The Golden Lotus, Volume 1

by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng

“It is very, very hard ever to know what people are really like,” Yueniang said. “A young maid like that with such a thievish head and a rat’s brain! It is disgraceful.”

  Li Jiao’er took Xiahua to her room. Guijie reproved her. “What a fool you must be,” she said. “You are sixteen years old and you ought to know what you’re about. How could you have been such an idiot? When you picked that thing up, you should have brought it here and given it to your mistress. Then, if it had been found out, she could have done something for you. Why didn’t you tell her about it? Do you enjoy having thumbscrews put on you? You are an absolute fool. You know the proverb: ‘A black-clothed man will stand beside a black pillar.’ If it were not that you belong to these apartments, we shouldn’t bother about you. But you do belong here, and now that you have been punished it brings shame upon us all.”

  Then she reproached her aunt. “You are no good either,” she said. “If I’d been in your place, I shouldn’t have allowed my maid to be punished. I should have dragged her to my room and punished her myself. Why are thumbscrews never put on other people’s maids? Why is your maid picked out? You are too soft, and your nostrils have no breath in them. If they send your maid away, I suppose you will still say nothing. But if you won’t say anything, I will. I am not going to have this girl turned out and everybody laughing at you. Meng Yulou and Pan Jinlian are like a couple of wolves. You can never hold your own against them.”

  She turned to the maid. “Do you wish to be sent away?” she said.

  “No,” said the maid.

  “Well, in the future, you must consider nobody but your mistress. You must do everything she wants you to do. Then we will do our best for you.”

  “I will do everything you say,” Xiahua said. When Ximen Qing came to Li Ping’er’s room, he found her sitting on the bed with Wu Yin’er. He was going to take his clothes off and go to bed, but Li Ping’er said: “Wu Yin’er is here, and there is no room for you. Please go somewhere else.”

  “Why is there no room for me?” said Ximen. “One of you can sleep on one side, and one on the other, and I’ll sleep in the middle. That will be all right.”

  Li Ping’er looked at him. “What bright ideas you do have,” she said.

  “Where shall I go, then?” said Ximen.

  “Go and spend the night with the Fifth Lady,” Li Ping’er said. Ximen Qing did not move for some time, then he said: “Very well, I don’t want to trouble you. I’ll go.” He went to Pan Jinlian’s room.

  He might have been an angel from Heaven. Jinlian took his clothes and girdle. Then she arranged the bed and put silken bedclothes on it. She made tea and afterwards they went to bed.

  When Ximen Qing had left, Li Ping’e and Wu Yin’er set out chessmen to play Elephant Chess. Li Ping’er told Yingchun to bring a box of fruits and heat a jar of Jinhua wine so that she might drink it with Wu Yin’er. “If you would like some food,” she said to the girl, “I will have some prepared for you.”

  “I am not hungry, Mother,” Wu Yin’er said. “Please don’t trouble my sister.”

  “Your sister Wu Yin’er is not hungry,” Li Ping’er said to Yingchun. “Bring her some fruit cakes on a tray.” After a while the tray was brought and set beside them.

  Li Ping’er and Wu Yin’er played one or two games. Then the wine was heated, and they drank together in silver cups.

  “Give me my lute,” Wu Yin’er said. “I will sing Mother a song.”

  “Perhaps you had better not sing,” Li Ping’er said. “The baby is asleep and, besides, Father might hear and he won’t like it. Let us play dice instead.” She told Yingchun to bring the dice, and they threw the dice with wine for the wager. When they had played for some time, Wu Yin’er said to Yingchun: “Go to the other room and ask the nurse to come and have some wine with us.”

  But Yingchun said: “She is in bed with the baby. He has gone to sleep.”

  “Yes, she must look after the baby,” said Li Ping’er. “Take a jar of wine to her. You don’t realize how knowing the baby is. If he is left, he wakes up at once. One day, we three were asleep on the bed. His father moved slightly and the baby opened his eyes at once. He might have known. The nurse came and took him away, but he cried and would insist on having me to nurse him.”

  Wu Yin’er smiled. “Since you have had the baby, it must be awkward for you and Father. How often does he come to you?”

