25

Revenue Manager Zhao Leaves Word for His Love a Thousand Li Away

Su Xiaojuan Achieves Happiness with a Single Poem

As the poem says,

Calligraphy fairies may grace a brothel with their presence,

Lending one-night stands a touch of romance.

Many a courtesan has turned her life around;

Lotus flowers do emerge unsullied from mud.

You may wonder about the source of the term “calligraphy fairies” in the first line of the poem. Please lend your ears to this humble storyteller.

In the Tang dynasty, there lived in Chang’an a courtesan named Cao Wenji. She took a liking to literary pursuits when she was only four or five years of age. At fifteen, she was a marvel to the eyes, looking more like a fairy than a mortal being. When her family tried to teach her to play musical instruments, she said with a smile, “That’s a lowly pursuit quite beneath me. I’ll be content to grow old among ink slabs and discarded writing brushes.” She spoke as elegantly as a master of literature writes on paper and composed poems in a fresh and graceful style. Even those with the most brilliant talent held her in high regard. And her calligraphy rivaled that of Zhong Yao [of the Three Kingdoms period] and Wang Xizhi [303–361] of old and Yan Zhenqin [709–784] and Liu Gongquan [778–865] of the same dynasty. Indeed, she was a veritable reincarnation of Lady Wei [famous calligrapher of the Jin dynasty]. Those who acquired a small sheet of her calligraphy valued it as they would an outsize ritual jade disk. For a time, she was called a “calligraphy fairy” (MC: Two nice words.), and she would not give specimens of her calligraphy to just anyone.

All over Chang’an, any number of wealthy and powerful men sought her hand in marriage, offering load upon load of gold and silk (MC: Most of them overrate themselves.), but she announced, “How can I possibly marry any such man? Those who propose marriage to me must first send me their poems. (IC: A tall order!) Then I’ll make my choice.” When these words got around, not only did poets with established literary fame vie with one another, each putting his best foot forward and believing himself to be the winner; even inferior verse-mongers were caught up in the excitement. And then there were those who brazenly tried to pass themselves off as men of culture and were prone to producing a few rhymed lines that hardly qualified as poetry. Lost to all sense of shame, they presented her with their concoctions, only to make fools of themselves. And so no suitor was chosen. The rejected candidates proposed another poetry contest. To this proposal, which threw the young men of Chang’an into another fit of excitement, Wenji reacted with nothing more than a scornful smile.

Finally, a Mr. Ren of Minjiang, then a temporary resident of Chang’an, heard about the event. In delight, he said, “I’ve got myself a wife now!” (MC: The impertinence!) When asked what made him say that, he replied, “A phoenix’s rightful place is in the wutong tree. A fish’s rightful place is in a deep pond. There’s a rightful place for everyone. This is no wishful thinking.” Having said that, he wrote a poem:

The calligraphy fairy at the Jade Emperor’s court,

Not yet free of mortal desires, was banished from heaven.

Be not surprised at her sweet fragrance:

Smoke from the divine incense burner clings to her gown.

Wen Ji was immensely pleased on reading the poem. “This one is meant to be my husband!” she said. “Otherwise, how did he know where I came from? I’ll gladly marry him.” With this poem as the token of betrothal, they became man and wife. Henceforth, on spring mornings and autumn evenings, they took turns intoning poems over cups of wine, matching each other’s poems. (MC: Living the life of fairies.) Indeed, they were as close as a pair of lovebirds or two flower blossoms on the same stem, and their love for each other knew no bounds.

Five years went by in like manner. One day, at the end of the third lunar month when the ninety-day spring season was on its way out, the husband and wife set out wine and waxed poetic over the departure of spring. As they toasted each other, Wenji took up her writing implements and wrote down the following poem:

Seasons of the year mean nothing to fairies

In their breezy, sunlit towers.

With that smooth road leading back to the azure sky,

Shall we ride the five-cloud dragon together?

She showed the poem to him, but its meaning eluded him. As he was mulling it over, Wenji said smilingly, “You knew where I came from when you wrote your first poem to me, so why are you bewildered now? I was a calligraphy fairy in heaven, and because of a momentary failure to withstand temptation, I was demoted to live the life of an earthling for twenty-four years. Now that my term has expired, I’ll be on my way back to heaven. You may join me. Life in heaven is much more enjoyable than it is on earth.”

