“Why?” The Noble Lady kept clearing her throat, looking embarrassed. I felt my face heating up as well. I liked her, but I was not yet accustomed to discussing such intimate details with her. Yet I needed to know.
“You’re too young, Mei. You’ll understand better when you’re older.”
“I wish to know, my Noble Lady. Is something happening to the Emperor?”
“I suppose you can say that… He has difficulties to do his duty, but really, he is not to be blamed. He was rather a vigorous man when he was young, a skillful man good at plucking flowers,” she said, using a euphemism. “He fathered thirteen sons—although three died in infancy. But even an old lion falters and loses his appetite, and his claws, which always sank into whomever he wanted, wherever he wanted, have lost their sharpness.”
Now I understood. “Then why does he still summon us? And the new Selects every year?”
“Because even if a lion cannot eat, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t wish to.”
“What about Jewel?” He still summoned her, I heard, and she was Most Adored and a Lady-in-Waiting.
“I don’t know, but she seems to know many tricks. I hear she keeps some white horses’ penises steeped in wine and honey in a jar. I wish I knew more…” She rubbed her chest, her plump face growing pink again. “You do wish to keep your title, don’t you?”
I thought of Mother. She must have received the silver figurine from Eunuch Ming, and she would be very pleased. I could not stop my quest to win the Emperor’s favor. I had to do more to take care of her. “Yes.”
“Then you need to win him back.”
“I shall think about it.” But I hesitated. I wished I had more courage to tell the Noble Lady I did not know the secrets of the bedroom affair, but she already looked embarrassed.
“And, when you decide to do so, you will need to be summoned.”
Of course, that would be another obstacle I had to solve. I watched her measure the fabrics and divide them into different piles that would be distributed to the other Ladies. I liked the silk’s pattern and its color, and I would like to have some of it. But as a Talent, I received only leftover silk from last year.
I bid her good day and turned to leave.
“Wait.” The Noble Lady went to a chest near her dresser, and when she returned, there was a scroll tied with a red silk ribbon in her hands. “Here.” She placed it in my hands, her face reddening like ripened autumn apples. “I don’t know if you have seen this or not… Some ladies here have them, I hear… Anyway, I am an old woman. I do not need this anymore. You are still young…”
The scroll was light, almost transparent. I could see the colors, red and black, through the fine silk. “What is it?”
“Paintings…” She cleared her throat.
“What kind of paintings?”
“You will know. Go read it in your bedchamber. Not here.” She waved, turning away, and I could see how embarrassed she was. “Read it when you’re alone.”
The bedroom affair! It must be. “I—”
“Go. Go now.”
She waved again, and I stumbled out, blushing. In the corridor, her maids were embroidering something, and I hid the scroll in my sleeve, lowered my head, and passed them without speaking.
As soon as I left the Quarters, I regretted taking the scroll. I should not have taken it. I would never have the courage to stand before the Emperor again. He had treated me like a maid the first time, and this time, he would perhaps kick me like a slave.
But I was also curious. What did those paintings look like? I wished to see them and understand the true meaning of the bedding affair. After all, I was sixteen years old, and many women my age had already borne two or three children.
I picked up my pace, eager to get to my bedchamber.
• • •
By the time I reached my bedchamber, it was supper time. The court bustled with servants carrying trays. I stepped aside to let the carriers pass as they came behind me. The fragrance of the meal wafted past me, and I inhaled deeply. Could I have some meat in my bowl tonight? A succulent duck quarter glazed with honey or a piece of pork belly seasoned with five spices? But I knew what I would see: tofu blocks, bamboo shoots, and a spare amount of rice, most likely. The food could barely fill me, and I was always hungry.
Plum was talking with the other Talents around the table. “And now, she says it is just a pickled radish that will not stand, even if you use chopsticks,” Plum said, and the girls covered their mouths, giggling.
“What are you talking about?” I sat near her, tucking my feet under me. The scroll’s bamboo spine rubbed against my arm, and suddenly, I was conscious of the secret in my pocket. I cleared my throat.
“Lady Obedience,” Plum said, and the Talents burst out laughing again. “She went to see the Emperor last night.”
“Oh.” I looked down at my tray—barley soup, fried bean curds with mushrooms, and some rice. Just as I had expected. “What are you laughing about?”
“You did not hear us?” Plum asked.
“I did.” I blinked, unable to fathom her joke. “Why is it funny?”
The others laughed again, and Plum leaned over me, her face near the bowl on my tray. “Never mind that. Is something wrong?”
“What? Nothing.”
“You look different.”
I waved to dismiss her. “I’m tired, that’s all.”
“Tired?” Plum drew back. “After supper, we’re going to play weiqi. Do you want to join us?”
“Maybe next time.” I pushed some rice into my mouth. That was good news. When they were gone, I could view the paintings.
“You’re not afraid of me beating you, are you?”
“You beat me? You’re joking, right? You never pay attention to where the stones go. How many games have you won so far? Zero?” Weiqi, a two-person board game that used 361 pieces of stones, was getting popular those days in the palace. The goal was to capture the most stones and cover the most territory on the board.
