A Flower’s Shade (3 page)

Old Master Zhen's extraordinarily robust libido had always been a point of pride with him. When a man, even an old man, is performing well in bed, there's no likelihood that the thought of death will enter his mind. The Zhen Family was entering a rapid decline. Although it kept up its appearances and enjoyed its established reputation, it was readily apparent that this once-glorious Estate was on the brink of collapse. Old Master Zhen had been the representative figure of an era of decline. The future had held no meaning for Old Master Zhen, nor did it hold any meaning for the Zhen Estate as it fell more and more into disrepair.

When Old Master Zhen realized that there was no chance of further offspring, he decided that management of the Estate would pass upon his death to his daughter. "Who says men and women have to be different? Well, I'm going to institute a new rule." The old master didn't care a bit that the old rule forbade female inheritance, telling the man who had come from the clan, "Once I go, this whole place will belong to my daughter, and there isn't a thing the rest of you can do about it."

F
licking off the raindrops as they walked underneath the long funeral canopy, the clansmen began to make their way to the funeral hall in twos and threes. As the only legitimate heir of the old master, Miss Yu was reposing lazily on the heated bed, her eyes closed. She was twenty-seven, very beautiful, and visibly spoiled. During these days of mourning, she seemed intent on deliberately vexing people. She was dressed in lively colours, which went very poorly with the solemn atmosphere of the funereal affairs.

Mrs. Wu was obediently preparing the opium for her mistress. Mrs. Wu was formidable to look at, and since becoming Miss Yu's wet nurse she had never left service in the Estate. When the opium was ready, Mrs. Wu stopped the opening of the pipe and took a long, full breath. Then she breathed it slowly out over Miss Yu's face. For many years, Mrs. Wu had served Miss Yu, and she had acquired a very special standing among the servants. Now that Miss Yu held all the power, Mrs. Wu had formed the view that from now on some of the glory would reflect on her as well.

Miss Yu's eyes were still closed. Already she felt the opium smoke enveloping her face, and the wings of her nose trembled slightly. Mrs. Wu solemnly continued to exhale smoke over Miss Yu's face. "Miss, now that your father is dead, and with your brother the way he is." Mrs. Wu was saying ingratiatingly as she exhaled, "The whole great big property is all yours."

At this, Miss Yu's resting eyes opened for the first time. She had large, pretty eyes, and once she had opened them, her gaze passed over Mrs. Wu disdainfully; then she closed her eyes again. After a moment, she reopened them, and looked at Mrs. Wu with dilated eyeballs as though she had never seen her before.

"All that property, more than you, miss, could have any use for in your whole life." Mrs. Wu was prattling on, and energetically sucked in the smoke in order once again to breathe it out over Miss Yu's face, "Really, even counting the next generation, it's more than anyone could put to use. Just think of it, in this family, you're the one who has the say-so now, isn't it?"

Miss Yu, who appeared to be only half-listening, closed her eyes again. She was intoxicated by the haze of opium, and felt very lazy. Now she appeared to have fallen asleep.

A young maid entered, blustering, "Miss, all the people from the outside are already here, and Seventh Grandfather's here, the Great Hall is just packed with people, all of them just waiting for you."

Intoxicated by the opium, Miss Yu pretended not to have heard, and continued to enjoy the smoke at her own pace. No one ought to be there, bothering her. This here was the most pleasurable moment, and she didn't want to move a muscle. What was the big deal about Seventh Grandfather? So he had come, very well. Miss Yu felt that even if her father had come back from the dead, it was no concern of hers.

"What, is Seventh Grandfather here too?" Mrs. Wu's face showed signs of alarm, "Miss, who would have thought that they'd bring even him here for the occasion." Mrs. Wu wanted to hurry Miss Yu a little, but she knew her mistress too well, and knew the more that she was hurried, the more her mistress would put on airs, so she turned to face the maid and said, "You go greet them, and let them know that the mistress will be along very soon, just as soon as she can."

"Greet them? What for? Just let them wait." Miss Yu breathed gently.

