would put a knife in his heart. So she bit her tongue and remained quiet.
She needed so desperately to tell him about the child growing inside her. She was certain she was pregnant now. The soreness in her breasts and the constant exhaustion were accompanied by waves of sickness from the moment she awoke to late each afternoon. For days, she had fought to hide these signs. They would only give the Old Man more to hold over Li Tao.
The hands clamped around her relaxed as Lao Sou appeared through the curtain.
‘He is gone.’ He bristled as he strode into the antechamber. He nearly knocked over the chair before righting it and swatted away the attendant who tried to help him.
‘Leave me,’ he growled
His attendant slipped outside the door and Lao Sou dropped on to the chair. He made a noise in his throat—a half-grunt, half-snort like a little boy trying to get attention.
Men of power had few ears to spill their troubles to. This was something she understood as a courtesan, but she was in no mood to indulge him. He had sent Li Tao to die out of spite.
She remained standing with her back to the corner and her hands balled tight. The pain of having Li Tao close enough to touch only to lose him again cut deep.
‘Do you even have a name?’ she asked petulantly. ‘You certainly were not always an old man.’
‘I hardly remember it.’
‘Quite sad.’
He twisted in his seat to face her. ‘An Ying has controlled the fate of emperors and generals. This empire has risen in its wake.’
‘A lofty description for a den of thieves and murderers.’
‘Thieves? Murderers?’ He stood, shaking with anger. His sightless eyes searched the corner for her.
Li Tao spoke of the clan as a mysterious force with fingers winding into all corners of the empire. For all she knew, these were only myths to frighten people.
‘Assassins hiding in the dark,’ she accused.
‘You know nothing about An Ying.’
‘I know you sent Li Tao off to die for your petty revenge.’
Using the furniture as a guide, he attempted to advance on her. The effect was almost pitiable. She was tired of men of power controlling her fate. She had already lived a lifetime of conspiracy.
‘If Tao had simply done what he was told years ago…’ he ranted.
‘What was the price for the August Emperor’s head?’
‘No price. I called the order on that bastard.’
‘Emperor Li Ming was a good man.’ Even after his death, she felt the need to defend her protector. Especially against this goat.
‘Warmonger with the head of a baboon!’ Lao Sou slapped his palm against the table. ‘He would have brought the empire into one battle after another until it fell into ruin. If he had fallen at Shibao, Emperor Shen would have taken the throne fifteen years earlier.’
She realised then that Lao Sou had once operated in the inner court. Perhaps before the reign of the August Emperor. He could be a minister or a general. It was the only way a secret clan could gain such influence.
Boldly, she took a step closer, loud enough that he knew exactly where she stood. She wasn’t afraid. She was tired of being careful.
‘Li Tao described you as a cold, calculating mastermind. I see a bitter old man, buckling under the weight of time. You’re angry because Li Tao wouldn’t grovel before you after all these years. Even if he did, you wouldn’t have the satisfaction of seeing it.’
The room fell silent. Lao Sou stopped with a huff of breath. He pointed a wrinkled finger at her accusingly. ‘I was always told that Ling Guifei was charming and sweet-tempered.’
‘Whoever told you that?’
‘Plant more flowers than thorns, they say.’
‘Why should I be flowers and perfume when you deal in knives and poison?’ she demanded.
He grunted and struck his hand against the table top. Then, to her surprise, he chuckled. He turned and found his seat, sitting back with his hands propped upon his knees. It seemed their altercation had drained the bile out of him.
‘She-demon,’ he remarked with an inexplicable amount of glee. ‘No wonder Li Tao is so smitten with you.’
Chapter Twenty-One
Imperial Palace—AD 746
13 years earlier
‘These men owe me a debt of blood.’ The August Emperor pushed a scroll across the desk to Li Tao, then slid his dragon ring beside the edict. The ruby eye sparked red against the dark wood.
‘Take the LongWu Guard.’
The Emperor’s elite guard was recruited from amongst the aristocratic families of the empire and he, a