16

Zhang Liu’er Lays One of His Many Traps

Lu Huiniang Severs a Bond of Marriage

As the poem says,

Even the cleverest plots may not work;

Evil schemers are in fact a sorry lot.

They try to lift the moon out of the water

But in the end ruin themselves and their families.

Our story is about the most detestable of all criminals—swindlers. People do put themselves on guard against robbers and thieves when warned, but generally speaking, they do not suspect fellow travelers of harboring evil intentions. The swindlers play tricks so clever and elaborate that even the gods fail to see through them, and the victims throw themselves trustingly into their embrace. By the time the deed has been done and the victims see the truth, it is too late to hunt down the criminals. Aren’t those confidence men the worst thieves and undercover robbers?

The story goes that in the sixteenth year of the Wanli reign period [1573–1620] of this dynasty [Ming], there lived a Mr. Hu outside the north gate of Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang. His wife having recently died, he, now in his late fifties, lived with his two sons and their wives. Both daughters-in-law had some claim to attractiveness (MC: The source of trouble.), and they treated their father-in-law with reverence.

One day, all three men went out, leaving the women at home. They closed the front door and began doing their household chores inside. With a heavy rain pouring down, the streets were bare of pedestrians. Around noontime, they heard the feeble but heartbroken sobs of a woman from outside, and the sobs went on nonstop until, at sundown, the two daughters-in-law could not restrain themselves any longer and went out the door to investigate. Truly,

As they sat peacefully at home behind closed doors,

Disaster struck right down from heaven.

If this storyteller had been born at the same time they were and had grown up with them, shoulder to shoulder, I would have seized them, blocked their way, and told them that whatever was happening, however important, was no concern of theirs. If the truth be told, women, in most circumstances, should not involve themselves in what does not concern them, and they must exercise caution in everything they do. (MC: Good advice for women.) It is better if the husbands are at home. If not, they should remain in the depths of their boudoirs, and nothing untoward would happen to them. But if they unthinkingly get involved in some dispute, they will surely land themselves in trouble. The two daughters-in-law should not have opened the door and gone out that day, but they did.

On seeing a pleasant-looking middle-aged woman, they asked, feeling safe, “Where are you from, madam? What makes you so sad? You can tell us about it!”

Shielding her teary eyes, the woman said, “Young ladies, I live in a village just outside the city. I’m a widow. I live with my son and daughter-in-law. My daughter-in-law suffers from ill health, and my son is quite unfilial. He yells at me and doesn’t take good care of me. My meals are few and far between. With resentment, my brother and I agreed to go to the county yamen today and accuse him of the crime of filial impiety. My brother told me to go first, saying he’d catch up with me soon, but I’ve been waiting for him a whole day, and he still hasn’t shown up. If I go home in such a heavy rain, I’ll only be ridiculed by my son and daughter-in-law. I’m really in a fix, which is why I’ve been crying over my bitter fate. I had no idea that I’d caught your attention. Since you were so good as to ask me solicitous questions, I thought I shouldn’t hide my family scandals from you.”

Touched by her tale of woe and the circumspect way she chose her words, the two daughters-in-law said, “In that case, please come in and sit down while you wait for him.” (MC: They fall into her trap after all.) As they led the woman in, they continued, “Just sit back and relax, madam. You can go home after the rain stops. Your son is your flesh and blood after all. Even if he acted inappropriately in the rush of the moment, it’s better to talk to him nicely. To take him to court would only sour the peace at home and make you lose face.”

The woman said, “Thank you so much for your advice. All right, I’ll bear with them longer.”

While they were thus engaged in conversation, evening had long ago set in. The woman remarked, “It’s so dark now, but he still hasn’t shown up. I can’t very well go home by myself. What’s to be done?”

Her hostesses replied, “Why don’t you stay here for the night? We have nothing fancy in the way of food and tea, and a couple of extra portions don’t cost us much!”

“But I shouldn’t be inconveniencing you like this.” So saying, the woman rolled up her sleeves and went straight to the kitchen to start a fire. Then she had her hostesses measure out some rice, cooked it, wiped the table and chairs clean, and fetched water, taking on almost all the chores that needed to be done around the house.

The two young women protested, “We should be waiting on you! How can we allow you to tire yourself out like this!”

