Empress Orchid - Anchee Min [31]
I took off my satin cape as the etiquette instructed and bowed toward the book and the stamp. Afterward I stayed in the kneeling position and turned to face north.
The ambassador opened the scroll and began to read from the decree. He had a deep, resonant voice, but I couldn’t understand a word he said. It took me a while to realize that he was reading the decree in two languages, Manchu and Mandarin, both in stylized ancient tones. My father once told me that when he worked in his office, he usually skipped the Manchu parts of reports and moved directly to the Chinese parts to save time.
The weight on my head made me feel like I was a snail carrying a house on my back. As the reading went on I glanced toward the hallway. It was packed with guards. On the center terrace two palanquins were waiting. Why two, I wondered. Wasn’t I the only one to be picked up from this house?
When the ambassador finished his reading I discovered the reason for the second palanquin. The eunuchs put the decree, the record book and the stone stamp back into their cases. Then these objects were “invited” to “sit” in the second palanquin. The ambassador explained that these things were now considered part of me.
“The Imperial phoenix walking!” At the ambassador’s call my family fell to their knees for the last time. By now Mother’s makeup was a mess, and she wiped her tears with her hands, forgetting her appearance.
A band started to play. The sound of Chinese trumpets was so loud that my ears hurt. A group of eunuchs ran in front of me throwing firecrackers. I stepped on “cracked” red paper, yellow straws, green beans and colorful dried fruit. I tried to hold my chin up so my headwear would stay in place.
I was gently ushered into my palanquin. Now I was a real snail. With a motion that nearly knocked me from my seat, the bearers hoisted the chair.
Outside the gate the horses had begun to move. Bannermen carried dragon flags and yellow umbrellas. Among them were lady riders dressed in sixteenth-century Manchu warrior costumes. Hanging from the sides of their mounts were yellow ribbons tied to cooking ware.
Behind the ladies was a flock of animals dyed red. It seemed like a rolling river of blood. When I looked again, I saw sheep and geese. It was said that these animals symbolized fortune well kept, and the red the passion for life.
I let down the curtain to hide my tears. I was preparing myself to not see my family for a long time. This was what Mother wanted, I convinced myself. A poem she read to me when I was little came to mind:
Like a singing river
You break out to flow freely
I am the mountain behind
Happily I watch you
Memory of us
Full and sweet
My memories were full and sweet indeed. They were all I had, and I was taking them with me. As soon as I felt that the palanquin was moving steadily, I opened a slit in the back curtain and looked out.
My family was no longer in sight. Dust and ceremonial guards blocked my view.
Suddenly I saw Kuei Hsiang. He was still on all fours with his head glued to the ground.
My heart betrayed me and I cracked like a Chinese lute broken in the middle of its happy playing.
Six
I DIDN’T GET TO SEE much of the celebration the day I became an Imperial concubine. I sat inside my palanquin and heard the bells struck from the towers of the Gate of Zenith.
Nuharoo was the only one who went through the Gate of Celestial Purity, the main entrance into the Imperial backyard. The rest of us were carried through courtyards from side gates. My palanquin crossed the Golden Water River on one of the five bridges that spanned it. The river marked the boundary of the forbidden landscape; the bridges each represented one of the five Confucian virtues: loyalty, tenacity, honesty, modesty and piety. I then passed through the Gate of Correct Conduct and entered another courtyard, the largest in the Forbidden City. My palanquin skirted the Throne Hall, whose enormous carved columns and magnificent tiered roof rose above the pure expanse