Dragon Moon Read Free Page B

than a month to discover that there was a dragon hidden in his palace. Ping knew the Duke could be brutal to those who offended him and she was afraid that he would punish the Princess for her concealment. But though he could be stern and short-tempered, he would defend those under his protection with his life, and he understood how privileged he was to have a dragon under his roof.
    The Duke wasn’t a greedy man. He didn’t want to sell Kai’s body parts or harvest his blood as others had. He knew that a dragon could bring him good luck. He thanked Yangxin for bringing Kai to his palace and he treated the dragon well. The Duke issued bronzeweapons to his soldiers once he learned that iron hurt dragons. He made sure none of the palace women wore gowns made of five-coloured thread, as dragons didn’t like that type of cloth. He arranged for the cooks to provide Kai with special meals.
    The Duke had experienced unusual good fortune since Kai had been a part of his household. Spring had brought good rains to Yan, though the rest of the Empire had had none. The summer crops grew well and autumn had brought a plentiful harvest of wheat, millet and green vegetables. The people of Yan ate well, while many inhabitants of the Empire were hungry.
    The Duke’s negotiations with the Xiong Nu had gone smoothly and all bloodshed had ceased. But the best luck of all had happened the previous spring just when Ping was preparing to leave. Princess Yangxin had discovered that she was going to have a child. Still homesick and missing her mother, the Princess had begged Ping to stay until the birth. After all her kindness, Ping couldn’t refuse. And it seemed sensible to give Kai time to grow bigger and stronger before they started their journey.
    The Duke was delighted when he heard the news. Though he had six other wives, between them they had only produced two daughters. There had been many miscarriages and stillbirths, and the Duke had accepted that he would never have a son to inherit his lands.
    Ping had stayed with the Princess through thesummer and an entire winter. A healthy boy had been born three months earlier. The Duke named his son Yong Hu which meant brave tiger. He was convinced that Kai was responsible for this blessing and pampered the little dragon even more. The other wives were so relieved that the Duke finally had an heir, none of them minded when the Princess was elevated to the position of first wife.
    Motherhood had changed Princess Yangxin. Her face was a little fuller than it had been when Ping first met her, her cheeks had more colour, she laughed a lot. The weeping girl who Ping had discovered in a pavilion at Ming Yang Lodge had become a cheerful woman who was happy with her life as wife and mother.
    In other parts of the Empire, northern winters were spoken of with dread. It was a common threat that misbehaving servants and argumentative wives would be sent to the north for winter. Terrible tales were told of children snatched by starving tigers and villages discovered in spring with their entire populations frozen to death. Soldiers didn’t want to be sent to garrisons in the north, so they were manned by convicts—thieves and murderers who had been conscripted into the imperial army.
    Yet Ping had spent a whole winter at Beibai Palace on the northernmost edge of the Empire—and she had enjoyed every minute.
    “In the south of the Empire,” Princess Yangxin hadtold her, “when winter arrives, people put on thin coats and tell each other it isn’t really cold.”
    The northerners were different. They knew how to prepare well for the cold. They wore winter gowns and coats lined with thick silk floss. Braziers burned in every room of the palace day and night. The stone floors were covered with thick felt rugs purchased from the Xiong Nu. Animal skins kept people warm at night.
    No one could leave the palace because of the snow piled a
chang
or more high outside the gates. No farming was possible during