"We'll head west and take Fourth Brother to Heavenly Eye Mountain to convalesce," said Chen. "Let Commander Li race off to Jiaxing after us!"
The heroes all burst out laughing and the accumulated low spirits of several months were swept away.
Dawn was just breaking as Luo Bing wiped Wen's body clean. His manacles had been sawn off with the Frozen Emerald sword, and he was in a deep sleep.
"Great Helmsman," said Xu. "That masked man who saved Fourth Brother is very badly wounded. Shall we have a look at him?"
"Since he keeps his face covered, he obviously does not wish to be recognized. I don't think we should," said Lord Zhou.
Xin Yan gently applied white soya sauce to the masked man's burns, but his whole body had been blistered by the flames, and he cried out incessantly in pain. His hands were clawing about aimlessly as he screamed in pain, and suddenly ripped the mask off. The heroes all cried out in unison: "Fourteenth Brother!"
It was 'Scholar' Yu. They looked at his face, red-black and swollen with countless blisters, and were horrified. Luo Bing brought over a wet cloth and lightly wiped the dirt and gunpowder from his face then applied more white soya sauce. Whenever she thought about his disgraceful behaviour that night near Iron Gall Manor she still felt angry, but having seen what he was willing to go through to save her own husband, she knew that his infatuation was more than just lust. She looked down at him and wondered how she could ever repay him.
The boats docked and Master Ma sent someone hurrying off to find a doctor. When he came, the doctor examined Wen and said: "This gentleman's wounds are only superficial. He is strong and healthy, and with several months of recuperation there should be no problem." Pointing at Yu, he added: "This gentleman, however, has extremely serious burns. There is a danger that the fire poison will attack his heart. I will make out a prescription to counter it and have another look later." From his tone, he appeard to consider it hopeless.
The doctor went ashore. A while later, Wen opened his eyes and looked at everyone standing around him.
"What are you all doing here?" he asked wearily.
Luo Bing burst into tears. "Brother!" she cried happily. "You've come back. You've come back!"
Wen nodded slightly and closed his eyes again.
During the night battle at the Yellow River crossing, Yuanzhi had been cut off from the Red Flower Society fighters. She spotted a carriage and jumped into it, urged the mules and raced blindly away. It was only next morning when she had put a great distance between herself and the Manchu army that she stopped to rest. Opening the carriage curtain, she found 'Scholar' Yu lying inside unconscious and badly wounded. After carefully considering the situation, she climbed back onto the carriage and drove on to Wenguang town.
As the daughter of an official, she was used to doing things in an impressive manner. She chose the largest residence in the town and knocked on it's door to ask for lodgings. The residence belonged to the evil landowner, Tang, who took them in. When Tang was found murdered, Yu realized immediately that they could be implicated, and they escaped in the confusion. Yuanzhi was planning to go to Hangzhou to be with her parents and Yu, knowing that Hangzhou was also where Wen was being held, decided they may as well go together. He was still seriously wounded, and Yuanzhi looked after him carefully as they travelled.
When they reached Hangzhou, Yuanzhi told her parents that Yu had been wounded while saving her from bandits, and her father, Commander Li, allowed him to stay in the Yamen as an expression of his gratitude. A doctor was called to treat his injuries. When Li saw what a refined person Yu was, skilled in both scholarly and martial pursuits, he decided that once his wounds had healed he would invite Yu to become his son-in-law. Little did he know that Yu was also a key member of the Red Flower Society.
W
hen Qian Long was told that the Red Flower Society had rescued Wen, he was both surprised and angry. But he decided there was nothing to be gained in punishing the Imperial Bodyguards. He could see from their wounds that they had fought bravely.
A while later, Commander Li also arrived, and was informed by the Emperor that a decision on whether or not he would lose his post would be deferred until later. Li was overjoyed at this unexpected luck.
