Fortress Besieged

by Qian Zhongshu

  Before he’d even read it through to the end, Hung-chien became so enraged he wanted to get down from the chair and jump about and curse. He restrained himself, however, until the sedan bearers had gone ten li and stopped to rest, then handed Miss Sun a wad of paper, saying, “Look! A letter from Kao Sung-nien. Who wants a gift from him? When we get to Hengyang, I’m going to send it back in a registered letter. Oh, this is great. I was just about to write him a letter and tell him off. I only wished I had an excuse. Now this letter of his gives me a good opportunity to write him back and really let him have it.”

  Miss Sun said, “I think he meant well by the letter. Why make an enemy of him for nothing? What good will it do you to curse him? What if he has really recommended you to someone?”

  “You are always so full of reason,” he said angrily. “You won’t even let a person enjoy himself with a bit of foolishness. Well, the more reasonable you get, the less I’ll listen to reason.”

  “It’s hot out,” she said, “and I’m already thirsty. Don’t quarrel with me. It’s still four days before we get to Hengyang. If by that time you still want to write a letter cursing Kao Sung-nien, I certainly won’t stop you.”

  He knew very well that by that time he would probably be so influenced by her stand that he would write back thanking Kao, and this made him even more furious. Instead of pouring the water for her, he just tossed her the army thermos, saying, “What nerve sending this gift! We haven’t even chosen a date for the wedding, so why did he say in his letter our ‘marriage ceremony has been completed’? He meant something by that, I’ll tell you. Since you and I are traveling together, he thinks—”

  “Don’t say it!” she interrupted. “You are so suspicious. And most of the suspicions are evil.” She crumpled Kao’s letter into a ball as she spoke and flung it into a pond by the fields. She had just had a drink of hot water, and the redness in her face still hadn’t faded by the time she stepped back into her sedan chair.

  Because of the airplane ticket, they stayed in Kweilin ten or fifteen days, enjoying themselves so much it seemed more that the days were slipping by them than that they were spending the days. They consigned their two big trunks to the shipping company Hsin-mei had introduced them to and were told that the trunks would reach Shanghai in a month or so. As they had ample traveling funds, it didn’t matter if they stayed on a few days longer. The day before they were to board the airplane, the weather was still nice. That night it suddenly started to rain, but in the morning the rain stopped and there was a bit of fog. It was the first time either of them had been on an airplane, and they had a very uncomfortable time of it, throwing up like sick cats. When they landed in Hong Kong, Hsin-mei was there at the airport to greet them. With their energy all but vomited out of them, they were unable to express the joy of meeting Hsin-mei after a long separation.

  Upon seeing their ashen faces, Hsin-mei said, “Did you throw up? Never mind. The first time you fly you always have to pay a toll. I’ll go help you find a hotel so you can get a good rest. This evening I’ll give you a welcoming party.”

  Once they got to the hotel, Hung-chien and Jou-chia were anxious to rest. When Hsin-mei noticed they were taking only one room, he secretly turned his face to the wall and stuck his tongue out in surprise. On his way up the Peak to his relative’s home, he smiled to himself, then frowned and sighed.

  After some sleep, Hung-chien regained his energy, and he changed his clothes to wait for Hsin-mei. Mahjong noise from next door and the clopping of wooden clogs on the street had kept Miss Sun awake, and she still felt nauseated. Leaning back against the sofa, she said she didn’t feel like going out. Alarmed, Hung-chien urged her to rouse herself a little so as not to disappoint Hsin-mei. She told him to go by himself, adding, “The two of you have lots of things to talk about, and I couldn’t get a word in anyway. I’d just sit on the sidelines like an idiot. He didn’t invite any other woman, so whether I go or not won’t make any difference. And I’ll tell you something, the restaurant he’s invited us to is sure to be a ritzy one, and I don’t have anything to wear. I’d just be a disgrace.”

  Hung-chien said, “I didn’t know you were so vain! You can wear that flowered silk dress.”

