Li Ping’er could think of no answer to make to this. She reflected that all her wealth was stored in Ximen’s house, and her foot tapped nervously upon the floor. “Now I know why he has not been to see me though I have invited him more than once,” she said to herself. “There is evidently something seriously wrong. Zhushan seems very agreeable and pleasant. If I married a man like him, I should not do so badly, but he may have a wife already for all I know.”
“I am most grateful for your advice,” she said aloud. “Thank you with all my heart. If you can think of anyone more suitable and will be kind enough to recommend him, I will take your advice.”
Zhushan did not let this opportunity slip. “I have no idea what kind of man you would like,” he said, “but I may be able to arrange matters for you, if you will speak quite frankly.”
“Whether his family is of high or low degree is of no consequence to me,” Li Ping’er said, “I should be quite satisfied with a man like you.”
At this the doctor was so overjoyed he could hardly contain himself. He threw himself on his knees before her. “I have been long without a mistress in my house,” he said, “and I am childless. Lady, if you will take compassion on me and link your destiny with mine, I can wish for nothing better. Even if you give me the work of a menial to do, I shall be eternally grateful.”
Li Ping’er laughed and helped him to rise. “Please do not kneel,” she said. “How long have you been a widower and under what star were you born? If you really wish to marry me, the Rites insist that you should send a go-between.”
Zhushan kneeled down again. “I am now twenty-nine years old, and was born at the hour of the Hare on the twenty-seventh day of the first month. I grieve to say that my wife died last year. I am very poor, and, if you give me your promise, why should we trouble about a go-between?”
“If you cannot afford it,” Li Ping’er said, smiling, “I have an old lady named Feng living with me, and we will make her our go-between. As for a betrothal present, don’t worry about that. We will select an auspicious day, and you shall marry me and come and live here.”
Zhushan bowed. “You are both father and mother to me, and have given me a new lease of life. Obviously our marriage was ordained several generations ago, and it is the greatest piece of luck I have had in any of my three lives.”
They drank each other’s health, and so this marriage was decided. Zhushan remained till nightfall. When he had gone away, Li Ping’er discussed the matter with old woman Feng.
“Ximen Qing,” she said, “is now in a bad way. It is impossible to say whether his luck will ever turn. There is no one to bother about me, and I have been so ill I nearly died. The best thing I can do is to marry this doctor. There doesn’t seem to be any reason why I should not.”
The next day she sent old woman Feng with a letter to the doctor, saying that the eighteenth day of the sixth month appeared to be an auspicious day. He was to come then and live with her. Three days afterwards she gave Zhushan three hundred taels of silver, so that he could open a couple of rooms and decorate his surgery tastefully. Before this he had always gone on foot to visit his patients. Now he bought a donkey and rode up and down the street.
CHAPTER 18
Ximen Qing Bribes Officers of the Court
Laibao and Laiwang set out to the Eastern Capital to try to put matters right there. They traveled at early dawn when the rising sun threw a purple haze over their path; they traveled in the evening when its setting cast a rosy light upon the dust. At last they came to their destination and entered the city through the Gate of Eternal Life. They found an inn and rested there. The next day they set out to pick up what news they could in the street. They heard people saying that Wang, the Minister for War, had been tried the previous day, and that the Emperor had ordered his execution in the coming autumn. Of Marshal Yang it was said that his case was not yet done with, for his household and his staff had not all been arrested.
Laibao and Laiwang took the treasures they had brought and went in haste to the palace of the Imperial Tutor. They had been there before and knew the way well, but, when they came to the Arch of Dragon Virtue, they waited for a time to see if they could learn anything more of interest. After a while a man wearing black robes came hurriedly from the palace and went eastwards. Laibao recognized him as one of the household of Marshal Yang. He would have liked to go and ask a few questions, but his master had told him to keep in the background, and he let the man pass. At last they went up to the palace gate, politely greeted the keeper of the gate, and asked if his Eminence was at home.
“His Eminence is still detained at the Court,” the keeper of the gate said. “What is your business?”
