Scene: A room in the Chi Nien Palace in the city of Yun, a suburb five li south of Hsien Yang, capital of the Kingdom of Ch'in.
Time: Three years after King Cheng (later first Emperor of Ch'in) came to the throne (244 B.C.).
Dramatis Personae: Chao Chi, the Queen Mother, in her middle 30s, an alluringly beautiful woman, a native of Han Tan, capital of the Kingdom of Chao.
Lu Pu Wei, the Premier, guardian of the young king (King Cheng), also Duke of Wen Hsien. Once a rich merchant and a native of Yang Ti, he was the Queen Mother's first love.
King Cheng of Ch'in, later first Emperor of Ch'in, about 16 years of age.
Chao Kao, nephew of eunuch Chao Cheng, about 17 years of age. Later he became King Cheng's private secretary and Head Eunuch. After he had successfully helped Hu Hai, 18th son of the First Emperor, to usurp the throne, he was made Chief Secretary. He was also subsequently responsible for the murder of Hu Hai.
Lao Ai, a professional paramour, recommended to the Queen Mother by Lu Pu Wei. He became the Queen Mother's lover and later was made Count of Chang Hsin.
Stage Setting: A room in the Chi Nien Palace, spacious but sparsely furnished. A moon-shaped door at upstage center opens to a white marble balustrade. Through the window upstage right can be seen part of a back garden. A smaller door downstage left leads to an ante room and another entrance is at the opposite side. Near the window there is a big but low couch covered with a rush-grass mattress. A low oblong teapot is athwart the center of the couch and behind it a marble screen. A bronze tripod, a chess table and seats made of knotted hardwood roots and several embroidered cushions make up the rest of the furniture. In an alcove in the left-hand wall are: an incense burner in the shape of a phoenix, a bronze mirror, a wooden toilet box and a bronze timepiece with water dripping evenly from one container to another. Several oil lamps hang from the vaulted ceiling. On the floor is a big ceramic vase containing a horsetail whisk, an ivory back scratcher and an oil lamp lighter on a long stick. The room appears not to have been used for some time. On every piece of furniture there is a film of dust and on every bronze article a coat of verdigris. The room is dimly lit as the curtain rises. A distant hubbub and sound of horse's hoofs can be heard approaching. After a brief moment of silence footsteps are heard, followed by the unbolting of the moon-shaped door. Squeakily the door is pushed open. The Queen Mother enters, flanked by her royal suite.
QUEEN MOTHER: Raise the curtains! Open the windows! This place smells like a dungeon. (The attendants quickly raise the curtains and open the windows. The Queen Mother carefully removes her hood and cloak with the help of her maids. She wears a white gown. She looks much younger than her age. Everything in the room looks familiar to her. As her eyes move from one object to another in a quick survey, her glance rests for a while on the tripod. She speaks to herself, reminiscently). Nothing has changed much here. But it has been three-year, three long and unhappy years since I was here last. (To maids.) What time is it?
MAID: (Rushing to water clock.) This clock is useless. It's half dry.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Angrily.) Get me the caretaker. (Exit two eunuchs.) Go out and consult the sun dial. (Exit one maid.) Dust the furniture. Polish the bronzeware. (She looks up.) Fill the lamps and change the wicks. I may have to stay here overnight.
MAIDS & EUNUCHS: (In chorus.) Yes, Your Majesty.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Sitting on the couch and addressing first maid.) Chu Sze, my hair is out of place. Comb it for me.
CHU SZE: Please wait just a second, Your Majesty. I left Your Majesty's toilet box in the palaquin. I'll fetch it at once.
QUEEN MOTHER: Never mind. There is one in the alcove. (Chu Sze goes to the alcove while the maid who went out to check the time re-enters.)
MAID: (On one knee.) The shadow of the needle is between Shun and Yiu, Your Majesty.
QUEEN MOTHER: That late already! (Subconsciously.) He will be here any minute. (While speaking, the view of the rear garden catches her eye. The garden, though long neglected, still looks attractive. Aspens and cypresses surround a small pond, a kiosk at its middle, and chrysanthemums of various colors grow wild. She speaks to the kneeling maid.) Go and fetch some flowers from the garden. (Exits the maid. Meanwhile, Chu Sze opens the toilet box in the alcove. A cloud of dust emerges. It almost chokes her and makes her sneeze and cough.)
QUEEN MOTHER: What's the matter?
CHU SZE: The dust. It gets into my nose and throat!
QUEEN MOTHER: Get the box from the palaquin then. (Exits Chu Sze. The Queen mother sighs.) Everything will be reduced to mold and dust in the end! Even inanimate things, without feelings or cares, without passion or life, need care. (Her eyes glisten as she holds back her tears. Enter a enunch and Chao Kao, also in the costume of a eunuch. Chao Kao is a teen-age boy of good physique, with shrewd eyes, a low forehead and thin lips. The older eunuch prostrates himself and Chao Kao follows suit.)
OLDER EUNUCH: Your Majesty, I could not find anyone in the palace but this boy.
QUEEN MOTHER: (To Chao Kao.) Where are all the others?
CHAO KAO: They left for Hsien Yang yesterday.
QUEEN MOTHER: Did they have to go in a herd and leave the palace unattended?
CHAO KAO: Big ceremonies were to be held there, Your Majesty, to mark the third anniversary of the late King's ascension to Heaven. They could not resist the attractions.
QUEEN MOTHER: Why didn't you go with them?
CHAO KAO: Someone has to stay behind to watch this palace, Your Majesty.
OLDER EUNUCH: (Chipping in.) I found him in the imperial library copying books. He writes a beautiful hand.
QUEEN MOTHER: A studious young man, no doubt, I hope the King likes books as much. What's your name?
CHAO KAO: My-humble name is Chao Kao, Your Majesty.
QUEEN MOTHER: Your name sounds familiar. Hold up your head and let me look at you. (Chao Kao holds up his head.) I've seen you somewhere before.