At this point, a strain of celestial music filled the air, and an exotic fragrance permeated the room. Agape with astonishment, the servants saw a vermilion-robed official coming into view. Holding a jade tablet bearing vermilion characters in the seal style, he addressed Wenji with a bow: “Li He has just completed his new poem on White Jade Tower, and the Lord on High wants you to inscribe his poem on a stone tablet.”1

After bowing in acknowledgment of the order, Wenji took Mr. Ren by his hand and rose from the ground into the air amid glittering rosy clouds and circling phoenixes and cranes. Spectators numbered in the tens of thousands, and her abode came to be called “The Calligraphy Fairy’s Lane.” This story is the source of the term “calligraphy fairy,” and it is a story that presents the best image of courtesans.

Gentle reader, you may ask, when did the profession of prostitution begin? Well, it began in the Spring and Autumn period [770–476 BCE]. Guan Zhong [d. 645 BCE], prime minister of the state of Qi, allowed seven hundred women to live in the palace and purchased military supplies with the tax revenues generated from their nocturnal services. This practice was passed on to later times and gained great popularity, but the services, in the beginning, were limited to playing drinking companion, supplying entertainment, providing outlets for feelings, and relieving boredom and loneliness. Such services are, in fact, quite indispensable, but, alas, they came to do men more harm than good. Regrettably, as they say, “Wine does not intoxicate; men themselves yield to its effect. Beauty does not captivate; men themselves are ready prey.” Pleasures of the flesh hold some men under a spell, and men under such spells easily fall prey to tricks and scams. Prostitutes, like flying willow catkins, do not have steady partners, and patrons lose their heads and live as if there is no tomorrow. They are no match for the bloodsucking and teeth-gnashing procurers whose doings flout the will of Heaven and who heartlessly think up evil schemes in the twinkling of an eye. As a consequence, there is no lack of patrons who end up financially ruined, disgraced, and even dead. (MC: How true!) The conventional wisdom is that a brothel is a bottomless trap. Most of the frivolous and dissipated young patrons lack minds of their own, and most establishments that engage in this business set traps for them.

As for the girls, they just thoughtlessly go with the current, caring nothing for their own futures. Out of a hundred girls, very few are concerned about their reputations or want to get out of the business and marry. Even if they do marry, infidelity on their part or on the men’s part eventually ruins the marriage. Be that as it may, humans are not unfeeling wood or stone, after all. Let us leave aside the procurers, whose job, by definition, is to make a profit and wheedle money out of the patrons but consider the case of the prostitutes. Born of parents, as is everyone else, they are also sentient beings. When they offer their smiles during the day and their services on the pillow at night, do they stay unruffled and unstirred and willingly help the procurers set traps for their patrons? No, that is not true. There are indeed girls who fall in love and remain faithful to their men, and girls who are determined to extricate themselves from such a life and never banish this wish from their thoughts. There has been more than one such case since antiquity. This humble storyteller now proposes to tell of a prostitute who died of lovesickness for the man of her heart and helped bring about the marriage of her beloved younger sister. This goes to show that there are prostitutes of good character, as evidenced by this poem:

The loving couple died of lovesickness,

But both made plans for their loved ones.

Few in this world have such tender feelings;

Listen as I sing of her and a man of Tianshui.2

Tianshui abounds in talented men,

One of whom claimed a soft spot in Miss Su’s heart.

His job separated them for three long years;

Though far apart, they died on the same day.

On his deathbed, he left word for his cousin,

To honor a pledge about his lover’s sister.

Together, the departed souls made the match,

Continuing their blissful bond of love.

As the story goes, in the Song dynasty, there lived in Qiantang [the present-day city of Hangzhou] the celebrated courtesan Su Pannu. She and her younger sister, Su Xiaojuan, were equally famous for their beauty as well as for their literary talent. Young men from rich families went to visit them when touring Lin’an [Hangzhou] Prefecture. Indeed, there was a never-ending stream of horse-carriages to and from their door. The two sisters had no procuress. (MC: Isn’t that wonderful?) Pannu was the head of the household, but all decisions were made by both of them. Deeming themselves to be of better-than-average moral character, they refused to flow with the current. Although they lived in the lap of luxury, they remained discontented, and each longed to find a soul mate to marry, feeling that only then would they know peace of mind. As they shared the same views, they got along perfectly with each other.

