Talking about Jin Ping Mei

Author: Meng Zhaolian
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-08-01
Features: Not long after, Simen Qing entered the room, trembling and breathless, carefully assisting the woman in getting dressed. Simen Qing slapped her hard across the face, sending her sprawling. He ordered Chunmei to block the front and rear gates, preventing anyone from entering. He sat on a small chair under the flower arch in the courtyard, holding a horsewhip in his hand, ordering the lustful woman to strip and kneel. The woman, realizing she was in the wrong, dared not refuse and did as she was told, removing her clothes and kneeling before him, her face lowered, too afraid to utter a word. Simen Qing then asked, "You wicked slut, don’t try to deny it. I’ve already interrogated you, and you’ve confessed everything. Tell me honestly, how many times have you cheated on me while I was away?" The woman cried, "Oh, my God! Isn’t this unjust! Since you’ve been gone for nearly half a month, I’ve only been doing needlework with Madam Meng during the day and locked myself in my room at night. I wouldn’t dare to leave the courtyard gates unless I had business. You don’t believe me? Just ask Chunmei. She knows everything about us." She then called for Chunmei, "Sister, come here and tell your father personally." Simen Qing cursed, "You wicked slut! Someone says you’ve stolen two or three of the gold hairpins from your head and given them to the maids. How come you don’t deny it?" The woman replied, "If you kill me, it won’t be unjust! It’s that unlucky slut who spreads rumors, talking about her own bouncing body! Seeing that you often come to my room to rest, she’s always resentful and uses this daylight-at-night nonsense to wrong me. Even the hairpins you gave me are numbered, one by one, and you can check them. What have I ever given that maidservant? That good-for-nothing slut! She’s just as talkative as she says, a hairless slut who can’t even pee properly. She’s just making a big fuss about it!" (Twelfth Chapter) What a shameless Pan Jinlian! How skillfully shed her defense, so reasonable and vivid! Simen Qing, finding no loopholes in her words, could only say, "The hairpins may be missing." But he then produced the brocade fragrant pouch taken from Qintong, and without giving the woman a chance to speak, he brought the whip down hard on her fragrant skin, striking her with such force that she cried out in pain, tears welling in her eyes, pleading, "Oh, my dear father, spare me!" Jinlian, crying and begging for mercy, also lied, saying the brocade pouch had been dropped in the garden and picked up by Qintong. Simen Qing was initially furious, but seeing the woman stripped bare and kneeling before him, pleading with a trembling voice, he suddenly softened, his anger melting away, "That anger had already vanished into thin air, and his heart was moved by about eight parts of tenderness." With compassion in his heart, he naturally didn’t want to beat Jinlian further and found an excuse, pulling Chunmei close to him and asking, "You wicked slut, have you been with the maidservants? If you say you’ll spare me, I’ll spare you." And so, he truly forgave her. This thunderstorm of a major incident ended abruptly. Though Jinlian suffered little physical pain this time, the humiliation she endured would never be forgotten. So she fiercely confronted Yu Lou, saying, "Sister, you see that slut playing around behind your back, hitting me like this. Tomorrow, I’ll have a deep-seated grudge against these two sluts." (Twelfth Chapter) This truly reflects Pan Jinlian’s character! She loves to hold grudges, she loves revenge, and she especially cannot tolerate being "set up" by women like Li Jiaorui and Sun Xue’er. In reality, this is also her flaw. She doesn’t understand the principle that what goes around comes around, lacks the ability to endure hardship and rise above it, and has been like this her entire life, so her fate ultimately led to her downfall. She only knows that Li Jiaorui and Sun Xue’er humiliated her this time, but she never realized that her own "provocation" had caused Sun Xue’er physical pain and that her insults to Guijie had made Li Jiaorui resent her. Both Jiaorui and E’er knew they were in a lower position in Simen Qing’s household and had long felt resentful. Now, watching Pan Jinlian rise above them and even bully them, they could no longer remain silent. Their methods, of course, were not sophisticated—they were still using Simen Qing’s "spear" to attack Pan Jinlian’s "shield," no different from Pan Jinlian’s own "provocation." In truth, the among Simen Qing’s wives and concubines were mostly about using Simen Qing as a weapon to attack or a shield to retreat behind. This was the shared cleverness of these women. The situation was clear: as wives and concubines, though there were ranks, they all belonged to the same man, making him their, which was their common ground. It would be very difficult for one of them to subdue another, or it would only be a fruitless effort. Relying on Simen Qing to punish the other would have overwhelming power, and the victor would not be Simen Qing but herself—her wisdom, strength, and status would be fully demonstrated. They all used Simen Qing as a fulcrum to press down on their rivals and elevate themselves. The opposing sides rose and fell in turn, and this was the "tragedy and comedy" of the women in the Simen household!
