Jade Fire Gold(24)
9
Ahn
We reach Beishou three days later. Instead of using a secret entrance to the palace or some Diyeh temple, we canter through the streets brazenly. So much for keeping a low profile. But I’m glad for the chance to see the capital. Never in my life did I think I would be here.
Beishou is more colorful and dazzling than I ever imagined. And so, so wealthy. I try not to gawk at the neatly paved flagstone streets, so clean they practically shine. Majestically sculpted fountains and water features appear at every corner, some as large as a shophouse. Gilded temples with auspicious stone animals and various gods perched on the eaves and roofs stand tall here and there, all painted in vibrant colors of lush green and red with accents of sky blue and golden yellow.
Small pockets of carefully cultivated flowers and plants sprout between streets and along the sidewalks. Everything is so opulent here even the wooden windows of the shophouses are carved with a complicated pattern of alternating rounded rectangular shapes and swirls.
And the people! It baffles my mind to see all of them clad in fine silks, more vibrant than any I’ve seen in my life. There’re no signs of poverty. No beggars, no filthy street kids, no hint of disrepair in any of the buildings. Even the waiters at the inns and teahouses we pass are dressed well.
All the wealth of the Empire pumped into this city while so many other villages and towns languish in squalor; it’s hard to swallow my resentment.
We dismount at the end of a long tree-lined path and I stare openmouthed at the imposing structure in front of me.
Massive metal doors rise from the ground. Torches line stone walls over fifty feet high that stretch up and out, obscuring any view of what is inside the compound. Two guards stand at either side of the great doors with several more marching up and down the perimeter.
A guard comes up to us. Leiye subtly slips something from his sleeve. I glimpse a seal set in pale green jade. The guard immediately bows low.
“Young Master, how may I assist you today?”
Young Master? Why would the palace guard address a priest so formally like he’s a nobleman?
“The premier is expecting this lady. She is his guest. See that everyone is notified.” Leiye’s tone has taken a genteel note.
The guard clicks his heels, regarding me with a lot more respect and civility, and some curiosity. Then he slides open a slot in the door and mutters a few words to someone behind it.
The great doors open to show nothing but a large and dull cobblestoned courtyard with another set of doors and another great wall at the opposite end. A different guard greets us and leads us to the new set of doors. He repeats the process of the first guard and the doors open. Another guard is there with another courtyard and another set of doors.
Eventually, we go through so many doors and courtyards and paths that everything blends in my head into one long corridor and one big courtyard with random plants. There’s no way I will be able to find my way out of this maze.
After we cross the fifth or sixth courtyard, the palace begins to show its true colors. Beishou’s manicured charm is a smudge compared to the grandeur and splendor of the palace grounds.
My eyes sweep across the vivid scarlet-and-green double-eaved roofs, the rich wine-hued wooden pillars, and the breathtaking carvings in the polygonal coffers of its ceilings, taking in all the shimmering gold used in the decorations. At one point, I spot a seven-story pagoda overlooking a small lake as we pass an open area between buildings. A lake. How huge is this place?
Finally, we are told to wait in a grand hall where a few attendants stand discreetly in the corners. They keep their eyes fixed at some distant point in front of them. No one looks at me. I want to ask Leiye questions about the palace and Premier Zhao Yang, but the blank expressions of the attendants don’t fool me. I’m certain every one of them would eavesdrop on our conversation. Why wouldn’t they? I would.
A petite girl dressed in a white rúqún embroidered with peonies enters from a screened door. Like most Shi, she is fair of complexion. But there’s a layer of pearl powder over her face that makes her skin glow in an ethereal manner. Her cheeks are rouged, lips painted a flattering shade of vermilion, and her hair is done up in elaborate braids and loops adorned with colorful silk flowers. This must be the fashion of the capital. I feel like an absolute slob next to her.
The girl inclines her head. “Welcome to the Outer Courts, my lady. My name is Linxi, and I shall be escorting you to your chambers.”
“I—I’m not—call me Ahn, please,” I say, painfully conscious of how shabby I must look. I’m quite sure I don’t smell pleasant either.
Linxi smiles graciously and bows again. “Please, Lady Ahn, follow me.”
I turn to Leiye, hoping he will come with me. He’s neither a friend nor an ally, but after traveling together for some time, he is a familiar face. But he disappears down the hallway without a word.
Left with no other choice, I follow Linxi to a room three times the size of Ama’s hut. The air is perfumed by fresh flowers. Sunlight streams softly through rice-papered windowpanes. Organza curtains in rich colors of viridian, purple, and sapphire drape around the arched wooden frame of the canopy bed with a double moon design. Beautiful paintings of lush scenery hang from the walls, and dainty gold-painted ornaments rest on top of the cabinets and side tables. At one corner, silk robes lie over a folding screen painted with red-crested cranes and verdant bamboo.