It was afternoon when Ximen Qing came back from visiting his friends. Ping’an saw him coming but gave no warning. Shutong heard the shouts of the attendants clearing the road for their master before he had time to put away the things. He had to rush out in a great hurry to take Ximen Qing’s clothes.
When Ximen asked if anyone had called to see him, Shutong said: “No.” Ximen Qing took off his hat and cloak and, after putting on a cap, went into his study and sat down. Shutong gave him a cup of tea. When he had drunk a mouthful, Ximen put it down. He noticed how red the boy’s face was. “Where have you been drinking?” he said.
Shutong took a paper from beneath the ink slab on the table and gave it to his master. “The Sixth Lady gave me this,” he said. “She told me Uncle Hua had sent it. It is about the four prisoners, and she asked me to take it and bring it before you. She gave me a cup of wine, and that is why my face is red.”
Ximen Qing looked at the paper. “The four accused implore your clemency,” it said. When he had read it, he handed it back, and told Shutong to put it in the letter case and give it to the soldier-servant that he might be reminded about it next day. Shutong put the paper in the case, and came to stand beside his master.
After the wine he had drunk, the high color in his cheeks stood out in striking contrast to the fairness of his skin. Ximen could not resist the temptation. He drew the boy to his bosom, and kissed him passionately. Shutong had aromatic tea and some tablets of cinnamon in his mouth. His body was scented with a sweet fragrance. Ximen undid the boy’s shirt, pulled down his multicolored trousers, and caressed him gently. “You must not drink so much wine,” he said. “It will ruin your complexion.”
“I will do your bidding in all things,” the boy said.
Meanwhile, a horseman clothed in black rode up to the gate, dismounted, and bowed to Ping’an. “Is this the house of his Lordship Ximen Qing?” he said.
Ping’an was still sulking and pulling a long face, because Shutong had not invited him to the feast. He did not answer. The man waited a long time and finally said: “I have brought this letter from Major Zhou. Tomorrow there is to be a reception to General Xing Pingzhai at the Temple of Eternal Felicity. Three of the officers have given a tael of silver each towards the expenses, and I have come to see your master. Please be good enough to tell him. I will wait for his reply.”
Ping’an took the paper and went in. Someone told him that Ximen was in the garden room, and he went into the garden past the pine tree grove. Huatong was sitting on the steps beside the window. He waved his hand and Ping’an suspected that something must be going on between his master and Shutong. He tiptoed to the window, peeped, and listened, and did not miss certain signs of agitation in the room. He heard Ximen Qing say: “Stand this way, my boy, and don’t move.” Then there was silence for a long time. At last Shutong came out to fetch water for Ximen Qing to wash his hands. When he saw Ping’an and Huatong standing at the window, he flushed, and hurried away to the inner court. Ping’an took in the subscription list and Ximen Qing set his signature to it.
“Go to the Second Lady for a tael of silver,” he said. “Then get your brother-in-law to wrap it up and give it to the messenger.” Ping’an went away.
When Shutong had brought the water, Ximen washed his hands and went to see Li Ping’er.
“If you would like something to drink, I will tell a maid to heat some wine,” she said.
Ximen saw a jar of Jinhua wine underneath the table. “What is that?” he said.
Li Ping’er did not wish to tell him that Shutong had brought it. She said: “I thought I should like something to drink, so I sent a boy to the street to buy it. I opened it and drank a cup or two. Then I had had enough.”
“We have plenty of wine in the outer court,” Ximen said. “Why should you spend your money? I got forty jars of Heqing wine from Ding, the southerner, the other day. I haven’t paid him for it yet, but the wine is all in the west wing. If you want any, you need only send a boy with a key to get some.”
Plates of roast duck, chicken and fish were ready and Li Ping’er told Yingchun to prepare more. When the dishes were set on the table, she ate them with her husband. It did not occur to Ximen to ask where they had come from, for such things were plentiful in his house.
“Shutong has just given me a paper,” he said as they were drinking. “He says you gave it him.”
