CHAPTER 86
Pan Jinlian Leaves the House of Ximen
Chen Jingji, one morning after breakfast, pretended that he had money to collect, took a horse, and went to old woman Xue’s house. The old woman was at home and asked him to come in. Jingji tethered his horse outside and went in. After he had taken tea, the old woman said: “What can I do for you, Brother-in-law?”
“I was out collecting some money,” Jingji said, “and thought I would call to see you. I hear the maid came to you yesterday. Is she still here?”
“Yes, I have not found a master for her yet.”
“I should like to see her. May I have a word with her?”
The old woman pretended to hesitate. “Good Brother-in-law,” she said, “the Great Lady gave me very strict instructions. She said that this maid was being sent away because she and you had been misbehaving yourselves. I wasn’t to let you see her. So go away, please. She might be sending some of her boys here. If they came and saw you, there would be trouble for me when they went back and told the Great Lady. I should never be able to go there again.”
The young man smiled and took a tael of silver from his sleeve. “Buy yourself a cup of tea with this,” he said, “I will give you more, later.”
Then the old woman agreed. “I am not in any need of money at the moment,” she said. “Perhaps you will keep it for me and give it me some other time. But one thing I do want. At the end of last year, I pawned two pairs of embroidered pillow ends at your pawnshop. That is about twelve months ago and, including the interest, I should probably have to pay eight qian of silver. Will you get them for me?”
“You shall have them tomorrow,” Jingji said.
The old woman asked him to go to the inner room, and there he found Chunmei. She told her daughter-in-law to cook something for them, and went off herself to buy cakes, wine, and meat for Chen Jingji and Chunmei.
“Brother,” Chunmei said, when she saw Jingji, “a fine fellow you are! Nobody but a murderer would have brought my mistress and me to such a pass that we can neither rise nor fall. Now the secret is out, and you see how people hate us.”
“Sister, you have finished with that household now, and I don’t see why I should bother about it any more. In this world, we have to go our own ways. See that Madam Xue finds a good home for you. When the fruit of the fields has been dug up and taken away, it can never return whence it came. That is how it is with me. I shall go to the Eastern Capital to see what my father has to say. Then I shall come back and divorce my wife, and claim the boxes and things that those people have of mine.”
Old woman Xue soon came back with the refreshments. A table was set and the pair sat down and drank together. Old woman Xue joined them, and they chatted together.
“The Great Lady is very unfeeling,” the old woman said. “To a beautiful girl like you, she might at least have given ornaments and clothes. It will be very awkward when you have to go to a new master’s house. And she asked the same money for you as she paid. It is like pouring clean water from one cup to another. Some is bound to be spilled on the way. Yes, indeed, she is very, very mean. When you came away with me, Xiaoyu asked your mistress to give you two dresses. Without them, you wouldn’t have had a rag to put on when you go to your new home.”
When they had had wine enough, old woman Xue told her daughter-in-law to take the baby away, and left them alone to amuse themselves.
She was afraid that Yueniang might send someone to see what was happening, so she would not let Jingji stay very long. He mounted his horse and went home. In a day or two he gave Chunmei two kerchiefs and two pairs of drawers, and got the pillow ends for old woman Xue. He gave the old woman some money to buy wine for him to drink with Chunmei. Unfortunately, Yueniang sent Laian to the house to find out why the old woman had not found a master for Chunmei. Laian saw Jingji’s horse outside, and went back at once and told his mistress.
Yueniang was very angry, and sent one boy after another to fetch the old woman. When she came, Yueniang scolded her severely.
“You have the maid, yet you keep putting off finding a master for her. You think you’ll make a little extra money for yourself by keeping her to carry on with some young rascal. If you can’t attend to this business, let me have the maid back again and I’ll give the job to old woman Feng. You’ll never be allowed near the place again.”
