The Golden Lotus, Volume 2

by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng

  As they were talking, Huatong brought two cups of milk with sugar and cream. Bojue took one. The milk was so white that it looked like goose fat with the cream floating on the top. “This is a great treat,” he said. “Nice and hot too!” He drank the milk, and found it so sweet that he had no difficulty in finishing it. Little Zhou finished Ximen Qing’s hair and began to clean his ears. Ximen set down his cup of milk.

  “Drink your milk, Brother,” Bojue said. “Don’t let it get cold. A man like you ought to drink milk. It is so nourishing.”

  “I don’t want it,” Ximen Qing said. “You drink it. My gruel will be coming shortly.”

  Ying Bojue liked it very much. He picked up the cup and drank it straight off.

  The barber finished cleaning Ximen’s ears and took a roller to massage his body.

  “Do you enjoy being rolled like this?” Bojue said.

  “I have a good deal of pain in the back,” Ximen said. “I need the massage.”

  “Well, you are very stout, and you have such rich food every day you must have a good deal of heat inside you.”

  “Doctor Ren has said to me more than once: ‘Sir, though you seem so stout, you are really not very strong,’ “ Ximen Qing said. “He gave me a box of tonic, reinvigorating pills. He told me that these pills had originally been made for his Majesty by his Holiness Lin, and recommended me to take one every morning with human milk. But the last few days I have had so much to do I forgot all about the pills. You are always saying that I have too many ladies and that I see too much of them, but since the Sixth Lady died, I have had so much on my mind I have never thought about such things.”

  Then Han Daoguo came in. “I have just heard that our boat has been chartered,” he said. “We shall be able to start on the twenty-fourth as we proposed.”

  Ximen Qing told Clerk Gan to go into the accounts, get the silver ready, and see that everything was packed up the following day. He said to Han Daoguo: “How much money have we made in our two shops?”

  “About six thousand taels all together,” Han Daoguo said.

  Ximen told him to give two thousand taels to Cui Ben so that he could go and buy goods at Huzhou, and to take the remaining four thousand to buy cloth at Songjiang with Laibao. “You will come back by one of the first boats next year,” he said. He told each of them to take five taels and go home to get ready.

  “There is one matter I must mention,” Han Daoguo said. “I am detailed to a tour of duty in Duke Yun’s palace. They say I must go in person and will not accept substitute money. What shall I do?”

  “You are in the same position as Laibao,” Ximen said. “He gets out of it by simply paying three qian of silver every month.”

  “Brother Laibao was appointed by his Eminence the Imperial Tutor,” Han Daoguo said. “The papers came, and the authorities at the palace dare not say a word. But I have to serve because my ancestors have always served. I can’t do what he does.”

  “Go and write out a statement of your case and I will ask Doctor Ren to go to the palace and arrange matters with Master Wang. I am sure they will take your name off the register and allow you to give money in place of service. After that, you will only need to send a man there once a month.”

  Han Daoguo bowed and thanked him.

  “Brother,” Ying Bojue said, “if you can arrange this matter for him, he will be much easier in mind when he starts for the South.”

  By this time the massage was finished, and Ximen Qing went to the inner court to dress. He told a servant to give Little Zhou something to eat. Sometime later he returned, wearing a white velvet hat and a velvet cloak, and gave the barber three qian of silver. He told Wang Jing to go for Scholar Wen. The scholar came, wearing a tall hat and a broad girdle. They greeted one another, and a servant laid the table and brought in gruel. Ying Bojue and Scholar Wen sat in the places of honor, Ximen Qing in the host’s seat, and Han Daoguo in the lower place. Ximen called for another bowl of gruel and a pair of chopsticks for Chen Jingji. Jingji, wearing a white hat and white gown, bowed to Bojue and the others and sat down beside Han Daoguo. They soon finished the gruel, and the things were cleared away. Han Daoguo left them.

  Ximen Qing asked Scholar Wen whether he had written the letter. “I have a rough draft here,” Scholar Wen said, “and when you have approved it, I will write it again.” He took the draft from his sleeve and gave it to Ximen Qing. It read:

  To the great and virtuous statesman, my worthy kinsman Yun Feng.