“Yes,” said Li Ping’er, “Uncle Hua came and begged me to ask you to let those fellows go.”
“Wu came yesterday about the same matter,” Ximen said, “but I wouldn’t promise him anything. I really intended to have the business still further examined but, since Hua has been here to ask, I will have them given another beating and set them free.”
“Why beat them again?” Li Ping’er said. “You have already punished them till they opened their mouths and showed all their teeth. Really, a most repulsive sight!”
“I don’t care whether they show their teeth or not,” Ximen said. “My office is not conducted on those lines, as other people, of greater dignity than they, have found before now.”
“Brother,” Li Ping’er said, “you are an officer of the law, I know, yet your office does not forbid you to show mercy. To be merciful is to be virtuous, and you must lay up a stock of virtue for our child’s sake.”
“What do you mean?” Ximen said.
“In the future, do not rack and beat the people as you have been doing, and, when you have a chance to be kind, take it. So, you will certainly lay up for yourself a treasure in heaven.”
“If I do my duty, I must not be too lenient,” Ximen said.
They were still drinking when Chunmei thrust aside the blind and came in. It seemed to her that Ximen and Li Ping’er were sitting in a very affectionate position. “Here you are enjoying your wine,” she said. “You have forgotten all about sending a boy to meet my mistress. She has gone a long way outside the city, and only Laian is with her. She will be very late, I fear, but that doesn’t seem to worry you.”
Ximen saw that the girl’s headdress was disarranged and her hair tumbling down. He laughed, and said: “You’ve been asleep, little oily mouth.” Li Ping’er told her that the kerchief on her head needed to be set in order and added: “This is beautiful Jinhua wine. Won’t you have a cup?”
“Drink a cup,” Ximen Qing said, “and I will send some of the boys for your mistress.”
Chunmei, with one hand on the table as she leaned over to pull up her shoes, declined. “I don’t feel very well,” she said, “and I have only just got up. I don’t want anything to drink.”
“It is very good wine, little oily mouth,” Ximen said. Li Ping’er said: “Your mistress is not at home; why make all this fuss over a cup of wine?”
“Please drink the wine yourself, Sixth Lady. It makes no difference whether my mistress is at home or not. If she were at home and I were asked to drink when I did not feel well, I should refuse.”
“If you will not have wine, have some tea,” Ximen said. “I will tell Yingchun to send a boy for your mistress.”
He passed his own cup to her. Chunmei took it reluctantly, drank a mouthful of tea, and set the cup down.
“You need not send Yingchun,” she said, “I have brought Ping’an. He is bigger than the others.”
Ximen called through the window and Ping’an answered. “If you go,” Ximen said, “who will attend to the gate?”
“I have told Qitong to look after the gate,” the boy replied.
“Very well,” said Ximen, “take a lantern and go to meet your mistress.”
When Ping’an had gone halfway, he met the sedan chair. He knew the two bearers. One was Zhang Chuan, the other Wei Cong.
“I have come to escort my mistress,” he said, going forward and taking hold of the shafts.
“Who told you to come?” Pan Jinlian said. “Your father?”
“Not so much my father as my sister,” the boy said.
“I suppose your father has not com
e back yet from the office,” Jinlian said.
“Not come back, indeed!” the boy replied. “He came back very early and is now drinking good wine in the Sixth Lady’s room. If Chunmei had not fetched me and insisted that I should be sent with a lantern to meet you, I shouldn’t be here now. I knew you had nobody with you but Laian, that the road was bad and you ought to have somebody bigger, so I came.”
When you left the house, where was your master?”
“He was still in the Sixth Lady’s room. He only sent me when Chunmei insisted.”
Jinlian remained silent for a long time. Then she smiled, coldly. “The brigand seems to think I am a corpse already. He would spend every night in that strumpet’s room if he could. She pins her faith to that water bladder of a baby, and I only hope she may not find out she has made a mistake. Zhang Chuan, you are one of the household and you have seen a good deal of the world. Why should they cut up a whole roll of silk to make clothes for that puling brat? Even Wang the millionaire wouldn’t do a thing like that.”
