seemed they were alone. She put the last touches to her hair with a comb and slipped on her flowerpot shoes. She stared at her feet, and then looked up at Tao. “So, it was a spell, and not my small feet that deceived everyone for all these years.”
“It was also a spell that kept others from recognizing Li, the boy, as Lotus Lily, His Majesty’s concubine-to-be,” Tao said. “You aren’t that great of an actor.”
“So, I’ve got nothing to worry about?” Her grin faded to a frown when Tao’s grim expression forced her to realize the seriousness of her situation. “Then you knew where I went to when I disappeared to Master Yun’s exercise yard and you never detained me.” But if Tao was aware of her machinations, did Jasmine also suspect? She clasped her fingertips to the jade circle for luck.
“Of course, I knew. You were accepted into Master Yun’s class by his own request.”
Li smoothed down her silk gown and experimented with her flowerpot shoes, tapping them lightly on the floor. “So, we can stop worrying. No one will know that I am a girl if I have Master Yun’s protective spell around me.”
“Don’t be reckless, Li. Nothing is impermeable, nor is it permanent. So far you have been safe, but this spell only works within the vicinity of the palace. Should you leave Beijing, the success of the masquerade will be entirely up to you. Master Yun’s magic will not protect you.”
A deep chill crept along her arms to her fingertips. “Where has Master Yun gone? He didn’t answer my questions. We were at the Koi Temple, at the pond, and he walked me to the palace gates, and then vanished. He told me you would answer my questions.”
“If he told you that, then I’ll do my best. What do you want to know?”
“Who was my mother?”
Li had pestered Tao with this question from the time she had learned to speak. He had never revealed her mother’s identity. She fixed an accusing stare on him, and waited.
“Your mother was His Majesty’s third wife. Her name was Ling She. He was married twice before her. All of his empresses disappointed him, each and every one failing to give him a son. After Ling She, he abandoned marriage altogether and settled for concubines exclusively.”
“They say she was a direct descendent of First Emperor. Is this true? Was she really a child of kings?” Then something else struck her. “And my father? Who was he?”
“For your own safety, Li. It is better that you don’t know.”
“Does he know? Does my father know about me?”
“No, he doesn’t. And again I repeat, for your own safety, it is vital that he doesn’t know.”
Li frowned, raised her head from studying the stone floor. “Why is the fox faerie after me? Does she want to kill me?”
Tao got to his feet and moved to the door. “No more questions. It’s time for your dinner. Have you forgotten? It’s your fifteenth birthday. You and the other concubines have been requested to dine with His Majesty tonight.”
“Wait!”
Don’t raise your voice,” Tao scolded.
“You haven’t given me any answers at all.”
“I told you who your mother was, Lotus Lily. She was the Empress, Ling She. Now come.” Tao beckoned her ahead of him and, reluctantly, she walked to the great hall.
CHAPTER SIX
The Grand Secretary’s Treachery
The Mongol warlord, fresh from his victory over Chi Quan’s troops, sent another envoy to request trade negotiations. Quan begged His Majesty to listen to him. Walls, he insisted, were the only way to deter the invaders until the military had a chance to renew itself. The Emperor sniffed at the idea of walls. Jasmine, ever at His Majesty’s side, argued, “Trade is good. Let the Mongols pay tribute. They will set an example to all foreigners and kowtow to the Son of Heaven.”
Quan turned his attention to He Zhu whose eyes were fixed on Jasmine. She had cast some sort of a spell over him. It was he who first objected to being made a
“It was also a spell that kept others from recognizing Li, the boy, as Lotus Lily, His Majesty’s concubine-to-be,” Tao said. “You aren’t that great of an actor.”
“So, I’ve got nothing to worry about?” Her grin faded to a frown when Tao’s grim expression forced her to realize the seriousness of her situation. “Then you knew where I went to when I disappeared to Master Yun’s exercise yard and you never detained me.” But if Tao was aware of her machinations, did Jasmine also suspect? She clasped her fingertips to the jade circle for luck.
“Of course, I knew. You were accepted into Master Yun’s class by his own request.”
Li smoothed down her silk gown and experimented with her flowerpot shoes, tapping them lightly on the floor. “So, we can stop worrying. No one will know that I am a girl if I have Master Yun’s protective spell around me.”
“Don’t be reckless, Li. Nothing is impermeable, nor is it permanent. So far you have been safe, but this spell only works within the vicinity of the palace. Should you leave Beijing, the success of the masquerade will be entirely up to you. Master Yun’s magic will not protect you.”
A deep chill crept along her arms to her fingertips. “Where has Master Yun gone? He didn’t answer my questions. We were at the Koi Temple, at the pond, and he walked me to the palace gates, and then vanished. He told me you would answer my questions.”
“If he told you that, then I’ll do my best. What do you want to know?”
“Who was my mother?”
Li had pestered Tao with this question from the time she had learned to speak. He had never revealed her mother’s identity. She fixed an accusing stare on him, and waited.
“Your mother was His Majesty’s third wife. Her name was Ling She. He was married twice before her. All of his empresses disappointed him, each and every one failing to give him a son. After Ling She, he abandoned marriage altogether and settled for concubines exclusively.”
“They say she was a direct descendent of First Emperor. Is this true? Was she really a child of kings?” Then something else struck her. “And my father? Who was he?”
“For your own safety, Li. It is better that you don’t know.”
“Does he know? Does my father know about me?”
“No, he doesn’t. And again I repeat, for your own safety, it is vital that he doesn’t know.”
Li frowned, raised her head from studying the stone floor. “Why is the fox faerie after me? Does she want to kill me?”
Tao got to his feet and moved to the door. “No more questions. It’s time for your dinner. Have you forgotten? It’s your fifteenth birthday. You and the other concubines have been requested to dine with His Majesty tonight.”
“Wait!”
Don’t raise your voice,” Tao scolded.
“You haven’t given me any answers at all.”
“I told you who your mother was, Lotus Lily. She was the Empress, Ling She. Now come.” Tao beckoned her ahead of him and, reluctantly, she walked to the great hall.
CHAPTER SIX
The Grand Secretary’s Treachery
The Mongol warlord, fresh from his victory over Chi Quan’s troops, sent another envoy to request trade negotiations. Quan begged His Majesty to listen to him. Walls, he insisted, were the only way to deter the invaders until the military had a chance to renew itself. The Emperor sniffed at the idea of walls. Jasmine, ever at His Majesty’s side, argued, “Trade is good. Let the Mongols pay tribute. They will set an example to all foreigners and kowtow to the Son of Heaven.”
Quan turned his attention to He Zhu whose eyes were fixed on Jasmine. She had cast some sort of a spell over him. It was he who first objected to being made a
Similar Books