  “He doesn’t come very often,” said Li Ping’er. “Sometimes several days pass and he only comes once or twice. But he often comes to see the baby. And sometimes my belly nearly bursts with anger, for now both he and the child get nothing but secret curses from some members of the household, not to speak of the curses I get. This has made me suffer a great deal, but I can’t help it. I sometimes wish he didn’t come at all, because, after he has spent the night here, the next day there is much raising of eyebrows and ugly looks, as much as to say that I monopolize him. That’s why I urged him to go away just now.

  “You don’t know how it is, my dear. There are many people in this house and that means many tongues. Look at that business of the gold today. Someone who is jealous asked the Great Lady how it could be lost in my room. Luckily it turned out that Xiahua had taken it, so there was no mistaking green for red or black for white. Otherwise they would have said that one of my maids or my nurse or old woman Feng had taken it, as if they had caught a ghost. As it was, they made old woman Feng cry and talk about killing herself. She said she would not go away if the gold wasn’t found. Now that it has been found, she has just taken a lantern and gone.”

  “Mother,” said Wu Yin’er, “you must look well after the baby for Father’s sake, and let people do what they like. The Great Lady never talks in this way. It is only the others who are jealous because you have a child. I only hope that Father will do what he thinks fit.”

  “If it hadn’t been for your father and the Great Lady,” Li Ping’er said, “the child would never have lived until today.”

  They talked and drank until the third night watch. Then they went to sleep.

  CHAPTER 45

  Beggar Ying and Wu Yin’er

  The next day Ximen Qing did not go to his office. When he got up in the morning, he went to the front court and told Daian to take two presents of food to the Qiaos’ house, one for Lady Qiao the Fifth and one for Mistress Qiao. Lady Qiao the Fifth gave the bearers two handkerchiefs and three qian of silver. Mistress Qiao gave them a roll of black cloth.

  When Ying Bojue left Ximen, he hastened to Huang the Fourth’s house. Huang had prepared and sealed ten taels of silver for him.

  “His Lordship,” he said, “told me to go and see him again after the festival. I think it will be all right about the five hundred tael contract, but what about the land tax?”

  “How much will you need?” Bojue asked him.

  “Brother Li,” said Huang the Fourth, “does not understand. He talks about borrowing from some eunuch or other. But it seems to me that anywhere we shall have to pay five percent interest. We might as well do all our borrowing here and so save a good deal of commission. I want fifty silver ingots. In other words, I must borrow a thousand taels. I am prepared to pay interest monthly.”

  Ying Bojue nodded. “Don’t worry,” he said, “I will see about that. But there are six of you. How much do you propose to give me?”

  “I will tell Brother Li that each of us must give you five taels.”

  “I think I can save that five taels for you by my cleverness,” Bojue said. “One word from me will do all you require. My wife has gone to his Lordship’s place today, so I shall not go now. But he has invited me to go tomorrow evening and see the lanterns with him. You two get up early, have some excellent dishes prepared and buy a jar of Jinhua wine. Don’t engage any singing girls, because Li Guijie and Wu Yin’er will be there, but arrange for six musicians from the bawdy house. I will take everything for you. He is sure to invite you to his party. When we are all together, I shall only need to speak a sentenc
e, or even half a sentence, and, I promise you, that will do the trick. You will get five hundred taels and make out your contract for a thousand. You pay thirty taels a month interest. It won’t cost you any more than keeping a woman. The proverb says: Forgery is not one of the recognized fine arts, yet there is no genuine lacquer to be found anywhere. When you pay your tax, put plenty of wood in the incense and mix enough pine oil with the wax. Nobody is going to find out. We have no ambition to catch any fish; all we hope to do is to stir up the water a bit. A man who wants to borrow money has only to establish a reputation, and then everything is plain sailing.”

  They agreed upon this plan. The next day Li and Huang bought the presents and Ying Bojue got two boys to carry them to Ximen’s house. When they arrived, Ximen was having the tables made ready in the outer court. Bojue made a reverence. “Yesterday,” he said, “my wife must have greatly inconvenienced you. She came home quite late.”

