Chapter :
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

CHAPTER 20 ::

Water Blossom, aggrieved, rages at the mirror, and Jade Tao, deeply in love, shares her nightmare

As Water Blossom was ill, she preferred to rest in peace and would not even let Beckon and Big Goldie wait on her. She lay in bed with her eyes wide open, all alone. After lying like that for a long time, she wanted to relieve herself, so she pulled a jacket over her shoulders and got up. She stuck her feet into a pair of slippers and, holding on to the railings of the bedstead, groped her way to the area behind the bed. She had just sat down on the chamber pot when she heard the back door to her room creak open a little.
"Who is it?" she asked quickly.
No one answered. She became anxious and made haste to get up. Just then, she saw a dark ball roll in through the slightly opened door and go under her bed. Water Blossom was so flustered by this that she even forgot to tie up the sash of her trousers but just stumbled back into the room, only managing to steady herself when she reached the round marble table at its center. She was about to strike a match to see what had come in when a big black cat with white fur on its belly crawled out from under the bed. It gave a yowl and stretched itself in front of her. In anger and frustration, she stamped her foot. The cat bolted toward the door but then turned round to stare at her out of luminous, tiger-like eyes.
There was nothing she could do about it. When she got back to her bed, her heart was still pounding. She wanted to call for somebody to keep her company but was afraid to alarm her mother, so had to give up the idea. Instead, she just sat on the bed, hugging the quilt. It happened that Jade Tao's call chit came just then for River Blossom. The young girl came in dressed in party clothes and said to Water Blossom, "Elder Sister, I'm off. Have you got any message for Brother-in-law?"
"Nothing. Tell him not to drink so much and to come back as soon as dinner is over."
The young girl answered yes and made to leave, but Water Blossom stopped her to inquire, "Who is going with you?"
"Beckon."
"Tell Big Goldie to go along, too. She can do some of the drinking for him."
She promised and left.
Water Blossom felt she could not bear up anymore and had to lie down. She had not foreseen that the black cat was a real troublemaker: it sneaked back into her room. Lying facing the wall, she was unaware of it. The cat quietly jumped on to the dressing table from a high-back chair and sniffed endlessly at every object on the table mirror, lamp stand, teapot, clock, and so on. Water Blossom saw a black shadow like a man's head flicker across the bed curtain. This so frightened her that a chill went through her and her hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. She could not even manage to call out. By the time she sat up, supporting herself by her arms, the cat had leapt away. She gnashed her teeth and cursed, "The damned beast! It deserves to die!"
After a moment's reflection, her mind settled somewhat. She picked up a hand mirror from the dressing table to look at herself. The thin sallow face was flushed like a Fuzhou tangerine. She heaved a sigh, put down the mirror, and turned to lie down facing the door, her eyes wide open, waiting for Jade Tao to return from the dinner party. The hours passed, but there was no sign of either him or River Blossom.
Just as she was consumed with anxiety, her mother came in to ask her, "The congee is ready. Would you like a sip?"
"Mother, I'm all right. I'm not hungry just now; I'll eat later." "Then tell me when you feel like it, for they'll never think of it after I've gone to bed."
She promised and asked her in return, "River Blossom has been gone for a while now; hasn't she come back yet?"
"She has to go on from there to another party."
"In that case, you might have sent a manservant to go and look in on Second Young Master."
"The men have all gone out. Big Goldie is over there with Second Young Master."
"When the men are back, tell them to go there right away."
"Who knows when they'll be back! I'll tell the cook to go." So saying, Fair Sister went out to the parlor to summon the cook and instructed him to "go and look in on Second Young Master Tao."
The cook was about to go when Jade Tao arrived in a sedan chair, with Big Goldie in tow. Fair Sister was overjoyed. "He's here! He's here! You don't have to go now."
Jade came straight to Water Blossom's bed and asked solicitously, "I kept you waiting a long time. Are you bored?"
"It's all right. Is the party over?" she said.
"Not yet. The old man was in such good spirits, he picked a dozen operas to be performed. The whole thing will go on till dawn."
"So you left early. Did you tell them you were leaving?"
He answered with a smile, "I said I had a slight headache and I wasn't up to drinking either. They said, `If you have a headache, you should go home.' So I left."
"Did you really have a headache?"
"It was real all right. I did have a headache when I was there, but as soon as I left, it was gone," he replied.
