The Price of a Gold Filigree Hairpin

Mao Yuan the official was a man feared and respected by enemies and allies alike, but at the moment he did not look very frightening. There was a teasing smile on his lips that softened the hard lines of his face. It was a strange thing to recognize the same lips in that smile, on his gaunt old face and Mao Xiang's smooth young one.

He motioned to Han Sheng, who wordlessly went to fetch a small casket from the side table and offered it to him. Opening it, Mao Yuan delicately took out a slender hairpin from inside. He glanced over the edge of the casket at Mao Xiang's eager eyes as she tried to see what it was, and teasingly closed it again.

"Ah, look at what a greedy girl you are. Maybe I should enjoy my good fortune by having my suddenly filial daughter fetch me some tea, and give me a massage, before I present her with my gift," he said airily.

Mao Xiang stamped her foot. "Ah, don't be so petty! I'll serve you wine later at dinner if you want, but stop playing games with me as if I'm a little child." She threw an indignant glance at the two men standing silently at the side. "The servants are present, and you're making me look like a baby in front of them. I don't like it."

Her father widened his eyes in mock surprise. "Why, but that's what you are, aren't you, my little Xiang Er?"

Laughing at her pout, he handed her the casket. "Now, don't sulk. Han Sheng and Ah Feng have seen you since you were a baby, it's not like they're strangers. The jeweller said this is a very fine piece of gold filigree work, of the palace standard. What do you think, my dear?"

She examined the hairpin closely, and nodded eagerly. "It's pretty. I like it. Father, you treat me so well!" Beaming at him, she abandoned the casket and ran to the mirror to try on the hairpin.

Mao Yuan watched her fondly. He was a gaunt man with a whitening beard, but his piercing eyes and the hard line of his mouth hinted that he was not a man who had let go of ambition with age. He was frail, prone to catching cold with chronic breathlessness, and always rode in a horse carriage. Like Mao Xiang, he had an eye for beauty, and delighted in collecting pretty things. The Mao Manor was full of exquisite pottery, jade, and brocades that he had personally chosen.

"Talking about serving wine, I will hold you to your word, mind. Only not to me. I'm going to have Lord Song over to dinner today, Xiang Er. You must be nice to him, understand?"

Mao Xiang paused in trying on her hairpin. "I just knew you would try to get something out of me with this," she complained, throwing him a dark look. "Father, you're always bribing me with presents, it's not fair."

"Well, but it always works, so what can you expect?" he chuckled. "Come, Xiang Er. Lord Yang is a

great admirer of beauty. I thought he would be very happy to see you as such. Will you, to please me?"

Mao Xiang sighed. "Just because I'm pretty doesn't mean that any man who wants to can gawk at me," she said haughtily.

"Ah, but Lord Song isn't just any man," Mao Yuan said coaxingly. "He's seen many great beauties and he surely can appreciate yours as others can't. He can be very pleasant too, and who knows, he might even give you something. Lord Yang is known for his generosity. Why, just last month he gave a rare jade pendant to a dancing girl who entertained him at Sir Han's house."

Han Sheng stepped forward and bowed lowly. "Lord Yang is an important man to His Excellency's plans. If Young Mistress would agree to be present at the dinner tonight it would surely please Lord Yang, and make him more agreeable to His Excellency's proposition. Would Young Mistress please reconsider."

Mao Yuan gestured him away. "Tch, Han Sheng, your lady will definitely agree. She's already accepted the hairpin, how can she not?" He laughed softly.

Sticking out her lower lip, Mao Xiang poked him with the hairpin. "You're mean, to trick me like that. All right, I'll go, but you better give me another present after that, something five times better than this." She shook the hairpin meaningfully. "Or I'll tell Doctor Hu to do acupuncture on you with this hairpin."

A mischievous smile broke through on her face and she stuck the hairpin into her hair, marching out of the chamber with Xiaojun following.

Mao Yuan smiled affectionately as he watched her go. "She's a shrewd bargainer, my Xiang Er. But I knew she wouldn't let me down. Prepare for tonight, Han Sheng. We will go ahead as planned."

Han Sheng nodded silently and went swiftly out of the room after a low bow. Mao Yuan sat stroking his beard thoughtfully.

The sooner this was settled, the better. Lord Yang could be a formidable enemy if he wanted to, but he could also prove a valuable ally. If his best wine, Xiang Er's charms, and the proposition he would make could not win him over, then there was always the poisoned needle...Han Sheng had never failed at his job so far.

A sinister look came over his face as he brooded. As his eyes fell on the empty casket, they softened involuntarily. He thought of the way Mao Xiang had beamed at him, so radiant with delight with her new plaything, and how she had been so comically impatient to get her present.

He felt regretful that he had to drag Xiang Er into this; he had never involved her in his work before, but perhaps it was just as well. It was time to initiate her. With a little training, and with her beauty and brains, he felt sure she could be a valuable contribution. After all, she was a Mao. And eventually she would be his heir.