Song of the Spring Moon Waning (3 page)

"Are you sure?" The thrush looked back at him.

It was all fine and good for there to be talking animals in a dream, but it was a very different story if they talked to him when he was awake. He looked away from them, up at the field that ended with a row of trees. There was someone moving towards him through the field. Wen Yu squinted, raising one hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

The figure coming towards him wore silk robes very much like his own, except with bright-colored brocade patterns along the bottom, nearly to the waist, and on each sleeve. It might have depicted birds, but at this distance, he couldn't be sure.

"Good, he's finally here," the thrush said. "Took his time about it too."

Back in his tiny room in Imperial City, Wen Yu jerked awake to the sound of tapping at his window.

Wen Yu stumbled up and over to the window, opening the shutters in time for a small brown bird to flutter in. The bird circled the room and then came to rest on the edge of Wen Yu's wash bucket.

"No, no." Wen Yu made for the bird, still half-asleep. "You shouldn't be in here, little one, this isn't where you belong."

The bird chirped at him but stayed where it was, remarkably unafraid. Wen Yu peered at it, trying to push away the fog of sleep that crowed all the good sense out of his mind. Eventually he concluded that the bird was a thrush.

"Good." Wen Yu stomped back over to his blankets. "I suppose you are going to want to talk to me too? You'll have to wait. I'm sleeping." To drive his point home, he lay down and wrapped himself in his blanket again, rolling to face away from the bird.

The bird chirruped but did not speak.

Wen Yu nestled into the blankets, feeling remarkably peaceful for the first time in what felt like years. He knew he should get up and begin his studies again, but the blankets were warm and soft. Maybe it would be all right if he slept a little longer.

He dozed in the warmth of his blankets, woken again sometime later by the sound of the bird pecking at his window shutters, this time from the inside of the room. Wen Yu sat up and yawned, then scrubbed one hand across his face. He stood and went to the kettle to make his morning tea. Tea in hand, Wen Yu idly watched the bird cling to the shutters as he took a sip. The tea was good, hot and invigorating; drinking tea instead of wine was supposed to the make the senses keener, or so he'd been told.

A thought formed in the back of his mind and traveled along its inner recesses until it met another thought, and the two together began the trek to the front of Wen Yu's consciousness.

Wen Yu set aside his tea. He knew of someone looking for a thrush.

*~*~*

Birds, it turned out, were surprisingly hard to catch without hurting the bird or himself in the process. He only managed it halfway, ending up with bruised shins but an undamaged thrush. He threw the water in the bucket out the window, upending it over the bird. With a now-snared thrush, Wen Yu dressed with all due speed and went out to buy a birdcage.

"This is a very nice birdcage," the man at the shop told Wen Yu, who eyed it.

It looked small to him, even for a small bird like a thrush. Maybe it was actually a large cricket cage. It was also quite a bit above his price range. Wen Yu turned it over in his hands and knew that if he were to buy it he wouldn't be spending time at Zhi Ping's noodle shop any time soon.

"It's very well crafted." The balding merchant ran one plump pink hand across the tiny birdcage in a loving manner. "Very popular, this design. Very fashionable these days; your lady wife will be pleased with this purchase."

"Do you have something a little bigger?" Wen Yu asked. "Maybe bamboo?"

The merchant dropped his hand, not looking at all pleased, probably because the bamboo cages were cheaper. "We do have this one, honorable student." He bustled into the back of the shop and came back with a much larger bamboo cage. "But I would recommend this if you keep a lot of birds; the smaller ones are really—"

"That's quite all right." Wen Yu had glimpsed the price tag, and it was far more reasonable. "I'll take it."

With obvious reluctance, the merchant handed over the cage, and Wen Yu passed him his coins.

Once back in his room, Wen Yu put the birdcage down and went over to the bucket, from which came a frantic tapping. He lifted the bucket only the have the bird fly straight up to the ceiling, circling the room madly.

