The lyrics say: What day is it tonight, I wonder? The moonlight has just spilled down. It's usually hard to meet, but today, by chance, we crossed paths. Seeing him under the lamp, it felt like a dream. I never imagined he’d be afraid of being seen. He was so startled that his face went from red to pale, his heart burning with anxiety.
—— "Gui Zhi Xiang"
The next day, Aunt Wu, Young Lady Yang, and Grandma Pan came to celebrate Meng Yulou's birthday. Yue Niang and the others were drinking in the back hall, and a commotion broke out. Lai Wang's wife died of tuberculosis, so Yue Niang found him a new wife, the coffin seller's daughter, also named Jin Lian. This Jin Lian first worked as a maid in Cai Tongpan's house but was later dismissed for misbehavior and married the cook Jiang Cong. Jiang Cong often helped at Ximen Qing's place, and Lai Wang frequently visited Jiang Cong, which led him to take a liking to Jiang Cong's wife. The two would drink and chat together, and Lai Wang set his sights on Jin Lian. One day, Jiang Cong got into a drunken fight over money with another cook and ended up getting stabbed to death; the killer jumped the wall to escape. Jin Lian then asked Lai Wang to talk to Ximen Qing to help her file a complaint, asking the magistrate to send someone to catch the killer and sentence him to death in compensation for Jiang Cong's life. Later, Lai Wang convinced Yue Niang that his new wife was great at sewing. Yue Niang gave him five taels of silver, two sets of clothing, four pieces of blue and red cloth, and some jewelry to marry the new wife. Yue Niang felt the name Jin Lian was unappealing, so she changed it to Hui Lian. This Hui Lian was two years younger than Jin Lian, twenty-four years old this year, fair-skinned, with a well-proportioned figure, and fairly good-looking, with even smaller feet than Jin Lian. She was clever and adaptable, good at dressing up, a real pro at charming men, and the leading troublemaker when it came to family values. As for her talents, she:
leans against the door, standing there, glancing sideways at anyone passing by.
propping her chin on her hand, biting her fingers, she often adjusts her clothing when there’s nothing to do.
whether sitting or standing, she’s always shaking her legs, humming to herself even when no one is speaking.
opening and closing windows and doors, she stops to sew without saying a word.
she smiles before even speaking, definitely having secret dealings with someone.
When she first arrived, she worked in the kitchen with the other wives and hadn't put on much makeup. After more than a month, she saw Yu Lou and Jin Lian dressed beautifully, so she began to style her hair high and fluffy, and styled her sideburns longer. She served tea and water in front of Ximen Qing and caught his eye. One day, Ximen Qing had an idea and had Lai Wang'er take five hundred taels of silver to Hangzhou to make a burial outfit for Master Cai, as well as seasonal clothes for the family, which would take six months for the round trip. He set off by land at the end of November. Ximen Qing was secretly plotting to flirt with this wife sooner or later, but unexpectedly, it coincided with Meng Yulou's birthday, with Yue Niang and the guests drinking in the back hall. Ximen Qing didn't go that day, and Yue Niang told Yu Xiao, "Set up another table so the master can eat and drink there." Ximen Qing saw Hui Lian in a red silk front-opening jacket and a purple silk skirt serving wine at the table and asked Yu Xiao, "Is that Hui Lian, the new wife that Lai Wang'er just married? Why is she wearing a red jacket with a purple skirt? It looks a bit strange. I'll have your mother get her a different color skirt to match tomorrow." Yu Xiao replied, "I lent her this purple skirt." And that was that.
Meng Yulou's birthday has come and gone. One day, Lady Yu went over to the Qiao family's house for drinks. Around afternoon, Ximen Qing returned home from outside, already drunk. As he approached the gate, Huilian was about to go out, and they bumped into each other. Ximen Qing pulled her close and kissed her, murmuring, "My child, if you listen to me, you can pick any jewelry and clothes you want." She didn’t respond, shoved Ximen Qing's hand aside, and left. Ximen Qing went back to the main room and had Yuxiao deliver a piece of blue satin to Huilian's room, telling her, "Yesterday, Dad saw you in that red jacket and purple skirt, and thought it looked odd. So he picked this satin and asked me to give it to you for a skirt." Huilian looked at it; it was a piece of emerald blue four-season flower satin. She said, "If I make it, what will mom say?" Yuxiao replied, "Dad will have a word with mom tomorrow, so don’t worry. Dad said if you agree to this, he will buy you whatever you want. Your mom is not at home today and wants to meet you. What are your thoughts?" The woman smiled without speaking and asked, "When will Dad come? I'll wait in the room." Yuxiao said, "Dad said the servants are watching, it's not good to go into your room. He wants you to quietly go to the cave at the foot of the mountain, where no one is, convenient for a meeting." The wife said, "I'm worried Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister will find out; that would be embarrassing." Yuxiao said, "Third Sister and Fifth Sister are playing chess in Sixth Sister's room; you should be fine to go." They agreed on a plan, and Yuxiao went back to tell Ximen Qing. The two met at the foot of the mountain, with Yuxiao keeping an eye out at the entrance. It goes like this: As the belt is undone, desire ignites, and one touch becomes urgent. Little did anyone know that beneath that silk skirt lay an intoxicating fragrance.
