|
Scene 1:
|
Li K’ai-men’s quarters.
Center stage is a pavilion surrounded by gardens. Li K’ai-men
sits in the pavilion writing. K’u Ko-ling attends his master,
handing him brushes and mixing ink. Fu Lin-t’o sits on a bench
nearby reading.
|
|
When the lights
come up, they also place a spot on the Narrator.
|
|
NARR
Whenever my master
was tense — whenever he sought retreat from the stress of duty,
he would retreat to his writing. He had become a famous poet since
the publication of the great Nan Tu. Now, it was expected that
he would write much sought after works on a weekly basis. Sometimes
his majesty would circulate them throughout the country. Sometimes,
the more private works, just found their way to the tea-house,
stroked on fans and screens.
|
|
Now this affair with
Yueh Fei laid heavy on my master’s mind. I know. I mixed the ink.
I cleaned the brushes. For days after Yueh Fei’s arrest I sat
beside my master as he butterflied away in wonderful verse and
caliigraphy - while I peddled some soup - and nagged him to take
some noodles. Only Fu Lin-t’o could get him to eat when my master
was so intent on writing.
|
|
Mei Lin would take
the children away during time as these. The children were most
distracting — not to say that Fu didn’t distract at times. Li
was a model father - strict with Li Pao-t’ien and less so with
little Li Pao-xi. It was a perfect family life, now that we stopped
roaming from place to place. The air at Hang-chou was ideal for
family life - the perfect family. Husband, wife, two children
and a male-lover. What more could be wanting now that things had
settled down. Oh, but my master speaks.
|
|
LI
(hands K’u Ko-ling
a brush) Ko-ling, this brush needs repair.
|
|
KO-LING
At once master.
Exits
|
|
NARR
At once.
|
|
LI
(to Fu) That
last poem is quite pretty, don’t you think?
|
|
FU
Hush, I’m on the last
line. (reads) Oh ho! It’s clever, not pretty. And a bit
subversive.
|
|
Li comes down to
Fu and puts his arms around him.
|
|
You always think my
poetry is subversive.
|
|
FU
Well, I suppose you
can never get away from your work. It seeps into everything.
|
|
LI
Not our bed.
|
|
FU
Well I don’t know about
that. I have caught you reviewing documents after you have had
your way with me.
|
|
LI
Never. I have never
acted so crass.
|
|
FU
Well, perhaps not.
But, look at this line.
|
|
LI
Which line?
|
|
FU
This - "And he
fell down, drunk with the spirit of his own words."
|
|
LI
Well, it’s fitting.
The philosopher is selling his wisdom. He peddles them up and
down the garden on a warm summer day. Why shouldn’t he be enraptured
by his own words and fall down drunk.
|
|
FU
Logical. But look at
these characters here. These sound more like "the old goat
was poisoned by the hand of those who cozzened him."
|
|
LI
No they don’t.
|
|
FU
Yes, they do and you
know it. It’s subversive. You are the master of the character
and the sound - and you can get more double meaning out of any
line of poetry than any other poet of our times. But, have a care.
|
|
LI
Now you sound like
his majesty.
|
|
FU
Never. It’s true he
sees you as his soul mate - but I claim that as my right. But,
Emperor ‘though he be, I am more passionate in bed, aren’t I?
|
|
LI
It was only once. And
we were drunk. And it didn’t mean anything . . .
|
|
FU
To you. But to him,
I am afraid, it was an experience he has never forgotten. As long
as he looks at you as a posisble future Empress . . .
|
|
LI
Oh, don’t be absurd
- and flip.
|
|
FU
Well, maybe I am as
flip as you are subversive; but, his majesty is the greatest threat
to my future happiness.
|
|
LI
Please, my love. Never
worry on that score.
