Anchee Min - Empress Orchid

The sound of water from a nearby stream made me feel thirstier. The girls were slowly becoming frozen into an ancient tableau. It was a picture composed of elegant trees, dangling vines, swaying bamboo and young maidens.

I stared at this tableau until I saw a figure moving like a snake through the bamboo.

It was An-te-hai. He returned with a cup in his hand. His steps were swift and soundless. I realized that the eunuchs were trained to walk like ghosts. An-te-hai’s soft soles touched the ground while his feet rocked like boats.

Stopping in front of me, he passed me the cup.

I smiled and bowed.

An-te-hai turned and walked away before I finished my bow.

I sensed eyes shooting at me from all directions as I raised the water to my lips. Knowing how they felt, I took a sip and then passed the cup around.

“Oh, thank you so much.” The girl who stood next to me took the cup. She was slender and had an oval face. Her double-lidded deep eyes were bright. From her accent and graceful movements, I guessed that she was from a wealthy family. Her silk dress was embroidered with the most sophisticated patterns, and diamonds hung from her head to her toes. Her headpiece was made of golden flowers. She had a long neck, and her poise seemed effortless.

The cup traveled from hand to hand until there was not a drop left. All the girls seemed to relax a little. The beautiful oval-faced girl with exotic eyes waved at me from her bench. As I approached her, she moved to one side.

“I am Nuharoo.” She smiled.

“Yehonala.” I sat down beside her.

It was in this fashion that Nuharoo and I introduced ourselves. Neither of us could then foretell that we had just made a connection that would last a lifetime. We were called by our last names in the court, indicating the clan to which we belonged. Without further explanation we understood that we were from the two most powerful clans of the Manchu race: the Yehonala and the Nuharoo. The two clans used to be rivals and had fought countless wars over the centuries. It was not until the king of the Nuharoo clan married the daughter of the king of the Yehonala clan that the two families united and eventually took over China, creating the Celestial Purity, or Ch’ing, Dynasty.

I smelled the scent of lilies from Nuharoo’s hair. She sat still and gazed at the stands of bamboo as if drawing them with her eyes. She radiated contentment. For a long time she didn’t move. It was as if she were studying the details of each leaf. Her concentration was undisturbed by the passing eunuchs. I wondered what she was thinking, if she shared my longing for my family, my anxiety about the future. I wanted to know what drove her to try for the selection. I was sure that it was neither hunger nor money. Had she dreamt of becoming an empress? How was she raised? Who were her parents? There was not the slightest nervousness in her expression. It was as if she simply knew that she would be selected. As if she had come only to receive this news.

After a long while Nuharoo turned toward me and smiled again. She had an almost childlike smile, innocent and free of worry. I was sure she had never suffered. She must have had servants in her house to fan her to sleep on hot summer nights. Her gestures suggested that she was trained in manners. Had she attended schools for the rich? What did she read? Did she like opera? If she did, she must have a hero or heroine that she admired. Suppose we loved the same operas, and suppose we were both lucky enough to be chosen…

“What do you think about your chance of being chosen?” I asked Nuharoo after she revealed to me that her father was Emperor Hsien Feng’s distant uncle.

“I don’t think about it much,” she said quietly. Her lips opened like the petals of a flower. “I do whatever my family asks of me.”

“So your parents know how to read wood grains.”

“Pardon me?”

“One’s future.”

Nuharoo turned away from me and smiled gently into the distance. “Yehonala, how do you see our chances?”

“You are born of an Imperial relative and you are beautiful,” I said. “I am not sure about my chance. My father was a taotai before he died. If my family hadn’t been heavily in debt, and if I had not been forced to marry my retarded cousin Ping, I wouldn’t have…” I had to stop, because my tears were welling up.

Nuharoo put a hand into her pocket and took out a lace handkerchief. “I am sorry.” She passed the handkerchief to me. “Your story sounds terrible.”

I didn’t want to ruin her handkerchief, so I wiped my tears with the back of my hands.

“Tell me more,” she said.

I shook my head. “My story of misery would be bad for your health.”

“I don’t mind. I want to hear it. This is the first time I have stepped out of my house. I have never traveled like you.”

“Travel? It was not at all a pleasant experience.” As I continued speaking, my mind flooded with memories of my father. The decaying smell of the coffin and the flies that followed it. To remove myself from the sadness I switched subjects.

“Did you go to school when you grew up, Nuharoo?”

“I had private tutors,” she answered. “Three of them. Each taught me a different subject.”

“What was your favorite subject?”

“History.”

“History! I thought that was only for boys.” I remembered hiding a book from my father, The Record of the Three Kingdoms.

“It was not general history as you are imagining.” Nuharoo smiled as she explained. “It was the history of the Imperial household. It was about the lives of empresses and concubines. My classes focused on those of the greatest virtue.” After a pause, she added, “I was expected to model myself after Empress Hsiao Ch’in. My parents have told me since I was a young girl that I would one day join the ladies whose portraits are hung in the Imperial gallery.”

No wonder she looked like she belonged to this place. “I am sure you will impress,” I said. “I am afraid that I am the least educated in this aspect of life. I don’t even know how the ranks work for the Imperial ladies, although I know plenty about the eunuchs.”

“It will be my pleasure to share my knowledge with you.” Her eyes glowed.

Someone yelled, “On your knees!”

A group of eunuchs rushed in and lined up in front of us. We dropped to our knees.

Chief Eunuch Shim appeared through the arched door. He struck a pose, lifting the side of his robe with his right hand. He made a single step and came into full view.

From my knees I saw Chief Eunuch Shim’s blue boat-shaped boots. He held the silence. I felt his power and authority. Strangely, I admired his manner.

“His Majesty Emperor Hsien Feng and Her Majesty the Grand Empress Lady Jin summon…” Pitching his voice, Chief Eunuch Shim sang out several names. “… and Nuharoo and Yehonala!”

I HEARD THE SOUND of my dangling headwear and earrings. The girls in front of me swayed gracefully in their magnificent silk robes and high platform shoes. The eunuchs walked back and forth around the seven of us, constantly responding to the hand signals of Chief Eunuch Shim.

We passed through countless courtyards and arched doors. Finally we arrived in the entry hall of the Palace of Peace and Longevity. My inner shirt was soaked with sweat. I was afraid I would humiliate myself. I glanced at Nuharoo. She was as calm as a moon in a pond. A lovely smile hung between her cheeks. Her makeup was still immaculate.

We were led to a side room and given a few moments to freshen our appearance. Inside the hall His Majesty and Her Majesty were said to be sitting. When Shim went in and announced our arrival, the air around the girls intensified. Our small movements made our jewelry clatter like poorly made wind chimes. I felt a slight dizziness.