She looked up at the tall peak, standing like a pillar of Heaven. A light glinted and glittered from the top, and Mulan thought she could see the arched rooftops. “The palace must be up there,” she said, “and the garden, too.”
Lu Ting-Pin nodded.
“Well, how do we get there?” Mulan asked.
“We’ll have to go see the Queen Mother,” Lu Ting-Pin said reluctantly.
“We do?” Mulan looked at Lu Ting-Pin, who looked even more ill at ease than before. “How are we going to do that?”
“Oh,” Lu Ting-Pin said faintly. His eyes were round, and he pointed behind Mulan. “They’ll take us.”
MULAN WHIRLED around and saw that a line of guards stood behind her. Soundlessly, they spread out, and soon Mulan and Lu Ting-Pin were surrounded. One guard, who judging by the ornateness of his gold armor was of higher rank, stepped forward.
“We’re here to take you to see the queen!” he barked.
“See,” Lu Ting-Pin said, turning to Mulan with a tinge of his roguishness returning, “problem solved.”
Mulan smiled at him weakly.
“We’re ready whenever you are,” Lu Ting-Pin said politely to the armed men. “Lead the way!”
They marched to a path of jade stones, which Mulan had not noticed hidden in the feathery grasses. This led them through a thicket of flowering trees, the soft breeze revealing the luminous centers of delicate pink blooms as pearls.
Except for the stomping of their boots, the guards were silent as they advanced. As Mulan stared at some coral-shaped mushrooms changing colors, Lu Ting-Pin nudged her.
“So, I think it might be better if you make the request to the Queen Mother,” he said in a low tone. “She might not be happy to see me.”
Mulan gazed at him sidelong. “Why?” she asked, in an equally soft voice. Over his shoulder she caught a glimpse of a spotted deer running, its crystal antlers sparkling. “What did you do?”
“Well, uh,” Lu Ting-Pin said, giving Mulan a sheepish look, “she didn’t appreciate the birthday present I brought for her husband.”
“What did you give him?” Mulan whispered. Through the trees, in the distance, a white waterfall was cascading while multicolored birds with long swooping tails flew above.
“A porcelain bedpan,” Lu Ting-Pin admitted.
Mulan almost stopped walking.
“You gave the Supreme August Jade Emperor a bedpan for his birthday?” Mulan hissed in disbelief, giving Lu Ting-Pin the full attention of her incredulous face.
“He was turning one hundred thousand!” Lu Ting-Pin said, defensively but with a mischievous curve to his mouth. “I thought it would be useful.”
Mulan shook her head, suddenly understanding why the Rabbit always rolled his eyes at his good friend.
They were out of the flowering forest now and at a set of curving stairs, also made of jade—its vivid color blending into the peacock grass that seemed to grow everywhere. Mulan looked at the lush greenery and touched the pouch at her waist gratefully. She had not seen a blade of Dragon Beard Grass anywhere.
As they mounted the stairs, her eyes widened. They stretched all the way up the jasper mountain, thousands and thousands of steps reaching into the clouds. She whispered to Lu Ting-Pin in alarm, “We’re going to be climbing the stairs for days!”
He shook his head. “They wouldn’t make the Queen Mother wait that long,” he said. “I’m sure there’s some trick.”
What the trick was, Mulan would never know, though each time they rounded the stairs, she noticed that they were much higher up than she expected. Around one bend, she was as high as if she were again flying on the sail, and around another, they were stepping through snow-white fog. When they cleared the mist and climbed the third curve, Mulan could only faintly see the tops of forest through the thin gaps in the rippling ocean of clouds below.
So, in what seemed the time it would take to finish a meal, the stairs—which were now white jade veined with green—had widened to a landing. This time when Mulan looked up, she flinched from the light reflecting from a towering wall of gold, no doubt the border of the Queen Mother’s palace city.
The next landing stretched to a long ramp that led to an arched opening in the glinting gold wall. More armed guards stood at attention at the entry, nodding as they passed through. As they exited the dark tunnel, Lu Ting-Pin nudged her again. “Prepare yourself,” he whispered. “The Queen Mother likes things bright and showy.”
And he was right. Because as soon as they stepped out from the corridor, Mulan was forced to shield her eyes from the blinding brilliance she had entered.
Glistening before her was a nine-story palace of glossy jade. The eaves of the tiered, gold-tiled roofs were studded with blue gems, and the corners swooped upward like the wings of a flying phoenix. Gleaming cinnabar pillars held up the cresting verandas, with ornate, intricate designs decorating the wide beams between them. All the vivid colors glowed a radiant rainbow, and the clouds enveloping the palace were tinted ruby, amber, and turquoise from the reflected splendor. It was dazzling, magnificent, and also very intimidating.
“Are we going in there to meet the Queen Mother?” Mulan whispered to Lu Ting-Pin, with a slight panic.
Before he could answer, the blue-green jade doors of the palace opened. A cloud of song spread from the open doors and blue-clad maidens carrying rainbow banners, feathered parasols, and pheasant fans streamed out and down the polished stairs toward them.
“No,” Lu Ting-Pin said, his eyes widening with something like horror and his face blanching. “It looks like the Queen Mother is coming out here to meet us.”
MULAN THREW herself down in the humblest of kowtows, seeing only a blur of dazzling purple and gold as she dropped. Lu Ting-Pin knelt beside her, as did the rows of golden-armored soldiers.
The wind stopped its music and Mulan heard a rich, full voice say snappishly, “And what are you doing here, Lu Ting-Pin?”
Mulan cautiously lifted her head to peek at the Queen Mother of the West and almost gasped aloud. Without knowing it, Mulan had been expecting to see a dainty creature like Daji, but the Queen Mother was not like that at all.
She was beautiful, yes, but where Daji had been delicate and ethereal, the Queen Mother was strong and forceful. Lovely maidens surrounded her with pheasant fans, yet they all dimmed next to the resplendence of the Queen Mother. Her violet silk robes gleamed with gold and jewels, elaborately embroidered and ornamented. Upon her head was an exquisitely wrought gold crown, bursting with radiant light from the nine inset stars. Even so, all this brilliance could not overwhelm the Queen Mother—the fine white jade of her moon-shaped face belied the power of her black eyes, which flashed dangerously at Lu Ting-Pin.
Lu Ting-Pin gulped. “Your Heavenly Highness,” he said, “I’m only tagging along. I’m trying to help my two friends here.”
With that he pushed Mulan forward, who almost yelped in surprised.
“Hmm.” Mulan could feel the Queen Mother’s commanding gaze considering her. In a slightly less annoyed voice, the Queen Mother said, “And who are you?”
“Your Heavenly Highness,” Mulan said, her voice sounding like a mouse’s squeak in the immensity of the surroundings. Was she really speaking to the Queen Mother of the West, the queen of all the Immortals? It seemed a dream, but Mulan knew she could never imagine something so unbelievable. Her mouth was dry and she felt as if she were an ant meeting a dragon, but she knew she must continue. “I am just a mortal girl, but I seek a plant from your garden.” Mulan carefully lifted her pouch to show the Rabbit, and was glad to see that her hands were not trembling like her knees. “The Rabbit and my sister need it to be cured of poison.”