“I’m used to doing these things at my own home. I feel good when I keep myself busy, and I get drowsy when there’s nothing to do. If you have jobs to do, just give them to me!”

That night, after they had all washed their hands and feet, the woman helped her hostesses to bed before she herself retired for the night. The next morning, she was the first to rise. She boiled water, made porridge with the leftovers from yesterday’s supper, and wiped the chairs and table again—all this she did effortlessly with practiced hands. After the two young women rose, they found that everything they were prepared to do had already been done for them. (MC: The woman takes every precaution.) Without having to exert the slightest effort, they grew so complacent that they took each other’s counsel and said, “That lady is so friendly and so hardworking. Since she’s unhappy at home and we need help around the house, why don’t we talk Father into marrying her? He does often say that he’s ready to remarry. Wouldn’t that be nice on both counts? (MC: Getting meddlesome.) But we can’t very well bring the matter up with her. Let’s keep her here and wait until Father comes home before deciding what to do next.”

A few days later, the three men returned home. When they asked the two women of the house to explain the presence of a stranger, the women told them everything they knew about the visitor and her problems at home, adding, “She’s very amiable and hardworking. Having lost her husband and with her son so nasty to her, she has nowhere to go. How sad!” Then they told their respective husbands about the agreement the two of them had reached and asked them to inform their father about it.

When the two sons did approach their father with the proposal, the latter said, “We know nothing about her background. How can we rush into such things? But she can stay longer. We’ll see.” Even though he thought it improper to agree then and there, he was in fact quite pleased with her looks. After a couple of days, the old man, who lacked good sense, began to surreptitiously make passes at the woman. (MC: Maybe it’s the other way around.)

Observing this development, the daughters-in-law said to their husbands, “Father does often say that he intends to remarry. Why doesn’t he take this lady as his wife? That way, we’ll be spared the trouble and expense of looking elsewhere for a bride.”

Their husbands said, “You do have a point.” Thereupon, they went to speak to their father. The daughters-in-law had already talked the woman into the idea. Both parties readily agreed. A family feast was laid out, and after a few cups of wine had been downed with good cheer, Mr. Hu and the woman became man and wife.

A couple of days later, two men came to the door to make inquiries, one claiming to be the woman’s brother, the other her son. Both said that they had been looking for her for quite a few days until they learned she was in this place. Having heard them, the woman went out. The son prostrated himself on the ground and asked for forgiveness, and the brother also apologized for him, but the woman was not mollified. As she railed against them nonstop, old Mr. Hu acted the peacemaker, offering many kindly words. As the brother and the son asked her to return home, the woman said harshly to her son, “Even every mouthful of plain water I take here is a joy to me. Why would I want to go back and put myself into your murderous hands again? Look at my daughters-in-law! They’re so dutiful to me!”

On hearing this, the son knew that his mother had married the old man. Mr. Hu Senior set out wine in honor of the brother and the son. With a bow to Mr. Hu, the son said, “You’re my stepfather now. I’m so glad that my mother will be taken good care of for the rest of her life. This is indeed a stroke of great fortune for her!” After their departure, they returned for several visits within two or three months’ time.

One day, the son came again and said, “Tomorrow is my son’s betrothal day. I’m here to invite Father, Mother, and my brothers and sisters-in-law to the betrothal feast.”

The woman replied, “How can two young ladies go to our home when the occasion isn’t grand enough? I’ll just go with Father and your two brothers.”

The next day, the woman and Mr. Hu and his two sons went and spent the whole day at the betrothal feast, after which they returned home happy and roaring drunk.

More than a month after that, the grandson came and said, “Tomorrow is my wedding day. I’m here to invite your entire family to go and join the ceremony.” Then he emphasized, “My two aunts must go, to add to the splendor of the occasion.”

Both daughters-in-law were only too eager to visit their stepmother-in-law’s home (MC: Being nosy.) and regretted that they had not been able to go to the last feast. Radiant with smiles, they accepted the invitation.

The next day, they went to the party arrayed in their best, together with their father-in-law, mother-in-law, and their husbands. The groom’s mother-in-law, a sallow and sickly-looking woman, came out to greet them. In the early afternoon, the son—the groom’s father—asked his mother and his wife to go to the bride’s home to bring the bride over. He also asked Mr. Hu’s two daughters-in-law to join them, saying, “According to our local custom, all female relatives are supposed to go. Otherwise, we’ll be accused of not treating the bride with enough respect.”

