The Book and The Sword - Yong Jin - Страница 71

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As the first scroll was unrolled, the judge and the others started in surprise: it was a poem written in the hand of the famous cillgrapher, Zu Yunning.

"This is extremely valuable," exclaimed the man called Master Fan. They hurriedly opened the second scroll and saw it was a painting of flowers on the top of which was the Imperial vermilion seal of Qian Long. Yuan Mei was puzzled and turned to ask his colleagues if they knew who the benefactor was. They looked at the scrolls and pondered silently.

"Why don't we go over and meet him?" one finally suggested.

"If we do that, people will accuse us of being unfair," replied another. "With such treasures as these two scrolls, the Top Candidate is obviously Beautiful Jade."

"Let us have a look at the third scroll," suggested a third.

They unrolled it and saw it was a piece of unsigned calligraphy.

"Not very graceful," remarked one of the experts. "The writing style lacks strength."

"Shh! It's written in the Emperor's hand," another whispered urgently. The others all jumped in fright and dared not discuss the matter further.

"The judging of the gifts has been completed," Yuan Mei announced in a loud voice. "The Top Candidate is Miss Beautiful Jade, second is Miss Lunar Palace, third is Miss Water Lily."

Applause arose from all corners of the lake.

Beutiful Jade began to sing again, and her tender voice penetrated Qian Long's bones, making his heart itch unbearably.

"Go and tell that girl to come over," he said to He Jia. "And don't say who I am."

The boat glided over to Beautiful Jade's and He Jia leapt across. After an interval, he returned with a piece of paper and handed it to Qian Long and said: "She told me to give this to you."

Qian Long peered at the note under the lamplight and saw it read: "Tomorrow."

The calligraphy was very poor, but the paper was heavily scented with a fragrance that made his heart quiver.

"Why wait until tomorrow? I am here now," he said. But when he looked up again, he saw Beautiful Jade's boat was already moving off. As Emperor, the concubines of the palace tried every trick they could think of to be favoured by him. When had a woman ever rejected his advances? But the more she kept him at arms length, the more he desired her. He hurriedly issued an Imperial command: "Chase after that boat!"

Qian Long stood silently on the prow, his heart pursuing the boat ahead. The lights on the lake were going out but the music had not yet been extinguished. He indistinctly heard what he thought was the sound of laughter and soft words from the boat in front.

The distance between the two boats gradually closed. Suddenly the curtain on the flower boat parted for a second and a object was flung in the direction of Qian Long. Bai Zhen lunged forward to intercept it, and as it hit his hand he noticed the object was not a dart as he had expected but a red handkerchief with all four corners knotted together. He quickly presented it to the Emperor.

Qian Long untied it and inside he found a lotus sweet and a lily bulb: both were symbols of a well-matched couple. How could he fail to catch the meaning of such a romantic message?

The flower boat reached the bank, and Beautiful Jade stepped off and into a small horse-drawn carriage. She looked out of the carriage window and smiled seductively at Qian Long, then released the carriage curtain.

"Hey! Wait a moment, don't go!" He Jia yelled, but the driver took no notice and with a clatter of horses' hooves, the carriage moved off south.

"Get another carriage quickly!" He Jia called. The bodyguards soon found a carriage and forced its occupants out. Qian Long stepped inside and it raced off after the other carriage.

Bodyguard Bai Zhen saw they were heading towards the prosperous district of the city, and decided everything was all right: the Emperor had obviously decided to spend the night at the home of the courtesan. But having seen her only a few days before with the Red Flower Society men, he had to take precautions against a trap. He quickly ordered Rui Dalin to bring extra men to help protect the Emperor.

Beautiful Jade's carriage passed along several streets, then turned into an alley and stopped in front of a pair of black-painted gates. An attendant on the carriage jumped down and knocked on them just as Qian Long was descending from his carriage. With a long squeak, the gates were opened, and an old woman came out, pulled aside the carriage curtain and greeted Beautiful Jade. She stepped out of the carriage and, seeing Qian Long standing to one side, hurried over to greet him.

"Aiya, Master Dongfang," she said. "Thank you so much for your gifts just now. Please come in and have some tea." Qian Long smiled and walked through the gates.

One of the bodyguards rushed in ahead of the Emperor, his hand on the hilt of his sword, checking for assassins or perhaps a customer of the prostitute who would wish to protest that he was first.

Beyond the gates was a courtyard. A wave of flowery fragrance assailed their noses and tree shadows danced on the ground around two cinnamon bushes which were in full bloom. Qian Long followed Beautiful Jade into a small, elegantly-decorated chamber lit by two tall, red candles.

A maid brought in wine and food. Qian Long looked at the plates of delicacies, including marinated chicken and Thousand-Year-Old eggs, and marvelled at how exquisite they were compared to the heavy food he was served in the Imperial palace. The maid strained two cups of aged, deeply-fragrant rice wine.

Beautiful Jade took a sip and smiled. "Master Dongfang, how can I ever thank you?" she said.

Qian Long raised his cup and drained it in one draught. "Sing a song first," he said, also smiling. "We will discuss at our leisure how you can thank me."

Beautiful Jade picked up a pipa and began to play softly.

While the Emperor drank and enjoyed himself inside, Commander-in-Chief Li arrived with a detachment of troops and encircled the alley with ring after ring of guards. His officers searched every nearby house thoroughly, leaving only Beautiful Jade's room untouched. Bai Zhen ordered a group of guardsmen to patrol the roof tops with bows and arrows at the ready. Countless men have been to brothels over the centuries, but Qian Long's visit was surely the most imposing and awe-inspiring visit of all.

The guards and soldiers were kept busy the whole night, but dawn finally broke without anything untoward having happened. The sun rose, and He Jia tiptoed over to Beautiful Jade's bed-chamber to peek through a crack in the window. He spied Qian Long's boots lying by the bed and retreated. Eight o'clock passed, nine o'clock and ten o'clock and still there was no sign of the Emperor rising. Becoming anxious, He Jia returned to the window and called quietly: "Master, would you like some breakfast?" He called several times, but there was no response.

He went to the door and gave it a push, but it was barred from inside. "Master!" he called out loudly. Still no answer from the room. He Jia was very concerned, but he didn't dare break the door down. Instead, he went to discuss the situation with Commander Li and Bai Zhen.

"Why don't we tell the old house woman to go and knock on the door with some breakfast. His Highness won't be offended," suggested Li.

"An excellent idea, Commander," Bai Zhen said.

The three went off to look for the old woman, but found the whole establishment was deserted. Greatly alarmed at the situation, they began banging frantically on Beautiful Jade's door.

"Force it open!" ordered Li. Bai Zhen put both of his palms on the door, and with a sight push, snapped the door bar.

He Jia went in first and carefully pulled apart the bed curtains to find the bed clothes in disarray but absolutely no sign of Qian Long or Beautiful Jade. He fainted to the floor in fright.

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