Jade Fire Gold(41)
As a boy, I used to go to that secluded valley each spring to pay respects on Ancestors’ Day. Fate has not allowed me to fulfill my duty to Father.
Soon, that will change. Soon, I will make things right.
“I don’t know why you do this to yourself,” Tang Wei says as she brushes something off her skirt.
“Do what?”
She shoots me an exasperated look. “Never mind, we need to go to the temple.”
We leave the crowds behind and head west across stone bridges arching over narrow waterways, past sculptures of dragon turtles and fountains carved with yuèfú. Some snippets of the classical poems are known to me, others less so.
Somber faces pass us through the streets, though perhaps their sobriety is a show for the authorities. I doubt Gao Long was well-liked, not after he dragged this country into a ten-year conflict right from the start of his reign.
“Linxi came by the safe house last night.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” My tone comes out harsher than I intended.
“You were asleep. After that ordeal with the Phoenix and all the traveling we’ve done, I thought you needed some rest—”
“More like you wanted to spend time alone with her,” I retort.
Tang Wei stops, her eyes cold. “Do you want to hear her news or not?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, exhaling. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I just . . . It would have been nice to see Linxi. That’s all.”
“You’re apologizing?”
“Don’t make me take it back.”
“Accepted. And I’m sorry, too.”
I bring a hand to my mouth, pretending to be shocked.
She elbows me. “I know Linxi is like a sister to you. You’re right, I shouldn’t have been selfish. I did want to catch up with her by myself.” She smiles knowingly. “It won’t happen again. But maybe one day, you’ll understand how it feels to be in love.”
“Can’t wait,” I say sarcastically. “What’s the news?”
Tang Wei lowers her voice. “She’s in the palace.”
“She?”
“The one you’ve been waiting for.”
“The one I’ve been waiting for?”
She.
I smack my forehead. “The Life Stealer is a woman? Why did I think it would be a man like my great-grandfather?”
“Because you can’t see past your own nose?”
“Who is she and what is she doing in the palace?” I ask, ignoring Tang Wei’s jibe.
“She’s only been there for a month. She’s Zhao Yang’s long-lost daughter, apparently.”
“Are you sure? I thought he had no family.”
“Linxi is positive. She’s even seen the girl training with some priest. Seems like they want to hone her life-stealing ability. They haven’t succeeded; all she can do is manipulate water. There’s more though—the girl has a grandmother living in that desert town we were in.”
“The one with the priests?”
Tang Wei nods.
That town was small. It won’t be hard for me to return and find her grandmother. A plan forms in my head. I have finally found an advantage against the priests.
I have finally found my leverage.
The shrine of the Goddess of Mercy rises sharply beyond a majestic willow tree by Mu’an Lake. Mother used to visit this place. There is a temple inside the palace compound, but royals can choose to pray in the city as a public show of dedication. It used to cause the Inner Court officials grief that the empress would choose such a humble and out-of-the-way place to pray instead of the grander halls in the city center built specially for the royals.
How can I understand the people’s hopes and fears if I do not pray with them? Mother would say with a gentle but firm smile. The officials would cluck their tongues at their foreign empress, but she always got her way. Father saw to that.
I have long eschewed our gods. But I light three joss sticks now, because Mother would want me to. I kneel on one of the red cushions on the floor in front of the main altar, holding the incense in front of me in both hands at chest-level.
Zhenxi
The demon-man with the melting face
The Diyeh priesthood
Tai Shun
My mind runs through the familiar list, merely the beginning of those who must pay for what they did to my family. I hesitate, fingers rubbing the grainy sticks. Should I pray? But I’m not sure what to pray for. The sculpture of the Goddess Guanyin stares down from the altar. Would she bestow blessings upon me for wanting vengeance? Or would she advise mercy instead?
Tang Wei nudges me with a foot. “They’re here.”
I stick the incense into the huge metal pot on the table and follow her to the empty courtyard at the back of the temple. I stake claim over an incinerator and throw a few sheets of joss paper into the fire for show, just in case any devotees appear. Tang Wei stands guard in the corner.
A throat clears. I turn and bow low to the two men behind me. One, a familiar face I’m glad to see, the other, a stranger. He must be the Nandah ambassador.
“Shīfù.” I nod to the older man dressed in pale green before turning to the other. “Ambassador Tian.”
His white robes are a contrast to his brown skin. He reaches out a hand weighed down by thick brass rings and heavy jeweled cuffs and tosses in the entire stack of joss paper. The gold leaf on their centers crumples in the heat before catching flame. Our nations may be divided by land and water, but we pray to the same gods.