The maid ran off to pass the message on, while Miss Yu burst into malevolent laughter. She was a headstrong spinster, and often came up with wicked schemes. Of course, it was a very amusing thing to have all those men waiting obediently for her. She rolled her eyes mischievously before shutting them again. "What's all the fuss about? It's only that Seventh Grandfather or whatever his name is." She breathed in the smoke from the opium, which still hung in the air, and then said lackadaisically, "Why was today's pipe finished so quickly?"

Before long, the maid ran in again with the intention of urging Miss Yu to hurry. She knew that Miss Yu had a peculiar temperament, so when she came in and saw Miss Yu, she didn't dare to say anything. Miss Yu, limp from head to toe, was lying on the heated bed, having satisfied her opium craving. She heard rapid footsteps, and knew it was the maid coming to hurry her again, but still she ignored it, desiring apparently to deliberately lengthen the wait of the people in the Great Hall. Mrs. Wu shook her head at the maid, indicating that there was no point in trying to rush someone like Miss Yu. The maid frowned in consternation, sighed, and whispered, "Oh dear, the Great Hall's just packed with people, what'll it look like if they're just kept waiting and waiting?"

Miss Yu suddenly sat up, startling Mrs. Wu and the maid. "What'll it look like, indeed! I'm going now, aren't I?" Now that she had satisfied her addiction, she was in glowing spirits; she leapt off the bed and nearly ran off. Mrs. Wu, gradually recovering her wits, got a good hold of her and insisted that she change her clothes before going. Miss Yu turned back to look at her, looked askance at the mourning clothes the maid held in her hands, and said with great reluctance, "Must I really wear all that today?"

Mrs. Wu said, "Well, when else would you ever wear it, if not today? My dear miss, you'll just have to make do, you'll just have to grin and bear it!"

Mrs. Wu and the maid fell over themselves helping Miss Yu dress. Impatiently, Miss Yu stood in front of the dressing table, letting them handle her, until soon enough a great loose morning dress hung over her. She turned to looking at herself in the dressing table mirror, put on a very solemn expression, and rushed suddenly off.

The form of Miss Yu in her white mourning dress rushed across the courtyard like a gust of wind and sped through the passageway. "Mistress, walk slowly!" Mrs. Wu and the maid called after her, rushing to catch up. They wanted to shout but didn't dare, and hardly knew whether to laugh or cry.

T
he Great Hall was packed with people, a black mass of men, their patience frayed, loitering about holding whispered conversations. It had long been said that Miss Yu could match her father in eccentric humor. But on a matter as weighty as the mourning ceremonies, no amount of eccentricity could account for letting all these adult men stand about like fools, waiting upon her pleasure. Seventh Grandfather, infirm with age, had been seated on an incomparable imperial-style armchair when the waiting had become too long. He sat in grave dignity and wore an expression of great displeasure. Beside him was Naixiang in his wooden wheelchair, his face set in the same expression it always had, exceedingly rigid and ridiculous. The events taking place seemed to have made no impression on Naixiang, and his presence there was entirely a matter of display.

A large troop of women in mourning were kneeling before the portrait of the deceased. Because they were all wearing white, they looked from a distance like a snowfield. Their black hair, streaming out from their white caps, was like leaves falling on the snow. Besides Naixiang's principal wife Suqin, the others had all been the concubines of either the old or the young master. They varied widely in age and character, but at present all of them were earnestly kneeling there, not making a noise, silently pursuing their own thoughts. The Zhen Estate's great oak had fallen, and they did not know what would follow.

Miss Yu burst into the mourning hall like a whirlwind. The grumbling conversations of the men ceased instantly. The kneeling women, startled by the abrupt silence, couldn't help turning back to see. Miss Yu had appeared ostentatiously at the door of the mourning hall, taking in the scene, looking as if she didn't care two bits for the whole affair. The hubbub had been interrupted for only a moment when a concubine clapped her hands, and then emitted a protracted dry wail. Following her lead, the other women produced a welter of moaning and keening, which rose and fell and filled the hall.

Once again, the hall was thrown into disarray. Majestically, Miss Yu approached the portrait, and, in a seemingly intentional effort to shock all present, she knelt slowly down in an exceedingly affected manner and, under everyone's eyes, made three cursory kowtows to that portrait, which depicted Old Master Zhen in such a risible manner and with such a ridiculous expression. Her movements were rushed, clean and sharp, full of youthful vigor, lively like those of a strong young filly. As she kowtowed, people noticed that she was wearing red slippers embroidered with a floral pattern. Besides this, they also noticed that inside her mourning gown, her clothing was brightly colored.

