Chapter 39: The mountains have trees; the trees have branches (III)

Song Shijiu suddenly became interested. “What type?”

“More or less the first two years when I moved to the mountains, there was a young lady who asked me to act as a matchmaker.” The sound of rainfall decreased a bit, and the skies also cleared several degrees; the embroidery frame in Yan-niang’s hands stretched the white silk tight, reflecting the rays of light, and the fine warp and weft of the silk could be seen. “What you need to know is, the young lady came to visit herself to ask for a matchmaker, which was incredibly strange; not to mention, that young lady’s appearance was extremely lively and beautiful. My eyes are thin and long, and not very attractive; that young woman in fact had a pair of both large, and black, and beautiful eyes, her brows rising upwards, with an appearance of tender-heartedness. In the decades before and the decades since, I haven’t seen this sort of beautiful eyes.”

As she spoke, she gestured with the hand with the thimble at the edge of her eye; the corner of her eye had distinct wrinkles, and to compare it with the shape of the young lady she’d mentioned was a harsh comparison. “That young lady was born beautiful, but the words she spoke weren’t very clear; her astrological birthdate was a muddled mess, and her family also didn’t have mother and father and elders, as if she was orphaned, yet her spending was incredibly extravagant.” Yan-niang made a prick with her needle, the cotton thread passing through with a rapid crack, fine particles of dust flicked up. “This didn’t count as the strange part,” she said, narrowing her eyes to look at the base of the needle, and raised her head with a smile. “In fact, what was the most strange was that she had indeed prepared for herself a bridal sedan, each time being carried to the door of my home, saying that if the ideal husband were to be found, she would invite him into the litter and carry him back home. Looking at your reaction, it can’t be that you think that young lady was stupid?” Yan-niang shook her head at Song Shijiu, and continued, “At first, I also pondered this, but she unexpectedly had an extensive plan, and her manner of speaking and bearing were no different than an ordinary person. At that time, I was youthful, and the young lady also came to me on account of reputation, so it probably wasn’t good to fail to live up to expectations, so I agreed to it.”

Song Shijiu’s distinctive black and white eyes were wide, unexpectedly somewhat similar to that strange young lady. Yan-niang kept embroidering with thread and needle, and her words also came out a phrase at a time. “At that time, I was extremely meticulous, and gathered up all the talented and handsome youths in Sijiucheng, and presented the calling cards to her like running water, to allow her to pick and choose, and she also looked them over incredibly earnestly. But the first time, there weren’t any she liked, and the second time, there weren’t either, and the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth times, she would come with the bridal sedan to look, and, unexpectedly, each time, she would return empty-handed.” Even up to now, Yan-niang still had a bit of bewilderedness; perhaps she still had that bit of unreconciledness; the Second Young Master Wang from the pawn shop in the west of the city was a single talent in a hundred, but the young lady said that he liked to speak foreign languages, and listening to him was like a foolish parrot raised by someone from Mount Tu. What the people of Mount Tu were, she didn’t know, but this young lady was demanding, knowing everything.

“Then, afterwards?” Song Shijiu, listening, had become riveted, her teeth nipping at a small bit of tender flesh on the back of her hand, unconsciously worrying it.

“So after a year, about the start of the summer of the second year, that young lady didn’t come again.” Coming with no reason, leaving inexplicably; Yan-niang, for no reason, was a bit melancholic. “I had someone search for a good half month, wanting to return the silver she gave me, but she had left no traces.” Yan-niang drew in a long breath, and there was a bit of a lingering after-effect that was hard to describe in the space between her no longer useful lips and nose. “Speaking of it, this is also my one point of regret. I’ve been a good matchmaker, having been praised by public reputation across the country; only this time did I meet a wall, myself also a bit uncontented; before long, I simply ‘washed my hands in a gold basin’^[1] and moved into the mountains.”

Song Shijiu drew a breath; she didn’t much like this sort of story, with neither a head nor tail, which was like a copper pea within her heart that couldn’t be cooked soft, and for a short while it was also a bit discontented, and she tilted her head to shoot a glance at Li Shiyi, and, seeing that her features were clear, regal, and aloof, it made her become carefree in an instant. Therefore, she chose a different topic. “In your time as a matchmaker, using your proximity to power to obtain favour, you didn’t ever look for a good one for yourself?” It was really a good bit altruistic.

Yan-niang covered up her mouth, laughing with a pu-chi, the thimble on her finger adding to her mature appearance. “It’s precisely on becoming accustomed to seeing the matters of romance that I didn’t much value male-female relationships as a rarity.”

Song Shijiu felt pity for her. “But in this life, if you haven’t sat in a vibrant red bridal sedan, then it must really be regretted.” She spoke without thinking, and the space between Li Shiyi’s brows twitched, and she tilted her face, gazing at her thoughtfully.

