Spring Pearl: The Last Flower

The Collector

Before she goes to change, Spring Pearl stops to look at the garden. She’s appalled at how much damage the soldiers had done. But at least, they spared the camellia.

Back in her room, Spring Pearl decides to put on her best clothes, since she’s going to have to talk to officials. As she puts on her jacket, she thinks again of her mother. Her mother had made each flower with such love. As she puts on the silk, it feels as if her mother is holding her again. Silently, Spring Pearl says a prayer to her mother and father.

Spring Pearl meets Doggy in the courtyard. He’s holding a package. Doggy thanks Spring Pearl for volunteering him, but Spring Pearl feels as if they might be heading to their own prison cell. So, she forces herself to sound cheerful.

The streets are eerily empty. All the buildings have their doors locked and windows shuttered. Word of the arrests have spread. The only sounds are of the soldiers drilling in the distance, still practicing to fight the British. Spring Pearl thinks about when Mr. Fortescue said that the British Army had new powerful weapons. Will the Chinese swords and old-fashioned muskets do significant damage against big weapons like the British have?

Spring Pearl asks Doggy what he thinks will happen when the British finally attack again. Doggy says the British will win like last time, and then he and his uncle will have a chance at their business. Spring Pearl is horrified. How can he be okay with them selling their drugs in China? Doggy explains that they shouldn’t sell opium. But the war will shake some things up. The last war’s outcome made it possible for regular folks to trade with foreigners. Before the war, only a few Chinese merchants got rich. After the next war, maybe the rules will loosen even more.

That’s the way it is right now. Rich people are on top. and people like him are stuck on the bottom. But when the British come back, all of that will change.

Doggy also explains that although he does not know English, his uncle does a little. He and his uncle have saved up enough money to start a company. He would like to trade with foreigners. Spring Pearl is surprised by Doggy’s ambition. She always assumed he was cheating money to pay off his gambling debts. Doggy looks hurt. He has mighty plans.

The attention turns back to Spring Pearl. Doggy asks what Spring Pearl’s dreams are. After all, Master Sung is a kind man, but he’s been brought low, and so has his family. Doggy is right. Spring Pearl probably doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life depending on Master Sung’s charity. Her own situation had been precarious enough before last night. But no, she can’t be selfish at this time. She has to worry about repaying Master Sung.

When the two of them pass the prison, they see several wretched creatures standing outside tied to stones or iron bars. For them, public humiliation is part of their punishment. The prisoners stare at them with hopeless eyes as they pass. The prison is next to the magistrate’s offices, where cases are judged and the daily tasks of the empire performed. However, the soldiers seem more intent on gambling than guarding anything.

Doggy murmurs in Spring Pearl’s ear that it might be a good time to start treating some folks to tea. When Spring Pearl looks confused, he explains that “tea money” is a polite phrase for a bribe. Spring Pearl gulps. She didn’t bring any cash. Doggy sighs and digs some coins from his sleeve. He says he expects to be repaid.

Doggy wiggles his shoulders as if trying to relax, then swaggers up to a soldier. If Spring Pearl didn’t know any better, she would have missed the coins being passed from his palm to the soldier’s. Doggy and Spring Pearl enter the magistrate’s office and go down a corridor to a paper-filled room with a clerk. Doggy passes him a few coins and asks to see Master Sung. The clerk obediently states that all requests must now be referred to the Viceroy’s new assistant, Lord Chin.

Doggy and Spring Pearl follow the clerk’s instructions into the next building. It takes a couple of tries to find the office of the newly installed Lord Chin. Here, the clerk is busy scribbling on a sheet of paper. He snaps that they’ll have a proclamation drafted for the viceroy in a bit. Although it’s difficult to read upside down, Spring Pearl can make out that the proclamation the clerk is writing is to the British, telling them to leave. The victory seems to think he can paper them to death.

Spring Pearl explains she comes to see Master Sung, not about the war. Spring Pearl points to the bundle in Doggy’s arms, and says that they brought him proper clothing. Without thinking about it, the clerk denies the request. With a sigh, Doggy slips his free hand into a sleeve and pulls out some money.

Then, a door opens and Lord Chin pokes his head into the room. He states he needs someone to hang a painting. Spring Pearl volunteers Doggy. Lord Chin recognizes Spring Pearl, and when he asks why she’s there, she states that she brings clothes for Master Sung. Lord Chin explains that he can’t allow that to happen. It’s not very efficient to give him clothes if they want him to sign a confession. Humiliation is part of the interrogation technique.

Doggy’s breath tickles Spring Pearl’s ear as he whispers that Master Sung is being tortured. Spring Pearl gasps. She knows she should give up right then, but she thinks of Master Sung’s kindness. Isn’t there anything that can change Lord Chin’s mind?

Suddenly, Lord Chin leans his head to the side. He stares at Spring Pearl’s jacket, expressing how beautiful her mother’s handiwork is. Spring Pearl comments that it was the last piece that her mother had sewn. Lord Chin responds that it’s provenance. If Spring Pearl had disliked Lord Chin before, she hates him now. But she hides it well. Spring Pearl offers to let Lord Chin look at some of her parents’ work later.

Lord Chin smiles, and invites them into his office. Inside, there’s a huge teak desk, and books stand in stacks waiting to be placed on bookshelves. Draped over the books are several of Spring Pearl’s father’s work. Next to them are the embroidered copies that her mother sold. Spring Pearl has to confess that for a moment, she forgot why she was there. Instead, her mind is flooded with thoughts of her parents.

One by one, Spring Pearl goes through the paintings with Lord Chin. It’s like walking through memories as she recalls happier times with her parents. As Spring Pearl reminisces, Lord Chin becomes more and more pleased. He states she’s a regular treasure trove. Her stories make the pieces all the more valuable.

Lord Chin explains that when they have more time, Spring Pearl must come tell him more. But now, he must get back to business. At that moment, Spring Pearl remembers why she’s supposed to be there. Suddenly, Spring Pearl knows what she has to do. She touches her jacket and suggests that maybe it would be the prize of his collection. Lord Chin hesitates. It is her mother’s last work, and it would make him the envy of every collector.

After a moment’s silence, Lord Chin comments that Spring Pearl’s loyalty is rare. If everyone gave the same loyalty to the emperor, the Empire would have nothing to fear. At last, he says he will allow Doggy and Spring Pearl to speak to Master Sung. And with that, Lord Chin calls his clerk to bring him a permission slip, and some old clothes for Spring Pearl.