The Moon in the Palace (The Empress of Bright Moon Duology)

by Weina Dai Randel

  As I balanced myself on the boatlike shoes, she continued. “Remember, when you smile, you shall never reveal your teeth. Prior to speaking, you always bow, and when you are given permission to behold, you shall always set your gaze upon the other’s shoulder, never at the eyes.”

  I recognized Rain, the teacher. She was the girl from Pheasant’s haystacks. Her eyes lingered on me when she caught my gaze. Then she looked away.

  I thought of Pheasant and how he had helped me escape. I hoped the Captain had been kind to him and did not punish him. Ever since I had parted with him, I often studied myself in the bronze mirror, and I always made sure my hair was neat before leaving the chamber.

  I wished to see Pheasant again and thank him. But it would be difficult to find him in the vast palace.

  In the following days, I learned how to play guzheng, a rectangular instrument with eight cords. After the music lesson was my favorite calligraphy class, but I had learned four types of scripts since I was six: seal script, grass script, standard script, and running script. Seal script and standard script required the calligrapher to follow the rules of the square shapes and straight lines. Grass script emphasized free, unrestrained movement, and running script was a compromise between the standard script and grass script. I was best at grass script, for I loved to see the brush run freely on paper.

  After those lessons came lectures for reception, rituals, visiting rites, and procession rules, and practices of bearing banners, practices of carrying wine vessels and holding parasols, and then tests that concerned the titles of the ladies and the contents of their monthly allowances. There were math lessons too—mainly counting. I had learned that when I was five.

  I asked Teacher Rain when the training would end.

  “When you receive an assignment.” She gave me a long look.

  “What assignment?”

  “What else?” She lifted her triangular face. “You shall empty Most Adored’s chamber pot, if you are fortunate.”

  I wished I had not asked her. She obviously resented me, and I hoped, with all my heart, that I would not serve Jewel.

  When I had some leisure time, I went to the court’s library, which collected Ban Zhao’s Lessons for Women and rhapsodies from the Warring States period. I was disappointed. I missed the Four Books and Five Classics, Confucius’s Analects, or even Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. But the book I missed most was Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. I remembered what he said: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

  I had known Jewel. Did I know myself? I thought so. Then I did not need to be afraid.

  And since I was right beside the Emperor, I would fend off Jewel’s swords and advance with the master’s shield of wisdom, and very soon, I would win the Emperor’s heart.

  • • •

  Jewel caught me on my way to the classroom one afternoon. “How good it is to see you, Mei. It has been a long time.”

  She strutted in a stunning pale blue gown, her white hair adorned with a long, iridescent kingfisher feather that almost reached the top of the willow tree near the trail. Two girls wearing garlands of peonies scattered rose petals on the path for her to tread on, and behind her, a train of servants followed.

  Anger rushed to my tongue, but I bit my lips and bowed. “Most Adored.”

  “I must say I was surprised by what you did, Mei. How courageous you were to save the Emperor’s life, and now you’re a Talent. Look how far you have come. How is your training going?”

  Her voice was gentle, but I knew what kind of woman she was. I would never trust a word of hers again. “As to be expected, Most Adored,” I said. “If you will pardon me, I must take my leave now.”

  She walked closer to me, treading on the petals. “Don’t hate me, Mei. Truthfully, you cannot blame me.”

  Would she say the same thing if I had betrayed her? I looked away.

  “If you wish, Mei, come and visit me. We shall have a nice talk.”

  I shook my head and turned to a path near the willow. I did not like the fact that Jewel knew everything about me. And I was worried. I did not believe she had run into me by accident. She must have been planning something, but I did not know what.

  • • •

  “Do you wish to know their secrets?” a girl with buck teeth said to me when I was having the midday meal in a loud dining hall, where the middle-ranking and lower-ranking ladies sat at low tables and many eunuchs threaded through the crowd to deliver trays.

  Her name was Plum, one of my Talent roommates. She was always busy talking at bedtime, and during the lesson, she had paid no attention to Teacher Rain, so busy was she whispering to the others.

  “Whose secret?” I asked.

  “That girl.” She pointed at a glum-looking girl sitting in a corner. “She is a Grace. Look at her, she’s scratching her head again. Don’t go near her; she has lice. And that girl in the green-and-white gown over there, she has terrible body odor. You know what I am talking about, don’t you? The stink of a fox. She’s never going to be favored, I tell you now.”

  I hesitated, unsure whether I should trust her. But I liked her. She had an innocent look on her face despite her talkativeness, and she was definitely different from Jewel. “Those are big secrets.”

  Smiling, she nudged me with her elbow. “Now tell me yours.”

  I slowly chewed a piece of pork belly. After I swallowed, she was still staring at me, almost nose to nose. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

  The other Talents near us finished their food and moved away. There were only the two of us. Plum licked her lips. “You were very brave, saving the Emperor’s life,” she said. “How did you do it?”

  “I ran,” I said. “I was not brave. I was frightened to death.”

  “I know it. Anyone would be frightened.” Plum grinned. “So do you like the training? I hate the ‘perfect walk,’ by the way. It gave me blisters, and when they popped, the fluid stuck to the inside of my clogs. I cried every day when I first came here. If you saved all my tears in a barrel, they’d flood the whole court.”

