by Ng, Wayne;
I realized that with the absence of pretense, the veil of any ruse lifted and an unexpected quietude befell me. I had been a complete knave. It was easier to live with a fatal truth than to dance around denial and a conspicuous lie. Yet I would not die feeling any animosity towards Prince Meng. Instead, I would die blaming myself for my blindness, and for my part in the deaths of all those Prince Meng had mentioned. I had not followed the intuitive path that Father and even cousin Shun had lived. Whereas I philosophized about the Way, they breathed life into it in a manner I only spoke of. And as for what little harmony that remained, I would wear it until my last breath. I had no strength remaining to fight the pain and fatigue. My body would decide the next step, naturally.
Then I heard shouting. It came from every direction. The voices sounded fearful. The guards attending to me began to panic as they too wondered what the commotion was about. “Water!” I heard the voices cry out. Then, “fire!” Soon the smell of smoke seeped into the little room in which I was imprisoned.
The door opened. A blazing torch lit the room.
“The Palace is on fire! Quickly get over there!” I recognized the voice of an officer from the inner court. After the guards left, several others entered.
“I believe he still lives,” the officer said. They untied the rope around my wrists, then lifted the noose from around my neck. I collapsed, knocking someone to the ground as I did so. A woman’s voice ordered me off. I rolled to one side and struggled to stand. The Queen lay beneath me on the dirt floor.
She waved off a guard’s hand of assistance and stood up. “There is little time,” she said. “You must get up and follow them.” She gestured to her bodyguard standing by the door and several Royal Guardsmen. She wore a plain silk dress and was bereft of her usual bejeweled adornments and make-up, save for a gold phoenix hair pin.
I could barely move and was speechless. “But what… how?” I stammered.
“Master Scholar, you may believe that learned ways open the mind, but sometimes feigned madness achieves more.”
She and the guard steadied me. I beckoned for some water, which they obliged. I gulped it down as though it would be my last.
“What has happened?” I gasped.
“The Celestial Hall is aflame. It will not survive such a blaze. The entire Palace is at risk and is being emptied. The Son of Heaven has been evacuated. A more fortuitous opportunity could not have presented itself. Go, now.”
I stared at her. I recognized the face, and even the child-like intonations of her voice, but I could not reconcile them with what I was seeing. Despite the dim light I could see that her manner was different. There was assuredness in her tone and a confidence I had never before witnessed. “But I thought…”
“Master Scholar, if one does not masquerade insanity here, it will soon befall them anyway. I have survived all manner of vices, wickedness and misdeeds. I have seen and heard more of my court than anyone should. I could not have done so if others did not see me as a simpleton.”
Her revelation stupefied me.
“What manner of subterfuge is this now? How can I…”
“Trust me?” she cut me off. “You have little choice. But on the night Mei was attacked, you were outside the King’s residence, as was I. I was chasing my poor dogs when they ran into Meng, dressed to appear like his younger brother.”
“Your Highness, how can you be sure?” I asked.
She looked at me as though I were an imbecile. “You are asking how a mother can distinguish between her two sons?”
I nodded sheepishly before she continued.
“My dogs’ accidental meeting with the Prince likely caused him to drop a vial, which shattered on the floor. This was in the corridor leading to the King’s residence. My dogs happily licked up the contents. The Prince avoided my gaze, but I could tell he was furious. He continued onwards and spotted Mei. Unable to complete what I believe was his initial plan, he saw another opportunity to unleash his anger. He defiled her. It was well after my dogs enjoyed the contents of that vial that you came upon us. The dogs had begun to behave erratically and shortly afterwards they suffered an agonizing death. I believe Meng had intended to poison the Son of Heaven in his brother’s guise.”
It was as Prince Meng boasted. I knew he had taken an interest in one particular plant, the poisonous rhubarb.
“Your Highness, it is not my place to question your actions. But did you inform the Son of Heaven? That might have prevented Mei from having to make a false allegation and suffering so greatly.”
“It might have. I have stood silently for many years, waiting for the right moment. At times I have discretely lent a benevolent hand. But a mad woman suddenly stepping forward with such a story would have sounded even more mad, do you not agree?”
“I suppose that was a foolish question, your Highness. But somehow I doubt you stood silent. Are you not the Black Serpent who sent Major Huang and I to the bamboo forest, and who aided Mei and her family?”
She nodded. “And it was I who has alerted Chao to return to prevent his brother’s attempt to seize the throne in this fashion. I could see Meng’s bitterness over the King’s decision to leave the throne to our younger son. But there are too many questions, my dear scholar. You must leave before Meng consolidates his power.”
“Your Highness, is this too late?”
The Queen sighed. “I suspect so. The King’s judgment has waned considerably in the past week, and he is no longer standing up to Meng’s depiction of Chao as a traitor. Chao’s absence was a strategic error. He meant well, as he was en route to the Chu encampment along with Confucius. They had planned to negotiate a withdrawal of Chu’s troops, and to seek political unification of all states, thus ending this ruinous path of continuous wars.”
