Strangely, his thoughts turned to Pearl Heart. Yes, he thought, Pearl Heart would have made a better, finer wife than this false creature. Truer to you. She would have made you strong when you were T'ang. Would have made of you a paragon among rulers.
Yes, but Pearl Heart was only a serving maid—a beast to warm your bed and teach you bedroom manners. What lineage she had was the lineage of unknown parenthood. She could not match the breeding of this whore.
Nan Ho looked up again, seeing once more his Prince's joy. That, at least, was no counterfeit. And that was why he would hold his tongue and keep this fragile boat afloat. Not for her, for what was she now but a painted thing?—a mask to hide corruption—but for Li Yuan.
And then who knew what change a child might bring?
He lifted his head, listening. There was the faint growl of engines in the distance, coming nearer. He turned, looking into the setting sun and saw them— two craft, coming in low from the west. For a moment he was afraid; but then, looking across at his T'ang, he saw how Li Shai Tung looked, then nodded to himself, as if he were expecting two such craft to come.
"Let us drink to the health of my son and his wife," Li Shai Tung said, smiling, raising his glass. "And to my grandson. Kan Pei!"
The blessing echoed across the terrace as the craft came on.
LI SHAI TUNG paused in the coolness of the anteroom and looked about him. He had not been certain they would come, but here they were in answer to his request. Surely that meant something in itself? Surely that meant they were willing to take the first step?
Damn them! he thought, suddenly angry. Damn them that 1 should have to make such deals with their like! Then he looked down, realizing where his thoughts had led him, for both men, after all, were T'ang, whatever their personal faults.
T'ang! He shivered, wondering what his grandfather would have made of Wang Sau-leyan. Then, clearing his head of such thoughts, he went into his study, taking a seat behind his desk, composing himself, waiting for his Chancellor, Chung Hu-yan, to bring them through.
After long thought, he had decided to pre-empt matters, to make peace before the division in Council grew into enmity. And if that meant swallowing his pride and meeting Wang Sau-leyan and Hou Tung-po halfway, then he would do that. For balance. And to buy time, so that the Seven might be strong again.
Hou Tung-po was not the problem. The young T'ang of South America had merely fallen under his friend's charismatic spell. No, his only fault was to be weak-minded and impressionable. The real cause of dissent was Wang Hsien's fourth son, Sau-leyan, the present T'ang of Africa.
He laughed despairingly. How cruelly the times mocked them to make such a man a T'ang—a man who was fit only to be sent below the Net! For two whole cycles they had been strong, their purpose clear, their unity unquestioned, and now . . .
He shook his head, then let his fingers brush against the two documents he had had prepared. If all went well they would be shreds within the hour, their only significance having lain in the gesture of their destruction.
But would that be enough? Would that satisfy the T'ang of Africa?
Outside, in the corridors, two bells sounded, one low, one high. A moment later Chung Hu-yan appeared in the great doorway, his head lowered.
"Your guests are here, Chieh Hsia."
"Good." He stood and came around the desk. "Show them in, Chung. Then bring us wines and sweetmeats. We may be here some while."
The Chancellor bowed and backed away, his face registering an understanding of how difficult the task was that lay before his master. A moment later he returned, still bowed, leading the two T'ang into the room.
"Good cousins," Li Shai Tung said, taking their hands briefly. "I thank you for sparing the time from busy schedules to come and see me at such short notice."
He saw how Hou Tung-po looked at once to his friend for his lead, how his welcoming smile faded as he noted the blank expression on Wang Sau-leyan's face.
"I would not have come had/I not felt it was important to see you, Li Shai Tung," Wang answered, staring past him.
Li Shai Tung stiffened, angered not merely by the hostility he sensed emanating from the young T'ang but also by the inference that a T'ang might even consider not coming at his cousin's urgent wish. Even so, he curbed his anger. This time, young Wang would not draw him.
"And so it is," he answered, smiling pleasantly. "A matter of the utmost importance."
Wang Sau-leyan looked about him with the air of a man considering buying something, then looked back at Li Shai Tung. "Well? I'm listening."
It was so rude, so wholly unexpected, that Li Shai Tung found himself momentarily lost for words. Then he laughed. Is that really the way you want it? he thought, or is that too a pose—designed to throw me from my purpose and win yourself advantage?
He put his hand to his beard thoughtfully. "You're like your father, Sau-leyan. He too could be blunt when it was called for."
"My father was a foolish old man!"
Li Shai Tung stiffened, shocked by the young man's utterance. He looked across at Hou Tung-po and saw how he looked away, embarrassed, then shook his head. He took a breath and began again.
"The other day, in Council—"
"You seek to lecture me, Li Shai Tung?"
Li Shai Tung felt himself go cold. Would the young fool not even let him finish a sentence?
He bowed his head slightly, softening his voice. "You mistake me, good cousin. I seek nothing but an understanding between us. It seems we've started badly, you and I. I sought only to mend that. To find some way of redressing your grievances."
He saw how Wang Sau-leyan straightened slightly at that, as if sensing concession on his part. Again it angered him, for his instinct was not to accommodate but to crush the arrogance he saw displayed before him; but he kept all sign of anger from his face.
Wang Sau-leyan turned, meeting his eyes directly. "A deal, you mean?"
He stared back at the young T'ang a moment, then looked aside. "I realize that we want different things, Wang Sau-leyan, but is there not a way of satisfying us both?"
The young man turned, looking across at Hou Tung-po. "Is it not as I said, Hou?"
He raised a hand dismissively, indicating Li Shai Tung. "The loo jen wants to buy my silence. To bridle me in Council."
Li Shai Tung looked down, coldly furious. Lao jen, "old man," was a term of respect, but not in the way Wang Sau-leyan had used it. The scornful intonation he had given the word had made it an insult, an insult that could not be ignored.
"An offered hand should not be spat upon."
Wang Sau-leyan looked back at him, his expression openly hostile. "What could you offer me that 1 might possibly want, loo jen7."
Li Shai Tung had clenched his hands. Now he relaxed them, letting his breath escape him in a sigh. "Why in the gods' names are you so inflexible, Wang Sau-leyan? What do you want of us?"
Wang Sau-leyan took a step closer. "Inflexible? Was I not 'flexible' when your son married his brother's wife? Or by flexible do you really mean unprincipled, willing to do as you and not others wish?"
Li Shai Tung turned sharply, facing him, openly angry now. "You go too far! Hell's teeth, boy!"
Wang Sau-leyan smiled sourly. "Boy . . . That's how you see me, isn't it? A boy, to be chastised or humored. Or locked away, perhaps."
"This is not right—" Li Shai Tung began, but again the young T'ang interrupted him, his voice soft yet threatening.