Page 71 of The Blood Orchid

At once, a pale boy appeared in the doorway, as if he’d been waiting somewhere close by.

“Go dig up some worms in the yard and bring them here,” the Silver Alchemist said.

“Oh no, please don’t go to that much trouble for us,” Wenshu said, looking between the Silver Alchemist and the servant. “He doesn’t go hungry, I promise. Besides, he probably can’t eat whole worms.”

“Cut the worms up when you find them,” the Silver Alchemist said to the servant. “But not with the good knives, for Heaven’s sake.” She turned back to me and smiled, her teeth vivid white. “It’s no trouble at all,” she said, leaning forward and stroking Durian’s head with one finger. “We have to find joy where we can these days, don’t we?”

“I’ll say,” Zheng Sili said, downing the rest of his tea like a shot of alcohol and not even glancing to the side as a servant girl appeared, refilling his cup. There was a strange edge to his voice that I hadn’t heard before, his words tight and precise.

I cleared my throat. “About your payment—”

“Shut up and drink tea, you’re being rude,” Zheng Sili said in Guangzhou dialect, then turned back to the woman with a practiced grin. “Sorry, she has trouble with northern dialects,” he said. The back of his neck had broken out in sweat, his eyes darting nervously between me and my brother.

Part of me wanted to smack him, but Zheng Sili had rarely seemed so nervous, so surely there was a reason for it. He’d been waiting down here alone with the Silver Alchemist for a while, after all. Had he seen something we hadn’t?

“I’m sorry to meet you under these circumstances,” the Silver Alchemist said, leaning back in her chair. “The way alchemists are treated now is despicable. We should be proud of our powers, not cowering at the sight of swords. Alchemists built this kingdom, after all. The people are in our debt.”

I took a sip of tea to hide my expression. I had never considered anyone in my debt just because I was an alchemist. If anything, I’d trampled over others to gain my position.

“Were you a royal alchemist?” I said.

The Silver Alchemist let out a sharp laugh. “I would rather pour sand in my eyes than serve the House of Li,” she said. “And it’s a good thing I didn’t, isn’t it? Now all the royal alchemists are dead.”

Except for me, I thought. But the Silver Alchemist didn’t seem to know who I was, and I saw no reason to enlighten her. “You don’t like the House of Li?” I said instead.

The Silver Alchemist shook her head. “My family served theirs since before the Tang Dynasty,” she said. “The men of that house were like my brothers, but they lacked innovation. I had so hoped that Empress Wu would create her own dynasty before her death, if only to seize power from men who took it for granted.”

I picked up my teacup and sipped tentatively at the water that scalded my lips, sharing an uneasy glance with Wenshu over the rim. If this was the alchemist helping the Empress, surely she’d try to be a bit more subtle about her loyalties. Besides, she had a sharpness to her that I doubted the Empress would have appreciated. The Empress had wanted to rule alone, to surround herself with docile puppets who trembled at the sight of her. She was probably working with someone who she could blackmail, not someone tied to her through loyalty alone, which could be broken easily.

But even if she wasn’t helping the Empress, she was still standing between me and Penglai Island.

“Can you ask her about my ring?” I said to Zheng Sili in Guangzhou dialect.

He tensed, smoothing over the motion by reaching for his cup. “Why me?” he said.

“Because you know how to talk to rich people.”

That, and I didn’t particularly want to pick a fight I wasn’t sure I could win. If the Silver Alchemist had healed me, she must have been a very powerful alchemist.

“Is something wrong?” the Silver Alchemist said, frowning and looking between us.

“Ah, well, there is one thing we should discuss,” Zheng Sili said, straightening up, his voice smooth and commanding in a northern dialect once more. “You see, my friend is a bit embarrassed by this whole situation,” he said. “She’s so sorry to have inconvenienced you, and feels that we’ve gravely underpaid you.”

The Silver Alchemist waved her hand dismissively. “Let’s not talk of money, it’s an ugly matter,” she said. “What’s done is done.”

“Well, unfortunately, I’m afraid it’s a bit more complicated than we’ve let on,” Zheng Sili said. “My friend comes from a rather... important family back home. We’re traveling now, so we can’t bring all our resources with us—you understand, of course—but she can give you a letter of credit for a much more appropriate amount. It would make her feel much better knowing that she’s compensated you for your discretion. After all, it wouldn’t do well for word of this to reach home. Someone her age, unmarried, and traveling with two men...” He glanced over at me, wincing. “It does raise certain questions.”

I clenched my jaw and did my best to look ashamed rather than angry. I hadn’t even known that letters of credit existed among the rich. It seemed Zheng Sili was good for something after all.

“I see,” the Silver Alchemist said. “Well, in that case, ofcourse I can accommodate. What kind of host would I be if I sent you away with unease?”

I smiled politely, even though I wanted to slam my face into the table. Was this really how rich people talked to each other? So many words that meant nothing at all.

“There’s just one small matter,” Zheng Sili said, taking another sip of tea. “That ring she was wearing—it’s truly worthless in all senses but a sentimental one. It was from her late mother, who came from a much humbler family. It would be embarrassing to pay you in such a cheap stone. Please allow us to provide you with something much more appropriate for all you’ve done.”

For a long moment, the Silver Alchemist stayed still, as if contemplating the depths of her teacup. Then at last, a small smile raised the corner of one side of her face. She set down her teacup and folded her hands, fingers laced over each other, displaying the white and red rings, one a winter moon and one a bloody harvest moon. I narrowed my eyes to get a closer look, and sure enough, the red ring swirled like a scarlet sky.

“I did not gain the kind of skill I have by bumbling around this world in ignorance,” she said. “Do not insult my intelligence. You and I both know exactly what this ring is.”