The Last Concubine Read online

  To distract Lan, Jiang asked, “Princess, why didn’t you simply slay Ci’an when you could? You had her disarmed and trapped.”

  “If you can forget what I am, I never can,” Lan said, slurring his words. “It would not have been an honorable act to kill a woman.”

  “Hush now, do not distress yourself,” Hüi said. “Keep still, and then you may sleep.”

  Obediently Lan’xiu slid down against his pillows. The alcohol did allow him to withstand the pain without a sound, even though he bit his lip as Jiang stitched the gash in his arm. Then Jiang bandaged the wound and patted his shoulder. “Sleep well, Warrior Princess,” he said before he left the room.

  HÜI slipped behind Lan’xiu, leaning against the pillows so he could hold his lover in his arms.

  Groggily, Lan’xiu said, “Did you hear? He called me Warrior Princess.”

  “And so you shall be, Lan’xiu, my warrior princess.” Hüi felt Lan’s head snuggle against his chest and lowered his cheek to touch his hair.

  Even disheveled and bloody from the fight, Lan’xiu never looked more beautiful to him. Maybe that’s what he needed, a warrior princess who was the prince of his heart in disguise. It all made a strange sort of sense.

  Hüi’s eyes grew heavy. It had been a long night sorting out the shocking damage Ci’an had wrought, and there was still her fate to be dealt with. Because he didn’t want to endanger Lan’xiu by falling asleep with the door unlocked, although it went against the grain to cower behind a locked door, he forced himself to remain awake until Ning came back. But even a general needed to sleep at times.

  When Ning returned, strutting a bit with pride, Hüi ordered, “Lock the door, Ning. I need to rest.” He had no energy left to explain, but Ning did not seem to mind.

  Ning went and locked the door. It was all Hüi could do to remain awake long enough to hear the click of the lock. Through the mists of sleep closing around him, he thought he heard Ning mutter proudly to himself. “Ning, Guardian to the Governor General of Yan and Qui, and his consort, the Princess Zhen Lan’xiu. That’s me. That reminds me, Lord Jiang owes me five hundred tael. I shall have to make sure to collect on that bet.”

  DROWSILY Lan’xiu became aware of Hüi Wei bending over him and felt the gentle stroke of his fingers on his cheek. Hüi bent to kiss him. “Keep her safe, Ning,” he heard him say, and then he was gone.

  Lan’xiu slumbered peacefully through the day, waking several times to drink some water, but he didn’t say much. Ning told him what Hüi had said and he smiled.

  He awoke when the sky was growing dark and Ning was lighting the lanterns, feeling a bit drained, his arm throbbing but not actually painful.

  “Do you think you could eat some soup, Lan’xiu?” Ning asked when he noticed he was awake.

  Lan pushed himself up against the pillows, and he hurried to help, piling them helpfully around him.

  “Stop, Ning,” Lan’xiu laughed. “I don’t need twenty pillows to sit up.”

  “The general bade me to take care of you,” Ning said.

  “As if you wouldn’t even if he said nothing.” Lan looked at Ning affectionately. “Get my soup and stop fussing. I shall be quite well.”

  “Very well. Don’t try to cross the room on your own while I am away,” Ning admonished her. He rushed to the kitchen, returning quickly with a covered bowl on a tray. “Mind you drink it all!”

  “Don’t bully me,” Lan’xiu said crossly. But in fact, he ate almost the entire bowl. He hadn’t felt hungry when Ning suggested he eat, but the soup tasted good and it was warm, and he enjoyed it.

  Ning picked up the tray to return it to the kitchen when a tap sounded on the door.

  Lan’xiu sat straight up in bed, a look of alarm on his face. “My sword!” he hissed.

  “Not this time,” Ning said grimly. “You couldn’t stay on your feet for five minutes.” He set down the tray hastily and drew his own sword, creeping quietly to the door, and yanked it open suddenly.

  LAN’XIU laughed in relief. “Fifth Wife Bai. How kind of you to come to see me.”

  Ning eyed the young woman suspiciously as she entered the room.

  Bai held out her arms as if dancing. “Would you like to search me for weapons?”

  Blushing, Ning stammered, “I would, but it would not be proper.”

