Mirage

9. In burning old deeds a son carries out his father’s wishes | By faking a prayer a priest engages in a lascivious act

Fortunately Su Xing retained a measure of loyalty and integrity after Su Wankui’s death from shock. He told some men to watch over the body and sent others to the country compound to report the news, then waited for his mistress to come and decide what should be done. By the time the messenger reached the compound, however, Jishi had already emerged and taken charge of the situation, sending a servant to report the case to the authorities and have them come and examine the corpses. Luckily the robbers had merely looted two rooms, and neither the treasury nor the contents of the other rooms had been touched. Although no accurate assessment of the losses could be made, the gold and silver, jewelry, and clothes alone that had been stolen came to somewhere between forty and fifty thousand. In addition, three lives had been taken and two entrance halls burned. Jishi was about to go into town to consult his father when the report reached him of his father’s death. He began wailing, and the whole household joined him in a prolonged expression of grief. After ordering Dong Mao locked up until the magistrate could come and deal with the case, Jishi took his womenfolk with him into the city. He and his mother, wife, and sisters went on ahead, while his father’s two concubines stayed behind and began the process of careful tidying up. Jishi also detailed several older servants and serving women to watch over the property. Arriving in the city soon afterward, they stroked the corpse and wailed over it. Su Xing now realized that the report of Jishi’s death had been false, 9 in buRning old deeds a son CaRRies out his fatheR’s Wishes by faking a pRayeR a pRiest engages in a lasCivious aCt Mirage-FA02_13Jan2014.indd 129 15/1/14 11:30 AM 130 | Mirage but fortunately he had done nothing to reproach himself with, and he came forward and kowtowed. “You’re a sensible fellow,” said Jishi. “You and Su Bang take charge of the funeral arrangements, each of you making himself responsible for some of the duties—draw up a list and give it to me. As for the mourning hall, go and ask Masters Wen, Pan, and Shy (from over the way) if they would make themselves collectively responsible. For the inner quarters, ask Mistresses Shy and Wen to take charge. It looks as if we won’t be able to go on living at the Huatian property, so have some experienced men go over there and bring the money and goods back from the treasury as well as all the articles from the young ladies’ and the concubines ’ rooms.” Su Xing and Su Bang withdrew, bought a coffin for the laying in, and also sent out the funeral notices. Jishi told his mother about Xia and invited her to come over and mourn with everyone else. The funeral rites extended over five days. The first day was for the local gentry, officeholders , and assistants with whom the deceased had associated; the second day was for colleagues and friends from the various trading houses; the third day was for all the relatives by marriage; the fourth day was for female relatives; and the fifth day was for his own clan. Only after the coffin had remained there for five consecutive seven-day periods did the funeral procession leave. With more than twenty families of friends and relatives offering sacrifices along the route, the procession went directly out through the Great East Gate and laid the coffin in the ancestral tomb. While Jishi was in mourning at home, he developed a roster of household duties. He promoted Su Xing to be manager in Su Yuan’s place, with concurrent responsibility for the treasury and the warehouses. Su Bang would manage the granary and all the rural loans and rents; Su Yu would take responsibility for the urban loans; Wu Fu would be in charge of the main gate and Ye Xing of purchasing. Four ledgers were to be set up, one for each man, and Su Xing was to check income and expenditure each month and see that every item was entered. Jishi himself would examine the ledgers once a year. He also established rules for the household: males over the age of eleven were not allowed through the inner gate without permission, and females were not allowed to go out to the main hall without permission...