22

请关闭浏览器的阅读/畅读/小说模式并且关闭广告屏蔽过滤功能，避免出现内容无法显示或者段落错乱。

Stopping in the courtyard, Mulan saw the door to her home open. A moment later, her sister rushed out. Upon seeing Xiu, all her fear vanished. Jumping down, Mulan ran over to her sister and threw her arms around her. She was home.</p>

Mulan pulled back. Looking at Xiu, she smiled warmly. The younger girl looked??6??2.??6??2.??6??2. different. But then her sister spoke, and her warm, happy voice was the same. “There is so much I have to ask you!” she said, grabbing Mulan’s hand and squeezing it tightly.</p>

Mulan laughed. “Tell me about you first,” she said.</p>

“I am matched,” Xiu said, letting out her own laugh when she saw Mulan’s surprised expression. “You will like him.”</p>

“I am happy for—” Mulan didn’t get a chance to finish as her mother plowed between the daughters, throwing her arms around Mulan and embracing her. The older woman’s arms shook, and Mulan let her mother cling to her. No words needed to be spoken. Mulan knew she had been forgiven.</p>

But then, over her mother’s shoulder, she saw her father. Zhou stood silently, leaning upon his cane. His expression was blank, his eyes impossible to read. Pulling free from her mother, she approached him. Once again, her heart began to pound nervously. She had practiced her speech to him a hundred times, yet still she struggled to find the words.</p>

“Forgive me, Father. I stole your horse, I stole your armor??6??2.??6??2.??6??2. I stole your sword.” She choked on the word. Stopping, she gathered the courage she had found on the battlefield and went on. “And I lost it—the sword is gone. I understand now how much that sword means to you.”</p>

Silence fell upon them as Mulan stared up at her father, desperate to hear his answer. And when he spoke, his voice shook with emotion. “It is my daughter that means everything to me.” As tears dropped down Zhou’s cheeks, he went on. “And it is I who owe you an apology. It was my foolish pride that drove you away.”</p>

Mulan began to shake her head but stopped as Zhou held up his hand. He looked at her, taking in the warrior clothing she wore and the way she carried herself, even when filled with emotion. He nodded slowly, as realization of who she was, who she had become, dawned. “One warrior knows another,” he said, his voice now filled with pride. “You were always there, yet I see you for the first time.” Reaching out, he pulled her into a hug. Mulan sank into it, feeling finally at peace.</p>

As they stood there, Mulan’s mother let out a happy cry and ran to thank the ancestors. Looking toward the shrine, Mulan smiled as she saw the phoenix statue, its head leaning, the wing crooked. The moment was broken by a loud, nasally, and altogether unpleasant voice. Turning, Mulan saw the Matchmaker making her way over. “There is not a man in the entire kingdom who will marry Mulan now,” she sneered.</p>

Mulan was about to protest when her father stepped forward. He shook his head. “There is not a man in the entire kingdom who is good enough for Mulan,” he said. Then he turned his back on the Matchmaker, and he and Mulan went and joined the rest of their family at the shrine. Reaching over, Mulan straightened the Phoenix’s crooked head. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for watching over me. Thank you for everything.”</p>

Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats filled the air. A moment later, the Emperor’s banner came into view, whipping in the wind as the Imperial Guard cantered into the courtyard. The villagers gasped as they realized who the men were. Their village had never been honored by the presence of the Imperial Guard—until now.</p>

Mistaking their appearance for danger, Zhou turned frantically to his daughter. “Soldiers have come to punish you,” he said. “You must hide!”</p>

Mulan shook her head. “No more hiding,” she said, walking over and waiting as the soldiers came to a stop. The leader removed his helmet. A smile broke over her face as she saw who it was. Commander Tung looked down at her and nodded. Then he turned to Mulan’s father. “Hello, old friend,” he said.</p>

Still not sure what was going on, Zhou stepped in front of Mulan. “Tung Yong,” he said, greeting the commander. “I am honored to receive you and the Emperor’s Guard. But if you are here to discipline Mulan, you will have to get past me.” His hand tightened around his cane and he stood up straighter. Only Mulan could see that his bad leg was shaking.</p>

Commander Tung shook his head. “I do not believe that will be necessary.” Looking over his shoulder, he signaled to one of the guards.</p>

Dismounting, the guard took a long, ornate box from the back of his saddle and brought it over. Commander Tung raised his voice so that the entire village could hear. “Under order of His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, I present this gift to Hua Mulan. She has brought honor to her ancestors, to her family, to her village, and to her country.”</p>

As the commander spoke, Zhou looked back and forth between his daughter and his old friend, struggling to process what was happening. All around them, the villagers watched with wide eyes, and the Matchmaker, who had been listening most intently of all, fainted dead away. Ignoring the sound of the woman falling to the ground, the soldier presented the box to Mulan.</p>

Mulan looked down at the gift and then up at Commander Tung. She wasn’t sure what to do. But at her commander’s nod, she slowly opened the lid. She gasped. Inside was a sword. Mesmerized, Mulan lifted it from the box and pulled it free from its sheath. Holding it up, she twisted and turned it in the air, the edges catching the sun and making it shine. It was magnificent, and in her hand, it was graceful, too.</p>

“As befits a great warrior,” Commander Tung went on, “the sword is marked with the Pillars of Virtue.”</p>

Zhou’s eyes didn’t leave his daughter’s sword as he whispered the words he knew she would find there. “Loyal. Brave. True??6??2.??6??2.??6??2.” But as the sword moved, Zhou’s voice trailed off. There was another character etched on the back of the shaft. “What is the fourth virtue I see?” he asked, confused.</p>

Commander Tung smiled. “Read it aloud, Mulan,” he said.</p>

Slowly, Mulan ran a finger over the inscription. She read the word silently at first, and then aloud. “ ‘Devotion to family,’ ” she said, the Emperor’s decree now there as a permanent reminder of all that she had given in honor of her family.</p>

Dragging her eyes from the sword, Mulan met her father’s gaze. He looked back at her, overwhelmed with pride. As she watched, he straightened up, standing taller than he had even when he was in the army. Beside him, her mother and sister stood with pride in their eyes as well. “You have brought honor to us all,” he said.</p>

Mulan’s breath hitched in her chest. It was all she had ever wanted to hear. It was the reason, she knew now, that she had fought so hard, and it had been what had made her find her chi and had driven her forward when she should have turned back.</p>

Commander Tung’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to look once more at the man who had helped her become a warrior. He looked back at her with pride. “The Emperor urges you to reconsider his invitation to join our greatest decorated warriors as an officer in the Imperial Guard.” Once more, the villagers began to mutter, shocked to hear that their own Mulan had been offered such a glorious position. “He eagerly awaits your decision.”</p>

All eyes turned to Mulan, everyone curious to hear what she would say. From above came the sound of a powerful birdcall. It echoed over the tulou, causing everyone to crane their necks to see what could have made such a magnificent noise. Mulan smiled. She didn’t need to look up to know what she would find there. But still, she lifted her head. There, in the sky above, was the Phoenix. Her outstretched wings flashed in a rainbow of colors as she dipped and dove on the wind. When Mulan saw the Phoenix, her smile grew broader. Her friend, her guardian, had come to check on her one last time. Satisfied with what she saw, the Phoenix let out another cry, and with a flap of her powerful wings, she soared away.</p>

Watching the Phoenix go, Mulan whispered goodbye. She wasn’t sure where her journey would take her. But she knew now that she had the strength to do anything. She was Hua Mulan, and she was a warrior.</p>

(THE END)</p>

(/48753/48753972/10100988.html)</p>

。</p>