Hong lou meng. English

by Xueqin Cao

  CHAPTER XXX.

  Pao-ch'ai avails herself of the excuse afforded her by a fan to administer a couple of raps. While Ch'un Ling traces, in a absent frame of mind, the outlines of the character Ch'iang, a looker-on appears on the scene.

  Lin Tai-yue herself, for we will now resume our narrative, was also, eversince her tiff with Pao-yue, full of self-condemnation, yet as she didnot see why she should run after him, she continued, day and night, asdespondent as she would have been had she lost some thing or otherbelonging to her.

  Tzu Chuean surmised her sentiments. "As regards what happened the otherday," she advised her, "you were, after all, Miss, a little too hasty;for if others don't understand that temperament of Pao-yue's, have youand I, surely, also no idea about it? Besides, haven't there beenalready one or two rows on account of that very jade?"

  "Ts'ui!" exclaimed Tai-yue. "Have you come, on behalf of others, to findfault with me? But how ever was I hasty?"

  "Why did you," smiled Tzu Chuean, "take the scissors and cut that tasselwhen there was no good reason for it? So isn't Pao-yue less to blame thanyourself, Miss? I've always found his behaviour towards you, Miss,without a fault. It's all that touchy disposition of yours, which makesyou so often perverse, that induces him to act as he does."

  Lin Tai-yue had every wish to make some suitable reply, when she heardsome one calling at the door. Tzu Chuean discerned the tone of voice."This sounds like Pao-yue's voice," she smiled. "I expect he's come tomake his apologies."

  "I won't have any one open the door," Tai-yue cried at these words.

  "Here you are in the wrong again, Miss," Tzu Chuean observed. "How willit ever do to let him get a sunstroke and come to some harm on a daylike this, and under such a scorching sun?"

  Saying this, she speedily walked out and opened the door. It was indeedPao-yue. While ushering him in, she gave him a smile. "I imagined," shesaid, "that you would never again put your foot inside our door, MasterSecundus. But here you are once more and quite unexpectedly!"

  "You have by dint of talking," Pao-yue laughed, "made much ado ofnothing; and why shouldn't I come, when there's no reason for me to keepaway? Were I even to die, my spirit too will come a hundred times a day!But is cousin quite well?"

  "She is," replied Tzu Chuean, "physically all right; but, mentally, herresentment is not quite over."

  "I understand," continued Pao-yue with a smile. "But resentment, forwhat?"

  With this inquiry, he wended his steps inside the apartment. He thencaught sight of Lin Tai-yue reclining on the bed in the act of crying.Tai-yue had not in fact shed a tear, but hearing Pao-yue break in uponher, she could not help feeling upset. She found it impossible thereforeto prevent her tears from rolling down her cheeks.

  Pao-yue assumed a smiling expression and drew near the bed. "Cousin, areyou quite well again?" he inquired.

  Tai-yue simply went on drying her tears, and made no reply of any kind.

  Pao-yue approached the bed, and sat on the edge of it. "I know," hesmiled, "that you're not vexed with me. But had I not come, thirdparties would have been allowed to notice my absence, and it would haveappeared to them as if we had had another quarrel. And had I to waituntil they came to reconcile us, would we not by that time becomeperfect strangers? It would be better, supposing you wish to beat me orblow me up, that you should please yourself and do so now; but whateveryou do, don't give me the cold shoulder!"

  Continuing, he proceeded to call her "my dear cousin" for several tensof times.

  Tai-yue had resolved not to pay any more heed to Pao-yue. When she,however, now heard Pao-yue urge: "don't let us allow others to knowanything about our having had a quarrel, as it will look as if we hadbecome thorough strangers," it once more became evident to her, fromthis single remark, that she was really dearer and nearer to him thanany of the other girls, so she could not refrain from saying sobbingly:"You needn't have come to chaff me! I couldn't presume henceforward tobe on friendly terms with you, Master Secundus! You should treat me asif I were gone!"

  At these words, Pao-yue gave way to laughter. "Where are you off to?" heinquired.

  "I'm going back home," answered Tai-yue.

