The Old Fort - Shan

 

The brothel owner arrives mid-morning, in some indignation at the curt summons.  She’s a middle-aged woman who looks like everybody’s Auntie, plump, with small shrewd eyes.  She sails into the guardroom with scolding words on her lips and pulls up short because of the atmosphere.  I’m sitting at the desk, with Shao Ru at his most frightening behind me.  Two guards stand inside the door.  I see the lady revising her opening speech, but I cut her short.

“An attempt was made last night to assassinate my master the Third Prince.  The assassin was one of your girls.”

Her mouth falls open.  Then her painted brows snap together.  “Impossible!  I’ve known all those girls since they were children. None of them would hurt a mouse.”

“One of them did.” Shao Ru says, deceptively mild.  “Five people dead and the Prince wounded – it looks bad, really bad.”

The blood leaves her face.  She’s no fool.  She knows the consequences could be dire.  But she has some guts, this woman.  “I want to see her.  The assassin, I mean.”

“You can see her body,” Shao Ru says, “She poisoned herself.”

“Well, show me.”

We take her to the morgue, where all the bodies are laid out.  Despite the cold, there’s a slight unpleasant smell.  The Madam gulps.  Her hands clutch at her forearms under her flowing sleeves.  Shao Ru whisks the sheet off the assassin’s body.  It’s not a pretty sight, but that’s not what makes the Madam draw in her breath.  “This isn’t one of my girls.  I’ve never seen her before.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.  You can see she’s not a courtesan.  Look at her nails.”

The nails are pared short and square, more like a swordsman’s than the long painted nails of a lady of pleasure.

“How are the women brought here?” I ask.

“We send a different group every so often because Young Lord Kong likes variety,” she says, without embarrassment.  “A carriage brings them.”

“How many did you send last time?”

“Four.”

Shao Ru and I look at one another.

“What?” says the Madam, looking at our expressions.

“There were six in the last batch,” Shao Ru says.

“Well, two must have joined them after they left town.  What happened to the other one?”

“We’ve locked all the others up.”

“Take me there.  I’ll soon see if there’s a stranger.”

Shao Ru frowns.  “She might commit suicide like her friend if she sees you.”

“Bring them to the guardroom one by one,” I say.

Shao Ru goes to the door and issues an order.  Back in the guardroom, I offer the Madam a chair.  The first girl’s brought in.  After hours in prison, she has a dirty face and straw in her hair.  Her hands are tied behind her back.  She comes in trembling, but at the sight of the Madam, she cries out in relief and throws herself down at the lady’s feet.  “Auntie, Auntie, tell them it’s not me.  Please tell them it’s not me.  I just want to go home.”

“Now Fongfong, pull yourself together and answer some questions.”  Auntie’s tone is brisk.  She looks up at me and I nod at her to continue.

“When you came here in the carriage, did anyone else get in with you?”

“Y–yes, we stopped on the outskirts of town and two girls got in with us.  They said they’d come from another place on Young Lord Kong’s orders.”

“Did they say anything about themselves?”

“No.  They were polite, but they didn’t talk much.  And when we got here, they kept themselves to themselves.  We thought they might be sisters because they looked like one another.  And one of them….”  She stops and bites her lip.

“One of them what?” Shao Ru asks.

“One of them got Young Lord Kong’s attention right away.  None of us have had a look-in since then.”  There’s a disgruntled note in her voice which might be funny under other circumstances.

“Well, I wouldn’t be too envious,” Shao Ru says brutally.  “She’s a corpse now.”

The girl’s mouth falls open. 

“All right,” I say, “You can wait in the next room while we talk to the others.”  I motion to one of the guards and he comes over and puts a large hand under the girl’s armpit.  She gasps in fright.

“It’s all right,” I say, “No-one’ll hurt you.  Go with him.”

The fourth girl they bring is the one we’re looking for.  She’s tall and slender, attractive in a foxy way, her eyes downcast.  Her walk’s deliberately alluring, unlike the other girls who have forgotten their professional tricks in sheer terror.  But this one looks very sure of herself.  She raises her long eyelashes and sends me a look in which appeal is mixed with seduction.  Then she stiffens a little as her gaze falls on the woman beside me.