(pause)
|
|
When we were with Yueh
Fei, did you see how I treated you? Did I hide you or make excuses.
|
|
FU
I was your "friend
and companion."
|
|
LI
And that you are. How
else can I tell a person like Yueh Fei of our relationship. Especially
since he knows. Everyone knows. I do not deny it, even to those
who feel uneasy about it. Yueh Fei can understand "friend
and companion." He could never picture us as lovers.
|
|
Enter K’u Ko-ling.
|
|
KO-LING
Master, Ch’in Kwei
is here.
|
|
FU
See! you do bring your
work home. Shall I leave? Ch’in Kwei is less than please with
me as your partner?
|
|
LI
No. Stay. Sit up there
in the pavilion. (to K’u Ko-ling) Show the First Privy
Councillor the way.
Fu Lin-t’o places
the poem on the bench and retreats to the pavilion.
|
|
Exit Ko-ling
|
|
He never visits me.
|
|
FU
It’s this Yueh Fei
affair.
|
|
LI
I will not abandon
my stand on this issue.
|
|
Enter Ch’in Kwei
lead by Ko-ling.
|
|
CH’IN
Pardon the intrusion,
Li K’ai-men. I have been meaning to call on you for days. You
have not been at court. I guess you have a well deserved and earned
rest at hand.
|
|
LI
Ch’in Kwei, this is
my little retreat from matters of state. You can understand that.
You must surely have such a place.
|
|
CH’IN
I do - but it is in
Ho-nan.
|
|
LI
Ho-nan? But that’s
1,000 li away. Whenever do you get there?
|
|
CH’IN
Rarely - actually never.
(sees Fu Lin-t’o)
|
|
LI
Have you ever met my
"friend and companion" Fu Lin-t’o.
|
|
CH’IN
(rather uncomfortable).
Yes. I have. Is he staying?
|
|
LI
Why shouldn’t he? This
is his place. At my side when I am here in a domestic arrangement.
|
|
CH’IN
Oh, but isn’t your
wife . . .
|
|
LI
Mei Lin and the children
are spending the day at Lake Hsi. The children enjoy the break
from their studies; and Mei Lin — well you have met Mei Lin.
|
|
CH’IN
A rare and rich jewel
indeed.
|
|
LI
Rare indeed. But is
your call a pleasant social one; or are we to renew our quarrel
over my friend General Yueh.
|
|
CH’IN
Quarrel? What quarrel?
We are both doing our jobs. You advise his majesty — and I enforce
his policies. You know where I stand - and I know you well.
|
|
LI
Do you?
|
|
CH’IN
Many years now. You
are a very consistance colleague. I know when I can count on you
and . . .
|
|
LI
And when to woo me.
|
|
CH’IN
Woo? What do I know
of wooing?
|
|
LI
Indeed, diplomacy and
politics is all wooing and undoing. But here in my haven there
is nothing but poetry and singing. Do you write?
|
|
CH’IN
Of course. What gentlemen
doesn’t write. But, you dear sir are famous.
(he picks up the
poem on the bench)
|
|
Ah, a thing of beauty.
(reads)
|
|
"Welcome is the
scholar in his lair, the philospher in his stroll,
When the fine
spring day bursts and gives way to summer’s joy."
|
|
What a pretty start.
Lovely?
|
|
"And the strolling
singer writes his words on the leaves as they fall,
Selling his verses
to the passing stranger.
For the child
he scrawls a fairy tale;
For the beauty
he jots an abstract throught;
For the gentlemen
a paradigm of inner spirit;
For the King,
an admonishment to look to winter’s frost."
|
|
Fu stands up worried.
|
|
Very clever. I like
the rythm and the choice of characters. I would have never thought
to work such sound in that adminishment.
|
|
LI
Thank you. It is second
nature.
|
|
NARR
Second nature and true
to the spirit of the first.
|
|
CH’IN
(reading)
"And the wind
blew hard across the lake,
Rippling the surface and the song-seller’s hair.
