Seesaw Girl (3 page)

Her aunt, harried and busy, answered impatiently. "Silly girl! Don't you know that dirt hides in the stitching, in all the pockets and corners? Wherever there is dirt, the spirits of sickness can hide too! Ripping the clothes apart is the only way to get them truly clean. Now stop asking such stupid questions. No man will want a wife who thinks in such a lazy way."

Jade bent over her sewing once again. The thread twisted and made yet another terrible knot that she had to unpick little by little. As she threaded the needle again, she thought of all the stitches she would have to sew in her lifetime, and the thread seemed to have no end.

***

Jade's brother Tiger Heart was the oldest son of the oldest son of the house of Han. As such he had many responsibilities, but also many privileges. It was he who accompanied their father on his trips up the mountain on all the important feast days. There they visited the family shrine and honored their dead ancestors with gifts and prayers.

"Elder Brother, what is it like there?" Jade asked him when he returned from one such journey.

Tiger thought for a moment. He tried to explain. "The mountains look so far away when you first start on the road. They get closer and closer, but even when you reach the lower hills, the top still looks far away.

"Our ancestors' gravesite is not quite halfway up. When you get there, you can turn and look back down the mountain. Then you can see the line of people, like a snake, going far down the road, all of them going to their ancestors' graves."

Jade asked more questions. Tiger told her about the worship ceremony, when he and their father laid gifts of food and small amounts of money on the stone altar. He told her how they tidied the gravesite, clearing weeds and planting shrubs and flowers. He talked about the grand picnic they had on the way back down, in a little clearing cooled by a bubbling stream.

Jade listened with all her heart. She tried to make pictures in her head of what Tiger told her. One day she discovered that if she stood in a certain spot in the center of the garden, she could just make out the mountain peaks beyond the Outer Court walls. After that she would stand in the spot every day and look; on some days the peaks were hidden by thick clouds, and even on clear days the very tops were all she could see.

It was almost worse than not being able to see the mountains at all. How hard it was to imagine things that she had never seen!

***

Tiger also went out with the servants on market days. He always had a few
won
in his pocket to throw at a passing juggler or to buy sweets. Tiger was a good brother. He always brought home sweets for Jade and their younger brother, Mountain Wind.

But Jade wanted more than sweets. Whenever Tiger returned from one of his forays to the market, she plied him with questions.

"What was the market like today? Was it very crowded? Was the magician there?"

"No, Jade," said Tiger. "The magician was not there today. But there was a traveling jester. He was even better than the magician. He could juggle three rings while running about the main square and singing a funny song at the same time!"

Jade tried to imagine such a sight. She fetched three carved wooden bracelets from her room and gave them to Tiger. He began running around the Inner Court, pretending to juggle and singing at the top of his lungs. Jade and the cousins laughed at him.

Encouraged by their laughter, Jade got up to try. She took the bracelets from Tiger and tried running backward, tossing them up and catching them all the while. Everyone was laughing when she crashed right into Eldest Aunt, who was carrying a fresh jar of
kimchee.

"
Ai-gof
shouted Eldest Aunt. The jar of pickled cabbage was jostled from her hands, but she caught it just in time. "Jade Blossom! You are too old for such foolishness. What are you doing here anyway? I heard your mother calling you. She needs help with the evening meal. Go!"

The laughter died away. Jade soberly straightened her clothes and hair and went to find her mother. For the thousandth time Jade wondered what Willow was doing now.

Chapter Six

Baskets to Market

More than two months had passed since Willow's wedding, and Jade could stand it no longer. She knew that neither of them was allowed to leave her home, but she had to see Willow again, no matter what. Jade needed a plan.

Over the next month she watched the servants carefully. She saw that every few days they went to the kitchens and emptied the last of the vegetables from the huge baskets in which they were stored. The baskets were taken to the Outer Court. Later that morning they were returned, full of fresh vegetables.

So Jade knew that the baskets had been taken to the market. The next time Tiger returned from market day, she asked him how it was done.

"They load the baskets onto a cart, and one of the oxen pulls it. Why do you want to know?" he asked.

"Oh, no reason," Jade replied. But the plan was beginning to form.

Jade knew that the baskets were big enough for her to squat down in so she could not be seen. But she did not know how she would get to the Outer Court and into a basket without anyone seeing her. There would be servants everywhere.

Jade was patient. She planned carefully. A few days later she watched as the baskets were taken out of the kitchen. Jade then began counting on her fingers to find out how long it took for the cart to be loaded. For every ten counts, she made a mark on the ground with a stick. She had made eleven marks when she heard the Outer Gate open and the steady clop of the ox's hoofs as the cart was driven away. Jade decided that there would be enough time for her to get into a basket—if she could distract the servants somehow.

The day before her planned escape, Jade saved scraps from all her meals. By the end of the day she had a piece of linen cloth filled with chicken bones, bits of meat, and balls of rice. She tied the corners of the cloth together and buried the parcel in the garden.

