“Pray tell me what I can do,” Ximen said.
Lady Lin spoke for herself. “In truth,” she said, “though we have inherited a title, I have not been well off since my husband’s death. My son was brought up without the discipline that would have been good for him, and even now he has not passed his examination. He has studied at the military academy, but I fear his education has been neglected. Then, too, he has fallen into the clutches of some very objectionable fellows. They have carried him off to places of ill-fame, and, over and over again, he has brought my family to the verge of ruin. There are times when I think of going to the courts to make accusation against him, but I feel I cannot bring shame upon my dead husband. I have asked you to come, and, since I am telling you the truth, it is the same as though I actually went to the court. I shall esteem it a great favor if you will rid my son of these evil companions and so enable him to make a fresh start. If he will only change his present mood and attend to his studies, he will become a worthy successor to a worthy family. If you can bring this about, I shall be eternally grateful and try to make you a suitable return.”
“Most estimable lady,” Ximen Qing said, “please do not speak of reward. For generations your family has been one of exalted rank. Your son is at the military academy now, and, of course, he ought to think of his future and the title that will come down to him. Unfortunately, he has got mixed up with a pack of rascals and is giving himself up to wine and undesirable young women. It is only because he is young. Now that you have issued your commands, I will go to the office and have the rascals punished. You shall have no further trouble.”
Lady Lin stood up and made a reverence. “I hope to be allowed to make you a present,” she said.
“Please don’t mention it,” Ximen said. “We are such good friends.”
As they talked, they exchanged glances that were more than affectionate. Old woman Wen set the table and put wine upon it. Ximen Qing made a show of reluctance to accept such an honor. “This is my first visit,” he said. “I have come empty-handed. How can I accept such kindness at your hands?”
“Indeed,” Lady Lin said, “it is I who should apologize for being taken unawares and having nothing more than this poor wine to offer you. I can only hope that it will serve to keep out the cold.”
The maid poured out the wine. Lady Lin rose to offer him a cup. He stood up too and said: “I should be the first to offer wine.”
“Today, perhaps,” old woman Wen said, “you may be dispensed from offering wine to her Ladyship. The fifteenth day of the eleventh month is her birthday and, I suppose, you will come to congratulate her.”
“Why didn’t you tell me so before?” Ximen said. “Why, this is the ninth. There are only six days left. Of course I shall come to pay my respects.”
Lady Lin smiled. “You are too kind,” she said.
Sixteen bowls of delightful food were brought. Candles in silver candlesticks burned brightly on the table; a golden brazier on the floor gave forth splendid heat. They offered wine to one another, played games, and guessed fingers. Their smiles and merriment were an omen of clouds and rain, and, as we know, wine never fails to arouse the passions. The water clock dripped and dripped; the moon cast its beams upon the window. Their minds were obsessed by the same idea. Old woman Wen had withdrawn, and, though they called her several times, she made no answer. Seeing that they were alone, Ximen Qing gradually moved his chair nearer and nearer to her; his words became more and more affectionate. He pressed her hands, touched her arm, drew closer. Then he put his arms about her neck. She smiled but did not repulse him. She opened her red lips and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. They kissed, and smiled still more lovingly.
Lady Lin got up and fastened the door. She took off her long gown and some of her ornaments. Gently, she pulled aside the bed curtains and spread the embroidered coverlets. The pillows were set at one end of the bed. There was a delightful odor of perfume. Their perfect bodies met in an embrace; he felt the sweetness of her breasts.
Ximen Qing had been warned of the woman’s skill in matters of love, and had brought his instruments with him. With the secret drug to encourage him, his passion blazed like fire. Their outstretched limbs quivered with a madness like that of butterflies and bees.
Ximen spent himself to the utmost to satisfy the woman, and they went on till it was very late. Lady Lin’s hair was disordered; her pins had fallen out of place. She seemed like a weary flower, a tired willow. They lay down quietly together.
