Ch. 7.4
Qin Sang felt like she was in a nightmare. She must be dreaming that Pan Jianchi was saying all this to her in so calm a manner as to be surreal. But it was all real, deep down she knew it was — it was real, it was all true. He recited a long string of numbers to her, god knew what they meant. He didn’t know, neither did she. Now he wanted to know and he had come to her for help to find the code book and decipher what this string of numbers meant. She had an excellent memory; he only had to tell her once and she could remember what the numbers were but she was still in something akin to a trance so everything was just a blur and even after that she was still a bit dazed, as if she hadn’t properly awakened from dreaming. By then she was already sitting in a car with bodyguards perched on the running board outside and Pan Jianchi in another car, so that there were guards in front and behind escorting her all the way to the city defence headquarters. She had already made her decision when she arrived so when Pan Jianchi came to open the door for her, she said to him: ‘Go and ask the commander if he’s coming home for dinner tonight.’
Pan Jianchi looked closely at her but she did not look at him for fear of losing her composure. She was helping him not for old times’ sake, but because she thought it was the right thing to do and she ought to do it. She had never done such a thing before and was understandably nervous. After she had changed her outfit, Zhu Ma brought up a cup of tea to her and seeing that her cheeks were red, asked: ‘What’s wrong, Missy? You’re so flushed. It’s not a fever, is it?’
Qin Sang forced herself to be calm and replied, ‘No, it’s probably because it was windy on the way back.’ She had a mouthful of tea then walked to her dressing table to look at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were certainly red and she scolded herself for being so useless and letting such a small thing discompose her; should Yi Liankai spot something amiss with her, things would go badly. So she picked up the hot cup of tea and sipped it slowly which had the effect of calming her down gradually. She reasoned that even if Yi Liankai did come back, he might not even deal with official business; moreover, she had never once stepped foot into his study. She could only play it by ear¹ and wait till she saw him before she could act. But if he was still in a huff and refused to come back, then that was even worse. She had been so unceremonious with him in the reception room that afternoon and nobody had ever dared speak to him in that way. Perhaps just like of old, he would stay away sulking for ten days to half a month in which case it would really be a disaster.
¹ 見機行事 jiànjī xíngshì see the opportunity and act (idiom); to act according to circumstances
Come evening, Yi Liankai was still not home for dinner. Qin Sang waited until late at night, but in vain, so she ate something indifferently before going to bed. It was past midnight when she heard a thump from outside. Being a light sleeper, she was startled awake and was just about to call out ‘Zhu Ma’ when she heard someone coming towards the bedroom; those footsteps could not be more familiar.
She kept quiet. As expected, the door was pushed open and silhouetted by the lamplight outside was Yi Liankai looking sullen. Unaware that she wasn’t asleep, he braced himself against the bed and bent over the pillow to look at her: his gaze was like the moon on a winter’s night, as light and indifferent and as silvery and cold, even chilly. He sneered suddenly, turned away and was about to leave when she suddenly asked: ‘How much have you had to drink?’
‘Like you care?’
Qin Sang raised her chin and replied: ‘Who cares about you? Come here first!’
She rarely ever used such a tone with him.
Yi Liankai was surprised and thought she only wanted to quarrel with him so he obstinately stayed where he was. Qin Sang got up and shuffled over to him in her slippers. As she got closer, she sniffed his shirt and said with a frown, ‘You stink to high heaven and of red wine no less. There’s no hot water left so you can go sleep on the sofa outside.’
For some reason this last demand caused Yi Liankai to burst out laughing and as he embraced her he said smilingly: ‘Why? Afraid I’ll intoxicate you?’
‘I don’t know why you have to talk with your arms.’ Qin Sang pushed him and ducked, protesting, ‘I hate being pricked by your stubble!’
The night deepened by degrees. A faint greenish light shone through the screen window, like the glaze of some eggshell china or the delicate gauze lanterns used in ballrooms, giving off a faint cold light. After falling asleep, Yi Liankai’s arms had become heavier, like a pair of manacles looped around her waist. Qin Sang gently pushed his arm away but after a while he attached himself to her again, obstinately hugging her waist. She had no choice but to ease one of her pillows out and slip it into his arms; as expected, he slept soundly once he had a pillow to hug.
Qin Sang put on a coat and, pretending she had to go to the bathroom, noiselessly pushed open the door. She turned back to look at Yi Liankai: his breathing was regular and he was fast asleep. Qin Sang crept outside to where his black briefcase was sitting on the brown table — the briefcase which was always with him. It was fastened with an elaborate combination lock which used Arabic numerals and she thought that whatever Pan Jianchi was looking for must be inside.
