DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS Book 2 of 5 (Shrouding Screen In Suzhou) by Jin Yong

Forevemore Intoxicated Part 2

Duan Yu replied, "For starters, Madame Wang, you made the mistake of calling these flowers 'Full Moon' camellias. If you don't even recognize what the exact breed of flowers you have are, how can you be said to understand flowers? One of the flowers is named 'Red Makeup, White Wrappings'. Another is called 'Clawing a Beautiful Woman's Face'." Intrigued, Madame Wang asked, "'Clawing A Beautiful Woman's Face?' Is there really such a weird flower name? Which one is it?"

Duan Yu said, "If you want to ask for my advice, you need to follow proper etiquette."

Duan Yu had mocked her mercilessly, without her being able to defend herself, but upon hearing that one of her four vases of flowers had such a unique name, Madame Wang was filled with delight. Smiling, she said, "Fine! Xiaoshi, order the cooks to prepare a banquet at the 'Pavilion of Glorious Clouds' in order to entertain young gentleman Duan." After acknowledging the order, Xiaoshi left.

Ah Zhu and Ah Bi gazed at each other. Seeing that Duan Yu had not only escaped death, but was also now being treated as a guest by Madame Wang, both of them were overjoyed at the surprise.

The servant who had taken Tang Guangxiong returned and reported, "That person surnamed Tang from Dali has already been buried beneath a red camellia in front of the 'Pavilion of Rosy Clouds'." Duan Yu's heart went cold. Madame Wang didn't seem to care at all. She simply nodded, then said, "Young gentleman Duan, please come this way!" Duan Yu said, "I dared to disturb you; I am very blessed indeed that you, my host, are so forgiving." Madame Wang said, "An able and worthy person has come, bringing great honor and glory to the flowers and ramparts of the Highland Manor of Camellias." The two of them spoke courteously to each other as they walked, not revealing a shred of the life-and-death danger Duan Yu had been in just moments ago.

With Madame Wang accompanying Duan Yu, the two passed by a forest of flowers, a stone bridge, and a small alleyway before arriving in front of a small pavilion. Below the eaves of the pavilion, Duan Yu saw an inscribed wooden board with the words, "Pavilion of Glorious Clouds", written in blackish-green ink in the seal-script style. Camellia flowers blossomed all around the pavilion. But in Dali, these camellia flowers were considered to be third or fourth class rubbish. Their appearance totally clashed with the refined-looking and elegantly constructed pavilion.

Madame Wang actually seemed to be very pleased with herself. "Young gentleman Duan, in your Dali there are many camellia flowers, but I'm afraid that compared to my place, there still aren't quite as many." Duan Yu nodded. "It's true that we don't plant this sort of camellia flowers in Dali." Madame Wang chortled, "Really?" Duan Yu replied, "In Dali, even country bumpkins know that these camellias are not of very high quality, and too mundane to plant." The color of Madame Wang's face changed, and she angrily said, "What did you just say? You say that these flowers of mine are of poor quality? Aren't these words of yours too...too infuriating and insulting?"

Duan Yu said, "Madame, if you don't believe me, that's your choice." Pointing to a gorgeous, five-colored camellia in front of the pavilion, he said, "This flower, you no doubt treat as a precious treasure, right? Hm. Actually, the jade railing next to the camellia is made from actual Hotan jade. It's very beautiful, very beautiful." He was gushing with praise for the jade railing next to the camellia while not saying much about the flower itself; this was akin to a person, while viewing someone else's calligraphy, praise how dark the ink was and how famous and rare the paper was.

This camellia was both red and white, both violet and yellow. The variety of colors it possessed were magnificent and resplendent. Madame Wang had always treated it as a treasure. Now, seeing Duan Yu showing such disdain for it, she immediately furrowed her eyebrows, emitting a murderous look from her eyes. Duan Yu said, "Madame, if I may ask, what is this flower known as here in Jiangnan?" Madame Wang vehemently said, "We don't have any particularly special name for it. We just call it the 'Five-Colored Cammelia'." Duan Yu smiled. "But we in Dali have a name for it. We call it the 'Failed Scholar'."

Madame Wang spat. "Bah! Such an ugly name! You must have made that up. This flower is gorgeous to behold. Why would it be called a 'Failed Scholar'?" Duan Yu said, "Madame, please take a look and count for yourself. How many colors do the blossoms of this camellia flower have?" Madame Wang said, "I counted them long ago. There's at least fifteen or sixteen." Duan Yu said, "There are exactly seventeen colors. In Dali, there is famous camellia flower called the 'Eighteen Scholars'. It is one of one of the highest grade camellias in the world. Each plant has precisely eighteen flowers, and each flower is of a different color. The red flower is totally red; the violent flowers are totally purple. There's not a single hint of intermingled color. In addition, the shape of each of the eighteen blossoms is different as well, with each possessing their own unique beauty. When they bloom, they bloom at the same time; when they wither, all eighteen flowers wither at the same time. Madame, have you seen it before?" Madame Wang had been listening, stunned. She shook her head. "Camellias like this actually exist? I've never even heard of it!"