  "I'll go along with you then," smiled Pao-yue.

  "But if I die?" asked Tai-yue.

  "Well, if you die," rejoined Pao-yue, "I'll become a bonze."

  The moment Tai-yue caught this reply, she hung down her head. "You must,I presume, be bent upon dying?" she cried. "But what stuff and nonsenseis this you're talking? You've got so many beloved elder and youngercousins in your family, and how many bodies will you have to go andbecome bonzes, when by and bye they all pass away! But to-morrow I'lltell them about this to judge for themselves what your motives are!"

  Pao-yue was himself aware of the fact that this rejoinder had beenrecklessly spoken, and he was seized with regret. His face immediatelybecame suffused with blushes. He lowered his head and had not thecourage to utter one word more. Fortunately, however, there was no onepresent in the room.

  Tai-yue stared at him for ever so long with eyes fixed straight on him,but losing control over her temper, "Ai!" she shouted, "can't youspeak?" Then when she perceived Pao-yue reduced to such straits as toturn purple, she clenched her teeth and spitefully gave him, on theforehead, a fillip with her finger. "Heug!" she cried gnashing herteeth, "you, this......" But just as she had pronounced these two words,she heaved another sigh, and picking up her handkerchief, she wiped hertears.

  Pao-yue treasured at one time numberless tender things in his mind, whichhe meant to tell her, but feeling also, while he smarted under the stingof self-reproach (for the indiscretion he had committed), Tai-yue givehim a rap, he was utterly powerless to open his lips, much though he mayhave liked to speak, so he kept on sighing and snivelling to himself.With all these things therefore to work upon his feelings, heunwillingly melted into tears. He tried to find his handkerchief to dryhis face with, but unexpectedly discovering that he had again forgottento bring one with him, he was about to make his coat-sleeve answer thepurpose, when Tai-yue, albeit her eyes were watery, noticed at a glancethat he was going to use the brand-new coat of grey coloured gauze hewore, and while wiping her own, she turned herself round, and seized asilk kerchief thrown over the pillow, and thrust it into Pao-yue's lap.But without saying a word, she screened her face and continued sobbing.

  Pao-yue saw the handkerchief she threw, and hastily snatching it, hewiped his tears. Then drawing nearer to her, he put out his hand andclasped her hand in his, and smilingly said to her: "You've completelylacerated my heart, and do you still cry? But let's go; I'll come alongwith you and see our venerable grandmother."

  Tai-yue thrust his hand aside. "Who wants to go hand in hand with you?"she cried. "Here we grow older day after day, but we're still so full ofbrazen-faced effrontery that we don't even know what right means?"

  But scarcely had she concluded before she heard a voice say aloud:"They're all right!"

  Pao-yue and Tai-yue were little prepared for this surprise, and they werestartled out of their senses. Turning round to see who it was, theycaught sight of lady Feng running in, laughing and shouting. "Our oldlady," she said, "is over there, giving way to anger against heaven andearth. She would insist upon my coming to find out whether you werereconciled or not. 'There's no need for me to go and see,' I told her,'they will before the expiry of three days, be friends again of theirown accord.' Our venerable ancestor, however, called me to account, andmaintained that I was lazy; so here I come! But my words have in verydeed turned out true. I don't see why you two should always bewrangling! For three days you're on good terms and for two on bad. Youbecome more and more like children. And here you are now hand in handblubbering! But why did you again yesterday become like black-eyedfighting cocks? Don't you yet come with me to see your grandmother andmake an old lady like her set her mind at ease a bit?"

  While reproaching them, she clutched Tai-yue's hand and was trudgingaway, when Tai-yue turned her head round and called
out for herservant-girls. But not one of them was in attendance.

  "What do you want them for again?" lady Feng asked. "I am here to waiton you!"

  Still speaking, she pulled her along on their way, with Pao-yue followingin their footsteps. Then making their exit out of the garden gate, theyentered dowager lady Chia's suite of rooms. "I said that it wassuperfluous for any one to trouble," lady Feng smiled, "as they weresure of themselves to become reconciled; but you, dear ancestor, solittle believed it that you insisted upon my going to act the part ofmediator. Yet when I got there, with the intention of inducing them tomake it up, I found them, though one did not expect it, in each other'scompany, confessing their faults, and laughing and chatting. Just like ayellow eagle clutching the feet of a kite were those two hanging on toeach other. So where was the necessity for any one to go?"

