The Lonely Spring in an Empty Courtyard Comes Late

His fingers moved over the green name plaques. Each one was painted a deep, lustrous green, like a fine piece of jade, with the name of a consort from one of the palaces written in black. They were arranged in perfect order in a large vermilion lacquered tray. Beside him, a candle suddenly flared in the golden nine-dragon candlestick, its flame flickering with a sharp crack. In the silent palace, the sound seemed especially loud.

He suddenly flung up his hand and hurled the tray to the floor with a crash. The green plaques scattered everywhere. Li Sifu shuddered in fright and repeatedly knocked his head against the ground, not daring to make a sound. The eunuchs and palace maids outside saw what had happened and promptly fell to their knees.

She hurriedly knelt too. No one dared so much as breathe, and the hall fell utterly silent. The vermilion lacquered tray had landed right beside her feet, so she quietly picked it up and slowly reached out to gather the name plaques. Unexpectedly, a hand shot in from the side and gripped her wrist. A sleeve embroidered with hidden golden patterns covered it. She felt herself lifted, and rose to her feet against her will. Her eyes lowered to the yellow sash at his waist: a round gold plaque inlaid with coral, a pale-moon-white tassel, a gold-inlaid turquoise case, an enamel scabbard and fire striker, and a gold-thread embroidered sachet... Tiny, delicate silver bells hung from the sachet’s tassels. He made her raise her head and look at him. His gaze seemed as calm as still water, but deep within it a fleeting light flashed. “You’re only relying on the fact that I like you!”

This book has already been published and is available at major bookstores. A new edition was released in November 2007; the new cover is shown below: