Bab 45: The Interrogation of Su Xiang

"Let me start with the basics lest I make any assumptions I shouldn't," the elder woman said frankly, pulling out a slate and chalk to mark with. "Is his name really Wu Ling or should I be calling him something else?"

"His name is Wu Ling," Su Xiang said, sitting uncomfortably both with the pain in her side and the manner in which the instructor was asking questions. "Is this an inquisition?"

"What? No!" Huang Yeyan said, startled by the question. "Wait, I think I need to make some things plain," she said, setting down the slate and chalk. She'd grabbed them out of a Scholar's habit to take meticulous notes about anything important but it wasn't until Su Xiang said something that she realized how the gesture could be misunderstood. "I, that is, we, all of us, understand just how much of a risk your brother took to protect us," she began.