The Dragon's Breath

by James Boschert

  His wife, Lady Wong Meilin, finally cleared her throat, waved to a servant to replenish his wine, and spoke. “I shall burn incense at the temple tomorrow and thank our ancestors for their protection,” she said, then asked, “The ship went down with its entire cargo, my husband? All was lost?” Her tone was full of apprehension.

  Hsü had been expecting this. She had been more worried about the riches lost than anything else!

  “Hum, yes. The only survivors were myself, Fuling, Jiaya our secretary, and of course Lihua,” he added with just a trace of mischief.

  He noted her eyes flash just before she looked down. “We are all very happy this is so,” she murmured, but her tone was cool.

  “So, apart from your business as an ambassador, of which we should talk soon, my son, the venture was a, a terrible set back? The Emperor will require a full report,” his mother said from the other end of the table. Her eyes held his, but there was sympathy in them.

  “Not entirely, Mother,” Hsü said with a smile. “I salvaged enough of our own possessions to pay back the investors, with perhaps a little profit; but alas, nothing like what we could have made had we come home in our own ship.”

  The relief in the room was tangible. Meilin glanced up with visible happiness in her eyes. “I am so happy, my husband. A year not wasted in barbarian lands after all!” she said.

  The women plied the two men with questions for the next hour until finally it was time for Lun to be sent off to his room. He left reluctantly, as the tale of their adventures left him too excited to sleep. Fuling also excused himself, and Meilin dismissed the servants to allow for more privacy.

  After pouring some more warm wine for Hsü, she glanced back at her mother-in-law and said, “There will be much speculation, my husband. You spoke of possessions you retained. How so, when the ship was sinking?”

  Hsü stood up and shut the door to the dining room, excluding all the servants. He went over to the chest against the wall, retrieved the box from inside where he had placed it earlier, and set it on the table.

  “We must keep this a secret for the time being. Fortunately, although we lost the main cargo and much else besides, these small items travel well,” he stated as he opened the box.

  Meilin could not help herself. She gasped and placed a small, slim hand over her mouth. “Ahmida Buddha!” she exclaimed. “This is a fortune on its own!”

  “Yes, it is, but their worth does not match the potential of the lost cargo. However, it is better than coming home with nothing. We could have been robbed by pirates, or even died.”

  Meilin could not take her eyes off the contents, which gleamed and glittered in the candlelight. Even his mother, who was still seated at the end of the table, could see what was inside the box and was clearly impressed.

  “If what I am seeing is not glass, then you have still done well, my son,” she stated with approval.

  “Not glass, Mother. The rubies and emeralds are very real. It is great Joss that I could bring it and was not robbed by the Arabs,” Hsü said. “The Persian named Talon knew full well what was in this box, but he still let me take it from his ship. Somehow he found out, but he said nothing to anyone, even on his own ship.”

  “He must be very naive to have let you go without demanding some kind of surety,” his mother remarked.

  “I gave him my assurance, Mother. I think he is putting his trust in me, and I certainly do trust him by now. He could have killed us all and thrown us to the sharks and then gone home a very rich man with this box alone, but he didn’t.”

  He continued. “Your brother is not going to be terribly happy, Meilin, but these Arabs saved us from certain death, so I owe them a great deal. I offered to buy their cargo for a lot more than was being offered in Kalah Bar in order to persuade them to bring me home. Your brother and I, indeed the entire Hong, must now discuss how we can obtain the cargo from them without paying the fines and taxes that would normally be imposed. That would mean that we can sell it for a larger profit, either here in this town or in the capital,” he stated. “Of course we cannot avoid all the taxes, as the Emperor’s customs duties will have to be paid no matter what. What we can avoid, however, is the bribery that is usually paid to the officials.”

  “How do you intend to carry out this arrangement?” his mother, ever the practical minded, demanded of him.

  “I will need to speak to the right people, of course, but I think that with your brother to help me we can overcome that particular obstacle,” Hsü told them.

  “I am happy tonight for the first time in months,” his mother said. “That little son of yours is a strange one. He dreamed that you were in a storm, and sure enough you were; but what has amazed us further is that he foretold that you would arrive on an Arab ship!”

  Hsü looked closely at his mother. “He really foretold that?” he enquired.

  Meilin said. “None of us believed him, until today when you arrived the way you did.”

  “His grandfather used to have dreams of a similar kind. I wonder,” he remarked pensively.

  Then after a pause he said, “There is something else you need to know.”

  “What is it?” they both asked at the same time; there was apprehension in their voices. They had heard enough disasters for one night.

  “I intend to bring the merchant and his friend, and their wives, to our house for as long as it takes to complete the transfer of the cargo and send them on their way,” Hsü told the two women.

  He smiled at their appalled expressions. “I know… they are barbarians who eat with their fingers, and there is much else about them that we find revolting, but they did not have to save me. They could have sailed right on by and left us to our fate. In fact, I heard that the captain protested against saving us; but Talon, the merchant, decided to stop and pick us up. I can do no less than take them off that ship and bring them to our house.”

  “How will we manage? No one likes those people, and their customs are appalling. They are just not civilized!” Meilin’s tone was plaintive.