Pannu had her eye on a certain Zhao Bumin. A member of the royal clan, he was a student at the Imperial Academy. In the Song dynasty, members of the royal clan enjoyed salaried titles, but those who took the civil service examinations were required to give up such entitlements. Zhao Bumin had a cousin, Zhao Buqi, who took advantage of his entitlement and became an assistant director of a government office, but Zhao Bumin, confident of his own talent, was determined to succeed in the civil service examinations, and so he enrolled at the Imperial Academy. He possessed abundant intelligence and a dashing figure, as well as some degree of sincerity and earnestness (MC: Important qualities.), which was why Pannu was attracted to him. In his absence, she lost her appetite. Being a bookish scholar, Zhao Bumin was not much of an expert in money matters, and his means began to dwindle. Instead of turning her nose up at him because of his poverty, Pannu supplied him with enough money to buy lamp oil, wine, and food (MC: Another Qianguo Lady.),3 so that he would not terminate his studies for want of money. She often said to him, “You’re by no means a petty mediocrity, and I’m not reconciled to my life as a courtesan. I only hope you can pass the exams and get me out of this place, so that I can be with you the rest of my life, however humble that may turn out to be. So you must concentrate on your studies and not slack off or be distracted by other matters. Leave everything that has to do with clothes and food to me. I’ll make sure that you’re adequately provided for.”

Inspired by her older sister’s tender feelings for Student Zhao, Xiaojuan also wanted to find a good husband, but no good candidate had come her way. Well aware of Xiaojuan’s wish, Pannu kept her eyes and ears open for her. She said to Student Zhao, “My sister has a wonderful disposition. She’ll eventually marry and get out of this business. Should you make a name for yourself one of these days and marry me, please also find a good husband for her, for the sake of our sisterhood.” (MC: Little does she know that her own marriage will not materialize but her sister’s will, thanks to her.) Student Zhao had a tender affection for Xiaojuan as well, so he stamped these words firmly on his memory.

Student Zhao not only did not spend one penny on Pannu but was able to devote himself to his studies while receiving subsidies from her. Out of gratitude for her kindness, he labored at his studies with unflinching diligence and, sure enough, passed the civil service examinations at the national level. Pannu was beside herself with joy. Truly,

By the silvery lamp, she took off her earrings

As she murmured the name of her lover.

Henceforth, she cared not for pricey orchids and musk

But favored the scent of cassia at night.4

After the list of successful candidates was publicized, Student Zhao continued to stay with Pannu because he was not assigned a post. (MC: How delightful!) Even more tenderly attached to each other, they wanted to be married, but there was one barrier: It was very difficult for a celebrated courtesan to have her name struck from the government registry. Nine officials out of ten would not approve because they would lose a useful entertainer, and their superiors, when stopping in their town, might think the worse of them for that and make things hard for them. Therefore, replies to delisting applications often ran along these lines: “The applicant’s wish to settle down to a married life is laudable, but her departure will leave a void that will be difficult to fill. The request is therefore denied.” This was almost routine. Granting such a request would be possible only if it was done as an enormous personal favor or if the official involved happened to be willing to go out of his way to lend others a helping hand. Now, Su Pannu, with her fame as a poet-courtesan, was too good an entertainer to be let off lightly. (MC: This is the way most benighted men think.) However close she was to Student Zhao, the latter had no money or influence he could use to get her name removed from the registry. He had now passed the examinations, but Pannu remained a registered courtesan and therefore unavailable for marriage.

They were talking about what to do when a messenger arrived, bringing news that he had been appointed revenue manager of Xiangyang. However, it would be a loss of face for a newly appointed official to speak up on behalf of a courtesan. And to make matters worse, this was a courtesan whom he wanted for himself, something that would surely set gossipy tongues wagging. (MC: There has to be a good time for everything.) He thought of looking for other ways, but he was not allowed much time before he was supposed to proceed to his post, and no opportunity was likely to come their way on such short notice. In resignation, the two of them agreed that he would go to Xiangyang first and then send someone to take care of the matter on his behalf. At this point, the revenue manager and Pannu fell on each other’s shoulders and dissolved in tears. Xiaojuan, off to one side, also shed copious tears. After bidding him farewell, Pannu returned to her room, covering her teary eyes with her hand, and there we shall leave her for now.

