“I can’t hardly credit it,” Lady Li replied. “I find no appeal in such a man.”
Inspector Gong couldn’t help but smile to himself. “What sort of man appeals to you?”
Lady Li didn’t reply, but he could almost feel the heat of her blush from across the room. Finally, she cleared her throat.
“Actually, while I was in the Forbidden City, I know there were women who…found solace in the arms of other women,” she said. “The emperor could not spend enough time with all his wives and concubines. And there were many maids who also live in near captivity in the palace. But those relationships were women with other women. I don’t understand the appeal of a man who appears as a woman. But to each their own I suppose. I can’t understand how the empress—” She cut herself off.
“How the empress…?” Inspector Gong prompted.
“Never mind,” Lady Li said. “We shouldn’t speak of such things.”
Now the inspector was intrigued. What did she know about the empress she couldn’t tell him? He knew she would give her all to protect her friend, so if she didn’t want to tell him there was no point in pressuring her.
“Are you looking for anything specific?” she asked him.
“Letters from patrons. Admirers,” the inspector said. “The women who were his lovers. According to Hungjian, Fanhua had regular clients who paid for his affections.”
“He was prostituting himself?” Lady Li asked, her eyes wide.
“To put it bluntly,” Inspector Gong said. “Why? Do you know something about it?”
“I’ve spoken to some of the young ladies who regularly attended his performances,” she said. “Liling, Baoah. But I didn’t think…”
“Didn’t think what?” he pushed.
“The girls are from good families,” Lady Li said. “They are a bit neglected, just being daughters in large families. It’s how they are able to get away with sneaking away to operas. But that they would…pay for a man to…I just can’t imagine. If anyone found out, they would be ruined!”
Inspector Gong knew what she meant. If it were revealed that a young lady was having an affair with a man—opera singer or not—her reputation would be tarnished beyond repair. She could never make a favorable marriage match. Not to mention the damage to her family. It could ruin marriage prospects for her siblings as well. It could cost her father important connections. It was a ridiculous risk the young girls were taking in associating with Fanhua, much less with actually sleeping with him.
“If one of the women thought that Fanhua might reveal their affair…” said Inspector Gong.
“It could be enough reason for any one of them to kill him,” Lady Li finished.
Inspector Gong went to the door, opening it to make sure no one was around. He then shut the door firmly and went to the west corner of the room. He tapped the floor with his foot, looking for the loose board.
“What are you doing?” Lady Li asked.
“Hungjian said that Fanhua kept his savings in a tin under the floor,” he explained. “Maybe he kept records of his liaisons there too.”
One of the boards creaked. He kneeled down and lifted it up. Just where Hungjian had said it would be, he found a tin can. But he also found a small leather notebook. He handed the tin to Lady Li while he flipped through the notebook. The notebook contained the family names and given names of young women, including the ones that Hungjian had mentioned. There were also dates and amounts of money. It didn’t say what the money was for, but any man would know. It was similar to the ledgers madams often kept for their flower houses.
Lady Li gasped when she saw how much money was in the tin. “This…this is a small fortune,” she said. “Do prostitutes usually earn this much money?”
Inspector Gong looked at the money and back at the book. “There is a significant amount of money here not accounted for in the ledger.”
“So where did it come from?” Lady Li asked.
“Maybe he was blackmailing some of the girls and was smart enough not to record it in his ledger,” he said.
Lady Li shook her head and closed the tin, handing it back to Inspector Gong. “How did Hungjian know where the money was?” she asked. “Seems like something he wouldn’t tell anyone about.”
“Fanhua and Hungjian were lovers,” he told her, taking the tin.
Lady Li froze, her eyes wide once again. Inspector Gong chuckled. “I guess I hadn’t told you that yet.”
She slapped his arm. “No. How long have you known?”
“I learned that Fanhua was a cut sleeve a few days ago,” he said. “But I only found out about his relationship with Hungjian before I came here.”
“But Fanhua was also having affairs with all the women in the ledger,” Lady Li said. “And Hungjian, isn’t he also very popular with the young female patrons?”
“Very,” Inspector Gong said. “He was sleeping with some of the women as well. He said that he and Fanhua were saving for their future.”
“What a mess,” Lady Li said, pacing and shaking her head. “It is terrible what these young people have been through, have put themselves through, in order to survive. To find happiness. And now Fanhua is dead. And how does Wangshu figure into all this?”
“We should ask Wangshu,” the inspector said. “She claimed to be having some sort of relationship with Fanhua as well. But I think she was lying about that.”
“I think she lied about being attacked as well,” Lady Li said. “She knows I want to help her. Why is she not being truthful with me?”
“Hopefully she will tell us,” he said.
“We should head back to the house,” Lady Li said. “If she is lying about her role in all this, who knows what she is capable of.”
She tried to walk past him, toward the door, but he reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Wait,” he said.
She looked back at her wrist, then up at him. He didn’t need to say more before she flew into his arms and he held her tight as they kissed. He dropped the notebook and tin to the floor with a clatter, but neither of them cared. He opened his mouth, taking all of her into him. Her taste. Her scent. She reached up behind his neck, rocking forward on her pot-bottom shoes to meet his every move. His hands groped her breasts and then moved down her body, pulling her up to him.
