by Jeannie Lin
“A man can’t be nothing,” she teased. “Even a beggar is something.”
At least he smiled. “A hired hand,” he amended. “A job here and there. I was taken in by the physician Guo to keep me from wandering the streets, but I wandered, anyway. He tried to teach me his profession so that he might pass on his practice, but I was a failure. Without any will or desire of my own, when soldiers came to recruit for the local garrison, I went.”
Mingyu listened with fascination. “I’ve never heard you speak so much about your past.”
“It’s the minang soup. The poppy makes one’s thoughts wander.”
“I must remember that.”
“It can also be poisonous. Such is true of many remedies, light properties along with dark. People are like that, as well. Cruel, then kind.”
Kaifeng was getting maudlin. And free with his words. She was rather fond of the condition.
He shifted to seek out a more comfortable position. Even the small movement made him wince and her heart broke again for him.
“Is there anything I can do?”
He shook his head and let it fall back heavily. “Time is all it takes. Everything heals with time.”
His voice had slowed to a deep, rumbling drawl and his eyelids drooped.
Mingyu edged closer to him, reaching out to lay her hand over his. At first Kaifeng didn’t react, but after a moment his fingers began to move absently between hers, as if searching for a place to belong.
“How did you meet Magistrate Li?” She probably shouldn’t disturb him, but she wanted the intimacy of the moment to last a little longer.
Kaifeng’s breathing deepened and she thought he had fallen asleep, but he started talking again.
“Li Yen had been appointed as deputy magistrate of the local county. One day someone brought an unusual petition before the tribunal. The local physician was being accused of causing the death of one of his patients.”
“Dear Heaven—”
“Old Guo,” he confirmed.
Kaifeng opened his eyes. The drowsiness was momentarily banished from them, but his gaze was distant, wandering somewhere in the past before focusing back on her.
“I shouldn’t pry into your past,” she apologized. “This is a private memory.”
“No, I want you to know. Xi Lun knows.” He paused, his jaw hardening before he continued. “The man who accused the physician was a wealthy landowner. His nephew, the man claimed, was a healthy and vigorous youth. Yet after going to Guo for his headaches, the young man died mysteriously the very next day.
“Li Yen acted as record-keeper as the head magistrate questioned patients and neighbors. Once his investigation was done, my foster father was brought before the tribunal. The verdict was a shock to all who knew him.”
She squeezed his hand to reassure him, but Kaifeng didn’t react. He continued with his story as if reading a report.
“The magistrate declared that though Old Guo was well-respected in the past, he had grown careless during the last year. Patients reported they would become ill after treatment. A search of Old Guo’s medicine cabinet revealed that many of the remedies were sorted incorrectly. And when the concoction he had given the victim was brewed and fed to a pig, the animal died the next day.
“After that, the magistrate attempted leniency, ruling that the young man’s death was unintentional. My foster father suffered a public beating and a heavy fine. His shop was closed and he was no longer allowed to practice.
“Old Guo accepted his punishment with quiet humility, but he was known for being meticulous. He taught me how to organize that cabinet himself. Once I put the wrong herb into one of the drawers. When Guo found out, he was so angry that he struck me. He shouted at me for being careless. Guo had always been so soft-spoken that I knew this to be serious. Life and death. That’s how I knew Old Guo would never be so forgetful. I swore I would clear his name.”
“What could you possibly do? The magistrate had already handed down his sentence.”
“That is when I became acquainted with Li Yen. He had his doubts from the beginning, as well, but the head magistrate wasn’t convinced. We did our own investigation and found the medicine cabinets had been tampered with. Patients had been bribed to exaggerate or even lie outright. Some hadn’t even been treated by Old Guo. And the true reason for the ruse—the victim’s father had passed way, leaving him land that the greedy uncle wanted for himself.”
Kaifeng was beginning to fade again. Mingyu was so caught up in the tale, she feared she wouldn’t hear the end. “So you redeemed your foster father as you promised.”
“No.”
She gave him a look of confusion.
“The head magistrate refused to rescind his sentence. Pride, perhaps. Ignorance, certainly. But the damage was already done. Old Guo hadn’t left his room since the verdict and refused to eat unless I sat beside him, watching over every bite. When I told him the truth, the light seemed to return to his eyes. ‘You have been a dutiful son,’ he told me. The next day he took his own life.”
The story ended with a crash of silence. There was nothing more to be said or done.
Mingyu felt the indignity of it down to her bones. Her fists were clenched for this physician she hadn’t even known, yet there was no sign of rage from Kaifeng. She could feel the tension within him, the echoes of a strong emotion buried deep.
He wasn’t without feeling. Pain, for some, was an absence. A wound to be worn inside. She wanted to reach for him, but there was no way to hold him without hurting him further.
“You’ve always been searching for justice,” she murmured.
“There is no justice.” His breathing deepened as he began to drift. “There are only answers.”
Only when his eyes were closed did she touch a hand to his cheek. Sleep only softened his features a little. She bent down to kiss his lips, lingering there longer than she should have.
