Chapter 2

I thought for a moment. “Then how can you know what someone is thinking?”

What did the people who prayed to me truly desire in their hearts?

Shen Shiqi bit off a candied hawthorn. “Apart from the mouth, the eyes, nose, ears, hands, and feet never lie.”

He leaned toward my ear. “Look at that wine shop. The customer keeps complaining that the wine is bad, but his eyes never leave the jars, and his nose keeps chasing the aroma. He must love that wine.”

I listened intently and nodded again and again. Shen Shiqi led me a few steps farther.

“And look over there at that young man and woman meeting for a match. They aren’t saying a word, but his ears are as red as camellias, and she’s so nervous she keeps twisting her skirt. They must like each other.”

Understanding struck me. “So when you asked for your father to stop meddling, you did not mean only your father. You meant you didn’t want to study. You wanted to run out and play every day without anyone controlling you.”

He looked like a teacher pleased with his pupil. “Excellent, excellent!”

Rubbing his backside, he said, “My grandfather is worse than my father. Father only expects me to reach school on time, but Grandfather insists I pass the provincial and imperial examinations. I’m simply not made for studying.”

Then he cocked his head. “Wait. When did I tell you what I wished for? How did you know?”

Before I could speak, he smacked his forehead. “Right, right. You’re an incense attendant. You must have heard me that day.”

I smiled and let the misunderstanding stand.

“It’s time to go home.” He looked at me hopefully. “Can I come find you again?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

He pointed at my candied hawthorn. “Why aren’t you eating it?”

I smiled. “I’m taking it back to the City God Temple.”

Pity filled his face. “I’ll bring you more often. You don’t have to save this one.”

The truth was that I could not eat it.

I could consume only incense offerings. Other things were mine merely to look at and smell.

But the candied hawthorn was so delicate and lovely that I adored it.

I took it back, placed it on the altar, and climbed into the City Goddess statue to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, a woman was offering incense with her little girl. Drawn by the candied hawthorn, the child rose on tiptoe and reached for it.

Her mother scolded gently, “That is an offering for the City Goddess. You mustn’t touch it.”

The candied hawthorn rolled forward and landed right beside the little girl’s hand.

She picked it up clumsily, bit off one berry with delight, then turned and giggled triumphantly at her mother.

“Very well. The goddess cherishes you.” The woman tapped her daughter’s forehead fondly. “You must come visit the City Goddess often from now on.”

Come often.

Now that I knew how to see the true wishes in people’s hearts, I would fulfill them.

Come often, Shen Shiqi.

Shen Shiqi did come to play with me often.

Following him, I grew more and more familiar with Luojing’s sixteen wards—and with Shen Shiqi himself.

His family opened another shop. His elder brother married a capable wife, and soon that wife was expecting a little niece for him.

On the baby’s one-month celebration, I gave him a pinch of incense ash especially for her.

“Give this to your niece. It will keep her safe.”

Since I learned to perceive people’s true wishes, worshippers had begun crowding the temple again.

But their earlier experiences had probably left them wary. Now everyone made wishes with great care, avoiding anything too vague. Every wish was exceedingly practical.

They even stated their names and home addresses before praying, which made my work much easier.

Shen Shiqi gradually shed his unruliness. He stopped skipping school so readily, and his teachers greatly admired his essays.

“The City Goddess is a good deity after all,” he remarked. “If my grandfather hadn’t stepped in, I would never have discovered my considerable talent for study.”

And so the considerably talented Shen Shiqi prepared to sit the entry-level examinations.

He knelt properly on the cushion. “Before the City Goddess, this believer Shen Shiqi of the Shen residence in Yong’an Ward will soon sit the prefectural examinations. I ask the goddess to bless my brush so that inspiration flows like divine aid.”

He kowtowed three times and produced three sticks of premium aged aloeswood and sandalwood incense.

Blue smoke curled upward. I drew in a deep breath of its sweetness. A woman in red exclaimed beside me, “What a handsome young gentleman! Is he one of your worshippers?”

She was the Matchmaker from the neighboring Yue Lao Temple. “With a face that fine, I ought to tie him a marriage thread.”

I hurriedly stopped her. “No, no. He is praying for academic success. He did not go to the Yue Lao Temple.”

The Matchmaker giggled. “Oh my, little Ah Ying objects. Fine, fine. I won’t arrange anything.”

I pushed her away. “Go play somewhere else, Sister Matchmaker.”

In truth, Shen Shiqi needed no blessing from me to pass.

His family’s silver would bless him quite sufficiently.

They had hired three successful examination graduates as tutors. According to him, he had memorized everything there was to memorize.

When the results were posted, a jubilant procession came to the Shen residence with gongs and drums. Amid the celebration, Shen Shiqi slipped away to fulfill his vow at the temple.

I stopped him. “The City Goddess did nothing in this matter. You passed because you studied well.”

He looked at me earnestly. “You don’t understand. Many people who pray to the City Goddess don’t truly believe she can grant every wish. They come for peace of mind.”

“In the end, what people seek throughout their lives is simply happiness in their hearts.”