Zhi Hao couldnot seem to catch the Song daughter’s eye. He couldn’t see much beneath her curtain of jade beads, and he couldn’t tell if she was indeed the woman he’d spent two glorious evenings with. Maybe she was exactly as she appeared: dull, obedient, and chaste to the point of being asexual.
He listened carefully to her recitation of poetry, hoping to recognize her voice, at least. Unfortunately, her voice was demure, but barely audible. Or maybe it was that he didn’t hear the commanding tone, or lilting laughter he was used to getting from her that confused him. What he did hear, however, was rustling nearby. Was something moving in the shrubbery? Or was that the wind in the trees?
Then he saw it. A flash of red fur and a thick tail. White teeth and a growl that set his hair on end. Then suddenly, he heard a yelp as a man jumped out from behind a thick group of shrubs.
Zhi Hao reacted before he fully processed what he was seeing. His focus was on the man’s sword and the way he seemed to be heading straight for Ling Xin who was still prostrate on the ground in her kowtow.
Whether on purpose or by accident, the man was armed and he could kill. Zhi Hao only had a thick handled broom to use in her defense, but he could wield it effectively. Especially against a man who was looking behind him as if he’d been attacked by a Mongol hoard.
Zhi Hao used his broom to block the sword. The man hadn’t been holding it with much strength. After a few well-placed blows, the man crumpled, his sword clattering to the ground before the earl.
That should have been the end of it. Zhi Hao stood over the man, broom handle at the ready, as the earl bent down to pick up the sword. It was a rusty, chipped thing, and the earl frowned in confusion.
What a bad weapon. A meat cleaver would be better. But before he could say anything, a woman’s scream ripped through the air.
It wasn’t Ling Xin. She was still straightening from her kowtow. The sound came from the shrubbery all around as a woman burst forth brandishing a kitchen knife. She ran straight for the man on the ground. Others followed, two older boys and several children of various ages.
The retainers handled them easily, knocking them aside with skillful blows. Zhi Hao didn’t need to do anything with his broom. It was clear to him that these were no trained fighters. Most likely, these were starving peasants, waiting to steal the food left for the ancestors. The man had burst from his hiding spot because of the red-furred creature who had attacked him, not because he was trying to assassinate the earl.
But what was clear to Zhi Hao was not so obvious to others. And while he waited for the earl to quiet everyone down, he searched the ground for the animal. Could it have been a fox spirit? There weren’t that many red-furred creatures alive in the city, and he had seen one three times now in the last week.
But why would a fox spirit attack starving peasants?
Meanwhile, the earl and his sons were quickly containing the so-called attackers. A few of the Song party had screamed during the commotion, but not Ling Xin. She stood quietly nearby, now on her feet and apparently alert.
If nothing else, that confirmed to him that she was indeed the girl he’d met on the wall these last nights. That daring woman would not cry out during an attack. She was more likely to grab a weapon to defend herself.
And indeed, he saw the Song daughter flex her hands as if searching for something to hold, though she quickly stilled the motion beneath her long sleeves.
Meanwhile, the earl was confronting the quivering man at his feet.
“Why do you attack me?” he demanded.
“No, no, honored sir! I meant no harm!” The man had a high voice and obvious sores on his hands and feet. “Please, I was…there was a fox.” His voice trailed away already knowing how ridiculous that sounded. But, of course, Zhi Hao had seen it, too.
“You have no reason to be here. This is Song family land. You defile my offering, insult my ancestors—”
“No! No!” the man began, and it was quickly echoed by the others around them.
It didn’t matter, though. The earl could not let an insult like this pass without penalty. Zhi Hao could see the regret in the earl’s face, but that would not stop him from ordering these poor people killed. To endanger his family during a festival was a serious crime.
And yet Zhi Hao could not let it stand.
“No, no, Earl Song. I’m afraid there has been a misunderstanding. It is completely my fault. These people are part of my family, come to help me clean the tomb. They brought cleaning tools, you see, to help clear away any grime that might remain.”
The earl snorted, clearly seeing the lie for what it was. Especially since one of the “cleaning tools” was a notched and rusty sword.
“Your family. This group?” he said.
“Not family by blood, of course. They are part of my…my kindness family.”
“Your what?”
“My kindness family. When I arrived in Peking, I grew lost and confused. These people…” Zhi Hao gestured expansively including all eleven of the group. “They helped me find Master Gao’s home. And as such—because of their generosity of spirit—they become part of…”
“Of your kindness family?”
“Yes.” He tried not to wince, but it was all he could think of in the moment. He knew how ridiculous it sounded, and yet he was already committed.