"Wait!" Wen Yu dashed after it, circling the room himself as he tried to snare it in one of his tunics without hurting the little thing. "Come down from there."

The bird fluttered around the room, dodging Wen Yu's pursuit and upsetting some of his papers as it passed over his desk. Wen Yu avoided stepping on any of the precious bundles of paper only to trip over his sleeping blankets and fall. Picking himself up, he made a lunge for the bird, managing to grab it finally and wrestle the door of the cage open with one hand. He stuffed the bird into the cage and got the door closed and locked. He wheezed for a few minutes, before he forced himself back up again to go collect the papers that were scattered across the floor.

It was almost a full day gone without study, he thought, stacking the papers back onto his desk. Wen Yu hadn't gone a full day without studying since he was six, but suddenly he was loath to stop what he was doing and work on mathematics principals. Instead, he thought about how to contact Liu Yi.

Neither Zhi Ping nor his sister had known who Liu Yi was or how he could be reached. Wen Yu had met a servant who claimed to work for the illusive individual, but he had no idea how to contact Liu Yi or his servant. So then what? Wen Yu sat at his desk and considered. His eyes drifted around the room, finally landing on a folded piece of paper lying forgotten to the side of where Wen Yu kept his cups and tea supplies. He stood and went over to pick it up. It was the second note from Liu Yi, the only one he had not returned with a reply on the back.

Honorable student, you do not know with what urgency I need my songbird back. If you are in need of money, I will pay. You must return my little bird to me.

Wen Yu frowned over the note. Liu Yi, whoever he was, must love birds if he was willing to go to such lengths for one. His eyes lingered on the bird he had in his cage. There had to be merchants selling thrushes in the city. Liu Yi must be able to get another, and yet he was so insistent on getting this particular one back. Wen Yu was beginning to doubt he'd take the one Wen Yu had found. Unless through some extreme good fortune, Wen Yu's bird was the one Liu Yi was missing.

He looked again at the note in his hand. The paper was of fine quality, and Liu Yi had sent a servant to deliver his notes. Between the young servant and Liu Yi's apparent ability to waste good paper on simple notes about a lost bird, Wen Yu guessed he was a wealthy individual, and well-educated, judging from the writing.

Wen Yu tucked the note back into his tunic, picked up the birdcage, and headed for Li Song's paper shop.

Li Song was a tall, thin man, attractive enough for someone of his age, and dressed in expensive silk. His shop was small, tasteful but not garish. He sold paper along with brushes and ink stones, all the highest quality in the city. For this reason, Li Song didn't know many of the students in the city, but he did know many of the officials. He was also about the only person in the city aside from Pang that Wen Yu knew.

Li Song had sold him ink when Wen Yu had first come to the city and engaged him casual conversation on the classic poets. Wen Yu wasn't sure what he'd said, the same as what everyone thought of the classic poets, probably, but Li Song had gotten very excited and taken him out to a teashop. Wen Yu had at first feared that he was being courted, which had made him twitchy and nervous, but he'd soon learned that Li Song just loved poetry and was particularly interested in Wen Yu's interpretation of it. Flattering, really; no one had ever been that interested in what Wen Yu had to say about poetry. Wen Yu had continued their friendship instead of cutting Li Song off, lest he get too close, as his father had always instructed him.

Arching one dark eyebrow as Wen Yu pushed his way into the store, Li Song regarded Wen Yu's disheveled appearance and his giant birdcage.

"I usually do not allow pets in the shop," Li Song told him. "But I must say no one has ever tried to bring a bird, until now. I find myself intrigued. How are you, Wen Yu? In good health, I trust. It has been a few weeks since you stopped by, and I had begun to worry that you had become ill."

"Not ill, no. I'm in good health, actually. I've been busy with my studies. And some other matters which have come up, one of which I was hoping you could help me with." Wen Yu put the cage down and pulled out the note. "Do you know who might have been the author of this?"

He held the note out to Li Song, who took it in one long-fingered, elegant hand.

