Translated by Fossilised Firefly.
The thread of fate that led them to Xu Qingjun stemmed from a meeting with an old acquaintance. Though Xue Feibai claimed he had no close friends in Jinling, the pair encountered one as soon as they found lodging beside the Qinhuai River.1 “Commander Ding, what a coincidence!” Feibai exclaimed as surprise gave way to happiness. “How come you’ve been reassigned to the old capital a mere six months after we parted?2 I haven’t repaid your favour for saving my life, but we keep meeting from Shaanxi to South Zhili. It’s truly a work of fate!”
It was none other than the Commander who had so justly saved Feibai’s life in Fengxiang Prefecture. He too was overjoyed upon seeing the master-servant duo. “I’ve been serving in the Nanjing Military Command where I became acquainted with the Lord Duke’s younger brother.3 He bears the art name Qingjun and he’s the most lavish master in Jinling.4 The Duke’s household formed a Kun theatre troupe, but he isn’t satisfied with the old music master’s rhythm and wants someone from the drama societies of Suzhou to correct it. Mister Xue once promised to teach this one the art of song. Is it not the perfect time to honour that promise?”
Feibai donned the airs of a famed scholar and frowned. “A Lord’s son from a Lord’s manor—a vulgar product of riches and honour. I shouldn’t involve myself with someone like him.”5
The Commander tried to persuade him otherwise. “Second Young Master is a man of wealth, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone more honest and sincere. He’d never slight you. Besides, his family’s Zhan Garden is a famous wonder of beauty seldom seen in Jinling.6 Just treat it as a sight-seeing adventure and offer a few words of general advice, if only to cover for the boasts I made at the Duke’s residence.”
Back in Shannxi, Su Mo had been wary of the Commander’s closeness with Feibai, suspecting that he harboured nefarious intentions. However, the turmoil of Feibai’s imprisonment changed his opinion and he soon realised that the Commander possessed a rare, honest disposition. Finally convinced that he meant Feibai no harm, Su Mo relaxed his guard and came to hold the Commander in high respect. As such, even he urged Feibai to agree to his request.
Alas, this encouragement was not long to stay. When Su Mo saw the admiring look Young Master Xu cast at Feibai upon their first meeting, regret immediately reared its ugly head. “I’ve brought it on myself!” he thought. “It was hard enough forcing him away from those contract brothers in Suzhou. Now that we’re in Jinling, I’ve pushed him into the arms of a lecher! There goes any hope for peace again!”
At first, Su Mo did not regard Xu Qingjun as a real threat. The Young Master enjoyed a life of luxury, and his much-treasured Zhan Garden was indeed a unique masterpiece that seemed to transcend the mortal realm. Yet all of this wealth was not to Feibai’s taste. In his eyes, a vulgar thing remained a vulgar thing, even if wrapped in a façade of sophistication. Since he never bothered to play at being impressed, Su Mo failed to appreciate the true danger that Xu Qingjun represented. After all, a profligate, no matter how eagerly he pursued Feibai, could never be a real rival in affairs of the heart.
But Xu Qingjun’s pursuit was far more than just “eager”. No, it was more accurate to say he complied with Feibai’s every whim with no regard for cost. When Feibai put on airs and refused to stay in the Zhan Garden, Xu Qingjun had his servants rent all of the riverside dwellings adjacent to Feibai’s, which he kept empty lest noisy tenants disturb his quiet contemplation. Later, Feibai attended every Kun theatre performance in Jinling, making the occasional comment. Each time he praised the talent of some sheng or dan,7 said actor was bought and placed into the Duke’s own troupe, ready to receive Mister Xue’s guidance. Though he never held worldly riches in high regard, Feibai never spurned Xu Qingjun’s company either. Spring had been setting when he arrived in Jinling; before he knew it, summer had rolled into autumn.
