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Chapter Twenty Two: China on the move
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Beijing – Palace of Imperial Purity
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Eighth month of the year 4509
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- Yes, ô my Nightly Ruler, what can this humble servant do for you at this unholy hour of the night?
Yonglin couldn't help but laugh at Zongsan's polite grumbling at the other side of the telephone.
The 'invited' technician had been a real boon and the Imperial Palace had now what he called a standard with ten different lines –aka possibilities for the inhabitants to annoy each other from a distance-.
- My generals just took me up for quite a long time and since what they claim is exactly what you have pretended for years now, I've decided to speed up what I call 'Plan Family Reunion' with a few unexpected adds we haven't yet spoken of.
The grumbling disappeared from Zongsan's voice, it was still a little sleep blurred but he soon would be totally awake.
- What sort of adds? Hopefully none that includes me as a part of the journey? You remember that I'm essential here, ô my Impatient and Lonely Ruler?
Yonglin's smile was easily discernible in his voice.
- I do know that, ô my very useful Servant, but I've looked at your little group of trusted administrators and I have come to the conclusion that what you have put into place is working quite efficiently and should be able to survive a few weeks of absence of the mind that's behind it.
This time Zongsan's voice was of the whining quality he had learned could influence the Son of Heaven.
- I will admit that what has already been launched will come to fruition even if I'm not present physically, but I was on the verge of launching the first recruiting campaign for physicists and mathematicians. It cannot be delayed, or we will lose… even more years!
Yonglin's smile disappeared from his voice.
- And you will go on with it, but you will launch it in London where you will hire as many as possible of the batch of mathematicians and physicists that LIT will graduate next month. You'll be there and you'll propose posts for as many of them as you can get! And they will teach those students who will, next year come out of your Beijing High Schools.
There had been a pause on the line.
- You want me to go to London?
- That's what I said. I want you to go to London, hire as much students in as many scientific disciplines as you see fit. Next month there will be hundreds of students that will have ended their curricula. And not all of them will find employment immediately. Or should I say that I want you to be sure that every single one of them gets a job?
- Every one of them? There will be female students, ô my Harsh and not always Sensible Ruler. I doubt our society is ready to see female scientists teaching to male audiences. All my students will be male… I never…
- Begin looking for smart female students then! We will need everyone who has a brain pulling the Empire in the right direction.
There was a silence on the line. Yonglin thinking and Zangson praying to his ancestors.
- But I must admit that female teachers won't do for now, you have a point. It could even be looked at as a chance. If we take only the male students we won't take over every available graduates. They shouldn't be too miffed.
Zangson made a quick reckoning of what he knew about the LIT. There should be between thirty and forty percent of the students who were females. A lot of females with brains had chosen the scientific careers. A lot of available posts and no old-fashioned males blocking the entry.
It could be feasible.
- We won't get all male students, some of them will already have contracts.
- A contract can be bought back, I'm sure. I have made a huge deposit in the Bank of England to ensure that I can pay what I need to buy, you'll have the power to drain on it if necessary.
There was a silence.
- You are allowed to use it for personal expenditures, but I really hope you will be reasonable. I trust you, don't show me that I was wrong…
- If I stay here, there will be no chance at all to see me waste your money, ô Light of the East…
- Stop complaining, my friend. Your mission is probably the most important mission a Public Servant has been charged with in the last five centuries. And since you are, with me, the only one who understands the stakes involved, you are the only one who will be able to succeed. Go to London with Sunteu and whoever else you need to do your job and hire every male student who has graduated. Offer them salaries even the Company cannot afford or if they are already taken buy their contracts back because those will be the good ones, promise them fine and luxurious lodgings and discreetly and in a manner that does not provoke the ire of native females or religious authorities propose them free female company for the duration of their stay. It worked quite well with MacIntosh, he seems to find the arrangement quite pleasant.
- Those Westerners' attitude towards sex is quite baffling, my King, I must admit. They frown at everything with a sexual context but nevertheless their males jump at every occasion to do what their religion forbids.
- Let them deal with their religious leaders when they come back, we will just use their dubious morality for our own gain.
- What if some of said students are married?
