I don’t have to get up early next day, because the meeting’s scheduled for late morning.   It takes place in a smaller hall than the previous night’s banquet.  We’re seated round a large table facing one another.  Lord Kong’s accompanied by his general and his two commanders, all men of his own age, while Lord Teng and Lord Zu are alone.  Kong Guanyu’s there too, with a major headache, judging by his heavy eyes.  The Third Prince, Li Wei and I are the other participants.  We’re barely seated when Lord Zu speaks up.  “This is a good occasion to announce a piece of excellent news,” he says, with that familiar smug smile.  “The betrothal of my eldest daughter to Lord Teng.  I know you’ll all join me in wishing happiness to our friend Teng Mu.”

There’s a general murmur of congratulations, but I see that Lord Kong’s taken aback, though he hides it well.  “Good news indeed,” he says.  “But our main purpose here is to discuss the latest news from the capital.  The Dowager Empress has assumed the position of regent.  There are rumours that the Emperor’s actually dead.”

“According to our sources,” Li Wei says courteously, “That isn’t so.  Were the Emperor dead, the army would immediately call for the enthronement of the Third Prince.  And members of the Emperor’s faction have visited him.  He’s unwell, but still alive.  Xu Yating has taken advantage of his illness to suspend the Council.  She’s ruling by decree.”

“There’s a rumour she’s declared martial law,” says Lord Kong.

“Also unlikely.  The army’s being kept outside the walls of the capital for the time being.  Xu Yating only has the Imperial Guard and the city guard at her disposal and there aren’t enough men to impose martial law.  She’s suspended all trade except for foodstuffs and only food shops are allowed to do business.  There’s a curfew after nightfall.”

“How long can she keep it up before the population revolts?” interposes the general, a short, powerful man with a formidable set of long moustaches.  His tone’s gruff.  “And surely the army won’t stand for it?”

“The army’s recovering from a debilitating epidemic,” Li Wei says.  “And any disturbance in the city’s put down immediately with excessive force.  The population’s keeping its head down.”

The general harrumphs.  “Foolish woman.  She’s asking for trouble.”

“The worry our sources have,” Li Wei continues, “Is that when the weather improves, she’ll send the army south again.  My contacts in the east also tell me that Xu Yating’s brother, Xu Yimu, is mustering troops.”

This is news to everyone, including me.  “Do we know why?” I ask.

“No.  But the north-east kingdom isn’t currently at war, so it seems suspicious.”

“Surely she can’t be thinking of sending the Imperial army south and then bringing her brother’s troops to the capital?” says the general, moustaches bristling with alarm. 

“It’s possible.  However there’s a chance that if the Dowager Empress declares war again, the army may rebel.”

“How big a chance?” the general demands, frowning.

“We don’t know.  But there’s a great deal of discontent about the handling of the war.”

“So it’s all up in the air?” Lord Zu says.  “Not very satisfactory.  Maybe there’s another way to handle this.”

The moustachio’d general glares at Lord Zu.  “Indeed, my Lord?  And what’s that?”

“We invade, General Su.”

Everyone gapes.

“You can’t,” I say mildly, “You haven’t got enough men.”

Every gaze swivels onto me.

“You have a large and well-trained army,” I say, “Which has done an excellent job of defending your own lands, admittedly against an army with weak and incompetent leadership and which has suffered from famine and disease.  But the Empire’s vast.  You need not only to invade, but to hold the land you conquer.  And you haven’t got enough men for that.”

“If we make for the capital and take it, the rest will follow,” says Lord Zu, his colour heightened.

“In the face of a foreign threat, the Imperial army will rally behind the Dowager Empress and they’ll defeat you.  Your supply lines will be vulnerable to attack.  And you’ll immediately find yourself fighting barbarian tribes who’ll try to take advantage of the situation.”

General Su’s looking at me speculatively, fingering his moustache.  Lord Kong has a slight smile on his face.  Lord Zu’s flushed with anger.  Lord Teng’s looking bewildered.   

Li Wei resumes, in his even tone.  “Our contacts in the capital are doing their best to destabilize Xu Yating’s regime.  We still believe that the best course of action is to wait. ”

“Agreed,” says Lord Kong.  “I also agree with Commander Liao’s assessment concerning a possible invasion.”