But Yan-niang smiled and shook her head, lowering her eyes to the embroidery, bringing an elaborate stamen into being; only seeming to think of something did she raise her head, saying gently, “Come to think of it, I’ve actually sat in a bridal sedan before.”

It wasn’t clear when the sky cleared up a bit; she set down her embroidery work, and looked around the courtyard a bit, and then sat back down again, and said, “That young lady’s sedan chair was incredibly elaborate, the red base as colourful as rouge, with life-like golden luan and silver phoenixes; one time, I took the opportunity to look at her name card within, and couldn’t help but secretly sit down on it for a moment. Actually, it was coincidental; as soon as I sat down, the broad daylight suddenly was torn with thunder, and unexpectedly there was a bright sunshower.” The residual raindrops on the windowsill fell with a drumming, as if they were echoing her, and she said with a smile, “At the time, I wasn’t very experienced, and was incredibly unconfident, and crawled out in a hurry, and entered the house with my state of mind still in doubt; that young lady…”

She paused for a moment, and stopped talking.

That young lady had an umbrella raised, standing in the rain and gazing at her crimson cheeks, her expression seeming to understand clearly, while also seeming to have no comprehension.

Yan-niang smiled and stood up, saying, “The rain’s stopped.”

Li Shiyi drew her gaze back from the shining tabletop, slanting her head downwards to the left to cast a gaze outside, and also rose, saying, “It’s cleared; we should take our leave.”

Yan-niang, expecting that they were sure to have matters they were occupied with, didn’t linger much longer either, only taking off her thimble to see them to the door. But when the door had just opened, they saw a lump of something velvety white leaning against the foot of the wall and scuttle inside; about the size of a small dog, with a tapered face and black eyes, its originally bright and beautiful fur drenched with wetness, sullied with a good deal of mud, its small paws scratching at the ground, gasping in panting breaths. “A Bai,” Yan-niang called, smiling, the private concern at the ends of her brows finally dispelling.

The small beast which had been called A Bai let out a whimper, agonisingly slowly walking towards her; Yan-niang crouched, disregarding her cheongsam soaking up muddy water, only half-embracing and petting its head. “When I moved her, A Bai in fact followed me; just now, I was about to go out to look for it,” Yan-niang said.

Li Shiyi dropped her gaze to look at A Bai, and saw Yan-niang drawing it into her embrace, its head drooping in the crook of Yan-niang’s arm; as Yan-niang saw them off, she also caressed its clever back. “It’s elderly now, its legs not very nimble, and its courage is also quite small.”

Song Shijiu had originally thought to step forward and pet it; hearing these words, she drew back her hand, and followed behind Li Shiyi out the door. Yan-niang leaned against the doorway, nodding her head to them in farewell.

The outsides of footsteps bringing up small splashes, the two people once again entered the mountain forest; Song Shijiu looked upwards to ask Li Shiyi, “Just now, what was that?”

Li Shiyi replied, “A fox.”

“So that’s what it was.” Song Shijiu smiled; the small beast had taken a roll in the mud, blackened and filthy, and was unexpectedly rather hard to recognise.

She originally assumed that Li Shiyi wouldn’t speak again, but she heard her speak mildly, “You rather like listening to stories, don’t you?”

Song Shijiu nodded.

Li Shiyi blinked her thin phoenix eyes, and said, “Then I’ll tell you one.”

“Alright.” Song Shijiu was unable to contain her joy, gazing at her and stammering.

Li Shiyi pushed aside weeds half as tall as a person, and thought for a bit, and then said, “It’s rumoured that to the south of Mount Tu there’s a fox spirit; the fox was born with nine tails, and cultivated for four hundred years, and was able to gain a human form. When the fox spirit reached five hundred years, it had to then take a wife; it was to take a bridal sedan up the mountain, and be welcomed back to Mount Tu. If it couldn’t, then it couldn’t keep its human form, and would have to return to its animal shape.”

Song Shijiu’s heart jolted; the scattered and fragmentary speech were strangely connected together; within the tableau was that strange young lady, the exquisite bridal sedan, the timid A Ba, and Yan-niang, alone in the world.

Li Shiyi raised her gaze to look at the clearing sky, and continued to speak. “When its true love enters the sedan, the clear sky will rain, not stopping for half the day.”

Song Shijiu bit her lower lip, unconsciously looking backwards, and only after a long while replied, “This story, what’s it called?”

Li Shiyi laughed quietly, using a phrase from a folk song of Mount Tu to create an ending—

“Gently, the white fox pacified, its nine tails numerous and twined. Embracing the lord in return, eternal and forever.”

-

< LAST | HOME | NEXT >

-

Translator's notes:

[1]: Used to describe someone leaving a profession or arena.