When they were up again and had put on their clothes, Lady Lin snuffed the candles and unlocked the door. She dressed herself before a mirror and told a maid to bring water for them to wash their hands. Again they pressed each other to drink. Ximen Qing drank three cups and got up to leave. Lady Lin could not persuade him to stay. She asked him to visit her again. Ximen Qing bowed and promised to come. She went with him as far as the door into the courtyard. Old woman Wen opened the back door and told Daian and Qintong to bring their master’s horse.
The watchman was already beating his rounds from street to street. It was very still and the sky was white with frost. Ximen Qing went home.
The next day, when he had gone through his ordinary business at the office, he summoned two police runners and ordered them to find out who had been going about with Wang the Third, and the places to which they resorted. “Report to me,” he said, “when you have made inquiries.” He explained this to his colleague Xia by saying that “Young Wang the Third appears to be neglecting his studies. Yesterday his mother sent a man to me to say that it is not really his fault, but that he has got into the clutches of a pack of rascals. Unless we make an example of them, I’m afraid they will be the ruin of this scion of a famous house.”
“You are right. We will deal with them as they deserve,” said Xia.
The runners, armed with Ximen Qing’s order, went around to find out the names and, in the afternoon, they came to his house and made their report. Ximen Qing examined their list. Upon it were the names of Sun Guazui, Zhu Shinian, Little Zhang, Nie Yue, Xiang the Third, Yu Kuan and Mohammedan Bai. The girls were Li Guijie and Qin Yuzhi.
Ximen Qing took up a brush and crossed out the names of the two girls and of Sun Guazui and Zhu Shinian. Then he gave orders that all the others should be arrested and brought before him the following day.
In the evening, the runners discovered Wang the Third and the others drinking and playing ball at Li Guijie’s house. They surrounded the house, and, in the middle of the night, raided it. They arrested Little Zhang, Nie Yue, Yu Kuan, Mohammedan Bai and Xiang the Third. Sun Guazui and Zhu Shinian crawled away to the back of the house, and Wang the Third crept beneath Guijie’s bed. Guijie and the others were terrified and did not know what to do. They came out to ask what the raid meant, but Wang the Third, in his hiding place, dared not move an inch. The old procuress imagined that the runners must have come again at the orders of some authority in the Capital. Before dawn, she made Li Ming dress and take Wang the Third home.
The police took Little Zhang and the others and threw them into jail for the night. The next day, when Ximen Qing arrived at the office, he went with Magistrate Xia to the hall of audience. The underlings were all in attendance. The prisoners were dragged forward. Each of them was placed in the screws and then beaten twenty times. Their skin was torn, their flesh bruised, and blood streamed from them. There was such a sound of beating that it reached the skies, and the noise of their groanings shook the earth.
“You outrageous scoundrels!” Ximen Qing cried. “You are always leading astray young men of good family and taking them to the bawdy house. I ought to give you most severe punishment, but, for this once, I am being kind to you and letting you off with a few stripes. If ever you come into my hands again, I will have you put in the cangue and make a show of you outside the Town Hall.” He bade the officials kick them out, and they ran for their lives.
Having settled this matter, Ximen Qing and Xia retired to a room to drin
k tea.
“Yesterday,” Xia said, “I had a letter from my kinsman, Grand Secretary Cui, in which he says that a report upon our work has reached the capital, but, as yet, its consequences are unknown. I think we might send a man to Huaiqingfu to see whether any news is to be had from Lin Cangfeng, our colleague there.”
Ximen Qing agreed. They summoned a man and said to him: “Here are five qian of silver. Take them and go to Huaiqingfu and call upon Captain Lin. Take our cards and find out what you can about the report and when we are going to know what has happened in regard to it.” The man took the silver and the cards, went to his room to get his things ready, called for a horse, and started on his journey. Ximen Qing and Magistrate Xia went home.
When Little Zhang and his friends escaped from the court, they could not imagine why they had, so unexpectedly, got into trouble. One blamed another, but they found it impossible to decide who had given them away.
“I think somebody in the Eastern Capital is responsible,” Little Zhang said.
