by Bangqing Han
Little Willow, the actor, was in the room, locked in a tight embrace with Little Rouge. Startled by the sight, Pearlie’s son tried to withdraw, but it was too late. Little Rouge’s embarrassment quickly turned into anger, and she gave the boy a loud dressing-down. Not daring to argue, the boy went downstairs grumbling.
When Pearlie found out what had happened, she answered back in a loud voice, “He’s a child, what does he know about anything? You used to send him frequently to go and see where Mr. Wang was, so when he saw Mr. Wang just now, he came to report back to you. Did he do wrong? Ask yourself this: Why isn’t Mr. Wang coming anymore? What right d’you have to tell other people off?”
Would Little Rouge stand for such remarks? She blew her top, slapping the table and stamping her feet, making a terrible racket.
Pearlie sneered. “There’s no need to make a row. I’m just a maid; if you don’t like me, I can be discharged.”
Furious, Little Rouge shouted, “If you want to leave, get out at once. D’you think I can’t do without you?”
Pearlie did not bother to answer back. She just sneered and then made a bundle of her valuables, bade her colleagues good-bye, and left, head held high, with her son in tow. They spent the night in a place she rented. The next morning, she told her son to keep watch there while she went to find her guarantor for the job and took her bedding back from Little Rouge’s. She told Little Rouge’s parents and brother that nothing would make her stay.
When lunch was over, Pearlie strolled to the Wang residence on Fifth Avenue and rang the bell. She had to wait for a while before the door was opened by the cook. She gave no greeting and went straight into the parlor. The cook shouted for her to stop: “The master is not in. You have no business going upstairs!”
Pearlie had no answer to that and did not know what to do. Fortunately, Lotuson’s nephew heard the noise and came down to investigate.
“Is there anything you want to say?” he asked.
Pearlie told him briefly what had happened. By chance, Constance heard her voice and summoned her upstairs. Pearlie went into her room and greeted her as “my lady concubine” and then stood to one side as etiquette required.
Constance was binding her feet. She insisted that Pearlie take a seat and then asked about Little Willow. Filled with resentment, Pearlie told her everything, lock, stock, and barrel. This was a crowning moment for Constance, who would not stop talking except to laugh heartily.
Before they had exhausted the subject, Lotuson had returned home in his sedan chair. He was greatly surprised to see Pearlie and asked Constance what was the cause of their mirth. Constance relayed in detail what Pearlie had said, laughing as she spoke. Being sentimental, Lotuson ignored her.
Pearlie knew better than to dwell on that again. Instead, she raised a matter that concerned herself. “Twin Pearl of Sunshine Alley is looking for another maid. Could you please recommend me, Mr. Wang?”
Lotuson wanted to refuse, but Pearlie pleaded with him again and again. He finally gave her his card and told her to ask Benevolence Hong instead.
Pearlie took the card, thanked Lotuson, and left. As it was not yet dusk, she headed for Sunshine Alley right away. Seeing two sedan chairs for summoned girls at Twin Pearl’s door at this early hour, she could tell that business for this house was booming. She found Golden and asked, “Is Mr. Hong here?”
Thinking that Lotuson Wang had sent Pearlie here, Golden immediately led her to the dinner party in Twin Jade’s room. There were only four guests at the table: Cloudlet Chen, Whistler Tang, Benevolence Hong, and Modesty Zhu. Pearlie knew them well and greeted everyone by name. She then produced Lotuson Wang’s card from her sleeve, submitted it to Benevolence Hong, explained her predicament, and begged Benevolence to put in a good word for her.
Before Benevolence could speak, Twin Pearl said, “We need someone to look after this room here because Clever Baby can’t manage on her own. Would you like to try it out?”
Overjoyed, Pearlie readily agreed and immediately lent Clever Baby a hand in the entertaining. After a while, she went out to refill the wine pot in the kitchen, but as she came to the last step of the stairs, a towel came flying out of the parlor door and covered her head and face.
“Who is it?” she shouted, startled.
The man who threw the towel apologized, looking startled. She saw that it was Modesty Zhu’s steward, Longevity. She tossed the towel back to him and refrained from saying anything just then. When she returned to the party with the wine, the two summoned girls, Clever Gem and Green Fragrance, were both taking their leave. Twin Pearl also wanted to go back to her own room and called repeatedly for Golden. There was no answer; no one knew where she had gone.
