Page:Frank Owen - The Scarlett Hill, 1941.djvu/238

RV 233 (LI PO) his evil conniving, with his disgusting habit of replacing all the officers who would not bow before him with his own friends or with simpletons who merely echoed his words, was no more powerful than Kao Li-shih. His new title of Generalissimo was not one tenth as important as that of Grand Eunuch. Li Po quite overlooked the fact that of all the Ministers not one was as unswerving in his loyalty to the Emperor as Kao Li-shih. Though it is true that Kao was rich, so was Ming Huang in having so powerful a prop on which he could lean.

Yang Kuei-fei begged the Emperor to let her try skiing. At first he would not listen to her, but she pleaded. As he looked into her face which the cold etherealized, he finally capitulated.

His heart nearly stopped beating as he watched her poised at the crest of the hill. What a fool he was! She would be killed. Then she sprang forward, speeding down the hill like a flower in the wind's embrace. Ho Chih-chang, who came after her, turned off abruptly into a pile of snow. Li Po, with a mighty bellow, launched himself magnificently, but soon fell apart. As he crashed and bumped down the hill, he felt as if his remains were being distributed along the ski-way piece by piece. It is not pleasant to have the consciousness of being akin to a broken necklace.

Yang Kuei-fei finished her descent gracefully. Then, laughing, back up the hill she went, her skis slung over her shoulder.

For almost an hour, with sparkling eyes, she RV 233 (233)