The Qing Dynasty Mysteries - Books 1-3 Read online

  But the southern path led only one place, back to the empress’s palace. Lady Li froze as the palace loomed into view. Why would Lady Yun have been running away from the empress’s palace? Did someone there…? Did the empress…? No, it was simply too preposterous for words. Just then, Lady Li saw something move closer to the palace. Lady Li ducked behind a bush and watched. The figure kept to the shadows as much as possible, as Lady Li had done, but he could no longer hide as he approached the main door. It was Te-hai. It was not abnormal for the empress’s chief eunuch to be visiting her palace. Even at night, if she was working or distressed, she could send for him. But the palace was dark, save a few outside lanterns for security. If she had sent for him and needed him in an official capacity, why would he be sneaking around?

  Once Te-hai slipped into the palace, Lady Li waited a moment to make sure he wasn’t looking for followers, and then she also crept up to the palace. She didn’t take the main path to the palace, but stayed within the shadows as she walked through a side garden. She went directly to the window of the empress’s bedchamber and listened. She could hear hushed whispers, but couldn’t make out any words. Then, the sounds changed. No longer words, but low gasps and moans. At first, Lady Li thought their conversation must simply be muffled because she couldn’t possibly be hearing what she thought she was hearing. Eventually, though, as a married woman, she could not deny the unmistakable sounds of a woman being pleasured. But Te-hai was a eunuch. He couldn’t possibly…

  She had to know for sure. Maybe Te-hai had helped sneak a lover into the empress’s palace before Lady Li saw him. Lady Li stood on her tiptoes and peered through the latticed window. There was a small fire burning in a brazier, just enough for her to clearly see Te-hai in the empress’s bed leaning over her panting silhouette.

  Lady Li turned away and crouched down, her hand over her mouth. Was it possible? But he had been cut…hadn’t he? But then, a man’s member wasn’t necessary for a woman to be pleasured. Maybe he was just using his hand or…She bit her tongue to make her stop thinking about what was happening too deeply. She had to focus on what this meant. Did Suyi know? Did Suyi find out, much the way Lady Li just had? If it was discovered that the empress had a lover, even a eunuch, the lover would be killed. The empress would be shamed. The ministers would certainly petition to have her removed from power. She could even be put to death for betraying the dead emperor.

  Did the empress catch Suyi peeping? If Suyi had discovered such a thing, it would be a secret worth killing over. Did the empress…? No! She couldn’t have! If Suyi had displeased the empress in any way, the empress could have had her executed. She didn’t need to murder her. She couldn’t have. But could Te-hai?

  Lady Li looked up at the moon and realized she needed to meet Inspector Gong soon. She had to tell him what she just discovered. Or did she? He would naturally jump to the worst conclusion and suspect the empress. If he dared to accuse the empress, she could have him killed. He wouldn’t be that stupid, would he? Maybe. He seemed rather brash. But he needed to know. Maybe there was another explanation. Maybe he could help her find a solution.

  As Lady Li made her way to the west gate, she thought back to when she was in the palace before. How long had this been going on? She had noticed that Te-hai seemed very sure of his place, of himself. Was it because he was her lover? She then thought about all the dozens of wives and concubines Emperor Xianfeng had, and all the emperors before. There was no way the emperors could satisfy, or even regularly visit, all their women. Was this something the eunuchs did? Did they pleasure the women to stamp down discontent in the Inner Court? It would be a way to meet the needs of the women without risking any children. But, no, that couldn’t be possible. Most men didn’t believe women had sexual longings or even received pleasure from sex. While it was common knowledge that men enjoyed sex and needed it regularly, women were only created to serve men and bear children. And if a woman did have sexual longings, it would mean she was not chaste. Chastity was the virtue every woman should strive to uphold. Of course, women knew differently. Lady Li knew differently. She had enjoyed making love to her husband. She had enjoyed stolen moments with Prince Kung…

  So maybe the court did not specifically provide eunuchs to give women pleasure—that would not help the women remain chaste—but maybe this was an unspoken, yet common, practice. She did know that many palace women became attached to their eunuchs, even more than to their maids. And sometimes when a palace lady and her eunuch had a falling out, the two could be as wrathful as former lovers.

  She thought about Eunuch Bai. She had never used him in such a way, had never even thought about it. But maybe he had entertained such ideas. He was devoted to her. She had even wondered if he loved her. Was he disappointed that she had never needed such intimacy from him?

  Lady Li wondered if all the women, especially now that there was no emperor, had eunuch lovers. They were so lonely, so desperate. Why wouldn’t they? It would give them some respite from their monotonous lives that were going nowhere. Perhaps Lady Kwon would benefit from…

  What a cruel thing to think, Lady Li chastised herself. No woman should be so lonely that she would need the tender touch of a eunuch, a slave, to ease her burden. These poor women, reduced to such debasement. But what of Lady Li? Was her fate much different? She had not been widowed very long, only two years, and she had other aspects to her life, but she could not deny her own loneliness or the longing she felt late at night. What of Concubine Swan? She drowned herself in opium to escape her cruel fate. What of Popo? She had spent decades shut up in a single room. Such misery. What would become of Lady Li long after her daughters were gone and her money had been given as dowries? What would she live for then? Would she then also seek the solace of the touch of someone who was not even a man?

