nods. "Would you be so kind as to come and see me in my chambers when you are done." She says and I answer before Tion "Certainly, it would be an honour to be allowed in your chambers." I say and bow my head with a show of respect. Real respect is hard when her "daughter" is sitting beside me.
Poor Tion is red with shame when his mother leaves. "Are you for real?" He asks me and I shrug. "Don't know probably did something stupid, but on the other hand I have no problem with you dressing like a girl and hitting on guys," I say to him and smirk when this really dawns on him. We clean ourselves up, before dressing. "Yeah, that certainly could have gone better," Tion says and look at me. "Damned good time though." He smirks and shows off a more confident side to him. "Yeah, but like all good times, there is nothing but trouble when they end," I say and we leave the bathing chambers.
"I wish to follow you to your school." Tion tells me as we walk through the mansion. "I wish to learn your technique and hope you can keep your promise." I nod to her in agreement, having her with me would be a boon. The body is malleable so changing the characteristics of the body should be possible without surgery, but even if I resort to surgery I am certain I can do it fine.
We go straight for Nuans chambers with Tion showing the way. On the way, I try to actually think through what I feel for Tion. At the moment though he/she is nothing more than just this scene. I kind of feel his mother will not feel the same way however Tion might feel about it. I don't even know what the etiquette is in this situation, no more the law. Because as Tiong said, Nuan is the head of the household after her husband died. That would mean that there are no sons, even though Tion is one. I kind of get a headache when I think of all this.
Tion opens the door and steps back letting me enter first. The room is larger than the guest room me and my companions share in the other wing. Nicely decorated with a black and white base in the beams and thin paper walls adorned with statues, paintings and pottery. Where we entered the floor is level with the hall, but just a bit further in the floor is raised. Nuan sits on this raised part of the room and beside her sits another spitting image of her, but younger. This must be Nuans actual daughter.
"Greetings honourable matron of the Nuin family," I say when I enter and bow in the proper fashion after my villages teaching. I can feel Tion being behind me and don't know why he does not precedes me in here. "Greetings Su Ming," Nuan says with a voice full of strain for some reason. I cannot fathom why there is the strain between us other than her jus catching me getting a BJ from her son, presumed daughter.
"Why Tion." The other daughter breaks in and I look behind me to see Tion sitting there. He sits a respectable distance behind me as if he is part of my retinue. He even looks to me for permission before he speaks. Of course, I give it. "Sorry dearest sister, I lapsed." The girl, maybe woman huffs and look at Tion with sorry in her eyes. "He is sent from grandfather." She says this with a straight face as if this should tell me everything. "Tiong came to take you to him and then you just throw it away?" Her anger is palpable, there is some big scandal unravelling with me in the middle and I have no idea what it is. Had this been in the village and two guys had been caught going at it there would be shame on their families, but really no consequences all that big. Sex is sex after all and there is the threat of pregnancy that causes the real problems. And we did not even have sex? That is if sex means penetration of some kind.
I take a deep breath and exhales to centre myself before I butt in. "Okay, I have no idea what is going on here and I see no reason for there to really be a problem," I say to the two ladies and get angry stares back from them. "No problem, really?" Nuan says before her daughter can speak. I go on before I lose my nerve "Yes, no problem. So Tion is your son, I presume that if it was publicly known you would have to let him run the family. That would cause all sorts of problem, especially now when he has been known as your "daughter" for so long." I say and get nods from the two ladies. "Well, I see no great problem then, I have no reason to tell. Either we don't speak of it again or Tion comes with me. And we sort it out later, I what is really the problem if I don't tell anyone. A small scandal that one of the households daughters had sex with a guest?" After my rant, if delivered smoothly, is done I shut up and so does the others in the room.
"Fuck control yourself Tion." His sister says at last and I turn to see Tion look at me with begging eyes. "Su seems to bring out the worst in your sister," Nuan says and I disregard telling of how she played with me. "Okay, I can see why you might want to keep this secret. No gain now in saying anything." Nuan says and I smile "Yes, and it has been pointed out to me by several people that I should pass as silently by as possible here." I say and they nod. "So we both have something on the other?" Nuans daughter asks and Nuan nods. "Then this might be sorted more easily. I still think Tion needs to leave." The unnamed daughter says and looks between us. I feel a tug at my arm and when I turn I see Tion receding and again asking for permission to speak. "Go ahead, don't mind me," I say to let know he can speak freely. For some reason, it seems he really need my permission. I wonder why I have not stopped him.
