26
Prince Gong’s Mansion, 1898
One day in May, I received a note from Hulan asking me to come to Prince Gong’s mansion immediately. It was a note I had been dreading. The prince had completely withdrawn from palace life after the war with Japan and it was well known that his health was not good. I wanted to remember my prince as I had once known him – strong, brave, and smart. The man who should have been emperor. Seeing him wither over the last decades had been hard for both of us. It hurt his pride for me to see him weaken. It hurt my heart to watch from a distance as he had become a shell of the man he once was. But I went.
I took a donkey cart from the West Gate of the Forbidden City to Prince Gong’s mansion. When I arrived, the servants were expecting me. They helped me from my cart and led me inside to a sitting room where my daughter and Lady Yun were waiting for me.
My daughter came up and took my hand and led me to sit beside her. “He has been asking for you,” she explained.
“Is it soon?” I asked.
Lady Yun nodded. “Any day now. He has been getting his affairs in order. His mind is slow, but clear.”
“What will happen to all of you?” I asked.
“The daughters who are old enough are to be married as soon as possible,” Lady Yun said. “The women who have families willing to take them in are to return to them, but with some money so they are not a burden. His first wife, Lady Guwalgiya, and her oldest son will stay here. The other boys will set up their own households or go to school.”
“And what of you two?” I asked. “And Arsalan?”
“Some of us women who have nowhere to go will set up our own household together,” Lady Yun said. “We are looking for a suitable dwelling.”
“I am hoping to open a shop,” Hulan said. “I want to sell my embroidery. I could sell yours too, Mother.”
I nodded. “That is a satisfactory situation,” I said. And indeed it was. For the women to be free to live alone and as they wished for the rest of their days, not forced into the homes of someone else or into nunneries, would be a splendid retirement.
Hulan agreed. “Arsalan will be going to school in America,” she said.
“But he is so young!” I said. He was only eight years old.
“I know, and it pains me to be separated from him, but the dowager empress is sponsoring his education. She is sending many young men to study abroad, but unlike the other boys, Arsalan didn’t apply and I didn’t request her aid. She sent one of her representatives to make the arrangements. She thinks all the boys will come back someday and be of great use to the empire, to help propel it into the modern age.”
“I know what the empress thinks,” I said. “But she should also know the dangers of separating a boy from his mother. Just look at…”
“Shush! Mother,” Hulan interrupted. “You shouldn’t say such things. Even here.” She glanced around. Just like in the Forbidden City, there were spies everywhere, even if you couldn’t see them. Who knew to whom Prince Gong’s wife was beholden to in the palace. Hulan lowered her voice. “I think she fears for Arsalan’s safety without his grandfather here to protect him.”
“Why?” I asked. “What does she fear?”
“I don’t know exactly,” Hulan said. “But who knows how many people know who he really is. I think she is sending him abroad both as a protection and for his education. I think she believes that he could be an important man in the Manchu court when he grows up.”
“What does Prince Gong think about this?” I asked.
“He agrees it is for the best. Even if Arsalan never comes back to China, the boy is exceptionally bright. He will greatly benefit from a Western education.”
“What do you mean, if he never comes back to China?” I asked.
Hulan shrugged. “The empress dowager is old and the emperor is impotent. Who knows what will happen.”
With that, a servant appeared and announced that the prince was awake and was asking for me.
Hulan led me to Prince Gong’s room, but didn’t enter with me. The room was dark and smoky from incense. There was a servant present, helping Prince Gong drink some water, but she left when I entered. I went to the prince’s side and sat on a stool by his bed. He smiled at me and motioned for me to take his hand. I held it with both of mine.
“I am glad to see you,” he said.
“As am I,” I said. “I have missed you at court.”
“I am glad someone does.”
“Everyone does.”
“No, they miss the old me, the man I used to be. Not the useless one I have become.”
“Hush,” I said.
“Yaqian,” he said. “I didn’t want to die without seeing you one more time.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I just held his hand tighter.
“I love you,” he said.
“I know,” I replied.
“You will not lie to me now, not on my deathbed?”
“I have never lied to you,” I said. “I would not start now.”
“Has there ever been anyone else for you?”
“What a thing to ask of me now,” I said. “Why would you ask me that?”
“It would be comforting to know that I am the only man you have ever loved, have ever laid with.”
“You have been with many women,” I said. “You have more wives and concubines than I can count.”
He coughed as he laughed. “Men are more fragile than women. They need exclusive devotion from a whole flock of women to feel powerful.”
I smiled at that. “No, My Prince. I have never loved or laid with another.”
“Not even my brother?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, not as you and I had. He only wanted my feet.”
“You gave me a beautiful daughter, Yaqian.”
“I am glad that you find delight in her.”
“I do, Yaqian. I told you many years ago that she was the one daughter I was happy to have. There were no expectations for her. And in my graying years, I didn’t have to marry her away. She and her lovely boy have brought me great happiness.”
Even though a part of me wished I could have lived with the prince and my daughter as a family all these years, it was my choice not to leave my empress, and I didn’t regret it. I was happy in the palace. But if I couldn’t be part of the prince’s family, I was glad Hulan was. I wasn’t part of their family, but I helped create it. That was enough for me.
“I have heard about the arrangements you have made for them.”
“Do they please you?” he asked.
“They do,” I said. “I am sad the boy is leaving, but it seems to be for the best.”
“It is. The boy has a valuable heritage. Even if no one knows about him being the son of the emperor, he is my grandson, the great-grandson of The Daoguang Emperor. He has the blood of the Dragon. He must be protected.” He was getting worked up and started to cough.
“Shush,” I said, helping him drink some water. “He will be fine. Do not fear.”
“I do fear,” he said as he leaned back on his pillow. “And I fear for you. There, in the drawer.” He pointed to a small table across the room. “Inside, there is paper with a name and address.”
I went across the room and found the paper. It was written in characters I had never seen before. “I can’t read it,” I said. The prince motioned for me to return to his side.
“Marion Keswick,” he said. “She is the daughter of Harry Parkes.”
“The man from the dungeon?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “He died here in Peking, but his daughter is still here. Well, sometimes. Her husband’s family has business in Hong Kong. If anything happens, Yaqian, if you are ever in any danger, contact her and she will help you.”
“Oh, my love,” I said. “I am sure we will be fine. The empire will be fine. The empress is strong.”
“Just in case,” he said as he reached for my hand again.
I held his hand in mine for a long time.
My prince left this world three days later.