by Jeannie Lin
“You know I consider you a friend.” Magistrate Li’s gaze remained focused toward the end of the lane. “A true friend.”
“I was not aware.”
“Quite heartfelt there, Wu,” Li said out of the corner of his mouth.
“I’m grateful,” he amended.
Li sighed loudly beside him.
More time passed. Kaifeng could sense the constables lined up behind them near the gate were becoming restless.
Li Yen lowered his voice. “Is there something you wish to confide in me? Now that we’re friends.”
“Lady Mingyu and I, we are friends, as well,” Kaifeng admitted.
Li cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. Apparently that wasn’t quite what the magistrate was searching for.
“That mill owner in Suzhou,” Li prompted. “Liu was his name? It was the first case we worked on together, unofficially, of course. I know you remember him.”
Kaifeng grew still. “The dog who killed his nephew.”
It seemed he would never be free of the scandal that had implicated his foster father.
“I recently learned that he died of mysterious circumstances immediately after you left Suzhou,” Li said.
“It sounds like divine retribution,” Kaifeng replied calmly, though his heart pounded.
He had to give Xi Lun credit for being able to uncover secrets buried several provinces away. In the next moment, Kaifeng would learn exactly what sort of justice Li believed in. It was a long moment to suffer.
“A man creates his own fate,” Li concluded.
For the moment, danger seemed to have blown over, but Inspector Xi Lun appeared at the end of the lane and Li barked at his men to stand straight and prepare themselves.
A surge of anger flooded his veins, raw and hot. The inspector was flanked on either side by city guards, each outfitted in a full suit of padded armor with a sword at his side. They were indeed fearsome, but there were only two of them.
Xi stopped at the front of the gate and his lip curled in distaste at the sight of the two men blocking his path and the brigade fanned out behind them. “I see you have your lackey once again at your side, Magistrate Li.”
Kaifeng clenched his fists, then gradually slowly unclenched them, forcing his hands open and his mind along with it. Anger would not serve him. He had always relied on reason, not strength. “Turn around, Inspector. There is nothing for you here.”
“Does this creature actually speak?”
Li Yen chuckled. “How amusing, Inspector! Trading elementary insults? Thank you for reminding me of the games of my boyhood. So clever.”
“Where is Lady Mingyu?” Xi Lun gritted out, his complexion going red.
“Always this same question,” Kaifeng replied stone-faced. “My answer is unfortunately the same—I cannot say.”
“I know she’s here.”
“Don’t you have more pressing matters to attend to?” Li interrupted. “I am certain the Palace Bureau wasn’t appointed to duplicate the duties of the magistrate’s office. You will have to be satisfied to leave the lady under Lord Bai’s protection and my jurisdiction.”
Xi Lun let out a long-suffering sigh. “Apparently the courtesan enjoys drawing out the drama.”
Kaifeng looked to Li who merely stared back at him, at a loss for an answer.
“Lady Mingyu invited me here,” Xi Lun told them. “Or rather she demanded I come.”
“Gentlemen.”
A voice as soft as silk and sharp as steel came from behind them. Mingyu emerged through the gate and the line of men parted obligingly for her. Her shapely eyes locked onto Inspector Xi.
“Let us not argue out on the street. Come inside for tea, Inspector.”
She turned without waiting for a reply. Xi Lun’s gaze skewered all of them in turn before following Mingyu inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
MINGYU ENTERED THE main courtyard with the grace of a tigress with three men following her lead. She knew without a doubt that they followed. This was like the final dramatic scene in an opera. Set the stage and everyone would naturally play their part.
The Bai household was gathered to witness the events unfolding and Yue-ying was among them. Her younger sister shot her a worried look, but Yue-ying should have known this was finally her field of battle.
Men certainly praised her for her beauty. More often they praised her for her talent with music or her clever conversation, but her true gift remained unspoken for. A hostess’s gift was for controlling the gathering, often not an easy feat considering there was the influence of wine, pretty song girls and a room of men all fighting for position.
“What is this?” Xi Lun demanded.
She turned to see him holding up the book that she had sent to him by messenger the previous day. She imagined he must have spent the entire night reading through the pages.
“A gift,” she replied coyly. “Did you enjoy it?”
With a sneer, he threw it at her feet where it lay among the stones. Mingyu smiled. Inspector Xi played his part perfectly. Young, arrogant, full of pride and without a trace of restraint.
“You confessed to wanting to make a name for yourself, my lord, so I thought I would copy everything that is being said about you to celebrate your success.”
“This is nonsense. Worthless gossip.”
“There were some rather ordinary verses,” she agreed. “A few of the couplets were base, even bawdy in nature. Sometimes the authors are a bit drunk when they compose these poems. But the ones in the front are quite artistic. The historian Taizhu had a particularly biting commentary. He excels at that. You should consider it a compliment to be ridiculed by him.”
“The Emperor has no particular fondness for Taizhu’s commentary,” Xi retorted.
“But apparently he does read them.”
Silence ruled the Bai mansion. Wei-wei’s hand flew to her mouth in shock and, as Mingyu suspected, delight. Magistrate Li bit back a grin. It was a small audience, but a varied one with enough respect and reach to spread the story. This was not the Pingkang li and she had no concerns about saving Xi Lun from ruin.