  “I could strip for you,” Bai offered.

  Lan covered her mouth and giggled. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Don’t tempt her, Ning. She might do it.”

  “I like it when people dare me,” Bai said, grinning impudently at Ning.

  “I will keep you both company,” Ning announced and sat upon the chair beside Lan’s bed, his eyes fixed upon Bai’s face.

  “After what Ci’an did, I can’t say I blame you.” Bai drew up a chair for herself and sat beside Ning. “I was worried about you, Lan’xiu, but you look well. Just a little tired.”

  “I will soon be well again, but it was kind of you to concern yourself with me.”

  “The household is roiling with rumors,” Bai said, her face growing serious for once. “First we heard of poor Alute’s death, and Mei Ju made herself sick from weeping. Huan went to Fen’s house and threw all the servants out, bolting them both inside. Then came the news that you had been taken ill as well.” Bai stopped and looked down discreetly for she could not address the miscarriage directly. “Mei Ju told me that our husband was nearly mad with fear for you.”

  Lan’xiu’s eyes stung with tears, and she blinked quickly to clear them. It would never do to let Bai see this uncommon display of emotion. “I was so sad to hear of Alute’s death. She did nothing to deserve this.” Lan pulled her sleeve down to cover the bandage but too late to prevent Bai from noticing.

  Bai, however, uncharacteristically, did not comment upon it. “I came to see that you were on the mend, but also I bring other sad news.” She glanced at Ning, as if asking his permission in case it would upset the princess.

  Ning gave her a nod.

  “Please, tell me,” Lan’xiu begged. “First Wife Mei Ju is well, I hope, and her children!”

  “They are all fine,” Bai said soothingly. “This is tragic news but perhaps also in the nature of the gods taking justice into their own hands. Ci’an has killed herself.”

  “Good!” Ning burst out. “Save the soldiers the trouble!”

  “Hush, Ning. Who knows what demons tormented her soul and caused her to act as she did,” Lan said. “How did she do this dreadful deed?”

  “She climbed to the watch tower and threw herself onto the cobbles below,” Bai said. She put her hands over her face.

  Lan’xiu could see how affected Bai had been and leaned forward to touch her hand. “Poor Bai. I hope you didn’t see it.”

  “I heard her scream as she fell,” Bai said in a haunted voice. “And the street was shining red until the soldiers washed her blood away.” She took her hands away from her face and looked at Lan’xiu with agonized eyes. “It was horrible.”

  “I’m sorry you had to witness that,” Lan’xiu said, holding Bai’s hand.

  “That is not the worst thing. When the soldiers searched her house, they found a little boy, a son who said Ci’an was his mother. She had kept him in a darkened room, and no one even knew he existed!” Bai exclaimed. She said pityingly, “He is so small and pale. Mei Ju has taken him into her home and is caring for him.”

  “That is evil! How dared she treat a child so!” Lan’xiu cried out. “But why? Why would she hide a son from Hüi Wei?”

  “This boy was certainly born after Hüi no longer came to Ci’an. He would have known the boy was not his. Some think she meant to kill us all and Hüi Wei too, and put her son upon his throne,” Bai said.

  “Ci’an did not hide her hostility toward Mei Ju, but she cannot have been demented enough to kill the children too!” Lan cried in distress.

  “Do not be so sure. She was a monster.” Bai gulped and her face twisted in horror. “They found also skeletons of three in
fant girl babies, packed in the trunks in her attic.”

  After a horrified silence, Lan said, “I can’t imagine what drove her to such madness.”

  “She was always hungry for power,” Bai said. “Before you came, and before Alute gave birth to her son, Ci’an wanted only to supplant Mei Ju. One can move up in rank in the household through other means than death. You have.”

  “I?” Lan asked in astonishment. “How can that be?”

  “You are now concubine of the first rank, right after First Wife Mei Ju,” Bai said. “Did no one tell you?”

  “I have been asleep,” Lan said, as if in a dream. “Ning?”

  “I’ve been here with you. I heard nothing of this,” Ning answered.

  “For our husband to do this, he has great feeling for you,” Bai said. “He has never changed a wife’s rank before.”