"You're a crafty one. No wonder your brother scolds you," she said lightheartedly.
"Well, he just smiled at me and didn't say anything."
"Your brother was so angry, he was at a loss for words; that's why he smiled."
He responded with a smile and then sat down at the edge of her bed, felt the palm of her hand, and asked, "Feeling better?"
"Just about the same."
"How much did you eat at supper?"
"I didn't have any. Mother made some congee; d'you want some? If you do, I'll have some, too."
He was going to call for Big Goldie when she happened to come in on orders from Fair Sister. She asked, "Would you like some con-gee?"
He told her to bring it at once. Then he turned around and said to Water Blossom, "Your mother has a difficult time getting you to eat the smallest morsel. You'd make her very happy if you'd just eat a little more!"
"You make it sound so easy. I'd like to eat, too, but what can I do when I've got no appetite?"
Big Goldie brought in a large tray, which she put on the dressing table; she then lit a second paraffin table lamp. Jade helped Water Blossom sit up in bed and just sat on the edge of the bed himself. They each picked up a bowl of congee and started eating. He saw there were four very nice vegetarian dishes on the tray, together with a small bowl of spiced pigeon that was very light, so he tried to persuade her to have some. But she shook her head and just had a little salted vegetable to go with the congee.
As they were eating, River Blossom came home from the other party. She came in to ask after her elder sister even before she got changed. Seeing Jade Tao, she said joyfully, "I knew Brother-in-law would have been here for a while. What are you eating? I want some, too!" She turned to call for Beckon, "Quick, fill a bowl for me."
"You should get changed first. What's the hurry?" Beckon responded.
River Blossom hastily took off her party clothes, handed them to Beckon, and repeatedly urged Big Goldie to hurry up and give her a bowl of congee. She ate leaning against the dressing table and as she did so started laughing at herself. This made Jade and Water Blossom laugh, too.
Soon, everybody had finished eating and had cleaned their faces. Big Goldie came in again to say, "Second Young Master, Mother requests a word with you.
He had no idea what it was about, so he told River Blossom to keep Water Blossom company and went out by the back door for Fair Sister Li's room.
Fair Sister greeted him and asked him to sit down. She then said, "Second Young Master, her illness doesn't look good to me. If it was just a fever. I wouldn't worry, but this illness of hers doesn't seem like fever. She's been ill since the first month, and she's completely lost her appetite. She's wasted away so much that she's just a bag of bones now. Second Young Master, could you please persuade her to see a doctor and take a couple of doses of medicine?"
"This illness of hers should have been tended to by a doctor last winter. Actually, I've spoken to her about it several times, but she's set on refusing treatment. There's nothing I can do."
"She's always been like this. When she's ill, she won't tell you, and if you ask her, she always says she's better. If you do get a doctor and prepare the medicine for her, she gets upset about it. But I've been thinking, this illness is not like any other; if she still refuses to take medicine, Second Young Master, I'm afraid she may succeed in doing away with herself!"
He hung his head in silence.
"You go and talk to her. You don't have to go on about it; just tell her to see a doctor and take a couple of doses of medicine so she'll get well faster. If you told her the truth, she'd get worried, and if the worry brought on some other complications, she'd end up even worse. And don't you worry about it, either, Second Young Master, for no matter how much you worry, it won't help her. After all, this illness of hers will not last long. A couple of doses of medicine will see it ease off."
He frowned. "Though it's not serious, she should take better care of herself. She gets easily upset if things are just a tiny bit amiss. That being the case, it's hard to see how she'll recover."
"Well, you know what she's like, Second Young Master. If she was wise enough to take better care of herself, she wouldn't be ill at all. This illness all started because she was unhappy. That's why you have to be the one to speak to her, Second Young Master. She'll take it better from you."
He nodded silently. She then spoke of something else. After that, he took his leave and returned to Water Blossom's room.
"What did Mother say to you?" she asked.
"Nothing really. She asked about the affair at Bright Pearl's; whether she was hosting the party in honor of the money gods," he said. "That wasn't it. Mother was talking about me."
"Why would Mother talk about you?"
"Don't try to fool me. I can guess what it was about."
"If that's the case, why ask me?" he replied with a smile.
She was silent. River Blossom pulled him over to the bed and made him sit down. She then clambered all over him and asked, "What did Mother really say?"
