The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai

by Bangqing Han

  CHAPTER 61 :: An amateur archer shows superb marksmanship, and a clever servant labors over poetic composition

  Having viewed the chrysanthemums, Second Bai returned to his room. The next day, as he had nothing to do, he looked through the notes sent by various people asking for his calligraphy or painting and wielded his brush to fulfill many of these obligations. The day after that was spent in a similar manner. Feeling a little tired after lunch, he thought that a walk in the garden would keep sleepiness at bay, so he put his brush down and descended the stairs at a leisurely pace. It was a fine day, with wisps of cloud drifting by and the sun shining brightly high in the sky—a sight that cleared the head and gladdened the eyes. As he strolled through the front porch of Panorama Hall, he saw a handyman carrying a five-foot broom of shredded bamboo, ready to sweep the fallen leaves in the courtyard. At this sight, Second Bai recalled that at the break of dawn he had heard the sound of gusty wind and heavy showers; these leaves must have fallen during the storm. His thoughts turned to the chrysanthemum hill: could it have withstood such a trampling? It’d be a shame if the flowers had been crushed and the hill were unworthy of further viewing, for Crane Li had been looking forward to admiring it. Could anything be done about it? As he pondered this, he headed northeastward, thinking he would first check on the state of the lotus pond since that should be a good indication for the rest. As he stepped onto the Bridge of Nine Twists and looked down the stream, he saw that the black door of Pear Blossom Court was tightly locked, but against its whitewashed wall lotus flowers were blooming quite vibrantly.

  Somewhat reassured, Second Bai walked on to Moon-worshiper’s Chamber to check on the cassia blossoms. These had fallen thickly, carpeting the ground and cushioning his feet as he walked. His cloth shoes were soon covered in flower buds.

  He went into the courtyard. Here, all the windows were shut, and the soft bamboo curtains on the porches were rolled up high; the place looked long deserted. Where the menservants on duty had gone, he did not know. Shading his eyes with one hand, he looked through a window. The room was undecorated, with all the furniture stacked up.

  As he turned to go, he heard seven or eight crows taking flight and then circling overhead, cawing. That meant someone was coming. He went around Moon-worshiper’s Chamber and made for the slope on the east side. There, he saw several handymen and the menservants gathered under a tall tree. They had put a ladder against it, intending to tear down a crow’s nest in the tree, but the ladder was too short, and the nest remained out of reach. Everyone had an opinion about what should be done, but no one could actually work it out.

  Second Bai looked up at the nest. It was just the size of a watermelon, as yet unfinished, and was lodged firmly on a forked branch. He ordered a manservant to fetch a bow and arrows from Right Target Hall. After estimating the distance, he took a couple of steps back, bent the bow, took aim, and shot. The men only heard a whistle in the air; they did not even see the arrow. The nest, however, was now hanging off the branch and swaying perilously. Before they could cheer, another shot whistled through the air, and the nest fell to the ground. The men broke into joyful applause while a manservant picked up the nest with the two arrows in it and brought it forward to show Second Bai.

  He acknowledged this with a nod and a smile and then walked away aimlessly via the southeast bank of the lake and past Phoenix Pavilion. He was seen by the menservants on duty there, who rushed out to invite him in. He held up a hand to stop them and turned toward Parrot Tower. As he threaded his way into the chrysanthemum hill, he heard the sound of talk and laughter in the small pantry, where the menservants were probably playing mah-jongg. He decided not to disturb them. The chrysanthemum hill, he discovered, was protected by the mat shed and therefore undamaged. Still, it seemed to have lost some of its radiance, and in time the structure would collapse and the flowers wilt. He thought he should send out the invitations early so the chrysanthemums would have a party in their honor.

  With this thought, Second Bai returned hastily to Panorama Hall, where he penned seven invitations, worded as follows: “Awaiting the pleasure of your company at the chrysanthemum feast tomorrow at noon.” He handed them to the menservants for dispatching. Not long afterward, he heard a piping voice downstairs, talking and laughing away; it was evidently Wenjun Yao. He thought the menservants had got mixed up and had called her before time. When she came upstairs, he asked at once, “What’re you doing here?”

  “Lai the Turtle is back in Shanghai!” she replied.

