Next he pours water into the teapot until it overflows, puts the lid on and pours more hot water over the teapot. Then he sighs, a long, weary, exhale.
My whole body tenses. When he told me about my mom, he danced around the subject for a long time before finally getting to the point. I can’t bear the suspense, so I blurt, ‘Is he dead?’
Big Wang almost drops the teapot. ‘No, no, Little Jing, Tony Lee is fine.’
‘Then what? Spit it out, you’re scaring me.’
He closes his eyes and sighs again before nodding. All these tells, but I still don’t know what he’s trying to say.
‘Let’s serve the tea, then I’ll tell you what’s on my mind.’
It’s my turn to huff as he drains the teapot into the gongdao cup, slow and infuriating. From there he pours the tea evenly between the wenxiang cups. He places a pinmin cup over each of the narrow ones. I usually love this part, taking the time to flip the pair over, then rolling the empty wenxiang cup between my palms to savour the perfume of the brewed tea.
But I have no patience right now. I flip it over, lift the cup and set it back on the tray. The aroma of camphor and wood smoke, with an underlying plummy sweetness, fills the room.
I wait, but Big Wang keeps his nose in the wenxiang cup, eyes closed. I can tell he’s not really paying attention to the tea. He’s stalling.
‘The tea has been served. Spill.’
He sets the cup on the tray with a softtink. ‘I’d like the North Wind Division to accompany you to Paris.’
This is not what I expected. ‘The elite guards? Why?’
Big Wang clears his throat as if he’s got a burr stuck in there. ‘Well, you’ve never been outside the Middle Kingdom. I worry for your safety.’
Since I was six years old, I’ve been allowed to run loose in the city: fighting and brawling with gobby yaojing; streaking joyfully through the streets as the North Wind Guards gave chase; staying out all night playing cards, one gambling den after another. At no point did Big Wang ever expressworry for my safety. That was saved for the turd-brains I fleeced or beat to a pulp, or the guards I routinely tormented for fun. I feel a tiny bit bad about that, now. They were only following orders, trying to make unruly me put on clothes.
‘Why don’t the elite guards take Lord Aengus to Paris? Then I won’t have to go.’
Big Wang’s expression pinches. Another long sigh. ‘Failing to follow through a promise made as a Minister of Hell is tantamount to admitting you have lost your ministerial authority. It would allow Niang Niang to demand that the Jade Emperor return you to the Hulijing Court as her subject.’ He shakes his head, his focus far away. ‘We cannot allow that.’
‘Ah. That, I don’t want either. But fifty guards? Come on, Big Wang. That’s too much.’
The King of Hell rolls the wenxiang cup between his fingers, the furrow between his two bushy black eyebrows deepening. ‘How about Lord Nioh and Lord Ma then?’
‘Lord Nioh and Lord Ma are needed here in yin Shanghai,’ I say, trying to invoke reason. ‘They guard the entire city! It’s ridiculous to make them babysit me. The North Wind Division won’t appreciate being forced to nanny me either. We have too much history. Besides, I doubt they’ve forgiven me for all the times I’ve kneed them in their virtuous peaches.’
His jaw sets. ‘You will not go alone. You can choose which, but either the North Wind Division or Lord Ma and Lord Nioh will escort you.’
This insistence is very unlike Big Wang. My guardian has always been a hands-off kind of parent, more akin to benign neglect, trusting me to handle things and know when to ask for help. Only if I’m committing a breach of decorum or causing physical damage to persons or property does he step in. Even when my grandmother’s subordinates were actively trying to hurt me, Big Wang simply told me to avoid the hulijing. I narrow my eyes as suspicion sets in.
‘Is there something dangerous in Paris?’
Big Wang juts his chin. ‘Stop changing the subject.’
‘You let me and Tony go to mortal Shanghai on our own.’
‘And look what happened!’ Big Wang’s eyes blaze red. He’s really keyed up.
‘Gigi and Ah Lang joined us, too,’ I remind him, which gives me an idea. ‘What if I ask them? If they’re willing, can we forget about the North Wind Division and Lord Nioh and Lord Ma coming with me?’
Big Wang doesn’t seem to hear me. The wenxiang cup rolls back and forth, back and forth as he chews on the inside of his cheek, like he’s working up to saying something. Finally, hesays, ‘When raising a child, sometimes decisions are made, and it’s not always clear whether those decisions are the right ones. Dong, ma?’
Huh?‘I have no intention of having a child in the immediate future, if that’s what you mean.’
‘Oh, no, that’s not—’ Big Wang clears his throat, cheeks red. ‘I mean, sometimes even with the best intentions, when making decisions to protect someone, it’s not always clear if the path is the right one. You can only hope for the best. Dong, ma?’
‘If you mean my duty as Special Liaison, I’m really sorry I didn’t keep a closer eye on the hulijing courtiers, but I tried to tell the envoy. And it’s not like the courtiers listen to me—’
