“This way, my lady,” he said. Of course, he would know a quick and safe way inside. Lady Li carried Second Daughter and held First Daughter’s hand tightly as they worked their way through the crowd and into the building.
The crowd inside was not much thinner. The show was oversold. She could see the elevated stage at the back of the large open-air courtyard, but there were far more people than benches. Not that it mattered since most people who had bench seats would stand anyway to get a better view.
Eunuch Bai led Lady Li to a stairwell that would lead to boxed seats on the second level.
“Inspector Gong!” Lady Li exclaimed in surprise when Eunuch Bai opened the sliding door to the room and she saw him standing there. “What are you doing here?”
“Not happy to see me?” he asked as he gave a small bow and smile.
Lady Li felt a tightness and a fluttering in her chest at the same time. She was more than happy to see him, but disappointed that they could never be more than mere acquaintances. And here, in front of so many people, they would have to be on the most formal of terms.
“I did not expect to see you here,” she finally managed to say.
Second Daughter squirmed out of her arms and ran to hug him. “Gong Shushu!” she cried out, jumping up to give him a hug. Even since the girls learned that he would be marrying Swan, they had taken to calling him uncle.
He hugged her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I can’t believe your mama let you out of the house so late at night.”
“Children need fresh air sometimes,” Lady Li said.
He looked around Lady Li as if checking to see if anyone else was with her. “Is Swan with you?” he asked, and Lady Li hoped that her heart sinking like a rock did not show on her face.
“It is a good thing I didn’t,” she said, pushing past him further into the room. “You know you aren’t supposed to speak with her before the wedding.” She then realized that Inspector Gong must have come as a guest of Prince Kung, who was standing near the edge of the balcony with his wife. Lady Li approached them and bowed.
“My prince,” she said. “My lady.”
Lady Guwalgiya gave Lady Li a polite nod, but then turned away to speak to her own friends. Lady Li and Lady Guwalgiya had never gotten along. The prince had been married to Lady Guwalgiya when he was very young, only fifteen years old, as was common for imperial children. So the prince had already been married for nearly a decade by the time he and Lady Li met and fallen in love, carrying on an affair within the walls of the Forbidden City. Lady Li had no idea how much Lady Guwalgiya knew about the affair, but she clearly knew enough to treat Lady Li cordially—as was appropriate for their stations—but kept her at a cool distance.
The prince took Lady Li’s hand in his and held it warmly. “It is a pleasure to see you.”
“And you, dear friend,” Lady Li said, and she meant it. Even though she had at one time loved him and would have settled for being a concubine herself to be with him, it meant a lot to her to still be able to count him among her friends. He was one of the few people she knew she could still count on in a crisis.
“Our mutual friend came to my home and made a rather unusual request today,” the prince said, eyeing Inspector Gong.
“Oh?” she asked.
“I have no reason to deny him other than I think it is a stupid idea,” he said. “But he said you had given him and Swan your full approval. Is this true? I would never do anything to make you unhappy.”
“Is it possible I both approve this thing and it makes me unhappy?” she asked as she stepped over to the railing and looked down at the crowd below. She and the prince had a shared history so deep, there was no need to be coy.
“Then why are you doing it?” the prince asked. “Just carry on as you have. Take him to your bed if you must, but don’t yolk Swan’s misfortunes to him. To his family.”
“But I can’t,” Lady Li said. “It…it’s not so simple. I have to let him go.”
“By the gods,” the prince said, somewhere between shock and amusement. “You love the bastard, don’t you? That’s why you can’t just sleep with him and go about your life.”
Lady Li didn’t respond, but she gripped the railing so hard she thought it would shatter.
“Well, I am sorry for it,” the prince said. “I have loved many women, but only been in love once. I know how hard it is to have to let that person go.”
She looked up into his eyes and saw all of their stolen kisses and hidden trysts in the Forbidden City pass by.
“But we became better people for it,” Lady Li said. “We both lived full lives, have beautiful families. We have been better friends than lovers.”
“But it’s different with him, is it?” the prince asked. “With me, we were young and there were no consequences if we’d been caught. But with him, there’s a lot at stake. You’ve been willing to risk everything to be with him.”
“And that’s why he has to go,” she said. “I can’t have him around. I need him safely married and out of my life.”
“If you wanted him well and truly out of your life you’d have him marry anyone else but Swan,” he said.
The orchestra started banging the drums and clashing the cymbals, starting the show.
“Just sign the damn paper,” Lady Li snapped as she took a seat and pulled her daughters close to her.
The prince sighed and went to the end of the row to sit with his wife.
“Mama, what’s happening?” First Daughter asked as the opera performers appeared on stage, one wearing the head of a horse, and one wearing the head of a bull. They were both twirling long spears.
“Horse Head and Ox Head are guardians of the gates of hell,” Lady Li said.
Inspector Gong sat next to Lady Li and took Second Daughter into his lap. “As long as you are explaining what is going on,” he said, “I might as well sit here and listen as well or else I’ll be completely lost.”
