The Concubine Affair

by Quig Shelby

  ‘But perhaps you like forbidden fruit,’ said Fu Chung Soo.

  He was wearing a box hat, with red quilted jacket and trousers. His ponytail was platted half way down his back, and his oiled moustache almost touched his shoulder blades.

  ‘In Court they say that you have many strange ways. Perhaps this is one reason why?’ asked Fu.

  ‘I have always loved the rain,’ said Alain ‘it both cleans and replenishes. And you?’

  ‘A magician who does not practise is like the soil without rain; nothing will ever blossom,’ said Fu.

  ‘But would you not wish for clearer skies?’ asked Alain.

  ‘The land needs rain as much as a man needs a woman,’ said Fu.

  ‘Where is Zhen?’ asked Alain.

  ‘Indoors,’ said Fu ‘but don’t worry I have a message. Wa said the rain would bring you out.’

  Alain looked nervous.

  ‘The Emperor tyrant is no friend of mine,’ said Fu. ‘I am no fool Alain, I know they won’t let me leave, therefore I must plan an escape.’

  ‘Where too?’ asked Alain.

  ‘Wherever my heart and fortune will lead.’

  ‘Perhaps when that time comes I can help,’ said Alain.

  ‘You have said it before I have even asked, so now I know I can trust you,’ said Fu.

  He went to shake Alain by the hand, who hesitated.

  ‘Even a magician does not have something up his sleeve on every occasion,’ said Fu.

  They shook.

  ‘Choose an apple, any one,’ said Fu.

  ‘No leave it hanging,’ said Fu, and suddenly it was pierced by a dart, hitting the soaking ground.

  ‘Another, but further away,’ said Fu.

  Again it was hit.

  ‘Now a tree, any you can see, but don’t make it easy for me.’

  Alain pointed at the hardest one to strike, far away with a narrow angle, but Fu’s knife hacked straight into it.

  ‘I hope she’s worth the risk Alain?’ said Fu pulling out the dagger.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Wa Yu of course.’

  Right now it seemed the entire world knew of their affair.

  ‘Anyway I have a message from her,’ said Fu.

  It seemed less conspicuous for Zhen to take a message from Wa Yu, and for Fu to deliver it.

  ‘Do you trust me Alain?’ asked Fu.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I mean with your life?’

  ‘Again, I say yes.’

  The cat was out of the bag, and he had no choice. By tonight at the latest he’d know for sure.

  ‘Stand here,’ said Fu, placing Alain with his back against a tree.

  ‘I also trust you, but there will come a time, make no mistake, when we shall both have to be brave,’ said Fu.

  ‘Perhaps,’ Alain mused.

  ‘If you have the courage and trust me, then do not move.’

  Fu placed an apple on Alain’s head.

  ‘I will wrap this cloth around my eyes,’ said Fu, and slowly he began to walk backwards, counting his paces.

  Alain remained deadly still. On the count of twenty five the blindfolded Fu released the knife like a lightning bolt. Alain’s hand gingerly searched upwards, and felt the handle of the blade. The apple had been sliced in two.

  Fu removed his bandage.

  ‘From now on you are my brother,’ he said, and the two men hugged; Alain out of relief he was still alive.

  ‘You said you had a message?’ asked Alain.

  ‘In two days Wa Yu will visit a silk farm, she wishes to meet you there,’ said Fu.

  He removed a piece of paper from his pockets ‘here’s the address.’

  ‘Let her know I’ll be there,’ said Alain.

  Already his heart was pining to see her face, hear her words. And after the rain he only wanted love, not admonishment where his desires could be abandoned.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  ‘And the jade dragons?’ asked the interviewer.

  ‘Tang.’

  ‘The ceremonial teapot?’

  ‘Ming.’

  ‘The goldfish and chrysanthemum vase?’

  ‘Fake, circa 1900.’

  There were more items, and each one correctly identified with hardly the blink of an eye.

  ‘One rarely finds a man with your knowledge Mr Peng. You have a golden eye.’

  ‘Please call me Yi.’

  ‘And what brings you to Kings’ auction house?’ asked Kingsley.

