Dreaming of Zhou Gong

by Traci Harding

  The madness of Zi Shou was at an end.

  Shao Gong Shi stayed on at Haojing as the king’s guest, as Ji Fa had agreed to allow Shi to accompany him to Li Shan and plead his cause. In the meantime, the king had been relying far more heavily on Shi with regard to governmental affairs, since Zhenduo and Wu had their own provinces to run. This was pleasing to Shi, as it brought him much closer to Fa and Dan. He’d never spent so much time indoors!

  The day before the king departed for Li Shan, Fen was summoned to the king’s private chambers for his promised consultation with the queen.

  He was very nervous, as Fen had never directly spoken with any women who were not Wu and this woman was mother of the nation and the Zhou king’s queen.

  ‘Just be yourself, Fen,’ advised Dan, who had kindly escorted him to his meeting. ‘The queen is bound to like you; all women seem to.’ The duke came to a standstill by the door to the royal chambers.

  ‘I have some concerns,’ Fen confided in Dan.

  ‘Then voice them openly,’ Dan suggested, nodding to the king’s master of the interior to have Fen announced.

  When Fen entered he was glad to be greeted by Ji Fa, who appeared overjoyed to see him. ‘Come in. Oh, forget that!’ he said, to stop Fen bowing, and waved him forth.

  ‘I have spoken with my wife. She is most anxious to see you.’

  ‘Majesty, I have some questions I would like to ask before I do this,’ Fen ventured to say, and Fa looked at the lad, immediately concerned. ‘That is not to say I have any intention of not honouring our arrangement. More that I wish ensure that we enter into this with a clear understanding.’

  ‘What are your concerns?’ Fa stopped to query Fen, before entering the next room where his wife awaited them.

  ‘To be clear, majesty, I should discuss this with both you and your queen,’ Fen stated, as diplomatic as he could be.

  ‘You wish to ensure I am not pushing her into anything against her will,’ Fa said, seeing straight through Fen’s carefully chosen words.

  ‘If there are risks, I must know that she is fully aware of them.’ Fen was not about to compromise his work ethic, even for the king.

  ‘You are very wise for one so young, Fen Gong, and a little arrogant,’ Fa warned, causing Fen to bow his head and humble himself. ‘But I like that.’ The king let him know he was just teasing. ‘You are starting to worry me, though.’

  ‘That is not my intent,’ Fen stated clearly. ‘Forewarned is forearmed, is it not, majesty?’

  Fa nodded to accept his reasoning. ‘Come then, allow me to introduce you to the little woman,’ Fa said, giving Fen a chummy hug around the shoulders.

  Fen still felt uncomfortable being hugged by Tian’s chosen representative on earth, but then he figured that the king probably felt uncomfortable having to call Fen to heal him every time something upset him. As long as Fen was content, people in general found his presence attractive and were well disposed toward him, and for that Fen felt most grateful and blessed. But it did give him an unfair advantage over virtually anyone, and Yi Jiang was to prove no different — she was utterly delighted by the sight of him.

  ‘I regret we have not been properly introduced before today, Fen Gong. You are as beautiful as your name suggests,’ the queen said, flattering him and Fen could feel himself blushing.

  Fen had seen the queen on a couple of occasions, and she had always appeared very solemn and hard-looking, but today she appeared vibrant and beautiful. Stripped of make-up and finery, dressed only in a silk robe, she sat comfortably in a cushioned chair, poised as always.

  ‘If it pleases your majesty, I should like to show you how I received this name,’ Fen requested.

  Yi Jiang looked to her husband, who shrugged, baffled. ‘By all means?’

  Fen repressed a smile as he rose and collected a long stemmed flower from a floral arrangement, its buds yet to open. Running his hand down the stem, each flower burst into full bloom before the queen’s eyes.

  ‘How wonderful!’ She was completely enchanted as Fen bowed and offered the flowers to her, and she accepted it like the greatest of treasures.

  Fen looked to the king, who rolled his eyes, impressed and grinning.

  ‘I can hardly wait for you to work your magic on me,’ the queen ventured, and breathed deep the scent of the flowers in her hand. ‘Is it truly possible?’

  ‘Yes, majesty,’ Fen replied as he knelt before her once more, ‘but there are things we should consider first.’

