The Roman Saga. Behind The Great Wall

– Tell me, who surprised my brother? – a low velvety voice was heard, and Lacius’s heart froze. This was the Emperor’s wife.

– This one. With a large helmet, in a red cloak, – answered the voice of the chief of the guard.

– This is interesting. Will they show us something?

– My lady, it is not safe. They are terrible barbarians. We need to put servants in front of them to protect you, – the senior eunuch addressed the Empress with caution and warning politeness, and Lacius felt that this man was really afraid of them.

– But if you install servants, I won’t see anything, – she answered dissatisfied. – Was my brother standing here? – she asked unexpectedly.

– Uh… I wasn’t with him yesterday… – the senior eunuch stammered.

– Yes, he was, – security chief Fu Xing answered for him.

– Then there’s nothing to worry about. Look, they have chains and balls on their feet! They can’t even take a step. Are they really that scary?

– Very much, my lady, – Fu Xing confirmed, but this did not make any impression on the Emperor’s wife.

– Then show them to me! – she ordered. The chief of the guard nodded to his soldiers. The command sounded: – Tshiilai!17, – and the Romans saw in front of them about two dozen multi – coloured robes, the upper part of which was hidden behind large fans. Five steps from Latium, a yellow fan with dark red birds froze, flying somewhere with their long legs stretched back. He quickly looked at the basket and was dumbfounded. There was ice there. Real cold ice! The top pieces had already melted, their surface was smooth and shiny. And they also gave off real coolness.

Such baskets stood only around a woman in a pink robe. A dozen servants held them, bent double and holding the ropes around their necks with their hands. They were waiting for the Empress, ready to immediately accompany her every step with coolness. Lacius looked up at the fan and saw black hair behind it, curled at the side into a ball. Dozens of gold jewelry protruded from it, and on the crown of the head lay a gold necklace with small round medallions the size of a pinky fingernail. Two curious eyes looked at him point – blank, and neither fear nor horror was visible in them.

– What a terrible scar, – said a voice behind the fan.

– Yes, our lady, – the chief of the guard bowed and nodded to Lacius. Everything was repeated once again: the legionnaires closed, opened and reformed, while Fu Xing finished the story about the terrible battle near the walls of the distant Xiongnu fortress.

– Are they really that good at fighting? – she was surprised after listening to the whole story. —Are they all eunuchs?

– No, but in their country they shave their faces.

– Ugh, how terrible this is, – the Empress said artificially, but there was more interest in her voice than disgust.

– Which of them killed the son of the second minister? – she asked.

– This one, with the scar, – Fu Xing muttered, frowning.

– Ji Si, look, that’s who killed your son! – with incomprehensible joy the Empress called one of the women of her retinue. Multi – coloured robes and fans swayed, and next to her, the same thin and small figure with a white fan bowed. There was a sound of spitting, but Lacius did not see or feel anything. Probably, the woman’s throat was dry in the heat, and she could not spit very far. – How indignant you are! – the Empress shook her fan. – We’ll figure out how to punish him.

– Excuse me, – came the voice of another woman behind her. – This barbarian tortured Yeng Li’s sister. He made her work. He beat her and mocked her.

– Oh – oh – oh… – behind the fans there was a mixed sigh of indignation, fear, and curiosity.

– Is this true? – Empress Fu Xing asked in surprise.

– They say so, – he confirmed, without straightening his back.

– He deserves to be punished, – she said again. – Yeng, your husband is having a good holiday. Since these barbarians fight so well, we will be able to see them killed by my brother’s warriors. In a month, there will be a festival of the first harvest. Let Bao Shi prepare them, and we will watch them die.

– I am so grateful to you, madam! – a gentle voice came from somewhere on the side, and another blue fan bowed low. Taken aback, Lacius only turned his head from side to side, realising that his fate was now being decided, but did not know what to do. He realised that Chow Li’s s ister was hiding behind the blue fan, and tried in vain to make out her face. He was lucky – while bowing, the fan accidentally dropped a little lower than it should, and he saw long black eyebrows, large white spots on the cheeks and burgundy lips.