On his way to Xiangyang to assume his post, the revenue manager found every chirp from the birds and every fallen flower a painful reminder of Pannu. He meant to send a capable subordinate to the capital to redeem Pannu as soon as he arrived at his duty station. As it turned out, however, he became so swamped with work that he was unable to find a capable confidant for the job in the time that flashed by. He did write a couple of letters and dispatch a messenger or two, but little was accomplished. He also wrote to his friends in the capital, asking them to help have Pannu’s name removed from the list of courtesans and then make arrangements for her journey to his duty station. However, given the inconvenience of doing this by correspondence across such a great distance and the fact that the beneficiary of the favor was merely a courtesan, no one went out of his way to do this in good faith. The most his friends accomplished was writing some kind of letter that was transmitted from one office to another, each taking more than half a year to reach the revenue manager. Every time he received such a letter, he could do no more than shed bitter tears, because it was not something that would get him anywhere.

Three years went by in like manner. His wish unfulfilled, the revenue manager fell prey to lovesickness. As the ancients put it so well, “Afflictions of the mind can be cured only by the mind.” How could medicine work while Pannu remained so far away? Gradually, he became ill and bedridden.

One day, the gatekeeper announced, “A man who claims to be an Assistant Director Zhao and a cousin of yours is outside, wishing to see you, sir.”

The revenue manager hastened to cry out, “Ask him in!” After greeting the visitor, he said, “Brother, if you’d come earlier, I wouldn’t have ended up in such a state.”

“But why are you so gravely ill, my brother? What could I have done if I’d come earlier?”

“When I was in the capital, I was great friends with a registered courtesan named Su Pannu. It was thanks to her financial support that I was able to concentrate on my studies, make a name for myself, and get as far as I have. But in my haste, I wasn’t able to help her remove her name from the registry for courtesans, so she didn’t come here with me. Our agreement was for me to send someone to the capital right after I arrived at my duty station. As it turned out, everyone I sent has proved to be incompetent. I had such high hopes, but each reply that I’ve received from the messengers was evasive. For three years now, I’ve been on fire, while the prospects for success have been as cold as ice. This is driving me insane! My brother, if you’d come earlier and undertaken this job for me, Pannu would be here, and I wouldn’t be on the brink of death. But it’s too late now.” (MC: Poor thing!) With that, he burst into a flood of tears.

The assistant director said, “Don’t worry, my brother. Your health is worth a thousand pieces of gold. You need to build it up again. You’ll surely recover. Such a trifle is not worth dying for.”

“My brother, you’re a man of fine sensibilities. How can you say the kind of meaningless words that are on the lips of everyone else? Matters of the heart are highly personal. Lives could be at stake. How can you dismiss them as trifles?” In his agitation, he fainted again.

A couple of days later, he thought he saw Pannu appearing before him, and his condition took a turn for the worse. Knowing that he stood no chance of recovery, he called his cousin to his bed and gave him these words of instruction: “The feelings that Pannu and I have for each other are quite out of the ordinary. We’re bound in life and in death. I’m now dying for her, and I won’t forget her after my death. Please take what I’ve saved from my salary over the past three years, divide it into two equal portions, keep one half for yourself, and send the other half to Pannu for me. (MC: Good thing the cousin is a man of fine sensibilities. Otherwise, who is to say he wouldn’t appropriate the other half ?) She’ll surely observe widowhood for me after she learns of my death, but she has a younger sister, Xiaojuan, who’s a beauty and a good poet. Pannu once asked me to find a husband for her. Now you, with your dashing looks and your poetic talent, are a good candidate for Xiaojuan. When you arrive in the capital, give my message to them. They’ll surely agree. It will be a perfect match. Don’t miss out on the chance, if only partly to fulfill my wish and partly to continue my bond with her sister. (MC: This is where his sincerity and earnestness come in.) Remember this dying wish of mine!” As the assistant director tearfully acknowledged the order, the revenue manager breathed his last.