He danced to a frenzy as he found good use for the cash receipts
And he fell down, drunk with the spirit of his own words."
|
|
(pauses. At first
stunned by the double entendre and the implication, then smiles)
Wonderful. This is
simply perfection. You have indeed made good use of your retreat.
|
|
LI
I thank you my lord.
|
|
CH’IN
And we should be better
friends, Li. You shall see. I am an intense man. I could learn
much from you. Indeed, just this little soujourn has educated
me well. But, I won’t presume on your time any longer. I must
attend to the matter at hand.
|
|
LI
The treaty.
|
|
CH’IN
How perceptive.
|
|
LI
Well, good day to you.
Ch’in bows - as
does Li. Ch’in folds the poem into his sleeve, while Li retreats
back to the pavilion. Exit Ch’in.
|
|
Better friends indeed.
The air is foul in his trail.
|
|
FU
Please Li, have a care.
|
|
NARR
Have a care.
Black out
|
|
Scene 2:
|
Yueh Fei’s prison
cell. It is dark and lit by a single torch. Yueh Fei sits
center stage at a writing desk. He is dressed as in Act One,
without armor, except he appears to be ill. On the table is
some food and drink and a plate of his wife’s almond cakes.
Yueh eats one.
|
|
YUEH
Sweet taste of your
hand dear wife. Ch’in Kwei has afforded me little pleasure here
— but daily these cakes arrive, filled with the caress of your
caring hand, dear wife. Oh, in them I find the sunlight of freedom,
of the distant T’ai Mountains and the frolicing wind of the northlands.
I was born on those breezes - lost breezes now. And it appears
that no one shall rescue the homeland now. If I were free of this
place today, I doubt if I could muster the strength to do it now.
|
|
(stands - shakily)
I was not meant for the darkness, not this soul of mine. I
was meant to shine on the field of battle and on the plains of
love. I would never have thought his majesty would put me in such
a place. Why the rats reject this place. There was a little fellow
on the first day or so. He came around and sniffed about my wife’s
cakes - and pardon me, sir rat, it wasn’t to his taste and he
ran away and never return. If I knew how he appeared - what crany
he crept into this hole - I should like to know it. I should like
to shrink down into it and escape in the gutters and runoffs.
What do I know of escape? I am a soldier of victory! Now, I am
here . . . in . . .in . . .
|
|
(weeps) In defeat.
I have never known defeat. I have the heart of justice and the
mind of fortune, but not the feet of sand. Iron is my metal, not
soft gold - but mow I melt away in this dank place, in shame and
defeat. I pray that my ancestors have plead my case before the
Jade Emperor - that I had many victories and that in defeat men
are merely shadows of their former selves, but they are still
men.
|
|
I once killed a man
for not standing his ground in battle. He was a young man. I never
knew his name, but I recall his face. It was so innocent and smooth.
Yet, he fled before the enemy halberds. He slumped in a millet
field, where he was found with his pants peed and his ass crapped,
shaking like a feather in the wind. I saw him, and his face. I
pitied him. I drew my sword and said to him - "Man, where’s
your pride?" And he said, "I have seen the monster and
will never sleep again."
|
|
I held my sword aloft
and waited for an eternity before I realized that I could grant
him sleep. So I did. As my sword fell on his head, he shut his
eyes, and sleeps even now. I gave him back his bravery in that
stroke. Now, his majesty has rejected my sweet offer to give him
back his bravery, for he has seen the monster and will never sleep
again.
|
|
(takes some more
cake) This is even bitter now. The young lord in terror fleeing
to my shore, shouting, "who will save me?" I remember
that night. It was the raining and the river was rising. The smoke
from the river rockets was choking each heart. And his majesty
was in a small boat, with Li K’ai-men. And Li was bravely rowing
with all his might. But the young Emperor was shivering and shouting,
"Who will save me?"
|
|
And I rode up to the
river’s edge. We threw him a line and towed him in. I bowed low
to him, but he held me close and wept. I remember those tears
mixed with the rain. And his hair was matted to his eyes. I said,
"Your majesty, fear not. I will get you to safety. I will
be your rock. I will protect you with my own life."
|
|
I remember his face.
