Breaking Bamboo Read Online Free PDF Page B

oval face was perfect in its symmetry. Her bound feet, though a little large, were alluring enough to attract the attention of any man. Indeed, Dr Shih found himself gazing at them, then at her perfect figure. He had never seen such a woman. More striking still were her eyes of willow green, flecked with amber, copper and gold. There was something dangerous about such beauty, reminiscent of the madness for a concubine that had brought down Emperors and entire dynasties.
    In that moment of astonishment Shih lost his opportunity to protest against Wang Ting-bo’s reward, for His Excellency rose from his chair and rapidly left the room. Casting a mournful look of apology at the saviour of her son, his wife followed.
    Once they had gone, Wang Bai addressed the young woman sharply.
    ‘Lu Ying, His Excellency has determined that you must accompany this man to his home and pleasure him in any way he requires. Your concubinage here is ended.’
    The girl moaned, her hand flying to her mouth.
    ‘I take it you agree to His Excellency’s decision,’ said Wang Bai. ‘Of course you do. You can hardly refuse.’
    Lu Ying bowed her head in assent. She seemed about to speak but thought better of it.
    ‘By the way, Dr Shih,’ said Wang Bai with a smile. ‘Knowing Lu Ying as I do, I am quite certain your reward will bring nothing but joy. Rest assured, suitable financial arrangements shall be made. A small monthly stipend for food and other necessities. As for luxuries, well, you must hope Lu Ying decides all her former extravagances are at an end.’
    Still smiling, Wang Bai strolled from the room. Dr Shih was left on his knees, staring at the beautiful girl beside him. She did not notice. For her, he hardly existed. He became aware of a disturbing fragrance in the air and realised it came from her person – a musk, deep and beguiling. He quite forgot Cao waiting for his return to Apricot Corner Court. He even forgot his twin brother, Guang, facing Heaven’s judgement in Wei Valley hundreds of li to the west – in lands occupied by the Mongol invaders.

two
    ‘All reasonable men agree Heaven has surrendered the entire world into the Great Khubilai Khan’s keeping. All that is below Heaven belongs to him – and those he appoints to rule on his behalf. . .’
    from Court Memoranda by Yeh-lu Ch’u-tso 
    Wei Valley, Western China. Summer 1266.
    Yun Guang entered Wei as the first light of dawn filtered through the mountains. The valley was strangely deserted, no peasants about the lord’s business as one might expect. Even the gibbons were quiet. He reached his hiding place, a cave on a hillside above the thatched rooftops of the village, just as the first people below began to stir.
    The cave was a haunt from childhood. Here he had fled Father’s moods, crawling beneath an overhanging boulder bearded with moss and lichen. Beyond lay a low-roofed, narrow space lit by cracks in the stone, reeking of damp earth and mould. Once, only ten years old, he had experimented with tinder and candles, singeing his hand to test how much pain he could endure. Then he had tried to melt the stone – his first lesson: that fire cannot consume everything.
    From the cave one could spy on the village like an Immortal, seeing while safely unseen. What he saw as the light thickened brought no pleasure.
    The reports were true. Wei Village and its surrounding fields, laboriously reclaimed from forest and hillside, were being transformed. The sunny side of the valley had been set aside as pasture for the enemy’s herds of horses. How quickly the patient work of a dozen generations could revert to waste!
    As the sun climbed he witnessed more changes. On fields of millet turned over to coarse grass, they had constructed a dozen circular tents, swarming with women and children, as well as tethered beasts – ewes, long-horned buffalo, goats, even a few camels. Guang imagined the barbarians’ breakfast of rancid sheep milk and barely-cooked meat. These