After the funeral was over, the assistant director made preparations for escorting the coffin back to Lin’an for burial. He packed and set out in the direction of Qiantang. More of him later.

Let us now turn to Su Pannu. After Revenue Manager Zhao’s departure, she did not take so much as one step out of her house. Turning away all visitors, she single-mindedly waited for word from Xiangyang. To her disappointment, although she did receive a couple of letters, very little was accomplished. Being but a woman, she could get nothing done, however frantic she became. She spent her days in dejection, waiting in vain for good news.

One day, a merchant from Yuqian [in the vicinity of Hangzhou] came to Qiantang with several trunks of silk procured by the government. Having heard of Pannu’s fame, he insisted on seeing her. She declined his annoying repeated requests, pleading illness, and later she did indeed fall gravely ill. Believing that she was feigning illness to fob him off, the merchant grew resentful. Xiaojuan received him a few times but, finding him a benighted boor, looked askance at him. (MC: That’s what makes Xiaojuan who she is.) Several times, he brazenly demanded to stay the night at her place, but Xiaojuan declined, saying, “With my sister so gravely ill, I need to keep her company and give her medicine. I can’t let any patron spend the night here.” Failing to latch onto Xiaojuan, the merchant spent his nights at other brothels.

Later, when her lovesickness was at its worst, Pannu fell into a prolonged trance. One day, she suddenly said to Xiaojuan, “Sister, take good care of yourself. I’m going to join Mr. Zhao.”

Thinking that she meant she was about to venture outside, Xiaojuan said, “You’re in no condition to undertake such a long journey. Aren’t you talking nonsense?”

“No, this is no nonsense. I’ll be seeing him soon enough.” As she said this, her voice began to trail off. After calling out Zhao’s name time and again, she ceased to be.

Xiaojuan burst into a flood of tears. She bought a coffin, had her sister’s body placed inside it, and erected a memorial tablet in her honor. As she was thinking of sending a message to the Zhaos by way of someone who happened to be going in the direction of Xiangyang, two yamen runners swaggered into the house and told her that she and her sister were wanted at the yamen because they were implicated in a case involving some kind of government procurement of silk. (MC: Misfortunes never come singly.) Knowing nothing about the case, Xiaojuan said to the runners, “My older sister has just passed away. Her coffin and her memorial tablet are right here. But I’ll follow you to the yamen.”

As was only to be expected in such situations, Xiaojuan offered the two runners wine, food, and money. After telling her maid to look after the house, she locked the door and went to the yamen with the runners. Only upon arrival at the yamen did she learn that the patron from Yuqian had been brought to court on charges, leveled by an accomplice, of paying prostitutes with silk that was government property, and, nursing a grudge against the two sisters, the merchant of Yuqian had dragged them into the case. (MC: How abominable! This is the greatest fear of courtesans.), Xiaojuan felt grievously wronged and looked forward to arguing her case in court, but when she was brought into the yamen, the assistant prefect happened to be away at a business dinner and had no time to take up the case. Knowing it to be a case involving money, the assistant prefect had left orders that Xiaojuan be put in jail for the time being. Poor thing!

A beauty among beauties,

She now found herself in jail.

A green dragon and a white tiger

Bring either joy or woe when together.5

Let us leave Xiaojuan in her misery in jail for now and turn our attention to Assistant Director Zhao, who arrived in Qiantang with his brother’s coffin and made arrangements for the funeral. Carrying his brother’s last will with him, he went on a search for the Su residence, but then he thought, “I don’t know either of the two sisters. If I go to see them out of the blue, how will I be able to find out their real thoughts? My brother died for Pannu’s sake, but who knows what she thinks and what she’s been doing these days? (IC: Good questions.) I can’t very well break the news to her so abruptly.” Then an idea struck him: “The assistant prefect here is a member of my clan. Why don’t I ask him to summon the two sisters and question them in court? All the facts will be known then.”

So he headed straight for the Lin’an prefectural yamen and saw the assistant prefect. After an exchange of amenities, he told the assistant prefect about his cousin Zhao Bumin’s passing and Bumin’s dying wish regarding Pannu and Xiaojuan and asked the assistant prefect to summon the two sisters to court.

