Jinhai

 

It’s the second morning since the attack on the Palace began.  Last night Liang Zhou came back with news and we all gathered in the courtyard to listen.  He tells the same story as the wounded soldiers.  The Palace has been taken, but Xu Yating and Du Xun are holed up in a former guard-tower.  Liang Zhou reassures us that he’s seen Shan, Shao Ru and the others and they’re in good heart.  An attack on the guard-tower is due to take place this morning.

Getting ready to go to the clinic again, Yuan Song and I are silent.  What is there to say?  For both of us, everything depends on what happens today.  We’ve hardly set foot in the street when something like a hard gust of desert wind hits us and at nearly the same time, a tremendous bang shocks us into immobility.  I turn towards Yuan Song, but he’s looking at where people in the street are pointing.  In the sky above the Palace is a huge pall of black smoke and dust. 

Oh Gods!

Yuan Song and I have the same horror and alarm in our faces.  Without hesitating, we start to run towards the Palace.  It’s a long way and we’re both out of breath when we get there.  Inside the ruined gate, there’s total pandemonium.  Small explosions are still going on, there are flames and smoke, there’s an enormous breach in the Palace wall and most shockingly, the stone guard-tower’s nothing but a scattered heap of rubble.  People are staggering about clutching bleeding wounds, bodies are lying sprawled on the ground and nobody seems to know what to do.

My only thought’s to find Shan, but where to start?  Then Yuan Song grips my arm and says tersely, “Over there,” and I see Shao Ru struggling to his feet, gesticulating at us.  They all seem to have been tossed into a mass of flowering bushes.  Kong Guanyu’s sitting up, the blood on his face clashing with the bright colours of the azaleas.  Yuan Song, pale as a ghost, drops to his knees beside Duan Bai, who’s conscious, one arm clutching the other, his leg bloody, his face distorted in pain.  And I finally see Shan lying where he’s fallen, face-down in the flowers,  unconscious, his right arm twisted under his body. 

His expression anguished, Shao Ru grabs me and shouts, “He’s not dead?  Tell me he’s not dead?”

My fingers trembling, I take hold of Shan’s left wrist and feel the blessed pulse beating.  “No, just unconscious.”

“What?” he shouts, and I realize he’s been deafened by the explosion. 

“He’s all right.  All right,” I shout.

Shao Ru sits down suddenly and clasps his head in his hands.

Soldiers are pouring in to help now.  I see Tao Yahui in the distance, issuing orders.  Then Liang Zhou arrives, bellowing at would-be helpers not to move the injured.  Between the two of them, a triage system is organized, doctors and medical assistants appear and orderlies come to take the wounded to infirmaries and the dead to await burial.  Time doesn’t flow normally under circumstances like these.  Suddenly, it seems, Liang Zhou’s beside us.  He does a quick assessment, tells me to check Kong Guanyu, and starts to deal with Duan Bai’s arm.

I mop the blood off Kong Guanyu’s face and see that the nose is crooked.  “Your nose is broken.  I’ll have to straighten it.  This will hurt, but I’ll be quick.”

Kong Guanyu yells like a small boy as I realign his nose and stuff wadding into his nostrils.

“Don’t blow it or pick your nose for a week or two.”

“I don’t pick my nose!” he yells.

“No strenuous exercise and try not to touch it.  Cold compresses will help the swelling.  You’ll probably have black eyes.”

“Oh crap!” he moans.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Isn’t this enough?” he demands petulantly.

I haven’t got time to waste on Kong Guanyu.  Liang Zhou has almost finished splinting Duan Bai’s arm, so I check the leg-wound.  I clean it as best I can and bind it up to stop the bleeding.  Duan Bai’s good hand is clasped in Yuan Song's.

“It’ll need stitching,” I say to Liang Zhou. 

He nods, calls a couple of orderlies over and tells them to take Duan Bai to his clinic.  “Can I ask you to go with him?” he says to Yuan Song, “My wife will treat him.”

“Understood.”  Yuan Song stands up, the orderlies lift the stretcher and they all move off. 

