Peach Blossom Pavilion (7 page)

She cocked an eye at me. "But why are you in such a hurry to learn all these, can't you wait to be a fucking whore?"

This time I kept my mouth shut.

She smiled flirtatiously. "Hasn't Little Red already told you what fuck means?"

Before I could answer, Pearl's expression turned serious. "Anyway, soon Mama will give you books about the secret games. You better study them thoroughly, then if you have questions, come and ask me."

"Do you have those books?"

"I don't need them anymore," she tapped her head, "they're all here." After that, she turned back to the mirror and continued to fuss over her makeup until her brows resembled two slender leaves. I understood that this signaled the fucking matter was to be dropped.

After Pearl had laid the finishing touch on her brow, she turned to look me in the eyes. "Xiang Xiang, I'm going to entertain in a big party tonight, and," she nipped my chin, "you're coming with me, you lucky little witch."

I was surprised to hear this. I'd never expected that I would be invited out so quickly. "Sister Pearl, who invited me?"

Suddenly the warmth in her tone was gone. She narrowed her eyes. "A very rich businessman. But don't think that you're already so irresistible that he invited you out. He invited me, you understand? You're just to tag along."

I nodded. Tears welled in my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall.

Seeing me on the verge of crying, Pearl's tone warmed up again. "Ha, Xiang Xiang, you'd better start to learn about your own value. Don't you know that you're already quite famous? People have been asking around about you, `Who's that pretty girl with two enchanting dimples?' One even said, `So pretty, she'll definitely be a ming ji someday' ! "

Mingji-a prestigious prostitute. What would that be like?

Pearl raised her arm and rubbed perfume onto her armpits. "It's never too early to be noticed, silly girl. Life is short here and no one has a whole eternity to flash her youth."

She preened in front of the mirror-tilting up her chin, lowering her eyes, wetting her lips, raising her shoulder so that her bathrobe slipped to expose her smooth white flesh, caressing her breast with her red-nailed fingers. Then she started to recite a poem, "When a flower blooms, pick it. Don't wait till there is only the bare branch left." After that, she turned to me, her voice sentimental, "You understand the poem, Xiang Xiang?"

I nodded, feeling too sad to say anything.

Pearl had finally finished putting on her makeup. Now she walked to the closet and peeled off her bathrobe. I let out a small cry; there was not a single thread on her body!

She cocked an eye at me and chuckled. "Never saw a naked body before, huh?"

I shook my head, while eyeing her tilted breasts, her slightly swelling belly, and the luxuriant dark area between her white thighs which looked like the rich ink my painting teacher Mr. Wu dabbed on the rice paper.

My scrutiny didn't seem to bother Pearl at all. She said, "You'd better get used to it, Xiang Xiang. Because, trust me, you'll be seeing a lot of them very soon. But mind you," she sneered, "those bodies you're going to see and learn to please are very different from ours. They belong to the chou nanren's!"

Stinking males.

A beat passed before we burst into uncontrollable laughter. In that fleeting moment, I thought I liked her very, very much.

Pearl looked particularly attractive tonight. The red silk dress embroidered with a golden phoenix clung to her body as tightly as if the bird were painted on her skin. Her jacket's high collar wrapped around her neck like petals enveloping a bud-her coveted goose-egg-shaped face. Her long hair was pinned loosely into a bun at the nape of her neck and scented with osmanthus flower oil. She'd decorated her three-thousand-threads-of-trouble with fresh plum blossoms and a gold filigreed butterfly. Her lips, painted crimson and slightly opened in a pout, looked as if they were dying for the sweet dew of some exotic elixir. Two jade earrings-like two green eyes-twinkled enigmatically.

"Sister Pearl, you're gorgeous!" I sniffed the perfume wafting from her.

She pinched my cheek affectionately. "Thank you, Xiang Xiang." Then her eyes looked sad. "Beauty is all we have," she sighed, "that is, besides charm."

A long pause before her mood changed again; now she scrutinized me playfully. "Xiang Xiang, you're a very pretty little slut yourself, too. Now get dressed."

