Shan

 

“Why don’t we go ourselves?” I say.

It has been a thoroughly embarrassing evening.  I knew Xinxin’s flirtatious chatter wasn’t serious, and because of our old friendship, I didn’t cut her off rudely.  I’ve seen her do this to other men in the past.  She does it for the hell of it.  But I couldn’t help being a little pissed off, as, I could see, were Ma Xiuying and Yuan Song.  Characteristically, Duan Bai expressed his distaste by disappearing.  I could see that in his present state of mind, Jinhai was knocked off balance.  But his talk of a new courier service has miraculously given me the answer.

Jinhai stares at me.  “G-go ourselves?  But what about your injuries?"

"We won't be sleeping rough, we'll be staying at inns with proper facilities.  I'll be fine.  How soon can you be ready?”

“Tomorrow?”

I can’t help chuckling.  “Well, perhaps in a day or two.  We could start by going to General Chen’s estate.  He’s been badgering me to bring you for a visit.  While we’re there, we can draw up a strategy, plan our travel and maybe hire a couple of men to come with us.”

“Mo Jiang will come like a shot.”

“I’m sure he will.  Then we can spend the summer travelling, visiting our friends and checking out the possibilities.  What do you th….?”

I never find out what he thinks, because he throws himself into my arms and starts kissing me all over my face, his eyes sparkling.  I’ve got both my hands now, so all sort of things are possible that weren’t before.   I grab him, dump him on the bed, and start methodically to undress him.  He’s breathless with laughter.  Two hands are definitely better than one and I make full use of every one of the possibilities now available.  He’s so beautiful:  toes, ankles, knees, all points north.  I make my way up slowly and surely, kissing and caressing, and finally arrive at his mouth, by which time his laughter has changed to other sounds entirely.  His tiredness and lethargy have miraculously disappeared.  He responds as passionately as he ever has and I find myself overwhelmed with love and relief.  Never again, I think, never again will he be taken from me.  Only by death.  And maybe not even that.  We sleep, finally, clinging together as if our two bodies can never be separated. 

Our first task next morning is to tell Xinyi and Qian Hu, who take the news without surprise.  “We thought you’d be off sooner or later,” Qian Hu says, grinning.  “Ever since Ah-Lin left, Ah-Jing’s been going round with a longing expression on his face.”  Xinyi nods in agreement.

“Have I?  Well, yes, I suppose I have.  But I’m going to talk to Wu Shun before we go and make sure that he helps you sell your paintings.  And we’ll hire Ah-Bo’s friend permanently so the two of them will make sure you’re both safe here.  Not to mention that you have the Emperor’s protection.  And Liang Zhou will help you out if you need it.”

“We’ll be fine,” Xinyi says.  “It’ll be nice, having the house to ourselves.  We’ll be like a newly-married couple.”  He takes Qian Hu’s hand and kisses it, smiling.

Liang Zhou’s reaction is much the same.  “Ah,” he says, sitting down and pulling off his doctor’s cap, “I thought as much.  There’s not much to keep you here, after all.  And to tell you the truth, I’d happily go with you.  But there’s no way I could leave my wife to cope with the clinic.  And I couldn’t abandon my patients.  But I can’t say I’m not tempted.”

“Um,” Jinhai says, coughing a little, “We want to ask Ah-Jiang to come with us.”

“Hah!  Not content with depriving me of Ah-Lin, you want to steal Mo Jiang too?”

“Well…”  Jinhai shuffles his feet, but I wait, knowing Liang Zhou of old. 

He laughs.  “I’m not serious.  It would be the best thing for him.  He’s been restless for a while, and things have been awkward since Ah-Jie turned him down.  Go and ask him.”

Jinhai dashes off and Liang Zhou looks at me with a rueful smile.  “I envy you.  Now things have settled down here, I suspect life’s going to be very unexciting.  I enjoyed the adventures we had in the army.  I miss those days on the road and in Qiu City.”

“Wishing you hadn’t left the army?”

