Chapter - 32 (32) (1/2)

Breaking singing voice continued by string instrument, dancing sleeve capable of listening to prolonged guest's boasting.

The next day he went to find out about Wu Sangui's injury. Wu Sangui's second son came out to meet him, thanking the Imperial Envoy officer for his visit, telling him that Wu Sangui's condition did not change, that right now he was sleeping peacefully, that it was inappropriate to disturb him. Wei Xiaobao asked about Xia Guoxiang, but was told that he was on duty leading the troops to quell a disturbance, to guard against the unrest among the people, and that there was some changes going on in the city. When asked about Wu Yingxiong's condition, he did not give specific answer.

Wei Xiaobao had a faint feeling that there was great suspicion rising within the Ping Xi Wang Mansion, almost to the point of hostility. If he insist on rescuing Mu Palace people, it would be difficult to succeed. Rescuing Ah Ke would be more difficult than difficult. Perhaps if he stir up the Palace to resort to force immediately he would only deliver his own little life in Kunming.

Another day passed. He was having a discussion with Qian Laoben, Xu Tianchuan, Qi Biaoqing, and the others, when Gao Yanchao walked in, announcing that an old Taoist Priestess was seeking an audience. Wei Xiaobao was surprised. ”Old Taoist Priestess? Why is she looking for me? Is she asking for alms?”

”Subordinate asked her the purpose of her visit,” Gao Yanchao replied, ”She said she received orders to deliver a letter to the Imperial Envoy Daren.” While saying that, he presented a letter in yellow envelope.

Wei Xiaobao frowned and said, ”I must trouble Gao Dage to open and look, what is written in there?”

Gao Yanchao opened the envelope and took out a piece of yellow paper, looked at it for a moment, and read, ”Ah Ke in trouble …”

As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard those four words, he sprang up and anxiously said, ”What Ah Ke in trouble?” The Tian Di Hui warriors did not know about Jiu Nan and Ah Ke; they all just stared at him with a blank look on their faces.

Gao Yanchao said, ”That's what's written in this letter. It has neither a head nor a tail, and there is no signature either. It only says for you to come with the bearer, to take the trouble of visiting the writer to discuss a plan to save her.”

Wei Xiaobao asked, ”Is the Taoist Priestess outside?”

Gao Yanchao has just said one sentence, ”She is outside,” Wei Xiaobao had already bolted out the door.

When he reached the side room beside the front door, he saw a grey-haired Taoist Priestess sitting on a wooden bench, waiting for him. The Imperial Bodyguard on duty loudly announced, ”Imperial Envoy Minister has arrived.”

The Taoist Priestess stood up and bowed to pay her respect. Wei Xiaobao asked, ”Who sent you to see me?”

The Taoist Priestess said, ”Would Daren please step out? You will find out at the appointed time.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Where are we going?”

”Please come with Pindao [impoverished Taoist, referring to self],” the Taoist Priestess said, ”It's not convenient to talk here.”

”Very well,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”I will come with you.” He shouted, ”Prepare a carriage, saddle the horse!”

”Would Daren take the carriage?” the Taoist Priestess said, ”That way we won't alarm other people.”

Wei Xiaobao nodded. He went out the door together with the Taoist Priestess and climbed into the carriage. Afraid that it was the enemy's trap, Xu Tian Chuan, Qian Laoben, and the other followed some distance away. The Taoist Priestess gave the direction they were to take, the carriage headed west, and went out of the western city gate. Seeing the landscape was getting more and more desolate, Wei Xiaobao was feeling slightly uneasy; he asked, ”Where are we going?”

”We will arrive soon,” the Taoist Priestess replied.

After traveling for more than three li, they turned north. The road narrowed, it was barely enough for one carriage. Shortly afterwards they arrived in front of a tiny Buddhist nunnery. ”We are here,” the Taoist Priestess said.

Wei Xiaobao jumped down the carriage. He saw a wooden tablet on top of the door to the nunnery. There were three characters written on the tablet, the first one was 'Three', the other two he did not recognize. Turning his head and taking a glance, he saw Gao Yanchao and the others in the distant, presumably they would wait around this place; thereupon he followed the Taoist Priestess into the nunnery.

He saw all around him the nunnery was untainted by even a speck of dust. The courtyard was adorned with several bushes of camellia, and a Chinese redbud tree [Cercis chinensis]. In the middle of the sacrificial hall there was an image of Guanyin [Goddess of Mercy] in white. The image's appearance was very beautiful, in the dignified Buddhist imagery, there was thirty-percent of prettiness.

Wei Xiaobao mused, ”I heard among Wu Sangui's wife, there is one nicknamed Four-sided [or Four-Faced] Guanyin, there is also one nicknamed Eight-sided [or Eight-Faced] Guanyin. I wonder if they are really as pretty as Guanyin Pusa [Bodhisattva]. Damn it, the big traitor's luck in love is not shallow.”

The Taoist Priestess led him to the eastern side chamber, and served him tea. Wei Xiaobao opened the teacup lid, a burst of delicate fragrance greeted his nostrils. The tea inside the cup was dark green, unexpectedly it was a freshly brewed Longjing tealeaves. He felt a bit strange, ”These Longjing tealeaves were brought all the way from Jiangnan to this place, the price would be prohibitive. How can the Taoist Priestesses or Buddhist nuns in this nunnery be this ostentatious?”

The Taoist Priestess returned with a lacquered wooden tray in her hands, with assortment of eight different delicacies, arranged on white tray cloth. There was pine-nut candy, hickory cake, walnut flakes, rose cake, apricot candy, mung bean cake, lily crackers, and osmanthus scented red bayberry preserved in honey. All were Suzhou-style light refreshments, and all were exceptionally exquisite. Wei Xiaobao was not a stranger to this kind of Jiangnan delicacies, when he was at the Yangzhou brothel in the past, when the patrons arrived and the procuress [lit. female brothel keeper] wanted to entertain the guests, taking advantage when nobody was watching, he often nibbled a slice or two pieces. Unexpectedly coming across an old friend in a tiny Buddhist nunnery in Yunnan, he was very happy. ”Laozi is back at the Yangzhou's Lovely Spring Courtyard,” he mused. After serving the light refreshments, the Taoist Priestess withdrew immediately.

