“You must stay at home,” she said to Chen Jingji, “and keep the gate with Clerk Fu. I shall make my offerings on the morning of the fifteenth, which means that I shall be back here at the end of the month.”
On the eve of her departure, she took leave of Ximen Qing’s tablet, and drank wine with the ladies. She gave all the keys to Xiaoyu. They started before dawn and, leaving the city, set out on the high road. It was the end of autumn: the days were short and the weather cold. Though they only halted once during the day, they could not cover more than sixty or seventy li, and, when the sun set, they went to an inn or the house of some villager to spend the night and started again early the next day. It was almost wintry weather, and the wild geese seemed chill and full of sadness. The leaves had withered on the trees; the countryside was bare and melancholy, and there was a great air of mourning everywhere.
After some days, they reached Taianzhou. From there they could see Taishan, the most renowned of all the mountains in the world. It stood deep-rooted in the earth, and its summit pierced the heart of the sky. It is between the states of Qi and Lu, and the very air about it is holy. Uncle Wu saw that it was late, and they went to an inn. The next day they rose very early and went up the mountain to the Daiyo Temple built upon the mountainside. Dynasty after dynasty had venerated this temple, and generation after generation had worshipped there.
Uncle Wu took Yueniang there. She offered incense before the principal shrine and visited all the sacred images. A priest read her declaration. She burned paper money in all the chapels and partook of monastic food. Then she went with Uncle Wu to climb to the highest peak of the mountain. They went up the forty-nine winding paths, clinging to the ivy and scrambling past the vines, and at last caught sight of the Palace of Niangniang far above them in the sky. They had still forty or fifty li to go. Wind and cloud, thunder and rain, were all beneath them now. It had been the hour of the Dragon* when they left the Daiyo Temple. It was the hour of the Monkey† when they came to the Golden Palace of Niangniang. There was a red sign over the entrance with these words emblazoned in gold upon it: “The Palace of Radiant Sunset.” They went inside and gazed upon the figure of Niangniang.
Wu Yueniang made obeisance. A Daoist priest came and stood beside her. He was a short man, about forty years of age, with three wisps of beard. His eyes were very light and his teeth white. He wore a hat with a pin, and a purple gown. His shoes were embroidered in a cloud design. He read Yueniang’s declaration; then they burned incense in a golden burner, and gold and silver papers, and a boy was told to take away the offering.
This priest was really a very bad man. He was the principal disciple of the Abbot of the Daiyo Temple, and his name was Shi Bocai. He was immoderately fond of women and money, and a fellow completely absorbed in the affairs of this world and the pursuit of power. In this district there was an outrageous scoundrel called Yin Tianxi, a brother-in-law of Gao Lien, the local magistrate. This scoundrel was the leader of a band of villains who haunted the neighborhood of the two temples, armed with bows and arrows, and accompanied by hawks and dogs. They preyed especially on women pilgrims, and nobody had the courage to complain about them. The priest, Shi Bocai, allowed them to use his place for their evil purposes. He devised all manner of schemes for getting women to his rooms, and then handed them over to the scoundrel Yin to do what he liked with. He saw that Yueniang was beautiful and that she was in mourning. She must be, he decided, a lady of good family and wealthy. She had only a white-haired old gentleman and two boys to protect her. So he went up, made a reverence to her, thanked her for her offering, and asked her to take tea in his room.
Uncle Wu thanked him. “It is very kind of you,” he said, “but we must go down at once.”
“There is still plenty of time,” the priest said, and took them to his apartments.
The room he led them into was very white and clean. In the place of honor was a couch with embroidery of sesame flowers upon it, and yellow hangings. Over a small table was a picture of Dongbin playing with white peony flowers. On either side was a scroll. One bore the words: “The Pure Wind made his sleeves dance like storks,” and the other “In the Moonlight, he discussed the Holy Scriptures.” The priest asked their names.
“My name is Wu,” Uncle Wu said, “and this is my sister who has come to make sacrifice for her late husband. But we must not impose upon your kindness.”
