"Auntie Ting!" Shi Po exclaimed. She shouldn't have been surprised to see the woman here who was, after all, part of her family for better or worse. If General Kang were gathering up all the relatives, Auntie Ting would surely be one of them. But if that were the case, where were her parents? Or Kui Yu's cousin? Why—
"Tell me again, Madame Sung, about this family," the General ordered as he held up a scroll. "Tell me what is written here and what I will show to the Emperor."
Auntie Ting flinched and her chin dropped down on her chest. But to her credit, she looked defiant. "The boys did nothing," she whispered. "They know nothing." Then she looked up at the General for confirmation of what she'd just said.
The General nodded, and his smile warmed. "Of course, the boys are innocent. That is why the Emperor will graciously allow me to raise them as my own. After all, they are completely innocent of their parents' crimes."
Shi Po felt her knees go out. The thought of this cold, angry man raising her sons sapped all strength from her body. Shen Zhan caught her and helped her to a chair. She held him and reached out to draw Jiao Long to her, using both boys' small bodies to keep herself alert and focused. For them she would keep going. For them, she would find a way through—any way—if only it meant that her boys would never spend another moment under this man's influence.
General Kang continued, his every word inflicting pain. "Tell it all," he ordered. And so, in halting words, Auntie Ting spoke.
"I have no knowledge of Kui Yu's dealings with the ghost people," she said, her voice dark and full of bitterness. "But money falls like rain into his hand. It cannot be from legitimate commerce."
"You lie!" Kui Yu bellowed, and her aunt shrunk even more. Shi Po could almost pity her, caught between two such powerful men. Almost. But her aunt was clever, and had often found answers in adversity.
"I know nothing of his business dealings," she repeated, "but I know my own." She lifted her chin and shifted her gaze not to the General, but to Shi Po. "I know he came to my establishment. He consorted regularly with a ghost woman. He even bought her from me and set her up in a handsome palace."
If Auntie Ting were looking for justification for her actions in this revelation, she had grossly miscalculated. Shi Po knew about Lily, knew that the so-called palace was actually a white person's temple. And so there came no horror to her eyes, no sudden condemnation of her husband.
Though there might have been, had this knowledge been a surprise.
"My husband has acted honorably," Shi Po stated loudly. "He saved a woman from a life of prostitution at your hands, Auntie, and set her up in a temple of her own religion. Do not project your perversions onto my husband. You are the one who bought and sold that poor woman. Kui Yu merely saved her." She shifted her gaze to the General. "If the Emperor looks for corruption, do you honestly believe he would take the word of a notorious Shanghai madam over a respected businessman?"
Her aunt turned on her. "And why am I a madam?" She shrieked. "Why am I forced into a life of daily degradation and pain? Why? Because of you, you filthy whore. You! You killed my husband with your unnatural lust. You harvest yang, heedless of the results."
"Enough!" roared Kui Yu. He pushed forward, despite the restraining soldiers, and faced the General with black fury in his eyes. "I will speak to you now. Alone," he demanded.
But Auntie Ting was not finished. Still cringing away from both Kui Yu and the General, she continued to screech, "Ask her! Ask her if she was a virgin when you married her! Ask her where her dowry money came from. Ask her!"
Shi Po didn't answer. She didn't even have the strength to look up anymore. She simply held her sons—one in each arm—and wet her gown with tears. She thought not of Kui Yu, who was demanding to speak with the General, or of her hate-filled aunt, or even her long-dead uncle with the gentle smile and his thin, weak dragon; she thought of her boys. What ill would befall them now when they knew the worst of their mother? How would that damage their minds and spirits, to know such ugliness?
She should have killed herself so many nights ago. Now she wished she had not waited for Kui Yu's return. If she had been strong, if she had been firm in her resolve at the very beginning, none of this would ever have happened. Her husband would be mourning, but he would still have his business, his home, and his friends. Her sons would grieve, but they would not be lost now to the captivity of a pitiless Manchu and poisoned by their mother's perfidy.