“Allow me,” Pearlie said at once. She picked up Twin Pearl’s nutmeg box and followed her back to her room. After Twin Pearl had changed out of her party clothes, Pearlie folded them up carefully and put them in the wardrobe. Then she heard Clever Baby calling loudly for hot towels and, realizing that the party was over, hurried out to clear the table. Benevolence Hong excused himself, saying he had business to attend to, and left together with Cloudlet Chen and Whistler Tang. Modesty Zhu was the only guest who stayed behind. Twin Jade sat with him. They smiled at each other but made no conversation.
Pearlie tactfully followed Clever Baby downstairs, leaving the young lovers alone. Clever Baby took her to see Orchid Zhou, who told her what percentage she would share of the tips at the end of each season. Pearlie agreed to everything. Orchid Zhou then asked about how Lotuson Wang and Little Rouge used to get on, adding, “Recently, Mr. Wang has called our Twin Jade to a dozen parties.”
Pearlie heaved a long sigh. “I don’t mean to bad-mouth Little Rouge, but Mr. Wang was really a most loving patron to her.”
As she spoke, a wailing noise was heard coming from the front door. It was Golden’s son, Eldest. Clever Baby dashed out. Pearlie stopped talking and, together with Orchid Zhou, strained her ears to listen, but Eldest just cried and could not make himself clear. Then a manservant from next door came to tell them, “Worth is in a fight. Quick, go and restrain him.”
As soon as Orchid Zhou heard this, she knew it had to do with Longevity Zhang. She immediately ordered Pearlie to get someone to stop Worth. Unexpectedly, when news of the fight reached upstairs, Modesty Zhu was so frightened that his face blanched. He snatched up his gown, draped it over himself, and rushed downstairs, paying no attention to Twin Jade calling after him.
He bumped into Pearlie, who was just coming out of Orchid Zhou’s room and nearly fell over. Pearlie grabbed hold of him, babbling, “It’s under control, Fifth Young Master. Please don’t go.”
Desperate, he shoved her off and ran straight out. As he headed toward the southern entrance of Sunshine Alley, he saw that his way was blocked by a crowd of spectators. It was indeed Longevity Zhang who had been seized by Worth. Amid the yelling of the spectators, Worth held Longevity by his pigtail and pummeled him till he fell down at the foot of a wall. Modesty turned around immediately and went out by the western entrance. He took a detour via Fourth Avenue to go home, and when he got there, his heart was still thumping hard. Longevity Zhang arrived soon after with bruises on his head and face and told some lie about falling off a ricksha. Modesty did not expose him. At the first opportunity, Longevity begged Modesty to cover up for him. Modesty gave his promise but also admonished Longevity in private. From then on, Longevity Zhang dared not go again to Sunshine Alley, and even Modesty Zhu dared not go and see Twin Jade.
Seven or eight days went by. Twin Jade then asked Benevolence Hong to relay her invitation to Modesty, after which he resumed his visits. Consumed by envy, Longevity Zhang turned Modesty’s deflowering of Twin Jade into the talk of the town, holding forth on the subject to all and sundry.
The talk reached the ears of Amity Zhu, who then questioned his younger brother, “Is it true?” Modesty’s face flushed bright red; he hung his head and made no reply.
Amity spoke to him kindly. �
�It’s all right to have a bit of fun. I’ve always told you so, and I was the one who called Twin Jade to a party for you, so why would you want to keep me in the dark? I have my reasons for encouraging you to have a little fun, and you’re wrong to try and keep it from me.”
Modesty remained silent, so Amity did not go any further into the matter. However, Modesty felt such a strong sense of shame and abashment that he stubbornly kept to his study and did not venture out. At the same time, Twin Jade’s looks, voice, and her every movement were replayed daily in his heart. He wrote poems about her, he dreamed about her, and finally he fell ill pining for her. Knowing only too well the reason for his illness, Amity was worried. He sought the advice of Benevolence Hong, Cloudlet Chen, and Whistler Tang. Since they had helped Modesty hide his relationship with Twin Jade, the three men felt guilty and awkward and could not come up with any ideas.
Devotion Yin, who happened to be there, made a sudden suggestion, “With affairs of the heart, Harmony Qi is the man to consult.”