“Since you are so closely related,” the priest said, “perhaps you would not mind both taking the place of honor.” He himself sat down in the host’s place and told one of the novices to bring tea. There were two novices, one called Guo Shouqing and the other Guo Shouli. They were about sixteen years old and very handsome. They wore black silk hats and long gowns, light shoes, and white socks, and used a great deal of perfume. They served the visitors who came to the temple with tea, water, and wine, and the guests who stayed the night there were accustomed to employ them for the basest uses. These two boys closed the door and brought in a number of delightful vegetarian dishes. They offered Uncle Wu and Yueniang excellent tea made of spring water. When the tea had been cleared away, they at once brought wine and a host of dishes, chicken, goose, duck, and fish. They poured the golden wine into amber cups.
When the wine appeared, Yueniang decided that it was time to go. She called Daian, and upon a red lacquer tray the boy offered the priest a roll of cloth and two taels of silver. Uncle Wu begged him to accept them. “Do not trouble to offer us wine and food,” he said. “It is late and we must go back.”
The priest thanked them. “Only by the grace of Niangniang,” he said, “am I in charge of this temple. I live upon the charity of others and, if I may not spend what comes to me upon entertainment, upon what shall I spend it? I have offered you the very simplest of fare, yet you give me valuable presents. I really don’t know whether I can accept them or not.”
When they urged him to do so, he told the boys to take the presents. “But you must sit down,” he said, “and have some wine, so that I may show how kindly I feel towards you.”
Uncle Wu could not refuse, and they sat down again. Hot dishes were brought. The priest said to the boys: “This wine is not good enough. Go and open that jar of lotus wine that his Lordship Xu sent me, and offer some to this gentleman.”
The boys brought another jar and warmed some of the wine. The priest filled a cup and offered it with both hands to Yueniang. She was unwilling to take it, and Uncle Wu explained that she never drank wine.
“Lady,” the priest said, “after so trying a journey you must take some.” He then offered half a cup and Yueniang took it. He filled another and offered it to Uncle Wu, saying: “My lord, try this wine and tell me what you think of it.”
Uncle Wu tasted it. It was very sweet and well bodied. “It is excellent,” he said.
“It was given to me by Xu, the Prefect of Qingzhou,” the priest said. “His lady, and his son and daughter, come to offer sacrifice here every year, and he is one of my most intimate friends. His daughter’s baby has been placed under the protection of Niangniang. They regard me as a hardworking, plain fellow, but they appreciate my sincerity and love and respect me. You see the government has cut down the revenue of these two temples by half, but, fortunately, this excellent prefect wrote and arranged that the whole of it should be left to us. So we have money enough to burn incense to Niangniang, and what is left we spend upon the entertainment of pilgrims.”
While they were talking, the two boys and the porters were entertained elsewhere. There was as much as they could eat. Uncle Wu drank a few cups of wine and then again prepared to take his leave. It was getting late.
“The sun has gone down,” the priest said. “It is too late for you to go down the mountain now. Will you not spend the night here and start tomorrow morning? That will be much pleasanter for you.”
“I have left some luggage at the inn,” Uncle Wu said, “and I am rather anxious about it.”
The priest smiled. “Don’t worry about
that,” he said. “I give you my word that it will be perfectly safe. When the people in the villages know you are at my place, they will be afraid of me. I could very quickly get hold of anybody who might steal your property and bring them before the local courts.”
Uncle Wu said no more. The priest offered him another large cup of wine, but, realizing that it was very potent, he excused himself, saying he was tipsy enough already and that he must go and change his clothes. He went to the back part of the building and looked around. Yueniang was very tired. She went to lie down on the couch and the priest closed the door and went away.
Suddenly Yueniang heard a noise. It was a man creeping through a little door behind the bed. His face was red and bearded. He was about thirty years old, and wore a black hat and a purple gown. He took Yueniang in his two hands.
“I am Yin Tianxi, at your service,” he said, “the brother-in-law of Magistrate Gao. I heard that you were a lady of good birth and very beautiful, and I was anxious to make your acquaintance. Now I have seen you, I realize my good fortune. If you are kind to me, I shall never forget it.”
