Part 20 (1/2)

It was the best Li Hung-chang could achieve under the circ.u.mstances. He and I had a gut feeling that Russia could not be trusted. As it turned out, once we gave the Russians the right to harbor their fleet in our ice-free Port Arthur, they refused to leave, even after j.a.pan was expelled.

Around this time, as Guang-hsu and I were working out the practicalities of a land-leasing program to generate payments for our foreign loans, his wife, my niece Lan, arrived unexpectedly.

The moment Guang-hsu saw Lan entering, he excused himself and left the room.

Lan was dressed in a robe embroidered with patterns of roses. Matching ornaments of tiny roses made of ribbon were in her hair. The high collar of her robe forced her chin up and out, making her discomfort palpable. It seemed that she had quit caking her cheeks with white powder; her heartache was visible in her expression. The corners of her mouth drew downward. Tears fell before she could speak.

Witnessing their troubled marriage was worse than living with the deaths of my husband and son. The deaths of Hsien Feng and Tung Chih cured nothing, but they set the stage for healing. Memory was selective and altered itself over time. I no longer remembered the hard feelings. In my dreams my son loved me, and Hsien Feng was always adoring.

With Guang-hsu and Lan, misery was like mold growing in a wet season: it started in the corner of an eave and slowly took over the entire palace.

”I came from the bedside of my mother-in-law.” Lan was speaking, of course, about my sister. ”Rong is doing poorly.”

My sister had been bedridden and had refused my visits. Rong had insisted that I was the cause of her illness, so I had sent Lan in my place.

”I know you are not here to talk about my sister,” I said to Lan. ”All I can tell you is that Guang-hsu is under great pressure.”

Lan shook her head, setting the ornaments in her hair fluttering. ”He needs to spend time with me.”

”I can't force him, Lan.”

”Yes, you can, Aunt, if you truly care about me.”

I felt guilty and promised her that I would try again. I moved Lan and her household to a compound right behind Guang-hsu's, using the termite problem as a pretext. My thinking was that the couple could visit each other through a connected archway door. But the very next day, Guang-hsu blocked the pa.s.sage with furniture. When Lan had the furniture removed, Guang-hsu issued an order for the doorway to be permanently sealed with bricks.

In the meantime, I could see that Guang-hsu was falling in love with his Pearl Concubine, who had just turned nineteen and was a stunning beauty. Her curiosity and intelligence reminded me of my own youth. I was fond of her because she inspired Guang-hsu to live up to the nation's expectations.

I felt sorry for Lan when she tried to compete with Pearl. Lan carried too much of my brother's blood. She had ambition but not the will to realize it. When she threatened to commit suicide, Guang-hsu only became more disgusted with her.

I called Kuei Hsiang for help, but he said, ”You are the matchmaker, sister Orchid. You have to fix it.”

I arranged a tea party for just the three of us. When Lan insisted that Guang-hsu taste the peach cake she had made for him, he became fretful and got up to leave. I touched his elbow and said, ”Let's take a walk in the garden.” I fell in behind them, hoping that they would start a conversation. But Guang-hsu kept his distance, as if his wife carried a disease. Lan held on to her pride and kept silent.

”You have to make a choice, Lan,” I said after Guang-hsu had left to attend a court function. ”You were aware that things might not go as you wished. I did warn you.”

”Yes, you did.” My niece wiped her face with a handkerchief. ”I believed that my love would change him.”

”Well, he hasn't changed. You must accept that.”

”What am I going to do?”

”Get busy with your duties as Empress. Conduct ceremonies and pay homage to the ancestors. You can also do what I do: learn about the world and try to be helpful.”

”Will that lead me to the affection of Guang-hsu?”

”I don't know,” I replied. ”But you should never deprive yourself of the possibility.”

Lan began her apprentices.h.i.+p with me. First, I a.s.signed her to read a recent report on the death of Queen Min of Korea.

”'Led by informers, the j.a.panese agents forced their way into the palace of the Queen.'” Lan gasped, covering her mouth with her handkerchief.

”Keep going, Lan,” I instructed.

”'After ... after murdering two of her ladies in waiting, they cornered Queen Min. The minister of the royal household came to her rescue, but the intruders lopped off both his hands with a sword...'” Lan was horrified. ”What ... what about her bodyguards? Where were they?”

”They must have been killed or trapped or bought off,” I replied. ”Go on and finish, Lan.”

”'Queen Min was stabbed repeatedly and was carried outside...'” Lan went on reading, but her voice was no longer audible. She turned toward me with her head leaning to one side, like a puppet with a broken string.

”What happened?” I asked.

”The j.a.panese set a pile of firewood doused with kerosene outside her courtyard.”

”And then?”

”They threw her on top of it and lit the torch.” Lan's lips trembled.

I took the report back from her and placed it on my desk.

Lan sat silently, as if frozen. After a while she rose and walked out like a ghost.

Lan never again threatened suicide, although she continued to complain about her husband. She believed that she didn't have to learn the court's business, but that did not stop her fantasies of being wors.h.i.+ped by the nation. She never shared the bed of the Emperor or made friends with Pearl. She pursued longevity, cosseted herself and spent time with Pearl's sister, l.u.s.trous Concubine, who was the opposite of Pearl. l.u.s.trous had little interest in much of anything. She loved food and could sit around daintily nibbling all day.

On June 18, 1896, Rong died. It was after she accused her doctors of poisoning her. Her mental illness became known to the court, so my decision of years before to bar her from visiting Guang-hsu was now understood. The unfortunate thing was that the Emperor was now considered the son of an insane woman, and the Clan Council used this excuse to start thinking about his replacement.

I was sick of the infighting among the Manchu princes, the brothers and cousins who seemed to share nothing but greed and hatred. When I tried to explain the great affection between Emperor Hsien Feng and Prince Kung, the young Ironhats grew bored. In splendid court robes this generation of royal Manchus fought like a pack of wolves over residences, sinecures and annual stipends.

I lost my temper at a family gathering during my sister's funeral. It had to do with the fact that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Rong-her revenge. And the grousing among Prince Ch'un Junior and his Ironhat gang over their inheritances. .h.i.t my nerves and I exploded.

”Your mother's death means that you will no longer be s.h.i.+elded.” I spoke in a cold voice. ”The next time you offend the throne, I will not hesitate to order your removal, and if you defy me, your execution.”

Ch'un knew that I meant what I said-after all, I had executed Su Shun, the former grand councilor, and his powerful gang.

My harsh words put a stop to the bickering, and I was left alone.

Laying my cheek against Rong's coffin, I remembered the two walnuts she placed in my palm the day I departed home for the Forbidden City. I regretted that I hadn't tried harder to care for her. She had succ.u.mbed to her illness, but there had been moments of lucidity and affection. I wondered if she knew of the marital troubles of Guang-hsu and Lan. I would never know her feelings. How I missed talking with her when we were girls! I wished I could talk to Kuei Hsiang, commiserate together, but he was not interested. To my brother, Rong's death was a relief.