The better off one is, the more one troubles about one's welfare.

The better off one is, the more one troubles about one's welfare. The

more a woman is cherished and loved, the more love does she demand.

1 HE FIFTH OF THE MONTH, THE DAY OF THE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL,

had almost come. The Princess Ancestress had decided to spend this

day with Phoenix and Pao Yu and the granddaughters outside the town

in the Taoist Temple of the Serene Void. She had declared that the

continuous monotony of home life dulled the mind in the long run; she

needed a change and looked forward to the much‐desired diversion

provided by the theatrical performances which just at this time took

place at the temple. Phoenix had agreed enthusiastically and added

that she was already thoroughly sick of the repertory of the house

theater. She undertook to make the necessary preparations for the holi‐ 

day, which was to last for several days. The temple was comfortably

furnished and was closed to the general public during the visit of the

distinguished ladies. The majority of the priests were quartered out‐ 

side for the time.

Accordingly, in the forenoon of the first of the month the long pro‐ 

cession of sedan chairs and carriages set out. At its head came the

great sedan of the Princess Ancrestress borne by eight men, and ac‐ 

companied by Pao Yu on horseback; then, each in a smaller sedan

chair with four bearers apiece, came Aunt Hsueh, Phoenix, and the

Widow Chu. There followed Black Jade and Precious Clasp in a blue

carriage, the three Spring girls in a red carriage, then four chamber‐ 

maids of the Ancestress, Black Jade's maids, Cuckoo and Snowgoose,

Precious Clasp's maids, Oriole and Apricot, six maids of the three

Spring girls, two of Aunt Hsueh's serving women, Hsueh Pan's young

secondary wife Lotus with her maid, two of Widow Chu's maids, and

three waiting maids of Madame Phoenix, Little Ping and Little Fong,

and the newest recruit Siao Hung, the two chambermaids Gold Ring and

Nephrite Buckle belonging to Madame Cheng, who had remained at

home herself owing to indisposition, the little daughter of Madame

Phoenix and her nurse, then numerous serving women and maidser‐ 

vants. A large troupe of servants on horseback brought up the rear. It

was an endless procession. The last participants were still climbing into

their equipages and disputing about the seats, when the head was al‐ 

ready well out of sight. What pushing and shoving, what chattering

and tittering! "No, this seat is engaged!" someone sa\d here. "Don't

crush my mistress's good dress!" cried another over there. "Don't

spoil my coiffure!" was heard here. "Don't sit on my fan!" came a cry

of distress from over there. The majordomo bustled to and fro warn‐ 

ing the company to be orderly and behave properly in the street, while

all along the route the stewards and runners had their hands full keep‐ 

ing the streets clear and forcing back the gaping crowd.

A dull boom of salutation resounded from the drum and bell tower

as the long procession of sedan chairs and carriages arrived at the

Temple of the Serene Void Ching hsu kuan. Before the temple gate

the Prior, at the head of a double row of priests swinging censers, had

taken up his position to welcome the guests ceremoniously. In the

courtyard of the temple, behind the Mountain .Gate, between the

statues of the patron deities of the town, Prince Chen awaited the

guests at the head of a crowd of cousins and nephews from the Yung‐ 

kuo and Ningkuo palaces. The Princess Ancestress's sedan was put

down, and as the serving women and waiting maids were still far be‐ 

hind, Phoenix hurried up to help the old lady to dismount. Just as she

set foot on the tiles of the temple courtyard, a little temple boy of about

twelve ran past her and carelessly bumped into her. The boy had charge

of trimming and cleaning the temple candles. He had been surprised

at his work by the arrival of the ladies and wanted to slip out quickly.

Phoenix, annoyed at his clumsiness, dealt him a resounding box on the

ear.

"Just look out where you are running, little savage!" she rebuked

him angrily. The boy, who had fallen and lost his snuffers in his panic,

picked himself up quickly and ran off towards the exit. In doing so he

got more and more into the crowd, for the occupants of the oncoming

sedan chairs had dismounted meanwhile, and the young ladies, to‐ 

gether with their waiting maids and serving women, formed such a

dense throng at the temple gate that a drop of rain could not have

fallen to the ground between them. The women were horrified at the

impudence of the young boy who was trying to squeeze through them,

and they cried out: "Stop him! Knock him down!"