He pressed her down on the couch and would have forced her. Yueniang was frightened and cried aloud. “In this world of peace and brightness, would you dare to assault a woman of good birth?” she cried. She tried to escape, but the man prevented her. He knelt down.
“Lady,” he said, “do not make such a noise. Take pity on me, and listen to my urging.”
Yueniang only cried the louder: “Help! Help!” Laian and Daian recognized their mistress’s voice and dashed to the back to call Uncle Wu. “Uncle,” they cried, “come at once. Our lady is fighting with someone in the priest’s room.”
Uncle Wu hurried as fast as he could. He pushed the door but could not open it. He could hear Yueniang crying: “Why are you trying to keep me here?”
“Sister, don’t be afraid,” Uncle Wu shouted. “I am here.” He picked up a piece of rock and forced open the door. When Yin Tianxi saw that someone was coming, he released Yueniang and slipped quickly away through the back. There were many ways of escape. Uncle Wu came in. “Sister,” he cried, “has he done you any harm?”
“No,” Yueniang said, “but he has got away.”
Then Uncle Wu tried to find the priest, but the priest eluded him and sent his young novices to face the trouble. Uncle Wu was terribly angry. He bade Laian and Daian break all the windows and doors in the temple, and then took Yueniang away. She got into her sedan chair and they went down the mountain as fast as they could. It was about sunset when they left the temple and midnight when they came to their inn. Uncle Wu told the people of the inn what had happened. They were greatly disturbed. “You should not have challenged that evil star, Yin,” they said. “He is the magistrate’s brother-in-law, and everybody knows his goings-on. When you have gone, we shall suffer. He will not let you go for nothing.”
Uncle Wu paid the reckoning and gave the innkeeper an extra tael. Then all the luggage was packed up; Yueniang got into her sedan chair, and they set off posthaste.
Yin Tianxi was angry. He gathered twenty or thirty of his men, all armed with swords and clubs, and they raced down the mountainside. Meanwhile, Uncle Wu and his people went straight on. About the fourth night watch, they came to a clearing and saw, afar off, a light shining through the forest. They went towards the light and came to a cave in which an old monk was reading the sacred scriptures by candlelight.
“Venerable Teacher,” they said to him, “we have been to offer sacrifice at the temple, and now evil men are pursuing us. We have lost our way in the darkness. Will you tell us where we are, and how we can get from here to Qinghe?”
“You are on the eastern spur of Taishan,” the old monk told them. “This cave is known as the Xuejian Cave, and I am called the Holy Man of Xuejian, though my real name is Pujing. I have been here for thirty years, mortifying the flesh. It is good fortune that has brought you to me. Do not go farther. There are many wild beasts on these mountain slopes, and it will be better for you to start tomorrow. The high road to Qinghe is not far from here."
"But I am afraid those evil men may find us," Uncle Wu said.
The old man looked about him. "Do not let that trouble you," he said. "The scoundrels have gone home already." He asked Yueniang's name.
"She is my sister," Uncle Wu said, "the widow of Ximen Qing. She came to offer sacrifice for her husband. Venerable Teacher, you have saved our lives, and we can never cease to be grateful to you."
They spent the night in the cave. Before dawn, Yueniang offered the old monk a roll of cloth. He would not accept it.
"I want one of your sons to be my disciple," he said.
"My sister has only one child," Uncle Wu said, "and she hopes to bring him up to continue the family. If she had another son, she would certainly give him to you."
"My baby is still very young," Yueniang said. "He is not a year old yet. He cannot come to you."
"I don't want him now," the old monk said, "I only ask for your promise that I shall have him in fifteen years' time."
Yueniang decided that she would settle that when the fifteen years were over. She made an indefinite kind of promise. Then they said good-bye to the old monk and set out along the high road to Qinghe.
Footnotes
* 5–7 a.m.
† 3–5 p.m.
CHAPTER 85
Chunmei Is Dismissed
The wheel of passion turns and never stops
And those who watch are oft bewildered.