CHAO KAO: I'm the nephew of Eunuch Chao Cheng.
QUEEN MOTHER: Ah, yes, now I remember. You were the King's playmate when we were in Han Tan.
CHAO KAO: Yes, Your Majesty, I was indeed fortunate.
QUEEN MOTHER: People are apt to forget friends of unhappy times. The King and I are no exceptions, but I wonder why your uncle has kept you here?
CHAO KAO: It's ... well, it's because I ... I am not yet a real eunuch. (Embarrassed, he blushes.)
QUEEN MOTHER: (Suppressing a smile.) I don't blame your uncle. The silkworm room treatment is so inhuman. (Chu Sze re-enters with a toilet box, followed by a younger maid holding several embroidered silk gowns in both hands. A eunuch brings in a teapot. Conversation between the Queen Mother and Chao Kao is interrupted. Chao Kao uses the opportunity to cast a few furtive glances at the Queen Mother with admiration plainly written on his face. To Chao Kao): You may go now. I shall see to it that you get a suitable position.
CHAO KAO: A thousand thanks, Your Majesty. (Chao Kao backs out. Chu Sze takes a mirror out of the toilet box and hands it to the nearest maid. The latter takes the mirror, kneels before the Queen Mother and holds it up for her to see.)
CHU SZE: (Combing the Queen Mother's hair.) Your Majesty, who is that young eunuch? I don't like the way he looks at you.
QUEEN MOTHER: He is Chao Kao, Eunuch Chao Cheng's nephew.
CHU SZE: Eunuch Chao Cheng told me he has no brothers.
QUEEN MOTHER: This is his adopted nephew.
CHU SZE: Why not his adopted son?
QUEEN MOTHER: Eunuchs are not supposed to have any sons.
CHU SZE: Why not? Don't eunuchs beget eunuchs? (Giggles ripple in the room.)
QUEEN MOTHER: (Half seriously, for she is liberal-minded,) Stop your carping tongue, Chu Sze. You are becoming more and more impertinent.
CHU SZE: Please forgive me, Your Majesty.
QUEEN MOTHER: Mind your work. (Adjusting the mirror.) Comb the front part loose and high, cock it slightly to the right. No, no, to this side. That's right. Put my pearl pin on to keep it in place ... (To the maid holding the gowns.) Come here. (The maid kneels, holding the gowns high for her to choose.) I'll wear the green one. Have it fumed with the incense aroma. Be careful. Don't burn any holes in it.
THE MAID: Your Majesty, may I ask where is the incense?
CHU SZE: I should be put to death, Your Majesty. I forgot to bring the incense.
QUEEN MOTHER: Not your fault. A woman in mourning is forbidden to wear perfumed gowns ... but my period of mourning is over. (As if talking to herself.) I can't go on mourning the late King for the rest of my life ... (To Chu Sze.) Have you finished dressing my hair?
CHU SZE: Yes, Your Majesty.
QUEEN Mother: Come with me to the ante room and help me dress.
CHU SZE: Yes, Your Majesty.
(Chu Sze takes the green dress from the kneeling maid and exits. Eunuchs begin to form small groups of twos and threes and start whispering into one another's ear. The group at downstage right and farthest from the ante-room converses audibly.)
MAID A: The Queen Mother is obviously here for rendezvous with a lover. Do you know who he is?
MAID B: The Premier, of course.
MAID A: (Disappointed to find that she is not the only one who knows.) How do you know?
MAID B: Do you think I have no eyes and ears? Now it's my turn to ask you. Do you know why the young King is named Cheng?
MAID A: Who doesn't know? It's because he was born in the first moon of the year.
MAID B: (Contemptuously.) Pei! You are wasting your years in the court. You don't know any more than people in the street. (Assuming an air of superiority.) He was so named because he was not born in the first moon as he should have been.
MAID A: (Confused.) You talk as if your intestines are twisted. Why all the fuss about when he was born?
MAID B: Fuss! The whole country will be in an uproar if our people should find out that he was not born in the first moon.
MAID A: You are making me more and more confused. Now drive in the nail with one blow, don't knock around it.
MAID B: If he were born in the first moon, he should be the rightful heir to the late King, but it seemed that he was in a hurry to get born. He arrived two months earlier. This made him the Premier's illegitimate child-for sure.
MAID A: Many babies are born prematurely. How could you say such a horrible thing about our King!
MAID B: If there is nothing to hide, why should there have been so much care in naming him after the month of his birth? You know the old saying "You only attract more attention to the thing you wish to cover." (Her voice grows louder as her enthusiasm mounts. A eunuch disengages from a bigger group and edges quietly to the two maids.)
EUNUCH: What are you two doing here? (The two maids suddenly act as if they are busy with work.)
MAID B: Can't you see? We are polishing the oil lamps.
EUNUCH: What are you polishing them with?
MAID A: Cinder and fine sand, of course.
EUNUCH: Cinder? I thought you were licking them clean with your long tongues.
MAID B: (Angrily.) Go back to your own work!
EUNUCH: You'll regret it, if you drive me away. I've a piece of interesting news for you.
MAIDS: (Interested.) Out with it, quick.
EUNUQH: I want a reward.
MAIDS: Name it.
EUNUCH: I want you to meet me in that kiosk after dark (pointing to the kiosk in the rear garden. Maid A looks piqued; Maid B giggles.)
MAID B: (Nudging A) Don't pout! After all, what can he do to us? (She whispers into A's ear. A smiles. To eunuch:) Well, we'll meet you there. Now, spill it!
EUNUCH: When I was cleaning the window outside Her Majesty's bed chamber, I saw Eunuch Chao Cheng coming out holding the royal message box tied with a love knot under clay seal. (Their animated conversation evokes the curiosity of the others. Some leave their chores and begin to gather around them.)
EUNUCH: Go back to your chores. The Queen Mother may come out any minute. (At this juncture, a man comes in through the moon-shaped door. Everyone hurriedly returns to his or her chore. Those near the moon-shaped entrance curtsy and murmur their salutations.)
