Empress of Bright Moon

by Weina Dai Randel

  Gaoyang, however, was not appeased as we walked down the trail outside the Quarters. She slashed at the trees and bushes with her sleeves. “You know she took them. You know I’m right.”

  “Perhaps.” I nodded, passing a pond on my right.

  “Then what are you going to do? Are you going to help the Lady and her son?”

  “I don’t know,” I said quietly.

  “What do you mean, you don’t know? Are you going to tell Pheasant?”

  “I could.” But then the Empress would know I had discovered the Lady’s disappearance and told Pheasant.

  We came to a pavilion where the ladies often hosted picnics, and I lowered myself onto a garden rock. From here, I could see the corner of the walls at the back of the Quarters, the swaying willow branches, the white birch trees next to a large lake, and the bridge with latticed frames.

  I turned to face the other direction. Through the thin tree branches, I could see a red wall in the distance—the Empress’s house, which had been constructed solely for her four years ago. I had never set foot there.

  Did she have the Lady and her son? I wanted to know what happened to them. I hoped they were safe. But did I wish to provoke the Empress? If she found out I was looking for them, if she believed I was trying to help them, she would fix her venomous closely set eyes on me, and perhaps my son as well. The image of my Hope appeared in my mind, and my hands grew chilled.

  • • •

  I had never been more worried about my son. As soon as I returned to my garden, I called for Apricot and held him in my arms. At ten months old, Lion had grown one tooth, but he had not learned to speak. Most of the time, he stayed in Apricot’s arms, biting his toy hand drum.

  He looked up at me, waving his hand drum and drooling. I wiped his chin with my handkerchief and smiled at him. But I thought of the Pure Lady and Sujie again. He was only four. Such a talented boy too. Could I pretend I did not know anything while he was missing?

  I decided to look for the Lady and Sujie in secret. Princess Gaoyang would volunteer to help, but I would rather leave her out of this. I remembered my old trick of receiving information through eunuchs and servants, but with my high rank, I could not go to them in person. I let Apricot help me, and through her I sent inquiries to the eunuchs who served in the Empress’s quarters. Did they know of the Pure Lady and Sujie? They did not. I invited the Empress’s maids to come for sweets in my garden. They sent their regrets. The Empress would not allow them to visit.

  I did not give up. I sent bribes—I had many valuables and silver trinkets now, thanks to Pheasant—to the eunuchs and some maids who knew the Empress’s maids. But there was no news of the Lady’s and Sujie’s whereabouts.

  Where were they? Had the Empress harmed them? Had something terrible happened to them?

  • • •

  I was napping in the chamber when Apricot announced that a eunuch wished to see me. He had news of the Pure Lady and Sujie, he said. He had found them.

  I took in a sharp breath as he told me what the Empress did to the Lady and her son. When he finished, I rewarded him with two silver ingots and waved him away. But I was so shocked at his report that I had to pace in the chamber to calm down.

  I had to help the Pure Lady and her son; in fact, I would do anything I could to save them. Even if that meant I would enrage the Empress.

  17

  “Missing?” Pheasant asked as he spooned some mutton from the soup pot. He had just returned from the morning audience and was hungry. According to tradition, an emperor should dine alone in a hall separate from everyone else, but he preferred my company during meals. “I heard she was sick.”

  “She was, and now we cannot find her,” I said, rocking Lion in my arms. He was fussy, but I did not know what was wrong with him. “Sujie is missing too. I have asked around and found out they are inside the Empress’s house.”

  “So they are not missing, then.”

  “Not precisely. They are in the Empress’s house and”—I paused—“they are kept in a secret building.” The eunuch had told me some details about the secret building, but I did not wish to spoil Pheasant’s appetite.

  “Tell the Pure Lady to go back to her own chamber.” He took another bite of mutton. Pheasant was a picky eater. On the table lay many dishes—flavored pork with sweet glutinous rice, roasted snow pheasants basted with savory garlic sauce, broiled camel hump seasoned with zesty red pepper, and sliced bear meat glazed in yellow fermented soybean paste—but he had eyes only for mutton.

  “It’s not up to her, Pheasant.”

  Pheasant put down the spoon. “Do you mean the Empress keeps them as prisoners?”

