The Old Fort - Shan

 

We know something momentous has happened because the courier who arrives at the Old Fort isn’t one of Yuan Song’s people, it’s a person in army uniform.  His message, which he delivers direct to the Third Prince, isn’t in code either.  It’s a declaration of loyalty from General Tao, General Chen, Prime Minister Teng, Justice Minister Wu and other members of the Council, together with an invitation to return to the capital to take the throne.

Shao Ru, Li Wei, Wan Ning and I crowd round.  The letter gets handed round to each one of us in turn, while the Third Prince sits heavily down and stares blankly into space.

Shao Ru looks at me disbelievingly.  “It’s not a trap, is it?”

“I don’t think so.  These look like genuine army seals.  Where’s that courier?”

The courier’s down in the kitchen having something to eat.  He gets up, hastily wiping his mouth.

“What’s been going on?” I ask.

“The army took over the capital ten days ago.  We’ve got the Palace surrounded.  General Tao’s called on the Dowager Empress and the Emperor to surrender.”

“Just like that?” Shao Ru asks.

The man nods, grinning.  “Easy as pie.  We whipped the city guards’ asses and we’ve got the Imperial Guard holed up inside the Palace.  Mind you, that was ten days ago.  We may have broken in by now.”

“All right, carry on.  There’ll be an answer for you to take back.”

Back in the Third Prince’s quarters, there’s still an air of disbelief.  Even Li Wei looks stunned.

“Are you all right, Sir Li?” I ask, concerned.

“I – can’t quite believe it,” he says.  “I wondered if it would ever happen, and now it has, it doesn’t seem real.”

“How soon can you and the Prince be ready to move?”

He looks at me dazedly for a moment and then shakes his head.

“You’ll have to give us a little time to get used to it, Commander.’

“Of course, sir.  But we should leave as soon as possible.”

“Yes, indeed.  I’ll speak to the Prince.  But the Princess….”

“Given her condition, she’ll have to stay here.  Till everything’s settled, that is.”

“Yes of course, you’re right.  I’ll go to them now.”

Ren Baiyi and Zi Wuying dash in, having heard the news.  “Going home – great!” says Zi Wuying enthusiastically.  He elbows Ren Baiyi.  “You’ll be seeing your sweetheart soon.  Let’s hope she hasn’t forgotten you.”

“I’d better tell Ah-Yu,” I say to Shao Ru. 

But heading out to find Kong Guanyu, for the first time it really hits me.  We’re going home.  In ten days’ time, we’ll be in the capital.  Jinhai will be there.  All our friends will be there.  Of their own accord, my feet take me up to the top of the fort.  I lean on the wall and look out over the greening landscape, breathless.  Just a little longer and we’ll be home.

When I eventually pull myself together and find Kong Guanyu, he’s already heard the news.  “So, you’ll be off, then.  When?”

“As soon as we can.  Tomorrow, hopefully.”

“I’ll come with you.  I want to see the capital and meet your beautiful Prince.”

“What’ll your father say?”

“I’ll tell him I’m protecting his investment,” says Kong Guanyu with his evil grin.  “I’ll send him a message right away.”

“Heard anything from the north-east?”

“No movement.  But the news will hardly have reached there yet.”

“Lord Zu?’

Another evil grin.  “Father let him know that any attempt to move troops would be considered extremely unfriendly.”

By evening, the news has sunk in and planning’s begun.  Evening also sees the arrival of one of Yuan Song’s couriers, with a full account of what’s been happening.  Disappointingly, there’s no note from Jinhai to add to the collection I keep next to my skin.  The Princess, unwillingly, has accepted that she has to remain behind, for the moment at least.  None of us gets much sleep.  The day’s events have been too overwhelming.

In the end, a dozen of us leave the fort in the early morning:  the seven of us who arrived here as fugitives six months ago and Kong Guanyu with his escort.  Everything’s as different as it could possibly be on this return journey:  the weather’s getting warmer, we have no fear of being hunted down and we don’t have to sleep on the ground by the camp-fire.  The news of the change of regime has spread throughout the countryside.  In every town we come to, the local notables hasten to swear allegiance to the Third Prince.  A sense of relief and hope is in the air.  It’s all too clear how much the Emperor and his mother have been hated and resented. 

The Third Prince has come a long way in the last six months.  We watch him respond to the words of fealty with warmth and dignity.  We see the old men nod and smile at one another.

“That’s our boy,” says Shao Ru fondly.  “He’ll make a good Emperor.”

The days and the miles pass swiftly.  Before we know it, we're approaching the capital.  Our first destination is General Chen’s estate.  We arrive in the early morning to find our host rather flustered because he wasn’t expecting us so soon.  He salutes the Third Prince and ushers him and Li Wei inside with his usual gruff courtesy.  He re-emerges as soldiers take away our horses, and strides over to clasp forearms with Shao Ru and me.  “By the Gods, it’s good to see you both!  We weren’t expecting you till tomorrow.  We’d planned a welcoming committee but you’ve taken us by surprise.”

He greets Ren Baiyi warmly and is introduced to Zi Wuying before turning to look at Kong Guanyu, who’s hovering behind us.  “Young Lord Kong, I see you haven’t changed.  Well, come on in, all of you.  You’ll all be wanting baths and food.”  As we walk up the steps to the house, he takes my arm and says confidingly, “I’ve met your little Prince.  I invited him to visit.  He likes fishing too."

”Yes, he does,” I say, laughing.  Out of the corner of my eye I see one of Kong Guanyu’s eyebrows rise, but I don’t care.  I’m feeling light-hearted.  Jinhai’s nearby. 

“Go into town and see him,” says the General.  “He’s been missing you.”

