Unfortunately, though, after just over a month of living there, Pek Yu Lian died from an illness. Now, only Pang Kim Lian remained to entertain the Thio family. At fifteen, Pang Kim Lian was stunningly beautiful and sweet, reflecting her name, Kim Lian, or the Golden Lotus! She was the sixth daughter of the poor tailor Pang family. In those times, girls were generally seen as a burden to their families. Boys, besides carrying the family name and lineage, were also seen as future labor and financial security for their parents in their old age. Due to this mentality, the status of women was very low at that time.
Parents felt relieved and free if someone took their daughter as a wife. They were even happy if someone took their daughter in any capacity, as long as she left the house and their responsibility. This, of course, didn't apply to daughters of nobility or wealthy families. However, the condition of poor girls was truly heartbreaking. It was not a mere tale that many infant girls were killed by their parents because they didn't feel capable of taking care of them, and many gave away their daughters to anyone willing. When these girls grew up, many poor parents tried to sell their daughters to become slaves, concubines, or even prostitutes.
The same was true for the Golden Lotus. When her father passed away, Kim Lian was just nine years old. From a young age, her beauty was evident, and she was sold by her mother to the wealthy and noble Wang family.
Kim Lian was accepted into the Wang's household because of her sweet face. She was educated in reading, writing, singing, and playing the flute. Being a quick learner, Kim Lian grew into a beautiful, attractive, and intelligent teenager, skilled in makeup and embroidery. In short, she was one of the most attractive and beloved maidservants of old Master Wang. When the wealthy old Master Wang passed away, Pang Kim Lian was fifteen years old. She returned to her mother's house, but not for long, as her mother had sold her again to Master Thio's family who were looking for two young girls to entertain the lonely Old Master Thio.
In the Thio family's house, Kim Lian, who was liked and pampered, got the opportunity to expand her knowledge by learning various arts and crafts, and she also became skilled at playing the Yang-kim, a type of zither. There, she blossomed into a beautiful flower, and by the age of eighteen, she was extraordinarily beautiful. Attractive, smart, and magnetically charming. It was not surprising, nor entirely blameworthy that Old Master Thio was always restless, and he always watched Kim Lian's development with lustful eyes and a drooling mouth. The attraction of a woman always stirs a man's lust,
Regardless of a man's age, and it seems that lust for women only ends with one's body entering the grave. Some might appear virtuous and uninterested, but that's merely suppression, the desire is still there, eternally ablaze within. It's only shame, fear, and the fear of consequences that force an old man to divert his gaze from a young woman's body and console himself by diverting his attention and quenching, or at least suppressing, his ever-burning lust. The same was with Old Master Thio. Ever since Kim Lian was in his house, he always fantasized about her curvaceous body, always casting lustful glances when facing her.
However, he had to constantly suppress his desires because he feared his strict and fierce wife. He was like a cat looking at meat, salivating, but the meat was in a glass cupboard, easy to look at but hard to get. Men remain men, no matter how old they are, just like cats stay cats, even if they are toothless. A strong desire and passionate lust make people creative. The same was with Old Master Thio. He constantly looked for opportunities, pretending to be virtuous in front of his wife. This made his wife careless. One day, Mrs. Thio went to visit a neighbor. The glass cupboard was left open, the meat was left unguarded, and the cat was always ready to pounce!
Old Master Thio didn't waste time or opportunity. He called Kim Lian and pulled the blooming, fragrant girl into his room. Finally, the things he had only fantasized about happened. Even though Kim Lian faced this event with a heavy heart and a struggling spirit, what could a purchased servant girl do against her master? She dared not resist or refuse, and could only cry softly. The short-lived stolen pleasure had to be paid dearly by Old Master Thio. Because he let his lust accumulate in him and explode uncontrollably, his already weak body couldn't take it.
He suddenly fell ill with various ailments. His spine was sore and stiff, his eyes were flashing, his ears were ringing, his head was dizzy, his cough was relentless. Of course, seeing her husband suddenly sick, especially seeing Kim Lian's eyes red from crying, Mrs. Thio immediately suspected what had happened while she was out for less than an hour. Mrs. Thio, who was fierce, went into a rage, Kim Lian was called and berated, also beaten with a chicken feather broom handle. To calm the commotion, Old Master Thio, with a heavy heart, decided to marry Kim Lian off to someone else. He was willing to finance the wedding.
So, they chose Bu Toa, a widower who rented a house from the wealthy man, considering that Bu Toa was a kind-hearted, patient, and diligent man, although the widower was ugly and short. Of course, Bu Toa was overjoyed and thanked God for His blessing. Suddenly, he got a beautiful wife, just eighteen years old, and the wedding was funded by someone else without him spending a penny. He considered it a windfall and a divine blessing. Bu Toa didn't realize that what seemed like a windfall was actually a curse for him, and what seemed delicious and enticing was actually a poison that would ruin his life later.
Since this mismatched marriage, Bu Toa always accepted Old Master Thio's handouts, often receiving money when he was short. He was very grateful to the old wealthy man, unaware of how often Old Master Thio entered his room after he left to sell his pastries, and how freely the Old Master had his way with Kim Lian, who had become his wife! But, even if he knew, what could he do? He received Kim Lian from Old Master Thio's hand, and his life was supported by that wealthy man, So, when he finally learned about the secret relationship between his wife and Old Master Thio, he pretended not to know.
Old Master Thio's health worsened after continuing his relationship with Kim Lian, and one day, he fell ill and couldn't get out of bed. His wife, who also heard about their relationship, got angry and kicked out Bu Toa and his wife. Reluctantly, Bu Toa took his wife and daughter, Bu Ying, to look for a new hut and finally found a small rental house on the side of the road, which also had a small attic, and after moving there, Bu Toa was busy every day carrying and hawking his pastries around town. Pang Kim Lian secretly despised her husband, and often there were fights between them. Kim Lian often cursed Old Master Thio for marrying her to Bu Toa.
"Cursed be that old fogey Thio. Why did he choose this weak dwarf of a man, who swallows all insults, gets drunk on a cup of wine, and is fond of snoring in sleep! Alas, what sin have I, such a poor creature, committed to suffer in this kind of marriage?" Every morning, after her husband left home carrying his wares, Kim Lian was often seen sitting behind the attic window. She was very pleased to see how all the men who passed on the street below her window always looked up and admired her.
She quickly became famous among the men, and many pitied that such a lovely young woman became the wife of such an imperfect man, who couldn't even be called a man with his dwarfed body and ugly face. Because Kim Lian smiled and flirted with the young men passing in front of her house, the young men grew bolder and openly complimented her, even being disrespectful as they passed in front of the house. This was eventually found out by Bu Toa and the dwarf man decided to move from that street. Kim Lian was furious hearing her husband's decision.
"Have you gone mad?" she snapped. "Do you want to move me to a house even smaller and worse than this one, to live under a bridge like a vagrant? If you really want to move, at least you should find a better house and a bigger road than this."
Glossary
- Pek Yu Lian: One of the characters in the story, who died due to illness.
- Pang Kim Lian (Si Teratai Emas): Main character in the story. She is a beautiful girl who was sold by her mother to a wealthy family when she was nine. Her name translates to "Golden Lotus".
- Yang-kim: A type of zither, a stringed instrument.
- Thio family: A wealthy family where Kim Lian was sold to entertain the old master.
- Master Thio: The old master of the Thio family who develops a lustful attraction towards Kim Lian.
- Bu Toa: A widower chosen to marry Kim Lian. He is described as kind-hearted, patient, diligent, but ugly and short.
- Bu Ying: Daughter of Bu Toa and Kim Lian.