Lady Li frowned at him, but then felt the anger and annoyance melt away and she gave him a small smile. He slid closer to her, so close their arms were touching, and she did not move away.
Several more actors came out and performed an acrobatic routine.
“Those are demons,” Lady Li explained.
The demons were supposed to be frightening, but First Daughter and Second Daughter found the flips and tricks hilarious.
Then a man dressed all in red with a long beard came out. His face was painted in gold and white.
“That’s the Laosheng,” Lady Li said. “The man of reason and decency. He is also the King of Hell.”
The King of Hell sang a long solo and marched around the stage.
“He is explaining that war has been raging for many years,” Lady Li said. “Sending many good men to hell.”
The King of Hell and the demons then performed several songs and had many discussions about what to do about the never-ending war in the mortal realm. The songs were long, as it was common for opera performances to take a whole day, but this one had been cut down to last only a few hours.
Finally, the King of Hell called his daughter forth, and everyone in the audience held their breath.
In a long blue gown embroidered with silver thread and sparkling silver jewels and long white sleeves, Wangshu walked on stage with such small steps she seemed to float across the stage.
The cymbals crashed and the audience broke out in cheers and jeers. Wangshu moved to the middle of the stage with practiced precision. Every movement of her head, every flick of her wrist was deliberate and held meaning. After a moment, it was clear the crowd was not going to quiet, so Wangshu opened her mouth and went on with the show.
In a clear and high-pitched voice, Wangshu, playing the role of Xueyan, the immortal daughter of the King of Hell who would give up her eternal life to stop a great war by becoming the Red Concubine to one of the generals fighting the war, silenced the audience.
Even Lady Li stopped narrating the show because she was so
entranced by the performance and didn’t want to miss a beat.
At the end of the play, everyone was on the edge of their seat as Xueyan realized that the only way to end the war is to kill the human general she had fallen in love with.
Xueyan, now dressed in red as befitting the act she was about to perform, sang a song lamenting her tragic fate. She knew that by killing her lover, she would complete the task her father assigned to her, but she hopes that when she returns to hell, he tortures her forever instead of celebrating her victory because she knows she will not be able to live with herself after she completes the task.
Lady Li was not the only person in the audience trying to discreetly wipe away tears. First Daughter had long fallen asleep despite the loudness of the show. But Second Daughter was riveted, watching every moment with rapt attention.
The audience went completely silent as Xueyan hid a sword under her gown and the general entered the stage. Lady Li was surprised by the casting of the general. He was good-looking, even under layers of makeup, but he had a slight build, not the muscular body of someone who usually took on such a role. But he still played the role perfectly, convincingly playing both Xueyan’s tender lover and a merciless warmonger.
Together, the general and Xueyan sang a song about how much they loved each other and would run away and live in peace if only the war would ever end. But then the general broke away from her and sang about how the war could never end, not until he wiped the barbarians off the face of the earth.
Xueyan wept bitterly at the general’s words because she knew she had no choice but to kill him. She stepped behind the general and drew her sword. But she wouldn’t stab him in the back. He turned to her and embraced her, kissing her passionately.
Then the general gasped. He stumbled back, looking down at the sword in his stomach in shock. He grabbed Xueyan’s shoulder, and she looked just as terrified as he did.
“What…what have you done?” the general asked as he fell backward off the sword, which was still tightly gripped in Xueyan’s hand.
Lady Li was surprised that the general did not sing his final words, but the power of the scene could not be denied. Xueyan’s sword and sleeves were drenched in blood, an effect Lady Li had not seen at an opera before.
Everyone in the audience held their breath as they waited for Xueyan’s response to the act she just committed, but the song never came.
Wangshu simply stared out at the crowd, her hand holding the bloody sword shaking. Then she ran off stage. The crowd started murmuring.
Lady Li felt Inspector Gong grip her hand.
“What…what is happening?” she asked.
“I’m no expert on opera,” he said. “But I think Wangshu just killed her co-star.”
4
Like most people, Inspector Gong had seen operas before, but he was hardly a connoisseur. In fact, before the dramatic murder of the general, he had hardly been paying attention at all. All of his thoughts had been on Lady Li, who was sitting closely beside him.
He was always pleasantly surprised by how naturally they seemed to fit together. As they watched the show, side by side, and the evening grew progressively darker, he slipped his hand into hers, and she did not pull away. In fact, she held his hand tightly and even moved closer to him until they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. Enjoying an opera under the stars, hand in hand, with her children and their friends, Inspector Gong couldn’t imagine a more perfect night out. Any thoughts of Swan had completely vanished as he once again dreamed of a life with Lady Li. A life they both knew could never happen, yet they couldn’t seem to completely let go of.
Eventually, though, he found his attention drawn to the opera performance. Wangshu had a beautiful voice and was a gifted actress. The character of Xueyan was supposed to stop the war by any means necessary. Her original plan had been to merely seduce and distract the general and convince him to return home and stop the fighting. But she found herself falling in love with him instead. She also understood his reasons for the rebellion. The emperor had been dealing cruelly with his people. Xueyan was conflicted, caught between her heart and her honor.