- Forget the female company proposition and offer better housings and servants. Wives love great houses and servants to order around. Once here we will see if another non wifish female company would be appreciated. Servants come under many shapes.
- You really seem sure about that, Your Majesty.
- I'm sure, Zangson my friend, I've spent the last eight hours discussing military deployment and military forces and the conclusions are not pleasant at all. In a few sad words: we've lost our edge! We are no longer a heavy weight in military matters. I still have the most numerous armies, but my weapons are obsolete in a way I was unable to really imagine. We've got movies taken by the French during their assaults against the Zulu and it had scared the shit out of every general who's seen the footage. The Zulu warriors were so numerous that the plain was packed, and the French Heavy Gunboats just exterminated them from above.
Zangson could here the desperate sigh on the phone.
- We have perhaps still a chance to submerge Russia's army in Siberia, but we will win by smothering them with our soldiers' blood! And I don't like that at all! We need those factories as soon as possible and we need those teachers now or we will never again have a chance to play with the grown-ups.
- I understand, I'll begin immediately to prepare the journey. Will I be authorized to have my wife accompanying me?
- If she agrees and you want her with you, no problem with me. But isn't she pregnant?
- Her fourth month, indeed. But with those new luxurious airships journeying is no longer a real problem. I suppose we will have an airship?
- I've booked the passenger deck on the Malaysian airship I have summoned for next week with the next telephone delivery. It will transport you to Calcutta where you'll have to take places on the regular Calcutta-London line. If, once in England, you can hire an airship for your displacements, do it as soon as possible. I want you to be independent from regular lines. Once in England look if there's a possibility to buy transportation airships. If possible, modern ones.
- It should be possible if I have enough money. But it will cost us…
- Look at it as an investment. We are still filthy rich but if we don't hop on the right airship soon, we will be tomorrow's paupers.
Zangson nodded. Yonglin was right, they needed to speed everything up.
- And make yourself available tomorrow morning, my friend, it's high time to explain to my new agent what her job will be in England. You speak English, don't you?
There was another silence.
- I read English but I've never ever said a word or listened to a native speaker. I'm not sure I'm adequate for that mission.
- You'll have to learn quickly, but that is a real problem. It means that I'm about to change Miss Sumter's contract with us. I hope she's ready to change her mind…
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Beijing – Forbidden City, Imperial Gardens
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Eighth month of the year 4509
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- I see you walk almost normally…
Ru Sunteu turned around and was quite amazed to see everybody around her, save Kathleen who just bowed deeply, literally throw themselves on the ground.
- You should do the same, my dear Miss Ru, added the man in golden and red silk, or it could be considered as a crime of lèse-majesté and I'll have to call my executioner and there would be blood everywhere and I'm quite sure it would have unhoped for repercussions..
She had no problems to accept the man's words and made no problems to kowtow like the others. She knew that wives and concubines weren't treated the same way as Eunuchs or Public Servants but she was more or less an inmate, so she decided that flat on the ground was a perfect compromise.
- Please stand up, we are in the Imperial Gardens, protocol is laxer under trees.
Yonglin made a little hand gesture and the Eunuchs and Guards vanished like thin air.
Only Kathleen and a man whose behavior and clothes decried him as a High-Level Imperial Servant stayed.
- Meet Ron Zongsan, the Imperial Adviser for Science and Technology.
Both women bowed, Sun a little deeper than Kat. She wasn't a guest after all.
- Ru Sunteu and Kathleen Sumter…
Zongsan bowed in the women's direction. He was the equivalent of a Minister and he could have made a little head bow but he knew that at least one of the women facing him was very important for China's future and would very soon become a recognized member of the English Aristocracy. Perhaps even a member of the Chinese Aristocracy. If a little bow could smooth their future relations, she was welcome to it…
- Please follow me, said Emperor Yonglin, we have to speak.
He moved northwards towards the Island Bush.
- Let's go sit in the shade of the cascade, I've ordered drinks and rolls, it will be more comfortable while we make decisions.
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- So, this is my father?
She was looking at the picture of a long-nose with grey –or perhaps green- eyes. He was, when considering Chinese men, ugly, brutish and threatening looking. But she could recognize her shin and her ears while looking at her father.