He reminded me of the young soldier - only now it was a soft lordling,
helpless and dependent. I took my vow seriously - and now he sends
me to this darkness. Even my health is failing. Man, where’s your
pride? I should have given him his sleep then! I should have given
him his bravery then.
|
|
(eats the cake)
Fiery cake, I know you well. I have seen the monster and will
never sleep again. I will see the mountains of Heaven in illusions
now. I will feel the minnows between my toes only in my ravings.
I was a man of conviction. I was a man of valour. I was a man
of light! Now I am as blind to the sunlight as old Hung Fei in
the fairy tale. What do I know of darkness? What acquaints me
in this cold world as it closes unto my soul? Monsters - I will
never sleep again until you return my bravery to my heart. I will
never sleep again.
|
|
Li K’ai-men, Fu
Lin-t’o enter, lead by K’u Ko-ling holding a torch. A jailer
accompanies.
|
|
Who is there?
|
|
LI
Li K’ai-men.
|
|
YUEH
Ah friend Li. Have
you come to set me free?
|
|
LI
I fear not. His majesty
is reviewing the situation. Meanwhile, (he sees Yueh and is
shocked). Great heavens. K’u Ko-ling, bring the torch closer.
Yueh Fei! I scarcely can recognize you.
|
|
YUEH
I have been weak and
ill.
|
|
LI
Have they fed you?
This is disgraceful. I will inform his majesty of this treatment.
|
|
YUEH
I am fed - but am afraid
to touch it. I fear poison.
|
|
LI
We will get you a taster
then. You deserve it.
|
|
YUEH
I am beyond that dear
friend. If it were not for the sweet almond cakes my wife sends,
I would have no nourishment whatsoever. Small favor Ch’in Kwei
grants with these cakes.
|
|
LI
I’ll hear no more.
You must get your strength back. You must be ready when the time
comes to leave this place.
|
|
YUEH
I see your "friend
and companion" has come with you.
|
|
FU
Sir, I will be a witness
to such treatment to a man of your honor.
|
|
YUEH
Witness well then.
You see what remains of the Sung Army leadership. Thus you see
the opportunity for strength sapped by these dibilities.
|
|
LI
Many spoke out in your
defense. I think if it were othewise, you may have been executed.
|
|
YUEH
I am resigned to it.
I am too weak to lead - and what do I know of rest and retirement?
I have lingered too long in this life. An ungrateful nobleman
betrays me. The jackel has spoken and the lion commands me fade
away.
|
|
(he staggers. Li
and Fu catch him and prop him on a chair.)
|
|
LI
Steady. You are still
our oak.
|
|
YUEH
A willow now indeed.
|
|
FU
You must focus on the
next strategem.
|
|
YUEH
Battle plans are cut
through now. Even the element of surprise is gone. I only fear
the wingspan of the crow now. My family must be protected Li K’ai-men.
My wife and sons must come under your protection. If I am declared
a traitor and bring shame on my ancestral temple, surely Ch’in
Kwei will eradicate my household - and my friends.
|
|
LI
I will see what can
be done.
|
|
YUEH
Ah, my friend. You
are in danger as well.
|
|
FU
I have told him so.
|
|
LI
Don’t consider that.
My bond to his majesty is indelible. I am his familiar. We quarrel
at times, and he will always win — after all his is the Son of
Heaven; but, I wear his ring of protection.
|
|
Show the ring
|
|
This reminds him that
I am his companion . . .
|
|
FU
And friend.
|
|
LI
Yes. What do I know
of having a care as long as I have this ring?
|
|
YUEH
I know the sweet protection
as such. No ring, but these cakes. They bring life closer to my
lips with each swallow.
|
|
LI
We shall bring you
a feast - a trusted feast - as sure as we are to you.
|
|
FU
All manner of fish
and fowl will grace your pallette again.
|
|
YUEH
(looking very ill)
It would be useless. The thought of it makes me sick. I will be
the feast soon — Ch’in Kwei will be the crow.
|
|
He falls. Li and
Fu try to revive him.
