Four

"My Elder-Brother, for more than a year you have Fluttered-in-the-Rain, obsessed with your brothel. You have not been able to give your mind to the difficulties which will assail you when you no longer know where to sleep or to eat. Your father's anger is only due to your having become infatuated with Flowers, besotted by Willows, until you poured out gold as if it were simple sand. He tells himself that you will quickly consume the abundant wealth of your family, and not be assured of having children. By returning empty-handed you will justify his anger. If, O my Elder-Brother, you could cut the knot which binds you to your love, I would willingly make you a gift of a thousand ounces. With a thousand ounces of silver to show your father, you could say that, during your stay at the capital, you had rarely left your study chamber and that you had never Skimmed the Waves. He will have confidence in you, and the harmony of the house will be restored. Thus, without idle words, you change your sorrow to joy. Give the matter three thoughts. I do not covet Beauty! I speak with no idea but of loyally helping a friend."

Li Chia was a man of naturally weak character; he was afraid of his father. Sun's fine words troubled his heart. He rose, made a deep bow, and said,

"O Brother! Your noble counsel has cleared away the foolish and tangled obstruction of my understanding. But my little favorite has accompanied me to some thousands of li, and it would not be just for me to leave her in this way. I will return to deliberate with her, and to discover whether her mind is favorable to your project. I shall inform you shortly."

"In our conversation," answered Sun, "we have abandoned the paths of strict politeness.

"That was because my loyal heart could not endure to see the separation of a father and son, and wished to help you return to your family."

They both drank another cup of wine. The wind had dropped, and the snow had ceased to fall. The color of the sky proclaimed the evening. Sun caused his servant to pay for the drinks, and, taking Li Chia by the hand, accompanied him as far as the junk.:

You meet a stranger and say three words:

And tear off a piece of your heart.

In the morning, Shih-Niang, on being left alone in her cabin, had prepared a little feast for her friend, wishing to spend the day with him in happiness; but the sun had set before Li Chia came back. She had lanterns lit to guide him and, when he at last appeared and entered the cabin, raised her eyes to his face and found the color of displeasure. She poured out a cup of hot wine and offered it to him; but he shook his head without a word and refused to drink. Then he went and threw himself on the bed. Sad at heart, Shih-niang put the cups and dishes in order. She then undid her husband's clothes, and leaning on the pillow, gently asked him,

"What news have you heard that has so upset you?"

Li Chia sighed, but without answering.

She questioned him again three or four times, but he was already asleep. Unable to be indifferent to such lack of regard, she remained for a long time sitting on the edge of the bed, incapable of sleep.

In the middle of the night, he awoke and gave another deep sigh; and she said to him,

"What is this troublesome matter with which my Lord is troubled? What are these sightings?"

Li Chia threw off the blanket and seemed about to speak, but the words would not come from him. His lips trembled like leaves, and finally he burst out sobbing.

She clasped his head with one arm and held it against her breast, trying to comfort him, and saying tenderly,

The love which unites us has lasted for many days, for nearly two years. We have overcome a thousand hardships and bitter moments, but now we are far beyond all difficulties. Why do you show such grief today, when we are about to cross the river and taste the joy of a hundred years?

There must surely be a reason. They shared all things in common between husband and wife, in life and after death. If anything is the matter, we must discuss it. Why do you hide your sorrow from me?"

Thus urged, the young man mastered his tears and said,

"I am crushed beneath the woe which Heaven heaps upon me. In the generosity of your soul, you have not cast me by. You have endured a thousand wrongs for me. That is no merit of mine. But I still think of my father, whose commands I am defying and that against every convention and all laws. He is of inflexible character, and I fear that his wrath will grow double at the sight of me. Where shall we two, floating with the current, come to our anchorage? How shall I ensure our happiness when my father has broken with me? Today my friend Sun invited me to drink and spoke to me of my prospects, and what he said has pierced my heart."

"What is my Lord's intention?" she asked in great surprise.

"I was turning madly in the web of our affairs when my friend Sun sketched out an excellent plan to me. But I fear my benefactress will refuse to allow it."

"Who is this friend, Sun? If his plan is good, why should I not agree to it?"

