A Concubine for the Family: A Family Saga in China

by Amy Kwei

  Lt. Kamasaki shrugged and paced. He wanted to smuggle Glorious Dragon and Bright Crystal onto a ship for Hong Kong, but he could not help his friends fight his army.

  “My Dragon is correct.” Everyone was surprised to hear Bright Crystal’s support. “We must redeem ourselves on the battlefield.” She lowered her head. Her eyes were full. No one could doubt her resolve.

  Her father moved close to her. He held her hand and nodded mechanically as if in a trance. “I understand. Old Yuan told me the German consulate has been looking for a cook. I will go and apply. You have done more for your old father than I could ever hope for.”

  “Oh ba-ba, you are a dear.” Crystal wept in her father’s arms.

  “Akiro.” Glorious Dragon stood up to face his friend. “You and Iris must leave now. What we need to do cannot involve you. We appreciate what you have already done for us.”

  Iris and Lt. Kamasaki looked on their friends with admiration, anxiety, and sympathy. “There is a cargo freight liner leaving for Hong Kong in a month’s time. If you want to get on it, try to send this to Iris at the uniform factory.” Lt. Kamasaki took off his American high school ring. “This will be your secret password. Then check into the International Hotel under the name of Mr. and Mrs. Kam. I’ll get in touch with you then.”

  Bowing, the men shook hands while Glorious Dragon thanked his Japanese friend again for his help. Iris and Bright Crystal lingered in each other’s arms.

  In the evening, Bright Crystal called General Goto and requested that he send construction workers and painters to refurbish her house. The guest suite on the second floor must have new sliding screen doors and window shades; the finest tatami mats must be ordered for the floor; bathroom fixtures must be changed into the Japanese style, and the whole house given a fresh coat of paint.

  Flattered by her elaborate plans and preparations, General Goto agreed not to visit. He would wait to be surprised at the end of the week. Glorious Dragon and Bright Crystal talked far into the night and planned their escape.

  The next morning, Glorious Dragon left openly in his limousine, going straight to the banks to transfer most of his funds to America. At the last bank, he sauntered into the men’s room and peeled off his Western wool suit, revealing a crumpled cotton tunic and trousers. He slipped out of the bank with the noonday crowd and disappeared. His chauffeur reported him missing after waiting for him the whole day in the bank’s parking lot.

  General Goto sent droves of workers and one spy. He was recognized at once because he was the only one who smoked and paced more than he worked. Whenever Little Snow or Little Lotus brought the workers food and drink, he took the first and largest helpings. Soon the serving girls brought the workers beer and wine.

  Bright Crystal came out to inspect the workers the first afternoon. She held a perfumed handkerchief over her mouth as if the dust was overpowering. The small dash of pepper in her handkerchief made her sneeze, tear, and cough. She ran back to her room and called General Goto. Little Snow pinched her nose together and spoke for her mistress, complaining of the dust and the cold she was catching. She asked for more workers to speed up the work.

  The next day, the whole house became more confused than ever with the added workers. Bright Crystal emerged from her room coughing and sneezing to inspect their progress. She could barely reach the staircase because of the severity of her sneezing attacks. That afternoon, she changed into a maid’s cotton suit, and stole down to the kitchen to bid her father farewell. She walked out her front gate like a housemaid carrying a basket. The guards at the door took no notice; so many servants and workers had been passing all day.

  The maids brought food and drink to the spy and flirted with him. They complained about the extra chore of nursing a sick woman.

  While Bright Crystal was supposedly sick in bed with a cold, Little Snow continued to call General Goto everyday in her pinched voice and discoursed on her health, the house, and what she most wanted the general to buy for her.

  “Oh, a Rolls Royce would be divine!”

  The general huffed, puffed, and temporized. “I am not a rich man, but I will try.”

  Early in the morning on the fifth day, Little Lotus ran to the spy in alarm. Bright Crystal was missing from her room. The frightened guards had no idea how she could have eluded them. No one had entered or left the house last night. Both the front and back doors had been guarded, and the high walls surrounding the garden were covered with shards of broken glass on top.

