When they arrived in the town of Tai'an in Shandong

province, they were met by the local Red Flower

Society Helmsman who informed them that 'Melancholy

Ghost' Shi had also just arrived from Beijing. The

heroes were delighted and went to see him. Xin Yan ran

on ahead and shouted "Twelfth Brother! The traitor's

dead!" Shi looked at him blankly. "Zhang Zhaozhong!"

Xin Yan shouted.

Shi's face lit up. "Zhang is dead?"

"Yes, he was eaten up by wolves."

Shi bowed before Chen and the others.

"Twelfth Brother," said Chen. "Have your wounds fully

recovered?"

"Thank you for your concern, Great Helmsman,

completely recovered. You and the others have had a

long, hard journey."

"Is there any news from the capital?"

Shi's expression turned grim. "None from the capital.

But I have hurried here to report that Master

Muzhuolun's entire army has been destroyed."

"What?" Chen's face went white and he stood up.

"When we left the Muslim regions, General Zhao Wei and

the remains of his army was competely surrounded," Luo

Bing said. "How could the Manchus score another

victory?"

Shi sighed. "Reinforcements suddenly arrived from the

south. From what the Muslims who managed to flee say,

Master Muzhuolun and his son fought to the death.

Mistress Huo Qingtong was ill at the time of the

attack and was unable to direct the defence. No-one

knows what happened to her."

Chen slumped down into his chair.

"Mistress Huo Qingtong has an excellent command of

kung fu," Lu Feiqing said. "She would not come to harm

at the hands of the Manchu troops."

They all knew he was just trying to ease Chen's

anxiety. It was difficult to see how a sick girl could

protect herself in the confusion of battle.

"Huo Qingtong has a sister," Luo Bing said. "The

Muslims call her Princess Fragrance. Did you hear any

news of her?"

"Nothing at all," Shi replied. "But she is a

well-known person. If anything had happened to her,

there would be bound to be reports circulating in the

capital. I heard nothing, so I presume she is all

right."

Chen was embarrassed by their elaborate concern for

his feelings. "I will go inside and rest for a while,"

he said, and walked to his room.

"Go and look after him," Luo Bing whispered to Xin

Yan. The boy ran after his master.

After a short while, Chen thrust aside the curtain to

his room and strode out again. "We must eat quickly,

and get to Beijing as quickly as possible," he said.

A new note of determination in his voice surprised the

heroes. Wen raised his thumb in agreement and dug into

his food with increased gusto.

As they travelled on, Chen forced himself to smile and

chat with the others, but his features became more

haggard as the days went by. Before too long, they

arrived in Beijing. Shi had rented a large residence

in Twin Willows Lane. Priest Wu Chen, the Twin

Knights, 'Buddha' Zhao and 'Pagoda' Yang were there

waiting for them.

"Third Brother," Chen said to 'Buddha' Zhao. "Please

go with Xin Yan to see the Emperor's chief bodyguard,

Bai Zhen. Take the lute that the Emperor presented to

me and the jade vase that Luo Bing stole and give them

to him to pass on to the Emperor, to let him know that

we are here."

Zhao and Xin Yan left and returned several hours

later.

"We went to Bai Zhen's home to look for him and he

happened to be at home," Xin Yan reported. "We gave

Zhao's name card to one of his servants, and he rushed

out to greet us. He dragged us inside and insisted on

us drinking several cups of wine before letting us go.

Extremely friendly."

Chen nodded.

Early the next morning, Bai Zhen paid them a visit. He

chatted with 'Buddha' Zhao for a while about the

weather, then asked respectfully if he could see Chen.

"The Emperor has ordered me to take you to the

Palace," he whispered to Chen when he appeared.

"Good," replied Chen. "Please wait here for a moment."

He went back inside to discuss things with the others.

They all thought he should take strict precautions.

Several of the heroes accompanied him into the

Forbidden City, while Wen and the rest stationed

themselves outside the palace walls to await their

return.

With Bai Zhen leading the way, Chen and the others

walked through the palace gates, passed guards who

respectfully bowed to them. They were overawed by the

imposing atmosphere of the palace: its thick, sturdy

walls, the heavy defences. They had walked for a good

while when two eunuchs ran up to Bai Zhen.

"Master Bai," said one. "The Emperor is in the

Precious Moon Pavilion, and orders you to take Master

Chen there to see him."

Bai nodded, and turned to Chen. "We are now entering

the forbidden area of the palace. Please ask everyone

to leave their weapons here." Despite their uneasiness

at this, the heroes had no alternative and did as he

said, placing their swords on a nearby table.