  ‘The opportunity to use my knowledge,’ said Yi.

  Yi was an expert on Chinese artefacts.

  ‘Your understanding of Imperial China is most impressive,’ said Kingsley.

  ‘I lived and breathed it,’ said Yi.

  ‘You mean you live and breathe it,’ said Kingsley.

  ‘Quite,’ said Yi.

  ‘We’ll start you off with the bric-a-brac for a week,’ said Kingsley.

  What some of the appraisers also referred to disparagingly as ‘car boot’ were the items destined to fetch between ten to a hundred thousand pounds at auction. A reserve price of ten thousand was the minimum prerequisite for a place in Kings’ catalogue.

  ‘And when can I start?’ asked Yi.

  ‘Maria’s leaving at the end of the month, so shall we say in five days to bed you in,’ said Kingsley.

  ‘Perfect,’ said Yi.

  ‘Take your feet off the settee,’ shouted Ivy.

  ‘In this dive, does it matter?’ asked Roger.

  Roger was a scrap metal merchant, and a long standing customer.

  ‘I’m trying to keep the place clean,’ said Ivy.

  ‘Going up in the world are you?’ he mocked. ‘Anyway come over here and give me a kiss,’ he said.

  He held out one of his grubby mangled hands.

  ‘Not yet, I need some blow,’ she said.

  ‘Funny that’s exactly what I had in mind,’ said Roger.

  Ivy winced. She needed to snort some coke before he came near her.

  ‘Here use this,’ said Roger, and he handed her a rolled up twenty pound note.’

  ‘You can keep it,’ he said disdainfully.

  At least Marcus wasn’t as vulgar, and his hands were smooth. It was about time her luck changed.

  ‘Well come on then, what’s keeping you?’ said Ivy, and she led him to the bedroom.

  ‘Bik, what if the Emperor catches us,’ said the Palace guard Lei Weng.

  ‘Shall I call a eunuch? Perhaps he will be of more use to me,’ said Bik Dong Fang.

  The handsome guard smiled.

  ‘And do you think a eunuch can do this?’ he said holding her hand close.

  ‘Perhaps not, but what use is it there?’ she replied.

  They lunged at each other’s clothes, tearing them off.

  ‘Does the thought of being caught not excite you?’ asked Bik.

  ‘Indeed my love and our child shall bear the Emperor’s name, and soon the old man will be gone.’

  The sun filtered through the blinds as Bik’s eunuch stumbled across the lovers.

  ‘No one will believe you,’ said Bik. ‘Utter a word and I shall have your tongue cut out.’

  ‘Well don’t stop, show him what a real man can do,’ said Bik to Lei, and she laughed.

  Bik would have to see Wa this evening. She needed to sleep with Chien-lung so there could be no doubt over the child’s parentage, if indeed she did fall pregnant.

  ‘Are you sure it was wise?’ asked Lei, after the lust had evaporated.

  ‘The old man won’t be around forever. I need to give him a child,’ said Bik.

  They lay back on the cushions sm
oking opium, their bodies entwined.

  ‘If we fall asleep wake us before the sun goes down,’ Bik ordered her eunuch.

  Bik rushed into the apartment as Wa was being wrapped in gold cloth by Yi.

  ‘My sister the Emperor only has eyes for you,’ said Bik.

  ‘It is my honour,’ said Wa.

  ‘I know you don’t mean it my sister. The Emperor is too old for girls like us,’ said Bik.

  ‘Bik, be careful that your words are not heard beyond these walls,’ said Wa.

  ‘If the Emperor does not sleep with me by the next full moon my family will be disgraced,’ said Bik.

  ‘I have told him of your beauty,’ said Wa.

  ‘But still he ignores me,’ said Bik.

  She looked at Wa thoughtfully.

  ‘Let me take your place,’ she asked.

  ‘It is unheard of,’ said Wa.

  ‘Well then let us go together, surely no man can refuse us both?’ said Bik.

  She was right, and Wa knew it.

  ‘Please my sister,’ begged Bik.

  ‘I can give you more joy in a minute than the son of heaven can all night,’ said Bik.

  ‘But we must be careful not to show more love for each other than the Emperor,’ said Wa.