  Three nights earlier, a man in a worker’s suit had met a maidservant by the dock of the Hwangpo River. They took a sampan and were carried to Hangzhou. There, they got help from Lao Wang and caught a train. By the fifth day, Glorious Dragon and Bright Crystal had reached Changsha, in Hunan Province.

  ON THE TRAIN Bright Crystal asked, “Why are we going to Changsha?”

  “The rail line between Hankow to Canton is an essential supply route for the Chinese guerrilla forces in the region. Changsha is a key rail center,” Glorious Dragon explained.

  “How are we to fit into their war plans?” Bright Crystal snuggled close, resting her head on her Dragon’s shoulder. It was hard to find comfort on the hard seat of a rattling train.

  Glorious Dragon moved to one end of the seat. He spread out his jacket to cushion Crystal and drew her head down to rest on his lap. “One of my classmates from high school, Tall Man Wu, is an administrative assistant to General Hsueh of the Ninety-ninth Army. Changsha is under its protection.”

  “Have you been in touch with Tall Man Wu? Does the army want us?” Bright Crystal yawned.

  “Yes.” Glorious Dragon played with her hair. “I have been secretly buying and shipping arms and ammunition there. You sleep and rest.”

  When they finally arrived in Changsha, Tall Man Wu welcomed them warmly. As they drove in town, Crystal felt cheered by the sight of children running and laughing in the marketplace. People gossiped and joked on the streets, but a rancid smell of raw meat and vegetables filled her nostrils.

  They were offered a suite of rooms in a mountain retreat away from the bustling town. Glorious Dragon protested. He had come to fight; he would not be treated like a guest benefactor. Bright Crystal concurred, and they were moved into a peasant’s home closer to town.

  The mud-floored hut featured a crude table, several stools, and one armchair. The door and windows were hewn from slabs of pine, and rice paper served as windowpanes. The buffeting cold winds of November whistled through the hut’s many crevices. Bright Crystal hopped onto the kan as soon as she entered the house. The kan, a platform bed, was built with bricks and cement. Cotton quilts on the surface helped to soften it. Several times a day, a peasant came with charcoal or wood to feed the fire in its belly, so the kan was also where they warmed their tea. Though Bright Crystal missed her city comforts, she was determined to make herself at home in this rude cottage.

  From their mud-walled hut, Tall Man Wu led them to the supply depot, which was clustered behind the frame and brick buildings near the town’s south end. A high earthen wall surrounded the compound with trenches on all sides. They toured the trenches. Crystal learned the names of different firearms in the depot and Dragon peppered his friend with many questions on the details of the operations. Tunnels connected this part of the fortress to the administration building, where they took their meals in the officers’ dining hall.

  They were also initiated into the beaten paths of short cuts and safe passages that led into the sandbagged embankments and other fortifications around town. There were reports of skirmishes nearby. Everyone anticipated a major battle. They soon became accustomed to the sight of soldiers walking about with guns strapped to their backs.

  Since neither Bright Crystal nor Glorious Dragon was familiar with firearms, Tall Man Wu taught them how to use the carbine, the submachine gun, and the grenades. Everyday they practiced target shooting in the numbing cold. Soon, they no longer jumped, when they heard explosives.

  The soldiers wore
cotton-quilted winter uniforms. When the pair first changed into the bulky gray garb, they pointed to each other and laughed at their rounded shapes. “We’re like two rolls of stuffed sausages!” Bright Crystal cried. Now they wore the practical uniform day and night to keep warm and be ready for action at any hour.

  “I still don’t think I can handle a gun, my Dragon,” Bright Crystal whispered as she cuddled in her lover’s arm on the kan. They gazed at the thatched roof, where a frame of parallel twigs supported a thick mat of hay. The clean smell of drying hay pervaded the room, and the novelty of simple, Spartan living seemed romantic.

  “When the enemy comes, I want you to go to the mountain retreat. You’re not combat-ready,” Glorious Dragon answered. He was more cold and tired than he could ever remember, but he never felt more tender and grateful toward Crystal. He had not expected her company in this venture. They had never discussed patriotism, but they must have shared the same thoughts.

  “No, I’ll stay by you, my Dragon. You’re no more combat-ready than I am.” Dragon was about to protest when the siren sounded. They leapt from their nest and ran toward headquarters to obtain their instructions.

