by Bangqing Han
As they were talking, Wenjun Yao was also engaged in an animated conversation with Aroma. The latter could only manage to get a word in now and then. Harmony heard they were talking about mah-jongg, so he called out to Wenjun, “White Orchid is having a game now. Go over there if you feel like it.”
“I’m sure they’re not playing. If they are, they’d have sent for me, wouldn’t they?” Wenjun replied.
“Are you a really good player then?” Harmony asked.
She just grinned.
Aroma cut in, “She plays an awfully aggressive game. Only Pendant can match her. I’m always losing.”
“I wouldn’t call her aggressive,” Second Bai said.
Wenjun responded, “Of course I’m not aggressive. The aggressive one, sadly, played a bad hand!”
“I didn’t play a bad hand the other day,” Second Bai said. “I just failed to get the right tiles.”
Wenjun stood up abruptly, yelling, “You didn’t play badly, eh? Get the tiles out and show everybody the hand!” So saying, she turned to Devotion, “Where’s your set?”
Devotion hastened to stop her. “All right, all right, there’s nothing worth seeing. You’re never wrong and that’s that.”
But would she just drop the matter? She opened the cupboard to search for the box of mah-jongg tiles.
“It’s not in the cupboard. Pendant borrowed it and hasn’t returned it yet,” Devotion lied.
Frustrated, Wenjun turned around to face them and gesticulated histrionically as she recalled the tiles in Second Bai’s hand, recounting his every move and asking them to be the judge. Harmony and Aroma laughed.
Devotion said with a frown, “Don’t you have any sense of shame? You two are always fighting or quarreling, and I have the rotten luck to be staying in the room across from you and be disturbed by the racket you make.”
Second Bai just laughed, but Wenjun said icily, “Aren’t you bored with yourself? You’re always repeating the same thing over and over. Everybody has heard it before. Haven’t you got anything new to tell us?”
This left Devotion completely stumped. Second Bai rubbed his hands and laughed uproariously. When Harmony changed the subject, Wenjun let the matter rest.
After a while, the moon rose and was level with the treetops. Everyone was a little tired, so Harmony and Aroma got up and took their leave. Devotion saw them out at the door, while Second Bai and Wenjun, who were returning to their own room, saw them off at the stairs. Holding Aroma by the hand, Harmony slowly descended the stairs in Panorama Hall, crossed the Bridge of Nine Twists, and saw that Pear Blossom Court was still brilliantly lit. Now that the moonlight was shining on it, however, there was no red glow.
“Let’s go and see if they’re playing mah-jongg,” Aroma egged him on.
“Why are you in such a hurry to find out? Just ask White Orchid tomorrow,” Harmony said.
Aroma could not very well insist. They left the garden behind and returned to the inner courtyards, where they went to bed together. No more was said.
The next morning, Harmony rose at eight. Servants came in to relay the message that Mr. Hua was here. He went straight to the garden and asked Iron Hua to meet him at the Moon-worshiper’s Chamber.
“I guessed right; I knew you’d be the first to arrive today,” Harmony began by teasing him.
Iron Hua looked embarrassed. Harmony told the menservants to ask Maestro White Orchid to come over at once.
In a moment, Jade Tao, Modesty Zhu, Second Bai, Devotion Yin, River Blossom, Twin Jade, Wenjun Yao, Aroma Su, and White Orchid all arrived by different routes. Iron Hua greeted them, bowing.
White Orchid asked in a low voice, “Mr. Hua, were you busy yesterday? Are you quite well?”
“I’m all right,” Iron Hua replied. “When everything was settled yesterday, I thought I’d look in on you, but I saw your servant girl, so instead of coming here I just gave her a dozen bottles of champagne to take back with her. Did you get them?”
“Yes, thank you. How could I ever drink a dozen bottles? I gave half of them away as gifts.”
Devotion Yin pointed at them behind their backs and joked in a hushed and merry voice to Modesty Zhu, “Look, the two of them are so polite. It’s as if they haven’t seen each other for ages.”
Second Bai heard him and joked back in a similarly hushed voice, “Oh, this involves real style beyond description; it’s not mere politeness.”
