The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei

by Roy, David Tod

  Manager Fu Ming did his best to placate him, saying, “If you will just have patience for a few days, we will recover the head ornaments for you. And if we fail to do so, we are willing to pay double their worth in compensation.”

  The servant said, “Wait until I report back to my master,” and then went his way.

  As for Yüeh-niang, she:

  Felt worry piled upon worry, and

  Her eyebrows remained contracted.

  After sending a page boy to ask her elder brother Wu K’ai to come consult with her, she suggested to him that he should pull strings on her behalf by speaking to Wu Tien-en and persuading him to drop the case.

  “I’m afraid he is unlikely to respond to any string pulling,” responded Wu K’ai. “The only thing that may move him is a bribe.”

  “It is thanks to us that he obtained his official position in the first place,” said Yüeh-niang. “We gave him a loan of a hundred taels of silver at the time, for which my husband would not even accept a promissory note; and now he is:

  Requiting kindness with enmity.”

  “Sister,” said Wu K’ai, “it is pointless to say that. From time immemorial, he is scarcely the only one to:

  Forget favor and break faith.”

  “Brother,” responded Yüeh-niang, “I can only rely on you to do your best to find a way of handling this. Give him several tens of taels if you must, in order to recover those head ornaments and return them to their owner: thus preventing any further wrangling over it.”

  She then proceeded to offer Wu K’ai a meal, before sending him on his way. When Yüeh-niang saw her elder brother to the gate, by fortunate coincidence, she caught sight of Auntie Hsüeh, who was carrying her box of trinkets and leading a young maidservant, as she passed by on the street.

  Yüeh-niang called her to a halt and asked her, “Auntie Hsüeh, where are you headed? And why have you not come here to visit for so long?”

  “Venerable Lady,” responded Auntie Hsüeh, “that’s a fine way to talk. I’ve been extremely busy the last few days and have had too much to do. The young lady, formerly from our household, has sent jailers or servants to summon me several times, but I have been too busy to go.”

  “Just look at you, Auntie,” said Yüeh-niang. “What nonsense you talk. Since when has she become a young lady?”

  “Right now,” responded Auntie Hsüeh, “she is no longer the young lady, but has been promoted to the status of principal wife.”

  “How has she become a principal wife?” asked Yüeh-niang.

  “Venerable Lady,” responded Auntie Hsüeh, “I guess you don’t know about it yet. It was just her good luck that after she bore him a son, his first

  wife died, and His Honor the commandant moved her into the master suite and made her his legally recognized principal wife, superior in status to his secondary lady, Sun Erh-niang. He has purchased two wet nurses and four maidservants to wait upon her, in addition to which she is served by two former singing girls whom he has deflowered. If she wishes to punish any of them, she subjects them to the rod, and His Honor does not dare to interfere, not wishing to do anything that might anger her. The other day, for some unknown reason, she had Sun Hsüeh-o given a beating, plucked her hair out, and called for me in the middle of the night to take her away, after selling her to me for no more than eight taels of silver. At present, Sun Erh-niang has only one maidservant, named Ho-hua, to wait upon her, while Ch’un-mei has four or five, in addition to the two wet nurses, and still objects that she has too few. Sun Erh-niang doesn’t dare to complain about this but merely addresses her as, ‘Mistress this’ and ‘Mistress that,’ all day long in order to placate her; and the other day, she said to me, ‘Auntie Hsüeh, try to find another young maidservant to wait on me. I regret to say that the one I have isn’t able to do much of anything except tend the stove.’ Things are complicated in those quarters of hers. Today, while I was still asleep early in the morning, she sent a jailer over twice to summon me to her place as quickly as possible. She wanted me to supply her with a pair of ornaments with kingfisher feather inlays and inscribed with images of auspicious clouds, and a silver pin for holding her chignon in place, in the shape of nine phoenixes holding strands of pearls in their beaks, and with pendants of green and red precious stones set in plaques of gold. She gave me the sum of five taels of silver for this purpose, but I have managed to misplace it somewhere and have not yet given her the pieces she ordered. When I go to see her, she is sure to give me a dressing down. Right now, I’m on the way to deliver this maidservant to Sun Erh-niang.”