  Miss Sun said with a laugh, “I haven’t spent any of your money on clothes yet, and already I’m getting scolded for being vain. In the future I’ll make sure you pay the tailor’s bill for me! That dress is too old-fashioned. On the way here I noticed the dresses the girls on the street are wearing. The sleeves and hems have all gotten much shorter. And I don’t have any white shoes either. I’d go buy a pair now, but I’m afraid to move. My stomach still doesn’t feel right.”

  When Hsin-mei arrived and learned that Miss Sun was sick, he immediately suggested they have dinner some other time. She wouldn’t allow it and insisted that the two men go out and eat.

  Relieved, Hsin-mei said, “Mrs.—uh—Miss Sun, how good you are! You’ll certainly be a very understanding wife. If it had been another woman, she’d have kept a strict watch on Hung-chien and not allowed him to have any freedom. Hung-chien, can you bear to part from her for a little while? Tell the truth. Don’t complain behind my back that Old Chao kept you apart.”

  Hung-chien looked pleadingly at Miss Sun and said, “You really don’t need me to keep you company?”

  Noticing his expression, Miss Sun forced a smile and said, “You go ahead. I’m not seriously ill, after all. Mr. Chao, I’m very sorry—”

  “Not at all,” said Hsin-mei. “Today’s invitation was nothing special. In a few days when you’ve recovered, I’ll invite you out properly. Well then, I’ll take him away. I’ll bring him back to you safe and sound within an hour and a half. Ha, ha! Hung-chien, let’s go! Oh, wait, maybe you have a simple ceremony for parting lovers. I’ll wait for you by the elevator—”

  Hung-chien pulled him away, saying, “Cut the nonsense.”

  When Hsin-mei was a political science major at an American university, he had once audited a course in “The Psychology of Diplomacy.” The professor, who had held several posts as an embassy attaché, once said in class that when Americans invited someone out for dinner to conduct negotiations, they came straight to the point and began talking seriously the moment they sat down, even before the food was served. Europeans only talked irrelevant nonsense during the meal and didn’t get down to business until they were having their coffee after the meal was over. He asked Hsin-mei how it was with the Chinese, but Hsin-mei had only given a silly smile and been unable to answer. Hsin-mei also had serious matters to discuss with Hung-chien, but that day’s dinner was to be a happy get-together for two good friends. If any serious matters were brought up at the dinner table, it would only spoil the atmosphere.

  After leaving the hotel, Hsin-mei said, “You haven’t had any Western food for almost a year, so I’m taking you to an Austrian restaurant. It’s not too far, and since it’s still early, let’s walk over slowly. We can have more time to talk.”

  Hung-chien merely said, “Actually you don’t need to waste your money,” and was about to comment, “You’re looking even better than you did then. You’ll be an official some day!” when Hsin-mei coughed dryly and without turning his gaze said, “Why didn’t you get married before you took the trip?”

  Hung-chien suddenly remembered how they had been registering at hotels under the name of Mr. and Mrs. Fang all along the way. Today when he got off the plane, he had been too dizzy to pay any attention to this. He was secretly glad Hsin-mei was walking beside him and couldn’t see his burning face. He said hastily, “I wanted it that way myself, but she was dead set against it. She insists on returning to Shanghai to get married. She said her father—”

  “Then, you’re too weak.” Hsin-mei felt this English word was inserted quite fittingly and made a very good diplomatic term: If Hung-chien and Miss Sun had had no relations, then the word meant he couldn’t make up his mind whether to get married or not and was completely under her thumb. If they had done as he
expected, then needless to say the word held a subtler implication, as in “But the flesh is weak,” and couldn’t have been better chosen.

  Like an already convicted criminal, Hung-chien was unable to deny Hsin-mei’s accusation and decided just to give up and let his face redden away. “I regret it now, too,” he said haltingly. “But we have to go home anyway. All the ceremonies and procedures are a big nuisance. Might as well let the family take care of it.”

  “Has Miss Sun been vomiting and not been able to eat?”

