Discovery

“Master Wenhao, if I may.”

“Your Excellency, what a pleasure to see you here. To what do I owe the honor?”

“I would like you to meet your new apprentice. Her name is Qinlian. She has no formal training, but as you can see, she’s young and can certainly benefit from your vast experience. I’m also told she has a natural talent for painting the human form.”

Certainly a creative way to put it. At least it was not as embarrassing as saying I’d been drifting from brothel to brothel since I was seven, making a living painting prostitutes who took pity on me.

That was my first time visiting Master Wenhao’s workshop, and everything was very distracting.

Peaceful landscapes, monsters and battles I had only ever heard of in songs, and countless other studies lined the walls. I could also see hundreds of brushes, jars of colorful pigments, and cabinets filled with bolts of silk and stacks of pristine xuan paper.

“Forgive me, High Minister Decheng. I did not know I was being assigned an apprentice, let alone a girl. In all my years as an artist, I have never taught a woman, and I cannot guarantee they have the sensibility required for this craft,” the artist remarked, as though I weren’t there.

The High Minister laughed under his breath.

“I suspected you might say that, but this is not your decision. It is a royal dictate. Miss Bai Qinlian here was just appointed Court Painter by the King himself.

“We appreciate your commitment so far, Master Wenhao, but starting today, it is Miss Bai who will be in charge of all paintings related to the newly selected Orchids. That will give you more time to train her while also focusing on your military and courtly paintings.

“You were not expecting to paint King Shen Zhilan’s harem the way you painted his father’s, I hope,” the High Minister added. "You're too old for that now..."

“I understand, Your Excellency.”

“However, Master Wenhao, I do respect you deeply for all your years of service, so I brought some of the girl’s paintings with me. They will be enough to convince you. And please forgive the state of the paintings—I have no doubt her future works will shine even brighter with access to your more exquisite materials.”

Although we got off on the wrong foot, Master Wenhao would become more than a mentor to me. Over the years, he became the closest thing I have ever had to a father.

***

I was only fourteen years old when I first visited the Royal Palace, something a girl like me could never have dreamed of. And not because I lacked ambition, but because it was difficult to dream of anything when the floor was cold and rats were something you had to watch out for.

But after being introduced to my new teacher, Master Wenhao, my next stop was my very own room.

It was supposed to be my first night feeling like a human being; washing up before dinner—and actually having dinner—sleeping in a comfortable bed… but I was far too excited and nervous to sleep. By the time I finally drifted off, it was almost time for my audience with the High Minister.

A while later, there we were, walking through the gardens of what seemed like a dreamscape.

“Miss Bai, this is the Shrine of Virtues, the home of the Seven Orchids and from now on, your new workspace,” High Minister Decheng explained. “I understand that you might not be familiar with what they represent, so please pay close attention as everything related to them will now be of vital importance to you:

“For generations, every King of Yunzhou has had his own harem, each of the Seven Orchids representing a virtue that will later on be passed down to the future queen. These are Benevolence, Righteousness, Loyalty, Courage, Wisdom, Integrity, and Temperance.

“But you see, Miss Bai,” the High Minister added, stopping in his tracks and looking me straight in the eye. “While you’re expected to paint these beautiful women and their encounters with the King, your task is a little more complex than that…

“If you’ll follow me…”

Whatever a high-ranking court official might ask of me, I was in no position to question it. After all, for the first time in my life, I could go to sleep knowing I would wake up the next morning.

Nevertheless, I was not expecting what followed.

In one of the patios, King Shen Zhilan was waiting for us, feeding fish in a pond. He was tall and muscular, yet his features were surprisingly delicate, with eyes as blue as the sky and dark hair longer than mine.

In hindsight, I should have shown him proper reverence, but panic got the best of me.

Anyone else would have been imprisoned or executed immediately for such a display of disrespect. In my case, both men simply overlooked the offense.

“Are you the painter?” the king said.

“She is, Your Majesty,” the High Minister replied before I could think of what to say. “I brought Miss Bai Qinlian here to show her around and properly explain her new tasks. That is also why I asked you to join us, so we can address the… more important details. My apologies for keeping you waiting.”

The young king didn’t seem fazed.

“Then I suppose my minister here has already told you about this shrine and the Seven Orchids. Is there nothing that catches your attention?”