MAID B: Oh! The Premier!
MAID A: We'd better salute him.
MAID B: He's not in his ceremonial costume. I can hardly recognize him. (The Premier walks to the center of the room. He is about 50 years of age, with clean-cut, handsome features. The white hair at his temples and his well-trimmed long beard add dignity to his appearance. There is gracefulness in his carriage and subtleness in his demeanor. His slender fingers and pale complexion indicate that he is a man of culture. His sharp eyes reflect intelligence and shrewdness. As he moves toward the chess table, the Queen Mother's suite kneels down to salute him.)
THE SUITE: (In a chorus.) May Your Excellency live a thousand years! (Lu nods his head and makes a gesture with his hand for them to get up. They rise.)
LU: Where is Her Majesty?
THE SUITE: Her Majesty is in the ante-room changing her dress. May we inform Her Majesty of Your Excellency's arrival? (Lu again nods his head. A eunuch goes to the door of the ante-room, kneels down and announces the Premier in a clear voice.)
EUNUCH: Your Majesty, the Premier is here.
CHU SZE: (Offstage) Ask His Excellency to wait.
EUNUCH: (Going to the Premier and kneeling down.) Her Majesty asks Your Excellency to wait. (Lu nods and sits down. His eyes quickly sweep the room, and like the Queen Mother, he also notices the tripod. A maid comes up with a cup of wine. He accepts and slowly sips it. After a short while, the door to the ante-room opens. Re-enters Chu Sze.)
CHU SZE: (Goes to the Premier and curtsies.) Your Excellency, Her Majesty will come out soon. (Lu immediately stands up, takes a few steps towards the ante-room door, halts and bows his head. Re-enters the Queen Mother, attired in a new gown with sparkling jewels. She looks more beautiful and alluring than before. Blood flushes her face and her eyes gleam at the sight of her lover. Lu slowly raises his head. He looks disturbed, then quickly controls himself. Trying to avoid her piercing glance, he bows deeply.)
LU: Your humble servant, Lu Pu Wei wishes Your Majesty good health.
QUEEN MOTHHR: (Smiles.) I can barely sustain my grief since the King's death, but I can see Your Excellency is enjoying very good health.
LU: By virtue of the blessings of the King and Your Majesty, your humble servant is leading a life of peace and quietude. (The Queen Mother sits on the couch, resting one arm on the low table athwart the couch.)
QUEEN MOTHER: (To Lu.) Please be seated and at ease. (Lu sits down.)
LU: (Somewhat presumptuously.) Forgive me for saying so. It seems that Your Majesty no longer observes the mourning for the late king.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Slightly uneasy.) No, it has been fully three years since his departure from earth. I've just ceased mourning.
LU: (Still seriously.) Three-year observance is for the offspring! A wife should wear her husband's mourning as long as she lives.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Visibly irritated.) Your Excellency, you are the head of the hundred officials and royal uncle of the King, but you have no right to reproach me like this.
LU: (Sensing that he has overplayed his hand, and changing his tone.) Please forgive me, Your Majesty. My earnestness has roughened my manners, but my intention is good. I don't wish to see Your Majesty exposing yourself to criticism and censure.
QUEEN MOTHER: I stay in the depths of my palace. I go out only in a veiled palaquin. I preside over the court behind heavy curtains. No outsiders are allowed to see me. I can wear anything I like from now on.
LU: (Defeated.) Yes, Your Majesty. (Trying to change the subject.) I received your royal message this morning.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Also welcomes the change of subject.) Ah! I almost forgot why I sent for you. Your Excellency, I have some matters of vital importance to discuss with you. As they are state secrets, I prefer not to discuss them in Hsien Yang, which, as you know, is infested with spies from the six enemy kingdoms.
LU: Would Your Majesty enlighten me now?
QUEEN MOTHER: (Looks first to her right, then to her left. With a sweeping gesture of her hand, she dismisses all her attendants. They quickly back out of the room.) Don't come in until I send for you.
ATTENDANTS: (In a chorus.) Yes, Your Majesty. (Exit all attendants. They close the door behind them. The Queen and Lu are left alone. Lu opens his mouth but the Queen stops him with her eyes.)
QUEEN MOTHER: (Deliberately, in a loud voice.) First, I want you to recommend a successor to the late General Wang Chi who was killed while invading the Kingdom of Han.
LU: With Your Majesty's permission, I recommend his nephew, Wang Chien, who is not only a brave warrior but a good strategist.
QUEEN MOTHER: Wang Chien is a very young man. Can you think of a more suitable one?
LU: I cannot think of anyone who is more qualified than Wang Chien.
QUEEN MOTHER: Do you think it would displease old General Meng Ngao to have Wang Chien instead of his own son appointed as his second in command?
LU: No one knows his son Meng Woo better than the old general himself. Meng Woo is a slight disappointment but the grandson Meng Tien is the thousand-Ii-horse of the family.
QUEEN MOTHER: Shall we consider him instead?
LU: No, Your Majesty, for he is only fourteen.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Laughs.) Oh! I didn't know he was that young. Then I shall say Wang Chien is more eligible. You may submit your recommendation in writing at court.
LU: Yes, Your Majesty. (After a brief pause.) Is there anything else?
QUEEN MOTHER: (Hesitates. Obviously she is at a loss to put her thoughts into words.) Well, well .... there was something else. Somehow it has slipped my mind.:. Before it comes back, I wish to talk to you about something of a private nature.
LU: (Feigning ignorance.) I suppose you are worried about the young King's education. My counselors and I have been compiling a book chiefly for the young King's education.
QUEEN MOTHER: You are wasting your time. The King will never read it.
LU: But it's good for him. I've already submitted to him the first volume. Does he like it?
QUEEN MOTHER: Like it? He hasn't even touched it.
LU: (Hurt.) Hasn't even touched it! After all the trouble we have gone through!
QUEEN MOTHER: Some of the court officials read it and they don't like it. In fact, they don't like it at all.