  “I cannot say.” I decided to tell him all I knew. “But I am worried. The place is locked. No one is allowed to enter except two eunuchs who deliver food.” Lion began to cry and hiccup and could not be consoled. I patted him, not knowing what to do. Apricot asked me if I wished to give him to her, but I did not have the heart to let him go.

  Princess Gaoyang approached the table. “Pheasant. You know what the Empress is capable of. She is most ruthless. You must save the Lady and Sujie.” She took Lion from my arms and threw him in the air. As he fell, she spun around, leaped, and caught him in her arms. Lion giggled, his sobs forgotten. I did not know whether I should sigh or feel relieved. Throwing him in the air was an extreme remedy for his fussiness. Only Princess Gaoyang had the skill, and the stomach, to execute it.

  “You said Sujie is there too?” Pheasant frowned. “I haven’t seen him for a while. The Empress told me he was petulant and mistreated his tutor and had to be disciplined. He was ordered to study The Book of Odes and write poems ten times a day.”

  “I think,” I said carefully, “you should pay the Empress a visit.”

  Pheasant wiped his mouth and stood. “I will do that now.”

  I rose too. “I will go with you. Gaoyang,” I said before she could object, “would you stay here and watch Lion for me?”

  “No. Let Apricot take care of him. I will go with you.”

  “Please? He will be happier with you.” I gave her Lion’s toy hand drum. “Give this to him if he complains.”

  “You want me to step aside while you rescue the Lady?”

  “Yes,” I said firmly. I trusted Apricot, but it gave me reassurance when Gaoyang was there to protect my child.

  She sighed. “Fine. I would do this only for you, Luminous Lady.”

  Pheasant was already at the garden’s entrance. I hurried to catch up with him. Behind me, my maids followed.

  It was early afternoon, the sun high in the sky. The court was quiet. Dozens of servants strode past, carrying trays of food and water jugs. I tried to keep pace with Pheasant, but I was easily exhausted these days, and I could not walk too fast.

  “Is the Empress mistreating the Pure Lady and Sujie?” Pheasant asked. He looked troubled, his voice hoarse, and the sunlight shone brightly on his face, giving his skin a youthful sheen.

  A few eunuchs, bowing, stepped aside to the edge of the path as we passed. “I don’t know.”

  “I will never forgive her if she is.” He snapped a low-hung branch from a pear tree. “First she cooked your dog, and now this.”

  His face was dark, his eyes determined. I remembered seeing that same look back when he had decided to persuade his brother Taizi to abandon his plan to rebel against the Emperor years ago, and I knew not to say anything. I reached out and put my hand on his arm. “Please, just get the Lady and Sujie back safely. Do not threaten the Empress and make the matter worse.”

  She would not forgive me if she saw me bring Pheasant to her house. But I did not care. I had to save the Pure Lady and Sujie.

  We soon reached the Empress’s residence. It was not a single building like the other Ladies’ chambers, but a large compound with high walls. From the length of the wall, I could tell
her house was as enormous as my newly renovated garden.

  The Empress’s maids told us that she was visiting her uncle outside the palace. I was relieved. At least I did not need to confront her face-to-face.

  “Take me to the Pure Lady and Sujie.” Pheasant scowled. “And do not tell me you do not know where they are.”

  The maids glanced at each other, looking panicky, but they dared not reject a request from the Emperor. Their heads lowered, they led us behind a sand garden, passing a pavilion and a few houses.

  They stopped as we approached a low building surrounded by walls. It looked like it could have been a stable, and there were chains on the gates, just as the eunuch had told me.

  A foul stench wafted through the air, and a wave of nausea rose from my stomach. I covered my nose with my shawl, wishing I had brought a handkerchief. Was it true that the Pure Lady and her son were imprisoned there?

  “What are you waiting for? Open the door!” Pheasant shouted at the two maids. As soon as they unlocked the chains, he kicked the doors open. “Sujie? Pure Lady? Are you here?”

  Angry barks rose from a shed in the small courtyard. Hesitating, Pheasant walked to the shed and pushed open the closed door, and I followed behind.