  These words evoked laughter from every one in the room. Pao-ch'ai,however, was present at the time so Lin Tai-yue did not retort, but wentand ensconced herself in a seat near her grandmother.

  When Pao-yue noticed that no one had anything to say, he smilinglyaddressed himself to Pao-ch'ai. "On cousin Hsueeh P'an's birth-day," heremarked, "I happened again to be unwell, so not only did I not send himany presents, but I failed to go and knock my head before him. Yetcousin knows nothing about my having been ill, and it will seem to himthat I had no wish to go, and that I brought forward excuses so as toavoid paying him a visit. If to-morrow you find any leisure, cousin, dotherefore explain matters for me to him."

  "This is too much punctiliousness!" smiled Pao-ch'ai. "Even had youinsisted upon going, we wouldn't have been so arrogant as to let you putyourself to the trouble, and how much less when you were not feelingwell? You two are cousins and are always to be found together the wholeday; if you encourage such ideas, some estrangement will, after all,arise between you."

  "Cousin," continued Pao-yue smilingly, "you know what to say; and so longas you're lenient with me all will be all right. But how is it," he wenton to ask, "that you haven't gone over to see the theatricals?"

  "I couldn't stand the heat" rejoined Pao-ch'ai. "I looked on while twoplays were being sung, but I found it so intensely hot, that I feltanxious to retire. But the visitors not having dispersed, I had to giveas an excuse that I wasn't feeling up to the mark, and so came away atonce."

  Pao-yue, at these words, could not but feel ill at ease. All he could dowas to feign another smile. "It's no wonder," he observed, "that theycompare you, cousin, to Yang Kuei-fei; for she too was fat and afraid ofhot weather."

  Hearing this, Pao-ch'ai involuntarily flew into a violent rage. Yet whenabout to call him to task, she found that it would not be nice for herto do so. After some reflection, the colour rushed to her cheeks.Smiling ironically twice, "I may resemble," she said, "Yang Kuei-fei,but there's not one of you young men, whether senior or junior, goodenough to play the part of Yang Kuo-chung."

  While they were bandying words, a servant-girl Ch'ing Erh, lost sight ofher fan and laughingly remarked to Pao-ch'ai: "It must be you, Miss Pao,who have put my fan away somewhere or other; dear mistress, do let mehave it!"

  "You'd better be mindful!" rejoined Pao-ch'ai, shaking her finger ather. "With whom have I ever been up to jokes, that you come and suspectme? Have I hitherto laughed and smirked with you? There's that whole lotof girls, go and ask them about it!"

  At this suggestion, Ch'ing Erh made her escape.

  The consciousness then burst upon Pao-yue, that he had again beeninconsiderate in his speech, in the presence of so many persons, and hewas overcome by a greater sense of shame than when, a short while back,he had been speaking with Lin Tai-yue. Precipitately turning himselfround, he went, therefore, and talked to the others as well.

  The sight of Pao-yue poking fun at Pao-ch'ai gratified Tai-yue immensely.She was just about to put in her word and also seize the opportunity ofchaffing her, but as Ch'ing Erh unawares asked for her fan and Pao-ch'aiadded a few more remarks, she at once changed her purpose. "CousinPao-ch'ai," she inquired, "what two plays did you hear?"

  Pao-ch'ai caught the expression of gratification in Tai-yue'scountenance, and concluded that she had for a certainty heard theraillery recently indulged in by Pao-yue and that it had fallen in withher own wishes; and hearing her also suddenly ask the question she did,she answered with a significant laugh: "What I saw was: 'Li Kuei blowsup Sung Chiang and subsequently again tenders his apologies'."

  Pao-yue smiled. "How is it," he said, "that with such wide knowledge ofthings new as well as old; and such general information as you possess,you aren't even up to the name of a play, and that you've come out withsuch a whole string of words. Why, the real name of the play is:'Carrying a birch and begging for punishment'".