The men exchanged looks, uncertain how to react. Now they had seen for themselves that Miss Yu was in reality even more outrageous than they had been led to believe, bizarre beyond anything they had imagined. Seventh Grandfather, old and with dim eyesight, had stood tremblingly up, leaning on someone for support. He was approaching Miss Yu, intending to assert his importance as an elder and say a few words, when Miss Yu got swiftly to her feet, turned and walked off. This impertinence threw the mourning hall once more into disarray. Seventh Grandfather could not have dreamt that she would behave this way; he shook his head, knit his eyebrows, and looked even more greatly displeased. Miss Yu nonchalantly approached her brother, cast her eyes once over his expressionless face, and sat squarely down in the imperial-style armchair just vacated by Seventh Grandfather.

The men and women in the hall stared at Miss Yu in wide-eyed wonder. She too seemed to have noticed that there was some impropriety, and she glanced over at Seventh Grandfather, still leaning on someone for support, and now once again closing in on her. "So you've come too, Seventh Grandfather." said Miss Yu, making a pretense of decorum. She looked over to the side, "Quickly now, fetch a chair so that Seventh Grandfather can have a seat." She pretended to stand up, as though she intended to cede the chair to Seventh Grandfather. Her disrespect had him grimacing with anger.

With considerable difficulty, a maid brought over another imperial-style armchair. Miss Yu tartly motioned for Seventh Grandfather to sit down. "Seventh Grandfather, you're an old man. If there's something you want to say, do sit down and say it." To the maid, who was about to walk away, "Don't all stand there like little fools, bring some more chairs over, so that everyone can sit."

Seventh Grandfather hesitated a moment, and then sat down in a huff. Before long, the funeral hall featured several newly added chairs, with Miss Yu and her brother in the center. There were two separate rows, all the men taking seats according to their rank, with Seventh Grandfather at the head of one row, and with Miss Yu's sister-in-law Suqin at the head of the other. Right next to Suqin was Fourth Uncle from Zhushan, who had the look of a gentleman. He had seen something of the world, and had been standing aside the whole time, as though preparing for something, waiting for his opportunity to put a word in.

But too many men had come to attend the funeral, and those who couldn't find seats had to remain standing. Seventh Grandfather looked at the men standing foolishly there, and, mustering his dignity as an elder, he gave a desiccated cough, and, speaking in a slow, wasted voice, said "In principle, there's no reason I should have to come today. Though I may have seniority, I'm a useless old fellow, since everything is now done according to the new ways, and naturally there is no need to take the old rules into account, and since even your departed father always turned a deaf ear to my counsel. Now that your father is dead, and since your brother is neither really dead nor alive, in future—…"

Miss Yu was peering absent-mindedly about. She didn't have the slightest interest in what Seventh Grandfather had to say. What did she care about the elders of the clan or the decisions of the clan? They were only trying to get the upper hand by parading their seniority. From the way the standing men were looking at her, Miss Yu suddenly realized that she had her bright red embroidered slippers on. It was obviously unseemly to be wearing them, and she pulled her feet back in an effort to hide the slippers. This was no easy task, and she quickly realized that her attempts would only attract more general attention, and so she resolved not to try to conceal them. Let people think what they wanted; anyway, she didn't care. This was the first time in her life she had had to face so many men, and she found the situation thoroughly exciting. She watched Seventh Grandfather, and began actually to listen to what he was saying.

Seventh Grandfather, who had already spoken at considerable length, was continuing, "It will be no easy matter to manage all that your father has bequeathed to you. As the lone heiress to this property, there are many things which must absolutely—"

Seventh Grandfather was obliged to pause for a moment, since Miss Yu, having tuned in for a moment, was now once again evidently no longer listening. In her great loose mourning dress, her body was stirring, she was constantly shifting to and fro, like a restless bird, her head turning this way one moment, that way another. She noticed that the entire black mass of men was staring at her, so she stared back at them with defiance in her eyes. Her gaze was searing, and whoever she looked at buckled and averted his gaze.