“Bao, the sisters want to have a word with you,” said Chen and left the room.
Sister Fu opened the basket to present her with all the gifts sent by the sisters from the cloister. Bao, just like all the other people in the home, was still unaware that she had been chosen to become the bride. She was happy to get so many gifts, and she was thanking every sister, calling her by name.
“Sister Fu, but why so many gifts?” asked Bao.
“There may be some changes to your life. May I ask you some questions?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Please, tell me, has the red dragon visited you?”
“No, it hasn’t, Sister Fu. I did everything you had told me, but there has been no change.”
“Can we examine you?”
Her skin was tender and delicate. I was just admiring her youthfulness and beauty, but Sister Fu was becoming more and more grave. And when I managed to focus on Bao’s body through the mist of admiration, I was surprised too and looked at Sister Fu in astonishment. Could what I have seen, or, rather, failed to see, be true? Fu kept her hand on the abdomen of Bao, and, frowning, was trying to gently press on her stomach here and there, but then she regained control over herself, gave Bao a smile and allowed her to get dressed and go to call servants, who would bring the gifts to her room. We exchanged understanding looks. Sister Fu broke the silence.
“The red dragon won’t come within fifteen days. Everything is too calm.”
I realized that she had failed to notice everything. The true situation was still worse. Bao lacked jade cluster at all! Just little bare pedicels, the size like of those of a squirrel. Sister Fu interpreted it as a development retardation, but I clearly saw that her ovarian reserve was empty. Suddenly a bold idea struck my mind.
“Sister Fu, let me help Bao. My Tutor knew this disease, he taught me to make a drink form chicken entrails and field mushrooms, which, I know for sure, will cure Bao.”
‘Talisman’ gave me a glance, or rather looked through me, which made me feel cold in the pit of my stomach. Then she smiled and said, “Well, this is why you came here. Very well, let it be the way you want it.” And she slowly started packing her things into the basket. Then she looked at me again and said, “I invite you to attend my lecture. The pupils here are sweet.”
We decided to postpone the talk with the parents of Bao and with Bao herself until the night. Mister Chen ordered us not to disturb him until night too. Missus Fan was still sleeping. Sister Fu ordered us to invite Bao to attend the lecture too.
Chapter Five
Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat
The elder girls got together in the practicing room. They were cheerfully chatting. I noticed little sachets filled with rather big – the size of a dove’s egg – burnished pebbles of various colours. Everyone had five pebbles: blue, red, yellow, green and white.
The most challenging task was to correctly locate the pebbles in their jade chambers – so that each pebble matched the associated organ. The sensitivity of the jade chamber had to be such that each girl could feel the ‘energy’ of the pebbles.
The blue pebble (however, not always was it of really blue colour, as each girl had a unique date of birth, and the pebbles where chosen to match her Zodiac sign, and to match the amount of energy of each organ, reducing or re-enforcing it), had to be located right at the entrance to the jade chamber, in the place where the outer petals of the bud open and embrace the energy of the pebble. The next was to be the green pebble – the eyes of the liver, and still further the yellow one, which embodied the golden trabeculae of the spleen; still further, closer to the inner gate of the jade chamber, on both the sides of the entrance, was the place for the red and the white pebbles, like flame, which added pink tint to a white lily and turned it into a lotus (the heart which gives love, and the lungs, which give life).
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