The Queen commanded the guards to check if the area was clear. Then she continued. “Regrettably Meng has convinced his father that Chao is meeting with the King of Chu on the frontier in order to seek support for him as the Son of Heaven, and that Prince Chao is the spy.”
“The defilement of Mei is akin to salt on the wound of a fragile, dying man,” I said. “Meng will twist this to make his brother appear opportunistic, conniving and insensitive to his father’s health.”
“I agree, Master Scholar. I would not be surprised if Meng has compounded this by torching the Celestial Hall and has witnesses ready to swear that Prince Chao’s men were seen doing it. He has already bought off many of the Royal Guardsmen with land. Those Guardsmen who have sided with Meng have sealed off the Son of Heaven from all but myself and Meng’s most trusted Ministers. They, along with Wu’s men, are already fighting against those loyal to the Major and Chao. It grieves my heart to see this.”
I looked northward, towards where Mei had originally been taken. Then I looked back at the Queen. “What a fool I have been.”
The Queen gave me a sympathetic look. “Does the Way you espouse not see rulers as inherently nefarious?”
I nodded. “Yes, your Highness.”
“Then I beseech you, Master Scholar, to see that the closer they are to our hearts, the blinder we are to their faults. For I too could not see the obvious for some time.”
“Your words may one day soothe another misguided character. But for now, I have few options. Prince Meng won’t let me live, and I have little purpose in running and hiding. I have failed all who trusted me.”
“Perhaps their trust was not only in you, but in what you embraced. Think, Scholar. Are your ideas so weak that they cannot withstand dissent?”
“False hopes and fanciful dreams, your Highness, that is all I have to offer.”
“No, Master Scholar. You have much to offer to the right receiver. I must believe this, for I myself have waited years to end my silence. Doing so now can have real meaning and no higher purpose. I believe I can deaden Meng’s interest in you. I can offer him my continued sile
nce in exchange for four lives—yours, Major Huang’s, and Mei’s, assuming she lives. I doubt Meng will keep his word, yet it may buy you some time. But you must leave at once. Stay hidden, stay quiet. I forewarned the Major earlier that a trap was about to be sprung. He and Mei have been moved. They are safe, but not for long.”
“Your Highness, the Captain, and Mei… they live?”
The Queen nodded. “I am told that she is near death. But she possesses a strength one should not underestimate. I have studied her well. She will live. The Major will provide her with ample protection.”
“But your Highness, you said your silence would be exchanged for four lives.”
She nodded. “My grandchild will need a teacher.”
“Grandchild, your Highness?”
I gaped at her like the innocent I must have appeared to be. Only then did I realize she was referring to the child Mei was carrying, potentially Prince Meng’s offspring and living evidence of his duplicity.
One of the guards returned. He indicated that for now, the immediate area was safe and a clear path existed to a secret exit leading out of the Forbidden Yellow Palace into Chengzhou proper. He opened the door and led me and then the Queen out. The Celestial Hall was ablaze as if the God of Fire himself had spat at the Royals. Around the Celestial Hall, shouting and confusion reigned as soldiers carried water in one direction and precious Palace belongings in the other.
I stopped to glance towards my Archives to see if it still stood. But smoke obscured any clear view.
“Make haste, Master Scholar. My trusted guards will guide you to the Major,” the Queen said. “Then show them the Way.”
18
Finding the Way
Prince Chao returned while the ruins of the Celestial Hall still smoldered. By then, the Son of Heaven had been convinced that the fire was Prince Chao’s doing, and that he was in league with Chu. Broken-hearted and near death, the Son of Heaven ordered his youngest son banished. Prince Chao remained steadfast and denied the charges, setting the stage for civil war within the Palace itself. This may have been the mortal wound for the King, for he died before he could witness the impending battle between his sons.
In a final attempt to avoid bloodshed, Prince Chao invited his brother to tea after their father’s funeral. Prince Meng accepted and offered his brother an opportunity to be his most trusted advisor and anything else he desired. But that too was a ruse which Prince Chao saw through. He did not, however, see through the poison he had drunk. He immediately took ill and died painfully the next day. In that respect, some rumors were true. Just as I did not see who Meng was, nor did I see the true character of Chao. Unfortunately their mother the Queen, the Black Serpent, did not survive the transfer of power and supposedly died of a broken heart. Having witnessed her strength, I have always wondered about this.
It is well known that Chu’s troops moved into the capital shortly afterwards, raping and pillaging targeted areas all known to contain Prince Chao supporters. The Royal Guardsmen stood down, awaiting orders that never came from the new Son of Heaven. All voices of moderation and action such as Yi Ban’s had been silenced forever. For his cooperation, Chu allowed Prince Meng to rule as a puppet until he too was assassinated, only one year later. I had mixed feelings upon hearing this. The idea of him once gave me such hope. Yet he revealed himself to be an odious being. Among others, he was neither loved nor respected. He had made many enemies.
