by Bangqing Han
As they were discussing drinking games at the table, Green Fragrance finally arrived with the maid in tow, approaching slowly along the flowery pathway shaded by willows. Her arrival was unnoticed, and she stood there quietly for a long time. When Devotion Yin heard some noise behind him, he turned to find Green Fragrance looking sad and desolate. Her hair had worked slightly loose, and her hairpins, earrings, and bracelets had not been properly arranged. Resting one hand on the back of Devotion’s chair, she rubbed her eyes with her other hand. He smiled gallantly and invited her to sit down, but she ignored him. When he got up and tried to lead her to her seat, she shook her hands free and said with a frown, “Let go!”
Harmony Qi chuckled, and the others all burst into laughter. Devotion sat down a bit shamefaced. Green Fragrance, suspecting they were laughing at her, became even more angry and just looked away. As she was only a virgin courtesan, Flora Zhang did not mind this. She wished to make peace between the two of them, but no opportunity arose. Finally, at the beckoning of White Fragrance, Green Fragrance dawdled over to her. White Fragrance tidied her hair and took the opportunity to whisper a couple of remarks in her ear. Green Fragrance acted as if she did not hear. When her sister had finished tidying her hair, she walked slowly to a row of high-back chairs by the windows and sat down sideways. Holding a handkerchief against her face, she opened her little mouth and yawned.
Everyone at the table thought it was funny, but no one dared laugh aloud. A smiling Devotion Yin said softly, “Well, I guess it’s just my rotten luck.” So saying, he took a compact water pipe, walked over to the opium divan, lit the spill at the opium lamp, and then went and sat in another high-back chair by the window, one separated from Green Fragrance by a semicircular table. He knew that jealousy was taboo to virgin courtesans and therefore Green Fragrance would never admit to it. That being the case, there was no way he could console her. All he could do was try in a myriad ways to amuse her. But she just turned around to lean on the windowsill to look at a pair of white waterbirds swimming in the lake. However elaborate a performance Devotion put on, she would not even take a proper glance at him. Harmony Qi surmised that there was no chance of her coming around anytime soon and decided to order Hairpin to sing the aria “Receiving the Portrait” alone. Hairpin played the clappers herself and asked Aroma to accompany her on the flute. Those seated at the table now concentrated on the singing and no longer paid attention to the lovers’ quarrel.
Amity Zhu got off the opium divan, and as he walked toward the table, he stopped at the window and urged Green Fragrance to come along and have some wine.
“I’m not feeling very well. The wine won’t agree with me.” She begged off so plaintively that Amity could only walk away.
At the end of his wits, Devotion Yin sat down by her side and put on a solemn expression. He called her name and then addressed her seriously and intimately. “If you’re not feeling well, you should go and sit for a little while at the table; there’s no need for you to drink. If you don’t join them, I may know it’s because you’re unwell, but they’ll insist on saying you’re jealous. Think about it.”
When she saw that he was still treating her the same as before, her anger began to melt away. Now, his remark went straight to the heart of the matter, and she was persuaded by it. But to turn around instantly would have been too demeaning. She bowed her head and did not speak. Devotion could tell from such small signs how she felt, and so he took the opportunity to hold her hand. She snatched it away in fake vexation, “Get away from me! Don’t be a nuisance!”
“Come with me, all right?” he pleaded.
“If you want to go, just go. Why should I?”
“Just go and sit at the table for a little while. You can come back here later.”
“You go first.”
Afraid that it would arouse her displeasure, he dared not press her too hard, so he returned to the table after urging her to come soon. Hairpin had just reached the most melodious part of her aria, and everyone was listening to her in a respectful silence. After he had sat for a while, Devotion signaled White Fragrance with his eyes. White Fragrance again beckoned to Green Fragrance, who took the opportunity to totter over to her, “What is it, Elder Sister?”
White Fragrance pointed with her chin toward the chair beside Devotion, who half rose to offer her the seat. Green Fragrance pulled the chair a little away from him and sat down sideways, facing Hairpin.
Devotion waited until Hairpin had finished her song and then whispered into Green Fragrance’s ear about Harmony Qi’s original intention of asking them for a duet.
