A Magic Steeped In Poison Quotes
"They say you can spot a true shénnóng-shī by their hands—palms colored by the stain of the earth, fingertips scarred from thorns, a permanent crust of soil and blood darkening the crescents of their nails."
"Now, all I can think is, These are the hands that buried my mother."
"Soon the poison will take her, as it did our mother."
"This box is a map of her. Her teachings, her stories, her magic."
"The greatest shénnóng-shī can see the future unfolding, wavering in the steam over a well-brewed cup."
"She is the Lady of the South, who dropped a single leaf from her beak into the cup of the First Emperor, and gifted humans the pleasure of tea."
"Distilled into liquid contained in the palms of two hands, offered as a blessing. Here I am. Drink, and be well."
"The gods have not taken it away as punishment for my neglect."
"I’ll tell Father in the morning you are visiting our aunt. That will give you some time before he notices you are gone."
"She’s buried here, among the trees. My breath catches when I notice a shimmer of white among the green buds. The first blossom of the season, barely opening in bloom."
"Grief has a taste, bitter and lingering, but so soft it sometimes disguises itself as sweetness."
"The words I have almost learned by heart: By Imperial Decree, Princess Li Ying-Zhen welcomes you to a celebration and remembrance of the dowager empress, to be honored through a festival to seek a rising star. All shénnóng-tú are invited to the challenge, and the next shénnóng-shī to serve in the court will be decided. The winner of the competition will be granted a favor from the princess herself."
"If I could take the poison inside of her and ingest it myself, I would do so gladly. I would do anything to ease her suffering."
"Don’t let the Banished Prince catch you in the dark."
"The stars are not as peaceful as they appear. The astronomers are tasked with deciphering their celestial travels, prophecies that predict the rise and ruin of great families and kingdoms. They burn with as much ferocity as our sun."
"The emperor sends his regrets that he is unable to attend. He will be eagerly awaiting the results in his chambers and will personally bless the winner when the time comes."
"It was in every cup of tea she brewed, a ritual carried out with reverence."
"I’ll be thinking of you when they make the proclamations."
"She used to say the tongue needs a little sweetness. It teaches the heart how to love."
"You cannot commune with the gods in silence."
"No more blessed than the fragrant scent of green."
"You’re here!" She shoots up out of her seat, her spoon falling to the table with a clatter. "You’re bleeding," she tells me.
"We refuse to be intimidated by those who believe the great emperor will cower before their attempts at disruption and disharmony."
"Please, stand." He grasps my arm and helps me up, but his next words send a trickle of cold down my spine. "I hesitate to call it a kindness. You will be placed under careful scrutiny. One more misstep, and you will be thrown into the dungeons."
"I wish I could. I don’t know how to send messages through walls or speak to someone in dreams. It may be something a truly powerful shénnóng-shī is able to do, but I have never learned it."
"I thought you wanted me to come back." He looks down at me, already wary. "Will you finally tell me your name?"
"Why can’t you make everyone strong and young?" Qing’er blurts out with excitement. "Wouldn’t that solve all our problems? Wouldn’t Dàxī be the most powerful kingdom in all the world?"
"It’s been a long time since I’ve had even an hour like that. No expectations. Without worry. It meant a lot to me."
"Are you the Shadow?" The magic works itself into my voice, making it low and breathy, like someone else is speaking through me. As if I am truly calling down the gods.
"I had hoped we would meet again under better circumstances."
"Share a drink with me then, so I can thank the person who saved my life."
"You will not drink before you, Highness."
"You speak of loyalty to my father. Do you think I would give you poison?"
"I remember my place," he concedes. "I only wish to speak with my uncle."
"Family. My own family will not drink something poured by my hand."
"I will remind you that you were banished, told never to return to Jia under threat of death."
"It is a matter of life and death, Princess."
"You use words like ‘duty’ and ‘loyalty,’ and yet you forget where you come from."
"I wonder what the people of Jia will think of a regent who is hiding the death of an emperor."
"Lǜzhou is not a place where shénnóng-shī care to visit."
"I’m just a girl from Sù. Who will believe me, even if I try to tell them?"
"When she comes into power, her advisers will suggest she rid herself of her opponents."
"We hope she will be different, or else we will fight to defend what is ours."
"Anything is possible now that the emperor is dead."
"You stand before the Hall of Eternal Light."
"I feel like I’m about to be roasted for a feast."
"Her Royal Highness, Princess Ying-Zhen!"