  The time has flown since we parted at the Capital, and already half a year has passed. Sorrow has come upon me and I have lost my wife. You, from so great a distance, have been gracious enough to send an offering. And you have sent a letter that I value highly, an earnest of your kind feeling and generous actions. I am greatly indebted to you and shall never forget your kindness. My only fear is that my delinquencies in the office may bring disgrace upon you, since my position there is due to you. I trust that you will speak kindly for me to his Eminence. All that I have is of your giving.

  I take this opportunity of asking after your well-being. I have thought of you continually.

  With this letter I send ten silken Yangzhou handkerchiefs, ten of colored silk, twenty gold toothpicks and ten gold cups. These are but a slight token of my regard, and I trust you will accept them with indulgence.

  Your kinsman Ximen Qing of Qinghe.

  When Ximen Qing had read the letter, he told Jingji to pack up the presents. He asked Scholar Wen to copy the letter upon fine paper and seal it with his seal. Then he gave five taels of silver to the messenger Wang Yu.

  The snow was heavier than before. Ximen invited Scholar Wen to stay with him in the study and admire the beauty of the landscape. The servants cleared the tables and brought wine. Then Ximen Qing saw someone peeping through the blind and asked who was there. Wang Jing told him it was Zheng Chun. Ximen called the boy in, and he came, carrying two boxes. He lifted them high before him, then knelt down before Ximen Qing. A small golden square box was opened and Ximen asked what was in it. “My sister Zheng Aiyue,” said the boy, “knows how busy and tired you have been, and she sends you these two boxes of cakes.” One of the two boxes contained pastries filled with fruits, and the other, pastries shaped like a spiral shell. “My sister prepared them with her own hands,” Zheng Chun said. “She knows you like them and made them especially for you.”

  “It is only a day or two since you brought me some tea,” Ximen said, “and now your sister has sent me these delightful pastries. I am very grateful to her.”

  “Splendid!” Ying Bojue said. “Hand them to me. I’ll see what they’re like. My daughter, who used to make these pastries so well, is dead, but now, I see, I have another daughter who knows how to make them.” He picked up one and put it in his mouth. Then he took another and gave it to Scholar Wen, saying: “Here, old gentleman, try this. You will find it will make your teeth grow again and give new life to your flesh and bones. I give you my word: to have rare things like this is better than ten years added to one’s life.”

  Scholar Wen put the pastry into his mouth. It seemed to melt at once. “Cakes like this,” he said, “come from the West. They are not the kind of thing one sees every day. They ease the lungs and bring a feeling of genuine delight. A rarity indeed!”

  “What is in the little box?” Ximen Qing asked Zheng Chun.

  The boy knelt down again and handed the box to Ximen. “My sister has sent this for you alone,” he said, softly.

  Ximen Qing put the box on his knee, but, before he could open it, Ying Bojue snatched it away from him and opened it. There was a red silk handkerchief inside, embroidered with a pattern of entwined hearts, and in the handkerchief were melon seeds that Zheng Aiyue had cracked with her own teeth. Bojue tossed the handkerchief to Ximen Qing, grabbed two handfuls of melon seeds and crammed them into his mouth. Ximen Qing tried to stop him, but by this time there were only a few seeds left.

  “You dog,” cried Ximen, “are you starving?
She sent them for me. Give them to me at once.”

  “It was my daughter who sent them,” Bojue said, “so it is right and proper that I should have them. You, my son, have too many good things already.”

  “If Scholar Wen were not here,” Ximen said, “I would tell you what I think about you. You dog, you really go beyond all bounds.” He put the handkerchief in his sleeve and told Wang Jing to take the boxes to the inner court. Food and wine were brought. When they had drunk a cup of wine, Daian came and said that Li and Huang had come to pay their debt.

  “How much have they brought?” Ximen Qing asked.

  “They have brought a thousand taels,” Daian said, “and they say they will pay more later.”

