Murder in the Forbidden City (Qing Dynasty Mysteries Book 1) Read online

  Murder in the Forbidden City

  A Qing Dynasty Mystery Book 1

  Amanda Roberts

  Red Empress Publishing

  www.RedEmpressPublishing.com

  Copyright © Amanda Roberts

  www.TwoAmericansinChina.com

  Cover by Cherith Vaughan

  www.EmpressAuthorSolutions.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recoding, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the author.

  Contents

  Also by the Author

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Untitled

  Preview: Murder in the British Quarter

  About the Author

  About the Publisher

  Also by the Author

  Fiction

  Threads of Silk

  The Qing Dynasty Mysteries

  Murder in the Forbidden City

  Murder in the British Quarter

  The Touching Time Series

  The Emperor’s Seal

  Nonfiction

  The Crazy Dumplings Cookbook

  Crazy Dumplings II: Even Dumplinger

  1

  The empress, high up on her dais, wept uncontrollably. The baubles dangling from her elaborate hairdo quivered as she hid her face in her trembling hands.

  The dead girl, one of the empress’s ladies-in-waiting, was lying on a long table in front of Inspector Gong. The investigation has already been botched beyond solving since the girl had been moved from the scene of the crime. Who knew how many people had trampled through the scene itself. The eunuchs had probably worked quickly to clean up the mess. The other men present, the ministers and advisors, had no words to comfort the empress. Everyone of importance was there except for the emperor himself. Such horrors were not appropriate for a child.

  “Who did this?” the empress shrieked. “I demand to know!”

  The room stayed silent as she resumed her crying. The empress, young as she was, was a formidable force, yet the inspector knew the killer would not make himself, or herself, known just because the empress demanded it. This was one situation where the empress was not going to get her way.

  “Your Majesty,” Inspector Gong finally said, “may I have a closer look at the body?”

  The empress nodded her consent. “Just don’t touch her!” she yelled.

  “Of course,” the inspector replied, even though her demand was ridiculous. How could he get a complete understanding of what happened if he couldn’t examine the body fully? He approached the girl and kneeled down next to her. She had been stabbed several times in her neck and chest, her qaopao ripped open where the knife slashed through the beautiful fabric. Dark splotches of blood stained the light blue satin. The blood was dark, almost black. Even though blood typically darkened over time, it seemed unnaturally dark. Her hands were bloody as well and showed evidence of a struggle. Someone else’s blood, perhaps. Her hair was a mess and her shoes were gone. She had fought back and most likely tried to flee from her attacker. Her jaw was tightly clenched and her eyes closed. Her death had been frightening and painful.

  “What was her name?” the inspector asked in a loud clear voice so all could hear. He stood straight and crossed his arms as he looked around the room.

  “Lady Yun,” one of the eunuchs replied.

  “How old was she?” he asked.

  “Fifteen, sir.”

  The inspector grunted. Fifteen. And she was beautiful, even in death. The long eyelashes of her closed eyes lay upon her pale cheeks.

  “Who were her family?” he asked.

  “She had no male relatives,” the eunuch replied.

  “She was an orphan?” the inspector asked.

  “No, sir. She has a mother, but she is sickly. She was primarily cared for by her brother and sister-in-law until her brother’s death. Her sister-in-law is her guardian, but the girl had been living here at the Forbidden City for the last year.”

  “I’ll need to speak to her sister-in-law,” he said. “Has she been informed yet of the girl’s death?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Good, I want to be the one to tell her. I need to see her reaction.”

  “Whatever you need,” the empress finally spoke up, “it shall be yours. You must find who did this.”

  “I need to see where she was killed, and speak to all the other ladies of the Inner Court who knew her.”

  The room gasped, and the empress stared at him in shock. The men began to murmur and argue among themselves.

  “That is not possible,” one of the men said loudly, pointing a finger at the inspector. “No man can be allowed in the Inner Court. It is for the women’s protection.”

  “Protection?” the inspector asked. “One of the empress’s own ladies was murdered inside the very walls of the Forbidden City. Make no mistake; if someone could kill this girl, no one here is safe. Look at her hands, the stab wounds. She must have screamed. How could no one have heard her? I must be allowed to inspect every aspect of this crime if any member of the royal family wishes to feel safe in their own home again.”

  The inspector knew he was making things worse. There was no evidence that the killer would strike again or that the empress or child-emperor were in danger, but unless he were allowed behind the sealed doors of the Inner Court, he would never find the killer. If he had to frighten the empress out of her wits to achieve his goal, he would do so.

  The room erupted in yelling and arguments. The empress was no longer crying, but was looking around the room with her large, dark eyes.

