I leave with a light chuckle, a sliver of hope rising within me. What I wouldn’t give to see a true smile upon A-Ma’s face once more.
As I make my way home, I can’t help but feel like I’m being watched. There’s an almost palpable weight on my back, the heat of someone’s gaze trained on me as I move through the streets. When I throw a cautious glance over my shoulder, I see no one.
How curious, indeed.
I decide to cut through the markets on my way home, not to glimpse the day’s wares, but because it will shave a few minutes off my route. There’s no time to leisurely peruse the stalls and their lovely trinkets, and certainly no time for small talk with the merchants.
When I was a little boy, much to A-Ma’s chagrin, I would spend hours upon hours listening to their colorful tales, too enraptured by them to keep track of the day. Very little has changed since then—my imagination would only run wild if I stopped to listen. Yes, it is best that I keep going.
As I slip past the crowd, the heavy presence of armored soldiers doesn’t go unnoticed. Many of them appear fresh-faced andwide-eyed, likely recent recruits from the smaller towns farther north. There’s a good chance they’re only filtering through Jiaoshan on their way to the military base of Shéyan several hundred li south of here.
“Please, good sir. I must be on my way.”
It’s a young woman who speaks. Her silk robes are plainly colored, but still far too vibrant for her to be a mere peasant girl. Her short nails and dried-out hands are my next clue, while her lack of jewelry and hair ornaments is my third. A maid for one of the noble houses in the Pearl District, if I had the coin to wager.
“Please, sir, I have so very much to do,” she says timidly.
A gaggle of soldiers block her path forward, though the largest of the bunch stands at the front, keen on gaining her attention. He’s far more of a brute than his compatriots, sporting an ugly scar that bisects his right cheek. His armor is similar to theirs, except that it’s run-down and marred by all manner of dents and scratches. The badge on his shoulder signifies that he is a captain.
When I look down at their hands, I notice that his thread stretches off into the distance. Hers is a closed black loop.
“What’s your rush, little miss?” he asks, teasing. “Will you not join this honorable soldier for a cup of tea before I go off to war?”
“My madam has asked me to run a number of errands on her behalf. I really must away.”
“I’m sure you’ll have time to do them later.”
One of the captain’s compatriots pats him on the shoulder in the way one would dust off a prized trophy. “Do you have any idea who this is? Captain Tian was awarded his title by the emperor himself.”
The ruckus begins to draw the eyes of the market, though noone makes a move to help the poor girl. The bystanders are all too slack-jawed to move an inch. Curious whispers and hushed murmurs reach my ear, the mere mention of the emperor raising the fine hairs on my arms.
Emperor Róng—a name that, rather befittingly, translates to “glory.” No one dares speak it aloud, but not just because we commoners are unworthy of it gracing our tongues.
When I was a boy, A-Ma would tell me stories about the emperor when I couldn’t sleep. He was said to have brought fresh water to the people of the North, banished wild beasts to the shadows, and ruled the lands for thousands of years. Preposterous, of course, but it always made for a fantastic bedtime story. I was usually out cold by the time A-Ma got to the part where the emperor was said to have been crowned by the sun itself.
He is almost more myth than man, and perhaps that’s why I feel so unsettled by the soldier’s mention of him. No one has laid eyes upon the emperor in many years. I hear he has isolated himself in one of his many palaces scattered throughout the Northern Kingdom of Xue. The rumor often floating around the teahouse is that he moves among these residences on a whim to keep his enemies at bay. The fact that Captain Tian has not only seen, butmetour elusive emperor in person? It defies belief.
The young woman sighs, exasperated. Her attempt to sidestep the captain and his goons fails miserably. “Sir, I really must—”
“Don’t be difficult. Come and keep me company.”
I can’t listen to this nonsense any longer. I may be in a hurry to return home, but I can’t let this come to pass. Swiftly, I sidle up to the young woman and place myself between her and the soldier.
“There you are,” I say, putting on a mildly frantic tone. “The madam has been asking after you. Do you really mean to keep her waiting?”
She blinks at me, stunned. “Who are—”
“Quickly, we must leave at once.”
I’m about to turn away when a hefty hand claps me on the scruff of my neck.
“Hey!” the captain snaps. “You got a problem?”
I set my jaw and regard him calmly. “No problem at all, my friend.Mèimeiand I were just on our way.”
He snorts, nostrils flaring like those of a horse. “Why are you not in armor? Where’s your sword and shield, boy?”
“I have no need of them. I’ve not been conscripted.”