Bai led them through halls and across courtyards and

stopped in front of a large, richly-decorated

pavilion.

"Announcing Chen Jialuo!" he called out. Chen

straightened his cap and gown and followed the old

eunuch into the pavilion while Priest Wu Chen and the

others were forced to remain outside.

They climbed up the stairs to the fifth floor, and

entered a room in which they found Qian Long, seated

and smiling. Chen knelt down and kowtowed before him

respectfully.

"You've come," said Qian Long. "Excellent. Please be

seated." With a wave of his hand he dismissed the

eunuchs. Chen remained standing where he was.

"Sit down and let us talk," Qian Long repeated. Only

then did Chen thank him and take a seat.

"What do you think of this pavilion?" the Emperor

asked.

"Where else would one find such a building but in the

Imperial Palace?"

"I told them to build it quickly. From start to

finish, it took less than two months. If there had

been more time, it would have been even more elegant.

But it will do as it is."

"Yes," replied Chen. He wondered how many workers and

craftsmen had died of exhaustion during the

construction.

Qian Long stood up. "You have just returned from the

Muslim areas. Come and look. Does this look like a

desert scene?" Chen followed him to a window, and as

he looked out, started in surprise.

To the right, was a classic Imperial Chinese garden,

filled with purples and reds and twisting paths, a

sumptuous scene. But looking left, towards the west,

the view was entirely different. For about a third of

a mile, the ground was covered in yellows and,

arranged into small sand dunes. Looking closely, Chen

saw the signs of pavilions having been knocked down,

water pools filled in and trees and bushes uprooted.

The scene naturally lacked the majesty of the endless

desert, but it was a good likeness.

"Does your highness like desert views?" he asked.

Qian Long smiled. "What do you think of it?"

"A lot of work has been put into it," Chen replied.

There were a number of Muslim tents staked on the sand

with three camels tied up nearby and with a sudden

heartache, he thought of Princess Fragrance and her

sister. Looking beyond, he saw several hundred workers

demolishing several more buildings: the Emperor had

obviously decided he wanted a bigger desert.

Chen wondered why on earth Qian Long would have had a

piece of dry, desolate desert constructed in the

palace grounds. Incongruously placed in the middle of

such a lush Chinese garden, it looked simply

ludicrous.

Qian long walked away from the window and pointed to

the antique lute he had given Chen, now lying on a

small table.

"Why don't you play me a tune?" he said.

Chen could see the Emperor did not wish to discuss the

important business at hand, and he could not raise it

himself, so he sat down and began to pluck the

strings. As he played, something caught his eye, and

he looked up to find the jade vases decorated with

Princess Fragrance's image smiling at him across the

room. With a twang, one of the strings broke.

"What's the matter?" Qian Long asked. He smiled. "Do

you find yourself a little afraid, here in the

palace?"

Chen stood up and replied respectfully: "Your humble

servant has disgraced himself in front of your

Celestial Majesty."

Qian Long laughed., greatly pleased by this. Chen

lowered his head and noticed Qian Long's left hand was

bound with a white cloth as if it was wounded. Qian

Long's face flushed red and he hurriedly put the hand

behind his back.

"Did you bring the things I wanted?" he asked.

"They are with my friends downstairs," Chen replied.

Qian Long picked up a small hammer and rapped the

table with it twice and a young eunuch ran in. "Tell

the gentlemen accompanying Master Chen to come up," he

ordered, and the eunuch returned a moment later with

the six heroes.

Chen stood up and shot them a glance and they had no

option but to kneel down and kowtow before Qian Long.

"You stinking emperor!" Priest Wu Chen thought as he

did so. "We almost scared you out of your wits that

day in the pagoda in Hangzhou, but you're still just

as damnedarrogant. If it wasn't for the Great

Helmsman, I would kill you this instant."

Chen took a small, sealed wooden box from 'Buddha'

Zhao and placed it on the table. "They are in here,"

he said.

"Good. That will be all," Qian Long replied. "When I

have looked at them I will send for you." Chen

kowtowed again. "And take the lute with you," he

added.

Chen picked up the lute and handed it to 'Leopard'

Wei. "Since Your Highness has already subdued the

Muslim areas, your servant pleads with you to be

merciful and to order that there be no indiscriminate

killings there," he said.

Qian Long did not answer, but simply waving them away

with his hand. Bai Zhen led them to the palace gate

where Wen and the others were waiting.
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