The fortune of a man is subject to many vicissitudes
And when it is all but attained
It comes to naught.
Man finds it hard to hold his head aloft
While strangers look on coldly
And there is none to sympathize.
All through the day
Her brows were knit in sorrow.
She leaned on all the railings
Knowing not what to do.
She can only hope that the moon still shines
Over the five lakes
She must have patience, the time will come
When she will realize the debt of love.
Pan Jinlian and Chen Jingji followed one another about like a cock and a hen. One day, Jinlian felt a sudden pain and realized that her belly was growing bigger. She felt languid and tired and disinclined to eat anything. She sent for Chen Jingji.
“These last few days,” she said, “I have been hardly able to keep my eyes open. My belly is getting big, and I can feel something moving inside it. I have no appetite and my body feels very heavy. When your father was alive, I got some medicine from Nun Xue to make me have a child, and nothing happened. Now he is dead, and I have been carrying on with you only a short time, yet I am with child. It was the third month, I think, when I was last unwell, and that would make the child about six months on the way. Now I, who have always laughed at other people, look like being laughed at myself. Pull yourself together. The Great Lady has not come back yet. Go and get some medicine to get rid of it. If I have the child, it will be the end of me, and I shall never be able to lift my head and look people in the face again.”
“We have all sorts of medicines in the shop,” Jingji said, “but I don’t know which is the right one. And I haven’t any sort of prescription for that purpose. Doctor Hu, in the High Street, is a specialist in women’s troubles. I will go to him and ask him for something to put you right. He knows us quite well.”
“Well, be quick about it, Brother,” Jinlian said. “You must do something to save my life.”
Jingji took three qian of silver and went at once to see Dr. Hu. The doctor was at home. He knew that Chen Jingji was Ximen Qing’s son-in-law and took the young man in.
“It is a long time since I last saw you,” he said. “What can I do for you?”
“I have come to trouble you for an abortive,” Jingji said. “Here is the money. Thank you very much.”
“The people of this world,” Dr. Hu said, “
regard the saving of life as a very noble thing. Everybody comes to ask for medicine to help them to get babies. Why do you come and ask for the very opposite? I have none.”
Jingji gave the doctor another two qian. “Don’t let us talk about nobility,” he said. “If I am asking for it, it is because I want it. A young woman I know would find it very awkward if she should have a baby, and she wishes to make sure that she does not.”
“I will give you some of the medicine that people call ‘Clear all out,’” Dr. Hu said, taking the money. “Let her take it and, in the time it would take her to walk five li, the child will come away.”
He gave Jingji two doses. The young man said goodbye and hurried back to give the medicine to Jinlian. In the evening she took it with some hot water. Immediately she began to feel pain. She lay down on the bed, and Chunmei pressed her belly. In a very short time, she called for the pail, and the child came away. She told Qiuju that she had been unwell and bade her throw everything into the privy. The next day, when the privy cleaners came, they found a white, well-nourished infant. As the proverb says: Good news is never heard outside the door, but bad news travels a thousand miles. In a very few days, nearly everyone in the household knew that Jinlian had been carrying on with Chen Jingji and had had a baby.
When Wu Yueniang came back, it was the tenth month and she had been absent for a fortnight. She was welcomed as though she had fallen from the skies. She made obeisance to the gods and burned incense, then went to visit Ximen Qing’s tablet. Afterwards, she told Meng Yulou and the others of her adventures at the temple. She sobbed as she did so. Then the people of the house came to see her, and Ruyi’er brought Xiaoge. Mother and child came together again.
When she had burned some paper offerings, she gave her brother food and wine and he went home. In the evening, the ladies entertained Yueniang. She was weary after her long journey and the fright she had had, and for two or three days was not at all well. Qiuju, who had heard about the relations between her mistress and Chen Jingji, was very anxious to tell Yueniang all about them. She came to Yueniang’s door, but Xiaoyu spat in her face and boxed her ears.
The Golden Lotus, Volume 2 Page 60