“Those two are indeed courtesans of good character,” said the assistant prefect. “I’ll have them brought here. You can talk directly to them and get all the facts you need.” Right away, he gave an order slip to a yamen runner and told him to bring the sisters to court. The runner acknowledged the order and went off.

Before long, he returned to say, “I just came from the Su residence. Su Pannu died about a month ago, and Su Xiaojuan is in the prefectural jail.”

The assistant director and the assistant prefect were both astounded. “Why is she in jail?” they asked.

“According to her servants, a merchant from Yuqian falsely accused her of taking government silk.”

The assistant prefect said with a nod, “Yes, I’m the one handling that case.”

“For the sake of my deceased cousin,” said the assistant director, “please take good care of her.” (MC: Now he’s talking!)

“Please join me in my court. After we question her and get all the facts, I’ll decide what to do.”

“My deceased cousin wrote a letter to Pannu, but she’s gone. My cousin also told me to take care of Xiaojuan and to take her for my wife. But I’ve never even seen her, and I have no idea how she’ll react. So let me write a letter to her, to appeal to her, by way of making a marriage proposal. Please do me a favor and deliver it to her, please.”

The assistant prefect said with a smile, “Of course. In the future, don’t forget the service I rendered as the matchmaker.”

With an outburst of merriment, they went into the courtroom, where the assistant director was offered a seat.

After the court session was declared open, the assistant prefect had Xiaojuan brought from the jail to the courtroom and began his interrogation by saying, “The merchant of Yuqian owes the government a hundred bolts of silk. According to his confession, he gave the silk to you and your sister as payment. How are you going to pay back the money?”

“When my sister Pannu was still alive, there was indeed a patron from Yuqian. He came twice, but I turned him away because Pannu was ill. We never received any silk from him. It’s because my sister has passed away and the dead cannot bear witness that he thinks he can make false charges without consequences. If Your Honor could be lenient in your ruling, not only will I be ever so grateful, but Pannu in the netherworld will also feel much beholden to you.”

Impressed by her graceful speech, the assistant prefect began to take a liking to her. “Do you know Revenue Manager Zhao of Xiangyang?” he asked.

“Yes. Before he passed the exams, he was close to my sister Pannu and was betrothed to her. That’s how I came to know him. After he passed the exams and went away to assume his government post, he did send many a letter, but the marriage pledge remained unfulfilled. Pannu fell ill with lovesickness and died more than a month ago.”

“How sad!” said the assistant prefect. “You may not know this, but Revenue Manager Zhao has also passed away.”

As the news triggered memories of her sister, Xiaojuan said, involuntarily shedding bitter tears, “May I venture to ask how you received this news?”

The assistant prefect replied, “The revenue manager still had Pannu in mind when he was on his deathbed, and he entrusted someone with a letter and some gifts for her. In addition, his cousin Assistant Director Zhao also has a letter addressed to you. You may open it and read it for yourself.”

“I don’t know any assistant director. Why would he have a letter for me?”

“Just open it and you’ll know soon enough.”

Xiaojuan took the letter, tore it open, and read it aloud right there in the courtroom. It turned out to contain nothing but a quatrain, which read:

Of unsurpassed fame in the Eastern Wu region,

She of days of yore favored books over gold. (MC: One can well imagine the stuff of which she is made.)

Let me ask you, Su Xiaoxiao of Qiantang,6

How do you compare with Su Pannu in grace and style?

After reading the poem, Su Xiaojuan thought, “This poem is clearly an expression of his admiration for me. With his help, this court case may be easily disposed of. But I wonder what kind of person this assistant director is. His poem is graceful enough, and being Revenue Manager Zhao’s cousin, he’s most likely also handsome and romantically inclined.”

As she was lost in thought, the assistant prefect spoke up. “Why don’t you write a poem in reply, using the same rhyme scheme?” (MC: The assistant prefect is also a man of taste.)

“But I’m no poet and never have been.”

“What kind of talk is this? The Su sisters are renowned poets. Why deny it? If you don’t come up with a poem in reply, I’ll make you pay for the missing silk.”

Modestly, Xiaojuan said, “Then I have no choice but to make a fool of myself. May I have a writing brush and a piece of paper, please?”