“Lady,” Zhang Chuan said, “I should never have dared to mention the matter, if you had not done so, but you are certainly right. They should not. It is not the silk I am thinking about, but I am afraid they will spoil the baby. He has not gone through all his childish ailments yet, and he will not be reared without some trouble. I remember a sad case that happened last year. It was a very rich old gentleman who lived outside the Eastern gate, about sixty years old he was, living on a property that had belonged to his ancestors. He was as rich as rich could be, but he was childless. He kept his fast in the Eastern Temple and offered sacrifice in the Temple of the West. He made all manner of benefactions to religion, yet still no son was born to him. Then, suddenly, his third wife presented him with one and he was as delighted as our master has been. All day long, he would gaze upon that child and have him carried about in an embroidered silken cradle. He had three rooms for a nursery painted as white as driven snow. Three or four nurses were bought especially for the baby and, all day long, he was sheltered from the slightest breath of wind. Yet before he was three years old, he took the smallpox and died. I beg your pardon, but I can’t help thinking it is better to bring up a baby a little more roughly.”
“Roughly indeed!” Jinlian cried. “Their only trouble is that they can’t keep him in a pile of gold.”
“There is something else I have to tell you,” Ping’an said. “If I do not, you will be angry with me when you hear about it. It is about that business of Clerk Han and the others. Father had the young men beaten and thrown into jail, and it was his intention to send the matter further. But this morning Uncle Ying came and had a talk with Shutong. I think he must have given Shutong a few taels, for he took quite a large packet of silver to the shop and had two or three taels cut off. He spent this on dainties that he got Laixing’s wife to arrange, and took them, with a couple of jars of Jinhua wine, to the Sixth Lady’s room. They drank some of the wine; then he went back to the shop and gave a party to his friends. When Father came back, the party broke up.”
“Didn’t he ask you to join the party?” Jinlian said.
“Ask me? Not he! He is the boldest of slaves and is not even afraid of you, so why should he bother about me? It is all Father’s doing. I know that, for I caught the pair of them together in the study. He was once a servant at the officers’ quarters, and you may be sure there is not much he does not know. If Father does not soon get rid of this slave, the whole household will suffer from his goings on.”
“How long was he in the Sixth Lady’s room, drinking?” Jinlian asked.
“A long time. When I saw him, he had evidently been drinking for a long time. His face was very red.”
“Didn’t your father speak to him about it?”
“My father’s lips were sealed. How could he say anything?”
“Oh, the scoundrel! The shameless prince of all evil scoundrels!” Jinlian cried. “He must have a turn at everything. If ever you catch him and this slave playing their dirty games again, come and tell me at once.”
Ping’an promised. “Please remember one thing,” he said. “Don’t let anyone know I told you.” Then he went behind the sedan chair and they went on their way.
As soon as they reached home, Jinlian went to the inner court to pay her respects to the mistress of the house.
“What made you come back so soon?” Wu Yueniang said. “You might have spent another night.”
“My mother asked me to stay,” Jinlian said, “but one of my nieces was there, a girl about twelve years old, and I should have had to sleep in the same bed with her. Then, it seemed a very long way off, and I thought I had better come. My mother asked me to give you her compliments, and thank you for your kind presents.”
She went in turn to the rooms of each of the other ladies, and finally to the front court. Ximen Qing was still talking to Li Ping’er.
When she came in, Li Ping’er quickly stood up and welcomed her with a smile. “Sister,” she said, “you have come back very early. Won’t you sit down and have a cup of wine?” She told Yingchun to give Jinlian a chair.
“I have had something to drink already,” Jinlian said, “and, as for food, I’ve had enough for two. I won’t sit down, thank you.”
She turned and went out with her head in the air. Ximen Qing called her back. “What, you slave!” he cried. “Are you so bold that you decline to make your reverence to me when you return from your visits?”