“I don’t blame you for what happened,” he mumbled as she straightened.
His words were slurred and his eyes remained closed. Just like that, he was asleep again.
She fought back tears. Was this awful ache inside her due to guilt or because she had come to care for him? She didn’t know. Everything she felt flooded in all at once, overwhelming her—fear, pain and loss.
Mingyu stood by the door for a long time, composing herself before stepping out into the courtyard where everyone was waiting. Bai Huang and Yue-ying stood beside one another, two halves of a whole as they looked at her with concern.
Wei-wei was the first to speak. “How is he?”
Mingyu remained calm as she came forward. The storm within her had quieted momentarily. She had brought those treacherous emotions under control and they now awaited her command.
“I want Inspector Xi Lun,” she declared. “I want him destroyed.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“THE PHYSICIAN TOLD you to move as little as possible.”
Mingyu was standing inside the door, tray in hand and a stern look upon her face. Kaifeng had a hand braced against the bed and one foot on the floor, having just been caught trying to get up.
“Exercise is good for healing,” he stated. “It balances out the elements.”
She blinked pointedly at him while he kept his expression blank.
“You’re making that up,” she accused.
Mingyu came toward him, but not fast enough to prevent him from straightening onto his feet. His chest complained, but he ignored it. If Mingyu caught him showing any signs of pain, she would use it to confine him to the bed. She was stricter than a prison warden.
“I have been lying here all week.”
“Three days,” she corrected.
They reached the table at the same time and Mingyu set her tray upon it as he stru
ggled onto the stool. She ignored his efforts and he was grateful. She had figured out quickly he didn’t take to being treated as an invalid.
Kaifeng remained silent as Mingyu arranged the contents of the tray onto the table. He in turn had discovered that Mingyu placed high value on small rituals and courtesies and it was actually soothing to watch her as she did such common things as place a pot of tea to the right and a plate of cakes to the left, all with a sense of grace and balance.
The first sip of his tea tasted cloyingly of honey immediately followed by a strong bitter flavor that coated his tongue. Poppy tea, to take his pains and cares away. He set the lid back on the bowl and set it aside. “Not today.”
Without argument, Mingyu placed an empty bowl before him and poured fresh tea from the pot.
“I must find out whether Li Yen has made any progress,” he began.
“Magistrate Li is still investigating the matter,” she reported curtly. “He thinks Deng might have fled the city. Lord Bai disagrees.”
“Bai Huang has certainly shown a special interest in the general.”
Mingyu murmured something that meant nothing and sipped her tea, gaze downward. If she could tell when he was lying, he could certainly determine when she was hiding something.
“You had a longtime association with Deng. What is your opinion?” Kaifeng asked.
Her reply was immediate. “I have little understanding of such struggles of power.”
He shot her a stern look.
“I think Deng does not feel secure enough to make his next move,” she relented. “He must be hiding and gathering his supporters.” She frowned, struggling over the next part.
“What is it?”
“I am surprised he would take so long to act. Deng was never a patient man. After creating such a diversion, I would have expected Deng to take advantage immediately.”
“Are you still loyal to him?” he asked.
The question took her off guard, which he supposed was his intention.
“Deng is already dead to me. I’ve mourned him.”
“What if he asked for you? Would you go to him?” He gritted his teeth as he waited for her answer. Deng was the powerful protector Mingyu had courted for most of her life.
“We suspect General Deng of treason,” she said evenly. “I would be a fool to go to him.”
“That wasn’t the sort of reply I was looking for.”
Why were his palms sweating, his pulsing racing? He couldn’t even find the right questions to ask.
Mingyu looked downward, rearranging a teapot that didn’t need to be rearranged. “I didn’t love Deng. I never loved him and never hoped I would come to love him. I know this now.” She took a deep breath before meeting his eyes. “I know this now because I didn’t feel as if a part of me was missing when we were apart. Knowing he’s in danger doesn’t make me fear for him, even more than I do for myself.”
Color rose high on her cheeks as she watched him, waiting for his reaction. Kaifeng gripped his teacup so tightly that the liquid splashed warm over his fingers. He needed to say something to her, anything.
“Mingyu!”
Someone else called her name the same time he meant to. Yue-ying flew into the room. She was out of breath as she took hold of Mingyu’s arm.
“The magistrate is coming. The servants saw him riding with an armed escort in this direction. Ten men. Maybe more.”
Ignoring the throb in his ribs, Kaifeng pushed to his feet. “Li Yen is on our side.”
“Unless his hand is being forced by a superior.” Yue-ying’s loyalty for her sister outweighed everything. She turned to Mingyu. “We need to get you somewhere safe in case he’s here to arrest you.”
Mingyu stood her ground. “If Li is here to arrest me, I have no choice but to go with him.”
“But Huang is at the ministry offices. We can’t protect you from the magistrate.”
“I’ll meet with Li,” Kaifeng interjected. “I can usually make him see reason.”
