Yet, she still marched her daughter toward a fate she had been so happy to escape. But what else could she do about it? Her daughters would have to marry eventually. Maybe they didn’t have to marry the emperor, but any life with a husband would be one they couldn’t control. Lady Li had never made a single decision in her life before the day her husband died.
“If Swan marries Gong Shushu,” Second Daughter asked, “will we ever see her again?”
Lady Li felt a pain in her heart at the thought of never seeing Inspector Gong again, but she did her best not to let it show.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “Probably not. Swan has never returned to her parents’ home since she came to live here. She has seen her mother a couple of times, but very rarely. Once she marries, we won’t be her family anymore.”
First Daughter grunted and crumpled up the page she was working on and threw it to the floor.
“I wish I’d been born a boy,” First Daughter grumbled, trying her best not to cry.
“Why?” Lady Li asked, aghast.
“Because boys never have to leave their mothers.”
The pain in Lady Li’s heart was too great. She pulled both her daughters, her world, her reason for living, to her and held them tight.
“I will always be your mother,” she whispered. “I will always be here for you.”
After she kissed away her daughter’s tears and comforted them as best she could, she sent them to their grandmother while she straightened up their books. The pamphlet for the opera slipped out from the papers and fluttered to the floor. She picked it up and read the introduction to Wangshu.
Daughter of the great opera performer Wangdi, Wangshu was born with opera in her blood. As a performer for the empress, Wangshu has already achieved great heights. Yet she has agreed to descend to the world of mortals as the legendary Concubine Yu, who sacrificed all for love and duty.
Lady Li knew of some women who worked outside the home, but mostly they were the wives of tradesmen and laborers. Hardworking lower-class women who ran shops and served tea or sewed clothes. She had never considered that there could be a path through life that didn’t involve marriage.
Of course, it would be ludicrous to think that her children might not marry but have some sort of career. But just for one night, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to dream about another life.
Maybe they could all use a night at the opera.
2
Inspector Gong apprehensively knocked on the door of Prince Kung’s mansion. It had only been a few days since he had found out who killed the girl in the British Quarter, and the prince had been busy trying to calm the foreign powers who had been all too eager to declare war on China over the incident. He was sure the prince would not be in a kindly mood, yet his mother had refused to let him delay in speaking with the prince about getting an imperial dispensation to marry Swan. If he had to choose between an angry Prince Kung or an angry mother, Inspector Gong would choose the prince every time.
Only mere seconds after knocking, a servant opened the door and motioned for the inspector to enter. He was quickly ushered into a sitting room and offered a chair and tea, but he was too anxious to sit. He paced, admiring the many wall scrolls depicting mountains and rivers, swooping cranes, and galloping horses. Prince Kung loved art and culture and was a patron for many talented artists. His home was like a museum, housing countless relics and treasures from centuries of Chinese history.
“Enjoying my latest procurement, I see,” Prince Kung said as he entered the room and caught Inspector Gong staring at a painting of a dancing woman. “It arrived while I was in endless meetings with Mr. Burlingame.”
Inspector Gong raised an eyebrow. He kept the peace here at home while the prince dealt with the empire’s international relations. He followed some of the news dealing with foreigners, but for the most part he ignored foreign issues.
“The Americans weren’t involved in the threats against us after the girl died,” Inspector Gong said. “Interesting that the US envoy would be meeting with you now.”
“The vultures are always circling,” Prince Kung said. “Looking for an opportunity to strike in a way that benefits them the most. But Burlingame’s proposal is an interesting one. He wants to allow the Chinese to immigrate to America with no restrictions.”
Inspector Gong scoffed. “The empress and magistrates can’t be too happy about that. And how would it benefit the Americans?”
“They need workers,” Prince Kung said as he sat in a chair and let out a long exhale. “American industry is exploding, and the American people are settling millions of li across the West. America has money and jobs but needs more people.”
“Money. Jobs. People?” Inspection Gong said, finally calming enough to take a seat himself. “All things we need here in China.”
Prince Kung nodded as he poured each of them a glass of baijiu. “Yes, but by allowing our people to go if they wish could earn us a lot of goodwill from the Americans. We need more allies in the world. Plus, maybe people who are…dissatisfied here would cause less trouble if they could just leave instead of rebelling.”
Inspector Gong eyed the prince but kept his opinions to himself as he downed the harsh liquor. But the prince would not let his friend stay silent on the matter.
“What?” the prince prodded. “You do not agree?”
“You’re dreaming if you think the people who are unhappy with Manchu rule are simply going to leave their homeland,” Inspector Gong said bluntly.
“I am only trying to buy the empress time,” the prince said into his glass. “She knows that changes must be made, changes my brother fought me on for years. If she can enact the modernizations we need, the Han may be less likely to continue their rebellions, at least for a few decades. Until the new emperor can take the throne. But we all know the days of the Qing Dynasty are numbered.”
