Page 61 - Vol. VII #7

her acquaintance yet?”
whenever he walks. “Anyway I can’t take it back now.” The only thing he can improve now is his status in the palace. First he must gain the emperor’s full confi- dence, then surround the emperor with people allied to himself. If his power continues to grow, he will soon have enough people around him to do anything he wants, perhaps overthrow the emperor, and his traditions. Do to him what he has done to me. Smiling, he opens the door to his room, and claps his hands twice.
The girl shakes her head. “I spoke to her once,” she says. “She’s very secretive. Why are all educated people so secretive? Sometimes she goes out in the middle of the night.”
Lady Xiu is the only concubine who has a college degree. At twenty-four, she is also the oldest. She represents Beijing, which the emperor considers a province all to itself. He met her after his siege of the city, when he declared himself emperor and told the Chinese people about his plans for the sexual sen- ate. He saw her at a suburb along the outskirts of the city, where he ordered the town to line up its avail- able girls so he could choose. Right away he knew he wanted Xiu. She wasn’t the most beautiful, but she was the most adamant, speaking confidently and
~
“Zhang looks down at the girl sitting at his
“You are thinking about the situation in a wrong way,” his father says. “Song will be proud to learn that her husband has achieved a high rank.”
feet, and wonders how she is ever supposed to repre- sent an entire province.”
His mother nods. “There are many paths that lead to a girl’s heart,” she says.
“You have to go,” Pei Pei’s father says. “Zhang tells us it’s an order from the emperor. If you don’t go they can have us beheaded.”
“Please don’t tell Song,” Pei Pei says.
“I told her that I might be going to the city. She thinks I have a job prospect.”
“Just don’t say a word,” Pei Pei says again, and shuts the door.
clinging to his arm.
When he gets home, he sees fabric lying around the floor and on the bed and on top of the furnace. Song has an old magazine on her lap and has needles in her mouth.
“Nobody knows what she does,” Lady Jing continues. “The maids think she has a lover.”
“What’s all this?” Pei Pei asks.
“She better hope the emperor doesn’t find out.” Zhang walks to the door.
“I went to the store today,” she says. “You have to look good for the interview. Come and look at this maga- zine. Tell me which shirt you want.”
“At least she has something to be excited about. I have nothing.”
“It’s not glamorous,” Pei Pei says. “I’ll just be working for a bicycle route.”
“I’ll see to it that my cousin is here within the month,” Zhang says, passing through the silk veil.
“If you get it,” she corrects him.
“How did you get money for these things?”
As he walks back through the palace halls and into the courtyard, he thinks about Pei Pei. “I am doing him a favor,” he tells himself. But he doesn’t recognize his own voice anymore. “I am fortunate,” he says. “Millions of people would love to be in my position.” He walks in small, mincing steps—the only way he
“I’ve been saving up the allowances you gave me,” she says. “And I borrowed the rest from my parents.”
is able to walk after the operation. He feels useless
“You shouldn’t have.” He walks over and takes the needle and half-sewn fabric out of her hands and puts them on top of the furnace. He puts his hands on
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