Centuries

Chapter 6

 I looked at the pond. There was nothing in it, save for the few tadpoles. But all around me was a strange kind of music, which sounded like chimes. The notes seemed to dance in the air and I followed them, listening intently to the melody. There was also the melody of a zither, almost like the tune that Fangyu had played when I first met her. Wait. Of course it was the tune she'd played the first time I'd seen her. I focused on the tune, and the pool rippled. It began to reflect what was happening in the mortal world. I wasn't ready for what I saw, but I knew that I had to see it.

I was looking at Fangyu, who was seated next to her father. She was kneeling and bowed, while her father merely kneeled. The matchmaker was lecturing them.

"This match does not come easily. The Duke of Wen is looking for a second wife, and he is eyeing her. After all, Lord Dong, someone of your social standing would be buffeted by such a match."

"I agree, Madam Li."

"This is your last chance. All of the other matches that I have arranged for you have failed. Do you know what happened to my reputation?" The matchmaker had raised her voice and waved her arms. It was a ridiculous sight and I laughed, but I was not truly there, no, not really.

"If the match does not go well," Madam Li screamed, "then that's it. You will be a spinster! No one in this town will help you find a husband!"

Fangyu bit her lip. Somehow, she was smart enough to keep mum, but I imagined a million other cheeky comebacks that she could have said, and I saw that her fingers had twitched, ever so slightly. I imagined her losing all control, shrieking and trying to claw at the matchmaker, but it didn't happen. Perhaps I didn't know her well enough, or perhaps, she knew that she had no choice. Somehow, that saddened me. I knew what I had to do, and I was uncomfortable with it. But I had to try.

*

"Lord Yi requests an audience with Lord Dong!" one of the attendants announced. I sat in my sedan, and watched as my attendants, all bureaucrats from the Netherworld, but were disguised as my servants, brought me into the courtyard. This would be unheard of. An important man like Lord Dong would have scheduled many meetings. I was interrupting his schedule, and his servants made sure I knew it by turning up their noises as my sedan ambled into his living quarters.

My attendants placed the sedan on the floor and I stepped out of it. No one came to greet me, a deliberate insult on Lord Dong's part. But perhaps that toady, Li Xu, also told Lord Dong about me, which was why I could not gain his favour. I wandered around, asking if anyone was around, and then, finally, a servant sauntered over to meet me.

"I seek Lord Dong's audience," I said.

"Lord Dong is busy," the manservant replied, "surely someone as esteemed as yourself would know to have made an appointment?"

"True, but I have come on an urgent matter."

"And, pray tell, what would it be?"

"I would like to inquire if Lord Dong's daughter has yet to be wed. I am requesting her hand in marriage."

At this, the servant looked at me up and down, as if to ask if I was joking. Seeing that my face was still serious, he scurried away. A few minutes passed, but suddenly, I was given the treatment a nobleman deserved. Other servants showed mine to their temporary quarters, while Lord Dong's attendant escorted me to the master's private chambers. I walked past the many corridors of his estate, being reminded of the night that I first met Fangyu, and then, I was shown to a lavish room.

"Lord Dong will see you now," the attendant said, and escorted me in.

It was clear that Lord Dong was wealthy, with a large mural of a crane hanging above his head. His chairs were made of the finest wood in the lands, and the teacup on his table depicted dragons that were carved from very fine artisans. He stared at me as though I was a fly. I stood my ground. No mortal was going to intimidate me.