The Golden Lotus, Volume 2

by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng

  “Sleep, girl,” said Ximen. “I’ll hold you.”

  She put her tongue in his mouth, closed her eyes, put her arms around him, and slept. But soon desire woke her. She pressed his shoulders, sat up, and bounced up and down so fast that his penis went right in and out. “I am dying, my dearest,” she cried. Man and woman enjoyed three hundred thrusts, and Ximen was the first to withdraw from the struggle. “Embrace me,” she said, and gave him a breast to suck. Then she relaxed, and the juices of love flowed from her. A stag seemed to leap within her. Her arms and legs were limp; her hair covered her body. The penis, although it had withdrawn, was still erect, and she wiped it with a handkerchief. “What shall we do, darling?” she said. “It is not enough for you even yet.”

  “Let us go to sleep now,” Ximen said. “We will settle that question afterwards.”

  “I feel as though I were paralyzed,” Jinlian said.

  So the mystery of clouds and rain was performed once more. They lay down to sleep and did not wake again till dawn.

  CHAPTER 74

  Li Guijie Is Forgiven

  Wealth and dignity are as the dew of morning

  Friends and companions as the gathering of sand.

  It is better to sit before a bamboo window

  And meditate upon some sacred book.

  Contemplation benefits the soul as truly

  As any listening to sermons.

  When the soul is purified, you may make a cup of tea.

  The crowing of the cock is all you fear

  For in the morning the entanglement of earthly things

  Is as a bundle of hemp.

  At dawn, Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing awoke. Jinlian saw that his weapon was still upright like a ramrod. “Darling,” she said, “you must forgive me, but I can stand no more. I shall suck your prick.”

  “Suck it,” said Ximen. “If you can soften it, all will be well.” She squatted on her buttocks, put her hand between his legs, and took his prick in her mouth. She played with it for a whole hour, but it did not flag. Ximen held her white neck and dragged his prick this way and that inside her mouth with all his might. Soon her lips were wet with white spittle, and the prick was as red as they.

  “Ying the Second has invited us to go and see his wife,” Jinlian said. “Are we going?”

  “Why not?” Ximen Qing said.

  “I have a favor to ask of you,” Jinlian said. “I wonder whether you will grant it me.”

  “What is it, you little strumpet?”

  “Will you give me the Sixth Lady’s fur coat? If we go, they will all be wearing fur coats, and I have none.”

  “We have the coat that General Wang’s people pawned. Won’t that do?”

  “I don’t want that. Li Jiao’er can have it. Let Sun Xue’e have the one Li Jiao’er had and give me the one that belonged to the Sixth Lady. I will make a pair of scarlet sleeves, with golden storks to go with it, and wear a white silk skirt. If you give it to me, it will be a proof that it has been worthwhile being your wife all this long time.”

  “You little strumpet, you never lose a chance of doing well for yourself. That fur coat is worth at least sixty taels of silver. If you put it on, will you look well in it?”

  “You rascal,” Jinlian said, “you would give things to any other woman. I am your wife and, if I wear it, so much the more credit to you. If you talk like this, I shall be angry with you.”

  “One moment you ask for something, and the next you are riding the high horse.”

  “I am not a maid. There is no reason why you shouldn’t do something when I ask you.”

  She softened the penis with her cheeks and put it in her mouth. She teased the hole and titillated the sensitive spot with her tongue. She held it firmly between her lips and moved it gently. Ximen was delighted; his pleasure mounted, and he prepared to give way.

  “Hold tight and let the sperm come out,” he cried, and at once the sperm flowed into her mouth. After a while she swallowed it.

  It was the day of the reception. Ximen Qing dressed and went out. Jinlian stayed in bed.

  “Bring me the coat now,” she said. “If you put it off, you will be too busy.”

  Ximen went to the room of Li Ping’er. The nurse and the maids were up, making tea to set before their mistress’s tablet. Ruyi’er was dressed and her face and eyebrows painted. She smiled and offered him a cup of tea, and talked to him as he drank it. Ximen Qing told Yingchun to get the key. Ruyi’er asked him why he wanted it.

  “I am going to give the Fifth Lady the fur coat,” he said.

