The Lotus Palace. Jeannie Lin

someone like Gao.

      Huang passed him a tael of silver, cast into the traditional boat shape. Gao turned it around once to inspect the markings before tucking it away.

      “I think Huilan heard or saw something she wasn’t supposed to,” Huang told him. “I want to know if someone was hired to kill her.”

      “She was important to you.”

      The quiet tone of Gao’s remark made him pause. “I wouldn’t be asking if she wasn’t.”

      He’d learned to admit as little as possible to Gao. He’d also learned not to be blinded by the other man’s outward friendliness.

      “I also need to know more about these men. Have they been corrupted? Are they taking bribes?” He provided the names of the Market Commissioner and the official from the Ministry of Commerce. The two bureaucrats who had been at the merchant banquet when Huilan had faltered in her singing.

      “Those are a lot of questions for one silver ingot.”

      Huang slipped him another boat without argument.

      “Come back in a week,” Gao said.

      “I always do.”

      Gao responded with a laugh. “That’s good. You be careful walking around with all that silver, my friend.”

      He most certainly would be careful. He never came here anymore without carrying at least a knife. In the three years since he’d become the target of a ruthless money-lender, he’d even learned how to use it.

      * * *

      THE MARKET WASN’T too busy that morning. Yue-ying was nearly done with all her purchases when she heard footsteps quickening behind her. They hit a near run before slowing down at her side.

      “What a pleasant coincidence this is, seeing you here like this,” Huang remarked, only a little out of breath.

      “Lord Bai.” She greeted him with an air of coolness, switching her basket to her other arm and setting it conspicuously between them, though she could feel her skin warming. He was certainly persistent.

      He fell into step with her. “What did you mean the other day?”

      “What conversation was this?”

      Yue-ying turned her attention to a nearby fruit stand and started picking through a basket of plums. A day had passed since their last meeting. Mingyu had not yet returned from her assignation with General Deng at the hot springs, but that was no excuse to remain idle.

      “You know what I’m talking about,” Huang admonished.

      She listened with only half an ear as she selected out an assortment of plums and peaches.

      “That’s twice the amount it was yesterday!” she protested when she heard the tally.

      The produce vendor was unwilling to budge. His shrewd gaze flickered momentarily to Bai Huang, who reached into his sash and fished out a few coins. He handed them over without a second glance.

      “Why would you be worried about my reputation if we’re seen together?” he asked again.

      She walked on, headed a few stalls down. “Because I have no reputation to speak of.”

      “That’s not true.”

      “I know who you are, Lord Bai. And you know who I am.” She told herself she wasn’t ashamed of her past, yet she couldn’t bear to look at him.

      “You’re Lady Mingyu’s maidservant.”

      With an impatient sound, she stopped in the middle of the lane and turned on him. “Perhaps there is some benefit for you to behave the way you do. Maybe it allows you to avoid responsibility for your actions, but people will only overlook so much. And even you are not so thick-skulled.”

      He looked startled by her strong words. Startled, and oddly pleased. “Assume I am so thick-skulled,” he said. “Why can’t we be seen together? I’ve seen you many a time.”

      “At the Lotus Palace,” she pointed out. “In Mingyu’s parlor.”

      “So...”

      “There are many reasons for a gentleman to come calling on a courtesan like Mingyu. There is only one reason a man such as yourself would seek out someone like me.” He continued to stare blankly at her, waiting to be convinced. She sighed. “Associating with a talented woman who can compose poetry and quote literature enhances a scholar’s reputation. An aristocrat engaging in relations with a servant is nothing but an embarrassment, to himself and his family.”

      Bai Huang must have known she was formerly a prostitute. It was no secret, yet he didn’t appear embarrassed to be seen with her.

      “Don’t you see what people will make of it? Mingyu refused you so you settled on her lowly maidservant. Everyone will assume I’ve swindled you. You’ll be ridiculed.”