he wondered. He had raised the problem of the Empress and said that if the Great Endeavour was to accomplished, she would have to be discounted, and that a choice would have to be made between family and country. Yes, his meaning is......"
He shivered and began to sweat. He felt Princess Fragrance move slightly against him and heard her sigh. A smile appeared on her face like a flower bud opening.
"Should I break with the Emperor for her sake, or ask her to give in to him for the sake of the Great Endeavour?" The thought shot through his brain like a lightning bolt, and he cringed from it.
"She loves me so deeply. She"s managed somehow to maintain her virtue for my sake, she believes firmly that I will rescue her. How can I really bring myself to reject her, to betray her? But if I think only of us two, I must break with my brother, and this rare opportunity to recover the throne will be lost. If I did that, would we not be cursed by generations to come?" His brain was in turmoil, and he had no idea what he should do.
Princess Fragrance opened her eyes. "Let"s go," she said. "I"m afraid of seeing that evil Emperor again."
"Wait here for a moment. I"ll go out for a while then come back." She nodded and took the dagger from his hand, then watched him leave the room with smiling eyes.
He went up the stairs and found Qian Long on the next floor up sitting on a couch, stony-faced and motionless.
"Affairs of state are of more importance than private concerns," Chen announced. "I will urge her to give in to you."
Qian Long jumped up off the couch in delight. "Really?" he exclaimed.
"Yes, but you must swear an oath." Chen stared at him as he spoke.
"What oath?" asked Qian Long, avoiding his gaze.
"If you do not honestly do all in your power to drive the Manchu barbarians out, what then?"
Qian Long thought for a moment. "If that is the case, then no matter how glorious my life may be, may my grave be dug up and my skeleton smashed to pieces."
The grave of an emperor was inviolable. Such an oath was extremely serious.
"All right," said Chen. "I will talk to her. But I will have to do it outside the palace."
"Outside?" Qian Long asked, startled.
Chen nodded. "At the moment, she hates you to her very bones. She won"t be able to quietly listen to what I have to say here, so I wish to take her to the Great Wall to explain things."
"Why do you want to go so far?" said Qian Long suspiciously.
"I once promised to take her to the Great Wall. When I have done so, I will not see her ever again."
"You will definitely bring her back?"
"We members of the fighting community consider our word to be worth more than our lives. I will do what I have said."
Qian Long was uncertain of what to do. He wondered how he would ever find this beauty again if Chen escaped with her. But on the other hand, he knew the girl would never give in to him unless Chen could think of a way of convincing her to do so. He was sure Chen was committed to their Great Endeavour and would not give it up just for the sake of a girl.
"All right," he said finally, slapping the table. "Go, both of you."
He waited until Chen had gone, then said to the curtain behind him: "Take forty bodyguards and follow him the whole way. Whatever you do, don"t let them get away."
Chen returned to the fourth floor and took hold of Princess Fragrance"s hand. "Let"s go," The two walked together out of the pavilion and out of the Forbidden City. The guards had already received their orders and made no attempt to stop them. Princess Fragrance"s heart was full of joy. She had always believed her knight was capable of doing anything, and was in no way surprised that they could just walk out of the palace gates.
As they reached the outside, the sky was already growing light. Xin Yan was standing close by, the reins of the white horse in his hands, keeping watch, and when he spotted Chen, he rushed over. Seeing Princess Fragrance standing by his master"s side, he was even more surprised and delighted.
Chen took the rein from him. "We are going on a trip out of the city for the day," he said. "We won"t be back until late evening, so tell the others not to worry."
Xin Yan watched the two mount up and ride off north, and was about to leave when the sound of galloping hooves rose behind him and several dozen palace guards thundered past. He recognised the frail old man leading the troop as Bai Zhen, and returned quickly to Twin Willow Lane to report.
As the white horse left the city, it galloped ever faster. Princess Fragrance, snuggling into Chen"s arms, watched the trees on either side of the road zip past, and all the distress and sorrow of the previous few months evaporated. The horse"s strong legs carried them quickly past the small villages to the north of Beijing, and as they approached a crossroads, Chen said: "Let"s go and see the tombs of the Ming dynasty emperors."
The horse galloped on. Just past the Jade Stone Bridge, they came upon a huge stone monument inscribed with the words: "The Sacred Tombs of the Great Ming". On the right-hand face of the monument were several lines of poetry in Qian Long"s hand.
"What is it?"