Cixi knew danger was coming, but there was nothing she could do. Earl Li, the general in charge of defending the coast, wrote to the dowager empress and told her the ships were not up to date and the training the men were receiving was not sufficient. They would never succeed at a sea battle. The emperor would not heed his warnings, though, and the empress could not advise the magistrates. Every day, all the empress could do was worry and wait. She would try to keep herself busy and her mind occupied through her various hobbies, but nothing could relieve her stress. Her hair began to fall out and she had to start wearing wigs to hide this change in her appearance.

  That summer, Japan attacked Korea, a Chinese ally. This did not cause a panic in China since many knew a battle over Korea was coming, but it was the beginning of the end for Emperor Guangxu. The emperor sent many of China’s troops and ships to fight Japan, leaving us with little defense back home. Warship after warship was sunk, along with thousands of men. It was a disaster.

  Finally, the emperor had no choice but to ask Empress Cixi for help. He was only a boy, still in his early twenties, with no experience as a general. He allowed her to return to the Forbidden City and meet with the Grand Council. The situation was bleak. Ships and men had been lost and our foreign allies were refusing to help even though they had also lost men. Empress Cixi immediately donated millions of taels from her own private fortune to the army and canceled her birthday celebrations, her sixtieth, which was a monumental event in a person’s life. Preparations for her birthday had started years before, but now all was canceled.

  Cixi sent for Prince Gong. The years of rest had done him good. He was not as quick and clever as he used to be, but he was solid, reliable, and reasonable. He also still had good relations with the foreigners and could be of use to the empress.

  But all was lost. One defeat followed another. The only chance China had of surviving the war was to broker peace. Prince Gong approached the British to negotiate the peace talks. As usual, his placating nature in the face of a foreign threat earned him condemnation from members of the court, including the emperor. The Japanese demanded millions of taels in indemnities and the cession of Formosa, several other islands, and land in Manchuria. The emperor was furious. Even though the worthless whelp had no one to blame but himself, he decided Empress Cixi and Prince Gong were to blame; thus, a power struggle ensued. Both Empress Cixi and the emperor agreed that the Japanese demands were too much, but they disagreed on what to do about it. Empress Cixi trusted Prince Gong and believed the West would not allow China to fall. The emperor wanted to agree to the terms offered.

  Empress Cixi refused to move back to the Summer Palace. We all lived in the Sea Palace, safely ensconced in the Forbidden City where Empress Cixi could once again be informed and involved in day-to-day decision-making. Of course, she was no longer in charge – she couldn’t make decisions on her own – but she carried much clout, and the emperor was forced to consult with her before making any decisions. It was clear the young emperor was not happy with the new situation, but there was very little he could do about it. We were all forced to live under the same roof, once again in an uneasy and unhappy situation. A henhouse cannot have two cocks, though, so the empress had to find a way to regain control.

  25

  The Forbidden City, 1894

  While we lived at the Summer Palace, Empress Longyu had been in charge of the emperor’s very tiny inner court. After we moved back to the Forbidden City, though, Pearl, Jade, and Empress Longyu once again came under Empress Cixi’s purview. It was clear that the emperor gave little more than a thought to Empress Longyu or Jade, but Pearl was another matter. Even though the Emperor was not spreading his seed among any of his ladies – or any outside women or men, as his predecessors did – Pearl had a special place in his life. She who dressed as a man was constantly by his side and in his quarters. She had become quite well-educated, reading anything she could get her hands on, and quite influential – men seeking favors from the emperor flocked to her side. While many suspected Pearl was abusing her power as the emperor’s special paramour, it was hardly uncommon for consorts to use what little power they possessed for the short time they had it. Empress Cixi did not begrudge Pearl her favored position, but she was aware of it, and she kept a close eye on the girl. She suspected that Pearl would be her key to regaining control of the emperor.

  At one point, Empress Cixi learned that Imperial Concubine Pearl had taken an interest in my embroidery, so Cixi gave me leave to give the girl some private lessons. She also made sure I knew that I was to report back to her anything I learned that might be of interest. The job proved too easy. Pearl was confident in her place as imperial concubine and had no fear. She also regarded me as little more than a maid who seemed to be of little consequence to her while she was busy conducting her deals. I was privy to money exchanging hands between her and various palace eunuchs and whispered conversations about buying positions of importance. At one point, I was even able to steal a letter regarding a certain illiterate man who had paid a high price for the position of mayor. When I presented my evidence to Empress Cixi, she was delighted, and I was able to see just how ruthless the empress could be.