- Indeed, it is him and it will be your mission to remind him, also thanks to your existence, that once upon a time he was one of us.
- If I must judge at the way the Chinese treated me he was probably never treated like one of us.
Yonglin nodded his agreement.
The girl was indeed smart and, whatever she thought, she wasn't ugly at all. He would have to think about a way to include her in the Imperial Harem. He had already, of course, a first wife and a few concubines, but there was still room for a second Imperial wife. Having her sire him a son would be interesting in more than one aspect. Gifts jumped a generation it was said. He would like to have a military genius for a son. And China would like it even more considering the world that was emerging around her.
- He was away for more than twenty years and seeing you will remind him of your mother and the pleasant part of his sojourn with us. It has been said that he dreams in Chinese. That is proof that his soul remained with us. It will be your mission to bring him over those deplorable past misunderstandings.
Sun nodded while looking at the other pictures.
Her half-brother was indeed an Emperor too. His sister, her half-sister, was about to become the Empress –or whatever her real title the Mountain Barbarians did use- of the Kazakhs and her other Half-sister was about to marry the heir to the most powerful military Empire currently present on Earth.
Let's speak of discovering an interesting family.
She paged back to the pictures –there were a lot of them and certain more or less scandalous- of his father's first wife. She was indeed, even for a long nose, beautiful. But she was more than that.
- You're sure that she will welcome me?
- Of course, she will, she has greeted Loudiv, your father's second daughter and made her a welcomed member of the family. She will do the same for you and you'll have access to the most famous family in the world.
- You want me to spy on them?
- No, I don't.
And she could hear that he was telling the truth.
- I want you to be China's voice with them. You are one of us even if we haven't shown you that we liked you. But so be it, we, as a culture, are not renowned to be very sympathetic. We, as a people, are arrogant and pompous racists who have convinced ourselves for centuries that what was existing outside our borders was not only not worth our attention but too barbaric to be able to offer anything to us.
He sighed and soon his smile was back.
Quite a cute smile indeed.
- We were partially wrong, at least about the part where there was nothing we could find there. I count on you to convince these few particularly important people that we are about to change and that they will in the future find in us trustworthy partners.
Sun looked him in the eyes.
- Will they?
- I'm no Pythia, my dear, and should I disappear, everything could change. But I'm here, I'm at the steering wheel and I want China to become a real and active part of the world.
He sniffed.
- Of course, I want also to see my beloved land stay an important world power.
He pointed at the book she was filing through.
- And these people, your family, are the key that could warrant China's future as a world power. I don't want you to spy on their secrets, I want you to convince them that we are worthy partners and potential friends.
Sun's eyes sparkled.
- Are we?
He smiled back.
- Not yet, I fear. But we need you to be accepted as a full family member and I need you to be China's most convincing supporter. Who knows what we could become if we are greeted like the welcomed family members we want to be and not the arrogant pricks the world believes we are!
- Aren't we?
- Depends on you, dear, you'll be China's poster girl!
Yonglin pointed at the pictures in the book.
- You'll be at their side in next month's pictures. You and Zongsan will be China's new brand. It's up to you to convince them that my father's China died with him. I'll do what's in my power to change China enough to make the image you will show them as true as possible. But I cannot promise that I will succeed, there are quite a lot of people in China, especially people from the Upper Classes who don't want any change. It will be a difficult fight. Do what you can to get me your family's support: it will help me smothering my opposition here.
Zongsan looked rather unhappy.
- I was of the opinion that once I've hired your teachers, I'll be back with them…
- You will, my friend, you will, but I need you to stay a little longer. I need you to see Charles Bingley or Edward Gardiner. I hope you'll get an easier appointment thanks to Sunteu's presence so that you can cram it within the hiring business but should it not be possible, I need you to stay until you've been able to see both or at least one of them. We need their help; you know that better than anyone else.
Yonglin turned around and looked at Kathleen.
- And Zangson has a problem, he reads English but he has never had an occasion to speak it or even to listen to somebody speaking it. I'd like you to give him a chance to make himself understood and should he not be a good enough student, I fear that I will have to ask you for another favor…
Kathleen wasn't surprised at all. Her mere presence here had told her enough to deduce that that question was coming.
- Go with them to England?