  ‘Indeed.’

  It was agreed, and Yi apprehensively wrapped them both. He deposited them quietly at the foot of Chien-lung’s bed.

  ‘Heshen was right, you do have a lover,’ said Chien-lung.

  ‘It is only a woman,’ said Wa nervously, wondering which way the Emperor’s judgement would fall.

  ‘Now that I can tell,’ said Chien-lung.

  ‘Tell me Wa, what does the Court say of me, really?’ he asked.

  Wa wasn’t sure how to reply.

  ‘That you are a withered branch in bed,’ said Bik.

  ‘Do they now,’ said Chien ‘and what else do they say?’

  ‘Some whisper you are Heshen’s concubine,’ said Bik.

  Chien-lung burst out laughing.

  ‘I like your spirit, what’s your name girl?’

  ‘Bik Dong Fang, your Majesty.’

  ‘Do you promise to always tell me the truth?’ asked Chien-lung.

  ‘If it is what your heart desires,’ replied Bik.

  ‘My heart and my sanity,’ said Chien-lung. ‘Wa you have made an excellent choice in bringing Bik to me. But perhaps the Court is right. I am too old a man for both of you.’

  Chien-lung clapped his hands, and Yi came running.

  ‘Take Wa Yu back to her rooms,’ said the Emperor.

  And perhaps he had found a new consort.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Alain stepped down from his horse; his long legs were in riding breeches, with a plain white shirt thrown over his broad shoulders. Wa nearly gasped from her carriage as she watched him dismount. He had taken to wearing a conical hat of late, and his smouldering eyes glanced from underneath the brim in her direction.

  ‘Mr Fontaney what a surprise,’ said Wa.

  ‘Likewise, and what brings you here?’ asked Alain, strolling up to her.

  ‘The Court tailor has brought me to see the silk worms.’

  Hui Lin nodded his head towards Alain.

  ‘Well then perhaps we have something we can discover together,’ said Alain.

  ‘You’re too late to steal our secret,’ said Wa.

  The secret of sericulture had left China hundreds of years ago.

  ‘Though I believe it was a priest that stole it,’ she said.

  Alain smiled.

  ‘I am not a thief.’

  ‘So you don’t steal hearts?’ she asked.

  ‘Then perhaps I am a criminal after all,’ he replied.

  ‘Yi carry me inside before I faint,’ said Wa. ‘Hui lead the way, and don’t look so worried. The Emperor has a new favourite; he won’t give me a second thought.’

  The new star was Bik Dong Fang, and the Court was abuzz of the Emperor’s latest infatuation.

  Thousands of worms in trays stacked high were chewing on mulberry leaves; it sounded just like rain.

  ‘And how does the silk arrive?’ asked Wa.

  ‘The worms spin a cocoon of silk,’ said Hui.

  ‘And how is it separated out?’ asked Alain.

  ‘Through boiling,’ replied Hui.

  ‘So they never fly away,’ said Wa.

  ‘They can’t, their only function is spinning gold.’

  Wa had her wings clipped once, when her feet were bound, and she was a decoration too.

  ‘I am the Emperor’s silk worm,’ she said.

  ‘Then perhaps that is why everything you touch shimmers,’ said Alain.

  Wa held his hand, squeezing it tight. Hui looked, wiping his forehead.

  ‘Look why don’t you two get acquainted,’ said Alain to Yi and Hui ‘I’m taking Wa for a ride.’

  He jumped up into the saddle, and Yi placed Wa behind him. She hung on tight as they galloped away.

  Wa tasted freedom as they rode through the paddy fields, and Alain stopped at the banks of a river.

  ‘This entire area has been flooded,’ he said.

  ‘It ruined the last rice crop, and many peasants starved,’ said Wa.

  ‘Yet it is a simple task to dam it,’ he said.

  ‘Indeed, and Heshen collected the taxes for such a purpose.’

  But Heshen and his corrupt officials had squandered the money upon themselves.

  ‘Does the Emperor know?’ asked Alain.

  ‘The Emperor is blind to Heshen’s evil,’ said Wa.