"What is the matter?" the Ancestress asked Prince hen.

The Prince rushed to the door, inquired what the hubbub was about,

and had the boy arrested by the servants.

"A little candle‐trimmer was late at his work and ran into the ladies

as they came in," he reported to the Ancrestress.

"Bring him here," ordered the Ancestress. "But be very patient

with him! One cannot demand a high standard of manners from the

children of such humble people, and one must have consideration."

Dragged along by Prince Chen, the boy fell to the ground trembling

and shaking in front of the Ancestress. The Ancestress made him stand

up, spoke kind words to him, and asked him various questions, to

which the boy was too shy to reply. Finally the Ancestress let him run

off after having recommended the Prince to give him a few coppers

to buy cakes and hejp him recover from his fright. Prince Chen did

what he was told, and moreover took strong measures together with the

majordomo to enclose the premises so that unpleasant incidents of the

kind would not occur again. Even the young people and the servants

from the Ningkuo and the Vungkuo palaces, who had come out with

the others, were not permitted to enter the inner precincts of the temple,

which were strictly reserved to the ladies.

The High Priest Chang, who had been standing aside shyly in front

of the entrance to the temple a^the time, now asked with a smile: "And

what about me? May your humble servant pay his respects to the ladies

inside? Perhaps the old Tai tai may desire my direction and miss me.

However, I will certainly not act upon my own. authority, but will con‐ 

form entirely to your princely instructions."

The Prince did not hesitate, for the worthy old man enjoyed a repu‐ 

tation for holiness. Moreover, he used formerly to come and go fre‐ 

quently in the Yungkuo and Ningkuo palaces discharging the duties of

exorcist, so he was no stranger to the ladies.

"Of course the temple is open to you, and if you make any more

words about it I shall take you by your long beard and pull you in,"

replied the Prince jokingly, leading him into the inner precincts and up

to the Ancestress. The High Priest bowed to the Ancestress and the

younger ladies and smilingly offered his greetings: "May the old

Ancestress be granted the same abundance of health, happiness, and

long life which has been granted her up to the present! Since I have

had the honor of offering her my greetings in her palace, it seems to

me that her health and appearance have distinctly improved."

"How do you do, holy old man?" replied the Ancestress, smiling.

"The state of health of the little monk depends entirely upon the

well‐being of the old Ancestress," replied the Prior gallantly, and turned

the conversation on to Pao Yu. At his request the Ancestress had her

grandson called.

"How magnificently the little brother is getting on!" cried the old

man.

"That is only on the surface, unfortunately; he is really a very weak

boy," said the Ancestress, sighing. "No wonder, for he studies so hard.

His father keeps him down to his books continually and allows him no

recreation; he will become ill yet through overwork."

"I do not understand at all why the old master is displeased with his

progress. I have had proof again and again of how splendidly the little

brother can handle the writing brush and make verses. When I ob‐ 

serve him attentively his face, his figure, his deportment, his way

of speaking he seems to me more and more to be the image of his

great progenitor, the Ancestor Prince," he continued.

"You are right," agreed the Ancestress, with emotion in her voice.

"Of all my sons and nephews and grandsons, none resembles his An‐ 

cestor so much as this child."

The old man's face grew cunning.

"Recently, in the home of a certain noble family, I came across a

fifteen‐year‐old daughter, a perfectly charming, clever, educated young

girl. She would be a suitable partner for the little brother. If the old

Tai tai would honor her humble servant with instructions to that effect,

he would willingly place his services at her disposal and open his mouth

in the house in question."

"Thank you for the kind offer," said the Ancestress, evasively. "But

there is time enough for that. A holy young Buddhist informed us re‐ 

cently that it was the will of Providence that my grandson should not

marry too early, so we are waiting until he is somewhat more grown‐up.

But if you wish to keep a preliminary lookout for a suitable partner, I

do not mind. It is of the greatest importance to me that the character

of the person in question should harmonize with that of my grandson;

I attach little importance to aristocratic and rich descent; she may well

come from a poor family. Therefore, let me know whenever you have

suitable suggestions to make!"