  “As we always have,” Lanfen, her mother-in-law, said sharply, with a glance at her son, who was smiling sardonically at his wife’s discomfort.

  Hsü chuckled. “You can teach them our manners and ways while they are here. I think they are willing to learn, although it will be an uphill struggle. They are, after all, barbarians!” He had a half-smile on his face as he said this.

  “Now I need to know all the important gossip and what that rat gangster Lu Buwei and his group of thugs have been up to in the drains of the city. No doubt Hua Rong, our illustrious Chief of Police, is scheming right along with them. I am sure it did not escape his notice that I am back.”

  They talked late into the evening, as the women, who were very well informed, told him of the scandals and gossip going on in the city, and the latest from the court in Lin'an, also known as Chang-zhou.

  *****

  Later that evening, Meilin took particular care with her appearance and toilet. When the servant girl failed to pay enough attention to her hair, which she was trying to pile high in the latest style that showed off the beautiful planes of her pale, oval face, she rapped the maid on her knuckles with a brush so hard the girl had cried. Impatiently, Meilin told her to leave and to send in the other girl to assist her into her evening silk gown. Eyeing herself in the mirror, Meilin nodded approval. She looked like a fine work of art. Her husband would not be disappointed.

  Meilin felt resentment for the ‘woman’ Lihua, who rivaled her own beauty and had the advantage of being younger and able to move around, not anchored to the chair or the bed by her bound feet. But in the end it didn’t matter; she, Meilin, was the wife; she was beautiful and had a right to expect her husband to acknowledge this fact.

  It was very late when Hsü finally came to her bed. There was barely a murmur of approval for her beauty, and the lovemaking was perfunctory. It was soon over and her husband made his exit with the excuse that he had work to do. Meilin fel
t a wave of loneliness come over her, biting back the tears as she watched him leave. Doubtless he was going back to take care of his concubine, she raged.

  There was nothing she could do nor say, as it would mean a huge loss of face, and that she would never grant him the satisfaction of witnessing. The tears came in the darkness of the night when no one could witness her shame. How she wished the girl had been drowned. Not only that, her husband now wanted to disrupt the peace of her household with the presence of foreigners! She swore that she would have revenge of some sort on the girl.

  *****

  The next day at about noon, Talon, who was on deck, noticed Jiaya standing on the quayside with a couple of men. Jiaya was waving his arms to draw attention to himself. Talon pointed this out to the captain, who sent a boat over to collect the Chinese men. Jiaya climbed up the side of the ship and then stood catching his breath in the waist deck before walking in his mincing manner up the steps to stand in front of Talon.

  Jiaya was completely transformed from an old man in plain clothes to a sophisticated man dressed in silk robes, albeit a sober dark brown in color, with a small, odd-looking hat perched on his head held in place by a silk cord tied under his chin. After the usual polite greetings and bows Jiaya said, “My master, Lord Meng, sends his best wishes to you and your people, Master Talon, and respectfully begs that you accompany me with your family and that of your companion Master Reza to his house.”

  Talon breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since the exchange of looks he had had with Hsü he had hoped for something of this nature. Nevertheless, he wanted to know what would happen to his ship and cargo before he abandoned the captain to whatever the officials of this teeming city had in store. His past experience with customs and port taxes in Byzantium made him wary of leaving the ship on its own. In fact, earlier that very day, some official had arrived on a small sampan and demanded to be let on board. After curt introductions, during which he had spoken pidgin Arabic, he had thrust a piece of paper into Talon’s hand and left, looking irritated and speaking volubly to himself and the world at large in his own language.

  Talon now showed the paper to Jiaya, who frowned as he read it but didn’t seem very perturbed as to its contents.

  “What does it say?” Talon asked. Reza was now beside him and they looked askance at Jiaya, who replied, “This is a tax for anchorage here in the river, Master Talon. I will deal with it, as Lord Meng has instructed me to handle all the procedures while you are here.”

  Talon stared at him. “Lord Meng, did you say?” he asked.

  Jiaya nodded his head and smiled. “I shall deal with the customs, Master Talon,” he said.

  Talon had a sense of déjà vu. This sounded just like the officialdom of Byzantium. There would be other bureaucratic procedures to endure, entailing bribes, before they could sail away again. Each time, a little more of the profit would be eaten away by some rapacious petty official. He frowned, but nodded. “Thank you, Jiaya. Now where can my crew and the captain live while we are with... your master?”

  Jiaya gave a little bow. “Respectfully, first things first, Master Talon. Please to bring your family and some servants with me to Lord Meng’s house. All will be arranged for the crew and the ship. These two men,” he indicated the two tough-looking, well armed Chinese men who had arrived with him, “will stay on the ship, and some more will come to protect and make sure that no officers come on board without the permission of the Lord Meng. Those are his orders.”

  Talon remarked to himself that Jiaya seemed to have gained self-confidence and authority now that he was back in familiar surroundings. He drew comfort from this. They would need all the help they could get while here.

  Talon looked at Reza, who said, “It seems we are in the hands of our friend Hsü, Talon. How much do you trust him?”

