Sharing a Pavilion With You
Chapter 165: Falling From a Sapling

Chapter 165: Falling From a Sapling

Meili hugged the branch tightly, shimmying upwards until she could grip the bricks of the balustrade that ran along the top of the wall. She was very grateful she had discarded her cumbersome dress and shoes...

She pulled herself up and over the brick wall, dropping into an awkward heap on the walkway.

She crouched down, peering around the curve of the wall to the south. There were some guards on the wall guarding the eastern gate, but they were quite some distance away and they hadn’t seen her yet. If she kept her head down, she didn’t think she would be spotted unless they left their post.

She cast about for her court dress and shoes, finding them strewn on the path, and quickly redressed herself before peeping back into the tree.

The small maid was nearing the top of the branch that met the wall, her eyes so wide Meili thought that she really did look like a little monkey.

Meili extended her hand to the girl, who gripped it so tightly she felt her delicate hand bones crush together. She managed to pull the girl up the last foot of the climb and helped her scramble over the wall.

"Quickly, climb up now!" Meili hissed down to the girl’s friend.

When the three girls were all on the walkway, Meili looked down the other side of the towering wall, out towards freedom.

"I’m going to climb down this tree," she pointed at a tree which had a foothold in the outer wall, its roots growing six feet above ground level.

"Will it hold your weight, Miss Mei?" asked the taller of the two maids uncertainly.

Meili flushed, taking the reasonable comment as a casual insult about her oversized bust.

"Oh!" cried the maid, seeing her expression. "I only meant that it’s a very small tree..." she trailed off before she made things worse.

"We’ll soon find out," Meili swung her leg across the wall. "I’m sorry ladies, but I’ll have to run when I hit the ground. Why don’t you two head to the eastern gate and just ask the guards if you can leave?"

There were stairs leading down from the wall at the eastern gate, but they were guarded at the top and the bottom by Prince Haoran’s men.

"No way! If the tree holds, we’re coming down the same way, Court Lady Mei."

The girls were absolutely terrified of the rebel soldiers.

"Alright, I’ll be the guinea pig then," without further ado, Meili dropped a foot into the dense canopy of the tree.

She quickly realised that it was little more than a sapling.

The tree shuddered and swayed under her weight, bending unnaturally away from the wall until it hung almost at right angles to the ground. Meili hung, fully extended, from the trunk, her petite legs kicking in the air.

She looked down. Still about six feet off the pavement, but it looked like a distance she could jump.

Before she could let go, the tree roots let go for her, wrenched from their crumbly purchase in the brick wall by the weight of the human.

Meili half-fell, half-jumped, landing on her feet from high enough up to send aching shock waves through her ankles... She rubbed them quickly... She was okay, she realised, just a bit sore.

A quick look south and she saw that the guards at the gate had seen her and were clearly discussing whether to leave their posts and pursue her or not.

Before they could make up their minds she picked up her skirts and half-ran, half-hobbled, sprinting for the shelter of the nearby shops and houses.

She hoped the maids would make it down okay, but she really couldn’t risk being captured while she waited for them.

Word of what was happening at the palace must be spreading through the capital, because it was mayhem on the streets.

Street stalls were being packed up, men, women and children ran through the streets for the safety of their homes, carts filled with possessions headed for the city gates.

Meili blended in with the crowds as she ran. Here and there she spotted eunuchs and other place staff still in their uniforms. Others who had been lucky enough to escape the Forbidden City...

She arrived tired and thirsty at the Mei mansion and banged on the doors.

"Let me in. It’s Mei Meili!" she cried.

The double doors opened a crack and their old servant, Boyan, peered out.

"Miss Mei!" he cried with delight. "Quickly! Come in, come in!"

She ran through the gap and the doors were slammed shut behind her.

"Get Tufei saddled for me," she shouted. "Where’s Manni?"

"Here I am Young Miss!" Manni came running into the front courtyard, almost as though she had been waiting there...

The girl burst into tears and wrapped Meili in a hug. "We heard that there are rebels in the palace! I was so scared," Manni wailed. "Then Tricky came home w...without you with your Father’s handkerchief! I thought you might be..." she sobbed.

"Pei, pei, pei!" Meili cried, putting her fingers across Manni’s lips to ward off bad luck.

Right on cue, Tricky came dashing into the courtyard and leapt into Meili’s arms, displacing Manni, and sitting wrapped in her arms, licking her all over her face.

"Tricky! You made it! Good boy!" she laughed. "Stop it boy, calm down. I’m fine, I’m fine. You two are both panic merchants."

Fifth Brother ran into the courtyard, alerted by the servants. He barrelled up to Meili and wrapped Tricky and his meimei in a bear hug, laughing with undisguised joy.

"Meili! Thank the heavens you’re safe."

"Where’s Father?" she asked.

"He went to the palace as soon as Tricky appeared with his handkerchief. Mother went with him; she couldn’t be talked out of it. She was terrified for you. We knew something was up before the rest of the capital thanks to good old Tricky-Wu," he ruffled the dog’s head that lay between them like an overgrown baby.

"Fifth, I have to head north straight away," she told him. "I’ve asked Boyan to saddle up Tuufy."

"What? Why?" he asked her with alarm.

"I have an important message I’m carrying to Bai Li for the Emperor. It couldn’t be more urgent. Manni, run and pack me a light bag for travel. Also pack as much medicine as you can find in our storerooms and will fit in a saddle basket. I’ll carry it north for the wounded soldiers."

"Yes, young miss," said Manni, her eyes reflecting her fear for her mistress before she turned and ran off.

"I’ll accompany you," said Fifth, suddenly all business. "I’ll meet you out the front shortly. Tell Manni to put the heavier load onto Siming," he called, striding off to prepare for their journey north.

Meili watched her brother’s retreating back, her eyes filled with warmth. Her brothers were all such good men. She felt like everything might just turn out okay with Fifth there to protect her.