Thereupon the old man expressed the wish to be allowed to show

Pao Yu's famous amulet to his priestly colleagues. At the order of the

Ancestress, Pao Yu took off the chain with the spirit stone and handed

it to the Prior. The Prior laid it in a bronze bowl and limped out lean‐ 

ing on his staff. When he returned after a little while he brought back

in the bowl about forty or fifty other amulets, presents from the priests

to Pao Yu.

"My colleagues thank you for the happiness of letting them see the

strange magic stone," he said. "They want to take this opportunity of

proving their friendly and humble devotion to the little brother. As

they have nothing better at hand, they offer him these little emblems of

Taoist piety. He can keep them as souvenirs or pass them on as pres‐ 

ents, just as he pleases."

The Ancestress looked with curiosity at the contents of the bowl.

They were mostly semicircular gold or jade tablets, pierced with holes,

some of them set with pearls, and all of them graven with inscriptions

such as "May your wishes all come true," or "Long life and health."

"How did you dare to allow your poor colleagues to go to such ex‐ 

pense? We cannot accept these presents under any circumstances!" the

Ancestress protested, thanking him.

"Oh, they insisted upon proving their devotion. I could not prevent

them from doing so. They will feel hurt if they see that their well‐in‐ 

tentioned gifts are disdained."

"Of course the Ancestress did not wish to hurt the donors, so she

accepted their gifts.

"What shall I do with these things?" asked Pao Yu in a somewhat

scornful tone. "I shall give them to beggars on the way home."

"Do not do that!" objected the Prior. "Indeed, I do not fail to recog‐ 

nize your praiseworthy intention, but beggars do not appreciate such

things; beggars want money. Keep these little objects! Though they

may seem to you outwardly insignificant and worthless, nevertheless

they possess beneficent power."

Pao Yu took the hint, and in the evening he ordered that money

should be distributed among the beggars in front of the temple gate.

The Prior retired and the ladies went to their living quarters. Three

one‐story temple buildings had been placed at their disposal. The mid‐ 

dle one was intended for the Ancestress, the eastern one for the other

ladies, and the western one for the domestic female staff. After a while

Prince Chen came to the Ancestress and advised her of the theatrical

program. The first piece was to be "The History of the White Snake."

"Is not that ancient history?" asked the Ancestress.

"Yes, the play is founded on the old story of how Liu Pang, the

founder of the first Han dynasty, killed the white snake and estab‐ 

lished the rule of justice. The second piece is called 'The Audience

Tablets in the Bed'; the third piece is The Dream of Nan ko.' "

Prince Chen went down again to supervise the final preparations for

the theatrical performance.

Pao Yu, who was sitting above with the Ancestress, passed the time

turning over in the bowl the temple souvenirs which had been pre‐ 

sented to him, and trying one piece after another on his jade belt. Each

time the Ancestress had to give her opinion as to how the piece in

question suited him. A lucky 'orange‐colored unicorn, spotted with

kingfisher blue, pleased her specially. She took it in her hand to ex‐ 

amine it, and remarked: "It is very pretty. I must have seen something

like this on one of the girls."

"Yes, you have. 'Cousin Little Cloud wears a unicorn like that, but

it's somewhat smaller," said Precious Clasp quickly.

"You are right, it's Little Cloud," agreed the Ancestress.

"It is certainly strange that I have never yet noticed it on her, al‐ 

though she is so often in and out of our place," said Pao Yu.

"Yes, Cousin Precious Clasp has a good memory," remarked Taste

of Spring innocently.

"Especially for matters which concern others," added Black Jade

caustically.

Precious Clasp looked away and pretended not to have heard the re‐ 

mark. Pao Yu stuck the golden unicorn quickly into his breast pocket,

at the same time looking around shyly to see if anyone had noticed

him. He was afraid they might draw conclusions from the fact that

he kept just this piece of jewelry after having heard that Little Cloud

had a piece exactly the same. But nobody had noticed it, with the ex‐ 

ception of Black Jade, and he thought he read approval and agreement

from her nods and the expression on her face. In order to escape from

his embarrassment he took out the jewel again and held it up to her.

"Pretty, isn't it? I have kept it for you," he said, smiling. "I'll have

a string put on it, and then you will wear it!"

Black Jade tossed her head.

"I do not care for it in the least, thank you," she replied coldly.

"Very well, then I shall keep it myself," he said laughing, and hiding

it away again.

