by Jeannie Lin
“I will leave brother and sister to say their farewells. Lord Bai, we shall speak shortly.”
He rose and left the room so that it was only the two of them together.
“I’m so sorry,” she said again. Wei-wei had been excited to have found something useful, but now she doubted herself after Zheng’s lecture.
“The chief censor seems to respect your opinion, which is good,” Huang told her. “I’ve been looking inside, among the Emperor’s advisers and inner council. I’m certain there was someone who knew of the Emperor and Chancellor Yao’s meeting in order to coordinate the attack. They must have come up with a ploy to distract or subdue the tower guards.”
“So, my suspicion of Lin Shidao is far-fetched? Henan is far from Chang’an and imperial politics.”
“No one who wields that much power is ever that far away,” Huang countered, sounding entirely unlike the brother she knew. She was starting to see him with new eyes. “But there’s something that Zheng didn’t tell you. In addition to surrendering two of his commanderies, General Lin also sent one of his sons as hostage to the imperial court as a sign of loyalty.”
She was aghast. “His own child? How barbaric!”
“It’s a common practice. Princes and lords come to stay at the imperial court under the Emperor’s charge as assurance against rebellion. They’re treated quite well.”
She still didn’t understand the practice. “If the General refuses to obey him, the Emperor will have the child executed?”
“I don’t think it’s ever occurred. It’s just a formality. And Lin Shidao’s son isn’t a child. Yijin is his third son. He must be nineteen, maybe twenty by now. And he’s not truly a prisoner. He goes around the city with an armed guard detail.”
“How do you know all this?”
Huang shrugged. “We used to drink together. Lin Yijin likes his Ancient Well Liquor probably a little too much. Expensive, high quality stuff. If you get too close to him, his guards will hassle you.”
Wei-wei stared at her brother, unblinking.
“My one talent,” he reminded her with a half-grin.
Her theory was looking weaker by the moment. What man would move against the empire when his own son was in danger? A third son was still flesh and blood. “I’ll keep looking through Chancellor Yao’s papers,” she said, trying not to sound defeated.
“We will look closely at General Lin,” Huang assured. “We’ll look at everyone. We have to. There are only six days left.”
What would happen then? Punishments, demotions? Or worse — Huang predicted that there would be another move against the empire. If the first target had been Chancellor Yao, then the next could very well be the Emperor. She didn’t even dare say it aloud.
She heard a gong sounding the hour. The Hour of the Goat. Next would be the Monkey Hour which meant it was time for her to go.
“There’s one other matter,” she told Huang.
He waited.
Wei-wei blew out a breath. “Elder Brother, I need your assistance in a small matter regarding a betrothal.”
Huang straightened. “What do you need?”
“I would like for it not to happen.”
A pained look flickered across her brother’s face and her stomach sank. “Mother’s already convinced you?”
His look of pain intensified. So did the knots in her stomach. “Huang, you didn’t—”
“I was trying to help you, Wei-wei. You helped arranged my marriage to Yue-ying. I thought, as your brother, I should do the same.”
“But you love Yue-ying!” she protested. “You were pining for her.”
He couldn’t deny it. “Li Chen is a good match.”
“You don’t even like Magistrate Li.”
“He passed the palace exams at eighteen years—”
“You think he’s smug and superior.”
“He was appointed magistrate of western Chang’an at twenty-seven years of age.”
“You know I don’t want to get married!”
Huang sighed, but continued listing what he considered to be Li Chen’s qualities.
“He’s not too old. He lives close. You wouldn’t have to move far away from our family. He’s the best choice.”
Oh, she could hit her brother. “I helped you so you could marry the woman that you chose, Huang.”
He sighed, looking defeated. “Wei-wei, you would have never chosen anyone. All you wanted was to have your way, no matter what. It can’t be that way forever.”
She touched her hand to her wrist. She could feel the bracelet that Gao had given her, hidden beneath her sleeve. That’s where it would have to remain. Hidden.
She had never had a suitor or even an admirer. Her life had been devoted to bringing honor to her family. She’d never had a choice — so how could she ever have chosen?
Chapter 10
Wei-wei sat in on the chaise in the salon with her hands folded neatly in her lap. Opposite her, several arms lengths away, sat Magistrate Li Chen. He was in a dark, midnight blue robe with his topknot fixed with a silver pin. She’d never seen Li in anything besides his official uniform. It made him appear younger.
Mother and Madame Li were chattering away in the next room. She could hear them bantering about as if they were old friends. Wei-wei and Li Chen had been purposefully left alone, with the onerous task of becoming acquainted.
“Lady Bai.”
She glanced up expectantly.
“It has been a while since we last spoke,” Li said.
“It’s been two days,” she pointed out.
Wei-wei half-expected him to say something to the effect of how two days had been an eternity, but he didn’t. This wasn’t a romantic courtship. An arranged marriage was more between their families than the two of them.
She took consolation that this couldn’t be the official engagement party. Her brother was still at his office and Father wasn’t scheduled to be home until the end of the week. Surely, as the head of their family, Father would need to be present. It would involve tradition and ceremony and the exchanging of gifts. An astrologer would be consulted in order to assign an auspicious date.