“She’s not one of mine,” Auntie says.  “Where did you come from, girl?”

“A pleasure-house in Green Mountain.”  Her voice is soft, attractive.

“The Flower Palace?”

“That’s right.”  Again, she sends me that seductive look.

Auntie harrumphs.  “You’re lying.  There’s no Flower Palace in Green Mountain.”

“Who paid you?” I ask.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Shao Ru’s been prowling menacingly about the room.  Now he comes right up close behind her.

“Your sister, was she?  The dead one?” he says, his hot breath in her ear.

She flinches.  “I don’t have a sister.”

“Who was she, then?”

“Just some girl.  I’d never seen her before.”

“Where did you meet her?”

“Green Mountain.  She asked if I was interested in a deal and I was at a loose end, so I agreed to come with her.”

“What kind of a deal?”

“To serve a young Lord in the Old Fort.”  She looks at me again and the eyelashes flutter enticingly.

“Drop the act,” I say.  “You came here with an assassin.  As far as I’m concerned, you’re an assassin too and you’ll suffer an assassin’s death.  That is, unless you tell us who ordered the killing.  Who paid you?”

She’s still not giving up.  She looks pleadingly into my eyes.  “Nobody.  I don’t know anything about assassins.”

“If that were true, you’d be a whole lot more scared.”  Shao Ru’s still standing close behind her.

“I had nothing to do with it.  You can't prove I did.”

“What makes you think we need proof?” Shao Ru says.  “You’ve already lied.  That’s enough for us.  Do you know how we deal with assassins?  Death by a thousand cuts.”

Death by a thousand cuts is a punishment to make the strongest man flinch.  The girl’s face goes white.  Even Auntie’s lips tremble a little.

“Well, how about it?” I ask.

Sweat breaks out on her face.  She looks round the room as if seeking a way out.  There isn’t one.

“If ….if I tell you….?”

“We’ll be merciful,” says Shao Ru.

Her lips are dry.  She licks them.  “They – they don’t tell us who takes out the contract.  But I heard – I heard it came from the highest level.  The Palace.”

“The Imperial Palace?”

She nods.

“Go on.”

“We were told to come here and wait for the next consignment of women into the fort.  We bribed the carriage driver to stop and pick us up.  My sister managed to seduce Young Lord Kong and get access to the Prince’s apartment.”

“So she was your sister?”

She nods again.

“Which organization are you from?”

“Secret Mark.”

Shao Ru whistles.  “They won’t be too pleased to hear you’re spilling your guts.  Quite nasty to traitors, aren’t they?”

“What choice do I have?” she says bitterly.

“None, but that’s what you get for doing this kind of work.”

“Bastard!” she spits out.

“Take her away,” I say wearily.  The guards come in, take an arm each and march her out.  I look at Shao Ru and nod.  He goes out behind them.

Auntie stirs.  “What are you going to do with her?”

“She’ll be executed.  What else?  She’s dead whichever way you look at it.  But it’ll be quick.”

“Can I take my girls home now?”

“The sooner the better.   And you can consider your arrangement with Young Lord Kong at an end.  If he wants distraction, he’ll have to go into town for it like everyone else.”

As she moves toward the door, I add, “Thank you for your help, Madam.  I’m grateful.”

She looks back.  “If you should need distraction, Commander, it’ll be on the house.”

“I appreciate it,” I say, insincerely.

Ten minutes after she goes out, Shao Ru comes back in.  “It’s done.  It was quick.  More than she deserved.”

“Good.  Now we’ll get those women out of here and then I’m going to have a word with Young Lord Kong.”

Half an hour later, we watch as the laden wagon rolls out of the fort, full of extremely subdued women.  Then I go to Kong Guanyu’s apartment.  He’s sitting up in bed with a dazed look and a cup of medicine in his hand.  The doctor’s assistant is hovering round, but at a sign from me he leaves the room with a relieved expression.  Guanyu looks at me with bleary eyes.  “What the fuck’s going on? That quack wouldn’t tell me anything.  Oh crap, I’ve got a hell of a hangover.”

