“Why not, Aunt Wang? Go ahead and find out, alas, my unfortunate fate in married life…” Shi Men sighed deeply, looking distraught.
“Ah, we've run out of liquor!” the old lady exclaimed suddenly.
“Ah, just when one wishes to drink, the liquor runs out. Forgive me. How about I buy another jar?” Shi Men quickly took out money and handed it over to Aunt Wang.
“Take all this money and buy enough liquor so that we don't run out again, Aunt Wang.” The old woman accepted the money and thanked him, then left after casting a glance at Kim Lian. The three cups of liquor Kim Lian had drunk seemed to have taken effect. Her face was flushed with passion. Of course, she understood exactly where the conversation was headed and had been quietly listening, unmoving, her gaze fixed on the floor, but her heart was pounding and her blood was rushing throughout her body. Grinning, Aunt Wang turned to Kim Lian.
“I will go to the East Street to buy the best liquor. I hope the young lady likes to accompany the young master until I return.”
“For my sake, don’t go, Aunt,” Kim Lian protested, but she did not rise from her seat. Aunt Wang just smiled knowingly, exited the room and closed the door from the outside, even locking the door from the outside tying a rope to the door handle Then she sat outside and started spinning thread. Now Shi Men and Kim Lian were left in the closed room, alone. Kim Lian pushed her chair back from the table, lowered her face, and secretly glanced at Shi Men repeatedly. In contrast, Shi Men stared at her with passionate, desire-filled red eyes. Finally, in a slightly trembling voice, along with the pounding of his heart, Shi Men asked.
“What is the name of the husband you mentioned, as Aunt Wang told me? I've forgotten...”
“Bu,” Kim Lian answered shortly, because she didn't like talking about her husband. “Oh, Master Bu,” Shi Men repeated.
“Not a common surname around here. Master Bu. Could the food peddler named Bu Toan, who is called Si Cebol, be related to you?” Kim Lian's face turned very red from embarrassment.
“He is my husband,” she said softly while lowering her face. Shi Men appeared shocked and stunned, then he exclaimed,
“Ah, how curious!”
“Hmm, who is making the young master curious?” asked Kim Lien, restraining a smile.
“Curious for you, not for me!” In the most charming voice he could muster, Shi Men then praised Kim Lian’s beauty, stating how a woman as beautiful as Kim Lian was worthy enough to be a princess and live in a palace, how it piqued his curiosity to see that such a beautiful woman was the wife of such a disappointing man. All these compliments made Kim Lian lower her head even more, and only occasionally did she glance up and smile shyly.
“Ah, I feel hot after drinking the liquor!” Suddenly Shi Men exclaimed and opened his green silk robe, throwing it towards Aunt Wang's bed. As he did this, his sleeve seemed to accidentally brush a chopstick that fell on the table and, oh, how lucky he was because that chopstick rolled under Kim Lian's feet! And when Shi Men refilled Kim Lian's cup and wanted to offer food, of course he had lost his chopstick.
“Ah, where did my chopstick go?”, he asked, pretending to search among the vegetable bowls.
“Could this be the chopstick?” Kim Lian asked with a smile, stepping on the chopstick with her small foot. Shi Men looked under the table.
“Ah, there it is!” He pretended to be surprised, and he bent down, but it wasn't the chopstick he grabbed, but the woman's foot. Kim Lian couldn't help but giggle and laugh.
“Eww! What are you doing? I’m going to scream!” Shi Men immediately knelt in front of Kim Lian without letting go of her, “Kind lady, have mercy on me, this unfortunate man.” And… his hands caressed her. Kim Lian stood up, her body trembling.
“Ah, you insolent man. I’ll hit you, let go of me.” But Shi Men, knowing this was all pretense, immediately got up, scooped up the woman who drove him crazy, and brought her to Aunt Wang's bed. Kim Lian, who had been ignited by lustful desire since earlier, did not make any more noise. Lust blinds one to everything they do, not worrying about the consequences,
Not remembering their surroundings, all they felt was burning desire, lust pushing to satisfy their carnal cravings. It’s no surprise that a young woman like Pang Kim Lian forgets everything.