  When Hung-chien heard Hsin-mei change the course of the conversation, he relaxed and said, “Yes! The plane jolted terribly today. Last night she did all the packing. Hsin-mei, do you remember that time we had dinner at the Wangs and Fan Yi started gossiping about how she couldn’t clean up her things—”

  “She should be all right from the plane’s jolting by now. During our trip together last year the buses were shaking as much, yet she never threw up. Could there be some other reason? I’ve heard that throwing up—” Hsin-mei quickly added, “Of course, I’ve no experience,” and laughed a forced, mirthless laugh.

  Hung-chien hadn’t expected Hsin-mei to return to this question again. Like someone escaping an air raid who thinks the planes have flown off only to find they have circled overhead and begun thunderously bombing away, he was so startled he forgot his shame and just said, “That couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be.” At the same time he was filled with dread, knowing it very well could be.

  Chewing on his pipe stem, Hsin-mei said, “Hung-chien, we’re close friends. I’m not Miss Sun’s legal guardian, but I did more or less accept her father’s charge. I urge you to get married as soon as possible by the simplest method. You don’t need to go to Shanghai to have the ceremony. In any case you won’t be able to buy your steamer tickets for a week. You might as well stay an extra four or five days as a honeymoon and then take the next ship home. Other matters aside, if you return home to get married, you can’t avoid inviting lots of friends and relatives over to celebrate. That will be no small expense. I know Miss Sun’s circumstances, and your old man is not exactly well off either, so if you can save, why not do so? Why must you let them take charge of your wedding?”

  Apart from the economic reasons, Hsin-mei brought up a succession of other pros and cons to prove that the sooner Hung-chien got married the better. Hung-chien was soon persuaded, and as though a major impasse had been broken, Hung-chien said, “I’ll tell all this to Jou-chia later. Could you please find out for me whether there’s a registration type of civil wedding here and how complicated the procedure is?”

  Feeling his mission had been accomplished, Hsin-mei was jubilant. During dinner he ordered a bottle of wine and said, “Remember that time I got you drunk? Ha, ha! If I got you drunk today, I wouldn’t be doing right by Miss Sun.”

  Hsin-mei asked several questions about the school, then said with a sigh, “It was like a bad dream—how is she?”

  Hung-chien said, “Who? Mrs. Wang? I heard she recovered from her illness. I never went to the Wangs.”

  Hung-chien said, “I really feel sorry for her.” Noticing a smile brewing on Hung-chien’s face, he quickly added, “I feel sorry for everyone, for Wang Ch’u-hou, for myself, for Miss Sun, and for you, too.”

  Hung-chien said with a laugh, “I can understand why you feel sorry for Mr. and Mrs. Wang. Their marriage will never make it. Unless Wang Ch’u-hou dies pretty soon, there’s bound to be a divorce. But what’s so pitiful about you? Your family has money, and you yourself are very successful in your job. It’s your own fault you haven’t gotten married. It’s not Fan Yi’s or even Mrs. Wang’s—”

  Having had a drink, Hsin-mei was already quite red in the face. When he heard this, it got no redder, but his eyes blinked as if to dodge.

  “All right, I won’t say anything more. I’ve lost my job, so of course I’m pitiful. Do you feel sorry for Miss Sun because she’s mismatched to me?”

  “No, no,” said Hsin-mei. “You don’t understand.”

  “Why don’t you say it?”

  “No, I won’t.”

  “I think you must have a new girl friend.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Because you talk in a coquettish manner just like a little girl. You must have come under someone’s influence.”

  “Rubbish!” said Hsin-mei. “All right then, I’ll tell you, OK? Didn’t I say once before that Miss Sun was conniving? As a third party, it seems to me that she went through all kinds of trouble—”

  An obscure thought which had lain dormant deep down in Hung-chien’s consciousness seemed to be suddenly roused by Hsin-mei’s remark.

