The Qing Dynasty Mysteries - Books 1-3

by Amanda Roberts

  “No! Certainly not,” Mr. Gibson said heatedly, using some of the few words the inspector understood.

  The prince, though, did not give up and continued to press his case. Finally, Mr. Gibson stomped toward the stairway and led them upstairs.

  “He doesn’t want us investigating,” the prince explained.

  “Naturally,” Inspector Gong replied.

  “I’m doing my best here. He is allowing us to see the body and the crime scene, but not for long.”

  Inspector Gong nodded and followed Mr. Gibson and the prince upstairs.

  At the top of the stairs was a long hallway with several doors. There was also another stairway up to a third floor. They went down the hallway to a room on the end. Mr. Gibson took a deep breath and then opened the door. He entered the room, followed by Prince Kung and Inspector Gong. The prince’s guard waited outside the room.

  The scene was shocking. The woman, quite young, was lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood with an arrow sticking out of her chest. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open in a silent scream. Inspector Gong shook his head. He couldn’t believe no one had bothered to close her eyes.

  The girl was lying in front of a large window, but the window was shut and covered with a gauze curtain. The arrow had shattered the window, ripped through the curtain, and penetrated the girl nearly in the heart. It had been an incredible shot.

  Inspector Gong pulled back the curtain a bit and looked outside. Across the street were the houses he had noted earlier. There were two houses, close together, where the killer could have stood. He had most likely been on the third floor or the roof of whichever house he used. He would need to speak to whoever owned those houses as well. Perhaps they housed the killer or would know who might have access to their house.

  Prince Gong and Mr. Gibson were talking, but Mr. Gibson was becoming increasingly agitated. The inspector knew it was only a matter of time before they were kicked out. Even though Mr. Gibson most likely had frequent interactions with Chinese, he probably rarely had to answer to one.

  The inspector kneeled down on his haunches to get a better look at the body. The arrow was beautifully made. It was ornately carved and painted with gold and green. The fletching was made of bright green mallard feathers. It had to be possible to find out where such a unique arrow came from. To use such a specific weapon had to be a message. He needed to get a better look at it, perhaps the arrowhead held further clues…

  “Out!” Mr. Gibson finally yelled. Another word that Inspector Gong easily understood.

  The prince tried to placate him, but he was beyond placating now. If he dared to give orders to a prince, he obviously was past all sense of caring. The inspector, the prince, and the prince’s men all traipsed downstairs and out the front door. They headed back to the main gate.

  “What did you learn?” the prince asked through clenched teeth.

  “Not enough,” Inspector Gong replied. “We need to get the body to Dr. Xue, I need to examine the arrow, and I need to interview everyone in the house and hopefully the neighbors.”

  The prince scoffed. “None of which is likely to happen. These foreigners, they won’t help us, even if it is in their best interest.”

  “What do you mean?” the inspector asked.

  “They believe this should be handled internally since it happened in the legation. The Chinese want it handled by us, since a Chinese girl was the victim. It will go badly no matter what we do. If she was killed by a foreigner, we can’t prosecute them. They would be prosecuted by the courts of their own country, which means they won’t be prosecuted at all. If she was killed by a Chinese person, the people will think the killer was framed to protect the foreigners. Either way, this could get ugly. Tensions are high, and something like this could be like pouring oil on the flame and start an all-out war with the foreigners or rebel against the empress for not protecting the people against the ‘White Devils’.”

  “We lose either way,” Inspector Gong replied.

  “Yes, but if we at least find out who did it,” the prince said, “it could give me leverage. I could use it against the foreigners, to weaken their influence or to earn us some benefits. I could calm the fears of the populace, at least protect the empress and buy us some time.”

  “What are your orders, Your Highness?” the inspector asked.

  “Find the killer,” he said.

  The inspector sighed. “In a walled city where I don’t speak the language?” he asked, only half-joking.

  “Well, you do know one person who speaks English, aside from me,” the prince said.

  “Who is that?”

  “Lady Li.”

  Inspector Gong felt his breath hitch in his throat. Lady Li. She had helped him solve a case a couple of months previously. Her sister-in-law had been murdered in the Inner Court, the court of the ladies, in the Forbidden City. As a man, he could not be permitted into the Inner Court. However, Lady Li agreed to help him and went in his stead.

  They had solved the crime and also discovered a passion for one another, spending one incredible night together in her quarters in the Forbidden City. But he had not seen her since her sister-in-law was formally laid to rest after they solved the crime. He wanted to see her, and had fought the urge to call on her many times, but nothing could ever come of it. She was Manchu; he was Han. Legally, they could not marry. Plus, she was a widow, and society dictated she remain as such for the rest of her life in reverence to her husband, even though she was only in her twenties. There were other considerations as well, but they all added up to the same thing—Lady Li was a woman he should stay away from, for both their sakes.

  “Are you suggesting I ask Lady Li for her help?” Inspector Gong finally asked. “Again?”

  “You worked well together last time,” the prince said, without a hint of irony. The prince knew that Inspector Gong and Lady Li spent the night together, and he knew that they could not have a future together. So why was he so quick to encourage Inspector Gong to call on her?

