The Last Empress by Anchee Min Read Free Book Online

said gravely.
    I stood up. "What are you talking about?"
    "My lady, you've got to be strong..." He pulled at my sleeve until I sat back down.
    "What is it?" I bounced back up.
    "It is ... well, he got it from the local brothels."
    For a moment I couldn't register the meaning of his words.
    "I was informed about Tung Chih's nightly absences," An-te-hai continued, "so I followed him. I am sorry I couldn't bring the information to you sooner."
    "Tung Chih is the master of thousands of concubines," I snapped. "He didn't need to..." I stopped, realizing I was being foolish. "How

long has he been visiting the brothels?" I asked, composing myself.
    "A few months." An-te-hai reached out to hold my elbow.
    "Which ones?" I asked, shaking.
    "Different ones. His Young Majesty was afraid of being recognized, so he avoided those the royals frequent."
    "You mean Tung Chih went to those used by commoners?"
    "Yes."
    I couldn't still my imagination.
    "Don't let despair take hold of you, my lady!" An-te-hai cried.
    "Summon Tung Chih!" I pushed the eunuch away.
    "My lady." An-te-hai threw himself before me. "There is need to discuss a strategy."
    "There is nothing to discuss." I raised my hand and pointed to the door. "I shall confront my son with the truth. It's my duty."
    "My lady!" An-te-hai knocked his forehead on the ground. "A blacksmith wouldn't hit an iron bar when it is cold. Please, my lady, think again."
    "An-te-hai, if you are afraid of my son, are you not also afraid of me?"

    I should have listened to An-te-hai and waited. If I had controlled my emotions, as I had been careful to do in my court, An-te-hai wouldn't have ended up paying for it. I would not have lost both my son and An-te-hai.
    Standing in front of me, Tung Chih looked as if he had come out of a pool of water. Sweat glistened on his forehead. Holding a handkerchief, he kept wiping his face and neck. His complexion was blotchy and pimples marked his jaw line. I had thought that his skin condition was due to his age, that his body elements were out of balance. When I asked about the brothels, he denied all. It wasn't until I called in An-te-hai that Tung Chih admitted what he had done.
    I asked if he had seen Doctor Sun Pao-tien. Tung Chih replied that there was no need because he didn't feel sick.
    "Summon Sun Pao-tien," I ordered.
    My son stared at An-te-hai with narrowing eyes.
    It was a mess after Doctor Sun Pao-tien arrived. The more Tung Chih tried to lie, the more the doctor suspected. It would be days before Sun Pao-tien would announce his findings, which I knew would break me.
    I sent An-te-hai to search Tung Chih's palace. I canceled the day's
audience and looked through my son's belongings. Besides opium, I found books of an illicit nature.
    I summoned Tsai-chen, Prince Kung's fifteen-year-old son, Tung Chih's closest companion. I pressured and cajoled Tsai-chen until he confessed that it was he who loaned the books and he who had taken Tung Chih to the brothels. Showing no guilt, Tsai-chen described brothels as "opera houses" and whores as "actresses."
    "Summon Prince Kung!" I called.
    Prince Kung was shocked no less than I, which made me realize that the situation was worse than I had imagined.
    When I forbade Tsai-chen from ever visiting again, Tung Chih was even more upset.
    "I'll see you off," my son said to his friend.
    "Tsai-chen will leave with his father!" I told my son. Then I told An-te-hai to block the door so Tung Chih couldn't get out.
    "You bunch of dead bodies!" Tung Chih shouted, kicking An-te-hai and the other eunuchs. "Molds! Poisonous snakes!"

    As I waited for the results from Doctor Sun Pao-tien, I visited Nuharoo to inform her of what had happened. Without mentioning Tung Chih's outrageous behavior, she worried about the possibility of venereal disease but even more about the Emperor's reputation—and hers, since as the senior mother she was responsible for the important decisions in Tung Chih's personal life. Nuharoo suggested that