China Edward Rutherfurd (essential reading .txt) 📖

“The barbarians want the bodies of the dead as well as the living. How do the prisoners look?”

“Like men who’ve been in jail, Highness. But they can mostly walk.”

“And the corpses?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, Highness. I buried them in quicklime. Nobody’ll see a thing.”

“You are a fool,” the prince told him curtly. “You should know that quicklime does not eat away flesh and bone. It preserves them. Any marks on the skin will be clearly visible.”

“Oh,” said the chief jailer. “That’s a pity.”

“Go away and make them as decent as you can,” Prince Gong ordered.

—

I did not see the prince in person after he came back that evening. I did see the bearded Russian envoy arrive. He was with Prince Gong for quite a time. The meeting ended about an hour before midnight. Prince Gong had been alone in his office for another half hour when, to my surprise, he sent for me. “Lacquer Nail,” he said, “I need your help.”

“Your slave is honored,” I answered.

“I want you to do something for me. But if you are ever discovered, I shall deny all knowledge of the matter. I shall say that you are a thief who escaped death by lying. You will be executed, and I shall not raise a finger to save you.”

I bowed low. “Knowing your honorable character, Highness,” I replied, “it must be important.”

“I have received a private message this evening, from north of the Wall. Prince Sushun and his friends have persuaded the emperor to order the immediate execution of the barbarian hostages. The emperor’s messenger is on his way. He could arrive tomorrow. If I receive that message, I must obey it or lose my own head. But if I execute the hostages, the barbarian negotiations will break down, and I don’t know what will happen then. I need another two days to complete the negotiations and transfer the hostages. After that, the emperor’s message will be too late.”

“If the messenger is killed…?”

“It might arouse suspicion. I want him delayed. But there must be no connection to me. Nobody in the palace, no official, must know. Can you think of anything?”

It made sense that he would ask me. I had no position to protect. My life depended entirely upon him. And he knew I had courage. I considered. He waited.

“The emperor’s messenger will come down the main road from the north?”

“Certain to. There’s an imperial posthouse about a dozen miles above the city limits. He’ll want to change horses there. Then it’s open road to the suburbs.”

“I have a request, Highness,” I said. “I became a eunuch to save my little boy’s life. If I die or if I am executed, I should like to be buried with my missing parts and to know that my family is provided for. Perhaps the princess could give orders for this, because I had saved her life?”

“Something will be arranged.” He nodded.

“I shall need money, Highness, to engage some men.”

“Of course. But wouldn’t they know you’re a palace person?”

“Even my own hand will be concealed, Highness,” I told him. “For I know just the man who can do this.”

—

It was the middle of the night when I got to my family’s lodgings. I was wearing an old silk merchant’s robe. The gate to the courtyard where we lodged was not locked, and I knew where my father slept. I crept in, put my hand over his mouth, and woke him. Within minutes we were moving up the street together.

Once I’d showed him the bag of silver Prince Gong had given me and explained my plan, he seemed quite delighted. “No problem,” he said happily. That made me nervous.

“You said that about the boots you made, and that didn’t turn out so well,” I told him. “We have to be very careful. And remember, we mustn’t kill the messenger.”

“I’ve never forgiven myself for those boots,” he said sadly. Then he brightened. “But this is different. Do you realize how many thousand soldiers there are roaming about looking for food and money? They don’t care about the emperor or his laws—not since he ran off. They’ll do anything, and no questions asked. I can find half a dozen before dawn. You go up the road. Find a good place where we can ambush the messenger. And if you can, a place where I can hide him for a day or two. Give me a little money and keep the rest for the moment. I’ll join you a couple of hours after dawn. I’ve got to visit an apothecary.”

—

I waited by the road. I’d found a spot. There was an outcrop of rocks by the side of the road with some trees behind it. Good cover. A couple of anxious hours had passed. What was I going to do if the messenger arrived before my backup? Try to stop him myself, I thought. I’d get a heavy stone. Grab the reins, tip him off, and hit him over the head with the stone. That was my only hope. But I wasn’t sure it would work.

One cart passed by. That was all. Not many people wanted to be on the road just then, when you never knew if the barbarians were going to come your way.

Then at last, three hours after dawn, I saw my father. He was alone. He signaled me to step off the road so that we’d be out of sight. “You chose a good place,” he said. “My men are waiting down the road, but I don’t want them to see you. They think the horseman’s carrying money. So give me the rest of the silver now, and I shall tell them I found it on him. Then we share it together.”

“And the messenger?”

“I’ll knock him out with this.” He pulled out a short, heavy club. “Then I’ll tie him up in the trees here. When he starts to come around, I’ll give him some of this