Yonglin nodded.
- Indeed. I know that you came here to have a possibility to study our written scripture, but it would be much appreciated should you accept to accompany my little delegation to London and other locations deemed necessary to achieve my goals.
He remained silent for a long period and she felt that she wasn't meant to react.
- I know I asked for only one favor in exchange for your having access to the Hall of literary Brilliance. And I suspect that you would prefer to stay but I'm in a hurry. I need to be sure that somebody I trust is there able to translate from one language to the other.
Kat's eyes wandered for a second towards Sun and Yonglin's smile became ironic.
- Miss Ru is indeed not a person I really trust. I have no doubts that she will convey my message and, in the beginning, play the role I ask for. But there is no doubt either that she will very soon be torn between conflicting allegiances.
Sun listened but chose not to react.
- And I'm not an idiot, I have studied the d'Arcy family and how they function. And Miss Ru will be accepted as a member of the family. That means that she will have access to real wealth and a degree of freedom no honorable Chinese woman will be given for an awfully long time. She will probably continue to be a trustworthy ally for China. China is, after all, her birth culture even if said culture hasn't treated her like her skills and origin should have granted her. I'll do what is in my power to ensure that she won't have to choose between her motherland and a family that will, I'm sure of it, welcome her with kindness and affection.
He shrugged.
- So, you see I need somebody who won't be tempted to change allegiance. And you are that person because my Palace is the only place on Earth where you can get what you want.
His smile increased.
- Should you accept this little interruption in your studies, you would be well rewarded. Apart from the privilege to have a chance to meet and speak with a few of the most interesting people of Western Europe, I'll reward you, when you come back, with a weekly access to the Historical wing of the Imperial Archives. You've probably witnessed that we Chinese we love our bureaucracy and we've understood a long time ago that archives are the beating heart of every real bureaucracy! Thanks to countless generations of devoted Eunuch Librarians we've been able to keep most of the important documents of at least two thousand years, and they will be yours to roam over.
He saw her eyes sparkle.
- There are a lot of possibilities opening for you once you have learned everything you wanted about Chinese calligraphy. You could have the opportunity to study said calligraphy's evolution over the last two thousand years? And should you be interested in writing a book about China's four thousand years long History, you would have access to genuine documents pertaining to the whole range of those interesting periods! Decades of work in the field you love most!
- With no more interruptions?
- Not more than one or two each year, I promise.
He chose not to react at her very temporary frown.
- Consider that after this journey to England and your probable encounter with the King's family -perhaps even with King William the Fourth himself- you'll be known as one of my trusted emissaries. There will be circumstances where your presence abroad will be not only wished for but necessary. You must understand that I can't forsake an asset that will give a favorable image of my country just because said asset does not like crawling out of her office.
The mirth in his eyes was easy to see.
- And it will force you out of your paperwork from time to time! I've seen how you forget the surrounding world when you work and even if it is satisfactory to have hired a woman who is unable to stop before falling asleep on her desk, it is unhealthy. Going abroad and doing some diplomatic work for me will do you a world of good. Not to speak about that it will give you a chance to find a mate while abroad.
He stopped her incoming reaction with a mandatory gesture.
- Don't protest even a devoted scientist remains a Human being and there are physical needs that won't disappear just because you want them to disappear. Were you a man there wouldn't be a problem since it seems that your men do like our women but I do fear that the opposite is out of the question! Chinese men, in my experience, have very specific tastes and I fear they will consider western women as really not suitable.
He nodded while sighting.
- I do have a real hope to change China's government while I'm still alive and ruling the land but I'm sure that I won't be able to change the Chinese menfolk's mentality. Foreigners are at least frowned-at and more often than not, rejected. Sometimes violently. So, your habit to stay in your office may have been a good thing since your invisibility provides us with less problems your presence would have, but it won't last to the end of your life. Someday you'll discover that you need more than a sixteen hours workload to be happy. And I'd prefer the people working with me to be happy or at least content with their lot…
Kat chose not to counter the Emperor's arguments. Probably because they were, if only partially, right. She could do without what he called a mate but from time to time solitude was weighing heavily on her shoulders. But who would accept to come with her and live within a luxurious and golden prison? Well a man would have more liberties to leave the compound. At least that was what she had seen with Chinese men. Zangson had a little apartment in the City but his house was situated a few hundred yards outside of the Palatial complex. And he walked mornings and evenings between home and work. She would not be authorized to do it. So, her 'mate' would have to live in the forbidden city and even if it was gigantic, the servants' quarters were a long way from luxurious.
