The people who had come to pray or seek guidance had left the temple grounds and the front courtyard was silent and serene, save for the soft rustle of brooms against the cobblestones as a few monks swept away the fallen leaves and petals. They moved with ease and elegance, ignoring Ying Lan, who lingered by the lotus pond.
She feigned interest in the delicate flowers that floated on the water surface, but her eyes were fixed on a group of four eunuchs who had just left the guarded courtyard. One of them was slight and slender like she was; his clothes would fit her well.
During the day, Ying Lan had observed the imperial eunuchs and maids closely; she had learned their habits and movements—they worked in shifts, and only those who had a duty to perform stayed inside the guarded courtyard; the rest withdrew to their temporally quarters at the far end of the front courtyard.
Ying Lan had avoided that area during the day, not wanting to draw any curious eyes to herself, but now, under the veil of darkness, she could follow her mark to his room, knock him out him and take his uniform and pass.
She shadowed him and his fellows across the front courtyard, keeping a safe distance behind them. They chatted, joked and laughed as they walked along the cobblestone path; they seemed at ease and unaware of her presence.
But then one of them stopped.
Ying Lan darted behind a tree and held her breath; she saw him spin around and peer into the darkness.
"Did you see that?" he asked his companions in a low voice.
They stopped and looked at him. "See what?" one of them asked.
"I heard a rustle behind us; when I looked back I saw — a dark figure moving among the trees."
"Maybe it was a rat," another suggested.
He shook his head. "No. It was too big for a rat. It was almost as tall as a person."
"Maybe you saw a ghost," another said in a trembling voice, glancing around nervously.
The fourth one snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. This is a temple, not a graveyard."
The others chuckled.
Ying Lan felt amused by their talk and smiled. She was glad that they had not seen her. She waited for them to resume their walk and followed them again. They reached their temporally quarters; a long and low structure of gray stone. Along its dimly lit corridor, rows of wooden doors marked the rooms where the eunuchs slept.
Ying Lan saw the four eunuchs stop before one of the doors and push it open; three of them, including the one she was after, entered the room. The fourth one stayed outside. "Sleep well," he said to the other three.
They nodded in unison. "You too, brother," they said and closed the door behind them.
Ying Lan cursed under her breath. She had hoped that each eunuch would have his own room, so that she could ambush her target easily and take what she needed from him, but with two others sharing his room, she had no chance of doing that quietly.
She decided to go after the remaining eunuch. Unfortunately, he was taller than her by a head or more; his robes would hang loose on her slender frame. But she had no other choice. She followed him as he walked down the corridor; she knew he was heading to his room; which he surely shared with two other eunuchs. She could not let him reach it. What if his roommates were there? It would make it harder for her to do what she had to do.
She bided her time until he reached a patch of shadow where the lantern light did not touch; then she struck him deftly on a spot on his neck that she knew would make him sleep. He crumpled to the floor without a sound.
She glanced around nervously; no one was in sight; but she heard voices coming closer; they probably belonged to other eunuchs returning from their duties. She quickly dragged him with all her strength behind the building where there were more trees; she spied a stone lion that stood guard over a fountain and hid him behind it.
She took his pass: a metal plate that hung from his belt; then she stripped him of his eunuch robes and covered him with her own robes to keep him from the cold. She put on his eunuch robes and set his cap on her head; as she had feared the robes was too large for her and the cap too wide; she hoped no one would pay much attention to her.
She clutched his pass in her hand and made her way back. Along the stone path, she met more eunuchs and maids, some returning to the temporally quarters to rest, others heading to the guarded courtyard for duty. She slipped into a group of the latter and followed them to the guarded gate.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she waited in line; her palms grew damp as she handed over the stolen pass to one of the imperial guards. He glanced at the pass; then at her face; he studied her with a piercing gaze that made her hold her breath, hoping he would not notice anything amiss. And after what seemed like an eternity, he gave her back the pass and waved her through.
She let out a silent sigh of relief and walked into the guarded courtyard. It was dotted with buildings surrounded by trees and ponds and flowers. She followed one of the cobblestone paths that snaked through them; she mimicked the eunuchs and maids by walking with her hands clasped at her belly and her head bowed slightly. Her eyes darted from side to side, wondering where she would find Miss Ding in this vast place.