  “It must be a very big barrel.” I smiled. I liked the fact that she knew many things about the girls. She would be the perfect supplier of resources, and perhaps a good spy. “How long have you been in the Inner Court, Plum?”

  “About three years.”

  I finished my food and stacked the bowl and saucers on the tray. “Have you met the Four Ladies?”

  “Of course. They’re like four gods ruling the four directions of the court.” Plum looked around and cupped her hand at my ear. “But to tell you the truth, the only lady we love is the Noble Lady. You’ve heard of her, right? She’s very powerful. She oversees the Imperial Silkworm Workshops, and she is a weaver herself, most kind and generous.”

  “She is also the daughter of Emperor Yang from the Sui Dynasty,” I said, recalling Father’s story.

  “So you do know.”

  “Why did the Emperor not make her the Empress?” After all, it had been almost three years since Empress Wende’s death, and the Noble Lady had a son, Prince Ke, who was one year younger than the Crown Prince. She would be a good candidate for the crown.

  “That’s a long story.” Plum sighed. “The Pure Lady would like to be the Empress herself, and she is gathering support for her son, Prince Yo.”

  I placed his name among the list of the princes. He was the fourth living son of the Emperor, after Taizi and Prince Ke. “What kind of support?”

  Plum glanced around as though to see if anyone were eavesdropping. Then she cupped her hand over my ear again. “One thing you need to know is the Pure Lady is ruthless. You must make sure you never offend her.”

&nb
sp; “I have yet to meet her.” Laughter burst out, interrupting us. I turned to see a group of Graces in a corner, their heads gathered together. “So I hear I will receive an assignment after the training.”

  “Yes. We all have duties. Some weave, some clean, some do laundry, some serve the Ladies. Only the Ladies can sit on their stools and draw their beauty marks all day.”

  “What about the Emperor?” I asked. “When will we see him?”

  He was wounded, but he would recover.

  “We go to see him on the tenth day and the twenty-first day of every month.”

  The bedding schedule. I remembered what Jewel had told me during the bath. “Why those days?”

  “Oh, according to the bedding schedule, the lowest-ranking ladies go to see the Emperor on the first nine days of the moon, then the middle-ranking ladies on the next three nights, followed by the high-ranking, and the Empress on the fifteenth and the sixteenth days of the moon, the full moon nights.”

  “Why on full moon nights?”

  Plum licked her lips. “Because the full moon nights are considered most favorable to conceive a child. So the high-ranking ladies have this privilege. After the sixteenth night of the moon, the cycle completes, and we do it in the reverse order.”

  So the Emperor would have women serving him every night. “But there are nine Talents.” I still did not understand. “Who among us gets to go on those designated days?”

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you.” She made a face. “We will all go together.”

  I would need to lie with the Emperor together with eight other Talents? “Really? No one told me that.”

  “It’s true.” She made a face again. “Each time when we go to see the Emperor, we go in a group of nine. There are twenty-seven seventh-degree ladies, so they are divided into three groups, the same with the eighth-degree ladies and the ninth-degree ladies. So they have nine nights total. We have nine Talents, and we have one night with the Emperor. So do the Beauties and Graces. The Emperor spends the night alone only with the Empress, who used to see him on the full moon nights. But since our Empress has died, the Emperor summons whomever he pleases on those nights.”

  I swallowed hard. “So the Emperor always follows the schedule?”

  She shrugged. “He does as he pleases. Do you know Jewel, our new Most Adored? He’s been calling her every cycle, ignoring the bedding schedule. Twice around the full moon! Even the Ladies lost their nights. They say he has grown rather attached to her.”

  That was bad news. “But he’s wounded. Shouldn’t he get some rest?”

  “You are right about that.” Plum stuck out her tongue. “It looks like we all need to wait until he recovers.”

  “Ah.” I played with the eating sticks. Should I ask her? “Do you see anyone other than the female ministers here? I mean—” A eunuch holding a tray walked by me. I paused. When he passed, I continued, carefully. “Did you ever see the Emperor, Taizi, or his horses?”

  I regretted asking. Of course, neither the Emperor nor Taizi would come visit the etiquette school.

  “I saw them once.”

  “You did? How?”

  “On the polo field. It’s down the hill, not far from here.”

  “Did you see Taizi and his groom?”

  “Groom? The heir has a dozen of them. Which one?”

  “Never mind.” I smiled. “We should go back to the classroom.”

  • • •

  Later that month when I had free time, I wandered to the polo field behind the school. It was a vast area near a hill surrounded by groves of mulberry trees. The silkworm farming season had already ended, and no one was picking leaves, but the ladders were still scattered around. I passed the ladders and hid behind the tree branches.

  In the field, a dozen riders pranced, holding mallets with curved ends. Taizi was there, his chest bare. Looking like a mountain on his ride, he pursued a scarlet ball near the net at the end of the field.

  I studied the grooms around the field. Some ran back and forth with buckets of water; some groomed the horses with brushes. I did not see Pheasant. Disappointed, I turned away.