Yonglin showed, once more, that he was of the rather empathic sort.
- Don't worry if you find a man who's willing to come with you, we will find a way to give you a pleasant place to live with no risk for him, for you or for the next generation while giving you access to the documents you want to study. These new picturing methods you westerners have developed should give us the possibility to give you access to perfects copies while preserving the originals against damage and destruction.
He stopped and smiled at her.
- Well, do we have a deal?
- Once or twice a year not more!
- That's what I said, Miss Sumter and you'll have it, as it is the Chinese way, in writing, signed by both parties and properly archived.
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- How will we proceed?
Kat and Zongsan had left the garden to polish Zongsan's oral English. Yonglin and Sun had been left alone to prepare the journey, per se.
- I have been preparing this journey for quite a few weeks now. I hired a few Englishmen in Malaysia and gave them the mission to buy a house, if possible a big one, in the immediate vicinity of the Royal Palace. I already have, of course, an accredited ambassador with Grand Great Britain but till now it has been more or less a pretext to get rid of the most troublesome Eunuchs. You'll come with the present ambassador's replacement and you'll be there as his diplomatic attaché in charge of Scientific affairs.
- I know nothing about sciences and technologies…
Yonglin dismissed the comment with an imperative hand gesture.
- Like everybody else in the Middle Empire but Zongsan. But I believe you a smart girl and you'll have said Zongsan to brief you -in English, he needs the training- during your trip to England. Once in London, you'll know enough to make it legit.
Sun frowned at the Emperor.
- Why even try? Am I not there to make contact with the family?
- Indeed, you are but we cannot send you out there with just the mission to get into Pemberley and speak with your step-mothers. It could take months or weeks to make them believe that your claim is legit. So, you won't make a claim and let them do all the work.
- How so?
Yonglin made a gesture and one of his secretary opened a bag and put out a small leather book.
Yonglin took it and handed it to Sun.
She opened it and was surprised to see a portrait of her on the second page and her identity written in English and Chinese on the third.
- Ru Sunteu d'Arcy?
- That's, from now on, your official name. It's the name the English police forces will get and I'm quite sure that this information won't take weeks to be seen by the family's spy master.
- The family has a spy-master?
- It's more of a spy-mistress, to be frank but indeed the Darcys do have a family Spy ring who is headed by an Aunt of yours. She is one of the best in the job and I'm quite sure that she will have a copy of your passport –that's what you are holding in your hands, by the way- the evening of the day you put a foot on English or French soil.
Sun turned another page and was, once more, surprised by what she found.
- There's the name of father, with birth date and birth location written on page four. And there's mother's information too!
- That's how passports work. Your picture -they put photographs on it, but we don't have one yet, so I had my court painter do a portrait- your identity and those of your parents. With birth date and birth location for all. Since you are a diplomat the inside paper is yellow, and the ink red. Normal people have white paper and black or blue ink.
Sun turned a few more pages but didn't find more information about her. She pages back to page three.
- Scientific Attaché to the Chinese Ambassador, she read. Term of service: five years.
She looked up.
- So that's my occupation for the next five years?
- Your official occupation and my sly way to ensure that you stay on my payroll. You will be, after having sworn an oath to me personally, an official Imperial public servant, the first Chinese female public servant ever, and you will be paid by me and my government to stay in England and gather information about everything scientific and technological.
- Does that only smell like a spy or is it a spy?
- Of course, it is a job that implies spying! Nobody would believe we aren't interested in getting as much insight as possible in those new science projects England is launching daily! The fact that d'Arcy's own daughter has been chosen to be in charge of that task should tip off every counter-intelligence agency all over Europe.
Yonglin's smile increased.
A very cute smile it was indeed.
- I'm ready to bet whatever you want but I'm sure you will have an invitation to Pemberley or Spalatro within a week of your arrival. And that's exactly what we want, isn't it?