  He now realized the reason she had come, so he said with a smile, “I’m giving a party tomorrow, and here you are already.”

  They walked into his room hand in hand as they talked. Active by nature, she immediately removed her outer robe and went out alone to see the various sights in the garden. When she returned, she said to Second Bai, “Things have fallen off badly since His Excellency’s departure. Even the chrysanthemums look downcast.”

  Second Bai applauded, saying, “Wonderful. There speaks the poet in you.” That evening, the two of them just whiled away their time in his room.

  The next day was the fifteenth of the tenth month. Elan Ge and Snow Scent were the first to arrive. Sitting in Second Bai’s room, they waited for Wenjun Yao to finish her toilet and accompany them to Parrot Tower. Elan Ge brought the message that both the Tao and the Zhu brothers were busy and sent their apologies. Second Bai asked what was keeping them busy, but Elan had no idea.

  Next came Iron Hua with White Orchid. The usual greetings over, they all sat down. Second Bai said, “Maestro White Orchid had better stay here for a couple days. I heard Lai the Turtle is here.”

  “Didn’t he go home a long time ago? How come he’s here again?” Elan Ge asked.

  Iron Hua said, “According to Fourth Qiao, Lai the Turtle has returned to punish several swindlers. It seems that the last time Lai went gambling with Crane Li and Fourth Qiao, they got swindled by a gangster who worked with a group. The three of them lost well over a hundred thousand in total. Luckily for them, a couple of the small-time crooks who did not get their cut let the secret out. Lai the Turtle is determined to get even with the gang.”

  Second Bai and Elan Ge both said, “Gambling in Shanghai is getting out of hand. It’s time someone gets punished.”

  “Well, it won’t be easy. I saw his wanted list. It’s headed by a mandarin of the second grade with followers numbering over a hundred, including policemen at the yamen as well as courtesans; they’re all in it,” Iron Hua said.

  “Who are the courtesans?” White Orchid, Snow Scent, and Wenjun Yao asked in unison.

  “I only remember one name: Grace Yang,” said Iron Hua.

  Everybody looked at each other, astounded. Before they could find out more, the menservants announced the arrival of none other than Crane Li and Grace Yang. Everybody made them welcome, and the subject was dropped.

  “Did you report the theft to the Chinese magistrate?” Second Bai asked.

  “Yes, I did,” Crane Li replied.

  Grace Yang stared at him angrily, “So it was you who took it to the magistrate, was it?”

  “It’s got nothing to do with you,” Crane Li said, smiling.

  “Of course it’s got nothing to do with me! You can report all you like!” Grace Yang retorted.

  “You’ve got it all mixed up. I’m talking about Second Kuang,” Crane Li said. Grace Yang fell silent.

  As noon approached, Second Bai told the menservants to get the feast ready. Since the guests were few, two square tables were put together, and the four guests and their girls sat on three sides so they could all look on the flowers as they drank.

  Eventually the talk got round to the subject of Lai the Turtle again. Grace Yang laughed sarcastically and then said, “Yesterday, Lai the Turtle came over to our place to say he would arrest Clement Zhou. The man is a well-known gangster in these foreign settlements, and all the sing-song houses know him. Last time Eldest Young Master played mah-jongg with him, I
knew he would have some tricks up his sleeve. But would those of us who make our living in the sing-song houses dare offend a gangster? Even if we saw them at their tricks, we could only keep quiet. Now Lai the Turtle turns around and accuses us of conspiring with Clement Zhou! How can that be?” As she spoke, her face was suffused with anger, and her eyes were filled with tears.

  Crane Li both laughed and sighed with exasperation, while Iron Hua and Elan Ge tried to comfort her: “Would anyone believe anything Lai the Turtle says? Let him talk away. What does it matter?”

  Second Bai wanted to change the subject. He saw the announcer standing in attendance and recalled that he had told him to write a poem on chrysanthemums as part of his lessons, so he asked the announcer whether he had finished the poem.

  “Well, I have, but I don’t know if I got it right,” the announcer replied.

  “Go and fetch it. We’ll have a look,” Second Bai said.

  The announcer assented but remained standing there, which surprised Second Bai.

