Empress Orchid (9 page)

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 something I must say.”

“You have my permission.”

He hesitated and then raised his gaze to look me directly in the eye.

“I am good for you,” he said.

“That I already know.”

“Will you make me your first attendant?”

I stood up. “How dare you make such a request when I’ve just arrived.”

An-te-hai knocked his forehead on the ground. “Punish me, Lady Yehonala.” He raised his hand and began to slap his cheeks left and right.

I didn’t know what to do. He kept on, as if what he was slapping was some other face, not his own.

“Enough!” I yelled.

The eunuch stopped. He looked at me with a strange longing, his eyes filling with the tears of a worshiper.

“What makes you think you can serve me better than the others?” I asked.

An-te-hai raised his eyes from the floor and said, “Because I offer what others don’t.”

“And what is that?”

“Advice, my lady. In my humble opinion, time and luck are not necessarily on your side at the moment. My advice can help you get ahead in this place. I am an expert on Imperial etiquette, for example.”

“You are very confident, An-te-hai.”

“I am the best in the Forbidden City.”

“How would I confirm this?”

“Test me, my lady. You will find out.”

“How many years has it been since you entered the Forbidden City?”

“Four years.”

“What have you achieved?”

“A belief, my lady.”

“A belief?”

“It is that the big melon I carry between my shoulders is a tough one. I have equipped myself with knowledge of Imperial society. I know the names of the builders of the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Grand Round Garden. I know their locations even on the astrological map. I can explain why there are no trees planted between the Palaces of Supreme Harmony, Central Harmony and Preserving Harmony.”

“Keep going, An-te-hai.”

“Concubines of Emperor Hsien Feng’s father and grandfather are
my friends. They live in the Palace of Benevolent Tranquility. I know each of their stories and their relationship to His Majesty. I can tell you how the palace gets its heat in the winter and how it stays cool in the summer. I can tell you where your drinking water is from. I am familiar with the Forbidden City’s murders and ghosts, the stories behind the mysterious outbreaks of fire and sudden disappearances of people. I know the sentinels at the gates, and I am a personal friend of many of the guards, which means that I can go in and out of the palaces like a cat.”

I tried not to show that I was impressed.

He told me that Emperor Hsien Feng had two beds in his bedroom. Each night, both beds were made and the curtains drawn so no one would know in which bed His Majesty lay. An-te-hai let me know that his knowledge extended beyond the Imperial household, to the outer court and the functioning of the government. His secret for gaining information was to lead everyone to believe that he was harmless.

“So you are a natural spy.”

“For you, my lady, I’m willing to be anything.”

“How old are you exactly?”

“I’ll be sixteen in a few months.”

“What is the truth behind this proposal, An-te-hai?”

The eunuch paused for a moment and then answered, “I want a chance. I have been looking for a worthy master for a long time. As a eunuch, I understand that I ought not to think about my future, because there isn’t any. But I don’t want to live in hell for the rest of my life. All I am asking, my lady, is to be given an opportunity to prove my loyalty.”

“Rise,” I said. “Leave me now, An-te-hai.”

He rose and quietly stepped back toward the door.

I noticed that he was limping a bit, and I remembered that he was the one Chief Eunuch Shim had kicked in the courtyard.

“Wait,” I called. “From now on, An-te-hai, you’ll be my first attendant.”

I changed into a beige robe before I was ushered to my eating chair. My dining table was as big as my gate. The carvings on its surface and legs were remarkable. As I was waiting to be served, I learned the names of my eunuchs and ladies in waiting.

My eunuchs had unique names. They were Ho-tung, River of the East; Ho-nan, River of the South; Ho-tz’u, River of the West; Ho-pei,
River of the North; Ho-yuan, Riverhead; and Ho-wei, River End. Although their names began with
ho,
which meant “river,” they were by no means related. The names of several of my ladies in waiting began with
chun
, meaning “spring.” They were Chun-cheng, Spring Dawn; Chun-hsia, Spring Sunset; Chun-yueh, Spring Moon; Chun-meng, Spring Dream. All of them were reasonably good-looking and clean. They answered my calls promptly and demonstrated no particular characteristics. Their hair was done in a uniform style. While the eunuchs wore queues, the ladies wore buns on the back of their heads. In my presence, they kept their hands by their thighs and their eyes fixed on the floor.

I sat at the giant table for so long, surrounded by eunuchs and ladies in waiting, that my stomach started grumbling. Dinner was still nowhere to be seen. I turned my attention to the hall. It was large and empty of warmth except for the opposite wall, where hung a painting depicting a village family. A lovely poem was written in its upper right corner.

Who had lived here before me? I wondered. She must have been one of the Imperial concubines of the late Emperor Tao Kuang. She must have loved paintings. The style was simple, refreshing. I marveled at the contrast between the grand setting and the humble image.

The painting reminded me of the warmth of my own family. I remembered when my sister, brother and I would gather at the dinner table to await our father’s arrival. I remembered a time when our father cracked a joke. When we all burst into laughter, rice sprayed out our mouths. Rong choked on her tofu soup, and my brother fell under the table and broke his ceramic bowl. My mother failed to maintain her composure. She too burst into laughter, calling her husband “a crooked beam that leads the house to fall.”

“Your dinner’s here, my lady.” An-te-hai’s voice woke me from the memory.

As if in fantasy, I saw a parade coming out of the kitchen. A line of eunuchs, each holding a steaming dish, moved gracefully toward me. The pots and terrines were covered with silver lids. Soon the table was full of dishes.

I counted the dishes. The number was ninety-nine!

Ninty-nine dishes just for me?