She should have done it. And this was the penalty for her indecision.
Into this whirlwind of noise and humiliation, Kui Yu, at last, was heard. "You will see me now!" he bellowed at the General.
Kang nodded and turned to leave. But before he did, he paused and addressed one of his soldiers.
"Give the witch to the men to use as they will."
Shi Po whimpered, believing he meant her. But then she heard her aunt shriek as the soldiers grabbed her arms. "We had an agreement," Auntie Ting wailed. "I signed your document. I did all that you asked!"
The General smiled with good cheer. "And as reward, you will live and ply your trade with my men."
"But they'll hurt me! I'll die!" she cried.
Kang merely shrugged. "Such is the end of all whores." And with that she was dragged away. Try as she might, Shi Po could find no sympathy in her heart for the woman.
She shifted her attention to the General and Kui Yu. The two men would talk and make an arrangement. Knowing her husband, Shi Po had confidence that the best solution would be found. Kui Yu was a capable negotiator. And while that was happening, Shi Po would correct her error of indecision. Suicide was the only redemption for a fallen woman, and the only hope that her taint would not filter down to her sons.
September 28, 1880
Kui Yu—
My grandmother once said that men of poetry are ever a woman's downfall. Swear to me. Give me some token. Promise that if I were the lowliest worm, the most miserable creature, even an opium-addicted, nail-shack prostitute, that you would still wed me. Swear this to me, and it shall be as you ask.
If you do so swear, then bring your token to Lun Po's tutor, as we have done with our letters. I will retrieve it tomorrow. And the next time you see my brother, do whatever foolishness he asks.
In hope,
Shi Po
* * *
September 30, 1 880
To my most precious Shi Po,
The ghost people have a saying: Store your treasure in Heaven, for where your treasure is, so will your heart be. And so I have done. This is all I have in the world. My heart, I ask nothing, but promise everything. It is, and will always be, as you ask.
With great love,
Kui Yu
PS—Do not tell your family what you have, especially your brother. If you do not understand the contents, then take the paper to any white missionary. They will explain. But bring a strong guard with you when you do.
(Attached, a small box of modest design. Inside are ten taels of Imperial jade. Beneath it, an envelope with a cheque drawn on the Shanghai Bank of England in the amount of £9,426.)
An old man and his son were very obstinate in disposition. No matter what they did, they never gave way to anybody. One day the son was returning home with meat purchased for dinner. But at the city gate, he met a rough fellow. Since the gate was so narrow, one had to go first, but neither would give way to the other. So they stood there face-to-face.
Wondering at the delay, the father went in search of his son, only to find him standing opposite the big fellow. He immediately understood what had happened and rushed forward to stand beside his son.
"Go and take the meat home," he said. "I will stand here face-to-face until you return."
Chapter 16
A man's office showed much about who he was and how he thought. Kui Yu expected to be led there. Instead, the General sent everyone else from the dining room. That General Kang refused to show Kui Yu to his room of business told him that the man had many secrets, many layers, and that no one ever
came close to the heart of them. Indeed, Kui Yu doubted if General Kang even knew himself what lay in the deepest well of his spirit.
He and Kui Yu waited as servants cleared the table. They sat in uncomfortable chairs sipping tepid tea while all was busy about them. It was unusual and rude, but General Kang would not show Kui Yu any more of his home—or his life—than was absolutely necessary. And Kui Yu had already seen enough of General Kang to understand what motivated him.
It wasn't greed. It wasn't even a lust for power, though Kui Yu was sure that figured into the man's thinking. No, what drove the General most was a need of victory. It didn't matter that he had little reason to keep either Shi Po, Kui Yu, or their children. After all, Zou Tun had been found. But the boy had apparently bested his father and created a life with a woman he loved. Which meant General Kang had lost twice—once to Shi Po because she'd successfully hidden his son, and again by the son who was now on some remote island under the express protection of the Empress Dowager.
