The Golden Lotus, Volume 1

by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng

  THE PROCURATOR FOR MILITARY AFFAIRS, YUWEN XUZHONG

  A Memorial

  This is respectfully to implore Your Sacred Justice to punish the traitors in high places, that the morale of the army may be reconstituted and the disturbance at the frontier quelled.

  I am not unaware that during every Dynasty there have been frontier attacks. In the Zhou dynasty this happened at Taiyuan; in the Han dynasty at Yinshan; and in the Tang dynasty at Hedong. During the period of the Five Kingdoms these attacks went on unceasingly. Since the great dynasty of Song has been established, our four frontiers have more than once been threatened. It is common knowledge that signs of decay without are an indication of the depredations of worms within. There is an old saying that when the bell booms in the hall, it is a sign of frost; and when the foundations are flooded, we may know that there has been rain. Good fortune and ill fortune alike have their proper causes. This is apparent in every case of sickness. When the heart and stomach suffer from disease, that disease has long been acquiring strength, and the patient’s physique has been gradually sapped from within. Then, one day a cold wind blows, and the chill affects every part of his body. Even the physicians Lu and Bian can do nothing for that man and his days are numbered.

  The condition of this Empire is precisely that of such an invalid, thin and wasted to a most precarious degree. Your Majesty is the head; the Ministers are the stomach and heart; and the lesser officers the limbs. Your Majesty sits in sublime state above the Nine Degrees, and, if the officers whose duty it is to carry on the business of the Empire are loyal and dutiful in their less exalted stations, then the natural vigor of the Empire will be sound indeed; the armies will afford protection against attack from without; and the menace of these barbarians can remain unheeded.

  Now, of those who are chiefly to be held responsible for the trouble between our soldiers and the barbarians, there is none more infamous than Cai Jing, the Minister of the Palace of Chong Zheng. His courses of action have been both dangerous and unpolitic, and he is, moreover, improvident and without shame. Since he but flatters your Majesty, he is unable to assist you and your ministers to maintain the Sacred Authority and to improve the condition of the people. He is unable to foster virtue and concord among the lower orders, thus promoting peace among the people. He maintains himself by selling profit and position, seeking only for favor and to make his own position secure. He has set up a faction of his own, and harbors evil designs. All this he has done in secret, deceiving your Sacred Majesty. He has done injury to all the well-affected, and faithful men have been alienated. There is in his household none who has not robed himself in red and purple garments of office. Lately, when there broke out disorder in He Huang, he suggested a declaration of war in the east, and lost three districts. The rebellion of Guo Yaoshi was the cause of the Jin country’s denouncing its treaty with us; and we lost its friendship.

  These are his greatest misdeeds, and they are due entirely to his disloyalty. Wang Fu is greedy for money and misconducts himself, behaving like an actor, but Cai Jing recommended him for appointment. Only a short time after securing this appointment, he led the army to disaster, and then, in the hope of saving his own skin, made a patched-up peace, without having any notion of further consequences. Now that Zhang Da has been defeated at Taiyuan, Wang Fu is terrified and all soldiers in a panic, so that by this time the invaders have already reached the interior, while he has escaped with his wife and children to the South. The guilt of such treasonable conduct deserves a punishment worse than death.

  Yang Jian is nothing but a wealthy and ignorant young man, who relies upon the reputation of his ancestors and the favor of those in high official positions. He obtained a command but has succeeded very indifferently in this very vital position on the frontier. Though in reality he is a man of evil character, he poses as a devoted subject. His lack of determination is unrivaled.

  These three officers have been in very intimate relations and, both within and without the Court, have been guilty of deceitful conduct. They are, as it were, the disease that has affected your Majesty’s heart and stomach. For many years they have been the cause of troubles, and have brought upon us calamities that are sapping away the natural vigor of the body politic and undermining the State. Taxes have increased and the people have migrated in consequence. Bandits and thieves have shown unexampled boldness, and even bear arms against their lawful sovereign. The Imperial Treasury is exhausted and the laws of the Kingdom made of no effect. The crimes that these men have committed outnumber the hairs on their heads.

