The Old Fort- Shan

 

The Third Prince’s wedding day approaches fast.  A three-day holiday is declared to allow everyone to join in the festivities.  On the first of these days, our plans for a lazy morning are ruined by Kong Guanyu, who sweeps in and turns Shao Ru and me out of our comfortable beds.

“The bridal procession’s approaching,” he announces.  “Get dressed.  We’re going to meet it.”

“Do we have to?” Shao Ru mutters, reaching for his trousers.

“Father’s ordered me to escort my sister.  And you’re coming with me.”

There’s no arguing.  We mount up, together with Hou He and half a dozen other officers and set off at a canter through the chilly autumn morning.

The bridal escort isn’t where we expect it to be.  Kong Guanyu frowns.  “They’re late,” he says.  We ride on, hastening a little, and finally encounter the procession, which has halted by a stream.  There are two closed wagons and a couple of dozen men, who are taking advantage of the halt to water their horses and relieve themselves discreetly.  As we approach, a young officer comes to meet us, bowing respectfully to Kong Guanyu.  “Young Lord Kong, greetings,” he calls.

“What’s all this?” Kong Guanyu says, dismounting in one lithe motion, “You’re late.”

The officer looks apologetic.   “The Young Lady’s suffering from travel sickness, sir.”

“Probably puking her guts up in terror,” remarks Shao Ru unfeelingly.

Kong Guanyu frowns and strides forward to the leading wagon.  “Ah-Nuan,” he calls impatiently, “It’s me.  Get a move on or you’ll be late.”

The curtain at the door of the wagon is pulled aside and a woman comes out, middle-aged, still good-looking, a highly-placed maid by her clothes.  She bows calmly to Kong Guanyu.  “Young Lord Kong, my mistress is unwell.  The motion of the wagon has brought on sickness.  We beg to be allowed to rest till the Young Lady feels better.”

“Well, you can’t stay here all day,” he remarks, displeased.  He turns on his heel and walks away.

I sigh.  This is definitely not the best way to handle the situation.  Dismounting, I approach the maid and bow.  “Greetings, Madam.  I’m the Commander of the Third Prince’s guard, Liao Shan.  I bring the Third Prince’s greetings to his future wife.  He’d be distressed to hear that your mistress is unwell.”

“Distressed?” she echoes, a little taken aback. 

“The Third Prince has just endured a long journey himself so he’d understand.  And he’s a kind young man.”

I’m speaking in a voice loud enough to be heard inside the wagon.  The maid catches on immediately.  She glances behind her.  “The Prince is young, then?”

“Only twenty-one.” 

“Does he have other wives?” she ventures.

“No.  He’s led rather a solitary life.  This marriage has come as a surprise and I think he’s feeling a little nervous.  I expect your mistress is too.  But we all have to follow Lord Kong’s wishes, so they’re going to have to help each other through it.”

She smiles.  “Your words are very wise, Commander.”

“By the way, I hear that ginger tea’s very good for travel sickness.  Your mistress might like to try it.”

“I’ll tell her.  Thank you.” She bows and retreats inside the wagon.

As I return to my horse, Shao Ru looks at me sourly.  “What was all that about?”

“I figured nobody’d have bothered to tell the women anything.  The poor girl’s probably imagining the Prince is a two-headed monster like the Emperor.  I just wanted to let her know he’s human.”

Whether it’s the ginger tea or the reassuring words, in a very short space of time, the procession’s on the move again.  No further hold-ups occur and soon the bride arrives at the Old Fort and is whisked, veiled, into the apartment prepared for her.  She only has one attendant with her.  The second wagon carries the dowry, a neat cover for the funding Lord Kong’s providing to the Third Prince.  The wedding takes place next day.  After the ceremony, the bride’s carried off to the bridal chamber, still veiled.  After a suitable interval the Third Prince follows her, and the rest of us enjoy the banquet that’s been prepared.  There’s a lot of eating, drinking and the kind of jokes that men tell at weddings. 

“Do you think he’ll know what to do?” Shao Ru says with a leer.

“If he’s got any sense, he won’t do anything.  He’ll let her get used to her new circumstances first.”

“Not everyone’s a saint like you.”

