by Jeannie Lin
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
HE WAS LYING on the floor with his face pressed against the packed dirt. Kaifeng shifted, trying to find a position where his muscles didn’t throb, but there was none. He settled on moving as little as possible.
Footsteps came, accompanied by the creak of the cell door. He opened one eye to stare at a pair of boots.
“You’ve been released, Wu.”
The voice didn’t belong to that demon Xi Lun. It was one of the deputy magistrates.
Hands reached for him and attempted to hook beneath his arms to haul him up. Kaifeng shook them away and pushed himself up. It took several attempts, but he managed to struggle to his feet on his own. A sharp pain shot through his chest. His ribs were most certainly broken.
They unlocked the chains from his wrists and his ankles and then led him outdoors where the light stabbed into his eyes like a thousand pinpricks. Squinting, he tried to discern who was there. Li Yen wasn’t there, but Inspector Xi and his thugs were also gone.
“You’ve been dismissed from your position, Wu.” It was one of the constables speaking now. He sounded regretful. “You no longer work for the magistrate, but you’re free to go.”
Kaifeng sucked in a breath as he tried to move. He was a sack of bones and flesh barely threaded together as he willed one foot in front of the other. At some point, he lost track of time. He was now outside the yamen, staring at the street. Suddenly a litter appeared before him. He didn’t remember it stopping there.
“Help me bring him inside,” a female voice implored.
This time he didn’t fight as strong arms hefted him into the litter. Instead of being laid out on the wooden seat, he found his head resting on the softest, most welcoming pillow in the world.
“Please forgive me, Kaifeng.”
Cool fingers brushed the hair away from his eyes and ran gently down his cheek. Mingyu. It had to be her. It was her voice, her touch, the scent of her skin. As he settled into her lap, Kaifeng shut his eyes and let his hand close around her knee as he drifted once more. He wanted something to hold on to. To be sure Mingyu would still be there when he awoke.
* * *
“DRINK.”
Mingyu was still there, cradling him in her arms as she lifted a bowl to his lips. He’d been denied food and water while imprisoned and the first sip brought a raging thirst upon him. He drank in big greedy gulps, the cool drink reviving him.
Next came a cold soup that Mingyu fed to him spoon by spoon. When he tried to speak, she was rather strict.
“The doctor said to finish this.”
He did as he was told. After the soup was done, she lowered his head gingerly back onto the bed.
“Where are we?” he asked, peering around.
The furniture was made of dark, polished wood and decorated with carvings. The accommodations were much finer than anything he was accustomed to.
“We’re in Lord Bai’s family mansion.”
“I thought you might have taken me back to the Lotus Palace.”
Her lips pressed into a hard line. “You know I won’t go back there.”
Her expression remained focused as she untied his belt and opened the edges of his tunic to expose his chest. What she saw broke through her composed facade.
Her voice trembled. “Kaifeng—”
“It looks worse than it feels.”
Which was true. It had been two days since his so-called interrogation. Other than the occasional stab in his side from his broken ribs, the sharpness of the pain had receded into a dull, throbbing ache. The lack of water had been worse on his body than the physical blows, to tell the truth of it.
“The damage was inflicted days ago, breaking vessels beneath the skin and causing the blood to pool,” he explained. “As time goes by, the blood coagulates and darkens. Bruising, as ugly as it is, is a sign of healing.”
He could see the dissertation wasn’t helping her, but somehow he couldn’t stop.
Mingyu squeezed her eyes shut, effectively silencing him. “How can you be so unaffected by what happened?”
“I’m not unaffected,” he said quietly.
Worse than the beating were the things Xi Lun had told him. Things he knew to be true.
He regarded Mingyu as she stood over him, still so beautiful, with a sharpness to her beauty that cut deep inside him. It was difficult to look at her again. To look at her was to want her and that was the cruelest pain of all.
“Inspector Xi told me that it was well-known how you resented me.”
She swallowed and her look was one of anguish. “That was a long time ago.”
“Not that long ago, Mingyu.”
Her eyes opened and she sank down onto the bed next to him, her head beside his shoulder. She rested her fingertips against his arm. “I’m so sorry,” she said brokenly.
He ran his tongue over his lips. Even with the water she’d given him, his throat was still dry. “You hated me for what I did to you.”
“You made me afraid. For the first time in a long time, I felt completely helpless.”
Afraid. When Mingyu had surrendered herself to him in the middle of the street, it hadn’t been a surrender at all. She’d approached him like a goddess with the world at her feet. The memory was etched so deep in his mind that he could see her now, her red robe, her hair falling down her back, skin as pale as snow and just as pure. He might have fallen a bit in love with her at that moment, way back then.
And then he’d tried to force a confession out of her because it was his duty and...how dare anyone affect him so. Against all will of his own.
Yet it had tortured him to hurt her. And then he couldn’t rid her from his thoughts.
“There is no need for you to be sorry,” he told her. “Xi Lun couldn’t accuse you so readily if I hadn’t listed your name as a suspect.”