"She said you're no good."
"And why am I no good?"
"She said you won't listen to your elder sister. That makes your sister unhappy and that's why she got ill."
"What else did she say?"
"What else? She said your sister is also no good."
"Why is Elder Sister no good?"
"Well, your elder sister won't listen to Mother. If she had, and had taken some opium to cheer herself up, she wouldn't have been ill, would she?"
"You're talking nonsense! No one would tell Elder Sister to take opium! Once you start taking opium, you'll only get worse."
As they were talking, Water Blossom reached out for tea. Jade Tao hastened to take the teapot and raise it to her lips. After drawing at it twice, she said calmly, "I'm my mother's only child. When I'm unwell, she may not say anything, but in her heart she's dead worried. I, too, want to get well as soon as possible, so she'll be happier. Who'd have thought I'd be ill for so long! When I look at myself in the mirror, I see a face so thin it's not even human. Seeing a doctor and taking medicine are all very well if they can cure me, but I know this illness won't be cured! Ever since I got ill last year, Mother, needless to say, has been worried to death, and even you haven't had a single eae day. If, on top of it all, I'm to see a doctor and take medicine, the whole household will have no peace. The maids and servant girls are run off their feet as it is; how can I make them brew medicine for me all day long? Though they wouldn't say anything, I'd feel bad about causing all the fuss and not seeing any improvement in my illness. You see what I mean?"
"Oh, you're far too sensitive," he replied. "Who would say anything against you? The way I look at it, it's all right if you don't want to take medicine, but it'll take you longer to get well. With a couple of doses of medicine, you'll get well sooner. Don't you think so?"
"If Mother insists on getting a doctor, I'll just have to let her have her way. But suppose I don't get well even after taking medicine, won't she be more worried than ever? I was thinking, ever since I was a child, Mother has always made much of me. I always get whatever I want, and I've never given her anything in return. Instead, I make her worry her heart out. I just haven't done right by her, have I?"
"Your mother is worried just because you're ill. Once you get well, she'll be fine. It's not a question of whether you've done right by her."
"I'm the one who's ill, so I should know about this illness of mine. It won't kill me right away, but it won't be cured easily, either. I never talked about it because I was afraid Mother and the others would be worried, but I guess now I have to. As for you, I'm afraid we've known each other in vain. All the promises we've made, let's not mention them anymore. If we meet again in another life, I'll try to make it up to you. I was thinking, there's nothing I can't let go of really; all I worry about is my mother. But even then, I've still got a brother, after all, and if you help her a bit, she won't be too badly off, so I can die with an easy heart. Besides Mother, there's just her," she pointed to River Blossom. "Although she's not my real sister, she's always been as close to me as any true sister could be. She'll be the first to suffer when I die. That's why I have nothing else in my mind except this one thing I want to beg of you. If there's a place in your heart for me, then promise me this: as soon as I'm dead, you should marry River Blossom; it'll be just the same as marrying me. In the future, if she remembers that this elder sister had treated her well, she'll put out some sacrificial food for me, and even as a ghost I'll belong somewhere. With that taken care of, my business in this life comes to a full conclusion."
During Water Blossom's long monologue, River Blossom, who had been standing beside them, had at first listened in a daze. But as she heard Water Blossom's final words, she burst out crying uncontrollably. Jade Tao rushed to soothe her, but she pulled her hand free and ran weeping all the way to Fair Sister Li's room, calling, "Mother, Elder Sister is in a bad way!"
Startled, Fair Sister blurted out, "What's the matter?" River Blossom couldn't put anything into words; she just pointed, "Mother, you go and see for yourself!"
Just as Fair Sister was about to go, Jade came over to reassure her, saying repeatedly, "It's nothing, don't worry." He gave a brief account of what Water Blossom had said and chided River Blossom for getting worked up.
Fair Sister also told the girl off. "How is it you have no sense at all? Your elder sister said those things just because she's not well. How could you say she was in a bad way?" Thereupon she took River Blossom by the hand, and all three of them went back to the front room and stood in front of Water Blossom's bed. Seeing that Water Blossom looked all right, everybody felt relieved.
"The little silly," Fair Sister said laughingly, "She's naturally worried sick to hear you sound so miserable, and she certainly gave me a fright, too!"