“We should like to see Master Zhai the Comptroller of the Household,” Laibao said. “Will you be good enough to ask him to see us?”
“His Lordship is not at home,” the keeper of the gate said.
Laibao realized that the officer was not telling the truth and that something was expected of him. He took a tael of silver from his sleeve and gave it to the gatekeeper.
“Whom did you say you wished to see?” the man said. “His Eminence or his Excellency the Vice Chancellor? Zhai Qian is the great Comptroller of the Household and matters affecting the Imperial Tutor are referred to him. The lesser Comptroller Gao An deals with the Vice Chancellor’s affairs. Their duties are quite distinct. The Imperial Tutor himself is not at home, but the Vice Chancellor is. What is the real nature of your business? Shall I ask Master Gao to come and see you? He will serve your purpose just as well.”
“We are from Marshal Yang’s palace,” said Laibao, “and shall be very glad to see anyone.”
The officer of the gate hastened into the palace, and, after a short delay, Gao An appeared. Laibao went forward and made a reverence, at the same time offering ten taels of silver. “I was to have come,” he said, “with one of Marshal Yang’s household. We hoped to see the Imperial Tutor to find out what is happening. But I had to stay for food, and so was late and missed the officer.”
“Marshal Yang’s courier has just gone,” said Gao An, accepting the present, “but if you will wait a moment or two I will take you to see the Vice Chancellor.” He took Laibao through the entrance hall, and passing through a side door they came to three large rooms on the north. Here was a green screen, with a scroll upon which the Emperor had written in his own hand ‘The Music Chamber of the Vice Chancellor.’ Cai Yu, the son of Cai Jing, was, like his father, a favorite at court. He was an Imperial Delegate at the Temple of the Great Monad and held high office at the Xiang He Palace and in the Board of Rites.
Laibao waited till Gao An, who had gone to announce him, came to summon him. Then he went in and knelt down. Cai Yu was dressed in his ordinary attire with a soft hat. He asked Laibao where he had come from.
“I am a servant of Chen Hong’s household,” said Laibao. “He is a kinsman of Marshal Yang. I was to have come with the Marshal’s courier in the hope of seeing his Eminence and obtaining some information. Unfortunately, the courier got here before me.” He took a paper from his sleeve and offered it to the minister. Cai Yu read on it the words “Five hundred measures of purest rice,” and called Laibao nearer.
“His Eminence,” he said, “has avoided becoming mixed up in this matter in view of the fact that his own name was mentioned to the Emperor in the Censor’s report. Li, the Minister of the Right, dealt with the case yesterday. But so far as Marshal Yang is concerned, we heard from the Court that his Majesty is inclined to be merciful and will not deal severely with him, though his underlings, no doubt, will still have to be tried and sentenced. You must go and see Li.”
Laibao kowtowed. “I am quite unknown at Li’s palace,” he said. “Pray have pity on me for Marshal Yang’s sake.”
“Go as far as the Bridge of the Heavenly River,” said Cai Yu. “North of it you will see a very high building, and there you must ask for Li Bangyan, Minister of the Right. Everybody knows him. But I will send someon
e with you.”
He called for official paper, set his seal upon it, and instructed Gao An to go with Laibao and introduce him. The two men left the hall together. They called to Laiwang to bring the presents, went down the Street of Dragon Virtue, and, passing the Bridge of the Heavenly River, came to the palace of Li Bangyan.
The minister, who had just returned from the Presence, was still wearing his robes of crimson silk and a girdle around his waist, fastened by a jade clasp. After bidding farewell to some man of rank, he had gone to his hall when the gatekeeper informed him that Vice Chancellor Cai had sent his Comptroller, Gao An, with a message. Gao An was then summoned, and, after he had exchanged a few words with the minister, Laibao and Laiwang were called forward. They went into the hall and knelt down. Gao An stood beside them and handed Cai Yu’s note and the list of presents they had brought to the minister. Bangyan looked at it.