  A whistle came from behind me.

  I jumped, and there he was, standing beside me. The sunlight sifted through the thick mulberry leaves and lit up his chiseled face.

  “Sorry.” He smiled brilliantly. “I saw you coming, so I thought to give you a surprise.”

  He remembered me. “I was just passing by.”

  He grinned, and I could not tell if he knew I was lying. “And good timing too. I happen to be free.”

  “Well, I hope the Captain did not thrash you the other day,” I said. “I also would like to tell you how grateful I am for your help.”

  “Don’t mention it. I know many hideouts in the palace. If you wish to know, I will show you.”

  “Perhaps some other day,” I said. “What are you doing here? Were you playing polo?” Would Taizi allow his groom to play a nobleman’s game?

  He shook his head. “Not today. The Emperor forbids it. He’ll spank me if he catches me with a mallet. He worries about accidents. Taizi was knocked off his horse and nearly killed a month ago. Do you like polo?”

  “Never played it before.” He should know that it would be impossible for me to ever play polo. “It’s not for a girl.”

  He shrugged. “Who makes rules like that? I shall teach you next time, if you like. But you need to be careful so the mallet doesn’t smack your face.”

  I felt as if I had found a conspirator who agreed to steal a jug of honey and share it with me. I stared at him, unable to hold back my smile. “Smack my face? Sounds dangerous.”

  “Do you still want to try?”

  “More than ever.”

  He grinned. “You are different,” he said.

  “Different? Is this your phrase for all the girls?” I was never happier, however.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you no, would you?” He thrust his head to one side. “Come with me. I have a surprise for you.”

  “What surprise?”

  “You’ll see.”

  He pushed the branches aside and walked to a trail that led to the other side of the hill. It had to be the back of the court. The woods were dense, the buildings looked dusty, and there were few servants loitering about. We were, as far as I could see, completely alone.

  I liked the way he walked, the way his arms swung and he held his head. He looked like a stallion enjoying a run in the breeze. He was also more attractive than I remembered: the profile of his nose was perfect, and the line of his jaw curved slightly. He still wore the same white tunic and a pair of white trousers he had worn on the day we met. They did not carry any embroidery works on the hem or any patterns that a noble boy’s clothes would have. But he looked clean and well-groomed, and he smelled of hay and fresh fruit.

  He did not let me trail behind him as custom dictated; instead, he waited for me to catch up with him, and together, we walked side by side.

  Once or twice, his arm brushed mine, and he attempted to hold my hand. I giggled and hid my hands in my sleeves. When he stopped trying, however, I regretted it with all my heart.

  After a while, we arrived at a tangerine grove, where yellow-orange fruits drooped among thick, green leaves. In the air floated a sweet, lemony fragrance mixed with an earthy smell. I stood under a tree, my foot poking at the ground. Part of me was worried. What if someone caught us? Part of me was excited. I had never been alone with a boy before. What were we going to do?

  “Here we are.” He plucked the fruit from a branch. “First batch of the season. Do you want a tangerine? This one looks ripe. Do you like tangerines?”

  Of course I enjoyed delicious tangerines. But if I said I liked them sweet, would he think I was too predictable?

  “Only if they’re sour.”

 
“I should have known.” Chuckling, he dug his thumb into the depressed navel of the citrus. A plume of mist burst out, and the zesty scent flew to my nose. My mouth watered, yet I cast my gaze low. He was so close to me. If I tripped over something, I would fall into his arms.

  He was concentrating on the fruit in his hand. Carefully, he peeled off the rind and arranged the pieces around the fruit like petals of a blooming flower. Then he picked up the threadlike pith and removed it until there was nothing on the reddish flesh. He held a segment between his fingers. “Open your mouth.”

  It would be rude to decline, wouldn’t it? I felt the soft tangerine on my tongue and bit down.

  “How does it taste?”

  “Good.” Actually, it tasted sour, with a hint of bitterness. But it did not matter.

  His finger brushed my lips. “So you like it?”

  I would have liked it if he had put a rock in my mouth. All I knew was his smooth skin and the tang of the citrus on his finger. No one had ever touched me like that before. “Yes.”

  “Just the way you like it?” His finger lingered.

  My heart pounded, and my cheeks warmed. I wanted to lift my head and look into his eyes, but I was worried he would know my thoughts. “Yes.”

  “I’m glad.” I stole a look at him. He was grinning. His eyes, shielded by a thick fence of eyelashes, sparkled. “I thought I would never see you again.”

  A sweet sensation rose from the bottom of my heart and spread to my limbs, but I said, “Why? Were you worried I would tell about you and Teacher Rain?”

  He put his hand on my shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

  I could feel the warmth from his hand and his breath on my forehead. He was so close to me. His eyes, those pools of amber, danced with light, reminding me of how the rays of the sun sparkled on a summer field. Yes. I knew exactly what he meant, and that knowledge sent a ripple of happiness to my heart.

  “Who is there?” a male voice called from the grove.

  We froze. Pheasant grabbed my hand and pulled me to run. We dashed out of the grove, raced down the trails through the woods, and finally, turned onto the path leading to the polo field.