Chapter 12: Enemies

Life continues as normal in the Lotus Garden, even though we know Mìngfù Jing and her retinue are busy preparing to depart for the war. We are told nothing about the pending war, although that doesn’t stop rumours from spreading through the harem like wildfire. Huàn Hong discourages us from discussing the war, but he may as well try and stop the sun from shining. One alarming rumour is that the population of the Lotus Garden is to be reduced, and that some of us will be sent to the slave markets to be sold.

There are forty three girls and women residing in both wings of the harem, and the mezzanine above. Excluding the three daoshi, eighteen have completed their training in whatever discipline they have been taught. That leaves twenty-two odalisques undergoing training in the Lotus Garden, about two thirds of whom are adolescent girls acquired from orphanages and impoverished families. They are still too young to enter into a concubinage agreement, so all but a few of the most promising future concubines are being trained as cooks or house servants. Three, including me, are being trained as daoshi. It seems callous to sell some of the girls prematurely after their earlier struggles in life. The Lotus Garden offers the girls shelter and training that would otherwise be denied them. However, preparations for war are drawing men and resources away. There is already a demand for replacement servants to cover for men conscripted into the army.

As for the concubines, then arguably some economies could be made. There are five adult and three adolescent trainee concubines in the Lotus Garden, as well as another five fully trained concubines. With Mìngfù Jing likely to be away for some months, the need to retain all thirteen must be questionable given even the cooks, and those who do the laundry and housework, aren’t entirely safe from any scaling back of the workforce. A concubine fetches a higher price if she carries the small ankle tattoo signifying Mìngfù Jing’s personal seal of approval. I begin to understand Qíngfù Niáng’s desire for her sister to spend her remaining time fucking those concubines ready for sale. Qíngfù Niáng certainly wouldn’t want to carry the dead weight of yet another favourite in the Lotus Garden, who will be nothing more than an extra stipend to pay and mouth to feed while Mìngfù Jing is away.

As if to spite Qíngfù Niáng, Ah-Lin is to be moved to one of alcoves reserved for Mìngfù Jing’s favourites on the mezzanine floor. She is sharing a space with Nuying. Given their previous spats, Ah-Lin and Nuying are probably the worst choice of room-mates, but nobody has dared to challenge Qíngfù Niáng’s specific instructions. Not that Ah-Lin seems to mind. She has spent several nights with Mìngfù Jing over the last week and she now carries a small tattoo of a lotus flower on her right ankle. I suspect there would have been more nights together were it not for the war preparations. Mìngfù Jing’s gifts to Ah-Lin have been generous. She now owns several new dresses, together with a collection of fine jewellery.