  “The ungodly scoundrels,” Bojue cried, “they have deceived me. They never said a word to me about it. No wonder they did not put in an appearance during the ceremony. They must have been to Dongpingfu for the money. Take it, Brother, and have done with them. They have had credit enough. I shouldn’t be surprised if, later, they weren’t able to pay. I knew that Eunuch Xue was going to Dongpingfu to get some money for himself yesterday. I hoped that all the money would not go to that old ox, because I knew there wasn’t any hope that you would get your money back if he got hold of it.”

  “I am not worrying about him,” Ximen Qing said. “If they don’t pay, I shall clap them into jail.” He told Chen Jingji to get the scales and weigh the silver. “Then I will go and see them,” he said.

  Jingji came back. “I have weighed the silver,” he said, “and there are exactly a thousand taels. I gave it to the Great Lady. Huang the Fourth says he would like to speak to you.”

  “Go and tell him I am entertaining some guests,” Ximen Qing said. “He must come back after the twenty-fourth. I know he wants to get out of his contract.”

  “No,” said Jingji. “He says it is another matter about which he would like to speak to you. It is a favor he wishes to ask.”

  “Then I will go and see him,” Ximen said.

  When he came to the hall, Huang the Fourth kowtowed and said: “I have now paid a thousand taels to your son-in-law, and I will pay shortly the remainder. There is another matter about which I should like to ask your help.” He knelt down and burst into tears.

  Ximen Qing raised him and asked what was the matter.

  “My wife’s father, Sun Qing, and his partner, Feng the Second, are in the cotton business at Dongchang. Feng the Second has a son, Feng Huai, a very unfilial fellow, who spends all his time at bawdy houses. One day he stole two bales of cotton. My father-in-law remonstrated with his partner, and Feng the Second gave his son a beating. Then the young man made trouble with my wife’s brother, Sun Wen, and there was a fight. He knocked out one of my brother-in-law’s teeth, but not before he had taken a hard knock on the head. Bystanders stopped the fight, and Feng’s son went home, but something went wrong, and he died about a fortnight later. The dead young man’s father-in-law is a notorious scamp of Hexi. His name is Bai the Fifth, but he is nicknamed Profiteer Bai and is a harborer of rogues and villains. He put up Feng the Second to bring an accusation, and Feng went to the court to accuse the Suns. The magistrate appointed Captain Li to investigate the case, but his Lordship was then awaiting the arrival of the Imperial barge and the matter was delegated to Tong, one of the magistrates of the Prefecture. Bai bribed the magistrate and persuaded some of the neighbors to give false evidence. They swore that, when the two young men were fighting, my father-in-law encouraged them. Tong has sent to arrest my father-in-law. I have come to you to beg you to have pity and write a letter to Captain Li on his behalf. What I suggest is that, when my father-in-law has been in prison for a few days, Captain Li should be approached again. In the first place, my father-in-law had nothing whatever to do with the fighting, and secondly, the young man died so long after the actual fight that it was beyond the recognized limit. Besides, his own father had punished him first, so that it cannot be definitely said that Sun Wen was the cause of his death.”

  Ximen Qing looked at the paper Huang the Fourth had brought. It said: ‘Sun Qing and Sun Wen, now held in prison at Dongchang, implore your favor and your gracious help.’

  “Captain Li was here only the other day,” Ximen said. “It was the first time we had met, so we can hardly be called intimate friends. How can I approach him in this matter?”

  Huang the Fourth knelt down again. He cried and said: “You must have compassion on them, or both father and son will perish. If Sun Wen cannot be saved, at least let us save my father-in-law. It will be a noble act on your part. My father-in-law is sixty years old. If he is kept in prison during the wintry weather, it will certainly kill him.”

  Ximen Qing thought for a long time. Then he said: “I will write to his Lordship Qian of the Customs. He will speak to Captain Li. They passed their examination in the same year.”

  Once more Huang the Fourth knelt down. He took from his sleeve a card that said: “A hundred sacks of finest rice.” He handed this to Ximen Qing and then brought out two parcels of silver. Ximen said he wanted none of his money.

  “If it is no use to you,” Huang the Fourth said, “you might perhaps pass it on to his Lordship Qian.”

  “Don’t trouble about that,” Ximen said. “If the matter is settled, I will send him some presents.”

  Ying Bojue came through the corner door.