After they had amused themselves for some hours with the enter‐ 

tainment offered on the temple stage, in the late afternoon the An‐ 

cestress quite unexpectedly announced that they would return to the

town. When the news of her holiday trip had gone around among the circle of friends and relations, these dear people had hastened to send

messengers with all possible marks of attention and with sacrificial

gifts, and even to come themselves, as if they thought that it was a mat‐ 

ter of a solemn temple ceremony. Now, this was not at all what the

Princess had intended. She had only wanted to have some recreation

and for once to have a really quiet carefree time with just a few favor‐ 

ite relatives, She was even displeased when Princess Chen turned up

belatedly with the new wife of Chia Yung, and she did not receive the

two unwelcome arrivals in a very friendly way. Fearing that she might

be even more inundated in the following days, she cut short her sojourn

and went home in ill‐humor.

The enterprising Phoenix, who did not approve of this at all, tried

to "persuade her the next day to make another trip to the temple, but in

vain. It happened that Pao Yu also did not want to go there. He was out

of humor too because the Prior Chang had brought up the matter of

marriage the day before, and pushed himself forward as a negotiator.

Pao Yu did not need this unsolicited mediation; he had made his own

choice long ago. He had no desire to appear before old Chang ever

again, he declared angrily to his grandmother when he got home. No

one could really understand why he was so much annoyed with the

friendly old man. Moreover, Black Jade had caught cold on the way

home and was a little feverish today. For these three reasons the

Piincess Ancestress remained firm and let Phoenix and the others go

alone.

Pao Yu took Black Jade's slight cold so much to heart that he could

not touch a bite the whole day. His anxiety impelled him to visit her

constantly and to find out how she was.

"Why won't you go with the others to the plays at the temple in‐ 

stead of sticking at home and being bored?" asked Black Jade, wishing

to put him to the test. Her question annoyed him greatly. If anyone

else had asked it he would not have been specially upset, but Black Jade

should surely know perfectly well that he was avoiding the temple

solely on her account and because he wanted to evade the annoying

marriage plans of the Prior.

"I see that it is useless for us to know one another. Very well, let us

finish with it!" he replied, deeply disappointed. She made matters

worse by adding sharply: "Yes, it is certainly useless. Unlike certain

other persons, I have nothing at all about me which suits you."

He Went up close to her, deeply agitated, and said to her in a voice

which trembled: "With these words you have cold‐heartedly spoken a

curse of damnation over me."

"I do not know what you mean, and I do not understand your agita‐ 

tion at all," she replied. "Evidently you are worried lest the beautiful

marriage plan of which the Prior spoke yesterday should fall through,

and are making me suffer for your irritation."

Foolish girl ! Foolish boy ! Why were they shamming and saying the

exact opposite of what was in the depths o* their hearts? They had be‐ 

longed to each other secretly long since. Why did they torture them‐ 

selves and behave as if they were strangers and enemies? They were

spiritually so close to each other. Why did they outwardly struggle

away from each other? But alas, that has always been the way with

lovers, and doubtless always will be.

At the words "beautiful marriage plan" Pao Yu completely lost his

self‐control. In a sudden fit of passion he tore the spirit stone from his

neck and flung it fiercely to the ground.

"I will smash you up, accursed thing! Then I shall have peace at

last!" he cried, beside himself. But the good stone was made of such

sound material that the fall could not harm it; it did not bear the

slightest trace of damage. When Pao Yu noticed this he turned round

and began to look for some hard object with the help of which he could

smash the stone.

Black Jade bemoaned his absurd action. "What has that deaf and

dumb object done to you, that you ill‐treat it so? Better ill‐treat me!"

she said.

Bhck Jade's waiting maids Cuckoo and Snowgoose had already

witnessed many arguments between their mistress and Pao Yu, but no

previous discussion had led to so much excitement as this today. In

their dilemma they fetched Pearl along to help. The first thing Pearl

did was to try to save the threatened spirit stone.

"Do not interfere ! " ordered Pao Yu brusquely. "What is it to you if

I destroy my property?"

Pearl was startled by the expression of his face as he uttered these

words. This rage‐distorted, livid face! She had never before seen him

in such a condition. She tried gently to pacify him.