  ‘My age,’ she assumed, a little deflated. ‘I am not so old as I might appear, stripped of my regalia.’

  ‘Your majesty is very beautiful,’ Fen assured her, ‘and your age is not the concern.’

  ‘Oh.’ Her mood took an upswing. ‘Then please rise and speak plainly.’

  Fen stood as requested to consult with the royals. ‘There is no doubt in my mind that I can heal our queen.’

  Yi Jiang sat very tall, excited.

  ‘The potency of the Gao Mei rite is such that our king, should he execute his part satisfactorily —’ the king’s mouth dropped open, surprised that Fen had the gall to suggest that he might fail in his duty during the rite ‘— shall surely beget you with a son.’ Yi Jiang clutched Fa’s hand, excited.

  ‘But?’ Ji Fa knew there was a concern.

  ‘Might I ask …’ Fen looked at the queen. ‘How difficult was the birth of Ji Song for you?’

  The queen opened her mouth to speak, but only a gasp came out at first. ‘It nearly killed me,’ she admitted, obviously still hurt and bitter about the fact.

  ‘But your majesty did not have a healer such as I to aid your labour,’ Fen went on, and raised her spirits yet again. ‘But still, there are risks with childbirth that no amount of healing can abate. You are built as you are, and my healing will not change that. If you had a difficult labour the first time around, the chances are number two will be just as difficult. But I will be here for your majesty should you decide to proceed.’

  Yi Jiang looked up to the king standing alongside her, and he appeared not so eager now.

  ‘I should leave you to discuss this.’ Fen bowed to depart.

  ‘There is nothing to discuss,’ the queen decreed.

  ‘Yi?’ The king obviously thought they should think twice.

  ‘No, Fa,’ she insisted, bravely. ‘I will bear the son of the Gao Mei rite, no one else!’

  Fen felt there was no arguing with the passion in the woman’s voice, and as the king nodded to reassure Yi Jiang of his full support, her mood lightened once again.

  ‘I want you to do whatever must be done. Where do you want to do this?’ she asked.

  ‘Lying down would be best,’ Fen advised.

  ‘In my bedchamber, then,’ she said, standing and directing Fen to the door, but as Fa rose to follow them the queen spoke to him. ‘I wish to speak with my healer privately.’

  The king frowned, affronted.

  ‘Are you jealous, my love?’ She toyed with his mood.

  ‘Yes,’ he admitted, with a pout.

  ‘Good …’ She kissed him, and left the king mystified.

  ‘I trust Fen, completely,’ Fa muttered, striving to assure himself, and made sure his comment was heard by the healer escorting his wife into her chamber. ‘Usually, I’d only let a eunuch in there —’

  That got Fen’s attention, and he hastily said, ‘I understand completely, majesty.’ He bowed and slid the door closed behind them.

  Yi Jiang lay on the bed, a little awkward and anxious.

  ‘This will not hurt, majesty,’ Fen said, endeavouring to sound professional as he approached the very beautiful woman laid out before him.

  ‘Fen … may I call you Fen …?’ she asked politely.

  ‘Your majesty may call me anything she likes,’ he joked, amusing her and lightening her mood if only for a moment.

  ‘When you say I shall be healed, just how healed is healed?’ Tears began to trickle from her eyes as she opened her robe to reveal
a mass of scarring on her lower belly that she would not look at; she would not even look at the reaction on Fen’s face. ‘They cut Song out of me,’ she wept. ‘Zhou had to have an heir.’

  ‘It’s a miracle you are still alive.’ Fen brushed the tears from his cheeks, for he realised this was where the king’s deep abiding faithfulness to his queen stemmed from, for his child, his love, had resulted in his lover’s mutilation.

  ‘I have never even shown it to my husband. I keep it covered always.’

  ‘Majesty …’ Fen called for her attention, and when she looked to him, he held her gaze. ‘Once I am done, you shall be as you were before Ji Fa ever touched you.’ He grinned and the queen did too.

  ‘As a maid?’ she gasped, and pulled her gown around her as she sat up.

  Fen nodded, eyebrows raised to emphasis his promise.

  ‘I should give anything for that, Fen Gong, anything!’

  ‘Just five minutes of calmly lying down is all I require,’ he replied.

