It was a gracious compliment and she acknowledged it by bowing low.
"From this moment on," he said and his voice trembled, "you are mine, mine alone, more precious than amber or jade."
From his sleeve he drew an exquisitely carved gold ring, in which were set two large pearls.
"Pearls are the tears of mermaids," he said, as he slipped the ring on her finger. "But they are more than that, they are charms to avert disaster, the only one of the Eight Precious Things that a dragon pursues. No serpent can be transformed into a dragon unless he possesses such a gem."
Lady T'ai Chên smiled with rapture as she held up a graceful hand. She thought: "Nor can a concubine be transformed into an Empress unless she possesses such a gem." However, when she spoke it was in wholehearted admiration.
"It's exquisite. No light is so fascinating as the sheen of pearls."
"Unless it is the light of your eyes."
"And the carvings in the setting are of butterflies."
"Because butterflies are the symbols of conjugal felicity."
"But I cannot wear it," she said, drawing the ring from her finger, "for I am the concubine of your son, Prince Shou."
"No longer," Ming Huang told her. He was annoyed that she should mention a state of affairs, the
transition of which called for delicate handling. "No
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