When the Sea Turned to Silver
Page 5
“Pinmei!” Yishan said again.
She turned toward him, and he grabbed her hands.
CHAPTER 8
In the morning, the angry wind returned with the sun. Even inside the thick walls of Yishan’s hut, Pinmei could hear its constant roaring, like the crashing waves of a sea storm. She sat silently, listening to it.
“You should eat something,” Yishan said, handing her a small bowl of rice.
Pinmei remembered the clutching hands around Amah’s prized bowl. This is mine, he had said.
“He was the emperor,” Pinmei said, closing her eyes as the violence of the evening washed over her.
“Who was the emperor?” Yishan said.
Pinmei opened her eyes. The white steam from her rice gently reached toward her, its heat warming her hands.
“That soldier in green,” she said.
“The one who threw me as if I were an empty gourd?” Yishan asked. “What about him?”
Stuttering, Pinmei told Yishan what she had seen.
“But why did he take Amah?” Yishan said after Pinmei had finished. “He wouldn’t take her to work on the wall. What does he want?”
“He wants a Luminous Stone That Lights the Night,” Pinmei said slowly, remembering the glint in Amah’s eyes. “Maybe he thinks she can get it for him.”
“Yes, a Luminous Stone…” Yishan said, his voice trailing. His clothes, still slightly damp from their recent washing, had returned to their usual cinnabar color. “I wish I could remember.”
“Remember what?” Pinmei asked.
“If only I could remember…” Yishan started and stopped to look at Pinmei. “I feel like I should know what a Luminous Stone is. There must be a way we could find out.”
Pinmei shrugged. “It’s not as if we have the Paper of Answers, like in Amah’s story,” she said.
“I don’t remember that either,” Yishan said. “What’s the Paper of Answers?”
Long ago, when the City of Bright Moonlight was called the City of Far Remote, the new king arrived. He was about to marry one of the emperor’s granddaughters, and with the marriage he would be given rule of the city.
It did not seem much of a gift. The bordering Jade River constantly flooded, sweeping away the strongest of walls as if flicking a lock of hair. Those who survived the floods lived in poverty and despair.
When the new king first surveyed the land that was soon to be his, he must have felt resentment to be ruler of such a place. However, when his men accidentally knocked over an old bent man carrying buckets of water, the king insisted on stopping. To everyone’s great surprise, the king gave the man his arm and picked up the fallen buckets.
“Let me help you with these,” the new king said. “Do you fill these at that well over there?”
“You are very kind,” the old man said. Even though most nobles were not known for their strength, the king lifted the heavy buckets of water with ease. “Carrying water is not easy work.”
“I’ve done this before,” the king told him, “and you remind me of an old friend.”
“Do I, now?” the old man said to him. The king bowed goodbye and returned to his sedan chair. Just as the chair began to move away, the old man caught the king’s sleeve.
“If I were an old friend of yours,” the old man whispered, “I would tell you that when your father offers you a wedding gift, say you want the paper inside the mouth of his tiger statue.”
The new king stared openmouthed, but the sedan chair was already moving at a gallop. And when the king turned back to look, the old man was gone.
So that evening, when his father offered a wedding gift, the young king asked for the paper inside the mouth of the tiger statue. His father was taken aback, for not only had he forgotten about the paper, but he also considered it completely worthless. But the new king insisted he wanted only the paper and nothing else, so it became his gift.
At first, the king’s father seemed to be right about the paper. As the king sat at his desk by the window, trying to smooth its many creases ( his father had crumpled it into a ball before shoving it into the mouth of the stone tiger ), he did not see anything unusual about it.
The king sighed and pushed away the paper. He had larger troubles to think about. The prior king had left many problems. His walls had been the strongest walls ever built, but they, too, had been easily destroyed by the Jade River. And the old king, afraid the desperation would lead the people into disorder, had imposed strict laws with harsh punishments. As a result, the full prisons were threatening to overwhelm the guards, and there were also whispers of revolt. Was all lost before he had even begun? The new king placed his head in his hands to think, and when the sun fell, he still had not moved.
It was in the light of the moon that the king finally stirred. As he lifted his head, he glanced at the paper. Then he stared. The paper had changed.
On the paper was a line of words in a language the king did not know. As he puzzled over the words, a cloud covered the moon and they disappeared from the page. Just as the king began to curse himself, the cloud drifted and the words reappeared. The words only appear in the bright moonlight, the king realized.
After much effort, the king finally deciphered the words: You are a leader only to those who choose to follow.
What did that mean? Days passed but the king refused to believe it was nonsense. So when he watched his men begin to build another wall to try to hold back the Jade River, the solution came to him. The old king had tried to control the water and the people with force, a method that was eventually doomed to fail. The new king realized he could not fight the water. He had to lead the water to where he wished it to go and let the water follow.
Immediately, the new king ordered the men to stop building the wall. Instead, he began plans for ditches and outlets for the river. The water became irrigation for farmland around the city.
The floods subsided. The king made a series of proclamations encouraging building, trade, and virtue. Prosperity and peace came to the city, and slowly it became one of the most magnificent cities of the land, perhaps even outshining the emperor’s Capital City. The king often consulted the paper and quickly became famous for his wisdom. He renamed the city the City of Bright Moonlight, in honor of the light that revealed the words of the Paper of Answers.