LU: Why not? I've said nothing in that book to antagonize anybody. Most of the pieces are synthesis and analysis of the ideas of the hundred great sages.
QUEEN MOTHER: But they regard it as your declaration of war against the legalists.
LU: I never thought that they would look at it from that angle. Well, to be honest, I really do not endorse the theories of the legalists. They are so inhuman.
QUEEN MOTHER: But Ch'in owes its strength and prosperity to the legalists.
LU: Only the semi-barbarians adopt the legalist theories.
QUEEN MOTHER: Watch what you are saying. Most of the officials are legalists. Remember there is only a narrow gap between unpopularity and enmity. One unwary act or one ill-advised word will bridge it.
LU: Thank you, Your Majesty. I really ought to be more careful. (After a slight pause.) This news about His Majesty's distaste for my book has greatly upset me. You know I've put my heart and soul into its compilation. (Another pause.) If Your Majesty would not mind, I beg to be excused now.
QUEEN MOTHER: Are you afraid of me?
LU: (Uneasy.) Oh, no, Your Majesty.
QUEEN MOTHER: You act as if you have a thorn in your back.
LU: Your Majesty, frankly speaking, I don't quite understand why you have chosen this place to discuss such matters with me.
QUEEN MOTHER: I thought a clever man like you must have already guessed my reason,
LU: No, Your Majesty, I'm not as clever as you think.
QUEEN MOTHER: You said you had received my message.
LU: Yes.
QUEEN MOTHER: It's in a sealed box.
LU: Yes.
QUEEN MOTHER: I tied the box and sealed it myself.
LU: I am honored.
QUEEN MOTHER: Didn't you know that I tied the box with my own hands?
LU: I'm unworthy of Your Majesty's kindness.
QUEEN MOTHER: Well (as if talking to herself), you must have overlooked it.
LU: (With a blank look.) Overlooked what?
QUEEN MOTHER: Never mind. (After a slight pause.) I sent you a piece of jade besides the message.
LU: Thank you, Your Majesty, it's a beautiful piece.
QUEEN MOTHER: Does that piece of jade look familiar to you?
LU: It does. I must have seen it before. Didn't it belong to the late King?
QUEEN MOTHER: Are you feigning ignorance?
LU: No, Your Majesty, I really don't quite recall.
QUEEN MOTHER: It was once yours.
LU: Mine? (He suddenly remembers. This apparently upsets him, for his face becomes scarlet and pale in quick alteration, and sweat begins to appear on his forehead, which he wipes with his sleeve.)
QUEEN MOTHER: (Amused at his embarrassment.) You gave it to me sixteen years ago. It used to be hanging on your belt.
LU: No wonder I could not remember it. Sixteen years is a long time.
QUEEN MOTHER: Exactly sixteen years five moons and thirteen days ago. One night you removed this piece of jade and gave it to me.
LU: (Horrified.) Did you put the date down in writing?
QUEEN MOTHER: (With a mischievous smile) I did.
LU: (More anxious.) That's very dangerous. Where did you put it?
QUEEN MOTHER: Where did I put what?
LU: Your memorandum?
QUEEN MOTHER: (Pointing to her heart.) Here.
LU: Let me have it. I'll burn it at once.
QUEEN MOTHER: I've already given it to you.
LU: Your memorandum?
QUEEN MOTHER: My heart! I write everything on my heart. (The Queen Mother looks tenderly into her lover's eyes searching for the expected response. Lu hides his inner conflict by turning his head. After a moment of suspense, he gets up, goes to the window and closes it. Immediately, the room is dimmed, so when Lu turns about and faces the Queen Mother, his facial expressions are no longer noticeable.)
LU: (In a trembling voice.) Don't open the grave and let the ghost of our past come out! It'll ruin the three of us.
QUEEN MOTHER: Three?
LU: Yes, the King, you and I.
QUEEN MOTHER: What harm will it bring to the King?
LU: Fatal harm! He'll be dethroned or even murdered!
QUEEN MOTHER: No!
LU: Yes. Don't you know that there have been rumors abroad that the King is not the real flesh and blood of the late King but was sired by me?
QUEEN MOTHER: That's the truth, isn't it? Everyone knows ....
LU: You mean everyone suspects. But no one can prove it. Besides, the late King didn't suspect us. He never knew that Cheng was not his son. He was the bulwark between us and the rumors. Now that the bulwark is gone, one wrong move will stir up the sediment at the bottom of a placid lake.
QUEEN MOTHER: My head is muddled. I can't think clearly! I feel like a dancer on a scaffold erected for the amusement of the gods. After I have finished my performance, I cannot find the ladder to come down.
LU: What do you mean?
QUEEN MOTHER: I mean that I married the late King to comply with your wish, to help you to achieve your aim. The part I played as his wife was only a performance to please you, for you are the only one I have ever loved. Now that the chance I waited for so patiently has finally come, you think ill of our love and as something long dead. (She covers her face with her sleeve and begins to sob.)
LU: (In a consoling tone.) Please stop crying. How can you face your attendants with swollen eyes. We have already aroused their curiosity by talking behind closed doors and windows. Please try to think with your head instead of your heart. By using your head, you will find that all your misery is only imaginary.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Quickly dries her tears.) What shall I do now? I'm like a boat without a rudder, a cloud drifting from its mountain cavern, a kite with its string snapped, tired of flying but having no nest to go back to.
LU: Please don't talk like a little girl. You are now the Queen Mother of the powerful Kingdom of Ch'in with the reins of government in your hand. Judging by the present trend, the Kingdom of Ch'in may one day become an empire, and you'll be sitting on the top of the world, and your name will go down in history as Empress Dowager, Queen Mother of the First Emperor of Ch'in.
QUEEN MOTHER: I don't care.