  “Come back to the rear compound with me,” said Yüeh-niang, “so I can have a look at that ornament with kingfisher feather inlays.”

  So saying, she escorted Auntie Hsüeh back to the parlor in the rear compound and offered her a seat. Auntie Hsüeh then opened her box of trinkets and showed the pieces in question to Yüeh-niang. They were, indeed, exquisitely crafted. The first item was about four fingers wide, which was enough to cover a fret, with its gold and turquoise hues setting each other off, its kingfisher feather inlays protruding, and its back plated with gold. The item with the nine phoenixes holding strands of pearls in their beaks, and its gem-studded pendant plaques, was exceptionally well fashioned.

  Auntie Hsüeh said, “This ornamental piece cost three taels and five mace of silver to make, while the other piece, inscribed with auspicious clouds, cost only one tael and five mace of silver, but I still haven’t located the money she gave me.”

  As they were speaking, whom should they see but Tai-an, who came in and said to Yüeh-niang, “The man who is trying to retrieve those pawned head ornaments has come back again and is out front making a fuss about it. He says that the owner cannot wait any longer to get them, and that if they are still not forthcoming tomorrow, he will hold Manager Fu Ming accountable and will take him off somewhere to settle the matter. Uncle Fu the Second is so upset at the prospect that he has gone home, and the servant of the owner has also departed after delivering his threats.”

  “What is that all about?” asked Auntie Hsüeh.

  Yüeh-niang gave a long sigh and then told Auntie Hsüeh, thus and so, “That slave of ours, P’ing-an, absconded with a set of gold head ornaments and a gilded buckle that someone had deposited in our pawnshop and fled to a brothel in the Southern Entertainment Quarter outside the city where he patronized a pair of prostitutes. He has been arrested by the police chief Wu Tien-en and is being held in the lockup there. The owner has sent someone to redeem the pawned head ornaments, but they are unavailable, so he has been making a fuss in front of the gate. The police chief Wu Tien-en is malevolently trying to shake us down by not letting us retrieve the stolen objects, and threatening our manager with a beating, with an eye to extorting money from us. I have been unable to come up with a solution to the problem. Ever since my husband died:

  Misfortunes and losses have befallen me,

  and I have been taken advantage of by others. It is really hard to take.”

  As she spoke, tears fell profusely from her eyes.

  “My Good Lady,” said Auntie Hsüeh, “There is a road open to you if you do not refuse to take it. If you will write a note to our young lady, I will also explain the situation to her, and she will get His Honor the commandant to issue an order to the police department, which should enable you to retrieve not just one set of head ornaments, but as many as ten, if need be.”

  “Commandant Chou Hsiu is a military officer,” said Yüeh-niang. “I doubt if he has jurisdiction over the police department.”

  “Lady,” responded Auntie Hsüeh, “You may not know it yet, but the Emperor has recently issued an edict conferring a wide range of powers on Commandant Chou. He has the right to call the roll and issue commands to the personnel in charge of the local area, the rivers and canals, the troops and horses, and the stocks of money and grain throughout his jurisdiction. Moreover, the apprehension of bandits and felons both east and west of the Grand Canal is in his hands.
”

  When Yüeh-niang heard this, she said, “If he does actually possess these powers, Auntie Hsüeh, I will indeed trouble you to convey my regards to Sister P’ang Ch’un-mei. Tell her that:

  One guest does not trouble two hosts,

  and ask her to put in a word on my behalf with His Honor Chou Hsiu, requesting that he try to retrieve this set of head ornaments from the police department for me. If you will do so, I will reward you with five taels of silver.”

  “My good Lady,” responded Auntie Hsüeh, “it is not money that motivates me. When I saw how distressed you were just now, I could hardly bear it. Get

  someone to write out a note for you. I don’t need any tea but will go straight to the commandant’s household and speak to the young lady about it. If I am successful, you can give me whatever you want. Even if I am unsuccessful, I will come back and report to you.”

