he confirmed with a sigh, adjusted his helmet and, waddling from side to side on his short legs, went to meet the stretcher. His square body resembled a piece of marble carved from a rock, from which a human figure was to be made. But it has not been finished. “He could be a good plowman,” thought Lacius and looked towards the crowd of eunuchs surrounding the stretcher.
The two female figures were half covered with fans, and only their yellow robes and belts were visible to the Romans. They moved slowly and carefully, like living statues that glided smoothly above the ground. But Lacius immediately noticed the difference between them. One of them seemed to him “gentle and kind’, and the other “wayward and cunning’. Paul Domician seemed to have overheard his thoughts and said quietly:
– Two women. One is like an olive and the other is like a cypress.
– Yes, they are, – he answered in a whisper. – You’d better clear your throat! Now you have to twitter.
The chief of security, Fu Xing, once again began to talk about the siege of the city, but this time the guests did not listen to him. They rushed to the end of the barn, where the Romans stood. Looking at their movements and changes, they laughed and exchanged funny jokes. Occasionally, their eyes were visible from behind the fans, but their faces did not appear completely. When the first sounds of music were heard and Paul and Zeno sang the first hymn, the Emperor’s concubines froze and stood motionless for some time. Then they called the head eunuch and said something to him. He immediately ordered everyone to be silent. The music stopped. So did the songs. And then an unexpected command sounded:
– Tuo yifu! Tuoxia!18
– How come? – Paul Domician asked stupidly. The legionnaires began to whisper, not understanding what they had to do.
– So these are eunuchs! It looks like they will castrate us right here, – Lucro’s voice rang out, and the Romans fell silent, frightenedly squeezing into their shields, as their only protection from the danger that threatened them. Lacius also felt everything inside shrinking and trembling. The guards repeated the command and took up their sticks. The shields slowly lowered to the ground, and the legionnaires began to remove their helmets and breastplates.
– Now sing! – the voice of the senior eunuch ordered. The musicians began to play a folk melody out of tune, and Paul and Zeno began to sing in the Han language. The concubines, surrounded by eunuchs, came closer and began to discuss something, peeking out from behind their fans. It seemed to Lacius that they were dissatisfied with Paul. And they liked Zeno. Then they approached him, and now their words were heard better. They said that he could be used every day because he had a lot of power even though his face was very scary. Pink flowers on yellow silk swayed, and the robes with fans moved on, assessing each Roman in turn.
– Are they looking for eunuchs? – asked Lucro, moving closer to Lacius.
– Yes, – he nodded without thinking. In fact, it turned out that these two concubines were assessing their manhood, as if choosing suitable slaves for carnal pleasures.
– What a problem! – Lucro sighed. – The gods are angry with us… Omnipotent Mars, kill me here with your lightning, – he begged, raising his eyes upward. Lacius turned his head in his direction and was about to interrupt his friend, but at that moment something quietly plopped right on his head and Lucro fell silent, amazed by such a sign from above. A gray-black spot spread right on his forehead. Lacius raised his eyes. Behind the thick log of the roof was a small nest of birds. – Thank you, Mars! – Wiping his head, Lucro said with sincere gratitude.
– This is a sign! – Lacius agreed. – Wait! Now something will happen.
But time passed, Paul and Zeno were already singing the third song, and the concubines continued to examine the Romans: the eunuchs, at their command, turned those they liked, brought them closer or forced them to squat several times. Having reached the end, the women suddenly decided to go back. They pointed at him, and Lacius realised that now this crowd would head towards him. His heart beat faster, sweat appeared on his forehead, and mhisy knees began to tremble. Intuition suggested that this was not without reason.
– This? – the senior eunuch asked the concubines as they approached Lacius.
– Shi, ta19, – was heard from behind the fans.
– When were you with a woman? – the face with plums under the eyes turned directly to him.
– Does he understand you? – asked one of the women.
– Yes, – confirmed the senior eunuch, which caused great delight in both concubines. – Well, when? – he asked again.
– A month ago, – answered Lacius, and joyful chirping was heard again behind the fans.
– Every day? – came the next question. Lacius’s heart beat even faster. If they need him only for this, then hope remains, remains… Then they can find a way out, just not to fall into the hands of the eunuchs!
– Every day, – he confirmed. The women began to talk about something. Everyone around was waiting patiently. Finally, they asked the head eunuch something again. He turned to Lacius.
– Show me what you can do! Hey, bring the woman! – he shouted to his servants. But it was not an easy task because there were no women around. Lacius noticed that in the cities they passed through, there really were no women visible on the streets. There were only men everywhere. Even in this big city they did not see them either near the river, or near the walls, or near the houses, as if it were a city of men. However, the servants ran somewhere, and it became clear to him that now he would have to pretend to be a loving male in order to please the Emperor’s concubines.
– I can show these women another thing. I can do good things, – he tried to pronounce correctly, hoping to attract their attention. His ploy was a success.
– What things? – the senior eunuch dissatisfiedly conveyed the question of the concubines.
– I need a basket of fruit, – Lacius asked. Seeing the master’s nod, the servants immediately brought the basket. – Paul, the story about the peach, – he quickly whispered over his shoulder and shouted to the musicians: – Taozhi20! – they nodded willingly and, grabbing the instruments, began playing a slow, barely audible melody.
The blind singer began to soulfully recount a short story about a girl whom God wanted to make his beloved, but she refused and asked the main god to save her. And then the main god turned her into a peach tree, the fruits of which would remind people of her youth and beauty.
Lacius saw out of the corner of his eye that several servants of the senior eunuch had appeared in the distance, followed by a small figure in a gray robe. This means that they have found a woman, and now no one will listen to the stories of Pal Domician. This upset Lacius, but there was nothing he could do about it. However, everyone else listened so carefully to the story of the blind singer that they did not pay attention to the approach of several horsemen from the direction of the palace.
CHAPTER VII. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING WITH THE EMPEROR
– On your knees! On your knees! On your knees! – suddenly there was a loud scream. Lacius did not see where it was coming from. But from the intonation of the screaming servants he realised that something unpleasant was happening. – The Son of Heaven is coming! Everyone on your knees! – the rider, who appeared from behind the stretcher continued to shout. The sound of hooves could be heard behind the far wall of the barn. There were at least three horses. The menacing words were still echoing under the roof of the canopy, and the servants were already lying prostrate.
The Romans had never seen anything like this before – all the eunuchs,