  “Second Treasure of Tripod Alley has sent a man over to see you, Mr. Gao,” the announcer reported.

  As he spoke, a young man emerged from behind him and performed a salute with one knee on the ground. Second Bai recognized that it was Simplicity Zhao, the same man he had run into at the garden gate the other day. He asked the purpose of his visit and found that it was to enquire about letters from Nature Shi. “There’s none,” Second Bai said, “perhaps you should try elsewhere, ask around.”

  Simplicity Zhao could not very well pursue this further, so he followed the announcer out to the porch. The announcer went off to his own quarters to fetch the poem he had written and submitted it to Second Bai. The poem was entitled “Back in the Company of the Chrysanthemums: A Sixteen-Line, Five-Character Verse.”

  Second Bai merely laughed heartily after he had read it and then passed it on to Crane Li, Elan Ge, and Iron Hua without any comment. When they had passed it around, he asked with a smile.

  “May I ask what you think of this poem?”

  The others looked at one another. Crane Li was the first to speak. “It seems to me there isn’t much to it.”

  Elan Ge nodded in agreement: “True, but there’s nothing wrong with it either.”

  “I’ve been sitting here thinking all this while to see if I can come up with a couple of good lines on the subject, and I failed. That shows this poem definitely has its merits,” said Iron Hua.

  Still smiling, Second Bai turned to the announcer and told him to fetch an inkstone and writing brush so that the three gentlemen could each write out their comments. Crane Li praised the poem’s rhythmic felicity and efficient use of rhyme; Elan Ge singled out the poem’s structure as its greatest strength; while Iron Hua commended the unflinching focus on the subject matter.

  “Second Bai should write a commentary, too. Let’s see what he thinks,” Crane Li said.

  Second Bai chuckled and dashed his comment off in a single stroke: “A poem penned with tears and blood, its apparent ease camouflages supreme effort.”

  “This is a comment that says no comment is possible,” they all said with a smile.

  “Well, it seems you did all right,” Second Bai said to the announcer.

  Well pleased with himself, the announcer left with the poem and the inkstone and brush to reread the commentaries on his own. On the porch, however, he was grabbed by Simplicity Zhao, who pleaded with him, “Could you please ask for me once again? It’s been said that Third Young Master has come to Shanghai; is it true?”

  The announcer went back to relay the question. Second Bai said, “He got it wrong. The one who has come back is Young Master Lai, not Shi.”

  Simplicity Zhao heard this outside the window and realized that he had made a mistake. He waited until the announcer came out so he could take his leave. The announcer walked him out part of the way.

  Deeply depressed, Simplicity Zhao returned home to Tripod Alley to report to his mother that there had been no letters from Nature Shi. He also recounted that his alleged return was a mistake. Second Treasure happened to be sitting with their mother. She was so angry at the news that she just stared, unable to speak.

  Mrs. Zhao heaved a heavy sigh and then said, “I’m afraid Third Young Master is not coming! It’s all over for us!”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure. Third Young Master isn’t that kind of man,” said Simplicity.

  Mrs. Zhao sighed again. “Well, you can’t tell. It would have been all right had she gone home with him. But now she’s left hanging in the air. How’s it all going to end?”

  Second Treasure tossed her head and snapped, “Mother, stop talking nonsense!” This was enough to make Mrs. Zhao shut up and lower her head. Simplicity, at a loss what to do, slipped out of the room.

  The maid, Tiger, who had heard everything outside the door, felt she had to come in and offer some advice. She said, “Second Miss, you’re too young to appreciate the problems of the brothel business. You shouldn’t listen to the things clients tell you. You never told us what Third Young Master said to you, so we know nothing about it. Now there’s been no letter from him for more than a month. It seems things aren’t quite right, wouldn’t you think so? If Third Young Master doesn’t come, you’ll have to work things out yourself. The bills you’ve run up at the jewelry stores, silk shops, and import stores come to three or four thousand dollars; how are you going to pay them? I’m not trying to interfere, but it’s best if you’re prepared. Otherwise you’ll just lose face when the time comes.”