To be honest, absolutely everything about my new circumstances caught my attention, but surely none of my answers would be what the King actually had in mind. The things that fascinated me most were probably of no importance to someone of his stature.

“Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I fear I don’t know how to answer your question.”

King Shen glanced at the HIgh Minister for a moment, then continued tossing grains to the fish.

“Qinlian, is that correct?” he asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Miss Qinlian, other than the three of us, the only living creatures in this shrine are the carp in this pond. And if my seven maidens were responsible for feeding them, I’m afraid it would soon be as empty as their chambers.

Somehow, I hadn’t noticed how empty the shrine was. I was still trying to make sense of my new surroundings, and I suppose the place was large enough to make seven people seem insignificant. Still, now that the King had pointed it out, it seemed rather obvious.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” the king followed. “Any woman from the realm, or even from beyond the oceans, would be glad of joining my harem.

He was probably right. And I dare say, even men would be eager to stand by his side, given the opportunity.

“But for reasons only the gods know, and unlike my father and his father before him, I’m far more interested in fine arts and warcraft than I am in the pleasures of the flesh.

“So here’s my offer to you, Miss Bai. I’ll be straightforward, as I would rather leave no room for misunderstandings:

“I need a painter with enough imagination to bring the Seven Orchids to life and convince anyone who might doubt them that my harem is real, as it has been for generations.

“I may be the King, but Yunzhou is above my name and personal tastes. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I understand.”

I didn’t.

Even for a girl from the slums like me, with no education to speak of, stories of kings having everything within their reach were an everyday occurrence, especially when told through the envious eyes of commoners. Glory, fortune… and the pleasure of bedding whoever they pleased.

“And how should these maidens look, Your Majesty?” I asked innocently.

“Do you think I care?” he replied almost dismissively. “It's up to you. Paint yourself as one of the Orchids, if you wish. If you make sure they are worthy of a king, that's more than enough for me.”

“The reason we recruited you, Miss Bai, is because your experience as an artist goes beyond simply knowing how to wield a brush. Master Wenhao is no doubt a skilled painter, but you spent years drawing naked prostitutes and watching them engage in all sorts of things. While not a sight any child should have been exposed to, I cannot deny that it is exactly what we need,” High Minister Decheng interrupted.

“And who knows? Maybe being close to King Shen will finally awaken his lust for women,” the old man added with a smirk.

Of course, it was not a joke the king appreciated. It brought out the worst in him.

“Let me be clear,” the King said as he approached me for the first time. “The whole scheme depends on you, even though you’re nothing but a whore painter. You’ll have a home, fine clothes, food prepared especially for you, and all the comforts befitting a noblewoman.

“You’ll even have access to painting lessons with Master Wenhao and all the materials you need. That seems to be what you enjoy doing, and you’ve had a miserable life so far, so I don’t see why you’d turn it down…

“But if, for some mysterious reason, you were to refuse,” the King whispered threateningly, his voice barely audible beside my ear, “no one will think twice before killing you.”

What the High Minister said next was no less threatening, so I could only look down..

“To be more accurate, if someone outside these walls were to discover the secret, your head will be the first to roll in a long list of victims. You and I, Miss Bai, but also the pleasure house owner we pay weekly to make it look as if you were recruited to work in the farms. Even Master Wenhao.

“King Shen and our entire realm would become the laughingstock of the continent, and it wouldn’t be long before other kingdoms dared to attack us. Yunzhou is a strong nation, but even we would not withstand a combined siege.”

Suddenly, the thought of going hungry or facing the bitter winters without a roof over my head didn’t seem quite so terrible anymore.

To the High Minister, I was a young woman who might sooner or later stir King Shen’s carnal instincts. To the King, I was a means of giving shape to his illusion.

To both of them, I was an insignificant tool.

“Think about it, Miss Bai Qinlian,” the King said as he took my hands in his. “Please give me your final answer before the sun goes down.”

There was not much to think about, as my only other option was death—and with me, the only person who had ever sheltered me and put food on my table.

Still, there was something about King Shen Zhilan I couldn’t quite put into words. To this day, I'm still not sure if it was his looks, or the contradiction between his gentleness and his coldness. All I know is that I found myself considering my new role as a carp in a luxury pond.

Maybe highborn girls dream of marrying a glorious king and ruling beside him.

But me? A poor nobody? I never would have dreamed of becoming a Court Painter with an entire kingdom resting on my shoulders.