  Yüeh-niang then told Hsiao-yü to provide a serving of tea for Auntie Hsüeh.

  “It’s getting late,” said Auntie Hsüeh. “I don’t need any tea. Just get one of your senior servants to write out a note for you, and I’ll take it with me. You don’t know how busy I am.”

  “I understand,” said Yüeh-niang. “You’ve been out and about for half a day already. Have a pastry before you go.”

  Hsiao-yü then proceeded to set up a table, and lay out a serving of tea and pastries. Yüeh-niang kept her company as she drank her tea, and Auntie Hsüeh gave two pastries to the young maidservant she had with her.

  “How old is this maidservant?” asked Yüeh-niang.

  “She is just eleven this year,” replied Auntie Hsüeh.

  It was not long before Tai-an, in the front compound, finished writing the note; and Auntie Hsüeh, having finished her tea, tucked it into her sleeve, said good-bye to Yüeh-niang, and went out with her box of trinkets. After exiting the gate, and:

  Rounding bends and turning corners,

  she made her way straight to the commandant’s residence.

  Ch’un-mei was still lying on a heated k’ang, not having risen yet, when whom should she see but her senior maidservant Yüeh-kuei, who came in and announced, “Auntie Hsüeh has come to see you.”

  Ch’un-mei then told her junior maidservant Ts’ui-hua to open the casements, so that the sunshine brightly illuminated the gauze covered windows.

  Upon coming inside, Auntie Hsüeh remarked, “Young Lady, I see that you haven’t gotten up yet.”

  She then put down her box of trinkets, got down on her knees, and kowtowed to her.

  “There’s no need for any of that,” said Ch’un-mei. “What are you kowtowing to me for?”

  She then explained, “I’ve been feeling out of sorts and have gotten up later than usual today,” and she went on to ask, “Have you brought those ornaments with inscribed auspicious clouds and nine phoenixes that you have had made for me, or not?”

  “My Lady,” responded Auntie Hsüeh, “those two ornaments took quite a lot of trouble to make. It was only last night that I was able to pick them up from the jeweler’s shop. I was planning to deliver them to you today but did not expect you to send a jailer after them.”

  She then took them out and handed them to Ch’un-mei to look over. Ch’un-mei felt that the ornament with the kingfisher feather inlays and inscribed auspicious clouds was not as striking as she would have liked but put them back in their cardboard box and handed them to Yüeh-kuei to put away.

  She then ordered a serving of tea for Auntie Hsüeh to drink. Auntie Hsüeh then called in the young maidservant she had brought with her and told her to kowtow to the lady.

  “Where is she from?” asked Ch’un-mei.

  “The Second Lady has spoken to me several times,” explained Auntie Hsüeh, “telling me that Ho-hua is only able to cook, and asking me to find another young girl for her, whom she can teach to do needlework. That is why I have brought this youngster with me. She is the daughter of a country family and is only eleven years old this year. As trainable material, with the proper discipline it should be possible to teach her to do whatever is needed.”

  “If you had found her a girl from the city,” remarked Ch’un-mei, “she might have turned out to be cleverer. What do these country girls know? Just the other day, a certain Old Mother Chang tried to sell me two young maidservants from the countryside. One of them was a ten-year-old, and the other eleven; and their names were Sheng-chin and Huo-pao; but neither of them turned out to be any good. Their parents wanted five taels of silver for each of them and were waiting outside to collect the money. I told the go-between to tell their parents to let them stay overnight, so I could test them out, and see how they responded; and have them come back the next day to collect their silver. I insisted on keeping them overnight, and my maidservants, just as though they:

  Didn’t know any better,

  gave them some pork-ball soup and rice gruel to eat. Early the next morning, my maidservants started to kick up a fuss, and I scolded them, saying, ‘What are you making such a fuss about?’ It turned out that Sheng-chin had befouled her bedding with shit, and that Huo-pao had pissed in her pants till they were so stiff with dried urine that they could hardly be removed. It made me want to laugh on the one hand but also gave me the creeps; and when Old Mother Chang came back, I had her take them away.”

