The Peach Bloosom Fan

10. A Number of Self-Seeking Gentlemen

A V A Number of Self-Seeking Gentleme n The man who emerged from th e sedan chair was none other than the cashiere d magistrate Yang Longyou. He alighted and gave a salute, holding his fists in front of him. 'I am on th e wa y to pay you a visit. I did not expec t t o run int o you in th e street. What a coincidence!' he said. Huang frowned an d reluctantly gave a nod. Chen made an exaggerated bow and grinned, 'Old sir! How good of you still to remember us. We were just about to come an d offe r yo u ou r congratulations ! Yo u have don e a creditabl e dee d b y supporting Princ e Fu' s ascension. I am sure you will join th e rank s o f the nin e Senior Ministers . I hope you would giv e me your favour whe n I beg you for a n official's gauz e cap to put on!' Yang blushed, 'You are taunting me again,' he complained. 'I am only an ereand boy, and it means nothing. But I do need to seek your advice. Please come to my river house at Peach Leaves, it is only a few paces away.' Half ignoring him Huang replied, 'We have other important matters to attend to!' Yang stroke his thin yello w beard an d seeme d eage r t o please . Bowing an d saluting, he sai d to Huang, 'No , no! Brother! Yo u must someho w giv e m e fac e today. I shall only trouble you for a short while!' Chen gave Huang's shoulder a tug and said, 'It is indeed a rare occasion tha t the old gentleman should have such high regard for us. Let us go for a short visit!' Huang was unable to resist and followed th e other two. Yang instructed the bearers to go ahead with the empty sedan chair and wait 89 The Peach Blossom Fan for him at his house at the Peach Leaves River Houses. He accompanied the other two on foot . As if he was suffering fro m some grievance, he said, 'I don't know who it was that wags his rotten tongue and talks a lot of rubbish. People say that Yang Longyou is the one and only one in the City of Nanjing who is familiar not only with th e palaces and yamen above, but als o with the brothels and teahouses below. They say that anyone who desires to see the sights or play with girls can come and look for me. I therefore have to entertain all sorts of people every day. I run around so much tha t I perspire al l the time . I t i s bad enoug h t o have t o spen d mone y i n wining and dining these people, I am also forced against my will to look for girls in the Qinhuai River area. There is nothing I can do but to rent this river house on a long lease. This way, everything will be more convenient. I f you can spare th e time, it will do no harm for you to come and visit.' Huang said nothing. Chen winked and said, 'You are busy because you are a man of high position. You, old sir, are a prominent and important figure in Nanjing now. Everyone will find a pretext to visit you in your residence!' Those word s pleased Yan g so much tha t i t was as if he wa s walking on air . Soon they arrived at his river house and Yang accompanied them inside. Seeing that Huang was frowning, Yang came straight to the point. In a casual manner, he said, 'Perhaps you two do not believe it. Though Ruan i s a stubborn old man, his conscience has nevertheless remained intact. Emperor Chongzhen' s tragic demise this time taught him a great lesson. In his view, it is utterly foolish of him, at the advanced ag e of sixty and more, to quarrel with his young friends o f the Revival Club. He knows that these youths have the welfare o f the nation a t heart, so has he. So what is there to quarrel about? At a time of national calamity, we should act together with one heart to deal with the roving brigands. If we...