“I too,” says General Su, and the two commanders murmur assent.  Lord Zu sits back, his expression inscrutable.  The meeting ends.  As I follow the Third Prince out, I feel an unfriendly gaze on my back and turn to see Lord Zu looking after us.  Lord Teng’s still sitting at the table, his expression confused.  He’s clearly completely out of his depth.

Shao Ru joins me as I make my way back to our quarters.  I quickly brief him on what happened in the meeting.  He whistles.  “Lord Zu wants to invade the Empire?  Good luck with that.”

“So I told him.  He wasn’t happy.”

“Gods, I’m fed up with all this political stuff.  Let’s grab some food, get the horses and go for a good gallop.”

Ren Baiyi and Zi Wuying are on duty this afternoon, so we’re free to do as we please.  Once clear of the city, we let our horses run.  After two or three hours in the open air and the peaceful countryside, our minds are clear and our tempers restored.  We stop beside a small pool to rest and water the horses.  Shao Ru looks at the horizon and says, “What if we just keep on riding?”

“If only.  But I’m afraid it’s the long way home for us.”

“It seems to get longer every day.  If Xu Yating really does start the war again, we’re screwed.”

“We’ll have to have a back-up plan.  But let's hope it doesn't come to that.”

Remounting, we make our way back to the city and Lord Kong’s palace.  But as we walk into our apartment, I pull Shao Ru to a halt.  My bed curtains are closed.  They were open when we left.  There’s also a faint unfamiliar scent in the air.  I hold my finger to my lips and Shao Ru nods.  Quietly drawing our swords, we approach the bed.  Then I grab the curtains and swish them back, causing the person on the bed to sit up with a yelp of surprise. 

It’s a young man, slender, long-haired, naked except for a pair of bracelets.  The locks of hair round his face are dyed yellow, he’s wearing face-paint and scent and his body’s completely hairless.  The eyes focused on our sword-points have a slight attractive squint.  It’s fairly obvious what his occupation is.

“Who the hell are you?”  I say.

“An assassin?” suggests Shao Ru, sheathing his sword.  “Maybe he’s carrying a weapon.”

“Where?” I say sourly, sheathing mine.

“Dunno.  Perhaps we should search him?”

The stranger’s eyes are shifting between us in panic, but at this, he waves his hands and says, “No, no, no, I’m not an assassin and I haven’t got any weapons on me.”

“A spy?”  Shao Ru suggests, and the young man’s face flushes a little. 

“I’ve just been sent to entertain you, my Lord,” he says, turning the alluring eyes on me.

A robe’s neatly folded beside the bed.  I pick it up and throw it at him.  “Get dressed.”

He scrambles out of bed and slips into the robe, which he leaves half-untied.

“Come here and sit down,” I order and he obeys hurriedly, sitting with his hands clasped nervously in his lap.  Shao Ru takes out his paring knife and the young man’s eyes focus on it.  He licks his lips nervously.

“Name?”  I ask.

“Niannian   That's my professional name.”

“Where are you from?”

“Um… the Jade Mansion.  That’s…”

“The leading brothel in town,” Shao Ru says, “We know.”

“Who sent you?”

“Well, that guy with the teeth made the deal, but he told my boss he was acting for someone important.”

“Guy with the teeth?”

“Yes, you know, that butler person of Lord Kong’s.  He let me in here.”

“Fu Hong?”

“That’s him.”

“Who was he acting for?”

“He didn’t say.”

“Lord Kong?”

He shakes his head.  “The boss didn’t think so.  Not Lord Kong’s style, he said.”

“Young Lord Kong?”

 Another decisive shake of the head.  “He’d have come himself.  He’s a regular customer.”

“So what were your instructions?”  Shao Ru enquires silkily, leaning forward, the knife in his hand.

Niannian’s no hero.  He gulps, looks at me guiltily and says, “I’m supposed to get you into bed, spy on you and report back to Fu Hong about anyone who comes to visit you.  Or anything I overhear.”

Shao Ru glances at me, sits back and starts to pare his nails.  Niannian starts to fidget.  “Well um, now you’ve busted me, perhaps it’d be all right if I……” 

He starts to get up, only to have the back of his collar grabbed by Shao Ru.  “Sit.”

Niannian sits. 

“How much did Fu Hong pay?”  I enquire.

“Lots.”

“And how much of it will you get?”

He pouts.  “Not as much as I’d like.”

“Well, how about increasing your profits?”

His whole face perks up.  “How?”

“Let’s make Fu Hong think you’ve succeeded.  You stay here tonight, and tomorrow we’ll give you some information to pass on to Fu Hong.”

