第六回 倩影不能描枣花帘底 清歌何处起杨柳楼前 (Chapter Six: The Silhouette Unpainted Beneath the Date Blossom Curtain, The Clear Song's Whereabouts Before the Willow Tower)

Yanxi sat in the car, unconsciously fixating on Leng Qingqiu's shoes and kept staring. Leng Qingqiu initially had her head lowered, unaware. When she accidentally looked up and saw Yanxi's face gazing at her shoes, she knew her shoes were rather plain, so she crossed her feet and pulled them inward. Yanxi then snapped out of it. As he looked up, the automobile also stopped, right at the entrance to Yanxi's house on Circle Lane. Yanxi invited them to alight and pass through the house. Inside, he insisted that Mrs. Leng stay for some refreshments. He said, "This is practically home. Leaving a bit earlier or later makes no difference." Mrs. Leng laughed, "Mr. Jin has spent so much, and at such a late hour, we're still disturbing you." Yanxi said, "It's no trouble at all. I've always enjoyed reading at night, so the kitchen prepares some noodles for me daily. Today, there's nothing special, probably just some soup noodles. The cook is from Nanjing, with a southern flavor. Mrs. Leng, why not taste his skill?" Song Runqing, upon hearing about noodles, was somewhat willing and said, "In that case, let's be frank." Leng Qingqiu, however, was reluctant and whispered to Nanny Han, "Then let's go back first." Yanxi said, "Just have some noodles casually, no need to stand on ceremony. I'll have the cook bring them immediately. It won't take long." Mrs. Leng said, "Then you should sit down too. Let Nanny Han go back alone." Seeing her mother say so, Leng Qingqiu had no choice but to stay.

Soon, the cook brought out the food, covering the table with an array of meat and vegetable dishes. Yanxi invited Mrs. Leng and her family of three to take their seats and personally poured wine for them. When he reached Leng Qingqiu, she also stood up, holding her cup to receive it, her gaze fixed on her hands, not daring to look directly. Yanxi appeared respectful and dignified, showing proper manners. Each person drank only one cup of wine before the cook brought out the noodles. Leng Qingqiu had always had a small appetite, and since it was late at night, she dared not eat much. She only picked a few strands of noodles and took a couple of sips of soup. Yanxi noticed and asked, "Miss Leng, why aren't you eating? Do you find it unclean?" Leng Qingqiu smiled slightly and said, "You exaggerate. I've always had a small appetite. You can ask my mother, and she'll know." As she spoke, she sat to the side and casually glanced around the room. The furnishings were all small rosewood carvings, exquisitely crafted, unlike ordinary wooden items that were large and clumsy. The chairs were covered with purple satin embroidered cushions. On either side stood two rosewood racks carved with cloud patterns, varying in height and curvature, displaying jade antiques, documents, and flower pots within the compartments. In short, everything in the room was modeled after ancient styles. Even the electric lights were enclosed in palace lantern gauze covers. By the door were two tall bronze candlesticks, nearly as tall as a person. On top, red glass was fashioned into the shape of red candles, but inside were installed hundred-watt electric bulbs. The brightest part was the candle flame, made from some unknown metal to resemble a flickering light. She whispered to Mrs. Leng, "Mom, look at these candles. They're so amusing." Mrs. Leng looked and praised them endlessly. Yanxi said, "Since you say they're good, I can give them to you as a gift." Mrs. Leng laughed, "Our house isn't suited for such things, and besides, we don't have electric lights." Yanxi said, "Nowadays, it's quite inconvenient for a home not to have electric lights. And the cost of electricity isn't much different from that of kerosene lamps." Song Runqing smiled and said, "Although the cost isn't much different, what about the initial installation fee?" Yanxi said, "Mr. Song, do you want electric lights? If so, you can draw a line from here. It would be very convenient." Seeing that he was offering to provide electric lights, which was a favorable deal, Song Runqing didn't agree immediately but didn't refuse either. He said, "Let's talk about it in a couple of days." After finishing the noodles, they sat for a while longer before Mrs. Leng and her party of three bid farewell to Yanxi and returned through his back garden.

