by Jeanne Lin
‘Thank you, sir.’
He needed to move quickly. They might not be able to raise a large enough force to capture all of the bandits immediately, but the patrols would scatter them from the surrounding areas and keep them away from the city until reinforcements arrived from the local garrison. At least that was Han’s plan.
As they waited for the constable, Magistrate Tan spoke again. ‘Your father was a magistrate in the Nanping prefecture, was he not?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘I’ve heard admirable things about him.’
Han raised an eyebrow. Either Tan was lying or he was being overly kind.
‘Oh, I’ve certainly heard about the unfortunate events that occurred,’ the magistrate added. ‘Cruel fate, you know.’
‘It was a long time ago,’ Han said, hoping that Magistrate Tan had enquired out of politeness and that was the end of the matter.
Unfortunately it wasn’t.
‘Now, you’ve accomplished great things as a thief-catcher, but I wondered if the son of a magistrate wouldn’t have aspirations of taking the civil exams one day. Perhaps following in the steps of his illustrious father.’
He hadn’t been in the city for more than four days, yet Magistrate Tan had taken the time to discover his family history. The quickness with which he was able to find information was both remarkable and disturbing.
‘It’s been a long time since I have studied the classics,’ Han replied humbly. ‘My younger brother has taken over the burden of being the family scholar.’
‘Ah, so you have a younger brother studying for the exams? What’s his name?’
‘Chen-Yi.’
‘Zheng Chen-Yi. Very good. It would be beneficial for him to come to Minzhou,’ Tan suggested, relentless in his interest. ‘The yamen library has copies of all the classics. There might even be a clerk who needs an assistant. No better way to learn, wouldn’t you agree?’
‘Sir, this is—’ Han was caught completely off guard. ‘Magistrate Tan is being very generous, but this isn’t necessary.’
Tan waved away his objections and pulled out a sheet of yellowed paper. ‘Too humble, too humble. I’ll write a letter to your father. Let him decide what’s best, hmm?’
Han couldn’t escape the feeling he was being bought, but he was being bought for something he felt already duty-bound to do and for a price that benefited not him, but his family. He watched silently as the magistrate’s brush flowed over the paper.
‘You do our city a great service, Zheng Hao Han.’ The brush continued to move steadily without pause as he spoke. ‘If your brother is half as right-minded and honourable as you, then he would make a worthy representative for Minzhou as a candidate for the exams.’
The magistrate was as slippery as an eel. His friendly, easygoing manner hid a shrewd thinker, but Han needed the man on his side if he was to hunt out Liu Yuan and his gang of bandits.
Li Feng would never forgive him for plotting against her brother. Family was blood. Family was everything, even if it meant one’s own destruction. Last night together might be their first and last, but Han had to make that sacrifice to protect her.
* * *
It had been hard to leave that room. Li Feng had fled as fast as she could, ignoring the stinging at the corners of her eyes and that sick, wrenching feeling in her chest.
She didn’t see Han behind her, but she couldn’t let down her guard. He had a way of finding her and right now she was too weak with emotion to withstand him. It would take time, she told herself. Time and distance.
Li Feng turned to lose herself in the city. She paused at the corner in the busy market, not knowing whether to turn left or right. People walked by without stopping. Faces she would never see again. Han and his relentless pursuit had become something to look forward to in a world where she was constantly surrounded by strangers.
Her last image of Han had been of him just awakening, naked in dim light. The shadows had highlighted the contours of his body and she wanted to remember him that way, that private vision that she could keep within her soul.
That wretched feeling came again, as if she were being torn up inside. She pressed a hand to her midsection, willing herself to let go. But it seemed she would need a lot more time, a lot more distance.
A man came from the opposite direction and she nearly crashed into him.
‘Pardon, miss.’
‘Sir.’
She averted her gaze and tried to step aside, only to find he’d done the same, ending up in front of her once again.
‘Miss, are you not well?’
She hadn’t given a thought to how she must look. She was blinking rapidly against the threat of tears.
‘I’m fine,’ she said curtly, willing the stranger to go his way.
The man wore a dark-coloured tradesman’s robe, modestly cut. He looked to be about forty years of age and his beard was neatly trimmed around a square face that carried a calm and serious demeanour.
‘The lady appears flushed and her breathing irregular.’
She stared at him, startled by his impertinence.
‘This servant apologises for his improper introduction! Wu Song is a humble physician. His herbal shop is across the street.’
Just a tradesman scouting for business. She allowed herself to relax. ‘I wish your business great success then.’
She bowed and attempted to disengage herself, but he was insistent. ‘Wu Song sees that the young miss is new to our city. Please come into the shop for some tea as a form of welcome.’
There was an open sincerity in his eyes. Reluctantly, she found herself following the physician. Maybe it was a good idea to get out of the street and compose herself. She also needed to be certain that she had evaded Han before seeking out her brother again.