  “The sable coat?” Ruyi’er asked.

  “Yes,” Ximen Qing said, “I am giving it her because she wants it.”

  Yingchun went to do his bidding. He took Ruyi’er on his knee and touched her breast. “My child,” he said, “though you have had a baby, your breasts are still small.” They kissed each other.

  “I have noticed that you often go to her and seldom to the other ladies,” Ruyi’er said. “She would be very pleasant if she were not so suspicious and touchy. The other day, when you were away, she quarreled with me about the dolly pin. Fortunately, Sister Han and the Third Lady were there to separate us. I did not mention the matter to you when you came back. I can’t imagine who told her that you care for me, or when she found out. Has she spoken to you about it?”

  “Yes, she has,” Ximen Qing said. “I think the best thing you can do is to go to her and say you’re sorry. She can never resist flattery, and she is very easily pleased. Her mouth may be sharp, but her heart is in the right place.”

  “That is so,” Ruyi’er said. “We had that quarrel, but the next day, when you came home, she was quite pleasant. She said you were very fond of her, but that the other ladies were not able to rival me. I was to tell her everything, she said, and she would be my friend.”

  “In that case, there is nothing to bother about,” Ximen Qing said. “I will come to you tonight.”

  “Are you sure?” Ruyi’er said. “Don’t tease me.”

  “Why should I tease you?” Ximen said.

  Yingchun brought the key. Ximen Qing told her to open the cabinet door and take out the fur coat. The maid shook it, then wrapped it up again.

  “I badly need a good skirt and coat,” Ruyi’er said softly. “Will you get one for me while there is a chance? And I should like a short coat, if there is one, belonging to my mistress.”

  Ximen Qing brought out a light blue silk coat, a yellow skirt of soft silk, a pair of embroidered drawers and some blue trousers. He gave them to Ruyi’er. She kowtowed and thanked him. He locked up the cabinet.

  Ruyi’er took the fur coat to Jinlian. She was getting up, dressing her feet as she sat on the bed. When Chunmei told her Ruyi’er had come with a fur coat, she understood. Ruyi’er went in.

  “Did your father send you?” Jinlian said.

  “Yes, he told me to bring you this fur coat.”

  “Did he give you anything?”

  “He gave me a dress for the new year, and told me to come and kowtow to you.”

  “There is no need for that,” Jinlian said. “Your master has taken a fancy to you. Well, there is an old saying that, though there are many boats on the river, they do not block it; and though there are many carriages upon a road, there is still room for traffic. If it amuses you to go in for this kind of thing, do so, but you must do nothing that will injure me. I shall not bother about you any more, and I shall do nothing to interfere with you.”

  “My mistress is dead,” Ruyi’er said, “and though the Great Lady still keeps me here, you are the one on whom I really depend. If you help me, I shall never dare to be ungracious in return. Falling leaves always come back to the root again.”

  “Perhaps you had better tell the Great Lady about the clothes he gave you,” Jinlian said.

  “I asked her to give me some clothes, and she said Father would give me some when he was free.”

  “That is all right, then,” Jinlian said. Ruyi’er went back to h
er room. Ximen Qing had gone to the great hall.

  “When you went for the key,” Ruyi’er said to Yingchun, “did the Great Lady say anything?”

  “She asked what he wanted it for. I didn’t tell her about the coat. I said I didn’t know. She said no more.”

  Ximen Qing, in the great hall, watched the preparations for the banquet. The actors of the Haiyan company, Zhang Mei, Zhou Shun, Gou Zixiao, came with their properties, and Li Ming and the other boys also came and kowtowed to Ximen Qing. He ordered food to be given to all of them, then told Li Ming and three others to perform in the outer hall, and Zuo Shun to entertain the ladies at the back.

  Han Daoguo’s wife, Wang Liu’er, could not come that day. She bought two boxes of presents and sent Miss Shen, in a sedan chair, with her boy Jin Cai, to congratulate Meng Yulou on her birthday. Wang Jing took them in and dismissed the chair men. Aunt Han and Aunt Meng came, then Mistress Fu, Mistress Gan, Cui Ben’s wife, Miss Duan, and Mistress Ben the Fourth.

