The Last Concubine

on her, snapping that she should remain in the kitchen if she couldn’t find a nearby barnyard where by rights she would fit in very nicely indeed! Preferably she might lie down in the sty with the hogs!
    Jia was very understanding and did not take offense easily. “This is only to be expected when a young girl is as beautiful as the princess and untouched. It rouses the beast in the best of men. You have served her for a long time, but you mustn’t worry. She is young and she can take a good pounding.” Jia made the symbol for fucking with both hands clasped together, her palms making a rude noise when the air was squeezed out. “It is good luck for this house that he is between her thighs at last. I wondered why he delayed taking her for so long. She is as juicy as a ripe peach.”
    “You are disgusting!” Ning spat.
    “Don’t be silly! We are a robust people here and enjoy sex as a gift from the gods.” The sound of some piece of furniture toppling over interrupted her. Ning started toward the stairs but she caught him by the sleeve. “Begging your pardon, Ning-xiānsheng, but it is not your place to come between the master and his concubine.”
    A faint cry sounded, and the lines around Jia’s eyes crinkled in mirth as she giggled again. “Ah! The princess has a bit more spark in her than I suspected. A lady in the sitting room but a tiger in the bedroom; the men always appreciate that. She is giving him a fine chase before she lets him catch her.”
    “What if he hurts her?”
    “He will not hurt her—much. A man always enjoys the kill more after a good hunt.”
    Ning shut his eyes in horror. Jia could not know how truly she spoke. Even now Hüi might be sheathing the sharp blade of his sword within Lan’xiu’s body, watching the crimson lifeblood ebb away. And next it would be his turn. Hüi could not afford to let him live with the knowledge he kept locked within his skull. A high-pitched giggle made him open his eyes and glare at Jia.
    “For all that she is a virgin, the princess seems to know how to excite a man. Her ladyship will most likely need a day or two to recover from the fine ride the master will be giving her. Ah well, she will soon learn to like it.”
    “Get out of my sight before I do something we both should regret!” Ning hissed.
    With another giggle, Jia followed Ning’s advice and returned to her kitchen, although possibly her step was quickened by his raised hand and the anger snapping in his eyes.
    He had thought that nothing could be worse than to stand here helplessly listening to his precious Lan’xiu being murdered by that irate soldier, but that damned Jia had managed to increase the torment he suffered. Qiang Hüi Wei was so very large and strong compared to the slender princess; Ning could only imagine the violence being visited upon her person. Knowing how to use a sword could only take one so far. Lan’xiu had little experience of a real fight after only sparring with him, and he had always taken good care not to give her so much as a nick. Of course, Ning knew that a man of the governor’s position could not stomach having such a trick being played upon him, but he had hoped for some measure of mercy when Hüi Wei found out the truth. Surely, surely , he would understand Lan’xiu was no party to this deceit perpetrated by her brother.
    When they had first arrived in this strange land and entered the audience room, ostensibly as guests but in truth prisoners of their seeming guard, Ning had examined the new lord’s face, knowing that nobody looked at a eunuch to see what they were doing. He could see the man was shrewd and strong, a man of innate power whether the emperor backed him or not, but the lines beside his mouth betrayed that he had a sense of humor. He had begun to hope Hüi Wei might yet forgive Lan’xiu and give her leave to immure herself within a monastery, but now all hope was gone.
    If Lan’xiu had not said she would not hide behind him, Ning would have braved any fate to rush to her aid, no matter that he would die with her. He paced impotently, his fists clenched, biting his lips to keep silent whenever he heard another faint cry.
    It suddenly occurred to him that although she had commanded him to go downstairs, she had not forbidden him to come back upstairs ! To think was to act, and Ning charged up the stairs to his room where he had hidden his own sword, a heavier one than Lan’xiu used. He crept to the adjoining door and placed