Duan Yu said, "Compared to the 'Eighteen Scholars', there are some other famous flowers that are similar to it in quality. The 'Thirteen Grand Protectors' are camellia plants that have thirteen blossoms, each with a totally different color. The 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea' refers to camellia plants with eight different colored blossoms. The 'Seven Celestial Maidens' refers to camellia plants with seven different colored blossoms. The 'Three Heroes of Hardship' have three blossoms, and the 'Two Qiao Sisters' have two blossoms; one red, one white. For all of these camellia flowers, the color of each blossom must be pure. If there's a hint of white within a red flower, or a blush of red in a white flower, it is considered a low-grade version." Madame Wang couldn't help but be carried away and raptured by his explanations. Lifting her head up, she quietly whispered to herself, "Why didn't he ever tell me this?"

[Translator's note: All of the above refer to famous historical or mythical personages in ancient China, each with many legends attached to them. The 'Thirteen Grand Protectors' refers to a group of thirteen legendary warriors during the Five Dynasties period who protected Li Cunxu, who proclaimed himself Emperor Zhuangzhong of the Later Tang dynasty. The 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea' is a very famous story in its own right. The 'Seven Celestial Maidens' are all daughters of the emperor of Heaven. The 'Three Heroes of Hardship' refers to Li Jing (who later became deified) and his two sworn brothers. The 'Two Qiao Sisters' refers to two lengendarily beautiful sisters of the Qiao family during the Three Kingdoms period. The younger sister married Zhou Yu; the older sister was married to Sun Ce, Sun Quan's older brother.]

Duan Yu continued, "Within the 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea', there must be a deep violet flower and a light red flower. These two represent Iron-Crutched Li and Female Celestial He. If this isn't the case, even if all eight flowers have different colors, they cannot be called the 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea'. They would simply be called the 'Eight Precious Adornments'. They are also considered to be famous flowers, but are a level inferior to the 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea'." Madame Wang said, "So that's how it is."

Duan Yu continued, "Now, let's talk about the 'Three Heroes of Hardship'. There's differences between high quality and low quality versions of these flowers as well. In authentic versions, the violet flower must be the largest in size, symbolizing Qiu Ranke. The white flower is second, symbolizing Li Jing. The red flower is the most delicate and the smallest, as it represents lady Hong Fu. If the red flower is larger than the violet flower or the white flower, then the flower is considered to be of a low quality, and has a much lower status ranking." Duan Yu spoke of these flowers as though he were enumerating his own family's valuables, because these flowers were indeed treasures of the Duan family. Naturally, he was very familiar with them. Madame Wang listened to him talk with keen pleasure. She sighed, "I haven't even seen low quality flowers, much less high quality ones."

Duan Yu pointed towards the five-colored camellia. "This flower not only has one less color than the 'Eighteen Scholars', but the flowers are not pure in color. They bloom at different times, and are all of different sizes. In every aspect, it attempts to imitate the 'Eighteen Scholars', but is never able to match up. Isn't that a sad, miserable thing? Thus, we call this flower a 'Failed Scholar'." Madame Wang couldn't help but let out a breath, then laughed, "This flower's name is really too acrimonious and unkind. Most likely, you scholars came up with it."

By this point in time, Madame Wang had full faith of Duan Yu's knowledge of camellia flowers. She immediately escorted him into the 'Pavilion of Glorious Clouds'. Duan Yu saw that the furnishings upstairs were rich and beautiful, with a large painting of a peacock spreading its feathers in the middle of the room and two matching poetic lines carved in wood at each side of the painting. The lines read, "A dense cloud of leaves coats the land, even the snow is jealous of the camellia's beauty." Very shortly, the banquet began. Madame Wang invited Duan Yu to take the seat of honor, while she herself took a right-hand seat to keep him company.

The dishes prepared at the banquet were very different from the ones which Ah Zhu and Ah Bi had earlier prepared. The dishes Ah Zhu and Ah Bi prepared were very light and refined, showing great craftsmanship in simple dishes. But the banquet dishes at the 'Pavilion of Glorious Clouds' emphasized luxuriousness, with such rarities as bear paws and shark fins. Every dish was made from rare and precious ingredients. Duan Yu, being a scion of the royal family, had become accustomed to eating rare and precious dishes since birth. In his mind, the banquet here was actually inferior to the food the two girls prepared at the 'Pavilion of Zither Melodies.'