Thereupon, the assistant prefect ordered that the four treasures of the scholar’s study be brought to her.7 Xiaojuan thought, “What better chance than this to ask for his help with the matter of the silk?” She picked up the writing brush and wrote her poem without pausing once for reflection. With both hands, she presented it to the assistant director, who then read it aloud:

You live in Xiangjiang and I in the Wu region;

Though aloof, you write lines that stir the soul.

If you had paid us a visit then,

Would you have brought Yuqian silk for our plight?

The assistant prefect commented, “It’s graceful with a touch of humor and slyness. How could such a woman stay mired in the pleasure quarters?”

Forthwith, he handed her everything that the revenue manager had left her sister and approved her request to have her name removed from the courtesans’ registry. The merchant of Yuqian was ordered to pay back the silk (MC: Wonderful!), whereas Xiaojuan was acquitted and released. Having successfully argued her innocence in the case of the silk, received a few gift items, and had her name removed from the courtesans’ registry, Xiaojuan was overwhelmed with gratitude, and she marveled that what her sister had sought so hard, but in vain, had happened to her so easily. Tearfully, she bowed her thanks and took herself off.

On returning to his living quarters in the yamen, the assistant prefect gave Assistant Director Zhao a full account of what had occurred and repeated the reply poem to him, adding, “Such a woman is a rare find. Accommodating your wishes, I not only exempted her from payment for the silk but also struck her name off the courtesans’ registry.”

Immensely delighted, the assistant director thanked him profusely, took respectful leave of him, and went to Xiaojuan’s residence.

Xiaojuan had returned home only a little earlier. Overcome with emotion at the sight of her sister’s memorial tablet, she laid out on the shrine everything the revenue manager had sent and examined each item one by one. After shedding many a tear, she put them away. Hearing knocks on the gate at this point, she told her maid to ask who it was before opening the gate. (IC: Lest it be another merchant or man of that ilk.)

“Who is it?” asked the maid.

“Assistant Director Zhao, the one who sent the mistress a letter.”

At the words “Assistant Director Zhao,” Xiaojuan ran out at double speed and had the maid promptly throw open the gate to greet the visitor. Once inside, the assistant director looked at Xiaojuan and saw

Cheeks that were like lotus flowers

And eyebrows that were shaped like willow leaves.

If she were to ride a cloud in a dream,

King Xiang of Chu would have thought her a goddess.8

Her charm added to her dazzling beauty;

Her frown enhanced her tenderness.

Even the blasé would feel overwhelmed,

Let alone this dashing and handsome youth!

Xiaojuan’s beauty dazzled the assistant director and set his heart racing. He said to himself, “So it was no overstatement when my brother said he had found a beautiful companion for me.” After Xiaojuan ushered him into the reception hall and exchanged greetings with him, he said pleasantly, “Your reply poem is nice.”

“If it hadn’t been for your intervention, how would I have been exonerated in the case and, making the most of the opportunity, gotten my name removed from the registry? I’ll never be able to repay you, even with my life, for a kindness of such magnitude.”

“It was your own poem that moved the assistant prefect to such leniency. Plus my cousin’s wishes also played a role. It wasn’t just me.”

Tearfully, Xiaojuan said, “It’s too bad that my sister and a good man like your cousin, so deeply in love with each other, left us for another world.”

“When did your sister pass away?”

“On the _th day of last month.”

In surprise, the assistant director said, “The very same day my cousin died! Clearly, the lovers were loath to part with each other and went to heaven on the same day. How remarkable!”

“No wonder my sister kept saying on her deathbed that she’d be seeing your brother soon. They must be together now.” (MC: Lovers in life and in death.)

“My cousin did repeatedly send messengers to the capital. Why couldn’t she be delisted? Then they wouldn’t have ended up in another world.”

“Before your cousin passed the exams, he and my sister were already as loving as husband and wife, and their days went by so quickly that they never gave that matter a thought. After he passed the exams, there just wasn’t enough time. Even though he did send messengers here time and again, the officials in charge refused to let my sister go because she was too well known. The messengers gave up all too easily once they ran into difficulties. They couldn’t have cared less whether people lived or died. And so they needlessly took two lives. (MC: Those men must have been their nemeses in a previous incarnation.) Little did I expect to be delisted so easily today, thanks to your help! If your cousin were still alive and you had arrived here a year or half a year earlier, my sister would also have been delisted.”

