The story goes that after a day of boating on Kunming Pond, it had already reached the end of the hours of the rooster1. Huangfu Shaohua hastily excused himself, saying: “Thank you so much for your kindness today, and for being accompanied by the beauties until this moment. Let me express my appreciation for you another day, because I am afraid that there will not be enough time to go back into the city.”
Hearing this Kuibi began to consider in his mind:
“Should I let Shaohua go today?
It would be better to put him up at my home
And seek out another sensible scheme to harm him”
Pretending to be Shaohua’s good friend day after day
Kuibi truly could not endure his hidden rage
If he seized the opportunity to take Shaohua down
He could eliminate the source of the troubles in his heart
With this evil intention fostering in Kuibi’s heart
A fierce mien unavoidably appeared on his brows
With a smile he held Shaohua and started to talk:
“Why does my dear brother have to rush?
Look at these—lush mountains and lucid water led to a scenery like a painting
Beauties with red sleeve and flowery faces are accompanying you in drinking
Naturally being a hero, how can you not be keen to it?
But you excused yourself before drinking to your heart’s content
My virtuous brother, you keep talking about the city curfew
But regardless, you can stay over at my humble home”
Right at the moment when Kuibi finished his words
The beauties held Shaohua and began their long-winded talk:
“My young master—We are originally from brothels
How dare we recklessly keep you here?
But you can appreciate the mountains and water here at Dian Pond2
And have another golden cup of wine at the banquet”
Finished talking, they held the two sleeves of his gown respectively
Revealing a mixed posture of playful pouts and bashfulness
With no choice, the young master returned to his seat
And the beauties urged him to drink without stopping
Having consumed three more cups of wine while laughing and talking
The red sun was retreating to the mountains and a request to stop boating was made
The young master stood up, worried about what to do
He had indulged too much in sightseeing today
His mother had warned of the city curfew in advance
And not to stay for too long while visiting Dian Pond
Now the hours of the dog3 began and it was growing darker
At home, his mother must be worried
Young Master Liu smiled and claimed it did not matter
And hereby lowered the sail and turned around the boat:
“Please spend tonight at my humble home
Tomorrow I shall see you into the city”
His words left the Young Master with no more alternatives
Could only listen and return to where they started
Together the two beautiful women bid farewell
The glances of their star-like eyes revealed their reluctance to part
The story goes that Young Master Liu stopped the boat and brought it ashore. The two courtesans excused themselves and intended to leave. Kuibi took out two ingots of silver as a gift for them and left. Huangfu Shaohua had to go back with Young Master Liu to his mansion. The two family guards had no alternatives other than to go with them.
With no more than a few steps, they approached the courtyard gate
Where they could see the new spectacle of the marquis’ mansion
Faintly, candlelight flickered in the gate lanterns
Bit by bit, voices spread from the other side of the Chinese Scholar Tree
The rear tower was located next to the Dian Pond
Where owners could climb if they wanted to watch the floating boats
It was so enjoyable to settle down in their hometown
The natural peacefulness brought people out of the mortal realm
Kuibi eagerly invited Shaohua into the garden
Through twisted paths and corridors they walked inside
Reaching an inner tranquil place
Up above there hung a plaque inscribed with “Xiaochun Courtyard”
The stacked rockery was like screens arranged
And in the middle a moon gate was installed
Pine tree branches hung down slanted in the gentle breeze
And traces of moss were scattered among the green grass
How elegant were these three studies!
They only saw the servants light up the lamps early
So Young Master Liu invited Shaohua to sit in the main room
Left the courtyard by saying that he was otherwise engaged
Hurriedly walking to the central room
Dispatching servants right after greeting his mother:
“Instruct the chief cook to arrange a banquet
And quickly deliver it to Xiaochun Courtyard
The son of the commissioner-in-chief went sightseeing with me
And he could not enter the city because night fell
He therefore will stay here for a night
And all things shall be prepared at the earliest without delay”
The servants answered and immediately sent his order
Lady Gu said with a smile:
“It is true that silver money has no use
You brought it here to waste on Shaohua’s body
In order to go sightseeing at Dian Pond today
You again spent two ingots of fine silver
The Huangfus rejected our marriage proposal previously
Logically speaking he is still an enemy
Why are you displaying deep kindness to him right now
Treating him much better than your full-blooded siblings”
Hearing this Kuibi responded affirmatively:
“It is nothing but to please Shaohua following my will
When life was uneventful we contacted each other frequently
How can I break our friendship due to the marriage proposal?
Hence I invited him over for a temporary get-together
To avoid being ridiculed by others as someone selfish”
After speaking, he turned around, pacing under the eaves
Secretly plotting his plan to harm his enemy:
“Shaohua will reside in my home today
It is exactly the time for making proper arrangements early on
If I let this golden opportunity slip away
I will not succeed even if I wait three more years
If I kill him with a sword there will be blood everywhere
If I drown him in water his corpse will remain there
Only when the suspicions of his parents are eliminated
Can I ensure peace and avoid troubles
What is the best approach according to this thinking?
It would be better to—set fire to Xiaochun Courtyard
Even if the Huangfu family comes here to dispute
How will they find proof when his corpse is burnt by fire?
A plan as such is naturally wonderful
But who should this great mission be entrusted to?
How can I fulfill the wish in my heart
To eventually claim the life of my enemy?”
“Ah, I got it! It will certainly succeed if I ask him to do it.”
