My Splendid Concubine (84 page)

Robert
saw an opportunity to repent for what he’d done to Ayaou years earlier in Canton when he wouldn’t let her sing and dance for his guests at a dinner party. She had been upset and stayed in her room missing the celebration. This time he wanted her with him and thought she would be pleased.

However, when he told Ayaou that she was going to a party given by a Manchu royal, she panicked.

“Robert,” she said, “this is an imperial party?”

“
So?”

“
I am not fit to go. What do I say when people ask what family I am from?”

“
The party is for me, and you’re my wife-to-be.”

She kept shaking her head.
“Please, Robert, do not do what you will regret.”

“
You,” he said, and emphasized this by tapping her on her shoulder with an index finger, “are coming with me. Guan-jiah, bring that dress I bought.” His resolve was set in forged iron.

Guan-jiah came through the door and held the dress in front of him. It was a full-length black silk gown with a pattern of red azaleas on it.

“No, Robert, you cannot do this.” Her eyes were darting about as if she were looking for a way to escape. “You are crazy to even—no, I will not go.”

He grabbed her and forced her to look at him
. “Listen, taking you with me to this party is a way to show how proud I am of you. You should feel confident, because you probably know more about the confusing state of Chinese politics than the nobles do. Walls, eunuchs, and corrupt ministers surround them. You would be shocked to discover how much they don’t know. Without your knowledge to guide me, I’d be of no use to them.”

“
But people will make fun of me once they learn where I am from. They might discover that you bought me!”

“
Stop it, Ayaou. You are letting yourself panic and have forgotten I never bought you. Now that Ward is dead, you’re free. You are truly my partner and should be my wife.”

He took hold of her ch
in. “I’ll have you carried over there if I have to. I told Prince Kung I was in love with a Chinese boat girl. He didn’t believe me. You must show your face, so he knows the truth.”

Ayaou covered her mouth with both hands and started cr
ying.

“
Guan-jiah, I’m right aren’t I?” he asked, wanting an ally.

A look of panic flooded the eunuch
’s face. His eyes darted away.

Robert sighed. Obviously, Guan-jiah
agreed with Ayaou. It was annoying that they were both against what he wanted. “Thank you, Guan-jiah. You may leave.” The eunuch took the gown and retreated.

“
Ayaou, you are going,” Robert said. “That’s the last we will talk about this.”

The party wasn’t what he thought it would be. Soon after they reached the house, Prince Kung’s father-in-law managed to separate Ayaou from him. She was taken away by two concubines to another room. He kept looking around searching for her, and occasionally caught a glimpse of her in a doorway or behind a screen or a large-potted plant.

Robert discovered that Prince Kung had arranged the party to i
ntroduce him to highborn, young Manchu women. One by one, these lovely creatures were introduced to him.

A banker in Ningpo once told Robert that you could only trust members of your family, and so it was wise to marry your business associates to your daughters. It made perfect sense, but that didn
’t mean Robert had to like it.

Then he saw her—a seductive,
classical beauty. She was tall with wide shoulders and a graceful neck. Her bone-white face stood in contrast to her black glossy hair, decorated with fresh flowers and glittering, dangling jewels. When she saw that he was admiring her, she smiled and crossed the room.

“
I am Nee-Nee,” she said. She held her hand out to shake in the Western style. He took hold of her fingertips and his heart started to pound. “My uncle told me about you. He said we must talk.”

He guessed she was at least seventeen and tried not to stare
at a perfect red dot painted on her lower lip. “Your uncle?” he asked. She had large eyes that wove a spell over him, and he felt dizzy.

“
Prince Kung,” she said, and laughed.

Th
ere was music in her laughter that caused breathing problems. Kung had set him up. Nee-Nee was amazing. Maybe Ayaou was right. Maybe he should have a royal wife and keep her as his concubine.

“
I understand you love to read,” she said.

He
started telling her about the
Fall of the House of Usher
and how it compared to
The Dream of the Red Chamber.
As he babbled on, he imagined undressing Nee-Nee, which confused him, and he forgot what he was saying.

“
Chinese novels can be classified into several types,” she said, as if she knew what she was talking about. The conversation went from there. Nee-Nee had an educated woman’s openness and she said many interesting things about literature and operas.

During the
conversation, she reached out and touched his arm. Her fingers lingered before they slid down the back of his hand in an invitation. An electric shock raced through him. Robert had a feeling that Nee-Nee knew she was weaving a spell and succeeding. No woman had affected him like this since that first time with Ayaou.

“
There are the novels of adventure like
Outlaws of the March
,” she said. “Then there is the historical novel
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms
. Have you read
The Plum in the Golden Vase?
” She smiled an invitation as if she were making promises to him. Then her long eyelashes fluttered, and she glanced away as if she was embarrassed, but he didn’t think she was.

Yes, he had read
The Plum in the Golden Vase
and most of it had been pornographic. The novel had shocked the Ming Dynasty so much in the early seventeenth century that the book had been banned at the time.

Her fingers still rested on the back of his hand. When she fi
nished saying the name of the pornographic novel, she ran her fingernails across his skin setting his nerves on fire. This excited him and he couldn’t concentrate, which was embarrassing.

It took a glass of hard liquor to drench the flames and calm him down.

As the night wore on and after many had left, Robert managed to break away from Nee-Nee. It wasn’t easy.

