A Flower’s Shade (6 page)

Miss Yu was looking at Suqin, who was sitting at her side, and remarked coldly, "Sister-in-law, it's time something is done about all my father's and brother's women, don't you agree? Now that I think of it, let them all be called in."

The herd of women in mourning weeds, ranging over all ages and statures and weights, flowed into the room. Faced with the gazes of so many men, these women, brimming with passion, all relaxed. The skirt-chasing habits of Zhen, father and son, had become second nature to them, and had been the subject of heated discussion in the clan. No one had quite made a reckoning of how many concubines the two of them had amassed altogether. Before the feast, the men had only seen the backs of the kneeling women, but now they were face to face, and the men stared fixedly, their gazes riveted at the sight of this panoply of concubines.

Miss Zhen feigned surprise, remarking, "Oh dear, there really are quite enough of them." She stood up and said almost like a naughty child to these women, "I'm sorry, please stand a little apart. Otherwise, I can't make out who belonged to my dad and who to my brother. Let's do this: if you were my father's, please stand over here. And if you're my brother's, pardon me, but please stand over here."

The men stared helplessly at each other, unable to guess what would follow. They watched Miss Yu's ordering everyone about as she saw fit. She had broken the rules from the very beginning. Now she had reached total lawlessness, and she could do whatever she wished. She had already taken on the powers that the Old Master had bequeathed to her. These powers gave her the ability to act as she desired in any matter.

The concubines were now standing in two groups on either side, some silent and with bowed heads, others with heads raised and looking at Miss Yu, and others, looking indifferent, scanning the herd of men. The era of Old Master Zhen was over, and the Zhen Estate was entering an era that belonged to Miss Yu. The concubines knew that a moment of great change in their destiny had arrived.

"Since the elders are all here, let me hear what you have to say. Doesn't it seem to you as if there's a few too many women in our family?" Miss Yu, conscious of her power, began in this modest way. She continued, earnestly, "Little wonder that my father's days have ended in this way, and of course you all know that my brother has been in this half-dead state for ten years now—"

The men who were there to see a show could not help snickering, but Seventh Grandfather's eyelids were drooping, he was shaking his head, and smacking his lips in dismay. Once again all were intrigued and amused by the sight of this old maid speaking nakedly of these matters. Fortunately, Miss Yu had amazed them all more than once, and they had grown used to being surprised. No one spoke or expressed themselves in anyway, all watching to see what the next stage of this performance would be.

"Since it's agreed that I am to decide these matters in future, I must say that I won't stand for seeing all these women around all the time." Miss Yu didn't care about the astonished expressions of others, they were free to be as amazed as they liked. Her mind on her own affairs, she said, "There's just too many women in this Estate. We'll have to alter our habits on these matters in future."

Miss Yu arose and moved quickly to the portrait of her deceased father. Full of false fervor, she said to the portrait, "Father, I'm going to get rid of all your women. You don't mind, do you?"

Now that the concubines had grasped Miss Yu's intentions, they became as anxious as lobsters in a pot. They could hardly believe her decision. Obviously, Miss Yu's plan was to disperse them all, to throw them off the Estate. It hadn't occurred to anyone that Miss Yu would be quite so ruthless.

Miss Yu walked shamelessly up to her brother, and asked provocatively, "Brother, you don't mind, do you?"

Naixiang's face, rigid and almost ludicrous, did not register any reaction.

"Brother, in your condition, it's not really suitable to keep so many women around, is it? Don't you agree, sister-in-law?"

Miss Yu's sudden and capricious decision had left Suqin at a loss. The concubines began to weep and shout. A concubine shouted loudly, "Miss Yu, his body isn't even cold yet, but you want to throw us out. Aren't you being too drastic?"

And another concubine was whimpering, "Since we were brought into the Zhen Estate, we should be allowed to die in the Zhen Estate."

"We'll die first."

One concubine led them in a general weeping and wailing as they threw themselves towards the Old Master's coffin. Miss Yu seemed to have expected some such tearful scene, and she had returned to her seat where she sat erect and looked with a childish air at the weeping and wailing women. Then she turned earnestly to Seventh Grandfather, who was sitting there in silent rage, asking, "Seventh Grandfather, now what's your opinion on the matter?"

