LI YUAN swept down the grand corridor at Tongjiang, his entourage almost running to keep up with him, servants—surprised by the haste with which he came upon them—dropping quickly to their knees and lowering their heads as he rushed past. The T'ang was more than three hours late and had missed several important meetings.
As the doors to Nan Ho's study burst open, the Chancellor looked up from his desk, then hastily came around the desk and knelt before his Master.
"Chieh Hsia," he said, looking up at Li Yuan. "I am delighted to see you well. I was worried that something had happened."
Li Yuan waved the concern for his health aside, moving past his kneeling Chancellor to study the papers on his desk.
"What has been happening, Master Nan?"
Nan Ho got up slowly, and stepped to his Master's side. "Minister Chu is in the Eastern Palace being . . . entertained, shall we say. The San Shih I saw myself. I felt it best not to keep them waiting, considering recent events."
Li Yuan nodded, yet he seemed distracted. "And the matter with Tsung Ye?"
Nan Ho blinked. "Tsung Ye?"
Li Yuan glanced at him. "He came to see you this morning, I understand. About the Empress's demands on him."
The old man's mouth opened, then closed again. He nodded.
"So what do you suggest, Master Nan? Should I have the young man castrated? Or should I make him a member of my Advisory Council?
After all, to find a man who is both a dedicated servant and yet a man of honor . . . that is not to be discarded lightly, neh?"
Nan Ho's mouth worked without sound. He looked in shock. Finally he found the words. "I ... I did not know you knew, Chieh Hsia. I ... I have had him draw up a full confession. It is—"
Li Yuan shook the sheaf of papers at him. "I am reading it, Master Nan. An interesting document, neh? One we could use, if we wished. . . ."
"Use, Chieh Hsia?"
There was an urgent knocking on the outer doors. Li Yuan looked to Nan Ho. "Are you expecting anyone, Master Nan?"
Nan Ho shook his head.
"Well ... we had best find out who wants us, neh?"
Master Nan bowed, then went across. Opening the door a crack, he exchanged a few words with his secretary, then turned back.
"It is General Rheinhardt, Chieh Hsia. He wishes to speak with you urgently."
Li Yuan folded Tsung Ye's confession and pocketed it, then nodded. "Send him in. I will see him here. And, Master Nan . . . please stay. There is something I need to arrange with you."
Nan Ho stared at his Master, noting the strange smile he wore, then turned and left. A moment later he was back, leading in Rheinhardt.
"Helmut," Li Yuan said, greeting his Marshal, holding out his ring for him to kiss, then watching as he knelt and touched his forehead to the floor before him. "How can I help you?"
Rheinhardt glanced at Nan Ho, then got to his feet again. "It is Marshal Tolonen, Chieh Hsia. He tried to have Ward kidnapped."
"Tried . . ." Li Yuan laughed. "You jest, surely, Helmut? Knut kidnap Kim? Why on earth would he do that?"
"To stop him marrying his daughter."
Li Yuan turned to Nan Ho, his face suddenly severe. "Am I to believe my ears, Master Nan? You mean there was a relationship between Ward and the Marshal's daughter and I was not told of it?"
Nan Ho bowed low. "It was long ago, Chieh Hsia. I—I did not feel it was important."
"Important? Aiya, Master Nan! Nothing is more important than these personal matters. Nothing! Surely you of all people understand that?"
"Forgive me, Chieh Hsia. I am pu ju pen fen."
Li Yuan stared at him, surprised by the formality of the phrase—
"one who has failed in his duty"—then turned to Rheinhardt again. "So what happened?"
"It seems the Marshal hired mercenaries to kidnap Kim at his Mansion, to prevent him from attending his daughter's Coming-of-Age party. But for some reason Ward eluded his attackers. Now both he and the Marshal's daughter have gone missing."
"Together?"
"That's the strange thing, Chieh Hsia. We can find no camera records of their movements. It's like they vanished."
Li Yuan sucked in his breath. If he had lost Ward . . .
"And the Marshal? What does he say of all this?"
Rheinhardt looked down. "I am afraid the Marshal is unrepentant. He says that Ward will never marry his daughter. That he would kill him first."
Li Yuan turned away, then walked over to the window. "Why now? Why now of all times?" He looked back. "We must find Ward, Helmut. We simply must. He is vital to our plans. As for the Marshal"—he sighed—"you will place Marshal Tolonen under house arrest. You will give orders to the guards to use the minimum force to restrain him if need be, but restrain him they must, if it proves necessary. As for his honorary rank, he is stripped of it until this matter can be investigated. From henceforth he is to be considered no more than any other private citizen."
Rheinhardt looked down, saddened that it had come to this. "I am sorry, Chieh Hsia. To bring such news . . ."
Li Yuan went to him. "It is not your fault, Helmut. Sometimes even the best of us lose our way, neh? The Marshal is an old man. He was always inflexible. Old age has made him more so."
He stepped back, making a gesture of dismissal. Rheinhardt bowed low, then backed away.
When he was gone, Li Yuan looked to his Chancellor and let out a long breath. "Aiya!"
Nan Ho came across and knelt at his feet. "Forgive me, Chieh Hsia. If I had known . . ."
Li Yuan reached out and touched his head gently. "It is all right, Master Nan. I forgive you this once. But . . ."
Unexpectedly he laughed.
Nan Ho straightened up, staring at his master. "Are you all right, Chieh Hsia?"
The young Tang smiled. "Never better, Master Nan. Never, in all my life, better."
THE OLD MEN filed in silently, their shaven heads lowered modestly, their saffron robes whispering on the ancient stones of the great hall. When all seventy eight were seated, the three San Shih made their way to the center of the great circle of chairs and stood, their arms crossed before them, concealed within the silken folds of their robes. Luo Ye, the eldest and most senior of them, looked about him at the patiently watching faces, then bowed. "Ch'un t%u," he began, "we have come to report to the Pa shi yi concerning our meeting this morning with Li Yuan."
The old man hesitated; then, drawing himself up straight, he raised his right hand from within his robes, the crooked index finger pointing to the ceiling high above. As he did, his voice rang out, the perfectly intoned Mandarin filling the ancient hall.
"I am afraid to tell my revered brothers that the T'ang was not there. It appears he was . . . delayed."
A great hiss of disbelief went out at the news. Luo Ye waited a moment, then continued.
"Instead we spoke to the Ch'eng Hsiang, Nan Ho. He advised us to wait; to let our grievances rest until a better time. To ... well, in brief, to go away and do as we were told."
The hiss became a buzz of anger. On all sides old men looked to each other, animatedly discussing this new development.
"Ch'un tzu . . ." Luo Ye said, calling them to order. "It may be that the great Li Yuan was indeed delayed. That, knowing we wished to see him on a matter of the first importance, he yet allowed himself to be detained elsewhere. However, it was my feeling that this was a deliberate insult; a snubbing of the Pa shi yi, indeed, of the great New Confucian Movement itself. Since we failed his son, he has, it seems, had little time for us. Like a sulking woman, he has sought to avenge himself in petty ways. But this . . ."