Page:Frank Owen - The Scarlett Hill, 1941.djvu/109

RV 104 (THE PEAR GARDEN) winter snows, not to honor the memory of Mei-fei; after all she was but one of three thousand women; but to ape the Emperor who was so attired.

He remained secluded, cloistered, a hermit in a magnificent palace, attended by faithful Kao Li-shih and a retinue of eunuchs who kept out of sight as much as possible. As well to set nets to catch the wind as to succeed in escaping the watchful eye of the Grand Eunuch. He who could never be a father, was a father to the Emperor.

It was disturbing to the Court officers, the Ministers of State, the Generalissimo of the Army, the Governors of the Provinces, the students of Hanlin Academy, and even the President of the Board of Punishments. He was upright, fearless, and dejected. What use the carrying out of legal decrees, if the Emperor were not in residence to applaud? Why the whole brittle pomp and majesty of government might falter. Without the pageantry of Imperial functions, the prestige of China, beyond doubt, would shrink—this in addition to the tawdriness of their ornate costumes and uniforms and the tarnished appearance of their jewels and their medals. They shone by the reflected light of the Emperor. Without him, the Court was without brilliance. An Emperor should not weep tears of blood, he should tower like Tai Shan, the Sacred Mountain before which men of many faiths bow in reverence.

A girl must be found to captivate the Emperor, to RV 104 (104)