Then old woman Xue plied her go-between’s mouth. “Heaven! Heaven!” she cried. “Your ladyship really must not blame me. Do you think I would chase the god of wealth away with a stick? You were kind enough to give me this job, and I should never have the boldness not to get on with it. Yesterday, I took the maid to several places, but I didn’t succeed in selling her. You ask sixteen taels for her, but I haven’t got money enough to pay for her before I sell her.”
“The boys tell me,” Yueniang said, “that young Chen has been hanging about your place drinking with the maid.”
“Ai ya!” the old woman cried. “What a lie! He certainly called to see me because he had to bring me two pillow ends that I left at your pawnshop twelve months ago. Since he had done me that favor, I asked him to have a cup of tea, but he would not and rode away on his horse at once. He did not drink wine at my place. What stories your boys have been telling you!”
Yueniang did not say anything for a long time. At last she said slowly: “I should not be surprised if that young man’s passion put wrong ideas into his head.”
“I am not a three-year-old child,” old woman Xue said, “and it was easy to see what the position was. You gave me your orders, and I had to carry them out. He didn’t stay a single minute at my house, just handed me the pillow ends, and went away without even a cup of tea. He hadn’t time to see the maid. Really, Lady, you must make sure of the facts before you blame me. Now, his Lordship Zhou wants a girl to ensure the continuance of his family, but he does not want to pay more than twelve taels. I might get thirteen taels out of him. His Lordship has been here to parties and seen her. He liked her appearance: she is beautiful and can sing sweetly, or he would not have offered so much. You must remember that she is not a virgin, and we can hardly expect so high a price from anybody else.”
Yueniang agreed to accept this sum and, the next day, old woman Xue took Chunmei to Major Zhou’s house. The girl was beautifully painted and wore a headdress of pearls and ornaments. She was dressed in a red silk coat and blue silk skirt. Her shoes were small and pointed. Major Zhou thought her more beautiful than ever. He gave the old woman a piece of silver worth about fifty taels.
Old woman Xue took the silver back to her own place, cut off a piece amounting to thirteen taels, and gave it to Yueniang. She brought another tael with her, and told Yueniang that Major Zhou had given it to her as a reward for her services. She asked Yueniang for something more, and was given five qian of silver. So, all together, she made thirty-seven taels and five qian from this deal. Such is the way of go-betweens, nine out of ten of whom make their living in this way.
Chunmei was lost to Chen Jingji, and Jinlian was out of his reach. Yueniang was very careful about doors and windows. Every evening she took a lantern, went around the whole house, and made sure that all the doors were bolted before she went to bed. Jingji was powerless, and it made him very impatient. He quarreled with his wife.
“Strumpet!” he shouted. “Let me tell you straight out that I am the son-in-law in this family. I’m not a beggar. I’m sick of the place, and your people are keeping all my chests full of gold and silver. You are my wife, but do you take my part? No, you talk about my begging my food here. Do I ever eat a thing without rendering service in return?”
His wife cried.
It was the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh month, Meng Yulou’s birthday. She got ready some dishes and wine and, out of the kindness of her heart, told Chunhong to take it to the shop for Clerk Fu and Chen Jingji. Yueniang tried to stop her. “That young man is a scoundrel,” she said. “Don’t have any dealings with him. If you would like to sen
d something to Clerk Fu, well and good, but don’t give that young man anything.”
Yulou did not pay any heed. She told Chunhong to take the things to them. The boy put down the food on the counter of the shop. When Jingji had finished the jar of wine, he was still not satisfied and told the boy to go back and ask for more.
“I have had enough,” Clerk Fu said. “I don’t think we need ask for any more.”
But Jingji insisted, and Laian was sent to ask for more wine. Sometime later he came back. “There is no more wine in the inner court,” he told them. Jingji was already half tipsy. He again told the boy to go and fetch more wine, but the boy did not move. Then Jingji took some of his own money and bought wine. As he drank it, he cursed Laian.
