by Mingmei Yip
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
I was looking at the remains of my qin, now miraculously found. It must have come with the two pieces of jewelry.
Ironically Ruddy Face, an antique dealer, was too ignorant to recognize an antique from the Ming dynasty. I caressed the instrument's still smooth surface, lost in memories of Pearl's teaching and of our life together.
Then I heard Ruddy Face's worried voice streaming through the door. "Miss, are you all right in there?"
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. "Yes. I'm fine," I said, then opened the door and stepped out.
He looked puzzled when he saw the splintered wood cradled in my arm.
I spoke before he had a chance to ask. "Can you sell me this?"
He let out a hearty laugh. "But what do you want this junk for?" Seeing that I was upset, he put on a flattering smile. "Miss, if you like it, it's yours. Our new year's gift."
"You're very kind."
"The man who sold us the jewelry left this in the store and he never came back for it. So I decided to put it in the bathroom. See," he pointed to the gin's resonance box, "it's perfect to store soap and other odds and ends." He cast me a curious glance. "But why do you want it?"
"Oh, I just like to collect old wood."
When I was back in my hotel room, I carefully cleaned the instrument, found the strings, which were still deep inside the resonance box where I'd put them for my escape, then stretched them on the soundboard. Since the qin had absorbed so much humidity, the sound was muted. Nevertheless, I was eager to play: "Remembering an Old Friend," "Lament Behind the Long Gate," "Three Variations on the Plum Blossom" .. .
The jewelry store incident set back my schedule three days during which I did nothing but play the qin while wearing Pearl's diamond ring and jade bracelet. Not until the fourth day was I able to bring my attention back to the reason I was in Shanghai. That afternoon, I soaked in the bathtub, then carefully applied makeup, put on a silk dress, and went for high tea at the rooftop restaurant. The young waiter was so delighted to see me again that he picked up my gloved hand and lifted it to his lips!
When I was performing my ritual of sipping tea, shooting flirtatious glances, and planning murder, I spotted a familiar figure hurrying toward the exit. It was Mama's maid Little Red! I asked my waiter to bring her to my table.
When Little Red saw me, her mouth dropped open as if she'd just run into a ghost in broad daylight. "Miss Precious Orchid! Where have you been? What are you doing here?!"
My waiter pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit down. Little Red, having never experienced such imperial treatment, awkwardly dumped her bottom on the chair, then knocked down the small crystal sugar bowl.
As she was about to stoop down to pick up the bowl, I rested a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Little Red, please let the waiter take care of that."
But she was still fidgeting, so I cast her a sharp glance. "Stop that, Little Red."
After the waiter finished cleaning the floor and the table, I asked for another order of tea and cakes.
Little Red was still panting from excitement, or fear. "Miss Precious Orchid, I can't stay long. I'm here to deliver a letter to one of Peach Blossom's guests."
"It's all right. If you're late, just tell Mama that you ran into me."
Her eyes widened as large as two quail eggs. "Oh, no, then you'll be in big big trouble! They've been looking for you everywhere! Mama keeps saying that if she finds you, she'll . . ." She stopped in midsentence to study me.
"She will what?"
Instead of replying to my question, she said, "Miss Precious Orchid, you look so beautiful and rich."
"Thank you. Now tell me, Mama said she will what?"
"She will whip you till your skin comes off!"
Just then the waiter came back to lay down a silver tray. After he arranged the food and drinks on the table and left, I said to Little Red, "Relax. Now eat and drink your tea."
She did. Noisily. All the foreign customers riveted their eyes on us.
When finally, like a gust of wind, she had swept away the last morsel of food and gulped down the last drop of tea, I said, "Little Red, now please listen very carefully to what I say."
She nodded, a bit of raisin on her lip synchronizing with her head's movements. I reached to pluck off the raisin. "I want you to take a message for me. When you go back to Peach Blossom, tell Mama you saw me and ask her to meet me here at this restaurant tomorrow afternoon at three-"
"But Miss Precious Orchid, they'll put you in the dark room! "
I glared at her to stop her from yelling. "No, they won't."
"They will! Miss Precious Orchid, please leave Shanghai as quickly as possible! You've always been nice to me, so please don't make me tell Mama that I saw you."
"Little Red, believe me; I know what I'm doing and I won't be in trouble."
"Are you sure?"
"Little Red, don't you remember that I'm a ming ji and have many important customers?"
She still looked too upset to respond.
I went on, "When you go back to Peach Blossom, just tell Mama and De that I have some extremely important documents to show them. And they have to come here, for I don't want to risk losing the papers. Unless they're willing to take responsibility for the loss."
She nodded. I changed the subject and asked her about Spring Moon and Aunty Ah Ping.
"Ah Ping is the same, only after you disappeared she stopped talking completely. I mean she doesn't even make sounds. But her cooking is better than ever." She paused to pick up a crumb of bread on the table and pop it into her mouth. "But Spring Moon. . . it's bad news."
I felt a jolt inside. "What happened?"
"She ruined her face by poking it with a burning chopstick."
"Oh my heaven, why did she do this?"