  No, she could not let herself turn into one of these bitter women, one who only dreams of death. She had to find another path. She just wasn’t sure how. For now, she needed to focus on the case; she had to find out what happened to Suyi. But afterward, something in her life had to change.

  Finally, she saw him. She wasn’t sure how he managed it, but Inspector Gong slipped through the west gate. Lady Li waved him over, and he joined her in the shadows.

  14

  Not only had Eunuch Bai made the arrangements, he paid the necessary bribes as well. Inspector Gong had no idea how much the eunuch had paid, but after what he had learned about the penalties for such dereliction of duty, he knew it had to be a hefty sum. Inspector Gong had no doubt that Lady Li was wealthy, but it was surprising that her eunuch had access to so much of her money.

  At the appointed time, Inspector Gong waited outside the west gate, far enough away the guard could not see him. Inspector Gong wasn’t sure what would happen. Eunuch Bai had simply told him to go to the gate and wait; the way in would be made clear to him. Was he waiting for some sort of signal from the guard? Suddenly, the guard left his post, as if he was making nightly rounds. This had to be the signal, since a door guard would not leave his post to inspect the wall. After the guard was out of sight, Inspector Gong darted for the gate. To his surprise, the gate was unlocked. He couldn’t believe how easy it was. Expensive, to be sure, but easy. He would have to talk to Prince Kung about strengthening the Forbidden City’s defenses. This was no way to keep the emperor safe.

  Once he was inside, again there were no guards present. He wasn’t sure where to go, but then he saw something move, a hand waving at him from across the way. He ran over, as quietly as possible. He was so happy to see Lady Li he felt the urge to hug her. He didn’t realize until that moment just how much he had worried about her safety.

  “Why are you here?” she whispered.

  Well, that was a fine welcome, he thought. “This place is dangerous,” he said. “I needed to make sure you were all right.”

  “I told you in my notes I was fine. This is too risky. If you are caught…”

  “Shh,” he said. “Eunuch Bai arranged everyt
hing. The investigation is going too slowly. I need to see the murder scene. We need to find out who killed Lady Yun as soon as possible.”

  “Why the urgency? What happened?” she asked.

  “The murderer is definitely in the city,” he said. “Lady Yun was being poisoned.”

  “Poisoned?” Lady Li asked. “How do you know?”

  “My friend, Dr. Xue, confirmed it. He said she was being poisoned by gu.”

  “Gu?” Lady Li asked. “How would someone in the Forbidden City even procure such a thing?”

  “I can think of one woman who can get her claws on anything she wants,” he said.

  “You can’t possibly think…” Lady Li paused. “You suspect the empress? Why? Why would she kill Lady Yun at all? What motive would she have?”

  “I am still sorting that out,” he said. “But she was killed by a woman, viciously and painfully, and gu is rare and painful.”

  “How does he know?” she asked. “What were the signs or symptoms?”

  “Her teeth were blackened, and when he cut her, her blood was black. While she was alive, she should have shown some signs of sickness,” he explained. “But all the signs point to the empress even without motive. You have been here two days. Have you discovered any reason why the empress would be upset with Lady Yun?”

  Lady Li did not reply. She bit her lower lip and looked away. She didn’t want to talk, a sure sign that she knew something she didn’t want to tell him.

  “You know something,” Inspector Gong said. “When were you going to tell me? Were you going to keep it a secret to protect your friend? Are you working against me?”

  “Shh! Stop it!” she said.

  Inspector Gong saw a light from the corner of his eye. He grabbed Lady Li and they huddled together. Neither of them breathed as the eunuch guards who patrolled the inside of the women’s quarters of the Forbidden City walked past. He held Lady Li close to him. She was warm and soft. He let himself take a shallow breath and the scent of rose petals filled his nose. After the guards were long gone, he felt her squirm in his arms. He loosened his grip and stepped away.

  “We cannot talk here,” she said. “Follow me.”

  She led him past several gardens and buildings. He had no idea how she knew her way. This part of the Forbidden City was ornate, with many winding paths. It was completely different from the bare and utilitarian way the front of the Forbidden City was laid out.

  They eventually came to a small palace. She opened the door and motioned for him to enter.

  “We can speak freely here,” she said. “I have dismissed my servants for the night.”

  “These are your quarters?” he asked. She nodded. He was surprised that she had dared to bring him to her private room. If they were caught, she would be ruined. But even if they had been caught outside the room, if it were known that she had smuggled him in, the consequences would be the same. For some reason he had not thought about how he was putting her in even more danger until just now.

  “I am sorry I have put you in this situation, Lady Li,” he said. “I never should have asked you to do this. The empress was right. I should have been able to do my job on my own.”

  Lady Li waved his apology away. “I need to know what happened. And I volunteered.”

  “So, are you going to tell me?” he asked.

  Lady Li signed and lowered her head. “The empress…she is having an affair…with her eunuch, Te-hai.”