“Why did you do that?” she asked, startled.
“It was a reasonable conclusion. I didn’t want to let emotion cloud my judgment.” He inhaled, exhaled. Felt the labor of his breath against his ribs. “I didn’t protect you from him as I should have.”
“It wasn’t your doing.” Her mouth was tight as she regarded him. “The inspector would have found a way to punish me regardless for daring to run away from him.”
There was no way to avoid the truth. They had done this to each other.
Mingyu raised herself from the bed and removed his tunic. Ever careful of his ribs, she rolled him onto his side. He heard a sharp intake of breath above him as she glimpsed his back.
“It only looks bad,” he reminded her, though it wasn’t completely true. Every movement hurt. He could only breathe in shallow gasps.
Mingyu’s first touch came at the hard knots of muscle between his neck and shoulder. She was tenuous at first, being gentler than she needed to be as she ran her hands down his back.
“The doctor said this would help with the aches and pains.”
Her fingers were coated now with medicated oil. As the sharp scent of licorice root and peppermint surrounded him, he was brought back to his foster father’s shop in Suzhou province. The dark, cool interior lined with so many tiny cabinets containing various flowers and roots and seeds. Ginseng and cinnamon leaf. The harsh smell of camphor.
There was the old couch in back where ailing patients lay to have their aching joints and muscles tended to. Not by a beautiful courtesan like Mingyu, but with a similar herbal ointment.
The mixture warmed and reacted as it soaked into his skin. The soup Mingyu had given him was also beginning to take effect, taking away the edge of the pain and dulling even the throbbing in his ribs. It must have contained the minang poppy. He was becoming drowsy, his limbs heavy and boneless.
“Turn over.”
Her voice floated to him as if t
hrough clouds. Obediently, he did as she asked. Mingyu could have asked him to swallow fire at that moment and he would have been powerless to resist.
Now he was on his back, facing her as she massaged the oil into his arms and torso. The medicine heated his muscles, draining away the tension.
“How did you manage to free me?”
Mingyu was avoiding his eyes, focusing instead on whatever part of him she was tending to. “It wasn’t me. Lord Bai spoke to the authorities on your behalf.”
She was denying her part in it, but he knew better. Bai Huang wouldn’t have raised his voice if it weren’t for Mingyu.
“I thought you might have negotiated with Xi Lun.”
Her hands paused on him. “In his bed, you mean?”
He didn’t answer.
Mingyu sank her nails lightly into his stomach, just enough to make him jump. “Never.”
She resumed her ministrations. The muscles of his abdomen tensed as she stroked downward, kneading in small circles.
“I’m grateful for that,” he admitted.
The thought of that demon touching her made his blood boil. Kaifeng didn’t want Mingyu to belong to any other man—not that she belonged to him.
“Magistrate Li also played a part,” she said. “He tried to free you from the start, immediately sending copies of his petition to the imperial court as well as all of the Six Ministries. In the end, it was his plea that the official decree acted upon.”
Kaifeng assumed that Li had abandoned him. Instead, the magistrate had been fighting valiantly in his own bureaucratic fashion.
“Li Yen,” he muttered. “The skin would have been flayed from my back before he secured my release.”
“But he would have prevailed.”
Kaifeng snorted. “He would have prevailed.”
A smile graced Mingyu’s lips before her hair fell over her cheek to cover it.
His foster father had charts and diagrams detailing all of the pressure points within the human body. Within the points was the power to cure any ailment, to restore balance, to heal. Mingyu’s hands moved over him now, unintentionally locating each secret meridian and discovering the invisible wounds that had scarred over a long time ago.
As she soothed over his bruises with more kindness and care than his flesh had ever known, it was easy to forgive her. He had always known who Mingyu was: proud, haughty, emotional and tormented. And he was who he was. Relentless. Detached.
Kaifeng was doing the same thing he always had. Looking over whatever calamity had befallen him, building a wall around it, walking away. But the barriers wouldn’t form around Mingyu. He could feel the parts inside of him where she had become embedded.
He should tell her that there was nothing to forgive. That he knew what she was doing now, caring for him, trying to heal his wounds in any way she could. Kaifeng wasn’t unaffected by it. He was moved.
But the words wouldn’t come. It was better for Mingyu that the walls remain in place. He was sharper that way and he needed all of his instincts in place. Even though he was no longer constable, Kaifeng still had a case to solve. A case that would determine Mingyu’s fate as well as his own.
“Mingyu, you must do something for me.”
She rushed to help him as he tried to push up from the bed. “Yes. Anything.”
“Bring the magistrate. I need to speak with Li Yen immediately.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THEY HAD LITTLE time to prepare for Li Yen’s arrival. Mingyu took extra care as she helped Kaifeng into a sitting position.
“You can stay hidden, if you wish,” he suggested.
“What good would that do? Without my word, there’s no support to the claim that General Deng is alive.”
She did have her doubts about bringing the magistrate into their confidence, but Kaifeng seemed to trust him. In any case, the time for debate was over as a knock came on the door to announce Li’s arrival.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Kaifeng promised.
