Anchee Min - Empress Orchid

The old lady was cheered. “Shim, what are you going to say?”

“Congratulations on your gaining seven daughters-in-law, my lady. Remember the first line the mother-in-law said to her new daughter-in-law in the opera The Wild Rose ?”

“How can anyone forget?” The old lady laughed again as she recited the line: “‘Get your water bucket, daughter-in-law, and go to the well!’”

Chief Eunuch Shim cheerfully called in the six other girls, among them Nuharoo. The girls entered like goddesses descending from Heaven. They lined up next to me.

Shim lifted one side of his robe and took two steps, placing himself at the center of the hall facing Emperor Hsien Feng and the Grand Empress. He turned his face to the east and then back to the center. Crisply, he bowed and cheered, “May your grandchildren be counted in the hundreds and may you live forever!”

We repeated the line after Shim as we got down on our knees.

Outside the hall came the sound of drums and music.

A group of eunuchs, each holding a silk-wrapped box, entered.

“Rise.” The Grand Empress smiled.

Chief Eunuch Shim announced, “His Majesty summons the ministers of the Imperial court!”

The sound of hundreds of knees hitting the ground came from outside the hall. “At your service, Your Majesties!” the ministers sang.

Chief Eunuch Shim announced, “In the presence of the spirit of the Imperial ancestors, and in the presence of Heaven and the universe, His Majesty Emperor Hsien Feng is ready to pronounce the names of his wives!”

“ Zah! ” the crowd responded in Manchu.

Boxes were opened one by one, revealing pieces of ruyi. Each ruyi was a scepter that had three large mushroom- or flower-shaped heads interconnected with a stem. The heads were made of gold, emeralds, rubies and sapphires, and the stem was carved jade or lacquered wood. Each ruyi represented a title and a rank. Ru meant “as” and yi meant “you wish”; ruyi meant “everything you wish.”

Emperor Hsien Feng took one ruyi from the tray and walked toward us. This ruyi was of carved golden lacquer with three entwined peonies.

I continued to hold my breath, but I was no longer afraid. No matter what kind of ruyi I would receive, my mother would be proud tomorrow. She would be a mother-in-law to the Son of Heaven, and my siblings Imperial relatives! I regretted only that my father hadn’t lived to see this.

Emperor Hsien Feng’s fingers played with the ruyi. The flirtatious expression on his face had disappeared. He now looked unsure. He hesitated, frowning with his eyebrows. He shifted the ruyi from one hand to the other, and then, with flushed cheeks, he turned to his mother.

She gave him an encouraging nod. The Emperor began to circle us like a bee dancing around flowers.

Suddenly the youngest girl in our line broke out with a muted cry. She looked to be no more than thirteen years old.

Emperor Hsien Feng walked up to her.

The girl choked and then began to weep.

Like an adult giving a crying child a piece of candy, Emperor Hsien Feng put the ruyi in her hand.

Gripping it, the girl dropped to her knees and said, “Thank you.”

Chief Eunuch Shim pronounced, “Soo Woozawa, daughter of Yee-mee-chi Woozawa, is selected as the Imperial consort of the fifth rank. Her title is Lady of Absolute Purity!”

From that moment, things began to flow. The Emperor took little time to bestow the rest of the ruyi.

When it was my turn, Emperor Hsien Feng walked up to me and placed a ruyi in my palm.

Like a rooster Shim sang, “Yehonala, daughter of Hui Cheng Yehonala, is selected as the Imperial consort of the fourth rank. Her title is Lady of the Greatest Virtue.”

I looked at my ruyi. It was made of white jade. Instead of looking like mushrooms, the heads were carved floating clouds interconnected with a divining rod. I remembered my father once telling me that in Imperial symbolism the floating clouds and the rod represented the constellation of the dragon.

The next ruyi went to the girls named Yun and Li. They were pronounced Imperial consorts of the second and third rank and both titled Lady of Superiority. Their ruyi had the shape of a lingzhi mushroom, the fungus known for its healing power. The heads were decorated with bats, symbols of blessing and prosperity.

After Yun and Li were Mei and Hui. They ranked sixth and seventh, Ladies of Grand Harmony. I had difficulty remembering who was who, because Mei and Hui looked alike and dressed like twins. The heads of their ruyi carried a stone chime, the symbol of celebration.

Nuharoo was last. She was pronounced Empress and was given the finest ruyi. The scepter was made of gold inlaid with chunks of jewels and jade. The ornamented stem was carved with symbols of the harvest: grains and fruit-bearing branches, peaches, apples and grapes. The three heads were gold pomegranates, signifying numerous offspring and immortality. Nuharoo’s eyes glowed and she bowed deeply.

Led by Nuharoo, the seven of us got up and then went down on our knees, over and over. We kowtowed to Emperor Hsien Feng and the Grand Empress. We sang our drill in one voice: “I wish Your Majesties ten thousand years of life. May your luck be as full as the East China Sea and your health as green as the Southern Mountains!”

AFTER SUNSET I was brought back to my family on a palanquin escorted by a group of eunuchs. I was wrapped in a golden dress like an expensive gift. The head eunuch told my mother that until the day of the Imperial wedding ceremony I was to stay home.

Also coming home with me were gifts from the Emperor to my father, mother, sister and brother. My father was given a set of eight feather fasteners for a mandarin’s court hat. Each hollow porcelain cylinder was used to fasten a peacock feather, with a ring on top of the tube to connect it to the hat. The gift would pass to my brother.

My mother was given a special lacquered ruyi carved with auspicious designs. The top showed the three star gods, who granted blessings, wealth and longevity. The center showed a bat carrying a stone chime and double fish, signifying abundance. On the bottom were roses and chrysanthemums representing prosperity.

Rong received a gorgeously carved sandalwood good-luck box, which held a set of green jade carvings. Kuei Hsiang was granted a set of enameled belt hooks with dragon heads ornamenting the tops. On the hooks he could hang his mirror, pouch, seal, a weapon or a money purse.

According to the court astrologer, I was to enter the Forbidden City on a particular day and hour-the Imperial Guards would fetch me when the proper moment arrived. The head eunuch gave my family a set of instructions to follow regarding court ritual and etiquette. He pa-tiently went over the details with us. Kuei Hsiang would stand in my father’s place. And Rong would be given a dress for the day. My mother was granted ten thousand taels to furnish the house. Her mouth fell open when she saw the taels being carried into the room in cases. She quickly became afraid of robbery. She asked Kuei Hsiang to keep the windows and door locked at all times. The head eunuch told my mother not to worry, since the house was already heavily guarded. “Not a fly will get in, mistress.”

I asked the head eunuch if I was allowed to visit friends. I wished to say goodbye to Big Sister Fann.

“No,” he told me.

I was disappointed. I asked Rong to return the dress I had borrowed from Big Sister Fann, and to take her three hundred taels as a farewell gift. Rong went immediately and came back with Big Sister Fann’s blessing.