"Don't you know that she'd always been envious of your dimples? So after both you and Red Jade left, she thought it should be her turn to become a ming j: She especially wanted to be like you, that's how she ruined her face."
"Is she still in Peach Blossom?"
"No, Mama and De sold her to another prostitution house."
"Do you know which one?"
She shook her head. "I only know it's in Qinghe Lane."
Qinghe Lane was the lowest of all the pleasure districts.
"Anyway, I heard she also caught the willow plague."
I sighed, how sad for my innocent friend to end up with a disfigured face and a sexual disease. Then I thought of my parrot. "What happened to Plum Blossom; did anyone adopt her?"
"One time when Red Jade came back to Peach Blossom to visit, Mama gave it to her as a gift."
I was horrified that my beloved pet had ended up with Pearl's bitterest enemy. Would Red Jade care for the parrot tenderly as I had? Or just let the pet wither away while she basked in the applause of her admirers?
Little Red's voice rescued me from my nightmare. "Miss Precious Orchid, thank you very much for your kindness, but I really have to leave now."
"Of course, but one last question, how's business in Peach Blossom?"
She frowned. "Not very good."
"How come?"
"Haven't you heard? The government has been trying to wipe out all prostitution houses in the International Settlement!" She plunged on, "It's only under Police Chief Che and some powerful customers' protection that Peach Blossom, Temple of Supreme Happiness, Sleeping Flower Pavilion, and a few others are still surviving.
I sighed. I'd have never imagined that someday these elegant pavilions would be on the decline, or even gone. "Little Red, now you better go. But don't forget my message to Mama and De."
She nodded, then hurried away, her thick braid jerking like a frightened viper struggling in midair.
I sipped my tea and reflected on the strange workings of Karma. Mine, like everyone's, was a mixture of good and bad. Now, would it allow me to attain my final goal of avenging Baba? And if so, would that be the result of a good deed
in a former life-or a bad one? Would there be some good Karma left over for me to escape, and even to have some happiness in the future? But life had taught me how little point there is to trying to anticipate what will come.
The next afternoon, I spent hours preparing myself for the rendezvous with my old oppressors. I decided to wear a Western dress. If I wore a Chinese gown, no matter how elaborately embroidered and seamlessly tailored, it would only remind Fang Rong and Wu Qiang that I had been, or still was, a prostitute. But Western dress, exotic and aristocratic, would confuse them. They would go crazy trying to guess my present status-whether I had accumulated a huge fortune, become the kept woman of an extremely powerful warlord, or even like the legendary ming ji Golden Flower, ended up an ambassador's wife and the mistress of a commander in chief. The more puzzled Mama and De were about my background, the more intimidated they'd feel.
The first step was to deflate their egos while inflating mine.
I studied my reflection in the mirror. The pink dress was elaborately laced at the neck and cuffs and tailored tightly at the waist to accentuate my slender figure. My breasts, like twin virgins, were pushed up to peek through the lace at the forbidden world outside. On top of the rising swells lay three strands of pearls. Their discreet twinkles echoed those of the two big pearl globes hanging from my ears. I pomaded my hair, then piled it up into a bun. A fresh pink rose pinned above my ear gave me the elegant-yet-wild look. I held up the crystal flask Ouyang had bought me and generously rubbed the perfume onto my armpits, between my breasts, and behind my ears. Of course, I was also wearing Pearl's diamond ring and jade bracelet so that her spirit would hover menacingly around my former bosses.
I waited until fifteen minutes past three before I went to the restaurant. When I stepped inside the hall, I quickly spotted Fang Rong and Wu Qiang sitting by a table with two guards. I wriggled my bottom and made a slow advance toward the small, evil group. My eyes threw glances here and there; my head slightly nodded to a few familiar hotel guests; the corners of my lips stayed suspended in a half-smile. Heated whispers poured from tables, and eyes clung to me like an old man grabbing a young virgin.
Mama's eyes were crackling silent thunder. The coin patterns on Wu Qiang's indigo jacket resembled dead men's eyes staring from their graves. Clad in a purplish red gown, Fang Rong looked like a mass of shredded beef streaked with blood. Though feeling a slight tingling on my scalp, I kept my smile as mysterious as the kickings of life inside a swollen stomach.
Right then, as if on cue to enhance the drama, the handsome waiter dashed to my side. "Ouyang furen. " He addressed me with the most respectful "Madame" normally reserved for the wife of a high official. "Would you like to have the same table today?"
I smiled prettily. "No, today I have guests." I walked to my former master and mistress. The waiter swiftly pulled a chair for me and helped me sit; I ordered high tea for four. Before he left, I said, "Oh, don't forget to put the bill on my room."
Now the gang of four looked extremely puzzled while scrutinizing me like detectives trying to solve a difficult case.
Mama ordered the two guards to move to an adjacent table. After that, she gave me a threatening glance. "So, Xiang Xiang-"
"I'd like to be addressed as Mrs. Ouyang."
De chimed in, sneering. "So you're able to get someone to marry you, eh? May I know whether you're this man's seventh or eighth concubine?"
The two let out some chilling laughter.
