Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 To Dan, The Last Emperor was as boring as the ten-hour flight to Beijing. "You should pay attention," Amy advised. "This will be good preparation for our trip to China." "Mmm," he murmured, eyelids heavy. The only good that could come from being cheated out of Terminator would be if this lousy film put him to sleep. He had just dozed off when Amy suddenly dug her fingernails into his arm. "Dan!" "What's the big idea?" His bleary eyes focused on his sister, who was pointing at the screen. "Come on, Amy. I went to sleep to get away from The Last Emperor!" "Look!" Amy insisted. "On that wall!" Dan squinted. The scene showed the three-year-old Puyi, emperor of China, playing in the

对丹来说，《末代皇帝》就像飞往北京的十小时航班一样无聊。 “你应该注意，”艾米建议道。 “这将为我们的中国之行做好准备。” “嗯，”他喃喃地说，眼皮沉重。 被骗出《终结者》的唯一好处就是这部烂片能让他睡着。 他刚打了个盹儿，艾米突然用指甲抠进了他的胳膊。 “丹!”“有什么了不起的？”他那双朦胧的眼睛盯着指着屏幕的妹妹。 “来吧，艾米。我睡觉是为了躲避末代皇帝！”“看!”艾米坚持。 “在那面墙上！”丹眯起了双眼。 画面中，三岁的中国皇帝溥仪在游乐场玩耍

Forbidden City, the vast imperial complex. There were hundreds of ornately decorated palaces, temples, and statues. And there, painted on the side of a small building— "The Janus crest!" he exclaimed in amazement. Amy frowned. "Why's it in The Last Emperor?" "A lot of showbiz people are Janus," Dan suggested. "Maybe the guy who made this movie was one of them." "Maybe," his sister said grudgingly, "but I doubt it. The Last Emperor was shot in the eighties. The paint on that wall looks a lot older than that." "But who else could have—?" Dan goggled. "You mean him?" He pointed to the toddler clad in royal robes on the screen. "Pee-yoo?" Amy was disgusted. "The name is Puyi, and he was emperor of China, not a bad smell." "And you think he comes from one of the Asian branches of the Cahills?" "It doesn't have to be Puyi," Amy reasoned. "The Forbidden City has existed for centuries. And a lot more people than just emperors have lived there. Don't forget the imperial court,

紫禁城，庞大的帝国建筑群。 那里有数百座装饰华丽的宫殿、寺庙和雕像。 在那里，画在一座小建筑物的侧面——“两面神的纹章！”他惊奇地叫道。 艾米皱起了眉头。“为什么在《末代皇帝》里？”“很多娱乐圈的人都是双面神，”丹建议道。 “也许拍这部电影的人就是他们中的一员。” “也许吧，”妹妹不情愿地说，“但我对此表示怀疑。 末代皇帝是在八十年代被枪杀的。 墙上的油漆看起来比那要古老得多。” “可是还有谁能——？”丹瞪视。 “你是说他吗？”他指着屏幕上那个穿着皇室长袍的小孩。 “Pee-yoo ?”艾米感到厌恶。 “名字叫溥仪，他是中国的皇帝，不是一个不好闻的人。” “你认为他是卡希尔家族的亚洲分支吗？”“不一定非得是溥仪，”艾米解释道。 “紫禁城已经存在了几个世纪。 住在那里的人远不止皇帝。 不要忘记朝廷，

attendants, monks, eunuchs—" "What's a eunuch?" Dan interrupted. "Well…" Amy blushed, choosing her words carefully. "You know how Saladin was neutered to keep him from making any cat babies—" "Yeah, but they don't do that to people—" Dan's face drained of color. "Do they?" "In ancient China they did," his sister replied. Dan was wary. "But they stopped, right?" She rolled her eyes. "A lot of cultures used to do things we'd consider weird today. Including our own. And anyway, China is where our parents went after they left Africa, and Grace traveled there, too. The movie is even more proof that we're on the right track. Ours are the only two seats on this plane getting The Last Emperor. Somebody wanted us to see the Janus crest." "Yeah, but what if it was the competition sending us on a wild goose chase?" Dan asked. "Or the Madrigals, trying to…" The skin around his lips tightened to a grimace. "It's a chance we'll have to take," Amy decided. "At least we know our first stop in Beijing: the

侍从、和尚、太监——”“太监是什么？”丹打断。 “嗯……”艾美脸红了，小心翼翼地说话。 “你知道萨拉丁是怎么被阉割的，这样他就不会生猫宝宝了——”“是啊，但他们不会对人这么做的——”丹的脸变得毫无血色。 “他们?”“在古代中国是这样的，”他姐姐回答。 丹很警惕。“但是他们停下来了，对吧？”她翻了个白眼。 “很多文化过去会做一些我们今天认为很奇怪的事情。 包括我们自己。不管怎样，中国是我们的父母离开非洲后去的地方，格蕾丝也去过那里。 这部电影更是证明了我们走在正确的道路上。 这架飞机上只有我们这两个座位能坐上末代皇帝。 有人想让我们看看两面神的纹章。” “是啊，但如果是竞争让我们做了徒劳的事情呢？”丹问道。 “或者牧歌，试图……”他嘴唇周围的皮肤紧绷起来，做了个鬼脸。 “我们必须抓住这个机会，”艾米决定。 “至少我们知道我们在北京的第一站：故宫

