Empress Orchid - Anchee Min [167]
“Here, take our jewelry,” I said. “Take it all and let us go!”
But the men wanted none of it. They jumped us and tied us with ropes. They stuck wads of cloth in our mouths and blindfolded us.
I was inside a jute sack, tied to a pole and carried on men’s shoulders. The blindfold fell off during my struggle, although my mouth was still stuffed with cloth. I could see light through the coarse weave of the sack. The men walked jerkily downward through the hills, and I guessed that they were not bandits, who would have had strong legs for rough terrain like this.
I had trusted that Prince Kung would protect us, but it seemed that Su Shun had outwitted him. There was no way I could escape if this was meant to be.
I believed that Nuharoo had a chance to live, but did Tung Chih? How amazingly easy it was for Su Shun to conduct a coup d’état! No army, no weapons, not a drop of blood shed, just a few men dressed as bandits. Our government was a paper dragon made only for parades. The Era of Well-Omened Happiness was a joke. How would Emperor Hsien Feng like it now that Su Shun revealed what he was made of!
Branches beat against the sack. In darkness I searched for sounds of Tung Chih. There was nothing. Was I to be executed? I dared not allow myself to reflect on anything. Based on the angle of the pole, I could tell that the ground had become less steep.
Without warning I was dropped and knocked into something like a tree stump. My head hit a hard surface and the pain was excruciating. I heard men talking, then heavy steps approaching. I was dragged through dry leaves and tossed into what felt like a ditch.
The cloth in my mouth was soaked with saliva and it finally fell out. I dared not scream for help, fearing they would come and finish me sooner. I tried to prepare myself for the worst, but a crushing feeling came over me: I can’t die without knowing where Tung Chih is! I tried to tear the sack with my teeth, but with my hands tied behind me it was hopeless.
I heard footsteps over the dry leaves. Someone approached and stopped next to me. I tried to move my legs and get into a better position to defend myself from inside the sack, but they were tied too.
I could hear the sound of a man’s breathing.
“For the sake of Heaven, spare my son!” I cried out and then cringed. I imagined his knife slashing the sack and the cold metal ripping into my flesh.
It didn’t come. Instead I heard more footsteps and the clash of metal weapons. There was a muted cry, and then something, a body, fell on me.
For a moment there was quiet. Then in the distance came the sound of hooves and shouting men.
I couldn’t make up my mind whether to remain silent or call out for help. What if they were Su Shun’s men who had come to make sure I was dead? But what if they were Prince Kung’s men? How would I get anyone to pay attention to a jute sack lying in a ditch under a body?
“Tung Chih! Tung Chih!” I screamed.
A moment later a knife slashed open the sack and I was breathing in the sunlight.
Holding the knife was a soldier in the uniform of the Imperial Guards. He stood in front of me, stunned. “Your Majesty!” He threw himself on the ground.
Removing the ropes from my arms and legs, I told him, “Rise and tell me who sent you.”
The soldier rose and pointed behind him. A few yards away, a man on a horse turned his head.
“Yung Lu!”
He dismounted and dropped to his knees.
“I was almost a ghost!” I cried. “Or am I already one?”
“Speak, so I will know, Your Majesty,” said Yung Lu.
I broke down.
“Your Majesty,” he murmured, “it is Heaven’s will that you survived.” He wiped sweat from his forehead.
I tried to climb out of the ditch, but my knees betrayed me and I collapsed.
He took me by the arm.
The touch of his hand made me sob like a child. “I could have been a hungry ghost,” I said. “I have had little sleep, nothing to eat the whole day, not a drop of water to drink. I am not even dressed properly. My shoes are gone. If I had met the Imperial ancestors, they would have been too embarrassed to receive me.”
He squatted