“Ah, you mean something misleading?”

I nod. 

“And in return….?” he ventures.

“We’ll give you a little bonus,” says Shao Ru.

At the mention of money, Niannian’s squint grows more pronounced.  “Upfront ?” he asks.

I pull out my money-pouch and count out silver.  Niannian’s eyes widen. “You’re on,” he says, sweeping the money up.  He shoots me a quick glance.  “And if there’s anything else I can do for you….?”

“That won’t be necessary.” 

He pouts again.  “Well, if you change your mind….”

“I’ll let you know.  Anyway, make yourself at home.  You’re sleeping on the couch.  And tie your belt properly.”

The bath’s ready for us.  We repulse an attempt by Niannian to join us in the water.

“I could scrub your backs,” he objects, the increasingly-familiar pout on his face.

“We can scrub our own backs, thanks,” Shao Ru says.  “Piss off, or we won’t feed you.”

Niannian disappears with a flounce, only to reappear holding drying cloths as we haul ourselves out of the bath.  Shao Ru sighs and makes a quick movement.  Before I can do anything, there’s a splash and Niannian’s in the water.

“Oops, sorry,” says Shao Ru as the boy surfaces, spluttering. “My hand slipped.”

“Bastard!”  Niannian looks like a small furious wet puppy.

Shao Ru exits, grinning.  I crouch down by the edge of the huge tub.  “Now you’re in there, wash that paint and scent off.  And stop flirting.  We’re not interested.  Hurry up or there won’t be any dinner left.”

“I need something to wear!”

“So you do.  Get washing.”

I order a servant to bring a set of clothing, so when our unexpected guest reappears, he looks more like a regular Young Master, apart from the dyed love-locks and the jewellery.  Food’s brought.  Niannian’s eyes widen at the amount and variety of dishes.

“Go on, eat,” I say, amused.

“Can I eat anything I want?” he asks, like a child.

“Anything you want.”

So he does.  He eats as if he’s starving.

“Good job you’re not working tonight,” Shao Ru remarks, as the boy puts his chopsticks down with a sigh of contentment.

“I’ve never even seen half these things before,” Niannian says naïvely.

“Don’t they feed you properly at the Jade Mansion?”

“It’s all right, I suppose, but we don’t get stuff like this.”

“How long have you been there?”

“I was born and brought up there.  My mother was a courtesan too.”  He utters a small burp and giggles, apologizing.  Then he yawns hugely.

“Go to bed,” I say, resisting an urge to pat him on the head.

“You don’t mind?”

“We don’t mind.”

As he snuggles down in his quilt, he says, “It’s really nice to have a night off.”

Shao Ru and I retire to the veranda to finish off the wine.

“He’s just a kid really,” Shao Ru says, holding out his cup.  “Can we do anything for him?”

“What?  He’s never done anything but turn tricks.  Probably can’t read or write.”

“It just seems a pity.”

“Yep, I know.  Let’s think about it.  Maybe a solution will occur.”

The night’s undisturbed.  Shao Ru and I are up at first light because we’re on duty, but Niannian’s still slumbering peacefully when we leave.  I tell Ren Baiyi to take care of him till we get back.

“I don’t think he’ll run away but just make sure.  We’re going to use him to feed Fu Hong information and see where he takes it.”

But far from running away, when we return at noon, Niannian’s happily playing chess with Ren Baiyi.  Over the midday meal, we instruct him on the next step.  Shao Ru and I have put together a budget of information, military and personal, none of it of much use, but hopefully Fu Hong won’t know that.  It turns out that Niannian has a phenomenal memory.  He listens intently and then recites the information back almost word for word.

“Good lad,” approves Shao Ru.  “Now, you’re going to tell Fu Hong and I’m going to see what he does with the info.”

“Can I – can I come back here afterwards?  And – and spend the night again?”

“That’s the idea.  Then you’ll be safe if there are any repercussions.”

He smiles happily.  They leave together.  I sit on the veranda to sharpen my sword and wait.

I don’t have to wait long.  I hear Niannian’s voice raised in plaintive protest and see Kong Guanyu approaching, dragging the boy by one arm.

“Ah-Shan,” he calls out on seeing me, a triumphant note in his voice, “Caught you, you hypocritical bastard.  Faithful unto death, eh?  And what about this?”  He sends the boy sprawling in the dust.