Yanxi was overjoyed by this turn of events. He thought to himself that since they had met, spoken, and even dined together, he could proceed step by step, and the future held boundless possibilities. Then he recalled her shoes and socks, which were rather plain, and wanted to send her some. First, as Mencius said, making shoes without knowing the foot size was impractical. Second, without any reason or connection, how could he send them? He pondered for a while but found no solution. He thought, Jin Rong knew too much about such matters, so he wouldn't ask him this time. Instead, he called Zhang Shun in and asked, "Tell me, is there a custom of giving shoes and socks as gifts?" Zhang Shun was puzzled and said, "Yes, there is." Yanxi asked, "When is it appropriate to give such gifts, and what should accompany them?" Zhang Shun replied, "That's what the Beijing riffraff do. If you want to thank someone, you give them a pair or two of shoes, no need for anything else." Yanxi said, "How do you know the person's shoe size?" Zhang Shun laughed, "This isn't something respectable people do. Seventh Master, you don't understand. Actually, giving shoes isn't about giving the shoes themselves but giving a shoe voucher, letting the person try them on themselves." Yanxi said, "Does our familiar shop, Ankang Shoe Store, issue such vouchers?" Zhang Shun smiled, "It's business. Why wouldn't they?" Upon hearing this, Yanxi took out two ten-yuan bills and handed them to Zhang Shun, saying, "Go buy a voucher for me. Make sure it specifies women's shoes on the voucher." Zhang Shun said, "This shop doesn't restrict it, but the voucher states the amount. Later, when redeeming it, as long as it's from their shop and within the voucher's value, anything can be taken." Yanxi said, "You're confused! You don't understand anything. Just do as I say." Zhang Shun, rebuked, took the money and left. The next morning, he went to Ankang Shoe Store and bought a gift voucher. Yanxi had already devised a plan. He placed the voucher in a red envelope and wrote on the label with his left hand, indicating it was a gift from Seventh Master Jin, then casually pressed it under the inkstone on his desk.

During these days, Song Runqing came over daily. When he arrived and saw the red envelope, he asked, "Brother Yanxi, any happy occasion? Don't hide it from me. I need to send a gift too." Yanxi laughed, "Not at all. It's because I introduced a shoe store to a couple of big deals, probably worth about a thousand yuan. They still want to attract customers, so they gave me this voucher." As he spoke, he pulled out the voucher and showed it to Song Runqing, saying, "See, I can't use it." Song Runqing saw that it specified a value of twenty yuan for women's shoes. He smiled and said, "Indeed useless. Why would a shoe store give a gift to a man and specify women's shoes?" Yanxi said, "They thought I'd take it home. Little do they know that my family has just had a falling out with them over business. If I brought back a voucher, they'd blame me for meddling and introducing business to the shoe store." Song Runqing said, "So, their goodwill was in vain." Yanxi smiled, "I can still pass it on as a gift. I'll give it to you, Mr. Song. When you take it home, it won't cause problems like it would for me." Although this didn't benefit Song Runqing personally, it suited his tendency to take small advantages. He smiled gratefully and accepted it. When he took it back to show Mrs. Leng, she was indifferent. But this turn of events exactly suited Leng Qingqiu's wishes. Soon, a classmate was getting married, and she had fashionable attire but needed a pair of very stylish shoes, costing at least five or six yuan. She didn't dare ask her mother for money. Now, with this gift voucher, the problem was solved. She thought to herself how coincidental it was that this Mr. Jin would send them such a voucher. However, she never imagined that Yanxi had intentionally sent it for her. Meanwhile, Yanxi grew increasingly anxious, wondering if she had redeemed the shoes.