The herbal shop was small, but well lit. The walls were lined with red-pine cabinets and rows upon rows of tiny drawers, each labeled meticulously. Physician Wu directed her to a table positioned to the side of the front room. He sat down next to her and held out his hand. Li Feng was taken aback by his forwardness, but his confident and somewhat impersonal manner disarmed her. She stretched out her arm, now more than a little curious. Wu folded back her sleeve and placed two fingers over the pulse point in her wrist. Then he bent his head as if in deep concentration.
Li Feng held her arm still and tried not to fidget. The physician’s eyes were closed and a slight crease formed at the bridge of his nose.
‘Good pulse,’ he pronounced. ‘Your qi is strong, though slightly imbalanced. Something is disrupting the proper flow of energy. Perhaps some strengthening of the liver would do you some good.’
He replaced her sleeve with the same meticulous care and stood to go to the medicine drawers, pulling out one after the other. He extracted an assortment of roots, powders and dried herbs which he piled on to a square of paper. Li Feng was still uncertain of whether Wu Song was a very aggressive businessman or a well-meaning physician.
‘Sir, I have no money to pay for your kind service,’ she called out to him, determined not to be swindled.
‘No payment required. The young miss is my guest.’
Li Feng bit into a piece of candied ginger from a fish-shaped dish on the table. The sharp tang of it numbed her tongue as she watched the physician pour the mixture of herbs into a pot. He glanced out the window before placing it on to his tea stove. He added more charcoal beneath it and then returned to the table.
‘The tea will take a few moments to boil.’
She nodded. It would be impolite to leave now.
The physician was pleasant enough. Perhaps she was too long away from polite society. Surely she could sit for a minute and enjoy the company and it delayed her departure for just a moment longer.
‘One of the disciplines of a physician is the reading of faces. Does the young miss believe that there are only a few types of faces in the world? That the same patterns are repeated over and over?’
He was looking over her f
eatures as he spoke and the glance suddenly didn’t seem so professional or impersonal. The back of her neck heated under the prolonged scrutiny.
‘I don’t know, sir. Maybe we’re always searching for similarities. To find some trace of kinship, even if it’s from generations past.’
He looked impressed. ‘Well said, young miss.’
He stood to check on the tea and Li Feng lifted another piece of ginger. The exchange was becoming a bit strange and she was eager to drink whatever brew he offered and take her leave.
‘There is something this servant should tell the young miss.’ The physician was looking out the window again. ‘Someone is following her.’
Han. Her breath lodged in her throat. He’d come after her. If the physician had been holding her wrist then, he would have felt her pulse racing wildly.
‘He isn’t any trouble. He’s a…a friend.’
As she tried to figure out how to evade him again, Wu stepped away from the window and approached her, teapot in hand. ‘There are several men, actually.’
‘Several?’ Li Feng sprang to her feet. ‘How many?’
‘It looks to be about five or six, miss. This physician suspected she was being followed before inviting her into the shop, but he wasn’t certain until now.’
‘Is there a back door?’
‘Just beyond the storeroom.’
She didn’t bother to glance out the window. It was a waste of time and she didn’t want to alert whoever it was that she was aware of them. The men could be city guardsmen or more thief-catchers, but she had a feeling they were much more dangerous than that. With a hasty apology to the physician, she ducked through the curtain into the workrooms in back. A glance outside the door showed the lane was clear.
Li Feng found a narrow alleyway and began her climb upwards, leaping from corner to wall to balcony. In no time, she was up on the roof with the sun shining down on her. She stepped over to the shaded side and anchored herself against the roof ornaments, crouching low to keep watch over the alley below.
It wasn’t long before a man came into view. She didn’t need to see his face to recognise him. He was dressed as a wealthy merchant in a brocade robe with gold accents, but she knew him for what he was. Bao Yang, the perpetrator of the famous jade heist, scanned both ends of the alleyway before shifting his gaze upwards. He would know she was more likely to be up high than on the ground. She moved to the edge of the roof and dropped down behind him, rolling to absorb the impact. The sleeve sword was in her hand as she stood.
Bao Yang swung around. His gaze dropped to the blade before returning to her face.
‘I suppose this means things are over between us.’
‘Are you here to kill me?’ she demanded.
A frown creased his brow. ‘Why would you think such a thing?’
His features were angular and his nose slightly off centre, but there was something compelling in his imperfection. At least she’d always been enthralled by it.
He started towards her, but halted mid-step when she raised her weapon. Bao Yang feared nothing and no one. She should take it as a compliment that she was considered dangerous enough to be treated with caution.
‘You left so quickly without a word of farewell.’ He didn’t sound particularly saddened by it.
‘You always warned me that your work was dangerous. I had to keep quiet and it meant life or death.’
He was watching her, assessing her. ‘It wasn’t meant as a threat,’ he said quietly.
She affected a mock smile for him. ‘I don’t entirely believe you.’
He smiled back, a genuine one. Apparently there was still a tiny bit of warmth between them, but it was the last embers of a fire that had burned hot and fast and was now gone.
‘If you’re not here for me—’ she began. Bao Yang lifted an eyebrow at that and she was reminded of how she’d been lured in by enigmatic expressions and secret glances. ‘Why are you here?’
‘Wang Shizhen is coming to the city.’ His focus shifted behind her and she heard the approach of footsteps. ‘And we are here to kill him.’