But duty calls first.  I make sure everyone’s installed:  the Third Prince and Li Wei in the best bedrooms, the rest of us in a separate courtyard, and Kong Guanyu’s men-at-arms in the soldiers’ quarters.  Finally I ask for leave for all of us to ride into town.

“What’s the best brothel?” Kong Guanyu demands exuberantly.

“Cherry Blossom Pavilion,” says Shao Ru.  “But watch out for that fox who runs it.”

“Sounds interesting,” says Guanyu, leering.

“He’ll chew you up for breakfast and spit you out.”

“Even more interesting,” says Guanyu.

Shao Ru and I look at one another and smile.

Ren Baiyi’s looking unusually flustered, while Zi Wuying has a mischievous grin on his face.  “Going to Doctor Liang’s to see his young lady,” he says in a stage whisper, pointing his thumb at his friend. 

“She’s not my young lady.  She’s probably forgotten I exist,” says the lovesick boy dismally.

“I don’t think so,” I say comfortingly, “Jinhai wrote that she keeps asking him for news.”

Ren Baiyi brightens up, as Zi Wuying pats him consolingly on the head.

In the end, we all go to Liang Zhou’s, causing a tremendous commotion and much delight.  There’s a whirlwind of hugs and introductions.  Disregarding etiquette, even the women come rushing out to greet us.  Liang Zhou and Mo Jiang embrace me in turn, then suddenly my sister’s in my arms, after all these long months of worry.  But the carefree young lady I last saw happily getting married is now thin and reserved, and there are lines on her face that hurt my heart.  It’s almost more than I can bear.  “Ah-Lien, little sister,” I say, holding her close, “I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she says, touching my face.  “None of it was your fault.  And look, here’s your niece.”

A little maid comes forward, carrying a bundle of waving arms and legs topped by a big toothless smile.  I haven’t had much experience of babies, but I suddenly find one dumped in my arms, while the women stand round giggling at my helplessness.  My niece makes a crooning sound and grabs at the front of my uniform.  I feel an unaccustomed sensation composed of deep tenderness and a desire to make sure nothing bad ever happens to this child. 

“Her name’s Li Lan,” my sister says softly.  “Ah-Jing helped me choose it.  It was his mother’s name too.”

The baby starts to struggle and another pair of hands detaches her from my uniform and lifts her up.  Li Lan chuckles and makes more crooning sounds.  “Ah-Jing’s her second uncle,” says Xiaxia, whose beauty has become even more dazzling.  She joggles the baby up and down alarmingly, but Li Lan only laughs and kicks her legs.  “And I’m her first aunt.”

“I don’t need to ask how you are, Xiaxia,” I say, smiling.  “You look blooming, considering you’re supposed to be dead.”

She chuckles.  She has an appealing chuckle.  “Yes, well, I can come back to life soon.  But I’m not going back to my family.”

“How’s that brother of yours?”

”The same, totally weird.  But he’s a good brother.”

“While I think of it….”  I fish in my pouch, produce the little wooden horse and wave it in front of my niece, who says, “Goo,” and tries to grab it.  The women all laugh and Xiaxia takes the toy, smiling. 

My sister touches my arm.  “This is my maid, Ah-Jie.  She came to the prison to look after us and stayed with us the whole time.  Ah-Jie, this is my Elder Brother, Liao Shan.”

The little maid goes pink and bows deeply, but I catch her hands and raise her up.  “Ah-Jie, you have my family’s undying thanks and also that of the Li family.  I’ll never forget what you did for my sister.  And I’m sure Sir Li will join me in rewarding you for your devotion.”

Ah-Jie goes even pinker and mutters something indistinguishable.

Liang Zhou has ordered the servants to bring wine and food and we all gather in the courtyard as the wine-cups go round.  “Welcome home,” Liang Zhou says, raising his cup.  “Welcome home.  And here’s to better times for all of us.”

We sit and eat, as the women flutter to and fro bringing food and more wine before finally settling like bright butterflies.  Kong Guanyu, a little out of his depth for once, has fixed his gaze on Xiaxia, but she ignores him, instead choosing to sit next to Ren Baiyi, who’s speechless.

“He’d better think of something to say,“ Shao Ru observes, not unsympathetically.

“Don’t worry,” says Liang Zhou, “She’ll get him talking in no time.”

“Yes, she’s quite a girl,” says Shao Ru.

Ah-Jie has taken my niece off for a nap, which babies apparently need.  My sister’s sitting with Madam Liang.  They seem very close.

“Thank you for taking care of Ah-Lien,” I say to Liang Zhou.  “I really owe you.”

He smiles.  “It’s been a pleasure.  She’s like a daughter to us now.  We’ll be sorry when she leaves.  And the baby too.  I suppose she’ll return to the Li family?”

“I expect so.  To tell the truth, Ah-Zhou, everything’s happened so quickly, we don’t really know how things are going to fall out.  And we’ve still got to take the Palace.  It’s not over yet.”

“But you’re all home, that’s the main thing,” he says calmly.  “And now you must go to Jinhai.  He’s at the Cherry Blossom Pavilion tonight with Yuan Song and Duan Bai – they’re planning to ride to General Chen’s tomorrow for the official welcome.”

“Duan Bai?”  This is a name I haven’t heard before.

“He’s the shadow guard who saved Jinhai’s life.  He’s been helping us.  He and Yuan Song are…”  He stops and frowns.  "Well, a lot has happened.  Jinhai will bring you up to date.”

Ren Baiyi and Zi Wuying are going to stay a little longer, but Kong Guanyu, Shao Ru and I take our leave.  Shao Ru heads off to his sister’s house and I, accompanied by a boisterous Kong Guanyu, mount up and head for the Cherry Blossom Pavilion.