Jinlian, Yulou, and Li Ping'er were playing chess in Li Ping'er's room when Xiaoluan came in to tell Yulou that her father had returned. The three of them quickly scattered, with Yulou heading back to her room. Jinlian went back to her room to freshen up her makeup before heading to the back room. Walking to the front gate, she saw Xiaoyu standing at the entrance of the main room. Jinlian asked Xiaoyu if her father was inside; Xiaoyu shook her head and pointed ahead. Jinlian realized and headed to the corner gate, where she saw Yuxiao guarding the door. Jinlian guessed that Yuxiao and Ximen Qing were having a secret rendezvous inside, so she rushed in. Yuxiao was startled and said, "Fifth Sister, don't go in, Master is busy inside!" Jinlian scolded, "You little rat, do I look scared of your father?" Without a second thought, she rushed into the garden and searched everywhere. Walking into the cave of Cangchunwu, she saw Ximen Qing and Huilian just wrapped up their tryst. Huilian heard someone coming and quickly tied her skirt back on, blushing when she saw Jinlian. Jinlian asked, "You shameless hussy, what are you doing here?" Huilian said, "I came to fetch Huatong." After speaking, she bolted. Jinlian went in and saw Ximen Qing tying his pants. She scolded, "You shameless bastard, fooling around with a servant in broad daylight, you’ve got no shame at all! I was thinking of slapping that hussy a few times, but she ran away. So you are Huatong, she came to call you! Tell the truth, how many times have you had an affair with this hussy? If you don't tell the truth, wait for Big Sister to come back, I will expose you! If I don’t knock that hussy into next week, my name is not Pan! We have nothing to do, and you still want to join in the fun! I can't take this anymore!" Ximen Qing laughed, "This little minx, keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear. Honestly, today’s the first time." Jinlian said, "Once or twice? I’m not buying it. Since you want to have an affair with this hussy and hide it from me, if I catch you, don’t say I didn’t warn you!" Ximen Qing laughed uncontrollably.
Jin Lian returned to the back room and heard the maids say, “The master is back. Have Yu Xiao take a handkerchief with a piece of blue satin to the front room. Not sure who it's for.” Jin Lian knew it was for Hui Lian but she didn’t bring it up with Yu Lou. Hui Lian spent every day with Ximen Qing, either cooking for him, mending his clothes, or playing chess with Li Ping’er, being especially nice to Jin Lian. Ximen Qing took advantage of the situation to let them hook up, just to please himself. Since Hui Lian became involved with Ximen Qing, besides sending clothes, jewelry, and nice tea, she brought home silver in two-tael chunks, buying flowers and rouge at the door, making herself look a lot prettier than before. Ximen Qing also told Yue Niang that Hui Lian made good soup and didn’t let her use the big kitchen, only allowing her and Xiao Yu to use the small stove behind Yue Niang’s room to make tea and prepare vegetables, just to serve Yue Niang’s meals, and even had Hui Lian mend clothes for Yue Niang. In short, I won’t go into all the details. Ladies and gentlemen, let me say this: the head of the household shouldn’t mess around with the servants; over time, things will get messy, leading to more sneaky stuff and trouble, messing up morals and making things hard to handle.
On the eighth day of the twelfth month, Ximen Qing made an appointment with Ying Bojian early in the morning to go together to attend the funeral at Magistrate Shang's house in the neighborhood. He had two horses prepared by his servant Ma, and while Bojian had not yet arrived, Li Ming came first. Ximen Qing sat around the fire in the hall, dressed beautifully by Chunmei, Yuxiao, Lanxiang, and Yingchun, and had Li Ming teach him to sing. His son-in-law Chen Jingji was chatting on the side. While they were singing "Three Variations of the Plum Blossom," Bojian arrived, with Yingbao entering the door, carrying a felt bag. Chunmei and the others tried to hide in the back room, but Ximen Qing stopped them, saying, "This is your Uncle Ying, come out and greet him, why hide!" They greeted each other, and just as they were about to sit down, Ximen Qing called the four maids over, saying, "Kowtow to Uncle Ying." Chunmei and the others quickly kowtowed, and Bojian hurriedly returned the gesture, praising, "Who else is as fortunate as Brother Ximen to have four such beautiful young ladies, each one so lovely, each one prettier than the last? But today I am short on funds, didn't bring anything, I'll bring some money for rouge another day." After they paid their respects, Chunmei and the others stepped back. Chen Jingji came forward to pay his respects, and they all sat down together. Ximen Qing said, "Why did you only come today?" Bojian said, "It's a long story. My youngest daughter has been ill for a long time and only recently got better. We were worried at home, so today I brought her to relax and stay for a couple of days. There were many things to take care of, so I had Yingbao call a sedan chair and buy some things before rushing over." Ximen Qing said, "I thought you were going to make me wait. Let's have some porridge before we go." He immediately ordered the kitchen to bring the porridge. Li Ming half-knelt to bow to Bojian. Bojian said, "Li Rixin, long time no see." Li Ming said, "I've seen you around, Bojian. These days, I've been working for Minister Xu in the north." The servant set the table and brought the porridge. Ximen Qing, Bojian, and Chen Jingji ate the porridge together. Then, a small silver clock was taken out, and Jinhuajiu was poured, with each person drinking three cups. There was still half a pot of wine left, so Ximen Qing instructed Huatong, "Take the table to the side room for Li Ming to drink." Then he put on his clothes and got up, riding a horse with Bojian to go pay their respects to the magistrate. Li Ming stayed behind in the side room to drink and eat.
