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His smile didn’t waver. ‘Miss,’ he began, a counterpoint to her delayed honorific, ‘are you always so outspoken?’
‘It’s just that I know you. Well, I don’t know you,’ she amended, ‘but I feel as if I do.’
‘I feel as if I know you as well,’ he replied smoothly. He glanced at something over his shoulder, before returning his attention to her. ‘Will you accompany me?’
He flashed her a crooked smile and then they were walking side by side along the river, shielded by the shade of her parasol.
Bao Yang was flirting. No man had ever treated her with such charm. Her mother had been slender and tall and long-limbed, as graceful as a willow in the breeze. Unfortunately, Jin-mei took after her father’s side. Father was short with rounded features, moon-faced and on the plump side.
She was no great beauty to take hold of men’s hearts upon a glance. Jin-mei hadn’t expected any man to ever flirt with her. In her dreams, she had always impressed potential suitors with intelligent conversation and astute sensibilities.
‘What is a proper young miss doing walking alone in this park?’ he asked. ‘There might be questionable men about with evil intentions.’
‘What men are these? I see no one but yourself.’ She attempted a coy look, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. An uncomfortable silence descended as Bao Yang regarded her thoughtfully. She was no good at this at all. Her original plan would have to suffice. ‘Minzhou is probably the safest city in the province. There are guards on every street, patrolling day and night.’
‘Every street,’ he echoed contemplatively.
They had almost reached the final bridge that marked the boundary of the park. Once they crossed over it, they would be in the main market area. Jin-mei tried to think of some way to prolong their time together.
‘How was your journey?’ she asked. ‘You seem to have come from far away.’
‘Not far at all.’ Yang glanced once more behind him and then to other side of the river. ‘I live in a small village, only two days from here.’
‘Small village?’ she asked with a raised eyebrow.
He nodded. ‘Héjin Crossing, near the foothills.’
She absolutely knew that for a lie. Bao Yang lived far to the north-west in Taining County, the same place her family had lived before Father was transferred to Minzhou prefecture. She started to question him about it, but his step had quickened. He continued along the water towards the base of the bridge rather than over it.
‘How curious,’ he remarked under his breath. ‘Is that a dragon carved into the stone?’
‘Where?’ She drew closer, but saw nothing of the sort in the foundation.
He turned to her and took her wrist gently. The gesture sent her pulse racing.
‘Let us get out of the sun where we can speak more privately,’ he suggested, setting his hand lightly against the small of her back.
As courtship went, his ploy wasn’t particularly clever, but Bao Yang’s touch was subtly insistent without being demanding. There was a quiet urgency in his voice that both puzzled and intrigued her. In her confusion, they were already to the bridge before she found her voice.
‘I am not that sort of woman.’
‘I don’t think you’re that sort of woman.’ He was serious now, no longer flirting. Bao Yang removed his hold on her to step into the shadows. ‘But there are city guards nearby. If you cry out now, I’m dead. You hold my life in your hands.’
How had he compelled her down there? It was nothing more than a few looks, some polite conversation, a series of light and gentle touches that just breached the boundaries of etiquette, but went no further.
Yang was standing apart from her now, well out of arm’s length. She could flee and he wouldn’t be able to catch her. For a moment, she did consider fleeing. This man before her was someone who was hiding secrets. Someone very different from the gentleman she thought she’d known all those years ago.
Yet he met her eyes with a look that pierced her, pleading with her silently, as if she were the one with all the power. Jin-mei didn’t know why, but she found herself stepping after him beneath the bridge.
‘Thank you,’ he said quietly.
Once again, his hands barely closed around her shoulders. Her heart pounded, and she held her breath, waiting. It was as if she were moving of her own will and his touch no more than a suggestion.
Lowering her parasol, she looked up at him. ‘Why are you hiding?’
He lifted a hand to quiet her, head tilted to listen for sounds from above. She had never been so close to a man who wasn’t family. The front of his robe brushed against hers. Even with the dim light beneath the bridge, she could make out the hard line of his jaw. The air was cooler in the shade of the bridge and the two of them were closed off as if cocooned in their own private sanctuary.
‘I shouldn’t do this,’ he began, sending her pulse racing with just the mere suggestion of the forbidden, ‘but I must ask a favour of you.’
‘Yes.’
She’d spoken too quickly. Yang smiled at her, his eyebrow lifting in wonder. ‘You’re quite fearless, aren’t you?’
Jin-mei could hardly breathe with him so close, looking at her as though—looking at her in a way no one ever had.
