I'm intending to contact Yuan Song to report on progress, but he beats me to it.  A child arrives with a message that a meeting’s been arranged with General Chen.  I have to go to the Pavilion that evening and the meeting will take place the following day.

“But how?  He’s under house arrest,” is the first thing I say to Yuan Song when I arrive.

“Tomorrow, everyone in the Cherry Blossom Pavilion will have a holiday.  We’re going to look at the autumn foliage outside the city.”

“Autumn foliage?”

“There’s an area of particular beauty not far away and many people go and view it when the autumn colours are good.  Because of the warm weather, the leaves are spectacular this year.  General Chen will put it about that he’s going to visit his mistress and instead he’ll come and meet us.  We’re leaving very early, which is why I asked you to come this evening.”

“That’s clever,” I say, smiling.  Over dinner, I report everything that happened yesterday.  Yuan Song listens intently and nods.  “Sounds good,” he says.  “Tomorrow we need to let the General know what we’re planning to do and try to find out which way the army’s likely to jump.  Their cooperation’s vital.”

As I go off to my apartment, he says, “By the way, I put something by the bed for you.  I hope you find it entertaining.”

On entering my apartment, I look somewhat suspiciously at the table by the bed and find a box with a book on top.  The title of the book is “Solitary Pleasures.”  I recognize the artist immediately.  The book’s slender.  It recounts the adventures of an innocent young man discovering the solitary pleasures mentioned in the title.  As with all books of this kind, the hero’s endowed with superhuman size.  The pictures are hilariously funny and erotic at the same time.  I find myself chuckling as I turn the pages.  Still laughing, I open the box.  It’s full of pleasure-enhancing toys, some of which are featured in the story.  I go to bed rather thoughtful.

Next morning at daybreak, we set out, all of us, in four carriages hired for the purpose.  The general atmosphere’s similar, I imagine, to a school outing.  Yuan Song has dressed me suitably to blend in with the courtesans.  I’m wearing a pale grey fur cloak with the collar turned up and a matching round hat pulled well down.  He himself is in a handsome cloak of red fox fur.  We pass through the gates with much laughing, waving of hands and suggestive jokes from the guards, and roll off down the road unchallenged.

It takes a couple of hours to reach the woods, which are indeed a splendid sight.  It’s obviously a popular spot, for there are well-laid paths and shelters where viewers can take their ease and eat their picnics.  We’ve brought food, and the boys and girls lay it out, chattering happily.  Yuan Song says, “Come.”

He and I set off up one of the paths.  We walk for some time, emerge from the bright wood and see before us a small circular kiosk set in a glade.  Two men are waiting there.  They stand up as we approach.

I’ve been very curious to see General Chen, who’s as close as a father to Shan.  He’s a stocky man of military bearing, not tall, grey-haired, craggy-faced.  He looks troubled.  With him is a tall young man with a stern appearance, possibly due to the fact that his eyebrows are dead straight and almost meet over his nose.  He looks like a soldier too.  There couldn’t be a greater contrast between the two of them and the two of us in our luxurious fur cloaks. 

Yuan Song bows gracefully and says, “General Chen, may I introduce the Sixth Imperial Prince, Yan Jinhai?”

The two soldiers go down on one knee in the Imperial salute.  I start forward.  “No, no, please don’t stand on ceremony.  Think of me as Young Master Zhao Jing.  Thank you very much for agreeing to meet us.”

General Chen gets to his feet a little stiffly and says, “Your High – Young Master, may I introduce General Tao Yahui?  As you know, I’m retired now, but General Tao has his finger on the pulse of the army.”

“Shall we sit?” I suggest, moving towards the rustic table and chairs with which the kiosk’s furnished.

“You’ve heard the news?” I ask, taking off my hat, which is making me very hot. “Third Brother and the others are at the Old Fort with Kong Ling’s men.  If nothing’s done, they’re going to be stuck there indefinitely, so I thought the best thing to do is to try and force a change here, a change which may encourage the army to act.”

Swiftly, I outline my plan.  The two soldiers glance at one another as I unfold the details. 

“It seems to me,” I say, “That we have to act now.  Our friends are safe for the moment, but Xu Yating’s spies will soon tell her where they are and it’s likely she’ll renew her war in the spring.  Then our friends may find themselves in a difficult situation.  In the best case, they may end up fighting against the Empire.  In the worst, Lord Kong may decide they’ve outlived their usefulness and try to use them as bargaining chips.”

I see General Chen’s lips tighten.  Frowning, Tao Yahui says, “You’re aware that your plan’s extremely dangerous?  If you’re caught, there’ll be no mercy.”