I aimed a dimpled smile at the two evil faces. "Whether I am a wife or a concubine is none of your whoring business. But I did marry a good husband."
The two exchanged glances, then Fang Rong said sarcastically, "All right, Mrs. Ouyang, then what are you seeing us for? Is it because your good husband can't satisfy you so you want to release your lusty fire by whoring again?"
"Exactly. "
Their jaws dropped. Mama studied me suspiciously for moments before a grin spread across her face. "You're most welcome. Your favored guest Big Master Fung still asks about you."
I felt a jolt inside, but I tried my best to look as calm as a statue. "Oh, do you mean he still visits Peach Blossom?"
"Yes," the two said simultaneously. Then Mama added, "But after you left, he's never been happy with any of the other sisters."
"I miss him a lot. He was really nice to me." I paused to study the huge diamond on my finger, then looked up to scan the two faces. "So Mama and De, can you arrange a meeting for us?"
The three of us stared at each other and waited in silence. Finally Mama blurted out, "Xiang Xiang, what do you want from us?" She cast a quick glance toward the two guards, then lowered her voice. "Don't play tricks on me. If you do, beware of your skin!"
"But," De added, baring his neat white teeth, "if you come back to whore to pay back your debts, you're most welcome."
I bit my tongue, warning myself not to lose my temper. "Wait a minute, De, didn't Mama tell me ten years ago that I was not sold, but given to you two as a gift? So how come I'm still in debt?"
"Ha, ha. That's right." As Mama laughed, even the mole between her brows seemed to be chortling.
I fought an itch to pluck it off that hateful face.
She went on, "But what about those art lessons that you took, those nourishing meals, your elegant room, and your custom-tailored gowns? If you think they're free, then either you're too naive or plain stupid. Those bills run up to thousands! And that doesn't even count the interest."
I stared at the two evil faces contorting in front of me, while suppressing the nauseous sensation rising to my throat. An idea dawned: After I'd blown Big Master Fung's brain out, should I also eliminate these two scum?
"Mama and De," I tried my best to keep my composure, "now may I invite you both to my suite upstairs? I want you to appreciate a very nice piece of calligraphy that I've recently acquired for my collection." I motioned to the guards. "You can bring them along if you want."
Once in my room, the gang of four kept casting glances around the elegant, Western-style decor before finally sitting down. I called and asked my waiter to bring up the tea and cakes.
De smiled at me curiously. "Hmmm, Xiang Xiang, not only have you married a good husband, I bet he's very wealthy, too."
"I don't really care about his money, only his connections."
A long, meaningful silence. The bell rang; it was my waiter bringing high tea to the room. I gave him my usual big tip; he bowed and thanked me profusely before he left. Mama and De watched the drama with intense curiosity.
"Please," I said, and we began to eat.
After the four hungry ghosts had devoured the last morsel of cake and drained the last drop of tea, I said, "Now let's appreciate my recently acquired art. I'm sure you'll love it as much as you love cheating the sisters."
Fang Rong and Wu Qiang exchanged suspicious-cum-puzzled glances. I led them to the bedroom where I'd hung up Mr. Ouyang's scroll.
When the two started to read, their expressions had changed from doubt to surprise, then finally fear-as I'd expected. The moment they spotted Ouyang's signature and seal, their jaws dropped. They turned to stare at me, faces pale and pupils darting around like trapped mice.
"Mama and De, don't you think that this calligraphy is more than enough to pay my debt?"
A long, ghostly silence before obsequious grins stretched on the two faces.
Mama said, her voice suddenly turned very weak and tender, "Oh, Xiang-no, Mrs.-no, Ouyang furen, what ... what can we do to serve you?"
De couldn't even lift his head to look me straight in the eyes; his voice spilled fear. "Yes. Ouyang furen, what can your humble servants do for you?"
I didn't respond right away, but took out a silk handkerchief and began to play with it in a dancer's elegant gestures. It gave me indescribable pleasure to watch the subtle alternating of colors on Mama and De's faces. Not until this moment had I truly understood the pleasure and addiction of power!
I continued to play with the handkerchie
f for a while, then put it away and thrust my face close to the two pathetic ones. "Mama and De." I paused again to create suspense.
"Yes, what can we do for you?" the two yelped in unison.
"I want you to arrange a meeting for me with Big Master Fung at Peach Blossom during the Lantern Festival."
De blurted out, "Of course, Ouyangfuren. No problem."
Mama looked a bit uneasy. "But what if Big Master Fung can't make it that day?"
I threw her a sharp glance. "You mean he won't have time even for me?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ouyangfuren, that's not what I meant-"
"I don't care what you meant, I only want you to clean the welcoming-guests room thoroughly and decorate it with one hundred flowers and scent it with the most expensive perfume. Also, buy a new red bedcover, sheets, and pillowcases. And don't forget to prepare several of Fung's favorite dishes, and bottles of whisky and champagne."
"You have our word," the duo yapped again.
"Besides, I want to have a nice little chat with my old favored guest, so I don't want anybody bothering us. No sisters, maids, niangyi, servants, guards-no one-near the room. Have you got all this?"