Realizing he was right, Amity Zhu immediately summoned a carriage and asked Devotion to go with him to Conical Hat Garden.
When they saw Qi, Devotion said solemnly, “I’ve brought you the best bit of business in the world. Now how are you going to thank me?”
Harmony Qi had no idea what he meant. It was left to Amity to explain to Qi his brother Modesty’s natural shyness and the cause of his lovesickness and to ask him to think of a solution.
Harmony Qi chuckled. “What’s so difficult about this? I’ll invite him to come to my garden and have Twin Jade come for a couple of days as well, what d’you think?”
Devotion said, “Didn’t I say I brought you business? I’m your broker.”
“What broker? You’re horning in for a cut,” Harmony replied, and they all laughed uproariously. Harmony Qi settled on the next day to invite Modesty to convalesce in his garden. Amity could not thank him enough.
“You, Amity, should stay away. Modesty wouldn’t feel at ease with his elder brother around,” said Devotion.
“It seems to me you should see to his marriage as soon as he gets well,” Harmony said.
Having acknowledged the wisdom of their comments, Amity saluted them and took his leave. He went home in a carriage alone and went straight into Modesty’s room. Having asked about his illness, Amity said, “Second Bai says this illness calls for a change of air. Harmony Qi has asked you to spend a couple of days in his garden. That way, you’ll be near your doctor as well.”
Though Modesty was not keen to go, he accepted the invitation out of consideration for his brother’s solicitude. Amity gave the order for Longevity Zhang to pack for Modesty.
The next day was the fifth of the eighth month. When the sun sank toward the west, an invitation was delivered to Modesty, who was then helped into a sedan chair in the center hall. He was met at the gate of Conical Hat Garden by Qi’s servants, who led the way to the northeast corner of the garden where there was a cottage by the lake. Harmony Qi came out to welcome him and told him to dispense with any formal greeting. Modesty got off the sedan chair rather shakily, and Harmony walked with him into the bedroom, supporting him on one arm, and helped him settle down on the bed. The room was complete with medicine pot, incense burner, congee bowl, and ginseng jar. Modesty expressed his uneasiness at the trouble Harmony had taken.
“Just make yourself at home. You should take a nap now.” Harmony told the servants to attend to Modesty’s needs and then left without further palaver.
Modesty thought he might as well lie down and calm his spirits. As he did so, he caught sight of a beautiful woman in a silver summer silk blouse coming out of the bamboo grove and going round the lakeshore. She was the very likeness of Twin Jade, but Modesty thought it was just an illusion caused by dizziness. Having walked around the lake, the woman now came into his cottage. Modesty looked closely at her; it was indeed Twin Jade! A range of emotions swept over Modesty: astonishment and bewilderment were followed by understanding and great joy. All this was conveyed in one exclamation: “Oh!”
Twin Jade stood by his bed, her limpid eyes looking sideways at him, her face full of smiles. As she broke out in laughter, she covered her mouth with her handkerchief. He struggled to sit up and reached for her hand, but she stepped back to avoid him. Not knowing what to do, he sat up in bed and asked, “Did you know I was ill?”
She tried to suppress her laughter as she replied, “I’ve never seen the likes of you!” He asked what she meant, but she did not answer.
He begged her to come over, gesturing that she should sit down on the bed. Seeing that there were several menservants in the outer room, she pointed her chin in that direction and declined. He shook his hand to indicate that she should ignore them and then brought his palms together in a gesture of prayer. She hesitated and then picked up the teapot from the table, poured half a cup of almond tea, and offered it to him, taking the opportunity to sit down on the stool by the bed. The two of them engaged in tender whispering until dusk. Modesty was not the least bit tired; in fact, his illness was mostly over. A manservant came in to light the lamp, but neither his host nor any other guests showed up. That night, she made him a brew of the Great Tonic. Out came the perspiration of love and off went the little demon of illness. But for a slight weakness in his legs, Modesty was a new man.
After he had received the servants’ report, Harmony Qi sent a sedan basket chair to fetch Modesty to the Phoenix Pavilion. Modesty saluted him formally before Harmony could stop him, so Harmony could only tell him not to be so ceremonious in the future. Modesty gave his promise and then greeted Second Bai and Devotion Yin. After that, they all took their seats.
