what he saw was nerve-racking. The young miss had obviously figured something out.
* * *
(A letter delivered by special courier.)
July 9, 1881
With respect, to Tigress Tan Shi Po:
Honored Tigress, I write in courtesy and with deep shame. I regret to inform you that a great evil has been sent to your home. I did not send it; it comes to you from my mother-in-law, whose age has dulled her mind. It will arrive soon: a demon in the form of a boy. His name is Ken Jin. He will tell you a sad tale with great weeping and gnashing of teeth.
He lies!
I say again, whatever words the demon speaks are ugly lies! Ken Jin is an unnatural demon of no kin to this house. Throw him from you! He carries terrible fortune. Do not under any circumstances send him back to us.
In apology,
Wen Qui Xiu
After trauma, many patients remain shaken and emotionally scattered. This is called "gall-bladder fright." Points used: GB 34 Yanglingguan [on the outside of the calf just below the fibular condyle] and LV 3 Taichong [on the top of the foot in the angle between the first and second toes].
The Encyclopedia of Chinese Medicine,
Frank WT Chung, CA, OMD
Chapter 2
Charlotte felt as if her brain were on fire. Outwardly she knew she looked composed and quiet, but inside her entire body crackled with... what? She'd found scrolls in Joanna's room. Scrolls with Chinese writing and paintings of naked men and women. And their organs! She tried to take a breath to calm herself, but her mind still crackled. The images had been large and naked. And painted in color!
Plus, they looked very similar to Ken Jin's real-life organ she'd seen just an hour ago. She wondered briefly if his penis could do some of the things she'd seen in the scrolls. And if she were his partner, would she look as serenely happy as the women pictured? And how had the painted woman put that huge thing in her mouth anyway? But she was drawn so happy—smug even. Something wonderful definitely came from the man's organ.
The satchel banged hard against her thigh as she descended the stairs, bringing her attention back to the present. Charlotte was excruciatingly aware of the three silk-wrapped bamboo cases she carried. Indeed, it had taken her nearly twenty minutes to find a bag that completely covered the naughty picture scrolls. Obviously, Joanna had meant for her to find them, because she'd hidden them in their secret hidey-hole where the two had been sharing diaries, notes, and special bits of ribbon since the beginning of time. Well, since they'd become best friends at the age of ten. It was a child's game perfect for little girls, but no little girl had put these scrolls there. No little girl could possibly understand what was written on them. And no properly bred young woman would ever read them.
Charlotte paused on the last step into the foyer. How lowering it was to realize one was not a proper young woman. She had read them. Or rather, she had read what little she could, since the scrolls were written in Chinese on fragile vellum and wrapped in costly silks.
How had Joanna come across what were obviously valuable, ancient texts? And when had Charlotte's most learned and serious friend crossed over to the side of rampant debauchery that filled the rest of Shanghai? Had she been given the scrolls by her husband? If so, why? They couldn't possibly be doing those things. But of course, they could, she admonished herself; they were married after all. And wasn't that what married people did? But was Joanna doing all of that? Everything pictured in that scroll. Everything?
For a single horrified moment, Charlotte realized she ought to return the scrolls. After all, Joanna and her husband might need them. The scrolls were clearly reference material meant to teach one how to have marital relations. Therefore, Joanna would need the scrolls, whereas Charlotte did not.
Damn, why hadn't she ever accepted a suitor for her hand? She could be
* * *
(A letter delivered by special courier.)
July 9, 1881
With respect, to Tigress Tan Shi Po:
Honored Tigress, I write in courtesy and with deep shame. I regret to inform you that a great evil has been sent to your home. I did not send it; it comes to you from my mother-in-law, whose age has dulled her mind. It will arrive soon: a demon in the form of a boy. His name is Ken Jin. He will tell you a sad tale with great weeping and gnashing of teeth.
He lies!
I say again, whatever words the demon speaks are ugly lies! Ken Jin is an unnatural demon of no kin to this house. Throw him from you! He carries terrible fortune. Do not under any circumstances send him back to us.
In apology,
Wen Qui Xiu
After trauma, many patients remain shaken and emotionally scattered. This is called "gall-bladder fright." Points used: GB 34 Yanglingguan [on the outside of the calf just below the fibular condyle] and LV 3 Taichong [on the top of the foot in the angle between the first and second toes].
The Encyclopedia of Chinese Medicine,
Frank WT Chung, CA, OMD
Chapter 2
Charlotte felt as if her brain were on fire. Outwardly she knew she looked composed and quiet, but inside her entire body crackled with... what? She'd found scrolls in Joanna's room. Scrolls with Chinese writing and paintings of naked men and women. And their organs! She tried to take a breath to calm herself, but her mind still crackled. The images had been large and naked. And painted in color!
Plus, they looked very similar to Ken Jin's real-life organ she'd seen just an hour ago. She wondered briefly if his penis could do some of the things she'd seen in the scrolls. And if she were his partner, would she look as serenely happy as the women pictured? And how had the painted woman put that huge thing in her mouth anyway? But she was drawn so happy—smug even. Something wonderful definitely came from the man's organ.
The satchel banged hard against her thigh as she descended the stairs, bringing her attention back to the present. Charlotte was excruciatingly aware of the three silk-wrapped bamboo cases she carried. Indeed, it had taken her nearly twenty minutes to find a bag that completely covered the naughty picture scrolls. Obviously, Joanna had meant for her to find them, because she'd hidden them in their secret hidey-hole where the two had been sharing diaries, notes, and special bits of ribbon since the beginning of time. Well, since they'd become best friends at the age of ten. It was a child's game perfect for little girls, but no little girl had put these scrolls there. No little girl could possibly understand what was written on them. And no properly bred young woman would ever read them.
Charlotte paused on the last step into the foyer. How lowering it was to realize one was not a proper young woman. She had read them. Or rather, she had read what little she could, since the scrolls were written in Chinese on fragile vellum and wrapped in costly silks.
How had Joanna come across what were obviously valuable, ancient texts? And when had Charlotte's most learned and serious friend crossed over to the side of rampant debauchery that filled the rest of Shanghai? Had she been given the scrolls by her husband? If so, why? They couldn't possibly be doing those things. But of course, they could, she admonished herself; they were married after all. And wasn't that what married people did? But was Joanna doing all of that? Everything pictured in that scroll. Everything?
For a single horrified moment, Charlotte realized she ought to return the scrolls. After all, Joanna and her husband might need them. The scrolls were clearly reference material meant to teach one how to have marital relations. Therefore, Joanna would need the scrolls, whereas Charlotte did not.
Damn, why hadn't she ever accepted a suitor for her hand? She could be
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