All things are defined by names. Change the name, and you change the thing. -- Terry Pratchett, Pyramids
After his conversation with the chief eunuch Mirio returned to his room and began planning how to learn more about the foreign doctor. The best way would be to talk to him and see if he behaved oddly. Over five hundred years of Abihira's near-constant companionship had given Mirio a sixth sense for when someone was hiding something. Surely it would work just as well on the doctor.
Now, how was he going to get a chance to talk to him?
~~~~
In general Mirio did not need to find excuses to talk to someone. If he wanted to speak to them all he had to do was attend court and draw them aside afterwards or send a servant to find them and bring them to see him. Neither approach would work here. Doctors did not attend court unless the ministers progressed from verbal blows to physical ones. And if Mirio sent a servant to summon the doctor it would be all over the palace within an hour. He'd have no end of people inquiring after his health. Not to mention all the official physicians who'd be mortally offended he went to a foreigner instead of to them.
He considered the situation for the rest of the day and half of the following morning. The absurd part of his mind, the part he steadfastly refused to give free rein to because all his life he'd needed to be the only sane person in the entire family, suggested he should fake being sick. The much more logical part of his mind shouted that idea down before he could seriously consider it. The foreign doctor was Zi Yao's physician and no one else's. He'd just end up being poked and prodded at by all of the royal physicians. Anyway, it was in bad taste to fake an illness right after his cousin had died of one and while another cousin was still sick.
Whatever was wrong with the Second Prince must be fairly serious. Mirio hadn't seen him once since he arrived. He stopped that train of thought very quickly. The last thing he needed was to get distracted by something else.
In the end he settled on the easiest and most logical way of meeting the foreign doctor. Lian was supposed to spend almost his entire day watching over Zi Yao. Visit Zi Yao and there was no way to avoid meeting Lian. So Mirio set off for the Ninth Prince's palace.
It was traditional for Mirio to bring gifts with him when he came to visit his cousins. Zi Yao's gift was a clockwork bird that would sing when wound up. Delivering it would give him a good enough reason to visit.
Like all young children Zi Yao had an incomprehensible fondness for dirty, muddy places. When Mirio arrived at his palace he found his youngest cousin crouching in a pond. His clothes were so mud-splattered he looked like he'd taken a flying leap into a mudhole.
Zi Yao paid no attention whatsoever when the servant announced Mirio. He didn't even look up from the rock he was poking and prodding. It fell to his mother to greet their guest.
"As you can see my son is feeling much better lately, your Highness," Lady Yuan said in answer to Mirio's polite inquiry after Zi Yao's health. She glanced over at her son, who was still absorbed in splashing around in the water. The faintest hint of an embarrassed expression crossed her face. "I believe he's looking for frogs."
Maybe I should have got a clockwork frog instead, he thought as Lady Yuan called Zi Yao.
The little boy refused to leave the pond. His mother left Mirio waiting on the path as she hurried over to drag Zi Yao out. Mirio took the clockwork bird out of the pocket in his sleeve and wound it up briefly to make sure it was still working. Its wings flapped and its beak opened in time with the tune. Satisfied, he kept it in his hand while he looked around.
For obvious reasons the Ninth Prince's palace was much smaller and less ornate than the other princes' palaces. There was only one maidservant in sight, helping Lady Yuan get the prince out of the pond in spite of his complaints. The doctor was nowhere to be seen at all.
A flicker of movement through one of the windows caught Mirio's eye. He turned his head. For a second he could have sworn someone was standing right behind the window and staring directly at him. He blinked. There was a figure in the room, yes, but they were sitting down and had their head lowered. Probably his eyes had played tricks on him.
Lady Yuan half-led, half-dragged a very unhappy Zi Yao over to Mirio. The little prince was clutching something to his chest. Painful memories of his half-siblings when they were that age made Mirio fear he was about to have mud thrown at his face. He knelt down warily, ready to jump back at any minute.
"Hello, Zi Yao," he said, holding out the bird. "This is for you."
