A Concubine for the Family: A Family Saga in China (19 page)

His father died a few days later, but the old man’s words left an indelible mark on Glorious Dragon. He could no longer be indifferent when war or opium threatened his family’s honor or safety. In spite of his disregard for tradition, he managed his family business with intense commitment.

He shared all his family concerns with Bright Crystal. She had also grown up without a mother. Her father would have taught her to cook, but he had followed his heart instead and allowed his only child to choose her own path. She was fortunate not to have been highborn and thus bound by old restrictions. She chose to pursue her own interests wherever her inclinations took her. Glorious Dragon admired her honesty and courage, but he never told her of his new insatiable urge to wreak havoc in General Chin’s opium dens. He knew that her ignorance was her protection.

W
HAT DISGUISE SHOULD I use for the opium den this time?
Glorious Dragon stomped around Bright Crystal’s parlor, wondering.

The idea of planning to disrupt another opium den and hurt General Chin’s pocketbook always kept his heart thumping. Twice before, he had caused substantial damage in two locations. He bought drinks for foreign soldiers, and when they became intoxicated, he provoked them to raid the dens. Cursing, they charged into the smoke-filled rooms, brandishing their half-empty bottles and breaking them on the proprietors’ and smokers’ heads. In the ensuing melee, he had no trouble sneaking away.

When he first arrived in Shanghai, he had sampled several dens just out of curiosity. However after smoking a pipe or two, he realized he did not enjoy the languorous state that followed. What fascinated him were the nubile young women in slinky
cheongsam
who served the patrons. Glorious Dragon stopped going after seeing the seedier parlors, which employed young boys and prepubescent girls. Now, every time he thought of Little Six and General Chin’s involvement, he wanted to smash more opium dens.

“You look like a fettered hound. What’s eating you?” Crystal had entered the room.

“Nothing.”

“How’s the contract with Babson and Westcott coming?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Do you want me to ask General Chin to help?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew that it was insensitive of her to mention Chin.

“No! Never accept a favor from him!” Glorious Dragon ran to the piano and pounded on the keys with his fist.

“Please stop.” Bright Crystal covered her ears. “I can’t stand it! I’ll buy you a gong to drive away the devil in you!”

Glorious Dragon continued pounding. He could think of no other way to relieve his frustration and anxiety.

Bright Crystal snuffed out her cigarette. “I’ll go get some iced tea.” She walked out, touching Glorious Dragon’s back as she passed.

General Chin had a wife and two concubines in Nanking. Although he had many other mistresses in other cities, Bright Crystal was his prized possession. Her natural charm and modern social skills were invaluable to Chin’s numerous business transactions. He thought of himself as a liberal, generous man. He subscribed to the popular understanding that women were toys — though surprisingly clever at times. He permitted the young men in town to hover around Crystal, allowing an occasional indiscretion.

Bright Crystal could not question General Chin’s values or his control over her life. She did what she could to safeguard her livelihood. She enjoyed whatever limited independence she had, although her relationship with Glorious Dragon had grown beyond the bonds of a casual affair. Their affection for each other defied prudence; their casual game of love had developed into a dangerous entanglement.

“General Chin is not a person to be dismissed easily, even though I no longer need his financial patronage,” Bright Crystal often told Glorious Dragon. “I loathe serving him. The situation is intolerable!”

“He has such a stranglehold on our happiness!” Glorious Dragon turned to hug her. “What can we do?”

“Let’s run away!”

“Let’s go abroad. We have contacts in America and Europe and can seek refuge there!”

“Oh, that would be wonderful!”

“But how can we apply for passports without Chin’s knowledge?”

“If his secret police got wind of our plans, he could easily kill us.”

“Where can we go?” Together they collapsed into the bed, each restless with mounting apprehension, tinged with passion. “Even if we went overseas, we could not escape his long arm.”

“We might still meet his assassins in a strange land.” Dragon snuggled close and began licking her ear and taking off her dress.

“The general is an old hand at political intrigue.”

Still, with the threat of war hanging over China, they knew they needed General Chin’s connections and information to counter whatever fate had in store for them.

“The new maid in the house . . .” Glorious Dragon took off his shirt. “Is she reliable?”

“Yes, Little Lotus is completely trustworthy.” Crystal helped him out of his pants. “My father made sure of that.”

“Oh Crystal, Crystal.” He kissed her breasts while she freed herself of her underwear.

In the midst of lovemaking, Dragon cursed General Chin and the other fatuous young men captivated by Bright Crystal’s charm.

“No one touches me the way you do,” Crystal murmured. “I need the other men around so General Chin still thinks that you’re just one of them.”

“No doubt all the others are afraid of Chin.” He pushed her hair away from her face and slowly kissed her every feature. “We belong together.”

“Yes, my father and you are my family.” She returned his kisses. Her hands traced his spine and played with his hair.

Soon they were calmer, but the drizzle of dread returned. Crystal asked: “Speaking of family, did you ask your sister’s family to move here?”

Dragon got up to put his clothes on. “My brother-in-law agrees that we are safer in the foreign concessions because everyone will be considered non-belligerent. But he would never agree to move here without work waiting for him.”

Having lived with the dread of an imminent government collapse and the uncertainty of war, Crystal swallowed hard to drown out her anguish. She rallied her wits. “I heard the army needs uniforms,” she whispered calmly. She could not tell him that her source of information was General Chin.

