Once, Pan Jinlian was at home, relying on Ximen Qing's favoritism towards her, and grew a bit arrogant and domineering, unable to sit still all day. She was particularly suspicious, always feeling that someone was speaking ill of her behind her back. Chunmei wasn’t one to back down either. One day, Pan Jinlian snapped at Chunmei over something trivial, and Chunmei, feeling frustrated, stormed into the kitchen and started smashing things. Sun Xue'e, who couldn’t take it anymore, jokingly said, "Why are you so fierce? If you want a man, go look elsewhere; why vent your anger here?" Chunmei, already holding back her anger, immediately exploded upon hearing this: "Who said I was trying to seduce a man?!" Seeing her so angry, Xue'e simply pretended not to hear. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and she went to Pan Jinlian, fueled the fire and complained, "She even said you encouraged your man to take me in so that I could seduce men!" This really ticked Pan Jinlian off.
The poem says:
The sounds of flutes and drums fill the six streets, the new moon casts a sliver of light this morning. As I sleep, the figure in black startles the jade scissors, while the night candle flickers amidst the crimson curtains.
Where the fragrant gauze is dyed, the red lingers with white, as the emerald brows hold bittersweet feelings. My sister once experienced this; even if he plays with you, don't hold a grudge.
Because she was sending Wu Yue'niang to the funeral, Pan Jinlian woke up early and felt a bit tired. After a quick nap, she headed to the pavilion. Just then, she ran into Meng Yulou, who smiled and asked, "Sister, where’ve you been?" Pan Jinlian replied, "Don't mention it, I was exhausted this morning. Third sister, where’ve you been?" Yulou said, "I just took a round in the back kitchen." Pan Jinlian asked, "Did she say anything to you?" Yulou replied, "She didn't say anything." Even though Pan Jinlian was fuming inside, she kept quiet. The two of them embroidered for a while. At that moment, Chunmei brought tea. After finishing the tea, the two got bored and decided to play some chess to kill time. Suddenly, the garden boy Qintong rushed in to say, "The master has returned!" The two women scrambled to put away the chess pieces, flustered.
As soon as Ximen Qing entered the door, he saw Pan Jinlian and Meng Yulou, both styled in silver hairdos, showing their temples, wearing emerald earrings, white gauze shirts, silver-red vests, and embroidered skirts, dressed beautifully. Ximen Qing laughed and joked, "You two look like a pair of famous courtesans, worth a pretty penny!" Pan Jinlian said, "We're not famous courtesans; it's your backyard that's the real deal!" Yulou quickly tried to leave, but Ximen Qing grabbed her and asked, "Where are you going? I'm back, and you want to hide? Be honest, what were you two up to while I was gone?" Jinlian said, "We were bored, playing a few games of chess to pass the time, not up to anything shady. Who knew you would come back so soon?" While helping him take off his clothes, she said, "You got back from the funeral pretty early today." Ximen Qing said, "There were officials at the mourning hall today, and the weather is hot, so I couldn't stick around and came back early." Yulou asked, "Why hasn't she come back yet?" Ximen Qing said, "Her sedan chair is almost in the city; I came back ahead of her and sent a couple of servants to meet her."