“No,” said Mohammedan Bai, “if it had been that, we should not have got off so easily.”
There is an old saying: Goldsmiths are the greatest thieves, and singing girls can never be outdone in cunning. So it was with these rascals. They were as artful as could be. Nie Yue hit upon the solution.
“I know what it is,” he said. “Ximen Qing is anxious to put young Master Wang in his place. You see, he was playing with Ximen’s own girl. When there is a fight between a dragon and a tiger, the little wolves come off badly.”
“It sounds likely,” Little Zhang said, “and we come off the worst. Sun Guazui and Zhu Shinian were there with us, but we were the only ones who got into trouble.”
“Don’t be silly!” Yu Kuan said, “you know they are friends of Ximen. If he had arrested them, they would have been on their knees and he would have been sitting there, and it would not have been very pleasant for him.”
“Why weren’t the girls taken?” Little Zhang said.
“He is very fond of both of them,” Nie Yue said. “Guijie is his own girl, and he would never think of arresting her. It’s no use complaining. Put the blame on our bad luck. It’s that which has brought us to this pass. By the way, I noticed that Magistrate Xia never spoke a word. That is how I know this is one of Ximen’s tricks, and his alone. Let us go to Guijie’s house and see what Wang the Third has to say. We can’t have our backs broken for nothing. If we don’t get some money out of him, the girls will think we’re fools.”
They went to Guijie’s house. The door was closed as though it were of iron. They knocked for a long time, and, at last, a maid came and asked who was there. She did not open the door.
“We have come to see Master Wang,” Little Zhang said.
“He is not here,” the maid said. “He went home last night. There is nobody here. I can’t let you in.”
They went to Wang’s house and marched into the parlor. Wang the Third heard that they had come and hid himself in his own room, terrified. After a long delay, he sent a boy to say he was not at home.
“Ah,” they cried in chorus, “if he is not at home, where is he? Send for him.”
Yu Kuan said: “Look here! It’s no use his pretending to be half asleep. We have been hauled before the courts, beaten and kicked. Now they want him there.” He pulled up his gown and showed the boy his legs. “Go and tell your master that we have been beaten on his account,” he roared.
One after the other, they lay down on the benches and groaned and yelled. Wang the Third was less inclined than ever to come out. He said to his mother: “Mother, you must save me.”
“What can I do?” his mother said, “I am only a woman.”
The men began to lose patience and demanded that Lady Lin should speak to them. She did not go to them, but spoke from behind a screen.
“Wait a while,” she said. “Really, he is not at home. I know, for a fact, that he is at my estate outside the city. I will send for him.”
“Do, Lady,” Little Zhang said, “and please be quick about it. This business must be settled, and the only thing to do with a wart is to cut it. Your son is the cause of this trouble, and we have had to bear the brunt of it. We have been dismissed now, but the court has still to deal with him. Until he comes, there will be no end to the trouble.”
Lady Lin bade her servants take them some tea. Wang the Third was as frightened as a ghost. He implored his mother to find someone to get him out of the difficulty. At last, Lady Lin said: “I believe old woman Wen knows his Lordship Ximen. Some years ago, she acted as intermediary in his daughter’s marriage. She must know him well.”
“If she does, send for her,” Wang the Third said.
“But a few days ago,” his mother said, “you insulted her and she has not been here since. You offended her. I don’t see how I can ask her now, and I don’t suppose she would come if I did.”
“Good Mother,” Wang the Third said, “this matter is extremely serious. Send for her, and I will beg her pardon.”
Lady Lin sent Yong Ding, the boy, to fetch the old woman. Yong Ding went quietly out by the back gate and brought her.
“Old mother Wen,” Wang the Third said, “you know his Lordship Ximen and you must save my life.”
The old woman pretended she could do nothing. “I arranged his daughter’s wedding some years ago, but I have hardly been to his house since. It is a very big establishment. I can hardly expect to go there very often.”