Inspector Gong knew all too well the emotions coursing through Xueyan as the opera progressed. He wondered if Lady Li saw the similarities between the play and their real life. Who was he kidding? Of course, she did. Lady Li was one of the most well-educated and clever women he knew. He looked forward to discussing the opera with her after it ended, if she would speak to him. But that was what he wanted from a wife. Not merely a bedmate, but a friend, a partner. Someone he could talk to at the end of a long day.
He supposed Swan could provide that as well. Lord Yun would have only chosen the best quality woman to be his concubine. But it didn’t matter if Swan was Lady Li’s equal in every way. She still wasn’t Lady Li, the woman he was in love with and truly wanted.
He was a fool for agreeing to marry Swan. He was only going to break her heart and be a disappointment to her. He knew it. But what could he do about it? He had already agreed and asked the prince for the dispensation. There was no going back.
He was starting to panic, feeling trapped, when the opera came to its dramatic climax.
Xueyan had come to the realization that she had to kill the general. There was no other way to stop the war. As the general kissed her one last time, Xueyan drew her sword and plunged it into his stomach. Everyone in the audience gasped at the scene, some people even crying.
But as Inspector Gong saw the blood pooling under the dead general, he knew the man’s death had not been an act.
He stood up and rushed from the booth.
“Inspector!” he heard Lady Li call to him. “Where are you going?”
But he did not have time to reply. Wangshu had fled from the stage; he couldn’t let her escape the theater.
As he reached the first floor, the crowd seemed confused. Some were standing and clapping while others were still sitting and murmuring. People who were familiar with the show knew there were still several more scenes to come. And the fact that the general was still lying on the stage in an ever-growing puddle of his own blood was a hint that the show had not gone according to plan.
The Lord of Hell appeared on stage and started his next song. Inspector Gong couldn’t understand all of the words, but the actor must have been trying to convince the audience that all was well and the show was continuing as normal. It wouldn’t work. They couldn’t leave the actor there for another hour. But it was better than letting on that something had happened. The last thing the inspector needed right now was a riot.
He let the Lord of Hell provide the distraction for the audience while he made his way backstage. He was surprised that there were no guards to keep people from coming and going as they wished. He hoped that Wangshu had not already escaped.
He grabbed the arm of the first actor he came across. “Where is Wangshu?” he demanded.
He could feel the young man trembling. “Her…her dressing room,” he said, pointing down a long hallway with a shaky finger.
“You need to come up with a convincing way to end this show,” the inspector said. “And get the audience out.”
“B-b-but…” the man stuttered. “How? There is much story left to tell! The general is supposed to have his scene in hell and Xueyan’s own death and…”
“I don’t care how you do it!” the inspector snapped, pushing the man out of his way. “Just end it before everyone learns they just witnessed a murder.”
Inspector Gong heard the boy whimper before running off as he marched toward the dressing room. He turned the doorknob, but it was locked.
“Wangshu!” he called. “Open this door.”
He could hear someone rummaging around inside, but the door didn’t open.
“Open this door or I will break it down!” the inspector yelled. He heard a yelp from inside and something shatter. He stood back and kicked at the door, which was quite flimsy and fell open with ease.
As he stepped into t
he room, he saw that the room was a disaster. Clothes and other items were strewn about, most streaked with blood. There was a traveling case open on a table, filled with bloody clothes. A hand mirror lay shattered on the floor.
Wangshu turned toward the inspector, still gripping the bloody sword in one hand.
“Wangshu,” he said, holding his hand out. “Give me the sword.”
She gasped and tears ran down her face. “I…I didn’t do it,” she cried, her makeup smearing down her face.
“I know,” the inspector said, taking a step toward her, his hand still outstretched. Of course, she had done it. Hundreds of people had just seen her run her co-star through with the bloody sword in her hand. But he would say whatever it took to calm her down and get her to cooperate. “Just give me the sword.”
She looked down at her hands and gasped, as if she hadn’t realized she was still holding the murder weapon.
“Oh!” she cried as she reached up and rubbed her temple, smearing blood along her face. “Fanhua! It was just an act. All part of the show. He’s…he’s just fine, isn’t he?”
Fanhua, that was the name of the actor playing the general, the man who was now dead on stage. Inspector Gong remembered seeing the name in the pamphlet.
“Everything will be fine,” the inspector said, still inching toward her. “But you need to give me the sword.”
“No,” she said firmly. “I can’t. It’s not my sword.”
“Then whose sword is it?” the inspector asked, wondering just how much of what Wangshu was saying was lucid and how much was from shock.
She shook her head and started to pace. “I don’t know,” she said. “But they will come for it. Someone will come for it. I can’t let it go.”
This was interesting information, the inspector thought. Perhaps someone had hired her or forced her to kill Fanhua.
“I am Inspector Gong,” he said. “The head of Prince Kung’s police force. I will find out who the sword belongs to, but I need you to give it to me.”
The Qing Dynasty Mysteries - Books 1-3 Page 35