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. “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 in her 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.”
Tears slipped down Ji Yue’s cheeks. “He will rape me,” shewhispered.
“No,” the doctor said with a surprisingly gentle voice. “No, he will not. I have known him since he was a little boy. Sun Bo Tao will threaten and tease, he will push well beyond the bounds of propriety, but he is an honorable man. Besides,” she added with a glare at Bo Tao, “he knows that if he hurts you, I will see to it that the Emperor finds out. No man can play with the virgins and be spared. Not even Bo Tao who has no status here except for the Emperor’s whim.”
Ji Yue looked up, feeling hope and despair clash in her heart. As much as she might pray that Bo Tao was honorable–was simply just teasing her for some sick reason of his own–she did not believe she was that lucky. Or that any man could really be so honorable. So she grabbed the woman’s hands and begged. “Please don’t go.”
“She has no choice,” Bo Tao said, his voice cold. “I am the Master of the Festival. She cannot disobey me.” Then he stepped around and opened the door. “Go eat something, Doctor.”
The woman slowly disentangled herself from Ji Yue. “I eat very quickly,” she said. Then with a last apologetic shrug, she left. The Master followed a step behind, firmly shutting the door behind her.
Ji Yue was alone with her nemesis.
