“Sir, you must be kidding,” Jiang Chao pretended to be a henchman. “How could we attract your attention as we are average-looking, sir?”
“It’s true.” The officer’s eyes fell on Qingqiu who had disguised herself as a peasant woman. “Can your woman not be exposed to the sunlight?”
“No, she’s never seen the world and is quite timid,” Jiang Chao hastened to explain, while pinching Qingqiu’s hand on the sly. She was a rich young lady who had seen nothing of life. She was good enough at acting, though, as she didn’t quake with fear or give anything away.
Qingqiu broke out in a cold sweat, she kept thinking of the next step. What can I do? He knew her, as she was his wife before, and while she might be able to muddle through the others, he could recognize her.
What can I do?
She was so anxious that her clothes were damp with her sweat, and when she was about to scream out because of the torment, she heard a woman shouting crazily.
“Stop them! Sir, stop them, those shameless bitches!”
The crowd dispersed, and a woman wearing a cheongsam ran over panting, she was obviously a prostitute.
“That’s them, Sir,” she gasped out, pointing her finger at Jiang Chao and Qingqiu. “The man cheated me out of my money and eloped with that bitch. I worked so hard for us, the nerve! You made off with my money and ran away with her.” The woman in the cheongsam rolled up her sleeves in a sad attempt at starting a fight.
It was such a mess at the time, the woman’s cries, curses, and vulgar words.
“Alright, what are you still doing here?” The officer asked, rubbing his temples. “Piss off,” he snapped at Jiang Chao. “What a good for nothing. Do you think you look good? With that face? That woman was definitely blind.”
Jiang Chao hastened to pull Qingqiu away, but then he looked back at the woman who was screaming in the crowd.
“Thank you, Hong Yao…”
Then he grabbed Qingqiu and left without looking back.
Hong Yao was still making a scene at the center of the crowd, but no one saw the unbearable pain flash across her eyes.
The officer couldn’t bear the noise and he asked someone to deal with Hong Yao.
Hong Yao’s face was pressed onto the ground and her lips were bleeding. She gazed into the distance with wisps of haziness, the dust and soil, despair and hope, in her eyes.
She got up from the ground, still in her blue cheongsam, and walked away swinging her hips. Her feet became unsteady and and she staggered slightly, humming a little song.
It was her favourite Chinese ditty, which her mother used to sing for her.
The officer belatedly realized that he shouldn’t have let them go, and they took Hong Yao away from the Rouge Pavilion. In her last scene people saw Hong Yao walking down the stairs in her blue cheongsam, charming and fascinating.