by Jeannie Lin
‘Tao, what made you change your mind?’
‘Isn’t it clear?’ His hand trailed a soothing path along her spine.
‘No,’ she whispered mournfully. ‘No, it’s never clear with you.’
He didn’t know what else she demanded. He shifted and took her face in his hands, kissing her with his lips pressed earnestly to hers.
She broke away. ‘You’ll never say the words.’
His muscles wound tight, as if he was readying himself for impending battle. He didn’t have an answer for her.
He kissed her again with a growing urgency, tasting her as she opened herself to him. He’d make love to her if he could. They could lose themselves in each other. The roughness of the bed would fade quickly.
But the warmth didn’t quicken into passion as it always did between them. Gradually Suyin sank against him, too exhausted to stay awake. He was weary as well. The day had been full of changes. Instead of removing her clothes, he brushed back her hair and pressed his lips to her forehead. Her breathing had grown heavy and he imagined she was already asleep.
Chapter Sixteen
The city of Chengdu stood on the bank of the Jin River, which divided the southern province from the central empire. A sturdy wall of grey brick and mortar enclosed the provincial capital. Within the gates, the streets were paved and rows of buildings lined either side of the crowded avenues.
It had been a long time since Suyin had been around so much activity. The babble of the crowd left her dizzy and disoriented. The military installations had increased as they travelled closer, yet the citizens of Chengdu wandered through the markets buying and bartering as usual.
Li Tao handed the reins to one of the bodyguards and they continued through the streets on foot. ‘Wang told me you barely ate last night.’
Wang, the head guardsman, had been tasked with taking vigilant care of her
‘All I wanted to do was sleep,’ Suyin said.
‘I forget that you’re not accustomed to such travel.’
‘I am not helpless.’
The reply came out more abruptly than she intended. She wasn’t helpless, but she was weary. Suyin wasn’t used to riding on horseback the entire day. She wasn’t used to riding at all. At night, they slept at roadside inns or in tents that were hastily erected at sundown. The gruelling routine drained the last of her strength. The continued uncertainty drained the last of her patience.
Li Tao directed the party towards the busiest thoroughfare to search for a tavern. He ignored her protests and insisted on a proper meal before heading to the river crossing. Soon they would be in imperial territory, outside his jurisdiction.
‘I didn’t expect to be so tired,’ she said, her tone conciliatory.
‘You’ll feel better after eating.’
She took his arm and he surprised her by resting his hand against the small of her back, urging her closer just so. Such a subtle suggestion of possession, of intimacy. He was being uncommonly attentive. She forgot the thick of the crowd and the armed men on every side of them. For this moment, she floated content.
The simple affection in his touch hinted at something she hadn’t felt before in all of their heated nights. Perhaps there could be peace. There could be happiness like this, side by side.
His bodyguards surrounded them, taking positions at the front and back. Her uncertainty returned. Li Tao had become more withdrawn as they neared the capital, so much so that the mere touch of his hand brought forth all of her hidden longing. He had never mentioned anything as ephemeral as happiness. Li Tao only spoke to her of survival.
They needed to be free of Gao before there could be any peace. She had bested the old warlord once before, but that was another era, another emperor. And her victory had only been temporary.
A set of red and green banners hanging from the second floor marked the restaurant almost as clearly as the spiced scents floating from the open windows. Li Tao guided her inside.
‘Governor, welcome!’
The proprietor recognised Li Tao right away. He ushered them to the upper floor, spouting a list of the kitchen’s specialties as they climbed the stairs. On the ground floor, a group talking loudly in the corner hushed as they passed by. A thread of tension spun from guardsman to guardsman.
‘Rumours about Ru Shan,’ Li Tao explained when she looked to him.
She didn’t expect to hear that name again. ‘But you released him.’
From behind them she heard Wang and the others conferring. The word ‘traitor’ emerged from the murmuring.
Li Tao guided her upwards. ‘It’s nothing. A minor concern.’
But his gaze turned inwards. Ru Shan’s release was another decision she had coerced upon him, against Li Tao’s judgement. Was he regretting his show of mercy?
A private banquet room awaited them at the top of the staircase. Servants appeared with trays of wine and tea, eager to serve before the party was even settled. Li Tao seated her beside him and Wang stayed close. The threat of danger was always present. Suyin was never allowed to forget that.
She waited until the servers left before speaking. ‘Will we continue with only your guards?’
Li Tao smiled ruefully. ‘You advocated a grand gesture, Lady Ling.’
‘Perhaps a few more men would be appropriate.’
‘Marching a sizeable army against Changan would look like an open challenge, would it not? We’ll join a small escort at the crossing.’
She nodded, but a sick feeling curdled her stomach. The forces of Shen and Gao were closing in on them like the two claws of a black scorpion. These men led armies in the thousands and tens of thousands while she knew nothing about warfare. Yet she had directed Li Tao into the path of danger.
‘I’ve sent messengers ahead to notify Shen of our intentions,’ he said.
‘I imagine that the illustrious Emperor Shen would respect an appeal for peace.’
‘Emperor Shen,’ Li Tao corrected himself with some distaste.
Suyin had to remind him of such nuances. Any offence would be scrutinised and worked over by the court until it resembled high treason. If anything, she believed that Li Tao held a begrudging respect for Shen. If she could only guide him when he stood before the Emperor, but Li Tao wouldn’t be schooled and controlled. Not the way she’d allowed herself to be controlled when she had lived in the palace.
An arrangement of cold plates was brought before them. The proprietor himself took the dishes from the serving trays to place them on to the table.
‘Please enjoy,’ he urged.
Suyin lifted a set of wooden chopsticks from the bamboo container. It had been fifteen years since she’d been in a public place, sitting out in the open. She was stunned by the novelty of it: the diners in their drab grey-and-brown clothing, the scrape of the dishes, the worn edges of the tables. Every detail took on an uncustomary significance.
Li Tao was looking down at her curiously. A smile formed on her lips.
‘You wouldn’t understand,’ she said.
But perhaps he did understand. Li Tao had lived his own sheltered existence for so long. Something inside him had reached out to her, long before they could speak so freely. She still hadn’t found the right words to penetrate the armour around him.
She started to comment about the ordinary becoming remarkable, but a sharp, frantic knocking came from outside.
‘Governor!’
The conversation in the banquet room halted. Li Tao continued drinking his tea, but he edged closer to her. His shoulders raised slightly, muscles tensed. Two of the guardsmen moved to the door and opened it. Li Tao glanced briefly at the new arrival before beckoning him forwards with a curl of his fingers.
The messenger bowed as he entered. His clothes were covered with dust. ‘Governor Li,’ he greeted. The man appeared haggard, as if he’d ridden a great distance. He looked uncertainly at her.
Li Tao confirmed with a short nod. His men were so attuned to Li Tao that his commands were expressed wit
h the most efficient of gestures, no effort wasted.
‘We’ve captured a group of men attempting to slip past the western barricade,’ the messenger reported.
‘And?’
He looked uncertain. ‘They’ll speak only to you.’
Apprehension filled the room. She couldn’t comprehend the unspoken signals between them, but there was obviously danger—danger and something more insidious.
She touched her hand to Li Tao’s arm. ‘Who are these men?’
‘I don’t know, but there’s more.’ His expression grew cold, unreadable.
The messenger bowed again, almost an apology. He took a letter from the fold of his tunic and placed it on to the table. Li Tao read it in the stark silence of the room.
‘Why was this not given to me sooner?’
More silence. Finally the messenger, whom Suyin surmised had to be one of Li Tao’s trusted men, spoke in a lowered tone.
‘It was taken and suppressed by Governor Chou.’
A muscle ticked along Li Tao’s jaw. He regarded her for a long time before he finally spoke. ‘Lady Ling, it seems we must put a stop to our journey.’
A feeling of dread stopped her breath. ‘We have to go to the Emperor before it’s too late.’
Li Tao had a way of turning away from her when he absolutely would not answer. The gesture was final, the decision was made. He did it now.
‘Tao, you must reconsider.’
She could talk until her mouth ran dry and it wouldn’t move him, but she had to try. She wanted to stand and order the men from the room. She would demand to see that letter and insist that Li Tao listen to reason. This was their one chance, the one time he’d given her his trust, at least enough to take her counsel.
But he didn’t give her another opportunity. He took hold of her arm, not cruelly, but without any warmth. They stood and he pulled her close as he led her back through the streets. The guards parted the crowd before them and they moved past the shops at a determined pace. Li Tao’s grip on her was no longer reassuring.
The horses were ready and waiting for them by the city gate. Wang and half of the guards separated from the others. Hope dwindled inside her. The men knew. They already knew and she didn’t.
‘What’s happening, Tao?’
The patient, indulgent lover of the morning was gone. He was now the warlord who expected his orders obeyed. ‘You will be returned to the bamboo sea.’
‘Whatever this is, your men can handle it,’ she insisted. ‘You must go to the Emperor.’
He was already shaking his head before she finished. ‘It’s not safe for you here…with me.’
She wanted to shout at him that nowhere was safe. They had discussed how important this was. This was Li Tao’s last chance to fight the accusations of treason. War would follow if he didn’t appeal to Shen. Death would follow.
‘Tell me,’ she implored, trying to command him the way he commanded his men. With will alone.
A look of pain crossed his face, or was it anger? She would never be able to read Li Tao. He always warded her away, building the barriers higher and stronger.
‘There are soldiers,’ he told her. ‘A regiment heading for the provincial border in advance of the approaching armies.’
‘Imperial soldiers?’
Li Tao didn’t respond. He led her to where Wang waited astride a horse and lifted her up behind the head bodyguard.
‘Please, think carefully about what you’re about to do.’ She grabbed on to Li Tao’s wrist when he tried to let go of her. ‘Gao Shiming wants this. He wants to prevent you from meeting Shen.’
His eyes met hers one final time. The emptiness behind his gaze chilled her. All her charm and grace and persuasiveness meant nothing. They were strangers again.
‘There’s a man in this city I need to see to,’ he said.