Jade rose the next morning to a perfect fall day. The sun was warm, a crisp breeze blew, and the sky was the clear blue of the finest porcelain. An omen, Jade thought, a sign that today was the day. When she dressed, she added one item to her usual attire: She took the carved ivory ball from its silk bag and put it into her pocket.

Jade could hardly swallow her breakfast that morning. Fortunately, her mother did not notice how much food she left uneaten. Jade dutifully helped clean up after the morning meal, feeling her stomach grow tight with excitement. She finished her chores in time to see the servants carry the baskets to the Outer Court.

Jade took a deep breath. She ran to the garden, pulled out the parcel of food scraps, and ran back to the Inner Court. She was almost out of time.

She untied the corners of the cloth almost all the way. With all her might, she flung the parcel over the Inner Court wall.

It landed, as she had planned, near the hens' nests, which were lined up in a neat row under their little roof against the Outer Court wall. The household dogs, who prowled about the Outer Court, smelled it at once. They bounded eagerly past the stables and grappled with one another to try to reach the tasty scraps.

Meanwhile, of course, the hens were in a terrible frenzy. The squawking and barking brought all the servants running—including those who had been busy loading the cart.

Jade peered about the Inner Court. She could hear the laundry sticks and Schoolmaster's voice. No one was watching.

Clutching the little ivory ball for luck, Jade dashed through the gatekeeper's door. Everything was going perfectly. There were no servants nearby—and there in front of her, just before the Outer Gate, was the cart!

Jade's heart was beating so hard that she felt sure her mother would hear it. She pulled up her long skirts awkwardly and clambered onto the cart. She took the cover off the nearest basket. There were some old cabbage leaves at the bottom. They didn't smell very good, but Jade had no more time. She climbed into the basket, crouched down, and pulled the lid back on.

The squawking and barking subsided, and she heard footsteps returning to the cart. The servant climbed onto the front seat and tapped the ox with a stick. Off they went—ox, servant, and stowaway.

Chapter Seven

The Road to Willow

Crouched and uncomfortable in her hiding place, Jade was nonetheless elated. Her plan had worked! Now all she had to do was get out of the basket at the marketplace and figure out where the house of Lee was. That was Willow's home now.

Jade had questioned Tiger extensively about the marketing routine. He had answered her questions as he always did, annoyance balanced by good humor. From his description she knew that the servant would leave the ox grazing under a tree, then enter the marketplace to do the buying. After a time he would return to the cart and fill the baskets with his purchases.

Jade felt the cart bumping over the road for what seemed like hours. When the cart stopped, Jade waited still longer, to be sure that the servant had left to do the marketing. She had a bit of luck: The servant greeted a friend as he was tending to the ox, and she could hear their voices fade away. She peeped out of the basket.

She saw a crowd of people, most of them poorly dressed and carrying heavy loads on their
jiggehs,
the homemade wooden frames that served as backpacks. This was exciting enough for Jade, who rarely saw people from outside her own family. But an even greater surprise awaited her.

She saw
girls.
Women and girls! There were girls in the crowd—girls her age, with their mothers and grandmothers. Jade could not believe her eyes. Who were these girls, and why did their families allow them to leave their Inner Courts?

When Jade had recovered from her amazement, her mind returned to the task at hand. She waited for a moment when the passing crowd had thinned a little. No one noticed as she hopped out of the basket and climbed down from the cart. Cautiously she made her way to the road to join the crowds as they walked toward the marketplace.

There were so many people! Carts, oxen, chickens, and dogs added to the fray; dust rose in billowing clouds from the road. How would she ever find the house of Lee in this mess?

It was then that Jade discovered she had made a mistake. She had given no thought to any kind of disguise. She was wearing her everyday clothes. They were made of fine linen, and while they lacked the brilliant colors of her best silk dresses, they were still unmistakably the clothes of a girl from a noble family.

The crowd began to notice her. First a woman nudged her companions, and soon others were spreading the word that a wealthy girl was on the road. Jade realized what was happening as more and more eyes turned to her. She began to feel panic rising inside her when suddenly she felt a tug on her sleeve.

Jade looked down to see a child about seven years old next to her. The child was dressed in coarse rags, and Jade could not tell if it was a boy or a girl. But there was a look of lively curiosity on its face.

The child tugged again and addressed her respectfully. "Pardon me, mistress. Are you rich?"

Pleased by the child's politeness, Jade answered seriously. "I never thought about it. My father is an adviser to the King. Does that make me rich?"

"Oh, yes! And I've met lots of rich people. The men and boys come to the marketplace all the time. I've talked to the servants a lot too. But this is the first time I've ever talked to a rich
girl
"

The child's friendliness made Jade feel less lost, and it occurred to her that the child might be of some help. She spoke while moving off to the side of the road, where she hoped she would be less conspicuous. "Even if I am rich, I still need help."

"What kind of help, mistress?"

"I am looking for the house of Lee. Perhaps you know it. Mr. Lee also works at the court of the King."

The child frowned for a moment. "Would that be the Lee household that had such a grand wedding a few months ago?"