"Yes, Cousin, but why are you here? What do you want from me?"
For the second time that day Hsiang was taken aback. Earlier he had been terribly put out when Wang had invited him outdoors to talk. His mouth had flapped uselessly, trying to find the words that would not offend the T'ang; that might make clear this was a matter best discussed behind closed doors or not at all. But Wang had insisted and Hsiang had had to bow his head and follow, concealing his discomfort.
Now, however, Hsiang was feeling much more than simple discomfort. He glanced up, then looked away, troubled by Wang Sau-leyan's directness. For him this was a major step. Once taken, it could not be reversed. Even to be here today was a kind of betrayal. But this next. . .
With a tiny shudder, Hsiang came to the point.
"Forgive me, Chieh Hsia, but I am here because I can do you a great service." He lifted his head slightly, meeting Wang's eyes tentatively. "There is one we both . . . dislike immensely. One who has offended us gravely. He ..."
Wang raised an eyebrow, then reached across and took another slice of the sickly scented durian, chewing it noisily.
«„,„
"Go on, Hsiang Shao-erh . . ."
Hsiang looked down. "You know what happened, Chieh Hsia?"
Wang nodded, a faint smile on his lips. He did indeed. And, strangely enough, it was one of the few things he actually admired Li Yuan for. Faced with similar circumstances—with an outbreak of a deadly strain of syphilis—he would have acted exactly as Li Yuan had done, even to the point of offending his own Family Heads. But that was not the issue. Hsiang Shao-erh was here because—quite rightly—he assumed Wang hated Li Yuan as much as he did. But though Hsiang's loss efface before his peers had been a great thing, it was as nothing beside this act of betrayal.
Hsiang looked up, steeling himself, his voice hardening as he recalled his humiliation; his anger momentarily overcoming the fear he felt. "Then you understand why I am here, Chieh Hsia."
Wang's smile broadened. He shook his head. "You will have to be less opaque, Cousin. You talk of one who has offended us both. Can you be more specific?"
Hsiang was staring at him now. But Wang merely turned aside, picking a lychee from one of the bowls and chewing leisurely at the soft, moist fruit before looking back at Hsiang.
"Well?"
Hsiang shook his head slightly, as if waking, then stammered his answer. "Li Yuan. I mean Li Yuan."
"Ah . . ." Wang nodded. "But I still don't follow you, Cousin. You said there was some great service you could do me."
Hsiang's head fell. He had clearly not expected it to be so hard. For a time he seemed to struggle against some inner demon, then he straightened, pushing out his chest exaggeratedly, his eyes meeting Wang's. "We are tied, you and I. Tied by our hatred of this man. There must be some way of using that hatred, surely?"
Wang's eyes narrowed slightly. "It is true. I dislike my cousin. Hatred may be too strong a word, but. . ." He leaned forward, spitting out the seeds. "Well, let me put it bluntly, Hsiang Shao-erh. Li Yuan is a T'ang. Your T'ang, to be more accurate. My equal and your Master. So what are you suggesting?"
It could not have been put more explicitly, and Wang could see how Hsiang's eyes widened fearfully before he looked down again. Wang reached out and took another fruit, waiting, enjoying the moment. Would Hsiang dare take the next step, or would he draw back?
"I . . ." Hsiang shuddered, his unease showing in the way his body swayed, his hands pulled at the silk over his thighs. Then, after another titanic inner struggle, he looked up again.
"There is a substance I have heard of. An illegal substance that was developed, I am told, in the laboratories of SimFic."
"A substance?"
la Hsiang moved his head uncomfortably. "Yes, Chieh Hsia. Something that destroys the female's ability to produce eggs."
"Ah . . ." Wang sat back, staring up into the blueness. "And this substance? You have it, I take it?"
Hsiang shook his head. "No, Chieh Hsia. As I understand, it was taken in a raid on one of Shih Berdichev's establishments. Your late father's Security forces undertook that raid, I believe, yet the substance—"
"Was destroyed, I should think," Wang said brusquely. "But tell me, Cousin. Had it existed—had there been some of this substance remaining, held, perhaps illegally, in defiance of the Edict—what would you have done with it?"
Again it was too direct. Again Hsiang shied back like a frightened horse. Yet the desire for revenge—that burning need in him to reverse the humiliation he had suffered at Li Yuan's hands—drove him on, overcoming his fear. He spoke quickly, nervously, forcing the words out before his courage failed.
"I plan to hold a party, Chieh Hsia. In celebration of Li Yuan's official twentieth birthday. He will accept, naturally, and his wives will accompany him, as they do to all such functions. It is there that I will administer this substance to his wives." Wang Sau-leyan had been sitting forward, listening attentively. Now he sat back, laughing. "You mean, they will sit there calmly while you spoon it down their throats?"
Hsiang shook his head irritably. "No, Chieh Hsia. I... The substance will be in their drinks."
"Oh, of course!" Wang let out another burst of laughter. "And the she t'ou, the official taster—what will he have been doing all this while?"
Hsiang looked down, biting back his obvious anger at Wang Sau-leyan's mockery. "I am told this substance is tasteless, Chieh Hsia. That even a she t'ou would be unable to detect any trace of its presence."
Wang sniffed deeply, calming himself, then sat forward, suddenly more conciliatory. He looked across at Sun Li Hua, then back at Hsiang Shao-erh, smiling.
"Let me make this absolutely clear, Hsiang Shao-erh. What you are suggesting is that I provide you with a special substance—an illegal substance—that you will then administer secretly to Li Yuan's three wives. A substance that will prevent them from ovulating."
Hsiang swallowed deeply, then nodded. "That is it, Chieh Hsia."
"And if our young friend marries again?"
Hsiang laughed uneasily. "Chieh Hsia7."
"If Li Yuan casts off these three and marries again?"
Hsiang's mouth worked uselessly.
Wang shook his head. "No matter. In the short term your scheme will deny Li Yuan sons. Will kill them even before they are born, neh?"
Hsiang shuddered. "As he killed mine, Chieh Hsia."
It was not strictly true. Hsiang's sons had killed themselves. Or, at least, had fallen ill from the yang mei ping—the willow-plum sickness—that had spread among the Minor Families after the entertainment at Hsiang's estate. If Li Yuan had helped Hsiang's sons end their worthless lives a few days earlier than otherwise, that was more to his credit than to theirs. They had been fated anyway. Their deaths had saved others' lives. But Wang was unconcerned with such sophistry. All that concerned him was how he might use this to his benefit. Hsiang's sense of humiliation, more than the death of his sons, drove him now. It made him useful, almost the perfect means of getting back at Li Yuan. Almost.
Wang Sau-leyan leaned forward, thrusting out his right hand, the matte-black surface of the Yu>e Lung, the ring of power, sitting like a saddle on the index finger.
Hsiang stared at it a moment, not understanding, then, meeting Wang's eyes, he quickly knelt, drawing the ring to his lips and kissing it once, twice, a third time before he released it, his head remaining bowed before the T'ang of Africa.
KARR HAD WASHED and put on a fresh uniform for the meeting. He turned from the sink and looked across. Marie was in the other room, standing before the full-length mirror. In the lamp's light her skin was a pale ivory, the long line of her 1 backbone prominent as she leaned forward. 7