Black out
Spot on Narrator
|
|
NARR
In the marrow lurks
death’s terror. It silently eats at our lifeway and makes us turn
to heaven for respite. The black sleep is prayed for. The red
morn is delivered. And still the fever creeps apace through the
heart and breath. Yueh Fei was sinking fast.
|
|
My master called for
a physician, but there was a delay. No physician would come for
fear that Ch’in Kwei would ruin their practice. Soon, my master
and Fu Lin-t’o were like prisoners as well. Free to come and go
in the darkness, they tried to administer Yueh Fei back to health.
|
|
It was a busy time
for me. Death does not scare me. When you are close to the earth
like me, there’s not much room between life and death’s descent.
But I did make a mean kettle of goose liver broth and a great
scallion stew. The general did take a bit of it. But only his
wife’s almond cake could be kept down — and that came regularly,
with tender love and care.
|
|
Finally, with anger
and terror, my master returned to his master.
|
|
Scene 3:
|
The Imperial Chambers.
There’s a desk and chair to the right. There’s a stack of
cushions center stage. The room leads out to a balcony. The
city of Hang-chou can be seen, with it’s golden and white
rooves. The Emperor Kao stands near the desk. He has a proclamation
in his hands.
|
|
KAO
The time is at hand.
I am weary of the wandering life. Here at Hang-chou is a haven
for us. Lake Hsi cradles us with her shimmering stream and her
reflective powers. The cool hill breezes great our morning. The
market is full - the canal supplies us with wherewithal and the
palaces are magnificent. So the time is at hand to declare you
Lin-an.
|
|
He walks to the
balcony and looks out.
|
|
Lin-an. You will be
Lin-an for the ages, greater the K’ai-feng or Lo-yang. Even greater
than Ch’ang-an. The fortunetellers have said it. They say that
the world will beat a path to your treasures. None shall compare
with your great pulse and heart. Ships will return laden with
the riches of Nien-shan and Po-xia, mystical islands of Pearl.
Your docks and bridges will teem with craft from this peacemaking.
We will thrive again and be richer than the Chin.
|
|
Lin-an, you are near.
The time is at hand. Just the matter of the treaty and I can declare
your permenancy.
|
|
Enter Li, quite
abruptly.
|
|
LI
Your majesty!
|
|
KAO
Nan Ya. I had no idea
- where have you been? I haven’t seen you for days.
|
|
LI
I have been with Yueh
Fei.
|
|
KAO
Was that wise, my friend.
Yueh Fei is a danger to us all.
|
|
LI
Yueh Fei is a dying
man.
|
|
KAO
Dying? I have not ordered
him executed. I have nothing on my conscience for that.
|
|
LI
No, he is weak with
fear and starvation. He is sinking fast. I called for a doctor,
but Ch’in Kwei has refused.
|
|
KAO
Refused? Why would
he refuse such clemency?
|
|
LI
I do not know. That
is a question for him, sire?
|
|
KAO
Now, Nan Ya. Don’t
get high handed with me in this matter. This is not a play at
tiles or fan tan. You can snap at me then. This is a matter of
state.
|
|
LI
No, sire it’s a matter
of loyalty and friendship.
|
|
KAO
You sound accusative.
I have been his friend. I have not executed him.
|
|
LI
Please, your majesty.
Let him be moved from the Gao-hsin. Let him be under house arrest.
I will take him in. He cannot escape - he is too week. Then when
he is stronger, he could be sent to Lung-fa castle. It’s fortified,
but not bleak. He deserves better than this from . . .
|
|
KAO
Enough, Li K’ai-men!
|
|
Li bows hearing
the use of his name instead of his pen-name. The Emperor claps
his hands. A servant enters.
|
|
(to the servant)
Send Ch’in Kwei to me.
Exit servant
|
|
LI
Your majesty, I meant
no offense.
|
|
KAO
You meant none, but
you did offend. You are implying that I have betrayed a friend.