Water Blossom saw that River Blossom's face was still wet with tears. She smiled at her and said, "If you want to cry, you can cry all you like when I'm dead. What's the hurry?"
"Oh, do stop talking like that. If you go on, she's sure to have another outburst," said Fair Sister. She then took a look at the black marble clock on the dressing table. "It's midnight already. Come and sleep in my room." So saying, she made to go, taking River Blossom by the hand.
But the girl did not want to go. "I'll just sleep in the rattan chair here."
"How can you sleep in a rattan chair? Come on."
Feeling desperate, River Blossom was again on the verge of tears when Jade Tao intervened. "Let her sleep here with us. This bed will accommodate three quite comfortably."
Fair Sister gave in and, after telling River Blossom not to cry, left the room. Then Big Goldie and Beckon came in to help them prepare for bed. Before the two women withdrew, they blew out the lamp, closed the door, and called out "Good night." Jade Tao told River Blossom to go to bed first. She took off her outer garments and went and curled up at one end of the bed, next to Water Blossom's feet. Jade Tao, in his tight undershirt and underpants, sat side by side with Water Blossom for a long time before they both lay down.
Worried about Water Blossom's illness, he was unable to sleep. She, though, fell sound asleep fairly quickly. He felt a bit hot and would have liked to turn over. But she was sleeping with one arm across his chest, and in order not to disturb her, he just reached a hand out to peel off some clothes that he had draped over his body and flung them toward the inside of the bed where River Blossom was lying. River Blossom showed no sign of movement and made no noise, so she, too, must have fallen soundly asleep. Jade Tao looked around: seen through the bed curtains, the lamplight on the dressing table was weak and shadowy. He figured that it was around two in the morning. All was quiet in the neighborhood except for the occasional sound of passing carriage wheels coming from the main road. He felt calmer and was finally ready for sleep.
Just as sleepiness was overcoming Jade Tao, Water Blossom suddenly called out: "I'm not going! I'm not going!" As she shouted, she clutched at his undershirt as if holding on for dear life and tried to bury her head in it.
He was wide awake at once and comforted her. "I'm here, don't be frightened." He sat up hastily and held her in his arms and rocked and patted her. Only then did she wake up. still maintaining the grip on his undershirt, staring at him panting.
"Was it a dream?" he asked.
She said after a long pause, ''Two foreigners were trying to drag me away!"
"You must have seen some foreigners in the daytime and got a fright."
Her breathing calmed down gradually, and she let go of him and sighed. "My back aches so!"
"Shall I massage it for you?"
"I want to turn over."
Jade Tao turned sideways to let her turn to face the wall. She curled up her body under the quilt and laid her head against his chest, telling him to hold her in his arms. Their movement woke River Blossom, who called out, "Brother-in-law." He answered, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes, and asked, "Where's Elder Sister?"
"Elder Sister is sleeping; you go back to sleep. Don't get up."
"Where's she sleeping?"
"Here, right here."
She did not believe him until she had crawled over and pulled up the quilt to see for herself. After that, he told her to go back to sleep. As she lay down, she again called out, "Brother-in-law, don't fall asleep yet. Wait till I've gone to sleep first." He promised offhandedly.
In a moment, all three of them had entered the land of sweet slumber, and they remained soundly asleep till nine o'clock the next morning, when Big Goldie called in a low voice through the bed curtains, "Second Young Master."
Both he and Water Blossom woke up. Big Goldie handed him a note. He saw it was his brother's handwriting. After reading it, he said, "Tell them I'll be there."
Big Goldie went out with the message.
"What is it?" Water Blossom asked.
"Script Li received a telegram last night. He said it's urgent business, and he's going home today. Brother told me to go with him to see Li off."
"Your brother is certainly on his toes," she said.
"You stay in bed. I'll be right back."
"You hardly slept at all last night. Come back early so you can get a little more rest."
He had just put on his clothes and got off the bed when River Blossom also woke up. She clamored, "Brother-in-law, how is it you're up? Why didn't you call me first?" So saying, she climbed out of bed. He hastily took her clothes and draped them over her shoulders.
"You should put on more clothes, too. It's windy on the Bund," Water Blossom said.
He changed into a padded jacket and also got River Blossom a padded sleeveless jacket. They were barely ready when Cloud Tao arrived in his sedan chair. Jade Tao quickly lowered the bed curtains and invited him into the room.