  “Inspector,” she finally said, silencing the room. “Are you saying you think I could be in danger?”

  “I do not know, Your Majesty,” he said. “But I can rule nothing out. I do not know if Lady Yun was the target of the killer’s rage or if she only got in the way. I do not know if the killer has fled or if he, or she, is within this very room.” Another round of gasps followed. “What I do know,” he continued, “is that this investigation should be the court’s priority, and to do my job properly, to bring the killer to justice, I need to be allowed into the Inner Court of the women.”

  The empress opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by a court minister by the name of Song. “No!” he said firmly. “It is forbidden and improper. You cannot violate the sacred space of the women’s quarters. To do so would be as violating the women themselves.”

  “Minister,” Inspector Gong nearly laughed. “Investigating a murder would hardly be the same as taking a woman to bed…at least in my case.” Several of the other men laughed.

  “This is no laughing matter,” Minister Song erupted. “If you cannot do your job from outside of the Inner Court, then you are not worthy of your title and should be stripped of your rank and salary immediately!”

  “Now, see here, Minister…” the inspector began.

  “I agree,�
�� another minister interrupted. “Is his job worth doing if it violates the integrity of the empress?”

  Several other men spoke up in agreement.

  “Enough,” the empress finally said, her voice clear and even. The room went quiet. She was calm now. Even her hands were steady. “I agree this case should be of the utmost importance. My own safety and the safety of the emperor rely on it.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Inspector Gong replied.

  “However,” she continued, “we cannot allow this killer, whoever he is, disrupt our lives and the way things are done. Tradition and court procedure are at the very center of the throne and the country. I have to agree with the ministers. You cannot be allowed to enter the Inner Court, Inspector.”

  “So you will allow a killer to go free?” he asked. “Allow a murderer to perhaps roam your very halls?”

  “No,” she said. “You will find the killer. And you will do so quickly to ensure that my son is safe. You will have everything you need at your disposal, but you will do so from outside the Inner Court.”

  With that, the empress stood to leave. All of the men immediately dropped to their knees and kowtowed before her. She exited from a side door, followed by her entourage of ladies, maids, and eunuchs. After the door closed behind her, the men all stood and gathered around the dead body of the girl or in their usual cliques.

  Inspector Gong motioned to one of the eunuchs who had remained. “You, make sure the body is taken to Dr. Xue in Qifeng District. He will know what to do.” The eunuch bowed and went to find some other eunuchs and a cart to make the arrangements.

  “Do you really think the imperial family could be in danger?” Prince Kung, the empress’s brother-in-law and the emperor’s regent—in name only—asked the inspector.

  “I don’t know,” the inspector said with a sigh as he reached down and brushed a loose hair from Lady Yun’s face. “I don’t know anything at this point. If I can’t talk to the other women, if I can’t see where she was killed…how am I supposed to investigate this crime from the outside?”

  The prince smiled and slapped Inspector Gong on the back. “I am glad I am not in your shoes.”

  “Usually I say the same thing of you,” Inspector Gong smiled back. “I would not want to battle with her on a daily basis. Today was enough.”

  “She’s not so bad once you get to know her,” the prince replied.

  “And what about her?” he asked, motioning to Lady Yun. “Did you know her well?”

  “Those girls all look the same to me,” he said. “They come and go so quickly. They are all the most beautiful girls from the best families. They serve the empress for a couple of years, get married, leave, and new ones take their place. Why bother learning their names?”

  “Well, someone knew who she was.”

  “What do you mean?” the prince asked.

  “This kind of violence against a woman, a girl, shows a lot of anger. Who would lash out in this kind of rage at a girl like that?”

  “You don’t know court life,” the prince said. “It’s…competitive. The women all compete for attention, for money, for position…”

  “Sounds like a good place to start, but I’m stuck out here.”

  “What will you do?” the prince asked.

  “What about her guardian? Her sister-in-law?”

  “I’ll talk to Te-hai, the head eunuch. He should know all about her.”

  “Thanks,” the inspector said. At least he might find out something about the girl’s past if he talked to the family.

  2

  “In the eleventh year of the Xianfeng Emperor, the emperor died,” the little girl recited from her book.

  “And where did he die?” Lady Li asked.

  “At the hunting palace in Jehol,” her oldest daughter answered.

  “Very good. And why was he there?”

  “Because the White Devils drove him out of Peking.”

  “That’s right,” Lady Li answered. “We tried to hide in the Summer Palace first, the most opulent palace in all of China, but the foreign barbarians chased us out and they burned the Summer Palace to the ground, after they stole all they could carry first.”

