He lifted his head and she saw that she had cut him, too. Blood dripped down the side of his head and his eyes blazed with fury.
“You told me I should hit you!” she cried again. She had already pulled down her skirt, and now she tried to retie her undergarment one-handed. Her other hand gripped the largest shard of plate that she could reach. “You told me-”
“So I did,” he said. He rubbed his hand over his temple then grimaced when his palm came away glistening with blood. “Cover up. The doctor will be here soon.”
With shaking hands, she retied the cotton underdress, then pulled on the silk blouse, fastening the clasps with one hand. Just as she finished the last button, the door burst open and in walked the physician.
The woman froze on the doorstep, and her eyes narrowed on the tableau before her: Ji Yue flushed and breathing hard; the master with blood smeared down his cheek. And of course, the plate pieces shattered about the room. It wouldn’t be hard to guess what had happened. The question was: would she blame the master? Or Ji Yue?
With a snort of disgust, the doctor threw a towel at him. “You’re disgraceful,” she snapped. She turned to Ji Yue. “Put the plate down. You’re safe now.”
JiYue slowly released the plate shard. She had to consciously will her hand to open. When the porcelain clattered to the floor-shattering anew-the woman huffed in disgust. She went to the door and called in a eunuch to clean up the mess.
“Clumsy girl has broken a plate,” she groused to the eunuch. Then she looked hard at Ji Yue. “Fortunately, the emperor has many plates. You might be wise to keep an extra handy for whenever you break one again.”
“Always,” she answered softly, her gaze going to the master. “I won’t be caught without one again.”
“You weren’t caught without one now,” he returned, but she detected a note of humor in his complaint.
The plate pieces were swept up, the eunuch sent away, and then the doctor shut the door. She turned to the master. “You should see the emperor’s physician for that cut.”
He pulled the towel away from his head. “It was only a scratch.”
The woman snorted. “You are staying, then.”
The master smiled. “It is my sworn duty to the emperor as master of the Festival of Fertility.”
“Humph,” she retorted. Then she turned back to Ji Yue. “All right then, girl, let’s see what damage he’s done.”
Ji Yue had been standing mutely to the side, doing her best to stop trembling. Soon, very soon, she would be able to disappear into her room and think on what had happened. But at the doctor’s words, she started in surprise.
“What?”
“Your examination, girl. Don’t tell me he has stolen your wits.”
“My, um, I mean…no. I have my wits.”
“Then undress. Let me see what has so intrigued Sun Bo Tao.”
Ji Yue stared at the physician, her misery now complete. After everything she’d just endured, she still had to go through the physical examination. And in front of the master! But what choice did she have? None. So she submitted. Button by button, she undid what she had just fastened. And as she worked, she plotted her revenge.
5
SHE HAD HIT HIM with a plate. Even as he felt the throbbing of his temple, Bo Tao could still not believe she had hit him. No woman had ever dared do that to him, and he didn’t know whether to be angry or impressed. He settled for being intrigued.
He leaned against the wall, his thoughts still whirling, and prepared to watch a most interesting examination. An honorable man would leave, since he had already compromised Ji Yue enough. But he could not seem to leave her alone; she’d dominated his thoughts since she’d shoved him out of her palanquin yesterday. Was he intrigued by her audacity? Fascinated by her intelligence? Or just lustful for her sweet curves? Yes to all. Which meant that even when his intention to simply talk to her alone, he wound up with his hands on her breasts and her legs spread beneath him. She made him lose control, and that was both dangerous and wildly exciting.
He folded his arms across his chest and watched while the virgin glared daggers at him. No hysterics, no whimpering, just darkly plotted revenge. He was rather excited to imagine what she could do to hurt him. But mostly he was aroused simply smelling her scent in the air and seeing her glorious breasts once again revealed to his gaze.
“Not flat, then,” said the physician as she made notes on her paper. “Good breadth of lungs and a fine skin color, if somewhat flushed.” She flashed Bo Tao a harsh look. He smiled in response. Women’s physician Xie Yan had been his mother’s doctor and had known him since birth. She would tolerate his excesses so long as no lasting harm was done. And besides, as master of the festival, he had the right to supervise any examination, even one this intimate.
“Very well,” Xie Yan snapped, her glare still trained on him though she spoke to Ji Yue. “Remove the rest.”
Bo Tao’s mouth was dry. Finally he would see what he had touched. In the heat of a Peking summer, no woman wore underthings below her hips, and certainly not a virgin intent on seducing an emperor. And so he watched, his cock painfully hard, as button by button her sweet bottom was revealed.
“Excellent shape,” Xie Yan said.
He couldn’t agree more. Her bottom was rounded and lifted. Perfect. JiYue stepped out of the skirt to stand naked, her back to him. He admired the sensuous sweep of her spine, the rounded curve of her behind, and the long, firm shape of her legs.
“Mole on upper left thigh.”
Ji Yue twisted toward the doctor. “Is that bad?”
“No, no. Simply a mark. It might denote something significant to the fortune tellers, but I don’t know what. I just have to write it down.”
He wanted to kiss that mole. He wanted to roll his tongue over it and feel the shift in texture. And he wanted to let his lips travel across her thigh and up to taste her sweet cream.
“Now stand still. I need to take some measurements.”
Xie Yan brought out her tape and began to measure, beginning with Ji Yue’s head. Nothing was neglected from the length of her nose, the width of each breast, and the size of her hips. Ji Yue endured it all, her anger still a palpable force in the room. Her only hesitation came as her feet were measured. She flushed a dark red as the size was announced.
Interesting, Bo Tao thought. He could see nothing but natural, beautiful feet with well shaped toes and a high arch.
“On the table, if you please,” instructed the physician.
Ji Yue shifted to climb up, and he knew he’d soon see all. What he focused on instead was the way her hands shook. She was not as sanguine as she appeared, and who could blame her? In a small deference to her feelings, he did not move to a better viewing position. He doubted he could walk smoothly anyway. So he remained at the top of the table, just past her left shoulder. As she lay down, he saw the slow reveal of her body before him. The length of her legs, and the rounding of her hips. He gloried in the rise and fall of her breasts, the sensuous indent at her belly, and the broad width of her womb. She would be able to carry babies well.
The doctor placed herself at Ji Yue’s feet. “You must understand that I have to measure everything, do you not?”
Ji Yue nodded. Were there tears in her eyes? Bo Tao frowned. Certainly most of the girls sobbed at this point, but Ji Yue had been so stonelike throughout the examination. It startled him that she showed feeling now. But of course she would. No virgin suffered this examination calmly. Still, the sight of her moist lashes unsettled him.
“You must bend your knees and slide down the table,” Xie Yan instructed.
Ji Yue took a stuttering breath. Her gaze was fixed firmly on the ceiling as she used her hands to scoot herself lower on the table. Bo Tao watched in growing confusion as she lifted her knees but kept them pressed tightly together. He did not understand his reaction. He was waiting for just this moment; for the sight of her spread thighs, her woman’s hair open and glistening in the light. But this did not feel like a glorious moment. What was wrong with him? He had seen scores off sobbing virgins-on this day alone. And yet this woman’s tears disturbed him.