“Oh Crystal,” Glorious Dragon kissed his lover and started to peel off his clothes again. “You take such good care of me!”

Glorious Dragon allowed several weeks to slip by without implementing his new plan to cause havoc in an opium den. He did not feel safe repeating his old methods. Twice, he had brought a group of drunken foreign soldiers to disrupt a den. Someone might have suspected that the only Chinese man in the party was the instigator. This time, he must put on a disguise and cause the destruction all by himself.

Persistent gunfire alerted everyone that the Japanese now sat in the harbor. The streets of the International Settlement began to fill with refugees. They lay next to their meager belongings on the sidewalks, sat on the steps of the big banks and insurance companies, and crowded on to the wharves. On August 13, 1937, the Chinese air defense came out in force, strafing the enemy warships. People clogging the congested streets craned their necks to catch sight of the planes. Everyone expected to be safe in the foreign territories. They thought the Japanese would not dare to bomb the Western powers.

The oppressive summer heat, the crowds on the street, and his unpleasant destination drove Glorious Dragon to the limits of his genial nature. The mere thought of visiting an opium den made him ill. However, he also saw the confusion on the streets as an excellent opportunity to carry through his plan.

Dressed like a coolie, and buffeted by all the pushing and shoving on the streets, Glorious Dragon almost lost track of where he was. But he found the tenement owned by General Chin, known for its second-floor opium parlor. He ran up the rickety stairs in a fury.

When he entered the lobby, his eyes adjusted to the perpetual dusk. The proprietor was resting by the front desk, vicariously enjoying the drug by inhaling the sticky sweet smoke. Cursing, Glorious Dragon shoved the debilitated man and hollered, “I must look for my father!”

In the cavernous room, heavily painted young women hovered over reclining bodies. When they spotted him, they recoiled from him and tried to soothe the smokers. On the opium beds, sweaty, naked torsos gleamed in the heat. Glorious Dragon kicked off the hurricane lamps, flipped over the furniture and stormed through the room while several men appeared from nowhere ready to restrain him.

He broke lose from them and dove into a private alcove. There, an old man with glazed eyes, clad only in loose dark trousers, lolled over his pipe.

“You, degenerate turtle!” Glorious Dragon bellowed, knocking the pipe away from this total stranger. Foaming at the mouth, the man sat up. His scrawny hands came up automatically to shield his gaunt face. His unfocused eyes peered from dark sockets. With a terrified whimper, he collapsed back into the bed, averting his face from Dragon’s rage. For a moment, the security men stopped, thinking that the outraged son had found his father — an important patron.

“Get up!” Glorious Dragon commanded.

The body did not move, and Glorious Dragon could not lift the slippery torso.

“You’re a curse to your ancestors! Your mother’s milk rots in your mouth!”

Suddenly, a thunderous boom rocked the whole building. Windows exploded; sunlight burst into the room; falling plaster, tumbling bricks, billowing smoke and dust filled the atmosphere; flames sprang up everywhere. People screamed and scrambled out from their beds in a rush for the door. Glorious Dragon felt the floor give way beneath him. The body of the old man hurtled toward him.

When he woke, he was in a hospital bed. Bright Crystal was beside him, sponging his arms and legs. When she saw him open his eyes, she gave a soft shriek of joy.

“Are you all right? Oh my Dragon, I thought you were dead! There were so many casualties in the streets!”

Dragon nodded and smiled.

“Are you in pain?”

“No.” He shook his head.

“Those imbeciles! The Chinese air force dropped two bombs on the International Settlement area by mistake! One was in front of the Cathay Hotel, and the other actually went through the Palace Hotel. They say two defective planes caused the mistake. I say their commanders are defective. They’re either stupid or corrupt!” She continued ranting while bathing Dragon.

“A bomb? The den did not catch fire?” Dragon moaned. For a moment, he had thought his rampage had started the fire.

“A bomb! Dropped by the Chinese air force by mistake! What were you doing in the opium den?”

Glorious Dragon turned his face toward the wall.

Amid her sobs and gentle dabs, Crystal informed her lover that most occupants of the opium parlor had survived. Many had suffered shock and smoke inhalation, but had only minor scratches.

“Fortunately, the tenement building was stronger than it looked,” Crystal said. “You have several broken ribs. Someone said you were looking for your father.” She looked puzzled. ‘But your father died a long time ago!”

“I was confused. It was so hot.” Glorious Dragon looked on her effervescence with a wan smile. He was ashamed to lie to his Crystal. He turned his eyes away from her dewy face. “You look lovely when you’re all wound up.”

Suddenly he realized what she might have done to save him. “Did you get General Chin’s help to find me?”

Bright Crystal dropped the sponge in the basin, stunned by the tone of reproach in his voice. She threw herself, crying, onto his chest.

Glorious Dragon held her. He stroked her hair, murmuring to her, and controlling the despair in his own heart, he took smooth, even breaths to sooth his Crystal. “Hush, hush,” he said finally. “We’re together. That’s what matters.”

He lifted her chin and rubbed her wet cheeks with his fingers. “Now, you’ll smile for me.” He gave her a naughty wink. ‘Have you thought of this as a God-sent opportunity? Many foreigners will want to leave. Now we can buy all the real estate we want.”

Bright Crystal smiled. No, she hadn’t thought of it.