Mr. Hu’s wife said to her son, “I know your wife is ill, but now that she’s a mother-in-law, she needs only to go by herself. Why drag your two sisters-in-law along?” (MC: Being deliberately earnest so as not to arouse suspicions.)

The son replied, “My wife’s sickly appearance may not be a credit to us in terms of proper etiquette. I’m afraid our newly acquired in-laws may look down on us. Since my two sisters-in-law are already here, why begrudge the little time that will be spent on the road? If they go, they’ll make us look much better.”

“You do have a point,” said his mother.

In their eagerness to join the fun, old Mr. Hu’s two daughters-in-law left with their mother-in-law and the groom’s mother. The four of them boarded a boat and were gone.

More than two hours elapsed but the women did not return. The groom’s father said, “How very strange! Let me go and see what’s happening.”

Some time after he had gone, his son, in bridegroom’s attire, said to Mr. Hu and his two sons, “Please stay here and relax. Let me go, too, and find out what’s happening.” With that, he sauntered out of the house. (MC: Doing a “golden cicada shedding its skin” trick and leaving no trace. Real masters.)

Mr. Hu and his two sons were the only ones left sitting by the lamp in the hall. They waited and waited, but no one returned. Hungry and apprehensive, the two sons went into the kitchen and saw that it was bare, with no fire going, no meal being prepared, and nothing to suggest that it was a household ready for a wedding ceremony. They went back into the hall, told their father about it, and picked up a lantern to take a look at the inner rooms. By the light of the lantern, they saw that all the rooms were empty, with no trunks, clothes, or bedding but only a few chairs and tables. Appalled, they said, “How can this be?” They wanted to ask the neighbors, but the night was far advanced by now and all the doors were bolted.

The three men shot in and out of the house with the frenzy of ants on hot ground. (MC: Now they are worried.) It was not until daybreak that they found a neighbor. When they asked him where those people had gone, the neighbor professed to know nothing. They asked again, “Does that house belong to that family?”

The neighbor replied, “The house belongs to Mr. Yang, who lives in the city. That family rented the house about five or six months ago, but no one knows what they do for a living. Aren’t you relatives of theirs? You’ve visited with them many times. Why is it you don’t know anything but have to turn to us for information?”

Mr. Hu and his sons asked several more neighbors and got the same answer. A couple of them who knew more about the ways of the world said, “They must be a gang of big swindlers. You fell into their trap and lost your women to them.”

The father and sons rushed back helter-skelter, like stray dogs without a home. Then they set out separately to search for the women, but to no avail. Left with no alternative, they filed a complaint at the yamen, which then put up “wanted” posters all over the region, but there was little hope that the case could ever be solved. Old Mr. Hu had thought that he was gaining a wife on the cheap, little knowing that he was to lose two daughters-in-law as a consequence. This is a case of a petty gain leading to a major loss. The moral of the story is that one must never covet small advantages and do things that are less than honorable. Truly,

Believe not in what appears to be straightforward;

Be on guard against those who seem to be kind.

To covet the moon in the sky

Is to lose your treasure on earth.

So much for the above story. Let us now turn to another story, one about a confidence man who spent his whole life in this line of work but was outsmarted in the end. In Tongxiang County, Jiaxing Prefecture, Zhejiang, there lived a scholar named Shen Canruo who, at twenty years of age, was known throughout Jiaxing for his literary talent. Of tall stature and vigorous build, he was also broad-minded and had an expansive nature. His wife, Wang-shi, was a ravishing beauty, forming a perfect match with him. Their family fortunes were quite ample, and Wang-shi, to her credit, kept good watch over their assets. Well aware of their distinguished status as a beauty married to a talented scholar, they were as happy in their union as fish in water and as inseparable as lacquer and glue. However, Wang-shi was of delicate health and was never free of ailments. As for Canruo, he had been enrolled in a government school at age twelve and had become a stipend student at age fifteen. With his sharp intelligence, he brimmed with youthful arrogance, believing that first honors on the civil service examinations would be his for the taking. He spent much of his time with close friends, enjoying poetry and wine or feasting their eyes on mountains and waters, quite unrestrained by conventional codes of behavior. As the ancients put it, “The intelligent and the talented are drawn to one another.” Among his circle of friends, the four closest to him were scholars Huang Pingzhi from Jiashan County, He Cheng from Xiushui County, Yue Erjia from Haiyan County, and Fang Chang from the same county as he was. All five of them found great delight in one another’s company. They were all from the same prefecture, and Mr. Shen also associated with numerous talented scholars from other prefectures and regions.