  Ximen Qing, who was in the great hall, saw Daian taking in a short lady who wore a silver-gray coat and a red skirt. Her face was not powdered and her eyes were very narrow. She looked rather like Zheng Aixiang. As she was in the passage, Ximen Qing asked who the lady was. Daian told him it was Ben the Fourth’s wife. Ximen said no more. They went on to the inner court to see Wu Yueniang, in whose room all the ladies were having tea. Ximen Qing himself came for porridge. He gave Yueniang the key.

  “Why did you wish to open the cabinet?” his wife asked.

  “Pan Jinlian told me she was going to Brother Ying’s place. She wanted the Sixth Lady’s fur coat.”

  Yueniang looked at him sharply. “You don’t keep your word,” she said. “When she died, you were very angry if anyone suggested getting rid of her maids, but now it seems all right for you to give her clothes away. Why doesn’t the Fifth Lady wear her own fur coat? It is a good thing the owner of the coat is dead. If she were alive, I don’t know what Jinlian would do.”

  Ximen Qing could not think of any answer to make to this.

  Then a servant came to say that Liu, the Provincial Director of Studies, had come to pay back some money, and Ximen went to the great hall to receive him. Daian brought a card and said that people had come from General Wang’s place with presents. Ximen asked what the presents were. The boy said: a roll of silk, a jar of wine, and food. Ximen told Wang Jing to give the messenger a card in return and five qian of silver for himself. Then Li Guijie came, with the house porter, bringing four boxes of presents. Daian took the wrapper. “Please step into the passage, Aunt Guijie,” he said hastily. “There is a gentleman in the hall.” Guijie went into the passage and Daian carried the boxes to Yueniang’s room.

  “Has your father seen them?” Yueniang asked.

  “No,” Daian said, “he has a gentleman with him.”

  Yueniang told him to put the boxes in an adjoining room.

  When his visitor had gone, Ximen Qing came to have something to eat.

  “Guijie has come and brought some presents,” Yueniang told him.

  “This is the first I have heard of it,” Ximen Qing said.

  Yueniang told Xiaoyu to open the boxes. There were buns with mincemeat, a special birthday gift; crystallized roses; two roast ducks, and a pair of pig’s trotters. Guijie came in from the other room, pearls and jewels all over her head. She was wearing a scarlet double-breasted coat and a blue silk skirt. She kowtowed four times to Ximen Qing.

  “That will do,” Ximen said. “Why did you go to all this expense?” “Guijie has just told me she is afraid you are still angry with her,” Yueniang said. “It was really not her fault at all, but her mother’s. Guijie had a headache and, that day, Wang the Third and his friends were on their way to Sesame’s place, and called in to have some tea as they were passing. Then the trouble began, but she never saw him.”

  “She didn’t see him this time, and she didn’t see him that time!” Ximen Qing said. “I don’t know how she has the face to say so. I’m not interested any more. In a place like yours, everything is all right so long as the money comes in. I’m not angry with you in the least.”

  Guijie knelt on the ground and refused to get up. “Father,” she said, “you are right. But may I rot to pieces if I ever let that fellow touch me! May every pore of my skin come out in boils! It is all that old whore’s doing. She has no sense at all. She would let anybody in, no matter whether he is handsome or hideous. That is what has made you so angry.”

  “Now she is here,” Yueniang said, “let us consider the matter ended. Don’t be angry with her any more.”

  “Stand up, and I’ll forgive you,” Ximen Qing said.

  But Guijie, with her most winning manner, said: “You must smile at me, Father. Then I’ll get up. If you won’t, I shall stay here for a year.”

  Jinlian joined them.

  “Guijie,” she said, “stand up. If you kneel there, and use pretty words to him, he will make all the more fuss. Now you are kneeling before him, but, I tell you, in future when he comes to you, make him kneel down before you and keep him there.”

  Ximen Qing and Yueniang laughed. Guijie rose to her feet.

  Daian came. He was greatly excited. “Their Excellencies have arrived,” he said. Ximen Qing put on his robes and went to meet them.