There was a copper incense burner on the small side table, a thin wisp of blue smoke rose up in spirals, the scent was that of precious sandalwood incense. Wei Xiaobao was familiar with this kind of scent; each time he came to see the Empress Dowager at the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, he would always smell this sandalwood fragrance. Suddenly he sprang up in fear. ”Aiyo! Not good! Could it be that the old wh0re is here?”

He heard intermittent sound of footsteps outside the door. A woman walked in. She put her palms together toward Wei Xiaobao and said, ”Nun [or Priestess, see footnote] Jijing

[7] pays her respect to Wei Daren.” Her voice was clear and supple, she spoke in Suzhou accent.

The woman was approximately forty-years old, she was wearing light yellow Taoist gown, she had a beautiful face [orig. 'like painting'], so clear and attractive that it was difficult to describe with words. In all his life Wei Xiaobao had never seen such a beautiful woman. He was holding the teacup with both hands, and was about to drink; but right now his mouth was open wide, unexpectedly he was unable to close it. In that instant he was dumbstruck and was at a loss to know what to do. The woman smiled and said, ”Wei Daren, please sit down.”

”Yes, yes,” Wei Xiaobao absent-mindedly replied. His knees went soft, he plopped down into his chair, the tea in his hand splashed, the front piece of his jacket was immediately wet for the most part.

In all her life, the beautiful woman had seen many men all over the world lost their soul and dropped their spirit when they saw her for the first time, hence she was not the least bit surprised; but Wei Xiaobao was only a fifteen, sixteen years old teenager, unexpectedly he was also intimidated by her peerless glowing countenance. The beautiful woman smiled and said, ”Wei Daren is young yet have great talent. I heard that in the past Gan Luo became the prime minister at the age of twelve, Wei Daren actually do not lose to him.”

”I don't dare,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Aiyo! All those women, Xishi, Yang Guifei

[8], are definitely inferior to you.”

The beautiful woman raised her sleeve to cover half of her jade cheek; she smiled sweetly, immediately hundreds of charms grew without restraint. Following which her countenance turned solemn as she said, ”Xishi, Yang Guifei, they all women with cruel fate. Xiao Nuzi [little/lowly woman, referring to self] only regrets that the Heaven bestowed me with such countenance, and thus harming the common people under the heavens, making their lives miserable. Because of that I now live with the clear lantern of Buddha as my companion, persistently live in repentance. Ay, even if I strike through the wooden fish [Buddhist instrument] or chant the sutra until it rots, I still cannot redeem even one of the ten thousand sins of my past.” Speaking to this point, her eyes turned red, she could not stop the tears from flowing down.

Wei Xiaobao did not understand what she was talking about, but seeing how when she smiled the divine light was meeting and parting, how in her distress she looked so lovely and moving, he could not help but feeling compassion toward her. He did not even know her background, but the blood in his breast bubbled up, he only felt that even if his body was torn and his bones crushed for her sake, he would take it 'as sweet as syrup' [an idiom from the Book of Songs: to endure hardship gladly]. Striking his chest he stood up and fervently said, ”Who bullied you? I will stake my life for you. Whatever difficulty you have, please feel free to hand it over to me. If I cannot deal with it, I, Wei Xiaobao, will cut my head and give it to you.” While saying that, he raised his right palm and chopped it heavily on the back of his own neck. Such a lofty spirit of a real man was indeed rare, but this time it was not the least bit superficial.

The beautiful woman stared at him for half a day; she said with a sob, ”Wei Daren's righteousness reaches the cloud in the sky, Xiao Nuzi does not know how to repay it.” Bending her knees, she suddenly kneeled down and gracefully prostrated herself in front of him.

”Not right, not right,” Wei Xiaobao called out. Promptly he also dropped down on his knees and 'dong, dong, dong', kowtowed to her several times, saying, ”You are immortal descending into the world, Guanyin Pusa reincarnated; you deserve my kowtows.”

The beautiful woman said in a low voice, ”I really don't deserve this.” Holding out her hands, she pulled his arms and helped him up. The two of them stood up together.

Seeing several drops of tears hanging on her cheeks, sparkling and translucent like beads of pearl, Wei Xiaobao busily stretched out his sleeve and gently wiped her face. ”Don't cry, don't cry,” he said tenderly, ”Even a gargantuan problem, we will deal with it fair and square.”

Based on that beautiful woman's age, she could be his mother. But in her appearance, manners, speech and expression, there was sweetness, charm, grace and loveliness that other people could not help but feeling tenderness and pity toward her. ”Actually, why are you sad?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

The beautiful woman replied, ”After Wei Daren saw the letter, you came immediately, Xiao Nuzi is really grateful …”

”Aiyo!” Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, as he slapped his own forehead, ”Muddle head! It is for Ah Ke's sake …” He stared blankly at the beautiful woman; suddenly he came into realization, ”You are Ah Ke's Mama!” he loudly said.

The beautiful woman said in a low voice, ”Wei Daren is very smart. I was not going to tell you, but you have guessed correctly.”

”That was easy,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”The two of you look very much alike, but … but Ah Ke Shijie is inferior to … to your beauty.”

A blush appeared on the beautiful woman's face, her bright, smooth and white, soft skin exuded a tender pink color, as if she had just applied a layer of rouge on her jade-white face. ”You call Ah Ke your Shijie?” she asked in a low voice.