  Empress Cixi called Pearl before her and asked her about her habit of accepting bribes in exchange for encouraging appointments by the emperor. Of course, she denied it. The empress had one of the eunuchs I had seen giving Pearl money brought in. The man was stripped naked and for the first time I saw what a eunuch looked like. I had seen two men naked in my life and several women, but this was unlike either. He had hair covering some of the mutilated area, but there was only a malformed stump where his penis should have been, and it was horribly scarred. The man was mortified and tried to cover himself with his hands, but the two other eunuchs who brought him in held his arms. Pearl tried to avert her eyes, but the empress slapped her on the back of her head and forced her to watch. The eunuch denied being involved in the bribery, at which the empress ordered he be subject to bastinado, beaten on his back with long, flat, bamboo bats by the other eunuchs. This sort of punishment was a matter of course for eunuchs. It was how my eunuch Liujian was killed. Eunuchs could be tortured or punished by a bamboo beating with no trial or permission from the Justice Department. The eunuch cried out in pain with every lashing. All of us winced with every snap of the bamboo on his flesh, but none more than Pearl. Even though Pearl was smart and cunning, she was still but a child, a teenager, and she could not bear the eunuch’s suffering. As his flesh tore and blood pooled around him, she wept and begged the beating to stop. She got on her knees before the Empress and wept for mercy.

  “Please, Dearest Empress,” she cried. “Have mercy! This eunuch and I are innocent and would never betray His Majesty’s trust!”

  “Why must you continue to lie to me, Pearl?” the Empress demanded. She signaled for the beating to continue.

  “I would never lie!” Pearl cried as the eunuch’s cries went from loud to softer.

  It was clear the eunuch was dying. Pearl was harder to break than the empress anticipated. The empress then grabbed Pearl by the ear, raised her to her feet, and struck her across the face. All of us, even the eunuchs punishing the other one, froze. While the empress was in her right to punish Pearl, we had never seen her strike another living person. The fact that she had everyone’s attention seemed to give the empress more strength and she slapped Pearl again, this time so hard the girl fell to the floor. When Pearl raised her head, her nose was bleeding.

  “So help me, Pearl,” the empress said through clenched teeth. “What you have done is punishable by death. And plenty of concubines who came before you have ended their lives on the executioner’s scaffold. Tell me the truth or you will die today.”

  Pearl didn’t speak. She only turned to the empress and nodded her head.

  “You admit that you used your position as imperial concubine to purchase positions for men who paid you money?”

  Pearl nodded.

  The empress sighed. I do not think that the empress wanted to kill Pearl. In fact, I think she dreaded the possibility. But Cixi’s first and only thought was of the empire. Guangxu was leading it to ruin. She didn’t want to kill Pearl, she wanted to use the emperor’s love for her.

  The eunuch we all saw beaten was put to death. He was hit by the bamboo sticks until he was dead.

  Empress Cixi took the information she had to the emperor. I do not know exactly how she threatened him, but if what Pearl had done was made public, she would have been executed and the emperor would have been seen as a weak mortal man in the thralls of a cunning and controlling woman. Even though he would still be emperor, his reputation would be ruined. Whatever Empress Cixi told him, she ended up back in some control. Pearl and Jade were demoted and publically censured. The emperor announced that he was grateful to the empress for bringing the misconduct of his concubines to light and ordered that all reports addressed to him would also be presented to the empress. She still was not in full control, but she did have access to information, and my empress knew that power lay in knowledge.

  It was too late, though. In order to prevent the empress from refusing the peace terms and prolonging the war, the emperor accepted Japan’s demands. Everyone was horrified. Our empire could never afford the indemnitees Japan demanded.

  Empress Cixi and Prince Gong did not give up. They continued to press the Western powers to support China. Finally, Russia, Germany, and France all expressed support and condemned the Japanese demands. Empress Cixi used this as evidence that should Japan press their advance, the West would support our defense. But the emperor refused to listen. He ratified the treaty and borrowed the money from foreign banks, an amount he would never be able to repay.

  We lost our army, our navy, our money, our allies, and our hope. The empress, emotionally depleted, agreed to return to the Summer Palace. All of the magistrates came to kowtow before her as we departed the Forbidden City.

  Prince Gong was especially worn weary by the war. He was thin, his long hair was gray, and he bent over a cane. “Dowager Empress,” he said in a soft voice as she passed him. “I have failed you.”

  The empress shook her head. “No, we have all failed China.”

  His eyes watered as a eunuch helped him to his knees and he knocked his head to the ground as she was helped into her sedan chair. My heart broke for my poor prince. He had given his all to his brother and his brother’s heirs and had nothing to show for it but failure. If only he had been emperor instead.

  26

  Prince Gong’s Mansion, 1898

  One day in May, I received a note from Hulan asking me to come to Prince Gong’s mansion immediately. It was a note I had been dreading. The prince had completely withdrawn from palace life after the war with Japan and it was well known that his health was not good. I wanted to remember my prince as I had once known him – strong, brave, and smart. The man who should have been emperor. Seeing him wither over the last decades had been hard for both of us. It hurt his pride for me to see him weaken. It hurt my heart to watch from a distance as he had become a shell of the man he once was. But I went.

  I took a donkey cart from the West Gate of the Forbidden City to Prince Gong’s mansion. When I arrived, the servants were expecting me. They helped me from my cart and led me inside to a sitting room where my daughter and Lady Yun were waiting for me.

  My daughter came up and took my hand and led me to sit beside her. “He has been asking for you,” she explained.

  “Is it soon?” I asked.

  Lady Yun nodded. “Any day now. He has been getting his affairs in order. His mind is slow, but clear.”