“But I don’t know ‘Receiving the Portrait,’” Green Fragrance responded.
He again told her in whispers that Harmony had heard her singing it.
“But I haven’t learned the whole aria,” she said.
Though she had turned him down twice, Devotion did not mind. He continued to plead with her to drink a little warm wine to lubricate her throat and then sing one of her best arias. She didn’t have the heart to tell him off again, so she just pretended not to hear and turned deliberately to Hairpin with a question. Hairpin felt compelled to respond. Meanwhile, Devotion took the wine pot, filled a large wine cup, and brought it to Green Fragrance’s lips.
“Just put it down!” she said loudly in displeasure.
He hastily withdrew his hand and put the wine cup on the table. She continued to make conversation with Hairpin as she reached out for the cup and drained the wine in one gulp, after which she threw the cup down and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.
“Will you sing?” Hairpin asked.
She nodded, so Hairpin accompanied her on the flute, and Green Fragrance sang half of “Weeping in Front of the Portrait.” Needless to say, everyone praised her. After that, rice was served, and then the table was cleared.
It was almost three o’clock. Without waiting for Harmony Qi to return to his room for his nap, everyone left the Moon-worshiper’s Chamber. They walked in twos and threes all over the garden, going wherever their fancy took them. Green Fragrance grasped the first opportunity to leave unnoticed, dragging Hairpin with her. They walked northwestward toward Pear Blossom Court. When they got there, they saw the courtyard door wide open; on the luxuriant trees, a few swallows were darting about. A class was going on in the side chambers where young girls were having beginners’ singing lessons. Hairpin led Green Fragrance upstairs to her own bedroom. Pendant from the next room heard them and came over. When she saw how badly the makeup on Green Fragrance’s face had faded, she said, “You have to wash your face. You must have gotten into a fight to look like this.”
“It wasn’t a fight,” Hairpin said in mirth. “It was jealousy.”
“What d’you mean by jealousy? Now out with it!” Green Fragrance broke out in anger.
Instead of arguing with her, Hairpin just called an old woman to fetch a basin of warm water and then placed her own toiletry box in front of Green Fragrance. The latter sat down and redid her toilet. Pendant was still full of questions.
“There’s no point in asking her,” said Green Fragrance. “She heard them say it was jealousy, and she thinks she’s learned something new. But does she know what jealousy is?”
Hairpin winked and shook her head at Pendant behind Green Fragrance’s back to stop her from saying any more. Green Fragrance saw it all in the mirror, but instead of confronting them, she hurriedly tidied her hair and applied makeup to her face and then stood up and walked away. At the door, she turned around and said, “I’m leaving so the two of you can gossip about me in peace.”
Pendant and Hairpin immediately tried to detain her, but she had turned and run down the stairs. After leaving Pear Blossom Court, she considered where she should go. As she came to a junction on the footpath by the white wall, she looked up and saw that in the distance a man was standing at the head of the steps leading up to Right Target Hall, hands clasped behind his back. It looked like Longevity. She surmised that her brother-in-law and e
lder sister must be there and that it would be a good idea for her to go and pass some time with them.
::
1. [As noted in “The World of the Shanghai Courtesans,” there were three seasons in a brothel’s fiscal year. E.H.]
2. A play about the tragic love story of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty (r. 712–755) and his favorite imperial concubine, Yang. The latter was executed by popular demand of the army when the emperor escaped the capital during an uprising.
CHAPTER 46 :: Green Fragrance acquires new friends through child’s play, and Jade Tao revisits an old haunt for a memorial service
Having made up her mind, Green Fragrance meandered over to Right Target Hall, where Longevity lifted the curtain for her to go in. She saw her brother-in-law, Amity Zhu, lying on the divan smoking opium and her sister, White Fragrance, sitting beside him, chatting.
“Brother-in-law,” Green Fragrance said in greeting, all smiles. Then she nestled against her sister’s knees and turned sideways to look at them.