However, even these ridiculous colours could not hide the correctness of the features, which had nothing in common with Chow Li’s face. Especially the eyes and nose. Large, wide eyes with black pupils and long eyelashes were not at all similar to Chow’s narrow slits. And Chow’s nose was flattened, small, with nostrils turned to the sides. And here it’s straight, like a Roman matron’s, only very thin… No, it couldn’t be her sister! Lacius blinked, and her face disappeared behind the plates of the fan.

– They can do a lot, not only fight, – the head of security added carefully.

– Oh, yes! I heard that they can build bridges, – the Empress answered with a laugh. – As if our servants couldn’t build them. This is funny.

– They can sing, – Fu Xing said less confidently, not knowing what reaction this would cause in her, but the yellow fan suddenly trembled and froze.

– Sing? This is interesting. I only heard a terrible sound from the pipe. Is this their music? Ha-ha. And what can they sing? Are they really better than our court singers? I think they’re faking it. I hear someone playing a yu, – she said with curiosity and at the same time incredulously, but only the head of security answered her:

– Our lady, your wisdom is limitless, but let these slaves show what they can do, – catching Fu Xing’s approving glance, Lacius nodded to the musicians and looked at Paul. He and Zenon were waiting for this moment and took a deep breath.

Then Fortune decided to have mercy on Latium, and the Parks put the scissors aside from the thread of his fate. From Chow Li’s stories, he remembered that Empress Yu Wang loved music and songs, but he could not imagine that she would listen to them until sunset! When Paul and Zeno sang two hymns and moved on to previously learnt songs, the senior eunuch ordered small chairs to be brought to the Empress and the ladies of the court. They sat around the musicians, and now that all the women were sideways to Lacius, their faces were better visible. To the surprise of the senior eunuch, the Empress sang the second song together with Paul Domician and after that ordered the musicians to play again and again. Paul and Zeno realised that they needed to sing melodies with their voices, and, feeling that their talent was truly appreciated, they tried to show everything they were capable of.

– Oh, what a pity to kill such wonderful singers! – the Empress said wearily, leaning back in a small chair. – No, we will leave them. These two. They will sing to us on holidays and during long trips. It’s decided! Hey, you, – she called the chief of the guard, – make sure that they are not killed and are well fed. – I really enjoyed everything. I haven’t said such words for a long time. You are a good storyteller. It’s a pity that General Chen Tang is not here. Oh yes, he would have already been decapitated! I forgot! Who painted these pictures?

– Masters of the arts, – Fu Xing answered so quickly that even Lacius was amazed at his intelligence.

– Let them draw me several of the same pictures tomorrow. But a smaller size. I want to see them in my rooms. And let Zhi Zhi’s head be drawn there. I want it! – the Empress waved her fan and said in a tired voice: – I feel bad! – Phew, I remembered how awful it smelled! – the wide fan made several waves and, swaying, headed towards the stretcher. Tired ice bearers and servants with umbrellas jostled, trying to keep up with her. The rest of the women in multi-coloured robes also tiredly reached out to their stretchers, surrounded by eunuchs.

– Tomorrow Tiberius and Lucro will have a lot of work, – Paul noted joyfully.

– Yes, – Lacius drawled. – But nothing is clear for us yet.

– It’s good that at least they won’t cut anything off, – Paul added. – And we will sing. And they will feed you. That’s good.

– It’s good for you, your blind head, – Lucro interrupted him. – And in a month, they’ll put us in a slaughterhouse. – Did you hear her words?

The blind singer fell silent, feeling the absurdity of his joy. Lacius lowered his shield and sat down on the ground. All the other Romans began to sit down after him. Evening was approaching. And no one knew what awaited them next.

CHAPTER VI. CONCUBINES AND EUNUCHS

In the morning, Chow Li’s servant came. He said that everything remained unchanged and his mistress was sad. But perhaps two more people would come later. Two old ministers. That’s all. Lacius couldn’t find out anything else. He understood that Chow did this for a reason. She was afraid of something. Probably, this idea with paintings did not arouse the Emperor’s interest, and now the fate of General Chen Tang hung in the balance. So was hers, along with his. So far there have been no hints of changes. Lacius felt sad and unpleasant.