He found Ayaou, and they went home. There was an early morning appointment at the Tsungli
Yamen, and he wanted a few hours of sleep so he would have a clear head for the meeting.

Still dressed in her silk gown, Ayaou sat on the edge of the bed.
“The concubines told me what Prince Kung and the ministers are planning for you,” she said.

“
Let’s sleep,” he said. “I’m tired.” He pulled off his shirt and yawned. His eyes felt as if sand was in them, and he attempted rubbing the irritation away but only made it worse.

“
I saw you talking to the princess,” she said. “Your eyes were eating her as if she were a feast. She is Prince Kung’s niece, and you were flattered. You cannot hide that. The prince wants you to be a member of his family. She was perfect for you, and it would bind you to him.”

“
Stop, Ayaou, I am not interested.”

“
I do not believe that,” she said. “They will change your mind. Prince Kung picked the best for you, and she was told to capture your heart. I do not see you resisting her since she will make you more connections leading to more wealth and promotions.”

“
What are you worried about—that you’ll lose me? You didn’t want our wedding anyway!” He regretted the bitter words but did not apologize.

Without expression, she undressed, slipped under the sheet and slept with her back to him.

In the morning, he went to work early as planned. Before the day ended, Robert wa
s called home, and Guan-jiah was waiting at the gate when he arrived.

The eunuch looked pale and guilty beyond words.
“Master, they went shopping this morning. When they were not back by noon, I went to search. I checked the entire market and could not find them.”

“
Who are you talking about?” he said. “Slow down and make sense.”

“
Ayaou, the children and Fooyen have vanished,” Guan-jiah replied.

Chapter 52

Late in January, a few days after Ayaou’s disappearance, Fooyen stumbled into the house. The temperature outside hovered close to freezing, and in the mornings, a crust of frost covered the ground and roofs.

“
The Longhaired Bandits have taken Mistress Ayaou and the children,” Fooyen said, as she sat in Robert’s kitchen shivering despite the blankets heaped about her shoulders and the fire blazing in the stove. Dried mud streaked her tangled hair. Her torn and filthy clothes smelled like dung as if she had crawled through the sewers.

“
Do you know where they are?” Robert asked. After hearing the shocking news, he feared that panic, shock, and depression would overwhelm him. Instead, he focused on Fooyen’s words as energy rushed through his body.

Slack jawed and with glassy eyes, she shook her head.
“Mistress Ayaou did not know we were being followed when we went to shop in the market. A group of Longhaired Bandits came dressed as bannermen shouting ‘Death to the barbarians!’ They took the Mistress and the children.”

“
How could the Taipings pretend to be bannermen when they wear their hair long?” he asked.

Fooyen stared at him with a blank face.

Of course, he thought, the Taipings shaved their heads for this subterfuge to succeed. His family could be dead. A cold chill swept through him, and he swayed on his feet, but Guan-jiah was there holding him by the arm, steadying him. He felt an oppressive fear stirring in his guts. Then a calm voice inside his head said that losing control would not bring his family back. Until he learned they were dead, he had to stay focused. He closed his eyes and pressed fingers against them to fight the fear.

His mind raced to discover a solution. He examined one choice after another as if they were specimens. It was like living in a high-speed dream, and the world around him was moving in slow motion. He found it odd that he was relieved that Ayaou had not run away like before.

Prince Kung should have assigned guards for Ayaou and the children, but even Robert hadn’t considered that. Guan-jiah had mentioned the risk to his family after the Taipings had put a price on his head, but Robert had been a fool and didn’t listen.

Fooyen
's hand went into a pocket. “Here, Master. They told me to give you this note. I cannot read, so I do not know what it says.”

His hands shook as he carefully opened the damp scrap of p
aper. The Chinese characters were poorly written and difficult to read. No Chinese had written this. The characters were too sloppy. Even the construction of the phrases sounded wrong. He thought of the Englishman Prince Kung said was working for the Taipings and wondered if that man was involved.

“
Deliver one hundred thousand taels and pick up your whore and bastards at the port of Ningpo on February fifteenth, or we will behead them in public. You must come alone.

“
Do not seek help from the corrupt Manchu. We have eyes and ears everywhere. Nothing will save your family unless you do exactly as told. If you do not, we will kill them sooner and make them suffer horribly before they die.”

He closed his eyes and took several calming breaths, before he said,
“Guan-jiah, count the silver taels!” The thought of losing Ayaou and the children was threatening to crush him, but he wasn’t going to let it. “And come with me to Ningpo. We only have two weeks. We have to act now.”

“
Master, I suggest you do not go,” Guan-jiah said. “I believe it is a trap. The Longhaired Bandits are set on killing you. Remember, they put a price on your head that is the same as the ransom. They want you to pay for your execution.”

“
Caution be damned,” Robert said. He quickly wrote a note explaining what had happened and arranged for a messenger to deliver it to Prince Kung late the next day. “There is no time to waste. Obviously, I can’t do as the Taipings demand.”

Guan-jiah threw himself on the floor and kowtowed repea
tedly. “Master, I will follow you to hell.”

“
Oh, get up, Guan-jiah,” he said, exasperated. “You have to stop doing that.” He took the eunuch by the shoulders and pulled him to his feet.

With a gentle expression, he looked into his servant
’s eyes. “I know I can count on you, Guan-jiah. You have proved that more than once over the years. I still recall that time you were ready to fight alongside Dr. Winchester and me at the Ningpo consulate against those pirates. I value your loyalty as if you were my brother.”