LU: But I do. I have paid heavily to get to this position and I'm not going to lose it. I was a lowly merchant. You know how everybody looks down on people of my class, considering us lower than manual laborers. For this upward climb I have squandered my fortune and several times risked my life. My present post as Premier and guardian of the young King has evoked jealousy and even hatred of many officials. As you must have also sensed, this is a grave situation. Recently I received reports that some of them are trying to persuade the King to oust all aliens, especially those who hold government posts. I'm their real target.
QUEEN MOTHER: Speaking of aliens, I am one, too.
LU: I'm afraid they do not like you, either.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Sounds worried.). Do you think they would hate the King, too? (Lu chuckles. He sits down again. All his wrought-up tension eases. He smoothes his gown and chuckles again.)
QUEEN MOTHER: What's so amusing?
LU: Your concern about the boy shows that you have not forgotten your duty as a mother. I trust this will help you get over your illicit love for me.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Slightly irritated.) You haven't answered my question. Is the King in danger?
LU: No. The boy has the support of all political cliques-those who are for me, those who are against me, and those who are neutral.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Proudly.) I didn't know my boy commanded that much support. Aren't you proud of our own son?
LU: (Almost angrily.) Chao Chi, unless you are careful about your tongue, you'll get all three of us into serious trouble, and one day our heads will bid adieu to our necks. Don't you realize that the King has an ambitious brother Cheng Chiao, the Prince of Chang An? Don't you know that the late King had more than ten older brothers and half of them are still living? Anyone of them has a better claim to the throne than the poor boy who now sits on it.
QUEEN MOTHER: Are they plotting an usurpation?
LU: Not right now, but they are biding their time. All that they are waiting for is the kind of proof which your tongue will provide them.
QUEEN MOTHER: But we are talking behind closed doors.
LU: Walls have ears!
QUEEN MOTHER: (Displeased.) All right! I shall never mention it again.
LU: Forgive me. I didn't mean to be insolent. My anxiety has again roughened my manners and sharpened my tongue. Please understand that I'm leading a precarious life. I have to be wary like a man treading on thin ice.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Sympathetically.) Yes, I understand. I shall not do or say anything to make your position more difficult. (After a pause, she smiles.) I'm glad the King is handling himself well.
LU. (Relaxes again.) Do you know why the King is so popular?
QUEEN MOTHER: (Tilting her head for a second.) No, familiarity blurs judgment. I have to confess that I fail to see the merits of my own son.
LU: It's not his virtues but his dislike for me that has gained him the popular support.
QUEEN MOTHER: He dislikes you?
LU: (Calmly.) Yes, to the point of contempt.
QUEEN MOTHER: No, no! It can't be true. After all you are ... (Checking herself.) You were appointed his guardian by the late King.
LU: That does not mean he must like me.
QUEEN MOTHER: Shall I talk to him?
LU: (Hurriedly.) No, no, a hundred times no.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Indignant.) You are afraid that I might make things worse.
LU: No, please don't misunderstand me. It's just that I do not wish to upset the present state of affairs.
QUEEN MOTHER: That's absurd. I'll do my best to get you back into the King's good graces.
LU: It's better for the King and me not to be on good terms. It makes things easier for both of us.
QUEEN MOTHER: All this intricacy is really beyond me.
LU: (Pointing at the tripod.) Like the three legs of a tripod the King, you and I are supporting the court of Ch'in in our respective posts. Only by keeping a reasonable distance from one another can we hold the tripod in good balance. If we try to get too close together, the tripod will topple.
QUEEN MOTHER: I still don't quite understand what you are driving at. However, I do not wish to discuss this subject any further. (Seriously.) Mr. Premier, I think you'll be delighted to hear that I've also decided to take the "illicit love" you spoke of to the grave. (After a pause.) You may go now.
LU: (Now that he is free to go, he chooses to tarry.) Please don't think that I'm as callous as wood or stone. I'm grateful to you for your love. But I'm afraid my allotment of fortune is limited and any overjoy might spell my downfall. I'm an old man now and, besides, my duties keep me occupied all the time. You'll find me passive and dull, entirely different from the hero in your dream. Please forgive me and forget me. This way you'll be spared the disillusionment and the embarrassment. (Smiling sheepishly.) Maybe you'll find it more rewarding to be in the arms of a younger lover.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Enraged.) What do you think I am? A courtesan? If sensual pleasure is what I pursue, I can have any man I cast my eyes upon. But I'm chaste in my own way. To you I've given my love and I am not the one to change as long as I live.
LU: Don't tell me you never loved the late King.
QUEEN MOTHER: His love to me is like the morning dew and yours the sunshine. The dew nourishes the heart of flower before dawn. But it evaporates with the first ray of sunshine.
LU: (Trembles a little.) But he was devoted to you for thirteen years.
QUEEN MOTHER: I made him believe that I loved him.
LU: You cheated him.
QUEEN MOTHER: What else could I do? As it says in the Book of Poetry, "My heart, being not a piece of stone, cannot be turned; my heart, being not a piece of mat cannot be rolled." (Whereupon her eyes again beseech the response she craves from the man sitting opposite her. Avoiding her glance, he stands up.)
LU: I really must go now. (Moving to the water clock in the alcove.) I wonder what time it is now. Oh! the water clock is half dry.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Sighs.) Everything here rots and molds.
LU: It is getting late. I must get back to Hsien Yang before sunset.
QUEEN MOTHER: Wait! Do you have that piece of jade with you?
LU: You mean the piece you sent me this morning?
QUEEN MOTHER: Yes, do you have it with you now? I want it back.
