Mrs Shen fixed an appointment with Ma Li. She hadn’t mentioned what the meeting was about, only that it was urgent and probably connected with the trip to Africa. That ought to worry her a bit, Ya Ru thought as he sat in the back seat of his car observing the city they were driving through. As he had plenty of time, he had asked the driver to make a diversion past some of the construction sites he had business interests in. His main priority was the Olympic Games. One of Ya Ru’s big contracts was for the demolition of a residential area that had to be cleared in order to make way for roads to the new sports stadia. Ya Ru expected to earn billions, even after he had subtracted the massive payments made to civil servants and politicians.
The car pulled up outside an unremarkable building where Ma Li worked. She was standing on the steps, waiting for him.
‘Ma Li,’ said Ya Ru. ‘Seeing you now makes me think that our trip to Africa, which ended in such tragedy, was a very long time ago.’
‘I think about my dear friend Hong Qiu every day,’ said Ma Li. ‘But I allow Africa to drift away into the past. I shall never go back there.’
‘As you know, we sign new contracts with many countries on the African continent every day. We are building bridges that will last for a long time to come.’
As they talked they walked along a deserted corridor to Ma Li’s office, whose windows looked out onto a little garden surrounded by a high wall. In the middle of the garden was a fountain that had been turned off for the winter.
Ma Li switched off her telephone and served tea. Ya Ru could hear somebody laughing in the distance.
‘Searching for truth is like watching a snail chasing a snail,’ Ya Ru said pensively. ‘It moves slowly, but it is persistent.’
Ya Ru looked her straight in the eye, but Ma Li did not avert her gaze.
‘There are rumours circulating,’ Ya Ru continued, ‘that I don’t like at all. Rumours about my companies, about my character. I wonder where they are coming from. I have to ask who would want to do me damage. Not the usual crowd that is jealous of me, but somebody else, with motives I don’t understand.’
‘Why should I want to damage your reputation?’
‘That’s not what I mean. My question is quite different. Who knows, who has got hold of this information, who is spreading the rumours?’
‘Our lives are totally different. I’m a civil servant; you do big business deals that we read about in the newspapers. Compared with my life as an insignificant nobody, you lead a life that I can barely imagine.’
‘But you knew Hong Qiu,’ said Ya Ru, ‘my sister, who was very close to me. After not having seen each other for ages, you and she meet in Africa. You have long talks, she makes a hurried visit to you early one morning. When I get back to China, rumours start spreading.’
Ma Li turned pale. ‘Are you accusing me of slandering you in public?’
‘You must understand, and I’m sure you do, that in my situation I wouldn’t say anything like that without first having done some thorough research. I have ruled out one possibility after another. In the end I have only one explanation. One person.’
‘Me?’
‘Not really, no.’
‘You mean Hong Qiu? Your own sister?’
‘It’s no secret that we disagreed about fundamental questions regarding the future of China: political developments, the economy, our views on history.’
‘But were you enemies?’
‘Enmity can develop over a very long time, almost invisibly, the way land slowly rises out of the sea. All of a sudden you find you have an enemy you knew nothing about.’
‘I find it hard to believe that Hong Qiu would use anonymous complaints as a weapon. She wasn’t that kind of person.’
‘I know. That’s why I’m asking you the question. What did you actually talk about?’
Ma Li didn’t answer. Ya Ru continued without giving her any time to think.
‘Perhaps there’s a letter,’ he said slowly. ‘Perhaps she gave you a letter that morning. Am I right? A letter? Or some kind of document? I have to know what she said to you and what she gave you.’
‘It was as if she sensed that she was going to die,’ said Ma Li. ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about it, but I can’t understand the strength of the worry she must have felt. She just asked me to make sure that her body was cremated after she died. She wanted her ashes spread over Longtanhu Gongyuan, the little lake in the park. She also asked me to look after her belongings, her books, to give away her clothes and empty her house.’
‘Nothing else?’
‘No.’
‘Was this something she said, or did she write it down?’
‘It was a letter. I memorised it. Then I burned it.’
‘So it was only a short letter?’
‘Yes.’
‘But why did you burn it? You could almost call it a will.’
‘She said nobody would question what I said.’
Ya Ru continued to observe her face while he thought over her words. ‘She didn’t give you another letter as well?’
‘What could that have been?’
‘Maybe a letter you didn’t burn. But that you passed on to somebody else?’
‘I received one letter. It was addressed to me. I burned it. That’s all.’
‘It would not be good if you haven’t told me the truth.’
‘Why on earth should I lie?’
Ya Ru flung out his arms. ‘Why do people lie? Why do we have that ability? Because in certain circumstances it can be advantageous for us. Lies and truth are weapons, Ma Li, that skilful operators can make good use of, just as other people are very handy with a sword.’
He was still looking her in the eye, but she didn’t look away. ‘Nothing else? There’s nothing else you want to tell me?’
‘No. Nothing.’
‘You realise, of course, that sooner or later I’ll find out all I need to know?’
‘Yes.’
Ya Ru nodded thoughtfully. ‘You are a good person, Ma Li. So am I. But I can be bitter and twisted if anybody is dishonest with me.’
‘There’s nothing I haven’t told you.’
‘Good. You have two grandchildren, Ma Li. You love them more than anything else in the world.’
He saw that she gave a start.
‘Are you threatening me?’
‘Not at all. I’m merely giving you an opportunity to tell me the truth.’
‘I’ve told you everything. Hong Qiu told me about the fears she had regarding developments in China. But no threats, no rumours.’
‘Then I believe you.’
‘You scare me, Ya Ru. Do I really deserve that?’
‘I haven’t scared you. Hong Qiu did that, with her secret letter. Talk to her soul about that. Ask her to set you free from the worries you have.’
Ya Ru stood up. Ma Li accompanied him out into the street. He shook her hand, then stepped into his car. Ma Li went back to her office and threw up in the washbasin.