Sighing, I put my sword on the table, walk down the steps and stretch a hand out to Niannian.  Pulling him up, I dust him down, as Guanyu goes on.  “And what would your beautiful Prince say if he finds out you’re fucking a boy from the Jade Mansion?”

To my surprise, Niannian bursts out, “He didn’t!  We didn’t!”

“Ah-Yu, stop making a scene and come inside.”  Shepherding the scared boy, I walk back up the steps.  Kong Guanyu follows us. 

“Go on, tell me it’s not what it seems,” he says derisively.

“It’s not what it seems.  Niannian’s working for us.”

“I’ll bet he is!”

“Guanyu, just fucking listen for a change.  What do you know about your father’s steward?”

“Oh Gods, don’t talk to me about that greasy bastard.  He’s a total pain in the backside.  Cheats the merchants, pesters the women servants and takes bribes.  Everybody hates him but my father won’t hear a word against him because the old crocodile saved his life about a hundred years ago when they were both boys.  What’s that got to do with anything?”

“He hired Niannian to spy on us.”

“What, this little rat?”  Kong Guanyu turns to look at Niannian, who shrinks behind me.

“Niannian’s agreed to help us.  He’s just been to give Fu Hong some made-up stuff and Shao Ru’s following Fu Hong to see what he’s going to do with it.”

“Huh!” Guanyu says, glaring at Niannian.

“And for your information, Niannian slept on the couch last night and he’ll sleep there again tonight.”

Guanyu throws himself down in a chair and bawls for a servant to bring wine.  “I’ll just stay here and see what Ah-Ru comes up with,” he announces.  When the wine comes, he orders Niannian to pour it.  The boy, a trained courtesan, naturally has graceful manners.  He obeys, flushing under Kong Guanyu’s stare. 

“So, who do you think’s paying Fu Hong?”  Guanyu knocks back the wine with a quick movement.  Niannian quickly pours more.

“You were at the meeting yesterday.  What do you think?”

“Hmmmm,” he says.  “One candidate stands out, doesn’t he?  If Fu Hong’s been dealing with him, then we can bring them both down.”

“Let’s see what Ah-Ru finds out.  In any case, we’ll have to get proof.”

Kong Guanyu grunts.  “You,” he says to Niannian, “Massage my shoulders.”  In reply to my raised eyebrows, he says, “What?  He might as well make himself useful.”

“I’ve paid for his time.  You’ll have to wait.”

Niannian looks at me anxiously.  “My Lord, I don’t mind doing it.”

“Well, your time costs money.  Young Lord Kong will have to remunerate you.”

The boy catches on quickly.  A huge grin appears.

“What’s this, a double-act?” Guanyu grumbles.  Searching for his money-pouch, he throws a few coins on the table.  “Satisfied?”

“Yes, Young Lord, thank you.”

Peace descends, broken from time to time by a groan of satisfaction from Guanyu.  I’m conscious of envy.  Jinhai used to do this for me and I miss it.

Niannian breaks off what he’s doing as steps sound outside and Shao Ru appears.  He checks when he sees Guanyu and looks at me with raised eyebrows.

“He knows,” I say.  “What news?”

 “I followed our oily friend and saw something interesting.  He was deep in conversation with a guy I recognized from the banquet.  It was one of Lord Zu’s guards.”

Guanyu and I look at one another.

“Perhaps a search of Fu Hong’s quarters might be fruitful?” I suggest.

“And a little chat with that guard, why not?” Guanyu replies.  “You guys stay out of it.  I’ll take it from here.  Which guard was it?”

“The short one.  Goatee beard, scar on his left cheek.”

He leaps up, invigorated and sets off down the veranda steps.  We watch him stride away.  Shao Ru folds his arms, a grin on his face.  “Wind him up and away he goes.  Let’s hope he comes up with something.”

Guanyu doesn’t do anything by halves.  I drop a word to our people to stay in their quarters.  We don’t want to be involved in anything that might happen.  In fact, what does happen a couple of hours later is something like a riot.  Servants and guards are running about, looking panicky, with a general drift towards the main hall where Lord Kong and his household live. 

“Let’s go take a look,” says Shao Ru.  “You stay here, kid,” he adds to Niannian.

We join the crowd outside the building, just in time to hear an almighty roar of anger from inside, like that of some dragon disturbed in its cave.  The door crashes open and Fu Hong shoots out and tumbles down the few steps into the dust.  Lord Kong appears in the doorway, fist raised, red-faced with fury.  Behind him the whole household spills out onto the veranda: servants, guards, womenfolk, children.  Kong Guanyu emerges, catches my eye and grins.