Four more days passed. That day, Yanxi took a copy of Collected Works of Li Yishan and went to see Song Runqing. Coincidentally, he wasn't home, so Yanxi sat alone in the small sitting room. The Leng Residence courtyard was small but had three date trees standing in a T-shape. The date blossoms bloomed early, and by mid-April, a small portion had already opened. The weather was perfect that day. Under the bright sun, the date trees cast deep, green shadows. A small swarm of slender-legged bees buzzed beneath the shade, occasionally wafting a fresh fragrance into the room. Beneath the tree shadows, a row of four potted double-petaled pomegranates was placed. Yanxi was gazing out the window when he heard Nanny Han laugh, "Oh, my young lady, so beautiful!" Yanxi quickly looked out the window and saw Leng Qingqiu wearing a rain-sky blue brocade cloud gown, paired with light blue silk stockings and light blue shoes. She stood outside the bamboo curtain under the eaves, with the fresh green tree shadows casting upon her light blue soft attire, making her appear ethereal and graceful. Yanxi leaned against the window, mesmerized. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Brother Yanxi, what are you looking at?" Yanxi turned and saw it was Song Runqing. He felt somewhat guilty and quickly said, "The three date trees in your courtyard are truly lovely. Their fresh fragrance fills the air, and their lush green is captivating. My courtyard unfortunately has none. I was lost in thought, trying to compose a poem." As he spoke, he randomly pointed out two poems from the Collected Works of Li Yishan in his hand and discussed them with Song Runqing. Just then, they heard Leng Qingqiu's laughter and voice moving from inside to outside, as she walked away. Yanxi saw through the curtain her figure in that attire, flashing by. He sat there in a daze while Song Runqing gestured animatedly about poetry. Yanxi merely smiled faintly and nodded repeatedly. Song Runqing talked at length about the subtleties and wonders of poetry before finally stopping. Yanxi stretched and said, "I've forgotten about an appointment. Someone is waiting for me at this time." He then hurried back, tossed the poetry book onto the table, and lay back in the reclining chair. Interlacing his fingers, he pressed them against the top of his head, concentrating slowly. He thought that only such elegant attire could achieve such delicate and fairy-like beauty. Now he realized that women dressed in gaudy colors were truly vulgar and unbearable.

As he was deep in thought, the telephone rang. Jin Rong said, "It's Eighth Young Lady. She wants to speak with Seventh Master." Yanxi answered the phone, and the voice on the other end said, "Seventh Brother, you're so studious. Why haven't you come back for days?" This young lady was born to Yanxi's second aunt, Concubine He, and was only fifteen this year. Because she was pretty and innocent and lively, the whole family loved her and called her Little Sister. Her name was also interesting: Mei Li. The reason for this name was that since she was dressed like a doll as a child, they simply gave her a foreign girl's name. Now she studied at a missionary girls' school, transported daily by automobile. Her Chinese wasn't very good, but her English was proficient. She especially loved music and dance. Whenever there was a school entertainment event, she was always involved. When Yanxi was at home, he often played with her, flying kites, playing tennis, fighting crickets, and doing all sorts of things. That day, Mei Li returned earlier and wanted Yanxi to take her out to play, so she called him. Yanxi asked, "What do you need me for? Want some candy? I'll tell you, I bought a box at Paris Company for five yuan yesterday and sent it to Auntie's place." Mei Li said, "I got the candy. It's not that. I want you to come back so we can go play together." Yanxi said, "Where to?" Mei Li said, "Come back first, then we'll discuss." Yanxi, apart from going to Leng Residence, couldn't sit still here and spent all day outside. Now that Mei Li called him back, he thought it might be nice to play at home and agreed. Hanging up, he took the automobile straight home.

