Chapter 208 - - The General’s assessment of us (1/2)
Should be mentioned that it was not entirely the fault of the general's five sons that Leon was labelled in their mind this way. His snow foxbear coat, that gave him a more ethereal and otherworldly look had been stowed away while they were drinking tea, for Leon had become too warm and his current robes were harshly plain and made of cheap hemp. True that Jin Li had also hemp clothing, but it had been embroidered quite stunningly, suggesting that he was at least a man of some means, even if they could not place the name of Jin as being one of the elite. Leon without a surname was obviously just a commoner. For him to attach himself to others had to be as a servant.
If others could read their thoughts within their minds, one could understand more clearly just where Sun's former attitude stemmed from.
Again, the general was not so narrow minded.
Jin Li, however, was of narrow mind, just not the same sort. Others were disdaining his man? Then that is what will be offered in return. His respect for Sun's uncles disappeared and Sun's father could only hope to retain a smidgeon due to his relationship with Sun.
Leon was oblivious to this tension and shyly scratched at his jaw before saying aloud; ”In g-gratitude for your hospitality, J-Jin Li and I p-prepared some g-gifts. I h-hope that is alright?”
General Ramas felt his hard heart soften a little for this honest youth before him. It has been a long while since he had seen eyes so clean and without ill intent. He offered a sharp nod of acknowledgement and offered warning glares towards his sons who dared sneered in suggestion; what sort of poor things could these youths hope to offer?
Leon summoned the two chests from his interspacial bag, one large and one small, though both were clearly of common, cheap wood. Leon bent down, placing the smaller one to one side and opening the large chest. Inside were a few spare pelts from what Jin Li and Wu Ye had hunted together, mostly small, but soft furs, including one from a dream hare that was a rich purple in tone. Plus there was a large, Dire tiger pelt, the rich oranges in contrast to the velvet black of the stripes naturally caught the eyes of all of the men.
”These were h-hunted by J-Jin Li and his C-C-Coeurl,” Leon stroked the tiger pelt, he quite liked the colours, even though he'd mourned the loss of such a stunning creature at first. However, he had no where at home for it and he also felt it would be uncomfortable to wear as a coat. To him, it suited a warrior more, but Jin Li was not interested in it either and it would have been sold if not for Sun's request to have them accompany him home. Leon lifted two carved objects from on top of the pelt. They were hair pins shaped from an off-white material. It happened that the Dire tiger's sabre teeth were ivory rather than bone.
”They are a b-bit cr-crude,” Leon mentioned, shyly. ”I c-carved them m-myself and have n-not worked with ivory much b-before.” In fact the first two things he'd practiced with hung from his and Jin Li's belts respectively.
He looked nervously about, wanting to gift one to Sun's grandfather and one to his father, fortunately the servants shadowing the walls became aware of his predicament and came to help him. ”I only h-have t-two...” he felt awkward. He hadn't known he might face Sun's uncles, Sun never mentioned them at all. Jin Li offered him a small smile of encouragement which immediately made him feel better, so he did not see the black expressions upon the other men's faces.
General Ramas did not immediately accept the hairpin, just examined it as his trusted servant held it before him, but he couldn't help but reach for it in the end. The tiger upon the smooth pin was indeed not perfect and only the head and upper body and forelegs were carved, yet it held the essence of a tiger leaping to catch its prey. The pin could not be mistaken for jade, but the General felt that he liked this raw material more at that moment. Sun's father had also accepted its twin, one with just the head of a tiger mid roar, each sharp tooth clearly visible. His cold expression eased and his eyes cast a slightly fresh evaluation of the commoner boy. At least he had taste in gifts.
Leon had not finished, for he had one last thing to offer, though, for now, the reactions would be much less and solidify some impressions in the hearts of Sun's uncles, much to their lament one day when there was nothing they could do to reverse this. In the smaller chest there were numerous jade bottles and swinging delicately from each bottle was a small, wooden tag, hand carved. ”You p-probably have access t-to p-pills, so tr-treat m-mine as a t-token?” He handed the chest to General Ramas' manservant, who took it for the elder man to see.