  “Our friend is a Lord, it would seem, and I think I trust him, Reza. Do you not?”

  Reza shrugged. “He is a very cunning man. I still do not fully trust him. But what alternative is there?” Then he nodded at Jiaya. “This little fellow seems to have found himself since we arrived. Quite a change from the timid little mouse we are used to.” They were speaking Farsi.

  Talon chuckled. “I hope he knows what he is about. I don’t want to come this far only to lose the cargo to some thieving customs officials.”

  A few hours later they were all standing in the outer courtyard of the villa. Hsü was there with his son Fuling, who seemed pleased to see them, and a long line of servants, men and women who were bowing to the newcomers. There was no sign of a wife or any other female members of the actual family.

  “Welcome to my poor house, Master Talon and Reza. I welcome you, as does my family,” Hsü said in greeting. He beamed at Rostam, who clung to Rav’an’s hand. “You too, Rostam. My younger son, Lun, will look after you.”

  Rav’an wore her veil, as did Jannat and Salem; they were staring around, awed by the beautiful setting. Talon could hardly believe what he was seeing.

  “Pedar Sag!” Reza exclaimed under his breath. “This is a real palace! Rav’an and Jannat should be happy now.”

  “I really think we might finally get a bath in this place!” Talon remarked with a grin.

  Cicadas complain of thin mulberry-trees

  In the Eighth-month chill at the frontier pass.

  Through the gate and back again, all along the road,

  There is nothing anywhere but yellow reeds and grasses

  And the bones of soldiers from You and from Bing

  Who have buried their lives in the dusty sand.

  ... Let never a cavalier stir you to envy

  With boasts of his horse and his horsemanship

  —Tang Shi II.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The Path to the Governor

  News of Hsü’s arrival quickly spread. Visitors began to arrive within a day, and the first was Meilin’s brother, Wong Cheng Kaen, who was a very worried man. He barely noticed the distinctly foreign-looking people in the courtyard. He stepped out of his palanquin and hurried towards the inner sanctum, where he found his sister and brother-in-law awaiting him. Fang had sent a guard at top speed to inform them of his arrival.

  He was offered refreshments and tea while Hsü calmed him down and told his story, then showed what he had brought back with him. Neither to his family nor his brother-in-law had Hsü shown the full extent of his treasure, but what he did display was enough to make Kaen’s eyes pop.

  “Some of this will have to go for bribes to the governor and the customs officers, you understand?” Hsü told Kaen, who nodded, but he breathed a huge sigh of relief at the same time. He was not going to be destitute after all, as he had thought. He expressed amazement at how Hsü could have managed to bring such a treasure home with him despite the loss of the ship. “How did you manage to keep hold of this, this treasure?” he asked with an incredulous stare.

  “I have the Persians to thank for that. A long story, which I will tell you one day, but I can pay off the other investors over and above their former costs at least by a little, and then we will all share in the profits of the ship’s cargo,” Hsü continued. He had already told Kaen of the cargo and its composition.

  “I will need you to grease the path with the customs people, Kaen,” he said, “as I have not only to report to the governor very soon, but will certainly have to travel to the Palace of the Emperor to report the results of my mission.”

  Kaen had known about the ambassadorial role that Hsü had played, so he willingly agreed. “Did you know that the governor is seriously ill?” he asked.

  Both his brother-in-law and his sister looked surprised. “I knew that he had been ill,” Meilin replied, “but not as bad as you imply, Brother.”

  “The doctors are with him almost every day now, and there are rumors that he will not last out the year,” Kaen told them. “The Emperor will have to appoint a new governor, and quite soon.” He sipped his wine and watched for a reaction.

  There was no
ne from Hsü, who kept his face inscrutable, but Meilin gave a little gasp and turned to Hsü with a smile on her face. “Does my husband stand a chance with the palace officials?” she asked in a very low voice.

  “If Lord Hsü can give a very optimistic report, coupled with the right, er, payments, this could be a possibility,” her brother informed them.

  Hsü thought about this. He had known the governor for many years and respected the man for being well educated and kindly; perhaps too kindly, as the role of the governor was a hard one. The position of governor of the province of Guangdong was very important, not least because the city was a gateway for trade with the outside world. Whoever controlled the province and Guangzhou would be a very powerful person, and eventually very rich.

  Kaen broke into his reflections. “You will, of course, find that there will be competition for the position if you declare an interest, Hsü,” he said.

  Hsü nodded. He was only too aware of that fact. Potential rivals might already be canvassing the eunuchs and the administrators in the Emperor’s palace for support. There were administrators and prefects already high on the ladder who could qualify. Then there was the chief of police, who was very ambitious and might want the position for himself. In which case, the others would have to watch out, as that man would resort to every dirty trick in the book. Did he really want the job, he wondered?

  “I would have to think carefully before I commit myself,” he told them. “I need to see the governor first and make my report, and then see if he wants me to go to the Emperor.

  “I think you would make a first-rate governor,” Kean told him with an ingratiating smile, while his wife Meilin simpered and nodded her head. “What a gift to your ancestors! I know you would be a perfect choice,” she told him.