birthday fic for rasetsunyo

[feliciter]

coming in just before the chimes of midnight, many happy returns of the day, rasetsunyo!

Wen Zhong, as promised (prompt: "We deceive ourselves"):

Comments

[rasetsunyo]

Yaaaaaaay thanks so much, it's just what I wanted! [the slightly sinister ending is a nice touch. ;)]

[feliciter]

You're welcome! I see your birthday was most enjoyable ^_^(mmm, cake.)

[awww, I'm sure Gou Jian's expression at the end perfectly mirrored Wen Zhong's :p]

[flemmings]

Bounce bounce bounce Oh I was hoping you'd do this one!!

The only strategy that fails is the one that Wen Zhong plans without Gou Jian’s prior knowledge

Memory of later eps is fuzzy: which is this?

he knows that all he has worked and hoped for has been worth it

Why yes. Riches (which he refuses because he has quite enough thank you), manor houses (which he refuses because he only needs one city residence obviously), esteem and reputation and an honoured old age. Look, if Xi Shi goes lake-touring with Fan Li, we're in the universe where Wen Zhong dies in bed.

[feliciter]

It was difficult since Wen Zhong for all his honesty and plain-dealing is hard for me to read as a character, but glad it worked for you.

IIRC it was ep 36 or thereabouts that Wen Zhong was going to send cooked grain which wouldn't germinate to famine!Wu so as to weaken them further and allow Yue to come in; Gou Jian got wind of it and replaced it with good grain, which was lucky since the spy uhh Zhu Jiying I think had sent a message to WZX. So when WZX checked the grain and found it sound Fu Chai thought he was just paranoid.

Later Gou Jian chastises Wen Zhong publicly for going against the Will of Heaven by making innocents suffer and declares that he has no more thoughts of conquering Wu so Wen Zhong is v.penitent and says he deserves to die etc, but Gou Jian says it's not you who deserves to die, it's the spy, and outs Zhu Jiying. ZJY eventually has a change of heart after being forgiven and can be seen leading troops to Wu.

there are alternate histories where Xi Shi disappears with Fan Li or just disappears, but the record

[rasetsunyo]

Spy Jie Zibao! Zhu Jiying is Mr. "RARRGH I KEEEL YOU!" whom Gou Jian later brought back to the fold. And he serves Gou Jian loyally ever after.

Jie Zibao is executed I think.

[flemmings]

I don't remember anything happening to Jie Zibao myself- another face on the cutting room floor, I figure- but then I watched the last five eps through my metaphorical fingers, waiting for those rocks to fall, and my memories are off (see: forgetting the whole cooked grain plot).