  I accept responsibility for what I have said, but it is my duty to point out that which is in need of amendment, and if, when I perceive traitors meddling in the affairs of State, I fail to convey the fact to Your Majesty, I should be untrue to myself and unworthy the favor of a Lord and Father. I pray therefore that Your Exalted Justice will summon Jing and the others before the officers of the law that due chastisement may be awarded.

  The penalties suggested are

  The Extreme Penalty

  The Cangue

  Banishment to a Far Country

  Thus may the evil course be stayed and the favor of Heaven restored, while the desires of the common people will be satisfied. If the laws of this Empire are duly enforced, all disorders and troubles will come to an end of themselves. This would be indeed fortunate for our Empire, and for both officials and people.

  Here follows the sentence of the Imperial Sage.

  Cai Jing shall remain in office for the time being. Wang Fu and Yang Jian shall be sent before the Justices. Let them be tried with due care and the report sent to us.

  TAKE HEED, TAKE HEED, AND OBEY.

  The Findings of the Court

  The traitors Wang Fu and Yang Jian are found guilty of negligence of duty as military commanders. They have permitted the soldiers of other nations to invade the interior, and many have lost their lives in consequence. Our armies have been defeated, many officers killed, and the territory of this Empire lost.

  The Law decrees their execution.

  Their households, secretaries, and underlings, Dong Sheng, Lu Hu, Yang Sheng, Bang Xuan, Han Zongren, Chen Hong, Huang Yu, Liu Sheng and Zhao Hongdao are all accessories in their crime, and, after wearing the cangue for one month, shall be banished to the frontiers as private soldiers.

  When Ximen Qing had read this, his good humor vanished. He fell into a terrible state of agitation. At once he began to get ready gold, silver, and jewels, packed them with the greatest care, and, calling his two servants Laibao and Laiwang to his room, gave them secret instructions. They were to hire several beasts of burden, go to the Eastern Capital, traveling both night and day, and get all the information they could about the matter.

  “It will be better for you not to go to Chen’s house,” Ximen said. “If the news you hear is bad, do what you can with these things, and come back and report to me.” He gave them twenty taels of silver. Next morning, before it was light, they rose, hired drivers, and started for the Eastern Capital.

  All that night Ximen Qing never closed his eyes. The next morning he ordered Laizhao and Ben the Fourth to cease work upon the garden and send all the workmen away. Every day he had the gate most carefully secured, and no one in his household was allowed to go out except on business of the utmost urgency. Ximen himself paced up and down his room like a centipede on hot earth, brooding over his sorrows and anticipating all manner of trouble. As for his marriage with Li Ping’er, all thoughts of that were banished to regions beyond the clouds. Yueniang saw how greatly his anxieties weighed upon her husband—his appearance showed that clearly— and tried to console him.

  “You need not be so distressed over this misfortune of our kinsman Chen,” she said. “Hatred and debt always pursue their proper object.”

  “Oh, woman! what do you know about it?” Ximen cried. “Chen is my kinsman, and so long as my daughter and her husband live with us, they will be a millstone about our necks. Nearly all our neig
hbors detest us, and as the old proverb says: Though the loom be slow, the shuttle is speedy, and Beat the sheep, and the young donkeys will stir up trouble. If there are any small-minded men among them who take it into their heads to uproot the tree to see what the roots are like, neither you nor I will be safe from them, to say nothing of the rest of the family. Even if we lie low here and keep our door shut, trouble will find its way through the roof.”

  Ximen Qing remained sadly at home.