  Second Treasure flushed crimson but dared not respond. Suddenly, they heard Tailor Zhang calling out that he needed colored threads to be bought for immediate use. Tiger simply ignored this and sauntered out of the room. Mrs. Zhao had no choice but to tell the servant girl, Clever, to buy them, but Clever did not understand what colors were needed and kept pestering Tailor Zhang. When Simplicity saw this, he said, “I’ll go get them.”

  This scene further annoyed Second Treasure. Unable to find relief for her rage, she went listlessly back to her room and lay down on the bed; she thought the matter over and over but still had no idea what to do.

  At nightfall, Tailor Zhang delivered a newly made ensemble consisting of a dark blue satin cape lined with ermine and a scarlet crepe skirt. He asked Second Treasure to examine it, but she did not even get up. She just said, “Leave it there.”

  Tailor Zhang did as he was told and then asked, “There’s another ensemble with fox fur lining. Shall I start on it?”

  “Of course you should. Why ask?”

  “Then the lace trimming, the satin trimming, and the lining border should all be purchased tomorrow,” he said.

  She grunted assent faintly.

  After Tailor Zhang was gone, it was all quiet upstairs. When it was past nine o’clock, Clever and Tiger brought dinner for Second Treasure.

  “I don’t want it,” she said.

  Clever, in her naïveté, tried to pull Second Treasure up. Annoyed, the latter barked at her to keep off. Clever could only sit down with Tiger to eat with her. After they had finished, they removed the dishes. Tiger brought a hot towel for her own use and did not ask Second Treasure if she wanted to wash her face. Clever, however, made a pot of tea for Second Treasure.

  Tiger opened the trunk to put away the new clothes. Holding the candlestick for her, Clever said admiringly, “This ermine is so fine! Did it cost a lot?”

  Tiger sneered. “Humph! It takes real good fortune to wear clothes like this. Without the good fortune, even if you have money, you don’t get to wear them.”1

  Second Treasure, lying on the bed, pretended not to hear. She was fuming inside, but Clever and Tiger paid her no attention. Later in the evening, they each went to bed, but Second Treasure did not close her eyes all night.

  ::

  1. [The clothes were bridal ensembles for an official’s wife. Ordinary women were not entitled to wear them, let alone prostitutes. E.H.]

  CHAPTER 62 :: Simplicity Zhao’
s affair with the servant girl is exposed, and Twin Jade overhears gossip about “wives”

  Second Treasure thought hard all night. At daybreak, she got up and tiptoed downstairs, her hair still uncombed, and went into her mother’s room. Mrs. Zhao was asleep in bed, snoring loudly. There was a small bed off to one side for Simplicity Zhao, but it was empty. Second Treasure woke Mrs. Zhao and asked, “Where’s Brother?”

  “No idea.”

  Second Treasure, though, had a pretty good idea. She went back upstairs and walked into the mezzanine room, where she lifted the servant girl Clever’s bed curtains. Sure enough, Simplicity and Clever were lying together, sound asleep. Second Treasure’s fury exploded. She shook and slapped them mercilessly, waking them both. Simplicity got off the bed, naked except for the underpants he somehow managed to put on; he ran out of the room. Clever was so embarrassed, she hid under the quilt and stayed there, not daring to show her face.

  Second Treasure scolded and cursed for a long while before she went back to her mother’s room. Mrs. Zhao was sitting in bed with her clothes draped over her shoulders. Second Treasure’s eyes bulged and lips trembled as she sat down bolt upright on the edge of the bed.

  “Who was making a row upstairs?” Mrs. Zhao asked.

  Second Treasure made no reply. She thought this affair had to be hushed up and she could use it to her own end, so she consulted with Mrs. Zhao about sending Simplicity to Nanjing to seek out Third Young Master Shi and ask for a definite answer from him. As Mrs. Zhao also believed this was the right course of action, Second Treasure called out loudly, “Brother!”

  A fearful Simplicity showed up and stood in trepidation to one side. Second Treasure prodded Mrs. Zhao to indicate that she should speak, which she did briefly, telling Simplicity to commence the journey that very day. Simplicity dared not object.

  Second Treasure gave him repeated instructions, “When you get to Nanjing, make sure you ask Third Young Master face-to-face why he hasn’t sent any letters and when he is coming to Shanghai. Don’t forget.”