Yu Xiao and Lan Xiang saw Ximen Qing off and played in the side room. Later, they all went to Ximen's sister's east room, leaving only Chunmei and Li Ming in the side room practicing the pipa. Li Ming had also been drinking. Chunmei's sleeves were loose, hiding her hands. Li Ming reached inside and pressed down gently. Chunmei screamed and scolded, "You pervert! What do you think you're doing touching my hand? You shameless person, don’t you know who I am? You’ve been living it up, getting bold enough to touch my hand. You dirty hooligan, you're dead! Just try it, I’ll make sure you regret it! Wait for the master to come back, see if I don't tell him and kick you out! Do you really think I can't learn to sing opera without you? Can't we find hooligans at the local theater? I have to deal with you!" Li Ming was scolded so badly that he ran away with his clothes. It is just as the saying goes: "With both hands, you carve your own fate; flip the script and jump out of the drama." Wow, Chunmei was so fired up that she stormed into the house and started yelling at everyone. Jinlian was playing chess with Meng Yulou, Li Ping'er, and Song Huilian in the house at that time. Suddenly hearing Chunmei cursing outside, she asked her, "You little brat, who are you yelling at? Who got you all worked up?"
Chunmei said, "Who else could it be but that bastard Li Ming! Before my father left, he specifically instructed the servant to leave a table of food and congee for him to eat. But those people, including Yuxiao, were pushing and shoving each other while sneering at Li Ming. They were so arrogant! After they had enough fun, they all ran to Big Sister's room. When Li Ming saw that no one was around, he took the opportunity to touch my hand. He was drunk and foolishly smiling at me. I scolded him, and only then did he scurry away like a scared dog. I had to give him two slaps to feel better! This bastard doesn’t even think about his own position. I’m not some loose woman to let you act like a creep in front of me! I've even bruised his face!"
Jinlian said, "You little brat, it's not a big deal if you've learned some bad habits. You look like you've seen a ghost from being so mad. When Dad gets back, he'll just toss this jerk out. We're waiting for the money from singing opera; there’s no way we're letting this jerk push my girl around! I know that Li Ming will get into trouble sooner or later." Chunmei said, "He's unlucky; he offended Second Sister's brother. I'm not afraid of him! Second Sister won't punish me for this, will she?" Song Huilian said, "Speaking of which, you’re a singing teacher. When you teach singing in someone else's house, you shouldn't be messing with good girls! They give you money to support you; don’t forget they’re the ones putting food on your table."
Jin Lian said, "Caring for someone ultimately comes down to money. Giving him five taels of silver every month, this bastard is really asking for it! Go ask those little servants at home, which one dares to smile in front of him or say a playful word? If he likes it, he might just let it slide; if he doesn't like it, he’ll directly drag them in front of the master and give them a beating. This bastard has bad luck, picking a fight with someone he shouldn't have; watch out, or you’ll be sorry!" Jin Lian then said to Chun Mei, "Your father isn't home; you can come in; why do you keep going to his room? Letting him take advantage of you!" Chun Mei replied, "It's just Yu Xiao and the others, they're having fun over there and won't come in." Yu Lou asked, "Are they still in there?" Chun Mei said, "They all went to the eldest sister's room." Yu Lou said, "I'll go take a look." Yu Lou got up and left. After a while, Li Ping'er also returned to her room and asked Xiu Chun to get Ying Chun.
That evening, Xi Men Qing returned home, and Jin Lian told him everything in detail. Xi Men Qing ordered Lai Xing not to allow Li Ming to enter the door again. From then on, Li Ming never dared to come again.
It’s just like this:
"Training the singing girls to show off their wealth, playing in the garden every day with brocade troughs.
It's not like rosy cheeks change easily; how can they compete with such fame?"