After Li had left, Qian Long thought about Wen's escape and wondered if his secret would get out. From what Wen had said, it did not appear that he knew, but there was something about his manner which suggested there was still much he could tell. Wen had said there were two important pieces of evidence hidden somewhere and he wondered what the evidence could be. He was already almost certain he was a Chinese and not a Manchu, but what good could come of such knowledge leaking out?
He paced about the room, extremely angry that he, the Son of Heaven, should be out-witted by a band of brigands. If they discovered his secret, would he be forced to submit to them for the rest of his life on pain of having the secret revealed? The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he picked up a large porcelain flower vase and threw it violently to the floor.
The guards and eunuchs waiting outside heard the crash clearly and trembled in their boots, not daring to enter.
Qian Long passed most of the day in a state of mental confusion. Towards evening, he heard the sound of gentle music drifting in from outside. The music moved closer and closer, passed by the gates of the Yamen then gradually receded. A moment later, another musical troupe passed by. He had always been very fond of music, and hearing it now, his mood suddenly changed.
"Servants!" he shouted.
A senior bodyguard named He Jia, who had recently come to favour, hurried in. Hearing the Emperor's call, the others had pushed him forward.
"What is that music outside?" Qian Long asked. "Go and find out."
After a while, He Jia came back to report: "Your slave made enquiries and learned that all of the famous courtesans of Hangzhou will gather on the West Lake this evening to choose what they call the 'Top Candidate of the Boudoir', as well as second, third and fourth ranking candidates."
"How dare they make fun of the Imperial Civil Service Examinations in such a way!" Qian Long said, amused. "Ridiculous!"
Seeing the smile on the Emperor's face, he advanced a step and added in a low voice: "I heard that the Four Beauties of Qiantang River will be there."
"And who are the Four Beauties of Qiantang River?"
"Your slave was talking to a local just now who said that they are the four most famous prostitutes of Hangzhou. Everyone out in the streets is trying to guess which one will be the Top Candidate of the Boudoir this year."
"The Top Candidate in the Imperial Examination is chosen by me. Who chooses this Top Candidate of the Boudoir? Don't tell me there is an Emperor of the Boudoir as well?"
"I hear that each prostitute sits in a flower boat on which are displayed the gold and jewels presented by her customers. Then the winner is chosen by some of Hangzhou 's most eminent gentlemen."
"When do they play this game?" Qian Long asked, fascinated.
"It starts soon," He Jia replied. "As soon as it gets a bit darker, the judging will begin. If Your Highness is interested, you could go and watch."
Qian Long smiled. "I'm afraid people may laugh at me," he said. "If the Empress should hear that I chose the Top Candidate manner which suggested there was still much he could tell. Wen had said there were two important pieces of evidence hidden somewhere and he wondered what the evidence could be. He was already almost certain he was a Chinese and not a Manchu, but what good could come of such knowledge leaking out?
He paced about the room, extremely angry that he, the Son of Heaven, should be out-witted by a band of brigands. If they discovered his secret, would he be forced to submit to them for the rest of his life on pain of having the secret revealed? The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he picked up a large porcelain flower vase and threw it violently to the floor.
The guards and eunuchs waiting outside heard the crash clearly and trembled in their boots, not daring to enter.
Qian Long passed most of the day in a state of mental confusion. Towards evening, he heard the sound of gentle music drifting in from outside. The music moved closer and closer, passed by the gates of the Yamen then gradually receded. A moment later, another musical troupe passed by. He had always been very fond of music, and hearing it now, his mood suddenly changed.
"Servants!" he shouted.
A senior bodyguard named He Jia, who had recently come to favour, hurried in. Hearing the Emperor's call, the others had pushed him forward.
"What is that music outside?" Qian Long asked. "Go and find out."
After a while, He Jia came back to report: "Your slave made enquiries and learned that all of the famous courtesans of Hangzhou will gather on the West Lake this evening to choose what they call the 'Top Candidate of the Boudoir', as well as second, third and fourth ranking candidates."