- And once invited, what do I do?
- You speak the truth and present them with my proposition. They shouldn't deny you the possibility to stay with them even should they refuse my offer. But I'm quite confident in you. China needs you to convince them and, even if they don't know it yet, they need China to build the peaceful future they envision for the world.
- Peaceful future? We give up our claim on Siberia?
Yonglin gratified her with another cute smile. A satisfied one, this time.
- As I said, smart girl, you know about our foreign claims, that's good. And to answer your question: of course not! We will sign, if possible, a treaty with England and, hopefully, thanks to your father, with France but to sign a Treaty with Russia the condition will be the return to China of the lands Russia has taken from us. And since Russia will refuse, we'll work, or fight if necessary, to get back what's legitimately ours. When that's done, we will be as peaceful as everybody else!
- Russia has a modern army…
- Yes, but not yet in the league of France or Grand Great Britain. They have perhaps the guns –and then not all of them- but they don't have the morale of the French or the British and they certainly don't have the steadfastness to resist against one to ten odds. Quantity is on our side and there's an inherent quality in overwhelming numbers.
A mischievous smile adorned his lips.
- And even if we don't have England's machine-shops we still have a great number of very good weapon smiths who have been given the blueprint of the French breach-loading rifle currently in use in Africa. They won't build as many as factories could but they will build enough to have one or two armies equipped. And when the Russians discover that the armies facing them are ten times as numerous and in possession of the same guns, it will be time to look at their morale. Which is, did I mention it, not at par with that of their allies.
Sun looked the young Emperor in the eyes.
- You seem to have thought a lot about what is going to happen.
- I have indeed thought a lot and I still have no idea of what will happen. But I have a good idea of what I want to see occurring. And you will have a major role to play in my scenario. You are my only ticket into the good graces of the King of England. And getting into those good graces is essential to the success of my foreign and domestic policy.
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Kathleen forced herself to stay calm. Zangson was smart and open-minded but he was also an autodidact and what he had learned by himself about English was worse than knowing nothing.
And the fact that a majority of the so-called English Scientists were, in fact, French immigrants had mutated the 'scientific English' used in the official Magazines into something quite different from what she had been taught in school.
And since her schools had been in America what she knew could easily be branded as faulty or, at least, unorthodox.
- Zang, it's not possible to…
- Zangson, please. It is my name and the fact that Sunteu had accepted that you have mutilated her name shouldn't make you believe that you have the right to do the same with everybody's name.
He made a placating gesture.
- It is insulting to deface a man's name and you should, in your own interest, stop doing it. I'm a patient and kind man. If one of the soldier hears you calling the Emperor 'Yong', he will behead you without even thinking about the consequences. Even a minor Eunuch Public Servant would, if you maim his name, take offense! And, by all Gods, you would risk being poisoned or stabbed while in the Palace because of it.
Kathleen frowned at the rebuke.
- It's a common habit in our countries…
- It is not here! Not even amongst friends is such a thing done! A name is an important part of a man and not using it as it should be used will immediately anger him. Ru Sunteu is a woman and as such she will have learned early in her life that her opinion is of no importance, but hearing you maim her name will still have hurt her greatly. Please, if you do respect her, stop doing it. She seems to have a great self-control and you are an honored guest of the emperor, so she won't try to break your neck while there is a risk to have to pay with her own life the satisfaction of having you punished. But once far away from the Forbidden City and no longer under the surveillance of the Emperor's soldiers, it could be that she decides to make you understand that mutilating her name has not been taken lightly by her. So, not only should you stop doing it, but you should ask for her forgiveness. Out of respect for her if such exist or out of survival instinct if not!
Kathleen nodded her understanding.
- Sorry I wasn't aware. The man who taught me Mandarin was not in the least perturbed when his pupils were nicknaming him in such a manner.
- I suppose said teacher had been for a long time in your country. He will have adapted to his new environment and even if he hasn't it would probably have been bad for his business to slap his pupils, don't you think?
Kathleen could only agree.
- Sorry again, and I will indeed apologize to Sunteu. But it does not change the heart of my comment: your English is awful and we need, before we begin learning you how to have a good pronunciation, to teach you a few basics you clearly never learned.
