She smiled. “That is not an appropriate comb for a virgin.”
He shrugged, but his eyes remained serious. “Tomorrow morning the virgins will assemble. They will be placed throughout the gardens and the walkways of the Forbidden City.”
“I know.”
“The Emperor will walk among you and choose one to be his Empress, four more to be his primary wives, and the rest will be separated into the middle and lower harems.”
She nodded. “Yes, I know.”
He pressed the linked combs into her hands. “Wear this comb linked like this, and the Emperor will know your heart is given to another.” Then he took a breath as he carefully separated the two pieces. “Wear them apart and...”
She lifted her head. “And what?”
“And I believe he will select you as his Empress.”
“What?” she gasped. The shock of his statement set her heart to clamoring in her throat.
His lips twisted into a rueful grimace. “Do you not understand why I was set to be Master of the Festival? Do you not know my strengths even now?”
She knew his intelligence and his compassion. She knew his fierce passion for his country and his virility as a man. “Which strength?” she laughed. “There are so many.”
He flashed a smile at her, but then it disappeared. “Yi Zhen set me to find the most perfect of the virgins, the smartest and the most wholesome.” He released a short breath. “He set me to find the best woman to be Empress. And I found her.”
“Me?” she breathed.
“You.”
She shook her head, the whole conversation too overwhelming. “But will he listen to you? He would pick me as his Empress?”
“I believe so, yes. If you leave the combs apart, he will know that you offer yourself to him and to China.”
She swallowed. It was an awesome destiny and the very dream she had set for herself when she’d first learned of the Festival. “And if I link the combs, Bo Tao, what then? What is to happen to me then?” She searched his face for the truth, but saw only uncertainty.
“I cannot say, Ji Yue. I have asked for a boon. I have pleaded for my wishes, but...” He paused as looked down at their joined hands.
“Was he terribly angry with you?” she whispered.
He released a short laugh. “It is a terrible thing to steal a woman from your best friend.”
“Especially if that man is the Emperor of China.”
“Exactly so.”
There was a noise in the hallway. Two girls chattering with excitement that had not been present in this palace since the tainted virgins arrived. Bo Tao sent her a desperate look, then stepped back away from her. She was left holding the two combs–one in each hand.
“I cannot promise anything, Ji Yue. I can only hope.”
She would have said something then. She would have whispered how much she loved him, except the words did not form. And then their time together was lost. The girls came around the corner, gasping in surprise when they saw the disgraced Master still standing there.
Bo Tao arched his brow at them, silently daring them to question his presence. They flushed bright red, then scurried away. Bo Tao looked at her, but she shook her head. He could not risk speaking plainly again. Where one virgin lurked, whispering and giggling in gossip, a dozen more were sure to follow.
He understood her message and knew it to be true. So hegave her the deepest bow she had ever received, then he turned and walked away.