  ‘Or complicit,’ said Alain.

  ‘Oh Alain let’s not discuss them; let’s talk about us.’

  ‘I am sorry my love,’ he said.

  ‘Do you still want to take me away from here, to France?’ she asked.

  ‘With all my heart,’ he replied.

  ‘But will not your people laugh at me, at us?’ she asked.

  ‘They will see our love for what it is.’

  Wa paused, letting the thought linger, like the sunlight in her hair.

  ‘It is an idea fraught with danger,’ she said.

  ‘As is staying here, and doing nothing. The more people that know about us the more we are at risk,’ he said.

  ‘We could part and denounce their lies.’

  ‘I could never do that. I could never leave you, and I could never say that I do not love you,’ he said.

  ‘Neither could I my love,’ she said. ‘So then what shall we do?’

  They were sitting on the banks of the river, with Wa cradled in his arms.

  ‘We must plan an escape,’ he said.

  ‘When?’

  ‘By the end of summer: Before the Imperial Court moves into the Winter Palace.’

  ‘And Fu Chung Soo, and Zhen?’ she asked.

  ‘We will give them the opportunity to join us,’ said Alain.

  He began to unbutton her robe.

  ‘But for now let us enjoy the time we have together,’ he said.

  ‘And is it enjoyment you seek?’ she asked.

  ‘On this day, that God has given us, it is,’ he replied. ‘You were quite good on the horse.’

  ‘I enjoy riding.’

  ‘In that case,’ and he lay on his back smiling.

  ‘We must go back,’ said Hui.

  ‘He is right Madam, the Emperor may not care, but the Palace guards will report the time of your return,’ said Yi.

  The sky was becoming darker, and Wa whispered in Alain’s ear.

  ‘I will give a message to Zhen,’ she said.

  Alain couldn’t resist, and he kissed her on
the lips. It was no surprise to Yi, but Hui was mortified. He was in deeper than he ever would have wished.

  ‘So you have seen us kiss Hui,’ said Wa. ‘But it was you that brought me here.’

  She needn’t have said it, Hui knew he was trapped. Though he wasn’t heartless; he had no love for tyrants or their henchman. Keeping silent wasn’t the wisest decision, but it was the honourable one, and perhaps now it was his only choice; for better or for worse.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  ‘Where’s Marcus?’ asked Karin.

  ‘With his new mistress.’

  They were in Verity’s house.

  ‘Are you going to leave him for Alain?’ asked Karin.

  ‘Without a doubt.’

  ‘He’s your soul mate,’ said Karin.

  ‘He is, and great in bed too,’ said Verity, with a sparkle in her eyes.

  Actually that was either in the bed or tied to it; whipping up her desires, or being whipped. But you couldn’t call him boring.

  ‘What about Orvid?’ asked Verity.

  ‘It was love at first sight, in this life and the last. It is no surprise we have come together.’

  ‘Not at all Zhen,’ said Verity smiling.

  ‘Orvid says that Wa Yu committed suicide after Alain’s execution,’ said Karin.

  ‘It’s true.’

  ‘But that Alain hopes to change the past.’

  ‘I pray.’

  ‘Do you think Marcus will ever give you up?’ asked Karin.

  ‘Perhaps, but for someone else? That would be different; he never likes to be outbid,’ said Verity.

  ‘Like Chien-lung,’ said Karin.

  ‘And did you see Heshen too?’

  ‘He gives me the shivers.’

  ‘Any news on the police and Orvid?’

  ‘Only bad, but he is Fu Chung Soo the great magician,’ said Karin.

  ‘Everything is overlapping,’ said Verity.

  ‘Let’s hope things turn out better this time,’ said Karin.

  ‘Hui and Yi are guiding our steps.’

  ‘I hope they know what they’re doing,’ said Karin ‘this could be everyone’s last chance.’

  If they couldn’t change the past then Marcus would triumph again, and who knows perhaps forever.

  Lawrence returned in the evening, taking no interest in Kay. He had a package, and marched straight to his study. He opened the aerated box, and looked at the multi coloured frog. He was hoping Alain hadn’t figured it out, but croaking on his desk was the missing ingredient.