"My opinion? I'm surprised that you would remember an old man like myself." It was evident that Seventh Grandfather regarded today's scene as altogether unspeakable, and now that matters had progressed to such a stage she still had the gall to ask his opinion. She truly had no shame. "I'm an outsider in this affair, a useless old man whose words aren't worth the trouble of listening to, and if heaven and earth are reversed, if the hen crows while the rooster is silent, then what's the point of talking of rules? In any event you have the say in the Estate now. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I have to take my leave." Seventh Grandfather got up to depart, but several men rose quickly to prevent his going, pleading and flattering him to keep him seated where he was.

Miss Yu seemed to want deliberately to provoke him, she mischievously stuck out her tongue and licked her lips saying, "Seventh Grandfather, now don't be angry."

Seventh Grandfather heaved a great sigh of resignation.

Miss Yu felt that she had tasted enough of her own power, and said vaguely, "Actually, my intentions are good. China's a Republic now, and we oughtn't to stand in the way of these women, don't you agree? In point of fact, I don't want to throw them out, it's that I want to give them a way out. I certainly won't stop those who want to go, and those who don't want to go will be asked to move out of the Estate. What's so wonderful about the Estate—and if they go out and find a man to marry, won't they be happier?"

Peach Blossom's pretty face had turned deep red, and she walked out from her place by the coffin, behind the white curtain. As everyone stared, she put forth her ample bosom and walked up to Naixiang's wheelchair, embracing Naixiang and heavily pressing her lips to Naixiang's rigid features. The kiss was very noisy and when she turned around she laughed coldly as she looked Miss Yu in face, and when she was done looking she gritted her teeth and said, "Miss Yu, you really know how to look after people. An old maid like you, what do you know about what men are like, and how can you understand the hearts and minds of women?" Peach Blossom opened her bloodshot, almond-shaped eyes wide, and looked directly at Naixiang, "Master, it isn't that I'm hard-hearted, it's that you've let yourself down." Suddenly she raised her right hand, and delivered an unexpected slap to Naixiang, hard in the face.

T
he Zhen Estate was now being turned upside down to be redecorated according to the wishes of the new mistress of the house, Miss Yu. The concubines of Old Master Zhen and his son had all been ruthlessly thrown off the Estate by Miss Yu, with the exception of Ai'ai who was needed to continue looking after Naixiang. This world, once ruled by men, was now in total collapse. On the one hand, Miss Yu seemed to be deliberately imitating her father, but on the other hand she also seemed to deeply resent the old Zhen Estate, and so she had formed a clear determination to create an all-new world, to be ruled by a woman's hand.

In this world ruled by a woman, the first enormous change was that the formerly ever-present women were gone. Under male rule, women had been everywhere on the Zhen Estate. The women had been the living adornment of the Estate, the sex slaves of the ruling men, and it had always been universally remarked that even the female servants and maids had alluring outfits. For years, women had been no more than the toys of men, used to let off desire and then abandoned, and the women had based their principles of existence on whether or not they could attract the liking of men. The women had quarreled, competed and intrigued over petty trifles, fighting mercilessly and bitterly. Now, Miss Yu with her clear resolution, had entirely turned this phenomenon on its head.

It was not only the coquettish concubines who were expelled, since the droves of female servants and maids were also largely exchanged for male servants. Miss Yu had established new rules for the management of the Estate. She gave orders almost arbitrarily, without any concern for their feasibility. Since she was in command, she could do as she pleased, and it didn't matter if others suffered. She often acted capriciously, making one ridiculous decision after another.

One month after the death of Old Master Zhen, Kang Tuo, his white beard flowing chest-length, walked slowly into the Zhen Estate. Kang was a well-known calligrapher in the town, and he had been instructing Miss Yu in his art for a long time. He had been a good friend of Old Master Zhen, and they had shared a fondness for women. The word was that girl students was Kang Tuo's greatest hobby, and that he was fond of them in proportion to their beauty. Among his girl students, Miss Yu was the one in whom he took the greatest pride.

Miss Yu's room was a terrible mess; a few sturdy man-servants were putting down a blazing red carpet. Kang Tuo was astonished to see so many strange men. He stood at the entrance, and could not understand what could have occurred. Fortunately Mrs. Wu happened past just at that time, and having hastened to greet him, now called loudly for Miss Yu.

Miss Yu ran over from the red carpet, not yet fully laid down, and shouted, "Mr. Kang!"