Xi Lun met her with a cold stare, but it didn’t intimidate her like it once had. He had forced her into a corner and she no longer had anything to lose.
“Do you believe I can be defeated by a few harsh words from a courtesan and her meager circle of friends?”
Kaifeng started forward the moment Xi raised his voice, but she held him back with a look. He remained a few paces behind Xi Lun, who was truly oblivious to how he was surrounded and outnumbered.
“The inspector studied in the capital, did you not? We are infatuated with words here. A well-thought-out verse can make a career. A clever turn of a phrase is repeated over and over.” She glanced at the book that lay at her feet. “I especially like the couplet that questioned whether you feared forgetting your own name. You mentioned it so often in company. And so loudly at that, in case one was hard of hearing. Or what of the one who likened you to the beggar that put on a prince’s robe and thought himself magically transformed. That was an amusing fable there.”
“Know your enemies,” Xi warned. “I don’t think you truly comprehend who you are going to battle against.”
“The brilliant general Master Sun teaches that one should know his enemies, but himself first,” Mingyu remarked. “It is indeed admirable to have achieved the rank of an attendant censor. What you don’t realize is that goodwill in this city is currency. No matter what your rank may be, you cannot spend it heedlessly without running out. You have been throwing your gold coins down a dark well, my dear Inspector. Influence, rank, the Emperor’s favor. You have spent them all without replenishing your supply.” She approached slowly, head high and shoulders back. “There are many rules of conduct in
the capital, Inspector. But the most important one is this— One is grateful for one’s position. One is humble in it. No matter how high or low the rank. Isn’t that true, Lord Bai, esteemed Collator of the Left Wing of the Records Office?”
“Assistant Collator,” Bai Huang insisted good-naturedly.
All heads turned as he entered the courtyard. He looked about, his expression both bewildered and amused. “So many esteemed guests at our house! I wish I would have known. I would have bought more wine.”
“Lord Bai.” Xi spoke first in an attempt to regain control of the proceedings. “I apologize for the unexpected visit, but there is an important judicial matter to be taken care of.” He turned to Magistrate Li next. “I trust you will do your duty and arrest Lady Mingyu, who is guilty of violating her bond as well as conspiracy in the murder of General Deng. You will arrest your former constable as well for aiding her.”
“I refuse,” Li declared.
“You are required by law to do so. Failure is a punishable offense.”
“Then have me removed from office.”
“Now, gentlemen!” Bai Huang stepped between them. “Dissension between various departments is a bad reflection upon the state. Let us settle this in civilized fashion. Perhaps over tea.”
He gestured for the servants and his family to retreat back into the house. Obediently, the crowd began to disperse.
“Do not resign on my behalf,” Kaifeng said.
Li snorted. “I wasn’t going to resign. This is a bluff. Xi will have to write up a lengthy report on my failure to perform and then petition the imperial court. After that, it will be at least a week for their decision. By then, you’ll have found the general.”
The inspector looked on in dismay at the magistrate’s bluntness. “There is no evidence that Deng Zhi is not dead,” he said feebly.
Bai Huang threw up his hand to put a halt to the argument.
“Inspector Xi,” he said with a sigh. “I hold you in the highest of regard. Please leave my house now.”
Xi Lun started to protest his rude dismissal, but after looking around at the pairs of eyes fixed upon him, he thought better of it. With a curl of his lip, he turned and left without a proper farewell.
“He seems to lack the subtlety required of an official in the capital,” Bai Huang remarked from beside her.
“Perhaps his skills would be an asset in some other circuit,” Mingyu suggested mildly, but not too mildly. “Somewhere far away from here.”
A small victory was still a victory.
“Unfortunately, Inspector Xi is right about one thing,” Bai Huang addressed the three of them that remained. “We don’t have evidence that the general is alive. Deng’s family has been under watch for a long time, even before this news came to light. A special decree was issued to keep the widow and her son from leaving the city, lest they rally Deng’s army to take revenge.”
Kaifeng came to join them. “It seems the imperial court doesn’t particularly care who killed Deng Zhi.”
“Rebellion is a much larger concern. So let us capture the true villain here. The traitor.” Bai Huang looked gravely around their small circle. “Between the four of us, we must be able to figure this out. Where is Deng hiding?”
Li Yen was the first to report. “Deng’s widow and son are secured inside their mansion. I brought the steward Yuan Lo into custody, but he had nothing to say.”
“What of Deng’s bodyguards?” Kaifeng asked. “They were never found.”
“They were found.” Bai Huang’s expression became darker still. “I came across the report from the Palace Bureau today. They’re all dead. Throats cut. It’s believed they were killed soon after Deng’s murder. Or at least his assumed murder. This is what happens when a rebellion begins to fall apart.”
“Someone is trying to silence the co-conspirators,” Kaifeng remarked. “It might have been Deng himself.”
Mingyu pressed her hand to her mouth to force back a wave of nausea. This was too much. Too much violence and death.