“It’s not a hangover.  You were drugged.”

He stares.  “Drugged?”

“By that girl you had in here.  Turns out she was an assassin.  She knocked you out, killed four guards and the Princess’s maid and attacked the Third Prince.  Fortunately he wasn’t seriously injured.”

Guanyu’s face is white.  “Oh crap,” he says again.

“She poisoned herself before we could question her, but her sister told us that the Palace was behind the attempt.  They were from the Secret Mark.  We have now executed the second girl.  So there are seven people dead and one injured because you wouldn’t listen about bringing girls in from the outside.  Happy?”

The empty cup falls to the floor as Guanyu raises a hand to his aching forehead.  “Oh fuck, Ah-Shan, don’t rub it in.  If my father finds out, I’m fish-bait.”

“I don’t see how we’re going to keep it from him.  His spies have probably sent him the news already.”

He groans. 

I continue relentlessly.  “I’ve sent all the other women away.  If you want recreation, you’ll have to go into town from now on.”

But Guanyu’s only worrying about Lord Kong.  “We’ve got to work on my father’s sympathies.  Tell him I’m at death’s door.  Dammit, I am at death’s door.  Look at me.”

I look and see a child who’s never grown up.  I relent.  “All right.  I’ll put it about that you’re in a bad way.  You stay here and recover.  Hou He can go on handling things for a few days.”

“Thanks, Ah-Shan.”  He hesitates.  “I’m really sorry.  I never thought…”

“That’s the problem.  You never think.  Shall I apologize to the Third Prince on your behalf?”

“Would you?  Tell him I’ll come in person when I’m better.”

Going out, I meet Hou He coming in.  I explain the situation.  He agrees to keep up the pretence that Kong Guanyu’s seriously ill.  I leave them to talk, walk wearily up the stairs to the topmost part of the fort and lean on the defensive wall, looking out at the desolate countryside.  It’s cold and windy, but the sun’s shining. 

This has been a terribly narrow escape.  If Xu Yating’s attempt had succeeded, all our plans would have gone up in smoke.  Without another legitimate heir in the offing, the army would never depose the Emperor.  Except that there’s still Jinhai.  He’s met General Tao.  The general knows who he is.  The army might propose him as a replacement.  The thought chills my spine.

A movement alerts me and I turn, but it’s only Shao Ru.  He comes and leans on the wall beside me.  “Thought I’d find you up here.  Near thing, wasn’t it?”

“Much too near.  Could have buggered us once and for all.”

“Would have put the little bundle in a very difficult position.” 

Shao Ru has a way of putting his finger on things.  I grunt.

“D’you think he’d go for it?  Being Emperor, I mean?” he pursues.

“He’s always said he wouldn’t.  But if they beg… who knows?  Anyway, it won’t happen.  The Third Prince survived.”

“And with luck, he’ll have an heir in a few months.”

“Gods, I’m tired of this endless waiting.”

“Well, spring’s coming on.  Something’s got to give soon, one way or another.”

“Let’s just hope it’s not another war.”

A few days later, a fast courier arrives warning us, too late, of a potential assassination attempt.  Shao Ru and I look at one another wearily.  A couple of days later, another message informs us of unrest in the capital.

“Food shortages?” Shao Ru says with a snort, “What’s that stupid woman up to?  The last thing she needs is riots.”

“She’s cornered and she’s panicking.  You can’t think straight when everything’s going wrong.  Yuan Song says she’s so scared the army will move into the city that she’s not allowing anyone in at all.  He and Jinhai agree with Li Wei that she’ll send the army south as soon as the weather gets warmer and then call in her brother’s troops on the excuse that the city needs to be guarded.  She can’t hold onto power any other way.”

“The army won’t stand for foreign troops in the capital.”

“Yes, it’s a very risky strategy.  She’d have to present it as a treaty of cooperation and defense with the North-East Kingdom.  Her brother’s the Emperor’s uncle, after all.  If it’s an Imperial decree, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

“But what’s she after, finally?  What can she get that she hasn’t got already?  She’s the Emperor’s mother, the most powerful woman in the Empire.  Surely there’s only so much money and power that one person can want?”

