Trembling, my servants lined up.
Two buckets of water were brought. The large eunuchs dipped their whips in them.
“Chief Shim,” I called. “Please understand that it is not my servants’ fault that they haven’t introduced themselves. I was not ready until now.”
“Are you forgiving your slaves?” Chief Eunuch Shim asked, a wicked smile crossing his face. “You should expect nothing less than perfection from your slaves, Lady Yehonala. The slaves must be punished. The Forbidden City tradition can be summed up in six words: Respect comes out of a whip.”
“I am sorry, Chief Shim. I can’t see myself whipping anyone who did no wrong.” I regretted the slip of my tongue, but it was too late.
“I am sure the servants
I felt violated and retreated to my room.
Chief Eunuch Shim took his time to reveal the purpose of his visit. We were in my sitting room with more than twenty servants and eunuchs present. With an air of concerned patience he explained to me how the Forbidden City was run. He introduced the various departments and craft shops, most of which seemed to fall under his authority. He was in charge of the departments that supervised the vaults of gold and silver bullion, furs, porcelain, silk and tea; he was also responsible for those who provided the court with the sacrificial animals, grain and fruit for religious ceremonies. He controlled the eunuchs who looked after the kennels where Pekingese were bred. He oversaw the departments that maintained the palaces, temples, gardens and herb farms.
I stood with my back straight and my chin slightly raised. Even if Chief Shim was merely displaying his own power, I was glad to be informed. Besides the locations of the courts and the schools that educated the princes, he told me about the Imperial armory, which served as the palace police. “My duties extend to the Imperial buttery, the Imperial weaving and dye shops, also the bureaus that take care of the Emperor’s boats, wardrobes, games, the printing offices, the libraries, the silkworm and honey farms.”
Of all the departments, the royal theatricals interested me the most. Also the Imperial craft workshops, which produced the work of China’s most talented artists and craftsmen.
“I have many responsibilities,” Chief Eunuch Shim concluded. “But above all, I exist to safeguard the authenticity of Emperor Hsien Feng’s succession.”
I realized that he expected me to acknowledge his power. “Guide me, Chief Shim, please,” I began, “for I am a naive girl from the countryside of Wuhu, and I shall be grateful for your advice and protection.”
Satisfied with my manners, he revealed that he was here to fulfill two orders from my mother-in-law. First was to reward me with a cat.
“The days will be long for you, living in the Forbidden City,” Chief Eunuch Shim said, waving for a eunuch to bring up a box. “And the cat will be your companion.”
I opened the box and saw a beautiful white creature. “What is its name?” I asked.
“Snow,” Shim replied. “It’s a she, of course.”
I gently picked up the cat. It had a pair of lovely tiger’s eyes. It looked frightened. “Snow, welcome!”
Second, Chief Eunuch Shim notified me of my yearly allowance. “It will be five bars of gold, one thousand taels of silver, thirty bolts of satin, silk and cotton cloth, fifteen sheets of buffalo, sheep, snake and rabbit skin, and one hundred silver buttons. It sounds like a lot, but you will run short by the end of the year, because you are responsible for paying the salaries of your six eunuchs, six ladies in waiting, four maids and three chefs. The maids attend to your personal needs, while the eunuchs clean, garden and deliver messages. The eunuchs are also responsible for tending your sleep. For the first year they will take turns, with five sleeping outside your bedchamber and one inside. You will not get to pick the eunuch who will sleep in your room until the Grand Empress thinks you are ready.”
The servants stared blankly at me. I had no idea what was on their minds.
“I have assigned you the best servants.” Chief Eunuch Shim smiled a crooked smile. “The ones who snore I have given to Lady Mei, and the ones who are lazy I have given to Lady Hui. I have assigned the wicked ones to Lady Yun and…” He glanced at me and paused, as if expecting me to say something.
It was the court’s unspoken tradition to reward a eunuch for such a display of loyalty. This of course I knew, but my mistrust of Shim prevented me from seizing the opportunity. I wondered what he would say about me in front of Nuharoo and Ladies Yun, Li, Soo, Mei and Hui. I was sure he had enough tricks in his bag to fool everybody.
“May I know the treatment of His Majesty’s other wives?” I asked. “Where will they be living?”
“Well, Empress Nuharoo will spend the remainder of this week with Emperor Hsien Feng in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. She will then move to the Palace of Reception of Heaven to live. Lady Yun has been given the Palace of Universal Inheritance, Lady Li the Palace of Eternal Peace, Lady Mei the Palace of Great Mercy and Lady Hui the Palace of Prolonging Happiness.”
“What about Soo?”
“Lady Soo has been sent back to her parents in the south. Her health needs to be attended to. The Palace of Pleasant Sunshine is reserved for her when she returns.”
“Why are the other ladies’ palaces all located on the east side of the Forbidden City? Who else besides me lives on the west side?”
“You are the only one who lives on the west side, Lady Yehonala.”
“May I know why?”
Chief Eunuch Shim lowered his voice to a whisper. “My lady, you may get yourself in trouble by asking too many questions. However, I am willing to risk losing my tongue to satisfy you. But first I need your total trust. May I have your word?”
I hesitated and then nodded.
Shim leaned toward me and placed his mouth near my earlobe. “It could be either Emperor Hsien Feng’s or the Grand Empress’s idea to place you where you are. You see, if it was the Grand Empress’s idea… Forgive me, I am nervous about telling you this… Her Majesty has a habit of placing her favorites near her on the east side. It is for her convenience, so that she may summon them whenever she needs a companion.”
“Are you saying that she disfavors me and doesn’t want me near?”
“I didn’t say that. You made the deduction yourself.”
“Is it not true?”
“I won’t answer that.”
“What about Emperor Hsien Feng? What if it was his idea?”
“If the idea came from His Majesty, it is a sign that he adores you-therefore he wants you as far away from his mother as possible. In other words, he makes it inconvenient for the Grand Empress to spy on him if he decides to visit you. Go on and congratulate yourself, my lady.”
Soon after he left, I sent a servant with two hundred taels of silver as a gift. It was a lot, but I felt it necessary. Without Chief Eunuch Shim I would be a blind person walking on a path filled with traps. Nonetheless, I sensed that he was a man to be feared.
Evening was coming on. The sky darkened. The leaves on the trees turned black, as if the green was stained with ink. The edges of the clouds wrinkled and folded out of one shape and into another. Crows returned to their nests on high branches. They sounded shrill, as if their day had been hard.
I called in my servants and said that I would like to have dinner. The eunuchs and ladies in waiting bowed and took my order to the kitchen. The last eunuch in the line didn’t rise. He stayed on his knees demanding attention. I was annoyed and told him to remove himself.
But when he raised his eyes, I recognized him. He was the young eunuch I had met on the day of my selection, the one who had brought me water.
“An-te-hai?” I called, almost excitedly.
“Yes, my lady!” He answered with equal enthusiasm. “An-te-hai, your faithful slave.”
I stood and offered him both of my arms.
He pushed himself a few steps back, reminding me of my status.
I sat back down and we both smiled.
“So, An-te-hai, what do you want?”
“Lady Yehonala, I understand that you can order my death any time if my words upset you. But there is
