“Are you okay?” NgGung asked.
“I thought so,” Seh replied. “But now I’m not so sure. Feel the ground. Am I imagining things?”
NgGung knelt and rested his hand on the soft shore. His brow furrowed, and he ran several paces away from the water to firmer, drier ground, placing
his ear against the earth.
“What is it?” Seh asked. “An earthquake?” NgGung lifted his head, and Seh saw that his face
had turned deathly pale in the moonlight. “No. It’s an army.”
Long stood inside the Emperor’s suite, peering out one of the windows into the moonlit surroundings. The Emperor’s palace was one of the tallest structures within the Forbidden City, and the suite was situated at the very top of the palace. It afforded a clear view of most of the complex.
Next to Long, Xie stared out of a second window. Across the room, Ying stared out of a third. As Wuya had said, there were soldiers positioned everywhere, including on the roof looking down over the windows. Long could see their shadows in the moonlight.
Long felt betrayed by Wuya. He could not even imagine how Xie must feel.
Together, Long and Xie watched Wuya and Tonglong advance through gate after gate on their way toward the Emperor’s palace. With them were four of Tonglong’s soldiers in red, each carrying one corner of a large crate. Long remembered aloud Hok saying that she’d seen the Emperor being loaded into a crate, and Ying added that ShaoShu had told him a similar story. Long could not imagine anyone being caged in that, especially the Emperor.
Outside the Forbidden City, there was activity, too. All three of them had seen something that looked like fireflies next to the canal in the distance; muzzle flashes from muskets or pistols. They also saw bursts of flame from cannons, and heard their distinctive booms.
It seemed likely that Tonglong’s men were engaging one of their enemies, but Long did not know which one. He assumed it was the bandits, because it was a smaller-scale attack, and he hoped to learn more if Wuya and Tonglong came to them. Wuya had communicated with many different soldiers as they walked, and he was sure to know what was going on. Whatever it was was obviously of little concern to Wuya or Tonglong in the safety of the Forbidden City, for both of them continued their march in the direction of the palace.
Suddenly there was an enormous explosion at the battle scene. A huge ball of fire rose into the sky, and Tonglong and Wuya turned to watch it for a moment. In the moonlight, Long could see that Tonglong was laughing heartily. Wuya did not appear to react in any manner. He just turned back toward the palace and continued walking.
“Xie,” Long said. “What do you think Wuya and Tonglong are up to?”
“It seems obvious that Wuya has sold himself and his loyalty to Tonglong,” Xie replied.
“Yes,” Long said, “but why keep the Emperor alive? How come Tonglong does not just seize the throne?”
“He might have been able to do that with his army and an outright assault on the Forbidden City, but in a political takeover such as Tonglong is attempting there must be substantial documentation. I suspect they are keeping the Emperor alive because Tonglong needs the imperial seals. The Emperor keeps them hidden, and only he knows the hiding place.”
“Couldn’t Tonglong just make new seals?” Ying asked.
“He could, but it would require finding a master seal maker and then waiting months for all of them to be duplicated from previously sealed documents. Tonglong does not appear to be a very patient man.”
“You have no idea how impatient and obsessive he can be,” Ying said. “Xie, you are the Emperor’s personal bodyguard. Where do you think he keeps his seals?”
“My best guess would be somewhere in this room.”
“What?” Ying said, stepping away from the window. “That means Tonglong and Wuya are probably coming here right now! We need to get ready.”
“There is nothing to get ready for,” Xie said. “We will have to take things as they come. If the opportunity to fight presents itself, we shall. However, this is highly unlikely. There are three thousand Forbidden City soldiers out there, and they all report to Wuya. We can’t fight that. Besides, Wuya will never present himself as a target. He carries two pistols that hold two shots each. They are of the finest quality, and he is the best shot in China. How do you think he came to be the head of security?”
“I will take my chances,” Ying said, glancing around. “I spent a little time in one of the Emperor’s prisons. I will never go back. Death is preferable.” His eyes locked on the main suite door, and he hurried over to it, then ran his fingers along the wall around it. Here, the wall was made up of small decorative bricks. Ying removed his boots, and Long saw that his toenails were extraordinarily long, just like the nails on his fingers.