Mr. Ji Qing, magistrate of the local county and a native of Jiangyin County, Changzhou, had great respect and affection for scholars. Confident that Shen Canruo would win honors at the imperial civil-service examinations, he formed a teacher-student relationship with the young man and enjoyed his company.

When the provincial-level examinations drew near in the year of which we speak, Canruo returned home from his school to pack for his journey to Hangzhou to sit for the examinations. As he said good-bye to Wang-shi, who was ill, she said tearfully while putting things together for him, “You have a bright future ahead of you. Please come back as soon as you can. I wonder if I have the good fortune to share your wealth and honor.”

“What kind of talk is this, wife? You’re ill. You need to take good care of yourself while I’m away.” So saying, he also involuntarily shed tears. Hand in hand, they bade each other farewell. Wang-shi saw him out through the gate and waited until he had disappeared from view before she went back into the house, wiping away her tears.

Canruo was in low spirits as he went along. A few days later, he arrived in Hangzhou and found lodging at an inn. All three sessions of the exams went by quickly, and he felt triumphant.

One evening, after a daylong excursion to a lake with his many friends, he went to bed quite drunk. At midnight, he suddenly heard knocks on his door. He threw some clothes on and got out of bed. Seeing a Daoist-looking man wearing a tall hat and a robe with wide sleeves, he asked, “Sir, what instructions do you have for me, coming here so late at night?”

The man replied, “This humble priest is quite able to tell a man’s fortune from his energy field. It just so happens that I came from the southeast and find myself without a place to stay at this time of night. I’m sorry to have disturbed you with my knocks at your door.”

“Since you’re looking for a place to stay for the night, sir, you’re welcome to share my bed. The results of the exams will be announced soon. With your fortune-telling skills, could you use my natal chart and tell me about my chances on the exams?”

“I need no natal charts. A look at your energy field will suffice. With your imposing looks, you’ll have no lack of fame and fortune, but only after your wife passes away. I offer you two lines that sum up your fortune. Remember them:

Success on the exams coincides with a death;

The phoenix gives way to a pair of mandarin ducks.

Canruo was about to ask for further clarification of the Daoist’s meaning when a cat outside pounced on a mouse with a loud noise. He gave a start and realized that it had been a dream. He said to himself, “What a strange dream that was! All too clearly, that priest was saying that only after my wife dies will I gain fame and fortune. But I’d rather remain a student holding no official position the rest of my life. I don’t want to gain fame and fortune only to lose my beloved wife.” The two lines stood out so clearly in his memory that he kept tossing and turning and slept only in fits and starts. He said to himself again, “Why should I believe what I heard in a dream? Tomorrow, if I don’t see my name on the list of successful candidates, I’ll go home immediately.”

In the midst of these thoughts, he heard a commotion outside, with loud cries and the beating of gongs. It was a procession to announce that Canruo had won third place on the examinations. In response to solicitations for tips, Canruo made out notes of redemption for silver. After the procession dispersed, he hastily combed his hair and washed, and went to call on the chief examiner and fellow candidates in a sedan-chair. The chief examiner was none other than Ji Qing, the magistrate of his home county. And the one who had placed first on the examinations was He Cheng, a close friend of Canruo’s. A few of his other friends—Huang Pingzhi, Yue Erjia, and Fang Chang—had also passed the examinations with flying colors. Everyone rejoiced.

Dusk had deepened into evening by the time Canruo finished what he was duty bound to do. As he drew near his inn, the innkeeper rushed up to his sedan-chair and said in alarm, “Mr. Shen! Someone from your family is here to deliver an emergency letter. He’s been waiting for you for quite some time now.”

On hearing that there was an emergency letter from his family, Canruo felt his heart take a sudden leap. As the lines he had heard in his dream came flashing back to him, his heart began to pound violently, as if there were fifteen clanging buckets going up and down in the same well. Verily,

A green dragon and a white tiger

Bring either joy or woe when together.1

Upon arrival at the inn, he got off the sedan-chair and saw Shen Wen, a family servant, clad all in white. He asked, “How is Mistress? (IC: Important.) Who sent you here?”