  “Were you scared, Mama?” her other, younger, daughter asked.

  “Of course! We thought the foreigners were going to ride up behind us and hack us to bits with their big swords.”

  “But they didn’t,” the older girl said.

  “No, they didn’t. After the emperor died, with the help of Prince Kung, the empress was able to broker a peace with the foreign powers and they allowed her to return to the Forbidden City.”

  “With the little prince!” the younger daughter piped up.

  “Yes, with the little prince, who was now the little emperor! But he was too small to rule, and he still is. So while he grows up, we have a beautiful and benevolent empress to rule instead.”

  “I want to see the empress,” the older girl said.

  “I am sure someday you will,” Lady Li replied. “Your auntie, Yun Suyi, is serving her now. I served her. And when you are old enough, she will probably send for you.”

  “That would be amazing!” the older girl said, sliding off her mother’s lap. “To live in the palace! And have people wait on you all day! And eat the best foods and wear the best clothes!”

  Lady Yun could have told her daughter that living in the palace was hardly fun or easy. The ladies who waited on the empress had to rise at the hour of the rabbit to help her wash, dress, apply her makeup, and do her hair all before breakfast. Then they had to stand to the side while she ate, and only after she was finished would they be allowed the leftovers. They had to stand at her side at public audiences, which often lasted for hours. They had to keep the empress entertained. They even had to wipe her backside after she used the porcelain bowl. They could not rest until after the empress was asleep, often in the latest hours of the night. It was not a glamorous life. But she did not tell her daughter this, not now. She was still young, only six. She had time to live in a dream before growing up. Her other daughter was only four and still her baby. Probably her last.

  As a widow, Lady Li did not entertain the idea that she would marry again and have more children. She was expected to honor her late husband for the rest of her days. To take another man to bed, even a husband, would dishonor her. Considering the large fortune her husband left behind, she could be commanded to marry again by the empress, especially if the empress needed to buy someone off. If she married, her new husband would control her estate and could spend her money as he saw fit. But if she didn’t marry, she could eventually divide her holdings evenly between her daughters. What a dowry that would be! They could marry anyone she wanted, even princes, perhaps even the emperor.

  Lady Li shook herself out of her daydreaming and ordered the girls to their embroidery work. “That’s enough studies for now,” she said. “Go sit with Concubine Song and have her help you with your stitches.”

  “Yes, Mama,” the girls said as they ran off.

  Lady Li then went about her own afternoon chores, overseeing the dinner preparations, ordering new bolts of satin, silk thread, and animal pelts to begin work on new winter clothes, and going over the household accounts. Lady Li enjoyed her busy, yet relaxed, life. Without a husband to kneel to, Lady Li was free to run her household as she wanted and did not have to worry about making someone else happy. Not that she was glad of her husband’s death; she was merely indifferent to it. She did, however, mourn the fact that she never had a son.

  After three years of marriage and two daughters, her husband had taken on a concubine to help increase their chances of having a boy. Concubine Swan got with child quickly, and they all celebrated. As the head wife, any child born to any of her husband’s women would be considered her own. She would take the lead in raising him and he would call her mama. But after her husband’s sudden death, Concubine Swan miscarried. Lady Li mourned three times: once for her husband, once for Concubine’s Swa
n’s child, and once for all the children she would never have. It had been three years since her husband’s death. She should have arranged a new marriage for Concubine Swan, but since she was used property and had lost a child, no man of quality was willing to accept her. If Lady Li pressed the issue, she could probably find a man to take Concubine Swan away, but in truth, she would miss her. Concubine Swan was a sad and lonely woman. At least Lady Li had a considerable fortune, a household to run, and two lovely daughters. Concubine Swan had nothing and no future, and she was only nineteen years old. Lady Li had great empathy for Concubine Swan and enjoyed her company as they did embroidery work together or shared neighborhood gossip. She would keep Concubine Swan in her home for as long as Concubine Swan wished to stay.

  Lady Li did not realize just how lost in thought she was until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

  “My lady?” she finally heard her eunuch, Bai, say.

  “Oh, forgive me. I was dreaming,” Lady Li said.

  “You have a lot on your mind, my lady?” Eunuch Bai replied.

  “Nothing more than usual,” she replied. “Did you need something?”

  “Forgive me,” he said, “but there is a man here to see you.”

  “A man?” Lady Li replied, surprised. “And he wants to see me? Why? Who is he?”

  “He said his name is Inspector Gong.”

  “Could he not talk to you?” she asked.

  “He refused, my lady. I pressed him several times and warned him about how improper he was acting, but he insisted. He said he comes with orders from Prince Kung himself.”