When Yanxi arrived home, knowing that Mei Li liked to stay in the small room outside his second aunt's quarters, he went straight there. Upon entering the courtyard, he heard two people talking in his second aunt's room, one of whom was his father, Jin Quan. He quickly stopped and tried to retreat. But his father called out, "Isn't that Yanxi?" Yanxi had to answer "Yes" and walked in calmly. Jin Quan lay on the sofa chair, chewing on half a cigar, sleeves rolled up, scrutinizing Yanxi from head to toe. He said, "Your mother just told me that you and some friends organized a poetry club. Is that a lie or true?" Yanxi said, "It's true." Jin Quan said, "If it's true, why haven't I seen you write a single poem? Don't tell me you've organized some trivial club with a bunch of idle folks? Lately, I haven't seen you at all. Don't tell me you're daily in the poetry club writing poetry?" Yanxi's second aunt, Second Aunt, said, "That's unreasonable. You just returned from Western Hills the night before last, and only yesterday passed. How can you say 'lately'?" Yanxi, questioned by his father, was at a loss for an answer. Second Aunt's words bailed him out, and he snapped to attention. He said, "We don't write poetry daily. It's just that a few fellow members often gather at the club to chat and play chess." Jin Quan said, "I thought as much. Isn't that just a club?" Yanxi said, "There's nothing else going on." Jin Quan asked, "Who are your fellow members?" Yanxi listed a few relatives and friends who could write poetry, making up the rest casually. Jin Quan stroked his beard and smiled, "If you're really writing poetry, I naturally don't object. Show me the poems from your esteemed club." Yanxi thought, there was no club, so where would poems come from? But he couldn't refuse his father. He said, "Next time we write poems, I'll discuss with the members and bring you a copy." Jin Quan said, "Why does that require consensus? I won't violate your club rules. Just bring me the poems you've written." Yanxi had no way to decline and said, "Fine, I'll bring them back tomorrow for you to revise." Jin Quan puffed smoke and laughed, "Although I've been out of practice for years, when it comes to poetry, I'm much better than you youngsters." Second Aunt said, "Mei Li was eagerly calling for you earlier. Have you seen her?" Yanxi said, "I was just looking for her." Using this as an excuse, he withdrew. The Jin Family was a civilized family, but with generations of official lineage, they couldn't avoid the old-fashioned family traditions. So Yanxi was somewhat afraid of his father. Now that his father wanted to see his poems, it was a knot in his heart, unsure how to gloss it over.

Walking with his head down, he heard a series of clinking piano notes. Looking up, he found himself unconsciously outside the main house. This place had a row of three large rooms upstairs, furnished entirely in Western style. Sometimes, for grand banquets, they could dance here, making it a small ballroom. Yanxi listened to the piano sounds, which seemed to come from both upstairs and downstairs. The rhythm was chaotic, fast then slow. He thought, such poor piano playing couldn't be from anyone else but Mei Li. Following the sound, he quietly went upstairs, wondering if she was alone and who else might be there. Reaching the top, he found no one; they were on the balcony outside. This area was surrounded by willow and parasol trees. At this time, the upper halves of the willow trees draped long tendrils onto the platform. He heard someone say, "Don't stand any closer. You might fall and break your leg." Another person said, "Do I look like this?" Yanxi recognized the second speaker as Mei Li, and the first as Miss Bai, Bai Xiuzhu. Miss Bai was a cousin of the Jin Family's third daughter-in-law, Wang Yufen, and through Yufen's introduction, she had met Yanxi. After meeting, the two gradually fell in love. They used to meet almost daily, but recently they had grown distant. Peering through the glass, Yanxi saw Xiuzhu wearing a light green Western suit, her short hair styled in a crescent moon shape, with her neck and both arms exposed. She sat with her back to him at the piano. Mei Li wore a white dance dress with wide sleeves, her hair fluffy, gripping the willow branches with both hands, often lifting her feet and swinging like on a swing. Yanxi laughed heartily, "Don't move. I'll get a camera and take a photo. Is this the God of Love or the God of Art?" Xiuzhu stood up and turned around, patting her chest, "Oh my! You startled me. When did you arrive?" Mei Li also ran over, holding Yanxi's hand, "Seventh Brother, do I look the part?" Yanxi smiled, "You do, but do gods wear black leather shoes?" Mei Li looked down and realized she was still wearing patent leather shoes. She laughed, "I forgot to change." Yanxi said, "With such a dance dress, you should go barefoot or at least wear shoes matching the outfit. Wearing such beautiful attire with pitch-black shoes is even more awkward than an old lady's bound feet." Mei Li said, "Wait for me. I'll go change clothes and come back. Then we can go play with Sister Xiuzhu." With that, she ran off skipping and jumping.