a condescending cough was heard again. – This is true. You are not deceiving us. Then tell me, why do we need you? I heard you could build bridges and threw swords. But this can be learnt. What do you know and can do that we can’t? Surprise us, and then you will live.
Lacius had to think it over but he had no time to mull it over. His throat felt sore. But not from excitement, but from stuffiness. He couldn’t remember anything worthwhile. If everything could be learnt, then how were they different? Only the colour of his skin… Nothing else came to his mind.
– Rome, tell him about Rome! – Paul Domician whispered from behind, wanting to help.
– Your blind friend can speak louder. We can’t hear him! – said the Emperor. And then Lacius remembered what happened at the peasants’ festival in the Xiongnu camp!
– The singer says he can sing, – he said quickly and added: – But that’s not the most important thing. – I can show you what we can do, but you can’t. We can speak very quietly and understand each other. Look! Hey, Lucro, move away, – he asked from a comrade standing next to him. – Ten steps. Now turn your back. Listen to me and show me what I say, – Lacius whispered “Thumbs up’ and Lucro raised his thumb up. Then he whispered “Helmet’, and Lucro raised the helmet above his head. Then there followed “Right hand’, “Left foot’, “Chain on the feet’ and “Jump’. Lucro repeated everything flawlessly. – You see, – Lacius said with a smile and turned his head towards the large fan, – he understands everything. – But in your language this is impossible.
– Possible! – there was a cry of indignation and disbelief. Lacius smiled because the Emperor was clearly hurt.
– How can you contradict the Wise Ruler! – the courtier intervened again, trying to contrive and hit Lacius from a half-bent state, but instead the Emperor sent him to Lucro, where the unfortunate man had to turn his back and straighten up to hear the voice of his master.
The old man did everything in his power, even turning his head, but it did not help. The Han people did not know how to speak in a whisper. Their words had different meanings because they said them with different intonations. And without intonation they all turned into incomprehensible sounds. Therefore, no matter how hard the Emperor tried, nothing worked for him – his whisper merged into a quiet, monotonous sound and the unfortunate courtier did not hear anything. Trembling with fear and wiping his sweaty palms on his robe, he turned his head first one way and then the other, trying to hear at least one word, and even tried to repeat Lucro’s movements, hoping that the Emperor was saying the same thing, however, in the end, he could not stand it and shouted at him:
– You are apparently completely deaf! We tell you: Step back. Don’t you hear?
– Your slave can’t hear, – the courtier bleated in a squeaky voice.
– Shi Xian, take his place, – the Master of Heaven turned to the senior eunuch. – You’re not that old yet and you should hear us.
But nothing worked out with the eunuch either. Then the Emperor ordered the concubines, who had not yet left, to be brought from the stretcher. They happily returned, but they didn’t hear anything either. Throwing out their hands in confusion, they looked around, but could not repeat what their Master was whispering. After that, tense silence hung under the canopy for some time. The Emperor frowned and thought. Finally, he turned to Lacius and said:
– You can live in peace. But… – there was some doubt in his voice, bordering on curiosity. – But can you say what surprised you most? If this surprises us again, the rest of the slaves will also live.
– What surprised me? – Lacius felt that now his heart was beating faster and from the side where the Romans stood, a wave of fear and horror washed over him. He forgot that the rulers of fate cannot be trusted and they can change their minds in the blink of an eye, he forgot that the Emperor’s wife was going to see them die at the holiday, yes, he forgot, because the desire to help his comrades was stronger than all other feelings.
Lacius feverishly turned over in his head everything he knew, but these were events from his world, which was alien to this strange man. He could only be surprised by what he knew himself. But what could he know? And then he remembered Chow’s stories about her family, the ancient generals and eunuchs who ruled instead of Emperors, writing on silk and bamboo sticks, and the great Emperor, who built a great wall. And he made up his mind. – I’m not sure you’ll be surprised. But it struck me, – he began and coughed. His throat was dry, but Lacius couldn’t afford to ask for water. – Sorry… my throat… it’s hot… – he shook his head, holding his neck. The Emperor remained motionless. Swallowing non-existent saliva, Lacius continued: – One person surprised me most of all. – He lived a long time ago and wrote the history of all rulers since ancient times. He wanted to write down all the names and all the actions, all the wars and all the betrayals. But he lived in difficult times. One official suggested that the Emperor change taxes in the country. And this historian supported the official. Then the Emperor got angry. He ordered the historian to cut off his reproductive organs. Usually this meant loss of face. The historian had to kill himself to avoid disgrace. But it was possible to stay alive, cut off your balls, and continue to live in shame. This man chose a life of shame to finish his work on the history of your people. He emasculated himself by saying that the history of the great Empire is more important than his unborn children. That’s what surprised me, because I’ve never met such people. Nowhere, – Lacius finished his short story and heard a thoughtful voice from behind the fan:
– Sima Qian! It was Sima Qian! Yes, he was a strong man. He did a lot. We know about this, – after these words, the Emperor fell silent again, and none of the servants, bending in a bow or lying on the ground, dared to break the silence while he was thinking. – Alright, – he finally said in a calm voice, – you reminded us of the past. Once upon a time this surprised us too. Let your people live! Call Bao Shi!
– Your slave is here, – came a voice from somewhere on the side, and under the canopy showed up the governor, doubled over, wearing an expensive robe stained with dust. Unable to stay on his feet, he fell to the ground and touched his forehead to the ground three times.
– Take them. Let them live for now. Feed and water. We’ll think about what to do with them. Make sure they don’t die! And we think they need water.
– Your slave will do everything, the Wise Buddha of our days! – Bao Shi once again poked his forehead into the dust. The Emperor, without looking at him, turned around and walked towards his servants. They also stood bent in a deep bow. Lacius wondered how long they could stand like that without moving. After all, it was much harder than standing on all fours. He was torn from these thoughts by a blow to the legs with a stick – Bao Shi’s servants again reminded the Romans that they should lower themselves to the ground and not look at the Emperor. At the same time, they also did this in a half-bent state, which is why they hit the legs, and not the heads and shoulders, as before. But the Romans did not need to be forced; they immediately fell down, as if on command, and after some time began to take off their breastplates and helmets.
It seemed that in the chaos that had arisen, no one cared about them now. The Emperor disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, the stretcher with his two concubines, surrounded by a large number of eunuchs, was already approaching the gates of the inner palace, and the servants under the canopy still continued to fuss and run, carrying some sticks, barrels, water and bags. They brought a lot of water to the Romans. Other servants were collecting shields, breastplates, and helmets at this time. Soon happy time came – the governor allowed them to be taken to the river. Even the chief of security, Fu Xing, was surprised that Bao Shi would condescend to do such an act. Although everything was clear without any explanation – the officials of the imperial court were still near the canopy and could then tell the Emperor how the governor behaved after the departure of the Master of the Celestial Empire.
– Tell