  “I—don’t know what to say,” Lan said in a dazed voice. “But you! I thought you were one of his favorites.”

  Bai blushed hotly. “You must promise never to divulge this.”

  Lan’xiu nodded and Bai turned to Ning. “And you.”

  “I will not speak of it. I could put my fingers in my ears,” Ning offered.

  “If you were not a eunuch, I should probably ask you to, but I understand your need to protect Lan’xiu lest I suddenly go mad and attack her.”

  “You would not get close enough to her to try,” Ning said fiercely, his hand on his sword.

  “You needn’t tell us if you don’t truly wish to,” Lan said.

  Teasing Ning seemed to have given Bai a chance to compose herself. “All is not as it appears in the household. Hüi Wei has not lain with any of us since you came. In fact, Alute was already with child when she came within these walls. Her son is not his. She cried for days before she mustered the courage to tell Hüi Wei, but he was very kind to her. She was allowed to live and bear her child in peace, although her child is not mentioned in the succession. Hüi Wei is a kind man.”

  Lan’xiu’s head was spinning. “But… when your lanterns are lit… what do you—” She stopped, realizing that her inquisitiveness was rude.

  “After you came, Hüi Wei never went upstairs with me again. We would play checkers,” Bai admitted. “He never did… what I said at the party when we first met. He is a kind man. Sometimes he would read to me. He is… very nice.”

  “You do not love him?” Lan’xiu burst out.

  “I do not. It is not to my credit to admit this when he is such a good man,” Bai said, hanging her head. “He is too old for me.”

  “He is not old!” Lan’xiu exclaimed hotly and then stopped herself.

  “You do love him,” Bai said with a pleased little nod. “I thought you did.” She held up a hand when Lan’xiu started to speak. “You hide it well, do not fear. I doubt that is what spurred Ci’an to her rash acts.”

  “How did you know it then?”

  “Your eyes glow like stars whenever someone speaks his name. One time, you did not lower your eyes quickly enough and I saw.” Bai leaned forward to touch Lan’xiu’s hand in her turn. “I am happy for you.”

  “But you. How can you stay here unloved and… not fulfilling the role you came to—”

  “I loved another before I came here,” Bai said softly. “I dream of being free to go back to him, although I know this cannot be.”

  “Have you told this to Hüi Wei?”

  “I could not! I could not offend him so,” Bai said. “My father is a highly placed official in my province. There are reasons I was chosen to come to here to be a concubine. I could not offend Hüi Wei or my father with my own personal desires.”

  Briefly, Lan’xiu met Ning’s gaze. “Perhaps your dream will yet come true.”

  “Perhaps,” Bai said sadly. “But whether it does or not, I had to come to see that you were still alive and well with my own eyes. Since we met, I felt that we were friends.”

  “We are,” Lan’xiu said, her eyes filling with tears that she did not hide this time. She reached out to grasp Bai’s hand and squeeze it. “We are friends.”

  “I am glad. I liked you the first time I met you,” Bai said and gave her usual infectious laugh. “Friends forever!”

  LAN’XIU needed another nap after Bai left. Everything Bai had said had taken the newly built foundations of his world and wrenched them away.

  When he awoke, it was to feel strong arms holding him safe. He snuggled his cheek against Hüi’s shoulder and gave a soft sigh.

  “My Lan’xiu,” Hüi said in response.

  Something in his voice made him open his eyes. “What is it, Hüi?”

  “It is nothing. When I am away from you, I worry that something—” Hüi bit his lip. “I came to see that you were safe. I thank the gods that I can still hold you in my arms.”

  “I, too,” Lan said, resting his head upon Hüi’s broad shoulder again.

  Chapter 17

  WHEN Lan’xiu woke again, Hüi was gone and Ning was in the room. He stretched languorously in the bed and asked Ning, “What are you looking so ferociously pleased about?”

  “When my lord came to see you, I went out and investigated. It is as I thought. Ci’an did not commit suicide.”

  Lan’xiu sat up, holding his arms around his stomach, feeling suddenly nauseated as if the poison had come back. “What really happened?”

  “The soldiers took her up to the tower and offered her the right due her rank to kill herself. She laughed and refused. Then they flung her from the tower onto the stones below,” Ning said with satisfaction.