‘I’m not.’ Not usually. There was something about his manner that made her reckless. She ran her tongue over her lips nervously. ‘I wasn’t entirely truthful before. I do know exactly who you are.’
His charming expression faltered. ‘I’d certainly remember if we’d met.’
‘It was years ago, Mister Bao.’
He appeared startled at her use of his name, but before he could reply a loud voice boomed in from the world outside.
‘What are you two doing?’
Jin-mei jumped, but Yang steadied her with his hands over her shoulders. Though she was breathing hard, he appeared speculative. He kept his gaze on her, meeting her eyes while he addressed the guardsman behind him. ‘My lady companion was feeling faint in the heat.’
‘Get out from there immediately.’
The silence was cut by the sound of a sword being drawn and then another and then another.
What was happening? She didn’t know when the trembling started, but now it wouldn’t stop. In a panic, she grabbed on to his arm. An unreadable look flickered across Yang’s face. Calmly, he let go of her and stepped out from beneath the bridge. She ducked out just behind him to see them surrounded by what looked like the entire city garrison. A familiar figure in a dark green robe stood among them, his jaw clenched in fury. Her stomach plummeted and her palms started to sweat.
‘Magistrate Tan,’ Yang greeted, surprisingly composed among so many armed men.
Jin-mei bowed her head, her cheeks burning. ‘Father.’
At that, Yang turned slowly around to look at her, a deep frown creasing his brow. Having men draw swords on him didn’t shake him, but apparently what she had said struck him speechless.
Chapter Two (#ulink_3d8854ef-c2af-5b16-b72e-4d1ff2fb584e)
An hour later, Yang was relocated to a private room at a local drinking house while the armed guards were sent away, tasked with returning the magistrate’s daughter home. For the moment he was left alone and he tried to use the opportunity to prepare some sort of explanation for being caught in a compromising position with Tan Li Kuo’s daughter.
Jin-mei, Tan had called her. The name was fitting. Clear like the ring of a morning bell. Audacious and impulsive Jin-mei, with her elegant phoenix eyes and her delightfully inelegant way of saying whatever was on her mind. Was it any wonder Yang had been thoroughly charmed?
She wasn’t innocent as much as she was without guile. Even the flush in her cheeks and the colour of her lips had been real, not painted on with rouge or gloss. Fresh-faced and quick-tongued. For someone accustomed to trickery, Jin-mei’s openness had bemused and bewitched him.
Maybe he had forgotten himself just a little in the park. He had a weakness for fascinating characters. Not just lovely, adventurous women, but for people in general. He’d been accused at one time of collecting people. Of keeping them handy for whenever they suited his purposes.
Yang straightened as Magistrate Tan entered the room. The other man closed the door behind him before seating himself across the table.
‘I didn’t know the young lady was your daughter.’
The steely-eyed look Tan shot him told Yang their long-time association was hanging by a thread. He wondered how many of the five punishments the magistrate considered exacting upon him at that moment.
Instead of slicing into him, Tan opted to pour the wine, though with a grave silence that was far from friendly. Tan Li Kuo was short in stature, with a sagging middle and a round moon-faced appearance that gave the impression of youth and ineptitude. As far as Yang could tell, Tan usually played down to that image.
Tan wasn’t playing any games at the present time. Yang swallowed and ran his hands over his knees as he searched for a way to salvage the situation. ‘About what happened—’
Ignoring him, Tan reached for his wine. Taken aback, Yang raised his cup as well and drank. At least they were trying to remain civil. The civility lasted only for a heartbeat.
‘What exactly were you doing with my daughter?’ Tan demanded sharply.
‘I was actually on my way to see you.’
The magistrate raised his eyebrows at that.
‘But there were guards about and I needed to remain hidden.’
‘So you lured Jin-mei into a dark and secluded area?’
Yang winced. ‘It was just the madness of the moment. Nothing happened, I assure you.’
Tan’s expression darkened at his feeble explanation. The truth was simple. Yang was a fugitive and Jin-mei had seen him. Coaxing her into hiding was preferable to either dragging her forcibly beneath the bridge so she couldn’t alert the guards, or fleeing for his life through the city. He doubted he would be able to convince the magistrate of that logic.
‘In any case, you shouldn’t be here.’ Tan kept his tone even. ‘I’ve kept your identity hidden, as promised. You should have disappeared into the mountains by now.’
Like a common bandit. Despite their alliance, the magistrate had never thought well of him. Tan was still an administrator at heart while Yang, for all his wealth and status, was an outlaw. More so now that he’d tried to murder a man with his own hands.