Zangson sighted deeply.
- I never thought I would need to speak it, he said. To read scientific articles written in the approximate English that I had learned was quite sufficient.
- Now you need to speak it and even more you need to understand what people say to you. I'll use these scientific papers you already know to give you an idea of the melody of the language. You'll hear very soon that it has nothing in common with the way Chinese is sung.
Zangson shook his head and abstained to comment. His Emperor had ordered it and he would do what has been ordered. Luckily for his survival, his thoughts were to remain hidden and unknown.
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Rosings, Office of the Ann Darcy
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October 1821
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- Why would a change in the identity of the Chinese ambassador have an importance, Lucas?
Lucas van Meerd was the Firm's specialist on Chinese affairs. He was in charge of looking over the various information coming in the Firm's huge data hub that could be associated with China.
- Because the Chinese Embassy is also moving two blocks from the Royal Palace?
Ann nodded and looked at the summary once more.
Indeed, the diplomatic staff was not only changed to the last staffer, but the list of the incoming diplomatic personnel was at least ten times longer than before.
- They seem to mean business, you are right.
- Look at the fifth name and it's not a fantasy of mine while I was translating, they have sent a list in English and the name was exactly written like that.
- Ru Sunteu d'Arcy? Aren't Chinese names supposed to have only two names? First the family name and then the forename?
- Indeed, the only exceptions concern strangers. But in this particular case I suspect that the real genuine Chinese name is Ru Sunteu and that d'Arcy had been added in the hope we would notice it.
Ann looked at her staffer.
- You believe it's genuine?
He nodded vehemently.
- I was able to find out that Geoffroy d'Arcy's Chinese name was Ru Quonru, Boss. Ru being the family name, this Sunteu is, by Chinese naming conventions, the child of a man called Ru. And Ru is a not a traditional Chinese name. It's the name that would be given by a Lord to a hired foreigner. To honor him and to warn the Chinese that the bearer of said name is a foreigner under the protection of a man mighty enough to have the right to rename a stranger.
- And the child of said foreigner would bear the same, added Ann before sighing. We may have a problem there, you are right.
She looked once more at the list.
- Diplomatic attaché for Scientific Affairs? Are you sure you've translated that correctly?
Van Meerd shrugged.
- I'm sure because, as I said earlier, the translation had been provided by the Imperial Foreign Ministry itself. For the first time ever, the Chinese have sent complete and accurate translations of the content of all their documents. I've looked at the whole bunch and the only conclusion I can draw is that they have one hell of a skilled linguist.
Ann searched within the paper bundle and soon found what she was looking for.
- They are arriving next week. I want you and a bunch of false journalists waiting for them at London Airpark! I want pictures of every one of the staffers and of course I want as much photos as possible from this Miss Ru. Find out if they stop somewhere before arriving here and get me people aboard or at least get me pictures as soon as possible.
- Will do, Boss, said van Meerd while standing up. Updates as soon as they come in…
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Malborg Castle, French Eastern Head Quarter in Poland
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October 1821
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You've what?
For once, Ann was pleased to feel d'Arcy's surprise.
I have a Chinese diplomatic Attaché named Ru Sunteu d'Arcy coming next week to London, dear Geoffrey. Do you believe it could be a son of yours?
Sunteu is a female name, if, she's a daughter of mine, commented d'Arcy drily. And I'd need to know her age. If she is twenty-two or twenty three, it could be…
Ann stopped a second to consider the news. A female Chinese staffer. She hadn't even thought about it because Chinese women were mere cattle for their menfolk.
Wouldn't the mother have tried to inform you?
How could she have done it? I married her with a farmer. She had what they needed to provide for a family but had I given her more she would have been in danger to be mugged. She wouldn't have had the means. So, it is not impossible. Can you get me a picture?
My people are already en route to get as many information about her as possible. She will be landing in London Airpark next Wednesday. Will you be there?
I'll have a trusted friend present. Please don't inform Jane and Maureen, yet. I need to be sure before bothering them with another of my offspring.
I will inform William, though. He needs to know…
No problem, but ask him to be discreet. Jane and Maureen really don't need to know just yet.
Will do, Your Grace. I'll keep you appraised.