”Yes,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”She is my Shijie.” Without concealing anything, he told her how he first met Ah Ke, how he was beaten by her that his arm bones were dislocated, how he did obeisance to Jiu Nan and took her as his master, how they came together to Kunming. He even told her how he adored Ah Ke, but Ah Ke did not even consider him in her eyes; all kinds of feeling and reasons, he calmly gave her a straightforward account. Only about Jiu Nan's real identity, as well as his intention to bring Wu Sangui's conspiracy to a bad end, which he thought the implication would be too great, he skipped completely and did not mention even a single word.

The beautiful woman listened quietly. When he finished, she sighed and said quietly, ”How can a wife be involved in something of a paramount importance? A hero is helpless to overcome his passion. Young beauty is the source of trouble. The problem at hand can't be more clear. Wei Daren has a future full of promise …”

Wei Xiaobao shook his head. ”Not right, not right,” he said, ”Young beauty is the source of trouble; I have heard the storytellers said the same thing, that Daji

[9], Yang Guifei, were responsible for causing the harm of the nation. Actually, if there was no wretched man, no wretched emperor in the world, even if the woman was more beautiful, she can't possibly bring the harm to the country. Everybody said that for the sake of Chen Yuanyuan, Ping Xi Wang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. In my opinion, if Wu Sangui was really loyal to the Ming Dynasty, eighteen Chen Yuanyuan would not make his granny Wu Sangui surrenders to the Qing Dynasty.”

The beautiful woman stood up, gracefully kneeled down and bowed respectfully to him and said, ”Thank you Wei Daren for seeing clearly, for distinguishing the unredressed injustice that plagued jianqie

[10] for all eternity.”

Wei Xiaobao hurriedly returned the propriety. He wondered out loud, ”You … you … Ah … aiyo, that's right, I am indeed a complete muddle head. If you are not Chen Yuanyuan, where in the world would there be such … such … a beautiful woman like you? It's just that, ay, I am more and more confused; aren't you Ping Xi Wang's Wangfei [wife of the king]? Why are you here living a pious life? How can Ah Ke Shijie be … be your daughter?”

The beautiful woman stood up and said, ”Jianqie is indeed Chen Yuanyuan. The story behind it is complicated and not easy to express succinctly; but first, Jianqie needs help from Wei Daren, hence I do not dare to conceal anything; second, I have just heard how Wei Daren is able to recognize Jianqie's unredressed injustice, in my heart I am very grateful. For more than twenty years Jianqie has suffered enough insult from the people all over the world, they put the blame of the fall of our country on Jianqie's head. At the present age, only two gifted scholars understand that Jianqie has received unjust treatment. One is the great poet Wu Meicun, Wu Caizi [gifted scholar]. The other is precisely Wei Daren.”

Actually, Wei Xiaobao was completely ignorant and did not have any knowledge of national affair, he did not have any clue if Chen Yuanyuan was wronged or not. It's just that he saw how in her frightened state she did not lose her graceful appearance; he admired her greatly. Plus he utterly detested Wu Sangui, and she was Ah Ke's mother. Even if she had a thousand shortcomings, committed ten thousand mistakes, it was not a mistake at all. In his mind, not even half of it was not Wu Sangui's fault.

Listening to her praising him as a gifted scholar, he was self-conscious; he waved his hand and hastily said, ”I don't know a single character as big as a watermelon. If you want to call me a gifted scholar, you might as well add two characters 'dog fart' in front of it, then it will become 'dog fart gifted scholar' Wei Xiaobao.”

Chen Yuanyuan smiled and said, ”Being able to write verses and literary works will make you no more than little gifted scholar; having knowledge and experience, having responsibility, will put you into the great gifted scholar category.”

Hearing these few words of flattery, Wei Xiaobao could not stop the bones in his entire body from going soft; he thought, ”She is the world's number one beauty, yet unexpectedly she said I am a big gifted scholar. Ha ha … turns out laozi's talent is really not low. Damn it, ever since I came out of my mother's womb, this is the first time I have ever heard this.”

Chen Yuanyuan stood up. ”Would Daren step inside?” she asked, ”Let Xiao Nuzi relates everything to you.”

”Yes,” Wei Xiaobao replied. He followed her along a gravel pathway in the garden, toward a small room.

The room was bare, no table, no chair, but there were two putuan [meditation mat] on the floor. A scroll of calligraphy hung on the wall, it looked densely populated with a lot of characters. Next to the scroll hung a pipa [Chinese lute].

”Daren please sit down,” Chen Yuanyuan said.

She waited until Wei Xiaobao was seated on one of the putuan before she walked over to the wall and took the pipa down, carried it in her arms, and sat down on the other putuan. Pointing to the calligraphy scroll on the wall she said softly, ”This is the long poem the Great Gifted Scholar Wu Meicun wrote for Jianqie. It is called 'Yuanyuan Song' [yuan literally means circle/round]. Today we are brought together by fate, I'd like to play and sing for Daren, but the grime will be clearly heard.”

Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. ”Wonderful, wonderful,” he said, ”But when you sing several verses, you must explain it to me, I am a dog fart gifted scholar, my learning is very much so-so.”

Chen Yuanyuan smiled. ”Daren is too modest,” she said. Thereupon she tuned the pipa, 'ding ding dong dong', she plucked the strings several times, and then said, ”I have not played for a long time, please don't blame me for being rusty.”

”There is no need to be polite,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Even if you played wrong, I would not know.”

He heard she lightly and slowly twirled her fingers and plucked several notes, and sang in a drawn-out voice

[11], ”At that time when the emperor abandoned the human world, Wu crushed the enemy and captured the capital, bearing down from Jade Pass. The six armies, wailing and grieving, were uniformly clad in the white of mourning. One wave of headgear-lifting anger propelled him, all for the sake of the fair-faced one.”