  “Is there something else going on here?” the inspector asked.

  The prince shook his head. “It was only a suggestion. I suppose I could find another translator for you…”

  “I didn’t say you needed to do that,” the inspector interrupted.

  Prince Kung smiled. “I just think she can help you in more ways than as just a translator.”

  “What do you mean?” the inspector asked.

  “Just call on her,” the prince said. “You won’t be disappointed.”

  2

  Lady Li turned the letter over in her hands. At least this time Inspector Gong had the good sense to let her know he was coming, unlike the first time he came to her home. After her sister-in-law, Suyi, had been murdered in the Forbidden City, he practically barged into her home and demanded that she submit herself to the empress as a lady-in-waiting and help him find her killer.

  Well, he had not been as brutish as that, but nearly so. And they did find the killer, though it was of little comfort. At least she had been able to bury Suyi with all the proper burial rites so she would not become a hungry ghost.

  The last time she saw Inspector Gong was at Suyi’s funeral. But things had been left so…unsettled between them. That had been weeks ago, and neither of them had found the courage or the means to bridge the gap that separated them.

  At least Lady Li had her two daughters, her companion Concubine Swan, who had been her late husband’s concubine, her mother-in-law Popo, and a household to run. But she was not supposed to know the comfort, or even the friendship, of a man again. If she was even seen in the company of a man, her reputation could be ruined. As a woman who could never remarry, her reputation might be of little importance, but she had her daughters to think about. Even though they were girls, since there were no male heirs, Lady Li’s money and estates—which was all her husband’s property when she married but was given to her upon his death—would be left to her daughters as dowries. That, along with t
heir impressive pedigree, would make them two of the most eligible Manchu ladies in the empire as soon as they were of age in only a few years. It was not uncommon for elite Manchu girls to be married as young as thirteen years old. Lady Li’s eldest daughter was the right age, the right pedigree, and had the right astrological numbers to be considered as a royal consort—perhaps even as the next empress. But should Lady Li ruin herself, she would also ruin any chances of her daughters making strong marriage ties.

  Lady Li sighed. Of course she wanted to see Inspector Gong again. She had already given herself to him while she was undercover in the Forbidden City. But it could never happen again. Nothing could ever happen between them. She could not take a lover and risk her good name, and she could not remarry. Even if she cared nothing for her reputation, he was Han, and marriage between the Manchu and Han were forbidden.

  She was reading the note again for the third time when she heard the front gate open. She looked up and saw her eunuch, Eunuch Bai, hurriedly entering. As a lady, Lady Li could not casually venture outside her family compound, so Eunuch Bai was her eyes and ears on the outside.

  “What is going on out there,” she asked him.

  “A riot, My Lady,” he said as he handed several parcels to the maids.

  “Whatever for?” she asked.

  “A young lady was murdered in the Foreign Legation, the British Quarter,” he said.

  “Why are the people rioting over that?” she asked. “Sounds like a British problem.”

  “She was Chinese,” he said. “Zhao Weilin was her name. A maid in the home of a very wealthy merchant.”

  “Oh dear,” Lady Li said knowingly. She handed Eunuch Bai the letter from Inspector Gong. “Do you think the murder has anything to do with this?”

  He took the letter and read it quickly, then again more slowly. He cocked an eyebrow at her. “I did hear that Prince Kung and Inspector Gong were at the legation this morning. The incident has the potential to light the kindling that is unrest in the city. No doubt the prince is trying to stop an explosion before one starts. But that doesn’t explain why Inspector Gong would be coming to you.”

  Lady Li shrugged and took the note back. “I suppose we will find out soon enough.”

  Eunuch Bai raised both eyebrows, but said nothing.

  Lady Li rolled her own eyes. “Speak plainly. Your silence is loud enough.”

  “There will be no stopping the neighborhood gossips from speculating about his visit. When he was investigating the death of Suyi he had reason to be here. But now? This can only lead to trouble.”

  “My dear friend, of course you are right. But what can I do?” Lady Li asked innocently, even though they both knew there was something decidedly not innocent bubbling between Lady Li and Inspector Gong.

  Eunuch Bai had been Lady Li’s attendant since she first entered the Forbidden City as a lady-in-waiting for the empress when she was only fifteen years old. He had been there for her when the whole court had fled for their lives to Jehol when the foreign powers attacks the Dagu Fort and marched on the Forbidden City. He had accompanied her when she left court and married her husband. He had comforted her after his death. He had proven himself her trusted friend for over a decade. She worried that part of his loyalty was wrapped up in his own improper feelings for her, something akin to love. But she did not feel that way about him, and he had never given voice to his feelings, so perhaps she was wrong. Regardless, he was her faithful servant and she his loyal lady, and they had been through too much together for anything to come between them, even someone as questionable as Inspector Gong.

  “You are dismissed,” she said with a mock air of superiority. “I must get ready for my guest.”

  “My Lady,” Eunuch Bai replied with a small bow.

  Lady Li then went to her quarters where a maid helped her dress in a silk embroidered chaopao, high pot-bottom shoes, and arrange her hair in the batou style atop her head.

