When Chen had gone, Qian Long dismissed the eunuchsand opened the small box. He read the Emperor YongZheng's note and the letter written by his naturalmother, which said correctly that he had a redbirthmark on his left buttock. He sighed. There couldno longer be any doubt about his true origins. Heordered a eunuch to bring him a brazier and threw thedocuments one by one into the fire. As the flamesleapt up, he began to feel more at ease, and on animpulse, threw the small wooden box into the flames aswell, filling the room with heat and smoke.

　　He stared for a moment at the jade vases on the table,then said to the eunuch: "Send her up." The eunuchdisappeared, and returned on his knees to report:

　　"Your slave deserves to die. The lady refuses tocome."Qian Long laughed shortly and glanced at the jadevases again. Then he stood up and went downstairs. Twoeunuchs followed carrying the vase.

　　One floor down, a maid servant pulled aside a curtainand Qian Long walked through into a room full of freshflowers. Two other maids servants took the vases fromthe eunuchs and carefully placed them on a table.

　　A girl wearing a white gown was sitting facing thewall. With a wave of his hand, Qian Long dismissed themaid servants from the room. He had just opened hismouth to speak when the door curtains parted and twobodyguards came in and stood quietly by the entrance.

　　"What are you doing here? Get out," he said angrily.

　　"Your slaves have orders from the Empress Dowager toprotect Your Highness," said one of the bodyguards.

　　"I'm fine. What do I need protection for?""The Empress Dowager knows she ... that the lady isnot ... that she is strong-willed, and is afraid thatshe will inflict injury on Your Highness's preciousself."Qian Long glanced down at his bandaged hand, andshouted: "There's no need. Get out!"The two bodyguards kowtowed frantically but did notretire. He knew that no matter what, they would notdare to disobey the Empress Dowager's orders, so hetook no further notice of them, and turned back toface the girl in the white gown.

　　"Turn round, I have something to say," he said in theMuslim tongue. The girl took no notice. In her handwas a dagger. She gripped it even tighter.

　　Qian Long sighed. "Look at what is on the table," hesaid. The girl ignored him for a moment, but finallyher curiosity got the better of her. She glanced roundand saw the pair of jade vases, and at the samemoment, the Emperor and the bodyguards were dazzled bythe sight of her beauty: it was Princess Fragrance.

　　She had been captured by General Zhao Wei's army andsent to Beijing under special guard to the Emperor.

　　Qian Long thought it would be more interesting to beable to talk to the girl directly, so he called for ateacher to teach him the Muslim tongue. He was anintelligent man and studied diligently, and after afew months he could talk in a halting fashion.

　　But Princess Fragrance was already tightly bound toChen. Furthermore, Qian Long had been responsible forthe death of her father, making her even more adamentin her refusal of his advances. Several times she hadbeen forced almost to the point of suicide, but eachtime she thought of Chen and restrained herself.

　　"I will be just like I was when surrounded by thewolves," she thought. "That large wolf wanted to eatme, but my knight finally saved me."Qian Long watched her becoming more haggard day byday. He was afraid she would die of melancholy, so hecalled for the capital's best craftsmen and had thePrecious Moon Pavilion built for her to live in.

　　But Princess Fragrance took not the slightest notice.

　　The priceless treasures used to decorate the pavilionwere ignored, except for the murals covering thewalls. They depicted scenes of the Muslims areas, andshe stared at them glassy-eyed, reliving over and overthe carefree happiness of the days when she and Chenhad been together.

　　Sometimes Qian Long spied on her secretly and saw herstaring into distance, the trace of a smile playingaround her lips. One day he could resist it no longerand he stretched out his hand to grasp her arm. Therewas a flash of a dagger, and only Princess Fragrance'signorance of kung fu and his own sprightliness savedhim. But his left hand had been cut and in a momentwas covered in blood. He was so scared by the incidentthat from that moment on, he did not dare to riskannoying her again. When the Emperess Dowager heard ofthe matter, she ordered the eunuchs to take the daggeroff her, but Princess Fragrance pointed it at herchest whenever anyone came near her and threatened tocommit suicide. So Qian Long ordered them to stay awayfrom her and not to interfere.

　　Princess Fragrance was also afraid they would putsomething in her food or drink, so apart from freshfruit she had peeled herself, she would touch nothing.

　　Qian Long had a Muslim-style bath constructed for her,but she refused to use it, and after many days of notbathing, her body's fragrance became even morepronounced. Originally naive and ignorant of worldlyaffairs, she became increasingly strong andknowledgeable as the weeks went past as a result ofher exposure to the evil people who populated thepalace.

　　As soon as she spotted the vases, she started in shockand q............