Poll & Sunday Six brought to you by tea and strawberries

[extrapenguin]

The weather is good (it's been under 20°C for a few weeks and looks to remain so! \o/), the days are getting shorter, strawberry season is still going strong, and my tea set arrived! I got it in Ji Blue (the darker of the options), and the glazing color gradient is sublime. I'm currently sipping gongfu-brewed Long Jing, and yup, tastes better like this than from a teapot. (Note: the black teas I've tried don't seem to work as well.) Earlier today, I finished the 13 stories of Invisible Planets: 13 Visions of the Future from China (ed. and tr. Ken Liu); there's still some nonfiction essays for me to read, and then I'll post my thoughts.

I am pounding away at my WIP in luxury! First, however, a poll:

Poll #22357 Mysterious and context-less poll for the lols

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 12

View Respondents

Pick one:

View Answers

An Bai
0 (0.0%)

Cheng Xinyan
0 (0.0%)

Da Ji
0 (0.0%)

Da Qing
3 (25.0%)

Dixing barkeep
1 (8.3%)

Fourth Uncle
0 (0.0%)

Li Qian
1 (8.3%)

Mi Lu (illusion girl)
0 (0.0%)

Professor Zhou
0 (0.0%)

Shen Xi (Zhao Yunlan's mother)
1 (8.3%)

Wu Tian'en
0 (0.0%)

Ya Qing
1 (8.3%)

Ye Huo/Wildfire
0 (0.0%)

Ye Zun
3 (25.0%)

Ying Chun
0 (0.0%)

Zhang Ruonan & Wang Yike
0 (0.0%)

Zhao Xinci & Zhang Shi
1 (8.3%)

Zhu Jiu
1 (8.3%)

And the Sunday Six:

Zhao Yunlan and Li Si were led by an anonymous aide not to Minister Gao's office, but to a larger and more opulent meeting room. Here, too, a portrait of Ma Gui presided over the proceedings.

It really was laid out like an interrogation room: his father, Minister Gao, Minister Song, Vice-Minister Guo, and a few other bigwigs sat at a mahogany table, all facing Zhao Yunlan and Li Si. Apparatchiks dotted the walls.

"Good morning," Zhao Yunlan said. "May I summon the Black-Cloaked Envoy?"

The bigwigs traded glances. "Summon him," Zhao Xinci said.

Zhao Yunlan took the incense and its pot from his pockets and lit it. The smoke wafted up from the container through the latticework lid, mellow and languid, indistinguishable from regular smoke until it started to gather in a cloud and darkened the room.

Abruptly, the smoke spread to become a haze that filled the room. Shen Wei portaled in from the nearby park he'd been waiting in. The lights did not flicker and no hailstones heralded his arrival.

"Lord Envoy! Welcome!" Zhao Yunlan said when the smoke dissipated into nothing, then ran through the introductions. That done, it was up to the Haixing authorities to open the meeting.

In the spirit of all science fiction everywhere, this will also contain a philosophical discussion on altruism, and Zhao Yunlan and his second-favorite alien will probably discuss Liu Cixin's Taking Care of God at some point. I can't wait to write it! :D

Comments

[forestofglory]

Aw, Zhao Yunlan knows Shen Wei's secret identity and is helping him protect it form bureaucrats, go team!

[extrapenguin]

He considered it best if Minister Gao didn't know that he's brought the Envoy over before. And yes, being exposed as a Dixingian is one thing; being exposed as the Black-Cloaked Envoy is quite another. Shen Wei was very glad that the plan included protecting the Professor identity!

[jo_lasalle]

What a mysterious poll!

The lights did not flicker and no hailstones heralded his arrival.

LOL! The Envoy was having a subtle day, I see! ^_^ Good teaser bit!

[extrapenguin]

It is a very mysterious poll because of spoilers! It seems my current idea for an omake at the end of the fic is not yet dethroned, though I'll have to write at least another 10k before I can figure out whether the thing would be in character and flow from the setup.

The Envoy was having a subtle day, I see! ^_^
They had a discussion beforehand and agreed that Shen Wei shouldn't spook the humans!