CHAPTER 47 : :

Cloudlet Chen has the good fortune of meeting a benefactor, and Snow Scent gets predictions for a male child

Harmony Qi went up to the offering table in ordinary rather than mourning clothes and bowed respectfully. The announcer waited on him as he made his offerings of incense and wine, after which he bowed again, stepped back, and told Aroma Su to kowtow on his behalf, which she did four times. The others followed suit. Second Bai Gao was next, and Wenjun did the kowtow. After she had stood up, she knelt down and kowtowed again four more times. He whispered to ask why.
"The first time was for you. I myself should do obeisance to her, too," she replied.
He smiled.
Devotion Yin was going to have Green Fragrance kowtow for him, but she refused, making the excuse, "I can't go before Elder Sister."
"You're quite right, too," Devotion smiled and then told Flora Zhang to do it for him.
When White Fragrance had kowtowed on behalf of Amity Zhu, Green Fragrance joined her to pay her respects. After that, everybody had a tacit understanding: when Modesty Zhu had bowed, Twin Jade kowtowed; after Cloud Tao had bowed, Belle Tan kowtowed. Finally, it was Jade Tao's turn. As he bowed, Harmony Qi commented loudly, "River Blossom is a member of the bereaved family and can't take on two roles. Jade will have to kowtow himself."
This was exactly what Jade wanted. He kowtowed after bowing, praying to the departed as he did so. Nobody could make out what he said. After he had finished praying, he kowtowed again and then stood up with tears in his eyes. The announcer then took a scroll from the offering table and unrolled it with both hands. It was an elegy in rhyme written by Second Bai, giving a sentimental and sad account of Water Blossom's life. The announcer knelt by the table and recited it in a sonorous voice, after which Harmony Qi bowed again and burnt it as an offering.
The ceremony over, Jade Tao took advantage of the bustle to slip away, taking River Blossom with him. The party returned to River Blossom's room. Cloudlet Chen stood facing sideways to welcome them in, but the din of bells and drums outside made conversation impossible. Belle Tan and Flora Zhang said, "Now that it's over, please move on to our place."
"Very well," Harmony Qi said and invited Cloudlet Chen to join them. When Cloudlet mumbled that he did not deserve the honor, Harmony appealed to Cloud Tao to persuade him. Only then did Cloudlet agree to go along. As they were leaving, they found that Jade Tao had gone missing again, so Big Goldie was sent to look for him, but she did not report back.
Harmony frowned. "Well, I give up!"
"I'll go get him," Cloud Tao said at once. He rushed to Fair Sister Li's room and saw River Blossom leaning against the door while Fair Sister and Jade stood inside facing each other, weeping as they talked. Cloud stamped his feet in frustration. "We're leaving! All the others are waiting for you!"
Fair Sister also told him to hurry. "Please go now, Second Young Master. We'll talk about it later."
Jade had no choice but to follow Cloud. When everybody saw him, they all said, "Here he is! Here he is!"
"Are we all here now?" Harmony Qi asked.
"There's still River Blossom," said Aroma.
As she spoke, River Blossom came into the room supported by Beckon. The girl walked up to Harmony, knelt down, and kowtowed to him once. Astonished, he asked what it was for. Beckon answered, "Mother tells her to thank Your Excellency and the masters, maestros, and misses."
Harmony waved her away, saying, "Don't be ridiculous. Thanks are not allowed."
Aroma, who was standing beside him, pulled River Blossom to her, helped her take off the mourning clothes, and then handed them to Beckon to put away. Meanwhile, Harmony had stood up and asked Cloudlet to walk ahead of him. But Cloudlet dared not take precedence; he backed away with his arms pressed against his sides.
"There's no need for politeness. I'll lead the way," Devotion Yin said with a smile and strode out of the room. One by one, the others followed him out. At the mouth of East Prosperity Alley, he heard an usher call behind him, "Mr. Yin!" Overtaking him, the usher reported: "The carriages are at South Brocade Alley, I'll go get them."
"There's no need for carriages. Go ask His Excellency," Devotion said.
The usher turned around to ask for instructions. Harmony also said, "It's no distance at all; we'll walk." The usher answered "yes, sir." Harmony told him to tell all the attendants to withdraw, leaving just two menservants. The usher answered "yes, sir" again and stood to one side.
The party straggled along the street in twos and threes and soon found they had arrived at West Civic Peace Alley. Wenjun Yao, who was at the head of the group, rushed upstairs. Devotion Yin was the next to arrive. Instead of going in, he stood at the door to wait for the others. When Harmony Qi led them there, Devotion stretched out his hand to invite them in.
"So, you're one of the family?" Harmony teased him.