Recalling her misbehavior, White Fragrance gently rebuked her, “You shouldn’t pick a quarrel over nothing, you know. Mr. Yin is quite affectionate toward you, so you should take it easy and chat cheerfully with him. They’re in a relationship, so naturally they behave intimately. Since you’re a virgin courtesan, there’s no reason for you to be jealous.”
Green Fragrance dared not answer back. Her face instantly flushed red, and she was close to tears.
“If you insist on lecturing her again, her anger will certainly kill her,” Amity commented with a smile.
White Fragrance giggled. “She can’t even tell right from wrong, so what’s there for her to be angry about?”
Overwhelmed by shame and regret, Green Fragrance could not very well defend herself. It was a difficult situation. White Fragrance dropped the subject and went back to making conversation with Amity.
After a long while, Green Fragrance finally showed a slight smile. Seeing that, Amity immediately urged her to go out and have fun. Green Fragrance, who had been bored sitting there, was about to go when White Fragrance stopped her and said, “Now be sensible, won’t you? If you go on pulling a long face, people will certainly laugh at you!”
Green Fragrance remained silent. As she walked listlessly down the archery path in front of Right Target Hall, her head bowed, her mind was still preoccupied with unruly thoughts, and, without thinking, she took a turn onto a flowery path that led to the Bridge of Nine Twists. A lane that led northwestward from the bridge was the main path to Panorama Hall, but there was a smaller path that forked southward toward layers of artificial hills. These hills were laid out in twists and turns, like a swimming dragon, so it was called Dragon Range. At the end of the range, past the dragon’s head with its Mid-sky Pavilion, was another approach to Panorama Hall.
Green Fragrance had taken this narrow path inadvertently. With its sheer cliffs and deep valleys, it felt more and more secluded as she walked along. She was just about to turn back when she saw somebody ahead. He was dressed in brand-new silk clothes and squatting in front of a very damp cave.
“Who is it?” she blurted out.
The person did not turn round. When she came closer, she saw it was Modesty Zhu. He was doubled over and tiptoeing about, scraping off moss and digging into the mud with a bamboo stick.
“Have you lost something?” she asked.
Modesty held up a hand to silence her. Moving sideways with his ears cocked, he edged toward the cave.
“Look, you’re getting your clothes dirty,” said Green Fragrance.
Only then did he say in a low voice, “Hush. If you want to see something interesting, go over there.”
Not knowing what there was to see, she ventured in the direction he indicated and saw three shallow chambers of white stone halfway up the hill. Twin Jade was sitting alone on the stone parapet holding a large blue-and-white porcelain bowl in her hands. She was peeping into the covered bowl through the slightly raised lid.
“What is it? Let me have a look,” Green Fragrance shouted before she got near.
“It’s nothing,” Twin Jade smiled when she saw it was Green Fragrance. She passed her the bowl casually.
Green Fragrance took it, lifted the lid, and discovered to her surprise that inside was a cricket waving its two feelers spiritedly. Alarmed that it would escape, Twin Jade reached out to cover it with her hands, but Green Fragrance, thinking she was snatching it back, jerked away, and the cricket landed on her lapel. She tried to catch it, but it hopped into the grass. Desperate, she shouted wildly, dropped the bowl, and ran in pursuit, with Twin Jade behind her. When the cricket leapt into a crevice in a rock, Green Fragrance caught up with it and trapped it in her palm. She walked back, grinning, “Got it! That was close.”
Twin Jade picked up the bowl from the grass. Green Fragrance put the cricket in and replaced the lid. When Twin Jade peeped in again, she could not help smiling. “It’s no use anymore; we might as well let it go,” she said.
Green Fragrance stopped her in alarm, asking, “Why is it no use?”
“Why, it’s lost a leg!”
“Oh, that doesn’t matter.”
Twin Jade did not want to be pestered by her, so she just smiled. A delighted-looking Modesty happened to come toward them just then, one of his hands smeared with mud and the other closed tightly. “Did you catch one?” Twin Jade asked at once.
He nodded. “It’s not bad. Come and take a look.”
“Now I have to let it go to make room for this one,” Twin Jade said to Green Fragrance.
