The Yellow Silk - Don Bassingthwaite [33]
"Yes."
"Master Kuang did the same with the appeal he presented to you this morning. If I asked you to tell me right now in the same detail what happened to you yesterday morning, could you?" Li saw Mard look to Vanyan in confusion, but Tycho gave neither of them time to reply. "I didn't think so." He looked to the magistrate as well. "The same thing happened with Master Kuang, sir. He perfected a limited speech, but was flustered when Captain Dantakain began to challenge his appeal for help. Please, sir, I'm afraid Captain Dantakain has overestimated Master Kuang's comprehension."
The magistrate's eyes narrowed. "Indeed." He turned to Li. "Master Kuang, have you understood what is happening here?"
Both Tycho and Mard turned to look at him as well. Li swallowed again and cursed silently. Tycho's mouth was twitching just slightly. Was that supposed to mean yes or no? It seemed as if Tycho wanted him to play dumb. "No," he said, guessing.
Tycho winced. Vanyan sat back. "The elf-blood understands enough to know that he does not understand. It seems to me his exchange with the captain this morning was less complex than what takes place in this chamber. Lack of comprehension does not strike me as sufficient excuse for his behavior."
"Sir, he was also confused," Tycho replied quickly. "He had by his own admission just been savagely robbed and was also, I have learned, desperately hungry. In that state, he was focused on only one thing and would say anything to obtain it. I believe if you test him further, you'll find that even the basic comprehension you assume is lacking." The magistrate frowned and look at Li again.
"What is my name?" he said slowly and with emphasis. Tycho turned as well. This time his eyes flicked over his shoulder and toward the dais. His right hand made a tight shaking motion. No, a rapping motion.
Li put on a pleasant smile and bowed. "Your name is Respect," he said in an accent so thick it made him cringe. "Respect the Magistrate!"
The guards chuckled immediately. On the dais, Dorth slammed his rod down. "Respect for the magistrate!" he said automatically and flushed. In response, Li folded his arms and bent in an even deeper bow.
"Respect the Magistrate!" he repeated.
"No, respect for him!" Dorth pointed desperately at Vanyan. "Respect him".
"Yes," Li agreed. "He is Respect. Respect the Magistrate!"
Dorth was practically shaking with frustration. Mard was red. The guards were desperately trying to hold in laughter. Even the magistrate seemed amused. Tycho was suppressing a smile. "That's enough," he told Li in Shou. "They got the point."
"If we get out of this," replied Li in a pleasant tone, "I'm going to beat you senseless."
"I'll worry about that later. Pretend I'm telling you Vanyan's real name now."
Li changed his smile to an expression of surprise and horror, bent into the deepest bow yet, and switched back to Common. "I am very sorry, honored sir. Your name is Vanyan. Vanyan the Magistrate. I am very sorry."
"You see, sir?" Tycho told the magistrate. "And this morning he didn't properly understand what Captain Dantakain was saying to him either. When the captain asked him if he was an ambassador from Shou, he completely misunderstood. He is in fact a member of the Shou imperial bureaucracy and so it could be said that he does represent Shou Lung. He called on Captain Dantakain because it seemed proper at the time to go to the most senior member of the Guard. And in his confused state, he mistook me for someone else. When I replied that I didn't know him, he took my words for an insult and was justifiably very angry. It was all just a misunderstanding. Indeed, we have already made our peace." Tycho clapped an arm amiably around Li's shoulder's.
Mard Dantakain practically exploded. "Now hold on," he sputtered. "That's not right!" He thrust a finger at Li. "Magistrate, I swear to you that when I talked to this man this morning, he absolutely understood everything I said. Everything! And