“You escaped,” Kaifeng said quietly. He pressed his palm to her back to reassure her. The touch remained for only a moment before it retreated. “Deng no longer has any claim over you.”
She had always known it was dangerous to be associated with a warlord like Deng, yet she had accepted his patronage. Such plots and schemes were far removed from her everyday concerns—food, shelter, being able to earn enough to remain an asset to Madame Sun so she wouldn’t be sold off.
But when Deng wanted her to become his concubine, a warning voice had told Mingyu it wasn’t worth the price.
“I’m not free yet.” She looked to Bai Huang. “Xi Lun wanted to have me arrested on suspicion of conspiracy, didn’t he? It’s a charge worse than murder.”
“That was why the Palace Bureau was so concerned with this investigation,” Magistrate Li realized.
“And why General Deng must have arranged to have Mingyu find the body.” Kaifeng addressed her directly. “Many influential names go through your parlor. With suspicion on you, the investigation could easily be misdirected to any of those men and away from Deng himself.”
She was still entangled in Deng’s schemes.
“If we resolve this, then your name will be cleared,” Bai Huang said. “All of our names will be cleared.”
Lord Bai and Magistrate Li were risking their reputations to support her and Kaifeng had sacrificed so much for her already. They had to find the answers quickly.
“I’ve told you every one of Deng’s hideaways I know about,” she said in desperation. “I don’t know where else to look.”
“I’m at a loss myself,” Bai admitted. He turned to Kaifeng. “You have been closest to this investigation from the beginning, Wu. Where do we go next?”
Kaifeng met Mingyu’s eyes. She knew what his answer would be.
“We return to the Deng mansion. The widow identified the wrong body as her husband’s. She knows more than she’s telling us, I’m certain of it.”
* * *
IT HAD BEEN over a year since Mingyu had been to the Deng residence and she felt a small pang of nostalgia at the sight of it. It was relatively close to the Bai mansion, with both located in the exclusive northern ward near the imperial palace. Inside, the garden still stole her breath away with the trees in all the warm, fiery colors of the autumn. Flowering plants crawled along the grass and she had once counted the number of carp in the pond. At the time, she’d thought herself a woman of the world, but now she realized that younger Mingyu was merely a girl, too easily impressed by wealth and luxury.
Upon arrival, Kaifeng and Lord Bai headed a search of the grounds while Mingyu and Magistrate Li remained with Deng’s widow and son. Deng Furen led them into the main parlor, but offered no tea or hospitality of any sort.
She sat before them unblinking. “Your constables have been outside for three days now. I’ve asked that they be removed, but not only did you not comply with my wishes, you now bring a whole gang of ruffians here to invade our home.”
“I assure Madame that we mean no disrespect,” Li insisted. “This is a necessary measure.”
“Not only is my husband gone, but you must continue casting suspicion upon his name.”
Deng Enlai moved to stand protectively at his mother’s shoulder. In all her years as General Deng’s mistress, Mingyu had never seen his son. There was so much of his father in him, not just in appearance, but in manner, as well.
“You are causing my mother undue grief.” Even at fifteen, Enlai evoked an undeniable presence. “I ask that you keep this conversation brief so that she may rest.”
“The circumstances that brought us here are very unusual, Furen,” Li Yen replied. He took a deep breath before speaking. “General Deng may not be dead.”
“What do you mean not dead?�
�� the widow gasped. “How is that possible?”
Enlai looked ready to have them chased out of the house. “Explain yourself, Magistrate.”
“If you would allow me.” Mingyu spoke for the first time since entering the house. She could feel Deng Furen’s iron gaze on her. “This is quite personal to speak of, Furen, but the two of us have known one another for a long time now. It is no secret that your husband and I were close at one time.”
The woman’s lips tightened into a thin line. “There is no need to say it aloud. We all understand you perfectly.”
“When Furen went to the magistrate’s yamen to identify the body, did she look closely? Certainly there was a mark on the general’s back that would have been impossible—”
The widow held up her hand for silence. “I was grief-stricken, Lady Mingyu. I can’t recall exactly what I saw or didn’t see. Certainly I would not ask my husband be disrobed before strangers, but I recognized him regardless. As close as you were to my husband, I knew him for more than half my lifetime. I doubt I could be mistaken about something so important.”
“The body was missing a head,” Magistrate Li pointed out gently. “It’s easy to see how a mistake could have been made.”
“If my father is alive, then why hasn’t he come to us?” the son demanded. “Why hasn’t he made any attempt to contact his own flesh and blood?”
Was it possible Deng had kept the secret away from his family? Between the widow’s denial and Enlai’s anger, Mingyu was starting to believe it.
“What if my husband were still alive? What would happen then?”
“We would need to warn him,” Li said smoothly. “He was in danger before the murder and we imagine he could be in even more danger now. Your husband had many powerful enemies who might still be looking for revenge. That was why we stationed guards around your house, Furen.”
“And kept us prisoners in our own home.”
“I apologize, but it was necessary. I should inform you that the general’s closest bodyguards were found dead.”
“Those dogs deserved whatever happened to them,” Enlai spat. “If they hadn’t failed in their duties, my father would still be alive.”