“Saint, my ass.  I just keep thinking about my sister.”

Uncharacteristically, Shao Ru sighs.  “They all seem a long way away, don’t they?  When do you think we’ll hear something?”

“Not for days.”

“Not knowing’s the worst.”

“Yup, I’ll feel better when we’re in contact with the capital again.”

“In the meanwhile,” says Shao Ru, lifting his cup, “Here’s to absent friends.”

Next day most people have hangovers.  I’m one exception and so is the Third Prince, whom I meet outside my quarters.  He looks surprisingly relaxed.  I’m trying to think of some way to put a tactful question when he unexpectedly says, “I know what you want to ask.  It’s all right.  She’s a nice girl, pretty and intelligent.  I think we’ll get on well.”

“I’m very happy to hear it, your Highness.  Does she have everything she needs?  If not, tell her maid to come to me.”

“I’ll do that,” he says.  “I’m going to have a chat with Sir Li.  By the way, I want to take my wife for a ride later.  Could we find her a horse?”

“I’m sure we could,” I say, smiling at the words “my wife”.

He goes off, humming slightly to himself.  This is a huge relief.  We’ll all be in trouble if the marriage turns out to be a roaring failure.  But so far, this doesn’t seem to be the case.  Quite the reverse, in fact.

The maid doesn’t wait to be told.  She comes to our apartment, introduces herself as Jia Ju and presents a list of reasonable requests for various comforts.  She’s a sensible and competent woman, as one might expect of a highly-valued servant.  I explain our situation to her and she listens and nods.  “Living here won’t be like living in a palace or mansion,” I say, “I don’t know what your mistress is used to, but things here are rather rough.  There’s not a lot for a lady to do.”

“When we’re at the country estate, my lady likes to ride.”

“There are plenty of opportunities for riding here.  Does she like hunting?”

“Yes, she hunts with her father and brother.  Young Lord Kong taught her to use a bow and arrow.”

“Well, she’s in the right place for that too.  By the way, guarding the Princess will fall under our duties now, so when it’s convenient, I’ll introduce my men to her.  And to you.  We’re a close-knit team and you’re both part of it now.”

She nods again.  “I’ll tell the Princess.  But no-one will lay a hand on us inside the Fort.  The Princess is Lord Kong’s daughter, after all.”

On her way out, she turns.  “Thank you for your kind words the other day.  The Princess won’t forget them.”

I seek out Kong Guanyu, who’s still in bed with a headache, and tell him that his sister needs a horse.  “One of yours will do.  You’ve got so many, you won’t miss one.”

He groans.  “There’s a little bay – she can have that.  Tell my groom.  Now bugger off and let me sleep.”

So when the Prince brings his wife down to the courtyard in the afternoon, a pretty bay horse is waiting for her, along with Shao Ru, Ren Baiyi, Zi Wuying and me.  We’re all very curious to see what she looks like.  As it turns out, she’s rather above average height, though fortunately no taller than the Prince.  “Pretty” is the wrong word.  She has an attractive face with harmonious features and a grave expression. She acknowledges our salutes and listens quietly while I introduce the others to her.

“Shao Ru and I will accompany you this afternoon, your Highness,” I say.

“Thank you, Commander.”  Her voice is low-pitched, melodious. 

As we mount up, I reflect to myself that the Prince could have done a lot worse.

As it turns out, she’s an excellent rider and we have a good gallop in the hills behind the fort.  She and the Prince take the lead.  Shao Ru and I follow a few paces behind.  The countryside’s peaceful:  low grass-covered hills.  We stop after a while to rest the horses and I bring her water from a nearby stream.  The Prince and Shao Ru have taken the horses down to drink.

“My – my husband tells me you have a sister of about my age,” she says, taking the cup from my hands.

“Yes, Your Highness.  She was married last year.”

“Are you married yourself, Commander?”

“No, but I have someone in the capital.”

“Your escape was very sudden.  It must be difficult for those left behind.”

“We’ve sent messages and we hope to hear soon how our friends and family are.” I hesitate, then say, “If Your Highness wants to know more about the political situation in the capital, she should consult Sir Li, who’s my sister’s father-in-law.  He’s a man of great wisdom and very kind.”