Inspector Gong had seen the prince despondent over the state of his country over the years. When they fought against rebels together in the western countryside. The day his father chose his brother over him to be the next emperor. The day the British burned the Summer Palace. But the prince had never given up. He had never stopped fighting to preserve the empire that his ancestors had forged. But there was now a weariness in the prince’s eyes that Inspector Gong had not seen before. The prince was not old by any means, but a life of never-ending daily battles would take its toll on even the strongest of men.
“When one is riding a tiger, it can be hard to dismount,” Inspector Gong said, reciting the common phrase to give his friend encouragement not to give up.
Prince Kung laughed. “And I thought I was the scholar.”
“Hey, I had expensive tutors as well,” Inspector Gong said, pouring them each a new glass of baijiu. “Just don’t let my mother find out that I remember anything I learned.”
“How is she these days?” the prince asked as they clinked their glasses together and downed the drinks in one gulp.
Inspector Gong could already feel the alcohol warming his cheeks and making him lightheaded. “She’s quite well. Rather busy these days. I…I’ve agreed to marry…finally.”
“You old dog,” Prince King said, slapping him on the back. “About time! Who is she?”
“That’s why I’m here,” Inspector Gong said. “She’s Manchu. We need imperial permission to marry.” It was against the law for a Han like Inspector Gong to marry a Manchu like Swan, but some exceptions could be made with high enough permission.
The prince’s face dropped. “You know I would if I could,” he said. “But Lady Li is too high ranking. You’d need permission from the empress, but even then—”
“It’s not Lady Li,” Inspector Gong interrupted. “It’s her late husband’s concubine, Swan.”
“Swan?” the prince asked, confused. “You want to marry Swan?”
“Yes,” Inspector Gong said firmly. “She proved to be quite an asset recently. We might not have found the killer in the legation without
her help. I think she would make a capable wife.”
“I don’t doubt Swan’s capability,” the prince said. “But…you and Lady Li…does Swan know?”
The inspector wasn’t sure just how dumb he should play. The prince knew that Inspector Gong and Lady Li had grown close, but whether he knew that they had actually been lovers, the inspector wasn’t sure.
“I’m not sure what Swan knows,” Inspector Gong admitted. “But Lady Li and I both agreed that Swan needs a new husband. And my mother is hell-bent on finding me a wife. This solves two problems at once.”
“Do you know she’s an opium addict?” the prince asked bluntly.
“I assumed as much when I found her in an opium den a few days ago,” Inspector Gong said as though it was no big deal. “How did you know?”
“I know everything that goes on in Lady Li’s home,” the prince nearly yelled, but then he snapped his mouth shut and paced in a circle. He stuttered, as though he couldn’t decide if he should laugh or be angry.
Inspector Gong knew that many years before, back when Lady Li was a lady-in-waiting at the Forbidden City, before she was married, she and the prince had been in love and hoped to marry. But circumstance kept them apart, and she ended up married to someone else. The inspector knew that the prince and Lady Li were no longer lovers, but they had remained close friends. At the prince’s outburst, he couldn’t help but wonder, and not for the first time, if there was more to their current relationship than he thought.
“This is ludicrous,” the prince finally settled on. “You’ve been sleeping with Lady Li yet you’re taking her opium eating slave to wife? Not just as a concubine, which you wouldn’t need my permission for. Have you completely lost your senses? What does your mother think?”
“My mother can be surprisingly open-minded when she wants something badly enough,” Inspector Gong said.
“Does she know Swan is addicted to opium?” the prince asked.
Inspector Gong sighed and dropped his arms. “No, she does not. But Lady Li is keeping Swan confined and watched at all times so she can’t access it anymore. By the time we marry, I’m certain her addiction will be broken.”
“You and I have both seen the effects of opium on our people,” the prince said darkly. “You know it is not that simple.”
“Are you going to give me permission to marry Swan or not?” the inspector asked.
“I’d rather marry her myself if it kept you from doing something this stupid,” the prince grumbled.
“I’d marry Lady Li if I could,” Inspector Gong said. “I’ve all but formally asked her. But you know we can’t. She won’t. There’s too much at risk for her. But Swan is the next best thing. She’s smart, beautiful, still young. If I’d never met Lady Li, I’d think there was no woman better for me than Swan.”
“But you have met Lady Li,” the prince said. “Can you really care for Swan the way she deserves when all of us know what you really want?”
“All I can do is try,” the inspector said, the words coming out more defeated than he meant. “Lady Li, Swan, my mother, and I have all agreed to the arrangement. All we need is your permission to see it through. If I didn’t want this, I could have just told them that you refused without ever really asking you. I’m here because I want your permission. Prince Kung, will you give me leave to marry Yun Swan?”
The prince rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Well, who am I to prevent you from making the biggest mistake of your life?”
Inspector Gong gave the prince the fist-in-palm salute and bowed. “Thank you.”
“I’ll have the paper drawn up and stamped tomorrow,” the prince said. “But for now, I need a break from all this madness. I’m going to the opera. Want to accompany me? My wife, Guwalgiya, will be accompanying me.”
“The highest-ranking man in the country and his wife attending a public opera?” Inspector Gong asked. “How scandalous.”
