Page 65 of The Cinders

Lim dug in his heels, pulled at his captor harder, delaying an event that seemed hopelessly inevitable.The sergeant shouted at him, jerking him back so hard Lim heard his neck crick.

His thoughts were a maelstrom of conflict: tell him you are here for Xian, his common sense implored, whilst his instincts bade him, no, no, no.Not now.

‘Sergeant Ruilin,’ came the call.‘Why are you not at your post?’

A quiet curse came from his guard.‘Because you give me too much to do, and I only have two hands.’Louder, he replied.‘One moment, Captain Duan, let me see to this matter.’

Lim lowered his head, shrinking in on himself.He wasn’t entirely sure where the captain stood amongst the crowd, but he was not about to search to find out.

‘Move it, you’re needed here to see to the magistrate’s request at once.’The captain’s authoritative tone left Lim cold, but his disinterest was encouraging.Either the captain had not seen him, or could not care less that he had.

‘You, Jang Ming!’The shout from his own guard set Lim’s ears ringing.

‘Yes, sergeant?’

‘Take this man, see him off the grounds.’Lim searched out his next captor.‘Tell the guardsmen at the gate to note his face, and unless Master Ren himself returns with him I don’t want to see this man here again.Token or no token.If I find him in here, you’ll all have bruises from me that will not heal.Go.’

A young man in the guards’ sky blue uniform stood in front of a cart brimming with flowers.He’d been in conversation with an older woman, a handsome lady with skin browned by the touch of the sun, and floral ornaments adorning her simple hairstyle; a single bun at the nape.

‘Yes sir, at once.’He bowed to his senior officer and turned back to the woman, giving her a brief bow.

Her smile was grim and gentle, and faded altogether when she looked to Lim and the sergeant, but whatever misgivings she held she kept to herself.

Lim was shoved toward the young guard with such a force he’d have ended up flat on his face if the shocked man had not extended his arms to catch him.

‘Careful now,’ he mumbled.‘Are you drunk?Is that why you are being thrown out?’

‘No.’Lim righted himself quickly, praying the guard had felt no hint of the slipper when they’d collided.‘I am certainly not drunk, though I wish I was.’

The sergeant had already turned his back, and made his way through the crowd with passersby stepping aside to allow him through; giving Lim glimpses of a group of men standing in front of a vibrantly painted building; one whose finery suggested it was the residence of the magistrate who the captain spoke of.Their robes and nuanmao marked all of them as men of rank, with at least one scholar-official amongst them, his first rank badge an exquisite silver crane; its long neck bent so that its beak touched at its chest.

Lim kept his head ducked as he studied them, searching for the bulk of the captain, breathing a little sigh of relief when he could not spot him.

‘Move along, now, and make no delay of it.’The guard’s voice held none of the gravitas of the sergeant’s.Firm, but not unkind.And when Lim did not move immediately, the man made no move to push him on.Instead, he sighed, brushing his finger over the shadow of a moustache above his lip.‘Got yourself into a bit of bother, then?’

Lim swallowed, willing his nerves to settle so he could clear his head.‘It would seem so, but I have no ill-intent.’

The young man, Jang Ming, had brown eyes the calming shade of forest soil.‘No, I’m sure you don’t.’He glanced towards the sergeant, who had reached the gathering of men.Two of them stepped back to accommodate the new arrival and revealed the low cart they stood around.It held a cargo of stacked crates, surrounded on either side by thick rolls of carpet.A man with a golden peasant embroidered on his chest gestured down at someone who crouched on the far side of the cart.

Captain Duan rose to his feet, dusting off his oversized hands, speaking to the official with a frown on his stone-like face.Lim’s stomach churned unkindly.

‘Were you hoping to get a better view of the New Year’s celebrations?’The guard asked, drawing Lim back to his current predicament.

‘I was.’He could not have cared less about the new year, but he’d grab any excuse to delay being thrown out.‘But I was truly sent here with a purpose.I was to deliver some of Master Ren’s lotus seeds to Chef Xinling in the kitchens.’He wrung his hands, putting on his grandest show of innocence, offering names to give himself greater credence.‘I shouldn’t have veered off the path as I did, I admit, but its all been a terrible misunderstanding.Now I fear my master shall rage at me.’

‘Your master?’Jung Ming said absently, more intent on watching the woman, who had returned to her work.She sorted through piles of blooms; an array of stunning colour.Among them, ixora, camellia, cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, and magnolias.Daphnes were there too, their emerald green leaves waxy with health; as they had been in the flower box outside Xian’s room.Again, Lim puzzled over the out-of-season display.In better times, his curiosity would prompt him to ask if he could see the heated place where they were grown.

But these were not better times.

‘Yes, Master Ren,’ Lim said impatiently.This boy was not even listening to him, let alone considering his story.‘He lives by the river…and farms the most delicious red algae.’

The woman’s attention shifted to Lim, and her smile was as pretty as her blooms.‘A wondrous farmer indeed.’

The guard’s face softened at the sound of her voice.‘Yes, we are very fond of his oysters, aren’t we, Mai?’He looked to Lim.‘He always provides her with some of his finest oysters when she takes him her old blooms.He likes to feed them to his fish, though I can’t imagine why.’

‘They are no ordinary blooms, my love.I’ve always told you so.’

He beamed at the woman, making it obvious to all who saw that these two were lovers.