The Emperor didn’t seem at all interested in the subject. His egg lay untouched in his bowl.
“Ping, you shouldn’t bother His Imperial Majesty while he is eating,” Dong Fang Suo said.
The servants brought out the next course. Ripe persimmons and tea scented with the flowers of the sweet olive tree were placed in front of Ping. They gave the Emperor three slices of peach and a cup of cloudy water.
“It is important that you digest your food carefully, Your Imperial Majesty,” Dong Fang Suo continued. “Only then will you get the full benefit of the diet the Longevity Council has devised for you.”
Liu Che ate one peach slice. Ping could see that his good mood had evaporated. The Longevity Council’s diet was so meagre, it was no wonder the Emperor was irritable. She would have to be patient and wait until the Emperor was in a more receptive mood.
A minister approached the Emperor. He was thin, straight and had a serious little mouth. His gown fell in neat folds as if each one had been carefully arranged. Even though it was late in the day, not a wisp of hair had escaped from under his ministerial cap. He knelt down in one graceful movement and bowed before the Emperor.
“I have received another letter from the Grand Counsellor, Your Imperial Majesty,” the minister said. “He urgently requests that you return to Chang’an immediately to attend to the government of the Empire.”
The Emperor waved the minister away irritably. “The Empire can wait until after my festival.”
The minister didn’t move. Liu Che turned towards Ping. There was a sly glint in his eye.
“Perhaps you are right, Ping,” he said in a voice loud enough for the minister to hear. “It is wise to prepare for all possibilities. Eventually, the day will come when I will need a new Dragonkeeper.”
Ping was delighted.
He looked at the minister who was still kneeling in front of him. “Minister Ji, you can conduct the search. Ping wants to find out if the old dragon-keeping families still exist. Where did you say they are to be found?”
Ping’s smile faded. “Lu-lin and Xiu-xin, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“But I don’t need to go myself to achieve that, Your Imperial Majesty,” Minister Ji said. “I can write to the sub-prefect. A messenger can deliver a letter in less time than it will take for me to travel there in a carriage.”
“I think a personal visit would be more appropriate, Minister Ji.”
Liu Che smiled like someone who had outwitted his opponent in a game of checkers.
Ping tried to look pleased.
After the meal, Ping went for a walk. It was her favourite time for walking in the gardens. Everyone else rested after the midday meal, so she had the gardens to herself. Kai didn’t feel like an afternoon nap either. He scampered back and forth along the path. For once he wasn’t misbehaving. It was good to see him back in full health. The Dragon Attendant yawned as he trailed after Kai. He wouldn’t rest unless Kai did.
Ping felt guilty. It wasn’t right to be deceitful, not to anybody. Especially not to the Emperor. She hadn’t entirely told him the truth. She did think it would be a good idea to know where to find another Dragonkeeper, but like the Emperor she didn’t expect they would need one for many years. There was another reason why she had wanted to search for the dragon-keeping families—she had hoped to find her own family. Somewhere in the Empire were her parents who had sold her as a slave. She might have brothers and sisters. She wanted to meet them. Would they want to meet her?
She watched Kai enjoying himself. He was chasing something. It was only an insect, but he stalked it as if it were a tiger. He crouched low, ready to pounce. Then he raised his head and bared his teeth. That didn’t seem to be the right position for pouncing. He raised his behind and lowered his head instead. Ping laughed.
A movement in a nearby bush caught her eye. She thought it might be a rabbit or a lizard, but it wasn’t. It was a rat.
“Hua!” Ping exclaimed. She glanced at Saggypants who was now dozing on a stone bench. “You should be in your cage. If anyone sees you there’ll be trouble.”
She picked him up and nestled him in the crook of her arm. She stroked his warm fur, which looked beautiful in the autumn sun. The rat wriggled out of her grasp and went back into the bush. When he re-emerged, he had something in his mouth. It was a bamboo strip. The same one he’d had when he frightened the Princess. He laid the strip in Ping’s lap. She picked it up and studied the characters. Even though she had now learned almost twice-a-hundred characters, she still could only read five of the characters on the bamboo strip, not enough to make any sense of it.
“I don’t know what it says, Hua,” Ping said, a little annoyed with him for giving her the bamboo strip which only proved how little she’d learned.
Kai wriggled his behind. He was about to pounce. Hua suddenly lost interest in the bamboo strip. He ran over to Kai and snatched up the insect that the little dragon had been chasing. Kai made disappointed sounds.
“Hua!” Ping said sharply. “Kai was playing with that.”
It was only then that she saw what Hua had trapped between his teeth. It was a centipede. She jumped to her feet and scooped the dragon into her arms. Hua crunched the centipede and swallowed it.
Ping held the dragon tightly, even though his spines stuck into her. She turned angrily to the Dragon Attendant.
“Saggypants—I mean Xiao Zheng—you’re supposed to be watching Kai.”
The Dragon Attendant woke with a start.
“I’m sorry, madam,” he stammered.
“I told you to keep an eye out for centipedes!” Ping said.