Forbidden City, home to China's rulers a half century before Gideon Cahill was even born." Eyes on the prize. It made sense. It was also a very Madrigal way of thinking. The new Beijing terminal was one of the most advanced airport buildings in the world. It was ultramodern, yet distinctly Chinese, the curves of its soaring glass ceiling incorporating ancient colors and designs. "According to the guidebook, the whole place was inspired by the form of the Chinese dragon," Amy told her travel companions. Dan's eyes were set on the signs leading to baggage claim. "Let's hope the airline didn't send Saladin to Antarctica." The pet carrier circled a luggage carousel, partly hidden by much larger suitcases, boxes, and trunks. Outraged mewing could be heard halfway across the international arrivals lobby. Dan dug the carrier out from beneath a bag of golf clubs. He peered in at the cat. "Chill out, buddy."

紫禁城，在吉迪恩·卡希尔出生前半个世纪中国统治者的家园。” 盯着奖品。这是有道理的。 这也是一种非常牧歌式的思维方式。 新的北京航站楼是世界上最先进的机场建筑之一。 它是超现代的，但又有明显的中国特色，高耸的玻璃天花板的曲线融合了古代的色彩和设计。 “根据旅游指南，整个地方的灵感都来自于中国龙的形状，”艾米告诉她的旅伴。 丹的眼睛盯着通向行李认领处的指示牌。 “希望航空公司没有把萨拉丁送到南极洲。” 宠物搬运工绕着行李传送带转，部分被大得多的手提箱、箱子和大衣箱藏了起来。 在国际机场抵达大厅的中间可以听到愤怒的喵喵声。 丹从一袋高尔夫球杆下面挖出了行李架。 他往里窥视那只猫。“冷静点，伙计。”

He received a sharp mrrp of admonishment in return. As they left the baggage claim, the cat's agitation grew. He clawed nonstop at the mesh of the carrier. Amy was worried. "What's wrong with Saladin, Dan? Is he sick?" "He's probably just stir-crazy," Dan replied. "I'm going to cut him loose, let him stretch his legs." "You can't do that," Nellie protested. "We're in the middle of a crowded airport." But Dan had already sprung the door. Saladin burst from the carrier like he'd been shot out of a cannon, claws skittering on the tiles. He spun around, getting his bearings. Then, before their horrified eyes, he launched himself at a tall, lean older man seated on a nearby bench, reading a newspaper. "Saladin!" Amy gasped. "No!" A cry of shock escaped the victim, and he leaped to his feet, sending his hat flopping to the floor.

作为回应，他受到了一声尖锐的训诫。 当他们离开行李领取处时，那只猫变得越来越激动。 他不停地抓着航母的网。 艾米很担心。“萨拉丁怎么了，丹？” 他病了吗？”“他可能只是有点精神错乱，”丹回答说。 “我要给他松绑，让他伸伸腿。” “你不能这么做，”内莉抗议道。 “我们在拥挤的机场里。” 但丹已经把门打开了。 萨拉丁从航母上冲了出来，就像从大炮里被射出来一样，爪子在瓷砖上飞舞。 他转过身来，找准了方位。 然后，在他们惊恐的目光面前，他冲向一个坐在附近长凳上看报纸的瘦高老头。 “萨拉丁!”艾米气喘吁吁地说。“不!”受害者惊叫一声，跳了起来，帽子掉在地上。

Dan grabbed the cat. Amy picked up the fallen hat and held it out to its owner. "Sorry, mister—" Her eyes fell on his diamond-handled walking stick. He accepted the hat with a sheepish smile. It was Alistair Oh, Cahill cousin and competitor in the search for the 39 Clues. "Ah, hello, children. You're looking well." The Egyptian Mau hissed at him from Dan's arms. "You were spying on us!" Amy accused. "Spying?" Uncle Alistair repeated. "No. I'm merely here to welcome you back to Asia and offer my assistance. The language barrier can be quite a hurdle in China, but my Mandarin is excellent." Nellie's eyes narrowed the way they always did when she suspected her charges were being taken advantage of. "And you're making this offer out of the goodness of your heart?" "Of course! Although"—Alistair's gracious smile began to seem slightly forced— "it would be an excellent opportunity to bring one another up to

丹抓住猫。艾米捡起掉在地上的帽子，递给它的主人。 “对不起，先生——”她的目光落在他的钻石柄手杖上。 他带着不好意思的微笑接受了帽子。 是阿利斯泰尔·欧，卡希尔的表亲也是寻找39条线索的竞争者。 “啊，你们好，孩子们。你看起来气色不错。” 埃及的毛从丹的怀里对他发出嘶嘶声。 “你在监视我们！”艾米指责。 “间谍?”阿利斯泰尔叔叔重复道。 “没有。我只是来欢迎你回到亚洲并提供我的帮助。 在中国，语言障碍可能是一个很大的障碍，但我的普通话很好。” 当她怀疑自己的孩子被人占了便宜时，内莉总是眯起眼睛。 “你是出于好心才提出这个提议的吗？”“当然!尽管”——阿利斯泰尔和蔼的微笑开始显得有些勉强——“这将是一个极好的机会，使彼此都能接受。