My Splendid Concubine (95 page)

“
A large family is desired,” Kung said to the crowded table. Then the prince stared at Robert. “It guarantees that you will have heirs to carry on your family name. What is on your mind, my friend? You look sad. Are you still thinking about those women on fire?”

Robert shook his head.
“Nothing is wrong,” he said. He noticed many eyes watching him and everyone was smiling. He did not like the attention.

“
It is time for you to establish a family,” Kung said. “When do you plan to marry?” Servants scurried back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room with fresh platters of food. Everyone was stuffing themselves and there was a lot of chatter.

He wanted to say that he already had a family with two children and another on the way any day now. Before he could say a word, Prince Kung cut him off.
“You and I are about the same age. I am thirty-one. I have a wife that is the daughter of Grand Secretary Kuei Liang, and I adore her. Her status makes me look good in my people’s eyes. A sense of pure nobility is important in China.”

“
Indeed, I have been thinking of marriage lately.” Robert replied.

“
That is good news,” Prince Kung said. “There are only two reasons to marry. One is to create an alliance to strengthen your position. The second is to have many sons to carry on the family name. Whom do you have in mind? To tell you the truth, I am interested to be your matchmaker. I only trust a few people, and you are one. Grant me this honor.”

“
I am thinking of marrying Ayaou, my concubine.”

“
Please do not be kidding, Robert.” Prince Kung looked serious. “Having her as a concubine is one thing. Having her as a wife is another. You can still keep her while you marry with someone of proper status from the Manchu. She will understand. After all, your concubine is Chinese. Do you remember Princess Nee-Nee? She has the blood of Emperor Nurhaci in her body. Do you know who that was? She is from his clan.”

“
Nurhaci was the first Ch’ing emperor,” Robert said. “He founded the Dynasty.”

“
You have learned. Not like that first time when Captain Patridge brought you to me in Shanghai. You knew so little and your Chinese was clumsy as if you had rocks in your mouth.” He pointed a finger at Robert. “I knew then that you were hungry to learn. You were different from the other foreigners. I was right about that too. Well, Nee-Nee is still available. I know from the way you looked at her when you first met that you liked her. What do you say?”

How could Robert explain what love meant to a man who had no idea how important it was? Robert remembered when Shao-mei had said she hated him but meant she loved him. Thinking about her caused his eyes to water. He wanted to disagree but feared hurting the prince
’s feelings. In fact, he dreaded saying anything, because he might start crying.

“
Not Nee-Nee, huh. Then I have another idea,” Prince Kung said. “Let me petition her Majesty, the Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi, to be the matchmaker. Your status permits you to enjoy such an honor.”

“
I’m afraid, Prince Kung, that I only desire sleeping with my concubine, Ayaou.”

“
That is not a problem. In fact, that is the way to go. How many men in the entire court are sleeping with their noble blooded wives? It is a tradition here for men to lust after their concubines. The young emperor has more than a thousand already, and he is only eight. These women will have to wait before the emperor is old enough to bed them. And his father’s wives and concubines, all three thousand, were retired when my brother died. Most were virgins and still are. It will be proper for you to marry a princess while continuing to share the bed with Ayaou.

“
Why not get a dozen concubines and sleep with them all? It is not important if your Manchu wife has children for she will be the mother to all your children whoever the birth mother is. It is our way.”

What about Ayaou? Robert thought. He struggled to su
ppress the anger he felt. He couldn’t see the children he had with Ayaou being raised by another woman. It was not easy, but he managed to keep his expression composed. He had to keep a level head and not fall prey to emotions. After all, the prince was a product of a culture that had a lot to admire. How could he be angry with Prince Kung? No culture was perfect. All had flaws.

With concern in his eyes, Prince Kung put a hand on Ro
bert’s shoulder. “Do not act hastily, my friend. Give this a lot of thought. You have everything to lose and nothing to gain from marrying this boat-girl.”

Oh, but he did, Robert thought, trying hard to keep his lips sealed. It would bring great happiness to the woman he loved, and his children would not be bastards in the eyes of the world.

It was after midnight when Robert arrived home.
When he walked into the bedroom, Ayaou was reading, but she carefully marked the page and put the book of poems on a side table. He could tell that she was naked under the silk sheet. He’d told her years before that he did not like her sleeping with clothes on.

He sat beside her and took one of her hands between his.
“Prince Kung wants me to marry a Manchu princess,” he said, fearing the worst. “But what they think doesn’t matter, Ayaou.” The sheet slipped from her shoulders to gather on her lap revealing her full breasts, and his eyes focused on her nipples.

The words slipped from his tongue.
“Marry me, Ayaou. We will have the wedding soon. I want to do it before the baby is born.”

She showed no excitement. Instead, her eyes filled with sadness and the muscles in her face sagged. She slipped from under the sheet, put on a shirt and sat beside him.
“If you marry me, you will never go beyond the position you now hold as Inspector General. Your future will be frozen. More importantly, you will make Prince Kung and even her majesty, the empress, lose face with your rejection of their offer. They could become your enemies waiting for the right moment to lower the blade on your neck as you did for Ward.”

“
You are so dramatic, Ayaou. It could never be that bad. I am perfectly happy with my position as Inspector General. My dreams are more than fulfilled, and I have no goals to become anything else. If losing face worries you, I want you to know that I can handle that. Therefore, when I return in a few days from a brief inspection trip to Tientsin, we will marry. Guan-jiah has arranged everything.”