I have not. I have given Yueh Fei riches and power. I have settled
on him lands and placed his family in good positions. He repays
me by taking the imperial prerogative into his own hands.
|
|
(holds the document
up)
|
|
Nan Ya, this is the
deed to peace. It declares Hang-chou the Imperial capital and
renames it.
|
|
LI
Lin-an.
|
|
KAO
Lin-an - sacred of
sacreds - Forest of Peace. And I know that you love K’ai-feng
and that this disowns the old capital from it’s rights, but the
Jurchen are there now. This is fact. We will never regain th North.
It is a fantasy to think otherwise. So, my good friend Yueh Fei
is living a fantasy. I did not ask him to challenge me thus. We
need peace and stability. What do we know of peace, Nan Ya, strutting
from Yang-chou to Ning-hsia to Wen-chou to Hang-chou to Lu-ch’ou
to . . .to . . to every fucking place these wretched invaders
choose to push us.
|
|
Enter Ch’in Kwei
|
|
Ah Ch’in Kwei. Get
Yueh Fei a physician. He is ill.
|
|
CH’IN
Yes, your majesty -
at once.
|
|
KAO
And Li K’ai-men suggests
that we move the general to his house to get his strength back.
Then let us consider moving him to Lung-fa castle.
|
|
CH’IN
Lung-fa? Why not Yen-hsin-t’ieh,
it would be more comfortable.
|
|
KAO
We’ll discuss it. You
see Nan Ya, I am not a vicious tyrant.
|
|
LI
I never implied you
were.
|
|
Enter Chao Chu-kua
and Ho Xsiang-chu. They bow.
|
|
CH’IN
Master Chao. Master
Ho. What brings you unannounced to these precincts?
|
|
CHAO
Ch’in Kwei, you must
attend at once. Yueh Fei is dying.
|
|
CH’IN
Impossible. We are
taking every care to assure his strength and continuance. We are
moving him to a more comfortable place - in fact, to Li K’ai-men’s
household.
|
|
HO
Nonetheless, Ch’in
Kwei, Yueh Fei barely breathes. And he is calling for Master Li.
|
|
Li bows and exits
quickly.
|
|
CH’IN
We will attend him
at once.
|
|
Ho and Chao bow
and exit. Ch’in Kwei moves toward the Emperor who is deeply
silent.
|
|
Your majesty, I will
assure the public that our intentions were in the best interest
of the state. We cannot help if a man in prison catches a cold
and dies, can we? We will all mourn his passing.
|
|
Pause
|
|
(sees the proclamation)
I will take this now, your majesty.
He takes the proclamation,
bows, lauhghs and exits. The Emperor moves to the balcony
and stares out into space.
Black out.
Spot on Narrator
|
|
NARR
Physician called at
once — too late. Comforts arranged with ease — too late. This
is the way with these slovenly bureaucratic cabinets. They follow
the path of rite and sureness and result in tragic apology and
cries of "too late."
|
|
Scene 4:
|
Yueh Fei’s cell.
He is dead on the floor. Li K’ai-men kneels at his feet. The
Physician is examining him. He sniffs Yueh Fei’s breath and
feels various places on his arms and legs.
|
|
LI
What a tragic loss
for the nation. Is there any way to know what ailment spirited
him away?
|
|
PHYSICIAN
Absolutely. I am not
a quack. I know the entire science and have the experience of
the ages at my disposal.
|
|
LI
Well then, what rotten
miasma stole my friend away?
|
|
PHYSICIAN
None.
|
|
LI
None. And you call
yourself a physician?
|
|
PHYSICIAN
With all due respect,
what do you know of ointments? This is not a curative session;
this is a determinative one. It is clear to me. It would be clear
to the neophyte. This man was poisoned.
|
|
LI
Poisoned? How can that
be? Impossible. His food was screened - and evenso he would not
eat it!
|
|
PHYSICIAN
You sir may be the
model of government, but I wouldn’t know about that. I am a paragon
of my craft. This man has ingested poison. I would say in small
doses. But I smell it on his breath.
|
|
Li smells Yueh’s
breath.
|
|
LI
You are mistaken doctor.
