Chapter 178: Twenty-Four Bridges, Wind and Moon

Every wine shop and tea house lit candles in their halls, and hung colored gauze lanterns — over a hundred of them — before their doors and on the willow trees. Under the lanterns' glow, a hazy pale-yellow light spread along both sides of the street. Breezes blew in from the river, tree shadows swayed, and the soft rustle of willow leaves mingled with the sound of the canal. The daytime clamor receded in an instant, as if it had never been.

Suddenly, a chattering of women's voices broke the quiet. Chen Xin leaned out to look. About a hundred paces away, many women poured from an alley mouth, heading this way in small groups of three or five. From this distance he could not make out their faces clearly, but their laughing and chattering was audible.

"They're here, they're here!" Chen Xin said excitedly.

Seeing this, Liu Minyou could not help sneering. "And here I thought you were always so composed. Turns out this is what you're really into."

"That was work. This is entertainment." Without turning his head, Chen Xin leaned half his body out the window.

The women came chattering to the wine shops and tea houses, found places to stand or sit on their own, and spoke only in hushed whispers. When a man passed before them, they would lift their faces to let the lamplight fall upon them.

"That one's not bad, nice figure... but too much powder. Look — it's falling off with every step."

"That one, that one — quick, look — willow-slim waist."

Chen Xin was in high spirits, offering a running commentary.

Liu Minyou had remained seated at first. But as the commotion in the street grew louder and Chen Xin's commentary continued, he too began to itch with curiosity. Finally he stood and craned his neck out to look. Below, the street was thronged with people — even more than during the day. Men and women came and went, amid oriole-soft voices and swallow-chatter, shifting silhouettes and swirling skirts. The silver ornaments and pearls in the women's hair caught the lamplight, flowing like a river of stars upon the ground, and a faint fragrance of rouge and powder drifted in the air. And in the distance, women were still emerging from the alley in an unbroken stream.

Liu Minyou, in both his past and present lives, had never seen such a grand spectacle. He simply stared blankly. So many beautiful women — one only had to pay, and could choose any at will and share a night of pleasure. Perhaps this was why men never tired of it.

"Are you going or not?" Chen Xin tempted him again.

"No!" After a long pause, Liu Minyou forced the word out with difficulty.

"I'm off. Wait for me for breakfast tomorrow morning."

A moment later, Chen Xin and Hai Gouzi appeared downstairs. Liu Minyou watched him wander through the crowd, a small lantern of unknown provenance in his hand, which he would raise from time to time before some woman's face to inspect her. By the lantern's light, faces — some lovely, some plain — appeared before his eyes.

When the women saw the lantern approaching, they put on smiles. Once they saw clearly that before them stood a handsome young gentleman, their eyes lit up and their smiles grew ever more alluring. They surged forward, seizing his hands and pressing their bodies against him.

"A gentleman so handsome — my heart rejoices at the very sight. Come with me, won't you? My courtyard is large, my rooms are large. I'll play the zither for you and keep you company over wine — I guarantee your satisfaction." "My bathtub is large..." "I'll go to the kitchen and cook for you..."

The nearby women swarmed over, surrounding Chen Xin and Hai Gouzi completely, chattering and fighting over them — grabbing hands, grabbing feet, and those who could not reach grabbed at clothes and hair, as if to tear Chen Xin limb from limb. The two men fended them off left and right, utterly bedraggled amid the cloud of rouge and powder. While pulling women's hands off Chen Xin, Hai Gouzi shouted, "My lord, flee quickly!"

Chen Xin used every ounce of his strength, and with Hai Gouzi's help barely managed to break out of the encirclement. He was drenched in sweat, a piece torn from the hem of his robe, and the little lantern had vanished. Looking up and seeing Liu Minyou still craning his neck, he laughed loudly at him. "The ladies love a pretty face — most amusing, most amusing!" Then he turned and wandered off to another part of the street.

Liu Minyou, laughing at the sight, called back, "Next time you'd better wear your mountain-pattern armor." Chen Xin roared with laughter, then continued strolling from one end of the street to the other, and back again.

It was as if he were browsing a department store.

After watching for a while, Liu Minyou turned his gaze to other parts of the street. He saw a wealthy-looking, middle-aged, short and stout man downstairs who had chosen a woman. The stout man puffed out his chest and belly and swaggered along in front. The woman had a graceful figure and walked like a willow leaf blown by the wind — swaying and alluring — following a few steps behind the man. One in front, one behind, they headed toward the alley.