The rest of his cronies had found them. She recognised her fellow jade thieves as they closed in, forming a net around her and Bao Yang. They appeared harmless for the most part. One short, one thin and tall. Chang-cheh always seemed to have a grin on his face, but he could throw a knife faster and truer than she could. They were dangerous, dedicated men and she was once again among her kind.
Chapter Fifteen
With an efficiency that unnerved her, Bao Yang brought her to a private banquet room at a drinking house near the eastern edge of town. He was posing as a wine merchant, had already made connections under his assumed identity and likely had more informants within the city no one would ever know about.
He cleared the room so they could speak privately. The others would make a sweep of the outside to ensure no one was spying on them. Bao Yang was always very careful.
‘Why did you leave so suddenly after the heist?’ This time, the tone of his question almost sounded personal. Intimate.
She kept her response impassive. ‘I never wanted to be part of any rebellion.’
‘This is no peasant uprising. Wang Shizhen is a tyrant and he must be stopped.’
Li Feng had never discovered exactly who Bao Yang was or where he’d come from. She’d fallen into bed with him as she supposed many women had, drawn by his intelligence and charisma. During their brief period as lovers, she’d discovered an impenetrable wall around him. The sense of mystery that at first seemed so appealing quickly transformed into something cold and threatening beneath the surface.
‘Tell me something.’ She met his gaze. There was an intensity there that she’d once mistaken as passion. ‘Did you know what I was capable of before you came to me?’
When they had first met, they were in a tavern. Wang’s soldiers were taking up several tables and acting drunk and rowdy. One of them had tried to grab her, but she’d shoved him away.
Bao Yang took a moment before replying. ‘I saw you reaching for your sword,’ he admitted.
He had defused the situation by stepping in with his gentlemanly manners, claiming to be her brother, and had ushered her away with a deftness that had stunned her. They had begun their affair on so little beyond that and it had been ill fated from the start.
‘You used me,’ she accused.
‘You wanted to stand up against General Wang. You hardly needed any convincing.’
Bao Yang was so clever in his persuasiveness that she always felt as if she were doing exactly as she wanted. But then again, she had always been looking for a fight.
‘I knew that you would keep asking for more,’ she said. ‘Then one day, I would be in too deep to turn away. I knew you weren’t content with disrupting General Wang’s operations. You wanted him dead.’
He regarded her quietly, as if testing her defences for a weakness. ‘That is exactly what I have come here to do,’ he said finally.
‘You? Or your loyal followers? Do you know Wang Shizhen executed Ma Shan?’
She recalled what she’d heard from Han about their former companion being publicly beheaded.
His jaw tightened. ‘I do know of this.’
‘And of all of us, it was me that the thief-catchers came after.’
‘That wasn’t my intention. I would have protected you—and Ma Shan if I could have. I don’t take pride in sacrificing others. Everyone was a willing participant.’
‘But we are expendable while you are not. You’re too cunning to ever be implicated yourself.’
‘That is not true.’ A muscle ticked along his jaw. ‘I have come here to ensure this is done properly. With my own hands, if I must.’
The vehemence of his response startled her. It wasn’t the first time she’d suspected there was something personal in his hatred of the general. The more she questioned, the more he’d retreat.
Bao Yan watched for her reaction as he spoke. ‘Wang Shizhen is coming h
ere to pay his respects to Prefect Guan, a man I believe you have some interest in.’
It was the prefect who had sent that shipment of jade to General Wang. The two of them were connected, but she wasn’t sure how. The warlord had taken military control over city after city. The prefect had to be aware of that, yet why then would he allow a tiger like Wang into the gates? The general would usurp his authority as he had done all the other districts under his control.
As Li Feng considered what she and Han had learned about the prefect and his corrupt dealings, a few small pieces of a vast puzzle came together.
‘I never knew what the source of your wealth was, but it’s quite easy to see now,’ she said to Bao Yang. ‘You’re a salt smuggler, aren’t you?’
His mouth twisted into a half-smile. ‘I prefer to call it trading. The private salt trade. As they say, the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away.’
Bao Yang possessed an endless supply of money. He’d even given her enough for her journey in silver before they parted ways. Though she had been raised outside of Fujian province, she was learning quickly how the illegal sale of salt created wealth and power.
‘Well, you and Wang Shizhen can fight out your battle. I don’t want any part of it.’
Li Feng needed to return to her brother, to family, and leave this power struggle behind. She had to leave Han behind too. She and Liu Yuan would never be free if they remained in Minzhou.
Bao Yang let her go, despite all they had discussed. It was a testament that he did indeed trust her to remain quiet. How had she fallen for a man she never completely trusted? Or rather, she thought she had fallen. Li Feng tried to tell herself that it had been different between her and Zheng Hao Han, but they’d only shared one night. She had wanted that memory of being in the arms of someone good and honest who wanted her for herself.
Part of her was afraid she couldn’t feel any deeper than that. Maybe she’d been wounded and broken since her family had been torn apart and scattered to the winds. And everything, all of her own mistakes as well as the crimes committed fifteen years ago, were finally coming back around.