In short, Kang's son was out of reach. Which left only Shi Po and her family for vengeance. That was the real reason they had been incarcerated, the true purpose behind their prolonged time as pretend guests. It was so that the General could ferret out their weaknesses, and reassure himself that he was still a man of power, still able to defeat his enemies however pitiful and weak.
It was Kui Yu's job today to give the General the victory, to show him that he and Shi Po were sufficiently cowed. That they were miserable, wretched worms at his feet. General Kang could now let them go with absolute certainty that they would never threaten his peace again. Congratulations, honor upon his house and upon his name—he had to say whatever it took for the man to declare himself victor and then look for other prey.
The last servant left. The soldiers withdrew, but Kui Yu knew they would still be close by. Even Mrs. Kang had taken her black, treacherous stares and departed. Which left Kui Yu and General Kang staring at one another over the wretched tea.
Kui Yu dipped his head, doing his best to look completely defeated. In a hushed voice he said, "What do you wish from me, your honor? Money for weapons? Fine silks for your women? Name it, and it shall be yours."
The General's eyes were narrowed, his expression pensive. "You did know, didn't you? Before the vows."
Kui Yu considered lying, but the General probably knew some of the truth. It had been quite a scandal at the time. So he shrugged and chose honesty. "Yes, I knew."
"But you married her anyway. Why?"
"You know the reasons. Her name. Her family connections. All have been helpful to me in business."
The General sipped his tea, not even bothering to look up. "For every lie you speak, I will order your sons whipped ten times."
Kui Yu didn't need to fake his cringe. He did, however, need to instill a whine into his voice. "But I did tell the truth! Her name. Her money—"
"She had no money!" the General bellowed. "Her family has been begging for scraps for decades!"
"She came to me with a great dowry," Kui Yu returned, the memory stark in his mind.
"From her whoring?"
Kui Yu nodded, though it wasn't anything close to the full truth.
"You were a wealthy man. A barbarian's first boy. You could have married anyone, and yet you chose a whore. Why?"
"I loved her." Also the truth, and yet not nearly the whole truth.
"You are not such a fool," the General spat.
Kui Yu allowed his weariness to show. "She was beautiful and rich. I loved her. I married her. Surely you have better things to do than banter old history with me. What do you want?"
The General's gaze hardened. "She was a tigress even then, wasn't she?"
Kui Yu frowned. "I don't think so."
"I think she was. She lived with her aunt. She murdered her uncle. I think the tigresses are witches. They bespell a man to do their bidding. Why else would a man marry a whore? Why else would your every business venture prosper? She is a witch."
Kui Yu rolled his eyes. "If that were true, then she would have already entranced you."
The General visibly swelled with arrogance. "Oh, I have felt her power—the lust that burns in a man's loins at the sight of a beautiful woman. But I am too old to be led by such petty tricks."
"There is no magic, General."
"Ten lashes for your sons! Guard!"
The door burst open the same moment Kui Yu jumped to his feet. "It is the truth!" he bellowed.
"Twenty!"
"No!"
The guard waited at the door while Kui Yu and the General stared at one another. Then Kang leaned forward, his eyes narrowing to pinpricks. "Why did you marry her then, if you were not bespelled?"
"Release my sons. Unharmed."
The General shifted in his chair, and his powerful form made the wood creak. "You will tell me everything about your wedding—to the smallest detail—of why you decided to marry a whore."
Kui Yu glared down at his captor. "You will not like the answers."
"You will not like hearing your sons scream as the lash bites into their backs."
"Free them."
"And you will tell me all?"
Kui Yu nodded. He would spill his life's history if it meant safety for his sons.
The General glanced at the soldier. "Keep the boys safe," he grunted.
The guard nodded and stepped back outside.
"I said, 'free them!'" Kui Yu snapped.
"We will see if you answer honestly."