Devotion smiled without protesting and followed them into the parlor. A manservant came up and submitted an invitation to Cloud Tao, who glanced at it and stuffed it in his pocket. No one paid this any attention.
Belle Tan was waiting behind the door to help Harmony Qi up the stairs, but Harmony pretended to be angry with her. "D'you think I can't walk? I may be getting on, but I'm as good as any young man." So saying, he lifted the hem of his robe and walked nimbly up the stairs. The maid raised the bamboo curtain and invited him in.
He looked around Belle's room and spoke a few words of praise. "It's not much good. Please take a seat, Your Excellency," Belle replied casually.
Harmony asked Cloudlet to take precedence, and it took some time for both of them to sit down. The rest of the group came in one after another and just sat around informally. They filled the room. Her face shining with perspiration, Wenjun Yao picked up a corner of her jacket to fan herself. Second Bai commented, "If you're bothered by the heat, why did you rush in like that just now?"
"I wasn't rushing. I was just afraid to be seen by Lai the Turtle's lackeys; that's why I dashed in."
Seeing it was hot in the crowded room, Harmony Qi said to the others, "We have yet to see Flora's room. Let's pay our visit."
Everyone said, "Good." Flora got up to wait respectfully for them, saying, "Would everybody please come this way?" Cloudlet Chen did not stand on ceremony this time. He walked a step ahead of Harmony Qi, and they went over to Flora's room. Some of the oth ers accompanied them, while the rest just strayed off, leaving Amity Zhu to smoke his fill of opium. Thoroughly downcast, Jade Tao and River Blossom remained in Belle's room. Cloud Tao told the maid to give the order for the menservants to set up the dinner table and then went over to Flora's room to entertain the others for a while. He took the first opportunity to return to Belle's room and ask Jade, "What was Fair Sister Li talking to you about?"
"River Blossom," Jade replied.
"In that case, why were you crying?" Cloud asked.
Jade hung his head in silence.
Cloud calmly gave his brother this advice: "Don't be preoccupied with your own grief to the exclusion of everything else. Why d'you think so many people came here today? This mourning for Water Blossom is but an excuse; they came for your sake. They're afraid that, had you come alone, the thought of Water Blossom would trigger another outburst of tears. They hoped that their presence would be a diversion, that it'd help you forget a little. Now, even if you can't forget, you should at least try and put on a happy face and talk and laugh a little so they'll know you appreciate their kindness. Think about it; isn't what I said right?"
Jade remained silent. The maid came in just then to report, "The table is ready." Cloud was about to ask Harmony Qi whether hot towels should be served, but Amity Zhu said, "Why ask? Just tell them to go ahead." The maid made an affirmative noise. Cloud wrote out a call chit for Cloudlet Chen and handed it to the maid to take downstairs for dispatching.
By the time the menservants brought the hot towels, the patrons and courtesans had gathered in the center room, seated at two tables. By consensus, Harmony Qi took the seat of honor, Second Bai came next, and Cloudlet Chen was in third place. The others had already settled in their seats. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Cloudlet did his best to please and flatter Harmony Qi, and conversation flowed congenially. In response to his brother's instructions, Jade also tried to join in occasionally.
Presently, Clever Gem, Cloudlet's girl, arrived. Everyone told her to sit next to Cloudlet. Clever Gem, being an adaptable person and seeing that other girls around the table partook of food and wine at their ease, followed their example when she joined them. Harmony noted her adaptability and remarked on it with approval. This made her want to show off more than ever. She played the clown with great success, bringing merriment to the entire gathering. The party was not at all dull.
Harmony suddenly thought of something and asked Second Bai Gao, "The elegy you wrote mentions the origin of Water Blossom's illness and says that there are lots of twists to the story. What's that about?"
And so Second Bai explained in detail how Water Blossom, as a courtesan, could not be a wife and how her frustration and sorrow made her ill.
Harmony could not help sighing aloud. Then he said, "A pity! A great pity! If I had been consulted, I'd have come up with an idea." Second Bai asked what it was. "Easy," Harmony said. "I'd have adopted Water Blossom as my daughter. Who could object then?"
Everyone was silent when they heard this. Only Jade Tao thought it was a wonderful scheme. He thought that when Water Blossom first became ill, such a scheme might have saved her life. But now this was just empty talk, and it was too late for regrets. At this thought, he could not hold back a flood of tears, and he hurriedly slipped into Belle Tan's room.
Second Bai said, "It was my fault. I got carried away and forgot about Jade's feelings."
Wenjun Yao cut in, "Water Blossom was too nice about it. Why can't a courtesan be a wife? That was just nonsense circulated by buebodies. If I were her, I'd have given any gossiper a good slap in the face."
Her words generated much merriment, but Harmony Qi put a stop to it, saying, "Let's not dwell on this anymore. Talk about something else."