  The queen burst into a huge smile and lay back upon the bed. When the procedure was done, Fen covered his patient and left her blissfully resting in her bed. The queen must have taken the opportunity to explore the previously scarred area of her body, for as Fen was closing the door to address the waiting king, the queen began to cry out: ‘You are a wonder, Fen Gong! That is just amazing!’

  Fen quickly closed the door to smother the queen’s elation, as Ji Fa was frowning. ‘All done, majesty.’

  ‘My queen certainly sounds pleased by your service.’

  ‘Yes, indeed,’ Fen said in cocky fashion, ‘and I warrant your majesty will be very satisfied with my work also.’ He bowed to take his leave, but the king caught his arm.

  ‘Thank you, Fen,’ he said most sincerely, ‘you can’t know what this means.’

  ‘I think I can, majesty,’ Fen assured him.

  ‘She showed you? Her scars?’

  ‘What scars, majesty?’ Fen said cheerily, at which point the king’s smile broadened to bursting and he made for his wife’s chambers.

  Jovial laughter echoed out of the chamber as Fen departed the royal dwelling, and their happiness gave him a certain lightness in his step. To be so intimate with the royal family was surely the highest honour; Fen just hoped that the new prince’s birth would be as blithe an affair as his conception.

  The king’s party departed for Li Shan early the next morning and to the shock of Dan, Shi, the king’s guard and the house staff, Ji Fa kissed his queen farewell at the door of the royal house. ‘I shall return,’ he said, his forehead resting against hers.

  ‘I shall be waiting,’ Yi Jiang smiled, as the king dragged himself away, and she returned inside.

  Dan was utterly baffled, having expected the queen to be furious about the day’s proceedings. ‘How on earth …?’ the duke uttered and glancing at Fen he found him grinning. ‘What did you do?’

  Fen shrugged, as both Dan and Shi awaited an answer, but he gave them none.

  Ji Song was also waiting to see his father off. ‘Keep away from my goddess, father!’ his son called out.

  Fa glanced back with a look of warning on his face, knowing the comment was not for his benefit.

  Dan met Song’s glare of challenge, his gut churning in agitation — the thought of Hudan being given to Fa was lamentable, the thought of her being given to Song was utterly deplorable. May Fa rule a long, long time.

  ‘I love being married!’ Fa announced as he joined his brothers and mounted his horse. ‘Every man should be so fortunate,’ he decreed. Then looking to his brothers, he toned down his enthusiasm. ‘I have my work cut out for me. You lot should be taking notes from Fen. I have never seen my queen so easily charmed by anyone.’

  ‘We are pleased to see you in such fine spirits this day,’ Fen said, as his brothers seemed to have no comment.

  The king grinned at the lad. ‘Very pleased by your work, Fen,’ the king awarded. ‘The queen asks you to name any place in our land and it is yours.’

  The lords in their company were astonished, but Fen shook his head to decline. ‘We have an agreement, majesty, and that is your only obligation for my services.’

  ‘That is well,’ Fa grinned, ‘as the queen also stressed that she should never let you leave our vicinity.’

  ‘That suits me well,’ and Fen bowed his head in gratitude as the king dug his heels into his horse’s side and led the charge out of the courtyard to Li Shan.

  A few hours in the saddle saw the pace slow down as they approached the jetty at the base of the mount. The sun was shining and the breeze was warm, yet Shi looked as anxious and melancholy as Dan felt.

  ‘Why did you never tell us about your gift?’ Dan queried, snatching his brother from his quiet contemplation.

  ‘Our father told me not to,’ Shi explained. ‘He was afraid I might be rejected by the family, or hunted for sport.’

  ‘We would never allow that to happen,’ Dan insisted, including the king in the equation.

  Shi seemed not so certain, and he shrugged. ‘The boldness of Jiang Huxin lessened my fears and made my disclosure much easier. It does make me wonder how many more of us are out there, hiding.’

  ‘Not so many as to let this one slip through your fingers?’ Dan warranted, and Shi smiled to agree. ‘I hope Tian rules in your favour.’

  ‘I wish the same for you also,’ Shi replied.

  ‘I have no basis for a ruling,’ Dan replied as he forced a smile and slowed his horse to dismount.

  ‘Sorry,’ Shi detected the swing in Dan’s mood. ‘I thought that is why you are here.’