Singing these four lines, she said, ”It is talking about the time Chong Zhen, the Son of Heaven returned to the heaven, Ping Xi Wang and the Manchurian Qing joined arms, defeating Li Zicheng and advancing into Beijing. The officers and soldiers were all wearing mourning apparel for the Emperor. Hence Ping Xi Wang sent his troops, it was actually for me, this unlucky woman.”

Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, ”You are such a beautiful woman, Wu Sangui surrendered to the Great Qing for your sake, I can't really blame him. If it were me, Wei Xiaobao, I would surrender as well.”

Chen Yuanyuan rolled her beautiful eyes; she thought, ”You are just a baby, yet you are also teasing me.” However, when she looked at him, she saw his solemn expression and knew that he was being sincere; she could not help but was touched by the friendship shown. She continued to sing, ”The fair-faced one, drifting and fallen, was not what I longed for. The offending bandits, smote by heaven, wallowed in wanton pleasures. Lightning swept the Yellow Turban, the Black Mountain troops were quelled. Having wailed for ruler and kin, I met her again.”

She explained, ”Here he was talking about Wangye defeating Li Zicheng. The poem says: Li Zicheng's endeavor failed because he himself was no good, after he reached Beijing, his conduct was preposterous. When Wangye saw this verse, he was very unhappy.”

”That's right,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”The song obviously says that the defeat of Li Zicheng was not his merit at all.”

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”The later section of this song tells the story of Jianqie's life.” She sang, ”Meeting for the first time going through the field of Dou Family, the singing and dancing of the nobleman' gate was like flower. Allowing the display of konghou [Chinese harp] craft in the midst of grief, waiting to fetch the General in lacquered carriage. In the Huan Hua [lit. washing/rinsing flower] of hometown Suzhou, little girl Yuanyuan as delicate as openwork silk gauze. Dreaming to roam the Fu Cha's

[12] park, the palace beauty supports the rise of the sovereign king. In the front was a lotus picking person, in front of the door was a strip of pond.”

The melody tender and charming, winding and turning, the sound of pipa was undulating slowly, just as a breeze rising and falling, or a gently ripple of the water of the lotus pond.

Chen Yuanyuan said in a low voice, ”Here the poem is comparing Jianqie to Xi Shi; it's rather overpraised.”

Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, ”Incorrect comparison, incorrect comparison!”

Chen Yuanyuan was slightly startled. Wei Xiaobao continued, ”How can Xi Shi be superior to you?”

A slight blush appeared on Chen Yuanyuan's face. ”Wei Daren is making fun of me,” she said.

”I am not making fun of you at all,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”I have a strong reason. I heard people say that Xi Shi was from Zhuji [county level city] of Shaoxing [prefecture], Zhejiang [province]; although she was beautiful, Shaoxing people speak 'niang ge jian tai ta ta jiao

[13]', how can they compare to you, Suzhou people who speaks coyly and string all words together?”

Chen Yuanyuan laughed sweetly, ”Turns out there is that reason,” she said, ”Come to think about it, King Wu Fu Cha [see previous note] was also a Suzhou native, how could he like Xi Shi?”

Wei Xiaobao scratched his head and said, ”That King Wu Fu Cha's ears were not too clear, so it was possible.”

Chen Yuanyuan covered her mouth as she squealed, her face blushed profusely, her glance was graceful, her cherry lips were trembling slightly, her anxious look lasted for a while, yet her overall appearance seemed sweet and charming. Wei Xiaobao only felt comfortably warm, as if he was drunk, and in his confused mind he did not know where he was.

He heard she continued singing, ”A pair of oars flying on the surface of the strip of pond, where could the heroic family return to? How could they know that there were not born under an unlucky star? Right now, only tears wetting the clothes. The scent of sweet-smelling grass links the apartments of the Palace, nobody pities the beautiful woman [orig. bright eyes and white teeth]. Insisting on returning home, the Eternal Alley was closed to respectable families, it only leans to let the new sound of guests to enter.”

Singing to this point, she sighed gently, and said, ”Jianqie came from the windblown dust [i.e. prostitution], I don't need to conceal my origin …”

”What do you mean coming from the windblown dust?” Wei Xiaobao asked, ”Please don't speak in literary terms with me, I don't know anything about literary terms.”

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”Xiao Nuzi was originally a Suzhou house's prostitute …”

Wei Xiaobao slapped his knee and called out, ”Wonderful!”

Chen Yuanyuan's face looked hurt, she said in a low voice, ”That is Jianqie's unkind fate.”

Wei Xiaobao was happy and excited. ”You and I are kindred spirits,” he said, ”I also came from the windblown dust.”

Chen Yuanyuan opened wide her pair of as-clear-as-water phoenix eyes, she started blankly at him, while saying in her heart, ”Obviously he does not understand the meaning of 'coming from the windblown dust'.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”You came from a brothel, I also came from a brothel; only you are from Suzhou, I am from Yangzhou. My Mama is a prostitute at the Lovely Spring Courtyard of Yangzhou. Only her appearance cannot be compared to you; one is heavenly, the other is down to earth.”

Chen Yuanyuan was greatly surprised; she asked in a tender voice, ”You are not joking?”

”Why would I joke with you?” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Ay, I was just too busy. I should have sent people to fetch Mama, I should not let her be a prostitute anymore. But I saw that at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, she was living a cheerful life, bustling with noise and excitement; if I brought her to Beijing, I am afraid she would be in low spirit.”

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”A hero is not afraid of low family background. Wei Daren is open and candid, you do not refuse to talk about it, it is precisely the natural quality of a hero.”

”I only told it to you,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”I have never told it to anybody else; otherwise, people would point their fingers at me and call me a wh0re's I can't take it. In front of Ah Ke, you must not mention it even more. She is already looking down at me; if she found out about it, she would never pay any attention to me forever.”