  Inspector Gong couldn’t believe what he just heard. He sat down on a chair that was next to him and let the words sink in. “With…her eunuch? Are you sure? How do you know?”

  “I saw them together,” she said. “From outside. I peeked into her window when I saw him enter her palace tonight.”

  “And you are sure, even in the dark, you are certain about what you saw?”

  She nodded. “There was no mistake. I mean, he is a eunuch, so I don’t know exactly what they were doing. But he was in her bed, and they were acting as lovers.”

  “You realize this is a clear motive,” he said, standing back up.

  “In what way?” she asked.

  “If Lady Yun caught them, the empress would certainly want the girl dead. That must be obvious to you.”

  “But we don’t know that she caught them. Just because I know doesn’t mean anyone else does. If she did catch them, that might explain a murder in the moment, out of fear or rage, but who was poisoning her? The empress wouldn’t have killed her over a long period of time if she was carrying around a secret like that.”

  The inspector sat back down again. She was right. It didn’t make any sense. “Maybe we are looking for two killers,” he said. “Someone who was trying to poison her over a long period of time and someone who got angry enough to kill her quickly.”

  “That is possible,” she said. “Apparently Lady Yun was the empress’s favorite, and she was not very gracious about it. She liked that the other ladies were jealous of her.”

  “So anyone could have killed her,” the inspector said. “You should leave this place. It is too dangerous. There could be multiple murderers running around.”

  “I don’t think I can do that,” she said. “The empress tasked you with finding the killer. If you don’t, you’ll be ruined.”

  “Why would you care about that?” he asked with a smile.

  “I don’t, not really,” she said. “But if you don’t find out the poisoner, the empress, and all the other ladies, will still be in danger. We can’t stop looking, not just yet.”

  “But what will you do?” he asked. “What more can you do?”

  “I am still following some leads myself,” she said. “I visited the spot where Lady Yun was killed. I found a string of jewels, like the kind that would dangle from a hairpin. Lady Yun was stabbed, right? It could have been with a hairpin. It might have belonged to the killer. I am trying to find out who owned them.”

  Inspector Gong nodded, surprised at how quickly she determined the murder weapon with so little to go on. “According to Dr. Xue, the man who examined Lady Yun’s body, she was most likely stabbed with a hairpin. It is amazing that you might have found part of the murder weapon. Will you really be able to find out who owned the jewels?”

  “I am not sure,” Lady Li replied. “I have to inquire at the Ministry of Household Affairs.”

  “What else?” the Inspector asked.

  “I need to find out more about the empress and Te-hai,” she said.

  “No! No way,” Inspector Gong said as he reached out and took her hand. “If she even starts to suspect you know something, she could kill you too. If she has done it once, she won’t hesitate to do it again.”

  “I know how to be discrete,” she said, not removing her hand from his.

  “I would never forgive myself if something happened to you,” he said. He felt her give his hand a small squeeze.

  “I know,” she said.

  Did she? he wondered. Did she know just how much she had come to mean to him in so short a time? He had never met a woman like her before. She was resourceful and had the hidden strength of courage. The fact that she was beautiful was an exciting bonus. He could just imagine holding her body in his arms and kissing those soft lips.

  “Is there anything else?” she asked. “Anything else I need to know or anything else you want me to do?”

  He just shook his head, unable to speak. He just wanted her.

  She nodded and walked over to the door. He stood, expecting her to open it and dismiss him. But, instead, she locked it.

  She turned back to him and removed the pin from her hair. As she shook it out, he was amazed at just how long it was. It hung down the full length of her back.

  “Would you like to stay?” she asked. “For just a little while?”

  “More than anything,” he managed to choke out.

  She walked over to him, since he seemed unable to move, and loosened her sash. She opened her outer robe and revealed a thin inner shift. She stood right
in front of him, her breasts nearly touching his chest. He reached up and touched her face. She wrapped her arms around him as she leaned up to kiss him.

  Her lips were soft and sweet, just as he had fantasized. He kissed her harder, and she opened her mouth. His hands found their way inside her robe and he held her close.

  He had never been with a woman before that he had not paid. He had never had what could be called a lover. But Lady Li, oh, she was exactly that. A proper lady. A sweet tasting, fragrant smelling lady. And she wanted him. Wanted him! She was not doing this out of duty or for coin. Was this normal? He had always been taught that women only slept with men to produce children or to earn a living. Did she derive pleasure from sex? Did the empress? Why else would the empress, or Lady Li, risk so much, risk everything, to take a man to bed?

  He forced himself to pull away. “This is dangerous,” he said. “We were just talking about the danger such a thing posed for the empress. It is the same for you. If we were caught…”

  “Shh,” she said. “I want this. It has been so long…so many years…”

  “You are sure?” he asked.

  She stepped back and removed her robe. She then undid the frog clasps of her shift at her neck and under her arm and let the thin silk fall away. She stood completely naked before him. He shuddered in anticipation. Her body was unlike any other woman’s he had seen. It was so creamy white. Not a blemish, except for a few marks around her abdomen, reminders that she was a mother. The other women, the whores, their skin often looked sallow and dry, evidence of a hard life.