“My cousin said the same thing. Regrettably, it was already too late when I went to his duty station after completing my travels as a minor official, so there was no time to take care of this business. But such was their fate. There’s no need to bring it up again. My cousin said the other day that your sister had asked him to find a match for you. Is that true?”

“Like my sister, I’m determined to quit and not ‘take on the new and dismiss the old,’ as they say in the profession. So it’s true that my sister asked your cousin for that favor.”

“My cousin told me about this on his deathbed. He spoke of your many good qualities in glowing terms and urged me to meet you and your sister so as to bring off the match. That’s why I undertook the long journey to come here to make inquiries. As it turned out, your sister had died and you were being falsely charged. Luckily, you were acquitted and delisted, which would have made my cousin and your sister very happy. But with regard to what my cousin said about your marriage prospects, I wonder if yours truly is good enough? I put myself at your disposal.” (MC: The temerity—serving as his own matchmaker like that! But at least he is not asking for a reward that he does not deserve.)

“You’re a member of the upper class and my benefactor. I’m afraid that with my humble status, I shouldn’t aspire to claim connections with you. But thanks to the bond between your cousin and my sister, we’ll be able to add another bond to the existing one. I’m aware of the sentiments expressed in your fine poem. Since you don’t scorn my lowliness, I find myself in no position to say no.”

Pleased at the way their conversation was going, the assistant director had all his baggage carried to Xiaojuan’s residence, and he stayed the night with her. Assistant Director Zhao being the romantic sort, both quickly warmed up to each other, one remembering his cousin, the other her sister. Their only regret was that they had not met each other earlier. Since Xiaojuan was no longer a courtesan, she was free to marry, and her heart was set on the dashing assistant director. However, her sister’s coffin was not yet interred, and she told him this was weighing on her mind. He said, “Having escorted my cousin’s coffin here, I also need to take care of his burial. Let’s pick a day on which to bury your sister’s coffin next to my brother’s in my family’s graveyard (MC: The revenue manager appointed the right person for the job.) so as to fulfill their wishes. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Yes, that will give pleasure to the two departed souls.”

So the assistant director chose a day for the burial, and, as planned, after the burial, he had the assistant prefect officiate at the wedding and took Xiaojuan to his home as his wife.

That night, Xiaojuan dreamed she saw the revenue manager and Pannu seated together, as usual. They said to Xiaojuan, “Now that you have a husband to take care of you for the rest of your life, the two of us can rest easy in death. We’re also deeply grateful to you and your husband for burying us next to each other in the same grave. From the netherworld, we’ll bless and protect you and your offspring, to repay you for your kindness.” At this point, Xiaojuan woke with a start and told the assistant director about her dream.

The next day, the couple prepared sacrificial offerings and went to pay their respects at the graves. Out of gratitude to the departed for the deathbed instructions that had brought them together, the newlyweds gave way to their emotions and had a good cry before they returned home. Thereafter, the assistant director and Xiaojuan spent their time enjoying the flowers and the moon. With one writing poems and the other coming up with poems in reply, they became prolific published poets. Later, they had two sons who both inherited their parents’ poetic talent. Xiaojuan and the assistant director lived together to a ripe old age.

Gentle reader, mark this: We need hardly belabor the point that it was out of love that Su Pannu helped Revenue Manager Zhao make a name for himself and that she died for his sake. In addition, out of her concern for her sister’s marriage prospects, she made it possible for her sister to be released from a courtesan’s life with the help of the right person and also brought about her marriage. As for Xiaojuan, out of gratitude to Assistant Director Zhao for having rescued her, she remained faithful to him to the end. Weren’t both sisters courtesans of good character? Men of our day who are no judges of character and have no mind of their own burst into the first brothel they see and fall into the traps set by the prostitutes they are enamored of. Do not unjustly accuse the good who stand apart from the usual evil lot who are no better than snakes and scorpions. There is a collection of stories titled Lotus Blossoms out of Filthy Mud.9 Each story is devoted to a prostitute with a good heart. To those who are interested, please read them. There is a poem in testimony:

All warm bodies harbor tender feelings.

Why should prostitutes be any different?

Those of staunch fidelity in life and in death

Put to shame all who lack good faith in making friends.