Chapter 4
After my brother left, Mother went to the hills behind the house to practice her sword forms, as usual.
She accidentally kicked off a shoe. She was reaching for it when a fat hand snatched it first.
Prince An leered at her foot and flung the shoe into the river.
“General Shen, is it? A tigress and a mannish one at that—but such delicate, fair feet. Playing with those behind the bed curtains would be a pleasure all its own.”
He approached with a lewd grin.
“My beauty, they say you’ve been a widow for years. You must be starving for it. Let me see to you today.”
Mother sprang up, kicked him to the ground, and beat him mercilessly.
He rolled about in terror, shrieking and pleading.
“Mercy, my lady! I was wrong! I’m a wretch, a filthy wretch!”
Mother glared at him.
“Lay hands on another woman, and I’ll make you wish you’d never been born!”
I happened to arrive with her meal. Seeing him, I felt uneasy.
“Mother, I’ve seen him abduct women in the street. A wastrel like that will ruin your reputation if you let him leave.”
She picked a leaf out of my hair. “Then what should we do?”
“Kill him.”
She stared at me, stunned.
I spoke as calmly as though analyzing a game.
“He has done enough evil to deserve death many times over. His connections are so powerful that even the authorities can’t touch him. No one’s around, and he came alone. I’ll dispose of the body afterward. There won’t be any evidence.”
Prince An was petrified. He knocked his head against the ground, tears streaming down his face.
“Please, please! I know I was wrong. My grandmother—she’s seventy. She loves me so much. If she hears I’m dead, she’ll die too. Please…”
Mother hesitated.
“He’s a living person, not a Go stone. You can’t just decide to kill him.”
She had treated me as her own for years. I had never defied her.
And so I hesitated too.
At that moment, Prince An’s round body bounced up like a ball. He took to his heels and was gone.
His father was the chancellor; his elder sister, Noble Consort An. Born into such an illustrious family, he had never suffered a beating or humiliation like this.
He nursed his hatred and planned his revenge.
After that day, obscene rumors about Mother filled Chang’an’s streets, taverns, and teahouses.
“I always said a woman couldn’t be a general! She must have worked her way through every tent in the army. Kept all the men happy, and they gave her the rank!”
“Ha! One day I’ll take a packet of aphrodisiac into her bedchamber and find out how she bewitches men with those feet!”
“You know how to enjoy yourself. Let’s all go together!”
“A woman showing her feet in broad daylight? Shameless! Pah!”
The slander was unbearable. Rage and distress overwhelmed Mother; she fell ill and sank into an unconscious sleep.
When my brother heard, he obtained leave and hurried home from the frontier, traveling day and night to lodge a complaint on her behalf. I helped him gather evidence.
Noble Consort An was frightened when she learned of it.
If the junior general himself made a formal complaint, she would never be able to protect her brother.
So she conspired with her father’s household to fabricate evidence of rebellion and brought the accusation to the emperor before my brother could act.
Pei Chengxing flew into a rage and ordered the entire Shen household put to death.
The emperor’s anger meant bloodshed. Everything changed in an instant.
My brother never reached the capital, never lodged his complaint. They detained him at a relay station and cut off his head.
The executioners were already at our gates. Wails filled the house.
Mother dragged herself up, weakened by illness, and stared out the window.
“Jianqing, you are the finest player, the cleverest person I know. You’ve never been wrong. I was wrong. We should have killed him that day.”
Tears ran down her face.
“We should have killed him.”
With the hand that had placed Go stones for so many years, I wiped away her tears and fought down the pain in my chest.
“Mother, a kind heart is a treasure. You did nothing wrong. Prince An is to blame. Noble Consort An is to blame. The emperor is to blame!”
I tried to say more, but Mother suddenly raised her hand and struck the back of my neck.
I crumpled into her arms.
Her voice became calm and decisive, as though she were General Shen once more, issuing orders on the battlefield.
“Nanny Xu, when a sovereign commands a subject’s death, the subject must die. My time has come. Jianqing’s has not. Take her out through the secret passage. I’ve already lost a son. I will not lose a daughter too.”
Mother was a rough woman, unused to tender blessings. At the last, she only stroked my hair.
“Jianqing, don’t hate. Live a happy life.”
Two days later, I woke in a carriage fleeing toward the frontier.
It was all over.
The entire household had been executed. Mother’s and my brother’s heads hung outside the city gate.
Noble Consort An, credited with thwarting rebellion, had been made empress. The people adored her; her fame spread far and wide.
I knocked the driver unconscious with a blow and took the reins myself, turning the carriage toward Chang’an.
Mother. Brother. I am the finest Go player there is.
For you, I will enter the board myself—and play this game.