There was a grove of red plum blossoms in the Zhan Garden that encircled the pavilion atop a hill of Taihu rocks.8 It was End of Heat and Feibai was guesting in the garden pavilion, eating preserved plums as he corrected the new dan’s singing.9 An idea suddenly surfaced and he pointed towards the lush green of the plum grove below. “It’s a shame that we’ve just entered autumn. If we wait until the plums are in full bloom next spring, we can use this scene as a backdrop for a performance of Story of the Red Plum Blossom.”10
It was only a passing comment that Feibai soon forgot, but Xu Qingjun never held singing practice in the plum grove again. Barely a month later, after Autumn Equinox had come and gone,11 he set out some wine in the pavilion and invited Feibai over. “The red plums are in bloom. Brother Feibai, does this sight put you in the mood to teach us ‘Breaking the Plum Twig’ or ‘The Ghost Debates’?”12
Feibai looked down. Hundreds of plum trees were adorned by sparse, red blooms. They dotted the branches like jade shards and a delicate fragrance wafted through the air. Everywhere else, the plants were still clothed in the colours of autumn, making this grove of early-blooming plums all the more stunning. Awestruck, Feibai walked into the trees, plucking off a twig to confirm that it was indeed real flowers and not a miraculous display of paper-cuts. He instinctively asked Xu Qingjun, “How did you manage to reverse the seasons?”
Xu Qingjun was not gifted with words so he only smiled. “You said you wanted a backdrop of red plums. This one told his gardeners to make it happen. They have their own methods—I simply left it to them.”
Being young and curious, Feibai insisted on getting to the bottom of this mystery. He summoned the gardener to ask about his methods. “From the day you spoke,” the gardener explained, “we covered the trees with a canopy, watered them, and chilled them with ice from the cellars to imitate a freezing winter. This caused the plums to shed leaves and grow buds earlier than normal. Once the buds were large enough, we waited for a sunny day to take down the canopy. The warm sun and wind tricked the plums into believing that spring had arrived and they unfurled their blooms.”
It was truly an impressive feat and Feibai laughed. “It was only a passing comment. Why go through all this trouble? Honourable brother, it seems that your art name of Qingjun is quite literal—you are the Lord of the East, dictating the seasons with your word.”13
Beside them, Su Mo’s heart sunk as he looked from Feibai to Xu Qingqun. There he was, using all the tricks that wealth could buy to indulge in cultured pursuits, catering to Feibai’s fancy and spending money with the ease of pouring water. Even someone with Feibai’s pride would find him hard to resist—succumbing to his charms was inevitable. Threatening suicide seemed pitiful against such a rival; Su Mo lost the confidence to argue with Feibai. Instead, it was Feibai who noticed something was amiss. After a few days carousing in the Zhan Garden, he finally brought it up: “How strange, you haven’t stirred up a racket this time. I’m quite unused to it.”
“The Duke wields immense power and Young Master Xu is rich beyond imagination. Surrounded by such wealth, it’s only natural for Master to give yourself to him. Besides watching helplessly, what else can I say?”
After a stunned silence, Feibai shouted in indignation, “Do you hear what you’re saying? You think I interact with him just because I admire wealth and status?”
Su Mo laughed coldly. “What other explanation can you offer besides ‘selling your body to the rich and mighty’?”
Pride and fury merged into a terrible explosion. Feibai smashed the decorative vases and shouted furiously, “How dare you say such foul, obscene things to me! Fuck right back to Suzhou and never show your face to me again! I’ll leave immediately and never step foot in the Duke’s residence again. We’ll see who’s the fawning rat!” With that, he called for the staff to pack his bags and cancel his lease. More orders were directed at Su Mo, demanding he leave immediately and never be seen again.
Amidst the chaos, a servant suddenly appeared with a calling card from the gatehouse. “A gentleman by the name of Lu Zihua has come to visit. He claims to be from Master’s hometown.”
Feibai froze upon hearing that name, his fit all but forgotten. At last, a sharp reply burst through from deep within his chest. “I won’t see him! Tell him to fuck off!” But unlike his private residence in Suzhou, rental houses along the Qinhuai River were woefully unequipped to keep out unwanted guests. The visitor ignored all attempts at stopping him and barged inside. He cupped his hands in greeting but called Feibai using an old nickname from his rural childhood.
“It’s been a few years, hasn’t it, Ruiguan?”