Wei-wei considered bribing the astrologer to select a day a long way out.
Li Chen picked up the tea cup from the side table and took a sip, then set it down. All with very deliberate, very methodical movements while biding time.
They both spoke at once:
“I hear you enjoy poetry.”
“Did you identify the victim?”
Li blinked at her. “Umm, the victim,” he began uncertainly.
“The one who was carrying the jade seal.”
“Well, uh…it’s not appropriate to discuss such matters—”
“I was the one who brought in the seal,” she reminded him.
Madame Li’s laughter rang out from the other room. The mothers would have a fit if they knew what was being discussed in here.
Wei-wei waited, refusing to waver.
Li scrubbed a hand along the side of his neck. “I submitted the chop to imperial authorities for examination. It wasn’t genuine after all.”
“It was forgery?”
“Yes. Correct.”
He took another drink of tea. A long drink this time, glancing quickly toward the other room as if searching for a rescue.
“Did you identify who the victim was?” she pressed.
“Likely a counterfeiter. Certainly, a serious crime, but there are many cases that require greater attention.”
He was lying and he was bad at it. She would think that a magistrate such as Li Chen, who spent his days reading others and discerning truth from falsehoods, would be better at hiding the truth. Two days ago, he had acted as if the case was critical. Now he seemed no longer interested in even investigating the crime.
“Forging an imperial seal is a high crime, is it not?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “Perhaps we should speak of other things, Lady Bai.”
They fell silent
once more. Mother had spent the previous hour drowning Wei-wei with praise for Li Chen. His rise through the ranks of the imperial bureaucracy, his good family name. He was a distant relation of the Emperor even. All of this was very important to her family, but all Wei-wei could think of the long stretches of silence between them. Days and the nights of civil nothingness between them. It was possible to eventually find some semblance of harmony. She’d seen her mother and father move quietly around one another, shaping the landscape of their marriage gradually like wind and water over rock.
“Once you are married,” she began carefully, “Would you discuss such matters with your wife?”
“When I take a wife…” He licked his lips, swallowing nervously. The mention of marriage appeared to be as uncomfortable for him as it was for her. “I imagine such talk would not foster harmony in the home. It’s important to keep such things separated, public duty and private matters.”
It all sounded like duty to her, public or private.
“More tea?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She called for one of the servants to bring tea. Then they sat, marking the minutes.
Li Chen was highly-educated and an accomplished imperial scholar. She was well-read in history, poetry and philosophy. Certainly, they both had plenty of things to say.
Just not to one another.
She breathed a sigh of relief when it was time for their families to sit down for supper.
“Poor Magistrate Li, stuck here with a bunch of women,” Mother teased as she directed Madame Li and her son to the dining salon.
“Not at all,” he said with a small laugh. “It’s an honor.”
“My husband is expected back in the city by the end of this week,” Mother continued, more by way of appointment than apology.
“Not so long then.” Madame Li exchanged a knowing glance with Mother while Wei-wei hid a scowl.
Mother shot her a warning look, which meant her scowl was not hidden well enough.
Huang was still conspicuously absent which left only Yue-ying and Mother along with Wei-wei herself to entertain the Li family. Mother had placed Yue-ying immediately next to the magistrate at the circular table with Wei-wei beside her. She was grateful that her sister-in-law was there to provide a buffer as the servants brought out individual plates of leek dumplings and goose stew with radishes.
“My son Huang couldn’t be with us. Unfortunately, he is occupied with his duties in the records office.”
“Oh, this one too,” Madame Li said. “He is barely home. Even at night.”
“There have been many urgent cases recently,” Li Chen murmured. He lifted his gaze to meet hers.
Wei-wei looked away quickly, remembering how surprised he’d been to see her at his office. She lifted her porcelain spoon to poke at a boiled radish. Li had probably known about his mother’s matchmaking intentions at that time.
“It has been quite a change living here in the northeastern quadrant,” Yue-ying admitted. Her marriage to Huang had brought her into their household over a year ago. “It’s so much quieter here. In Pingkang, there was always something happening late into the evening.”
“And not good things,” Madame Li chimed in with a frown.
“Mother,” Li Chen admonished beneath his breath. He left the sentiment unfinished.
“I wish you didn’t spend so much time there.”
“My responsibilities require it,” he replied.
“The dumplings are quite delicious,” Yue-ying interjected, not with quite the grace or training of her sister.
“And the goose is infused with ginseng root,” Mother said pleasantly. “Very warming for the circulation.”
Wei-wei rarely saw her Mother in such a charming mood. The prospect of her stubborn daughter finally being matched seemed to lift her spirits. Wei-wei didn’t want to begrudge her mother that happiness. If only she didn’t actually have to get married to make Mother happy.
The rest of the meal finished amiably enough. The two mothers bantered back and forth. Wei-wei and Li Chen answered when spoken to. Mother expounded upon Li Chen’s accomplishments as the county magistrate. Madame Li had nothing but compliments for Wei-wei.