"Do you not think at all of your cousin's delicate health when you

rage against her so unkir.dly?" she asked reproachfully, taking him

gently by the hand. As if to confirm her words, just at that moment

Black Jade's mental excitement caused her to vomit up the invalid soup

she had taken shortly before. The maid Cuckoo rushed to help her,

quickly holding a handkerchief to her mouth.

"You should not take the little quarrel so much to heart," she said

to her. "How can you get well .if you vomit up your medicine straight

away? Do you not see how our little master suffers when you are ill?"

At the sight of the vomiting Pao Yu himself was overtaken with

nausea, and bile rose from his stomach. At the same time he was over‐ 

whelmed with remorse for his violent behavior and with sympathy for

his poor cousin. His anger had melted away; he was on the verge of

tears. As he struggled convulsively on the one hand against his tears

and the other against the inclination to vomit, he was such a picture of

misery that Pearl was now moved to tears and began to sob loudly.

And Cuckoo, who was fanning her mistress to cool her, was in her

turn affected by Pearl, so a sobbing, and sniffing and sighing resounded

from four directions at the same time, and the whole company was

howling. Pearl was the first to pull herself together.

"Look at the silk tassel on your stone which your cousin made for

you with her own hands!" she said to Pao Yu, forcing herself to smile.

"Is it not enough of a reminder to you to forget your quarrel and be

friends again?" Unfortunately, her well‐meant words brought about an

undesired effect. Forgetting her illness, Black Jade jumped up and tore

from Pearl's hand the amulet with the five‐colored cord and the tassel

which she had made; she seized scissors and began wildly to cut up the

tassel. Before Pearl and Cuckoo with united strength were able to wrest

the cord from her, the tassel was already badly damaged with many cuts.

"Let it alone! After all, he cares nothing for what I took so much

trouble to make for him ! He can get someone else to make a new tassel

for him," cried Black Jade, sobbing.

"Do not take it badly of her! I am to blame with my thoughtless

chatter," pleaded Pearl apologetically to Pao Yu, as she gave him back

the cord.

"Please cut it up as much as you like! I won't ever wear the un‐ 

lucky thing again," declared Pao Yu coolly, and the quarrel would

have flared up with new force if Pa Yu's mother and grandmother, who

had been called to the rescue by his serving women, had not come be‐ 

tween them just at the right moment. When they entered the two cous‐ 

ins became silent, while Pearl and Cuckoo furtively scolded one an‐ 

other, because each believed that the other had called the two Tai tais

and thereby made the matter worse.

As the two cousins could not be got to utter a word, the ladies dis‐ 

charged their anger on Pearl and Cuckoo and reproached them furi‐ 

ously for not having looked after their master and mistress better and

been able to prevent the quarrel. Finally, the Ancestress took Pao Yu by

the hand and led him away with ber.

The following day, the third of the fifth month, Cousin Hsueh Pan's

birthday was celebrated. In his honor a great family banquet and a

theatrical performance were given. All the relatives assembled; only

Pao Yu and Black Jade were missing. After the happenings of yester‐ 

day they were not in the humor to attend a banquet or a theatrical per‐ 

formance. They both excused their absence on the plea of being ill. In

reality there was nothing wrong with Pap Yu, and Black Jade was al‐

ready recovered from her slight cold. The Ancestress had hoped that

the two of them would be diverted by the feast and the theatricals and

forget their resentments. When the grandson and granddaughter did

not appear as expected she thought with annoyance: "What crime have

I committed in my former existence that I am being punished with these

two bad‐tempered grandchildren? Scarcely a day passes that they do

not cause me annoyance and agitation. If they would only wait until

my eyes are closed and I have drawn my last breath, then, as far as I

am concerned, they may quarrel and argue as much as they like!" She

stopped and wiped a few bitter tears from her eyes. The news that the

Ancestress had shed tears on their account at table moved Black Jade

and Pao Yu and caused them to relent somewhat. But still, they pre‐ 

ferred to avoid each other. The one sat in her Bamboo Hermitage and

sobbed her sorrow to the wind; the other sat in his Begonia Courtyard

and sighed his grief up to the moon. Although separated physically,

they were together at heart. On the one side Pearl urgently exhorted

Pao Yu to make it up again.