  The stink! It was overpowering! I pressed the shawl harder to my face and peered inside. It was dimly lit, but I could tell the shed was divided into two parts by a fence. On the left growled some dogs, chained to the fence. On the right, the ground was a morass of mud and feces, and there were two animals there, chained as well, crouched at the far end of the corner.

  I blinked and froze in shock as I realized what I was looking at.

  The crouched figures on the right were not animals. They were the Pure Lady and Sujie, their faces caked with mud and feces.

  And the beasts on the left were not dogs. They were wolves—their yellow eyes blazing, their white teeth sharp.

  Fear seized my throat. I tried to stay still, but my legs grew weak, and I could hardly stand. “Pure Lady? Sujie?” I called out. The stench shot into my nose, and I wanted to vomit.

  Sujie’s slight figure did not move, but the Pure Lady raised her head. She crawled to get closer to me, but the chains stopped her. Twisting her head, she growled. Her voice was hoarse and painful, and something crawled from her long mottled hair to her shoulder. I could see clearly with the light coming from outside—maggots.

  Pheasant stretched to hold on to the fence, nearly losing his balance. “Pure Lady?”

  I held on to Pheasant to steady him and myself. That woman with maggots crawling on her hair and her neck was the calm Pure Lady? “Heavens, Pheasant. Unchain her. Get her out. Get Sujie out.”

  “I…I can’t do it. Where is the key? Give me the key!” He doubled over and vomited. Poor Pheasant. He wiped his mouth and grabbed a cluster of keys from the maid behind us. His hands trembled as he leaned over the fence to unlock the chain tied to the Lady.

  A shadow leaped at the corner of my eye, and Pheasant fell back, crying out in surprise. Another shadow lunged from my left, its sharp claws tearing my shawl. The wolves! They were so close. If they had not been chained, they would have torn me apart.

  “Quick, quick,” I urged Pheasant, and when he finally unlocked the chains, I gave my hand to the Lady and pulled her out. “Unlock Sujie,” I urged Pheasant again. “Get him out. Get him out now.”

  But the slight figure at the far side of the corner still did not move, and Pheasant could not reach him.

  A sour wave surged in my stomach, and I gagged. I turned to my maids behind me. Two were helping the Pure Lady, but the others were standing there, holding their noses. “Come here, Chunlu, Xiayu! Get him out, do you hear me?”

  They held their hands over their noses, shaking their heads.

  “Let me.” Pheasant stepped into the morass and stretched out his hand. But each time he tried to grab Sujie, the wolves pounced, barking fiercely. Once, a wolf almost latched on to Pheasant’s shoulder, missing him only by a hand’s length.

  I cried out in fright. “Watch out, watch out, Pheasant!”

  The deafening barking drowned my voice. They were so loud I felt my head was going to burst, but I could see the chains on the animals were tied to be long enough for the wolves to reach the edge of the fence, but short enough so they would not tear Sujie apart. It sickened me to think how frightened the boy must have been when the wolves sprang toward him each time he tried to escape.

  Finally, his feet sinking in the feces, Pheasant reached out for Sujie. “Come, come to me!” he urged. His hands were now covered with shit too, but he did not seem to care.

  I wished he could hurry up. I felt like fainting with the earsplitting howling and growling of the wolves. And they just would not stop! I felt dizzy. My heart shook, and I wanted to scream in frustration. I could not imagine how the Pure Lady and Sujie had survived in the foul mixture with the wolves constantly clawing at them. I would have gone insane in one day.

  “Try again, try again, Pheasant. Almost, almost! Sujie, good boy, give the Emperor your hand,” I shouted, frantic.

  Pheasant grabbed his hand. “Good boy. Good boy! Now. Let’s go. Now!”

  But his hand slipped out of Pheasant’s, and Sujie fell back again.

  I was going to pass out. I could not breathe. My head pounded. And the wolves swam before me, while the morass of the feces seemed to surge like an angry sea, its foul waves splashing at my feet.

  My maid, Chunlu, came to her senses. She ducked to the other side of the pen and pulled Sujie out. As soon as he was safe, we fled.

  The kennel door shut behind me, and the barking ceased. I gasped for breath, grateful for the fresh air and some quiet.