“Thank you, Commander, I will.”  She hands me back the cup and smiles up at the Prince, who’s approaching.  I rise and leave them alone together.

Down by the stream, Shao Ru’s throwing pebbles into the water.  “Nice girl,” he says.  “He’s drawn a lucky card.”

“So it seems.  It would be awkward if they didn’t get on.  Ah-Ru, what d’you think about organizing some games?”

“Like we did on the way to Qiu?  Good idea.  It'll get the men in the right mood before we start training.”

”My thought exactly.  I’ll mention it to Kong Guanyu.”

The idea of games finds favour with Young Lord Kong.  Lord Kong, having married off his daughter, wastes no more time out here in the sticks and sets off back to Main City with his two fellow lords.  Kong Guanyu throws a party to celebrate, to which we’re all invited.  The ladies of pleasure make a speedy reappearance. 

The Third Prince isn’t amused.  “What would my wife think if she met one of these…..” he stops, unable to find the right word and then settles for “….women?”

“I doubt if she will.  I’ll ask Kong Guanyu to tell them to be discreet.”

“Discreet!” he huffs.

Frankly, I doubt if the existence of ladies of the night would come as a surprise to Kong Guanyu’s sister, but I’m not going to be the one to disillusion her husband.

In fact, inevitably, the women run across each other in the normal course of things.  With exemplary common sense, Jia Ju starts up an amicable conversation and is soon on good terms with these girls, none of whom is more than eighteen.  It’s the sensible thing to do.  They’re all women in a masculine environment, they have common concerns.  A general feeling of friendliness spreads where there could have been rivalry and unpleasantness.  I can only applaud.  Li Wei remarks on it too.  “The Princess’s attendant’s a clever woman.  And Her Highness has an excellent brain.  She’s been asking me about the political situation in the capital and I believe she really understands the issues.  She’ll make a good Empress.”

“She and the Prince seem to be getting on well,” I venture. 

He smiles.  “He’s a different man.  He has more confidence.  It’s good to see.”

“D’you think they’ve done it yet?” Shao Ru asks, over a drink.

“How should I know?  Go and ask her.”

“She can always get advice from Ah-Yu’s floozies."  He sighs.  "I wouldn’t mind getting advice from them myself.”

“I’ll ask Ah-Yu to lend you one.”

“I’d be so lucky.”

“Well, he keeps offering them to me, so if one turns up in our quarters, I’ll pass her on.”

“Offering them to you?”

“It’s a game.  He’s trying to make me cheat on Jinhai.”

“Why do we hang out with that bastard?” Shao Ru growls.

The announcement of the games galvanizes the fort.  Kong Guanyu announces generous prizes for the winners.  Unexpectedly, Lord Kong indicates that he wishes to be invited.  Shao Ru and I start putting together jiju teams and training them.  Kong Guanyu abandons his languid pose and insists on being included.  The Third Prince looks so longing that we try him out and find he’s rather handy with a jiju stick.  

“Suppose he breaks his neck?’ Shao Ru says in anguish.

“Then we’re here for life.  You do realize that according to protocol, Kong Guanyu has to be team-leader?”

Shao Ru groans.  ‘Oh fuck.”

“I don’t want this to be them and us.  We have to have mixed teams.  So I’ll put you in Guanyu’s  team and you can tactfully keep him on the straight and narrow.  I’ll take the Prince in my team.  The rest will be southerners.”

“Every day,” says Shao Ru, “I wish we were back in Qiu City, Tibetans and all.  I even miss the snow.”

News comes, via Kong Guanyu, that Lord Kong’s bringing a large number of guests, including his principal wife, the mother of Guanyu and Nuan.

“She’ll be examining the bedding to make sure they’re really married,” Kong Guanyu says, groaning, “And counting the days on her fingers till the birth of a grandson.  My mother’s obsessed.”

I take the hint.  I have a word with Li Wei.  He has a word with the Prince.  Word comes back: all’s well.

“They’ve done it,” I say to Shao Ru.

“The heavens are merciful,” he says.  “Now all we have to worry about are these bloody games.”

