Chapter 15 - Zhuang Zhou's Butterfly Dream
Today marked the sixth day since Rao Shuang arrived in Meizhou, and her irritation had finally abated because she had finally found an opportunity to enter the Zhou residence. Tomorrow would be Zhou Ye’s fiftieth birthday banquet, and her dance at the Drunken Flower had garnered her an invitation to perform.
As long as everything went according to plan, she would likely be on her way back to confirm the completion of her mission by this time tomorrow. Anticipating being free of this bothersome city, Rao Shuang felt much more at ease.
The next day.
Not only was the Zhou family the largest cloth traders around, but they were also the richest family in Meizhou. As such, the fifteenth birthday of the family head was certain to be a grand and ostentatious celebration.
With preparations in place, it seemed as if the whole of Meizhou had decided to celebrate their birthdays too. Firecrackers exploded endlessly, and bright red lanterns and long banners were hung in front of the Zhou residence’s vermilion gates.
The Zhou family was enormously wealthy and famously kept true to their word. They had previously announced that, regardless of whether they knew him or not, anyone who came to wish Zhou Ye a happy birthday could receive a gift or a red envelope filled with cash. The line of well-wishers for Zhou Ye's birthday seemed endless as the Zhou family’s wealth.
Servants had placed enough silver ingots to fill a huge box at the Zhou residence's entrance and those who came to offer their birthday well-wishes were entitled to receive one. So, from the crack of dawn, the people of Meizhou gathered outside the Zhou residence. Not even the city’s beggars were excluded, as they eagerly loitered around the Zhou residence entrance.
Although her performance was scheduled for the evening banquet, Rao Shuang had woken up early. After all, she needed to prepare some other tools to ensure her special performance was a killer hit. She busied herself by going to a nearby pharmacy to buy some herbs.
Once there, Rao Shuang handed the clerk a list containing a portion of the herbs she required and waited quietly. She glanced around noticing there weren’t many people in the pharmacy so early in the morning. A short distance away, the only other customer in the store stood wrapping up the herbs he had just bought.
As Rao Shuang examined the lone customer, the pharmacy clerk returned with her list and said, "Sorry, miss. It’s really too bad, but we just so happened to run out of the mandrake you wanted. We didn’t have much in stock to begin with…" Pointing to the man on the other side, he added, "And the last of it was just taken by that gentleman over there."
Rao Shuang frowned and looked in the direction the clerk was pointing. Coincidentally, the man also turned to look at her. Scrutinizing her fellow customer, Rao Shuang found that he was rather peculiar.
He only wore a glove on his right hand, gloved fingers idly tapping the counter. In his left, ungloved hand, he held a smoking pipe. Expressionlessly, he stared at her.
He’s a strange person, Rao Shuang silently judged. Betraying nothing, she plastered a charming smile on her face as she gracefully walked over to him.
"Greetings sir." Rao Shuang curtsied and continued, "My name is Fang Die. It’s a pleasure to meet you."[2]
The man scrutinized Rao Shuang from head to toe before he nodded and asked, "What do you want?"
Rao Shuang felt uncomfortable under his dissecting gaze but still implored sweetly, "I wonder if you would be willing to sell me that herb you just bought. My mother is very sick and"—she put on a pitiful expression—"I urgently need that mandrake to save her life."
"What does that have to do with me?" asked the man. His fingers continued tapping on the table with an air of indifference.
What a heartless dog, Rao Shuang cursed viciously in her mind, but she outwardly maintained a teary-eyed appearance as she pleaded with him.
Despite her best efforts, the man remained unmoved, as if he hadn’t seen anything. He turned away and called the pharmacy clerk over, saying, "I’d like to pay."
Rao Shuang was tempted to chop up that man at this point. If he kept on ignoring her, she didn’t really have a good way of dealing with him. With that in mind, she resigned herself to try her luck at the pharmacy in the north of the city. Just as she stepped out of the pharmacy door, she heard a voice come from behind.
"Hold on."
The man strolled over, holding the wrapped herbs in his hand.
"If you really need these herbs, let’s make a deal… Answer one question, and the herbs are yours."
The man exhaled a cloud of thick smoke as he spoke.
Rao Shuang frowned, waved her hand to clear the smoke, and said, "Please ask, sir."
"The cloth merchant of Meizhou, Zhou Ye… Do you know where he lives?"
He’s not a local, Rao Shuang realized.
"Yes I do, sir." Pointing at the end of the street she said, "Look, cross this street, turn left, and keep going straight until you reach the main street. Cross the main street and then turn right and go straight…"
The dizzying directions she gave were deliberately misleading; if he followed them, he would be led straight out of the city.
The man didn’t seem to suspect anything. He just nodded, tossed the package of herbs to Rao Shuang, and left.
Rao Shuang clutched the package of herbs, glared vindictively at the man’s turning figure, and then hurried back to her place, eager to prepare the concoction for tonight's mission.