LU: (Fumbling in his sleeve.) Yes, it's here. (Having taken it out, he examines it with interest.) Now I remember. This is the piece I gave you the night ... the night ... well you said you wish it back. (The Queen Mother nods. Lu walks over to her. She stands up. In the transfer of the piece of jade, the hands of the two lovers meet. A violent tremor shakes the Queen Mother and it causes reverberations in the body of the Premier. The cinders of reservation crack, sparks of old flame dart and the hearts, so long tortured in the smoldering chambers of unexpressed love, kindle at the touch of the glowing particles. Immediately the blood seethes and fire leaps from their eyes. All cautions are swept away. They fall into each other's arms. The two bodies entangle, exuding a melange of panting, murmuring, sighs and sobs. The heat is so great that the two lovers soon melt and collapse in a heap on the floor. Suddenly the window is pushed open, and the slanting sunshine floods in. A figure stands outside the window looking angry, hurt and at the same time ashamed. He is no other than the young King himself. The two on the floor, caught completely unawares, are petrified. The Queen Mother slowly collects herself She stands up, smoothes her dress and hair. Lu follows suit. Meanwhile the King looks on with a stony stare.
QUEEN MOTHER: Why didn't the eunuchs announce your coming? (The King gives no answer but moves slowly away from the window. In a moment the moon-shaped door is pushed open and in comes the King. He is a boy of sixteen but looks much older than his age. His eyes at times look bold and self-assured but at other times frightened and uncertain. His manner is often offensively supercilious and then sycophantically humble. His hazardous childhood has woven fear, suspicion and hatred into his character and on the other hand has given him an ability to hide his real feelings.)
KING: (With a wry smile.) It seems I have come at a very unopportune moment.
QUEEN MOTHER: (She claps her hands to summon the attendants but nobody appears. Angrily.) Are all my maids and eunuchs dead?
KING: They all will be before sunset. My mother, your secret is safe. (A shiver goes through Lu's body. He turns pale.)
QUEEN MOTHER: What do you mean?
KING: I'll explain it to you later.
LU: (Bowing to the King.) Your Majesty, may I be excused.
KING: (Sensing Lu's embarrassment.) Yes. (Lu bows again, backs a few steps, then turns to go. But before he leaves the room, the King calls him.)
KING: My honorable Uncle, would you mind telling me how much of a bribe you offered the imperial astrologer? (Now it is the Queen Mother's turn to look pale.)
LU: (Puzzled.) Bribery? The imperial astrologer? What do you mean?
KING: It seems strangely coincidental that while I was out wild ox hunting upon the advice of the imperial astrologer, you two came here to have a rendezvous. (The King darts a distrustful look at Lu, opens his mouth, obviously trying to probe into a suspected plot. The Queen Mother gives his sleeve a tug.)
QUEEN MOTHER: Let your uncle go. I'll explain everything to you later. (Without waiting for the King's consent: to Lu.) You may go now, (Exits Lu.)
KING: (Between his teeth.) That old scoundrel! and I have to call him uncle! From now on I shall uncle him no more!
QUEEN MOTHER: But that's what is stipulated in your father's will. Lu is your guardian and you should continue to call him uncle.
KING: What has he done for the Kingdom of Ch'in? Why should my father choose him to be the Premier while all other meritorious statesmen and brave warriors are placed under him?
QUEEN MOTHER: It's a long story. Sit down here. (The King sits beside the tripod. He fumbles at it and sometimes tries to lift it while she is talking.) Your grandfather King Hsiao Wen had more than twenty sons and your father was somewhere in the middle and out of favor. He was sent to the Kingdom of Chao, my native country, as royal hostage. Often Ch'in sent armies to violate the borders of Chao. You can well imagine how great was your father's predicament. He fared no better than a common prisoner until your Uncle Lu took an interest in him.
KING: (Sneers.) Because he saw in father a rare piece of merchandise for him to make a great profit out of.
QUEEN MOTHER: So you know the story.
KING: Only a part of it and from the mouths of Lu's enemies. Please go ahead and tell me the whole story.
QUEEN MOTHER: He had done much to help your father. He lent your father money to tide over the difficult period. He found him a wife, that's me. (The King's cough at this juncture invites a stare from his mother.) He persuaded the legal but barren wife of your grandfather to adopt your father as her son so that your father could later claim the throne of Ch'in. He saved your father's life by bribing the guard when the King of Chao ordered him beheaded, and helped him in his escape back to Ch'in. For your father he has given up everything he had. For your father he has risked his own life.
KING: He may have helped my father, but he hasn't done anything for the Kingdom of Ch'in.
QUEEN MOTHER: You ungrateful brat! If your father had not escaped from Chao, where would you be? Most probably you would be a dirty urchin in the streets of Han Tan or, worse still, buried in an unmarked grave somewhere, after having been killed by the soldiers of Chao. If your father had not been made the king of Ch'in, what right would you have to sit on the throne today?
KING: Under the legalist system of Ch'in only meritorious statesmen and warriors are rewarded. Government positions and titles are not something to be given away in payment of personal favors.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Smiling knowingly.) You have repeated it very well. Who said this to you?
KING: (Hurt.) Do you really want to know?
QUEEN MOTHER: Yes, tell me who said this to you?
KING: (Hotly.) Everyone is saying it. Everyone in my court, except Lu Pu Wei himself and a few of his lackeys!
QUEEN MOTHER: (Anxiously.) It seems that you people are ganging up on your uncle.
KING: Talking about ganging up, he is the guilty one. He is keeping thousands of retainers.
QUEEN MOTHER: Prince Meng Chong of Chi, Prince Ping Yuan of Chao, Prince Hsin Ling of Wei, and Prince Chueng Sheng of Chu—these four famous princes had thousands of retainers each in their day.
KING: Most of their retainers were recruited from the lowest classes, dog butchers, thieves, fugitives and vagabonds. Lu's retainers are different. They are all men of parts. What do you think he is keeping them for?
QUEEN MOTHER: Are you insinuating that he is plotting to usurp the throne?
KING: No, he will not. He knows only too well he can never succeed. He is an alien and is generally disliked. He is not stupid. He knows his own limitations. All he wants is to remain as the power behind the throne.
QUEEN MOTHER: What's wrong with that? You are still young and you will need someone powerful to protect you.
KING: I don't want to be in his grip all my life. By the time I come of age I'll find him too big to get rid of.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Horrified.) Get rid of him? Are you out of your mind?