The sight of this briefcase made her break out in a cold sweat but she slowly forced herself to calm down. Though the code book was so near, she still had the combination lock to contend with and she had no idea how she was going to open it. She stared at the lock for a while then decided to give it a try.
First she tried Yi Liankai’s birthday but it wouldn’t open. Then she tried the license plate number of his daily car but that didn’t work either. After that it was the telephone number, then the gate number, even her own birthday but all to no avail. By now she was afraid that he would wake up so she almost replaced the briefcase when a sudden thought struck her and she tried a different combination.
The lock opened with a barely audible snap.
Her heart was almost threatening to jump out of her chest. She hastily took out the contents: some papers and a small book in which there were a lot of closely-written numbers. Every four numbers was followed by a word and although she had never seen such a thing before, she guessed that this was the code book.
The string of numbers Pan Jianchi had given her were emblazoned in her memory and as she scanned the code book, she deciphered the message: it was just a short one but memorising it sent her into another cold sweat. When she replaced the code book in its original position, her hands were trembling slightly. Fortunately, she could still remember clearly Pan Jianchi’s assiduous drilling: put the code book back in its original place, put all documents back in the same order, make sure to lock the briefcase and return the lock numbers to their original combination… .
Again and again he had drilled her and one by one she restored everything to its original place, not leaving behind any trace. Then she put the briefcase back where she had found it. A pair of white gloves which had been lying on the briefcase were also returned to their original position: she placed one on top of the other with the fingers facing outwards.
After checking several times to make sure nothing looked out of place, she returned to the room. Yi Liankai had not stirred. She slowly eased the pillow out from his grasp and lay down herself. He was sleeping soundly, his breath warm on the back of her neck but she was unable to sleep and could only stare wide-eyed at the ceiling, silently waiting for dawn.
Qin Sang did not sleep well but Yi Liankai was up early. It was wartime after all and no longer like before so the dissolute young master had stopped sleeping in late. Qin Sang, naturally tired and rubbing her eyes, was about to get up. Yi Liankai knew that she was not used to sleeping with him and had inevitably slept poorly. So while dressing hurriedly, he said with something of an apologetic air: ‘Don’t get up. It’s still early so you might as well go back to sleep.’
Qin Sang knew that he would take Pan Jianchi along with him on his business. Even if she got up now, she would not have a chance to speak to Pan Jianchi; worse, it might even arouse her husband’s suspicions. So she lay down again, watching Yi Liankai dress but upon seeing that he was wearing his full dress uniform and carrying a gun, she couldn’t resist asking, ‘Where are you going? Why do you need a gun?’
‘Out of the city. We’re going to execute some spies today.’ After Yi Liankai had worn his leather belt, he strolled over and pulled the blanket up to her neck saying, ‘Exposing your arms to the cold when you’re wearing so little. Don’t complain later that you feel unwell. Aren’t you afraid you’ll catch a cold?’
When Qin Sang heard him mention the word ‘spies’, her heart began thumping wildly and even her ears turned red. However, Yi Liankai misunderstood her reaction. He pinched her earlobe, brushed a kiss on her temple and said, ‘I can’t have lunch with you but I’ll come home tonight to keep you company, all right?’
Qin Sang pulled the blanket over her head and said, ‘Who wants your company? Since you have official business to see to, why don’t you get going instead of dawdling here?’
Yi Liankai laughed a little and then went out.
Having gone out, he was away the whole day. Qin Sang only got up at noon and had just had lunch when she suddenly heard Zhu Ma talking to someone outside, so she called her in and asked: ‘Who’s that outside?’
‘It’s Adjutant Pan. They caught some baby rabbits outside the city and Master dispatched him to bring them home for you to play with.’
Qin Sang said: ‘Ask him to come in then.’
Zhu Ma made an affirmative sound and ushered Pan Jianchi in.
Pan Jianchi was carrying a shallow round wicker basket. There were four to five downy white rabbits inside, each no bigger than a fist, huddled together like little balls of knitting wool and simply adorable.
Qin Sang couldn’t resist smiling a little and said, ‘This looks interesting.’
Pan Jianchi caught a baby rabbit and placed it in Qin Sang’s hand. The baby rabbit was trembling with fear and crouched shivering in her palm, not daring to move.
Since Zhu Ma was still standing beside them, Qin Sang asked, ‘If you’re back here, then who’s with him now?’