  “Brother,” he said, “do nothing for this fellow Huang the Fourth. He is the sort of man who never burns incense to Buddha yet comes to fall before the knees of Buddha when he is in difficulties. Remember that, when you had the service for your dead lady, he never even sent you tea. Nor did he come himself. Why should you trouble about him?”

  Huang the Fourth bowed to Ying Bojue. “Good uncle!” he said, “this is a serious matter and you are sentencing men to death. For the last month this business has kept me on the run, and I couldn’t find a moment to come here. Yesterday I went to the office for the money, and today I have come to pay my debt and to ask his Lordship’s aid to save my father-in-law. His Lordship refuses to take my offering, and I fear he is not willing to help me.”

  Bojue saw a hundred taels of snow-white silver. “Brother,” he said, “are you going to do anything for him?”

  “I don’t know Captain Li well enough,” Ximen said, “but I will buy a present of some sort and ask Qian to do what he can. I don’t think I can take this money from Huang the Fourth.”

  “Then you make a mistake,” Bojue said. “He comes and asks you for help, and it is not right that you should be put to expense in the matter. If you refuse to accept it, it will look as though you thought the gift too small. Take my advice and accept the money. If you don’t need it yourself, pass it on to his Lordship Qian. Now, in Brother Huang’s presence, I say that the fate of his father- and brother-in-law is entirely a question of luck. There is no knowing whether, even if the letter is delivered, they will get off scot-free. His Lordship here is no money-grubber. I think you ought to offer us a feast at the bawdy house.”

  “Uncle,” Huang the Fourth said, “if you do this for me, you may be sure I shall offer you wine. Indeed, I shall make my brother-in-law come and kowtow to you. I may tell you that I have busied myself day and night over this affair and, hitherto, I have failed to get anyone to help me. If you refuse, I shall not know where to turn.”

  “You silly thing!” Bojue said, “of course it is a serious matter for you. You sleep with his daughter.”

  “Yes, indeed,” Huang the Fourth said, “and she cries all the time.”

  Ximen Qing yielded to Bojue’s persuasion and took the card, but he still refused the silver. Huang the Fourth implored him to take it, and went out, leaving it behind. Ying Bojue called him back and asked when he wanted the letter.

  “It is very urgent,” Huang the Fourth said, “and I should like it at once. Tomorrow morning I will send my son with your servant to deliver it. I should like to speak to the servant you decide to send.”

  “I will w
rite the letter now,” Ximen said. He sent for Daian and said to him: “Tomorrow morning you will have to take a letter.” Then Huang the Fourth spoke to the boy, and they went out. When he came to the gate, he asked Daian to get for him the purse in which he had brought the silver. The boy went to the inner court to ask Wu Yueniang for it. She was making clothes with her two maids. Daian waited, but Yueniang said to him:

  “We are too busy. We can’t give it you now. Tell him he shall have it tomorrow.”

  “But he wants it very urgently,” Daian said. “He has to go to Dongchang tomorrow, and he won’t be able to come back. Please take the silver out of it and let me have the purse.”

  “Go and give him the thing and get rid of him,” Yueniang said to Yuxiao.

  Yuxiao went to the inner room and emptied the silver on to the bed. She brought the purse to Daian. “Take it away, you rascal,” she said to him. “Nobody is going to eat it. What a nuisance you are!”

  “If it hadn’t been wanted, I shouldn’t have troubled you,” the boy said. He went out with the purse. When he reached the second door, a piece of silver, about three taels in weight, dropped out. One of the wrappers had been torn, and, when Yuxiao had emptied the silver in such a hurry, she did not notice that this piece had been left in the bottom of the bag. “What a stroke of luck,” Daian said to himself. “Money for nothing!” He put it in his sleeve. He gave the purse to Huang the Fourth and promised to bring the letter the next morning.

  Ximen Qing went back to the study and asked Scholar Wen to write the letter. Then he gave it to Daian.

  They looked out over the snow. It seemed like willow fluff blowing in the wind, or withered pear blossoms dancing. Ximen Qing had a jar of doubly strong Magu wine opened, and told Chunhong to warm some. Meanwhile Zheng Chun played for them. Ximen Qing bade him play “The Wind Blows Softly through the Willows.”