The Emperor's Tomb

Blood poured out, but the third man worked the wound, causing obvious pain to the seated man. Still not a sound was uttered. Agony gripped the face, but the recipient seemed to gain control and steadied himself.

Something that appeared to be paper soaked in water was slapped across the wound, several layers thick, until no more blood oozed through.

The man was helped from the couch, visibly trembling, his face half excited, half afraid.

“He was walked around the room for the next two hours, before being allowed to lie down,” Pau said.

“What … what was that?” Ni asked, making no effort to disguise the shock in his voice at the video.

“A ceremony that has occurred in our history hundreds of thousands of times.” Pau hesitated. “The creation of a eunuch.”

Ni knew about eunuchs and the intricate role they played in China for 2,500 years. Emperors were deemed recipients of a mystical “mandate of Heaven,” a concept that officially sanctified their right to rule. To preserve an aura of sacredness, the personal life of the imperial family was shielded, lest anyone be in a position to observe their human failings. Only effeminate eunuchs, dependent on the emperor for their lives, were deemed humble enough to bear such witness. The system was so successful that it became ingrained, but such frequent and intimate association allowed eunuchs an easy opportunity. Childless, they should not have coveted political power to pass on to sons, nor should they have had any need for riches.

But that proved not to be the case.

Emperors eventually became playthings for these pariahs and they became more powerful than any government minister. Many emperors never even met with government administrators. Instead, decisions were shuttled in and out of the palace by eunuchs, no one knowing who actually received or issued the decrees. Only the most diligent and conscientious rulers avoided their influence, but they were few and far between. Finally, during the early 20th century, as the last emperor was forced from the imperial palace, the system was abolished.

“Eunuchs don’t exist anymore,” he declared.

“Why would you think that?”

Thoughts of being recorded faded. “Who are you?”

“I am a person who appreciates our ancestry. A man who witnessed the wholesale destruction of all that we have held sacred for thousands of years. I am Chinese.”

He knew Pau had been born in the northern province of Liaoning, educated in France at a time when young Chinese had been allowed to attend universities abroad. Well read, a published author of six historical treatises, he’d managed to survive all of Mao’s purges, which, Ni assumed, had been no easy feat. Eventually, Pau had been allowed to leave the country—rare beyond rare—taking with him personal wealth. Still—

“You speak of treason,” he made clear.

“I speak the truth, Minister. And I think you suspect the same.”

Ni shrugged. “Then you would be wrong.”

“Why are you still standing here? Why do you continue to listen to me?”

“Why did you show me that video?”

“Faced with death, he who is ready to die will survive while he who is determined to live will die. That thought has been expressed another way. Shang wu chou ti.”

He’d heard the phrase before.

Pull down the ladder after the ascent.

“The most common interpretation instructs us to lure the enemy into a trap, then cut off his escape,” Pau said. “Different adversaries are lured in different ways. The greedy are enticed with the promise of gain. The arrogant with a sign of weakness. The inflexible by a ruse. Which are you, Minister?”

“Who is luring me?”

“Karl Tang.”

“Actually, it seems more like you are doing the luring. You haven’t answered my question. Why did you show me that video?”

“To prove that you know little of what’s happening around you. Your self-righteous commission spends its time investigating corrupt officials and dishonest Party members. You chase ghosts, while a real threat stalks you. Even within your sacrosanct world, which prides itself on being the Party’s conscience, you are surrounded. Eunuchs still exist, Minister.”

“How do you know any of this?”

“Because I am one of their number.”

EIGHT

CASSIOPEIA VITT WAS SHOVED BACK INTO THE ROOM THAT had been her prison for the past two days. Her shirt was soaked, her lungs aching from trying to breathe.

The door slammed shut.

Only then was she allowed to remove the blindfold from her face.