I couldn’t be sure if the sound was from my imagination.
“Your Majesty,” Yung Lu’s voice called, “it’s noon!”
Unable to stop fast enough, he skidded into me, pushing me onto An-te-hai’s overcoat.
We stared at each other and then his lips were on mine.
“This is my coffin,” I managed to say.
“That is why I have dared…” The heat from his mouth hit my neck. “It can’t be a sin to borrow a moment from your next life.” His hands went to my robe, but it was too tightly buttoned.
My limbs became weak and I felt myself begin to swoon. I could hear the pigeons in the sky sending down the music of their wind pipes.
“It’s noon,” I heard myself say.
“And we are in your tomb,” he said, burying his face in my chest.
“Take me.” I wrapped my arms around him.
He pushed himself away, breathing heavily. “No, Orchid.”
“Why? Why not?”
He wouldn’t explain but kept refusing me.
I begged him. I said I had never desired any other man. I needed his pity and his mercy. I wanted him to have me.
“Oh, Orchid, my Orchid,” he kept murmuring.
A loud noise came from the mouth of the tunnel. It was the sound of the stone gate.
“The architect has ordered it shut!” Yung Lu jumped to his feet and lunged toward the entrance, pulling me with him.
I was overwhelmed by the fear of going out. My mind swirled with memories of the life I had led. The constant struggle to keep up appearances, the pretenses, the smiles that had been met with tears. The long sleepless nights, the loneliness that cloaked my spirit and turned me into a true ghost.
Yung Lu dragged me with all his might. “Come on, Orchid!”
“Why do you do this? You don’t need me.”
“Tung Chih needs you. The dynasty needs you. And I…” Suddenly, as if broken, he stopped. “I look forward to working with you, Your Majesty, for the rest of my life. But if you insist on staying, I shall be here with you.”
Kneeling down to meet his tear-filled eyes, I ceased struggling.
“Will we be lovers?” I asked.
“No.” His voice was faint but not weak.
“But you love me?”
“Yes, my lady. I draw my breath, my every breath, to love you.”
I stepped outside into the light and heard three thundering noises come from behind us. It was the sound of the stone balls rolling into their places.
The moment I appeared in front of the crowd, the ministers threw themselves down on their knees and knocked their foreheads madly on the ground. They cheered my name in unison. Thousands of men spread out like a giant fan half a mile long. They had mistaken my effort to remain inside as a gesture of loyalty toward His Majesty Emperor Hsien Feng. They were in awe of my virtue.
There was one person who didn’t kneel. He stood about fifty yards away.
I recognized his pine-tree-patterned robe. He probably wondered what had happened to his overcoat.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
All of the characters in this book are based on real people. I tried my best to keep the events the way they were in history. I translated the decrees, edicts and poems from the original documents. Whenever there were differences in interpretation, I based my judgment on my research and overall perspective.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My thanks go to my husband, Lloyd Lofthouse, to Sandra Dijkstra and the team at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, to Anton Mueller and the team at Houghton Mifflin, and to the Museum of Chinese History, the China National Library, the Shanghai Museum and the Forbidden City Museum in Peking.
A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR
Anchee Min was born in Shanghai in 1957. As a child, she became a model member of the Red Guard. At seventeen she was sent to work in the harsh conditions of a communal farm, from which she was later plucked by Madame Mao's associates to become a star of the Chinese propaganda film industry. After the death of Mao in 1976, Anchee Min was disgraced and left China for the US in 1984, where she now lives in California. Renowned for her memoir,