Zi Yao eyed it dubiously. He reached for it with one hand while keeping the other against his chest. After examining it for a minute he grinned and held out his other hand.
Mirio looked at Lady Yuan for guidance. Lady Yuan looked confused and exasperated but not alarmed. Relatively reassured that it wasn't a prank, Mirio leant closer to see what Zi Yao was holding. A small frog sat in the palm of his hand. It ribbited softly but made no attempt to escape.
Thank heavens it's not an insect, Mirio thought. Seitomu and Nozomi had been obsessed with carrying insects around when they were Zi Yao's age.
"Did you catch this yourself?" he asked.
Zi Yao nodded proudly. "For you!"
...Oh dear. Mirio realised two things in exactly the same instant. One, he couldn't possibly keep a frog as a pet. He didn't know anything about frogs. Two, toddlers tended to cause a scene when they didn't get their way. He could just imagine the hell Zi Yao would raise if he refused the gift.
"Thank you very much," he said politely, very carefully picking up the little thing. He could set it loose in the lake near his room.
Zi Yao grabbed his sleeve and began tugging him very insistently into the palace. Mirio allowed himself to be led indoors. He held the frog loosely in his hand so it could escape if it wanted to.
He expected to be shown some other animal Zi Yao had collected. Instead he was led into a small and sparsely-furnished room that appeared to be a combination of a bedroom and a library. Someone sat on the luohan bed[1], poring over a document. They looked up when Zi Yao and Mirio walked in. It was the foreign doctor.
Once again the first thing Mirio noticed about him were his eyes. He shuddered involuntarily. There was something very eerie about those eyes.
Lian's face was long and narrow and his skin was very pale. Instead of the blue-and-greyish-brown robes worn by most doctors[2] he wore a long-sleeved cross-collar robe that was white at the top and became blue at the bottom. His dark brown hair was loose. If Mirio hadn't known better he would have assumed he was a young nobleman rather than a mere doctor.
Zi Yao bounded over to Lian and held up the clockwork bird. He pointed out the intricate detail of its feathers, the way its paint glittered when it caught the light, and how the key to wind it up was shaped like a branch. Lian obligingly admired everything Zi Yao mentioned. Mirio watched him closely. After a few minutes he had seen no evidence of anything more sinister about Lian than a fondness for fine clothes -- and his eyes, but he could hardly do anything about them.
The little frog croaked a few times and moved around in his hand. Mirio kept his face blank while internally he panicked. He couldn't set it loose in the palace. He couldn't go outside without Zi Yao noticing. He was too far away from the window to put it out there. What was he to do with it?
Lian looked up at the first croak. His eyes focused on Mirio's hand. He smiled wryly. Even though the frog was concealed by his fingers Mirio had the strangest feeling the doctor could see it.
"Why don't you put your gift in your room so it doesn't get damaged?" he asked Zi Yao.
The little prince cheerfully agreed. He bounded out of the room and disappeared. Judging by the voices outside his mother and the maidservant were trying to convince him it was time for his nap. Lian got up and bowed perfunctorily.
"I believe we would all be much happier if that frog was back in the pond, your Highness," he said with the hint of a smile playing around his mouth. "Will I take him back for you?"
Mirio handed the frog over with a feeling of profound relief. He couldn't help noticing Lian's hands were very cold. The frog made a valiant effort to escape. It succeeded when Lian was half-way out the door.
That was how a prince and a doctor ended up spending half an hour crawling around the palace floor and looking under furniture. They never did find the frog. Luckily Zi Yao was taking a nap and didn't find out.
"I suppose it's gone back to the pond," Lian said when they finally gave up. His face had a dusty mark on it and his hair was a mess.
"I suppose so," Mirio said for the sake of saying something. He would have to leave soon and he still hadn't had a proper conversation with Lian. If he left now, who knew when he'd have another chance? "Do you want to have tea with me?"
"Certainly, your Highness."
Lian smiled. Just for a minute Mirio could have sworn that smile was familiar. He puzzled over it during the walk back to the palace where he was staying. It was nothing like Abihira's smile and he couldn't think of anyone else it would remind him of. He was sure he'd never met Lian before. It must just be a coincidence.