Second Bai said abruptly, "There's something interesting here; I'll show you." He left the table and went swiftly into Flora Zhang's room, took out a tattered volume of erotic paintings, and handed it to Harmony.
Harmony looked through it carefully. "It shows good skills with the brush. A pity it's incomplete," he said and passed it around.
"It looks like the work of the Jade Vase Hermit, but I can't find any proof," Second Bai said.
"Well, would a well-known painter sign such pictures or put his seal to them?" Harmony commented.
"Harmony collects such items. D'you want to start your own collection with this?" Devotion Yin said to Second Bai.
"You're the owner of this, are you? From the way you welcomed us in just now, it seems you own this house, too," Second Bai said teasingly.
Devotion ignored the general laughter. "Seriously, you can have it. Flora has given it to me."
Second Bai knew Devotion would make it up to her in some way. "All right, I'll stand you dinner for this."
"It'll have to be at the Old Banner though. Hire a function hall," Devotion said.
"A function hall it will be, then."
When the raised voices reached Jade Tao next door, he thought there was an argument, so he quietly wiped away his tears and returned to the table.
"I suppose we're all invited, right?" Harmony said.
"Yes, we'll meet after the festival, on the eighteenth. That's settled. The seven of you here at the table will excuse me for not sending you written invitations," Second Bai said.
"We'll be there" was the unanimous reply.
Jade asked Cloudlet Chen in a low voice what it was all about. Cloudlet took the volume of erotic paintings and explained to him, but Jade was in no mood for something like that. He just leafed through it and pushed it aside. Harmony Qi saw that Jade was only trying to put up a cheerful front and that the darkening sky was threatening rain, so he suggested that the banquet end early. Everyone obeyed him. Seeing that the other girls did not disperse, Clever Gem hesitated about leaving. Cloudlet Chen told her surreptitiously, "Go." Only then did she leave.
After the party was over, Cloud Tao wanted to go home and see to his affairs. With Whistler Tang out of town, Amity Zhu had no helper and was busier than ever at such festival times. The two of them excused themselves to Harmony Qi. Harmony was going to invite Cloudlet Chen to the garden, but the latter also excused himself, pleading he was too bue.
"Then you must come at the Midautumn Festival," Harmony said. Before Cloudlet could reply, Cloud Tao promised on his behalf. "Are you coming back?" Harmony turned to Devotion.
"You go on ahead. I'll be back shortly."
So Harmony, Second Bai, Modesty Zhu, and Jade Tao, each taking his girl, saluted the others in farewell and returned to the garden in their carriages. Belle Tan and Flora Zhang saw them out all the way to the front door. After that, Amity Zhu got up to leave, and Green Fragrance went with her sister, White Fragrance, in their sedan chairs. Only then did Cloudlet Chen try to find out from Cloud Tao what the midautumn function in Conical Hat Garden would be like.
"It's not really a function," said Cloud. "We're supposed to be viewing cassia blossoms in the daytime and the moon at night, but seriously the fun is still the girls and the wine."
"I heard that after drinking one has to compose a poem, is that true?" Cloudlet asked.
Cloud gestured with his hand to indicate that was not true. "There's no such thing. No one would want to do it! If you feel like it, you're of course welcome to write a poem, but you'd never do it as well as their own people, so why parade your weakness?"
"Since it's my first visit, do I have to send in a formal visiting card?"
Cloud waved the idea off. "Once he's invited you, he'll leave word with the gatekeepers, and your name will be entered into their books. Just turn up at the garden gate in everyday wear and tell them who you are, and a manservant will show you in. When you see Harmony, salute him casually and don't ever put on airs. As you're in business, just act like a businessman."
Cloudlet had some more questions, but Devotion Yin came in just then from Flora Zhang's room to say that he was returning to the garden. After that, Cloudlet also rose to say he was going to East Co-prosperity Alley.
"It's Elan Ge's party, isn't it? I'll go with you and mingle for a while before returning to the Old City," Cloud said.
Cloudlet agreed to wait for him, so Cloud hastily put on a summer silk robe and a lined gauze jacket. Instead of seeing them out, Belle just said, "Send for me right away."
Cloud followed Cloudlet downstairs, and then each told his ricksha or sedan chair to go and wait at East Co-prosperity Alley. They crossed the street side by side, heading for Snow Scent's house. On entering her room, they saw a pair of tall red candles burning brightly on the dressing table. They asked in surprise what the occasion was. Elan Ge just smiled. Snow Scent replied as she offered them watermelon seeds, "It's nothing."
A moment later, three of their old friends, Prosperity Luo, Lotuson Wang, and Benevolence Hong arrived one after another.
"Neither Amity nor Whistler will be coming. It'll just be the six of us. Let's all sit down," Elan Ge said.