She picked a silk top and pants from her closet and handed them to me. After I put them on, Pearl said, "All right, now let me help you put on makeup."

When we were finally ready to go out, we stared at our images in the mirror. To my surprise, I looked completely different-at least five years older. The green top and pants with pink plum blossoms, though a little loose, looked very nice on me-as if spring had blossomed all the way from my torso to my limbs. Accentuated by the pink eye shadow and black eyeliner, my eyes gave off a lustrous sparkle that I hadn't noticed before. The cinnamon pomade on my hair seemed to turn the three-thousand-threads-of-trouble into a mysterious black mirror.

"Beautiful, aren't we?" Pearl purred.

I felt both too shy and too excited to respond.

She grabbed a fur coat and a woolen shawl from her sofa. "Now let's go and exercise our charm!" she exclaimed, then draped the shawl over my shoulders and pulled me out of the room.

Just then Fang Rong scurried toward us in the corridor. Her huge breasts undulated like tidal waves under her embroidered red jacket. "Hurry up, Pearl, Mr. Chan is still in a meeting, but the car is already waiting downstairs. Your de and I will follow you in another car." Like a fortune teller sizing up a new client, Mama scrutinized me for long moments, muttering, "Ah, so beautiful; proves my old, fussy eyes are still as sharp as a cleaver! "

Outside Peach Blossom, a big, shiny, black car was waiting. Having spotted us, the uniformed and capped chauffeur came to our side and opened the door.

When I was trying to crawl in, Pearl snatched me out. "Xiang Xiang, stop! That's extremely vulgar. Watch me." She lowered herself onto the seat, then slowly swung in her legs. An expanse of thigh flashed through the slit of her dress.

"But Sister Pearl," I said in a heated whisper so it wouldn't be heard by the chauffeur, "I can see your entire thigh, even your underwear! "

After I'd gotten in, Pearl sat staring into the rearview mirror while smoothing her hair. She was still looking at her reflection when she said, "That's the point, silly."

The car started to move. I was so elated to be out that for the entire trip I spoke not a word, shifting my eyes to take in all the passing scenery.

After many turns, the car finally pulled to a stop in front of an ancient building with red-tiled roofs and white walls. Pearl and I got out of the car and walked toward the gate. Four big characters in walking-style calligraphy above the lintel read: WHITE CRANE IMMORTAL'S HALL.

I turned to ask Pearl, "What is an immortal's hall?"

"A Taoist temple."

What did prostitutes have to do with Taoists and temples?

As we stepped through the crimson gate, I finally asked, "Sister Pearl, why would someone hold a party in a temple?"

"Ah, Xiang Xiang," Pearl threw me a chiding look, "the party we're now going to attend is special, a yaji-elegant gathering. Tonight you'll meet lots of important and famous people-artists, scholars, poets, actors, high government officials. Anyway, you're lucky to be invited, so you can start to soak in the flavor of the arts." She paused to look at me meaningfully. "If you want to be a fining ji, that is. Do you want to?"

I didn't know whether to say yes or no. Maybe both. "Yes" because I'd like to be prestigious, "no" because, needless to say, I hated even to think of myself as a prostitute. Nevertheless, I knew the two words together signified something quite different. At Peach Blossom, I'd read fine poems and seen exquisite paintings by women-including Pearl-who bore this title. Among the cultivated, rather than being despised, they were highly respected-of course, for their beauty, but even more for their many talents and detached artistic air.

As I was still wondering whether I should say yes or no, I was surprised that my head, against my will, was already nodding like a pestle hitting against a mortar.

Now Pearl whispered into my ear, "Of course, there'll also be crude businessmen and evil people like policemen, politicians, and even tong members."

Silence reigned in the air until we stepped inside the courtyard where the party was held.

I let out a small cry.

It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. I inhaled the aroma of food and the fragrance of sweet-smelling incense. Colorful lanterns of various shapes and sizes hung from plum trees, swaying and shimmering in the breeze. Glowing peaches had grown as big as a baby's head; a rabbit watched me wherever I moved; a carp glowed orange; a horse trotted in the wind; a fiery dragon stretched its claws and soared in the air.