Shen Wen replied, “It’s not for me to answer your first question. It was Butler Li who told me to deliver this letter. Please read it, and you’ll know everything.”

Canruo took the letter and found that the envelope was sealed with the flap inside, in the manner of envelopes containing obituaries. Feeling as if he were being stabbed through the heart, he tore the envelope open and learned that his wife had passed away on the twenty-sixth of that month. Canruo was petrified. It was as if

The eight pieces of his skull opened up

And half a bucket of wet snow poured in.

For a good long while he made no sound, and all of a sudden he collapsed onto the ground. Those around him revived him and raised him to his feet. A lump rising in his throat, he broke down in wails of grief, calling his wife’s name over and over again. There was not a dry eye throughout the inn.

“Had I known this would happen,” lamented Canruo, “I wouldn’t have come to sit for the exams. Little did I know that I’d never see her again!” (MC: How sad!) Turning to Shen Wen, he asked, “Why didn’t you come earlier to let me know about her condition?”

Shen Wen replied, “After your departure, sir, Mistress’s condition remained the same as before. It wasn’t very serious. But on the twenty-sixth day of the month, she suddenly fell into a coma and never woke up again. I came as soon and as fast as I could.”

After another burst of sobs, Canruo told Shen Wen to hire a boat so that they could return home posthaste. He had no time to be concerned with anything else. Inwardly, he was awed by the accuracy of what he had heard in his dream. The results of the examinations were announced on the twenty-seventh of the month, and Wang-shi died on the twenty-sixth, bearing out the line “Success on the exams coincides with a death.”

Having gathered his luggage, he left the inn. Before he had gone very far, he ran into a schoolmate, Huang Pingzhi, seated in a sedan-chair. After they exchanged greetings, Huang Pingzhi said, “My brother, you look very sad. Is anything the matter?” Holding back his tears, Canruo told him everything, from his dream to the announcement of the results of the examinations and the obituary letter, adding that he was now on his way home.

Pingzhi sighed heavily and said, “My brother, please restrain your grief and don’t be too distraught. I’ll tell our teacher and friends about this on your behalf. You just go ahead and don’t worry on that score.” With that, they bade each other farewell.

Canruo made all the speed he could on his way home. Upon arrival, he went inside and fell onto his wife’s dead body in a flood of tears. Several times, he cried until he fainted. After the corpse was encoffined at a chosen hour, the coffin was placed temporarily in the main hall. Canruo spent his nights keeping vigil over it.

About twenty days later, halfway into the forty-nine-day mourning period, some of the friends who came to offer their condolences brought up the subject of the next level of the examinations, which were to be held in the capital. Canruo commented indifferently, “My pursuit of vainglory the size of a snail’s horn snatched my beloved wife away from me. Even if the first-place winner’s certificate were lying right here at my feet, I wouldn’t even bother to pick it up.” (MC: A loyal husband.) Well, this was said shortly after Wang-shi’s death.

In the twinkling of an eye, the forty-nine-day mourning period came to an end. His friends and relatives again offered him advice, saying, “Since it’s impossible for your honorable wife to come back to life, what useful purpose does it serve to mope like this? There being nothing to do at home, you’d naturally feel lonely. Now, if you go to the capital with your fellow candidates, you’ll be able to see the sights, feel refreshed, and, what’s more, chatting with friends will dispel your sorrow. Your grief serves no purpose. How can you let it get in the way of the career of a lifetime?”

Yielding to their pressure, Canruo said, “Since you all mean so well, I have no choice but to join you on the journey.”

Then and there, he took leave of Wang-shi’s spiritual tablet, instructed Butler Li to take care of offering food and incense to the shrine, and set out on his journey with his friends Huang, He, Fang, and Yue.

It was the middle of the eleventh lunar month. The five men traveled by day and rested by night and arrived in the capital in a matter of days. They spent their time reveling in poetry recitation and visiting the pleasure quarters. Canruo was the only one with no interest in any of the girls.