‘He has armed escorts from the city defence headquarters. Mistress need not worry. There’s a garrison outside the city so it’s very safe.’
‘I thought he had some official business to attend to. How did he end up going hunting?’
‘We did execute some people. It was on the way back that we saw a nest of rabbits. Master is a good shot and killed the mother rabbit with just one shot and then had the nest of baby rabbits dug out. He told me to bring them back for you to play with.’
Qin Sang’s hand shook involuntarily and she looked up as she asked, ‘Where’s the mother rabbit?’
‘It’s been sent to the kitchen…’ Pan Jianchi seemed a little embarrassed as he said, ‘Master thought you would like them… so he did it especially for you… .’
Qin Sang put back the rabbit she had been holding and said tonelessly, ‘Take them away. I don’t like them.’
Pan Jianchi didn’t seem to expect that he would be rebuffed and tried to say, ‘Master only has kind intentions…’
‘His kind intentions are too much for me. Take them away.’ Qin Sang did not seem to want to look at those snow white baby rabbits any more. ‘Take them away.’
Pan Jianchi only replied with a ‘yes’ before taking the wicker basket out.
Zhu Ma tried to persuade her by saying, ‘Missy, do you have to be like this? Master expressly sent someone back with this just to please you. You should consider that, if nothing else²… .’
²不看僧面看佛面 bù kàn sēng miàn kàn fó miàn: not for the monk’s sake, but for the Buddha’s: (do sth. for a person) out of deference to sb. else
‘That nest of baby rabbits has just been weaned… . But just to make me happy, he shot dead their mother and had all the babies dug out just so I could play with them. I can’t bring myself to accept such outrageous³ entertainment.’
³ 傷天害理 shāngtiān-hàilǐ to offend Heaven and reason (idiom); bloody atrocities that cry to heaven; outrageous acts.
Pan Jianchi stood outside, listening in on their conversation. Calmly he put his hand back in the basket and sure enough, under the soft belly of the baby rabbit Qin Sang had held, he felt a roll of paper. After his fist had closed around the roll of paper, he carried the basket of baby rabbits out.
A guard who had come back with him was standing downstairs and upon seeing him could not help asking, ‘Why did you bring them out again?’
Ch. 7.4
Qin Sang felt like she was in a nightmare. She must be dreaming that Pan Jianchi was saying all this to her in so calm a manner as to be surreal. But it was all real, deep down she knew it was — it was real, it was all true. He recited a long string of numbers to her, god knew what they meant. He didn’t know, neither did she. Now he wanted to know and he had come to her for help to find the code book and decipher what this string of numbers meant. She had an excellent memory; he only had to tell her once and she could remember what the numbers were but she was still in something akin to a trance so everything was just a blur and even after that she was still a bit dazed, as if she hadn’t properly awakened from dreaming. By then she was already sitting in a car with bodyguards perched on the running board outside and Pan Jianchi in another car, so that there were guards in front and behind escorting her all the way to the city defence headquarters. She had already made her decision when she arrived so when Pan Jianchi came to open the door for her, she said to him: ‘Go and ask the commander if he’s coming home for dinner tonight.’
Pan Jianchi looked closely at her but she did not look at him for fear of losing her composure. She was helping him not for old times’ sake, but because she thought it was the right thing to do and she ought to do it. She had never done such a thing before and was understandably nervous. After she had changed her outfit, Zhu Ma brought up a cup of tea to her and seeing that her cheeks were red, asked: ‘What’s wrong, Missy? You’re so flushed. It’s not a fever, is it?’
Qin Sang forced herself to be calm and replied, ‘No, it’s probably because it was windy on the way back.’ She had a mouthful of tea then walked to her dressing table to look at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were certainly red and she scolded herself for being so useless and letting such a small thing discompose her; should Yi Liankai spot something amiss with her, things would go badly. So she picked up the hot cup of tea and sipped it slowly which had the effect of calming her down gradually. She reasoned that even if Yi Liankai did come back, he might not even deal with official business; moreover, she had never once stepped foot into his study. She could only play it by ear¹ and wait till she saw him before she could act. But if he was still in a huff and refused to come back, then that was even worse. She had been so unceremonious with him in the reception room that afternoon and nobody had ever dared speak to him in that way. Perhaps just like of old, he would stay away sulking for ten days to half a month in which case it would really be a disaster.