After Ximen Qing sat down, he asked, "What are you betting on while playing chess?" Jinlian said, "We are just playing for fun, not betting." Ximen Qing said, "I'll join your game, and whoever loses will treat the others to a couple of silver coins." Jinlian said, "We don't have any silver coins." Ximen Qing said, "If you don't have any silver coins, you can give me a hairpin instead." So the three of them started playing chess, and Pan Jinlian lost. Ximen Qing was about to count the money when Pan Jinlian messed up the chess pieces and ran off to hide under the osmanthus tree. Ximen Qing found her and said, "You little minx, hiding out here after losing the game?" Pan Jinlian smiled and said, "You dare scold Meng San'er for losing, but you come over to bother me!" She sprinkled flower petals on Ximen Qing, who then pulled her in for a hug, and they got cozy by the lake. At this moment, Meng Yulou came over and shouted, "Sister Six, Mom's back! Let’s hurry!" Pan Jinlian quickly separated from Ximen Qing and said, "Brother, I'll catch up with you later." Then she and Yulou went to the backyard to greet Wu Yueniang. Wu Yueniang asked them, "What are you laughing about?" Yulou said, "Sister Six lost a couple of silver coins to her father while playing chess today, and she will treat us tomorrow." Wu Yueniang laughed. Pan Jinlian just exchanged greetings with Wu Yueniang and then returned to Ximen Qing's side. She instructed Chunmei to burn incense in the room, prepare bathwater, and get ready for intimacy with Ximen Qing at night. Though Wu Yueniang is the main wife of the Ximen family, she’s often unwell and doesn’t handle household matters. Li Jiao'er and Sun Xue'e mostly handle the household chores, and she takes care of Ximen Qing's living arrangements and meals.
The next day, Ximen Qing promised Pan Jinlian that he would buy her pearls at the temple. Early in the morning, Pan Jinlian wanted lotus seed cakes and silver carp soup, and asked Chunmei to go to the kitchen. Chunmei was dragging her feet. Pan Jinlian said, "Stop sending her on errands. Some people say I spoil her and let her seduce men; why do you let her go to the kitchen?" Ximen Qing asked, "Who said that? You have to tell me." Pan Jinlian replied, "Don't ask, you never know who might be listening. Don't send her; let Qiujv go instead." Ximen Qing called Qiujv to the kitchen and told Sun Xue'er what to do. After waiting a long time, the food still wasn't ready, and Ximen Qing was getting anxious. Pan Jinlian noticed Qiujv still hadn't come back, so she told Chunmei to go check.
Chunmei was a bit unhappy and, in a fit of anger, ran to the kitchen. Just in time, she saw Qiujun waiting there and scolded, "You little wretch, I'll break your legs! Why aren't you going? Your father is waiting to eat pancakes and offer incense at the temple, and he's so anxious he's practically hopping, telling me to call you!" Sun Xue'e originally ignored her, but when she heard this, she got angry and shouted, "You little wench! Your father is just in time for the festival—just in time! The iron pot needs to be heated gradually; you want to suddenly make pancakes and drink soup without eating the porridge that's already ready—it's just your belly playing tricks!" Chunmei was unconvinced and said, "Quit the nonsense! If the master didn't send me, who's going to come ask you for stuff? Whether it's there or not, we just have to tell the master, no need for all this nonsense!" Saying this, she grabbed Qiujun's ear and pulled her along. Xue'e said, "The master and the servant can't always act so tough; sometimes you have to soften up!" Chunmei replied, "Whether to soften up or not, don't offend us two!" After saying that, she stormed off. Ximen Qing's wife saw Chunmei fuming, pulled Qiujun inside, and asked, "What's going on?" Chunmei said, "You can ask her. When I went there, she was still messing around in the kitchen, kneading the dough. I couldn't help myself from saying, 'Your father is waiting up front, why hasn't your mother sent you?' As a result, that little maid scolded me. She said, 'Your father is just in time for the festival!' as if I was sending my dad on purpose. She skipped the porridge that was already ready and suddenly wanted to eat pancakes and drink soup. She was only busy scolding people in the kitchen and refused to work." Ximen Qing's wife said from the side, "I told you not to let her go; she just doesn't get along with that girl. She thinks we are deliberately stopping her and wants her to be in a bad mood."