After three rounds of drinks, Madame Wang asked, "The Duan family of Dali is a famous, aristocratic family of the martial world. Why is it that you do not study martial arts?" Duan Yu replied, "There are a large number of people in Dali who have the surname Duan. Only the royal descendants of the imperial family study martial arts. Commoners like me do not study martial arts." Whether he would live or die was wholly under the control of this woman. Being in such a humiliating position, he had decided that no matter what he could not reveal his real identity, for fear of degrading the fame and prestige of his uncle and his father. Madame Wang said, "You are a commoner?" Duan Yu replied, "I am." Madame Wang said, "Do you know any members of the royal Duan family?" Duan Yu replied, "None whatsoever."

Madame Wang was lost in thought for some time, then changed the topic. "Earlier, you were speaking about the various merits and qualities of camellia flowers, causing me to suddenly see the light. The flower artisans of Suzhou from whom I acquired these four vases of flowers called these flowers 'Full Moon' flowers, but you said that one is named 'Red Makeup, White Wrappings', and that another is named 'Clawing a Beautiful Woman's Face'. I don't know how they can be told apart, and would like to ask for your advice."

Duan Yu replied, "The plant with the large white flowers with faint black spots is the one known as the 'Full Moon' flower. Those faint black spots are the cassia twigs which grow on the moon. That other plant with white flowers which has two olive-pit sized black spots on the petals is known as the 'Beautiful Eyes' flower." Madame Wang happily said, "This is a very good name."

Duan Yu continued, "The plant with white flowers that are sprinkled with red dots is known as 'Red Makeup, White Wrappings'. Lastly, the plant with white flowers covered by a faint green sheen and thin, hair-like strips of red is known as 'Clawing a Beautiful Woman's Face'. However, if too many of those red lines appear, the flower is no longer known as 'Clawing a Beautiful Woman's Face', but rather it is called 'Resting On a Lovely Railing'. Madame, please consider this. A beautiful woman must be gentle, refined, and warm. If by chance a scratch occasionally appears on her face, it can't be because she damaged herself while putting on makeup, nor can it be that she got into a fight with someone else. The only possible explanation is that while she was playing with her pet parrot, it scratched her. This is very normal and understandable. Thus, this flower must have a green sheen, which represents the green feathers of a parrot. But if her entire face is scratched and clawed, the only explanation is that this woman always gets into fights with others, in which case, how can she be considered to be beautiful?"

Up till now, Madame Wang was repeatedly nodding as he spoke, very pleased. Suddenly, her face sunk with anger as she shouted, "How dare you! Are you mocking me?"

Duan Yu was startled, then hurriedly said, "I wouldn't dare! I don't know how I offended you, madame." Madame Wang angrily said, "Whose stories did you listen to, for you to come here and concoct these wild lies to insult me? Who says that a woman can no longer be considered beautiful after learning martial arts? What's so good about being gentle, refined, prim and proper?" Duan Yu was startled. "My words were based upon the standard, accepted explanation for the naming of this flower. There are many women who know martial arts that are both beautiful and stately." He didn't expect that Madame Wang found these words grating to the ear as well, as she yelled, "So are you saying that I'm not stately?"

Duan Yu replied, "Whether or not you are stately, you yourself know best, madame. How would I dare comment wildly? But for you to demand that a man murder his wife and wed another woman is definitely not proper at all." By now, he himself was getting angry as well, and no longer cared about what he was saying.

Madame Wang gestured with her hand, and the four girls who were serving them stepped forward in unison. Bowing, they said, "Yes, madame?" Madame Wang said, "Take this man into your custody and away from my sight. I command that he be given the task of watering my camellias!" The four servants said in unison, "Yes, madame!"

Madame Wang said, "Duan Yu, you are a person from Dali, and your family name is Duan. I should have killed you long ago. For the moment, I'll postpone your execution, but I'll punish you by giving you the task of taking care of all of the camellias in this manor. You need to take especial care with the four which we have brought home today. Let me be clear. If a single one of these four vases of camellia flowers dies, I will chop off one of your hands. If two die, I will chop off both. If all four die, I will turn you into a limbless cripple." Duan Yu asked, "And if all four live?" Madame Wang said, "After all four flowers begin to flourish, your job will be to cultivate other famous camellias for me. 'Eighteen Scholars', 'Thirteen Grand Protectors', 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea', 'Seven Celestial Maidens', 'Three Heroes of Hardship', and the 'Two Qiao Sisters'. I want several of each! If you can't accomplish it, I'll tear your eyeballs out."

Duan Yu loudly objected, "These famous flowers are rarely seen, even in Dali. It will be almost impossible to find them in Jiangnan. If you can get several of each just like that, how can they be considered to be rare and precious breeds? Just go ahead and kill me now! I refuse to accept the torture of having you cut off my hands today and gouge out my eyes tomorrow." Madame Wang loudly rebuked him, "You must be tired of living, to act so rudely in front of me. Take him away!"