Page 67 of Silk and Sensibility

Meilin shook her head to clear out her messy thoughts. She couldn’t afford to trust any man too easily again, even if he seemed to be a friend. And Captain Bai wasn’t just anyone. He was a man with secrets. She needed to be careful.

“I’m going to keep this dagger because I think it will be useful, not because I trust Captain Bai.”

Ailin nodded with the wistful wisdom of one who understood heartbreak. “Good plan.”

On the night before they were set to arrive in Suzhou, Meilin and Ailin were sharing a dinner of rice porridge and pickled vegetables when Uncle Meng asked Grand­mother Jiang a most alarming question.

“Have you heard the reports about the Wōkòu moving west from Songjiang, Mother?”

Grand­mother Jiang swallowed a spoonful of porridge. “The news is troubling, but the best we can do is get home as quickly as possible. We’ll be safe once we get behind the city walls.”

Meilin looked to Ailin for an indication of how nervous she should be. Ailin frowned but didn’t say anything. While they had both heard about Wōkòu raids causing devastation throughout the coast, they had never been caught in one before.

After dinner, Uncle Meng went to speak with Tian and the other guards about keeping watch over the eastern horizon, in case of Wōkòu movement.

Out on the canal, the lantern light that usually illuminated each waterborne vessel was absent. The only light came from the stars, twinkling through the humid summer air.

After a night of fitful sleep, Meilin arose at dawn. Gazing out from the deck, she found the Grand Canal, already narrow and prone to silting, completely unnavigable. So many boats crowded the water that none could move.

Uncle Meng suddenly rushed past her, followed by several guards.

“What’s happening?” Meilin asked.

Uncle Meng turned his head but did not stop moving toward Grand­mother Jiang’s cabin. “Get your sister, Meilin. Wōkòu are within sighting distance in the east, and canal traffic isn’t moving. We’re going to take the land route the rest of the way home. Prepare to leave the boat in ten minutes.”

Meilin pinched herself to make sure she was fully awake. Land route? While she preferred solid ground to water, land travel was not feasible for Ailin’s dainty feet unless there was a carriage nearby. On the shore, people were already moving with bags over their backs like ants up an anthill. Meilin could not imagine securing a carriage from any of them.

When she went back to the cabin, she found Ailin tying a cloth sack around her shoulder.

“I heard commotion outside,” Ailin said. “We have to go, don’t we?”

Meilin hesitated. All night she had been nervous, but she hadn’t packed anything. Now there was no time. Searching the room, she seized on the only item that truly mattered—the zither her father had custom-made for her years ago. She grabbed the instrument and held it to her chest. “Let’s go.”

Back out on deck, Meilin saw that their boat was tied to a jetty on the west side of the canal. Standing on the jetty, Uncle Meng was helping Grand­mother Jiang off the boat via a narrow gangplank. Though he held the old lady’s arm, the process seemed wobbly. That meant Ailin would struggle too.

Uncle Meng waved in their direction as soon as Grand­mother Jiang’s feet landed on the jetty. “Hurry, girls!”

At Ailin’s urging, Meilin went first. Uncle Meng offered his hand to steady her, but it wasn’t necessary. Meilin’s balance was fine, even while holding her zither.

A sharp whistle pierced the air, and Uncle Meng withdrew his hand.

Meilin jumped to the ground herself, bending protectively over her instrument, then she looked up to assess the situation.

She froze as blood drained from her face.

A Wōkòu arrow stuck out from Uncle Meng’s shoulder.

倭寇再襲，聞亂多掛念。

I hear news of Wōkòu attacking again. Wherever you are, please be safe.

—Unsent letter from Fan Enze to Duan Ailin

Chapter 27

Ailin

In her twenty years of life, Ailin had never been in mortal danger. She was a young lady from a scholarly house, with caring parents, loving sisters, and a stable home. Even through the upheaval of Father’s death and relocating to Suzhou, her physical safety had never come under attack.