“I realize that.  But I think it’s worth risking it to bring our friends home.  What I need to know is where the army stands.”

“As things are, we’re considerably weakened,” Tao Yahui says, “The war took many lives, mostly from disease.  The men who came back are in very poor condition due to the problems with food and the dysentery epidemic on top of that.  Fortunately, the disease seems to be abating, but it’ll be a while before we’re at anything like full strength again.  Consequently the officers are unwilling to rock the boat just now.”

“But what’s the mood?”

“Anger, bitterness, contempt.”

“How long before they’re back at full strength?”

“Not till the spring.”

“Do you think they would react if Xu Yating tried to take power?  Or if she tried to send the army south again?”

“As you probably know, most of the men wouldn’t be prepared to go against the Emperor under any circumstances.  However they wouldn't be happy if the Dowager Empress made herself regent.  She’s generally held responsible for the poor conduct of the war, together with that adviser of hers.  As for marching south again - if the Emperor ordered it, we’d have to go.  But if it was Xu Yating, well, it would be a toss-up.”

“Then I think our plan has a good chance of succeeding,” I say.  “You don’t need to commit yourselves to anything right now.  Wait till we’ve had a chance to act.”

They look at one another and nod.  “We’ll support you, Young Master Zhao,” says General Chen.  “There’s another thing.” 

He looks at Tao Yahui, who takes a sheaf of papers out of the pouch at his side.  “I’ve been investigating the reasons for the supply-problems during the campaign.  And I’ve found evidence of fraud and embezzlement at a high level.  The main instigator was the Prime Minister’s son, Gu Lim.”

“Gu Lim!” I exclaim.  They all look at me.  “He was Commander of the troop that took over from us in Qiu City.  The last I heard, he’d been sent to Border Town to replace Commander Bai Ping after the assassination.  And he was under investigation for misappropriating some of the Qiu treasure.”

“All swept under the carpet.  He was recalled to the capital three months ago and is working in the War Ministry.  The whole family supports Dowager Empress Xu.”

I reflect that Gu Lim certainly seems to have a genius for survival.

“May we see your evidence?”  Yuan Song asks.

The young General hands the papers over and Yuan Song and I scan them quickly.  It’s all there:  sworn statements from suppliers and witnesses, comparisons between the quantities purchased by the War Ministry and the quantities delivered to the army, reports on the poor quality of the stuff. 

“We’re not sure how to proceed with this,” General Chen says.

“It needs to be handled at Council level,” I say.  “We have to give it to the Gu family’s biggest rivals in the Council, whoever they are.”

“That would be a family called Wu,” Yuan Song says.

I sit up eagerly.  “The Wu family whose son came third in the civil exams this year?”

He nods, looking surprised.

“Then it’s easy.  Wu Shun’s a friend of mine.  He was one of Shan’s – Commander Liao’s sub-officers and he was in Qiu City with us.  I’ll give him these and ask him to pass them on to his father.  If we disgrace the Gu family, it would weaken Xu Yating considerably.”

“Good,” says Tao Yahui, not exactly smiling, but looking pleased.  “We’ll proceed on those lines then.”

General Chen coughs.  “Might I have a private word, Young Master Zhao?”

We rise and descend the steps of the kiosk.

“You want to know about Shan,” I say, smiling.

“How did you…?”

“Because that’s what I’d want to know, if I were you.  Did you hear that he’s training Lord Kong’s troops?  He’s with Shao Ru and another of our sub-officers, Ren Baiyi and his friend Zi Wuying.  They seem to have been accepted by the southern troops and by Lord Kong.  And Lord Kong’s son’s apparently an old friend of Shan’s.”

General Chen snorts.  “Kong Guanyu?  That good-for-nothing!”

“He helped them out.  I’ve never met him.  What’s he like?”

“Flashy, lazy and insolent,” huffs the General, “They fought together on the borders for a while.  For some reason they got on.   But tell me, is there any news of Ah-Lien?"

“We rescued her on the same night as her father-in-law."

"Rescued?  Thank the heavens!  I've been worried sick - stuck on the estate - couldn't do a thing to help her.  How is she?" 

"Recovering.  She had a baby girl just after we got her out.”

A look of amazement spreads over the General’s face.  “Little Lien – a baby?  I can’t believe it.  It hardly seems like five minutes since she was a child herself.”

“The baby’s called Li Lan.  She’s doing very well.  But Ah-Lien’s struggling.  The imprisonment, her husband’s death:  it’s a lot to get over.”

“Those bastards,” mutters the General. 

“We’ll get our revenge,” I say.