“You wait, you thievish slave! Your mistress treats me badly, and you, you slave, think you can look down on me too. You won’t go and do what I ask you. You know I am the son-in-law in this family. I am tired of eating and drinking in this haphazard way. You know how they treated me when my father-in-law was alive. Now he is dead, they sing a very different tune. Nobody bothers about me any more, and all they want is to get rid of me. My mother-in-law believes every little story the slaves carry to her. She entrusts her business to slaves and has no confidence in me. Let her do as she likes: I have patience enough to endure this injustice.”
Clerk Fu tried to cheer the young man. “You mustn’t talk like that,” he said. “If they don’t respect you, whom do they respect? I am sure they must be busy now. It is not that they don’t want to give you the wine. Your scolding the boy doesn’t matter, but the walls have ears. If anybody hears you, they will say: “That young man is drunk again.’ “
“Old friend,” Jingji said, “you don’t understand. I may have wine in my belly but I know what I’m talking about. My mother-in-law listens to every bit of tittle-tattle, and believes that everything about me is bad. She thinks that it is I who have made a fool of other people and not others who have made a fool of me. But if I amuse myself with every woman in that household, and she brings a case against me in the courts, it is no more than a case of carrying on with one’s late father-in-law’s women, and that is only a matter of imprudence. First, I shall divorce her daughter. Then I shall go to the courts myself, or else to the Eastern Capital, and I shall accuse her of detaining many chests full of gold and silver that ought either to belong to me or be given to the authorities, since they came from Yang Jian. If I do that, her house will be confiscated, and all the women will be sold. I am not hoping to catch any fish: all I wish is to stir up the mud. If she had any sense, she would treat me as her son-in-law as she used to do, then everything would be all right.”
Clerk Fu did not care for the tone the young man was taking. “Brother-in-law,” he said, “you are certainly drunk, and you are talking without thinking.”
Chen Jingji opened his eyes wide and glared at Clerk Fu. “You thievish old dog!” he said haughtily. “Do you suggest that I am drunk, and don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, it is not any wine of yours I’m drinking. Even if I am a scoundrel, I am still the honorable son-in-law of this household and you are a paid hireling. Will you dare to treat me badly too? You old dog! Wait! During the last few years, you have made money enough out of my father-in-law, and you have eaten his food. Now you have evil ideas in your head and you think, if you get rid of me as soon as you can, you will be able to make yourself the only man who can transact business here. If I send an accusation to the courts, you may be sure your name will be on it.”
Clerk Fu was not a very brave man and, seeing that things did not seem to be taking a good turn, he put on his clothes and went home as fast as he could. The boy cleared the things away and took them to the inner court. Jingji lay down on the bed and went to sleep.
The next day, very early, Clerk Fu went to Yueniang and told her what had happened. There were tears in his eyes when he suggested that he should go away, give up the business, and hand over the accounts to her.
“Go on as usual,” Yueniang said to him gently. “Treat that rogue as though he were some stinking offal, and don’t pay the slightest attention to him. He came here because he was in trouble with the authorities, and only intended to spend a short time here. I should like to know where are all these treasures he spoke to you about. All I know of are my daughter’s furniture and a few trunks. I remember how his father got away. We were terrified lest somebody should find out and spread the news about him. We were worried day and night. When he came here, he was only sixteen or seventeen years old and like a hunted animal. He has lived on my husband’s kindness ever since, and everything he knows about business he has learned here. Now that his wings have grown, he means to repay our kindness by hatred, and to pay no account to all the things we have done for him. What a young man! He seems to have no conscience and to disregard the principle of Heaven utterly. I am watching, and I shall see whether Heaven prospers him or not. My friend, go on as you always have done, and pay no heed to him. The time will come when that young man will feel ashamed of himself.”
One day, something seemed destined to happen. There were a number of people in the pawnshop redeeming their things. Ruyi’er came with a pot of tea for Clerk Fu, carrying the baby Xiaoge in her arms. The baby howled, and she put the pot down on the table.