Wang the Third knelt down. “Old mother Wen,” he said, “if you will only help me, I will see you do not lose by it. I will remember your kindness as long as I live. These fellows are trying to get me to go to the court, and I don’t want to go.”
Old woman Wen looked at Lady Lin. “Yes,” the young man’s mother said, “help him if you can.”
“I am not going alone,” the old woman said. “Put on your hat and clothes, Sir. I will take you to see his Lordship, and you can settle the business for yourself. I will say what I can on your behalf and, doubtless, everything will soon be all right.”
“These fellows are very anxious to find me,” Wang the Third said. “I am afraid they will see us as we go out.”
“Don’t worry about that,” old woman Wen said. “I will go and pacify them. I’ll arrange for them to have something to eat and drink and, while they are eating, I’ll get you out by the back door. They won’t see us.”
She went to the outer hall and made a reverence to Little Zhang and the others. “I have come on behalf of her Ladyship,” she said to them, “to assure you that the young gentleman is not at home. She has sent for him, and he will be here shortly. Sit down a while. We know you have suffered, but, when the young master comes back, he will certainly make it up to you. We don’t blame you for coming since you have been mixed up in this affair. Besides, you came by order of the court and not of your own accord. I’m sure that, when the young master comes back, it will all end happily.”
When they heard this, they cried, with one accord: “Old woman, you are talking sense. If you had come before and spoken to us in this strain, we should not have been so impatient and ill-mannered. But, you see, we could get nothing out of them but: ‘He is not at home.’ Nothing else. And it looked as if we were held responsible for all the trouble. He was the cause of our being beaten, and now the police are after him. What’s the use his trying to get out of it with a ‘not at home’? Does he get someone else to take his place when he is eating meat or drinking wine? Old woman, you seem to see things in the proper light. Here is a hint for you. If he likes to spend a little money and get the matter settled, well and good. It might even be managed without his seeing us, if he doesn’t wish to do so. This is a military court, and things are more easily settled in it.”
“Brothers,” the old woman said, “there is much wisdom in what you say. I will ask the lady to have food and wine served for your entertainment. You must be hungry.”
“Old mother,” they said, “you seem to be sympat
hetic. To tell the truth, not a drop of water has passed our lips since we left the court.”
Old woman Wen went back to the inner court, and foraged about till she got two qian worth of wine, one qian worth of cakes, and several large plates of pork, mutton, and beef. These were taken to the men, and she encouraged them to set to. Meanwhile, Wang the Third dressed himself in academic robes and wrote a petition. Old woman Wen smuggled him through the inner court. He put on a pair of eyeshades and they walked to Ximen’s house.
When they reached the gateway, Ping’an, who knew old woman Wen, said: “My master is in the great hall. What do you want with him?”
The old woman handed him a visiting card and said: “Brother, kindly take this to your master.” She asked Wang the Third to give two qian of silver to the boy. Ping’an took the card to Ximen Qing. Ximen looked at it. It bore the inscription: ‘The young student, Wang Cai.’
He sent for old woman Wen, and she told him what had happened. He went into the hall and sent the boy to ask Wang the Third to go in. He did not change his clothes before going to receive the visitor. When he saw Wang the Third dressed in full ceremonial attire, he said to the old woman: “Sister Wen, why didn’t you tell me? I am not suitably dressed.” He said to the servants: “Bring my clothes at once.” Wang the Third hastily stopped them.
“Uncle,” he said, “pray don’t trouble. I have come to see you, but I beg you not to put yourself to any inconvenience.”
When they were in the great hall, Wang the Third insisted upon making a most profound reverence to Ximen Qing. Ximen smiled. “This is my house,” he said, “I can’t possibly allow it.” He made the first reverence himself.
“How sorry I am that I have never called on you before,” Wang the Third began.
“I hardly feel that we are strangers,” Ximen said.
Again, Wang the Third pressed Ximen Qing to accept the honor. “I am your nephew,” he said, “and you must accept it. It will show that you forgive me for having troubled you.”
The Golden Lotus, Volume 2 Page 30