Peach Blossom Pavilion (21 page)

We continued to make small talk with Luk, while pouring him wine and serving him snacks. Two niangyi kept bringing more dishes-braised fish in broad bean sauce, spicy mustard chicken, five-fragranced duck, yoke-spilling eggs. Pearl exercised her best wit, and Luk's belly kept shivering with laughter.

In the middle of one of Pearl's jokes, two other sisters, Tiantian and Lotus Fragrance, entered the room and took their seats opposite us. By now, Pearl and I were so well acquainted with Mr. Luk that he barely noticed the entry of the two new girls. Not losing a beat, Pearl aimed a flirtatious glance at the silk merchant. "Mr. Luk, may Xiang Xiang and I entertain you with some music?"

Luk's face glistened. "Hao." Good.

Tiantian's brows creased as she whispered something to Lotus Fragrance.

Pearl ignored them. She asked a niangyi to bring my pipa. As I played, Pearl began to sing "Romance from a Back Street."

I held my pipa tenderly like a lover, then my fingers began to dance on the instrument while my body twisted back and forth so that wisps of my hair fell to half-veil my face. Pearl, a gold fan in hand, moved her arms to the rhythm, all the while swaying her waist like a water snake. Her jade bangle gleamed like waves of the West Lake.

Sweet music shivered from her cherry lips. "You and I"-she looked into Luk's eyes at these words-" together praise this spring morning as beautiful as the gardens of Suzhou. I'm so pleased that our arms are smooth and lips sweet, and so are our dreams ..."

"Hao! Hao!" Mr. Luk clapped as we finished selling our music and our smiles.

Next Pearl began to play the finger-guessing game with Luk while I kept refilling his wine cup. I felt a little sorry for Tiantian and Lotus Fragrance, who could find no chance to serve the big fish customer. They could only amuse each other by talking and giggling.

A little later, when Mr. Luk was quite drunk, Tiantian finally succeeded in leaning forward to pour him tea. "Mr. Luk, please have some tea; it'll balance off your wine."

Lotus Fragrance chimed in, "Yes, Mr. Luk, please, otherwise you'll get drunk. Besides, this is the best cloud-and-mist tea."

But Luk pushed away the tea cup. He said, his eyes glazed over with alcohol and his speech slurred, "Ha! That's what I want tonight, to get drunk! I'm having a wonderful time, and I'll become the wine immortal! " Suddenly he turned to me. "Xiang Xiang, give me your shoe."

As I was wondering how to respond, Pearl signaled me to do as told. Obediently I took off my embroidered red shoe and handed it to Luk. To my surprise, he held it like a jeweled box while Pearl began to pour wine into it.

Then his eyes rested on us while he made a toast. "To your amorous names!" After that, he drained the shoe.

I almost exclaimed, "Aii-ya!"

Finally Luk was ready to leave. His servant came in and handed him a pouch from which he took out a fistful of coins. It must have held at least twenty or more silver coins. The whole banquet cost only ten. I laughed inside. Tonight we would make a fortune! Had Pearl not pinched my elbow, a loud "Wah!" would have spilled out from my mouth. Tiantian and Lotus Fragrance's eyes were as big as the egg yolks on the plate.

But to my surprise, Pearl didn't blink an eye at the silver. She turned to the niangyi, who was now beginning to clear up the table. "Ah Ling, here are Mr. Luk's tips for you and all the servants here, so you should thank him." The niangyi looked so upset as if, instead of being given twenty silver coins, she was robbed of forty.

Her voice trembled. "But Miss Pearl, I don't want to be in trouble."

Pearl cast her a sharp glance. "Take it, Ah Ling. Otherwise it's very rude to our noble guest."

Everyone looked startled, most of all Luk. Pearl had pulled back her hand so he had no choice but to give the silver to the servant.

Right after he'd left, before Tiantian and Lotus Fragrance could protest bitterly, Pearl waved them quiet. "Calm down, if I don't get more money from Mr. Luk, I'll pay you double from my own pocket." After that, she took me by the arm and led me out of the room. When we were walking in the corridor, I asked Pearl why had she let the maid have the money.

"Xiang Xiang, Luk is wrong if he thinks he can buy us so easily. This was to stoke the arrogant fire.' Remember, we're book chamber ming ji, not filthy, homeless whores from chicken lane. Though he thought his tip was a lot, now he knows that for me it's only enough for the servants-"

I thought what my share of the money would have been. "But Sister Pearl . . . "

She laughed. "Believe me, Xiang Xiang, he'll send more money tomorrow. A man like him would rather die than lose face."

Pearl was right. The next day, Luk sent his servant to deliver fifty silver coins. Thirty specially for Pearl, ten for me, and the rest to be shared by Tiantian and Lotus Fragrance.

Despite Pearl's stratagems, the most well-off person in Peach Blossom was, needless to say, Mama. "Easy money! " she would exclaim whenever she saw strings of cash change hands or a customer leaving my room. But not easy for me because, although I'd not been sold into Peach Blossom and didn't have to redeem myself, my debt had still rapidly accumulated-when Big Master Fung crashed the cave; my hospital bills after the miscarriage; all the expenses for my meals, lodging, clothes, art lessons. So, almost all the money I earned and the jewelry I was given would be instantly snatched away by Mama "to pay bills." The day that I'd pay off my debt so I could leave Peach Blossom seemed to be farther away than ever. While Pearl managed to gain a lot by working little, I tried to work extra hard just to clear my debts.