Thanks.
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Samarkand, Khan of Khans Palace.
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- Papa wants you to contact him, dear…
Fluffy jumped out of his surveillance roam and opened her eyes. Kazakhstan was still reeling with inner turmoil and sedition and she surveyed the surrounding or the Palace at least thrice a day.
Some problems in Poland?
- No, in London next week, it seems that I have another half-sister, it appears that my father's stay in China hasn't been without favorable consequences.
I'm not surprised, he seems to be rather prolific when it comes to offspring.
Betty felt the light hint of frustration within her friend. Now that Speedy had taken off to live his own life, Fluffy was clearly suffering from no longer having him around.
She decided not to mention it, there was no easy solution to Fluffy's problem and Nightcrawler psychology was not something Betty had learned to master.
I'll contact him immediately.
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Another daughter?
Seems so, my friend, seems so, and it looks like the new Son of Heaven has hired her to be on his team.
No surprise there, he was the only one of the olds Emperor's sons who impressed me. He's smart and devious and not too bloodthirsty. I knew he would be an asset.
You've returned to China?
Not since the wedding, but as you know after the old Emperor's sudden and unexplained mental collapse and my light dabbling a with the Chinese succession; I had to intervene twice to secure the Heir against too ambitious Eunuchs. The next in line are sadly too young or not stable enough to resist to a weird nightly chit-chat. Yonglin is for me the best choice, smart and open-minded and ready to see the world as it is and not as the Chinese wished it to be. And quite calm even after I've made mental contact. He's impressed me…
You've dabbled?
Lightly, I was as discreet as one can be when invisible.
And since you've selected the heir to the Middle Kingdom why only there and not everywhere?
It was easy with them because they were tainted by their former associations with Demons. The other rulers of the world didn't dabble in Demonology so they are protected against our direct action. We can still send them nightmares when they are asleep, but we can't influence them while awake. The Chinese rulers, by working with demons previously, no longer have the protection your God provides.
What about me? I am in association with you, am I not?
No, I am associated with you, you never acted to have me serving you. So, you should be safe. You have the right aura color…
What do you mean aura color?
Well your aura has colors, and each color gives the observer clues about the person's true personality. Red and black are not a sign of good nature. White, violet and blue, on the other side, are proofs of a kind and spiritual soul.
Mine's probably of the first kind…
Last time I looked at you there were still traces of red and orange but your aura is more blue than red and there's no visible black.
Jane's?
A very light violet with strings of white and gold all over the surface. Sign of a very powerful spiritual protection. You, and the rest of your family have the same kind but it's only golden, sign that it is mostly provided from outside. White and black comes always only from within. The dull metallic shimmer that denounces the wearer as being associated with demons or other creatures coming from the other side of the veil comes also from outside!
And that means that they are prone to Demons' dabbling?
Indeed, they are protected against other things, but Demons will always be able to penetrate their protections. Especially if the Demon who should provide its help is no longer available on this plane!
So, you used that weakness to enter their minds?
If someone has the foolishness to hand out keys for its soul, who am I to refuse the provided gift? And I wanted them to stop hunting you and the family. The best way to get that was to place a smart open-minded element on the Chinese Throne. And since I had the key to their souls -quite black for the most of them- I did it without any hesitation or qualms about it. Even China would benefit from a smart ruler, why should I have dithered?
Let's hope they never learn about it.
And what would they do? Where's the nearest anti-Demon-user squad you've heard of? Your priests are for the most part shams and frauds. The only Human beings I have seen who are utterly immune to my powers are your first wife and her sister Mary. I've been at an audience with the Pope and he didn't impress me with his red and brown aura! At least his golden hue was of the best build and was efficient…
You mean you tried?
Just a slight attempt to tickle the man, nothing more, no harm done. He didn't even notice me.
You have been quite mobile these last years, haven't you?
The world is full of interesting people and you did send me on quite a few chases, remember? Not my fault entirely.
Let's not dwell on past mistakes. So, since you know the new Emperor personally, are there some interesting tidbits to share?
Smart enough to be good and devious enough to survive in the Chinese snake pit. He should be an asset for the world, but he won't forget his country's interests. You will like each other, I'm quite sure!
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