SOLVED. Historical fiction: set in ancient China, about an Empress and her 4 childhood friends, all female, that each becomes a doctor(healer)/captain/advisor to the empress/cult leader. Spoilers ahead. [s]

[Hyo-In Son]

When did I read this?
I read this book in 2005 or 2006 in New Zealand. The book was in English, but the names of the characters were Chinese.


The Plot and Characters
The story was set in ancient China, and it described the story of 5 young girls who became friends. The book only very briefly touched on their childhood, and then went on to describe their lives as adults...which ends in tragedy.

Like I've written on the title, the 5 girls consist of :
- the Princess, who grows up to be the Empress. I think she was quite stubborn & cold blooded as an adult. She's the only one alive in the end.
- the wise one with a limp, who grows up to be the Empress' Advisor. She dies in the end in the arms of the Empress.
- the smart & kind one, who grows up to be a Doctor/Healer. She is stoned to death by angry mob.
- the dreamy one, who grows up to be a Cult Leader. She was described to be very dreamy and weak-minded when she was young, and she married the wrong guy when she grew up. I think she's either the leader or the symbol of the cult.
- the sporty one, who grows up to be the Captain of the Empire army. She was close with the dreamy one. I think she died first in the book. Her name started with X...I remember this because she was my favorite character.


Main Storyline
The book started off very lightly, describing how their friendship was formed. I think the Princess met the Advisor-to-be first and demanded her to be friends, and then the book went on to describe how the Captain and the Cult Leader met.

And then the story went onto describe their lives as adults. The Empress ruled the land with an iron fist I think. And there was an uprising from the people trying to overthrow her in the end...but I'm not too sure about this point.

The cult had something to do with the uprising as well - like they fueled people's rage quietly until it all spilled out. The Captain died trying to stop them. She desperately wanted to help the Cult Leader too.

The Doctor/Healer died at the hands of villagers she helped out - stoned to death to be exact. They misunderstood her and accused her of something...and I remember how she tried to defend herself, but a stone hit her on the head & she became unconscious. I was horrified when I read this part.

In the end the Advisor was attacked by the people and she dies in the arms of the Empress. There was a symbolic quote of sort...something like "friendship lasts forever" but less cheesy. This was mentioned in the beginning, when their friendships were formed, and this was also the Advisor's last words & the closing sentence of the book as well. It went something like "Do not cry. I will always be with you, for friendship lasts forever...even when I am gone" and she was trying to comfort the Empress.


So I remember the characters and the basic plot line, but I can't remember their names, the title, or the author. I tried searching for the book using every keyword I could think of but nothing. My only hope now is someone else may have read it & remember the title. Help me out here?

[Becca]

The Secrets of Jin-shei by Alma Alexander?

[Hyo-In Son]

OH MY GOD YES!!! YES!!! Thank you so much!!! Thank you!