Page:Frank Owen - The Scarlett Hill, 1941.djvu/367

RV 362 (VICTORY) During the ensuing weeks Ming Huang waited for Kao in the gardens of the Palace.

Frequently his companion was Lan Jen, the eunuch who lived among flowers, in a sublime world of his own creating. All through the chaotic years of the rebellion, Lan Jen had remained as protector of the gardens, and though there had been an endless carousal of pillage and plunder, rape, murder and bestiality, not a leaf had been broken, not a petal destroyed. Surrounded by Palace ladies, what need had the mighty rebel army for the quiet of an enchanted garden?

"Consider flowers," said Lan Jen. "Men break them, drag them from their homes, trample them into dust, and in return, they give perfume. From their fragrance, the nightingale draws song. The stars reflect their sadness."

He paused before a glorious red rose upon which the dew of morning still lingered. Impulsively, he bent forward and whispered, "Oh, rose, your fragile loveliness is like unto that of the slim young girl whose passing multiplied the sorrows of the world."

One day a friend of Lan Jen's came unto Changan, a Taoist priest from Lin-ch'ung of the Hung-tu school; who was reputed to be able to converse with the spirits of the dead.

Ming Huang sent for him.

The renowned Priest was diffident as he entered the old Emperor's presence. He prostrated himself and RV 362 (362)