Ximen Qing was furious upon hearing this. He ran to the kitchen and, without a second thought, kicked Xue E a few times, shouting, "You cold-hearted wench! I told her to make pancakes; why are you scolding her? You call her a servant; you should take a good look at yourself in the mirror!" After being kicked and scolded by Ximen Qing, Xue E didn't dare to say anything back. As soon as Ximen Qing left the kitchen, Sun Xue E said to Ximen Qing's concubine, Pan Jinlian, "Look, I'm really unlucky today! It would have been fine if you just listened; I didn't say anything. He came over like a raging bull, shouting and calling the maid away, even accusing me of slandering him in front of the master and causing unnecessary trouble. I've noticed this for a while; when the master and the servant keep being so tough with each other, something is bound to happen!" Out of nowhere, Ximen Qing overheard and rushed back to punch her a few times, cursing, "You little hussy! You still say you didn't bully her? I heard you scolding her with my own ears!" After giving Xue E a good beating, Ximen Qing finally left. Xue E was so upset that she started crying in the kitchen. Wu Yueniang was upstairs combing her hair and asked Xiao Yu, "What’s going on in the kitchen?" Xiao Yu replied, "The master wants to eat pancakes to offer incense at the temple. He said the young lady yelled at Chunmei from the Fifth Lady's room, and the master heard it and kicked the young lady a few times, so she started crying." Yueniang said, "If she hasn't seen her, just make the pancakes quickly for him to eat; why are you scolding the maid for no reason?" She then sent Xiao Yu to the kitchen to have Xue E and the family hurry to make soup to get Ximen Qing ready for the temple.
Fuming, Xue'e stormed into Yuemeng's room to lodge a complaint. To her surprise, Pan Jinlian was passing by and overheard the conversation from outside the window. She heard Xue'e inside the room telling Yuemeng and Lijiaoer how Sun Xue'e monopolized men and engaged in scandalous affairs: "Mother, you don't know this promiscuous woman; she's even wilder than women who take on lovers. She can't go a day without a man. The things she does behind closed doors are things others wouldn't even dare to imagine, yet she's done them all. Back home, she poisoned her husband and then followed him here. Now she's putting us in danger too. Men look at us like we're ghosts; they don’t even want to be around us anymore." Yuemeng said, "You haven't even seen her; she just had the maid make pancakes. You could have just sent her off. Why curse her for no reason?" Sun Xue'e said, "Did I call her names? That maid just ignored me in my mother's room; I didn't hit her with the back of a knife, and mother didn't say anything. How come today she's so arrogant?" Just then, Xiaoyu popped in to announce, "Fifth Sister is outside." After a bit, Pan Jinlian walked in and said to Xue'e, "For instance, if I had poisoned my husband back then, you shouldn't have let him marry me and bring me home, so I wouldn't take over your place. Besides, Chunmei is not my maid; if you're upset, let her serve the lady of the house. Don't always have conflicts with her and drag me into it. Who would actually want to poison their husband and remarry? It's not difficult now; when he comes home, give me a divorce paper, and I'll leave." Yuemeng said, "I don’t get your drama. Both of you stop arguing." Sun Xue'e said, "Mother, look at her talk; it's like the Huai River—no one can get a word in. So according to you, we should all just leave and let you stay!" Wu Yuemeng sat there, letting them bicker back and forth without saying a word. Eventually, as their argument heated up, Xue'e shouted, "You call me a servant! You're the real servant!" They nearly got into a fight. Yuemeng couldn't bear to watch and let Xiaoyu pull Xue'e away. Pan Jinlian went back to the front, took off her makeup, washed her face, her hair a mess, her face worn out, eyes red and puffy, and collapsed onto the bed in tears.
In the evening, Ximen Qing returned from the temple with four taels of silver hidden in his sleeve. As soon as he entered the house and saw his wife, he asked, "What happened?" His wife, crying, asked Ximen Qing for a divorce and told him everything in detail: "I didn't come to you for your money; I came of my own free will. Why am I being bullied like this today? They keep saying I poisoned my husband! It's bad enough not to have a maid; why do I have to rely on the maids from other households? They point at me and curse!" Ximen Qing initially brushed her off, but upon hearing this, he became furious and stormed to the backyard, grabbing Xue E's hair and hitting her hard a few times. Fortunately, Wu Yueniang stopped him, saying, "Stop it, everyone should say less! Don't make your master angry!" Ximen Qing said, "You heartless one, I heard you cursing in the kitchen, and you still went to report me. I won't rest until I've given you a good beating!"