She turned toward him, and he grabbed her hands.
CHAPTER 8
In the morning, the angry wind returned with the sun. Even inside the thick walls of Yishan’s hut, Pinmei could hear its constant roaring, like the crashing waves of a sea storm. She sat silently, listening to it.
“You should eat something,” Yishan said, handing her a small bowl of rice.
Pinmei remembered the clutching hands around Amah’s prized bowl. This is mine, he had said.
“He was the emperor,” Pinmei said, closing her eyes as the violence of the evening washed over her.
“Who was the emperor?” Yishan said.
Pinmei opened her eyes. The white steam from her rice gently reached toward her, its heat warming her hands.
“That soldier in green,” she said.
“The one who threw me as if I were an empty gourd?” Yishan asked. “What about him?”
Stuttering, Pinmei told Yishan what she had seen.
“But why did he take Amah?” Yishan said after Pinmei had finished. “He wouldn’t take her to work on the wall. What does he want?”
“He wants a Luminous Stone That Lights the Night,” Pinmei said slowly, remembering the glint in Amah’s eyes. “Maybe he thinks she can get it for him.”
“Yes, a Luminous Stone…” Yishan said, his voice trailing. His clothes, still slightly damp from their recent washing, had returned to their usual cinnabar color. “I wish I could remember.”
“Remember what?” Pinmei asked.
“If only I could remember…” Yishan started and stopped to look at Pinmei. “I feel like I should know what a Luminous Stone is. There must be a way we could find out.”
Pinmei shrugged. “It’s not as if we have the Paper of Answers, like in Amah’s story,” she said.
“I don’t remember that either,” Yishan said. “What’s the Paper of Answers?”
Long ago, when the City of Bright Moonlight was called the City of Far Remote, the new king arrived. He was about to marry one of the emperor’s granddaughters, and with the marriage he would be given rule of the city.
It did not seem much of a gift. The bordering Jade River constantly flooded, sweeping away the strongest of walls as if flicking a lock of hair. Those who survived the floods lived in poverty and despair.
When the new king first surveyed the land that was soon to be his, he must have felt resentment to be ruler of such a place. However, when his men accidentally knocked over an old bent man carrying buckets of water, the king insisted on stopping. To everyone’s great surprise, the king gave the man his arm and picked up the fallen buckets.
“Let me help you with these,” the new king said. “Do you fill these at that well over there?”
“You are very kind,” the old man said. Even though most nobles were not known for their strength, the king lifted the heavy buckets of water with ease. “Carrying water is not easy work.”
“I’ve done this before,” the king told him, “and you remind me of an old friend.”
“Do I, now?” the old man said to him. The king bowed goodbye and returned to his sedan chair. Just as the chair began to move away, the old man caught the king’s sleeve.
“If I were an old friend of yours,” the old man whispered, “I would tell you that when your father offers you a wedding gift, say you want the paper inside the mouth of his tiger statue.”
The new king stared openmouthed, but the sedan chair was already moving at a gallop. And when the king turned back to look, the old man was gone.
So that evening, when his father offered a wedding gift, the young king asked for the paper inside the mouth of the tiger statue. His father was taken aback, for not only had he forgotten about the paper, but he also considered it completely worthless. But the new king insisted he wanted only the paper and nothing else, so it became his gift.
At first, the king’s father seemed to be right about the paper. As the king sat at his desk by the window, trying to smooth its many creases ( his father had crumpled it into a ball before shoving it into the mouth of the stone tiger ), he did not see anything unusual about it.
The king sighed and pushed away the paper. He had larger troubles to think about. The prior king had left many problems. His walls had been the strongest walls ever built, but they, too, had been easily destroyed by the Jade River. And the old king, afraid the desperation would lead the people into disorder, had imposed strict laws with harsh punishments. As a result, the full prisons were threatening to overwhelm the guards, and there were also whispers of revolt. Was all lost before he had even begun? The new king placed his head in his hands to think, and when the sun fell, he still had not moved.
It was in the light of the moon that the king finally stirred. As he lifted his head, he glanced at the paper. Then he stared. The paper had changed.
On the paper was a line of words in a language the king did not know. As he puzzled over the words, a cloud covered the moon and they disappeared from the page. Just as the king began to curse himself, the cloud drifted and the words reappeared. The words only appear in the bright moonlight, the king realized.
After much effort, the king finally deciphered the words: You are a leader only to those who choose to follow.
What did that mean? Days passed but the king refused to believe it was nonsense. So when he watched his men begin to build another wall to try to hold back the Jade River, the solution came to him. The old king had tried to control the water and the people with force, a method that was eventually doomed to fail. The new king realized he could not fight the water. He had to lead the water to where he wished it to go and let the water follow.
Immediately, the new king ordered the men to stop building the wall. Instead, he began plans for ditches and outlets for the river. The water became irrigation for farmland around the city.
The floods subsided. The king made a series of proclamations encouraging building, trade, and virtue. Prosperity and peace came to the city, and slowly it became one of the most magnificent cities of the land, perhaps even outshining the emperor’s Capital City. The king often consulted the paper and quickly became famous for his wisdom. He renamed the city the City of Bright Moonlight, in honor of the light that revealed the words of the Paper of Answers.
