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

the sword sticking out of him, and sank onto his knees. I put my foot on his chest, yanked the sword left and right to make sure the point had torn up everything within, and pulled it out. The rifle dropped from his hand and clattered on the stone bridge, but he remained on his knees. I glanced back at Prince Gong’s auntie.

Her face was absolutely still, betraying no emotion of any kind. She had, as I say, the highest breeding.

Then the monster suddenly vomited blood and fell face forward onto the bridge and was convulsed by two or three huge spasms. As soon as that stopped, I picked up his rifle.

I looked at the princess. Her face was the same. She glanced around the lake as though the death of the barbarian was of no concern or interest to her at all. And I was just wondering whether we should still hide on that island or go to another one, when she suddenly called to me: “Look over there, Lacquer Nail. Here he comes.” And I looked, and there, from farther up the lake, came a dozen soldiers at a run, with four more men carrying a sedan chair. “I wonder if he’s seen us,” she said. And she started waving at the sedan chair like an excited girl.

I could hardly believe the transformation from the dignified lady to the happy girl. But then of course he was another member of the royal family.

He was with us in no time. He surveyed the scene. There was already a pool of blood around the bearded barbarian’s head. “Are you all right?” he asked her. “I came as soon as I could.”

“Yes,” she cried. “Thanks to him.” And she pointed at me.

“Do I know you?” he said.

I made a low bow.

“It’s Lacquer Nail,” she interrupted. “He was fighting the barbarians with his sword. Then he saw me and rescued me. He killed this one, too. He saved my life.”

“Oh,” said Prince Gong. I noticed the soldiers were giving me looks of respect, which was very gratifying. “Weren’t you in trouble?” he said. “I heard you were dead.”

“Not yet, Highness,” I replied, and made a brave smile. “But your slave must tell you the barbarians may be here any minute. And they’re at the main entrance.”

“We’re going out another way,” he said briskly. He helped his auntie into the sedan chair. He looked at me again and at my sword. “That’s a ceremonial sword. Where did you get it?”

I told him. He indicated I should give it to him. But as I started to do so, I suddenly winced with pain. And I discovered the rubies on the hilt had bitten into my hand and it had been bleeding for quite a while. In all the excitement I’d never felt the pain at all.

He got into the sedan chair with his auntie. “Go!” he ordered his men.

“He saved my life,” I heard the princess say again as they raised the sedan chair.

Prince Gong stuck his head out. “You come, too,” he told me. So off we went.

It was as we left the Yuanmingyuan that I suddenly remembered my father’s advice: The best way to make your fortune, he’d told me, is to save a rich man’s life. And now I’d done even better: I’d saved the life of one of the imperial family. I had to laugh.

—

I was in clover. For a start, I was safe in Prince Gong’s well-guarded mansion inside the city walls. Everything in it was magnificent. One of Prince Gong’s eunuchs showed me the servants’ bathhouse, gave me fresh clothes and balm for my hand. I asked for some extra balm, which I applied to my backside. Then I was given a good meal and a little room all to myself. That night I slept nearly ten hours.

When I finally awoke, the same eunuch gave me breakfast and told me that I should attend upon the princess as soon as I was ready.

She was in a small receiving room, sitting very upright in a big polished chair. She was wearing a flowered dress and a simple tortoiseshell comb in her hair. She looked very royal and dignified, but she smiled at me and told me to sit down on a wooden stool before her.

“First, I wish to thank you again for saving my life,” she said.

“It was your slave’s honor,” I answered, and bowed my head.

“And now I wish to hear your whole story, Lacquer Nail, ever since you first decided to become a palace person.”

“I am afraid you will find it very boring, Princess,” I replied.

“I’m sure I shan’t,” she said. “And as Prince Gong is out all day attending to the city defenses, I’ve no one else to entertain me, so I may as well listen to you.”

It crossed my mind that Prince Gong could have asked her to find out how I’d suddenly turned up again when I was supposed to be dead and what I’d been up to. If I hadn’t saved his auntie’s life, someone might be asking questions in quite a different way.

So I told her everything: about my wife and children, my little boy being sick, how Mr. Chen got me into the palace, Mr. Liu’s dislike of me—the whole tale, right up to the trick Mr. Liu had played on me and how I’d hidden in the Peony Terrace. I knew this might make Mr. Liu angry if it got back to him, but I needed to defend myself, and she’d know that it would have been madness on my part to make such a thing up if it wasn’t true. The only thing I left out was about my money and where I’d hidden it. It’s always a good rule in life to be as honest with people as you can, but never tell them where the money is.

“Well,” she said, “isn’t that just like Mr. Liu? What an awful person he is.”

“Your slave admires him, Princess,” I