He shrugs.  “I wasn’t prepared to take the oath to the new Emperor, so there was no choice.  And at the time, life in the city seemed more attractive.  The troop had broken up, the young officers had quit and Ah-Ru had got himself thrown out.  And we thought you two were dead.  No, I don’t regret leaving.  But Ah-Jiang’s not the only one who’s restless.”

“Opportunities may arise.”

“Perhaps when I’m grey-haired, I’ll pack my bag and become an itinerant doctor.  In the meantime you must write to me.”

“You can count on it.  And it’s not as if we’re never coming back.”

We’re interrupted by the entrance of Jinhai and Mo Jiang, who’s stuttering with excitement.  “Sir, c-can I really go?  Are – are you sure you don’t mind?”

“I’m sure,” Liang Zhou says.  “Your mind hasn’t been on your work for weeks now.  Go and have fun.  You’ve earned it.”

“Y-yes sir.  I will.”

Liang Zhou turns to me, a serious expression on his face.  “You’ll have to tell Ah-Lien.”

“I know.  How is she?”

“Much happier.  But I don’t know how she’ll react to this.”

But despite Ah-Zhou's doubts, Ah-Lien’s reaction when I tell her I'm leaving is a smile.  Behind me, I hear the little maid make a harrumphing sound. 

“I knew it.”  There's an echo of the old teasing note in my sister's voice.  “I know my big brother.  Always looking at the horizon.  What’s your plan?”

“We’re going to start a courier service for merchants, so we need to get out there, see how the land lies and draw up a strategy.  We’ll be gone for a few months.  We’ll be visiting Jinhai’s father up in the north-west and seeing other old friends on the way.  Mo Jiang’s coming with us.”

“Ah, is he?”

“He’s restless and after all, there’s nothing to keep him here.” 

Behind me, you could cut the silence with a sword.

“It’s probably the best thing for him,” Ah-Lien agrees. “It sounds very exciting.  You’d better write and tell us all about what you’re doing.”

“Of course I will.  And you must promise to take care of yourself.” 

To my surprise, the maid Ah-Jie comes to my sister’s chair and stands beside it.  “Don’t you worry yourself, my Lord,” she says defiantly, “We’ll manage just fine.”

Ah-Lien and I both smile.  “Well,” I say, “In that case, I’ll leave my sister and my niece in your care.”

A bustle at the door announces Jinhai.  “Ah-Lien, I’ve come to say goodbye.  Don’t worry.  I’ll make sure he writes.  And I’ll send lots of pretty things to you and Little Lan.”

“You write too, Ah-Jing,” she says, smiling.  “And you two take care of each other.”

Finally, we say goodbye to Madam Liang.  Jinhai hugs her warmly.  “You’ve been so kind to us, Madam Liang.  Ah-Zhou doesn’t realize how lucky he is.”

She blushes a little and sighs.

Outside in the street, Jinhai says, “Phew!  Too many goodbyes.  I need refreshment.”

Over a cup of tea in a tavern, we review the situation.  “I’ve got to see Wu Shun,” he says, “But you don’t need to come for that.” 

“I’m going to visit Xiaxia’s grandmother.  I promised to do something for Lai Xue.”

“Right, you do that and then we can meet up for lunch.  Then we should go and see Madam Lei.  I’ll need to speak to Geng De.  And there’s Shao Su.  And then Yuan Song and Duan Bai.”

“Are you going to see the Emperor?”

“I think a letter will do for that.  I don’t want to go to the Palace again.”

I reach out and touch his hair briefly.  The people at the next table fall silent and look at one another, eyebrows raised.  Someone sniggers.  I turn my head and glare.  The sniggerer shuts his mouth and looks away.  “Bastards,” I mutter.

There’s a wicked smile on Jinhai’s face.  Leaning over, he plants an uninhibited kiss on my mouth, says, “See you later,” and swings away, throwing a smile over his shoulder.

Xiaxia’s grandmother lives in a very select part of town, and the family mansion measures up.  The servants are polite and well-trained.  On asking for Young Master Lai, I’m taken to an airy reception room where a female person is seated behind the inevitable muslin curtain.  As I bow, I see there are three maidservants sitting demurely at the side of the room.