As a young woman, the first man to touch her was only an old wealthy man, Thio. This wealthy man was very old and weak, it’s not surprising that he was far from satisfying the heart of a fifteen-year-old young woman like Kim Lian at that time. Then she was married off to Bu Toan, a man who was short and ugly, who of course also did not satisfy Kim Lian who indeed had a great passion. Therefore, now that she had met Shi Men and received the outpouring of affection with the caress of experienced fingers,
Having a lover like Shi Men who besides being young was also handsome, strong, and experienced, of course she felt submissive and satisfied. Forbidden fruit always tastes more tempting, sweet, and delicious. Everything forbidden has a very strong appeal, because in doing something forbidden there is a tension that is exciting. The flowers in someone else's garden always look more beautiful than the flowers in your own garden. Why do we always feel like this? The secret lies in our own heart which always wants something that does not exist, something that we do not have, something new and beyond our reach. This desire makes everything we have become bland.
Our gaze is always focused far ahead, searching and chasing what is in front. So we forget that all beauty truly lies in the present moment. These two seekers of love, these two immoral violators and adulterers forgot themselves, like drunk sinking in the sea of love that is actually only a flood of lust. They sipped the wine of lustful desire to their heart's content, and after all their desires were fulfilled, they remembered the inappropriateness. They both straightened their clothes and Kim Lian did not know at all that all her actions had been spied on by Aunt Wang from outside the door! Just as she sat back in her chair, the door opened and in came Aunt Wang pretending to be shocked and speaking full of regret and curiosity.
“Hey, what are you two doing? Miss Kim Lian, I asked you to come here for sewing, not for adultery! It would be best if I now go see your husband and tell him about all your deeds so that later I will not be blamed!” Aunt Wang turned to leave, as if to carry out her threat, and Kim Lian, whose face turned very red, immediately grabbed the hem of her clothes.
“Aunt Wang, have mercy on me,” she said softly, her voice full of plea. “All right, but on one condition that from today you must be willing to meet Shi-Kongcu whenever he wants. If you agree to this, I will remain silent. If not, I will report to your husband.” Kim Lian just lowered her face, unable to speak out of shame.
“Come on, how about it?” The old woman pressed for an answer.
“…I promise.” Kim Lian said, barely audibly. Aunt Wang then turned to Shi Men.
“Well, good young master, you have achieved satisfaction and all your desires have been fulfilled, so I hope you will not forget all your promises, if not…” Her tone was threatening.
“Don't worry, Aunt, I will fulfil all my promises!” said Shi Men. They drank a few more cups of liquor, then Kim Lian had to sneak back home through the back door because it was time for her husband to return from work. After the beautiful woman left, Aunt Wang asked Shi Men.
“So, Young Master? Wasn't my strategy great? “Unbelievable! I am very grateful, Aunt,”
“And what about the young lady? Was she satisfying?”
“Fantastic! She is like a fragrant wild rose, like a wild mare, it was indeed a pleasure to tame her.”
“In that case, don't forget the promised gift.” “I will send it after I get home.”
The next day, just as Bu Toa had left carrying his merchandise, Shi Men had arrived at Aunt Wang's house bringing the gift with an additional ten taels of silver for the old woman. He came to deliver the gift himself because he had not slept the night before, Kim Lian's face and body were always in front of his eyes. As soon as she received this gift, Aunt Wang was so overjoyed that she immediately fetched Kim Lian to meet Shi Men. Shi Men greeted Kim Lian's appearance with a beaming face. Without any more shyness, he greeted her with a warm embrace and pulled her beautiful body onto his lap, disregarding Aunt Wang who was smiling, revealing a toothless mouth.
“Did your husband say anything yesterday?” Aunt Wang casually asked while she served tea and liquor.
“He asked if I had finished your clothes. I said yes, but I still have to make sandals and socks,” Kim Lian answered shyly. Shi Men examined his new lover with full attention and lustful passion. How beautiful his lover was. How her smooth cheeks turned rosy as she drank liquor from the cup. And the curling strands of hair on her temples and forehead were like the painting of a very skilled artist. His lover was incredibly beautiful, like a heavenly maiden from Paradise! With full passion and affection, Shi Men embraced his lover, and they drank liquor from one cup. When Shi Men kissed his lover, Aunt Wang quietly left the two alone and closed the door.
Glossary
- Shi Men: The name of a male character in the story.
- Bu: The surname of Kim Lian's husband.
- Bu Toan: The name of Kim Lian's husband.
- Si Cebol: A nickname for Bu Toan, Kim Lian's husband. Directly translated as "the short one".
- Aunt Wang: An older female character who serves as a matchmaker between Shi Men and Kim Lian.
- Kim Lian: The name of a female character who is the main love interest of Shi Men.
- Thio: An old wealthy man who was Kim Lian's first lover.
- Shi-Kongcu: An honorific used by Aunt Wang to address Shi Men, signifying respect.