Page 72 - Vol. VII #7

New Work in New China (continued from preceding page)
someone sobbing.
outside the palace and then giving them a letter. Immediately Zhang’s men try to arrest her. The men around her retaliate against the spies, one of whom is severely wounded. The guards sound the alarm, and because of the flatness of the desert and the foot- prints on the snow, Lady Xiu and her accomplices are easily captured.
He has never heard Song’s voice through a receiver, and he is surprised that he even recognizes it.
“Is this what you want?” she says. He doesn’t say anything.
Upon reading the letter, Zhang determines that Lady Xiu has been part of the rebellion all along. She has coordinated plans with the college stu- dents to take advantage of the emperor’s absence and conspired to storm the palace. In order to demonstrate that treason will not be tolerated, Zhang has decided on the immediate execution of the former Lady.
“How could I have known you were unsatisfied with me? You don’t yell at me. You don’t hit me. You tell me I’m a good wife. How could I have known?”
Suddenly everything becomes clear. His parents must have tricked her. He can see their faces. They stare at the fabric and needles and magazines lying around Song’s room. “Look at all the stuff you buy,” they say. “It’s no wonder he feels so much pressure. You’re a spendthrift.” He can see them going to the furnace and looking through the pot of rice and the stew cooking on top. They take a ladle and have
a sip of the stew. Their faces turn sour. “And how can he eat this everyday?” they say. “It’s really no wonder.”
Tuesday morning, as the snow outside accumulates to over thirty centimeters—a Tibetan record—Zhang stands on top of the innermost palace wall and looks upon the execution. The greenhouse is still dark from the accumulated snow, but the heavy-duty lamps have been turned on and the courtyard looks as if the sun is out. He feels that Lady Xiu’s execution is hap- pening at a most opportune time. Pei Pei stands next to him, wearing the striped shirt his wife made for him, his bags packed. He would have left this morn- ing if it hadn’t been for the snow.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Pei Pei says “I’m coming home.”
“We used to be so happy,” Song says. “I remember the summertimes when we used to find spots in the wheat fields and we’d hide ourselves from the other workers. I remember the times when we were kids, when you sneaked up to my window and took me
to the watermelon fields. We pretended we were husband and wife and the watermelon halves were bowls of rice. You told me you wanted three sons
to help you in the fields, and you promised me a daughter.”
“What did she do?” Pei Pei asks.
He can hear her stifled tears. Sitting on the steps, he puts his head in his hands and rubs his face. He looks up at the green panels of glass where the sky is supposed to be and suddenly everything around the courtyard seems dark. Petals fall on his legs and shoulders and face, but because of the layer of snow covering the panels, the petals lose their color, and look more like flakes of charcoal landing on and blackening his skin.
On the square below, soldiers wearing red with yel- low half-moons on their uniforms, holding ceremo- nial spears, hold Lady Xiu by the arms and trudge her through the petal-covered grass and bring her onto a platform. Her hair is wild with a few jasmines pet-
als stuck in it, hanging underneath her torn title hat. The two soldiers bring Lady Xiu to the far side of the platform and tie her to a pole. Below the platform, her chambermaids are also tied up. Next to them is a fire, burning the former Lady’s letters and typewriter. One of the soldiers underneath walks up to a cham- bermaid, takes out his pistol, and shoots her in the head. Then he walks up to the other one and shoots her in the same way.
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The snow falls heavier and the palace grows darker. Later that evening, Zhang’s spies follow Lady Xiu as she makes her way through the three walls and past the moat. She’s wearing a black sweater with a black hood. They see her conferring with several people
“Your parents told me about Song’s disapproval,” Zhang says. “I understand that you are leaving for her sake. It’s very noble of you.”
“She was very dumb,” Zhang whispers. “If she wanted to overthrow the emperor, she should have waited. Gain his confidence in full, and then take action. What did she think she could have accomplished? The emperor still has his armies.”