”Wei Daren, don't worry,” Chen Yuanyuan said, ”Jianqie won't talk too much. Actually, Ah Ke, she … her own Mama is not any wise and virtuous woman from a well-known family.”

”It would be best if you do not mention it,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”She hates prostitutes the most, she said that this kind of woman is extremely bad.”

Chen Yuanyuan hung down her head and said in a low voice, ”She … she said that brothel's women are … are extremely bad?”

Wei Xiaobao hastily said, ”Please don't feel sad, she was not talking about you.”

Chen Yuanyuan was low-spirited. ”Naturally she was not talking about me,” she said, ”Ah Ke did not even know that I am her Mama.”

Wei Xiaobao was surprised, ”How can she not know?” he asked.

Chen Yuanyuan shook her head and said, ”She does not know.”

Cocking her head sideways, she was lost in thought for a moment before slowly said, ”The Empress Dowager of the Son of Heaven Chong Zhen was surnamed Zhou, she was also Suzhou native. Son of Heaven Chong Zhen doted on Concubine Tian. The fight between the Empress Dowager and Concubine Tian was very fierce. The Empress Dowager's father Jia Dingbo bought me out of the brothel and sent me into the Palace, hoping to take away the favor from Concubine Tian …”

”That was a great idea,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Concubine Tian would be in big trouble.”

”It was not such a big trouble,” Chen Yuanyuan said, ”Son of Heaven Chong Zhen worried about the affairs of the nation, he was not interested in women. I haven't lived in the Palace for long when the Emperor ordered the Empress Dowager to send me out of the Palace.”

”Strange, strange!” Wei Xiaobao loudly exclaimed, ”I heard that Emperor Chong Zhen had eyes but failed to see; he only believed treacherous officials but had Yuan Chonghuan, a greatly loyal minister, killed. Turned out he did not have any foresight toward men, but he did not have any foresight toward women even more, that he did not want a woman like you. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk.” He shook his head repeatedly, thinking that among the strange things in the world, nothing was more strange than this.

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”Some men like scholarly honor [in imperial exams] and the riches that come with it. Some like gold, silver and jewels. As the Emperor, he had to think about how to solve the country's problems. Not everybody loves good-looking women.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”I want scholarly honor and riches, I also want gold, silver and jewels. I want good-looking women even more. One thing I don't want is being the Emperor; even if it given to me, I won't do it. Aha! In this city of Kunming, there is a dear friend of mine who is the number one high-ranking official under the heavens, he has become the richest old man in the world, he married the number one beauty in the world, unexpectedly he still toys with the idea of becoming the Emperor.”

Chen Yuanyuan's countenance changed slightly. ”Are you talking about Ping Xi Wang?” she asked.

”I won't mention any names,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”In short, it is not you, Chen Yuanyuan, and it is not me, Wei Xiaobao.”

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”The next part of the song talks about how I met Ping Xi Wang. After he asked for me from Jia Dingbo, he left for Shanhai Pass to guard the border, leaving me behind at his house in Beijing. Not long afterwards, Li … Li … Li Chuang

[14] attacked the Capital.”

She sang, ”The sitting guest flies the goblet toward the red sunset, the sorrowful song of string, to whom would it complain to? The youngest of Marquis Bai Xitong, looking back, time and again the flowering branch was chosen. The morning brings the frail bird out of the cage, when will it cross the Milky Way? The end of the military document ordering hateful killing was extremely urgent, hurting the people who must be painstakingly left behind. Wanting to meet deep kindness, wanting to see each other is difficult, the dynasty's ant thieves crowd Chang'an. With pity thinking about the willow at the front of the women's storied building, looking at the horizon as white cotton wadding.” Singing to this point, the pipa stopped, she stared blankly at the wall, lost in thought.

Wei Xiaobao thought the song had reached its end, he clapped and cheered, ”Are you done?” he asked, ”You sing well, your singing is wonderful, your singing is top-notch.”

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”If I died at that time, the song would naturally end here.”

Wei Xiaobao's face turned deep red; he thought, ”Damn it, laozi is uneducated. Li Chuang broke into Beijing, my Shifu's father Emperor Chong Zhen's song has come to an end. But Chen Yuanyuan's song has not ended.”

Chen Yuanyuan said in a low voice, ”Li Chuang seized me away. Afterwards, Ping Xi Wang snatched me back. I was not a human, I am only an object; whoever is stronger, he can take me away.” She sang, ”Searching everywhere the green pearl is encircled in the inside, the powerful call of golden eagle coming out of purple-red tree fence. Were it not for the brave soldier achieving complete victory, would the beautiful woman return on a horse? The woman on the horseback called, the silver hair on the temples stood in fright. The candle flame forge ahead to the battlefield, streak of tears left red marks of makeup across her face. Dreary beating of the drums on a personal expedition toward Sichuan, thousands of riders and chariots heading toward Jinniu [lit. golden ox, district of Chengdu, Sichuan]. Sloping valley going deep above the cloud in the painting on the multi-story building, vanishing beyond the pass toward the sunset as seen through the vanity mirror. The incoming news filling the rivers and villages, red Tallow tree [sapium sebiferum] has gone through ten seasons of frost. The master who teaches singing still has pity, taking the gauze-silk (female) companion down memory lane. Old nest shared by clay swallows, flying to the tip of the branch, they transformed into a pair of phoenix, constantly conveying their deep grief to the respected senior generations; some men arrogate to themselves the marquis king position.”

When singing about 'arrogating to themselves the marquis king position', she seemed to be entranced. This time Wei Xiaobao did not dare to ask whether she had finished singing or not; he had made up his mind, ”Unless she says that she is finished singing, I am not going to ask too much, so that I won't make a fool of myself.”