  ‘No,’ Dan said, regretful. ‘I have an appointment of my own with the Great Mother in regard to my continued instruction with the Wu.’

  Their horses were led away by the king’s guards who were withdrawing to make camp. Fa was merrily strolling up the jetty path, chatting with Fen, and the lords followed.

  ‘I do not know I if should mention this,’ Shi began, slyly, ‘but I know that Jiang Hudan feels as you do.’

  Dan stopped in his tracks. ‘How so?’

  ‘The night you saw us in the garden at Li Shan, Jiang Hudan got upset when I mentioned you —’

  ‘That has been known to happen.’ Dan kept walking.

  ‘At first I thought you had hurt her,’ Shi continued, whereby Dan served him a scowl, ‘but she said that just the opposite was true … And then confessed that she found you too pleasing for her own peace of mind.’

  Dan laughed off the report. ‘You are playing with me.’

  ‘I would never wish to hurt you or Jiang Hudan,’ Shi explained. ‘I just hate to see you so sad.’

  ‘I’m not sad,’ Dan protested and then calmed. ‘I am … content.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Shi, not quite convinced, but he did not push the matter.

  ‘She said that?’ Dan finally broke the silence.

  ‘She did.’ Shi granted with a smile, as they stepped onto the ferry to join the king and Fen, and there the conversation ended.

  Jiang Huxin arrived on the ferry to greet their party, and she made a fuss of the king while ignoring Shi almost entirely, bar a greeting.

  ‘She really knows how to hold a grudge, doesn’t she?’ Dan uttered in Shi’s ear, as they sat on the ferry, watching their hostess chat with her little brother and the king.

  ‘She is jealous,’ Shi figured, quietly. ‘And so am I, so I guess that is good.’

  Dan smiled and nodded at his reasoning. ‘If only I should be so lucky.’

  From the dock the king and his brothers were led directly to the Great Mother’s council chamber for their meeting.

  ‘Fen, you may come with me.’ Huxin held a hand out to him, and the lad appeared overjoyed to take it.

  ‘Shall we see Hudan?’

  ‘We shall,’ she promised, noting she’d gained Dan’s attention. Yet brother Huxin did not tease him as she usually would, but gave him a sympathetic smile.

  That was how everyone looked at him
now, and the duke had just about had enough of it.

  Quietly fuming was probably not the wisest of moods to be entertaining as they were led into the Great Mother’s audience chamber, so Dan endeavoured to calm and find his serenity.

  The Great Mother was unmasked this day as they knelt before her, Dan to the king’s right-hand side, Shi to the left.

  ‘Rise, noble men of Zhou, and allow me to commend you on executing the mandate of heaven in complete accordance with our prophecy. Brother Hudan has delivered a full report,’ her eyes shifted to Shi for a moment, ‘and I can assure you that Tian is satisfied by your dauntless devotion to heaven’s cause.’

  ‘Without the aid of your house, brother Yi, it would not have been possible. Your Wu have played an integral role in our success,’ Fa granted.

  ‘You, brother Fa, come before me today as the true Tianzi … with Tian’s grace, you shall leave us with heaven’s blessing, having fulfilled our agreement in all regards.’

  ‘I am honoured by heaven’s faith in the Ji family,’ Fa replied, graciously.

  ‘But it seems I have business with the three of you this visit, and I shall see each of you in turn. Ji Shi, I shall hear you first. Brother Fa should stay and I shall speak with you after Shi, about this evening’s proceedings. Brother Dan, if you would kindly take your leave of us, I will speak with you on the morrow.’

  The request burst Dan’s serene bubble and his resentment oozed forth. ‘I respectfully entreat you to speak with me this day.’ Dan breathed deeply to contain his panic.

  ‘Today is about our king,’ she said. ‘There should be no urgency —’

  ‘There is a very great urgency and well you know it,’ Dan challenged her, and his king was shocked by the contempt in his tone.

  ‘Dan,’ Fa reprimanded him, ‘apologise at once!’

  Dan gazed at the Great Mother and took a few steps toward her. ‘I could speak openly of my concerns,’ he proposed, arms held wide in invitation. His brothers knew nothing of the sons of the sky, as far as he knew, and he doubted very much if Yi Wu wanted them enlightened.

  ‘Dan.’ Fa’s tone was most displeased.