KING: I am in full possession of my faculties and my mind is as clear as crystal. Mother, I hate him! After what I've seen today, I despise him! Mother, you have to choose between him and me.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Greatly upset.) What do you mean, choose between you and him?
KING: (Kneeling.) If you love me more than you love that old scoundrel, you must dismiss him from his premiership and the position as my guardian. He may retain his title as Duke of Wen Hsin and his vassalage of one hundred thousand households. But you must promise not to see him again.
QUEEN MOTHER: (With knowing smile.) You have rehearsed this speech many many times, haven't you? (The King bows his head. Emphatically.) No! Not until you reach the age of 22. It's in your father's will. I can't change it.
KING. (Standing up and hotly.) My father did not say in his will that Lu Pu Wei can make love to his widowed queen, violate the good name of the royal family and endanger the reign of his heir.
QUEEN MOTHER: If I promise not to see him again, will you let him remain as the Premier?
KING: No, I will not. I'm sick and tired of him. If you won't dismiss him, I shall dismiss him myself after my coronation. Meanwhile I will do everything in my power to make him uncomfortable in his position.
QUEEN MOTHER: You cannot do this to him. After all he is ... well, he is ....
KING: (His face turns pale.) He is what?
QUEEN MOTHER: (Changes her mind.) He is your father's ... I mean, your father's best friend.
KING: (Relieved.) When a man is buried, buried also are his hatred and his favors, as well as the gratitude and grudges others bore toward him.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Angrily.) And buried, too, is your filial piety!
KING: (Hotly.) So what? I cannot keep on paying him for his old favors and let the hawk goggle over me all my life. (A crescendo of footsteps is heard offstage.)
QUEEN MOTHER: I hear people coming. Now tell me what you will do if I refuse to sever my relations with Lu Pu Wei? You might just as well know that I was Lu's concubine before I married your father.
KING: (In great anger.) Then I never wish to see you again. (Narrowing his eyes and speaking through his clenched teeth.) When I grow up I shall proclaim a law: any woman who is unfaithful to her husband dead or alive, shall be put to death, WITH NO EXCEPTIONS! (A hubbub of voices is heard outside the moon-shaped door.)
QUEEN MOTHER: (Unruffled.) I'll do what I please! (The King opens his mouth again.) Shut up! There are people outside! (A eunuch comes in and prostrates himself.)
EUNUCH: Your Majesties, the caretakers of this palace have come back from Hsien Yang.
QUEEN MOTHER: Caretaker! When I came here this morning, there wasn't a single soul except a young boy. Caretakers! Everything here rots and molds. All of them should be beheaded!
KING: All right! (To the eunuch.) Execute them with the others.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Aghast.) I didn't really mean ... (coming to a sudden realization.) Whom do you mean by "the others"?
KING: Your suite.
QUEEN MOTHER (Horrified.) My suite! (Angrily.) Who gave you permission to execute my suite?
KING: (In a soft voice.) Mother, I did this only to protect your good name. You know the only way to stop a wagging tongue is to cut off the head.
QUEEN MOTHER: (To the eunuch.) Tell the warden to release my suite at once!
EUNUCH: Your Majesty, the Premier has already altered the death sentence of your suite. He has sent them to build the royal tombs instead.
KING: (In great rage.) How dare he! That old rogue! How dares he defy my order! He is treating me like a common minor, not a King. After my coronation, the first head to roll will be his. The dirty merchant! (He storms out. The eunuch makes a deep bow to the Queen Mother and follows. The King's voice can be heard offstage.) Send this bunch of slaves to Mountain Li. (From offstage also come voices imploring mercy.)
VOICE: Have mercy on us, Your Majesty. Our offense is only a little one. Your Majesty, you know no tomb builders ever come back alive. Eventually they are all buried alive. Have mercy on us, Your Majesty. (Then the King's voice.)
KING: (Offstage.) Silence! It's an honor to be buried alive with the royalties. Guards! Take them away. (Sobs, sighs and sounds of wooden clogs gradually fade away. From a distance come the sounds of horse neighings and wooden wheels rolling, and the voices of grooms shouting orders as the King and his train take departure. The Queen Mother is alone on the stage. She sits there stunned, then throws herself onto the big couch and cries. The sun is about to set and its slanting rays make long shadows in the room. One portal of the moon-shaped door is ajar and swings to and fro in the evening breeze. Once in a while it squeaks and bangs. The Queen Mother suddenly sits up, looking frightened.)
QUEEN MOTHER: Oh! I am alone now—all alone except the guards outside the palace gate. Oh, I'm so frightened. (The Queen Mother stands up. She walks to the door and closes it. The breeze lifts her gown. She shudders.) Oh, I'm so terribly, terribly frightened. (She folds her arms over her chest.) I've never felt so frightened in my life. (She walks slowly around the room.) How am I to spend the night alone in this big empty palace! (The room is so empty and so big that it echoes her voice.) I feel there are ghosts around me. They seem to try to talk to me. This palace is more than a hundred years old. So many people must have died here and many of them in this very room. (Shudders again.) I must ask someone to keep me company. I can summon the guards. (Shakes her head.) No, I cannot! No guards are allowed to come into the inner palace. What shall I do? (Distressed.) What shall I do? (Desperately.) What shall I do? (Hysterically.) What shall I do? (She sits down abruptly and cries afresh. Suddenly from afar comes the sound of a single chariot. Its wooden wheels provide a piercing sound in the quiet evening air as it moves nearer and nearer. It is a welcome sound to the lonely figure on the stage. She sits erect, listening intently. The sound of the wheels stops for a while, and then starts again. This time the chariot stops in front of the palace. Although it is unbecoming of a Queen Mother, she cannot restrain herself from opening the door.)
QUEEN MOTHER: (Opens the door.) Who goes there?
VOICE: Eunuch Lao Ai has a message from the Premier for Your Majesty.
QUEEN MOTHER: Come in! (Lao Li appears at the doorway. Upon seeing the Queen Mother, he immediately kneels.)