He heard she said grimly, ”I came with Ping Xi Wang when he invaded Sichuan, where he was conferred the title 'King'. When the news reached Suzhou, all my former sisters of the courtyard were envious, saying that my luck was good. They still have to do that kind of shady business in the courtyard until they are old.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”When I was at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, I often heard they say something like 'every night there is someone new in the bridal room', 'freshness is exciting', nothing wrong with that.”

Chen Yuanyuan cast him a glance; seeing that he did not seem to be sarcastic, she gently sighed and said, ”Daren, you are still young, you don't understand this kind of distress.”

Plucking her pipa, she sang, ”At that time receiving reputation by association, noble grief causing famous warrior prolonged struggle. One piece of jewel ten thousand pieces of anxiety, slender waist wandering along the fortresses and mountains along the Great Wall. Misplaced blame like a gale made the flowers fall, colors of spring without boundary covering the heaven and the earth. Taste and smell of the demise of the nation coming from everywhere, turning-over envoy minister received notoriety. How could a wife consent to shut down such a matter of paramount importance? Reluctant hero is full of affection. The bones of the entire family turn to dust, a generation of festive female clothing reflecting youthful perspiration.”

With eyes brimming in tears she stopped her pipa. ”Gifted Scholar Wu Meicun knew that although my fame spread all over the world, my heart was in pain,” she said while sobbing, ”Common people scolded me as the young beauty who brings disaster to the water, harming the Great Ming's rivers and mountains. Gifted Scholar Wu knew that I was a mere young girl, what can I possibly do? Be it good or bad, it's the men who did all these things.”

”That's right,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”When the Great Qing's troops and horses attacked by the thousands and tens of thousands, you are only a delicate and pretty young woman, how could you possibly stop them?” He thought, ”She could play and tell stories this well, just like the mister storyteller at Suzhou singing ballad with pipa accompaniment. I could banter with her several sentences, or provide vocal accompaniment to her singing, I can be the assistant to the mister storyteller. If the two of us going to Yangzhou and open a business at the teahouse, I guarantee we will cause a sensation within the Yangzhou city walls, so much so that the teahouse will burst at its seam. I will hold the signage over her head, naturally I would also enjoy the limelight.”

While he was feeling very pleased with himself, he heard she continued singing, ”The lord did not see, when the baby first rose in the hall, it was like the mandarin ducks lodging for the night. One will never be satisfied to look at the flowery Yue maiden, the cry of bird arose from the fragrant dusty footpath, the wooden shoes were lined with green moss. A thousand li of worry moved out of the Palace, pearl song, green jade dance, out of ancient Liang prefecture. For the sake of the lord, do not sing the Wu Palace song, to the southeast day and night the Han River flows.”

When she sang the word 'flow', she held the last note long, seemingly unending, while the pipa climbed higher and higher, gradually drowning the singing voice. After a moment, the pipa gradually slowing and softer, like the water trickling down a distant creek, until it finally died down.

Chen Yuanyuan heaved a deep sigh, tears streaming down her face, with a choking voice she said, ”I am displaying a disgraceful performance.”

Standing up, she hung the pipa on the wall, and then walked back to the putuan and sat down. She said, ”The last part of the song was talking about King Wu Fu Cha perishing for the country. I did not understand it in the past, the song was talking about my life's story, why did it mention the Wu Palace? Even if it was comparing me to Xi Shi, it is already mentioned in the front. Wu Palace, Wu Palace, could it be that it is talking about Ping Xi Wang's Imperial Palace? In recent years I started to understand. Wangye drilled the troops and trained the horses extravagantly, I am afraid … I am afraid … ay, I exhorted him several times, but he was offended and was very angry. I left home in this San Sheng An [three sages nunnery], wearing my hair leading a pious life, repenting of my whole life's sin, hoping that everybody will live in peace and harmony, spending the rest of my life in here. Who would have thought … who would have thought Ah Ke … Ah Ke …” Speaking to here, she broke into a noiseless sob.

Chen Yuanyuan was startled. ”What's bad?” she asked.

Wei Xiaobao's mind was in turmoil, ”No … nothing,” he casually replied. Actually, he suddenly realized that since Ah Ke had already looked down on him, now that she was Ping Xi Wang's princess, the distant between she and this son of a prostitute was even farther away.

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”When Ah Ke was two years old, she suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night. Wangye sent people to search everywhere in the city, but there was no trace of her. I suspected … suspected …” Suddenly she blushed and turned her face away from him.

”What did you suspect?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”I suspected it was Wangye's personal enemy who kidnapped this girl, perhaps to threaten him, or to blackmail him.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”There are so many martial art experts working as bodyguards and military officers in the Palace, unexpectedly someone was able to sneak in [orig. 'the gods did not know, the ghosts are not aware'] and stole Ah Ke Shijie away. That person's ability must be very high.”

”That's right,” Chen Yuanyuan said, ”At that time Wangye was so angry, he had two bodyguard chiefs executed; he also had the Tidu [provincial commander] and Zhifu [prefectural magistrate] envoy of the City of Kunming removed. After searching for several days without finding any clue, Wangye was about to kill more people. Finally I managed to calm him down. For the last dozen of years, I have not heard any news about Ah Ke. I thought … I thought she had already died.”

”No wonder Ah Ke says that her surname is Chen,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Turns out she is taking your surname.”

Chen Yuanyuan leaned sideways. ”She … she said her surname is Chen?” her voice quivering, ”How did she know?”

Wei Xiaobao had a sudden inspiration, ”Day and night the old traitor is always afraid that someone would come to assassinate him, the security around him must be very strict,” he mused, ”Perhaps kidnapping a baby out of the Palace is more difficult than assassinating him. In this world, other than Shifu Jiu Nan, I am afraid there is nobody else.” He said, ”Most likely the person who kidnapped her told her that.”