Just yesterday, hope for some turn of fate, the mercy of the gods, and the curiosity of stupid courtiers helped him resist despair and terrible thoughts. Now it was the other way around. He remembered the face of the narrow-eyed eunuch with prominent cheekbones like plums. His yellow, well-fed eyes were lazy and motionless, like those of a well-fed tiger. It was an obsession…

Having taken a sip of water, Lacius looked around at the sad faces of his comrades, lying side by side along the back wall, the musicians and the chief of the guard, Fu Xing, who was sitting opposite. The young warrior took off his helmet and leaned his back against the pillar. Lacius did not notice how his eyes closed by themselves and he fell asleep. The inflamed imagination again began to draw pictures, one more terrible than the other, where he resisted, fought, struggled, screamed and even bit… But everything always ended the same: a terrible eunuch was approaching him, with the long sleeves of his robe pulled forward, and small, hooked fingers appeared from them holding a sharp knife… The funny house on his head trembled nervously, a wide smile froze across his wide, semicircular face… This eunuch didn’t like something. He twitched his shoulders, raised them to his ears, waved his arms, and reached out to Lacius with trembling fingers. For some reason, Fu Xing stood next to him. He was all stretched out, frozen, listening. The cheekbones were compressed, the eyes did not blink, the lips did not move. He knitted his eyebrows and looked at the eunuch carefully. He looks and also waits for something…

An unexpected blow to the shoulder brought Lacius to his senses. A guard with a stick stood at arm’s length. Seeing that the Roman had woken up, he moved on. Lacius blinked several times, not understanding why the senior eunuch had not disappeared. Moreover, now behind him stood two dozen decorated servants, somewhat similar to him, only in different clothes.

From somewhere off to the side, Governor Bao Shi appeared, wearing a shiny black robe with yellow stripes on the edges of the sleeves. All those weird people gathered around the head eunuch. Lacius looked at them and stupidly asked himself, “Is this a dream? Or not… It looks like it’s not a dream.”

He slowly turned his head to the side, looked at Zeno and Paul, and extended his hand to the bag. The water was just as warm and rotten as before. The faces of everyone around were gray and swollen. For some reason, Paul seemed to him like blind Mercury.

– Hey, hurry up, hurry up! – the head of security hurried to the musicians, who continued to sit on the ground, leaving their instruments aside. – Tell your people to form up! – he said to Latsius as he walked.

– Emperor? – Paul asked from behind.

– Hardly, – Lacius answered in a hoarse voice. – Why does he need a eunuch?

– Yes, you’re right, – agreed the blind singer. – But today it’s a different colour. – Yellow and brown. Oh, gods! It changes colour so quickly! I don’t like it…

– Me too, – Lacius answered quietly and turned his head to Lucro. – Stand up! – he squeezed out the command with difficulty and leaned on the new shield. Swaying, the Romans began to straighten their ranks.

Soon, a pair of pink stretchers with white flowers and birds on the sides appeared from the direction of the inner palace. The stretchers themselves were small, but they were carried by eight people in shirts, trousers and closed sandals. At this time, the head of security, Fu Xing, approached Lacius.

– You have to sing well, – he said, putting a sour smile on his face. – This is very important…

– Who is this? – Lacius asked.

– The Emperor’s favourite concubines, – Fu Xing answered, lowering his voice slightly.

– Favourite women? Concubines?.. That’s it! Now it’s clear why they are here, – he nodded towards the eunuchs.

– Yes, – he confirmed with a sigh, adjusted his helmet and, waddling from side to side on his short legs, went to meet the stretcher. His square body resembled a piece of marble carved from a rock, from which a human figure was to be made. But it has not been finished. “He could be a good plowman,” thought Lacius and looked towards the crowd of eunuchs surrounding the stretcher.

The two female figures were half covered with fans, and only their yellow robes and belts were visible to the Romans. They moved slowly and carefully, like living statues that glided smoothly above the ground. But Lacius immediately noticed the difference between them. One of them seemed to him “gentle and kind’, and the other “wayward and cunning’. Paul Domician seemed to have overheard his thoughts and said quietly:

– Two women. One is like an olive and the other is like a cypress.

– Yes, they are, – he answered in a whisper. – You’d better clear your throat! Now you have to twitter.