But Green Fragrance pressed the lid down, refusing to let go, shouting, “No, I want it.”
Twin Jade left her with the bowl and went into the stone chamber with Modesty, but Green Fragrance followed at their heels. The room was furnished with only a long slab of agate that made a natural table. A big heap of things was piled on it, and there were many porcelain bowls of assorted colors. Twin Jade picked an empty white Ding-ware bowl with a gold pattern and put Modesty’s new cricket into it. She peeped into the bowl and saw that indeed it was a “metallic wings” with a handsome head. “Not bad,” she said, impressed. “It’s even better than the shell blue one.”
Green Fragrance tugged at her sleeve, begging to have a look, so Twin Jade taught her how. She held the bowl as instructed, peeped in, saw nothing but a cricket, and lost interest.
When Twin Jade mentioned how the shell blue had broken a leg just now, Modesty also wanted to release it. But would Green Fragrance give it up? She clasped the bowl in her arms and kept saying, “I want it.”
“What d’you want it for?” he asked, amused.
Stumped, she turned around and said to him, “Well, I don’t know. You tell me.” Modesty was so amused, he just grinned at Twin Jade.
Twin Jade said to her, “If you pipe down, we’ll show you something interesting, OK?”
Green Fragrance readily agreed. They spread a scarlet tiger-striped blanket over the stone-paved floor in front of the table and placed at the center a carved ivory cage set with precious stones. Porcelain bowls of assorted colors were then placed in a row on the outer edge. Modesty and Twin Jade sat down cross-legged, facing each other, and told Green Fragrance to take the south-facing position. First, they put the new cricket—Metallic Wings—into the ivory cage, and then they took out various crickets from the bowls and put them in turn into the cage to fight the newcomer. At first, the new cricket just stayed still, holding its head high, but teased by a blade of grass, it went into an instant rage and charged headlong at its opponent. The two crickets became completely entangled. Green Fragrance was so delighted she slapped her thigh and laughed wildly as she peered down at the fight. Then a sharp shrill came from the cage and gave her a shock. It turned out that one of the crickets—a sandalwood lion—had been bitten to death by Metallic Wings. The victor reared up and shook its wings in triumph. It fought five or six battles and won every time. In the end, even the oily wrestler was on the run. Mod
esty Zhu cheered, “Now this is a real warrior.”
Suddenly, they saw the maid Pearlie poke her head in. “So here you are, my little maestro. I searched all over the garden for you. You’d better be off.”
Green Fragrance got angry. “Why did you search for me in the first place? Did you think I was going to run away?”
Pearlie was displeased. “It’s Mr. Yin who’s looking for you. I have no business with you, Little Maestro.”
Even as she spoke, they heard Devotion Yin talking and laughing on his way there. Modesty immediately got to his feet to greet him. Devotion stopped at the door. When he saw Green Fragrance, he said, looking pleased, “I see you’ve found some playmates.”
“D’you want to have a look? Come here,” said Green Fragrance.
“It’s been doing all the fighting today, so don’t overstrain it. Let’s wait till tomorrow,” Twin Jade intervened.
When she heard this, Pearlie went up to clear away the utensils. Modesty picked up the ivory cage, put Metallic Wings into a bowl, and marked it solemnly. Green Fragrance and Twin Jade gave each other support and stood up together.
“You shouldn’t be sitting on icy stone, should you?” Devotion said to Twin Jade. “It’s all right in the case of Green Fragrance, but you should take care.”
“Why so?” Modesty asked.
Twin Jade darted a sideways glance at Devotion. “Don’t ask him. Does he ever say anything decent or proper?”1
Devotion chuckled. He asked Green Fragrance to go with him, but the girl still had her eye on the crippled cricket and was reluctant to leave. Twin Jade said to her, “It’s yours.” Green Fragrance took the bowl with delight.
“Everybody is in Panorama Hall. Are you coming?” Devotion asked Modesty. The latter nodded in assent.
“You’d better clean your hands.” Devotion said and then walked off with Green Fragrance.
Almost done with the tidying-up, Pearlie grumbled to herself, “That one’s got quite a temper for a child.”