Chen Yuanyuan slowly nodded and said, ”That's right. But … but why didn't he say that her surname was … was …”

”That her surname was Wu?” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Humph, there is nothing necessarily radiant with Ping Xi Wang's surname.”

Chen Yuanyuan was gazing out the window, she was staring blankly as if she did not hear him. Wei Xiaobao asked, ”And then what happened?”

”I thought about her a lot,” Chen Yuanyuan said, ”I hoped the Heaven would pity me; as long as she did not die, I hoped one day I can see her again. Yesterday afternoon I received news from the Palace, saying that Wangye has been attacked by an assassin, and was seriously injured. I hurriedly went to the Palace to see him. Wangye was indeed attacked by an assassin, but he was not injured.”

Wei Xiaobao was shocked. ”So he was only pretending to be seriously injured?” his voice was quivering.

”Wangye said,” Chen Yuanyuan continued, ”He pretends to be seriously injured so that the adversary would act blindly without thinking, and thus he could catch everything in one net.”

Wei Xiaobao was greatly taken aback. ”He is indeed pretending,” he mumbled, ”I … I am such a big fool, I should have guessed early on.” He said in his heart, ”The big traitor is indeed very suspicious of me.”

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”I asked him what kind of person was the assassin. Wangye did not say anything, but he took me to a side room. On the bed sat a young woman, her hands and feet were shackled. I did not need to take a second look, I knew she was my daughter. She looked exactly like me when I was her age. As soon as she saw me, she stared at me blankly, and then asked, 'Are you my Mama?' I nodded; and then pointing to Wangye, I said, 'Greet your father

[15]'. Ah Ke angrily said, 'He is the big traitor to China, he is not my father. He killed my father, I want to avenge father.' Wangye asked her, 'Who is your father?' Ah Ke replied, 'I don't know. Shifu told me that when I see my Ma, Ma will tell me'. Wangye asked her who her Shifu was, she was unwilling to talk. But eventually she revealed that she had received her Shifu's order to assassinate Wangye.”

Listening to here, Wei Xiaobao understood about 70, 80% of the story. He presumed his Shifu Jiu Nan hated Wu Sangui to the bones; killing him alone was not enough to vent her anger, hence she kidnapped her daughter, taught her martial art, and sent her to assassinate her own father [orig. fuqin, formal]. He stood up, went to the window, and thought, ”That's right, Shifu has never liked Ah Ke. Although she taught her martial art styles, she did not pass on the least bit of internal energy cultivation. Although Ah Ke's style is indeed brilliant, it is actually a big mess; it encompasses different martial art styles from all kinds of school and sect. Old Monk Cheng Guan has such profound knowledge, yet he could not figure out her school. Um, Shifu did not let her enter the Tie Jian [Iron Sword] School; I, Wei Xiaobao, am actually the first disciple of Tie Jian School.” Thinking about the viciousness of Jiu Nan's revenge, he could not help but shiver with fright.

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”Her Shifu has deep plans and distant thoughts, he hated Wangye so much that he set up this stratagem. If Ah Ke succeeded in assassinating Wangye, his big enmity would be avenged. If the assassination failed, Wangye would still find out that the assassin who was trying to take his life was his own flesh and blood daughter; needless to say, his heart must be grieved.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Right now there is no problem. She has not stabbed Wangye, your family is reunited instead. You can explain everything to Ah Ke, won't everybody be happy then?”

Chen Yuanyuan sighed. ”If only it's that easy,” she said, ”Then I would thank the Heaven and thank the Earth.”

After a short pause, he continued, ”Wangye did not wish to let Ah Ke go, could it be that he wanted to have her flogged? She was kidnapped when she was only two, how could she know her own origin? Therefore, how can he blame her?”

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”Wangye said, 'Since you don't recognize me, naturally you are not my daughter. Forget the fact that you are not my daughter, even if you were my flesh-and-blood daughter, by committing this kind of rebellious defiance against your superior, disregarding the law and natural morality, I must not let you live.' While saying that, he rubbed his nose.”

Wei Xiaobao smiled, ”Does he like to rub his own nose?” he asked.

Chen Yuanyuan's voice trembled, ”You don't know,” she said, ”That is Wangye's habit; when he rubbed his nose, that means he wanted to kill people; it never fails.”

”Aiyo!” Wei Xiaobao cried out, ”How can that be good? He … has he killed Ah Ke?”

”For the time being he has not,” Chen Yuanyuan replied, ”Wangye … he wanted to investigate who the mastermind is, he also wants to find out who Ah Ke's father really is.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Wangye is overly suspicious; really, it's getting silly. As soon as I saw you, I knew you are Ah Ke's Mama. How could he not be Ah Ke's Papa? It must be because Ah Ke was trying to assassinate him, he became very angry.” Speaking to this point, his expression turned serious as he said, ”We must quickly think of a way to save Ah Ke. If Wangye rubs his nose again, it won't be too good.”

Chen Yuanyuan said, ”Xiao Nuzi brazenly invited Daren to come over, it was precisely to discuss this matter. I am thinking that Daren is the Imperial Envoy Minister, sent by His Majesty himself, Wangye would definitely want to give you some face. Ah Ke masqueraded as a palace maid serving the Princess, as long as Daren personally appears, saying that the Princess wanted her maid back, I have no doubt that Wangye would not refuse.”

Wei Xiaobao bent the index finger of his right hand and continuously tapped it onto his own forehead. ”Idiot, idiot,” he said, ”I have fallen into his trap.”

”This plan of yours,” he said, ”Not only I have thought about it ahead of you, I have even executed it. Who would have thought this big … big Wangye is one step ahead of me, he had the little idiot's hands and feet tied up. I have already asked Wangye for the assassin, and Wangye has already given her to me, it's just that she was not Ah Ke.”

