China by Edward Rutherfurd (historical books to read TXT) 📕

the awful silence I stayed like that, in a stooped position, like an idiot.

Then the emperor solved my problem for me. He turned to Mr. Liu. “That eunuch is to be taken away and flogged at once,” he said.

—

Mr. Liu did it himself. He took his time. Two other eunuchs stripped my bottom naked and held me spread-eagled on the ground. Then he laid into me with the broad split bamboo we call the banzi. If it hadn’t been Mr. Liu I should have screamed with the pain. But I would not give him the satisfaction, though I did think I might faint.

Actually, the punishment could have been worse. It was the standard beating any eunuch might receive for bad behavior. After all, they wanted you to be able to get back to work in a few days. My humiliation was terrible, of course. It must have given Mr. Liu a great deal of pleasure. The whole palace would have known about it by the following day. My sponsor, Mr. Chen. Everybody. “Lacquer Nail broke the Noble Consort’s fingernails. In front of the emperor! Who told Mr. Liu to flog him. What a comedown.” How they’d mock me. “Lacquer Nail’s finished,” they’d say. And I supposed they were probably right.

I stayed in my little room all the next day. I didn’t feel up to leaving it. An old orderly arrived during the morning to give me a washdown and apply some lotions to my backside. A junior eunuch came in at midday and again in the evening to bring me food. Neither of them spoke more than a few words, and I didn’t try to engage them in conversation. I just spent most of the time lying facedown on my bed and resting.

But the next morning I decided I really had to face the general mockery and find out what was going on. Had the Noble Consort Yi dismissed me forever? Was she herself in disgrace? Where were the barbarians and what were they doing? And I was all ready to leave my room when the door opened, and in walked Mr. Liu. He seemed quite friendly.

“I’ve good news and bad,” he announced. “I’ll give you the bad news first. The Noble Consort Yi is finished. The emperor won’t let her in the room with him.”

“You said it would happen,” I answered.

“True. But her fall is not quite as complete as I expected. The emperor feels that she should continue to look after the boy—who could still become the future emperor. Therefore she is to travel with the rest of the court to the hunting grounds.”

“So he’s still running away, north of the Great Wall?”

“Of course. Prince Gong will remain here.”

“May I ask you something, sir?” I said. “I was very shocked when Prince Sushun encouraged the emperor to make a run for it. Can he really have believed it was the right course of action?”

“Certainly he did,” Mr. Liu replied. “It’s true, of course, that Prince Sushun means to keep close with the emperor. He’s delighted that Prince Gong is left here to negotiate. If Prince Gong fails, regrettable though that would be, then his star will fade—and that of Prince Sushun will shine more brightly. If, on the other hand, Prince Gong succeeds, it will be good for the empire, but the emperor will secretly hate Prince Gong for showing him up. That’s good for Prince Sushun, too.” He paused. “There is, however, a further consideration. Prince Sushun is a patriot. And he is convinced that there will only be chaos here in Beijing unless we can get the emperor as far away as possible. He told me so himself.”

“So whatever happens,” I remarked, “he looks good.”

“The greatest and most difficult art in government,” said Mr. Liu with satisfaction, “is to keep a clear conscience.”

“I see,” I mumbled.

“You have not asked for the good news,” he continued. “Which is that you are to go to the hunting lodge yourself. With the Noble Consort Yi.”

“She has forgiven me?” I cried.

“She is distressed about what happened to you. Says it’s her fault.”

“Perhaps I can fix her broken nails,” I said eagerly.

“You’ll have to wait for them to grow again. She already had them cut short.” He smiled. “Not even you could have repaired them.”

“And what about the barbarians, sir?”

“Still south of the city. Threatening. We hold their hostages. I expect there’ll be more fighting and more negotiating. It may go on for weeks. But we shall both be north of the Great Wall.” He gazed at me steadily. “Which brings me to your orders. They come directly from the Noble Consort and must be obeyed exactly.”

“Of course,” I said.

“You are to go home this evening and spend three days with your family. You may not see them for some time to come. Here are your wages and a little more, which you should give them. After that time, and not before, you are to report back here. Some of the baggage will be leaving in the next few days, and I shouldn’t be surprised if the emperor leaves, too. But the Noble Consort Yi and her son will not be departing until later, and she wishes you to accompany them in person. Is that clearly understood?”

I made a small grimace.

“What’s the matter?” he asked sharply.

“I was wondering how to explain the state of my backside to my wife,” I told him.

“Please don’t bother me with details,” he replied.

—

At home, I spent happy hours with my children; and although I winced a few times when I was sitting down, I told them I had twisted my back, and no one thought anything about it. As for Rose, I pretended I wasn’t feeling well, so we just slept, and I was able to hide my condition from her. I noticed she was putting on a little more weight. Eating too much, I daresay.

The second day, my father went out for a while, and when he got back, he said, “The