"How dare they make fun of the Imperial Civil Service Examinations in such a way!" Qian Long said, amused. "Ridiculous!"
Seeing the smile on the Emperor's face, he advanced a step and added in a low voice: "I heard that the Four Beauties of Qiantang River will be there."
"And who are the Four Beauties of Qiantang River?"
"Your slave was talking to a local just now who said that they are the four most famous prostitutes of Hangzhou. Everyone out in the streets is trying to guess which one will be the Top Candidate of the Boudoir this year."
"The Top Candidate in the Imperial Examination is chosen by me. Who chooses this Top Candidate of the Boudoir? Don't tell me there is an Emperor of the Boudoir as well?"
"I hear that each prostitute sits in a flower boat on which are displayed the gold and jewels presented by her customers. Then the winner is chosen by some of Hangzhou 's most eminent gentlemen."
"When do they play this game?" Qian Long asked, fascinated.
"It starts soon,"He Jia replied. "As soon as it gets a bit darker, the judging will begin. If Your Highness is interested, you could go and watch."
Qian Long smiled. "I'm afraid people may laugh at me,"he said. "If the Empress should hear that I chose the Top Candidate of the Boudoir, she may have something to say about it. Ha, ha!"
"If Your Highness dressed up as a member of the common people, no one would know," He Jia suggested.
"All right, we'll go and have a quiet look and then come back. But tell everyone not to attract attention,"said Qian Long.
He Jia quickly helped Qian Long change into a long silk gown and a closely-embroidered jacket, the attire of a member of the gentry. Then they left for the West Lake together with Bai Zhen and several dozen bodyguards.
Once at the lakeside, a bodyguard steered a boat up to meet them. Music and singing could be heard coming from different parts of the lake, while the multitude of lanterns provided a sumptuous sight. They watched as more than twenty flower boats glided lazily back and forth over the water, each boat draped with silk curtains and lanterns. Qian Long ordered the oarsman to steer close to the flower boats. Some of them were decorated with flowers and animals cleverly constructed out of silk and lit with lanterns. Qian Long sighed in praise for the richness of life in the south of China with which the north could not hope to compete. As many as a hundred other small boats moved to and fro carrying well-to-do pleasure seekers.
A gong sounded and the music from the boats ceased. One rocket after another soared up into the air and burst in a dazzling array of colours before falling into the lake with a hiss. As the firework display ended, the curtains on each flower boat were drawn apart simultaneously to reveal a gorgeously-attired woman seated inside. Thunderous cheers and applause arose from every part of the lake.
Servants produced wine and food for the Emperor to partake of while enjoying the scene. The boat slid slowly over the lake past the flower boats. Qian Long, who kept three thousand concubines in his palace, had seen countless beauties in his time. But now, with the lanterns reflecting on the water, the splash of the oars and the slight waft of perfume, he was completely captivated. They neared the boats of the Four Beauties of the Qiantang River, and saw they were different from the other flower boats. One was decorated entirely with paper water lilies while the second was topped by two pagodas. The third was decked out as the Lunar Palace and lit with lanterns shaped as toads and hares, the animals which are supposed to inhabit the moon.
Qian Long gasped in delight. As they glided towards the fourth, he saw it was decorated entirely with real bushes and flowers, the branches criss-crossing each other and covered with a thick foliage, as simple as nature, and as beautiful as a painting. The courtezan, dressed all in white, was seated with her back to them, but she had an air of other-worldliness about her, as of a goddess.
Overwhelmed, Qian Long could not help but sing out a line from the opera, 'The Western Chamber': "Oh, will you not turn your face to me?"
The prostitute, hearing the snatch of song, did indeed turn and smiled. Qian Long's heart leapt: it was the girl he had met on the West Lake several days before, Beautiful Jade.