He held her as he moved her back toward a small couch. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it would do. He placed her down and laid on top of her, pulling her gown up to her hips. He kissed down her neck, and her back arched as she moaned. He moved his hand up her gown to touch her.
“No! Stop!” she cried grabbing his wrist.
“What?” he asked, looking up at her.
“We can’t,” she said, shaking her head and panting. “We…we can’t.”
He looked around, wondering if someone had caught them. “Why?” he asked when he didn’t see anyone.
“Swan!” she said. “She’s to be your wife.”
He grunted and moved back to suckling on her neck. “Forget her,” he said. “I love you. I want you. Right now, I need you.”
She let out a whimpering cry and held him tight. For a moment, he thought everything was fine. That they would be able to once again make love as he had imagined. As he couldn’t stop thinking about. But then she pushed him away again.
“I can’t,” she said scooting away and sitting up. She dropped her forehead to her head and sniffed back a cry. “I can’t do it to her.”
“But what about us?” he asked, grabbing her wrist. She looked up at him with wet eyes. “We need each other. We love each other.”
“I guess Fanhua and Hungjian weren’t the only people who wanted something they couldn’t have,” she said sadly.
He kissed the back of her fingertips. “Life is cruel, isn’t it?” he asked.
She stood up and tugged at his hand for him to follow her. “Let’s go talk to Wangshu and put this case to bed.”
He gathered up the notebook and tin. “Go ahead without me,” he said. “I’ll wa
lk.”
She nodded and left the room first.
He knew that she would have arrived at the theater in her sedan chair. It would be improper for him to be seen riding back with her. Besides, the walk would help him cool down, even in this heat.
18
Lady Li berated herself during the ride back to her house. She was angry with herself for giving into Inspector Gong. Angry at herself for pushing him away. Angry at not being free to do what she wanted with her life. She could be completely content with every other aspect of her life if she could only have him. The one thing she wanted most in the world was the one thing she couldn’t have.
She was a fool for torturing herself over him. She had to stop thinking about him. Stop fantasizing about him at night. Stop helping him with his cases. She had to let him go. After his marriage to Swan, she couldn’t see him ever again.
When she arrived home, Dr. Xue was just leaving. She rudely crossed the courtyard so she wouldn’t have to speak to him, but their eyes crossed paths anyway. He stared at her and pressed his lips in a thin frown. It was as though he knew what she had done. What she and Inspector Gong almost did in that dressing room. She tore her eyes away and went to her office where she could be alone for a few moments and collect herself before Inspector Gong arrived.
“Lady Li!” Wangshu exclaimed as Lady Li opened the door to her office.
“What are you doing in here?” Lady Li asked. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, trying to make sense of the scene before Wangshu tried to cover her tracks.
Wangshu was holding a brush in her hand and there was a paper with writing on it on the desk. Wangshu grabbed the paper and started to crumple it up.
“I was just leaving you a note, thanking you for your kind hospitality,” Wangshu said. “But now you are here, so I can just tell you in person.”
Lady Li stepped toward her with her hand outstretched. “Then let me see the note.”
Wangshu crumpled paper behind her back. “Oh, it’s nothing, really—”
“Give it to me,” Lady Li ordered, her face hard. “Now.”
Wangshu gulped and handed Lady Li the paper.
“‘By the time you read this,’” Lady Li quoted. “‘I will be long gone.’ Well, we can’t add fortune teller to your list of talents.” Lady Li angrily crumpled up the paper and tossed it across the room. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
“Please, Lady Li,” Wangshu begged. “It’s too dangerous for me here. I don’t want to lose my head!”
Lady Li sighed, feeling sorry for the girl. “I understand that you are scared. But running away only makes you look guilty. You are safe here. Just give the inspector more time.”
“More time?” Wangshu asked. “How much more? How long do I have to live in this state of limbo?”
“Stop being so dramatic,” Lady Li chided. “I think being under house arrest in a fine mansion with plenty of food and servants to wait on you for a few days is worth saving your life.”
Wangshu gasped and crossed her arms. Lady Li suspected that Wangshu was far more pampered than she realized. Unlike most opera performers who lived at the whims of the people and often scrapped by for a living, Wangshu was patroned by the empress and normally lived in the palace. She never had to worry about where her next meal was going to come from or if she would have a job the next day.
“Mama! Mama!” Second Daughter yelled, skipping into the room. “Watch me! Watch me!”
“What is it, darling?” Lady Li asked, slipping onto a chair and forcing a smile to her mouth.
Second Daughter held out one hand and placed the other on her hip as she walked in a circle. Then she smiled and cocked her head. She opened her mouth and recited,
“Surrounded by green hills, lush from summer rains,
There is a lake that shimmers, and hides a precious secret.
Visitors from near and far, stroll the water’s edge.
They all hope to catch a glimpse, of the woman from their dreams.”
She couldn’t quite sing the words. Opera was a very specific type of signing that took years of practice. But she spoke in a defined, rhythmic fashion as she moved her hands and held her head just so as she spoke the opening lines of The Legend of the White Snake Lady.
