The Last Concubine

signs of activity on the off chance Second Wife managed to find someone to carry out her errands of evil. Wen had already frustrated the attempt of one maid to smuggle a weapon in to Second Wife, so he had found it profitable to be on the alert in the small hours.
    It was thus that he was entertained and puzzled by the strange activities of last night.
    First General Hüi Wei had entered the compound. Wen had noticed the twitch of a curtain at First Wife’s windows; it was known that she always watched when Hüi Wei was within the walls to see where he went.
    Hüi Wei had seemed hesitant, which surprised Wen, as his leader was a decisive man in general. Finally Hüi went completely around the square, as if he knew not which house he planned to visit although the lantern burned brightly at the seventh.
    After Hüi Wei was admitted, Wen expected nothing further of note and had returned to his quarters to nap, rising again after the midnight bell was struck to witness Hüi Wei leave as was his habit. The moon was high, although a mere crescent in the sky, but the stars were bright enough to see by had there been anything to see.
    Hüi Wei lingered within the seventh house. At least, so Captain Wen surmised. It was possible that Hüi Wei had merely paid a short courtesy call and left promptly, but Wen had observed the Princess Lan’xiu when she walked in the square or visited with First Wife. She was one of the few women whose beauty he could appreciate. Like Second Wife, Lan’xiu was quite lovely, but despite her beautifully sculpted face, a softer quality seemed to shine from within. Despite her obvious unhappiness, there was no hardness in her expression.
    Therefore Wen assumed that Hüi Wei had found good reasons to remain within the seventh house. Captain Wen returned to his quarters to take another nap because it was not part of his job to record Hüi Wei’s comings and goings. When he arose to make his first patrol at dawn, the sky was just welcoming the sun, but it was still mostly dark. A movement caught his eyes and he was astonished to see Hüi Wei hurrying across the square. His soldiers opened the gate for the general, and he slipped away before the first rosy fingers of dawn could reach into the square.
    That was very interesting indeed.
    Slivers of light at two windows told Wen that several other occupants of the household also found the general’s activities of interest.
    No light burned in the second story windows of Lan’xiu’s house, but naturally the lamps burned in the kitchens as breakfast was being prepared. Wen was about to turn away when a rectangle of gold caught his eye and the princess’s eunuch emerged from the kitchen door, looking about the square in a suspicious manner. This was just the sort of activity Wen was trained to watch for.
    Accordingly, he kept his eyes trained on the slim man, expecting to see him slip away to another house, perhaps with a message or even a weapon. Being as the princess and her retainer were new, there was no telling what mischief they meant to get up to, not that Wen was unequal to the task. And the eunuch was rather attractive, so it didn’t hurt the eyes to watch him.
    Of all the lurid possibilities that occurred to Wen, he never expected to witness the retainer of a princess steal to the communal kitchen gardens, take a guarded glance around and then sneak into the hen house! When the eunuch emerged, holding a lifeless chicken by the head, the body dangling from his hand, Wen almost laughed out loud. He reproved himself, for it was possible this was some poison plot, but then he laughed again as the eunuch scuttled back into the seventh house, trying to stuff the chicken inside his robe.
    He would have to inquire of the cook later. Perhaps this plot was nothing more than the princess expressing a desire for chicken soup, but he would need to make sure. Wen laughed quietly to himself and then sighed. It would be good to get back to border patrol.

Chapter 9

    “ W ILL you wear the primrose or the jade green?” Ning asked, hovering at the wardrobe.
    “I will wear the silver.” Lan’xiu said listlessly, watching the rain obscure the view across the square as it streamed down her window.
    “First Wife has invited you to meet the other wives formally for the first time. You must look your best,” Ning scolded. “That gray is dull, fit for sitting by the window on a rainy day, that’s all. Or scrubbing the floor. You should give it to one of the