“But I never cared about the stones.”
“Now you’re telling the truth.”
The Talents laughed, and Plum waved her eating sticks, pretending to strike me. I ducked my head. She rose to pursue me. I leaped behind the other girls, keeping out of her reach. For a moment, we played hide-and-seek, laughing and taunting each other. Finally, we grew tired and sat to finish our meal. While I cleaned up the trays, Plum went to the courtyard with the others to play weiqi. A few Beauties next door also joined, and some started to play jump rope. The courtyard was alive with motion and laughter.
I closed the doors, made sure no one was going to enter, and placed the scroll on the table. My heart racing faster, I unfurled the scroll and read the opening paragraph, titled “The Dreams of the Spring.”
“A thousand years ago, things were different. Men and women were free and happy. Every spring they came to a river and made merry, with any mates they wished. They called it the Rites of Spring, described in the song ‘Joy of the Mulberry Groves.’ When dynasties were founded, women were no longer free. They were bound by the wishes of their fathers, their husbands, and their emperors. Their own wishes were no longer important, forgotten, discarded like rotten roots. And this is why the pictures must be kept, to remind us of the ancient joy.”
Oh, how perverse the words were, but very interesting. I unfurled the scroll farther.
A picture. Rather idyllic, with parasol-like green trees, crimson peonies, and porous garden rocks. On the rock sat a man, and on the man sat a woman, whose arms wound around his neck while his hands pushed her skirt up to her waist, uncovering her legs, lower abdomen, and everything in between.
Well… The two were dallying right there. I wanted to avert my eyes. But I could not resist it. I straightened and unrolled more.
Another man and woman. In a study, where brushes,
ink stones, and papers were spread neatly on a writing table. A bejeweled, pretty woman sat on it too, and in front of her stood a man, his buttocks bare. He was so close to her—almost touching her—while the woman leaned back, supporting herself with her arms. There were splashes of pink on her cheeks and somewhere else…
Holy ancestors of nine generations!
I rolled up the scroll, my face burning. So that was the secret of the bedroom affair. I knew it now, even though the events were unrelated to the locale. Would I do that with the Emperor? Bare myself like that? I felt as if my skin had been peeled off, like a skinned rabbit waiting to be roasted.
But the woman. Her face … It was as if she were sailing to a place she longed for…and her body…I had never seen anything so revealing, vivid, and…exquisite. Did I look like her? I bit my lip. Hesitating, I slipped my hand into my loose pants…
Ah…the true meaning of being a woman…
I perspired. More…
I moved to the third picture.
Two women. On a bed. One wearing a pink bandeau, one with a blue shawl. One was lying down, and one was sitting…
I almost dropped the scroll. Women!
Footsteps came from outside. Hastily, I rolled it up.
Plum entered the chamber with her friends. My heart throbbing, I turned my back to her and tucked the scroll under my mat. I sat on it, straightened, and pretended nothing had happened. But I kept thinking about the scroll, its round and long shape, like a certain part in the painting.
The chamber became stuffy, and the air smelled hot and sweaty. I fanned myself with my hand. The images of the painting floated before my eyes, but all I thought of was Pheasant.
By the time we were ready to sleep, I was certain it would require eighteen horses to ever drag me to the Emperor’s chamber.
• • •
A few short weeks later, I had already forgotten about seducing the Emperor when Heaven’s intention once again disrupted our routine.
I awoke one morning to a commotion in the courtyard. Shooting stars had appeared during the night. For the whole morning, I saw people gathering in corners, whispering, their faces pale.
It had been two years since the appearance of the comet, which had brought us the assassination plot against the Emperor and changed our relationship with the tribes at the border. And now, we had shooting stars.
“The Emperor is having a meeting with his astrologer,” Plum whispered to me while we walked to the wardrobe chamber. The corridors were quieter than usual. “The two have been locked in his library since dawn. Do you know what they are discussing?”
“I don’t.” I reached the wardrobe chamber and pushed the door open. “Do you?”
The astrologer, a Taoist who claimed to be the listener of Heaven’s murmurs, was an important man. The Emperor often consulted him regarding many matters such as calendar, harvest, drought, worship, crowning, war, or even dreams. Once, the astrologer had climbed the ladder of blades to reach the door of Heaven. The blades, all honed and whetted as thin as a maple leaf, could have sliced a man’s feet, but he ascended barefoot, his hands holding nothing but a scroll and a brush, and reached the top without shedding a single drop of blood. It was rumored that he drank only rainwater and ate ginseng shaped like an infant. On the drought days, the Emperor summoned him to call the rain. After each performance, the rain always came.
He was, no doubt, also a dangerous man.
Plum cupped her hand around my ear. “You will not believe what I am going to tell you, Mei. They said the astrologer interpreted the signs and revealed a prophecy.”
“A prophecy?” I remembered the Buddhist monk, Tripitaka, had predicted my future by reading my face. That had been a long time ago. The Taoists also made predictions, but they often observed Heaven’s signs to reach their conclusions. “About what?”