"His first name is Fu, and his family had the salt monopoly at Hsin-an. He is a man who has Drifted-in-the-Wind and knows life. Last night, your pure song charmed him. I told him where we came from and confided the difficulties which beset our return. Then, under the impulsion of a generous thought, he offered to give me a thousand ounces if you will marry him. With these thousand ounces as testimony, I shall be able to speak to my father. Also, I shall know that you are not without shelter. But I cannot contain my feelings, and that is why I mourn."

And his tears fell like a storm of rain. Ceasing to hold his head against her breast, Shih-niang nuzzled him aside. At last, she smiled like ice and said to him,

"This person must be a hero, a man of courage and virtue, to have conceived a project so helpful to my Lord. Not only will my Lord have a thousand ounces to take back with him, not only will your slave gain shelter, but your baggage will be lighter also and more easily handled. As a plan, it satisfies both convention and convenience. Where are the thousand ounces?"

Struggling with his tears, Li Chia replied,

"I have not got your consent, so the silver was not given to me."

"You must demand it first thing tomorrow morning. A thousand ounces is a considerable sum, and it must all be paid into your hand before I enter his cabin. For I am not merchandise which may be bought on credit."

It was then the fourth watch of the night.

Shih-niang prepared her toilet-table, saying: "Today I must adorn myself to bid farewell to my former protector and to do honor to my new one. It is no commonplace event. I must therefore take great pains with paint and perfume, and put on my best jewels and embroidered robes."

Thereafter, with perfume and paint and jewelry, she added to the splendor of her petalled seduction. The sun had already risen before she completed her preparations.

Li Chia was disturbed and yet seemed almost happy. Shih-niang urged him to insist upon the payment of the money, and he at once carried her answer to the other junk. Then Sun said:

"It is easy for me to give the money; but I ought to have the fair one's jewelry as a proof of her consent."

Li Chia told this to Shih-niang, who pointed to the casket with the golden lock, and caused it to be taken to Sun, who joyfully counted out a thousand ounces of silver and sent them to Li's ship. The young woman herself verified the weight and standard of the metal; and then, leaning over the bulwarks, half opened her scarlet lips and showed her white teeth saying to the dazzled Sun,

"You can now give me back my casket for a time. Lord Li's passports are in it, and I must return them to him."

The other at once ordered the little chest to be brought back and placed on the bridge. Shih-niang opened it. Inside there were several compartments, and she asked Li Chia to help her lift out each.

In the first there were jewels in the shape of king-fisher feathers, jasper pins, and precious earrings, to the value of many hundred ounces. Shih-niang took up these things in handfuls and threw them into the river. Li, Sun and the boatmen uttered exclamations of dismay.

In the second compartment were a jade flute and a golden flageolet. In a third were antique jewels, gold furnishings and a hundred ornaments worth thousands of ounces each. She threw them all into the river. The stricken onlookers gave voice to their regret.

Finally she drew out a box filled with pearls and rubies and emeralds and cats' eyes, whose number and value were beyond computation. The cries of the wandering bystanders beat in the air like thunder. She wanted to throw all these into the river also; but Li Chia held her in his arms, while Sun vehemently encouraged him.

So, pushing Li away, she turned to the other and reviled him:

"Lord Li and I suffered many bitter moments before we came yesterday. And you, to serve a detestable and criminal lust, have undone us and have caused me to hate the man I loved. After my death, I meet the Spirit of retribution, and I shall not forget your vile hypocrisy."

Then, turning toward Li Chia, she continued,

"During those many years when I lived in a disorder of the dust and breeze, I secretly amassed these treasures, that they might some day rescue my body. When I met my Lord, we vowed that our union should be higher than the mountain, deeper than the sea. We swore that, even when our hair was white, we should have our love. Before leaving the capital, I pretended to receive this casket as a gift from my friends. It contained a treasure of more than a myriad ounce. I intended to deposit it in your treasury, when I had seen your father and mother. Who would have thought your faith so shallow, that, on the strength of a chance conversation, you would consent to lose my loyal heart? Today, before the eyes of all these people, I have shown you that your thousand ounces were a paltry sum of money. These persons are my witness that it is my Lord who rejects his wife, that it is not I who want in my duty."

Hearing these sad words, those who were present wept, and called down curses upon Li, and reviled him as an ingrate. And he, being both ashamed and desolate, shed tears of bitter repentance. He knelt down to beg for her forgiveness. But Shih-niang, holding the jewels in each hand, leaped into the yellow water of the river.