¹ 見機行事 jiànjī xíngshì see the opportunity and act (idiom); to act according to circumstances
Come evening, Yi Liankai was still not home for dinner. Qin Sang waited until late at night, but in vain, so she ate something indifferently before going to bed. It was past midnight when she heard a thump from outside. Being a light sleeper, she was startled awake and was just about to call out ‘Zhu Ma’ when she heard someone coming towards the bedroom; those footsteps could not be more familiar.
She kept quiet. As expected, the door was pushed open and silhouetted by the lamplight outside was Yi Liankai looking sullen. Unaware that she wasn’t asleep, he braced himself against the bed and bent over the pillow to look at her: his gaze was like the moon on a winter’s night, as light and indifferent and as silvery and cold, even chilly. He sneered suddenly, turned away and was about to leave when she suddenly asked: ‘How much have you had to drink?’
‘Like you care?’
Qin Sang raised her chin and replied: ‘Who cares about you? Come here first!’
She rarely ever used such a tone with him.
Yi Liankai was surprised and thought she only wanted to quarrel with him so he obstinately stayed where he was. Qin Sang got up and shuffled over to him in her slippers. As she got closer, she sniffed his shirt and said with a frown, ‘You stink to high heaven and of red wine no less. There’s no hot water left so you can go sleep on the sofa outside.’
For some reason this last demand caused Yi Liankai to burst out laughing and as he embraced her he said smilingly: ‘Why? Afraid I’ll intoxicate you?’
‘I don’t know why you have to talk with your arms.’ Qin Sang pushed him and ducked, protesting, ‘I hate being pricked by your stubble!’
The night deepened by degrees. A faint greenish light shone through the screen window, like the glaze of some eggshell china or the delicate gauze lanterns used in ballrooms, giving off a faint cold light. After falling asleep, Yi Liankai’s arms had become heavier, like a pair of manacles looped around her waist. Qin Sang gently pushed his arm away but after a while he attached himself to her again, obstinately hugging her waist. She had no choice but to ease one of her pillows out and slip it into his arms; as expected, he slept soundly once he had a pillow to hug.
Qin Sang put on a coat and, pretending she had to go to the bathroom, noiselessly pushed open the door. She turned back to look at Yi Liankai: his breathing was regular and he was fast asleep. Qin Sang crept outside to where his black briefcase was sitting on the brown table — the briefcase which was always with him. It was fastened with an elaborate combination lock which used Arabic numerals and she thought that whatever Pan Jianchi was looking for must be inside.
The sight of this briefcase made her break out in a cold sweat but she slowly forced herself to calm down. Though the code book was so near, she still had the combination lock to contend with and she had no idea how she was going to open it. She stared at the lock for a while then decided to give it a try.
First she tried Yi Liankai’s birthday but it wouldn’t open. Then she tried the license plate number of his daily car but that didn’t work either. After that it was the telephone number, then the gate number, even her own birthday but all to no avail. By now she was afraid that he would wake up so she almost replaced the briefcase when a sudden thought struck her and she tried a different combination.
The lock opened with a barely audible snap.
Her heart was almost threatening to jump out of her chest. She hastily took out the contents: some papers and a small book in which there were a lot of closely-written numbers. Every four numbers was followed by a word and although she had never seen such a thing before, she guessed that this was the code book.
The string of numbers Pan Jianchi had given her were emblazoned in her memory and as she scanned the code book, she deciphered the message: it was just a short one but memorising it sent her into another cold sweat. When she replaced the code book in its original position, her hands were trembling slightly. Fortunately, she could still remember clearly Pan Jianchi’s assiduous drilling: put the code book back in its original place, put all documents back in the same order, make sure to lock the briefcase and return the lock numbers to their original combination… .
Again and again he had drilled her and one by one she restored everything to its original place, not leaving behind any trace. Then she put the briefcase back where she had found it. A pair of white gloves which had been lying on the briefcase were also returned to their original position: she placed one on top of the other with the fingers facing outwards.
After checking several times to make sure nothing looked out of place, she returned to the room. Yi Liankai had not stirred. She slowly eased the pillow out from his grasp and lay down herself. He was sleeping soundly, his breath warm on the back of her neck but she was unable to sleep and could only stare wide-eyed at the ceiling, silently waiting for dawn.
Qin Sang did not sleep well but Yi Liankai was up early. It was wartime after all and no longer like before so the dissolute young master had stopped sleeping in late. Qin Sang, naturally tired and rubbing her eyes, was about to get up. Yi Liankai knew that she was not used to sleeping with him and had inevitably slept poorly. So while dressing hurriedly, he said with something of an apologetic air: ‘Don’t get up. It’s still early so you might as well go back to sleep.’
