White Tigress Read Online Free Page A

with the unenlightened. Your mind will never be at peace, your bed will never offer you a single night's rest. You will walk endlessly in the dark, lost and alone, for I cannot help you in this. Our time together will be over."
    He shuddered with a violence that frightened him. He knew what was happening. What part of him remained in the Tao was revolted by her words, terrified enough to want to shake the very idea from his body. But he could not. Shi Po's words remained, their horror as pervasive as their truth. And so he spoke, barely even realizing what he was saying.
    "I cannot continue as I have been. I shall go mad within the month. Already my body is growing weak." He held out his hands to her, revealing the latest of his shames. His hands trembled like an old man's, the unrest of his spirit fully revealed in his rapidly aging body. "I must find my way back to the Tao."
    "Then you must buy the white girl. You must establish her in an apartment close enough to see her every day. You must partake of her essence every moment that you can." Shi Po stepped even closer, pressing her point. "And as her water flows into you, your family's fortunes will recover and your pathway back to the Tao will be revealed." She lowered her voice into a seductive murmur. "Your mind will find peace, your body rest. You will return to the middle path with new energy, and as her yin mixes with your yang, the spiritual embryo will be born. You will become an Immortal. You can, Ru Shan, if only you will do what is necessary."
    He nearly wept at the picture she created, the dream for which he yearned during every sleepless night, after every intemperate act. "But how will I find the money?"
    She bowed her head, slowly and gracefully lifting the veil that obscured her face. And as she did, he saw on her cheek the tear she shed for his sake. It glistened there, her yin essence glittering even in the dim light. In a rare act of generosity, she lifted that drop from her cheek and carried it to his lips, giving it to him. He drank greedily, silently wishing for more. An ocean more. An entire woman's worth more, to cool the yang fire that constantly burned him.
    She pressed her lips to his ear, giving him another gift: the means to accomplish his task.
    "My husband will loan you what you need."

 
     
     
    From the letters of Mei Lan Cheng

     
    20 May, 1857
     
    Dearest Li Hua—
    What an amazing day! First wife to Cheng Sheng Fu!
    Did you see him at the wedding? Is he not handsome and strong? I know his father picked me because of my embroidery designs. Father says they have a small shop in Shanghai. They want me to design the decoration on their clothing. "Sheng Fu " means "rising wealth." Father says my skills will make his name true.
    But I do not care why we are wed, only that I am. First wife! I can barely breathe with all the excitement.
    I must go now. He is coming. This ... tonight. I am so scared. But Li Hua, I will endure anything today. Because I am a first wife!
    —Mei Lan

 
     
     
    Half an orange tastes as sweet as a whole one.
    —Traditional Chinese proverb
    ~
    Chapter 2

     
    Lydia felt absolutely wretched. Her head ached. Her lips felt parched. But mostly she just wanted the entire world—including her aching body—to go away. Unfortunately, she had other matters to attend to first. Like using the necessary.
    Now.
    She never would have made it by herself. She barely managed to put her feet over the edge of her bed when a groan escaped her raw throat. Then a miracle happened. A maid appeared at her side, silently assisting her to just where she wanted to go.
    It wasn't until after she was done, sitting back on the bed with a glass of water gently being held to her lips, that Lydia realized the maid was actually a boy. A young man, really. Chinese. With a bland face and a long queue of black hair that fell halfway down his back.
    She would have choked on the water if she hadn't already drained the glass. As it was, she simply