A Flower’s Shade (15 page)

It was Miss Yu's turn to stare in astonishment.

Xiaoyun put the pill in the pipe and said ominously, "Today, I'll be your servant Miss Yu, how about that?" Miss Yu hadn't expected him to say anything like that. She suddenly rushed up to him, blew out the opium lamp and grabbed the opium pipe out of his hand, throwing it in the box with the other opium things.

O
nce again, Liangzhong appeared suddenly, which put an end to the awkward situation. Because Miss Yu and Xiaoyun were alone in the room, Liangzhong looked at them malevolently, saying, "Well! If it isn't Naixiang's little brother-in-law, Master Xiaoyun?" Liangzhong greeted him, as though he were an old friend. Then he turned ingratiatingly to Miss Yu, saying, "Well, Miss Yu, I guess you didn't expect me this time, did you?" His eyes alit on the opium tray on the bed and he sniffed ostentatiously, although there was no smell of opium in the room.

A look of displeasure had appeared on Miss Yu's face. Being in the company of any man always excited her, but Liangzhong's arrival prevented a conversation with Xiaoyun, and this displeased her. It was not the right time for him to come. A few days earlier, the Zhushan uncle had again appeared, spouting a great deal of nonsense about the matter of her marriage. What he wanted was very simple, namely that she ought to bring a husband into the Estate, and soon. When Old Master Zhen had been alive, Miss Yu had indeed once wanted to marry as soon as possible. But now she was free to do as she pleased, and enjoyed complete freedom. Why should she be in any rush to get married? Liangzhong's purpose in visiting was very obvious, he had surely come to propose marriage one more time. This was enough for Miss Yu to be displeased. Liangzhong was insensible of the situation, it didn't occur to him that it was out of the question for Miss Yu to marry him.

Miss Yu opened her mouth to wound him, "Are you so happy because you've remarried your wife?"

Liangzhong said, a little awkwardly, and forcing a smile, "You're joking, Miss Yu."

"Why should I joke?" Miss Yu rolled her eyes. Liangzhong really beyond shame. It made no difference how Miss Yu tried to wound him. He took kindly even to the harshest things she said to him. He was naturally the kind of man to take other people's money, and since the decline of the Zha family, he had been living off various women. If one could put up with a woman's sarcasm, advantage could be drawn from her in the end. Liangzhong believed that he would one day defeat Miss Yu. As long as one could lure a woman into the bed, any problem could be solved. He couldn't believe that a woman like Miss Yu, who know so little of the world, would be so hard to manage.

Miss Yu, seeing that Liangzhong had not responded, deliberately repeated her question about remarrying his wife. Liangzhong sighed and tried to look earnest, saying, "After all the trouble it took to get a divorce, why could I go and remarry her? One can joke about anything except the matter of marriage—that's no laughing matter. Xiaoyun, am I right? And these days marriage is all about love. Only when there is love, is it real, is it truly meant to be." Liangzhong spoke eloquently, his eyes looking at Xiaoyun's dark glasses, then asked, perplexed, "Master Xiaoyun, why are you wearing dark glasses indoors?"

The question should have been asked long ago. Miss Yun noticed how Xiaoyun now reflexively removed the glasses. As soon as the glasses were off, Xiaoyun's conceit and arrogance sharply diminished. His eyes looked a little flustered; he was like a different person entirely. The alteration was so great that it flabbergasted Miss Yu. She blinked and didn't dared look at him directly.

Liangzhong continued on the same topic, making a big deal of his relationship to Miss Yu. "Miss Yu and I were little children. Some things happened in days gone by, I wonder whether you know about them, Master Xiaoyun?"

"What bygone events would Xiaoyun not be likely to know?" Miss Yu's eyes were still fixed on Xiaoyun, sneering as she asked Liangzhong, "Even I don't seem to remember us being little children together. What are these bygone events you're talking about? Come on, tell me."

Liangzhong said, hypocritically, "Miss Yu, I have never forgotten the love there was between us."

"You tell me just what you mean." Miss Yu said angrily, "When was there any love between you and me?"

Xiaoyun put his dark glasses back on. For him, the glasses were an important prop. As long as he had them on, he had his conceit and arrogance back. Once the glasses were on, Xiaoyun turned back and looked gravely at Miss Yu through his dark glasses. Miss Yu couldn't help laughing at the way he looked.

Liangzhong laughed brazenly along with her.

Miss Yu suddenly opened her eyes wide, looked at Liangzhong and teased him, "Liangzhong, are you still dreaming that I'll marry you someday?"

"Every dream I have, is of that day!" Liangzhong said shamelessly, grasping greedily at this sentence.

"That's fine, you just keep dreaming then." Miss Yu laughed and shot him a glance. This kind of talk about marriage always excited her, and also offered an optimal opportunity to tease Liangzhong, "Why don't you take a leak and have a look at yourself in the reflection? You think I'll marry you? I told you, I know all the filthy tricks you have up your sleeve. Ha! I know everything. Your dad didn't like me smoking opium, so he didn't want me as a daughter-in-law. But now heaven's given you your just desserts, and your family's toast. At least in the Zhen Family we're still breathing, we're still hanging on. I know what you're here for, and you think I don't. You've come running after my family property."

Liangzhong said, "But I really do like you, with all my heart, Miss Yu."

"What you like is money. What you like is this Estate!"

"I understand what you mean to say, Miss Yu, it's that I'm not good enough for you. But I really am shameless, I'm a warty toad, I want to feast upon your pale swan's flesh, I do like this money, I like this Estate." Liangzhong said, thinking he might as well do away with pretense, "Let me tell you, I've been waiting for this day, waiting for the great red knot of marriage to be tied upon me. I've been waiting, thick-skinned and brazen-faced. Do you believe me?"

This naked confession made Miss Yu laugh heartily.

That had been Liangzhong's intent, since making a woman laugh was the first step to success in such matters. He struck his forehead and said solemnly, "See, we've been talking so much, I forgot," from his pocket he fished out a bright red poster to which he gave a flick of a wrist so that it unfurled and its black writing could be seen. "In this matter, you really have to do me the honor of your presence, The Glory Troupe is visiting our county, their big star Miss Sophie is coming too, and their performing the newest in the modern, Civilized plays. And yours truly happens to be acquainted with Miss Sophie, so you really have to come show your support. If you don't, I'll really be too humiliated. You really have to do me the honor.

It was not difficult to convince Miss Yu. She looked with excitement at Liangzhong. While Old Master Zhen had been alive, he had invited theater troupes to perform privately at the Estate. Miss Yu had always liked that sort of artificial liveliness. Liangzhong graciously invited Xiaoyun, "Master Xiaoyun, you can come too." Xiaoyun did not express an opinion. He reacted as though he were a stranger to them, looking at Liangzhong as though he didn't quite understand what he was saying.

Miss Yu looked at Xiaoyun and mischievously demanded, "I'll go as long as Xiaoyun keeps me company."

O
n the sports grounds of the middle school, on an open-air stage built for the occasion, the Civilized troupe was in lively action. In front of the stage there were rows of the better seats, made from schoolroom chairs and tables. The local gentry and some officers in military attire were sitting on the podium. Miss Yu was also sitting in a very preeminent place, and her clothing was almost excessively showy, a little garish. Xiaoyun and Huaifu were sitting on either side, and Suqin and Ai'ai were also close by. Everybody stared with excitement at the stage, while only Ai'ai wore a look of melancholy on her face. Ai'ai seemed preoccupied, actually quite unhappy. Suqin was tall and large, while Ai'ai was slender and small, so that the two of them together often looked like a mother with her daughter.

At the right, in front of a stage, there was a long row of soldiers who had come down from the north. During that period, they were in hasty retreat. Many parts of China were suffused with the smoke and gunpowder of the fighting warlords. But this town was a little paradise, far away from the war, and though soldiers were always passing through, all they did was pass through. It seemed that the warlords, so eager to make war on each other, didn't to have the heart to go to war here, they seemed to fear that the hail of bullets would destroy the little town's peaceful atmosphere. For many years, the little town had been a place where people took refuge from the war.

The crowd was enormous. Liangzhong was behaving as though he were a very busy man, running in and out of the crowd, strutting and swaggering about, greeting every acquaintance. From a distance, he waved at Miss Yu's party, but Miss Yu was focused the stage. Just then, Suqin lowered her head and said something to Ai'ai. When she raised her eyes, she found that her eyes met Liangzhong's gaze. He responded with an easily expression, and under the influence of his temptation, Suqin's eyes flashed improperly, too. Immediately, Liangzhong winked at her, in the manner of an experienced man. Ai'ai noticed Suqin's demeanor, and her already gloomy expression now showed signs of an irrepressible jealousy. She tugged at Suqin's sleeve, and told her to look at the play that was being performed on stage.