The statement was not quite directed at her. There was no more time for questions. Wang directed the horse towards the gate just as Li Tao’s soldiers assembled behind him, disciplined and ready. The last thing she saw was Li Tao stalking toward the city centre with sword drawn.
Li Tao rode down the dirt path with his personal guards beside him. It had only taken a day to secure the provincial capital. His men had surrounded the administrative offices and wrested control with hardly a fight. The fight would come later. Another day to have the prisoners brought to him so he could learn exactly why they’d come. More days and more hours to organise his troops.
Once the capital was under his control, he headed back to the bamboo forest. They switched horses frequently at relay stations to travel as fast as possible. The days and hours were in short supply; every minute carried countless demands.
The mansion emerged through the forest. He should have sent a messenger. Wang could have been trusted to carry out his orders, but Li Tao came in person anyway. There was no doubt in his mind about why.
Suyin emerged before the entrance like a goddess in blue silk. She paused at the top of the steps with the stone guardians framing either side of her. Again he sensed the echo of that first hunger of his youth, but stronger this time. Suyin had grown into her power and beauty. It hurt to look at her. The ache of wanting.
A woman like that could convince a man of anything. He’d allowed her to convince him that there was one last chance for peace. He’d wanted to believe so much that he’d been weak with it. She’d wanted to believe as well.
He chose his words carefully as he approached. Nothing soft and flattering came to mind. There was only hard truth.
‘There will be no meeting with Shen,’ he said.
She paled, then took a steadying breath. ‘Come inside.’
Auntie and the servants were gathered in the front parlour. She went to Auntie first and squeezed her wrinkled hand. ‘See, he’s alive.’
The old woman nodded. At Suyin’s quiet instruction, Auntie took the others back into the recesses of the mansion.
Suyin turned to him once they were alone. ‘We all were frightened for you when you didn’t return.’ She was feeling her way around him, hesitant.
‘There was an important matter I needed to see to.’
‘You must be tired. Cook has supper prepared.’
He shook his head in a flash of anger. They just did not have the time any more. Not for simple pleasantries. Not for indecision. Not for this game of power and desire they always played.
‘Come with me,’ he said with a roughness that only revealed his anger, but none of the rest. None of the bitter disappointment. None of the faint hope that was now gone.
She took his hand and the cool touch of her skin soothed him beyond comprehension, but he denied the comfort she offered. He needed to remain alert, honed. He tightened his grip as he led her down the corridor to his study. They were barely inside before he shoved the door closed and dragged her into his arms.
Her breath caught as his mouth found the delicate skin of her throat. She shuddered, arching her neck to give him more. His arms tightened desperately around her. He wasn’t being gentle, but Suyin knew he wasn’t a gentle man.
Li Tao anchored his hips against her. He wanted to lift her in his arms and take her there, against the wall. He would lock her away and lie with her until neither of them could stand.
Suyin wrapped her arms around his neck. ‘Tell me everything.’
Her voice cut through the grip of desire. The tension drained way and he let himself just hold her. Soft curves and jasmine perfume surrounded him. Suyin always managed to penetrate deep to the soft, vulnerable organs hidden inside. It was too tempting to keep her near him. Tempting and dangerous.
‘It was Gao. One of his regiments has slipped in close while the provincial governor withheld the reports. The messengers I sent to Shen were also stopped.’
He’d always ignored Chou as a harmless, gutless bureaucrat, but his counterpart wasn’t as worthless as he’d thought.
‘I stripped Chou of any authority so he can no longer be a nuisance.’
>
She stiffened against him. ‘You’ve wrested control of the entire province.’
Suyin’s tone was full of regret. Li Tao had none. He’d spent over a year building an army for this moment. All lesser obstacles had to be removed to prepare for the greater threat.
‘My soldiers protect this district and keep it safe from invaders. This province was always under my control.’
He could see how she rebelled against his claim of authority. What would she suggest now? More peaceful discussion? It was much too late for that.
‘Was the governor allied with Gao?’ she asked.
‘He was simply not allied with me. He wanted to make that clear to anyone who would question it.’
His hold tightened around her waist. The silk of her robe slid wondrously beneath his hands. She smelled so good. War was all but upon him, but he insisted on taking just this moment.
Li Tao didn’t have a moment to waste on anything but the defence of the province, but he was still right to come back. He’d needed to see her and to hear her voice. And he’d needed something else.
He lifted his head to catch her gaze. ‘Tell me why Gao wants you dead.’
She paused, breath held back. Still hiding. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Suyin.’ His tone carried a hint of warning.
‘I’ve been trying to figure out why since I came here. I truly don’t know.’
‘The men we captured were messengers. Gao wants a meeting.’
‘A meeting?’ A hundred thoughts flickered across her face. ‘He must want to negotiate a deal with you directly.’
‘That will never happen.’
Li Tao couldn’t attack Gao’s troops directly. That would be the last evidence the old warlord needed of Li’s defiance. Yet Gao had made a move to circle around the imperial forces in order to arrive early. Li Tao had miscalculated. Gao wanted something else besides bringing him down.
‘I need to know everything about Gao, starting with why he sent men after you. Gao wanted you dead and someone else wanted you alive.’