“You mentioned iron, five-coloured thread and the leaves of the chinaberry tree, but you said nothing about centipedes.” The Dragon Attendant’s bottom lip started to tremble. “I thought the little fellow ate all creepy-crawly things.”
“No! Centipedes are very dangerous. If they crawl inside the dragon’s ear, they’ll eat his brain.”
As soon as she had said it, Ping thought it sounded rather ridiculous. But Danzi had been terrified of centipedes, so she wasn’t prepared to take the chance.
Ping looked around for Hua, sorry that she had snapped at him. She could ask the junior minister to read the strip for her. But the rat was nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared and taken the bamboo strip with him.
• chapter eighteen •
FIRST FROST
“It’s too cold for you to be sitting outside, if
you’re unwell,” Ping said.
“Out here as the day dawns is the only time I
get a few minutes alone.”
The first frost had left the ground white and crunchy. Autumn had been in no hurry to leave, but winter had finally arrived. Kai had refused to get out of bed to go for a walk before breakfast. The colder weather didn’t keep Ping indoors. She liked the quiet stillness of the garden in the early morning.
She saw Liu Che alone in a small pavilion in a secluded part of the garden. He was wearing a padded coat over his gown, but he looked thin and cold. He was scratching his arms inside his sleeves. When she got up close, she could see that his face was greyish and he smelt as if he had vomited.
“What’s wrong, Liu Che,” Ping said. “Shall I fetch a physician?”
“I’m not ill,” he said. His breathing was laboured. “I have just eaten my daily portion of wolfsbane.”
Ping knew of the plant. “But that’s poisonous!”
“I have been advised to eat small amounts,” Liu Che replied. “It is known to prolong life. There are just a few side effects—a little nausea, an itchy rash.”
He scratched his neck and then his lower leg.
“You weren’t at the evening banquet last night, Your Imperial Majesty,” Ping said.
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“It’s too cold for you to be sitting outside, if you’re unwell,” Ping said.
“Out here as the day dawns is the only time I get a few minutes alone.”
“Y
ou seem troubled.”
Liu Che sighed. “I have a lot of things on my mind at the moment, Ping. Every detail of the festival must be correct so that Heaven isn’t further offended.”
“But your ministers and shaman should take care of that.”
“They seem unable to make the smallest decision without consulting me. I have to tell them how many white pheasants are required, how high the sacrificial mound should be, what sort of grasses the holy mats should be made of. It takes me away from my longevity regime, which is much more important.”
“I wish I could help.”
“There are some things that only I can do.”
He shivered. Ping thought about running to get a rug for him. “The seers are anxious that I discover exactly what has offended Heaven. I can’t think what it is. I have reduced taxes, enlarged the school my father set up, I have defended the Empire’s borders. I have done nothing wrong.”
“You’re a good Emperor, Liu Che.”
Two servants came hurrying up the path.
The Emperor sighed. “My hiding place has been discovered.”
The servants sank to their knees and bowed.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” one said. “The Longevity Council wishes to report on their experimentation with frogs.”
“And Minister Ji wishes to see you,” said the other.
“Has Minister Ji returned already?” asked Ping. It was only two weeks since she had proposed a search for the dragon-keeping families.
Before the Emperor could answer, Minister Ji came striding towards the pavilion. Liu Che closed his eyes as if he wished he were somewhere else.
“I arrived back at Ming Yang Lodge after midnight,” the minister said, “and I have been up all night writing my report.”
The minister’s gown was as neat and clean as always. His ribbons of office were uncreased. He didn’t look like someone who had been up all night after a long journey.
“Tell Ping your findings, Minister Ji. I have more urgent matters to consider.”
The minister reluctantly held out the scroll to Ping. Her face flushed despite the cold air.
“Ping can’t read,” the Emperor said.
Liu Che looked off into the distance again as if the contents of Minister Ji’s report didn’t interest him in the slightest. The minister unrolled the silk scroll and started to read. Ping held her breath.
“On the first day of the third week of the second-last month of the first year of the reign of the Emperor Wu, we departed from Ming Yang Lodge. We spent the first night at the Su-chang garrison. On the second day—”
“I don’t need to know the details,” Ping said impatiently.
Minister Ji glared at her and rolled up his scroll again.
“I called on the sub-prefect for the district of Nanyang,” he said. “Both Xiu-xin and Lu-lin are in this district. It seems likely that the Yu and Huan families are related in some way. Perhaps they are both descended from an original ancient dragon-keeping family who—”
“Did you find the dragon-keeping families?”
Minister Ji looked at the Emperor as if he thought it was below his dignity to be talking to Ping. The Emperor didn’t notice.
“The sub-prefect informed me that Xiu-xin was destroyed by floods some years ago. He is not aware of a Huan family under his administration,” the minister continued in a voice that could have frozen a pond. “Fortunately, the third assistant sub-prefect was in the room at the time. He was born in Xiu-xin and he remembered a family of Huans from his childhood.”
Ping’s heartbeat suddenly increased, as if she’d just run two li without stopping.
“But he said that Mr Huan died before the floods and Mrs Huan left the village with her two children. No one heard from her again. She was very poor and there was a rumour that they died from disease.”