"Let me see." He looked at the paper between his fingers and then read the note, eyebrows rising as he did. "That explains the thrush." He gave Wen Yu's birdcage a meaningful look. "As it happens, I do know the writer of this note, and he is not a student, which is why I am assuming you had trouble finding him." He handed the note back to Wen Yu.

"Is he already a scholar bureaucrat?" Wen Yu asked, tucking the note away again.

"Not quite." Li Song tapped his lips thoughtfully with his fingers. "Liu Yi is a eunuch at the Imperial Palace."

Wen Yu blinked. "Well." He looked down at the birdcage. "I suppose that means they will know how to contact him?"

"Possibly." Li Song folded his arms over his chest. "Although they will probably turn you away at the first gate. Alternatively, you could give me a note, and I would make sure that it got to him."

"But I've brought the bird all the way here." Wen Yu thought of hauling the cage all the way back to his room, and Li Song laughed.

"You'll just have to take it back with you. Here, write a short note and come back tomorrow."

Feeling grumpy, Wen Yu nodded and took the paper and brush Li Song offered him.

A thousand apologies,
he wrote with quick brush strokes.
I have come to possess a song thrush. I do not know if it is yours, but if you would like to see it, you are welcome.

"I'll make sure he gets it." Li Song took the note and tucked it into his sleeve.

"Thank you for your help." Wen Yu bowed low to him, and Li Song waved one hand.

"Come by for tea sometime, that's all I ask. I've been dying to speak with you about your thoughts on the work of a certain poet."

"Then we must have tea sometime soon." Wen Yu bowed again and picked up the birdcage. "Although ..." He hesitated for a moment. "Maybe not until after the examinations."

"So long?" Li Song pouted before laughing and waving a hand. "I understand; it's really terrible of me to be distracting you."

"But we will have tea soon, I promise you." Wen Yu bowed again and turned towards the door of the shop.

He trudged back through the streets, carrying the large, unwieldy cage. Li Song was a good friend to have, he thought, avoiding an ox cart piled high with sacks of rice that was heading towards the Imperial Palace. Li Song was influential and well-placed as well as kind and interesting to speak with. Nevertheless, Wen Yu reminded himself, there was his father's secret to safeguard. Best not to get too close to anyone in the city.

Pushing open his door with his shoulder, Wen Yu sat the bird in the corner and tried to figure out what he was going to feed it. He wasn't sure what thrushes ate. The thrush in the cage flapped unhappily, scooting around and pecking at the bars. The only thing Wen Yu had that he thought might be at all interesting to a bird was some lychee fruit, so he peeled a small piece. The bird skittered away from him when he pushed the fruit through the bars, puffing up its white and black chest. Wen Yu watched the bird with a pang of concern at the little thing's refusal to eat. Still he supposed it would eat eventually once it was hungry enough. He turned away from the cage and settled at his desk, pulling his stack of notes towards himself.

Li Song handed Wen Yu a note when he walked into the paper shop the next day.

Meet me as the sun sets over the west gate at the bridge of black stone. And bring the thrush with you.

Wen Yu looked up at Li Song, who shrugged one shoulder.

The black stone bridge was over on the west side of the city as opposed to the south section where Wen Yu lived. The bridge was closer to the palace then he generally went, arching over one of the emperor's waterways filled with lilies and overhung by trees.

Wen Yu washed himself carefully and pulled out the one good robe he'd brought with him. The robe was made of dark orange silk with a little gold and red brocade around the cuffs. The robe had wide sleeves, a high collar, and fell to his ankles. Luckily, the length hid the fact that his trousers were made of less expensive cotton and that his boots were not new. Wen Yu combed out his hair, pulled it back from his face, wished briefly and not for the first time that he could grow a distinguished-looking beard, and left for the bridge.

Wen Yu fidgeted as he stood on the edge of the bridge birdcage beside him. It was just that Liu Yi seemed like such an intelligent, cultured individual. He wanted to make a good impression, not seem like some backwards, slovenly student from the provinces.