"What a pity, what a pity — a fresh flower stuck in cow dung." With such loveliness before his eyes, Liu Minyou's own desire now flared up, and he could no longer restrain himself. "I've killed men — what's there I can't go to? Anyway, everyone else is doing it." Having steeled his resolve, he stood and paced two circles around the room, ready to go downstairs. But on second thought, he had already told Chen Xin he would not go. To go now would be even more embarrassing. So he sat back down and watched from the window to see if Chen Xin had left yet.

After watching a while longer, Chen Xin was still wandering about the street. Hai Gouzi had already disappeared — presumably having made his choice. Only Chen Xin remained, the fellow still not having chosen, going from one woman to the next.

As he watched the women in the street being chosen one by one, Liu Minyou grew increasingly anxious. By the time the second watch was approaching, Chen Xin had finally tired of wandering and left with two women, one on each arm supporting him, both looking utterly smitten. The three talked without pause, and the two women were from time to time teased into bursts of laughter.

There were still nearly a hundred women in the street, in and around the tea shops. The moment Chen Xin disappeared into the alley mouth, Liu Minyou hurriedly opened his door with a creak, locked it, and was about to go downstairs when he turned and found a towering figure blocking his way.

"My lord, where are you going? I'll come with you!"

Liu Minyou wished he could kick this idiot monk straight into the Grand Canal. Never around when you needed him, but lightning-quick when you didn't.

"I'm going out for a stroll. You don't need to follow. Stay here at the inn and rest. You are not to leave the room." Liu Minyou suppressed his irritation and instructed the idiot monk.

"I must follow my lord. Brother Hai Gouzi said a personal guard must follow at all times."

"I'm only taking a stroll."

"I'll accompany my lord on his stroll."

"I don't need company on my stroll."

"Then I won't accompany — I'll just follow."

After a moment of silence, Liu Minyou exploded.

"When I tell you to go back to your room, go back to your room! Or I'll dock your pay next month."

With a bang of the door, the idiot monk vanished behind it.

Having dispatched the idiot monk, Liu Minyou rushed downstairs. The waiter saw him and said, "Young master, you're going rather late — it's nearly the second watch. Once the gauze lanterns go out, you won't be able to see clearly. Best to take a lantern — only one fen of silver."

Liu Minyou hastily paid, took the lantern, and went out into the street.

Fragrance filled the street. The gauze lanterns were still bright. In the nearby tea shop, several women, seeing someone approach, rose one after another and looked at him expectantly. There were not many women left in the street. Liu Minyou was not handsome, so he did not suffer their siege. He walked along the street, and all the women followed him with their eyes. This sensation felt both novel and nerve-wracking to him. He dared not stop, so much so that he did not even dare to look closely at the women's faces or figures.

He walked all the way to nearly the end of the street without exchanging a word with any woman. At the end of the street there were fewer people, and his nerves eased. Then he saw a woman ahead, standing timidly under a willow tree, wearing a long lake-blue skirt. Like most of the women here, she was slender and frail. The night breeze from the river blew, and the woman hugged her arms across her chest, shivering slightly. The sight stirred pity.

Seeing no one else around, Liu Minyou walked up to the woman. It was dark under the tree, and he could not see her face clearly. Seeing him approach, she curtsied to him and said, "Ten thousand blessings, young master."

Liu Minyou scratched his head, recalled that Song Wenxian and the others had said to use "miss," and replied, "Good evening, miss." Then he did not know what else to do. He had meant to raise the lantern for a closer look, but now felt it would be terribly impolite. He stood there awkwardly.

Seeing his silence, the woman said, "If the young master wishes to look more closely, please raise the lantern."

Liu Minyou hesitated a moment, then lifted the lantern. Before his eyes was a lovely face, about seventeen or eighteen years old — delicate brows, fine eyes, a small cherry mouth. She wore a pearl hairpin, and her face was lightly powdered. Though not as seductive as the women he had seen earlier, she had an added

freshness. Her small face was faintly flushed, her gaze lowered, not daring to look at Liu Minyou. Just then a gust of river wind blew, sending a few strands of hair across her face. She quickly used her hand to smooth them back, afraid Liu Minyou could not see clearly.

Liu Minyou had never been fond of overly flirtatious women. Seeing this woman's gentle and refined manner, he felt a liking for her. He guessed she had been standing in a poor spot, which was why no one had chosen her yet.

"Well, then... would you be willing to, with me..."

"If the young master is willing, it would be this humble girl's good fortune." The woman's voice was soft and fine. Still not daring to look at Liu Minyou, she pointed toward the alley. "Young master, please walk ahead. I will follow behind you."

Liu Minyou walked ahead, carrying the lantern. By now the gauze lanterns were gradually going out. Worried the woman could not see the path clearly, he moved the lantern further back. After a while, finding it inconvenient, he said to her, "The lantern is too small. Miss, you may walk alongside me."