An-te-hai announced what I was served: “Stewed bear claws, vegetables mixed with deer liver, fried lobster with soybean sauce, snails with cucumbers and garlic, marinated quail roasted with sweet-and-sour sauce, shredded tiger meat wrapped in pancakes, deer blood with ginseng and herbs, crispy duck skin dipped in spicy onion sauce, pork, beef, chicken, seafood …”

There were dishes I had never seen or heard of.

The parade went on. My servants’ expressions told me that this was ordinary. I tried to hide my shock. After the plates were set down, I waved my hand. The servants retreated and stood quietly against the walls.

I felt awkward facing the monstrous table.

“We wish you a great meal!” my servants sang in one voice.

I lifted my chopsticks.

“Not yet, my lady.” An-te-hai rushed to my side.

The eunuch went around the table with a pair of chopsticks and a small plate. He picked pieces from every dish and stuffed them into his mouth.

As I watched An-te-hai chewing, I was reminded of the story Big Sister Fann had told me about Emperor Hsien Feng’s mother, Chu An, who attempted to poison Prince Kung. The thought took away my appetite.

“It’s safe to dine now.” An-te-hai wiped his mouth and stepped away from the table.

“Am I supposed to eat all this by myself?” I asked.

“You are not expected to, my lady. It is the court’s etiquette that you are served with ninety-nine dishes at each meal.”

“But it is a big waste!”

“No, you won’t waste a thing, my lady. You can always reward dishes to your attendants. The slaves are hungry, and they are never given enough to eat.”

“Will people mind?”

“No. They will feel honored.”

“Doesn’t the kitchen prepare food for you as well?”

“We eat what horses eat, only the amount is meager by comparison. Three yams a day is my share.”

I finished as much as I could. I heard the sound of my jaw crunching cucumbers, chewing bear tendons and sucking on pork ribs. The servants continued to look at their feet. I wondered again what was cooking inside their heads. As I became full, I put down my chopsticks and picked up my dessert, a sweet bun made of red beans and black sesame.

An-te-hai came near, as if he knew I had something to say.

“I don’t feel like having people staring at me while I am eating,” I said. “Is there any way I can dismiss them?”

“No, my lady, I am afraid not.”

“Are mistresses of other palaces being served the same way?”

“Yes, they are.”

“By the same kitchen?”

“No, by their own kitchens. Each palace has its own kitchen and chefs.”

“Please get a stool and come and keep me company while I am eating.”

An-te-hai obeyed.

When I picked up a cup, An-te-hai reached for the teapot on the far corner of the table. He filled my cup with chrysanthemum tea.

It didn’t take long for me to see that An-te-hai had a gift for anticipating my needs. Who was he? I wondered. What had caused a sweet and clever boy like him to become a eunuch? What was his family like? How had he grown up?

“My lady.” As I finished the last bite of the bun, An-te-hai leaned over. His voice was soft. “It might be a good idea for you to send a message to Emperor Hsien Feng and Empress Nuharoo to wish them a good dinner.”

“Wouldn’t Nuharoo want her time with Emperor Hsien Feng undisturbed?” I asked.

From An-te-hai’s silent response, I realized that I’d better follow his advice.

“It is not about sending a good wish,” An-te-hai explained after a beat. “It is to make an impression. It is to have your name appear on one of Emperor Hsien Feng’s bamboo message chips. It is to remind His Majesty of your existence. The other ladies in their palaces are doing the same.”

“How do you know?”

“I have sworn brothers who report to me from all the palaces.”

I rinsed my mouth with a cup of green tea. I was supposed to nap after a meal, but my mind wouldn’t relax. I visualized a battle in which every concubine was a soldier in disguise. According to An-te-hai, my rivals had already started to build defenses. Many of them had presented the Grand Empress with small but thoughtful gifts, thanking her for selecting them.

I hoped that Emperor Hsien Feng was a man of fairness. After all, he was called the wisest man in the universe. I would be satisfied if he would summon me once a month. I would never expect to have him all to myself. I would take pride in helping him build the dynasty, like the virtuous women displayed in the Imperial portrait gallery. Providing His Majesty with a harmonious home was an appealing idea. I would like to see the seven of us unite against the rest of the court-lady population. As the chosen wives I saw us respecting and helping one another in the interest of making the household a home for us all.

An-te-hai didn’t say that he disagreed with me. But I came to know his feelings by the way he knocked his head on the floor. If the sound of his knocking was
tunk, tunk, tunk,
which meant a slight disagreement, we would have a discussion. But if it was
ponk, ponk, ponk,
I’d better listen, because that meant I had no idea what I was talking about. This time the sound was
ponk, ponk, ponk.
An-te-hai tried to convince me that the ladies in the other palaces were my natural enemies. “It is like bugs to plants—they need to eat you to survive.” He suggested that I work on gaining the upper hand. “Somebody is thinking about strangling you at this very moment,” he said.

I could hardly move when the eunuchs came to clear the dinner table. My nap forgotten, the next thing I was expected to do was bathe. My tub was set three feet above the floor like a stage, with hot and cold water buckets and stacks of towels around it. The tub was so big it would be called a pond in my village. It was made of fine wood in the shape of a giant lotus leaf. The painting on the tub was beautiful. The details of the lotus flower were astonishingly vivid.

I wasn’t in the habit of bathing daily. In Wuhu I washed myself once every couple of months during the winter, and I swam in the lake in the summer. I asked An-te-hai if I could swim in the Imperial lake when the weather got warm.

“No,” the eunuch replied. “His Majesty wants his ladies’ bodies covered at all times.”

The ladies in waiting announced that the bath was ready.