***
Near evening, Rao Shuang had long since arrived at the Zhou residence and was just waiting to perform. She had been gone over the operation countless times and everything was awaiting the final step.
Rao Shuang thought to herself that, once this matter was done and dusted, she would never return to this wretched city again.
The brightly lit banquet hall of the Zhou residence was filled with a festive atmosphere. As the head of the family and the man of the moment, Zhou Ye naturally sat at the head of the main table. The rest of the guests were seated at tables arranged to trail downward on both sides, with a space between each side, forming an inverted U structure.
The evening banquet was not nearly as crowded as the public celebrations at noon, but each and every one of those present were prominent and influential people in Meizhou. Even the governor of Meizhou sat to Zhou Ye’s left, chatting and laughing with him.
Seeing that the banquet was about to start, Zhou Ye stood up with a beaming smile and clapped his hands, announcing, "Esteemed guests, esteemed guests, please be patient for a little longer."
The crowd ceased their conversations to pay attention to his speech.
Zhou Ye raised his wine cup and toasted the gathered guests, "Today is my fiftieth birthday. I am truly honored that you all have graced my humble home with your presence. Allow me to drink first as a sign of my respect for everyone!" With that, he drained his cup.
The guests at the tables also raised their cups in acknowledgment and then proceeded to drink while covering their mouths with their sleeves.[1]
After finishing his toast, Zhou Ye sat down, waved over a servant, and whispered a few words into his ear. The servant then turned and left. A line of colorfully dressed dancers streamed in shortly afterward.
As the lead dancer, Rao Shuang held a feather fan and was dressed distinctly different from the other dancers. From the moment she entered she had been discreetly observing her surroundings. There were fewer people than expected at the banquet. Despite being confident in her success, a competent assassin must always be cautious and careful.
The execution of my plan should be considerably easier than expected, she thought with a cold smile.
Rao Shuang and the dancers sashayed to the space in the middle of the banquet hall, swaying their waists as they began their dance. The guests watched with smiling faces, some whispering to each other, some nodding along to the rhythm, and some even clapping their hands in time with the dance.
At the head of the table, Zhou Ye and the governor of Meizhou were similarly enjoying the performance.
"Governor, how do you find the dance?"
The governor nodded with a smile and said, "Not bad, not bad, especially that lead dancer. There’s something special about her graceful charm and beautiful movements… What is the name of the dance?"
Zhou Ye answered spiritedly, "As it happens, I saw that woman by chance at the Drunken Flower yesterday. I was immediately captivated by her dance and invited her to perform at my banquet today. As for the name of the dance… I think it’s ‘Zhuang Zhou's Butterfly Dream.’"
"Zhuang Zhou's Butterfly Dream, that’s a good name." The governor nodded appreciatively. "Hmm? What’s that sweet smell?"
Zhou Ye sniffed about. "Indeed, what is that smell?"
Pleasantly surprised, the pair enjoyed the show as the dancers began to collapse on the dance floor one after another. The two of them watched, uncomprehendingly, as the lead dancer swayed as she fell.
The guests at the tables were also confused, uncertain if this was part of the performance, when some of them began to slump over onto their tables.
Zhou Ye and the governor’s expressions changed as they realized they were in deep trouble. However, it was already too late. Their vision darkened and they too collapsed onto their table, unable to cry for help.
The lively hall fell silent. There was no one left awake at the banquet.
Rao Shuang laid on the ground, pretending to be unconscious. Calculating that enough time had passed, she opened her eyes to confirm that all potential witnesses in the hall were unconscious. She smiled inwardly and was about to get up and finally finish her mission when she unexpectedly heard the sound of a door opening behind her!
Rao Shuang closed her eyes again without hesitation and stayed still on the ground.
She heard a familiar voice.
"Hmm…?"
1. In ancient China, people, especially subordinates or people of a lower social class, could hide their mouths behind their sleeves while eating or drinking as a way of showing their respect to superiors or those of higher social standing. ☜
2. The Die here is the transliteration of the Chinese word for butterfly 蝶. ☜
Nocturnaeon's ThoughtsThe chapter's title, Zhuang Zhou's Butterfly Dream, is a famous parable written by Zhuang Zhou in the Zhuangzi, an ancient Chinese text and one of the foundational texts of Daoism. It details Zhuang Zhou's dream of being an oblivious butterfly. When he woke up, he didn't know if he was Zhuang Zhou, who had dreamt he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming that he was Zhuang Zhou. This parable challenges the distinction between dreams and reality, suggesting that what we perceive as reality may be another form of illusion. Zhuang Zhou’s Butterfly Dream is not meant to provide a definitive answer but rather to encourage humility in our assumptions about reality. To question are we awake or still dreaming? Perhaps it doesn’t matter—what matters is moving with the Dao, embracing the mystery rather than trying to force certainty. (I don't know what Zhuang Zhou was smoking, but it must have been some good stuff XD.)
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