"Why are you turning everything upside down?" he asked her, twisting his beard. Miss Yu laughed, but did not answer. Mrs. Wu brought a chair over to him and motioned for Kang Tuo to lie down. Then she went into the room and came out with the opium tray, smiling as she said, "It's a terrible mess in there, you can have your smoke in this chair."

"No matter, no matter." Kang Tuo said, grinning.

Mrs. Wu knew all about Kang Tuo's addictions; he had a young man's spirit in an old man's body. Deliberately, she asked "Of course what you want is for our young lady to prepare the opium for you herself." He barely opened his mouth to murmur, "No matter, no matter." Mrs. Wu said gravely, "Of course it matters. It's not the same if it's not her."

Miss Yu came smiling over to Kang Tuo and with practiced motions mixed the opium paste. She mixed it for a moment and then scooped up a small chunk which she molded in her hands. Then she put it in the bowl of the pipe and passed the pipe to Kang Tuo. Taking the pipe, he approached it to the opium lamp to smoke. Miss Yu said, "I'm really no better at preparing than Mrs. Wu, but it's in the order of things for a student to serve her teacher, to prepare the pipe for him, isn't that so?"

Gulping down the smoke, Kang Tuo could not hear what Miss Yu was saying. He had smoked for many years, and having drawn a breath, he did not immediately expel it. Instead he put the pipe down on the little teapot and had a sip of tea, all the while keeping the smoke in his lungs. Only a moment later would he slowly exhale it. Most people seemed to gain energy by smoking, but it seemed like it drained Kang Tuo, like he had just woken up, and couldn't even keep his eyes open.

"Your father has died. Death: there's a character you'll have to learn to write." he said with a sigh and a show of great dignity.

Mrs. Wu had just happened to return, and hearing these words, interrupted: "Our young lady has been so busy these days, where could she find the time to do her calligraphy practice? Just look at the carpet she's having laid out—" Miss Yu rolled her eyes at her in anger, but Mrs. Wu failed to notice it, going on "Sometimes she overdoes it, our young lady. Nobody sleeps on the floor, so why does it need a carpet?"

Miss Yu interrupted Mrs. Wu impatiently, telling her to fetch some of the calligraphy she had done for Kang Tuo to examine. Still jabbering, Mrs. Wu went to the room and returned with a few sheets of calligraphy. Miss Yu looked at her in displeasure, saying they were not the right sheets, and told her to go back and get the other ones. Mrs. Wu had to go back to the room, and this time she managed to bring in the right ones.

Kang Tuo sat up in his chair and took the sheets from Mrs. Wu's hands. He unfolded them and looked at them closely, all the while nodding or shaking his head. Having examined them for a while, Kang Tuo said slowly, "A renowned teacher has produced a skilled disciple; you have indeed improved through my instructions, and this calligraphy is already a cut above the common crowd: no ordinary achievement. But the art of calligraphy knows no end. Your copy of Ode to the Stone Gates or of the inscription from the Zhou Dynasty bronze basin—they need to be bold and unconstrained yet well-arranged, you must bear in mind that these are the authentic characters of the official script, you must try carefully to understand them out, first with your heart and then your hands, without cutting corners."

Mrs. Wu was nearby and had understood only "without cutting corners" , so with the prerogative of age, she interrupted, "Sir, you don't know, now that the old master's gone, no one here's to look after our lady, and she's hardly in the mood to do her calligraphy." Miss Yu's blanched in anger, but Mrs. Wu continued jabbering, "No cutting corners, did you hear that, you must only do it if you're going to work hard at it."

"Are you done yet?" asked Miss Yu.

B
right sunshine outside, it was truly a glorious spring day. Miss Yu was in her room copying Ode to the Stone Gates. Huaifu stood in front of Miss Yu, and was respectfully pulling the sheets over for Miss Yu. A strong manservant, named Fourth was running in and out and taking the indoor flowerpots outside to get some sun. Miss Yu was copying intently, and Huaifu was staring at her fixedly. Miss Yu wrote a few characters and motioned to Huaifu to pull over the next sheet of calligraphy paper, but he was busy looking at her. Although he had both hands on the sheet, he was simply mooning foolishly at her without knowing what to do. Miss Yu raised her head and gave him a look, then took her brush and drew it over the back of his hand.