“The son of my wet nurse Lady Jiang
He is named Jinxi and is very considerate
He is smart, clever, and strong
And is the trusted subordinate in my whole life
He just turned sixteen this year
To do the work his gut has always been as big as the sky
If I decided to set the ruthless fire today
It would not be safe without sending Jinxi to do it
Making up his mind, he hurried out
Repeatedly called Jinxi to approach
Nanny Jiang answered inside the door
Asking why the young master was seeking her son
At that moment Kuibi immediately called for Jinxi
To come to the inner study to have a conversation
Explaining the matter with details from beginning to end
Jinxi’s face immediately turned pale
The story goes that this man was supposed to be Young Master Liu’s trusted subordinate. Every day, he was the chief person to take charge of money and food and was paid flattery by all the servants in the house. Upon hearing the young master’s words, he suddenly looked surprised and confused. He said to himself: “How peculiar! It is true that going against conscience in a dark room makes the eyes bright as lightning.”
“I dreamt of an old man with white hair last night
With a stick he knocked on my bed angrily
From his mouth he distinctly called: ‘Jinxi!
You should regret committing murder before it is too late
If you really did something offensive to the heavenly principles
Misfortune will immediately come and you will lose your life’
Finishing these words, the man repeatedly yelled that I should firmly remember these
Suddenly he disappeared in a fresh gust of wind
Woke up, I could not think of any mistakes I have made
Why did the old man with white hair speak of murder?
Surprisingly, now the young master called me out
Asking me to set fire and kill the hero”
“Oh heaven!”
“Thanks to the warning of this situation
Which allows me to deliberately not seek out other options4
Since ancient times, one will certainly pay for a solved case with life
How could I sacrifice my life and forget these concerns?
Inside the main hall I have my own mother
How dare I—discard her love in feeding and raising me in a single day?
To harm the heavenly principle will eventually get retribution
How can I plot a good scheme tonight?
One should be responsible for what was entrusted
How can I adhere to this moral if I refuse to obey the order?
The young master treated me so well
It would be unaccepted if I refuse his rare request
Why not agree to do it temporarily
Then explain what happened to my mother
If my mother considers it infeasible
Then at that time, I will look for another plan”
The story goes that Jinxi thought for a while and the Young Master Liu grabbed him and said: “Are you afraid of something? Why is this so hard? Do as what I do, and I promise that Shaohua will die immediately.”
“When your mother was the wet nurse
The master allowed her to bring here her son
Since you were brought to the Liu’s house
Till today you were bred to grow this tall
Not to mention the full trust that I gave you
You should also try to repay this gratitude
Tonight if you are willing to obey my order
I will reward you with a beautiful wife to be a good couple
I will show respect to the wet nurse and call her by the title Lady Jiang
I will be responsible for her happiness for the rest of her life5
Even if the Huangfus want to reach the bottom of this case
A simple lie can prevent further troubles
Just say it was Shaohua himself who caught on fire
The Liu clan would never have such a malicious intent
If you leak the truth out
It is inevitable that—I will hunt you to death with my sword”
The young master’s face quickly changed6
With great rage—he turned to retrieve a steel sword on the wall
Suddenly Jinxi was in a great panic
He knelt down and repeatedly pleaded that he would comply:
“My young master has treated me kindly these years
How do I dare forget about it now
I promise to set a ruthless fire in the garden
Gallantly doing it for you my master”
Hearing that, Kuibi was greatly delighted
Hurriedly helping Jinxi up, his eyes met him and he said:
“Since you are willing to do it
Do not spread your voice to others
If it goes successfully and Huangfu truly dies
I will help you—marry a beautiful wife”
After these words, he hung the sword back to the wall
Jinxi straightened his body and inquired further:
“At what time should I begin
To send him off to the nether world?”
The young master answered: “Wait until it is completely quiet
Then, directly step on the pine trees to cross the short wall
Set a big fire under the corridor and in front of the window
It starts to be good if the room catches fire from all sides
It is difficult to find flammable materials
You can simply pour lamp oil to help light the fire”
Jinxi responded in understanding
The young master and the subordinate walked out of the study
The feast was prepared in Xiaochun Courtyard
Kuibi accompanied the son of the Huangfus
Holding the wine cup, Kuibi gallantly urging Huangfu to drink
Their affections for each other grew ever so deep
Young Master Shaohua had no suspicions
Talking and laughing, they filled each other’s cups with fine wine
Rouge candles burned briskly while shadows reflecting among the gorgeous chairs
Sitting in the study, together they raised their golden cups
In the midst of drinking to the full happiness
A servant came and reported the following in detail:
[1] The original text, youshi 酉時 [the hours of the rooster], is the period from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. See the entry of Chinese Zodiac Time. [2] The original text is Dian chi 滇池 [Dian Pond], which is the same as Kunming Pond. See the entry of Kunming Pond. [3] The original text is xushi 戌時 [the hours of the dog], which means that it had passed 7 PM. See the entry of Chinese Zodiac Time. [4] It means that because of the warning of death from the white-hair old man, Jinxi does not have internal struggles and will not follow Kuibi’s instruction. [5] In Chinese tradition, a son like Jinxi is responsible for supporting his parents when they were old. Here Kuibi is offering to take care of Jinxi’s mother, so he should not have any more worries about himself getting into prison or even being executed. [6] The original text is yanse bian 颜色变 [the color of the face changes]. Because when people go through a vast change of emotions (happy, rage, sorrow…), the color of their face will often change along with it. So yanse bian refers to a vast change of emotion in general.