Lady Li clapped. “Looks like someone has been getting secret opera lessons.”
“There hasn’t been much else to do around here,” Wangshu said. “And your daughter is an apt student.”
“What did you think, Mama?” Second Daughter asked. “Can Wangshu keep teaching me?”
Lady Li leaned over and kissed her little girl on the head. The child was talented, there was no question about that. But was it right to get her hopes up? She should be tending to her lessons—learning to read and write and quote poetry—and improving her embroidery skills, all things that her future in-laws would be looking for in a wife for their son.
But as she looked down into the beaming face of her youngest child, her baby, she couldn’t bear to stop her from doing something that brought her so much joy.
“Of course, darling,” Lady Li said. “That is, if Wangshu is going to be around to teach you.” She raised her eyebrow and looked pointedly at Wangshu.
Wangshu grunted. “That’s a fine way to get me to stay,” she mumbled.
“Yay!” Second Daughter said as she ran around the room a few times and then out the door, undoubtedly to brag to her elder sister.
“You know,” Wangshu said, “it’s past time for your girls to drop their milk names and choose names that reflect their personality.”
“They are my only children,” Lady Li said. “I hate any reminders that they are growing up. It’s happening far too quickly.”
“You can’t stop the future from coming,” Wangshu said. “All you can do is prepare for it.”
“How did you get to be so wise?” Lady Li asked, playfully slapping Wangshu’s arm.
Wangshu laughed. “No one ever accused me of being wise before.”
“Well, running away right now would be quite stupid,” Lady Li said. “You must stay. You must trust me. If for some reason the inspector doesn’t find the real killer, you still needn’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
Wangshu sighed, and they squeezed each other’s hands. “So what do we do next?”
“The inspector is on his way here,” Lady Li said. “Hopefully he will have an idea. But he will have some hard questions for you.”
“Like what?” Wangshu asked, wringing her hands like she was a little nervous.
“Like why you’ve been lying about your relationship with Fanhua,” the inspector said as he entered the room.
Lady Li stood up and walked to the door. “Where is Eunuch Bai?” she asked. “Why didn’t he announce you?”
“He doesn’t know I’m here,” he said. “The good doctor let me in on his way out. He said Swan is resting. Maybe Eunuch Bai is tending to her.”
Lady Li hmphed in annoyance. “You still shouldn’t admit yourself,” she mumbled.
Wangshu had turned away, standing there silently, perhaps hoping Inspector Gong would forget the question he had asked her. But she was out of luck.
“Well?” the inspector said, crossing his arms and waiting for an answer.
“What makes you think I was lying?” she asked. “We were friendly. I wouldn’t kill him.”
“You weren’t that friendly,” he said. “Fanhua resenting you for taking his place, for forcing him to act like a man. And if you weren’t one of his paying admirers, he wouldn’t have taken you for a lover.”
“Paying admirers?” Wangshu asked. “What are you saying?”
“Fanhua was prostituting himself,” Lady Li said. “He preferred men but would show affection to the female patrons for a fee.”
“That’s terrible,” Wangshu said, slipping into a nearby chair. “I had no idea…”
“No idea that Fanhua was a cut sleeve?” the inspector asked. “Or that he was charging his admirers for his affections?”
“None of it,” Wangshu admitted. “He hated me from the moment I entered the theater. But I was afraid you would think I killed him if you knew that. I didn’t really know anything about his life.”
Inspector Gong walked over and handed the ledger to Wangshu. “Do you know any of these women?”
Wangshu opened the book and looked the pages over. “Is this…what he was charging…goodness me.”
“Do you see something odd?” Lady Li asked.
“No,” Wangshu said. “I just should have known. This type of lifestyle is common among actors. Many people would pay good money to live out a fantasy. I’m just surprised he was charging so little. He was so popular.”
“I think he may have been blackmailing some of those girls to get more money out of them,” the inspector said. “What do you think?”
“It’s possible,” she said, handing the book back. “But I don’t know for certain. Those women hated me even more than Fanhua did.”
“Hated you enough to frame you for Fanhua’s murder?” the inspector asked.
Wangshu shook her head in disbelief. “But they loved him, didn’t they? Why would they use me to kill him?”
“Maybe one of these girls hated him enough to want him dead,” Lady Li said, “but loved him too much to do the job herself.”
“It’s just so crazy,” Wangshu said.
“I’ve never known a murderer to be completely sane,” the inspector said.
“So what do we do now?” Lady Li asked. “How do we find out which woman was the killer?”
“Changpu wants the next performance go on as planned,” the inspector said. “He hired Hungjian to take the role of the wusheng. And he wants Wangshu to return to play the dan one more time.”
Wangshu stood up and paced. “Oh no,” she said, shaking her head and wringing her hands. “I…I can’t go back there. That…that’s the real reason I left. Every time I looked at that stage, I felt so sick. I can still feel…feel the way the sword went into Fanhua’s stomach…” She collapsed back into her chair, her face blanched. Lady Li ran to her side, afraid she was going to faint. She could feel Wangshu trembling.
The Qing Dynasty Mysteries - Books 1-3 Page 47