Atop several tables were placed sheets of rice paper, brushes, ink stones, tea sets, wine vessels, trays of snacks, and plates of dim sum. Pearl and I floated here and there, watching some sisters paint, others rehearse poetry or sing arias of Peking and Kun operas, while yet others flirted with the guards and male servants. A few men arched their brows and smiled at us as we drifted by. Dew swayed on top of plum blossoms while in the fishpond gold carp wagged their tails.

More and more guests arrived. The men looked important and intimidating in expensive gowns or fashionable suits. The sisters were at their best-willowy bodies clad in silk, bejeweled hair shiny, makeup immaculate, as their delicate hands fussed with water pipes, clinked glasses, smoothed pomaded hair, patted fat cheeks, even delved into bulging pockets.

Then I felt a surge of guilt. In the bare fifteen minutes I'd been in this immortal's hall, I'd completely forgotten about my mother. By now she was probably in the unadorned nunnery reciting sutras and beating the wooden fish to accumulate merit for me.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Pearl pinched my elbow, awakening me from my thoughts. "We're still early, so let's go appreciate the lanterns before my big fish Mr. Chen arrives." She led me past the women servants who were arranging the food and drink under the scrutinizing eyes of Fang Rong and Wu Qiang.

Then she stopped in front of a big tree. Swaying down from the lanterns were slips of rice paper inscribed with calligraphy.

As I was about to read the characters, Pearl's silvery voice rose to my ear. "Xiang Xiang, do you know that tonight is yuanxiao, the Lantern Festival?"

Sadness swelled inside me. Of course I knew yuanxiao-the fes tival to celebrate tuanyuan, family reunion. But my father was already dead and my mother a thousand miles away. Four months had gone by and I still hadn't heard a word from her as she'd promised. With no family left, how could I celebrate a family reunion? The same time last year Mother had prepared a delicious dinner, and Baba had hung up our own lanterns in my favorite shapes of a peacock and the moon goddess Chang E. After we ate the sweet, round dumplings symbolizing happy reunion, my parents took me to the old city's Yu Garden. We strolled around the various famous scenic spots and appreciated lanterns, fireworks, acrobats, jugglers, lion dances. When we felt tired from all the walking and excitement, Baba took us to a street stall to enjoy the fragrant jasmine tea.

After that, we went to read the riddles. Baba, well learned in literature and all the classics, could almost always solve the difficult ones, so he'd won lots of prizes. That was why I'd also become very good at solving riddles. Last year the prize he'd won was a fan with a poem:

This was a very popular poem by the Sung dynasty poet Ouyang Xiu. Baba had told me that although the poem appeared sad, its message was in fact happy. "In the past, women and young girls were not allowed to roam outside their household by themselves. This rule was lifted during the yuanxiao festival, so married women would go out and have fun while young girls would meet their lovers, all under the pretext of appreciating lanterns. So the poem encourages freedom to find love." Baba patted my head affection ately. "Xiang Xiang, when you've grown up, I won't hire a matchmaker to choose your husband. You'll be free to look for someone you love."

Now, remembering Baba and this poem made me extremely sad. Maybe it did convey an auspicious message as interpreted by Baba, but he'd also missed the bad omen it contained. This year, the lanterns were still there but both Baba and Mother were gone, leaving only tears to wet my winter garment.

Seeing that I was about to cry, Pearl put on the big, sweet smile which she normally reserved for her big-shot customers. "Cheer up, Xiang Xiang! Let's look at some of the riddles."

I dabbed the corners of my eyes and we began to read in silence. Just when I was about to give the answer, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Pearl, and beside her towered a thirtyish man-eyes large and hungry, forehead high, jaw square, with a long arm wrapped around Pearl's narrow waist.

He leaned his flushed face close to Pearl's made-up one and said as if he had just swallowed a fire ball, "Little Pearl, I know tonight you have to keep Mr. Chan company, but before that, can you ..."