"Have you not over and over made peace when there were quarrels

among the servants?" she asked. "And today you yourself cannot man‐ 

age to calm a little girl's heart ! The day after tomorrow, the day of the

Dragon Boat Festival, are you going to persist in your waywardness

and spoil the festival for the old Tai tai? Give in and beg your cousin's

pardon, so that the quarrel may have an end!"

On the other side the waiting maid Cuckoo lectured Black Jade:

"You should not have been so furious. You know his tender spot bet‐ 

ter than others do. After all, it's not the first time that he has got into

a state on account of the stone."

"What do you mean by 'furious'? It seems to me that you are taking

sides against me," remarked Black Jade irritably.

"Why did you have to vent your anger over the tassel? By that you

incurred seven‐tenths of the blame. He had such good intentions

towards you, but you grieve him with your exaggerated suspicions."

Black Jade was just going to reply when there was a knock at the

outer gate.

"The young master!" shouted Cuckoo joyfully when she had peeped

out. "He must be coming to apologize to you."

"Do not let him in on any account!"

"Do you want to do him harm again? We cannot possibly leave him

standing waiting in the heat of the sun!"

And already she had hurried out. She opened the gate end let Pao

Yuin.

"So there you are! I thought you would never find the way to our

door again!" she said jokingly.

"And why not? Why should one take everything so tragically!" he

replied, falling in with her lighthearted tone. "And if I were dead, my

spirit would come to visit your little mistress not once but a hundred

times a day. How is she today?"

"Physically, she is well, but her heart is not yet quite calm and in

order."

"I can well believe that," he said smiling, as he walked into the liv‐ 

ing room. He found Black Jade lying on the divan crying again.

"Are you quite well again, Mei mei?" he asked kindly. She wiped

away her tears, but remained silent. He sat down on the edge of the

couch and continued brightly: "I know you are not angry with me at

all. But if I am never seen with you, the others may think that we have quarrelled and that you are really angry with me, and then they would interfere and want to lecture us. I think we could spare ourselves this

annoying interference from outsiders. If you have anything against me,

blame me, quarrel with me, hit me! Only do, not ignore me!"

During his speech he had used the terms "dearest Mei mei" and

"best Mei mei" at least a dozen times. From the remark that other peo‐ 

ple need not interfere in their affairs, Black Jade understood that he

felt specially near and intimate with her. This filled her with secret

joy and unsealed her lips.

"You need not come here at all. You only want to annoy me. I at

any rate will take care not to come too near you. The best thing is for

me to go away altogether," she said, still seemingly quite irreconcilable.

But he did not let himself be intimidated.

"Where will you go, then?" he asked blithely.

"Home."

"I'll go with you."

"And what if I die soon?"

"Then I will become a monk."

"Indeed? You used to declare that you also would die in that case.

One can see from that that your talk isn't to be taken at all seriously.

Besides, you have other cousins. Will you become a monk every time

^one of them dies? If so, you will have to multiply yourself. What if I

tell them of your praiseworthy intention?"

He realized that his statement had been rather silly. He thought of

Precious Clasp and blushed. What a good thing it was that no one else

was present! There was a long, embarrassed pause in the conversa‐ 

tion. At last she tapped him lightly in a significant way on the fore‐ 

head with her finger.

"You . . ." she began, but could not continue. Instead, she took out

her handkerchief and wiped her eyes. His eyes became tearful too, and

as he had forgotten his handkerchief he passed his silk sleeve over the

moist lids. She noticed it and without a word handed him one of her

own handkerchiefs. Touched by this service of love, he clasped her

hand tenderly and said: "Enough of tears! My five entrails are already

torn asunder from all this howling. Come, let us go to the old Tai tai

together."

Black Jade pushed his hand away.

"Leave off this coarse caressing! You are growing older every day.

When will you learn to behave yourself at last?"

The voice of Phoenix was heard outside. Startled, the *wo cousins

separated hurriedly.

"Now, are you friends again?" asked Phoenix, laughing. "The old

Tai tai has been grieving up to the heights of heaven about you. She

sent me here to see if everything is all right. At first I did not want to

come, and I said to her that by the end of three days you would have

made it up yourselves, but she got angry at that and gave me a great

scolding. And so I am here. Why are you two not to be seen? What has

happened to you again? Must you quarrel every three days? The older

you grow the more you fly into passions like children. And now come

to the old Tai tai with me to assure her that all is well."

