Secret of a Thousand Beauties Read Online Free Page B

after the bath you can sleep in my room. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to eat.”
    After she left, I took off my clothes and got in the wooden tub. As I splashed the hot water over my bare skin, I sighed. Tears, as hot as the water, glided down my cheeks. What had I done? What would happen to me living with this group of woman embroiderers, all complete strangers? I scrubbed hard at the dirt that accumulated during my escape, hoping I’d also scrub off any remaining bad luck from the accursed wedding to an equally accursed ghost reincarnated as a cock!
    When finished, I dried myself and put on the cotton top and pants. Purple was already waiting outside the bathroom. Without a word, she led me to her room and I collapsed onto her small cot. As soon as I entered my dream village, my ghost husband appeared. With a blurred face, dangling arms, and no feet, he stared hard at me, looking mournful.
    “Wife, why have you abandoned me in the yin world, it’s freezing here.”
    I answered defiantly, “You’re not my husband but a ghost wandering in the yin world in search of victims. I’m not your wife, but a living person. So leave me alone, or . . . you’d better watch out!”
    I didn’t know where I got the courage to talk to a ghost like this—what if he was a bloodthirsty, vengeful one? Then I’d try my best to be an equally vengeful human!
    But he didn’t budge. “Dear wife, have some mercy, life here is very lonely and miserable. So please . . .”
    Wah, a ghost intimidated by a human, a woman. I almost burst out laughing but suppressed myself.
    “Please, my ass! Just get lost, won’t you?”
    Miraculously, he did, scurrying away on his nonexistent feet.
    I woke up weary and chilled. Now awake, I thought that if my “husband” decided to visit me again, I’d better be nice to him, just in case. After all, everybody knows it is not smart to offend a ghost. I also decided I had better get along with everyone in my new home. If there was any mishap, I might find myself joining my “husband” in the yin world. Depressed by this prospect, I fell back into a deep, troubled sleep.
    I didn’t know how long I’d slept, but in my still groggy state, I heard someone push open the door. It was a smiling Purple.
    “It’s already six-thirty in the evening. Poor girl, you slept the whole day; you must be exhausted. Leilei and I have prepared some good dishes. Now come and have dinner.”
    She took my hand and led me to the living room and the long wooden table now covered with steaming plates of food. Everyone was staring at me as if I’d just returned from the world of the dead. After we sat down, I took the chance to get a good look at the house. Embroideries depicting landscapes, animals, birds, and lucky sayings hung on the four walls. Some were elaborate, others simple, but all looked refined and skillfully executed. One small table was filled with embroidering supplies—piles of fabric, paper on which faint drawings were traced, scissors, round wooden frames, bamboo baskets overflowing with spools of thread in a rainbow of colors, and other objects unfamiliar to me.
    Against one wall was a wooden shelf with cubby holes crammed with more thread. On the opposite wall was an altar bearing a white Guan Yin statue, before which were placed offerings of tea, fruit, and flowers. The house seemed to be quite spacious, with several small rooms adjoining where we sat. A narrow staircase led up to another floor, which I guessed must be Aunty Peony’s private quarters.
    After I scrutinized the house, I examined my sisters as unobtrusively as possible. While Purple was thin and frail, Leilei was curvaceous with sharp, sparkling eyes. Though she was pretty, I was put off by her harsh look and sarcastic expression. In its own way, each of the women’s faces, even Little Doll’s, seemed to conceal a bitter story. I sighed inside.
    Strangely, the oldest of the group, Aunt Peony, seemed to me the most beautiful. Her