The prince picked up a pamphlet from a table and handed it to him. “It’s the first public opera in Peking to feature a woman in the role of the dan.”
“Is it?” Inspector Gong asked, intrigued, as he skimmed the pamphlet. “The empress made it legal for women to be actors months ago, didn’t she?”
“She did,” the prince said. “But no women have dared to do so, or their opera troops have not allowed them to. Bucking social order is not something the people eagerly accept.”
“So what made this Wangshu decide to take the risk?” the inspector asked.
“She has been performing in the empress’s private troop for years,” the prince explained. “I’ve seen her perform many times. She’s quite talented. Comes from a long line of performers. But when the empress realized that there were no women willing to step into the role of the dan after she gave them permission, she asked Wangshu to set the example.”
“Why does the empress care so much?” the inspector asked. “She can have whoever she wants to perform in her private troop.”
“The empress and I have been working together for a long time,” the prince said, which was rather an understatement. The empress was only ruling China because she and the prince—with the help of Lady Li—had overthrown the men that the last emperor had selected to be the new emperor’s guardian until he came of age. After a lifetime of faithful service, the emperor had completely pushed Prince Kung out of his son’s future government. The empress and Prince Kung knew that the Qing Dynasty would fall immediately if that happened, so they had the new regents exiled or executed and set the empress up to rule on her son’s behalf with Prince Kung as her chief advisor.
“The empress wants to make changes,” the prince went on. “She wants to modernize the country, but she has to be careful. Move slowly. Too many changes too quickly will spook the ministers and the people. Allowing women to perform in the opera is her small way of embarking on social change. She wants this first tiny change to be a success.”
“Sounds like more trouble than it’s worth,” the inspector said, handing the pamphlet back. “I think I’ll stay home for once.”
“I’d rather you went,” the prince said. “I’m going to support Wangshu and the empress, and to set an example for the other nobles. But Wangshu has been receiving threatening letters. People have been harassing her on the street. She’s worried about her safety. I told her she didn’t need to worry, but I’d feel more confident if you were there tonight.”
“So now I’m to play bodyguard for an actress?” Inspector Gong asked, wrinkling his nose. “Sounds like a dreadful way to spend an evening.”
The prince sighed. “It would certainly be a shame if something were to happen to her and I ended up too busy to get that marriage dispensation for you.”
“Where’s my ticket?” Inspector Gong asked.
3
First Daughter and Second Daughter were nearly bouncing with excitement in the sedan chair as the chair-bearers carried the girls and Lady Li to the theater.
“I can’t wait to see the costumes!” First Daughter said as she tried to peek through the tied curtains of the sedan chair.
“The singing! The dancing!” Second Daughter exclaimed as she tried to move her sister out of the way so she could see out.
“Calm down, girls,” Lady Li chided. “You make it harder for the boys to carry us with you moving back and forth.”
“The sword fighting!” First Daughter said, not hearing her mother. “Just like Mongeyisu!” They both then devolved into a fit of laughter. They loved pretending they were Mongeyisu, the Manchu heroine of myth and legend.
“Girls, please!” Lady Li tried again, physically forcing them to their seats. “You must sit down! I can have the boys take you right back home where you can sit in your rooms like Swan!”
That got the girls’ attention, and they quickly sat, with their hands folded in their laps, but their feet continued to wiggle.
“Why couldn’t Swan come, mama?” First Daughter asked.
“It wouldn’t be proper for a betroth
ed woman to be seen in public,” Lady Li said, which both was and was not true. Had Swan been never married, it would be inappropriate for her to be out in public where other men can see her. As a widow, however, there were no rules about her being seen in public as long as she was properly supervised. She had left strict instructions with the staff to make sure that Swan didn’t leave her room and that no one was to deliver her anything other than food from the kitchen. Everyone knew that Swan’s marriage depended on breaking her opium addiction. And while Swan herself wanted to come out of the cloud and marry Inspector Gong, Lady Li knew that the mere thought of having a bit of opium could break the resolve of the strongest person.
She wished she could have left Eunuch Bai behind. He was the only person she really trusted with her household in her absence. But as a woman herself, she shouldn’t be seen at a public event without a male escort, so he was with her, trotting along outside the sedan chair with the chair-bearers.
Lady Li rubbed her forehead and tried to forget all her troubles, just for one night. She needed the break, the escape from the world. She was looking forward to the opera and hoped it would provide her with a well-deserved distraction.
The White Lotus Theater was a bustle of activity. Men and women of every social standing were in attendance. Some people were trying to get into the theater while others were just milling about outside. Some people were hawking their wares, including some women who were offering their services.
“How can you support this abomination!” one man screamed at Lady Li as she exited the sedan chair. “You should be contained to your own house! Women should be kept behind silk screens!”
Lady Li looked around and saw several angry faces chiding the people who were trying to enter. She hadn’t expected to see protesters here. She nearly climbed back into her chair, afraid for her children’s safety, when she felt Eunuch Bai’s hand on her arm.
The Qing Dynasty Mysteries - Books 1-3 Page 34