Yue-ying left to inform the rest of the household while Mingyu gathered his boots and his outer robe. Dressing was a slow affair. He moved with the quickness of his great-grandfather and was unable to lift his arms above his shoulders without a jolt of pain.
“Come here,” Mingyu said. “Sit.”
Kaifeng lowered himself onto the stool facing her. She undid the tie and raked her fingers through the length of his hair.
“You look like a barbarian,” she complained, but her voice surrounded him like a warm blanket.
Her pale throat was before him and the swell of her breasts covered by nothing more than a wispy layer of silk. Kaifeng’s tongue grew thick in his mouth as he tried to remember what he meant to say to her.
“I never loved him and never hoped I would come to love him.”
She’d said it with sincerity, with her heart completely open. It was an admission. A confession. But what on his grave did she mean?
“I know this now. I know this now, because...”
Damn it all. Mingyu was asking him some question in that subtle and mysterious way women employed. And she was the essence of all that was feminine and yin and confusing.
She leaned in closer, her arms reaching around him to tie back his hair. The brush of silk and skin against him sent a shudder down his spine.
His hands rounded her waist where they fit perfectly. It was so tempting to believe this woman was meant for him.
“Mingyu,” he began.
“Yes?” She sounded breathless.
He held her apart so he could see her face. She appeared calm, almost tranquil, as if she truly were of another world and nothing on this earth could touch her. Now he understood what that look meant.
It meant Mingyu was preparing for battle.
“When I first saw you, I noticed nothing more than your beauty. But there are many beautiful women in the Pingkang li. Beautiful and talented, as well.”
Mingyu remained silent and still within his grasp. He could sense the tension gathering along her spine.
“The second time I saw you, when I truly saw you, was when you came to me in the street. It was a defiant surrender. You challenged me to arrest you. I knew you had faced hardship, both you and your sister, but you refused to let it diminish you. From that moment forward, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from you. Or my thoughts away from you.”
“But what you describe is merely infatuation, Kaifeng,” she pointed out quietly.
“Do you believe it’s still only that?”
She let her hands fall onto his shoulders and for a few precious moments there were no questions, no explanations. He simply looked at her, and Mingyu at him. He hoped she liked what she saw.
All he could ever see was the problem immediately before him. General Deng. The murder that was not a murder. A headless body used to confuse them all.
Kaifeng hadn’t allowed himself to presume there could be a future between them. Now with Mingyu no longer a courtesan and his dismissal from his position, nothing was certain. But it also meant anything was possible.
“I’ll handle Li Yen,” he told her. “Stay here until I return.”
“Take care, Wu Kaifeng.” She ran her hands over his shoulders and down the front of his robe, smoothing away wrinkles that didn’t exist. “You may not realize it, but Li Yen respects you. He values your judgment more than anyone else’s. Remember that.”
* * *
IT APPEARED AS if the entire household had assembled in the front courtyard. The servants were arranged in back while Madame Bai and Lady Wei-wei stood just inside the gate. Yue-ying was there, as well, the red birthmark on her left cheek lending her a fiery appearance like a painted warrior woman from the opera house.
“We’ve sent for Bai Huang,” Yue-ying informed Kaife
ng as he approached the line.
The women did look like they were assembling on the battlefield. As if these slender willows could stop a patrol of heavy-handed constables.
“I apologize, Madame,” he addressed Bai’s mother. She was the smallest of the three women, the top of her head barely reaching his chest. But in the absence of the elder Lord Bai, she became the acting head of the household based on age and status. “If you will allow me to meet Magistrate Li in the street, I will do what I can to prevent this intrusion into your home.”
Bai Furen did not look pleased, but she nodded courteously. “Whatever you see fit, Constable.”
He considered informing her that he was no longer constable, but Kaifeng bowed instead and started for the gate. Once outside, he saw Li approaching on horseback with a band of constables behind him. Kaifeng recognized them all. They had been his brothers-in-arms not too long ago.
“Wu!” Li Yen urged his mount forward and lowered himself from the saddle. “Inspector Xi is coming. I hear he has commandeered the city guard as his police force.”
“You’re not here to arrest Mingyu yourself?”
“I’m here to draw the battle lines. I’m the appointed magistrate. This is my jurisdiction.”
By then, Li’s constable brigade had reached them, jogging in two lines that were far from straight. They carried weapons and acted as the magistrate’s enforcers and thief-catchers, but most lacked any formal training.
“If any fighting occurs, your men will be outmatched by the city guard,” Kaifeng warned.
“If any fighting occurs, we’ll have already lost,” Li concurred. “This is a contest of will. And of shameless posturing.”
The magistrate positioned his men outside the gate and then stood stridently at the head of the brigade in what Kaifeng considered a good show of puffing out his chest.
“Should I stay?” Kaifeng asked.
Li shook his finger at him. “Don’t you dare leave, Wu Kaifeng.”
He took the magistrate’s side. Though they had worked closely for several years, they rarely appeared together as they did now. They had always worked separate ends of the same case, exchanging information in private.