Feibai looked like he wanted to leave with a swing of his sleeves. Instead, he was nailed to the spot, half leaning against the doorframe as he watched the man approach. Su Mo saw his fury-reddened face gradually turn white as the guest drew closer, one step after another There was no confusion now as he thought: “So this is the Shanghai Lu clan. The family he hates the most.”
Yet unbeknownst to him, it was really the wheel of Xue Feibai’s destiny, inexorably turning back to the starting point, right before their eyes.
Footnotes
1. 秦淮河, a river that runs through the old quarters of Nanjing. Many of the city’s famous historical and cultural sights are along this river. [Back]
2. Nanjing/Jinling was the original capital of the Ming Dynasty. The capital was only moved to Beijing during the reign of the third emperor, Yongle. [Back]
3. The Duke and his brother are descendants of the general Xu Da. He was one of the founding fathers of the Ming Dynasty, having fought alongside the first Ming emperor since his days in the Red Turban Rebellion. For his contribution, Xu Da was made the Duke of Wei (魏国公) and this title was passed down to his descendants stationed in Nanjing for 11 generations until the fall of the Ming. We can roughly date this story to some time post-1627 since the opera Winning the Flower Queen was adapted from a story published in 1627. Combining this with the list of all the Dukes of Wei, it seems that the Duke in this story might be the 10th Duke of Wei, Xu Hongji (徐弘基). Of course, this is all just fun speculation for a work of fiction. [Back]
4. 号, an art name is different from a courtesy name (字). Most men were given a courtesy name by their elders, but the art name is often chosen by the person himself and can be frequently changed to reflect different periods in his life (although people can and have changed courtesy names as well). [Back]
5. The literati class loved to see themselves as the epitome of refinement, sophistication and elegance while looking down on military nobility as being uncouth, vulgar and tasteless. [Back]
6. More confirmation that this Duke is a descendant of Xu Da. The Zhan Garden (瞻园) was built by Xu Da as his residence in Nanjing and it was passed down after his death. Its name directly translates as “The Garden of Looking Forwards”. I had the honour of visiting this garden in February 2023. Unfortunately, the garden that bears this name today is not the original Ming residence, since it was used as an office by the local administration during the Qing Dynasty and was later burnt down by the Taiping Rebellion. Even so, it’s still worth a visit for the scenery alone. [Back]
7. Sheng (生) is the male role in Chinese operas and dan (旦) is the female role, although they were often played by men. [Back]
8. Taihu rocks are natural rocks from Lake Tai, prized in garden landscaping for their strange and wonderful shapes. [Back]
9. 处暑, the 14th of the 24 solar terms. Each solar term is a period in the Chinese lunisolar calendar corresponding to an astronomical or weather phenomenon. The “End of Heat” solar term usually begins around August 23 and as the name suggests, signifies the end of the summer heat with the next solar term being called “White Dew”. [Back]
10. 《红梅记》, a Kunqu opera by Ming dramatist Zhou Chaojun (周朝俊). [Back]
11. 秋分, the 16th of the 24 solar terms, coming after “White Dew”. It usually begins around September 23. [Back]
12. 《折梅》, a scene from Story of the Red Plum Blossom, although I cannot confirm the scene number. In this scene, a young lady, Lu Zhaorong, climbs up to the Red Plum Blossom pavilion and orders her maidservant to break off a twig for her. At the same time, the scholar Pei Shunqing is passing outside the garden and climbs onto the garden wall, trying to take a twig of his own. Lu sees him and calls out, which causes Pei to fall down. Seeing this, Lu gifts Pei her twig.《鬼辩》, scene 17 from Story of the Red Plum Blossom. Prior to this scene, the scholar Pei was arrested by the evil minister Jia Sidao who wants to marry Lu. However, one of his concubines, Li Huiniang, is in love with Pei. Jia has her killed, but she returns as a ghost to set Pei free. Jia is furious and accuses his other concubines of letting Pei go, so the ghost Li returns again to debate with him and stand up for her fellow concubines. [Back]
13. Qingjun (青君) means the “black/green lord” which is similar to the title Qingdi (青帝) which means “black/green emperor”. This “black/green emperor” is an early Chinese deity who was said to reside in the east, making him the “Emperor of the East”. [Back]
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