The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure (14 page)

‘Have you asked him to?'

‘I've hinted at it. But I'm under instructions.'

‘What instructions?'

‘Your instructions, Jin Lao. You told me to give him everything he wanted.'

‘Major Lin's contentment is a matter of special interest to the Mandarin. Major Lin is extremely important to us. He is training our troops.'

‘But free licence, Jin Lao?'

‘If I were to say three hundred and eighty taels, would that be easier for you?'

‘Three hundred and twenty. Let me give you three hundred and twenty. That's reasonable.'

‘Three hundred and eighty is more than reasonable.'

‘But then there's the problem of Fan Yimei, Major Lin's particular friend.'

‘What about her? I thought he was very happy with her.'

‘He is. He's almost in love with her. That's the problem. He insists on keeping her all to himself. Won't let her go with anyone else, or even play the
chin
to them at dinner. But I spent years, and a lot of money, training her. She's the phoenix in our little nest. All the clients want her and I have to make excuses every time. I can't tell them she belongs to Major Lin.'

‘Why not?'

‘Well, does she belong to him? I would have to charge a fortune if I were to release her from service.'

‘How much?'

‘Three thousand taels. At least.' She paused, looking carefully at Jin Lao for a reaction. There was none. ‘Of course I'm not asking that,' she continued. ‘I'm happy to do any favour for the Mandarin. But I'm losing money on her. That's all right, except there's everything else as well. Major Lin insists I reserve a whole pavilion for the two of them. Their own exclusive love nest. Think how arrogant that's made her, and how jealous the other girls are. She's getting uncontrollable. And he likes beating her. That's fine if it's his pleasure, but it marks her body and reduces her value. And Major Lin himself is sometimes unpredictable. He caused a scene the other day when he saw De Falang the barbarian here. Objects to foreigners sleeping with Chinese women. It's difficult, Jin Lao. Difficult indeed.'

‘Three hundred and seventy taels,' said Jin Lao.

‘At least say three hundred and fifty. It's most of my profits for the last month.'

They bargained a while longer, and eventually settled on three hundred and sixty. Mother Liu knelt by her bed and reaching underneath, pulled out a padlocked chest. It was heavy so Jin Lao helped her. Breathing heavily from her exertion she unlocked the box and raised the lid. Carefully she counted out seven silver ‘shoes', which she laid on a cloth for Jin Lao to count in turn, adding to the pile ten taels in silver cash, which she took from an embroidered silk purse. Mother Liu closed the box and readjusted the padlock. While her back was turned Jin Lao quietly removed one of the shoes and slipped it through the slit in his gown into a pocket on the inside, then he quickly folded the cloth over the remaining pile and tied a knot. He had already informed the Mandarin that the taking for this month would be three hundred taels, so he had no compunction in liberating the extra fifty as his personal cumshaw. He helped Mother Liu push the heavy box back under the bed.

‘The money's safe in this room until you leave,' said Mother Liu, when she had recovered her breath. ‘You have the usual amount of guards for the journey back? I wouldn't like you, too, to be robbed.'

‘They always called you Sharp-tongued Liu.' Jin Lao gave his wheezy laugh. ‘I do so enjoy doing business with you. Tell me, before we get on to more entertaining matters, is Major Lin really a problem for you?'

‘As I told you, doing a favour for the Mandarin is a pleasure for its own sake, and is its own reward.'

‘Let me know if there truly is a problem. Major Lin is useful to the Mandarin, a favourite—but he has his enemies, and nobody is indispensable. I am sure that you understand me.'

Mother Liu nodded slowly.

‘I would have enjoyed the scene with the foreigner,' continued Jin Lao. ‘Did they come to blows?'

‘Oh, no, nothing like that, but De Falang is such a roaring, drunken fool. He pays double for his pleasures and never realises we are overcharging him, and Shen Ping is the most unskilful and plainest of our girls, but he thinks she is a goddess. She's the only one who will go with him. Hairy animal.'

They both smiled. Mother Liu had once taken Jin Lao to a peephole and shown him Delamere making love. Jin Lao grimaced as he recalled the picture of the man lying on his back with the slight girl squatting between his legs and he bellowing with pleasure as she moved her mouth skilfully up and down his gigantic organ. He was like a hairy ape with a red face, all matted black coils on his arms and legs and chest and shoulders. He involuntarily shuddered at the memory. How hideous to have to rasp against such a body. He could not imagine what it would smell of. It had not been an arousing sight.

