Anchee Min - Empress Orchid

“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. After my eyes adjusted to the light I began to see the shabbiness-chipped paint and falling plaster everywhere. The place had an odd odor, a mixture of perfume and stale tobacco.

A frog-faced woman appeared behind a counter. She had a smoking pipe sticking out of her mouth. She greeted Big Sister Fann with a broad smile. “What wind has brought you here, my friend?”

“The southern wind, Mistress,” answered Fann. “I am here to ask you a favor.”

“Don’t be modest about your intention.” The Mistress patted Big Sister Fann’s shoulder with one hand. “I know you are with the spirit of the god of money or you wouldn’t be here. My temple is too small for a big worshiper like you.”

“Don’t be modest yourself, Mistress,” Big Sister Fann said. “Your small temple happens to have the god I need to talk to. Come.” She pulled me over and introduced me as her niece from the countryside, and An-te-hai as my sister.

The Mistress looked me up and down. She turned to Big Sister Fann. “I am afraid I can’t offer much. This girl is too skinny. How can you expect a spider to spin when it has no butt? It’ll take me too much money just to fatten her up.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Big Sister Fann leaned toward the Mistress. She pulled her ear and whispered, “My niece is here for a consultation only.”

“I don’t do small business anymore, sorry.” The Mistress took a toothpick from a shelf behind the counter and started to run it over her teeth. “The market has been bad, you know.”

Big Sister Fann winked at me.

I cleared my throat.

An-te-hai stepped up and passed me a bag.

I went to the counter and removed what was in the bottom of the bag.

My dragonfly hairpin, inlaid with jewels and pearls, glistened in the light. I put it on the counter.

“Oh, my heavens!” The Mistress drew a breath and tried not to show surprise. Covering her mouth with both hands, she studied the hairpin. Raising her chin, she looked at me suspiciously. “You stole this.”

“No, I didn’t,” I said calmly. “It was an inheritance.”

“That’s right,” Big Sister Fann echoed. “Her family have been jewelry makers for… centuries.”

“I am not doubting whether it is real,” the Mistress said as her eyes continued to search me. “I only wonder why such a rare treasure is outside of the Forbidden City.”

To avoid the Mistress’s stare, I turned to look at the murals.

“Is that enough for your consultation?” Big Sister Fann asked.

“You are too kind.” The Mistress picked up her pipe and stuffed dry leaves in it. “My only hesitation is that I am not sure it is safe for me to keep. If it is a stolen piece…” She paused. Her hand drew a hanging rope in the air.

“Let’s go to another house, Aunt.” I reached for the hairpin.

“Wait!” The Mistress put her hand on top of mine. Gently but firmly she picked up the hairpin. Her face turned into a smiling rose. “Oh, my dear child, don’t dare make a fool of your aunt. I didn’t say I didn’t want it, did I? It is good that you were brought to me, because I am the only lady in town who can offer what you want. My child, I am going to give you the lesson of a lifetime. I am going to be worthy of your priceless hairpin.”

We sat in the master chamber. It had a large bed with decorative posts up to the ceiling. Made of redwood, the bed had been carved with pe-onies, eggplants, tomatoes, bananas and cherries, which suggested male and female sexual organs. The curtains were washed white and perfumed. The side walls had built-in shelves displaying miniature sculptures. Most were Buddhist gods in the middle of coupling. The actions were cleverly depicted, the poses elegant. Females mounted males in positions of meditation. The lovers’ eyes were either half open or closed. Between each couple were displayed plates painted with individual pink peonies and eggplants. The peonies had dark, hair-like pistils and the eggplants had cap-like tops painted in light purple.

“It is all about arousing the mind,” the Mistress commented as she served tea. “When girls first come to my house, I teach them a skill called the fan dance. “The Mistress opened a chest and pulled out a set of props: a small round pillow, a stack of paper money, and a dozen eggs on a bamboo tray.

“I lay these objects on top of one another, with the money on the bottom, the pillow in the middle and the eggs on top. The girl sits on the arrangement. She is given one minute to turn the stack of money into the shape of a fan. The rule is that the eggs cannot be broken.”

How was this possible?

The Mistress snapped her fingers.

Two girls entered from a side door. They were in their late teens and were dressed in thin brocaded robes. Although they had pleasant features, they showed no hospitality. They spit out sunflower seeds, kicked off their slippers and climbed onto the bed. Opening their legs, they squatted over the eggs like two hens.

The Mistress snapped her fingers again, and the girls started to rock their bottoms.

The view was unbearably comic and I failed to suppress a giggle.

Big Sister Fann jabbed me with her elbow.

I apologized but could hardly control myself.

“You won’t be laughing when you start practicing yourself, believe me,” the Mistress said. “It takes a great deal of effort to master the trick.”

I asked what this movement was for.