  “I went to a party at Zhou Nanxuan’s place,” Ximen said. “It was the first night watch when I came back, so I didn’t see any of my new relatives. They had left early. Today I am taking a holiday. That is why you don’t find me at the office.” They sat down. Bojue summoned the boys and told them to bring in the presents. The boxes were carried in and set down inside the second door.

  “Brother Li and Brother Huang,” said Bojue, “have repeatedly told me how grateful they are to you. They have nothing worthy to offer you, but they have bought these trifling things, and send them for you to dispose of among your servants.” The two boys came forward and kowtowed.

  “I have done nothing to deserve these gifts,” said Ximen Qing, “and I can’t possibly accept them. They must go back.” “Brother,” Bojue said, “if you will not accept the things, if you make the boys take them back again, my friends will die of shame. They were going to engage singing girls, but I told them not to. They have sent some musicians who are waiting outside for your orders at this moment.”

  “Well,” said Ximen, “since they have sent the things, I can’t very well send them back. I suppose we had better ask them to come and join us.”

  Ying Bojue immediately told Li’s boy to go back to his master. “Tell him that his present has been accepted,” Bojue said. “We are not sending anyone especially to invite him, but ask him and Uncle Huang to come here at once.”

  The boy brought in the presents. Ximen Qing told Daian to give him two qian of silver. Then he kowtowed and went upon his errand. The six musicians still waited for orders. Qitong brought tea, and Ximen and Ying Bojue drank it together. Then Ximen asked Bojue to go to the rooms in the eastern wing. “Have you seen Xie Xida today?” he asked.

  “No,” said Bojue, “I got up early this morning and went to Li’s place to see about the presents, and I have been too busy to see him.” Ximen Qing told Qitong to go at once and invite Xie Xida to join them.

  Shutong set the table, and dinner was served. They ate it together, and afterwards everything was cleared away. They played double sixes for wine. Ying Bojue decided to speak before Xie Xida came. “How much can you give Li and Huang?” he said.

  “I shall take back the old contract and give them another for five hundred taels.”

  “You can do that, of course,” Ying Bojue said, “but it would be better to make the amount a thousand taels. It is easier to calculate the interest. Then, too, you have no use for that gold they brought you. Let them have it back, and count it as a hundred and fifty taels. If you do that, only a little more will be needed to make up the thousand.”

  “That is a good idea,” Ximen said. “I will let them have another three hundred and fifty taels and make out the contract for a thousand. It is better than keeping gold where I have no use for it.”

  They were playing double sixes when Daian came in. He said: “Ben the Fourth is bringing a large marble screen with a shell base, two sets of bronze gongs, and some little bells. Their Highnesses, the Bai family, propose to pawn them with us for thirty taels, and Ben the Fourth wishes to know whether you are satisfied.”

  Ximen gave orders that the things should be brought in. Ben the Fourth and two other men carried them and set them down in the great hall. Ximen Qing and Ying Bojue stopped their game and went to see them. The screen was three feet wide and five feet high, made of a single piece of marble the size of a table. The frame had a pattern of conchs and was gilded, and the black and white markings in the marble were exquisitely delicate.

  Bojue looked at it. After a while he said quietly to Ximen Qing: “Brother, if you look at it closely, you will see that the markings are exactly in the shape of a couching lion keeping guard over the house.” They examined the bronze gongs and drums, decorated in gold and colors, and engraved with a cloud design. They were very handsome.

  “I should have them if I were you, Brother,” said Bojue. “You could not buy a screen like this for fifty taels, without taking the other things into account.”

  “But they may be redeemed,” Ximen Qing said.

  “Don’t trouble about that,” said Bojue. “It is like rattling down a steep hill in a carriage. If, after three years, they redeem them, the interest will amount to a tidy sum.”

  “Very well,” Ximen said. “Tell Jingji to get the money ready for them.”

  Ximen Qing had the screen cleaned and put at the upper end of the great hall. He looked at it from all angles, and, indeed, the gold and green made a very harmonious and brilliant effect. He asked if the musicians had yet had their meal. One of the servants told him they were still eating. “When they are done, tell them to come and play for us,” he said.

