“She is not one of us,” she said, meaning Han. She was obviously Han since she had bound feet. “There is a reason they are separate from us. They think it is to keep themselves pure, but it is a protection for us from Heaven. They are just foreigners. Eventually, they will fall, and they will drag everyone they can down with them.”
“Be careful, laoma,” Inspector Gong said. “To speak so of the emperor in such a way, it is treason.”
She waved him away and slowly stood, leaning on a crooked walking stick for support. “It is only truth,” she said. “What I say is true, of the Manchu and that woman. Leave her alone, Gong Anguo.”
“How do you know my name?” he asked.
The old woman waved him off. “Your mother, she is one of my best customers.”
Inspector Gong rolled his eyes. No wonder the woman knew so much.
“She comes here every week, wanting to know when you will let her find you a daughter-in-law,” the woman explained.
“And what do you tell her?” he asked.
“What she wants to hear,” she said without a hint of remorse for lying to his mother and taking her money on a regular basis. “That you will settle down soon enough. She just needs to be patient.”
“Thank you for calming her worries and keeping her off my back,” he said as he turned to leave.
“But I could tell you the truth…” she said as she rubbed her fingers together.
He did not put much stock in fortune tellers, but he figured he owed her for the what she had done for his mother. So he handed her two coins.
“Give me your right palm, if you want to know the future,” she said. He sighed and gave her his hand.
She held it to the light and hem and hawed for a moment.
“I cannot say for certain,” she said. “But you are coming in a fork in the road. One path will lead to misery for yourself and happiness for others; the other path, to misery for others but happiness for yourself…eventually. It is a hard road.”
“So disappoint myself or disappoint my family?” he asked. “Those are my only options in life?”
“It is not really a choice, is it?” she asked. “Family, duty, honor. These are the most important things in life. When the time comes, you will know which path to take.”
Just then, a small group of people made their way down the alley. Inspector Gong stepped back to let them pass. When the crowd cleared, Inspector Gong looked again, and the old woman was gone.
17
Lady Li retched into a bowl. She had eaten from the empress’s table. That had to be where the poison was coming from. She said Lady Yun had eaten with her as well. That must be how Lady Yun was poisoned. The poison wasn’t meant for Lady Yun. It was meant for the empress! But how? The empress’s food was prepared by her own cooks, people who didn’t prepare food for anyone else in the palace. And the food was tasted by several testers who all tried the food before it was sent to her table. But if the food only contained a small amount of poison, the testers, and the empress, wouldn’t get sick immediately after trying it. It could take days or weeks for the poison to build up in her system enough to kill her. How long had this been going on? Had Suyi discovered what was happening? Is that why she was murdered? Was she killed by the poisoner?
But what would Lady Li do now? She had to stop the empress from eating her food, that was certain. But how could she do that without revealing why she was there? And if the empress stopped eating, or if she ordered an investigation to find out who was poisoning the food, the killer could flee. She had to find a more covert way to find out who was behind the poisoning. She needed help.
She wanted to approach Te-hai, but what if he was behind the poisoning? Would he have a reason to want the empress dead? The more she thought of it, the more she realized that she was no closer to finding out who was poisoning the empress or who had stabbed Suyi. She at least knew more about what had happened, but not why or who could be behind it.
Lady Li returned to her rooms and called Eunuch Jinxi and Chu to her. Maybe they could help her.
After she explained that the empress’s black blood meant that the empress was being poisoned, both of her servants appeared rightfully horrified.
“Oh, Mistress Li!” Chu exclaimed. “That is horrid! How would anyone even know how to make such a terrible drug?”
“I thought it was just a legend,” Lady Li said. “I never imagined people actually made it and used it.”
“Humans can be quite cruel, to each other and to lower creatures,” Eunuch Jinxi said with a level of knowing wisdom well above his years.
“You both are bound to hear the palace gossip,” Lady Li said. “Is there anyone in the palace who would want to kill the empress?”
“I think the empress has many enemies, my lady,” Eunuch Jinxi said. “Both within the palace walls and outside them. She breeds discontent among her ladies. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes accidentally. One cannot be the sole woman in charge and not invite contention.”
“But what of outside the palace?” Lady Li said.
“She is a woman,” Eunuch Jinxi said. “Do men who desire power need another reason to hate her and want to see her dead?”
“But she is the empress,” Lady Li said. “The mother of the Son of Heaven. To kill her would be a crime against nature, against order, against the emperor, against China.”
“According to many scholars, letting a woman rule over men is a crime against nature, Lady Li,” Eunuch Jinxi replied.
“But she is a good ruler,” Lady Li replied. “She ended the Taiping Rebellion, opened trade with the Western powers, and expanded the empire to the western regions. The country is at peace and is prospering, moreso than it has in a hundred years.”
“And think about how much more China would shine if a man was at the helm,” Eunuch Jinxi said.