The inevitability of the betrothal pressed down like an iron weight. The mothers had already decided. The rest was a mere formality. Wei-wei counted the days left before her father was to return. Was he returning specifically for this? Her formal engagement? She had only days of freedom left.
Unless his party was beset upon by brigands.
No, what an unhappy thought! She loved her father.
After the meal was done, Li Chen apologized for having to depart so early. Evening was just starting to come, but he had some case work to get back to.
“How very commendable,” Mother said.
Wei-wei made some excuse to retire to her room, which was the reason she was the only one around when Madame Li and her son stepped outside to the courtyard garden. She ducked into the study to avoid having to carry on any awkward conversation.
“Again?” Madame Li scolded under her breath. “Three nights now. You’re to be married soon.”
Married. That word again. Wei-wei felt it like a rock in the pit of her stomach.
“It’s not that,” Li Chen replied in an uncharacteristically harsh tone which told Wei-wei immediately what ‘that’ was. She was also convinced that it was indeed ‘that’.
“What will our new relations think…?”
She couldn’t hear the rest. The two had moved away. When Wei-wei peeked out from the study, Mother was leading them to the front gate to see them off. Wei-wei waited until they were clearly gone before going to seek out Zhou Dan. He was in the kitchen and looked to have just finished his evening meal.
“Did you speak to their servant?” she asked.
“We spoke for a while,” he replied with a grin that indicated the Li’s carriage driver might have had a few things to say.
The street was dimly lit, a lone lantern hanging from a post at the corner. Gao was stationed at the corner with no particular purpose other than to watch the doors. He knew which ones opened into the illicit gambling dens and brothels of the northern lanes. The night patrols likely knew as well, but Hui bribed them to move along.
Gao was expecting an uneventful night. He’d lend an imposing presence around Hui’s establishments, listen for any gossip around the night soil collectors who had been detained. It was all going to be routine—
Until a young aristocrat in a garishly lavish robe appeared before him.
“Heavenly Peaches,” stated Wei-wei, or rather, stated Wei-wei dressed in men’s clothing.
It was an outfit her elder brother Huang had worn when he frequented the pleasure quarter. With the bright blue and green pattern, it was reminiscent of a strutting peacock, which Bai Huang had done a good job of emulating in his day. Wei-wei brought her own sort of assertiveness to the costume. The Bais truly were shameless. They walked the street as if they owned it, which certainly lent to Wei-wei’s disguise as a young lord out on the town.
Gao remained where he was, arms folded over his chest as he leaned against the wall. “What are you doing out here alone?”
“I’m not alone,” she said impatiently. “You’re here.”
“How did you get here?”
“I took the horse from our stable.”
He’d encountered her out in the quarter after dark before, exploring the forbidden reaches of the night city, but he was surprised at the frequency. Her brother had a gambling habit. Perhaps Wei-wei had her own form of addiction.
“No one notices?” he questioned. “Your family won’t cry thief or call the city patrols?”
“Everyone’s asleep.”
“Really?”
“Zhou Dan takes care of the stable and he has a girl he’s in love with he likes to visit. I cover for him; he covers for me.”
One had to admire her resourcefulness. “Hui should hire you to extort money for him. You migh
t be good at it.”
Wei-wei gave him an impatient look. “The House of Heavenly Peaches,” she reminded.
“I know of it.”
She pulled away, confident that he would follow. Gao pushed off the wall a moment later. Of course, he was going with her. Wei-wei grew bolder every time she ventured out, but she was far from knowledgeable about the city. Hui’s gambling den would have to survive without his presence for the night.
“I’m afraid of you, Wei-wei,” he said, catching up to her. It was a way of saying he admired her — and maybe a little fear was warranted. “The House of Heavenly Peaches is a pleasure house.”
“I thought so from the name.”
“One of the big ones.”
“Like the Lotus Palace?”
“They’re rivals.”
She had pulled her hair up into a tight top-knot which accentuated the contours of her chin and jawline. He could see the resemblances between brother and sister very clearly, in both appearance and manner. Gao had called her pretty, but really, she was beautiful. There was a proud confidence in how she held herself. She truly believed that roads would clear for her and doors would open.
“Why are we going there?” he asked.
“Li Chen.” Her lips tightened around the name.
“Popular man.”
“You’ve seen him?”
“He was here in the pleasure quarter last night.”
Gao hadn’t yet told her of his arrangement with Magistrate Li and how they had set up of the night soil collectors. Something he’d mentioned seemed to strengthen her resolve. She moved quicker.
They reached the main square with the House of Heavenly Peaches standing at the far end. Wei-wei ducked into the soup stand across form the courtesan house and took a seat on a wooden bench. The soup seller started toward them but Gao warded him away before sitting down beside her. They were facing the doors of the pleasure house.
“It looks like there’s some sort of gathering there tonight,” Wei-wei observed.
Across the street, the lanterns were lit and every window thrown open. Soft, warm light and music drifted out into street.