“Now,” says Liang Zhou, turning to Shan’s inanimate body.  “Help me turn him over.  Be very careful.  That’s it.  Let’s take a look.”  After a minute he straightens up.  “The right shoulder’s dislocated.  Sit him up and I’ll put it back.  And watch the wrist, it’s broken.”

The shoulder goes back in with a sound that makes me wince.

“I’ll sort the wrist out while he’s unconscious,” says Liang Zhou, bending to the task.

“Why isn’t he coming round?  The others were all right.”

“He must have hit his head harder.  Don’t worry.”

“I think Shao Ru’s gone deaf.”

“That’ll be the blast.  They’ll probably all be deafened for a while.  It usually wears off.”

A shadow falls over us.  Tao Yahui.  He drops to a crouch beside us.  “How is he?”

“Knocked out, dislocated shoulder, broken wrist,” I say.  “What happened, General?”

“The tower was being used as an armoury.  There was blasting powder in the cellar.  It might have been an accident, perhaps a stray fire-arrow.  Or it might have been Xu Yating's final revenge.”  He looks round.  “What a mess.  However, our objective was achieved.”

“Xu Yating and Du Xun?”

“Both dead.”

“How many casualties?”

“A score or more here and about the same in the Palace.  Oh, you probably haven’t heard, but we found Yan Rong’s body yesterday.”

“How did he die?”

“We think poison, but it’s difficult to tell.  It happened some time ago.”

Liang Zhou finishes bandaging and gestures to stretcher-bearers to come over.  He says, “Jinhai, I’m sending him back to the clinic, but I’ll need you to stay and help me here.”

“Yes sir,” I say.

Liang Zhou gestures to Shao Ru to go with the stretcher and he nods, understanding.  I watch them go, my feelings all over the place.

“Brave men,” says Tao Yahui.  “Couldn’t have done it without them.”

He bows to us and moves off.  Liang Zhou pats my shoulder.  “He’ll be fine.  Now, I need you to concentrate.”

I try to do as he asks, but my mind’s really not focused.  All I can think about is Shan.  There are many casualties to treat and we work for hours, not stopping for food and drink.  There's dust everywhere.  Men are busy trying to dig out anyone left under the rubble of the tower, a futile task.  Finally, in the mid-afternoon, the area's cleared of the dead and wounded.  Liang Zhou straightens up with a sigh and says, “I think we’ve done as much as we can here.  Let’s head for home.”

Back at the Liang house the clinic’s crowded, but Madam Liang and Mo Jiang have everything under control.  Duan Bai’s wound has been treated and he’s under sedation.  Shao Ru’s also asleep.  Madam Liang sighs.  “He was so upset at Commander Liao’s condition, I felt he’d be better getting some rest.  They’ve all had a very hard few days.  They’re exhausted.”

“Duan Bai?”

“His friend’s looking after him.  The beautiful one.  And the one with the broken nose seems to be more worried about his looks than anything else.”

“And – and Shan?”

She pats my arm.  “Go and see him.  He’s still unconscious, but his pulse is strong.”

Shan has a room to himself, not in the clinic but in the main house.  He looks as if he’s asleep, but that frown’s between his brows again.  I bend over to smooth it out and then I can’t help myself, I’m kneeling by the bed and the stupid tears come pouring out.  But then there’s a movement behind me and someone puts comforting arms round me.  Sniffling, I look up and find to my surprise that it’s Yuan Song.

“It’s all right,” he says, patting me.  “I cried too.”

“You… cried?”

Like me, he hasn’t had much sleep in the past two days and it shows, though he’s still beautiful.  “Nothing like a disaster to show you what’s really important,” he says, holding out a handkerchief.  "Blow your nose and cheer up.  They’re all still alive.”

I do as I’m told, feeling a little better.  He looks at me compassionately.  “I think we’ve won,” he says with a faint smile, “But it’s going to take some getting used to.”

“It all seems completely unreal.”

“That’s because you’re tired.  When did you last eat?”

“Breakfast this morning.” 

He lifts me to my feet.  “Come on then.  You need food.”