Lady Li shook her head. She understood what Eunuch Jinxi was saying. For a woman to head the country was a perversion of Confucian principles. “A woman ruler is like a hen crowing,” the Confucian scholars liked to say. And while the five relationships—a ruler over his subjects, a parent over his children, a husband over his wife, an older sibling over a younger sibling, and equal friendships—might make sense in the grand scheme of things or in the home, in all practicality the empress was the ruler, at least for now. Could the men not be patient? The little emperor would come of age in only a few years. Then the empress would step aside and nature would be righted. Killing the empress now, while the boy still needed a regent, was foolish and could plunge the country into war and recession. Besides, she wasn’t the only regent. There was also Prince Kung. If something happened to the empress, he would be the most likely successor until the emperor could rule on his own. Was Prince Kung also in danger? Was Prince Kung…behind the poisoning?
Lady Li put her hand to her mouth. She felt sick again. Not Prince Kung. No, it couldn’t be. If he wanted power, he could have taken it seven years ago when they staged the empress’s coup. He could have citied Confucian principles to make himself the sole regent. Or he could have killed the empress instead of letting her take the regency. There were plenty of opportunities. But he didn’t. He helped the empress overthrow the ministers her husband had put in place. Lady Li had been the one to carry their messages back and forth. Together, they were joint conspirators. Together, they risked their lives to put the empress on the throne. They were all bound by that decision for the rest of their lives. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, betray her now. If anything, Prince Kung was the only man the empress could trust.
“Tell me about the court ministers,” Lady Li said to Eunuch Jinxi. “Are there any who dislike the empress enough to want her disposed of? Are there any who would benefit from her death or removal?”
“Since the regency would only pass to Prince Kung until the little emperor takes the throne, there are few who would benefit from such a change,” he explained, confirming her suspicions. “However, there is Minister Song.”
“Wha
t about him?” Lady Li asked.
“He is…not gentle when speaking to the empress. He doesn’t quite treat her with due deference.”
“Who exactly is this man?” Lady Li asked.
“He is a second-rank minister, my lady. He has not been on the council long. His appointment was suggested by Prince Chun, Prince Kung’s younger brother. Prince Chun is married to the empress’s younger sister.”
“Would Prince Chun have any grievance against the empress? I didn’t know him well when I was here before; he was only a boy then. He is still quite young, correct?”
“Only in his early twenties, I believe. I do not think he would have an issue with the empress. Marrying her sister was a great honor. He has been working hard with Prince Kung and some of the other senior ministers to rise up in the court. But being the younger brother of an emperor and the younger brother of Prince Kung, the shadow of his elders might be impossible for him to escape.”
“Do you know why he would have put forth this Minister Song for appointment?”
“No, my lady, not off the top of my head,” Eunuch Jinxi replied. “But I can try to find out. See what their relationship is and find out how the minister feels about the empress.”
“Minister Song…” Lady Li mused out loud. “His daughter is one of the empress’s ladies-in-waiting, correct?”
“Yes, my lady,” Eunuch Jinxi answered.
“How is their relationship?” she asked.
“They seem to have a mutual dislike of one another. I don’t know if there is a reason for their animosity or if they simply do not get along.”
“See if you can learn more about her as well. She might be involved. She would be close enough to the empress that she could be the poisoner.” Lady Li then turned to Chu. “Do you have any information about the jewels?”
“Yes, my lady. A eunuch in the Ministry of Domestic Affairs was willing to speak with me, for a price. Eunuch Jingxi gave me the money for the bribe from your housing allowance. He said that there was a blue hairpin that the description matched the jewels I showed him. He said it was registered with Lady Kwan.”
“Lady Kwan!” Lady Li gasped. “Is he sure?”
“Yes, my lady,” Chu said. “Quite sure. He has the records to prove it. It must be Lady Kwan.”
“But…why?” Lady Li asked. “What would her motive be? And you saw the strange way she acted when we visited her.”
“Maybe she was acting that way because she committed the murder,” Chi said. “Only a crazy person would kill someone in her own garden.”
“I…suppose,” Lady Li said, but she wasn’t so sure. She was certain that the killer would be more calculating than that. But it would explain why Lady Kwan claimed she did not hear or see anything that night even though it happened so near her home.
“But there is still no motive,” Lady Li said.
“If we look at her more closely, we may find one,” Chu said.
18
Inspector Gong was not a member of the court. Even though he had some contacts, like Prince Kung, he was unfamiliar with most members of the court and the court’s inner workings. At least he had narrowed his search. Perhaps Prince Kung would have some idea of which of the second-tier ministers would want to poison Suyi.
A maid led Inspector Gong to the central courtyard of Prince Kung’s mansion. A crowd of people—women, children, maids, eunuchs, and other visitors—had crowded around the periphery. Even though Inspector Gong came from a moderately large family, it was shocking to him how many people lived in Prince Kung’s home. He made his way through the crowd and realized what everyone was watching—especially the women.
Prince Kung was sparring with a martial arts master. The prince was not wearing a shirt and his muscles shimmered in the midday sun. Even though the prince had not served in a military capacity for years, he was still in prime fighting form and was widely respected for his fighting skills.
