by Jeannie Lin
It wasn’t long before Bai Huang returned. She could see the servant Zhou Dan behind him as he stood in the doorway. His expression was grim.
“There’s news.”
The breath rushed out of her. “About Mingyu?”
“We need to go now.”
* * *
THEY SAT SIDE by side in the carriage with Zhou Dan at the reins. He navigated them quickly through the ward and out into the main avenue. The summer heat was already building toward a swelter even though it was not yet midday. A broad canopy overhead provided shade from the sun, but soon they would be roasting like ducks in an oven.
She could see that they were headed south. “Where are we going?”
“Zhou Dan received a report this morning from a servant who resides in the house adjacent to General Deng’s mansion. A carriage left the general’s residence late last night. He was able to bribe a location out of the driver, but little else.”
“But you said the general wasn’t in the city.”
“Which is exactly why this is suspicious.”
Mingyu had used General Deng once before as a diversion. Earlier in the month, Mingyu had claimed to be visiting the hot springs with Deng. Yue-ying had assumed it was a lovers’ tryst, until Bai Huang told her differently. Mingyu had been lying to her for a long time now, and she wasn’t the only one hiding the truth.
“You are still doing the same thing you were doing in Fujian, aren’t you?” she asked.
Bai Huang only presented his profile when she turned to him. He didn’t answer immediately, but she could see the tension along his jaw.
“You’re still working for your father, gathering information,” she persisted. “You only found out about this mysterious carriage ride because you’ve been spying on General Deng. He’s the one you’ve been interested in all along, not Mingyu. You only act the fool so everyone will think you harmless.”
He looked downward, smoothing the edges of his sleeves over his wrists. The border was flamboyantly embroidered with gold thread. It was a costume, she realized now, part of the role he played. Though he admitted to nothing, she knew. The explanation fit him perfectly.
The journey continued in silence past the last of the gated wards. Here the roads were unpaved and traffic upon them was sparse, with a few wagons and carts here and there. Instead of the shops and residences of the northern part of the city, the southern end was all fields and plots of farmland. Irrigation ditches fed rows upon rows of crops and there were holding pens for goats and other livestock. Aside from the sections of road, they could have been out in the country.
They must have been traveling for over an hour. Yue-ying couldn’t be certain without the sound of the market gong to mark time. Finally, they came to a stop at a wide plot of land near the eastern city wall. Bai Huang called out to one of the farmhands who were harvesting what appeared to be yams. The man wiped the dirt from his hands as he approached the side of the road.
“Is this General Deng’s property?” Bai Huang asked.
“It is, my lord.”
“We’re looking for a woman, a famous courtesan from the northern part of the city.”
The laborer looked confused.
“You would know if you saw her,” Bai Huang assured him.
He enlisted the man’s help, pulling him away from his task to act as their guide. They continued on foot, tracking through the fields with Yue-ying and Zhou Dan at the rear. She hadn’t thought to bring a parasol and the sun was relentless without the cover of any buildings around them. Before long, her face was damp with perspiration and her slippers covered with a layer of dirt, but she continued on without complaint, trying to match the longer strides of the men.
Two thatched huts stood beside a well near the edge of the property. Bai Huang went to the first hut. Her stomach churned as she came up behind him and her palms began to sweat. A curtain covered the doorway. He stopped to call out to whoever was inside, only to be met with silence. The second hut was empty as well.
“Our foreman lives there,” the farmhand explained.
“Bring him here. Tell him it’s an important matter,” Bai Huang instructed.
The man went to do as asked. Once he was gone, Bai Huang swept aside the curtains. Inside the hut was a single room with a stone hearth in the corner. The dirt floor had been dampened down. There were two pallets woven from hemp, a low table and a shelf of household items.
“General Deng’s carriage brought someone here last night, but the driver claimed to have returned alone,” Bai Huang said.