  Li Ping’er waited for him, one day, two days, but he did not come. She ordered old woman Feng to go to his house. The old woman went twice, but the gate was shut as closely as the iron cover of a well, and, though she waited a very long time, not a sign of life was to be seen and she could not find out what was amiss. The twenty-fourth day was drawing near, and again Li Ping’er told old woman Feng to take the headdresses to Ximen and ask him to come and talk to her. The old woman knocked at the door, but no answer was vouchsafed, so she took her stand beneath the eaves of a house opposite and waited. After a while Daian came out to water the horses, and saw her standing there.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “My mistress told me to bring these headdresses and find out why she has had no message from your master. She would like to see him.”

  “My master has been too busy to go out these last few days,” Daian said. “Take the things back, old lady, and as soon as I have finished watering the horses I will tell him what you say.”

  “Take them in, good little brother,” the old woman said, “and tell him that my lady is not at all pleased. I will wait here.”

  Daian tethered his horses, and went in. Some time later he came out again. “I have told my master, and he has taken the headdresses. He says you must ask your lady to wait a few days longer, and then he will come and see her.”

  The old woman went home and told her mistress all that had happened. For several days more she waited for him, till the fifth month had nearly come to an end. Morning and evening she longed for him to come, but there was not a word from him. Her dreams were dashed to the ground, her good fortune seemed to have come to an end.

  Ximen Qing’s absence made Li Ping’er lose her appetite. She became very languid. Night after night she slept alone, tossing about on her bed, the same ideas constantly re-echoing in her mind. Suddenly, she heard a knocking at the door. Ximen Qing had come at last. She opened the door for him and smiled, taking him by the hand to lead him within. She asked why he had so long delayed their marriage, and they spoke to each other the deepest thoughts of their hearts. They spent the whole night in the enjoyment of their love. When day broke and the cock crew, he rose and went away. It was a dream. The woman woke with a start, gave a great cry, and fainted away. Old woman Feng heard and quickly ran in.

  “Master Ximen has just gone,” Li Ping’er said. “Have you bolted the door?”

  “Where is his Lordship?” the old woman said. “Your mind is wandering. Not even his shadow has been here.”

  From this time onward Li Ping’er dreamed many unseemly things and, night after night, foxes came, taking upon themselves human form, and sucked away her very life. By degrees her face grew pale and thin. She could neither eat nor drink, but lay all day upon her bed, unable to get up. With her permission, old woman Feng asked Doctor Jiang Zhushan of the High Street to come and see her. This Jiang was not more than thirty years of age, not very tall, and a very pleasant fellow. When he came in, Li Ping’er was lying on the bed with the bedclothes over her, her hair about her like a mist of cloud. The doctor could see that she was anything but well. After he had taken tea, a maid gave him a cushion, and he went to the bedside to feel his patient’s pulse. This gave him an opportunity to find out how pretty she was.

  “Lady,” he said, “I think I know what is the matter with you. There is considerable irregularity in the pulse of the liver, which, above the wrist, appears to be too strong. As for that pulse which is peculiar to ladies, it is so weak above the wrist that it cannot be felt, but appears to have betaken itself to the hollow beneath the thumb. This is clearly due to the fact that the masculine and feminine principles are at war within you, thus interfering with the six passions and the seven emotions. So you sometimes feel hot and sometimes cold. Evidently you are suffering from repression of some sort. This produces a state of affairs rather like a fever, though it is not a fever, and makes you feel cold, though you are not cold. During the day it makes you weary, low-spirited, and anxious to lie down all the time; and at night you feel as though your spirit were on the point of departure, and dream that ghosts come and misconduct themselves with you. Unless something is done about it at once, the trouble will take a still more serious turn and you may even die. Oh, it is very serious, very.”

  “Doctor,” Li Ping’er said, “please let me have some of your very best medicine, and when I am better you shall have a handsome fee.”

  “I will take the utmost care, Madam,” Zhushan said, “and, when you take my medicine, you will soon be quite well again.” He went away.

  Old woman Feng took five taels of silver and went to the doctor’s house for the medicine. The same evening Li Ping’er took it, and enjoyed an undisturbed night’s rest. Gradually her appetite returned; she was able to get up and dress; and, in a very short time, was completely recovered.