Dear readers, listen to me: Today, after beating Sun Xue E, the past misdeeds of Pan Jinlian came to light. As the saying goes:
Since ancient times, gratitude and resentment have existed; they do not gather dust for thousands of years.
After hitting Xue E, Ximen Qing went to comfort Jinlian, taking out the four taels of pearls he bought at the temple to give to her. Seeing that Ximen Qing was supporting her, Jinlian's anger subsided, and she was, of course, happy. From then on, Ximen Qing favored Jinlian even more.
On this day, it was the turn of Huazi Xu's family to host a banquet, and the Hua family lived next door to Ximen Qing. The Hua family's banquet was quite lavish, and all the brothers went. Ximen Qing had some business to take care of and told them he would arrive in the afternoon, so everyone waited for him and no one sat down first. After a while, when Ximen Qing arrived, everyone took their seats after some mutual politeness, and the host arranged for Ximen Qing to sit in the honored seat. Two courtesans played the pipa and zheng, singing beautifully at the front of the table. They were truly beautiful, able to sing and dance, simply enchanting!
The robes are folded like snow, the hair piled high like clouds. With cherry lips, an apricot face, and peachy cheeks; a willow waist, an orchid heart, and a fragrant nature. Her singing voice is melodious, like the sweet song of a warbler perched on a branch; the dancing posture is graceful, like a phoenix turning among the flowers. The tune follows ancient melodies, the sound emerges naturally. The dance resumes as the bright moon sinks over the Qin Tower, the song pauses as drifting clouds obscure the Chu Pavilion. With high and low notes, tight and slow tempos, following the musical scale; light and heavy, fast and slow, adhering to the style. The zither plays slowly like the sound of geese, the clapper strikes rhythmically, every word fresh.
After three rounds of wine and two sets of songs, the two courtesans put down their instruments and came forward to bow. Ximen Qing asked Dai An to fetch two envelopes of reward money from his bag, giving each of them two pieces of silver. They thanked him and went down. Ximen Qing asked Hua Zixu, “What’s this young lady’s surname? She sings really well!” Before Hua Zixu could respond, Count Ying interjected, “You really are forgetful, aren’t you? The one on the zither is Cui Er from Hua Er Ge, the one from the brothel, Wu Yin Er. The one playing the pipa is the daughter of Li San Ma, whom I mentioned to you a few days ago, Li Gui Qing's sister, whose nickname is Gui Jie. Your family still has her sister here! How could you not recognize her?” Ximen Qing laughed and said, “So it’s her! I haven’t seen her in six years, I never expected she’d grown up so much!”
Later, as the banquet was winding down, Guijie came over to toast, chatting in a friendly manner with Ximen Qing. Ximen Qing asked her, "How is your third mother and your sister Guiqing at home? Why haven't they come to my house to see your younger sister?" Guijie said, "My mother got sick last year, and her legs still aren't great. She can only walk with a cane. My sister Guiqing was taken up by a guest from Huai'an for half a year, often staying at the inn and only returning home every two or three days. There's only me left at home. I sing every day to support the family; it's really tough! I also want to go home and see my younger sister, but I haven't had the time. My father hasn't been home for a long time either. When can I get him to come home to see my mother?" Ximen Qing thought Guijie was gentle, considerate, and quick-witted, and he was a bit moved by her, so he said, "I arranged for two friends to take you home today, how about that?" Guijie said, "Father, don’t tease me, are you really going to come to my house?" Ximen Qing replied, "How could I tease you!" He then pulled out a flower-embroidered handkerchief and a tea box from his sleeve and gave them to Guijie. Guijie accepted them and said, "When are we leaving? I will send a servant home first to prepare them." Ximen Qing said, "Wait until the banquet is over, then we'll leave together."
After a while, when the banquet was over, Ximen Qing got together with Ying Bojue and Xie Xida, and instead of heading home, they rode mules and took Guijie to the brothel, to the Li family.
A trap, dark as a cellar; a bewitching cave, cleverly built like a prison; a morgue, neatly arranged like a butcher shop. It was all about seduction and theft. The sign said: Buy charming gold, don’t bother, bro; entangle headscarf brocade, let the mother-in-law take care of it; sell flower money, sister don’t owe.
