Empress Orchid

The women laughed hysterically, kicking, pushing and tossing me back and forth.

I was pinned to a wall. Several strong hands grabbed my throat. I could feel the long-nailed fingers pressing and cutting off my breath. The old faces crowded in on me like black clouds rolling over a sky. “Slut!” they cursed. “Now pray to Buddha before you die.”

Suddenly the crowd was distracted. An-te-hai had climbed on top of the gate and was now throwing down gourds loaded with rocks. “Toothless ghosts!” he yelled. “Go back! Back to your coffins!”

Nine

I SENT An-te-hai for Chief Eunuch Shim. When Shim arrived, I received him in my official court robe with full makeup and headdress. He was surprised.

“Lady Yehonala.” Shim got down on his knees and kept his eyes on the floor. “You needn’t be so formal. As your slave, Shim doesn’t deserve such respect.” He paused and raised his eyes to my knees. The half-revealed pupils made him look like a lizard. “I don’t mean to criticize, but Lady Yehonala, you should be careful. You can get both of us in trouble.”

“I am desperate, Chief Shim,” I said. “Please rise and have a seat.”

As I spoke, I signaled to An-te-hai, who brought out a carved golden box.

“Chief Shim, I have a humble gift for you.” I opened the box and took out the ruyi that Emperor Hsien Feng had given me.

Upon seeing the ruyi Shim nearly jumped. His eyes were so wide I thought his eyeballs would fall out of their sockets. “It is… it is His Majesty’s engagement gift to you, Lady Yehonala! It is an authenticated piece, a pledge. If you don’t know its value, allow me to-”

“I’m glad that you recognize the value.” I smiled. “However, I still would like you to have it.”

“Why, Lady Yehonala? Why?”

“I’d like to exchange it for a favor, Chief Shim.” I made him look me in the eye. “To tell you the truth, this ruyi is the last thing I own. I want to give it to you because I understand the value of your help.”

“Lady Yehonala, please. I… can’t accept it.” He got up, only to crash down on his knees again.

“Rise, Chief Shim.”

“I dare not!”

“I insist.”

“But Lady Yehonala!”

I waited until he was on his feet. “The ruyi”-I uttered each word with deliberation-“will be more valuable when I become the mother of Emperor Hsien Feng’s child.”

The expression on Chief Eunuch Shim’s face froze. He seemed to be transfixed by the possibility.

“Yes, Lady Yehonala.” He knocked his forehead on the floor.

I let him go on for a while and then said, “Thank you for helping me.”

Slowly Chief Eunuch Shim got up. He shook his sleeves and breathed deeply. A moment later, he was himself again. He seemed to be pleased and frightened at the same time. He took the ruyi from my hand and held it to his chest.

“Which date, my lady, would you like me to schedule you with His Majesty?” he asked, putting the ruyi in the inner pocket of his robe.

“Does the date make a difference?” I had not been prepared for such a quick response.

“A big difference, my lady. You want to see His Majesty on your most fertile days, don’t you?”

“That’s right.” I quickly calculated the dates.

“And the date is?”

“The fourteenth day of the next full moon.”

“Perfect, my lady. I’ll mark the date in my book right away. If you don’t hear from me, we are set. If everything goes right with His Majesty, you will be summoned on the fourteenth day of the next full moon. Until then, my lady.” He took a step back and then motioned toward the door.

“Wait.” I didn’t trust him. How could a date with Emperor Hsien Feng be so easily arranged? “Chief Shim, please bear with my questions. What if His Majesty wants to see other ladies on that day? How can you be sure to make him want me instead?”

“Don’t worry, my lady.” He smiled. “I have a way to bend the wind in the Forbidden City.”

“And that is to say…”

“That is to say if Emperor Hsien Feng expresses a desire to see any other lady-for example, Lady Li-I’ll say to him, ‘Your Majesty, Lady Li is unclean.’”

“Well, what about Lady Mei?”

“‘I’m sorry, your Majesty, Lady Mei is unclean too.’”

“So, everyone will have their cycle except the one you want to sleep with the Emperor?”

“Yes. I have succeeded many times.”

“I am counting on you to make it work for me, Chief Shim.”

“You needn’t worry, my lady. I’ll whet His Majesty’s appetite by telling him how delicious you are.”

But I did worry, and now I had only twelve days to prepare myself. I had no idea how to please a man in bed. I needed to be instructed immediately. I thought of Big Sister Fann and wished that I could speak with her, but there was no way I could get out of the Forbidden City. To ask for permission to leave, I had to lie. I sent An-te-hai to the Imperial household to report that my mother was ill and I needed to go home. Two days later, permission was granted for a ten-day leave. An-te-hai told me that I was lucky. Just a few weeks ago Lady Li had made the same request-her mother was truly ill-and been refused. Emperor Hsien Feng was taking his pleasure, and he would not release her. Lady Li’s mother had died.

“That shows how unimportant I am to His Majesty,” I said bitterly.

I arrived home at noon and immediately sent An-te-hai to fetch Big Sister Fann. My mother, Rong and Kuei Hsiang were thrilled to see me. Mother planned to take me shopping, but I begged her to stay home and not to leave the bed until my visit was over. I explained that I had lied to the Emperor, and that I could be beheaded if found out.

Mother was shocked and thought my behavior unforgivable. But after I described my situation, she had no trouble staying in bed. She said she felt sick and asked Rong to place some towels by her bedside. Rong put a pot of strong-scented herb medicine on the stove in case the Forbidden City sent its spies.

Big Sister Fann came. “Impressive, Orchid! Impressive! You are like a pepper in autumn-turning redder and hotter each day!” She had no time to tell me how much she missed me. “I have a place for you to learn what is required, but you must disguise yourself.” I exchanged clothes with Rong. Big Sister Fann handed a set of women’s clothes to An-te-hai.

“I am taking Orchid to visit a friend,” Big Sister Fann told my mother.

We were out in the street when Fann told me that we were heading for the House of Lotus.

“Big Sister Fann!” I knew the nature of the house and hesitated.

“I wish we had a choice, Orchid,” she said apologetically.

I stood in the middle of the road, unable to make a decision.

“What are you thinking, Orchid?”

“To win His Majesty’s heart” were the words that jumped out of my mouth.

“Then come, Orchid. We will use the house only for what it can teach us-the ways of pleasing men.”

We hired a donkey cart. After half an hour we arrived in the west corner of Peking. The streets narrowed and the air smelled sour. We dismounted in the back of a busy street where shopkeepers stacked their rotten fruit and vegetable baskets. I hid my face behind a scarf and walked quickly with Big Sister Fann and An-te-hai. We stopped in front of an old building. A lantern sign hung down from the second floor that read House of Lotus.

The three of us entered a dimly lit hallway. The interior was covered with murals depicting elaborate bedrooms where lavishly dressed people indulged themselves in every way imaginable. The characters were stylishly drawn.