'Of course not! No mother wants to lose her place in her son's eyes.'
Bo Tao grimaced. If only he had more time to explain! But any moment now, someone was going to summon him to the emperor to explain what had happened with the Dutch. He could not tarry much longer.
'You must see, Chen Ji Yue, what lies before you.' He had shown it to her so plainly last night. Did she want to become one of the lowest harem women? 'Leave now and I will find some reason. You are with your family. There will be no questions, certainly none that could not be verified by a doctor.'
There it was as plain as he could make it. If she withdrew now, after a suitable period of time, he could begin a formal courtship. He would have to be sure that the emperor bore no ill will. But if Ji Yue became suddenly ill—so ill that she had to be returned to the bosom of her family—then perhaps the emperor would not guess. Or better yet, Yi Zhen might forget one virgin out of so many. There were hundreds of things that occupied an emperor's attention. It only required that Ji Yue say yes. Yes, she would willingly withdraw herself from the Forbidden City.
He looked into her eyes. He saw the uncertainty there. Another push and she would fall, he was sure of it. But she wasn't given the chance. Madame Chen did a little pushing of her own, shoving Bo Tao backward and away from her daughter.
'I know you, Sun Bo Tao,' she hissed. 'I know you are not a scholar, you are not a soldier. You are not even rich. You are a friend to the emperor and so he lets you live off his bounty, and you are jealous of whatever he likes.'
'Mama, that's not true,' Ji Yue inserted, but her mother was not listening.
'The emperor has noticed you, daughter,' she snapped. 'And this man wants whatever the emperor has. So he convinces you to go home now so that we will be grateful when he courts you later.' Madame Chen drew herself up to her full height. 'We will not be grateful for the likes of you!'
Bo Tao did not answer. Her accusations had the ring of truth. Once, he had lived off his friendship with Yi Zhen, had followed the emperor around for the parties, the food and the women. But endless rounds of princely games grew tedious. He discovered he liked the business of nations, and he grew up. Now he was an integral part of the nation's government even though he had no official title.
He looked at Ji Yue, his heart in his eyes. 'I have enough to live. And after the festival, Yi Zhen has promised me an appointment with a salary. Enough money to support a wife and—'
'Bah on promises!' Madame Chen gripped her daughter's arm and spun her around. 'Hsst! You are smart, Ji Yue. Use your head.' Madame Chen pointed a bony finger at him. 'Beauty fades and grows old. Imperial promises come and go with the wind. You want nothing of this one!'
Ji Yue compressed her lips in annoyance. Bo Tao could tell she did not like having her mother tell her what she wanted. But without her mother's support, she could not go home.
'Mama, the dowager consort despises me.'
'Because the emperor sees your worth.'
'I do not think—'
'Enough,' interrupted the father.
Bo Tao turned, startled to hear from the man. 'Honored sir?' he said with a bow.
'My daughter has caught the emperor's eye. She will remain an imperial virgin.' He lifted his chin. 'There is no room for her at home.' Then he gestured to his sons. 'Come, sons, your studies await. You do not want to become a wastrel, dependant upon promises before you can take a wife.' And with that, he waved his daughter a casual farewell and walked away.
His wife fell into step behind her sons. But at the door, she turned to glare at her daughter. 'Ji Yue, go! Go to the virgins' palace and spend no more time with this wastrel!'
Ji Yue did not appear happy with her mother's advice, but it didn't matter. Without a home to return to, Ji Yue would remain in the Forbidden City and take her chances among fifty others to become the next empress.
Bo Tao sighed. He could kill a foreigner in the lesser great hall, but he could not win a girl away from her parents' ambition. 'Do as your mother bids,' he said. 'I am late to report to the emperor.' He clapped his hands twice very loudly and a pair of eunuchs appeared. 'Escort Chen Ji Yue to the virgins' palace. I am late.'
With a last bow to her mother, who still smirked in the doorway, he turned and left both the Chen women behind.
Chapter 11
BO TAO DID NOT SEE a single virgin for the next two days. He completely ignored his duties as master of the festival and remained at his home in Peking. He focused on his reports to the emperor, on strategies to outwit rebels or invaders, on anything that would keep his mind completely away from Chen Ji Yue.
It didn't work. He found himself reading her notations on the Dutch envoy, remarking anew that she had a keen eye for detail and a clear head despite the horror she had witnessed. He read it a hundred times or more, hearing her voice in his head as he did, feeling the touch of her hand and the heat of her body. By the dawn of the third day, he was insane with want. His jade stalk felt like a heavy stone dragging his thoughts straight back to her.
It was ridiculous! She was just a woman. She could not possibly be as beautiful, as sweet, as brilliant as he remembered. He ground the heels of his hands against his eyes. He had to see her again. That much was obvious. He had to prove to himself that he'd built a fantasy in his head. So he stormed from his home, barged through the gate of the Forbidden City, and went in search of a virgin.
He could not find her. The virgins had spent the last two days practicing their talents—whatever they might be—so they could entertain the dowager consort during the artistic display exam. Some painted, others sang or danced and some wrote poetry. Each day had produced a display of some sort for the dowager consort. And each day, someone had been dismissed as unacceptable because of one trifling reason or another.
He had watched the list of unacceptable virgins closely, hoping to see Ji Yue's name. If the dowager consort dismissed her, then perhaps her family would relent. Perhaps they would accept her back, and he could court her after his appointment—whenever that came. But her name did not appear because—he now learned—she was set to dance before the dowager consort today.
And Bo Tao was set to meet with Han Du Yu, a minor dignitary of a small but wealthy province near Peking. He wanted to give the emperor gifts—bribes—so that his son would pass the civil service exam. It was a ridiculous meeting given to Bo Tao because the emperor could not waste his time on such stupidities. Neither Bo Tao nor the emperor had anything to do with who passed and who did not. But every year desperate parents tried to buy favor where there was none to give.
Bo Tao would have ducked the meeting completely, but Han Du Yu was rich. So rich that the emperor could not afford to slight him. Worse, Bo Tao had been thinking about what Ji Yue said. If peasants followed food and hope, then the emperor needed to know exactly how hungry and how hopeless his people were. Short of interviewing every man, woman and child who slopped pigs, he had to rely on the nobles who oversaw their lands. And here was a perfect opportunity to do just that.
Therefore, much as he wanted to see Ji Yue dance, he could not cancel. Which meant he had to sit and wait. And wait. Until finally the fat, pompous ass arrived carrying a huge ivory carving of one of the nine Immortals, a celestial being in Taoism.
Bo Tao stared at the ugly thing. Bribes needed to be small and secret, not ostentatiously large. And it wasn't even carved well! Forgoing diplomacy in favor of expedience, Bo Tao pushed the stupid present back to the idiot. 'I have nothing to do with marking the exam, I have no influence there, and have no wish to waste your money. Please, take this back.'
The man laughed heartily, thinking that Bo Tao was merely pretending to have no influence, pretending to be honest. The harder Bo Tao tried to convince him, the more entrenched the stupidity became. In the end, Bo Tao had no choice but to accept the ugly piece or they would be there dickering all day.
Then Bo Tao leaned forward, getting to the meat of what he wished to know. 'Tell me, Han Du Yu, of the people you oversee. What do the peasants say? What do they want?'
Han Du Yu grinned and clapped his hands. 'They sing the emperor's praises night and day.'