“Baby,” Chen Jingji said, “don’t cry.” Then he turned to the people who were there and said, with a half-serious air: “Doesn’t it seem clear that he is my own child? When I tell him to stop crying, he stops.”
Nobody made any answer.
“Brother-in-law,” Ruyi’er said, “I suppose you think that is a clever thing to say. You don’t know your place. I shall tell my mistress about this.”
Jingji went over and kicked her twice. He laughed and said: “You thievish creature! So I had no right to talk in that way, hadn’t I? Well, now I am kicking your backside so as to make a sound that people should listen to.”
The nurse picked up the baby and went to the inner court and told Yueniang all about it. She cried. “That is how he talked about the baby before all those people,” she said.
Yueniang was dressing her hair before a mirror. When she heard this, she could not speak. Suddenly she fell forward on the floor in a faint. Xiaoyu was greatly alarmed. She called for nearly everybody in the house, and they picked up Yueniang and put her on the bed. Sun Xue’e jumped on the bed and lifted her up and down. After a while they were able to pour some ginger water down her throat. At last Yueniang came around, but her breath came with difficulty. She sobbed, but could not cry out. Ruyi’er repeated Jingji’s remarks to Yulou and Xue’e. “I reproved him,” she said, “and he came and kicked me. I nearly fainted on the spot.”
When the others had gone away, Xue’e stayed to look after Yueniang. “Lady, it is no use being angry with him,” she said. “It would be most serious if you fell ill of anger. That fellow is annoyed because you sold Chunmei and because he cannot get here to see that strumpet Jinlian. That is why he says things of this sort. Now let us make an end of this business once and for all. Your stepdaughter is married to him. We have to regard her as a piece of land that has been sold, and we cannot help her very much. As the proverb says: when once the frog gets into the water, it must take the consequences. But why should we keep that young man here any longer? Send for him. Let us give him a sound drubbing and drive him away. Then send for old woman Wang to take that strumpet away and sell her to anybody who will buy her. When we have got rid of these evil elements, we may have peace. I see no reason why we should deliberately keep them there. If we do, we may all suffer in the future.”
“You are right,” Yueniang said.
They decided upon a plan. The next day, Yueniang gave her maids and women clubs, seven or eight of them altogether, and hid them about the place. Then she sent Laian to summon Chen Jingji. The second door was closed when the young man went in.
“Kneel down,” Yueniang said.
The young man refused, and turned his head im
pudently away, without speaking.
“You know what you have done?” Yueniang said.
Jingji paid no heed.
Yueniang was furious. With Xue’e, Laixing’s wife, Laizhao’s wife, Xiaoyu, Xiuchun and some others, she caught hold of him and threw him to the ground. Clubs, long and short, descended furiously upon him. Ximen Dajie went away and never spoke a word to save her husband.
In desperation, the young man pulled down his trousers and displayed his manhood. This startled the women; they all threw down their clubs and ran in every direction. Yueniang was annoyed, but she could not help being amused. She called him a turtle with nothing to boast of, but Jingji was pleased with himself. “If I had not thought of that,” he said to himself, “I should never have got away alive.” He got up and ran away, holding his trousers up with one hand. Yueniang told some of the boys to go after him and see that he cleared his accounts and handed them over to Clerk Fu.
It was now clear to Chen Jingji that he could stay there no longer. He packed his clothes and his belongings and, without saying good-bye to anyone, left Ximen Qing’s house in a very bad temper. He went to stay at his Uncle Zhang’s.
When Jinlian heard this, she was more melancholy and depressed than ever. Yueniang did what Xue’e had suggested, and sent Daian for old woman Wang.
The old woman had given up her tea business since she had come into some money. Her son, Wang Chao, who had been to the Huai country with some merchants, had come back with a hundred taels that he had stolen. Old woman Wang bought two donkeys, millstones and sieves, and had set herself up as a miller. When she heard that Ximen’s people wished to see her, she hurriedly dressed and went with Daian.
The Golden Lotus, Volume 2 Page 62