The Black Dragon Ghost

      Princess Wu lay languidly back in the cushions. Another day. She would eventually rise and dress – in white again. She was officially in mourning for Li Ban, a young man her father had arranged for her to marry.

      She had never met Li Ban. News of his death had therefore not affected her deeply as the loss of a loved one does, instead, there was annoyance.
Her tedious life had been about to change and then it hadn’t; she felt as if she had been offered a sweet then denied it.
Worse, she would have to be in mourning for two months before any other suitors could approach the court.

      She had imagined many things about Li Ban but she shuddered at his death. He had tried to outrun the Black Dragon and failed.
Each year young men ran before the great wave that sweeps up the Quintang River* on the full moon. It was foolish and daring. Li Ban had tripped then fallen. For a second, her courtiers had told her, he lay there in his fine clothes face down in the mud then the brown waters churned over him. His body was not recovered.
The court counsellors were quick to read this sign. “It was not meant to be, this marriage – he was full of bad luck. “
But one of her handmaidens, Precious Jade, had said he was handsome and elegant.
Princess Wu clapped her small hands. She must dress. Today was the court funeral.

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: alastair macleod
Bildmaterialien: alastair macleod: Front cover illustration “Flying dragon” by Xu Yun, Szechuan province, China. Purchased in 2005.
Lektorat: alastair macleod
Übersetzung: cover typeset in goodfish.
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 03.12.2012
ISBN: 978-3-7309-0068-0

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Widmung:
Copyright c Alastair Macleod 2005 The right of Alastair Macleod to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted. In any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the permission of the publishers. Front cover illustration “Flying dragon” by Xu Yun, Szechuan province, China. Purchased in 2005. Digital photography by Robert Lamont, assistance with layout drafts Chris Park