I put that question to Li Wei when I take him the message.  He smiles and strokes his beard.  “I’ve had my eye on the North-East Kingdom for some time.  I’ve always thought the ambition of the Xu family would lead them to make an attempt on the Empire sooner or later.  You know they made their fortune from piracy, protecting the criminals in return for a cut of the profits?”

“Ah,” I say, remembering, “I spent some time undercover on the east coast dismantling pirate bands.”

“Then you’ll also know that there are always more to take their place, especially when they’re protected.  Over the years, the Xu family has extended its reach into several provinces, either by marriage or conquest.  I warned the old Emperor about it many times, but nothing was ever done because of Xu Yating’s influence.  You know that she and the current King of the North-East Kingdom are twins?”

“She’s Xu Yimu’s twin?”

“Indeed.  Her father the old king married her into the Imperial Palace to get the protection of the Empire, but I suspect Xu Yating and her brother have ambitions that go further than that.  The field has been cleared of Imperial Princes (or at least, so they think).  The current Emperor's ill and in his mother’s power.  He has no descendants.  If he were either to abdicate or die, the road would be clear for a Xu dynasty.  Xu Yimu has three sons. ”

“It’s a huge gamble.”

“She’s not to be underestimated. Neither is Du Xun.  If they keep the Council in check and rule by Imperial decree, there’s not much anyone can do unless the army takes things into its own hands.”

“Where does Du Xun fit into all this?”

Li Wei pauses.  “Ah.  He and Xu Yating were betrothed.  When he heard she was being sent to the Imperial Palace, he had himself castrated so he could go with her as her eunuch and support her.”

“He had himself castrated!”

“Some people are warped by the desire for power,” Li Wei’s staring out of the window.  “They’ll go to extremes to achieve their ends.  Xu Yating had her own son murdered.  Countless people have died, countless others have been mutilated or sold into slavery to further her ambitions.”

I know he’s thinking about his own wife and son, dying so miserably in prison.

“Perhaps he loved her?” I suggest.

“Maybe.  As you know, there have been rumours about them for years.” He turns away from the window.  “Well, we have to stay positive.  Thankfully, she failed in her attempt here.  We must make sure it doesn’t happen again.  How’s Young Lord Kong?”

“Very subdued.  Hiding from his father.”

“A talent going to waste,” Li Wei says, frowning.  “It’s a pity he’s not more like his sister.”

“Castrated himself!” says Shao Ru, when I pass on the information, in exactly the same tone of disbelief.  “Crazy bastard.  But public opinion would have it they’re fornicating like rabbits.”

Time goes by and life goes on.  The Third Prince recovers quickly and the Princess luckily suffers no ill-effects from shock.  Kong Guanyu emerges from his sickbed trying to look pale and wan, and escapes with only a few pithy words from his father.  His mother however writes him a long letter which makes him wince.  The training of the southern troops is going well.  I try not to think that they may soon be in action against our own Imperial soldiers.  The Kong household sends two more maids to attend the Princess in place of Ju Jia.  The ladies of pleasure don’t reappear.

As spring advances, rumours of war start inevitably to circulate.  The Old Fort starts to fill up with reinforcements in preparation for another campaign.  There’s some hostility towards us among the new arrivals but not as much as I’d feared.  Disturbingly, Lord Zu is rumoured to be holding talks with Xu Yimu of the North-East Kingdom.

“Things are getting dangerous,” Shao Ru says grimly, “If our army comes south and that old Zu weasel attacks from the rear, Lord Kong may have to fight on two fronts at once.  And that leaves the road wide open for Xu Yimu to make a move.  And we’ll be caught in the middle.  Then what do we do?”

“Run.  We won’t be able to go north or south and we’re blocked by mountains in the west.  So we head for the coast, get a boat, go to Dongying.  And if the Xu family takes the throne, we won’t be coming back.”

“Last roll of the dice, then,” says Shao Ru.