Forbidden City. However, over the years, he had cleverly consolidated his position into one of great power. The emperor ignored Peking itself in favor of the Forbidden City, which meant every time he left for Jehol or the Summer Palace, Peking was basically left in the charge of Prince Kung. He’d had little power within the Imperial Court, but outside it, he was arguably the most powerful man in China. He also did not get along with Su Shun, which was why Cixi had come to him in the first place.
“The continual conflict we have with Britain drains treasure and people on both sides,” Kung said. “Imagine what we could accomplish if we worked together! The British are making extraordinary leaps forward in the fields of medicine and public education, for example, but their people starve in the streets because British farmers are ignorant of agricultural secrets we have hoarded for centuries. Yet we fight and keep our people apart because we look different and act differently. Foolishness!”
“I met a few bar-Westerners when I was younger,” Cixi said. “They don’t have proper manners, you know. It makes it very difficult to talk to them.”
“They say the exact same thing about us,” Kung replied. “Do you think we Chinese are so stupid that we can build a wall halfway around the world but we cannot learn to talk to Englishmen? Or that the English are so stupid that they can build ships to fly through the air but cannot learn proper etiquette? No, both sides are narrow-minded, and it costs us dearly.”
“I do not disagree,” Cixi put in. “I lived on the streets of Peking as a child, and I have lived in the Imperial Court. From these vantage points I have seen how. . insulated our society has become. The emperor is-was-a symptom of that. We seal ourselves off as we sealed off the emperor, and the only thing that gets in is sickness.”
“Exactly! When the emperor is sealed off, he stagnates like bad water in a pond. You yourself saw the proof. We need someone to sit on the throne who is willing to listen to new ideas.”
“But not you,” Cixi said.
“By the heavens, no.” Kung drank tea in obvious distress. “I have more than enough difficulty with Peking, let alone an entire empire.”
“You would make a wonderful adviser to an emperor,” Cixi said. She hesitated a moment. Bluntness was never a part of politics. No one at the Court was ever able to speak in private, and everyone’s words were quickly spread by spies and servants throughout the Forbidden City, which meant all comments had to have multiple meanings-one for the spies and one for the actual recipient. It made for twisted, difficult negotiations that lasted days or weeks. But here there were no listeners, and the longer they delayed, the longer Su Shun had to consolidate his hold on the throne. She decided to plunge ahead. “You could also be an adviser to a regent. Even if that regent were, say, a mere woman.”
Kung looked at her for a long time. Cixi looked back. “Yes,” he said at last. “That’s true. I think that would be a fine idea. A woman who ruled from behind a silk curtain, as the saying goes.”
“But not alone,” Cixi added quickly. “As I said, this woman would need advisers, generals, trustworthy eyes and ears. No one can run an empire alone.”
“And this woman would want peace with the West, not war as Su Shun does.”
“I imagine she would.” Cixi found she couldn’t quite bring herself to be completely blunt after all. “Especially if working for peace meant she enjoyed the support of important people.”
“It would.” Kung drummed his fingers on the tabletop. “If we want to put the proper heir on the throne, we need proof that Xianfeng intended this heir to sit there.”
“Unfortunately,” Cixi said, “he made no such declaration. Many, many witnesses know this. And the Ebony Chamber”-she gestured at the sack on the floor beside her-“was empty.”
“Hm. And I am even farther from the throne than we knew. Did you know I was in charge of the army that defended Peking from the British?”
“I thought it was Prince Cheng.”
“It was. Su Shun wrested that honor away from me and gave it to that toad Cheng-”
“In order to take credit for it because Cheng always does as he is told and never speaks for himself,” Cixi finished for him. “Yes. I wondered at that.”
“For once Cheng will be rewarded.” Kung sighed. “Su Shun intends to give my position as governor of Peking over to Cheng. He is handing out many civil positions to military friends of his without regard to their skill at administration. I have been deliberately excluded. My influence at this new Imperial Court is nonexistent.”
“If we have no heir and no paper, we will need the Jade Hand,” Cixi mused. “Though acquiring the hand will be much the same thing as assassinating Su Shun.”
Kung nodded. “There is another factor. You know of the cure for the blessing of dragons.”
“The one carried by that Western woman, Lady Michaels. Yes. She is the main reason Su Shun has continued to seal the borders-he does not want the cure to enter and wreck the Dragon Men. She is the most dangerous person in the world right now after Su Shun himself. Su Shun has put out an enormous reward for her capture so he can personally ascertain her identity and see to her death.”
Kung toyed with his teacup. “It may interest you to know that Alice, Lady Michaels, was captured not long ago in Tehran. In a fascinating turn of events, she turned herself in and claimed the reward for herself.”
“My sources are impeccable. Imperial troops are escorting her to Peking even now.”
Cixi realized her thumb was in her mouth and she was gnawing on the nail, a habit her mother had long ago broken in her. She put her hand down. “I think,” she said slowly, “that if Su Shun wants her so badly, we cannot afford to let him have her. I also think that whoever controls Michaels Alice controls the empire.”
“Oh?”
“Think of it. Releasing her cure would abruptly put our empire on equal footing with the West. It would destroy Su Shun’s chances of going to war. The cure destroyed the British Empire’s ability to fight us, after all. Since he is using this war on the West as a distraction from his weak hold on the throne, no war would mean we would have a better chance to unseat him.”
“I concur. And, my lady, I must say I like the way your mind runs. You think on a grand scale, and that is what we need for an empire.”
“Thank you, my prince.”
Zaichun, who hadn’t spoken a word, had finished stuffing himself and was now drooping over his plate. Cixi laid him down on the pillow as she had done many times before with the emperor. He sighed and fell more deeply asleep. Cixi drank more tea.
“So,” she concluded, “we need to divert Lady Michaels and bring her here. Can this be arranged?”
“I will see what I can do,” said Prince Kung.
Chapter Nine
The border guard was a serpentine mechanical dragon, long and segmented and at least a hundred yards in length. Smoky steam puffed from its nostrils, and a metal beard dripped from its chin. Its jaws could easily bite a man in half. Gavin couldn’t see any human controlling it, though he supposed one might be inside. Like the nightingales, it skimmed with lithe grace when it moved. The birds pulled the
Yeh stepped fearlessly up to the dragon, bowed, and spoke to it while the birds huddled in the rigging and on the deck. Once again, Gavin caught words, the same ones as before, and this time
“I think I’m learning Chinese,” he murmured to Alice. “Can the plague do that?”
“Shush,” she said.
Alice had to present herself to the dragon, which huffed warm steam over her and blew her skirts about. Gavin held his breath and kept his hand on his useless cutlass, but the dragon seemed satisfied. The dragon spoke