She took Black Jade by the hand and .drew her out with her. Black

Jade turned round and called for her waiting maids, but both maids

had disappeared.

"Why do you need them? My maids are at your disposal, but let us

not delay!" urged Phoenix and dragged the resisting Black Jade with

her. Pao Yu followed behind, and so all three arrived at the home of

the Ancestress.

"Now, was I not right?" said Phoenix cheerfully. "I did not have

to interfere at all; they had already made it up themselves. They had

asked each other's pardon and were sitting together quite peacefully,

chatting and joking and affectionately clawing each other like an

eagle and a female hawk sitting on the same hunting ring."

The Ancestress and all present had to laugh heartily at the odd com‐ 

parison. Black Jade sat down by the side of the Ancestress^ she felt

rather embarrassed by Cousin Precious Clasp's presence and did not

open her mouth. Pao Yu apologized to Precious Clasp for having been

unable to make his birthday kowtow to her brother and bring a pres‐ 

ent, owing to not being well, but he would make up for the omission

later. Then he wanted to know why she was not at the theatrical per‐ 

formance.

"I saw two pieces, and then I could not endure the heat any longer,

so I sneaked off," replied Precious Clasp.

Pao Yu wanted to make some reply. Involuntarily, his attention

was caught by Precious Clasp's plump white arm, which he had re‐

cently seen when she took off a gold bangle for him to look at more

closely. And it came into his mind how Precious Clasp generally went

by the nickname of "Courtesan Yang," because that celebrated Im‐ 

perial courtesan of the T'ang dynasty is the only plump lady the

Chinese gallery of famous beauties has to show. So, in order to say

something, he remarked jocularly: "I am not surprised that people al‐ 

ways compare you with the Courtesan Yang, for she also was somewhat

plump and sensitive to heat."

His remark greatly annoyed Precious Clasp. She got red and sought

for a long time for a suitable reply. At last she gave two short dry

laughs and remarked derisively: "If I am so very like the Courtesan

Yang, it is really a pity that I lack the suitable cousin, a second Yang

Chung. He was certainly a fine fellow!"

It was painful to Pao Yu to have once more laid himself open to

correction by a cousin on account of a thoughtless remark, and this

time, moreover, before everyone, whereas Black Jade had only cor‐ 

rected him when they were alone just now. Black Jade, who had been

secretly pleased at the apt if somewhat crude faux pas which he had

just perpetrated at the expense of Precious Clasp, and was sorry to see

him writhing with embarrassment, decided to come to his help.

"Which play have you seen, then?" she asked turning with a smile

to Precious Clasp.

"It was called 'The Tyrant Li Kwei Abuses Sung Chiang and Lator

Admits His Injustice' or something like that,", replied Precious Clasp

coolly.

"You are so well versed otherwise in ancient and modern literature

and yet you do not know the short popular title of this piece," con‐ 

tinued Black Jade, derisively. "As everyone knows, it is called simply

'A Visit of Petition with the Rod.' "

"Yes, very well, let it be 'A Visit of Petition with the Rod'! You, of

course, are so well educated and so learned that you must know it too.

I really did not know anything until now about a visit of that kind,"

replied Precious Clasp sharply, and she noted with satisfaction the

embarrassment which the sudden blushes on the faces of Pao Yu and

Black Jade distinctly betrayed. Her stab had hit the mark. Of those

present, a fourth person had understood the import of Precious

Clasp's words, and that was Phoenix; and she hastened to clear the

uneasy atmosphere with a pleasant joke.

"Is anyone here chewing green ginger on account of the heat?" she

asked unexpectedly.

Everyone answered the cryptic question in the negative.

I just thought there might be, there is such a sharp and

biting smell here," she said, pretending surprise arid making a comic

face. Precious Clasp burst out laughing, and the others laughed with

her, although most of them did not know why. The tension had been

broken, and the company dispersed in merry mood. When Precious

Clasp had gone off with Phoenix, Black Jade remarked with a smile

to Pao Yu: "Now are you convinced that other people can have wick‐ 

eder tongues than I? Compared with them I am positively shy and

harmless!"

He found the one just as bad as the other, so he left Black Jade stand‐ 

ing there and ran off.