The chief of security, Fu Xing, once again began to talk about the siege of the city, but this time the guests did not listen to him. They rushed to the end of the barn, where the Romans stood. Looking at their movements and changes, they laughed and exchanged funny jokes. Occasionally, their eyes were visible from behind the fans, but their faces did not appear completely. When the first sounds of music were heard and Paul and Zeno sang the first hymn, the Emperor’s concubines froze and stood motionless for some time. Then they called the head eunuch and said something to him. He immediately ordered everyone to be silent. The music stopped. So did the songs. And then an unexpected command sounded:

– Tuo yifu! Tuoxia!18

– How come? – Paul Domician asked stupidly. The legionnaires began to whisper, not understanding what they had to do.

– So these are eunuchs! It looks like they will castrate us right here, – Lucro’s voice rang out, and the Romans fell silent, frightenedly squeezing into their shields, as their only protection from the danger that threatened them. Lacius also felt everything inside shrinking and trembling. The guards repeated the command and took up their sticks. The shields slowly lowered to the ground, and the legionnaires began to remove their helmets and breastplates.

– Now sing! – the voice of the senior eunuch ordered. The musicians began to play a folk melody out of tune, and Paul and Zeno began to sing in the Han language. The concubines, surrounded by eunuchs, came closer and began to discuss something, peeking out from behind their fans. It seemed to Lacius that they were dissatisfied with Paul. And they liked Zeno. Then they approached him, and now their words were heard better. They said that he could be used every day because he had a lot of power even though his face was very scary. Pink flowers on yellow silk swayed, and the robes with fans moved on, assessing each Roman in turn.

– Are they looking for eunuchs? – asked Lucro, moving closer to Lacius.

– Yes, – he nodded without thinking. In fact, it turned out that these two concubines were assessing their manhood, as if choosing suitable slaves for carnal pleasures.

– What a problem! – Lucro sighed. – The gods are angry with us… Omnipotent Mars, kill me here with your lightning, – he begged, raising his eyes upward. Lacius turned his head in his direction and was about to interrupt his friend, but at that moment something quietly plopped right on his head and Lucro fell silent, amazed by such a sign from above. A gray-black spot spread right on his forehead. Lacius raised his eyes. Behind the thick log of the roof was a small nest of birds. – Thank you, Mars! – Wiping his head, Lucro said with sincere gratitude.

– This is a sign! – Lacius agreed. – Wait! Now something will happen.

But time passed, Paul and Zeno were already singing the third song, and the concubines continued to examine the Romans: the eunuchs, at their command, turned those they liked, brought them closer or forced them to squat several times. Having reached the end, the women suddenly decided to go back. They pointed at him, and Lacius realised that now this crowd would head towards him. His heart beat faster, sweat appeared on his forehead, and mhisy knees began to tremble. Intuition suggested that this was not without reason.

– This? – the senior eunuch asked the concubines as they approached Lacius.

– Shi, ta19, – was heard from behind the fans.

– When were you with a woman? – the face with plums under the eyes turned directly to him.

– Does he understand you? – asked one of the women.

– Yes, – confirmed the senior eunuch, which caused great delight in both concubines. – Well, when? – he asked again.

– A month ago, – answered Lacius, and joyful chirping was heard again behind the fans.

– Every day? – came the next question. Lacius’s heart beat even faster. If they need him only for this, then hope remains, remains… Then they can find a way out, just not to fall into the hands of the eunuchs!

– Every day, – he confirmed. The women began to talk about something. Everyone around was waiting patiently. Finally, they asked the head eunuch something again. He turned to Lacius.

– Show me what you can do! Hey, bring the woman! – he shouted to his servants. But it was not an easy task because there were no women around. Lacius noticed that in the cities they passed through, there really were no women visible on the streets. There were only men everywhere. Even in this big city they did not see them either near the river, or near the walls, or near the houses, as if it were a city of men. However, the servants ran somewhere, and it became clear to him that now he would have to pretend to be a loving male in order to please the Emperor’s concubines.

– I can show these women another thing. I can do good things, – he tried to pronounce correctly, hoping to attract their attention. His ploy was a success.

– What things? – the senior eunuch dissatisfiedly conveyed the question of the concubines.

– I need a basket of fruit, – Lacius asked. Seeing the master’s nod, the servants immediately brought the basket. – Paul, the story about the peach, – he quickly whispered over his shoulder and shouted to the musicians: – Taozhi20! – they nodded willingly and, grabbing the instruments, began playing a slow, barely audible melody.