They all laughed, covering their mouths with their hands. Although Iron Hua and White Orchid were standing some distance away, they knew the joke was on them and immediately stopped their exchange. This caused Harmony Qi to say with regret, “It was just getting interesting, and your laughter killed it all!”
At this everyone laughed louder than ever. Pretending not to notice, Iron Hua tried to make conversation. “Devotion, where’re your two ladies?”
“They haven’t arrived yet,” Devotion replied with a smile.
The words were hardly out of his mouth when in came Cloud Tao with Belle Tan and Flora Zhang and Amity Zhu with White Fragrance and Green Fragrance. The general greeting that ensued was friendly and informal. Amity Zhu took an opened letter from his sleeve and respectfully handed it to Harmony. Harmony looked at the envelope and found that it was from Whistler Tang to Amity, posted in Hangzhou. The gist of it was as follows: “Having given his consent to the marriage, Script Li has asked Crane Li and Old Merit Yu to serve as matchmakers. They’ll take the small steamship on the evening of the twentieth, arriving in Shanghai after a journey of a day and a night. Everything will be settled in face-to-face consultation, but it is important that the groom’s family invite one more person to serve as matchmaker,” and so on.
When Harmony had finished reading, he put the letter down. “Who’re you asking?”
“I’ve just asked Cloud” Amity replied.
“I’m all keen to be a matchmaker, yet you didn’t ask me,” said Harmony.
“You’ve done it before; this time it’s my turn,” Cloud said, at which everyone laughed.
Modesty, however, was stunned by this news. He drew near the table and peeped at the letter, but before he could read more than a phrase or two, his brother Amity put it away. Modesty’s heart thumped wildly, yet his face revealed nothing. He paced back to where he had been sitting and glanced surreptitiously at Twin Jade. Seeing that she did not seem to notice anything wrong, he felt a bit more at ease.
Next a manservant came to report, “Mr. Ge is here.” They saw Elan Ge come in with Snow Scent and Sunset Wei.
“Did you bring Sunset here?” Harmony Qi asked in surprise.
“No, we met Sunset at the garden gate,” Elan Ge replied.
Realizing his own mistake, Harmony told the manservant to ask Secretary Ma to come at once.
Devotion said to Harmony, “These two are going to have a son soon. If you like matchmaking, why don’t you make a match for them?”
Before anyone else could respond, Cloud said, “They don’t need matchmakers. The two of them quietly lit a pair of big red candles and performed the wedding rites at her place. I was at their wedding feast.” Everyone roared with laughter.
Aroma went up to Harmony Qi and took his arm. “Do you know what Maestro White Orchid was doing last night if she wasn’t playing mah-jongg?”
“I haven’t asked her,” Harmony said.
“Well, I did. She, too, lit a pair of big red candles and performed all the rites.”
Harmony was very much amazed. White Orchid then related in detail how she and the other two girls had become sworn sisters.
“It’s nice to be sworn sisters, but why just the three of you?” Harmony said. “Why not everybody all together? I’ll sponsor the union. Last night doesn’t count. Today, when all the maestros and misses have arrived, you’ll all kowtow once more and be sisters, all right?”
White Orchid was silent, while Aroma put a fingertip between her teeth to stop herself laughing. None of the others noticed anything.
; Harmony told Greenie to summon Pendant and Hairpin.
Second Bai said to Harmony, “Now, this is right up your alley. You’re so enthusiastic about this that you don’t even want to matchmake any more.”
“If this is right up my alley, I’ve got work for you, too. Write me a preface in parallel prose on the theme of sworn sisters. At the end of that, we’ll list the names of the members of the union, each with a short biography giving details of age, appearance, where she comes from, and whether her parents are alive or dead. You will each be responsible for the biography of your lady love, and I’ll do the ones for Aroma, Pendant, and Hairpin. The title will be A Collection of Flowers on the Sea. What d’you think?”
Everyone was ready to follow his instructions. Harmony told the announcer to get writing materials ready, while Second Bai deliberated on a draft of the essay. Nature Shi happened to come in just then with Second Treasure, and Dragon Ma, Pendant, and Hairpin also arrived in the Moon-worshiper’s Chamber. Everyone eagerly told them about the idea of sworn sisters and the biographies. Both Nature Shi and Dragon Ma responded, “I’m at your service.”
The men took up their writing brushes and dashed the biographies off in no time. It took less than an hour for the biographies as well as Second Bai’s preface in parallel prose to be completed. Harmony Qi asked Devotion Yin to take a look at the whole collection before giving it to the announcer to make a fair copy. After having done so, Devotion commented, “It turns out to be quite interesting. Second Bai’s preface is just what we would expect—full of learned allusions that show depth and wide knowledge, and it’s beautifully written. The biographies are well worth reading, too. Pendant, Hairpin, and the two Fragrances have joint biographies. Second Treasure’s and Flora’s biographies complement each other. River Blossom’s is based on the life of Water Blossom. Aroma’s does not mention her elder sisters directly, but their presence is obvious. The rest are based on their words or on events in their lives or are discursive in nature. There is infinite variety, and each one is excellent in its own way.”
Everyone was delighted to hear this, Harmony Qi most of all.
By then it was noon. The menservants on duty got the tables ready for lunch. Hairpin took the opportunity to pull Pendant over to the porch surreptitiously and asked, “His Excellency is telling everybody to become sworn sisters. Shall we do it?”
“Of course we should do as His Excellency says. It matters little that we join the rest.”
“But what about the three of us becoming sisters, will it mean that doesn’t count?”
“Oh, you’re so mixed up. Why shouldn’t it count? The three of us became sworn sisters because we are fond of one another. As sisters, we’re just fonder, that’s all. Now His Excellency tells us to be sisters with the others, but whether we like them is up to us. His Excellency can’t do anything about that, right?”
Hairpin nodded silently, her misgivings dispelled. When they heard the guests taking their seats for lunch, they went unobtrusively back into the room and stood to one side. Unexpectedly, Harmony told the two girls to join them at the table and to sit on the humble side of Aroma. Pendant and Hairpin sat with their hands tucked away and their heads bowed, feeling ill at ease in that company.
When the wine had gone three rounds and two sets of dishes had been served, Harmony Qi said to Nature Shi, “This time you brought many things to Shanghai, none of which is of use. There’s just one good thing I want from you, but you won’t give it to me. Now that I’m giving you your farewell dinner, if I’m still too polite to ask for it, I’ll never get it. Couldn’t you spare me some?”
A little startled, Nature asked, “What is it?”
Harmony laughed. “What I want is in your head. Even Second Treasure has a pair of scrolls you wrote for her, and I don’t even have that. Isn’t that too much of a slight?”
Catching his drift, Nature said, “I didn’t know what to write because you have so many fine pieces on the walls here. If you insist that I make a fool of myself, Uncle, I will of course obey. Just give me time, and I’ll present my effort for your correction.”
Harmony saluted him in thanks, after which Iron Hua asked why this was a farewell dinner.
“I got a letter from home. They want me to make a trip back before the end of the month,” Nature replied.
“If you want to see him off with a dinner, you can pair up with Elan Ge. You might as well make it the twenty-seventh and have it here. That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” said Harmony.
“We could do it earlier,” Iron Hua said.
“Well, that’s the earliest day available. Starting from tomorrow, the twenty-fourth, everybody is occupied. The twenty-fifth is Gao’s and Yin’s farewell dinner for him, the twenty-sixth is Tao’s and Zhu’s, so you and Elan will have to wait till the twenty-seventh,” Harmony said.
Iron Hua called out to Elan to make the appointment, and Nature saluted them in thanks.
Just then, the announcer submitted a meticulous copy of A Collection of Flowers on the Sea for Harmony Qi’s perusal. Harmony told the menservants to relay orders for a table with incense to be set up in Right Target Hall and then had the announcer pass the copy of A Collection around the tables. Elan Ge saw that the handwriting was modeled on the famous clerical script of the Taoist classic Flying Spirit by the famous Song dynasty calligrapher Wang Xizhi. It was so elegant and appealing, he could not help eyeing the announcer.
“Don’t you underestimate him,” Second Bai said with a teasing smile. “His title is ‘Fine Son of an Announcer; Brilliant Student of a Genius.’”
Devotion cut in, “If you like being the butt of sarcasm, you’re welcome. Just leave me out of it.”
The announcer chuckled beside them. Elan did not understand what it was all about.
“His father is the ceremonial announcer,” Devotion explained. “And he often writes poems and essays for me to correct. Because of that, Second Bai played a trick on him. He gave him a line to match: ‘Fine son of an announcer.’ He couldn’t match it, so Second Bai said, ‘Let me do it for you: “Brilliant student of a genius.”’ Isn’t it a perfect match?”
Elan recited it once over and said, “Very well matched.”
The announcer had just taken the copy of A Collection to the other tables. Devotion now whispered in Elan’s ear, “He may be young, but he’s wicked! His father asked him, ‘Why didn’t you match the line Mr. Gao gave you?’ He said, ‘I did, but because Mr. Yin was there, I couldn’t say it.’ When asked what his match was, he said, ‘Unworldly crony of a minister.’”
Elan laughed uproariously. “It might as well be ‘whoring crony.’ Let it all hang out!”
Both Second Bai and Devotion laughed over this for quite a while.
When the last four courses had been served, the menservants came to replace the wine cups with large wine tumblers, but everybody stopped them. In anticipation of hearty drinking that night, they did not want to indulge themselves fully just yet, and Harmony did not press them. They had rice and then left the table.
Now Harmony Qi formally invited the sisters to perform the rites and their clients to supervise the union. With a smile, the men proceeded to carry out his order, each leading his girl to Right Target Hall. They saw that the bamboo curtains in front of the hall had been rolled up. In the hall, two candles were burning bright and incense smoke was rising up. A large scarlet carpet was spread on the floor. The men spread out on both sides to oversee the ceremony. The announcer stood on the humble side and chanted out the names, and the sisters ranged themselves according to age in two rows, making the formation of wild geese in flight. They faced inward and kowtowed four times, after which they turned to kowtow four times to each other. After the ceremony, they addressed one another according to age. At twenty-three, Sunset was the oldest and was thus Eldest Sister. At twelve, River Blossom was the youngest and thus Fourteenth Sister. As it was hard to remember the order for the rest, everybody just muddled through with either the addition of Elder
Sister or Younger Sister to their names.
Harmony Qi was in ecstasy. He entreated the sisters to remain cordial from then on and not to forget today’s union. The sisters smiled and gave their promise and then followed the men down the steps of Right Target Hall. There happened to be a little sorrel grazing under the podium with its saddle and bridle on. To show off her skill, Wenjun Yao took the reins, mounted, and started cantering back and forth along the archery path. Everybody scattered at her approach.
After watching Wenjun, Pendant turned around and could not find Harmony Qi, so she went looking for him. She caught sight of him heading west on his own, taking a walk, so she quietly gave Hairpin a tug. They left the others behind to follow him.
Harmony did not sense their presence. He kept on his track toward the Moon-worshiper’s Chamber. When he reached the slope, he suddenly caught sight of someone ducking stealthily into the bamboo grove. He thought it was Modesty Zhu going after crickets, so he also tiptoed forward, thinking he’d give him a fright. It was only when he drew near that he realized it was the announcer; the latter was gesturing, as if pleading with someone.1 Harmony stood still and loudly cleared his throat. Filled with fear, the announcer turned an ashen gray. He immediately stood in attendance, his hands pressed flat against his body and not a sound came out of him.
“Who else is here?” Harmony asked.
“There isn’t anybody,” he stuttered.
Behind them, Hairpin pointed, saying, “There, over there!” Taken unaware by her presence, Harmony also got a fright. Pendant hastened to signal her with her eyes, warning her to keep quiet. But Harmony questioned Hairpin, “What were you saying?”
Hairpin had no choice but to point once more. When Harmony turned around, he saw there was indeed a figure in the shadows, threading through the bush and trees to make her escape.
Harmony dismissed the announcer angrily. He then walked up the steps with Pendant and Hairpin. These led up the slope at the back of Moon-worshiper’s Chamber. Cassia trees had been planted all over the hill, their interlocking branches growing luxuriantly. A three-roomed little house built like a boat nestled in the green shade, bearing the signboard “Fragrant Slumber.” He walked into the inner cabin, sat down on the couch, and questioned Hairpin, “Who did you see?”