Qin Sang knew that he would take Pan Jianchi along with him on his business. Even if she got up now, she would not have a chance to speak to Pan Jianchi; worse, it might even arouse her husband’s suspicions. So she lay down again, watching Yi Liankai dress but upon seeing that he was wearing his full dress uniform and carrying a gun, she couldn’t resist asking, ‘Where are you going? Why do you need a gun?’
‘Out of the city. We’re going to execute some spies today.’ After Yi Liankai had worn his leather belt, he strolled over and pulled the blanket up to her neck saying, ‘Exposing your arms to the cold when you’re wearing so little. Don’t complain later that you feel unwell. Aren’t you afraid you’ll catch a cold?’
When Qin Sang heard him mention the word ‘spies’, her heart began thumping wildly and even her ears turned red. However, Yi Liankai misunderstood her reaction. He pinched her earlobe, brushed a kiss on her temple and said, ‘I can’t have lunch with you but I’ll come home tonight to keep you company, all right?’
Qin Sang pulled the blanket over her head and said, ‘Who wants your company? Since you have official business to see to, why don’t you get going instead of dawdling here?’
Yi Liankai laughed a little and then went out.
Having gone out, he was away the whole day. Qin Sang only got up at noon and had just had lunch when she suddenly heard Zhu Ma talking to someone outside, so she called her in and asked: ‘Who’s that outside?’
‘It’s Adjutant Pan. They caught some baby rabbits outside the city and Master dispatched him to bring them home for you to play with.’
Qin Sang said: ‘Ask him to come in then.’
Zhu Ma made an affirmative sound and ushered Pan Jianchi in.
Pan Jianchi was carrying a shallow round wicker basket. There were four to five downy white rabbits inside, each no bigger than a fist, huddled together like little balls of knitting wool and simply adorable.
Qin Sang couldn’t resist smiling a little and said, ‘This looks interesting.’
Pan Jianchi caught a baby rabbit and placed it in Qin Sang’s hand. The baby rabbit was trembling with fear and crouched shivering in her palm, not daring to move.
Since Zhu Ma was still standing beside them, Qin Sang asked, ‘If you’re back here, then who’s with him now?’
‘He has armed escorts from the city defence headquarters. Mistress need not worry. There’s a garrison outside the city so it’s very safe.’
‘I thought he had some official business to attend to. How did he end up going hunting?’
‘We did execute some people. It was on the way back that we saw a nest of rabbits. Master is a good shot and killed the mother rabbit with just one shot and then had the nest of baby rabbits dug out. He told me to bring them back for you to play with.’
Qin Sang’s hand shook involuntarily and she looked up as she asked, ‘Where’s the mother rabbit?’
‘It’s been sent to the kitchen…’ Pan Jianchi seemed a little embarrassed as he said, ‘Master thought you would like them… so he did it especially for you… .’
Qin Sang put back the rabbit she had been holding and said tonelessly, ‘Take them away. I don’t like them.’
Pan Jianchi didn’t seem to expect that he would be rebuffed and tried to say, ‘Master only has kind intentions…’
‘His kind intentions are too much for me. Take them away.’ Qin Sang did not seem to want to look at those snow white baby rabbits any more. ‘Take them away.’
Pan Jianchi only replied with a ‘yes’ before taking the wicker basket out.
Zhu Ma tried to persuade her by saying, ‘Missy, do you have to be like this? Master expressly sent someone back with this just to please you. You should consider that, if nothing else²… .’
²不看僧面看佛面 bù kàn sēng miàn kàn fó miàn: not for the monk’s sake, but for the Buddha’s: (do sth. for a person) out of deference to sb. else
‘That nest of baby rabbits has just been weaned… . But just to make me happy, he shot dead their mother and had all the babies dug out just so I could play with them. I can’t bring myself to accept such outrageous³ entertainment.’
³ 傷天害理 shāngtiān-hàilǐ to offend Heaven and reason (idiom); bloody atrocities that cry to heaven; outrageous acts.
Pan Jianchi stood outside, listening in on their conversation. Calmly he put his hand back in the basket and sure enough, under the soft belly of the baby rabbit Qin Sang had held, he felt a roll of paper. After his fist had closed around the roll of paper, he carried the basket of baby rabbits out.
A guard who had come back with him was standing downstairs and upon seeing him could not help asking, ‘Why did you bring them out again?’