The woman caught up two steps and said softly, "My foster mother says it is discourteous to walk side by side with a guest. I had better follow you, young master."

Liu Minyou insisted. "I don't stand on such ceremony here. Miss, you may walk with me. We can talk."

The woman hesitated a moment, then stepped forward, head lowered and brows submissive, still falling slightly behind Liu Minyou.

Liu Minyou asked her, "How should I address you, miss? I still don't know. Could you tell me?"

"Young master may call me Lianhe."

"A very lovely name. My name is Liu Minyou. I'm from Shandong."

Lianhe finally looked up and cast a strange glance at the man before her. Few guests ever introduced themselves.

Liu Minyou was about to continue when his foot caught a small rut, making him stumble.

Lianhe hurried over to steady him, saying, "Young master, please be careful. There are a few broken spots on this street, and two more in the alley ahead."

A soft, warm little hand rested on his arm, and Liu Minyou's heart rippled; he blurted out, "How do you know all this so clearly?"

The woman answered, "I am here every day, so naturally I know."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt they were improper; her face flushed, and she lowered her head.

Liu Minyou also realized he had asked the wrong thing, so he said no more. The two of them soon reached the middle section of the street.

Suddenly, loud laughter erupted ahead.

Several men were walking down the street, talking and laughing loudly, as if no one else were there.

One man said loudly, "We are happier than princes and high ministers. Every time we come here, it costs little, and hundreds of women are ours to choose from; we can always pick one who pleases us to serve us. Think of those princes and ministers — though they have flocks of wives and concubines at home, they can only bed one a night, and still must worry about their women fighting for favor, quarreling endlessly."

Another chimed in, "Brother He speaks true. Only, this place has many shoddy whores but few famous courtesans; they only know the flesh trade, nothing like the poetic romance of Qinhuai."

A third man, using his fan to lift a woman's chin, said as he did so, "Then we should follow our predecessors' example and hold a grand gathering in Jinling, to choose a Top Graduate among women, a Flower-Tanhua — just like the Lotus Terrace Immortal Gathering of old. When the time comes, we must ask Brother He to compose the Ode to the Lotus Terrace Immortal Gathering."

The first man responded, "Certainly, certainly!"

With that, the three burst into another round of loud laughter.

Hearing them say "only know the flesh trade," Liu Minyou glimpsed from the corner of his eye the woman beside him tremble slightly, her head bowing even lower. Amid the laughter, the remaining women along the street all watched the three men joking, utterly silent.

Liu Minyou quickened his pace, leading Lian He past this section of the street, until they were only a few dozen paces from the alley entrance. This stretch had no gauze lanterns for light; dim little lanterns swayed unsteadily, barely enough to make out the road.

Lian He also hurried to keep up. Once they had passed through and saw no one around, Liu Minyou stopped and asked her, "Miss Lian He, a good woman like you — if you married into a family and lived an ordinary life, that would be good too. Why did you end up in a place like this?"

Lian He halted. After a moment of silence — of all the countless patrons she had met, only Liu Minyou had ever thought of things from her perspective — she was moved in her heart, and suddenly felt an urge to pour out her story to him. In a melancholy tone, she replied: "This humble girl is from Yangzhou.

In my family there were originally three siblings, and later another little brother came. The family was poor; my parents said that with the little brother here, there was nothing for me to eat, and told me they had found a household with food for me. When I was eight, I was sold here. In my foster mother's house, every day I just did…

chores. By thirteen or fourteen, my foster mother made me receive patrons, and it's been the same ever since. Only, I don't know how it will all end — how could I dare dream of an ordinary life?"

By the end, Lian He's voice had turned to sobs. Though she had only just met this man, he gave her a sense of warmth. For the first time, she felt she was not a piece of merchandise.

Listening to her story, Liu Minyou was suddenly struck by a bleak sorrow, all lust vanishing from his heart. He recalled what Song Wenxian and others had told him about the courtesans of this era — almost all were sold into the pleasure quarters in childhood, utterly unlike the prostitutes of later ages. They had no

rights or freedom whatsoever; all their earnings belonged to the madam, who only provided them with food and clothing. Only a few famous courtesans could keep the tips given by patrons. Even a famous courtesan, after scraping together enough to buy her freedom, still had to depend on a man — even a celebrated courtesan like Du Shiniang

was no exception. Ordinary prostitutes, once they aged and their looks faded, would be resold yet again. Living the ordinary life of common folk was their simplest, yet most unattainable, dream.