What you smell on his breath is almonds.
|
|
PHYSICIAN
That is correct. The
poison smells of almonds.
|
|
LI
But that aroma is from
his wife’s almond cakes.
|
|
Li stands and goes
to the table, where there’s a plate of the cakes. He lifts
them up and presents them to the physician.
|
|
PHYSICIAN
(smelling the cakes)
Exactly so, these are poisoned!
|
|
LI
Poisoned?
(he takes the plate
back, then suddenly drops them)
(in horror)
Ch’in Kwei!!!!
Black out
|
|
Spot on Narrator
|
|
NARR
Murder! My master cried
murder. He went to the Emperor and presented his case. The Emperor
Kao listened long and hard - then asked for proof. "Where
is this physician?" But the physician was no where to be
found. Gone to the West on official business. Then, where are
the cakes? Gone, swept away in the airing out.
|
|
But my master persisted.
He accused Ch’in Kwei to his face of the crime. Ch’in Kwei reminded
my master that he was going to remedy the condition of Yueh Fei.
That there was no purpose in Yueh Fei’s death. My master reminded
him of the treaty terms - but, Ch’in Kwei had those terms amended,
so the motive was gone.
|
|
My master was so furious,
he asked to be excused for a few day to sort things out. Of course,
the Emperor granted him this wish. So, my master retreated to
his quarters with Fu Lin-t’o.
|
|
Bad humours always
efffect me most of all. My master always seems to take out his
frustrations on me. And when he drank, he became unusually loose
and wearisome. He called for wine often, now. "More wine,
K’u Ko-ling!" he would shout. "More wine!"
|
|
Scene 5
|
Li K’ai-men’s quarters.
Same as Act Two, scene 1. Li is sitting in the pavilion with
a wine cup in his hand. Fu Lin-t’o sits on the bench, also
with a wine cup.
|
|
LI
More wine, K’u Ko-ling.
More wine.
|
|
KO-LING
At once master.
He exits and returns
with a wine crock and pours.
|
|
LI
My dearest Fu, I am
numbed by these turn of events.
|
|
FU
You are numb, dearest
heart, by the wine.
|
|
LI
The audacity of Ch’in
Kwei. He put down Yueh Fei as if he were an old curr whose days
were made useless by a kennel change. It is unseemly that he should
rule this state and be unpunished. And his majesty was concerned.
Oh he was concerned alright. He listened intently and questioned
Ch’in Kwei most vigorously, but then pressed me hard for evidence.
|
|
Where is that doctor?
They say he was sent to heal the Lu-shan regiment near Lake Wu.
I think it very convenient that the man was whisked away so suddenly.
|
|
FU
He’s alive. His luck
at least sustained that notion.
|
|
LI
And the cakes. You
know Yueh Fei’s wife said she had not been sending the cakes.
That should tell you a great deal. And when I confronted Ch’in
Kwei, he claimed that Yueh Fei had a mistress who baked them and
sent them to the prison daily — through Ch’in Kwei’s office mind
you. Through his office. How convenient. The general refused to
eat for fear that Ch’in Kwei would poison his food, then he eats
those trusted cakes not realizing that they pased through an untrustworthy
source.
|
|
FU
And what of this mistress?
|
|
LI
Out of respect for
the widow, Ch’in Kwei has paid the women off and asked for her
silence. Out of repect for the widow. How gallant. How very, very
conveniently gallant.
|
|
FU
Drink up and come to
bed. You are weary - and I am weary of this. The man is dead and
will not be returning soon. It’s obvious that Ch’in Kwei has covered
his tracks well.
|
|
LI
Fu, are you suggesting
that I allow this puppy to get away with murder?
|
|
FU
He has gotten away
with murder and with the best accomplice available.
|
|
LI
Who? What do you know
of conspiracy — you who are purity itself?
|
|
FU
Pure or no, it seems
his majesty is determined to keep Ch’in Kwei in his service.
|
|
LI
Have a care with talk
like that.
|
|
|