“You can barely move,” she chided as she started for the door.
He caught her hand before she made it very far. His pupils focused into two sharp points as he regarded her.
“I won’t let anything happen.” It was a promise.
Mingyu nodded, too choked with emotion to speak. She had thought he would hate her after what Xi Lun had done to him.
A second knock came. Li Yen paused when she opened the door and a worry line formed over his youthful features.
She beckoned him inside, unperturbed. “Wu is waiting for you.”
“Lady Mingyu, if anyone discovers I know where you are, it could be disastrous for me.”
There was no need to say who he was concerned about.
“Forgive this humble servant’s observation, but there seems to be more important matters at hand. And are you not still the county magistrate?”
Li didn’t respond to her not-so-subtle reminder, but something sparked in his eyes. He entered the chamber and stopped at the foot of the bed to look over his former constable.
Kaifeng had not suffered any blows to the face and his clothing hid the map of bruises over his body, but anyone could see how he struggled to remain composed. The drug was taking effect, causing his breathing to slow and making his eyelids heavy.
But duty came first with Wu Kaifeng.
“Li,” he greeted.
“Wu.” He took the stool beside the bed. “What is it you wanted me to know?”
“I have discovered that the person beheaded was not General Deng.”
Mingyu ventured over to stand beside Kaifeng in case he needed her assistance, but also to get a clear view of the interaction. Her future depended on this case.
Li Yen took the news in stride. “How do you know this?”
Kaifeng nodded toward her.
“I reviewed the sketches,” she said, allowing Kaifeng to save his breath. “The body didn’t belong to the general, I’m certain of it.”
“This explanation also aligns with our other observations,” Kaifeng explained. “Why Deng wasn’t accompanied by his usual bodyguards. How the victim did not defend himself.”
“It will be difficult to prove anything,” the magistrate said, frowning. “Especially when Deng’s widow identified the body as her husband’s.”
Kaifeng shook his head. “We don’t need to prove anything. We take what we know and force Deng out of hiding. He’s the murderer here, not the victim. He deceived us all.”
Li bowed his head momentarily in thought. When he lifted it again, his decision was made. “What do you propose?”
“Deng’s widow and son must be put under house arrest. The servants, as well. Bring Yuan Lo, the steward, in for questioning. He will be the most willing to talk.”
Kaifeng’s eyes were glazing over, but he listed his instructions clearly while Li listened with rapt attention. There was some history between the two men, Mingyu was certain of it.
“It will be difficult to put the Deng family on house arrest,” the magistrate pointed out. “But perhaps I could pose it another way. The magistrate’s office is within rights to assign guard detail for their own safety.”
“A good plan,” Kaifeng agreed. “There’s something else you should know. I made Inspector Xi aware of our suspicions.”
“What did he say?”
Kaifeng paused, his expression going cold. “He said nothing. At least not with words.”
Mingyu started toward Kaifeng, but stopped herself. They weren’t alone and their association was far from a proper one. Li’s eyebrows lifted as he regarded the two of them. She challenged his curious stare with one that was pleasantly blank.
The magistrate was the first to look away. “We’ll need to resolve this quickly, h
opefully before the Palace Bureau becomes entangled in it.” Li stood, noticeably invigorated by the conversation. He sobered as Kaifeng took much longer to struggle to his feet. “I am sorry, Wu. I’ll have you re-instated as constable once this investigation is over and your name is cleared.”
“Let us focus on the task at hand. Nothing more.”
Kaifeng bowed in farewell and Li did the same. Mingyu waited until the magistrate was gone before coming forward.
“You shouldn’t be standing up,” she scolded.
“It’s not so bad.”
Kaifeng pressed a hand tight against his side as he lowered himself back onto the bed.
She sat down beside him as Kaifeng bent his head to catch his breath. “Is pride worth it?”
He turned only his head to face her, his lips lifting in a slow, crooked smile. “If pride is all one has left.”
His movements grew languid and his speech slowed as the drug took full effect.
Guilt needled its way into her chest. “It troubles you not to be able to hunt down Deng yourself, doesn’t it?”
“I would like to see this to the end, for both of our sakes.”
To the end of the investigation? Or of their time together?
“You should rest.”
Mingyu draped her arm around his shoulders to ease him back into bed. He sank back willingly, watching her the entire time. When her touch lingered on his arm, he looked at the point of contact as if studying it.
“Should I go?” Why did it break her heart to have to ask that question?
“No, stay.”
Careful not to disturb him, she lay down on the edge of the bed. He was fully clothed, those awful bruises covered up, but she knew they were there.
Even though they had become lovers, Mingyu hadn’t developed that familiar ease around Kaifeng that came with a long-time patron. Whenever he was close, her pulse raced. She was acutely aware of his every action and gesture.
“You and Magistrate Li knew one another before you came to the capital?” she inquired tentatively.
“We met in Suzhou.”
“Were you a constable there?”
“I was nothing.”