As for Confucius, he did not return with Prince Chao to court. Had he done so, Prince Meng might have included him in his purge of all things and people associated with his brother. However, our paths did cross again for one final, fleeting moment, many years after we had both fled Chengzhou. It was at a roadside inn where he was holding court with several other scholars and noblemen. I remained in the shadows, listening to him speak, as he always did, about duty, moral obligation and piety. His words stirred up old feelings, and I almost lost all sense of myself. I was about to step forward and exact some cutting words about the ill-advised entanglements caused by him and his advice. Of course, I could have rebuked myself for the same reasons, but at that moment I had lost all perspective. Then Confucius switched to some new thoughts on character that I had not heard him utter before.
“When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self. When you see a good person, think of becoming like him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points. And where doubt exists, personal cultivation is insufficient. For when one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature, and exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the way which he treads. What you do not like when done to yourself, do not do to others.”
Upon hearing such words it became clear to me he was a scholar unlike most others. He was as grand a romantic as I had been accused of being. His ideas and beliefs were as rooted as mine in a principled world that could be as easily supplanted. We roamed among people blinded by too much color, deafened by too much music, whose palates were dulled by too many tastes, and whose hearts were torn asunder by too much desire.
After our tumultuous time in court, there was little more we had to say to each other. As fellow scholars, it was time to look to the next tablet.
As for myself, the Queen’s guards smuggled me out of Chengzhou that fateful night to where Major Huang and Mei waited for me. Along with two other Guardsmen, the Major had kept vigil over Mei, protecting her like she was his own. She was not well enough to travel, but we had no choice. I could not begin to describe the joy I felt at seeing her alive. The Guardsmen carried her in a litter as we moved from hiding place to hiding place in the nearby hills until the Major directed us towards Jin territory. The Major was very cautious and we were able to evade detection from Prince Meng’s men, from bounty hunters and from the lawlessness by staying north of the Yellow. We walked for weeks. The country was rich but uncultivated and far from any civilization. The landscape, so similar to what I grew up in, evoked memories—some pleasant, others sad. The further we ventured into unknown territory, the more unsettled I became. At times I felt like we were being watched. Other times it seemed as though we had cast ourselves into the fringes of the world. I attributed these foolish thoughts to exhaustion and hunger, for we ran out of food. Then we let our guard down ever so briefly and a patrol of soldiers came upon us as we slept.
One Guardsman was slain before he was able to draw his sword. The Major and the remaining Guardsman retrieved their weapons and fought off the soldiers. The Major fought like a demon. He and Thunderclap were able to keep most of them at a distance, impaling several attackers and knocking several others off their feet. Even I took up a sword and slashed at whatever bodies the Major cast aside. But they were heavily armed and we were vastly outnumbered. Our remaining Guardsman took a sword stroke behind his head and collapsed. The Major and I were cornered, defending Mei who brandished a dagger but struggled to stand. We were doomed.
“The woman is with child, spare her,” I pleaded with their commanding officer.
“Oh, most definitely she will be spared, for a better purpose,” he replied as he and the others advanced.
A small rock flew by, hitting the commanding officer between the eyes and knocking him flat. Another rock felled another soldier. Then out of the bushes charged a score of sword-wielding, ragtag-looking men. They easily tore through the few remaining soldiers who hadn’t already scattered.
I was stunned by our reprieve and looked about with shock. One figure emerged from the bush and approached me.
“There’s considerably more respect for swords, but slingshots still have a romantic appeal for me, would you not agree, dear cousin?”
I recognized the voice from long ago. Cousin Shun stepped forward, a slingshot dangling from his waist belt. He commanded his men to lower their a
rms. His warm chestnut colored eyes lit up. He seemed shorter than I remembered. His hair had receded, but he had a thick, long mane of white hair, adding to an air of self-assurance. Large hands grasped my forearms in greeting.
“Did I not say, dear cousin, that we would be together? Though I never suspected that it would take forty years.”
At first I was speechless, and shocked at the sight of my cousin appearing in such a manner. Ignoring the hundreds of questions crowding my mind like gnats, I stammered out a reply, “Believe me, it is a reunion long since overdue and at this moment sorely required. We have not eaten in days, the woman can barely move. Can you assist us?”
He studied Mei and directed his men to dispense food and water. Then he cast a wary look at the Major. “You fight like a whole army all by yourself. I suspect even we would have been challenged.”
“You suspect?” The Major asked gruffly as he checked on his fallen comrades.
“Those blades are forged by Royal artisans,” Shun said. “I recognize the craftsmanship. Could you possibly be the bounty agent I have heard about?”
The Major reached for his halberd.
“Relax, we are no friends of the King, or whomever purports to rule us,”’ Shun said. “These were General Wu’s men. There will be others. We must move deeper into Jin territory. Wu will not antagonize the Jin by following, but there will be other bounty hunters, bandits and renegades.”