“You are connected with Marshal Yang,” he said, “and Cai has been good enough to send you to me. How can I possibly accept presents from you? Besides, his Majesty is now quite well disposed to Marshal Yang: he will not be troubled further. But I fear the Censor has been so severe upon some of the Marshal’s subordinates that they can hardly escape punishment.” He called for the memorial that the Censor had laid before the Emperor the previous day.
“Wang Fu’s archivist, Dong Sheng; his chamberlain, Wang Lian; Captain Huang Yu; Yang Jian’s servant, the scrivener Lu Hu; Yang Sheng, his administrator; Fu Quan, his comptroller; Han Zongren; Zhao Hongdao; Captain Liu Sheng; Chen Hong; Ximen Qing; and Hu the Fourth. These are all men of utter unworthiness, scoundrelly fellows who, like foxes, invest themselves with the dignity of a tiger. We pray that justice may be done upon them. Some should be banished to the frontier that there may be an end to their deceits. Some should be put to death that the majesty of the law may be vindicated.”
When Laibao heard this document read, he was greatly excited. Again and again he prostrated himself before the minister. “In truth, your Excellency,” he cried, “I am Ximen Qing’s servant. I implore you to be generous and spare my master’s life.” Gao An knelt down and added his prayers to those of Laibao. The minister allowed his glance to fall upon the gold and silver. There were, in all, five hundred taels, and it seemed to him that such a present might suffice to purchase the name of a single man. Why should he hesitate? He called for writing materials, took up a brush, and changed the name of Ximen Qing to Jia Lian. Then he accepted the presents and dismissed the men, sending a polite message to the Vice Chancellor Cai Yu. To each of the three domestics he gave five taels of silver. Laibao and Laiwang took their leave of Gao An, returned to their inn, packed their luggage, paid their reckoning, and made haste back to Qinghe.
As soon as they reached home, they hurried to Ximen and told him all that had happened in the Eastern Capital. When he realized how narrowly he had escaped, he shivered as though he had been plunged into a bath of ice-cold water.
“If I had not bestirred myself at the right moment,” he said to Yueniang, “I dare not think what would have happened. It would have been too late to do anything now.”
A stone comfortably at rest upon the ground could not have felt more solidly established than Ximen Qing now. The gate was opened again; the work upon the garden restarted, and, in a little while, Ximen resumed his saunterings through the streets.
One day, Daian, riding down Lion Street, passed the house of Li Ping’er. He noticed that a large drug shop had been opened there, with a small red counter and a lacquer sign. It seemed to be prospering. When he reached home, he told Ximen Qing, but, as he knew nothing of the marriage between Li Ping’er and Jiang Zhushan, he said she had engaged a manager and opened a medicine shop. Ximen Qing did not pay much heed.
About the middle of the seventh month the autumn winds blew and the dew was cold and chill. Ximen Qing mounted his horse and set out for the main street. There he was hailed by Ying Bojue and Xie Xida, and got off his horse to greet them.
“Where have you been all this time, Brother?” they said. “We have been to your house several times, but the gate was fast shut and we did not venture to call. We could not imagine what was wrong. What have you been doing, keeping within doors like that? Have you married the lady? You never sent for us to take wine with you.”
“It is not a very agreeable story,” Ximen said, “but a near kinsman of mine, Chen, has been in trouble, and I have had to devote all my energies to getting him out of his difficulties. I had to put off my marriage.”
“We knew nothing of any troubles,” Bojue said. “Anyhow, now that we have run into you today, we shall not let you go. Come with us to see Wu Yin’er and drink some wine to drown your sorrows.” They would take no refusal and rushed Ximen Qing to Wu Yin’er’s house.
They drank all day, and not till night was falling and Ximen Qing was half drunk, would they let him go. On his way down East Street he saw old woman Feng hurrying along. “Where are you going?” he called, reining in his horse.
“My lady has sent me to the temple outside the city to burn paper offerings for my late master.”
“How is your mistress?” Ximen said tipsily. “I’m going to come and have a chat with her one of these days.”
“What is the use of asking after my mistress now?” the old woman said. “The rice was cooked, but you let someone else walk off with the pan.”