“Make a reverence to you indeed!” said Jinlian. “If slaves are not bold, who should be?”
CHAPTER 35
The Favorite
Ximen Qing went early to his office. When they left the Great Hall, he spoke to his colleague Xia. “Che Dan and the others,” he said, “have sent to me repeatedly to express their regret. I think we might be indulgent on this one occasion.”
“I have had a number of visits too,” said Xia, “but I hesitated to mention the matter to you. Since you have spoken of it, however, I suggest we have them before us, give them a beating, and let them go.”
“An excellent idea, Sir,” said Ximen.
They went back to the hall of audience and ordered the prisoners to be brought before them and made to kneel down. The unfortunate men were afraid of being punished again, and kowtowed. Ximen Qing did not give Xia time to speak, but said: “Why have you rogues sent so many people to us to plead on your behalf? I ought to send you for further trial, but this time I will forgive you. If ever you fall into my hands again, I shall send you to prison and there you shall die.” He sent for Han the Second. The men, full of expressions of gratitude, ran off as though their lives depended on it. So this matter was happily settled.
Meanwhile Ying Bojue went to see Shutong and secretly gave him another five taels of silver. The boy put the silver into his sleeves, but Ping’an, who was watching from the gate, saw it. Shutong told Ying Bojue what he had done. Yesterday, he said, he had told his master about the whole affair, and the matter was to be settled that day.
“Their fathers and elder brothers told me,” Ying Bojue said, “that they are very much afraid the rascals will have another beating.”
“Do not worry,” Shutong said. “I am prepared to promise that nothing more will happen to them.”
Ying Bojue returned and told the good news to the young men’s people. About midday, the four young men were all home again. They embraced their families and there was much weeping. They had lost more than a hundred taels of silver, and their legs were very sore. Never again did they give any trouble.
Before Ximen Qing came home, Shutong told Laian to sweep the study floor. From a box he took some delicacies that had been sent as a present and gave them to Laian. With a great show of secrecy and reluctance Laian said to Shutong: “Brother, there is one thing I wish to say to you. Yesterday, my brother, Ping’an, when he went to meet the Fifth Lady’s chair, told her a long story of your misdeeds.”
“What did he say?” Shutong asked.
&nbs
p; “He said you took money from people and had the impertinence to buy presents of food that you gave to the Sixth Lady. When you were in her room, you drank for a long time and then went to the shop to eat, but didn’t give him anything. He also said that you and Father had been playing tricks together in the study.”
Shutong determined to remember this, but he said nothing. The next day Ximen Qing went early to a party that the officers had arranged at the Temple of Eternal Felicity to bid farewell to one of their number who was leaving for another post. He did not go to his office but returned early in the afternoon. When he dismounted, he said to Ping’an: “If anyone calls, tell him I am not at home.” Then he went into the hall, and Shutong took his clothes. Ximen asked the boy whether there had been any visitors. “No,” Shutong said, “but Mayor Xu has sent two baskets of crabs and some fresh fish. I gave his servant one of your cards. He gave me a qian of silver. And Uncle Wu has sent six invitations, one for each of the ladies, to a ‘Third Day’ party.”*
Ximen Qing went to the inner court and Wu Yueniang showed him the cards of invitation.
“You must put on your best clothes and go,” Ximen said. Then he went back to the study and sat down. Shutong made haste to burn incense in the burner and, with both hands, offered Ximen a cup of tea. When he had taken the tea, the boy gradually came closer and stood beside the table. After a while, Ximen pursed his lips. This was a sign to the boy to make fast the door. Then he drew the boy to his bosom and with one hand stroked his cheeks. He put his tongue into his mouth; the boy passed him a sweetmeat and stroked his erect penis.
“My son,” Ximen said to him, “are you being well treated by the people here?”
The boy seized his opportunity. “There is one thing, but except to you, Father, I would not dare to mention it.”
“Tell me,” Ximen said. “Keep nothing back.”
The Golden Lotus, Volume 1 Page 57