Ji Yue was on her feet in a second. "Stop!" she ordered the guard. "Stop!" She went to the girl, her expression tender as she pushed the wet, stringy strands of hair out her eyes. "Surely it is not so bad as all that," she said softly.
"I am to be sent home!" the girl wailed.
Ji Yue froze, her gaze leaping to the stone-faced eunuch. "But why?"
"She was brought before the dowager consort, who declared her too ugly."
"But of course she is…is…unattractive like this! With dark bruises and raw patches."
The eunuch did not seem to care. "She was too young, anyway." And with that, he dragged her away.
Ji Yue had no choice but to sink down on her seat in fear. At her age, she did not dare appear before the dowager consort soaking wet, her hair askew, and her skin blotchy. And yet, without access to a bathing chamber, how could she wash away her cream?
No answer presented itself no matter how much she thought. And one by one, the girls disappeared into the room. Another girl was dismissed for being knock-kneed. The others came out tearful, even distraught, but they were allowed to dress for the next task: lunch with the dowager consort.
Then it was Ji Yue's turn. She stepped into the room, exhaling in relief when she saw the physician: a woman, thank heaven. She was elderly, with crabbed hands, a thin nose and a voice that sounded sharp with anger. "You're not going to cry, are you? I've had all I can stomach this morning and I'll not tolerate any more hysterics, understand?"
Ji Yue nodded, judging it wisest to keep silent.
"You're older than the other girls."
She shook her head. "No, no. I was born in the year of the rooster," she lied. "At night, too, which is an excellent time for a girl," she added, just in case the physician didn't realize that girls born during the time of "roosting" were likely to be tame and submissive.
The doctor crinkled her nose as she peered closer. "If that's true, then you will not age well."
"She was born in the year of the horse, I'd wager," a man's voice said behind her.
Ji Yue spun around, but she already knew who was there: her personal tormentor—the master of the festival. He was hidden behind the door, which was why she hadn't noticed him earlier, and he had a casual smirk on his too-handsome face. She stiffened in shock, though inside, her heart beat triple time. "Do you accuse me of lying?" she demanded.
"Of course I do," he answered calmly. "Why would you have the word 'Ji'—grain—in your name if not for being a horse?" He smiled, his expression lazy and sensuous as he listed the attributes of a girl born late in a horse year. "Which means you are destined for a hard life, Ji Yue, one of much labor. You may be broad-minded, but you lack perseverance and are incapable of keeping secrets."
"That's ridiculous!" she snapped.
He leaned forward. "If I were you, I would have lied about my age, as well."
She turned from him, unable to look him in the eye. He had named her exact reasons for lying. Though she dismissed the thought that the year and time she was born determined anything about her, she knew that others took great store by it. Especially when predicting who would make the most fertile concubine.
"Don't worry," he drawled from behind her. "Being an empress is a difficult task. I would expect her to be a woman who labors hard."
Beside her, the physician snorted through her thin nose. "All women labor hard, no matter their age. Come, come, I'm hungry. Let us see your breasts."
Ji Yue blinked, understanding hitting with a blinding flash. She was to be measured now, stripped naked and evaluated. While he watched.
She couldn't do it. No matter what her attributes were, he would judge her harshly, and the physician would agree. That was the way of things in China: the men made the decisions and the women had to go along with whatever idiocy resulted. If he made sure she failed the physical examination, she would be sent home within the hour! Therefore, she had to find a way to oust him from the room, and that meant appealing to the doctor.
So Ji Yue smiled sweetly and dropped into as deep a curtsey as possible. "Reverend lady," she said to the physician. "I swear I will not fight you. I will neither curse nor faint. Surely, therefore, there is no need for another here? Let the master of the festival find his lunch." That last was for him. Perhaps if he was hungry, she could induce him to leave.
"I have already eaten," he drawled. Glancing behind her, she saw that there indeed was an empty plate.
"Two steamed dumplings," the doctor groused. "But does he think to bring one to the woman who works so hard?"
"Were you hungry?" the master asked with a false smile. "My apologies. Perhaps we can speed this up." Coming forward, he pulled Ji Yue around. His touch was firm, but not bruising, and his gaze raked her body without mercy. "Can you not see what the evaluation will say?"
"That I am perfect in every way!" Ji Yue retorted.
"On the contrary," the master sneered. "Your face is barely acceptable. Eagle shaped, your nose is cursed, your tongue is worse."
Ji Yue lifted her chin. "Eagle features are striking on women. Their features command respect."
"Humph," the master retorted. "Your breasts are flat like plates. One, maybe two children at most can be nurtured before your chest is empty."
"You cannot see that!"
"Then disrobe and prove me wrong," he challenged. Before she could do more than gasp, he abruptly spun her around to stare at her bottom. "Your bottom is rounded—"
"That's good," she said as she peered over her shoulder. "It means I can be passionate. A good quality in a concubine."
"But yours is too rounded. Your passions will rule you to your detriment."
"That's not true!" she snapped as she whirled back around to face him. From behind her, the physician cackled.
"Your reaction proves his point, girl. Control yourself."
It was good advice, but Ji Yue's temper was fully engaged. "He cannot know these things!" she cried. "You must examine me to be sure."
"But why bother?" continued the master. "She is hot tempered, so her labia will be dry, and her womb too short to support a child. The emperor will have no children by this girl."
Ji Yue clenched her hands in frustration. He was destroying her chances! Without even allowing her an examination, he was telling the doctor to report that she was unworthy of becoming the empress. "Why are you doing this to me?" she hissed at him. "Are you a cat who toys with his prey merely because he can?"
He arched a brow at her. "See?" he said to the physician. "Hot-tempered with an eagle's sharp beak for a mouth."
Turning her back on the master, she knelt before the physician. "Please, please, you must examine me. Do not let his words sway you. It is your duty to do your task as honestly as you can."
Her last words were a mistake. The physician drew herself up to her fullest height. "Do not seek to lecture me on my duties, girl. I know what I must do."
"Yes," interrupted the master with a lazy drawl, "but you need not do it on an empty stomach. Why not go now and find some excellent dumplings? Enjoy them while she meditates on the sharpness of her tongue."
The woman drew her brows together. "And then I am to return and examine her?"
The Master bowed. "Of course."
Ji Yue gasped. "But that would leave me alone with him!"
The doctor nodded. "At least you're not stupid."
Panic rose in her chest. She could not be alone with this man. He was a playboy, the emperor's intimate friend and master of the festival. No one would believe her if she said he raped her. "Please, please, Doctor. You must examine me now!"
But the doctor simply shook her head. "Won't do any good. You're all dried up right now." She glanced at the master. "Be smart, girl, and you might come out ahead." Her gaze steadied on Ji Yue. "Let him help the fertility flow. If you grow moist, my exam will be favorable."