“Girls, you have two hours to complete your tasks. No one is to exit until the two hours are finished. When the time is up, I will return with your families so we can watch you present your skills.” As the matchmaker turned to leave, Mulan caught a glimpse of a familiar face behind her. Her father was walking into the courtyard! She wanted to rush out the door and hug him, but the door shut behind the matchmaker, and it was time to begin.
Mulan felt her stomach drop. What would her father think of the stunt she and the other girls were going to pull? Would he be ashamed? After traveling all the way home, would this be the welcome he deserved?
But then Mulan looked around at the eager faces of her five friends. They were a team. And she felt calmer, certain that what they were doing was best. It may not have been what those on the other side of the door would expect…but it was right.
When the two hours ended, the door opened and the matchmaker entered, followed by the girls’ families. The matchmaker’s eyes bulged. No amount of makeup could cover the shock on her face.
Mulan, Ying, Chen, Na, Mei, and Jin had pushed the individual tables together in the center of the room. Instead of six groups of tasks to judge, there was only one. The girls had taken turns grinding the rice for one bowl of makeup, which now powdered their faces flawlessly. One scroll was laid on the table, its calligraphy copied masterfully with strokes from six different hands. One large dish of perfectly cooked rice sat on the table as well. One pot of tea, made from herbs the girls had selected together, steeped next to the rice. Six pieces of fabric were stitched together to form one cloth, which was embroidered in a detailed flower pattern.
On another scroll of parchment, next to the abacus, was a series of calculations. Mulan knew all the answers were correct, because each girl had taken a turn solving while another checked her work.
The matchmaker took in the scene. She grabbed the selections of admonitions the girls were supposed to memorize. “Well, it seems the students have gone for a different approach to my teachings.” Mulan could see that the matchmaker was struggling to keep her cool. “They are trying very hard to act clever, which is indeed a skill, but not one that will get them a match.” She smirked at the girls. “We’ll determine a winner based on the admonitions.”
The matchmaker began with Mei, asking her to recite the first admonition. Mei did not speak alone. Instead, the girls all answered in unison.
The matchmaker’s face reddened in anger. She moved past Mei to Jin, asking for the second admonition. Once again, the girls recited the admonition together. It was all they could manage to not break out into Mei’s silly song.
Mulan could almost see steam boiling from the matchmaker’s ears. The woman crumpled up the paper with the admonitions and tossed it into the bowl of rice powder makeup. The matchmaker turned to the families in the audience. “They’re your daughters,” she shouted. “Good luck!” And with that, the matchmaker marched out.
Mulan, Jin, Na, Mei, Chen, and Ying embraced. Pulling out of the hug, Mulan snuck a glance at her family. Her grandmother was smiling a knowing smile. Her mother’s eyebrows were raised in an amused expression. But her father…her father was beaming at her.
“What a lovely welcome home!” he said cheerfully. The girls giggled nervously.
Mei’s mother stepped forward. “I didn’t want to say anything that might ruin the girls’ lessons, but I’ve actually heard that this matchmaker has lost favor with a lot of families in recent years. These classes were a way for her to try and rebuild her reputation. I felt sorry for the woman and figured the training wouldn’t hurt. I think our daughters have made it clear, though, that they’d be better served by a different matchmaker when the time arrives.”
The six girls cried out together, “Yes!” Mulan’s father gave a loud laugh in response. Then, slowly, the rest of the parents and grandparents joined in, until everyone in the room was laughing, even Ying’s parents. No one had been dishonored today.
Mulan rushed forward to greet her father, and the other girls did the same with their parents.
“Father, I can’t believe you’re actually here!” Mulan’s happiness exploded inside her like fireworks.
Her father squinted at her. “Who is that? Is that Mulan?”
“What do you mean? Of course it is!” she exclaimed.
Her father took the sleeve of his robe and brushed it gently across his daughter’s face. White powder dropped from Mulan’s skin. “That’s more like it. There’s my girl,” he said, wrapping her in a hug. Mulan nestled into his arms, breathing in his smell that she’d missed for so many months.
The families left Mei’s house and walked toward the village, each girl chatting excitedly about what they’d been learning from each other over the last several weeks.
“I’m proud of you, Mulan,” her father said. “While I was fighting for China, it looks like you’ve been fighting a small battle of your own here at home. Where did you learn to be so bold and brave?”
Mulan blushed. “I’ve learned everything from you and Mother and Grandmother.” Grandmother Fa put an arm around Mulan, and Mulan’s mother chuckled.
“Well, then, we can’t let the learning stop now, can we?” Mulan’s father said. “I’ve got a lot of lessons to make up for, since I’ve been away for so long.” He smiled. “Where should I begin?”
Mulan’s eye caught sight of movement near the schoolhouse. There, again, was the group of boys, leaping and kicking in the air.
She pointed at them. “Begin by teaching me that,” Mulan said with a wide grin.
When I set out to work on Mulan’s Secret Plan, I knew I had a challenge ahead of me beyond just telling the story. I had to research what the world around young Mulan might have looked like in her time—what would she eat, what would she do for fun, how would she spend her afternoons, how would she dress…what would she know? What made this research particularly tricky is that the legend of Mulan, as well as Disney’s film, is not set in a particular decade or even century. It pulls its influence and setting from multiple centuries and dynasties in ancient China.
Therefore, while I took care to imbue Mulan’s story with a sense of historical possibility, it would not be right to say that this exact story could have taken place in a particular concrete time. My focus was to make Mulan’s story interesting, meaningful, and relatable to the young people who will read it—without making it completely unlikely (historically speaking!).
In ancient China, depending on the era, school and educational opportunities were reserved for boys and men, nobles, and the aristocracy, while young women were taught domestic skills in the home. It’s unlikely that a matchmaker class like the one in this story would have taken place in real life, but if it had, I feel quite sure that Mulan wouldn’t have been very happy being denied an education while the boys got to learn. And she’d certainly have done something about it!
—Tessa Roehl
Disney Princess Beginnings Page 4