"I wish to stay with Ming," Tion says in a very quiet voice. So quiet that I for some time miss what he actually says. The two women at the podium also stay silent for a moment. Then his sister draws out a long "fuuuck" and turns to their mother. "We really should never have raised him like we did." She says and even rises and begin looking for something. "You are right dear, but done is done." Again I am out of the loop, but for some reason this time I know it really is not my fault. "But why, Tion why?" His mother says in a dejected tone. "Ming has some very interesting ideas about how to turn me into a real woman, the body I was born to have," Tion says.
Nuans sister has found what she was looking for in a cupboard on the side and now brings over three glasses and a bottle. She sits down on the edge and pours a drink for all of us. "So, little Tion has found her master." She says sitting there like a guy drinking. She hands a glass to me and another to her mother. "Well one had to be raised a guy and another a girl." Her mother says and then begin explaining the real trouble for them. Nin, Tion's sister, and Tion are twins. Their father knew one was a girl and the other a boy, but not which was which. So in a bid to take more power, their mother switched them. Having the girl dressed as a boy and the boy as a girl the first years. Happy with this state of affairs their father wrote his will all around this division, leaving almost nothing for the girl. The state of laws being what they are, fragmented and overlapping, their mother moved to where if raised as a boy a girl would have legal power. This legal fiction would create a matriarchy in their part of the clan and be a real change. Poor Tion, on the other hand, would have to be raised as a girl regardless of where they lived because of the will. The convoluted shenanigans the family went through for this legal fiction is strange for me to hear and I am not able to understand them. In the end, the whole tale boiled down to "Stupid shit people do for power" in my mind.
"Okay, I kind of understand what happened." I say, lying my ass off, "But what has this to do with Tion wishing to be a girl?" I ask and look up at the two ladies sitting on the edge drinking. "Well, the female Dao in my father's clan is such that it moulds the practitioner to wish to be feminine as to look better for the men. " Nin says and take another swig of the drink. I think it is whisky of some sort, brown and tastes foul.
"Okay, and why is this a problem?" I ask further, so big deal if he is a girl even to the law why can't he come with me for some time and be turned into a girl. "Tion is in charge of our branch of the banking system," Nuan tells men and sigh. "That really is a weak excuse to throw at your son," Tion says and I have to agree. They look at the two of us and kind of do a mental shrug. "Well good luck and I hope you two have a happy life," Nuan says and rises, she is a fine looking lady and nice, but so cold. "We will respect your decision and find a way to make it work," Nin tells me and then look over at Tion, maybe for the first time seeing him, or maybe just dismissing him, I don't know. "Good luck sister, hope you are happy with your choice." She says and begins to leave. I sigh and empty my glass. "Mind if we stay here and talk it over?" I ask Nin and she shakes her head. I look at that fine ass as she walks out. "Assholes," I say when they have left, low though since the walls might listen.
"This is a right mess," I say and look over at Tion, he only nods. I rise and find another glass to drink from. "Know if they have any more palatable stuff here?" I ask Tion before I pour drinks for us. It burns and tastes rotten the drink the ladies served. We sit in silence for some time drinking together and looking at each other. "Think you really can turn me into a girl?" Tion says with a worried voice. I laugh since if that is what he worries about we will have no problems. "Oh yeah," I say "That is easy. Not like you will be able to bear children or anything without us doing some major work. But the looks, no problem." I say and smile. "Lot of work, but not an actual problem." He looks forlorn for a moment "Then what are you worried about?" And I tell him of the trouble with the sect, worries for my soon to be wife, the farm and all the other stuff weighing in my shoulders. We shoot the shit for some time and he helps me not to worry about all the things he calls "little things."
I also get answers to some questions I have been asking off of him. "What is the deal with red light districts?" I ask him and he laughs at my innocence. "Men are hypocrites." He tells me and we laugh, it is certainly true.