Officialdom Unmasked

31. Only Fools Show Off

31 Only Fools Show Of f When Ma o returned home, he instructe d his wife to see that thei r daughte r was made up presentably and settled in a tidy room. Having made sure that everyone in the household, from top to bottom, understood his role, he came out to give a message to the Commander's servant, impressing upon him 'to assiduously bring th e liaiso n t o a successful end' ! H e himsel f the n too k refug e i n a friend' s house for the night . That night , afte r th e Commander ha d had his customary game of cards and wine drinking in Fishing Lane, he set out towards home. Pretending to be drunk, he allowed himself to be led into the boudoir of the maiden Mao. We later learned tha t th e Commander trie d to make conversation wit h he r throughout the night, but she behaved as if she was deaf and mute, and made no response at all. Thinking that she was shy, the Commander did not take offence . An enjoyable night passed very easily. Soon it was dawn. Just as the Commander was sleeping soundly, all of a sudden he was woken up by people knocking loudly on the front door. Then someone went to open it, and he heard a man's voice speaking. Though th e Commande r wa s an old hand i n this kind of exploits, he coul d not help being tercified thi s time. Fearing that the servant might have mistake n other people' s intention s whic h no w resulte d i n his being caugh t i n a trap , h e quickly climbed down from his bed to assess the situation. Listening close to th e door, he only heard people whispering. This only served to arouse his suspicio n even further. H e thus put on his clothes and quietly removed the long bar across 282 Officialdom Unmasked the door to be used as a handy weapon if the need should arise for him to rush out in escape . However , o n listenin g mor e intently , h e hear d nothin g a t all . Th e suspense was unbearable; he wanted to open the door but did not have the courage to do so. In this way, he just stood behind the door as if immobilized. After standin g there like this for half an hour, the Commander sa w that hi s lover Mao had als o thrown a cape over herself and climbed down from th e bed . She coul d be compared wit h a flowering bu d opening i n the mornin g dew. Sh e was at the moment more alluring than ever, and staring at her, there arose in his heart a feeling which was at once most tender and loving. He said to her quietly, 'It is still early, why not sleep awhile longer?' The young girl made no response. The question , however , wa s heard b y the ma n o n th e outside . He knocke d lightly o n th e doo r twic e an d said , 'I t i s still early, Commander, wh y not slee p awhile longer?' The Commander' s terro r could not b e adequately describe d whe n he hear d the ma n speaking . Bu t th e voic e sounde d familiar , thoug h fo r th e momen t h e could not mak e out who the speaker was. He stood there completel y transfixe d and was not even able to breathe. It was left to the young lady Mao to act decisively. Quickly stepping forward, she opened the door with a loud noise and cried, 'If you have anything to say, you say it face to face.' In the doorway, a man was seen kneeling on the floor with his back as stiff as a plank. Though facing the bedroom, he had his head bowed, so his features could not b e made out . Commande r Yan g became suspicious , and wa s confused a s t o what it all meant. In this moment of acute embarrassment, it was the man kneeling outside who opened his mouth first, ' I am here to serve the Commander. It is unusual for th e Commander to honour me thus, for which I am deeply grateful! ' The speake r...