Part 7 (1/2)
”Yes,” Minli said. ”Do you know what the borrowed line is? May I have it?”
”The borrowed line,” the king repeated, and they stopped in front of the pavilion. The moon's reflection fastened onto the water's surface, and Minli saw why the pavilion was called Clasping the Moon. The image of the moon lay protected in the water like a glowing pearl, and the king stared at it deep in thought. ”Come, let's eat and then we'll see what can be done about your borrowed line.”
Minli entered the open air pavilion. At the center, two stools and a small table of elaborately carved gingko wood waited for them. A large, finely woven bamboo basket as tall as Minli's waist stood next to the chairs. The king eagerly lifted off its lid and rich, warm aromas floated in the air, making Minli's stomach grumble.
The king took out the plates of delicate pink shrimp dumplings, savory noodles and pork, dragon's beard bean sprouts, emerald green chives, and a bowl of white jade tofu soup. A pot of tea and an a.s.sortment of cakes sat on the bottom layer of the basket, to finish off the dinner. The king handed Minli a pair of intricate gold chopsticks that weighed heavily in her hands, and with his urging, Minli began to eat what was easily the most delicious meal she had ever had.
”I'm not sure what the borrowed line is that you are looking for,” the king told Minli as he sipped his tea. They had finished eating the main meal and she was enjoying a turtle-shaped cake filled with sweet and soft red bean paste, a taste not known to her before. As she swallowed, its richness seemed to warm her from her throat to her stomach. ”But I think I can guess.”
With great effort, Minli stopped eating and looked at him. ”You can?” she asked, and suddenly a hope filled her. ”What do you think it is?”
”Do you know why this city is called the City of Bright Moonlight?” the king asked.
Minli shook her head.
”My great-great-grandfather changed the name of this city. It used to be called the City of the Far Remote. But after he came to power, he changed it to the City of Bright Moonlight,” the king said. ”Most people thought it was because he had a poetic heart. But it was more than that. Have you heard the story of the magistrate that tried to outwit the Old Man of the Moon?”
Minli nodded, ”He tried to kill his son's destined wife, but they ended up together anyway.”
”Ah, you know the story.” The king smiled. ”That magistrate was my great-great-grandfather's father. And this city is the city that his son became king of through the marriage.”
”So the story is is real!” Minli said. real!” Minli said.
”Well, it is a story that has been pa.s.sed through my family for generations,” the king said. ”But there's more to it than what most have heard.”
THE UNKNOWN PART.
OF THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN OF THE MOON.
After the Old Man in the Moon told the magistrate that his son would marry the daughter of a grocer, Magistrate Tiger flew into a rage. With both hands he grabbed the page and tore it from the book. But before he could rip the page in two, the Old Man's eyes stared into his and the light of the moon seemed to bind the magistrate still. As the silence hung in the air, Magistrate's Tiger anger turned to fear.
But, finally, the Old Man of the Moon nodded at him grimly. ”Pages of the Book of Fortune do not tear easily, but that paper was being sent to you before I borrowed it,” the Old Man said. ”So perhaps it is only fitting that you finally receive it. Take it. The Book has bestowed some extra qualities to it, though they will be as useless to you as the original paper would have been.”
And without another word, the Old Man of the Moon stood up and walked away up the mountain. The magistrate could do nothing but stare, clutching the ripped paper in dumbfounded silence.
”He tore a page out of the Book of Fortune?” Minli said. ”Yes,” the king said, ”but he, himself, was never able to read it, so it remained useless to him just as the Old Man of the Moon said it would be.”
”Come,” the king said as he walked out of the pavilion onto the bridge under the moon. As Minli followed, he reached inside the breast of his s.h.i.+rt, slowly took out a gold-threaded pouch and said, ”This is the ripped page. It has been pa.s.sed down from generation to generation, studied by the kings of the City of Bright Moonlight. None of us has ever understood what the Old Man of the Moon meant when he said it was borrowed.”
Minli watched, fascinated, as the king took from the gold pouch a delicate, folded piece of paper. Paler than even the white jade tofu she had eaten for dinner, the paper seemed to have a light of its own, dimming the gold threads of the pouch that held it.
”It was my great-great grandfather,” the king said, unfolding the paper, ”who realized that the words on it can only be seen in the bright moonlight. He renamed the city the City of Bright Moonlight as a reminder for the kings that followed him.”
Minli looked at the paper as if in a daze. In the moonlight, the page glowed. A single line of faint words, as if written with shadows, was scrawled upon the page in a language Minli had never seen.
”So, I think this paper, which the Old Man of the Moon said he borrowed,” the king said, ”this written line torn from the Book of Fortune is 'the borrowed line' you seek.”
”Of course,” Minli said, and excitement bubbled inside of her, ”it must be!” But her excitement popped as she looked at the carefully preserved page and remembered how the king had had it on his person, carefully and preciously kept in the pouch around his neck. It seemed impossible that he would give her such a cherished treasure.
”It was only after much study that my great-great-grandfather was able to decipher the words,” the king said. ”And that is when he realized that the words changed according to the situation at the time. From then on, whenever a King of the City of Bright Moonlight has had a problem, he consults the paper.”
”And it tells you what to do?” Minli asked.
”Yes.” The king gave a wry smile. ”Though not the way you think. Sometimes the line on the page is more mysterious than the problem.”
And with that, the king looked down at the line. As he read, a startled expression came across his face.
”What does it say?” Minli asked.
”It says,” the king said slowly, ”you only lose what you cling to.” ”you only lose what you cling to.”
The king's words seemed to hang in the air. All was silent except for the soft rustling of the page in the gentle breeze. Minli, unable to speak, watched it flutter as if it were waving at her.
”So, it seems your request,” the king said, ”deserves consideration. The line tells me as much. Let me think.”
Minli looked at the king, quiet but puzzled.
”For generations, my family has prized this paper; we have honored it for its spiritual power and authority. It has been pa.s.sed on and studied and cherished and revered. It has been valued above gold or jade,” the king said slowly. ”But what is it really?”
Minli shook her head, unsure if she was should respond.
”It is, actually,” the king said, ”simply proof of my ancestor's rudeness, his unprincipled anger and ruthless greed. Yet we've disregarded that - instead we guard and protect this written line so dearly that the rulers of the City of Bright Moonlight carry it at all times, daring not to let it out of their possession.”
The moon seemed to tremble as ripples spread over its reflection caught in the water. The king continued, again, speaking more to himself than to Minli.
”We have clung to it, always afraid of losing it,” the king said. ”But if I choose to release it, there is no loss. ”
Minli felt her breath freeze in her chest. She knew the king's mind was in a delicate balance. If he refused to give her the line now, she knew she would never get it.
”And perhaps it was never meant for us to cling to. No matter whom the paper originally belonged to, this is a page from the Book of Fortune - a book that no one owns,” the king said. ”So, perhaps, it is time for the paper to return to the book.”
A wind skimmed the water, and Minli could see her anxious face as pale and as white as the moon reflected in it.
”You only lose what you cling to,” the king repeated to himself. He glanced again at the paper and then looked at Minli. A serene expression settled on his face and then he quietly smiled and said, ”So, by choosing to give you the line, I do not lose it.”
And, with those words, he placed the paper in Minli's trembling hands.
CHAPTER 24.
Outside the city, Dragon waited. Even after Minli had disappeared, the dragon still watched from the trees. He had felt odd when she had pa.s.sed the old stone lions and the door had closed behind her. He realized that he had never had a friend before, and what a nice feeling it was to have one.