Qian Long followed Zhao and Wei down one floor where a

large round table had been set up in the centre of the

room. All the seats around the table were already

occupied except for three, and as Qian Long descended,

the diners stood up and saluted him. Qian Long was

secretly ecstatic at this sudden display of respect.

"Our Great Helmsman says Your Highness and he have

been close friends ever since you first met," said

Priest Wu Chen. "As a result, he has invited you here

to stay for a few days to provide an opportunity for

the two of you to have a discussion. However,

important matters have suddenly come up which require

the Great Helmsman's attention and he has asked me to

convey his sincere apologies."

Qian Long grunted noncommitally. Priest Wu Chen

invited him to take a seat, and Qian Long took the

guest of honour's place.

A servant brought up a flask of wine and the priest

took it from him.

"We brothers are very uncouth, completely incapable of

waiting on Your Highness properly. Please do not be

offended," he said, pouring wine into Qian Long's cup.

But as it reached the rim, his face darkened.

"His Majesty must have the very best wine," he shouted

angrily at the servant. "How dare you bring us this

tepid spirit?" He picked up the cup and threw its

contents into the servant's face.

"This is only wine we have here, sir," replied the

servant apologetically. "I will immediately go to the

city and buy some of better quality."

"And be quick about it," shouted Priest Wu Chen. "Wine

such as this is all right for coarse people like

ourselves, but how can you offer it to His Highness?"

'Mastermind' Xu took the wine flask from him and

poured out a cup for everyone else, leaving only Qian

Long's cup empty, apologising effusively as he did so.

A moment later, another servant brought in four

steaming dishes of food, one of lightly-fried shrimps,

another piled with salted pork ribs, a third with

steamed fish, and a fourth of fried chicken slices.

Qian Long breathed in the fragrant aroma of the food,

but Priest Wu Chen frowned.

"Who cooked this food?" he demanded. A man took two

steps forward. "I did," he said.

"What sort of object are you? Why didn't you arrange

for His Majesty's favourite cook, Zhang Anguan, to

come to prepare some dishes? How can you expect His

Majesty to eat such rough Hangzhou food?"

"These dishes look delicious," protested Qian Long.

"They certainly cannot be called rough." He picked up

his chopsticks and stretched over to pick up some

food. Lu Feiqing, sitting next to him, stretched out

his own chopsticks and caught Qian Long's between

them.

"These dishes are too coarse for Your Highness. You

would not wish to have an upset stomach," he said, and

applying a slight amount of pressure, snapped Qian

Long's chopsticks in two.

Qian Long's face flushed deep red and he slammed the

chopstick ends down onto the table. The others

pretended not to notice and began eating.

"Go and get His Highness's personal cook to prepare

some food quickly," Xu shouted. "His Highness is

hungry, do you hear?"

The cook hastily retired. Qian Long knew they were

playing with him. Hunger burned in his stomach as he

watched the others eating and drinking voraciously. He

was livid with rage, but he could not risk displaying

his feelings. When they had finished, a servant came

in with some tea.

"This tea is not too bad," said Xu. "Your Highness may

like to drink a cupful."

Qian Long drank the cup dry in two mouthfuls, but it

only served to aggravate his hunger. 'Crocodile' Jiang

rubbed his belly appreciatively and said: "I'm full!"

"We are making arrangements for a proper banquet for

you, Your Highness," 'Buddha' Zhao said.

Priest Wu Chen stamped his foot and exclaimed that the

Great Helmsman would be very displeased to find his

honoured guest had been kept waiting.

Lord Zhou began clicking his iron gallstones together.

"Are you hungry, Your Majesty?" he asked. Qian Long

said nothing.

"What do you mean, hungry?" asked 'Crocodile' Jiang.

"I'm full!"

"The well-fed never appreciate the anguish of the

hungry," added Xu. "There are countless millions of

common people who are starving, but when have those in

authority ever spared a thought for them? Having been

a little bit hungry today, perhaps Your Highness will

in future understand more about how the common people

suffer when they starve."

"Some people are hungry for months and years on end.

Some never eat their fill once in a whole lifetime,"

said one of the Twin Knights. "What's so special about

not eating anything for a day or two?"

Most of the Red Flower Society heroes had been born

into poverty. Their anger rose as they thought of the

past and they all began talking at once, swapping

stories.

Qian Long's face went pale as he listened. He found

himself moved by their sincerity. "Could such misery

really exist in the world?" he asked himself. The more

he heard, the more embarrassed he felt, and finally he

rose and went back upstairs. The heroes did not try to

stop him.

A few hours later, he smelt the aroma of mutton with

onions and green peppers wafting up from below. This

was a speciality of the Imperial chef, Zhang Anguan,

and just as Qian Long was wondering if it could really

be him, Zhang Anguan ran up and kowtowed, saying:

"Please come and eat, Your Highness."

"What are you doing here?" Qian Long asked in

amazement.

"Your slave was watching an opera performance in a

park yesterday when I was kidnapped. Today, I was

asked to wait on you, and your slave was delighted to

have the opportunity."

Qian Long nodded and went downstairs. The table had

been set with a number of dishes including the mutton,

all them his personal favorites. As well as the main

dishes, there were also a dozen or so plates of small

delicacies, and his heart leapt for joy at the sight

of the feast. Chef Zhang filled a bowl of rice for

him.

"Please eat, Your Highness," said Priest Wu Chen.

Qian Long wondered whether they would allow him to eat

this time. He was just about to raise his chopsticks

when a young girl came in carrying a cat.

"Daddy," she said to Lord Zhou. "Kitty is hungry."

The cat struggled to free itself and jumped onto the

table. The animal ate a couple of mouthfuls from the

dishes spread before Qian Long, then it suddenly went

rigid, dropped onto the table top, dead.

Qian Long's face went white, and Chef Zhang, shaking

from fright, knelt down and said: "Your

Highness...Your Highness...the food...they've poisoned

the food...don't eat it!"

Qian Long laughed out loud. "You have committed

rebellion and other heinous crimes. Now you wish to

assassinate me," he said. "If you are going to kill

me, do it cleanly. Why go to the trouble of poisoning

the food?" He pushed his chair back and stood up.

"Your Highness, are you sure this meal is inedible?"

asked Priest Wu Chen.

"You traitorous thieves!" Qian Long shouted, his anger

breaking through. "We'll see what sort of an end you

all come to!"

Priest Wu Chen slammed his hand down on the table.

"For a real man, life and death are decided by

Heaven!" he shouted. "If you won't eat, then I will!

Who has the guts to join me?"

He picked up his chopsticks, took some food from one

of the dishes the cat had tried, and began chewing

noisily. The other heroes sat down again too, all

saying: "If we die, we die. What does it matter?" Qian

Long was stunned at the sight of these criminals

eating poisoned food.

The heroes, who had fed the cat poison in advance, ate

all the dishes clean in a trice, and suffered no ill

effects. Qian Long, having failed to eat even one

mouthful, had lost yet another round.
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