He heard the tinkle of a feminine voice as the courtesan on the water lily boat began to sing. At the end of the song, the crowd applauded and a pile of ingots, big and small mounted on the table in front of her. Then the courtesan in the Twin-Pagoda boat picked up a pipa and lightly strummed a tune, following which the third played the flute. Qian Long ordered He Jia to give her ten taels of gold.
The pleasure launches then crowded round Beautiful Jade's boat. She opened her ruby lips, revealing her sparkling white teeth, and began to sing accompanied by a flute.
It was the middle of the eighth month and it was already cool on the lake, but Beautiful Jade's voice suggested warm breezes and fragrant flowers.
"Such talent," Qian Long sighed.
To his great delight, Beautiful Jade's dew-drop eyes constantly looked over in his direction as she sang. Qian Long loved demonstrating his talents in art, calligraphy and poetry and his ministers, not surprisingly, praised everything he did. But for a beautiful woman to favour him not because of reverence for his position as Emperor, but because of his real worth meant she had recognized his ardour, good looks and talent. Famous courtesans are truly discerning, he thought. He immediately ordered He Jia to present Beautiful Jade with fifty taels of gold.
The boats of all the courtesans were piled up with gifts, especially those of the Four Beauties. Midnight approached and the judge began the job of inspecting the gifts. As with the imperial examinations, not only the courtesans, but also the spectators on the lake, were anxious about the outcome.
Qian Long said a few quiet words to He Jia, who nodded and hurried back to the Yamen. He returned a while later with a package.
The inspection over, the boats all clustered round the launch on which the judge sat to hear him announce the winners.
"The gifts presented to Miss Twin Pagodas are the most numerous," he announced. There was a roar from the other boats as some applauded and some groaned.
"Not so fast," someone shouted. "I will present one hundred taels of gold to Miss Water Lily."
"And I present Miss Lunar Palace with a jade bracelet and ten pearls," another wealthy gentleman called out. The crowd saw the green bracelet and the large round pearls sparkling under the lantern light and knew that they must be worth well over a hundred taels of gold. All concluded that Miss Lunar Palace was certain to be chosen at the Top Candidate for the years.
Suddenly He Jia called out: "Our master has a number of items he would like to present to Miss Beautiful Jade!"
A servant carried the package over to the judge, a man of about forty with a lean, handsome face and a wisp of moustache. He opened it to find it contained three scrolls. He turned to the old man on his left and said: "Master Fan, this is indeed a refined gentleman. I wonder what treasures he has presented?" He ordered the servants to unrill the scrolls.
As the first scroll was unrolled, the judge and the others started in surprise: it was a poem written in the hand of the famous cillgrapher, Zu Yunning.
"This is extremely valuable," exclaimed the man called Master Fan. They hurriedly opened the second scroll and saw it was a painting of flowers on the top of which was the Imperial vermilion seal of Qian Long. Yuan Mei was puzzled and turned to ask his colleagues if they knew who the benefactor was. They looked at the scrolls and pondered silently.
"Why don't we go over and meet him?" one finally suggested.
"If we do that, people will accuse us of being unfair," replied another. "With such treasures as these two scrolls, the Top Candidate is obviously Beautiful Jade."
"Let us have a look at the third scroll," suggested a third.
They unrolled it and saw it was a piece of unsigned calligraphy.
"Not very graceful," remarked one of the experts. "The writing style lacks strength."
"Shh! It's written in the Emperor's hand," another whispered urgently. The others all jumped in fright and dared not discuss the matter further.
"The judging of the gifts has been completed," Yuan Mei announced in a loud voice. "The Top Candidate is Miss Beautiful Jade, second is Miss Lunar Palace, third is Miss Water Lily."
Applause arose from all corners of the lake.
Beutiful Jade began to sing again, and her tender voice penetrated Qian Long's bones, making his heart itch unbearably.
"Go and tell that girl to come over," he said to He Jia. "And don't say who I am."
The boat glided over to Beautiful Jade's and He Jia leapt across. After an interval, he returned with a piece of paper and handed it to Qian Long and said: "She told me to give this to you."