~~~~
After a cup of tea they switched to alcohol. Gengxinese wine was much stronger than Seroyawan wine. A few cups later they were both in a very talkative mood.
"What part of Saoridhlém are you from?" Mirio asked.
"Kashurë," Lian said, reaching for the bottle again. "Ever been there?"
Mirio shook his head. His visits to Saoridhlém were confined to the capital city and he had only the vaguest idea of where Kashurë was. Somewhere to the north-west? Or was he getting confused with Kasún, which was definitely in the north-west?
"You have a... a..." Lian stopped. He muttered under his breath as he searched for the word. "A tehatye. Minsau.[3]"
Mirio was relatively fluent in Saoridhin, but even so it took his brain a minute to translate that. When he did translate it he was just as confused as ever. "...A what?"
Lian continued to grumble to himself. Finally he found the word he was looking for. "Iyaníris!"
At last Mirio understood. "A foster sister?"
"That's it," Lian agreed. "I couldn't think of the Gengxinese word for it. Or the Saoridhin word either. Anyway, you have a foster sister from Saoridhlém, don't you?"
"Yes." The mention of Abihira made Mirio wonder what she was up to. Hopefully nothing too insane. "She's from Eldrin."
"Never been there," Lian said with a shrug.
He looked mildly disappointed by this. Mirio wondered if he was homesick and hoping for someone he could talk to about home.
"Why did you leave Saoridhlém?" he asked.
Lian took another drink before answering. "Family trouble. I wandered around for decades then came here." A shadow briefly passed over his face. "I stayed because Zi Yao reminds me of my youngest brother."
Years of living around people who had secrets to keep had taught Mirio when a conversation was straying close to dangerous territory. In Saoridhin he said, "Do you ever want to go home?"
Lian brightened up again. In the same language he replied, "Sometimes. The rest of the time I'm happy here." He fell silent again for a few minutes. Then, "I miss my name the most."
"What?"
"My name. No one here can pronounce it so they call me Lian. Lian like pity[4]. I don't mind, but..."
It was a long and time-honoured tradition that when you moved to a country that couldn't pronounce your name then you changed it to one they could pronounce. Mirio's mother had done it. Abihira had been luckier in that her name could be pronounced in Seroyawan, although not in exactly the same way as in Saoridhin. While in Gengxin Mirio's name became Lan Zhou -- though in practice his cousins continued to use his Seroyawan name, and few other people were allowed to use his personal name at all. His distant cousin Yoshio had moved to Hyon-eun and changed his name to Yeo. It was something Mirio was used to and had never thought much about before.
"What is your name?" he asked.
Lian was quiet for a while. Then, "Vieraneth." He smiled wryly. "Four syllables, two sounds that don't exist in Gengxinese, and it becomes gibberish when transliterated. See why no one can pronounce it?"
~~~~
They drank and talked for a while longer. At last Lian got up.
"Thank you for the wine, your Highness," he said, bowing. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Vieraneth," Mirio said. He didn't know if he'd pronounced it exactly right -- it contained sounds that didn't exist in Seroyawan either -- but it seemed rude not to try.
The doctor started. Then he smiled. His eyes didn't seem nearly so eerie when he smiled.
Chapter Footnotes:
[1] luohan bed = (I'm relying on the translation notes of a Chinese novel for this information and hoping it's accurate.) A luohan bed is a type of Chinese bed that originated during the Ming dynasty. It can be used as either a bed or a couch. When used as a couch a table can be placed in the middle.
[2] I can't find any information on what ancient Chinese doctors actually wore so I'm basing this description on an outfit worn by Dr. Yan in Nirvana in Fire.
[3] "Tehatye" is Saoridhin for "younger sister" and "minsau" means "not".
[4] 怜/lián is Mandarin for "pity". (The only reason I know it can be a person's name is that it's the character used in Xie Lian's name in Tian Guan Ci Fu.)