Time sped by. Before one knew it, another year had elapsed. The Lantern Festival [the fifteenth day of the first lunar month] came and went, and gradually the peach blossoms bloomed, water turned warm, and the time for the examinations rolled around. All five of them sat through all three sessions of the examinations. The other four did well and were full of confidence, but Canruo, in low spirits, just rushed through the examinations perfunctorily. Before long, the list of successful candidates was posted. All four of Canruo’s friends made the list, but he did not, and yet he could not have cared less. (MC: Had he known this earlier, he would have spent the time keeping vigil by his wife’s coffin.) Huang, He, Fang, and Yue went to the ceremony in honor of the successful candidates, a ceremony that was presided over by the emperor. He Cheng, having made it into the second class on the list, was appointed a division director in the Ministry of Defense, and his family joined him in the capital. Huang Pingzhi was assigned a position in the Imperial Hanlin Academy. Yue Erjia became an officer of imperial ceremonies, and Fang Chang was assigned a post in the messengers office of the Ministry of Rites. Ji Qing, the county magistrate, was promoted to supervising secretary in the Ministry of Justice. They all went to assume their respective offices, but so much for his friends for now.

Canruo spent more time sightseeing before he returned to Tongxiang County. After entering his house, he bowed twice to Wang-shi’s shrine, burst into abundant tears, prepared sacrificial offerings, and poured a libation. Two months later, he engaged a feng shui master and had Wang-shi buried in a chosen spot. After all this had been done, matchmakers gradually began to knock at his door. He thought that if he, a man of the highest caliber, lacked a predestined bond with even a beauty like Wang-shi, he had no hope of finding a perfect match. He told the matchmakers that he must see the candidates with his own eyes and that only when they were to his liking could he start talking about any possibilities. He was in no rush.

Time flew like an arrow, and the sun and moon shuttled back and forth. Only when there is a lot to tell will a story be a long one, but there being little to tell at this point, let me skip three years and come to the time when Canruo was about to go to the capital again to take the examinations. His one regret was that there was no one to take care of his house. As the saying goes, “An untended house turns upside down.” After his wife’s death, the furniture and utensils in the house began to wear out. Lamenting the rundown look of his home, he said to himself, “I need a wife to take care of the house. Too bad there’s no one suitable.” Feeling low, he entrusted household management to Butler Li, as before, and packed for his journey.

It was the eighth lunar month of the year, with cool and refreshing autumn breezes, the perfect season for traveling. Under a bright moon casting its light on the waves that merged with the sky into one color, Canruo drank alone, and feeling listless and saddened by scenery that reminded him of his loneliness, he improvised a poem:

Dewdrops gather around the autumn pond;

I let down the bed curtains from the hooks;

The moon shines through my window, but to what purpose?

I left my nuptial quilts at home far away,

To take this long journey all alone,

But this raft can hardly take me to “The Terrace.” 2

I gaze at the moon in vain,

For I see no sign of her.

(To the tune of “The Oriole”)

Then he drank until he was tipsy and went to bed by himself on the boat.

Let us skip irrelevant details and come to the time when he arrived in the capital about twenty days later. He rented a place to stay to the east of the examination grounds and settled in. One day, he went for a drink with several friends outside Qihua Gate. There, they saw a woman in mourning white riding a lame donkey, followed by a man who looked like a servant carrying food boxes. The woman looked as if she was on her way back from a visit to a graveyard. Canruo eyed her and saw that

Her complexion needed no white powder;

Her cheeks needed no rouge.

One inch taller and she would be too tall;

One inch shorter and she would be too short.

She was perfect in every way,

And her grace and charm matched her sweetness.

She is gentleness itself

Without carrying it to excess.

Her bewitching smile sends one into raptures;

Her enticing eyes hold one in thrall.

Even a woman given to jealousy

Would feel kindly disposed toward her.

As Canruo eyed the woman, his three souls took flight through the top of his head and his seven spirits gave him the slip through the soles of his feet. Abandoning his friends, he hired a donkey and went after the woman, gawking at her from behind, as if spellbound. She, on donkeyback, turned her head from time to time, throwing glances at him with eyes that were as limpid as autumn water. (MC: Are these glances at this time meaningful or not?) About a li farther on, she entered a house in a quiet and secluded place. Canruo also dismounted but, unable to tear himself away from her, stood transfixed at the gate and stared with glazed eyes. He stood there for the longest time, but the woman did not reappear. While he was wondering what to do, a man emerged and said, “May I ask why you’re peering inside, sir?”

