“There are thousands of other women to choose from. You understand me? And this court runs on ambition alone.”

“You judge the gods by who bows down at their altars?" Ai Ling asked.”

“A plate of roast duck, steamed dumplings, spicy noodles with beef gravy, pickled cucumbers, stewed tongue and eggs if you have them, cold please, and sticky rice pearls, too,' Ai Ling said, before the server girl could open her mouth. "I don't know what he wants." Ai Ling nodded toward Chen Yong.'I'm not sure I have enough coins to order anything more,' he said, laughing.”

“The punishment of vertical rending was given to those who had destroyed marriages to satisfy their own lust.”

“expect nothing, be pleasantly surprised.”

“Your fishy has appeared to have died of thirst. Have a band-aid, and come back to see me in two weeks.”

“Being in love is not actually fear, but the difference between being in a haunted house alone and being with someone: walking through it alone is terrifying, but then you bump into another terrified person, you both look at each other and think, Hey, you're here too. You're still terrified but its OK because you're not terrifed alone.”