Before they could start a conversation, Aroma Su had come in, holding Twin Jade by the hand. Harmony Qi asked Aroma, “Shall we call Wenjun Yao and Flora Zhang here to keep Twin Jade company?” Aroma naturally said that was a good idea. Steward Xia was summoned and told to write out the call chits. After Xia had withdrawn to carry out his order, Harmony Qi called him back to tell him to send out invitations to Nature Shi, Iron Hua, Elan Ge, and Cloud Tao. Steward Xia again departed with his orders.
Modesty Zhu asked Second Bai if he should keep to any special diet.
“Now that you’ve recovered, you should get some nourishment. If you have a good appetite, all the better. There’s nothing you should avoid.”
Devotion cut in, “You should ask Twin Jade. She’s a better doctor than Second Bai.”
Modesty blushed when he heard this, but there was nowhere for him to hide. Knowing how bashful he was, Harmony Qi quickly changed the subject.
Soon a servant announced, “The Eldest Young Master Tao is here.”
Cloud Tao came in with Belle Tan and Flora Zhang. After he had exchanged greetings with everyone, Cloud Tao asked after Modesty’s health, “Are you quite recovered now?” Afraid of being teased, Modesty answered vaguely.
Second Bai said to Cloud Tao, “Your brother’s girl, Water Blossom, is in a bad way.”
Startled, Cloud asked for details.
“I went to see her today. It’s a matter of days now,” Second Bai replied.
Cloud Tao sighed. But then it occurred to him that once Water Blossom died, Jade would be free from all the cares and worries, which might not be a bad thing for him. And so he dropped the subject.
Now Nature Shi, Iron Hua, and Elan Ge arrived one after the other, each bringing his girl. As Modesty Zhu had just recovered from a serious illness, Harmony Qi thought he needed strong flavors to stimulate his appetite, so a chef was hired especially for a Western meal, and the guests were invited to place their orders. Three square tables were set up to make a long table in the waterside lodge, a tablecloth was laid, and everyone sat down. Each man had a small wine pot for his own use, and they all started drinking, each according to his own capacity. Despite this, Harmony Qi still felt that excitement was lacking. He asked Nature Shi, “The game you proposed last time was not bad. Can you think of another drinking g
ame that draws from the Four Classics?”
Nature could not think of any.
“I have an idea,” said Iron Hua. “We should each think of a word that can be pronounced four ways, each illustrated by a quote from the Four Classics.” And he gave an example.
“Now if it were just three ways of pronouncing a word, there’re plenty in the Four Classics,” said Elan Ge, giving four examples.
“Well, I’ve thought of one that is pronounced in four different ways,” said Modesty Zhu, who then gave four quotations to illustrate his point.
Everyone praised him in unison, saying, “It’ll be hard to come up with another one.”
Devotion Yin suddenly exclaimed triumphantly, “There’re two more,” and he rattled them off, together with the quotations. “That’s all you’ll get from the Four Classics. I don’t think there’s a fifth word that’d fit our requirements.”
Stroking his beard, Harmony Qi said, “I’ve got one that’s pronounced in five ways!”
There was astonishment and incredulity all around.
“Please drink a cup of wine, gentlemen, and then I’ll tell you,” said Harmony.
Everybody drank up and awaited enlightenment. But unexpectedly something came up to cut short their conversation.
CHAPTER 42 :: Water Blossom, leaving her beloved, departs this world, and Cloud Tao, worried about his brother, faces the funeral
Harmony Qi was just going to say his piece in the drinking game when a servant led a coolie straight to the table. Cloud saw that it was Jade Tao’s sedan-chair bearer and asked him what the matter was. The man bent down to whisper into his ear, after which Cloud just said, “All right, I’ll be there.” The man withdrew.
“Is it bad news about Water Blossom?” Second Bai asked.
“No, it’s Jade who’s unwell.”
“But there’s nothing wrong with Jade,” Second Bai said in surprise.
Cloud replied with a frown, “Well, he’s made himself ill by staying at Water Blossom’s bedside and looking after her day and night. He hasn’t slept for several days now, so he’s running a fever, too. Water Blossom’s mother told him to get some rest, but he just refused. That’s why she sent his chair bearer to ask me to go and talk to him.”