“Sir Liao,” says the voice behind the curtain, “My house is honoured by your presence.  Do please sit.  May I ask what your business is with my grandson?” 

A servant brings a chair and places it behind me.  “Lai Xue wanted to know how blasting powder’s made and I promised to introduce him to a person who can tell him.”

There’s a short silence and then a chuckle of pure amusement.  “Blasting powder?  Of course, that would be it.  Aren’t you afraid of the consequences of teaching Xue-er how to blow things up?”

“I’m a little afraid he might try and find out for himself how to make the stuff.  He has a very enquiring mind.”

To my surprise, the lady behind the curtain jumps up and sweeps the muslin aside.  “Bother this formality!” she exclaims.  “Surely at my age it’s not necessary!”  She turns to the servants.  “Fetch me a chair.  And bring tea.  And ask Master Tseng and Young Master Lai to come here.”

It’s no longer a puzzle where Xiaxia and Lai Xue get their eccentricity.  Chairs appear, a table’s pushed up close, someone scurries to get tea and Madam Tseng looks at me shrewdly.  “An enquiring mind, you say?”

“More than that.  I noticed while we were on the road that he’s interested in how things are made.  He has a brain for calculations.  It’s a gift, it comes naturally.  I think he should have proper training.”

“Well do you know, that’s very clever of you and I agree completely.  My own son’s exactly the same and the two of them hit it off immediately.  They’re off somewhere now doing experiments.  My son isn’t married, he still lives here with me.  He has a lot of scholarly friends and we’ve already found someone to give Xue-er the instruction he needs.”  She pours the tea and presents a cup to me.  “Sir Liao, you seem to have earned my grandchildren’s highest respect, which isn’t an easy thing to do.  Please let me say that I’m most grateful to you and your friends for everything you’ve done to protect them from the Lai family.  It broke my heart when my daughter married Lai Ji and was taken away to live in Emporium City.  My late husband arranged it and there was nothing I could do.  And my poor child died out there in that wilderness.  But at least my grandchildren are safe.  And I’m soon to have a grandson-in-law as well.”

“You’ve met Ren Baiyi?”

”I have and I thoroughly approve of him, though Xiaxia has him completely bewitched and he’s going to have to learn to say No to her.  But time enough for that.  Ah, here are the mad inventors.”

Lai Xue dashes into the room, followed more sedately by a man in his thirties, good-looking, as all this family seem to be, but dressed as if he doesn’t know what he’s got on.  “Mad inventor” is a good description. 

“Sir Zhan, I mean Sir Liao, you didn’t forget!”

“How could I forget, when you broke into my bedroom to ask me?  Are you well, brat?”

“I’m fine thanks, but listen, can my uncle come with us?”

“Child, child, your manners,” Madam Tseng says, laughing.

“Oh, Sir Liao's used to me, aren't you, sir?”

Introductions take place, but Lai Xue can’t wait.  He tugs at my sleeve.  “Can we go now?”

“We can indeed, if your grandmother will excuse us.  Madam Tseng, I also wanted to see Xiaxia to say goodbye, because I’ll be leaving the capital in a day or two.”

“She’s out for the day with friends, but I’ll pass on the message.  Will you be gone long?”

“Several months at least.  Please tell Xiaxia I hope she’ll be very happy.  She deserves it.”

As we make our way to the barracks where the engineers have their workshop, Lai Xue skips by my side, more animated than I’ve ever seen him.  Young Master Tseng is a quiet person, but there’s obviously a very good relationship between the two of them.  In fact, it’s difficult to tell which is the elder and which the younger.  We’re welcomed in the workshop.  I know and have worked with many of these engineers.  Always happy to show off their expertise, they take Lai Xue and his uncle to their collective bosom, insist on calling for drinks, and settle down for a lengthy session of technical gossip.  They hardly notice when I take my leave to keep my noon date with Jinhai.