Niu Yueqing mulled over what she had just heard. In the past, she and Zhuang had fought often, but each time whatever it was about was smoothed over; they continued to eat together and slept in the same bed, having sex at least once a week. But since he had met Tang Wan’er, the situation had slowly begun to change. They seemed to fight less and seldom quarreled, but they did not come together for three weeks or more. She wondered if Liu Yue was just being a blabbermouth. He was away a good deal of the time and was withdrawn at home, probably because of all his troubles.
“I don’t like trouble, Liu Yue,” she said to the girl. “You came to work for us because we had a karmic connection. I’ve always treated you like a sister, and I’ve never looked down on you. I wish you could stay here forever, but that’s impossible. Soon you’ll be married into the mayor’s family, a wonderful outcome that both your Zhuang Laoshi and I worked hard to bring about. We don’t expect any repayment, but you must behave well while you’re still here, so that others won’t gossip.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what I think now that you’ve said what’s on your mind. If I were a typical girl from a family in the city, not a maid, would you have said those things to me? In your eyes, I’m always the country girl, the maid, and now you find it hard to take when I’m the equal of any city girl. Of course I’m grateful to you, and I’d be happy to spend the rest of my life here. I’m going to marry a disabled guy who’s like the Monkey King eating a pear when he sits down; who can’t bring his legs together in bed; who stands like a one-legged golden chicken; and who trips over himself when he walks, like a tethered cow. Am I really marrying so well? I want to live so that no one will ever think I’m a maid from the countryside.” As she talked, Liu Yue started feeling sorry for herself, so she went to her room to dry her tears.
Niu Yueqing had wanted to teach the girl a lesson, but she ended up being the target of Liu’s criticism. Feeling her face burn, she wanted to defend herself, but held back. The next day, Zhuang hastily downed two bowls of rice and got up to go to his study. Reminded of what Liu Yue had said about Zhuang and Tang Wan’er waiting together on the street, Niu Yueqing felt her appetite leave her. She stirred the contents of her bowl without putting anything in her mouth. “Can’t you sit and talk awhile after you’re done eating?” she asked.
“My mood is at its worst before and after mealtime, so please don’t bother me.”
“But that’s the only time we have to talk. I wouldn’t ask you to say a word if you weren’t my husband.”
The displeased tone in her voice stopped him. “You’re right. If someone on the street tried to stop my wife and talk to her, I’d call him a rotten bastard. Well, let’s talk, then. It’s a clear day, the high is thirty-four degrees, and the low—” He flicked his wrist and went into his study.
Clamping her mouth shut, Niu Yueqing sighed and pushed aside her bowl and chopsticks. She stood and followed him into the study. “Tell me the truth. Are you involved with Tang Wan’er?” she blurted out, so surprising him that he froze before blowing out cigarette smoke.
“Yes,” he said with his eyes on her face.
Though she had been suspicious of her husband and Wan’er, Niu Yueqing was hoping for the best with her question; he might deny it outright, swear his innocence, or fly into a rage, but there would be no more doubts. But he had calmly said, “Yes.”
Troubled by his response, she felt her face darken. “Well, at least you’re being honest. Now tell me how involved. When you walked Liu Yue to meet Dazheng that night, did you really spend all that time alone on the street? You came home late and told me that Liu Yue got into a car without telling you. Where did you and Tang Wan’er go? What did you do? Tell me.”
Her questions told him that everything was coming to a head. He had said “Yes” in that calm tone because he wanted to test her reaction, but now he regretted his tactic. “Liu Yue,” he called out, “what did you say to Dajie? Are you being a troublemaker?”
“No need to call her. I know everything; now I want to hear it from you.”
“What did we do? She went home after we walked Liu Yue to City Hall. What do you think we did?”
Niu Yueqing had no answer for that, so he pressed on: “You don’t know, do you? Well, I’ll tell you. We had sex right there on the street in front of all the passersby, and then we went to her house and did the same in front of Zhou Min.”
“Why are you yelling? Are you trying to pick a fight?”
“You’re the one who’s picking a fight.” He raised his voice. “Why don’t you call Liu Yue in and have her explain it to you?”
“You’re good at winning arguments, and I have to believe you for now. But let me tell you this. I can take any hardship regarding your life, your health, your career, and your future, but I won’t stand for any fooling around. You were close to Jing Xueyin and I didn’t say anything, did I? I could have washed my hands of the whole fiasco when she turned against you. She was an upright person who could be helpful in your career when you were friends. I’m not the jealous type. But societal mores have degenerated to such a degree that the country is filled with women who love money, status, power, and their own pleasure. I won’t allow you to waste time with them.” She walked out to resume eating.
The episode should have blown over when she went to work the next day, but Niu Yueqing could not stop thinking about Liu’s comment as she sat in her office alone. “Dajie is the Happy Buddha, with a belly big enough to take in things that are too hard to swallow.” Finally realizing that there was more to what the girl had said, she recalled how Tang Wan’er had always looked her best when she came to visit. Her eyes were emotional and expressive, ideal for seducing a man. Although Zhuang was on the timid side, writers tend to be sensitive, tenderhearted, and sentimental, so it was unlikely he was not affected. If Tang Wan’er had avoided tempting him, he might have had the desire, but not the nerve to act on it. But Tang was not the type to stay within bounds; she had run away from Tongguan with Zhou Min, so what was there to stop her from seducing Zhuang? The slightest hint from her could unleash the man’s adulterous urges. Niu Yueqing searched her memory and recalled the day Tang Wan’er had tucked in Zhuang’s blanket in front of her. That was not something an ordinary guest would do; if they hadn’t been intimate, she would not have acted so naturally. Niu Yueqing then thought back to the day she had run into the two of them at the building by the nunnery. Tang Wan’er had looked uncomfortable. If she had indeed been looking for a part-time job, why hadn’t she mentioned it before or since? Suspicion grew in Niu Yueqing’s heart and prompted her to call Zhou Min at the magazine office. When he came on the phone, she asked him whether Tang Wan’er had been home on the night Liu Yue went to meet Dazheng. Zhou Min said it was nearly midnight when she returned. “I thought Shimu had asked her to spend the night.”
“Nearly midnight?” Niu Yueqing repeated.
“It was. Is anything wrong? Why are you asking about this?”
“No reason. I was just worried that something might have happened to her, because I haven’t seen her for quite some time.”
Zhou Min was curious about the call when he put down the phone. Was it just about that? Why did Niu Yueqing stress the time Tang Wan’er came home? Was it because she hadn’t walked Liu Yue over? But when she came home, she said she had walked the girl over with Zhuang. So why was Shimu calling? He went home full of questions. Wan’er was lying on the bed, counting something on a wall calendar. He craned his neck to look over her shoulder, and saw that some of the dates were circled in red, some had triangles around them, and others were marked with exclamation points.