  They rushed past soldiers shouting and scrambling into their positions in trenches and lookout points. When they reached the general’s office, the tense and solemn faces of the officers sobered them. All eyes were riveted on the conference table. Instead of being covered with the usual array of ashtrays and teacups, it now had a large map with a jumble of telephone and electronic equipment pushed to one side. No one noticed Glorious Dragon and Bright Crystal when they slipped into the room.

  “Our scouts have reported a Japanese forward platoon south of Yochow. Here.” General Hsueh pointed with a marker. “We believe the platoon is backed by several armored divisions. So we can expect a Hitler-style blitzkrieg within twenty-four hours.” He sank down into an armchair, exhausted by the hours of keeping vigil and deliberation. He motioned Tall Man Wu to carry on the instructions.

  “Our mission, as you all know, is to safeguard Changsha and keep the rail lines open all the way to Canton.” Tall Man Wu, towering over everyone, traced the rail line on the map with his pointer. His imposing voice was firm but soft, belying his large muscular frame.

  “Lieutenant Liu will go to Yochow with his brigade to set up communication links with headquarters. Lieutenant Chang, take two brigades to assist in the evacuation of Changsha. Other brigades have been dispatched to man the trenches and move ammunition.”

  Everyone seemed to have been prepared for this emergency. Tall Man Wu looked around the room and lifted his chin to dismiss the lieutenants. He raised his hand in a casual salute as everyone left to carry out his assignments.

  Glorious Dragon realized that the command had not given him a combat role. He confronted Tall Man Wu and demanded action.

  “I’m sorry, my friend. I know you want to see action, but we are already in your debt for the ammunition you sent. You and Bright Crystal must remain in the headquarters to coordinate the communications coming in.”

  Glorious Dragon understood the urgency of the situation. Since Bright Crystal had steadfastly refused to be separated from him, he must accept the relative security of the headquarters. His venturesome spirit felt thwarted, but there was his Crystal — a protective angel or a millstone around his neck. He accepted his orders with a sullen nod and trudged toward the communications room, pulling Bright Crystal along with him.

  All afternoon, Lieutenant Liu reported on the advancing enemy’s movements. Bright Crystal brewed tea and quietly served everyone. All at once, they heard droning planes overhead. Gunshots erupted like thousands of firecrackers. The ground shook. A sudden roar of fire engulfed the building in great tongues of orange and red.

  “Run to the shelter! Run to the shelter!”

  “What happened? What happened?”

  “Were we hit?”

  “Worse! Some bombs hit the ammunition pile near our entrance.”

  A bitter wind whipped the fire onto the bone-dry timber, and turned the thatched roof into a bonfire. The entire town was soon ablaze.

  In the communications room, a wild scramble ensued. “Help me move the equipment into the tunnels,” shouted the man next to Dragon.

  Smoke choked the rooms, as beams and pillars split and collapsed all around them. Dragon scooped up his radio and groped his way toward the tunnel, calling Bright Crystal to follow him.

  Gray forms screamed and pushed around him. Everyone and everything seemed to be moving, crashing, coughing and crying. Glorious Dragon followed the crowd, totally confused. He clutched the radio to his body and stumbled ahead. As soon as he reached the cool damp tunnel, the soldiers behind him closed the trap door to prevent the smoke from descending. Another soldier passed Glorious Dragon his canteen for a sip of water.

  Dragon dropped his equipment in alarm. “Bright Crystal, where is she?” He scanned the murmuring dark forms and shouted, “Crystal, my Crystal, are you here?”

  Most soldiers knew the visiting Shanghai couple who had come to help. An unnatural hush followed Glorious Dragon’s anxious call. Glorious Dragon battled his way to the trap door. Restraining hands grabbed him.

  “It’s a furnace up there.”

  “You won’t survive.”

  “You can’t find her.”

  “You’ll bring in the fire.”

  “You’ll kill us all!”

  Glorious Dragon yelled and pleaded to be let go. Kicking and scratching, he could barely be restrained. The soldier with the canteen tore off his shirt and wet it. He tied it loosely around Glorious Dragon’s head and helped him to the trap door. He splashed the remaining water over Glorious Dragon and commanded: “Keep your face to the ground.”