LAO: Your slave Lao Ai wishes Your Majesty ten thousand years.
QUEEN MOTHER: You said you have a message from the Premier. Where is it?
LAO: Only a verbal message, Your Majesty.
QUEEN MOTHER: Speak and be quick!
LAO: His Excellency only wishes to know how you feel.
QUEEN MOTHER: How I feel! Tell him I feel like the moon eclipsed, a pond polluted by scum, a molded mirror, a sun shrouded by dark clouds. (After a pause.) How was the Premier when you saw him last?
LAO: He looked unhappy for a while but he was soon comforted by his favorite concubine, Chu Nu. When I left him, His Excellency was having dinner with her.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Suppressing her displeasure.) Who is Chu Nu?
LAO: She is a ravishing beauty from the Kingdom of Chu, Your Majesty. She is not only beautiful but talented .. The Premier takes her everywhere, everywhere except the court. She paints, too. Every time she finishes a painting that is to his liking, he will caption it with a poem.
QUEEN MOTHER: (In great anguish.) Stop! I do not want to hear any more details of the Premier's private life. Any other message from the Premier.
LAO: His Excellency said that I should stay here and serve Your Majesty. He said Your Majesty would be alone here.
QUEEN MOTHER: (With sudden comprehension.) You stand by the window there. (Lao obeys. The light from the window reveals Lao's profile. He is an athletic type, well built, young and handsome but his wandering eyes betray his frivolous nature.) You have pimples all over your chin. What happened?
LAO: ( Uneasy) I. . . They. . .
QUEEN MOTHER: (Sneering.) Hung! Newly plucked beard. You said you are a eunuch. Have you gone through the silkworm-room treatment?
LAO: (Greatly ill at ease.) Yes... No ... Oh, yes, I have.
QUEEN MOTHER: Then I shall ask the guard to examine you before I allow you to stay here.
LAO: (Suddenly kneels down.) Your Majesty, kindly spare my life. I'll tell you everything. I'm not a real eunuch. They plucked my beard, put a eunuch's costume on me and asked me to come here.
QUEEN MOTHER: Who are they?
LAO: The Premier's servants.
QUEEN MOTHER: And who are you?
LAO: I'm Lao Ai.
QUEEN MOTHER: I know. What's your occupation?
LAO: (Embarrassed.) My occupation?
QUEEN MOTHER: Yes, your occupation.
LAO: I. ... Well, I work here and there. Most of my employers are women.
QUEEN MOTHER: That's a strange occupation.
LAO: (Seeing that the Queen Mother is not particularly offended, he becomes bolder.) It is strange but Your Majesty will be surprised to know how many there are in my profession.
QUEEN MOTHER: (Sensing his boldness.) It'll soon be dark. Light the lamps. (Lao stands up. He takes out two pieces of sulphur stone and a small piece of moxa punk from his sleeve pocket. He rubs the stones together vigorously.) It'll take you half a day to start the fire this way. Go to the family temple and you'll find the everburning lamp on the shrine. That's the fire-seed of this palace.
LAO: Thank you, Your Majesty, for enlightening me. (Lao is about to leave but is called back by the Queen Mother.)
QUEEN MOTHER: What kind of incense do you use to fume your attire? It has a strange kind of smell.
LAO: It's not incense. It's musk.
QUEEN MOTHER: Musk?
LAO: Musk is a kind of secretion from the male musk deer. It has a penetrating odor which attracts the female. Therefore, the wearer of musk must wrap it in several layers of silk. Otherwise, because of the body temperature, its smell will become too strong to be pleasant.
QUEEN MOTHER: All right, you may proceed with your errand. (Exits Lao.) A professional paramour! He sent me a professional paramour! How distasteful! How insulting! Lu Pu Wei, I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! So you have refused my love because of that woman! (Between her teeth.) That woman, Chu Nu. She must be much younger than I am. (Seized by stabbing anguish, she puts both her hands over her heart and bends with pain. A fallen flower is blown in through the window by a sudden gust of wind. The Queen Mother picks it up, then drops it.) A fallen flower, a yellowed pearl, a worn-out shoe. That's what he takes me to be now! (She suddenly straightens up.) I must seek revenge! I simply must. For him I betrayed my husband. For him I forfeited the affection of my son. For him I've wasted my youth. How foolish I was trying to get at a thing that isn't there, the flower in the mirror, the moon in the lake, the love of a swindler! But how am I to get even with him? A woman without a single confidant! (She paces to and fro.) How can I get even with him? I must begin by getting myself some intimates. Maybe I will enlist that man Lao Ai. He is a tawdry person but I've no choice! (She paces the floor in silence. Re-enters Lao Ai with a burning lamp lighter on a long stick. He lights the lamps. The Queen Mother watches him in silence.)
QUEEN MOTHER: How is your physical strength?
LAO: (Delighted at being given this chance to show his prowess.) I'll show you as soon as I finish lighting the lamps, Your Majesty. I'm a very strong man. My virility is quite well known among my friends. (As soon as he finishes lighting the lamps, he goes to the tripod and lifts it off the ground, then slowly puts it down.)
QUEEN MOTHER: Not bad. I'll enlist you as my personal guard.
LAO: (Taking the hint, he quickly kneels.) Thank you, Your Majesty. For Your Majesty's sake, Lao Ai will not refuse to jump into the boiling cauldron or to walk into the flames.
QUEEN MOTHER: Well said. (After a slight pause.) The evening air is chilly. You may lower the curtains. (The curtain falls slowly while Lao Ai is lowering the bamboo curtains of the hexagonal window. The Queen Mother lies leisurely on the couch deep in thought.)
CURTAIN
Editor's note: Miss Winifred Wei is the daughter of the late Wei Yi, who collaborated with lin Chin-nan in the translation of scores of English novels into Chinese in the early years of the Chinese Republic. Miss Wei has written several magazine articles, but The Great Wall is her first historical play in English. This is the first of six acts.
(To Be Continued)