The toy figurine was made roughly, with a twisted and frightening face and a few drops of blood on it. The characters “Xu Zhaopei, The Concubine of Xiangdong” were scrawled onto it in charcoal. What’s more, each character was stuck with several embroidery needles more than an inch long, and lots of embroidery needles were closely inserted around the heart. “Ha ha.” I couldn’t help laughing. “Is somebody jealous of me already?” “What? Concubine, how could you still be in the mood to laugh?” Mingzhu was puzzled about my att.i.tude. “Mingzhu, don’t worry, at least it shows that I still have the ability to make others jealous. That’s why I’m treated like that,” I said causally. “Concubine, are you really not afraid?” “Of course. A straight foot is not afraid of a crooked shoe. Mingzhu, what do you think? In addition, do you know what this red bean is made of?” Now that I had discovered the sorcery of being cursed, I naturally knew the secret of this red bean. “I don’t know. Is there any necessary connection between this red bean and sorcery?” “Mingzhu, you’re right. Everyone else knows only a small part, but they don’t know any more. Since it is a kind of sorcery, the person who uses it is bound to be the one who wants to succeed the first time. Fortunately, I have read some books, so I know how mysterious this dirty thing is.” “Concubine!” “Although Liu Yu of the former Song Dynasty overthrew the regime of Jin Dynasty, he also used this kind of sorcery in that year, in order to murder Ma Dewen. It is said that he prepared 365 red beans and put them in a bowl. Every day he would chant incantations and pick out a red bean from the bowl. It is said that after 365 days, the person who was cursed would bleed to death.” “What . . . ? What happened next?” “Unfortunately, he acted with undue haste, and he sent someone to kill Ma Dewen before the time came. Otherwise, we could verify the effectiveness of this sorcery.” I talked continuously and pleasantly, as if enumerating my family valuables. “But there’s only one red bean.” “This red bean would have been picked up on New Year’s Eve.” “Why?” “On that day, everyone in the world is celebrating reunion, and all of the G.o.ds will have returned to their places. Whether immortals or ordinary people, they will relax their vigilance. Before the early morning of the first day of the new year, as long as the red bean is placed in the nearest place of the person who has been cursed, it will surely be effective.” On New Year’s Eve, I was playing the pitch pot game and reciting poems in the palace, which naturally left a chance for someone to make their move. “That’s it. Concubine, you are really conversant with ancient and modern learning. I really admire you.” “Mingzhu, you don’t know.” I slowed down and continued, “Sorcery has always been absolutely forbidden in the palace. Unfortunately, it is absolutely indispensable for emperors to compete for power and money. What’s more, the struggle between concubines became even more terrible because of it. This sorcery was especially popular in the palace of the Han Dynasty. Empress Chen, Emperor Wu’s wife, once hated Wei Zifu, who was favored by Emperor Wu and used sorcery, so she was dethroned. More tragically, Empress Wei was finally forced to commit suicide because she was involved in a terrible sorcery with the prince. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, because Empress Dou of Emperor Ming hated the concubine Song, who was favored because of her child. So she slandered the concubine Song, saying that she wanted to curse her with sorcery, and finally the concubine Song was forced to commit suicide. Empress Yin in the Eastern Han Dynasty was also jealous of the concubine Deng, who was greatly favored by the emperor. So she murdered her with her grandmother. At last, she was deposed and died of depression.” “I have gained a lot of knowledge.” Mingzhu’s face gradually recovered. “Alas, in fact, the most terrible thing is not sorcery, but the hearts of the people.” “Yes, Concubine, I know you are very kind. But don’t you want to pursue it?” “I don’t believe that it can really invite me to see Sakyamuni through such a dirty method. Ha ha, my heart is like a mirror. What can tarnish me in this world?” “Yes, Concubine, I understand! I’ll pick it up and throw it away.” “Mingzhu, you still don’t understand.” I shook my head. “Put it back where it used to be. A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder. There is no discreditable affair in my heart. Naturally, I’m not afraid of those evil spirits.” “But, this. . . ” Mingzhu was still hesitating. “That person should be near us, and I believe that she will come again. If you take it away, you’ll make her alert.” I was a concubine, and I absolutely couldn’t stand being bullied at will by others. “Concubine, I really understand this time.” Mingzhu nodded. I forced a helpless smile. In this woman’s battlefield, if I could only defend and not attack, sooner or later I would die at the hands of others. Unfortunately, my heart was not tough enough. “In addition, you must keep your mouth shut as that of a jar and never let anyone know, especially Bing,” I warned. If Bing knew about it, she would never allow the evil sorcery that endangered me to appear so abruptly around me. “Yes, Concubine, I’ll obey your command.” Mingzhu’s voice was so low that I could hardly hear it.