Free The Princeling of Nanjing by Ian Hamilton Page A

acting on his own.”
    “No, Xu said his father had a long-standing relationship with Lian that’s been passed down to Xu and Men.”
    “Does Xu ever have any contact with Lian?” May asked.
    “He met with him yesterday in Nanjing.”
    “I have to say that’s a bit shocking,” May said. “What did they talk about?”
    Ava closed her eyes and sighed. “Tsai Lian thanked him for helping to create so many jobs in Jiangsu, and asked him to keep working with Men to create more.”
    “That’s it?”
    “Yeah. I know it sounds weak, but Xu stressed that the fact Lian would meet with him at all is significant.”
    “This chat is starting to make my stomach feel upset. I think I’ll have some rice now,” May said, reaching for the serving platter with her spoon.
    Ava did the same and ate quietly while her mind raced.
    “I’m not discounting anything you’ve told me,” May finally said. “It’s just delicate and complicated, and it’s not something I’d rush to judge. It’s risky enough accusing a senior official of being on the take even if you find him with a bag of cash. What you’re telling me is a long way from that. It could be the son is milking his father’s name and reputation.”
    Ava shrugged. “I understand that the link to Lian sounds tenuous, but Xu is insistent that it’s real.”
    “Okay, but what does that matter and where does it lead? He’s been paying them for years without any negative consequences that I can see. Why has it become a concern now?”
    “They’re not content with just taking money. They want to become his partner in a business and they’re strong-arming him to get into it.”
    “What kind of business?”
    “Drugs,” Ava said without hesitation.
    “You’re not serious,” May said.
    “Drugs of the synthetic variety — ketamine, ecstasy, and meth. They want him to open a lab.”
    “That’s insane.”
    “That’s what Xu thinks, but they’re not listening to him.”
    “Tell him to say no.”
    “He’s tried to without actually saying so. He’s afraid of the damage they can do to his existing businesses.”
    May shook her head. “I can’t believe that Tsai Lian would condone that.”
    “Damaging Xu’s businesses?”
    “No, the drug lab.”
    “Maybe he hasn’t. Maybe, as you say, it’s Men acting on his own.”
    May poured tea for the two of them and took off her sunglasses. Her eyes were slightly puffy, but nowhere near as horrendous as she’d made out. “What’s Xu going to do?”
    “He doesn’t know. He has a short-term plan to buy some time, but beyond that, nothing.”
    “Is he asking you for advice?”
    “He’s using me as a sounding board, that’s all.”
    “When you get the chance, please tell him not to mess around with the Tsai family.”
    “If he doesn’t do something he’s going to be forced into building the lab, and if he does that he’s going to make enemies of some triad gangs who are currently friends, and he thinks that inevitably the police and army will be all over him.”
    “That still might be easier than tangling with the Tsais.”

( 9 )
    “Let’s go for a walk,” May said as Ava settled the lunch bill. “I could use some air, and it’s almost a sin to come here and not experience the Bund on foot.”
    They left the hotel and crossed the street to the promenade. It was even more crowded than usual and their walk turned into a shuffle. That and the fact that the river view was blocked by a solid wall of people staring out onto the Huangpu and the Pearl Tower and skyscrapers that lined the riverbank in Pudong made the outing seem rather pointless to Ava.
    “You surprised me when you made that remark about Xu tangling with the Tsais,” Ava said. “I didn’t think you’d put much credence into what I was telling you.”
    “Even if a quarter of it is true, that’s still reason enough to tiptoe around that family. You don’t want to give them the slightest indication that you might pose a problem. You