  “What will happen to all of you?” I asked.

  “The daughters who are old enough are to be married as soon as possible,” Lady Yun said. “The women who have families willing to take them in are to return to them, but with some money so they are not a burden. His first wife, Lady Guwalgiya, and her oldest son will stay here. The other boys will set up their own households or go to school.”

  “And what of you two?” I asked. “And Arsalan?”

  “Some of us women who have nowhere to go will set up our own household together,” Lady Yun said. “We are looking for a suitable dwelling.”

  “I am hoping to open a shop,” Hulan said. “I want to sell my embroidery. I could sell yours too, Mother.”

  I nodded. “That is a satisfactory situation,” I said. And indeed it was. For the women to be free to live alone and as they wished for the rest of their days, not forced into the homes of someone else or into nunneries, would be a splendid retirement.

  Hulan agreed. “Arsalan will be going to school in America,” she said.

  “But he is so young!” I said. He was only eight years old.

  “I know, and it pains me to be separated from him, but the dowager empress is sponsoring his education. She is sending many young men to study abroad, but unlike the other boys, Arsalan didn’t apply and I didn’t request her aid. She sent one of her representatives to make the arrangements. She thinks all the boys will come back someday and be of great use to the empire, to help propel it into the modern age.”

  “I know what the empress thinks,” I said. “But she should also know the dangers of separating a boy from his mother. Just look at…”

  “Shush! Mother,” Hulan interrupted. “You shouldn’t say such things. Even here.” She glanced around. Just like in the Forbidden City, there were spies everywhere, even if you couldn’t see them. Who knew to whom Prince Gong’s wife was beholden to in the palace. Hulan lowered her voice. “I think she fears for Arsalan’s safety without his grandfather here to protect him.”

  “Why?” I asked. “What does she fear?”

  “I don’t know exactly,” Hulan said. “But who knows how many people know who he really is. I think she is sending him abroad both as a protection and for his education. I think she believes that he could be an important man in the Manchu court when he grows up.”

  “What does Prince Gong think about this?” I asked.

  “He agrees it is for the best. Even if Arsalan never comes back to China, the boy is exceptionally bright. He will greatly benefit from a Western education.”

  “What do you mean, if he never comes back to China?” I asked.

  Hulan shrugged. “The empress dowager is old and the emperor is impotent. Who knows what will happen.”

  With that, a servant appeared and announced that the prince was awake and was asking for me.

  * * *

  Hulan led me to Prince Gong’s room, but didn’t enter with me. The room was dark and smoky from incense. There was a servant present, helping Prince Gong drink some water, but she left when I entered. I went to the prince’s side and sat on a stool by his bed. He smiled at me and motioned for me to take his hand. I held it with both of mine.

  “I am glad to see you,” he said.

  “As am I,” I said. “I have missed you at court.”

  “I am glad someone does.”

  “Everyone does.”

  “No, they miss the old me, the man I used to be. Not the useless one I have become.”

  “Hush,” I said.

  “Yaqian,” he said. “I didn’t want to die without seeing you one more time.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I just held his hand tighter.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I know,” I replied.

  “You will not lie to me now, not on my deathbed?”

  “I have never lied to you,” I said. “I would not start now.”

  “Has there ever been anyone else for you?”

  “What a thing to ask of me now,” I said. “Why would you ask me that?”

  “It would be comforting to know that I am the only man you have ever loved, have ever laid with.”

  “You have been with many women,” I said. “You have more wives and concubines than I can count.”

  He coughed as he laughed. “Men are more fragile than women. They need exclusive devotion from a whole flock of women to feel powerful.”

  I smiled at that. “No, My Prince. I have never loved or laid with another.”

  “Not even my brother?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No, not as you and I had. He only wanted my feet.”

  “You gave me a beautiful daughter, Yaqian.”

  “I am glad that you find delight in her.”

  “I do, Yaqian. I told you many years ago that she was the one daughter I was happy to have. There were no expectations for her. And in my graying years, I didn’t have to marry her away. She and her lovely boy have brought me great happiness.”

  Even though a part of me wished I could have lived with the prince and my daughter as a family all these years, it was my choice not to leave my empress, and I didn’t regret it. I was happy in the palace. But if I couldn’t be part of the prince’s family, I was glad Hulan was. I wasn’t part of their family, but I helped create it. That was enough for me.

  “I have heard about the arrangements you have made for them.”

  “Do they please you?” he asked.

  “They do,” I said. “I am sad the boy is leaving, but it seems to be for the best.”

  “It is. The boy has a valuable heritage. Even if no one knows about him being the son of the emperor, he is my grandson, the great-grandson of The Daoguang Emperor. He has the blood of the Dragon. He must be protected.” He was getting worked up and started to cough.

  “Shush,” I said, helping him drink some water. “He will be fine. Do not fear.”

  “I do fear,” he said as he leaned back on his pillow. “And I fear for you. There, in the drawer.” He pointed to a small table across the room. “Inside, there is paper with a name and address.”

  I went across the room and found the paper. It was written in characters I had never seen before. “I can’t read it,” I said. The prince motioned for me to return to his side.