Ping’s heart sank. “What about the Yu family?” she asked.
“The sub-prefect informed me that there is a family by the name of Yu living in Lu-lin,” the minister replied.
Ping’s heart started racing again.
“Mr Yu is currently in the business of raising silkworms.”
“Does he have children?” Ping asked.
“The sub-prefect mentioned many daughters.”
“I wasn’t expecting to find another female Dragonkeeper,” Ping said smiling at the minister.
The minister didn’t smile back. “No, I understand we are looking for a proper Dragonkeeper this time,” he said sharply. “A male one.”
The Emperor turned towards Minister Ji.
“Were there any sons?” the Emperor asked. He had been listening after all.
“I believe the sub-prefect referred to one son.”
“Was he left-handed?” Ping asked. “Did he seem like a possible Dragonkeeper?”
“I had no orders to question the sub-prefect or speak to any of the family members,” the minister replied curtly.
Ping turned to the Emperor. “We must find out more about this family.”
“After the festival, Ping.”
“But I could go and interview the Yu family. If I can’t help with the festival preparations, I can do this.”
The minister opened his mouth to object.
“Kai would enjoy the journey.”
The Emperor frowned. “Kai cannot leave the lodge. He has to rehearse his part in the festival.”
“It would be good for him to see some of the Empire,” Ping insisted. “There is herb lore he has to learn. He can practise his shape-changing.”
“He must get used to the drums and gongs, so that he isn’t startled by them at the festival.”
“If there is a boy in the Yu family, as Minister Ji says, Kai’s reaction to him will be important.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” Ping sensed that the Emperor’s resolve was wavering. “It’s in the books.” The lie tumbled easily out of her mouth. “A young dragon recognises a potential Dragonkeeper.”
Dong Fang Suo came panting up the path, blasts of white vapour issuing from his mouth like a steaming kettle. He made an attempt at a bow, which involved no more than a brief bend at the knees. An administrator was behind the Imperial Magician with a pile of goatskin scrolls.
“The seers are awaiting your response, Your Imperial Majesty. They must have an answer today. And your new robes need to be fitted.”
“And what do you want?” the Emperor snapped at the administrator.
“These documents need your approval and your seal before they can be sent to Chang’an, Your Imperial Majesty. And the emissary from Yan has been waiting for an audience for three days. He is getting very angry.”
“It is impossible to get a moment’s peace! There is always someone making demands on me!”
Dong Fang Suo made another feeble attempt at a bow. “Remember what the Longevity Council said about taking calm, shallow breaths.”
“Silence!” The Emperor’s voice rang out over the garden. He stood up and everyone fell to their knees.
“Dong, you go to Lu-lin to interview the Yu family.”
“But the festival is only three weeks away,” the Imperial Magician complained.
“If Dong Fang Suo is too busy, I should go,” Ping interrupted.
“You can both go! Take Kai! Just make sure he returns in time for the festival. Maybe now I’ll get some peace!”
“Whatever Your Imperial Majesty commands,” Dong Fang Suo said.
The Emperor strode off down the path, knocking the scrolls from the kneeling administrator’s hands onto a garden bed.
Ping knew she should have been sorry that she had contributed to the Emperor’s frustration. She should have felt guilty for lying to the Emperor as well. But she couldn’t stop a smile from creeping across her face.
That afternoon, Lady An came looking for Ping in the gardens.
“Princess Yangxin has heard that you are going on a journey,” she said. “She has asked me to help you choose some warmer clothes.” br />
“But this gown is warm enough.”
Ping looked down at the new gown she was wearing.
“Your gown is suitable only for the lodge,” Lady An said. “You will need a thicker gown for travelling. Follow me.”
It was the first time Ping had spoken to Lady An since the incident with Hua in the Princess’s chambers.
“How is Princess Yangxin?” Ping asked.
“The Princess is well enough,” Lady An replied. Her voice was full of concern and Ping had the feeling that by “well enough” she meant “unhappy”.
She took Ping to a dressing room that was small by the standards of the lodge, but still big enough to house a family of ten-and-two. Around the walls there were many chests and baskets. On one wall was a large bronze mirror with a border of painted spotted leopards. At the other end of the room there was a black lacquered screen decorated with swirling red patterns, supported on delicate gold feet shaped like dragons. Lady An laid out a choice of gowns. The rich colours and embroidery glowed in the afternoon sun filtering through the lattice windows.
“I don’t want to wear anything fancy,” Ping said.
“This is the plainest,” said Lady An.
She held up a gown and Ping fingered the cloth.
“But this gown is thinner than the one I’m wearing.”
“The thread is finer and tightly woven,” Lady An said. “It will be much warmer.”
The cloth was dark red and had a diamond pattern woven through it in green. Around the neck and cuffs the gown was trimmed with silk the same shade of green as the pattern. Ping took off her own gown. Lady An was shocked to see all the scratches and scars on her arms.
“Has someone been beating you?” she asked.
Ping laughed. “No. These are just Kai’s scratches.”
She turned away so that Lady An couldn’t see the larger scar where she had bled herself to feed the dragon.
Lady An went to one of the baskets and returned with a jar of balm.