“I came the same way as the young lady in white did. She entered this house. I’ve been wondering what kind of family this is and who the young lady is, but there’s no one around to ask.”

The man said, “She’s my cousin Lu Huiniang. She’s recently been widowed and is now staying here. She’s just come back from a visit to her deceased husband’s grave. She’s looking for a new match, and I came over to offer her my services as a matchmaker.”

“What is your honorable name?”

“My surname is Zhang. Because I’m good at getting things done, people gave me the nickname Zhang Liu’er [Getting Things Done Easily].”

Canruo asked, “What kind of man is your cousin looking for? Would she be willing to leave her home and live in another town?”

Liu’er said, “Any young scholar will do. The location doesn’t matter.”

“Let me be frank with you,” said Canruo. “I have a juren degree from the last round of the examinations. I’m here to sit for the national-level exam. I truly admire your cousin for her peerless beauty. If you could play the matchmaker for me, I’ll give you a handsome reward.”

“That’s easily done!” said Liu’er. “I believe my cousin won’t turn down a handsome man like you. Just leave it to me! I’ll surely be able to pull this off !”

Overjoyed, Canruo said, “If so, please convey my sentiments to her.” So saying, he extracted an ingot of silver from his sleeve and handed it to Liu’er, saying, “This is a little gift for you, just to show my gratitude in a small way. After the job is done, I’ll have many more rewards for you.”

After making a polite pretense of declining, Liu’er accepted the silver. Taking Canruo to be a rich man from the way he so readily parted with his money, Liu’er said, “Please come back tomorrow for an answer.”

Canruo returned to his lodging on cloud nine.

The next day, he went again to that house on the outskirts of the town to get his answer. At the gate, he saw Liu’er walking up to him, all smiles.

“Sir!” said Liu’er. “A happy event is in store for you! And you’re quite early! I relayed your message to my cousin. She’s already taken a fancy to you (MC: Who knows if this is true or not!). So, that made my job easy. She agreed on my first try! You need only get the betrothal gifts ready and prepare for the wedding. My cousin has means of her own, so she doesn’t care about the betrothal gifts. Just use your own judgment.” (MC: Goodwill does not necessarily translate into the monetary value of gifts.)

So Canruo sent over thirty taels of silver, the amount he would have spent on clothes and jewelry for the bride. There was no haggling over the amount, and a wedding date was set. Such readiness on the bride’s part made Canruo somewhat apprehensive. But then he remembered that northerners called women who remarried “ghost wives,” which he thought was the reason she was so accommodating.

On the chosen day, a procession complete with a drum-and-reed ensemble, lanterns, and a bridal sedan-chair went to that house to take Lu Huiniang to Canruo’s lodging for the wedding ceremony. When Lu Huiniang arrived in the sedan-chair, Canruo was beside himself with joy when he recognized her, by lamplight, as the very woman he had seen the other day. (MC: So he wasn’t sure.) Only then did he put his mind at ease. They made nuptial bows to heaven and earth, and after the wedding banquet was over, the guests dispersed and went their separate ways.

The newlyweds went into the bedroom, but Huiniang unexpectedly sat down in a chair and did not budge. At about the first watch of the night, when night had fallen and all was quiet, Canruo spoke up. Having abstained for so long, he was burning with desire. “Wife,” said he, “let’s go to bed.”

In her coquettish way, she said, “You go ahead first.”

Believing she was shy, Canruo thought it better not to force her. So he went to bed first, but how could he fall asleep? After another hour went by with Huiniang still glued to her seat, Canruo again pleaded, “Aren’t you tired from the day’s activities? Why don’t you take a rest? What do you mean by sitting there?”

Again, Huiniang said, “You go ahead and sleep.” In the meantime, she kept her eyes fixed on Canruo. (MC: Not the way she looked at him last time.)

Afraid that he might displease his bride, Canruo obliged and slept by himself for a while. Then he rose and asked gently, “Why aren’t you in bed yet?”

Again, Huiniang looked him over closely and asked, “Do you have any influential acquaintances in the capital?” (IC: What a strange question!)

“I have a wide circle of friends, including schoolmates and fellow exam candidates, many of whom are in the capital now. And then there are other, ordinary acquaintances.”

“If so, let me be your real wife!” (IC: Even stranger.)

