Read Online The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin - Free Book Online Page A

She tilted her head to listen to nuances of tone that were beyond his ears. Maybe that was how she read people so well, catching the subtle meanings hidden in voice and inflection.
    Finally she straightened her shoulders and poised her fingers over the span of the strings. She inhaled, gathering herself, and began to play.
    The legend was that Ling Guifei had charmed the August Emperor with her music. She commanded the universe when she played, the trees and the stars. That part was poetic nonsense, but the music pulled at him inside and out. The rhythm sent his blood rushing through his veins.
    She played with her eyes closed. He closed his own eyes, joining her in the darkness. She had said the song depicted a battle, but nothing of the sort came to mind, no lofty images of horses and banners waving or battalions clashing over hills. Only darkness and a pure sound that filled him, creeping into spaces he hadn’t known were empty.
    Desire flooded his body, the dull throb building to an acute pain that would not let go. His hand tightened on the arm of the chair.
    Ling Suyin was exactly the sort of person Lao Sou would have recruited: talented, resourceful and cunning. He wanted her regardless—the warmth of her skin, the reluctant willingness of her mouth. He even wanted her detachment and her defiance. Would the Old Man have predicted that as well?
    As the final notes struck, he opened his eyes.
    ‘Did you enjoy it?’ She played on. The second song flowed over his mind like cool water, but did nothing to ease the ache in his body.
    ‘You play well.’
    ‘Such ardent praise,’ she reprimanded lightly. Her fingers continued to walk along the strings gently.
    ‘Don’t you tire of compliments? Look at Jun over there. He won’t blink for fear of losing the sight of you.’
    She laughed and the sound puffed up his chest. At the other end of the courtyard, Jun slinked further behind the shrubbery, realising he had been caught. Li Tao couldn’t fault the boy. Greater men had found themselves helpless at this woman’s feet. The music lulled him into the first sense of peace he had allowed himself in long time. He wanted to sink into the dream and accept where it took him.
    ‘Where do you go every day?’ she asked in a tone of disinterest.
    ‘Nowhere you would find entertaining.’
    This must be how she was able to pry secrets from the most powerful men in the empire. He had no skill for filling silence with conversation, but he found himself wanting to do so. To reciprocate the moment she had created.
    ‘I received another imperial summons to appear before Emperor Shen in Changan,’ he stated. Nothing secret about that, it being an imperial proclamation.
    The gentle music faltered before continuing. The notes took on a hint of shrillness beneath the soft warmth.
    ‘Then you must go and make peace with Emperor Shen.’ Suyin stared down at the instrument.
    Was that concern he detected?
    ‘Once they have me in Changan, it’ll be the death of me.’
    ‘If you don’t go, they’ll hang you as a traitor.’
    ‘They behead traitors, Ling Guifei ,’ he replied mildly.
    She flattened the strings with her hand to stop the sound. ‘Why do you insist on calling me that?’
    ‘To remind myself that you are not mine.’
    Silence hung between them.
    ‘But you don’t want me,’ she said, her tone cutting. ‘Other than for one night.’
    ‘One night can last a very long time.’
    The blush in her cheeks caught him off guard. He had assumed such flirtation was second nature to a seasoned courtesan.
    ‘I don’t wish to see you hanged…or beheaded.’
    ‘Not without a fight,’ he promised.
    ‘War and death. That’s all men like you know.’ She pushed the instrument aside and sank back as if it no longer held any joy for her.
    ‘This summons is an ambush. The imperial court has all the power in Changan. I’ll face whoever comes for me here, on my own terms.’
    Suyin fell silent. She tapped her fingertips