The martial arts master and Prince Kung were circling one another, each getting a sense of the other’s skill. The master made the first move, quickly striking with his right fist. The prince easily deflected the attack, spun around, and struck the master in the back. The crowd clapped.
The master did not stumble, but immediately found his feet and turned to face his opponent again. The prince did not waste time, but leaned back and kicked toward the master’s face. The master bent back, avoiding the attack, but the prince then dropped down and swung his leg around, knocking the master off his feet, sending him to the ground flat on his back. The crowd cheered.
The prince hovered over his prone victim, and the master laughed. The prince helped him to his feet and clapped him on his back. The fight was simply a friendly match, and the prince had easily won.
The crowd started to disperse, so Inspector Gong approached the prince. One of the prince’s wives was helping him towel off. She was a pretty girl, but a bit young for Inspector Gong’s taste. She must have been a new wife, one that was clearly smitten with the prince since she giggled every time the prince looked at her.
“Ah, Inspector Gong!” the prince said upon seeing his friend. The two clasped arms. “Have you come to test your skills against the great Master Wong?”
“I fear I am a bit out of practice,” the inspector replied.
“You should spar with me,” the prince said as his wife placed a thin robe around his shoulders. “You never know when you will have to come to the defense of a fair maiden.” He looked at the young woman as he spoke and wiggled his eyebrows at her. She could not control her giggling and nearly tripped over her own feet as she respectfully backed away and then ran from the courtyard.
“She seems sweet,” the inspector said.
The prince shrugged. “A pleasant enough bedmate, and she is eager to please. For some reason certain men at court still think that tying themselves to me through marriage might benefit them in some way. I do my best to disillusion them of the notion, yet they continue to send their daughters to me in droves.”
“Are you not still influential at court?” Inspector Gong asked as the prince led him into his study.
“I don’t wish to be. I have given much in service to the empire already,” the prince said. He lounged on a large plush sofa as a pretty little maid served them tea. “China is in a good place. Peaceful, prosperous. There are always tensions with the foreigner powers, but even they seem content, for now. It is time for me to pursue the things that give me pleasure, before I am too old or there is another catastrophe.”
“And what are you pursuing, friend, aside from lovely women and good wine?” asked the inspector.
“I want to start a university,” he said. “I want to found a school that teaches our people all the best learning the world has to offer. English, philosophy, science.”
“You mean give men something to study besides the eight-legged essay? The old teachers or the men who reached power following the old way won’t like it very much.”
“Bah!” the prince scoffed. “The old men are just that. This is a new, modern age. And the empress supports my ideas. She also sees this as a time of change. She wants to start sending students to America and England, and then bring them back and give them court positions. And not just men. She wants to open schools for girls.”
“A school for girls!” The inspector laughed. “What can girls learn in a school that they can’t learn at home?”
“Anything a boy can learn. Sometimes men die and women have to take their place. Just look at the empress. How much more capable would she be while she is on the throne if she had been given any sort of education? It happens all the time. Look at Lady Li. She has to manage her own household, and she has only girls as well. Shouldn’t they be able to manage their own affairs? They could be helpers for their husbands instead of just dependents who drain their resources.”
“This sort of modern thinking can’t be making you any friends at court,” the inspector warned.
“I care not,” the prince
said. “I am officially the regent. I’m the highest ranking man in the country, next to the little emperor. What can they do to me?”
“But what of your sister-in-law?” he asked. “The empress is in a precarious state. I am sure there are ministers who would want to cast her off the throne and put you in her place.”
“I don’t think so,” the prince said. “I wouldn’t throw my weight behind any coup against her. And since I am the regent, who else would they get to take her place? No one.”
“What if she were killed?” the inspector asked.
The prince sipped his tea slowly. “You are worried that whoever killed that girl could go after the empress?”
“Lady Yun was being poisoned. I have no idea why. Who would do that to a lowly lady?”
“You think her murder was an accident? Or a decoy?”
“I don’t know,” the inspector admitted. “But she was the empress’s right-hand lady from what I have heard. If someone could get close enough to kill her, they could get close enough to the empress.”
The prince sighed. “And you don’t have any idea who could have been behind it?”
“Oh, I have an idea. What, you think I haven’t been doing my job?”
“I honestly didn’t think you would get very far. So tell me, who do you think it is?”
“What, and let you take all the credit?”
“You know you need my help. Why would you be here otherwise?”
“Maybe you should have been the detective,” the inspector said.
“Get on with it!” the prince said, waving him off.
“I learned that a certain court minister recently procured some gu poison down Hei Mofa Street near the old temple. A second-rank minister.”
“Which minister?” the prince asked.
“I don’t know,” Inspector Gong said. “That is why I need your help. Who are the second-rank ministers, and would any of them want to kill Lady Yun or the empress?”
The Qing Dynasty Mysteries - Books 1-3 Page 12