Ximen Qing and others brought Guijie to her doorstep, where Li Guiqing came out to greet them and invited Ximen Qing inside. She also asked her mother to come out and greet them. Shortly after, Li Guiqing's mother came out with a cane, with one arm completely immobile, greeted Ximen Qing, and asked, "What brings you here today, brother-in-law?" Ximen Qing replied that he had been too busy and apologized for not being able to visit. Li Guiqing's mother then turned to the Viscount and Xie Xida and said, "Why don't you two visit more often?" The Viscount explained that they were too busy but had come to escort Guijie home after running into her at the Hua family's tea house. Li Guiqing's mother invited the three to sit down, served tea, and prepared food and drinks.
After a while, the lamps were lit, and the food and drinks were ready. Guijie emerged, looking elegant, and joined everyone for drinks. The two sisters sang and toasted, creating a lively atmosphere.
The crystal clock, amber nectar, and pearl red wine were poured into small cups. Dishes of dragon and phoenix delicacies brought tears of joy, while embroidered curtains and screens surrounded the fragrant breeze. Flutes played, drums beat, beautiful songs were sung, and slender waists danced. Youth should not be wasted, as silver basins concealed the whispers of lovely ladies, and they had yet to visit Liu Ling's grave.
The two sisters sang a song, and everyone had a few more drinks. Ximen Qing said to Li Guiqing, "Since both of you are here today, I've heard that Sister Guiqing can sing and dance well, and also sings southern tunes. Why not sing a song for us? We’ll toast you!" Count Ying replied, "I can’t take any credit for that; thanks to the high official’s favor, I’m all ears for your lovely song." Sister Guiqing just smiled and didn’t respond for a while. In fact, Ximen Qing wanted to have ulterior motives towards Sister Guiqing, so he deliberately asked her to sing. Li Guiqing's mother was very shrewd and had already seen Ximen Qing's true intentions. Li Guiqing spoke up first, "My sister has been pampered since childhood and is too shy to sing in front of others." Ximen Qing then asked Dai An to take out five taels of silver from his bag and place it on the table, saying, "This is for Sister Guiqing to buy some makeup, and I’ll send her a few sets of clothes another day." Sister Guiqing quickly stood up to thank him, allowing the maid to collect the silver before she finally got up to sing. Though Sister Guiqing was young, she was beautiful and talented. She calmly arranged her sleeves, gracefully swayed her skirt, and her cuff revealed a handkerchief embroidered with a pattern of falling flowers and flowing water as she began to sing "Zhu Yun Fei":
With her graceful demeanor, she outshines everyone around her. The fragrance of her movements sends waves of admiration. Ah! The jade pestle in the mud, how could it be ordinary? One song of elegance and charm captivates the entire audience. It surpasses even King Xiang's dreams; it surpasses even King Xiang's dreams.
After finishing the song, Ximen Qing was completely captivated. He sent Dai An back to Ximen Mansion to deliver the news and spent the night in Li Guiqing's room. Ximen Qing was determined to win over Sister Gui, and both Count Ying and Xie Xida strongly encouraged him. The next day, Ximen Qing sent a servant back home to fetch fifty taels of silver and went to a cloth shop to buy four sets of clothes, preparing to formally take Sister Gui as his concubine. Li Jiao'er was very pleased to hear that Ximen Qing was planning to take her niece as a concubine, and quickly pulled out a large silver ingot for Dai An, asking him to buy jewelry and clothes, prepare a feast, and invite people to sing and dance for a three-day banquet. Count Ying and Xie Xida also invited Sun Guazui, Zhu Shinian, Chang Zhijie, and others, each chipping in five cents for the celebration. Most of the expenses were covered by Ximen Qing. Every day they indulged in feasting and merrymaking, making for a lively atmosphere.
Dance skirts and song performances are always fresh, spending all the gold for this body alone.
A word to the rich: don’t waste; being frugal is like good medicine for poverty.