  She was just putting a little color on her lips when Eunuch Bai announced that the inspector had arrived. She felt butterflies swarm in her stomach and willed them to calm down. She slowly walked down the hall toward the sitting room where he was waiting for her, not that she could walk any other way in such shoes.

  When she entered the sitting room, Inspector Gong rose from his seat to greet her. He was just as handsome as she had remembered. Maybe a bit more so. He could not suppress his own smile at seeing her, which gave his eyes a playful glint. He was clean-shaven, and his head was shaved in the front and his hair plaited down the back in the Manchu style that was required of all Chinese men no matter their ethnicity. He looked well, less stressed than when she had seen him previously.

  “Lady Li,” he finally said with a bow.

  She gave a small bend of her knees and incline of her head in acknowledgement and motioned for him to retake his seat. She then took a seat nearby, but the tea table was between them.

  “I am pleased to see you,” she said. “Your note was rather vague, but I have the feeling your reason for your call is less grave than when you came to see me before.”

  “Less personal, perhaps,” he said. “But no less serious.”

  “Is it in relation to the murder in the British Quarter?” she asked as she poured them some tea.

  “Word travels fast,” he said.

  “There were people marching toward the riot outside my gate. I heard them when Eunuch Bai returned from his errands.”

  Inspector Gong nodded. “The crowd grows bigger by the minute. The girl’s parents are mourning outside the gate to the legation. It is stoking the people’s anger.”

  “And what is your role in this?” she asked.

  “Prince Kung has instructed me to find out who killed the girl before all hell breaks loose between the people and the foreigners.”

  “That cannot be an easy task,” she said. “The foreigners have their own police force. They will want to handle this internally.”

  “Exactly,” he said, sipping the tea. He wondered how she knew so much about the foreigners. “If anything, Prince Kung should be handling the investigation. He knows the foreigners and their ways. He speaks English. But he is busy trying to keep the upper level diplomats and nobles happy and calm. He is trying to hold back the dam between both sides as long as possible so I can solve the crime.”

  “Do you think you can?” she asked as she refilled his teacup.

  “Do you doubt my abilities?” he asked with a playful smirk that made her hand tremble slightly. She quickly placed the teapot back on the tray

  “You have proven yourself resourceful in the past,” she said noncommittally.

  “I have a few leads I can pursue,” he said. “I need to interview the girl’s parents. And the murder weapon was quite unique. I think it will be easy to track down. But I worry it will not be enough. I can't examine the body or interview the people she lived with and worked for. I can’t access the house where the killer probably laid in wait. I am not optimistic. But we must come up with some answer, some explanation that will keep the people from trying to storm the legation…” He shook his head, obviously distraught.

  After he was quiet for a moment, Lady Li asked, “Why are you here?”

  “What do you mean?” he replied.

  “It sounds like you have a large job ahead of you. Why are you here with me? Should you not be out…investigating?”

  He nodded. “Indeed. Prince Kung suggested I speak with you, but I don’t know, really. I…I suppose I just wanted someone to talk to. Someone to bounce ideas off of. You were so helpful last time.” He looked into his cup with a sense of defeat on his face.

  Lady Li felt a blush rise to her cheeks. This was why she was developing feelings for this man. He did not see her as just a woman he could take to his bed, but saw her as a friend, a college, a confidant. He saw her as an equal.

  Her husband had been similar. He too knew she could be valuable to him. As a diplomat, he knew that women could be a source of info
rmation and he had planned to use her to gain information from the wives of other diplomats. But he died so early in their marriage, they did not have much opportunity to put their plan into practice.

  “Did I ever tell you that I can speak English?” she asked him, in English.

  “What?” he asked, sitting up to attention.

  “I said that I can speak English,” she said in Chinese, a mischievous smile on her lips.

  He smirked. “The prince did mention that. How did you gain this skill?”

  “I think you forget that my husband worked for Prince Kung, and my father was a diplomat under the prince’s father, the Daoguang Emperor,” she said.

  “But why would you speak English just because your husband worked for the prince?”

  “British and American men are very different from Chinese men. They are greatly influenced by their wives. They consult with them and allow their opinions to influence their thinking.”

  “You are joking,” Inspector Gong said nearly chuckling.

  Lady Li shook her head. “Not at all. Why do you think the British Legation is so large? Their wives won’t let the men leave them behind. Can you imagine Chinese diplomats traveling with all their wives and children and pets and cases of clothes and tea sets and dressing tables to the other side of the world for a temporary appointment? It is ridiculous. But that is how they are. That is why the legations have shops and schools and post offices and so on for all those families.”

  “Have you been to the legation” he asked.

  “Many times,” she said. “My husband believed that by having a wife who could be friends with the foreigners’ wives, I could help influence the women in China’s favor, and the wives would influence their husbands. I could go to their tea parties and listen to their gossip and tell him what their husbands were telling them.”

  “Your husband was training you to be a spy? Some kind of…espionage agent. Get inside and manipulate the foreign women and report back to him?” He was fully laughing now.