  “From today,” Guijie said to Yueniang, “I will give up my father if I may be your daughter.”

  “I don’t believe in your oaths,” Yueniang said. “You forget them as soon as you have taken them. He went to see you twice, and you were not there.”

  “Heavens!” Guijie cried, “when did he come to my place and find me not there? If he did, may I die this very moment. Somebody has been telling lies. He must have gone to some other place. I know he went to Zheng Aiyue’s house and played with the girls there. They are jealous, Probably they are responsible for the whole affair. I don’t see how Father could be angry with me otherwise.”

  “Why don’t you girls attend to your business, instead of talking scandal about one another?” Jinlian said.

  “Mother, you don’t know. There is always jealousy among people of our profession. Each one is anxious to get the better of the others. Whenever one seems to be securing a little favor, the others conspire to cast her down.”

  Yueniang gave her tea.

  Ximen Qing took Censor Song and Vice President An to the great hall. After the usual greetings, each of them presented him with a roll of silk and a case of books. They saw that the tables were very well set out, and thanked him repeatedly. Then they sat down to tea.

  “I have still another favor to ask you,” Song said. “Hou Shiquan has just been appointed Master of the Court of Sacrificial Worship. I and those under me would like to entertain him, if possible, here at your house, on the thirtieth. He is to leave for the Eastern Capital on the second of next month. Will you do this for us?”

  “Your Excellency has only to command, and I obey,” Ximen Qing said.

  “The money is here,” Song said. He summoned an attendant, who brought twelve taels of silver, which the officers had contributed. “We should like one large table and six small tables. Perhaps a few actors.”

  Ximen Qing promised to make the necessary arrangements. He took his guests to the arbor. Before long, Assistant Secretary Qian arrived. The three gentlemen played chess together.

  Song was impressed by the magnificence and convenience of Ximen Qing’s house. The books, pictures and furniture were all the best of their kind. In front of the screen stood a gilded tripod with the figures of the Eight Immortals. It was of very fine workmanship and several feet high. Incense was burning in it, and the smoke came out through the mouths of deer and storks. He went and examined it more closely.

  “This tripod is beautifully made,” he said to Ximen Qing. He turned to the others. “I wrote some time ago to Brother Liu to ask him to get me a pair of tripods like this. I am going to present them to Cai, but they haven’t come yet. Siquan, where did you get yours?”


  “It came from a man in Huai,” Ximen Qing said.

  They went on with their game. Ximen Qing ordered some dainty cakes and other refreshments to be brought, and bade the actors sing songs of the South.

  “Our guest has not come yet,” Song said. “It won’t look right if we meet him with red faces.”

  “I don’t believe a cup will do us any harm,” An said. “It is terribly cold.”

  Song was about to send someone to hasten his guest, but one of his attendants said: “We have been already. Their Excellencies are playing chess, but they will be here soon.” An told the actors to sing the Spring Song. Before it was over, Cai and Huang were announced. Song ordered everything to be cleared away. They put their robes straight and went out to welcome their guest.

  Cai was wearing a plain gown and a gold-buckled girdle. He presented a card to Ximen Qing. An said: “This is his Lordship Ximen. He holds the office of Captain and is one of his Eminence’s wards.” Cai bowed to Ximen.

  “I have long wished to meet you,” he said.

  Ximen Qing replied: “I shall do myself the honor of paying you a visit.” After these greetings, they took off their ceremonial clothes, tea was brought, and they sat down to talk. Sometime afterwards, the tables were laid, and Cai took the place of honor. Cooks brought soup and cutlets and rice. The actors came with their list of plays, and Cai bade them play the story of the two faithful lovers. They played two acts, and the wine went around several times. Then the singers came and sang “With a Whip of Jade and a Prancing Steed, He Leaves the Imperial City.” Cai laughed.

  “Songyuan,” he said, “this promises well for you. The black horse is a censor’s horse, and the third noble seems like Liu of the long beard.”

  An said: “But we can’t say that this is the day on which the Magistrate of Jiangzhou made his black gown wet with tears.”

  Everybody laughed. Ximen Qing told Chunhong to sing “We Have Made Report to the Golden Gate of Peace upon the Frontier.”