He looks at me rather hesitantly.  “Are you sure,” he says guardedly, “That what you feel for Ah-Shan is really – er - love?  Not gratitude or anything like that?  Sorry for asking.”  He looks away, embarrassed.

“It’s true that I’m grateful.  After I ran away, he could have locked me up for the rest of the trip.  Instead, he made me join the troop and had me trained just like any other Young Master.” I stop and laugh.  “It was meant to be a punishment but it was nothing of the sort.  I had the time of my life.  And I got to see what a great leader he is.  We all admired and respected him, all of us.  But then he and I were thrown together more and by the time we got to Qiu City, I realized that I was feeling a lot more than gratitude and respect.”

“But you’re young, you’re…… attractive.  Your feelings might change.  But I don’t think his ever will.”

So that’s what he’s worrying about.

 I turn to face him.  “General, all I want is to spend my whole life with him.  When I thought he was dead, everything just crumbled.  I didn’t know how I was going to live without him.  Even now….” I stop, suddenly choked with emotion.

The General hums and hahs, shuffles his feet and finally pats my shoulder.   “There, there,” he says awkwardly, “I didn’t mean to upset you.  Now I’ve met you, I understand how he feels.   When he gets back, you’ll both come and stay with me.  Do you like fishing?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Good lad.  That’s settled then.  Give my love to Ah-Lien and the little one.  Tell them I’m thinking about them.”

We get back to the kiosk to find Yuan Song doing his suave best to converse with Tao Yahui, but obviously not meeting much success.  We take our leave.  They set off to the place where they left their horses and we take the path back to the picnic.  Luckily, there’s still some food left.

“You’re very silent,” Yuan Song observes, as we eat.

“Just thinking about things.”

“It was a productive meeting.”

“Yes, the stuff about the Gu family might be just what we need.”

The air’s growing chilly, so it’s not long before we pack ourselves up and get back into the wagons.  The beautiful leaves are already falling.  We were just in time to see them.  We make it back to the city gate well before the curfew and I get home before darkness falls.  Yao Lin and Xinyi are waiting for me.  I can tell from Xinyi’s eager face that he has news.

“I met my friends and they told me all the scandal about the Emperor.  It seems he took a liking to doing it with boys during the campaign in the south.  Since he got back, he’s been going round the places here.  He always asks for the youngest boy and there are whispers that he’s into some very rough games.  There’s a rumour that somebody died.  I don’t know if it’s true.”

“Yuan Song might be able to find out.  Thanks a lot, Xinyi.  That’s a huge help.”

“Qian Hu said he might come round tomorrow to give me a hand with the garden.  We’re almost ready to start planting.  You have to decide what you want.”

I suddenly remember the beautiful garden of the Orchard Town magistrate.  “I want roses.  Lots of roses.  With scent.  And peonies.”

Xinyi claps his hands.  “Yes,” he says, “Let’s have roses and peonies.”

As soon as I can, I send a message to Wu Shun, asking him to meet me at a tavern near the ministry where he’s now working.  Making sure no-one can overhear, something which has now become second nature, I say, “I’ve got some information that your family might find useful.  Remember Gu Lim?”

Wu Shun still has a little catch in his speech, a leftover from his stammer, which you wouldn’t notice unless you knew his history.  “That creep who took over from us at Qiu City?  Sure.  He’s got a nice comfortable post in the Ministry of War.”

“He’s been embezzling the funds meant for army supplies.  I’ve got proof.”

I show Wu Shun the papers and he runs a quick eye over them.  “Oh my word,” he says, “Where did you get these?”

“A very highly-placed person in the army.  Think your father can use them?”

“You bet.  He’s been looking for ways to get at the Gu family.  This’ll be a birthday present.”

“What does your father do?

“Minister of Revenues,” Wu Shun says, grinning. “This is just up his street.  If we can bring Gu Lim down, the Prime Minister may be forced to resign.  Father will probably want to check out some of these sources, but I don’t think that’ll take too long.  I think what he’ll do is challenge Prime Minister Gu in the Council and demand an explanation. The danger is that Xu Yating’s people will try to stifle it.”

“If they do, let me know.  If it becomes public knowledge, they can’t stifle it.  There’d be enormous public disapproval – soldiers going hungry and dying because the son of the Prime Minister’s been lining his pockets.  Just imagine.”

“I’m going to take these to Father immediately.  This is too important to wait.  I’ll be in touch.”

He tucks the papers inside his robe and sets off at a trot.  I make my way home to find Qian Hu and Xinyi working together in the garden, while the grey dog watches them from the verandah.

“You’re getting fat and lazy,” I say to him as I go past.  He wags his tail once, being a dog of few emotions.