Madam Liang, who thinks of everything, has forestalled us.  Food’s being served in the courtyard.  Yuan Song bows and thanks her with his usual perfect manners and she blushes a little and tells us not to stand on ceremony.  The girls come rushing out to embrace me, despite Madam Liang’s gentle protests.  We all sit together and eat.  Even Kong Guanyu comes over and sits rather shamefacedly at the table.  His nose is swollen and the black eyes are starting to appear, but nobody says anything, we just eat and talk like an extended family.  It’s only just beginning to dawn on us that everything’s suddenly changed.  Some of us are hurt.  All of us will find our lives turned upside down.  Tomorrow I must send messages to the Lei house, to the Cloud House and to Shao Su.  I must speak to Third Brother about rewarding all the people who’ve helped him reach the throne.  I must plan my future life with Shan.

“Feeling better?” says Yuan Song softly.  I nod and he smiles.  “There’ll be a lot to do,” he says.

“I was just thinking that.”

Despite everything, he looks happy.  His relationship with Duan Bai has changed.  I suspect he’s finally admitted to himself that he cares.  I’m glad because Yuan Song has become very dear to me.  Well, they all have, but especially him.  After the meal, I accompany him back to the room where Duan Bai’s sleeping.  Someone’s put a bundle of quilts on the floor. 

“For me,” Yuan Song says.  “I’m going to stay here tonight in case he needs anything.”

“Sleep well,” I say, reaching up to kiss his cheek.  He returns the salute and strokes my hair briefly.

In Shan’s room, I find Madam Liang putting quilts down for me.  “I thought you’d like to sleep in here too,” she explains, smiling.  “In case there’s any change.”

“Madam Liang, would you mind if I hugged you?”

To my surprise, she puts her arms out and for a moment we stand there clasped together. 

“Thank you,” I murmur, “I haven’t been hugged like this since my mother died.”

She lifts her hand to my cheek.  “Dear child,” she says.  “Your mother would be proud of you.”

Liang Zhou appears with his box of medical equipment to prepare Shan for the night.  I leave them to do all the things that need to be done for an unconscious man and go out to sit in the courtyard.  Kong Guanyu’s still there, hunched over a wine-flask, so I go over and sit next to him.  He glances at me, reaches for another cup and pours me some wine.

“How’s Ah-Shan?”

“The same.  What about you?”

“The same.  But I should’ve said thanks.”

“That’s all right.”

He gives me a furtive glance.  “Um… Yuan Song….  He refused to sleep with me.  Why?”

I sigh.  “Yuan Song’s family was framed by Xu Yating and he was sold into a brothel when he was fourteen.  I don’t suppose you have any idea of what that means, but I do because something similar nearly happened to me.  It’s a terrible fate for anyone, but for someone as intelligent and sensitive as he is, it must have been unspeakable.  And now at last he’s found somebody he cares about, so please don’t cause trouble.”

There’s a long silence.  Then Kong Guanyu heaves a sigh. “Ah-Shan’s right, I really am an asshole.”

I can’t help chuckling, in spite of everything.  “Well, if you can admit it, there’s hope for you yet.  What are you planning to do, now that we’ve won the battle?”

“I’d like to stay here in the capital for the time being.  It seems like a great place.  My sister’s going to be Empress and if all goes well, I’ll be the next Emperor’s uncle.  And it’ll get me away from my father.”

“That sounds like a plan.  You can be the official envoy from the southern provinces.”

"I'm not a great hand at diplomacy."

"You won't need to be.  You'll be the Emperor's brother-in-law."

He grins, with some difficulty given the damage to his face.  “Ah-Shan was right about something else.  You are special.”

I feel I'm blushing.  “Did he say that?”

“Over and over again.  No, I’m teasing you.  He mentioned it now and then.”

We’re interrupted by Liang Zhou, come to tell me that they’ve finished seeing to Shan.  “Get some sleep, both of you,” he says, “There are busy days ahead.”

It’s quiet in Shan’s room and a medicinal smell lingers in the air.  The sight of his bruised and battered body lying there so quietly brings me nearly to tears again.  I suppress them, undress, wash, put my undergarments back on and come to sit on the bed beside him.  I want to be close to him, but the bed’s really narrow.  Carefully, I slide under the light quilt and cradle his head against my shoulder.  Then I sleep.