“What a funny thing to say! I met you a thousand li from home, sought the services of a matchmaker, offered betrothal gifts, and held a wedding ceremony with you. What makes you think you aren’t my real wife?”

Huiniang replied, “You wouldn’t have imagined it, but Zhang Liu’er is a notorious con man. I’m no cousin of his. I’m his wife. Because of my looks, he makes me entice men to our house. Then he makes out that I’m a widowed cousin planning to remarry and that he’s the matchmaker. Plenty of men who like a pretty face have offered to marry me. But he doesn’t demand lavish gifts. Each time he tricks one such man into the deal, he sends me to the wedding ceremony. He tells me to act shy and unwilling to go to bed with the man, so as not to be sullied. The next day, he comes with a gang of thugs, accuses the man of ensnaring a woman from a decent family, and takes me back, along with all of the man’s possessions. The victims are afraid of being caught in brushes with the law while they’re on the road. So they swallow the humiliation and keep their mouths shut about the scam. This has happened many times.

“The other day, I was on my way home from a visit to my mother’s grave. I’m definitely not newly widowed. That devil of a man happened to see you, and he played his old trick again. I’ve often wondered if I was condemned to do this the rest of my life. Should the scams be found out, I’d be finished for life. Even though I’ve never been sullied, it’s wrong for me to be stealthily involved with so many men. I’ve tried several times to talk my husband around, but he turns a deaf ear. Then I came up with an idea of my own: Why don’t I play along and then turn the tables on him? If I meet someone I really like, I’ll elope with him. (MC: For her laudable determination, she deserves the good fortune that is in store for her.) Now, you, sir, are quite different from the common run, and I also admire your sincerity and kindness. But I fear that if I elope with you and then he finds us, we’ll only suffer with no one to protect us. Since you have friends all over the capital, I’d like to commit myself to you, sir. But you’ll have to seek shelter in a good friend’s home in a secure place and do it this very night. Only by so doing will you be able to marry me without trouble. Now I’m acting as my own matchmaker in order to commit myself to you. (MC: A woman with vision.) In the future, please don’t forget this gesture of mine.”

Canruo was dumbstruck. Only after a considerable while did he find his tongue again. “I’m ever so grateful to you for enlightening me. Otherwise I would have become a victim.”

Losing no time, he went out of the bedroom, woke his servant, and packed. He put Huiniang on the lame donkey that he had been feeding himself and had the servant carry the trunks, while he himself went on foot. But before going through the gate, he called out to the owner of the house, “We’re leaving! We have an urgent matter to attend to!”

Knowing that He Cheng was staying in the capital with his family, he went to He Cheng’s lodgings before the night was out, knocked on the gate, and, on being admitted, told him what had happened, sparing no details. Huiniang was also accommodated, and the luggage was duly deposited. He Chang’s house was large, with enough space for Canruo, and there we shall leave them.

Now back to Zhang Liu’er. The next day, sure enough, he assembled a gang of riffraff and went into action. But they found the door open, the room empty, and no one in sight. He asked the owner of the house, “Where’s the scholar who got married yesterday?”

“He went home last night.”

The men were astounded. After they came to their senses, they clamored, “Let’s give chase!” Frantically they ran in the direction of Zhangjiawan. But where were they going to search in such a large city? The fact is that landlords in Beijing do not track the comings and goings of their renters. Therefore, there is no way to find those who have changed lodgings.

Canruo stayed for two months with He Cheng, who spent much of his time reading. After the spring exams began, he did well on all three sessions and eagerly awaited glad tidings. As expected, he passed and made the list of third-rank successful candidates. He was appointed magistrate of Jiangyin and therefore a “parent-official” with jurisdiction over Qi Qing’s native county. Soon thereafter, he set out on his journey to his duty station, along with Huiniang. It so happened that Fang Chang was on an official mission to Suzhou, so Canruo got a ride on his government-provided boat. Out of the blue, Lu Huiniang became a magistrate’s wife, bearing out the line “The phoenix gives way to a pair of mandarin ducks.” Canruo later rose through the ranks of officialdom to be a governor. Huiniang gave birth to a son, who later also passed the civil service examinations. The Shen clan prospers to this day. The following quatrain bears testimony:

Huiniang was a true heroine,

For she found her soul mate in a stranger.

She turned the tables on the villain

And proved herself the smarter one.