In this world, those with circumstances like Lian He's numbered in the thousands upon thousands. Compared to the people in Shaanxi and Henan exchanging their children to eat, it might not seem so tragic — yet Liu Minyou felt as if something were stuck in his chest, unable to be spoken. The two of them walked slowly onward, silent the whole way.

In the blink of an eye, they reached the alley where Lian He lived. Two large lanterns hung before the alley entrance. When they were still a dozen paces away, someone shouted, "Sister He has a patron!"

A door creaked open inside, and a pimp came out holding a torch, wearing an ingratiating smile. Bowing and scraping to Liu Minyou, he said, "Brother-in-law, please come inside."

Liu Minyou stood still. The pimp looked at him strangely — other patrons who came here were all like sex-starved devils, rushing to get inside, but this man was different.

Liu Minyou turned around, took out a silver ingot of about five taels, placed it in Lian He's hand, and said to her, "I just remembered I have important business tomorrow, so I won't be coming in today. You…"

He had wanted to say some words of blessing, but could think of nothing fitting. He reached out and patted Lian He on the shoulder, then made to turn back.

Lian He hastily grabbed one of Liu Minyou's hands and said, "Did this humble girl's words just now disturb the young master's refined mood? If the young master does not care for Lian He, there are still a sister or two in the courtyard. How can Lian He accept the young master's kindness for nothing?" In her anxiety, tears streamed from her eyes again. She hoped this man would stay.

Liu Minyou shook his head. By now, all lust had left his heart. The plight of the woman before him made him feel as if she were a pitiful little sister; no matter what, he could not spend the night with her. He used his hand to wipe two teardrops from Lian He's face and said, "I truly have important business tomorrow. If I have free time in the future… I will come see you again." As he spoke, he gently pushed away Lian He's hand, turned, and headed back toward the inn.

As soon as Liu Minyou had left, the pimp's smiling face instantly vanished. He came up, snatched the silver in one grab, and said to Lian He, "Since you ran into a fool who gave you silver for nothing, why keep him here? It's already late, and now you have silver — we'll count it as you having taken a patron. If you go without a patron again like yesterday, you'll get a good beating, and no food tomorrow either." With that, he turned and went back into the courtyard.

Lian He seemed not to hear him at all. She just stared blankly as Liu Minyou's figure disappeared into the darkness. When someone carrying a lantern passed by on the road, it cast Liu Minyou's silhouette again; in that moment of brightness, a few more teardrops slid down her face.

Liu Minyou did not dare look back the whole way, walking swiftly. From time to time, men and women passed by him in pairs — including the three men who had been joking earlier, each now with a woman.

He only stopped when he neared the inn. The gauze lanterns on the street were all extinguished. A faint candlelight shone from a tea stall ahead. His heart was troubled, and he did not feel like returning to the inn just yet, so he stood outside the tea stall, out of sight. Inside the tea stall, the candle had burned down to its last bit. Thirty or forty women who had not yet found patrons had all gathered there.

These women were pooling their copper coins. Once they had enough, they bought another stub of candle from the tea master. After lighting it, they all sat back down, waiting to see if any late-arriving patrons might still come. If this stub of candle burned out and still no patrons came, they would have no choice but to go back…

"Since we have nothing to do, Sister Pinger, why not sing us a song again?" a younger woman said with a laugh. "Sister Pinger used to come from the flower boats of Qinhuai; she sings a fine tune. So many rich young masters adored her, they even fought over her."

The women around her all clamored in agreement. Sister Pinger was no longer young, but through the weariness on her face, one could still glimpse the beauty she had once been. She replied quietly, "What use was that? When you're young, they covet your beauty. Now, look at me — just this sorry state."

The woman who had spoken first said again, "It's already so late tonight, and none of us have patrons. We'll likely get a beating when we go back anyway. Listening to Sister Pinger sing a song would at least make it worthwhile, wouldn't it?"

Sister Pinger sighed, then forced a smile and said, "If I sing, you all have to sing too." After the women agreed, Sister Pinger cleared her throat and began to sing.

To part from you — unless heaven became earth;

To part from you — unless east became west;

To part from you — unless the official became the clerk.

When you wish to part, you cannot part from me; when I wish to leave, I cannot leave you;

Even if we died down in the Yellow Springs, we'd never become ghosts who part.

The song drifted, suffused with a faint melancholy, turning by the end into something like a plaint, a lament. As the final note faded, Sister Pinger's trailing tone lingered and twisted in the quiet night. Outside the door, a nameless sorrow surged up in Liu Minyou's heart.

Note: This chapter is adapted from "Twenty-Four Bridges, Wind and Moon" in Zhang Dai's Dream Reminiscences of Tao'an.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit (.) to cast recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.) 【This text provided by @Chen Shi Xi Zi】