I did not want to tell Plum, but I was worried. If the imperial astrologer revealed a prophecy, then all the sign watchers on the street would certainly know about it and talk about it, and then the rebels and those who harbored hatred toward the Emperor would use the words to revolt. The Western Turks had kept quiet after the demise of the King of Gaochang, but who knew what else would happen if more rebels rose to plot against the Emperor?
“This is what I heard.” She went to close the chamber’s door. Fortunately, the Beauties had not arrived yet, and we could speak freely. “The astrologer said a certain man would end the Emperor’s reign, and he is coming.”
I was shocked. “Are you certain? Who is the man?”
She made a face. “I would be an astrologer too, if I knew.”
I peered at the sky. It was still early. The sun had just come out. I wished I could listen to the astrologer as he spoke to the Emperor. But the Emperor’s library was located inside the Outer Palace, and I was not allowed to wander there without permission. The Beauties arrived, and Plum and I busied ourselves with our tasks. Later, when I delivered laundry to the laundry women on the other side of the Inner Court, I heard some men’s voices from the street outside. I stopped at the entrance of the Inner Court and peered out from behind the gate.
The Emperor was returning from the library with the astrologer and other ministers. He nodded grimly as the astrologer, dressed in a white robe embroidered with moons and stars that many Taoist priests donned, said something. He was an old man, with a long, silvery beard that reached his knees and long, gray hair speckled with black dots like sesames. He wore no hat or boots.
The Emperor came closer, and I hurried to leave, thinking about what Plum had told me. If it was true the astrologer believed a man would end the Emperor’s reign, then whoever that man was, he was doomed. The Emperor would not let him live.
• • •
A few days later, I went to the garden to meet Pheasant at night. The rock near the garden’s entrance lay flat. I turned around. Pheasant was busy tonight. For the next few weeks, we were unable to meet. The Gold Bird Guards had tightened their patrols around the palace, as a thief had been caught stealing a horse in an imperial stable at midnight. He was killed instantly, penetrated by an arrow. Later he was identified as a palace guard nicknamed Black Boy. I remembered him. He was one of the two Palace Escorts who had brought me to the palace a few years before.
I wondered why a palace guard would risk his life stealing a horse. It did not make sense to me. No one with a brain would attempt to steal an imperial horse inside the palace. Many people gossiped about it too, including some guards, but then, for some reason, the gossip seemed to die overnight, as though there never had been a horse thief.
It was clear to me someone had ordered the cease of gossip, and I could not get it out of my mind. I wondered if it had something to do with the prophecy.
AD 642
the Sixteenth Year of Emperor Taizong’s Reign of Peaceful Prospect
AUTUMN
21
I had just collected the Emperor’s robes from the seamstress when Eunuch Ming beckoned to me from behind a cinnamon tree.
“What is it?” I looked around to ensure we were alone. “Did you give the money to my mother?”
“I couldn’t find her.”
“I gave you the ward’s name.” I frowned. With the names of the ward and my family, he should not have had trouble locating Qing’s house.
“Your mother has disappeared.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your half brother banished her.”
I gasped. “What? Why?”
He shrugged. “They said she left the house a year ago.”
I bit my lip so hard I tasted the saltiness of my blood. “Do you know where she is now?” She had no one to rely on in the capital. The only places for her would be streets, ditches, corners of graveyards, and the Northern District, where unfortunate women were forced to sell their bodies for a living.
“Th
ey didn’t tell me.”
“But there’s nowhere she could go!”
“That’s what I heard, and now I’m telling you.”
My hands trembled, and I almost dropped the robes. “Why? Why did he banish my mother?”
That heartless gambler. How could he do that?
When I raised my head again, the eunuch had left. Whether he had pocketed the money for himself or gave it to Qing, I did not know or care. The most important thing was Mother.
Where was she? Where would she sleep? What would she do when it rained and snowed?
A sweeper appeared in front of the tree and peered to see what I was doing. I left the shade and went to the wardrobe chamber. But I could not concentrate on folding a single garment. I told Plum I did not feel well and returned to my chamber.
The only person who could help me was the Emperor. He could issue an imperial notice and have it posted on the wall in the Western Market. Then everyone would help find Mother.
How could I get his attention again? I had reviewed the paintings. I knew more about bedroom secrets. I could seduce him, persuade him…
But Pheasant… What would he think if he knew I had gone to his father’s bed?
I slept fitfully that night. One moment I seemed to swim in a cloud of rain and mist with Pheasant but soon plunged into a pool of tears that Mother shed. I called for her, swam to her, but somehow the pool transformed into a dark cave filled with echoes. Before dawn broke, I got up from my mat and stepped into the courtyard. No one was up yet at that hour, and it was unusually quiet.
The air smelled fresh. I sat on a stone bench under the oak tree. I tried to think—I had to—and I had to think fast. But I was cold, my mind thick, hard, like the walls surrounding me.
Strings of daylight spun in my eyes. A golden oriole flitted around a pear tree and then settled to perch on a branch. White petals and fine nectar showered to the ground. The bird stretched its neck, trying to swallow something, a seed or perhaps a grain of rice.
The Moon in the Palace (The Empress of Bright Moon Duology) Page 17