Thereupon he told her in details how Xia Guoxiang brought him to the dungeon to identify the assassin, how he saw a well-acquainted young woman, how he believed the rumor was false, i.e. the assassin was really not Ah Ke, how he convinced Xia Guoxiang that the young woman was indeed a palace maid serving the Princess, and how he ended up taking her out of the prison. He also said, ”This servant Xia Guoxiang has prepared a scheme beforehand, he spoke in loud voice in front of the several hundred people in front of the Mansion, stating that he has handed over the Princess' palace maid to me; how could I come back to him and ask for the second person? Needless to say, this servant would definitely talk officiously, saying something like, 'Wei Daren, you must not play a joke with Xiao Jiang. The Princess' palace maid has assassinated Wangye, Xiao Jiang boldly acted for the sake of Wei Daren's face, risking the cap on my head, risking Wangye's flogging and martial punishment, I let Daren take her away. Hundreds and thousands of people in front of the Palace are my witness. Wangye has ordered: he is hoping that Daren would discipline the palace maid rigorously, that you would investigate who was behind it? Now Daren comes again to ask for someone else. This … this joke may be too much.” He was imitating Xia Guoxiang's accent and mannerism, and was actually doing a pretty good job.

Chen Yuanyuan knitted her eyebrows. ”Daren is right,” she said, ”Son-in-law Xia is indeed that kind of person. Turns out … turns out they have already set up a trap to shut Daren's mouth.”

Wei Xiaobao stomped his foot and cursed, ”His granny, that male …” he cast a glance toward Chen Yuanyuan and said, ”If they touch a strand of Ah Ke's hair, laozi will fight that big … big to the death.”

Chen Yuanyuan pulled her sleeve and bowed to him with cupped fist, saying, ”Daren cherishes my daughter this much, Xiao Nuzi wants to express my gratitude in advance. It's just that …”

Wei Xiaobao hastily returned the propriety and said, ”I am going to lead our troops and horses to crash into Ping Xi Wang Mansion, to kill him until he is in a sorry state. If I can't save Ah Ke out, I will take the big traitor's surname. Laozi won't have Wei as my surname, my surname will be Wu! Damn it, laozi will be Wu Xiaobao!”

Seeing how agitated he was, and how he was speaking nonsense, Chen Yuanyuan was rather scared. She said in a gentle voice, ”Daren's good intention toward Ah Ke …”

”What Daren or Xiaoren?” Wei Xiaobao cut her off, ”If you consider me as one of your own, you must call me Xiaobao. I should have called you Auntie

[16], but thinking about that damned Uncle, I am seething with rage.”

Chen Yuanyuan walked over and gently put her hand on his shoulder; she said, ”Xiaobao, if you don't look down on me, you can just call me Ah Yi [Auntie

[17]].”

Wei Xiaobao was delighted; he said, ”I'll call you Ah Yi. When I was at the Lovely Spring Courtyard in Yangzhou …” Speaking to this point, he suddenly stopped.

Actually, Chen Yuanyuan also understood that at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, he called all the prostitutes 'Ah Yi'. She understood worldly affairs, and understood Wei Xiaobao's good intention; she said, ”I am extremely happy to have such a good nephew as yourself. Xiaobao, we must not use force against Wangye, in the City of Kunming, his troops and soldiers are numerous; even if you defeat him, he could kill Ah Ke with one stab first, and then you and I, two people, will be grieving for the rest of our lives.”

She was speaking with the soft accent of the Wu dialect; first, her voice was very pleasant to listen to, second, in her speech she was treating Wei Xiaobao as one of her own. Upon hearing her, the rage that was filling his heart immediately vanished into thin air. ”Good Ah Yi,” he asked, ”Then what should we do to rescue Ah Ke?”

Chen Yuanyuan pondered for a moment before saying, ”I could urge Ah Ke to admit Wangye as her father. Even if he were more heartless, he would not kill his own flesh-and-blood daughter …”

Suddenly from outside the door someone was shouting loudly, ”Acknowledging the bandit as one's father, how can this be so?”

The curtain on the door rose up, a big and tall old monk walked in in large strides. He had a thick steel monk's staff in his hand, which he stomped onto the floor. The iron rings on the head of the staff created a random 'dang dang' noise. The old monk had a square face, he had an ash-grey beard underneath his chin, his eyes were flashing like lightning, his overall appearance was impressive. Just by standing like that, he looked like a small mountain covering the doorway. His waist was sticking out his back straight, like a tiger or a lion, his grandeur was indeed overwhelming.

Wei Xiaobao was startled; he withdrew three steps back, and almost wanted to hide behind Chen Yuanyuan. Chen Yuanyuan, however, looked happy. Her countenance brightened as she walked over to the old monk and said softly, ”You have come!”

”I have come!” the old monk replied. His voice turned lower, his eye turned gentler. Their gaze met, their eyes revealed admiration and joy.

Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised, ”Who is this old monk?” he wondered in his heart, ”Could he be … could he be Ah Yi's lover? An old customer when she was still a prostitute? Monk visits prostitute; that is out of question. Um, not surprising, actually, when laozi was a monk, I also went to a brothel.”

”Have you heard?” Chen Yuanyuan asked.

”I have heard,” the old monk replied.

”Thank Heaven and thank the Earth,” Chen Yuanyuan said, ”That child is still … still alive. I … Wah!” suddenly she broke out crying and threw herself into the old monk's bosom.

The old monk reached out with his left hand and gently stroked her hair. ”Whatever happens we must save her,” he said consolingly, ”Don't worry.” His majestic voice was brimming with deep emotion. Chen Yuanyuan buried her face in his bosom as she sobbed softly.

Wei Xiaobao was amazed and scared at the same time, he did not dare to move at all. ”The two of you regard me as a dead man,” he mused, ”Laozi better act as a dead man.”

After crying for a while, Chen Yuanyuan sobbed, ”You … can you really save that child?”