  Once out of the trap door, Glorious Dragon broke into a crouched run and retraced his route of escape, which by now had become an inferno. Fiery splinters fell about him, singeing his wet clothes and scorching his bare hands. He coughed and bellowed for his Crystal.

  A distinctly feminine moan rose behind him. He stumbled back and saw Bright Crystal on the floor. A fallen beam had pinned her legs. He kicked the beam. In one tug, he had pulled her free. He dragged her along, shielding her with his body. They finally reached the trap door. “Open the door! Open the door!” he screamed, stomping on it with all his might. He lost consciousness.

  When he awoke, he was in an underground room. A nurse came to help him drink. Tall Man Wu hovered over him and smiled when he saw Glorious Dragon regaining consciousness.

  “Where, where is my Crystal . . .”

  Tall Man Wu grimaced, his face contorting. He tried to hold back his tears and choked. He turned away. Glorious Dragon sank back into his bed, with silent tears of despair. He understood.

  “She died speaking of you. She even smiled, because she was so proud.” Tall Man Wu’s voice wobbled. “You must feel honored to have such love and respect.”

  Glorious Dragon did not respond. He turned his face to the wall. His whole body writhed. Tall Man Wu instructed the nurse to sedate his friend and left to direct the war.

  Glorious Dragon felt a warm breeze on his face. The budding spring flowers and tender greens sprouted all over their garden in Hangzhou. He was playing shuttlecock with Bright Crystal, kicking it back and forth with the front and sides of their feet in expert rhythm. Purple Jade stood in the pavilion counting, clapping, and laughing like a teenage girl.

  He twisted his torso and swung his right leg behind him in a nimble skip and hop to give the shuttlecock a vigorous back kick. The shuttlecock flew like a missile and hit Bright Crystal in the eye. Glorious Dragon awoke in a sweat.

  There was a dull rumble, which grew louder. “Is this the sound of a motor? Where is it coming from?” Glorious Dragon asked the dimly lit room, unaware that the nurse was attending another soldier in the gloom.

  “We have already repelled two waves of enemy attacks. I think a full armored division must be coming.”

  Reality dawned upon
Glorious Dragon. He sat up with a sudden jerk. He had come here to fight. Now Bright Crystal was dead; why was he lying here in comfort? He did not ask for instructions. He got up from his bed and dragged himself out of the tunnel. He stumbled into the trenches. Passing through the supply depot, he stuffed his pockets and the inside of his belted jacket with hand grenades. The depot was deserted; all the able-bodied men had gone to meet the oncoming tanks.

  When he emerged from cover, a wind cleared Glorious Dragon’s head. As far as he could see, the town had been scorched to the ground. Swirling winds of dust and ash blurred the faces of the soldiers crouching along the trenches. He surveyed the crowd, but could not recognize anyone. Someone pointed in the direction the armored division would be coming from, and he saw the mound of half-torn brick wall where he could take cover and intercept the advance. He walked with calm deliberation toward the half wall and ignored the shouts of warning. He was leaving the farthest outpost of town where no one could cover him.

  Glorious Dragon cowered near the wall and heard the rumble of oncoming tanks shaking the ground underneath. Rifle fire broke out somewhere. He felt bullets zinging over his head, zapping and pinging off the surrounding brick wall.

  He groped for a hand grenade and felt for the pin. In the rush to get into position, Dragon did not notice how stiff and strangely uncooperative his hands had become. He felt no pain. The cold had frozen the burns, but he could barely feel where the pins were and he could not maneuver his fingers to pull them. He also knew he could not grasp the grenades and therefore would fail to throw far. In his panic and frustration, he yelled so loudly, his voice echoed through the valley. Suddenly, he remembered his dream and the idyllic garden of his childhood. He remembered how he once cried when he broke his rubber slingshot. Purple Jade comforted him as usual and taught him to swing his shots with a strip of silk ribbon. Desperately, he unwound some of his hand bandages and fashioned a cradle for swinging the grenades. A bitter smile graced his blackened lips.