“The bowls have been washed and the floor was recently swept,” Yue-ying observed. “Whoever was staying here might return if we just wait.”
She circled the tiny space, trying to sense Mingyu’s presence, to gain some confirmation her sister had indeed been there, but it was no use. Yue-ying was met with nothing but a sense of desolation.
The sound of voices from outside indicated that the farmhand had returned. As Bai Huang went to meet him something on the floor caught Yue-ying’s eye. She lifted the corner of one of the pallets to reveal a rag doll. Her heart squeezed tight as she ran her finger over the doll’s blue robe. She recognized the pattern woven into the cloth from one of Mingyu’s handkerchiefs.
The conversation outside grew louder. Hastily, she tucked the doll into her sleeve and went to see what was happening. She swept the curtain aside and froze.
Though the day was bright, a gray cloud had drifted over them. Standing beside the farmhand was the forbidding and towering figure of Constable Wu. He looked from Bai Huang over to her and his face creased into a frown.
“You have been withholding information from me,” Wu said darkly.
“Funny thing is, I happened upon a curious rumor this morning,” Bai Huang said with more composure than she would have been able to manage. “I thought to see if there was any truth to it before troubling the magistrate. Unfortunately, it looks like rumor was all it was.”
Wu turned on the middle-aged man who Yue-ying assumed was the foreman. “Have you seen a woman? Tall, pale-skinned.” After a pause he added, “Beautiful. As beautiful as a goddess.”
Yue-ying was taken aback. Wu wasn’t usually one for embellishment.
“A lady came last night,” the foreman replied. “She and the old woman left with the child this morning.”
“The child?” Wu echoed.
If Yue-ying hadn’t seen the doll, she might have reacted in the same way. As it was, she was able to keep her expression neutral while the constable interrogated the foreman. An old woman and a young child had been brought to the farm several weeks earlier, supposedly on General Deng’s orders.
“My wife brought them food every day. They spoke to no one, stayed inside most of the time.” The man looked first to the constable and then over at Bai Huang. “We don’t want any trouble, my lord. We were only doing as we were told.”
It appeared that the place had served as a temporary haven and Mingyu had already fled. Constable Wu moved to search through the huts while Bai Huang and Yue-ying took the opportunity to return to the carriage.
“He must have followed us,” Bai Huang said as Zhou Dan pulled away. “He has always suspected you would lead him to Mingyu.”
Yue-ying scanned the area. “She must still be nearby. We have to find her.”
“In all this?” Bai Huang indicated the endless plots of farmland, some owned by wealthy families within the city and others by individual farmers. “That demon is already rushing back to report to Magistrate Li as we speak. Then they’ll return with fifty constables to search the area.”
He directed Zhou Dan back to the northern part of the city. As the carriage rolled away from the fields a sense of the inevitable crept over her. The magistrate was going to arrest Mingyu for murder.
“We don’t have much time,” Yue-ying murmured.
“No, we don’t,” Bai Huang agreed. “You need to stop protecting Mingyu and tell me the entire truth.”
“M
e?” She was incredulous. “Tell you the truth?”
Bai Huang didn’t flinch at the accusation. “Did you know about the child?”
“I found out about her at the same time you did.”
He raised an eyebrow. “There was no mention that the child was a girl.”
She pulled the rag doll from her sleeve and held it out to him. The doll was the height of her palm, suitable for small hands. Bai Huang ran a finger over the blue robe. No doubt he recognized the fine quality of the silk just as she had.
His brow creased into a frown. “Did General Deng father a child with Mingyu?”
Surely Mingyu would have told her about something as significant as having a child of her own. That would have made the girl family. Yue-ying took back the doll and studied its features. Someone had sewn the doll with care, painting on the face with a delicate brush.
“Mingyu didn’t take a stash of silver from the smugglers,” she concluded. “She took this child. That’s why she’s been so secretive—to protect the girl.”
