Bastique

Prince Zhu Qihu

Qihu had a Mongolian horse that he was never permitted to ride. It was presented to him on the event of his eighth birthday by a Duke of Shaanxi seeking to curry favor with his majesty, the Emperor. However, Zha Wu, the Eunich on whom fell the considerable responsibility of enforcing palace security, deemed it unwise to allow the use of the steed until three years had passed. Zha Wu was apparently party to some intelligence that the Duke of Shaanxi periodically housed small parties of men in Mongolian-like garb, and it could not be certain whether or not the horse had been trained to throw a prince, or even worse, kidnap a prince at an opportune moment.

Qihu, for his part, was familiar enough with horses to know that although they could be trained to do amazing things, the intellegence required to perform such complicated tasks was well beyond their capabilities. But future emperor or no, none of the court advisors paid very much attention to Qihu's personal observations, and the ban on riding the Mongolian mount remained in force. Qihu was to remain content with his greatly undersized Xizang Pony.

It became known, however, as court rumors often do, that there was little credence to Zha Wu's intelligence, for the eunich held a grudge against the Duke. The details that Qihu could gather were murky at best, but it involved a visit by the Duke three years earlier, a pair of Buddhist Nuns, a team of jugglers and a Siberian tiger. Zha Wu was retired early, and mercifully; and reunited with his appendages shortly after his head was separated from his body.

It had made not one jot of difference to Qihu's permission to ride, however. The good Emperor himself was the only one allowed to remove the ban, and his father was far too involved with the preparations for the wonderful and Lucky Seventh Voyage to be concerned about the Prince's little problems. It was three months yet until his eleventh birthday.

But Qihu was not going to ride the pony during the celebrations like some ceramic Persian toy. He must have his horse! But how?

Qihu was consumed with the thought as he paced across the construction site of the Yuhuayuan, the imperial garden. His retinue remained close by: the guards, Bei and Ma, as well as Qihu's imperial buddy, Huk; talking among themselves, but but the prince might as well been alone for all the attention he paid them.

Then fate or fortune played a hand, for Qihu looked up for no apparent reason, and saw her across the grounds, giggling with a pair of the younger palace virgins among a grove of freshly planted bamboo. Mei was unusually smart for a female, a trait that must have come from sharing the womb with Qihu. Qihu could consult with her regarding the affair of the horse and not be ashamed. He had to think of a reason to speak with her first, though; in a way that he could get her by herself.

"You there!" he called, careful to avoid being familiar. "Yes, you, the daughter of the Empress. Come away from there, I have something to show you, and you alone!"