Page 55 of Song of the Crimson Flower

Lan helped her, ignoring the grime that coated her hands. The metal had been bolted down at one point, but the small rivets had rusted andweakened with time. With both of them applying force, the grate gave way, sending them flying back from the hole in the floor. Lan crawled back and felt the open space with her fingers, trying not to gag at the smell. It was just wide enough for her hips and shoulders to fit through.

“There must be a way out. The water in the sewers has to drain out somewhere, right?” Lan looked at Yen, who gave a bewildered shrug, and then she closed her eyes and breathed shallowly through her mouth. She had been honest with the witch: she would do far worse things if it meant getting back to Bao. The thought of telling him how she truly felt, and the risk of him not returning her feelings, made her stomach seize up as much as the smell of the sewer did.But he already did it for me, once, she told herself.

And so she swung her legs into the hole and braced her hands on the opening.

22

“Careful! Hold on to me.” Lady Yen lay flat on the floor and held her hands out to Lan.

Lan took her hand. “It’s just like getting out of a tree,” she told herself. “Like the one Bao and I climbed out of.” She recalled how Bà n?i had cheered when they had made it to the ground safely and held her grandmother’s mischievous face in her mind as she slid farther into the hole. She could see the water at the bottom. “You can let go of me. It’s not that far.”

Obediently, the noblewoman loosened her grip and Lan landed more quickly than she had anticipated. She sank up to her knees into water that smelled like her worst nightmare.

“Lan, are you all right?” Lady Yen called.

“I’m fine!” Lan splashed to the side, thanking each and every god that she’d had the foresight to borrow her maid’s shoes instead of wearing her usual delicate slippers. “Help Huong down first.” In a minute, the witch’s frail body dangled from the cell. She was so light that Lan hadno trouble catching her, though the impact nearly sent them both into the mess.

“Careful,” Huong said, breathing hard. “Wouldn’t want to dirty your noble bottom.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve dirtied my noble everything else,” Lan pointed out.

Yen lowered herself in after them, coughing uncontrollably as she did so. “I’ll be fine,” she said, leaning against the wall. “I just need a moment.”

Lan looked around, encouraged by how much of their surroundings she could see. There was a faint light coming from somewhere. She splashed through the long, low tunnel, trying not to look down, and in a minute, the source of the light was revealed: a metal grate much larger than the one they had come through. This one was bolted to the wall, allowing the sewage to travel outward, and the bars were so rusted that it took Lan only a few hard tugs before they came apart. She shook her fist in jubilation as Lady Yen and Huong joined her.

“You found a way out!” the noblewoman cheered.

“Quiet,” the witch scolded. “I know where we are. This is a branch downstream from where the servants do the washing. We can wash there and find a change of clothes, too.”

“Thank the gods,” Yen muttered, allowing the older woman to lean on her.

As quietly as they could, they climbed out of the water and onto the grass, looking around for any sign of activity. They were at the bottom of a hill, over which Lan could just see the roof of a grand stone building. Clean, fresh water ran down the hill and joined the mess of sewage at the base. Huong directed them up the slope to an area where they found pails, washboards, and washing lines from which hung an array of pants, tunics, and bedding.

Lan decided that none of the hot, scented baths she had ever takenin her pampered life even came close to the feeling of dunking herself in this stream. She grinned at Lady Yen, who was trying not to shout with glee. The witch shook her head at the both of them and jerked her head toward the washing lines. Quickly, they dried off and swapped out their soiled clothing. There were two steel-colored uniforms of the Gray City for Huong and Yen, and Lan found a simple gray overdress and pants that fit her well enough.

The witch surveyed the others with approval. Away from the iron cell, her face had taken on a healthier color. “Walk with purpose and keep your heads up. You won’t attract as much suspicion that way,” she advised, then paused to listen, her eyes alert.

A low, rushing rumble filled the air, and within it, Lan thought she could hear many voices shouting, horses screaming, feet running, and the clashing of weapons. And then, seconds later, there was an immense roar, like a clap of thunder, except that it shook the earth.

“The battle has been raging all this time,” Lady Yen said, looking at Lan with mingled fear and hope. “That must have been one of Lord Nguyen’s explosives detonating. The Commander’s forces are blasting their way through the walls of the city.”

Lan felt cold all over, even though she knew it was their allies charging toward them. War had only ever seemed to be fiction, an element in old stories and her father’s discussions, but here she was in a city under attack—and the object of destruction, Mistress Vy’s gardens, was just on the other side of a high granite wall. “How are we going to have time to find Baoandwarn Commander Wei about the ships?” she asked anxiously.

Lady Yen’s eyes glittered. “We split up. I will find a way to get out toward them and locate Wren or the Commander, or someone who can give them this information.”

“Are you mad?” Lan cried. “You can’t just walk out into the midst of a battle! You’ll be killed, especially wearing a uniform of the Gray City!”

But Yen thrust a bundle of soaked, dark green cloth under her nose. “There was no way I was leaving the Commander’s cloak behind in that smelly dungeon. I washed it as best I could just now, and I will show it to our allies to prove my identity. There’s no other way, Lan. You don’t need me to help with Bao, and I want to do this.”

Lan took in her defiant expression and sighed. “How are you going to get out there?”

“It’s an old city, and I didn’t grow up here for nothing. There are many tunnels and passageways, and with any luck, Vy hasn’t changed most of them,” Huong said, and Yen listened intently as she explained multiple routes and the weakest points of the city walls. The noblewoman repeated it back until Huong was satisfied.

Lan threw her arms around Lady Yen, blinking away tears. “Please be careful. And promise you will come back here safely.”

The woman hugged her back but made no such promise. “I’m glad I met you, Lan. I’m not afraid, but if anything happens to me, find the Commander when it’s over. Tell him he’ll always be the only one I love, will you? Go save the one you love, and I will try to do the same.”

And then she was gone, just as another explosion rocked the city. The sound of it rang in Lan’s ears for several seconds afterward. It seemed to be a bit closer than the last.

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