‘Can you imagine?' asked Mother Liu. ‘He really is in love with her. He wants to see me later in the evening to negotiate a release for Shen Ping.'

‘How touching. Are you going to sell her?'

‘Of course not. How can I do business if my clients start falling in love with all my girls? Tell me, Jin Lao, now we are talking of barbarians. Would you be attracted to the idea of making love with one?'

For a moment even Jin Lao's controlled features showed confusion. ‘I hope very much that you are joking,' he said. ‘You cannot mean De Falang?'

‘Not De Falang,' said Mother Liu, sipping her tea, smiling at Jin Lao over the cup in her hand. ‘Oh, no, somebody much more interesting, and attractive.'

‘An attractive barbarian? That is an interesting concept. Do we have any in Shishan?'

‘Come with me and I'll show you,' she said.

She locked her room as she went out, even though they were only going a few steps down the corridor. They stopped at one of the doors, and she lifted up the latch on the side to reveal the peephole. ‘Have a look.' She laughed. ‘I think you'll like what you see inside.'

Eagerly Jin Lao knelt down. Mother Liu smiled when she saw his eyes widen and the tip of his tongue come out slowly to lick his ascetic lips. ‘Oh, yes,' he breathed. ‘Oh, yes.'

It was one of the steam rooms. A charcoal fire burned in a corner, with a bucket of water and a ladle beside it. The air in the room was dense but Jin Lao could see quite clearly the two figures in the large wooden tub in the centre of the room. One was Mother Liu's son, Ren Ren. The other was a young boy in his teens. It was clearly a foreign child, although his blond hair was tied in the Chinese way. The two were apparently asleep, eyes closed, in the hot tub, the boy's head resting on Ren Ren's chest. Ren Ren's arm was draped casually round the boy's bony shoulder. His flesh was white compared to Ren Ren's. Jin Lao could see the ribs showing faintly on his thin chest.

‘Can you get him to stand up?' Jin Lao whispered.

Mother Liu tapped lightly on the door. The boy did not notice the sound, but Ren Ren's eyes flashed open. He nodded in the direction of the peephole, and slowly removed his arm from the boy's shoulder. Gently he shook him awake. Jin Lao noted the startled green eyes in the thin, slightly panicked face. Ren Ren smiled and pinched the boy's cheek. The boy smiled back. Ren Ren stood up in the bath and pulled him to his feet. They were both naked.

‘Your son is also an attractive man,' murmured Jin Lao, his eyes fastened to the peephole.

‘I am sure that if I were to ask him he would be honoured…'

‘No, Liu Mama, the foreign boy. The foreign boy is … interesting enough, as you said.'

Jin Lao saw that the boy was shivering after his immersion in the tub. Ren Ren reached into the water and produced a cake of soap. With the ladle he poured water over the boy's head then proceeded to slide the soap over the boy's chest and down his thin belly, grinning towards the peephole as he did so. The boy smiled uncertainly as the older man soaped his body, obediently opening his legs to allow Ren Ren to rub the lather around his loins and behind. Gently Ren Ren turned him so Jin Lao could have a view of his back, his narrow buttocks and haunches, then turned him round again. Ren Ren continued to rub the boy down below and Jin Lao was excited to notice the beginnings of a small erection. Mother Liu snapped the peephole shut. Jin Lao sighed.

‘You must conserve your energies,' she said. ‘But I hope you are satisfied.'

‘I am not only satisfied, I am intrigued, Liu Mama. Only you know how to please an old man.'

‘I have a room prepared for you, and Ren Ren will bring the boy to you after a short while. You may go there now to relax, or otherwise you will be welcome to drink tea with me until they are ready. Or perhaps you would like me to prepare a pipe of opium?'

‘Tea would be refreshing in the circumstances. And I am burning with curiosity. Where did you find him?'

Mother Liu led him back to her room and poured him some tea. ‘I really shouldn't be telling you,' she said, ‘but I know I can count on your discretion. He is the son of the mad missionary.'

‘I should have guessed,' sighed Jin Lao. ‘Of course, of course, the boy who disappeared several weeks ago. The one the old rat-eating doctor was looking for. So it was you who had him all along. I hope you didn't kidnap him. I would have difficulty countenancing that.'