  “No, no, I’m drunk. I’m just talking nonsense. Hung-chien, you mustn’t tell your wife. How stupid of me. I forgot the present you isn’t the same as the old you. From now on when your old buddy talks to you, he should draw a boundary line,” and as he spoke, he drew a line in the air about an inch from the table with the knife in his hand.

  Hung-chien said, “You make marriage sound so awful. It’s like being denounced by the people and deserted by your friends.”

  Hsin-mei said with a smile, “It’s not being denounced by the people and deserted by your friends; it’s that you yourself desert your friends and denounce the people. But enough of that. Tell me, what are your plans after the summer vacation?”

  Hung-chien told him he was looking for a job. Hsin-mei said that the international situation was in a mess. Europe was bound to get into the war, and since Japan was an Axis Power, she’d be dragged in sooner or later, too. Shanghai, Tientsin, and Hong Kong were all unstable, which was why he was taking his mother to Chungking. “But you’ll probably have to stay in Shanghai for a while this time. Would you like to work a few months at my old newspaper office? The head of the Office of Information is going to the interior. I’ll recommend you to take his place. The pay isn’t very good, but you could take another job on the side.”

  Hung-chien thanked him warmly. When Hsin-mei asked him if he had enough money with him, Hung-chien replied that his wedding would cost a bit, and he wasn’t sure if he had enough or not. Hsin-mei offered to lend him some.

  Hung-chien said, “What’s borrowed must be returned.”

  Hsin-mei said, “The day after tomorrow I’ll give you a sum as my wedding gift. You must accept it.”

  Hung-chien protested fervently, and Hsin-mei cut him off. “You mustn’t refuse it. If I were married myself, I wouldn’t have the freedom to lend money to friends.”

  Hung-chien was so moved his eyes became moist, while inwardly he despised himself for it. He owed Hsin-mei so much, he thought, yet it was over this measly sum of money that he was shedding tears. Knowing Hsin-mei didn’t want his gratitude, he said, “From the way you talk, it sounds as though you’re going to get married yourself. Don’t try to keep it from me.”

  Without responding, Hsin-mei told the waiter to bring him his suit jacket, took out his wallet, and looked around for a long time as though digging a mine, then solemnly drew out a small photograph of a bright-eyed girl with a very serious expression on her face.

  Hung-chien took one look and exclaimed, “Wonderful! Wonderful! Who is she?”

  Hsin-mei took back the photograph, looked it over carefully and said with a grin, “Don’t praise her so enthusiastically. You’ll make me jealous. We had a misunderstanding once before. When you look at the picture of a friend’s girl friend, a polite show of approval is enough. You don’t have to get enthusiastic.”

  “How ridiculous!” said Hung-chien. “Who is she?”

  “Her father is a Szechwanese friend of my late father’s. I stayed at his home, when I first went to Szechwan.”

  “The way you do it, the older generation is tied by friendship while the younger is united through marriage. The friendship continues from one generation to another. Well, our future sons and daughters—” Miss Sun’s condition came to mind and he felt he had misspoken. “Uh—she looks quite young to me
. Is she still in school?”

  Hsin-mei said, “She wouldn’t study liberal arts the way she’s supposed to but had to be fashionable and study electrical engineering or something. She complained about it all day. Then when school let out for summer vacation and her report card came, it turned out she had flunked two subjects and couldn’t be promoted. She wanted to save face and wouldn’t transfer to another department or school. So she quit school and wants to marry me. Ha, ha. Such a silly girl. I’d like to thank the two professors who flunked her. I won’t ever teach again myself, but if you do, be sure to mark the women students a little more strictly. This way you may find yourself contributing to the making of many a happy marriage.”

  Hung-chien said with a smile that it was no wonder Hsin-mei wanted to take his mother to the interior. Hsin-mei gave the picture one last look and put it back in his wallet; then, glancing at his watch, he exclaimed, “Oh, no, it’s past time. Hurry! Miss Sun will be furious!” After he paid the bill in a rush, he asked Hung-chien, “Do you want me to go back with you and hand you over to her?”