  She then went on to inquire, “How much are you asking for this maidservant of yours?”

  “Not much at all,” responded Auntie Hsüeh. “Merely four taels of silver. Her father is planning to enlist in the army.”

  Ch’un-mei then said to Hai-t’ang, “Take her over to the Second Lady’s room. We’ll arrange to pay for her tomorrow.”

  She also said to Yüeh-kuei, “Bring that large flagon of Chin-hua wine, and pour some of it for Auntie Hsüeh in order to fend off the cold. And bring in a box of whatever pastries are available for her to eat. At this early hour in the morning it would never do to douse her with wine on an empty stomach.”

  “Sister Yüeh-kuei,” said Auntie Hsüeh, “don’t pour any wine for me until I’ve finished talking to your mistress. I’ve already had something to drink elsewhere.”

  “Tell me,” said Ch’un-mei, “where have you been drinking?”

  “Just now,” said Auntie Hsüeh, “the First Lady detained me at her place and gave me something to eat and drink. She wept as she told me, thus and so, how the page boy P’ing-an has stolen a set of gold head ornaments that someone had left in the pawnshop, along with a gilded buckle, and run off to amuse himself by sleeping with prostitutes; only to end up being arrested by the local constable, taken to the police station, and forced to endure a beating in the squeezers. The original owner sent someone to retrieve the stolen objects and kicked up a fuss when he was unable to do so. She then sent Manager Fu Ming to try to recover the missing objects from the police station. The police chief, Wu Tien-en, formerly served as a manager in their household, and when her husband was still alive, he enabled him to gain his official position; but now he has turned against them ungratefully and subjected her page boy to the squeezers, in the hope of getting him to implicate her in some sort of misconduct. He not only refused to relinquish the stolen objects without being paid for them but also threatened Manager Fu Ming with a beating, which frightened him so that he is hiding out in his home. She asked me to come convey her respects to you. She doesn’t know whether His Honor has any jurisdiction over the police station in question but hopes that you will take pity on her, since she is now all alone in the world, and ask His Honor if he can do anything about it. If he succeeds in recovering the stolen objects so she can return them to their original owner, the First Lady will come in person to express her thanks to you.”

  “Do you have a note explaining the situation with you?” asked Ch’un-mei. “It doesn’t matter though; His Honor is out on duty right now, but when he comes home tonight, never fear, I will speak to him about it.”

  “I do have an explanatory note from her,” said Auntie Hsüeh, as she pulled
it out of her sleeve.

  When Ch’un-mei had finished reading it, she casually placed it on the windowsill.

  Before long, Yüeh-kuei brought in a tray with four dishes of delicacies, and, taking up a large silver goblet, proceeded to fill it to overflowing with wine, and present it to Auntie Hsüeh.

  “I can’t handle a thing as large as that,” said Auntie Hsüeh.

  “It’s not as large as that thing of your husband’s,” Ch’un-mei said with a laugh. “Since you’re able to handle that all right, why can’t you handle this? No matter what, I want you to handle it for me. If you refuse, I’ll tell Yüeh-kuei to hold your nose and pour it down your throat for me.”

  “You’d better let me have some pastries first,” said Auntie Hsüeh, “in order to provide a lining for my stomach.”

  “Old Mother,” responded Ch’un-mei, “all you do is tell lies. You just told me that you had been given something to eat where you came from, and now you claim that you need to line your stomach.”

  “The two pastries I had there,” said Auntie Hsüeh, “were not enough to last until now.”

  “Auntie Hsüeh,” said Yüeh-kuei, “if you will drink this large goblet of wine, I will give you some pastries to eat. Otherwise, my mistress will say I am of no use and is likely to give me a beating.”

  Auntie Hsüeh had no recourse but to let her pour the entire goblet of wine down her throat, which gave her the sensation that:

  Her heart was hopping like a little fawn.

  Ch’un-mei pursed her lips and told Hai-t’ang to pour out another goblet of wine and give it to her to drink.

  Auntie Hsüeh pushed it aside and said, “My Good Lady, I can’t drink another drop.”