‘Wang Shizhen saw my face,’ he explained. ‘It won’t be long before he comes after me.’
‘You wanted him to see you,’ Tan replied calmly.
They had collaborated to assassinate the fearsome general at a private gathering. Though Magistrate Tan was a man of the law, he knew the best way to get rid of a tyrant was a quick sword through the weeds.
‘He was right in front of me. I had to do something.’
Tan stabbed a finger towards him in accusation. ‘You acted on emotion. That banquet was the only chance we’d had to do this cleanly and now that chance is gone.’
Yang took another drink, feeling the burn of it down his throat. General Wang Shizhen had wrested control of the northern part of the province where he ruled through intimidation. He and Tan had been plotting for a long time how to stop the warlord, but Yang hadn’t told the magistrate the real reason he wanted General Wang dead. A reason that went much deeper than personal gain or political rivalry.
That bastard had owed him blood. It wasn’t a moment’s impulse that had Yang sinking the knife into the general. It was a matter of family honour and a promise he’d made to himself as well as a cold and wandering spirit long ago.
‘Was it worth it?’ Tan asked quietly.
Yang regarded his accomplice. The magistrate was older and in many ways shrewder. He kept his secrets close and rarely revealed his intentions. Tan also preferred to remain safe in the shadows.
‘I wanted to look him in the eye,’ Yang confessed. ‘I wanted Wang Shizhen to know he was going to die and why.’
He had succeeded in sinking his knife into the warlord’s chest, but the satisfaction was only momentary. General Wang had survived the attack and would exact vengeance.
‘A mistake, my friend,’ Tan said with a sigh. ‘After months of careful planning.’
‘We’ll create another opportunity. Wang Shizhen has other enemies. We’ll find them.’
Magistrate Tan regarded him wordlessly, taking full measure of him with a keen eye. As the silence continued, an uneasy feeling gathered along Yang’s spine. The magistrate had already made things clear—this show of emotion was a weakness. Yang forced his hands to unclench.
‘I came back because I need your help. Wang has issued orders for my capture, but he won’t stop at that.’
‘I don’t see what I can do for you.’
Yang swallowed his pride. ‘I need your protection. Not for myself, but for my family.’
What family he had left. The war had begun. There was a time when General Wang had thought Yang was completely under his thumb, but now the truth was out.
‘We knew what the consequences were if we failed,’ Tan replied. ‘Your best option now is to flee. Get as far away from the general’s stronghold as possible.’
The magistrate was very careful with words. It didn’t escape Yang’s notice that Tan hadn’t yet answered his request. Tan Li Kuo had co-ordinated the attack through coded messages from hidden meeting places. No one aside from Yang knew of his involvement.
‘Are we no longer friends then?’ he asked warily.
The question itself was a falsehood. They’d never been friends. Tan was the most powerful ally he had, but he could also be a formidable enemy.
Tan held his gaze for a long time. Too many people mistook the lack of sharpness in his rounded features as a sign of dullness, but they couldn’t be more wrong. The magistrate used those assumptions to his advantage, often taking on a cheerful, careless manner, yet he made no effort to portray such an image now. A deep line formed between his eyes.
‘I am very disappointed,’ he remarked finally.
‘As am I. It was the difference of a finger’s length. Life and death.’ Yang downed the rest of the wine and set his cup on to the table in agitation.
Tan hadn’t touched his drink the entire time. ‘Not about Wang Shizhen. You speak passionately of your family, Mister Bao. Yet what of my family? There’s still the question of my daughter.’
‘Your daughter?’
The moment after the question left his lips, Yang regretted it. Apparently that matter wasn’t closed. ‘I sincerely apologise for any impolite behaviour on my part.’
‘Impolite is a rather mild way of putting it.’ The magistrate’s frown deepened. ‘There were too many eyes at the park today to keep the incident quiet.’
Yang cursed himself for being so blind. He had misread the official’s growing displeasure as apprehension over the failed assassination plot. But Tan Li Kuo was a father who had just found his daughter in a scandalous position. Family honour would always come first.
‘She is my only daughter. To have her shamed so publicly is unacceptable. There is only one acceptable resolution. A gentleman such as yourself must see it as well.’
Tan couldn’t possibly be suggesting...
‘But there’s a price on my head,’ Yang protested.
‘To the north,’ the magistrate replied coolly. ‘Wang Shizhen holds no authority here.’
Yang hadn’t realised how dangerous his situation was until that moment. He needed Tan’s protection to keep his family safe, but worse than that, he himself was completely at Tan’s mercy.