Because the girl was a slave. She was property and Mingyu had killed her owner and stolen her. Yue-ying felt a deep ache within her chest. She knew exactly why Mingyu had done such a thing.
“But where could she be going now?” Bai Huang asked. “It will be difficult to hide with a young child and an old woman at her side.”
Yue-ying smoothed back the doll’s hair with her thumb. It was black and silken, cut from a lock of real hair.
“I know where she’s going.” Yue-ying raised her voice so Zhou Dan could hear her from the driver’s seat. “Take us to the Pingkang li.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
YUE-YING STEPPED DOWN from the carriage the moment it came to a stop before the Lotus Palace. Bai Huang caught up with her as she reached the front doors, which had been propped open to welcome in the breeze.
“Yue-ying, you’ve returned!” Little Hong, the young courtesan-in-training, was the first to meet her in the entrance hall. Apparently she had taken on the new role of welcoming guests.
“Where’s Madame Sun?”
The inquiry wasn’t necessary. Madame appeared at once, resplendent in silk and jade and ready to greet the Emperor himself should he arrive.
“Dear girl, have you heard from Mingyu finally?” she asked.
A faint worry line appeared between her eyes. She was quite convincing. Until now, Yue-ying had overlooked that Madame Sun was a celebrated courtesan back in her day. She knew how to play to an audience.
“I haven’t heard from Mingyu,” Yue-ying replied calmly. “And you know why, Madame.”
The headmistress’s gaze narrowed on her before resuming a mildly pleasant expression. “I am not certain what you mean, but we’ve missed you. No need to stand here by the door—come inside for tea.”
Yue-ying shot a glance to Bai Huang before they followed Madame down the corridor. As with her last visit, all of the parlors appeared to be filled with patrons. Madame brought them to the back of the house into one of the smallest sitting rooms before closing the door.
“The Lotus appears quite popular in Mingyu’s absence,” Yue-ying remarked. “Perhaps scandal is good for business.”
“Oh, enough!” Madame snapped, her civility tossed aside. She looked Bai Huang over before turning back to Yue-ying. “Mingyu isn’t here. I don’t know where she’s gone to.”
“There’s no need to lie, Madame. When I saw that Mingyu hadn’t taken any of her money, I suspected she hadn’t gone far. What I didn’t realize until now was that Mingyu never left the Lotus Palace. She has been hiding here the entire time.”
Madame fell silent. She clutched her silk handkerchief and dabbed it beneath her eyes. “What nonsense is this?”
“Madame was the one who first reported Mingyu missing,” Yue-ying pointed out. “You ran out practically into the street, distraught, so everyone could see. This was immediately before Constable Wu came to arrest her.”
“Foolish girl, I have been searching everywhere for my darling Mingyu. She was my favorite.”
“And your highest earner,” Bai Huang interrupted. “But while you were wailing all over the quarter that she had run away, Magistrate Li had a warrant out for her arrest. This must have brought in many curious patrons. With five other courtesans to entertain in her absence, Mingyu’s disappearance was probably quite profitable.”
Bai Huang’s presence was undeniably useful. With him there, she didn’t appear to be challenging Madame Sun directly.
“You make it sound as if I staged her disappearance out of greed.” Madame Sun sniffed at him. “Evading the constable has only made matters worse for her. And why would I risk the magistrate’s wrath as well?”
“This started long before the arrest warrant. Earlier this month Mingyu claimed to have gone on an outing to the hot springs with General Deng.” Yue-ying directed her explanation to Bai Huang. “Mingyu’s time belongs to Madame Sun. For her to be away as long as she was, the general would have had to pay a substantial sum each day for her companionship. But there was no General Deng and no payment. Madame had to have known what Mingyu was doing and allowed it.”
The headmistress sank onto the settee. “I would have told you where Mingyu was as soon as Constable Wu was no longer skulking about, but by then you were under his protection.” She tilted her head toward Bai Huang. “Mingyu said it was better that way, for everyone. So I said nothing.”
“Your plan worked well, for a time,” he acknowledged. “But everything is unraveling. We want to see Lady Mingyu immediately. Constable Wu is the least of her concerns. A gang of bandits may also be hunting for her. We believe they also killed Huilan.”
The headmistress paled. “So much death and misfortune. Mingyu has always been a good foster daughter to me. When she said she needed help, I trusted her.”
“Then tell us where she is,” he urged.
Madame shook her head. “I was speaking the truth. Mingyu was here, but she left yesterday and...and I don’t think she’s coming back.”
Her lip trembled as she pressed the handkerchief to her eyes. Yue-ying and Bai Huang were left looking down at the older woman as she huddled there, trying to compose herself. Whether or not it was an act, it was a pitiful sight.
Bai Huang lowered himself beside Madame Sun until they were eye to eye. “I want to help her,” he said in a steady tone meant to soothe and reassure. “Do you know where she could have taken the child?”
The sniffling stopped and Madame looked up from her handkerchief, startled. “Child? What child is this?”
“Mother!” Little Hong came flying into the room. “Come outside quickly.”
The four of them hurried through the front door. A small crowd had gathered along the street and Bai Huang pushed his way through as he pulled Yue-ying alongside him.
A lone figure stood in the lane, surrounded on either side by pleasure houses and wine shops. Mingyu was wearing red, made more startling by the pale appearance of her face and hands. Black hair fell loose from its combs and pins and the effect was one of careless elegance rather than dishevelment. Without cosmetics, her lips appeared colorless and her eyes endlessly black. Pedestrians stepped aside nervously as she passed by.
Some whispered she was a vengeful ghost and scurried from her path, but it was just an effect of the afternoon shadow cast off the Lotus.
“Mingyu!” Yue-ying started to go to her, but Constable Wu appeared at the end of the lane with his sword at his belt. Two assistants flanked him.
Mingyu had chosen that red dress and had planned this dramatic appearance at the heart of the Three Lanes. She didn’t want to be found crouching in some corner as a fugitive. She wanted to appear like an empress. Mingyu didn’t move as the constable approached. She stood with her head held high and let Wu come to her.
Mingyu was as tall and graceful as a willow, but the constable still towered over her. She didn’t tremble as she faced him though her face was bloodless.
“I hear you are look
ing for me, Constable Wu.” Her voice carried over the murmur of the crowd.
Wu stared at the defiant set of her chin. He didn’t waste any words in his answer.
“I am.”
Constable Wu didn’t put Mingyu in chains as he led her out of the Three Lanes. He walked beside her, a stark figure in black beside Mingyu’s slender silhouette in red. A wave of whispering traveled through the crowd.
Who is she? What is happening?
She is one of the famous Four Beauties of the Pingkang li. She killed a man.
Mingyu walked facing forward, never looking right or left or back at the sullen constable who escorted her. The crowd remained in a hush until she had disappeared from sight, presumably led to the magistrate.
“I have to talk to her,” Yue-ying said to Bai Huang.
With one arm settled protectively at the small of her back, he shoved his way through the crowd. Constable Wu and Mingyu disappeared into the judicial compound before they could reach them. Two armed guards immediately moved into position, spears crossed to block the entrance.
“Stand aside,” Bai Huang demanded. “We have an audience with Magistrate Li Yen.”
She marveled at how easily and insolently he gave commands to armed guardsmen, but they were unmoved.
“Get back.”
The warning was barked not only to them, but at the crowd forming behind them, curious to know more about the beautiful and tragic woman who had dramatically given herself up to the head constable. Yue-ying was jostled from behind, leading Bai Huang to close his arm around her again.
He pulled her aside, away from the crowd. The yamen wall loomed high beside them. “I need to speak to my father.”
“What can he possibly do?”
“His rank is higher than the magistrate’s. There must be some way he can help.” His expression was grim. “I have to try.”