After checking the call chits, Little Sister said, "Mr. Wang's is missing." Elan asked Lotuson Wang whom he would call, and Lotuson went and wrote down the name "Gold Phoenix" himself. Then, giving precedence to one another, they sat down.
When Little Sister was filling the water pipe for him, Benevolence Hong took the opportunity to ask her softly, "Why the tall red candles?"
Little Sister told him in a low voice, "Our maestro is due for a happy event. We'll be calling in a midwife."
Benevolence immediately offered his congratulations to Elan Ge and Snow Scent. Upon hearing the news, the others all called out, "Congratulations! Congratulations! We'll borrow your wine to drink to you. Three cups, everybody!"
Elan just laughed, but Snow Scent pretended to be displeased. "There's no reason to congratulate me. Little Sister is talking nonsense."
This was taken in the wrong way, and they said to her in all seriousness, "It's a proper and happy event. There's nothing embarrassing about it."
Snow Scent heaved a sigh. "I'm not embarrassed. Lots of people lose their sons when they're all grown up; now in my case it's just been two months. How do we know whether he'll make it or not? It's too early for congratulations."
Hearing the way she put it, the dinner guests couldn't go on teasing her. Then she sighed again and said, "It's not just difficult to bring them up, some people have sons who turn out to be no good. No matter how happy they make you when they're born, they're exasperating when they grow up."
Before she had finished speaking, Elan shouted at her laughingly, "Oh, shut up! Don't you think it's also exasperating for them to listen to you go on and on?"
She reached out a hand to pinch his arm. "You're the one who's exasperating! "
He cried out, "Aiyo! Ouch!" This made everyone laugh uproariously. Even Little Sister and the girls who had been called to the party could not suppress their mirth.
Seeing that Green Phoenix and Gold Phoenix had come early, Prosperity Luo wanted to start the finger game right away. Just then, Belle arrived. She said to Cloud Tao, "It's raining. Do you have to go to the Old City?"
Cloud insisted on going because he had some important documents to see to. He turned to ask Prosperity to let him be banker first, to which Prosperity agreed. The other guests stretched out their hands to attack Cloud Tao's bank.
In her corner, Green Phoenix took the opportunity to ask Prosperity Luo, "Why didn't you come today?"
"I was afraid your mother would start nagging again."
"Oh, she's all right, and the ransom is settled. The price is still a thousand," Green Phoenix said.
Greatly surprised, Prosperity asked, "If it's still a thousand, why didn't she agree to it before? And why does she agree now?"
Smiling sarcastically, Green Phoenix replied after a long pause, "I'll tell you later."
His heart was pounding wildly, but he dared not press her.
As soon as Cloud Tao had served his term as banker, he was in a hurry to go home and took his leave together with Belle. Prosperity's mind was not on the wine. Although he took over as banker, it was just to keep his end up. He was waiting for all the called girls to leave so he could arrange with Lotuson Wang to go for a tea party. Cloudlet Chen and Benevolence Hong were quick to sense this, so they turned the wine cups upside down and asked for rice to be served. The host, Elan Ge, did not press them to drink either, and the banquet was hastily wound up.
Prosperity Luo ordered his sedan-chair bearers to light the lanterns. He got into his chair in the parlor, as did Lotuson Wang. When they left East Co-prosperity Alley, strong wind and pelting rain lashed into the sedan chairs. Promotion and Talisman, who were walking alongside them, lowered the blinds and helped to steady the chairs by lending a hand at the poles. When they arrived at Green Phoenix's in Generosity Alley, they alighted in the parlor, and Prosperity urged Lotuson to go ahead of him.
Green Phoenix welcomed them into her room. She invited Lotuson to sit on the divan and told Mama Zhao to light the opium lamp before she made tea. Gold Phoenix, who was in the room opposite, hurried over to greet "Brother-in-law" and then said, "Mr. Wang, do come and smoke in my room."
"It's just the same here," Lotuson replied.
"I've made lots of toasted pellets," Gold Phoenix said.
"Well, just go and fetch them," said Green Phoenix.
Gold Phoenix hadn't thought of that, so she rushed back to her room and brought over seven or eight opium picks, each with a pellet at its tip. Lotuson, who had been originally taken with her girlish charm and intelligence, was now touched by her eagerness to please him and felt that she was better than a mature courtesan. He accepted the pellets gladly, saying, "Thank you for all the trouble," and then pulled her down to sit beside him. She half sat and half reclined on the divan to watch him smoke.
Wriggling awkwardly and self-consciously, Pearl Phoenix filled the water pipe for Prosperity Luo, but Prosperity pushed it aside and asked eagerly about the matter of the ransom. Green Phoenix laughed and sighed over it as she recounted what happened.