Ximen was greatly agitated when he heard this. “You don’t mean to say she’s gone and married someone else?” he cried.
“My lady sent me to show you her wedding headdress, and I called at your house several times, but the gate was closed and I could not see you. I spoke to your boy and told him to ask you not to delay, but you paid no heed. It’s no use complaining now if you find your place occupied by someone else.”
“Who is the man?” Ximen cried.
Old woman Feng told him the whole story. She explained how Li Ping’er came to send for Jiang Zhushan, and finally married him, and how she gave him three hundred taels to set him up in a medicine shop.
“Terrible! Terrible!” Ximen cried. He flew into a furious rage and stamped his feet. “I wouldn’t have minded so much if it had been anybody else, but that miserable little turtle! What use does she think he’ll be to her?” He whipped up his horse and galloped home.
When he passed through the inner door, Wu Yueniang, Meng Yulou, Pan Jinlian, and Ximen Dajie were skipping in the courtyard. When Ximen came, they withdrew to the inner court. But Jinlian leaned against a pillar and began to tie her shoelaces.
“You little strumpet,” Ximen cried, “have you nothing better to do than fool about like this?”
He kicked her twice and then went to the inner court, but, instead of going to change in Yueniang’s room, he went to his own study in the wing and demanded bedclothes so that he could pass the night there. With unrelenting fury he beat the maids and cursed the boys, till all the women gathered together in terror, wondering what could be amiss. Yueniang blamed Jinlian. She said, “If you had got out of his way when you saw him in such a rage, all would have been well. Instead, you stayed there in front of him, laughing and playing with your shoelaces, and he cursed us like a host of grasshoppers, yes, and caterpillars too.”
“It would not have mattered so much,” Yulou said, “if he had only cursed us, but to abuse the Great Lady and call her a strumpet! Really, he is a most unmannerly fellow!”
“It was me he picked on,” Jinlian cried. “You were all there, but I was the one to suffer. Why should I be selected to receive his special favors?”
This made Yueniang angry. “Why didn’t you ask him to kick me?” she said. “You were treated neither worse nor better than anybody else. You don’t know your place.”
Jinlian saw that Yueniang was angry and she changed her tune. “Oh, Sister,” she said, “I didn’t mean that. He doesn’t know what is the matter with him and he thought he would vent his spite on me. He set up a tremendous outcry and swore he would bring me to a doleful en
d.”
“Nobody told you to make fun of him,” Yueniang said. “He would have been all right if you had not given him cause to beat you.”
“Great Sister,” Yulou said, “let us send for the boy and find out where he was drinking this afternoon. He was in a perfectly good temper when he went out this morning. What has made him come back like this?”
Daian was summoned.
“You wicked young scoundrel,” Yueniang said to him, “if you don’t tell me the truth you shall have a thrashing. Ping’an too. You shall both have ten strokes of the rod.”
“You need not beat me,” Daian cried, “I will tell all there is to tell. Father spent the day drinking with Uncle Ying at Wu Yin’er’s house. Afterwards, as he was going down East Street, he met old woman Feng and she told him that Mistress Hua had not waited, but had married the Doctor Jiang who used to live in the High Street. Father was fearfully angry, even in the street.”
“So, just because that shameless hussy chooses another man, he must come home and take it out on us!” Yueniang said.
“That was not all,” Daian said. “Mistress Hua has taken him to live with her and set him up in a fine medicine shop. I told Father so once before, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
“It is only a few months ago since her husband died,” Yulou said, “and she was not out of mourning. It is most unseemly.”
“In these days,” said Yueniang, “nobody stops to think whether things are unseemly or not. If she took a man before she was out of mourning, she was not the first one. Strumpets like her will drink or sleep with any man. How can one expect them to consider the virtuous estate of widowhood?”
This was a blow at Yulou and Jinlian. Both had married before their widowhood was over. Yueniang’s remark made them feel so uncomfortable that they went to their own rooms and did not wait to hear what she would say next.
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