Lord Kong’s bellowing so loudly the whole city can probably hear him.  “You greedy bastard!  I’ve overlooked all the complaints I’ve had about you because of my childhood debt, but now I find you’ve been spying on me for years.  You've betrayed me!”  His sword swishes out of its sheath and Fu Hong cringes and lifts one arm to defend himself.  But before any blow can fall, Lord Kong’s attention is diverted by the appearance of Lord Zu, who has come, like all of us, to see what’s going on.  As the newcomer catches sight of Fu Hong in the dust, his face freezes.

“Lord Zu, save me!” cries Fu Hong, reaching out.

“So there you are,” Lord Kong says between his teeth. “And just how many more of my servants are you bribing?”

Lord Zu recovers quickly.  “Bribing your servants?  Is that what this unworthy person says?”

Fu Hong gapes.  Foolishly, he hadn’t expected that.

Guanyu comes down the steps and throws a bundle of papers into the dust, followed by a large pouch which hits the ground with a sound that everybody recognizes:  the sound of money.

“Don’t bother to deny it,” Guanyu says.  “We found letters and code-books in his room and a stash of gold.  And your guard was very informative.”

“You’ve got an hour to get the hell out of here,” Lord Kong says, teeth still gritted.  “You can take that piece of shit with you.  And don’t come back.  Our alliance is at an end.  If you want to invade the Empire, you can bloody well do it on your own.”

He rams his sword back into its sheath, turns on his heel and disappears inside, followed by the twittering household.  A line of guards forms up on the veranda.  Lord Zu turns with a swish of his sleeves and starts to push his way out of the crowd.  Fu Hong struggles to his feet to follow him, but the crowd isn’t prepared to let him get away that easily.  Obviously a huge store of resentment has built up over the years.  It starts with spitting, pushing and slapping, then somebody knocks him down and more people pile in.  Guanyu watches for a while from the veranda, then snaps his fingers and gestures to two of the guards.  They muscle into the crowd, lift what’s left of Fu Hong and drag him away in the same direction as Lord Zu.

Just under an hour later, a muttering crowd watches as Lord Zu’s retinue leaves with as much dignity as it can muster.  Fu Hong’s with them, battered and bruised, but there’s no sign of the unfortunate guard.

“Did you kill him?” Shao Ru asks Kong Guanyu interestedly.

“No.  He asked for protection so we’re keeping him here.  Old Zu will certainly kill him if he goes back.”

“What about Lord Teng?”

“My father had a word.  It looks like his alliance with Lord Zu’s off too.”

“So no husband for Lord Zu’s daughter,” says Shao Ru.

“One’s loss is another’s gain,” says Kong Guanyu with a smirk.  “One of my sisters is going to get him instead.  And I’ve come up smelling like roses in my father’s eyes.”

“You mean nose,” says Shao Ru.

“Whatever.  I owe you guys.  By the way,” he adds, as we stroll away from the crowd, “My father knows you had a hand in this and he won’t forget it.”

“So we all smell of roses,” says Shao Ru.  “By the Gods, I can’t wait to get away and start smelling of horse crap again.”

We four guards and Niannian have our evening meal together.  Ren Baiyi and Zi Wuying in their easy way are already treating the boy like a younger brother.  Niannian eats another huge meal and soon rolls into bed, while Shao Ru and I sit out on our veranda with our wine-cups as usual.  It’s cold, but we have our cloaks and we’ve brought out one of the braziers.

“It’ll be the New Year when we get back to the Fort," Shao Ru says.

“Jinhai’s twentieth birthday.  His coming-of-age.”

He glances at me.  “Remember last New Year in Qiu City?  Those were the good times.”

“Yes, they were.  But I hope we don’t spend our lives looking back saying, those were the good times.”

“There’ll be good times in the future.  Even if all these grand plans collapse, we’ll make it out.  We’ll go back up the trade road and make a life for ourselves somewhere and Jinhai will come and join us.  And your sister and her baby.  We’ll be fine.  We’ll survive.”

“Yes, we will.”

We clink our cups together.  There’s a short silence.  Then Shao Ru says musingly, “That Niannian, do you reckon he shaves down there?”

And as I splutter into my wine-cup, he adds, “Must be prickly when it grows back.”