The blind singer began to soulfully recount a short story about a girl whom God wanted to make his beloved, but she refused and asked the main god to save her. And then the main god turned her into a peach tree, the fruits of which would remind people of her youth and beauty.

Lacius saw out of the corner of his eye that several servants of the senior eunuch had appeared in the distance, followed by a small figure in a gray robe. This means that they have found a woman, and now no one will listen to the stories of Pal Domician. This upset Lacius, but there was nothing he could do about it. However, everyone else listened so carefully to the story of the blind singer that they did not pay attention to the approach of several horsemen from the direction of the palace.

CHAPTER VII. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING WITH THE EMPEROR

– On your knees! On your knees! On your knees! – suddenly there was a loud scream. Lacius did not see where it was coming from. But from the intonation of the screaming servants he realised that something unpleasant was happening. – The Son of Heaven is coming! Everyone on your knees! – the rider, who appeared from behind the stretcher continued to shout. The sound of hooves could be heard behind the far wall of the barn. There were at least three horses. The menacing words were still echoing under the roof of the canopy, and the servants were already lying prostrate.

The Romans had never seen anything like this before – all the eunuchs, servants, guards and musicians lay prostrate, resting their foreheads on the ground. And even two concubines sprawled in the dust, having managed to place their wide fans under their foreheads. Lacius waved his hand to his comrades and was the first to follow the example of those around him. The Romans also hastened to get on all fours. Soon the clatter of hooves was heard approaching, and the same exclamations came from all sides:

– Ten Thousand Years of Life! Ten Thousand Years of Life! Ten Thousand Years of Life!21

Out of the corner of his eye, Lacius saw small clouds of dust, along with the words, burst out from under the foreheads of the courtiers, grown into the ground, and slowly settle on their ears and tufts of hair. He listened to his heart. But it was beating evenly and calmly, as if nothing was happening at all. The excitement, caused by the appearance of the two concubines, completely disappeared. Squinting his eyes in the other direction, he saw the bare backs of his comrades. A little further away one could see the gray clothes of the musicians, who had merged with the dust, either out of horror, or as their custom required.

The cheers died down, and then the thin voice of the senior eunuch was heard. He was answering someone’s questions. Lacius carefully turned his head towards the sound. The creaking of footsteps was heard on the bamboo flooring. Dark brown closed sandals passed before his eyes. On top of them was visible a narrow edge of white fabric, and above them blue silk pants were tied with yellow thin ropes. The lower edge of the robe was bright yellow. Nothing else was visible.

– Here they are, – the senior eunuch’s voice rang out again. – Your slave looked after them regularly.

– Should you have come here, Feng Yuan? And you, Fu? – soft, even tone, without flinching and squealing, like the senior eunuch, and without long hissing accents, like Governor Bao Shi. Lacius immediately imagined a man with an open face and a calm gaze. And he also seemed tired.

– Your slaves came to see the barbarians, Wise Ruler, – answered one of them.

– The Wise Ruler asks you, do you like these barbarians?

– No, Holy Emperor, – the women answered loudly. Then one added: – They are scary and terrible. – Especially the big one with the scar.

– Where is the chief eunuch? Shi Xian, we are wondering, who divided them? Was it you? – now the voice was addressing the frightened eunuch.

– Yes, your slave did it, Wise Ruler, – he answered with fear in his voice. – Your slave wanted to select new eunuchs for himself to guard the Tower of Voluptuous Mood.

– You should teach cunning. You wanted to guard our concubines in the Tower, right, model of wisdom? – the Emperor’s voice changed for the first time. There was irony in it. Without waiting for an answer from the kneeling eunuch, he approached the concubines. – We are wondering what you liked here. Show us this! – Lacius could see two small black heads swaying above the fans. – What are these, peaches? There are no peaches in the palace?! – the Emperor was so sincerely surprised that everyone was even more frightened. But Lacius felt that, in addition to surprise, there were cheerful notes and condescension in his voice. – You are like little children! You need fun and sweet fruits! – the peaches flew to the ground, and one almost rolled to Latium. – So many pictures and colours. What is this? – he asked again. His brown sandals and yellow stripe on his robe walked towards the Romans and stopped near the trembling Fu Xing. The head of the guard literally pressed his stomach into the ground, as did the musicians, lying nearby, when the ruler’s voice ordered him to stand up: