Lady Earthquake

Lady Earthquake Chapter 48

Zang Lang-Do yawned in the midst of pouring out a cup of wine. His thin hand shook and spilled clear droplets on the table. He drained the cup before wiping up the wine with his sleeve. "There is no escape," he said. "Once you agree, they will hound you until you are captured, bound, and enslaved for life."

"Is that so bad?" Sun-Sin asked. He had drunk one cup more than his usual and felt relaxed and genial. His foster-brother had not drunk much more than he had. Lang-Do's slight frame and studious habits meant alcohol had a proportionally greater effect on him than on one who had drunk often, though not to excess.

For himself, not the most exotic or expensive wine tasted better to Sun-Sin than this apple-flavored wine of his own home-town. Every sip brought back memories of his eager youth. His impatience to be called to the capital had kept him from enjoying those happy days to the full, yet now, looking back, he saw that his boyhood had been more pleasurable than it had seemed at the time.

"Bad? My brother seems to find compensations. His wife is pregnant, you know. Tang-Su the patriarch of a family. Hardly seems possible. Two years older than me and three years older than you." He paused to count on his fingertips. "Two? Three?"

"That sounds right. What girl have your parents chosen for you? Do you know?"

"There are some few among our social level that they are choosing from or so my valet tells me. Gossip takes up more of his time than caring for my rooms."

"I hope the girl is pretty, whoever they choose."

"Pretty? That is unimportant. Character matters more. The girl I loved before...was more than beautiful."

"You loved someone?" Sun-Sin hoped he would not hear some tale of an illicit romance between his scholarly foster-brother and some entirely unsuitable woman. That was the kind of relationship that soured a man for life. He liked his gentle and unworldly brother too much to wish that upon him.

"My love was quiet and somewhat shy. But her smile struck...struck my heart."

"Quiet and shy...." Sun-Sin repeated with relief. That did not sound like a dancing-girl or flower-maiden. "This girl married someone else, I take it."

"No. Tang-Su liked her too. Even if her life had not been cut short, I doubt her eyes would have ever sought for me. I think our parents were planning to take her as his wife. But the few times we spoke during that last summer demonstrated her kindness. I would have cherished her even as a sister."

"Died? An illness?"

"A fire."

"What?"

"Did you forget? That fire you came to investigate last year? Old General Li's Household. An-Xia was his granddaughter. I could not sleep for a month after that. It seemed so horrible, to die like that. I drank...." He up-ended the wine jug, shaking it when only a few drops came out. "What a waste to spill it upon the table."

Sun-Sin felt tempted to tell Lang-Do that Li An-Xia was far from dead. But what purpose would it serve? Unless he himself were willing to give her up, the news would only re-awaken the pain in his foster-brother's heart. And even if he did give her up, would An-Xia go to Lang-Do? He thought that she would ignore his orders and twine about his ankles forever. "Quiet and shy...and stubborn as a weed."

"Eh? Who's that? The girl you like? Some court beauty, eh?"

"Hardly."

"I toast your happiness." Lang-Do drained one last cup and fell backwards. A pillow had been put there to catch his head before they had poured out even one cup. The same soft-footed servant stole into the room, followed by two others.