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courier even now. There could be no other reason for her nefarious dress. The eb-ony tube, the minister
guessed, contained evidence of her betrayal, probably a report of how the emperor had taken the nobles'
defeat.
Stomach knotted with sorrow and his heart pounding with rage, Ju-Hai decided he would not allow the
traitor to deliver her message. He considered calling his bodyguard, then realized that so near Ting's house,
they were sure to be outnumbered by the traitor's men. The Minister of State could not take the tube by
force.
Still unaware of Ju-Hai's presence, Ting glanced up at the drizzle, then slipped the ebony tube inside her
samfu. She turned away and started down the alley.
"Did someone tell you I was coming?" Ju-Hai called, his tone forcibly jocular.
Ting spun around, squinting into the darkness. "Who's there?" Her face was pale with shock.
Ju-Hai did not respond. Instead, he simply took another echoing step forward.
"Answer!" Ting commanded, drawing her dagger.
"It's just an old friend," Ju-Hai responded, stepping into the light of her gate lamp. "Why so frightened?"
"Minister!" Ting sighed, pulling the scarf off her face. "What are you doing here on a night like this?"
"Coming to see you. Where are you going on a night like this, dressed like that?" he asked, pointing at
her samfu.
Ting glanced at her dark clothing, then frowned at Ju-Hai. She seemed at a loss for words and clenched
her dagger hilt so tightly that her knuckles went white. For a moment, Ju-Hai feared she would attack him.
Finally, she sheathed her weapon. "To a rendezvous," she said. "With whom is none of your business."
Ju-Hai tapped the tube beneath her shirt. "I'd give a thou-sand silver coins to know what present you're
taking him."
Ting shifted the tube out of his reach. "Is there something you want?"
"Yes," Ju-Hai said. He did not elaborate, for he had in-tended to call on Ting under the pretext of a
social visit. Hav-ing caught her as she was leaving, he needed a better excuse to detain her. He had not yet
thought of one.
"What is it? I'm late as it is."
Ju-Hai glanced down the alley, hoping that Wu was some-where in the dark watching the exchange.
"Unless your rendezvous is with the emperor, this is more important. We'd better go inside."
Ting's irritation disappeared instantly. "Of course, if it's as serious as you say," she said, opening the
gate.
"It is, I assure you." Ju-Hai stepped through the entrance into a small kiosk. To the Minister of State's
surprise, it was empty. "No guard?" he asked.
"I had him sent away for a few minutes," Ting responded.
"Discretion begins at home."
She led Ju-Hai through the black, winding paths of her park. Though he knew Ting kept a man to care
for her gar-den, it seemed overgrown and ominous in the darkness. All sorts of mosses and vines dangled
from tree limbs over-hanging the paths, and the shrubbery was feral and impos-ing in both size and shape.
Ju-Hai felt as though a band of murderous thieves might leap from the brush at any mo-ment. It was just
the sort of place he imagined Ting would find enjoyable.
A few moments later, they reached the main hall. Ting showed Ju-Hai to a couch and summoned a
servant to pour tea, then excused herself to change. A few minutes later, she returned wearing a white
robe brocaded with the pat-tern of the mythical phoenix. Though the loosely fastened robe reached clear to
the floor, it was cut to make the most of Ting's enticing form. It also revealed that she no longer had the
ebony tube with her.
She sat on the couch opposite Ju-Hai and crossed one sculpted leg over the other. "So, Minister, what is
more im-portant than the diversion I had planned?"
Ju-Hai glanced at the servant uncomfortably, as if reluc-tant to speak. He was buying time. Though he
had devel-oped several excuses for calling Ting away from her rendezvous, none seemed particularly
convincing.
The seductive mandarin dismissed the servant, then turned back to Ju-Hai. Her expression was openly
curious. "Well?"
Ju-Hai looked away and sipped his tea. "I don't know how to begin," he said.
Ting raised an eyebrow. "Begin at the beginning, Minister."
Ju-Hai hesitated, asking himself if enough time had passed for Wu to find the ebony tube. Next, he
wondered whether or not the nobleman's daughter had been in the alley and knew what to look for. Finally,
he began to worry that he had misjudged her. It would not be unlikely that her con-cern for her children
would prevent her from risking the emperor's wrath, even to expose a spy.
The minister forced the last thought from his mind. It would do him no good to doubt his plan now. His
only course was to proceed as if Wu had followed him and was even now searching Ting's house. The
more time he bought, the better would be Wu's chance of success.
"This isn't easy for me," Ju-Hai began, setting his tea cup aside and glancing at Ting's willowy legs.
An expression of comprehension crossed the Minister of State Security's face. "Say no more," she said.
"I understand."
"You do?"
"I think so."
Ting rose and stepped around the table. She took Ju-Hai by the wrists and pulled him to his feet, guiding
his hands inside her robe. "Even if my rendezvous had been with the emperor," she said, "I wouldn't have
missed this."
Ju-Hai kissed her. It was a cold, dispassionate kiss, the kind to which he imagined the seductress was
accustomed.
Ting returned the kiss with a warmth and vigor that sur-prised the Minister of State, then turned to lead
the way into her sleeping hall.
Two hours later, Ju-Hai was exhausted. Ting pulled him to-ward her yet again, but he slipped out of the
bed and said, "Enough! I'm an old man. I must conserve my energy."
"Nonsense!" she replied, pulling him back. "Let me rejuv—"
A wall panel slid open, interrupting Ting. The sergeant of her guard rushed into the room. "Minister,
there's been an intruder."
The sergeant noticed Ju-Hai's naked form, then flushed with embarrassment and bowed.
Ting leaped out of bed and grabbed her robe. "Intruder?" she repeated, immodestly dressing right before
the guard's eyes. "Where?"
"The alley entrance," the sergeant reported.
Ting immediately started for the door. Ju-Hai quickly donned his own clothes and followed, catching up
to Ting in the garden. She was firing questions at the sergeant, who could tell her only that the sentry posted
at the gate had been found dead.
At the kiosk, several guards holding lamps stood around their fallen companion. As Ting and Ju-Hai
approached, they backed away. The dead sentry lay sprawled on his back, his chiang-chun at his side.
The polearm's blade was bloody.
"This is how we found him," the sergeant reported.
Ting kneeled and examined the body. When she found no wounds on the chest or head, she angrily
rolled the corpse over and examined its back.
"There are no wounds on this body," she snapped, return-ing to her feet.
"Then this is the intruder's blood," the sergeant con-cluded, picking up the dead man's chiang-chun.
"Yes," Ting replied, taking the polearm and examining the red blade. "Tomorrow, we shall find the
intruder and finish the job."
She glanced at Ju-Hai, then asked, "I wonder why he picked tonight to come?"
"It is a moonless night," Ju-Hai answered. He focused his eyes upon the dead guard, but was thinking of
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