/
Journey
Ship, South China Sea
Yao lost count of the days. Was it the second month? The first? A few weeks?
He did not know.
He and the others lived like packed sardines in a confined space, there was no way to discern between the days and nights.
But that was least of the problems coolies faced, after living so long under unhygienic condition, the interior of the ship smelt of dung and vomit, sickness ran rife. Many were dead, Yao lost count, the sailors would come every few days to remove dead bodies and throw them into the sea. He felt no compassion towards them, for he too, might join the poor souls.
I wish you a better luck in your next life, was all he could give them.
"Would we die without any acknowledgement?" Yao voiced his anxiety and a stranger answered: "It's not too soon for us."
The prediction came true for the stranger but not for Yao.
In the suffocating darkness, Yao longed to see the sun again. Unfortunately, the span of their journey was abysmal. He could only wait.
Waiting. He hated waiting. He remembered feeling the same disdain before.
When was that?
Yao wanted felt the answer was hiding at a corner of his memory. Slowly, he reached out to grasp them.
/
Wang Yue, known by the title of Yue fei was feeding the carps in the pond, it was one of the activities she resorted to for occupying her long days. Like all the other consorts of Emperor Yong Zheng, she was obliged to wait patiently for the Emperor's summon.
Her appointed eunuch, Tsiang, entered the garden, carrying a box in his hand'.
She raised her guard as she was warned beforehand to be careful of these grudging creatures. They were looked down upon by even the lowliest peasant, a being of no gender, so day by day, their hatred accumulates and they harmed those around them for these pent up frustration.
"Tsiang. What is in it?"
"It's a pair of silkworms, mating, my mistress," replied the eunuch.
"What are you planning?"She tested the eunuch, gauging his motive, trying not to let the strong smell of ammonia affect her. For eunuchs had no control over their urinary system, they could only wear a thick piece of cloth over the lost genitals to absorb their urine. This was the source of their stench and had it stemmed the saying: "Smell like a eunuch".
Wong Yue felt ashamed of her repulsion but feigning ignorance was the best she could do.
"Your ladies-in-waiting told me that you are in a bad mood these days. Playing with silkworms are the consorts' favourite pastime."
Tsiang was fairly knowledgeable with the goings of the palace. It was one of the reasons he was appointed by Wong Yue to be her closest advisor besides being more ambitious compared to other eunuchs who were already welding great authority.
"They are really cute. Thank you." She looked into the two happy worms, though enclosed in a small wooden box, they had each other.
"That's the wrong way to play. Here let me."The eunuch pulled the two warm apart in the middle of their ritual, and they bled profusely from the separation.
"What are you doing? Stop it!" Yue's voice trembled, shock and rage fuelled her words.
"The purpose for bringing you these silkworms is to let you torment them. Picture the female worm being one of the consorts in bed with the emperor, he planting his seeds into her, while you sit here, still waiting for that chance. Don't you want to kill them?" His disappointment was obvious, he had tried his best to cheer his miserable mistress up, but she had scolded him instead.
Tsiang had high hopes for Yue Fei. She was a classic beauty, youth glowered from her perfectly carved face, with pale skin and a petite stature. Her name, given by the emperor's mother, fit her for she was as beautiful as 'yue': the moon.
But despite the privilege, Yue was headstrong, she refused to bribe the chief eunuch for a chance in the emperor's chamber. To the inpatient eunuch who wished for higher status, his mistress indifference disgusted him, he wanted to hit her every time he saw her tending her garden or writing poems instead of forming plans to seduce the emperor. He was sure that she was forgotten in the vastness of the emperor's harem.
"I see." Yue slapped the young eunuch. She was upset because the Tsiang had thought her to be such a cruel woman. "Go!" She dismissed him, her eyes full of animosity.
Yue regretted once she saw the tears streaking down on his face, touching upon the red marks her slap made.
She wanted to apologize but her mouth was sealed.
Tsiang gathered himself and left.
"Don't go." Yue heard herself whisper.
She envied the fishes in the pond that were swimming without a care of the world, unperturbed by the commotion. She fed the fishes with the silkworm, it was better than letting them bleed to death.
The fishes rushed forward to their meals willingly.
/
Yao had very strange dreams of experiences he had not had before, they were vague but repetitive. Gradually, Yao was able to piece the puzzle together. He recalled a lovely garden in his dreams, in the middle of it was a pond of carp fish. His uncle's garden was smaller, but the garden of his dreams reminded him of it, the same species of flowers could be found in both, the Zǐluólán, Chinese Violets. The flower was a common weed, and the variety in the gardens had white petals and two styles dotted with violet stigmas.
When he was little, Yao found the violets at a corner of the flowerbed when he explored the garden, since then, his greatest leisure was to stare at the flowers. Strangely, he was attracted only to the violets but not the other prettier flowers, and to him, the small weed is the most beautiful.
/
The sea was calm, the tangy salt air erased the stench from their bodies, cheerful sunrays he had so often dreamt of shone down on them mockingly.
Yao was one of the lucky survivors, he jostled through the mass to have a glimpse at the harbour – it was his first time on deck since they had left the Canton port.
The rough journey had left its mark, the transform on Yao's physique was fairly obvious, his eyes were sunken, ribs protruded through his exposed torso. Every survivor was the same, sufferings evident.
Yao looked on as some sailors threw the last of the corpses overboard – those unlucky ones had died just before they reached land. He mourned for the pitiful fate of these strangers but cannot help to feel relieved not to be among them.
Yao also felt proud to survive, he wanted the credit for holding on for such a long time, though, he felt ashamed of being so when witnessing the unfortunate people who died.
Packed against bodies, Yao was stabilized from falling as a sudden jolt of wave that caught the boat. He stared at the approaching land, vessels of all sizes swarmed the waters around it.
Whatever this place was, Yao future was with it.
/
To clarify things a little, Russia will be appearing in the next chapter. I am trying to establish an introduction to both characters and the settings before they meet. I know I am long winded. Sorry.
Their past lives will be told in the manifestations of dreams, albeit confusing, please bear with me.
Thank you for reading.
Historical Notes:
1-The term eunuch was for men who were castrated before they could serve in the women living areas in the Chinese court. Such cruelty was to make sure they could not impregnate the emperor's women, for he himself was the sole planter ofthe seeds.
2-The title Fei (妃)was well respected. I intend Wong Yue to be a fictional character that came from an honorable Manchu tribe, so she earned that title. But the emperor had his own choice for which woman he wanted to spend the night with. They mostly leave these arrangements to eunuchs if they did not have a particular favorite. So in this case, titles are mostly irrelevant and bribery was indeed the key for consorts to gain favor.