Kui Yu folded his arms across his chest, his mind working furiously. But no perfect solution presented itself, and he had precious little maneuvering room. "I will answer honestly, but will you believe it?"
"I am a general in the Imperial army!" Kang snapped. "I will know if you lie to me."
Kui Yu doubted it, but there was no way to convince Kang of that. So he settled back into his chair.
"Why did you marry her?" Kang pressed.
Kui Yu shrugged. "She was the granddaughter of a Ming viceroy and a virgin." His expression hardened as he said those words. "Of this I am absolutely certain."
The General grimaced in disgust. "She whored for her aunt."
"She was the protected flower of an honorable family and destined for much greater things than a white man's first boy. But she married me with her father's blessing. With everyone's great joy." Kui Yu looked up at his host. "Do you know why?"
General Kang might know. It had been a huge scandal at the time, for all that Shi Po's family had tried to quiet the rumors. But Kui Yu could tell from Kang's determinedly flat expression that he didn't. His network of spies didn't extend into the Shanghai social hierarchy, and like everyone else Kang desperately wanted to know the secret.
"Because she chose me. Unlike all the other girls of her caste, she had the intelligence to see my worth and to fight to get what she wanted."
General Kang frowned. He obviously did not understand the connection between Shi Po's marriage wishes and her virginity. And who could have? Certainly Kui Yu hadn't so many years ago.
"General, she had no more power than any other girl. Her father determined her worth and her suitors. I wasn't even considered, but she chose me. And she set out to make herself of equal value to me."
Kui Yu watched the General carefully. He had the man's rapt attention.
"She went to her aunt who ran a brothel, and there she sold her virginity to the highest bidder."
General Kang's face reddened in anger—the typical male reaction to a woman who dared chart her own course. But Kui Yu continued, pitching his voice low so the man had to lean forward to hear.
"Her family was horrified, of course. All her other suitors disappeared, for she made sure they knew of her crime. Only I remained. Only I didn't care." He took another sip of bad tea. "And the money she made bought my first store, which is the basis of all my current wealth. It was the beginning that I needed." He took a deep breath, still humbled by his wife's action, still awed by the strength
of her resolve to do such a thing just so she could have him.
"In this way, she married with the blessings of friends and family, we maintained the connections to her great family name, and I had all the money we needed to build a business. There was no other way for all that to happen without her sacrifice. She debased herself in the most humiliating of ways so that we could be together." He pinned the General with his gaze. "Would your wife do so much? Would she risk so much for your future?"
The General paled. Mrs. Kang would more likely spit in her husband's face should he make such a suggestion, and they both knew it.
"So you see," Kui Yu drawled, loving the feel of superiority to this cruel man, "I knew after the fact of my wife's actions. And since I learned, I have honored her for it."
It was no lie. When he learned what she had done, he'd been so appalled, he'd vomited. How could the flower of China destroy herself in this manner? Why? He knew the answer. She had told him as much. She had done it for him, and for their life together. And in that moment, he'd realized Shi Po was a woman of extraordinary strength. She was more than an innocent virgin or a simpering beauty. Her one act revealed a character intelligent enough to find a miracle where he had seen only impediments. And then she had implemented her plan with a focus absent in most men of her age and class. That she was a woman made it even more amazing.
So great was her strength that he'd sat in awe before her. He still did.
"She makes me stronger, General. Whenever I waver, whenever I stumble, I remember what she did and I strive to deserve her glorious sacrifice."
Kang's skin flushed a dark red and his eyes narrowed in disgust. "You have been bespelled."
Kui Yu felt his hands clench in fury. "I am in love! If that is magic, then so be it!" He spat the words out like bad meat, but in his heart, a new warmth was spreading. He did love his wife. He still loved Shi Po! And it had taken sparring words with this terrible man to see it. "We are common people, General. Of no interest to the great men of China. A man besotted with his wife is of no significance to you. Take my gold. Buy weapons or armor or whatever you will. We are not worthy of your time."
The Way of the Tigress 1-4 Page 84