Ayaou d
id not reply, and she was weeping. In silence, tears spilled from her eyes dripping from her chin. A moment later, she said yes. Her voice was so low he had to strain to hear her, and he wasn’t sure if her tears were of happiness or from worry.

“
Get that shirt off, Ayaou, and get back in bed.”

A lazy evening breeze drifted through an open window near the far end of the room. Robert
’s hands explored the familiar shapes of her body. He did not mind that she was huge with the baby. Touching her excited him. He couldn’t recall a moment when he’d been happier. He believed he had finally defeated the moral trappings he’d carried from Ireland.

She whispered.
“Robert.” She rolled over with a serious look on her face. “Can you see yourself one day in your mansion with a full banquet table and no guests? Will you still tell me that you love me then?”

“
Yes. Always.” He kissed a favorite spot on her neck below one ear. “I’ll keep telling you how much I love you until you get sick of hearing the words, then I will say them some more. Over the last decade, all my adolescent fantasies about love came true, even with the angry times.

“
When Shao-mei died,” he said, “I thought my ability to love had died with her, but I was wrong. That passion came back to life because of you. Nothing is left for any other woman, not even Princess Nee-Nee and I refuse to marry her.”

He stared at her watermelon belly then lifted her chin, kissed the tip of her nose and saw that h
er eyes were still swimming with tears.

“
I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for you. We have shared both good and bad. How can I leave you in the shadows? Because of you and Shao-mei, I learned how to think like a Chinese but found love that most Irishmen only dream of. If I had stayed in Ireland, I would have never experienced the passion I have had with you. That has made all the difference, and I do not want to be with another woman.”

“
I wish Shao-mei were here,” Ayaou said. Using the back of one hand, she wiped away the tears. “I would like to share this night with her.”

“
She has never left us, Ayaou. Death makes no difference. She will always be part of our lives.”

That night, they sent up rockets and set off endless fir
ecrackers. They hardly slept.

Chapter 61

In early January 1865, Robert was in the northern port of Tientsin eighty miles from Peking. The city was built on flat, swampy land along the Peihao River thirty-seven miles from the Bohai Gulf. The temperature was a few degrees above freezing, and it was raining. A few degrees lower and the rain would turn to sleet, then snow. The only place to be on a day like this was indoors near a hot stove.

There had been a discrepancy about the number of imports and exports flowing through the city. The time it was taking to solve this problem with the city
’s governor-general was making Robert nervous. He realized that the baby was due any day, and he wanted to arrive home in time to marry Ayaou before the birth.

The city
’s governor-general was probably keeping some of the revenue. Although Robert doubted it, the discrepancy could have been an honest bookkeeping mistake. The reason didn’t matter. If they had to collect some of the import and export taxes from the city’s governor-general instead of the merchants, they would.

“
Inspector General.” said Cooper, the commissioner of the Tientsin Customs House, as he entered the office. A wool knit cap with earflaps covered his baldhead. The wound in his thigh had healed and left a scar.

“
Your people did a fine job again, Cooper,” Robert said. “I want you to send an unofficial note to the city’s governor-general and let him know his people are making mistakes. Use the proper language and remind him how much he owes the treasury. He’s often arrogant so gently cause a little loss of face.”

“
I’m not here to talk about import or export taxes,” Cooper said. “Guan-jiah just arrived from Peking and is in the outer room.”

“
In this weather!” Robert said, then his voice faltered when he saw the serious expression on Cooper’s face. “What is it?” He was alarmed. Something must have happened.

“
He says he has to speak to you in person. I think you should see him.”

His stomach turned queasy, and he worried
. Could one of the children have been injured or even worse? Not wanting to wait, he left Cooper’s office and walked into the main room where Guan-jiah stood by the half-open door.

The eunuch
’s robe was soaked and covered in frost. He looked like he was in shock and his gentle features were twisted into knots. Before the door slammed shut cutting off the cold, Robert saw the coach that had brought him. The horses were lathered and looked exhausted.

The eunuch
’s expression was worse than the time the Taipings took Ayaou and the children. A pit opened inside Robert’s stomach. He feared the worst and dreaded what he was about to hear. When Guan-jiah looked like this, it was never good.

“
Master—” The moment he saw Robert, Guan-jiah started to cry. “It is Ayaou—it is Ayaou!” He sobbed, and then started to shoot phrases at Robert between gulps of air. “She does not want me to bother you with bad news—she has delivered a boy. She named the baby as you wished. Arthur is very healthy and weighs more than Herbert when he was born—”

Work had stopped
. Everyone was watching the eunuch.

Robert became more alarmed because this behavior was totally unlike Guan-jiah, who was always calm, organized and courageous even during the worst of times.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.

As if shocked back into his senses, Guan-jiah said,
“Something broke—” He paused to suck air. “The Mistress lost blood. It is terrible! The bleeding will not stop. Everyone was afraid. The doctor too.” His face dissolved into a portrait of agony and the tears streamed.

Darkness descended over Robert
’s vision as if he were wearing blinders. All he saw was the eunuch. He took three steps, grabbed Guan-jiah by the collar of his wool cape and pulled his servant toward him wanting to squeeze the words out faster.

“
Master, Master!” Guan-jiah was trembling. “I am not finished.”

Robert let go and stepped back. There was a buzzing in his ears.
“Is she alive or dead?” he asked, feeling numb, while struggling to remain calm. He feared the answer, and his heart was pounding in anticipation.

Guan-jiah
’s trembling stopped. His breathing slowed. “She is dying,” he said.

Robert
guts felt as if they had turned inside out and he doubled over. His expression must have frightened Guan-jiah, because the eunuch stepped back.