  The big drum was taken out of the hall and a bronze gong and drums were set down under the eaves. When they were sounded, the noise went up to the skies, and the reverberations startled the birds of the air and the fishes under the water. Meanwhile, Xie Xida was announced. He came in and greeted his two friends.

  “Come here, Brother Xie,” Ximen Qing said, “and tell me how much you think this screen is worth.” Xie Xida examined it carefully. He had nothing but good to say of it.

  “Brother,” he said, “you have a bargain here. It must be worth at least a hundred taels.”

  “Well, this,” said Ying Bojue, “the two sets of drums and gongs and the bells have all been pawned together for thirty taels.” Xie Xida clapped his hands.

  “Buddha!” he cried. “What a bargain! Thirty taels! Why, it wouldn’t buy the two sets of bronzes, not to mention the screen. Look at those two sets. How elaborately they are made. The red lacquer is all of the finest quality and there must be at least forty jin of musical bronze in them, and that is worth a lot of money. Really, everything comes in time to its proper owner. How lucky you are, Brother, to get these beautiful things so cheaply.”

  Ximen Qing asked them to go to the study. By this time Li and Huang had arrived. “Why did you trouble to give me those presents?” Ximen Qing said. “It really embarrassed me to accept them.”

  “We were ashamed to offer anything so trifling,” said Li and Huang. “They were only intended for you to give your servants. We received your order to attend here and did not dare to disobey.”

  They sat down opposite. Huatong brought five cups of tea, and they drank together. Then Daian came and asked Ximen Qing where he wished to have the table placed. “Here,” Ximen said. Daian and Qitong brought a square table and placed a small brazier beneath it. Ying Bojue and Xie Xida took the seats of honor. Ximen Qing took the host’s seat, and Li and Huang sat opposite. There was an abundance of wine, and of food appropriate to the season, and every kind of delicacy. The musicians played outside the window. Ximen sent for Wu Yin’er to serve the wine.

  Later that day there came a man from Li Guijie’s house and the maid from Wu Yin’er’s house, with sedan chairs to take the girls home. When Guijie heard that the man had come, she hurriedly went out and talked to him in a whisper for a long time. Then she went back to Wu Yueniang’s room and said she must go home. Yueniang objected. “We are all go
ing to Aunt Wu’s house,” she said, “and I want you to come with us. You will be too late to go home today. We shall come back without our chairs, for we are going to take the walk to banish the hundred illnesses.”

  “Mother,” Guijie said, “let me explain. There really ought to be someone at our house. My sister is away. My fifth aunt has come, and there will be several other guests. They expect me. If they were not anxious to have me back, they would not have sent the man for me. If I were not engaged, I should be only too glad to stay for several days.”

  When Yueniang saw that Guijie was determined to go, she told Yuxiao to fill a box with the pasties specially made for the festival and another with sweet things. These were given to the man to carry. Then she gave Guijie a tael of silver and let her go.

  Guijie said good-bye to Yueniang and the others, then went to see her aunt. Li Jiao’er went with her to the outer court and told Huatong to carry her things. When they came to the study door, the girl told Daian to ask Ximen Qing to come out. Daian slowly lifted the shutter and went in. “Guijie is going home and would like to speak to you,” he said to Ximen.

  “Guijie, you little whore!” Ying Bojue cried. “Are you still here?”

  “She is just going,” Ximen Qing said. Then he went out. Guijie kowtowed four times to him and thanked him for allowing her to come. “Can’t you stay until tomorrow?” Ximen asked.

  “My mother has sent a man with a sedan chair for me. She really needs me. But there is one thing I want to say to you before I go. It is about my aunt’s maid. You really mustn’t get rid of her. Last night my aunt gave her a very severe beating. She is so young, she really does not understand what she is doing. I gave her a good talking-to and told her she must change her ways, and she promised she would never do such a thing again. It will upset my aunt terribly if you send her away during this festival. She would have no maid, and, if the only poker you have is a wooden spoon, and a short one at that, it is still better than using the fingers. For my sake, Father, don’t turn the girl away.”