  Lan’xiu moaned. Ning came to him and put his arms around him.

  “Don’t mourn her passing, Lan’xiu. The woman was evil. Ci’an preferred to force the soldiers to execute her, to cause them the guilt of her death.” Ning hugged Lan’xiu tightly. “She would have killed you if she could. She did kill Alute and perhaps the three girl infants in her house. If I had been there, I would have cracked her skull and hurled her into the gates of the underworld myself.”

  “Oh, Ning. It seems tragedy and bad luck follow wherever I go. Perhaps I should leave here and Hüi’s life would return to balance.”

  Ning gave him a shake. “Don’t be silly. You are not to blame for this. Your beauty may have excited her jealousy and hatred, but Ci’an would have done murder whether you came here or no. Besides, you did not come here of your own volition, nor did you set out to inspire envy.” He released Lan’xiu and laid him back against the pillows. “If you were to leave now, Hüi would follow you and bring you back, so it’s too late for you to do anything silly like that. He wants you well so he can hear the squeak of your bed frame once again.”

  “Have you been listening at the door?” Lan demanded, frowning.

  “Not at all, it was a figure of speech,” Ning said, looking out the window. “That stupid Dr. Mu is also dead.”

  “Don’t tell me he fell from the tower as well,” Lan said with a hint of dread in his voice.

  “No, he was beheaded. His crimes were too great for the general to overlook. He not only supplied Ci’an with the poison she used, they were having an affair,” Ning announced. “The rumor is that Ci’an’s son is his. The boy is certainly a weakling that a strong man like the general could not have bred.”

  “Ci’an? With that funny little man?” Lan’xiu shook his head. “How did you find all this out?”

  Ning blushed a tiny bit and got up to fiddle with the drapes. “I asked Captain Wen. He commands the household guard.”

  “You have been hiding a romance from me?” Lan teased.

  “He has been very useful,” Ning said haughtily. “He was the one who came to our aid when Ci’an attacked you.” Then he grinned and climbed off his high horse. “Perhaps it is a romance at that.”

  Lan’xiu laughed and laughed. “Who would have thought? My brother betrays me and sends me to a certain death, and we both find love. It is a funny world.”

  “It is fate,” Ning said solemnly. “Now you must sleep. An
d try not to worry. The general is worried enough for all three of us.”

  “He worries over me?” Lan asked, his eyes veiled by his lashes but his face delicately pink.

  “No, he’s addicted to playing checkers and he needs a new partner,” Ning growled. “Go to sleep.”

  He pulled the quilts up and tucked them about Lan’xiu’s shoulders and put out the lantern.

  THE next day Lan’xiu left his bed. Shakily, but he made it to the bathing room without aid, where he looked in the mirror and yelped in dismay.

  “Ning, I do believe Hüi must love me a little bit if he has been looking upon this face with affection! Why didn’t you let me bathe?”

  “You will not bathe now. I will help you wash. You mustn’t get the stitches wet,” Ning scolded.

  “I beg you to wash my hair. And comb it dry. I think it has blood in it,” Lan said distastefully, feeling the stiff braid where his curls were escaping.

  “We’ll see,” Ning said grimly.

  The fires under the bath had been lit earlier, and embers glowed nicely there. A delicate curl of steam arose over the waters as he supported Lan’xiu to get into the tub, which was only half-full.

  Lan gave a sigh of relief as he sank into the shallow waters.

  An hour later, dressed in a becoming dressing gown of deep blue, his hair braided and put up with hair sticks, his eyes ringed with black liner and his lips reddened, Lan’xiu sat in a chair by the window, looking out at the blue sky. A bird in flight made him sigh with gladness and regret that he could only see bare branches and the tiled roofs of the household.

  He looked up and smiled when Hüi Wei came into the room, accompanied by Jiang.

  “Princess,” Jiang said. “I came to look at your wound and change the dressings. You haven’t been getting it wet, have you?”

  “Ning was very careful,” Lan’xiu answered. His eyes were on Hüi’s face, and his heart soared when he read the love and concern written there, but he only said, “You look tired, my Lord.”