you. Go on and congratulate yourself, my lady.”
Soon after he left, I sent a servant with two hundred taels of silver as a gift. It was a lot, but I felt it necessary. Without Chief Eunuch Shim I would be a blind person walking on a path filled with traps. Nonetheless, I sensed that he was a man to be feared.
Evening was coming on. The sky darkened. The leaves on the trees turned black, as if the green was stained with ink. The edges of the clouds wrinkled and folded out of one shape and into another. Crows returned to their nests on high branches. They sounded shrill, as if their day had been hard.
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 aremy 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
Soon after he left, I sent a servant with two hundred taels of silver as a gift. It was a lot, but I felt it necessary. Without Chief Eunuch Shim I would be a blind person walking on a path filled with traps. Nonetheless, I sensed that he was a man to be feared.
Evening was coming on. The sky darkened. The leaves on the trees turned black, as if the green was stained with ink. The edges of the clouds wrinkled and folded out of one shape and into another. Crows returned to their nests on high branches. They sounded shrill, as if their day had been hard.
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 aremy 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
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