Every morning I wake up thinking, It’s too early for news.  Every day proves me right.  Time passes.  Excitement about the games reaches fever pitch.  Supplies are laid in.  Apartments are prepared for all the guests.  A viewing stand’s built on the edge of the jiju ground, with seats and a canopy.  A grand banquet’s planned as a conclusion to the event.

“This is getting out of hand,” Shao Ru says. 

“They’re getting their money’s worth,” I say cynically, “They’re making us dance.”

“Why?”

“Testing our loyalty.  Emphasizing their power.  Maybe the Kongs just like pulling our strings.”

“When this is all over,” says Shao Ru, “Nobody’s ever going to pull my strings again.”

The Third Prince retires early and gets up late.  He smiles a lot more.  He throws himself into jiju practice and the Princess comes and watches him.  From her expression, she’d probably like to be out there playing too, but that’s a step too far.  He waves to her from his horse and she smiles and waves back.

The guests arrive a couple of days before the event.  Not only has Lord Kong brought his principal wife, an extremely handsome woman with a charming smile, but he’s also brought his chief military officers: a general and two commanders.  There are assorted male and female friends.  There’s a large retinue of servants.  The first evening there’s a private banquet for family and friends, to which the Third Prince and Li Wei are invited, but the rest of us aren’t.  Kong Guanyu has hired musicians and dancers again.  The whole fort’s buzzing with anticipation.

Next day, a messenger comes to our apartment, puts two envelopes into my hands, bows and departs.  I stand there holding the messages in my hands, my heart beating hard.

“What’s that?” Shao Ru asks, pulling on his boots.

“Messages from the capital.”

“Oh fuck.” He gets up and comes over, looking at the envelopes as if they’re about to explode.

There’s no point hanging about.  I rip open the first envelope:  two closely-written pages, coded, in a handwriting I don’t know.  We sit at the table and I start to decode, with Shao Ru watching every move.  When I finish, he says, “What?  What?”

“Everyone’s safe.  Jinhai’s come up with a plan to try and provoke the Emperor and his mother into falling out.  If they can induce her to put him aside and assume control, they think the army will rebel.”

“Oh crap.  That sounds dangerous.”

“They think that if the situation’s allowed to continue, we’ll be stuck here indefinitely and Xu Yating will start her war again in the spring.  We’d be in a very difficult situation.”

“That’s putting it mildly.  How are they going to do it?”

“A poster campaign to make the Emperor an object of ridicule.  His mother’s already angry with him for his delay in pursuing us.  She wants our heads.”

“What’s the other letter say?”

I open the second envelope, but the first word tells me it’s for me alone.  “It’s for me, from Jinhai.”

It doesn’t take long to decode it.  “Ah-Lien has a little girl,” I say. 

Shao Ru grins.  “So you really are an uncle.  Congratulations.  Can I be one too?”

The rest of the message is private.  “I’ve got to pass the news on to Li Wei and the Prince,” I say, folding up both letters and putting one inside my tunic, next to my heart. 

I find Li Wei dozing over a book.  He wakes up with a start.  “My apologies,” he says wryly, “It was a late night.  And a very trying one.  Lady Kong mined us for information.  Resistance was useless.”

I grin and hand him the decoded letter.  “We’ve had news.  And the Sixth Prince tells me that you have a granddaughter and I have a niece.”

His hand falls to his lap, still holding the letter.  “A granddaughter?” he repeats.  “A granddaughter!”

We look at one another, smiling.  Next door there’s the sound of a woman’s voice, raised.  Li Wei winces.  “Lady Kong’s with her daughter.  The Prince has escaped to the practice ground.”

“I might join him.  Read the news and let me know how you want to reply.”

“Thank you, Commander.  How are things going with the games?”

“Very well, though I hadn’t expected so many dignitaries.  How’s the Prince coping with his in-laws?”

Li Wei smiles.  “His behaviour’s exemplary.  He’s been dealing with the Dowager Empress all these years.  His technique is honed.”

I laugh.  “I’ll bet.  I’ll leave you to analyze the news.  I have to check that everything’s ready for tomorrow.”

“Come back later and we’ll drink to the health of the new little girl in our family.”

But before I go and do all the things I have to do, I climb to the highest point of the fort and standing in the sun and the light wind, I read and re-read Jinhai’s message, this frail but precious link with the person I love.