The big fish customer Big Master Fung continued to visit me since the day of his opening my petals. Both luckily and unluckily, he was now one of my regular customers. I considered this unlucky because he never got tired of sucking my tongue, tasting my saliva, and letting his flabby jade instrument play on my lute strings. The worst was, no matter how nauseated I felt inside, I still had to put on a happy smile, deploy my skillful hands, and force myself into a willing frame of mind.

Luckily though, not only was Big Master Fung very rich, he also seemed to like showing off by spending freely. Whenever he showered me with gifts and money, I found myself almost wanting to like him. At moments, I was surprised to feel some fleeting affection for him. Maybe it was out of pity, or maybe because somehow he made me think of Baba. Not that they had anything in common; only that Fung was now the man who pampered me as Baba once had.

More than once after we had visited the Wu Mountain, he said that if I continued to be nice-meaning I'd do whatever he wanted in bed-then he'd continue to indulge me like his precious daughter. But when I asked about his real daughter, he would chide me for being nosy and threaten to stop bringing me gifts.

But fortunately, whether from age or from affection for me, he never seemed to remember those threats and at the following visit usually brought me another gift. One time, it was neither jewelry nor clothes nor cash, but something so delightful and unexpected that, to my own disbelief, I voluntarily flung myself into his arms and kissed him on his lips.

A parrot!

I'd never seen such a beautiful creature. All white with a crimson beak, she conjured in my mind the image of plum blossoms blooming in the bitterest snow. Her dazzling feathers seemed to make even Pearl's most colorful outfit pale in comparison. Their silken texture was so comforting to the touch that I never tired of stroking her. Even her tail was elegant, like the fine sheep's hair brush that I used for painting delicate beauties. Her black eyes resembled two dark marbles in a cloudless sky.

As soon as I'd laid eyes on the parrot, I decided her name must be Plum Blossom. To imbue her with the spirit of the qin, sometimes I'd play for the bird, especially "Three Variations on the Plum Blossom." I even explained to her the meaning of the piece, hoping she'd absorb the brave spirit of the flower.

Whenever I appreciated Plum Blossom's beauty, I'd also re member what Mr. Wu had said to me during one of his lessons. "In painting, we strive for skill excelling nature, but of course, the beauty of nature is unsurpassable."

Looking at the graceful curves of Plum Blossom's body, the subtle shadings of her white feathers, and the rich crimson of her beak, I felt I truly understood Mr. Wu's teaching. Since my poor Guigui's tragic death, besides Pearl, now the parrot had become the great comfort of my life. At quiet moments, she would perch on my shoulder while I read her poetry-Li Bai's "Meditation on a Silent Night," Wang Wei's "Missing My Friend," Meng Haoran's "Spring Morning." I'd chuckle with satisfaction every time her beak mimicked the sound of the phrases she'd picked up while her claws massaged my sore muscles. Sometimes when I talked my heart out to her, she'd tilt her head and listen, as if she truly understood the poems and the depth of my feelings.

To reward her attention, I'd feed her with fruits. Watermelon was her favorite, but she'd only eat the seeds while spitting out the flesh. Unfortunately, the red, sticky mess on the floor would capsize my joyful mood when it brought back to me my bloody night with De.

I'd taught Plum Blossom a few sayings, some simple greetings like: "how are you; good morning; good evening." Others were auspicious sayings: "good luck; wish you good health and longevity; gongxifacai-wish you make a lot of money." Some she picked up by herself: "Feels good, eh? Want more?"

But she also learned to say, "Kill! Kill! "

I really didn't like to hear violent words from her delicate beak, but she picked them up through my inadvertence. During Big Master Fung's last visit, after he'd finished sucking my tongue and was about to leave, I thanked him again for giving me Plum Blossom, then told him the reason for her name.

To my surprise, Fung burst into uncontrollable laughter.

I felt fire burning in my ears. "Big Master Fung, why is it so funny?"

Fung chortled, and all the wrinkles seemed to pool around the corners of his eyes and lips. "Ha, ha, Xiang Xiang, that's why I'm infatuated with you. You know, you'll never be a real whore, because at heart you're still just an innocent little girl."

I didn't know whether this was supposed to be a criticism or a compliment. However, fearing that I might lose my big fish customer, I protested, "But I am, Big Master Fung!"

"If you're a real prostitute, then I'm a true gentleman. Ha! Ha! Ha!" He caressed his stubble with his long-nailed fingers. "You know why I bought you this white parrot instead of a green one? Before you met me, you were a virgin, innocent and pure like the snow." He paused to throw me a meaningful-cum-licentious glance. "Remember the zhuang yuan seal your mama prepared for us during your first night with me?"

Now I felt my whole body on fire. Had he figured out Pearl's ruse?

But he said, "That was the reason I bought this parrot. Its white body dotted with the speck of red beak looks exactly like your blood smeared on the white cloth. So the parrot is to remind you that I was the first man who chopped open your melon and tasted your red juice." He burst into another round of delirious laughter. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, plum blossom flowering in the snow; what fanciful nonsense! "

Therefore, right after Fung had left my room, still humiliated by this unwelcome reminder, I chopped the empty air, exclaiming, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Since that incident, I felt both happy and sad when I looked at Plum Blossom. I still loved her, only now my affection was mixed with a tinge of deep sympathy. Poor creature, unaware of all the evil of the world!

14

Mr. Anderson

-Iwo years slid by and I found myself more and more sought - after by visitors to Peach Blossom. Pearl's lessons in coquetry and the art of the bedchamber had been more valuable than I could have imagined. Yet, though I was now a little bit famous in Shanghai, I still lacked the prestigious status that Pearl enjoyed.