"Will you risk your life for the chance to serve Dàxī?"
"The emperor requires a shénnóng-shī who will be able to assess danger from delegates and tributes by reading a room."
"You will be given enough tea leaves for a single cup, enough for you to tell truth from lie… without a word being uttered."
"The emperor has ascended! Long will he be remembered!"
"The stars have different plans for you."
"Your mother fled this place and told me she would never return."
"The emperor was furious, but the empress was understanding."
"You are halfway through the competition, girl. You are just as intelligent as your mother."
"You are the symbol of her strength. Be careful. Don’t get yourself killed in the process."
"I didn’t recognize you until now. But you wouldn’t know anything about how valuable this tea is, being from such a place."
"The emperor requires a shénnóng-shī who will be able to assist him in court, who will be able to assess danger from delegates and tributes by reading a room."
"Do you think I am unaware of the reports? Do you think it pleases me to know my people are suffering?"
"The emperor has arranged for a suitable match for Yiting."
"You are the first girl who has ever greeted me with a swift kick to the shins."
"I’ll rescue you ten times over if I will be kissed like that every time."
"I waited and waited for you to surface, then when you didn’t, I thought I went in too late."
"The water is sweet on my lips and tongue as it drowns me, the lightest sense of bubbles on the back of the throat."
"I am beginning to understand that history is never so simple. Not the story of my parents, not the story of Kang’s parents, or the two of us… I quickly bury the thought, knowing it is something dangerous, something I do not dare to imagine."
"He did everything in his power to destroy my family, but he was also a capable ruler in some aspects. He could have executed us all, but instead he sent us into exile, against the recommendations of his own advisers."
"My birth father was a commander with the Kăiláng battalion, who died on the battlefield. My adopted mother took me in, ensured that I knew I was wanted. Protected me even when there were those in her own household who were offended at my presence."
"I would ask for the head of the Shadow if I could."
"The women of the Emerald Isles are a fierce lot. They know how to fish with a spear and dive for pearls as well as the men."
"Someone is killing the people of Dàxī with the intent to spread unrest. If you want to blame someone, then blame those who distributed the poison. Blame the officials, blame the ministries. But don’t blame yourself."
"It’s not your fault," he says. "The emperor, the ruler of Dàxī, surrounded by all his guards, could not prevent his own death at the hands of someone who wished him ill. You could not have known about the poison."
"You have to choose: your plan, or her life?"
"We trust the emperor to provide. We believe the Court of Officials will protect us."
"I will do her no harm. No more than what has already been done, anyway."
"If you want her to live, get out of my way."
"A life for a life. If I heal her now, you will owe me a favor."
"If such a stone exists, don’t you think the emperor would have used it to save his empress or the dowager empress?"
"The only way to stop it is to discover the antidote."
"She challenged him to see who could stay underwater the longest. He lost."
"If my sister dies, I’ll have nothing left."
"The people at court… the ones you said were still loyal to your father… Did they tell you how the emperor died?"
"The longer you wait, the deeper the poison will enter her body, and the harder it will be to save her."
"If they come to harm, it is not only your position in the competition you should worry about, but what sort of punishment you will receive."
"It tastes of cruelty and power, not so different a flavor from the crow’s head."
"This magic, a dark and seductive pull, calls on me to use it against another, to make them feel the pain I felt."
"The magic turns on the wielder tenfold if using it for harm."
"A bright moon mirrored in the sea. As round as the wheel in the sky."
"We wanted to show them there are shénnóng-tú outside Jia. To prove them wrong. Here is our chance!"
"The poets call them 'Sleeping Beauties,' because they open with the midday heat and then close at night when the air cools."
"Who knows what she could bring forth with her magic."
"The room is suddenly stifling. I brush by one of the officials, mumbling an apology."
"You stand on trial before us, representatives of the court of Dàxī, a role given to us by the divine, to face your crimes."
"I have given everything I possibly could, and still it wasn’t enough."
"An auspicious time for an execution. An auspicious time for murder."
"After that first surge of hysterical laughter, my mind is now eerily calm."
"I have not been paraded in front of the citizens of Jia and given the humiliation of a public trial."
"My loyalty rests with the ruler who will protect their people from harm."
"Do I follow the princess, knowing the brilliant minds at Yěliŭ may have the answers that will lead me to the antidote? Or do I listen to my father’s pleas and return home?"
"The poison made her confused, made it difficult to focus."
"I promised you I would come back, didn’t I?"