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

emerging from the back. She was too far away for me to see her face, moving hesitantly, peeping around the corner of the building, then pulling back and obviously wondering where she could flee.

Would the barbarians harm her? Even a lady of the court could get attacked on a day like this. I cursed under my breath. I really didn’t want to quit my post. But I couldn’t just leave her. So skirting behind some bushes where the looters wouldn’t catch sight of me, I bent low and ran towards her.

I was already close before the lady saw me, and at the sight of my bloodied sword she started with fear. But she could see from my dress that I was a palace person, so she quickly collected herself and waited. She was quite simply dressed, but she had a fine necklace of pearls and gemstones. I was sure I’d seen her before.

Then I realized: It was the lady Prince Gong called Auntie. I bowed low as I reached her.

“Princess,” I said, “I am Lacquer Nail. I serve the Noble Consort Yi.”

“Yes, yes. I recognize you now. You have been fighting?”

“Your slave has been fighting,” I acknowledged.

“Prince Gong was supposed to be here this afternoon,” she said. “I sent my servant girl to find him, but I don’t know where she is now.”

“I don’t think we can wait here,” I said. “Are there other noble ladies inside?”

“There’s only me,” she replied.

“Perhaps we could hide on one of the far islands,” I suggested.

She seemed to like this idea.

“You know the Apricot Blossom Spring Villa,” she said. “The pavilions are mostly down by the waterfront. But the wooded hill behind is quite wild. We could hide up there, I think.”

“It’s a steep climb, my lady,” I cautioned her.

“I am a Manchu, Lacquer Nail,” she reminded me with a smile. “No bound feet. But I’m like the Noble Consort Yi. My feet are so dainty, you might think they were bound.”

We followed the path around the edge of the lake as quickly as we could. The French barbarians were still busy looting all the pavilions near the emperor’s residence, so they hadn’t come this way yet. We passed across two deserted islands. As we came towards the Apricot Blossom Spring Island, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

There was a pretty humpbacked stone footbridge ahead that crossed over the water to the island. We’d reached the top of it when the princess, who was just behind me, spoke.

“Stop, Lacquer Nail, and hide your sword.” Her voice was quiet but urgent.

I stopped and held my sword with one hand just behind me. For a moment I didn’t understand. Then I saw what she had seen. Her eyes were sharper than mine.

A single barbarian was stepping out from the bushes about twenty paces away, directly in our path. He seemed to be alone. He had a rifle in his hands. He grinned at us.

I have seen many villainous barbarians in my life, but never one as ugly as this one. He was huge, with a bushy black beard and a nose that seemed to dip down to his chin. One of his fiery eyes squinted to the right, but the other was fixed on me. He pointed his gun, but he did not take aim. If he’d seen my sword he probably would have shot me.

“What do you think he wants?” the princess asked me quietly. She was wonderfully calm.

“Loot, I think,” I answered. And then it came to me why he might be there alone. “Perhaps he ran here ahead of his friends to grab the best bits of loot for himself,” I said.

Nobody moved. But I saw the barbarian’s eye shift to the princess. My hand tightened on my hidden sword. If he tried to harm her, I’d surely kill him or die in the attempt.

I remember thinking that if I was going to die, at least it would be defending a member of the imperial family. Even if we were both found dead, everyone would get to hear of it. My name would be honored for generations. I wondered if Prince Gong would buy my missing parts back so that I might be buried with them as a whole man. That would be a good recompense. But would he think of it?

The hideous creature’s hand went up to his neck, then pointed at the princess. I understood at once. “He wants your pearls,” I said.

“How dare he?” There speaks a noblewoman! I thought. The loss of her pearls was nothing. Her concern was for her dignity. “Certainly not,” she said firmly.

The bearded savage made a motion towards me with his gun.

“He means to shoot me and take the pearls from you,” I translated.

“If he touches me with his hands, I shall have to drown myself,” she remarked.

She still wasn’t thinking of giving her pearls away. As for drowning herself…If a lady of her rank—born a noble, consort of an emperor—should be defiled by the touch of the disgusting barbarian before us, she’d certainly be right to take her own life.

So it didn’t look as if there was any honorable way for us to survive.

But then I had a moment of inspiration. Remember, always put yourself in the place of your enemy. Try to think as he does.

“Trust me, Princess,” I said. I knew she’d understand at once. Then I gave him my most servile bow. And with my free hand I indicated he should come forward and take the pearls for himself, as though to say: “I can’t take them, but I won’t stop you.”

He smirked scornfully. A palace eunuch, he was thinking. Just what I’ve always heard: weak, effeminate, disloyal.

He strode up onto the bridge and started to walk past me as I made way for him. And I don’t think he even saw my sword as I whipped it from behind my back and plunged it under his rib cage and up into his heart.

He gave a grunt, stood stock-still with