  “Tell the servants to come here and bring water to wash their faces. Some warm water. Yes, warm water. Go, Chunlu, go now. You too, Xiayu. Go. Go get water.” I ordered my maids, and they ran off. The air out here smelled like Heaven, and I breathed in greedily.

  Once I felt better, I went to the Pure Lady, who was hunched against a wall near the gate.

  “Pure Lady.” I knelt beside her. Two maggots rolled from her head and fell on my foot. I shrank away. “I’m so sorry for what you have suffered.”

  She was shivering, her arms wrapping around her knees, staring at the ground. I called her again, but she did not raise her head. I did not think she heard me or knew who I was. She smelled like excrement, and there was no trace of the intelligent woman whom I had met months ago.

  I straightened, biting my lips in fury. The Pure Lady was of the second degree, only lower than the Empress and me. No one was supposed to punish her except the Emperor. But the Empress had imprisoned her and tormented her. The Empress had committed a crime.

  Pheasant was talking to Sujie. Poor boy. He kept shaking his head but would not speak a word.

  The maids returned, buckets of water in hand. A dozen eunuchs, carrying basins, followed behind them. When they entered the building, they doubled over, their sleeves flying to their faces.

  I directed them to the Pure Lady and Sujie and ordered the eunuchs to clean them. They poured water on top of them, and foul yellow shit spread on the ground, sending white, writhing maggots to my feet. I stepped aside, but it could not be helped—I was wet from the knees down. And Pheasant was worse; his whole robe was soaked with the foul mixture. He stood unmoved, however, and his eyes, filled with pain, watched Sujie as the water poured down his head and he gulped and groaned.

  Finally, the Pure Lady was cleaner, and I could see her face—a sheet of gray. Her lips were pale and cracked, her eyes red rimmed. Sujie was clean too. His lips were purple, and he would not raise his head. I ordered the eunuchs to take them to the Lady’s chamber so they could get some rest.

  The Pure Lady wept when she was carried away, and her voice, so pitiful, pierced my heart. This was, after all, the worst part of the torture: it did not sim
ply kill you—it changed you forever.

  Pheasant turned to the Empress’s maids. “Where is the Empress? Where is she? Tell her to come to me! Tell her to come now!”

  They lowered their heads. She was still not home.

  If she had been there, Pheasant would have struck her. I put my hand on his arm. “Let’s go home, Pheasant.”

  He pushed me away and headed toward the entrance, yelling at anyone who got in his way. He was fuming, his face red with anger as we walked back to my garden. I walked beside him. My heart was taut like a pressed springboard.

  “What happened?” Princess Gaoyang was shocked to see our shit-covered gowns. She gagged, covering her nose with her sleeve.

  “I shall tell you later,” I said as Apricot removed my stained gown and shoes.

  After I was clean, I sat down on a stool and poured myself a cup of wine. It tasted foul, like the feces whose putrid odor still lingered on my tongue. I forced myself to swallow and poured another cup. I told Apricot to get my bath ready and to light incense to expel the odor, and then I told the princess where we found the Pure Lady and Sujie.

  “In a kennel?” she repeated, astounded. “With wolves!”

  “Yes.” There were so many things I wished to tell her. The revolting squalor in the kennel, the shocking sight of the wolves, the torments of the Pure Lady and Sujie, and the heartbreaking fear in their eyes. But all I could say was, “Go home now, Gaoyang. I need a bath.”

  Gaoyang looked like she wanted to say more, but I was too tired to listen. Shaking her head, she left the chamber.

  Apricot brought in the wooden tub, followed by Chunlu and Xiayu, who came in with buckets of hot water.

  I took off my underrobe and loose trousers and stepped into the tub. Pheasant followed me and got into the tub too. His brows knotted and his lips pursed, he leaned against the tub, looking strange and intense, like someone whom I had known a long time ago. Taizi. He looked like Taizi. I remembered his face, taut, dark, full of agony when Emperor Taizong ordered him to end his lover’s life.

  I moved to Pheasant and put my arms around him. He was hot. His back, wet with beads of steam, was red, as though a fire was burning within. There was a fire burning inside me too, and the heat, the steam, and the scented water only fed its flame.