  One day she spent three taels, and sent old woman Feng to invite the doctor to dinner. As soon as Jiang Zhushan received the invitation, he dressed and went to the lady’s house, for indeed, ever since he had first attended her, he had desired to possess her. Dressed in her most beautiful clothes, Li Ping’er received him in the hall. She made a reverence to him and offered him tea. Then she asked him to go into the inner room, where wine and dishes were set out and there was a delightful fragrance of orchids. Xiuchun came, holding a gilded tray upon which were three taels of white gold. Li Ping’er raised a jade cup high before her, and again made a reverence to the doctor.

  “I was very ill,” she said, “and I find it hard to express my gratitude to you for giving me such excellent medicine and curing me. Today, doctor, I have hastily prepared a poor cup of wine in token of my thankfulness, and now I beg you to accept it.”

  “It was no more than the business of a poor scholar like myself,” Zhushan said. “It was my duty to come and attend you, and there was no occasion for you to give the matter a second thought.” Then he saw the white gold. “I cannot possibly accept this,” he said.

  “It only represents a fraction of my gratitude,” Li Ping’er said, “and is in no way what you deserve. But I hope, doctor, that you will condescend to accept it.”

  After much show of hesitation Zhushan finally accepted the present. Li Ping’er poured wine for him, and they sat down and drank together. Zhushan looked at her and realized how charming and attractive she was. He began to wonder what words he should choose to make an impression upon her.

  “May I ask how old you are?” he said at last.

  “I have lived twenty-four ill-spent years,” she said.

  “But that is a delightful age,” Zhushan cried, “yet you live in such seclusion. You seem to be quite comfortably off and everything should be well with you. Why should you suffer so from depression?”

  Li Ping’er smiled. “I will tell you, doctor,” she said. “Since I lost my husband, things have been very lonely here. I live alone and worry. Does it surprise you that I should be ill?”

  “When did your husband die?” the doctor said.

  “It was the eleventh month of last year when he died of a fever. About eight months ago now.”

  “Ah,” Zhushan exclaimed, “and whose medicine did he take?”

  “Doctor Hu, who lives in the High Street, attended him.”

  “What? That foxy-mouthed Hu, who used to live in East Street in Eunuch Liu’s house? He is not a member of the Royal Society of Medicine. He knows nothing about the pulse. What can have induced you to call him in?”

  “The neighbors recommended him
, and really I don’t think it was his fault that my husband died so young.”

  “Have you any children?” Zhushan asked.

  “None,” said Li Ping’er.

  “It is most unfortunate that you should have become a widow so young,” Zhushan said, “especially since you have no children. Why do you not consider the desirability of another mode of life, something better than living by yourself like this and bringing sickness upon yourself?”

  “As a matter of fact,” Li Ping’er said, “I became engaged only a little while ago, and we are going to be married almost immediately.”

  “May I venture to ask to whom you are betrothed?”

  “To Master Ximen, who keeps a medicine shop over by the Town Hall.”

  “Dear, dear!” Zhushan said. “Surely you haven’t become engaged to him! I know him quite well. I often go to attend the members of his household when they are ill. He is the man who arranges things behind the scenes at the Town Hall and is mixed up in shady money-lending transactions. He makes quite a business of dealing in women. Apart from his maids, he must have at least half a dozen wives. He is always thrashing them. If one of his women upsets him in the slightest, he sends at once for the go-between and gets rid of her. In fact, he is a captain among wife beaters and a shining light among those who lead women astray.

  “I am glad you have told me this, Lady, for otherwise you would have gone blindly to him, like a moth rushing headlong into a flame. If you do this, you will be in a hopeless position and it will be too late to repent. Moreover, only recently, one of his relatives has got into trouble. Ximen has had to hide away in his house and dares not go outside his own door. His new house is only half built, but all the work upon it has been stopped. An order has come from the Eastern Capital that he is to be arrested and his property confiscated to the State. How can you think of marrying him?”