One day, Simen Qing, bored, heard Dai’an say that Ben Si’s wife had been idle since her daughter was married and was very lonely. He told Dai’an, "Since she has no one to serve, you can take good care of her." Suddenly, he had an idea and whispered to Dai’an, "Slowly tell her: Father wants to come to your room to see you. How do you feel? See what she says. If she agrees, ask her for a silk handkerchief for me." Dai’an, experienced in mediating between Simen Qing and others, readily agreed and quickly arranged the meeting, returning to tell Simen Qing about the woman’s reaction: "I relayed Father’s words to her. She laughed and said she would wait up for him in the evening and asked me to bring the silk handkerchief." Simen Qing immediately put the handkerchief in his sleeve, eagerly waiting for the evening. That night, seeing no one around, Simen Qing walked to Ben Si’s house in just a few steps, as it was right across the street, very convenient. The book describes: The wife of Ben Si had been standing alone at the door for a long time when she saw the door of the opposite house close. Simen Qing walked from the shadows toward her. The woman quickly opened the door and Simen Qing slipped inside. She closed the door behind him and said, "Father, please sit inside the paper door." The inner room was divided into two parts, with a small bed in the back, heated by a strong fire, and a lamp lit on the table. The beds on both sides were freshly papered white, hanging four hanging screens. The woman wore a green and gold hairpin on her head, four gold hairpins in her hair, two almond-shaped earrings, a purple silk jacket, a blue silk outer jacket, and a white silk skirt. She bowed and greeted Simen Qing with a thousand blessings, quickly offering him tea and saying quietly, "I’m afraid the woman next door, Aunt Han, will find out." Simen Qing replied, "It doesn’t matter. She won’t know in the dark!" Without waiting for a reply, he embraced the woman and kissed her. Simen Qing took out a package of broken silver, worth five or six taels, and two pairs of gold hairpins, giving them to the woman to buy flowers and hair accessories. The woman thanked him and quietly sent him out. (Seventy-Seventh Chapter) Both believed they had done so discreetly, thinking no one would find out. Who knew that Aunt Han next door had heard the and told Pan Jinlian about it. Jinlian, of course, would not let it go easily, but she didn’t erupt immediately. Instead, she found an opportunity to subtly provoke Simen Qing. One day, Simen Qing and Yue Niang planned that the next day was the Lantern Festival. It was necessary to invite the wives of some officials and close friends. Simen Qing said, "We’ll only hang the lanterns on the twelfth or thirteenth. We’ll also have the young servants of Wang Imperial relative’s family dress up and perform for a day. But last year, when Ben Si was still here, we set off some fireworks. This year, he’s gone to the capital, and no one is around to do it. Who will watch the fireworks?" Before Simen Qing finished speaking, Pan Jinlian interrupted, "Ben Si is gone, but his wife can still set them off." Simen Qing had thought that his affair with Ben Si’s wife was unknown, but hearing Jinlian say this, he was startled. However, he couldn’t explain himself and perhaps felt no need to. He just glanced at Jinlian and said, "That wicked slut, three words and she’s ruined everything." Fortunately, Yue Niang and Yu Lou didn’t pay too much attention, and the matter passed. Jinlian had obtained this information—first from Aunt Han’s report, and later confirmed by Ben Si’s wife’s own actions. It turned out that Ben Si’s wife had also been in an affair with Simen Qing’s trusted Dai’an, and even before Simen Qing. Dai’an, seeing his mistress also seducing his master, felt no jealousy. That night, after Simen Qing left, Dai’an went back to meet the woman. Ben Si’s wife worried, "I’m afraid Aunt Han next door will spread the word, and the others will hear. Like Aunt Han’s wife, if they say a few words, it’ll be embarrassing to see them." Dai’an then gave her advice, saying, "In the house, besides Madam and the fifth concubine, it doesn’t matter. Madam is fine, but the fifth concubine is sharp. If you follow my advice, buy something for Madam during the festival. Don’t mind anything else, but she loves steamed pastries. Buy a box of steamed pastry with fruit filling and a box of good, large melon seeds to give her. The ninth is the fifth concubine’s birthday, so you can also give her a gift. Give her an extra box of melon seeds personally. Tomorrow, come in to kowtow, and I’ll make sure many mouths are shut." (Seventy-Eighth Chapter)