An actor in the Civilized Play suddenly broke into a speech, lamenting the criminal feudal tradition of arranged marriage. He looked the part of an angry young man: in a dark long-sleeved gown, a scarf wrapped around his neck, sweating from every pore: "A marriage must be a union of love, and only love can be the reason for uniting man and woman together. Love is the greatest thing humanity has, a great creation and a great recreation. In Europe, there was Romeo and Juliet, not to mention Nana…" the actor quickly became hard to hear, and only his gestures and movements could be made out, for in the audience there had been a great disturbance. Although there was nothing more common in the Civilized Plays of those days for unrelated improvised speeches to be inserted into the play, but still no one could make out why, when everyone was performing a perfectly fine play, he was suddenly there droning away. One officer gave a peculiar shout, and then all of the soldiers were booing.

The performance of the Civilized Play continued. Miss Sophie appeared, and the disturbance in the audience calmed down, followed by peculiar cheers. It was obvious that Miss Yu had lost interest in watching the play. She turned her head and whispered something into Xiaoyun's ear. Xiaoyun didn't understand her, so Miss Yu stooped to repeat the whisper. Now Xiaoyun understood and rose; then he and Miss Yu crept off. They had been gone quite some time before Huaifu and Suqin noticed. Suqin didn't particularly care and kept watching the renowned Miss Sophie. But a spark of uncontrollable jealousy appeared in Huaifu's eyes. He had long since noticed that Miss Yu adopted entirely different attitudes towards him and towards Xiaoyun. Her attitude towards Huaifu was like towards an obedient dog who could be commanded at will. But, consciously or unconsciously, she was always making concessions to Xiaoyun.

Besides the rows of desks and chairs where the officers were sitting, there was also a large section of the audience that was standing to watch the show. Miss Yu and Xiaoyun squeezed their way through the crowd, and finally disappeared out of Huaifu's field of vision. At the same time, Liangzhong squeezed his way through of the crowd as well, and finding himself near her seats, he discovered to his disappointment that Miss Yu had already disappeared. Only Huaifu was sitting there, discomfited—as well as Suqin and Ai'ai, who were absorbed in the play. Suqin happened to turn her head and saw Liangzhong, who was just then approaching her. Too eagerly, she invited him to sit by her side. Liangzhong peered all around, took a seat, and paid Suqin some gallant attention. Suqin gave an undisguised and inappropriate laugh.

The Civilized Play continued. There were repeated disturbances in the audience, and as for the play on stage, it had a great many incomprehensible bits. People could not understand very well what the actors were saying in their shrill voices. Huaifu left his seat, looking about for Miss Yu and Xiaoyun. He didn't know where they had gone. Extreme disappointment appeared on Huaifu's face. Everywhere he saw elated audience members, but he himself felt lost and helpless. Since he couldn't find Miss Yu, he could do little but let his eyes drift back to the place where they had been sitting where, from a distance, he made out Suqin and Liangzhong, happily chatting.

Suqin and Liangzhong were flirting. Ai'ai, beside Suqin, began to get fidgety and watched the play with great hostility, though she couldn't help hearing them talk. Their chatter disgusted her.

Suqin was saying, "If I were silly enough to believe everything you men tell a girl, I'd really be a fool."

Liangzhong was saying, "Sister-in-law, cross my heart, if I ever deceived you, I'll do whatever you say."

"What could I make you do?"

"Whatever you liked."

"Men are all the same, why should I believe you?"

Liangzhong said, sincerely, "Me? I'm different from other men."

Ai'ai turned and rolled her eyes hard at Liangzhong. Liangzhong took advantage of this, and of Suqin's momentary inattention, to wink at Ai'ai. Ai'ai turned moodily away.

X
iaoyun and Miss Yu had already reached the backstage. A group of children was playing there, and Miss Yu childishly walked straight through the group and watched the actors performing from backstage. Xiaoyun followed seriously behind her, looking at her without saying a word. Miss Yu's behavior in public places was always a little strange. Having grown up in the isolation of the Estate, she always felt curiosity and incomprehension for the outside world. Although she was no longer young, was in fact an old maid, but in front of other people, she was always doing things that weren't quite appropriate for her age. Her behavior was deformed, unruly, and thus naturally also laughable.