Becoming Madame Mao - Anchee Min [57]
Outside the guards are finishing loading the car. Little Dragon piles up the last documents, stuffing them into bags.
Moonlight shoots through the cracked ceiling. The brick bed is covered with dirt. His hands come to strip her. She pushes them away, but it doesn't stop him.
You debt-seeking demon, she cries.
Their limbs entangle. She feels his leaping and charging.
Like a dry chrysanthemum in a hot tea mug, she feels herself swelling and fattening by seconds.
I am a mythological pillar born to hold up the heavens, he roars. But without you I can only be a chopstick.
Down! Little Dragon shouts. It is followed by an explosion in the near distance.
Mao laughs with his pants at his ankles. Whoever you are, you missed me again! Japanese or Chiang Kai-shek! You smell the fun too? Oh, I love the shake of the earth, Chiang Kai-shek! You don't deserve your reputation! You have promised the world to wipe me out in three months. Look what fun I am having! You are a pregnant woman who screams about contractions but delivers no baby!
Is the Chairman ready yet? Little Dragon calls from outside. For his safety the Chairman has to move on!
Finally the lovers pull themselves out of the bed. Mao lights a cigarette and inhales deeply.
Outside Little Dragon hurries.
Shall we—? Before Lan Ping completes her sentence another bomb explodes. Half of the ceiling falls. Lan Ping screams.
Still like a mountain Mao keeps smoking. Little Dragon! he finally calls.
The bodyguards rush in. They pick up maps and blankets. Little Dragon throws the documents into a burning pan and collects Mao's last few books from the shelf.
Come with me? Mao asks the girl.
In tears she tells him that she can't possibly think straight right now. She needs time to decide.
Come on, the horses are impatient.
I ... She is unable to make herself say that she first wants a promise.
Are you coming or not? Mao extinguishes his cigarette and stands up.
But Zi-zhen ... she manages to say.
Mao cries, For heaven's sake! You have looted my heart! Rock by rock you have taken my cities down! Grace me, girl, I promise to make you as happy as you have made me.
In choking smoke Lan Ping watches the last plate of documents burn into ashes. Mao takes off his coat and covers her shoulders. He escorts her into his car while Little Dragon and the guards trash the cave. They tear down all the curtains, smash the furniture and water jars. They shout, We'll leave you nothing, Chiang Kai-shek! Absolutely nothing!
Sitting beside her lover the girl is touched by the operatic quality of her life. Events transform in front of her eyes. On the stage of her mind, Mao becomes the modern King-of-Shang and she his lover, Lady Yuji. She sees herself follow the king. Ever since she was a little girl it has been her dream to play Lady Yuji. She was a devoted fan of the opera Farewell My Concubine. She loves the moment when Yuji stabs herself before the king to prove her love. The character is in her beautiful silk gown, wearing a hat encrusted with pearls.
11
IT IS IN MAO'S CAVE that the girl learns politics. She learns that Chiang Kai-shek has recently increased the price for Mao's head. It frightens her and at the same time flatters her. She learns that Japan's invasion has deepened and China's provinces have been falling into the enemies' hands one after another. She learns that not long ago one of Chiang's generals, Zhang Xue-liang, initiated a rebellion during which he took Chiang hostage and brought him to the Communists. The Communist Politburo intended to kill him; Mao, however, proposed a negotiation.
It's a good opportunity to show the masses that our benevolence is beyond any personal grudge, Mao says, setting his eyes on pushing the Communist Party toward acceptance as China's major political force. In exchange for his life, Chiang agrees to resist Japan and unite with the Communists.
At home, Mao gains control over the Politburo. He selects his own cabinet members and attacks those who try