‘As if I would do such a thing. It was Ren Ren who found him after he ran away. He was with one of his street gangs who brought him here for protection. As you know, Ren Ren is rather good at protection. The boy became very grateful indeed, as you saw.'

‘Indeed. But weren't you worried about the consequences? The son of a foreigner. You know the old doctor went to the Mandarin about him? With a story that he had been seen going towards the Black Hills.'

‘Wasn't it clever of Ren Ren to make up that story? The doctor's man, Zhang Erhao, is a Black Stick, so it was quite easy to convince him. Only the doctor was interested anyway. The boy's own family seems glad to be rid of him. I would hate for the boy really to have to disappear after all this effort, but isn't it convenient to have Iron Man Wang to blame should that unfortunate necessity arise?'

‘You and your son are so very practical.' Jin Lao sipped his tea. ‘I'm sure you're right. And after a while nobody will care. Especially if he is happy to work here. I assume that he is willing to become one of your catamites? It's not just a love affair with your son?'

‘We'll know after tonight. You're the first paying customer, Jin Lao, and I'm sure that you will be very persuasive.'

‘Paying customer?'

‘A slip of the tongue. But wouldn't you agree that the experience would be worth at least ten tael?'

‘It certainly would if I had ten tael to pay you. But, as you know, the
yamen
's salaries…'

‘I was only teasing you, Jin Lao. You are family, and there's no question of you paying me. Don't worry about the boy. I'm sure that Ren Ren has prepared him properly. He always does. And if there should be a problem? Well, there's always Iron Man Wang, isn't there?'

‘That would distress me,' said Jin Lao. ‘The boy is so very beautiful. A rare find. Hardly like a barbarian at all. Ah,

“Slave girls of Yueh, sleek of buttery flesh

House-boys of Hsi, bright of brow and eye…”

or do you remember the lines of Li He?

“The western boy with curly hair and green-irised eyes

In the high tower, when the night is quiet, quietly blows the transvers bamboo…”

How generous you are to a poor old man, Liu Mama.'

‘I'll always do my best to please you. If one day I could only do the same for the Mandarin himself. That would be an honour for our whole house.'

‘The Mandarin has many beautiful concubines already. And as far as I am aware he is not interested in boys, even foreign boys.'

‘Foreign girls?'

‘Now, where would you find a foreign girl, Liu Mama?'

‘I found a foreign boy.'

‘Find a foreign girl first. Then we can talk.'

‘He would be interested?'

‘I am sure he might be. But you will not find one. Not in Shishan.'

‘I might in Shanghai.'

‘Find her first, then we will see.'

Ren Ren slouched into the room and sat down on the bed. ‘He's ready,' he said, biting into an apple that he had picked up from the table.

Mother and son escorted the old man to the sleeping chamber that had been prepared next to the steam room. Mother Liu waited by the peephole. Ren Ren had told her that the boy would not give Jin Lao any trouble, but she wanted to make sure. Ren Ren was impatient. ‘He's ready, Mama,' he told her. ‘He's a natural. Didn't even have to beat him. He's doing it for me. He loves me. Anyway, I filled him with opium. He'll be fine.'

‘Just wait,' she said. ‘Jin Lao's important to us.'

‘Jin Lao's a disgusting old cocksucker,' said Ren Ren. ‘Why do we need the Mandarin anyway? We have the Society.'

‘Who do you think runs the Society?' she snapped. ‘You're too low down in the order to know.'

‘I don't believe you,' he said.
‘Ta made,'
but he did not leave. He squatted bad-temperedly on his heels beside his mother, as she lifted the latch and frowned with her eye to the peephole.

Hiram was hunched solitarily on the end of the bed. Jin Lao had taken off his gown and was sitting in his white underclothes contemplating the boy. As Mother Liu watched, Jin Lao got off his chair and settled himself on the bed next to Hiram. His long hands stretched round the boy's shoulders and entered the folds of his green silk pyjamas, caressing his skin. Hiram gave a ghastly smile. Jin Lao, his eyes closed, moved his hands over the boy's body down to his crotch. Hiram began to shake from side to side, whimpering in his own language, ‘No. No. I don't want to.' Feebly he tried to push Jin Lao away. Then, shoving harder, he rocked the old man off-balance. Jin Lao slapped his face, twice. The boy moaned, then his shoulders slumped. He recovered the ghastly smile, and Jin Lao continued the exploration of his body.