  "Is it truly called: 'Carrying a birch and begging for punishment'"?Pao-ch'ai asked with laugh. "But you people know all things new and oldso are able to understand the import of 'carrying a birch and beggingfor punishment.' As for me I've no idea whatever what 'carrying a birchand begging for punishment' implies."

  One sentence was scarcely ended when Pao-yue and Tai-yue felt guilty intheir consciences; and by the time they heard all she said, they werequite flushed from shame. Lady Feng did not, it is true, fathom the gistof what had been said, but at the sight of the expression betrayed onthe faces of the three cousins, she readily got an inkling of it. "Onthis broiling hot day," she inquired laughing also; "who still eats rawginger?"

  None of the party could make out the import of her insinuation. "There'sno one eating raw ginger," they said.

  Lady Feng intentionally then brought her hands to her cheeks, andrubbing them, she remarked with an air of utter astonishment, "Sincethere's no one eating raw ginger, how is it that you are all so fiery inthe face?"

  Hearing this, Pao-yue and Tai-yue waxed more uncomfortable than ever. Somuch so, that Pao-ch'ai, who meant to continue the conversation, did notthink it nice to say anything more when she saw how utterly abashedPao-yue was and how changed his manner. Her only course was therefore tosmile and hold her peace. And as the rest of the inmates had not thefaintest notion of the drift of the remarks exchanged between the fourof them, they consequently followed her lead and put on a smile.

  In a short while, however, Pao-ch'ai and lady Feng took their leave.

  "You've also tried your strength with them," Tai-yue said to Pao-yuelaughingly. "But they're far worse than I. Is every one as simple inmind and dull of tongue as I am as to allow people to say whatever theylike."

  Pao-yue was inwardly giving way to that unhappiness, which had beenoccasioned by Pao-ch'ai's touchiness, so when he also saw Tai-yueapproach him and taunt him, displeasure keener than ever was aroused inhim. A desire then asserted itself to speak out his mind to her, butdreading lest Tai-yue should he in one of her sensitive moods, he,needless to say, stifled his anger and straightway left the apartment ina state of mental depression.

  It happened to be the season of the greatest heat. Breakfast time toowas already past, and masters as well as servants were, for the mostpart, under the influence of the lassitude felt on lengthy days. AsPao-yue therefore strolled, from place to place, his hands behind hisback he heard not so much as the caw of a crow. Issuing out of hisgrandmother's compound on the near side, he wended his steps westwards,and crossed the passage, on which lady Feng's quarters gave. As soon ashe reached the entrance of her court, he perceived the door ajar. Butaware of lady Feng's habit of taking, during the hot weather, a coupleof hours' siesta at noon, he did not feel it a convenient moment tointrude. Walking accordingly through the corner door, he stepped intoMadame Wang's apartment. Here he discovered several waiting-maids,dosing with their needlework clasped in their hands. Madame Wang wasasleep on the cool couch in the inner rooms. Chin Ch'uan-erh was sittingnext to her massaging her legs. But she too was quite drowsy, and hereyes wore all awry. Pao-yue drew up to her with gentle tread. The moment,however, that he unfastened the pendants from the earrings she wore,Chin Ch'uan opened her eyes, and realised that it was no one
thanPao-yue.

  "Are you feeling so worn out!" he smilingly remarked in a low tone ofvoice.

  Chin Ch'uan pursed up her lips and gave him a smile. Then waving herhand so as to bid him quit the room, she again closed her eyes.

  Pao-yue, at the sight of her, felt considerable affection for her andunable to tear himself away, so quietly stretching his head forward, andnoticing that Madame Wang's eyes were shut, he extracted from a purse,suspended about his person, one of the 'scented-snow-for-moistening-mouthpills,' with which it was full, and placed it on Chin Ch'uan-erh's lips.Chin Ch'uan-erh, however, did not open her eyes, but simply held (thepill) in her mouth. Pao-yue then approached her and took her hand in his."I'll ask you of your mistress," he gently observed smiling, "and you andI will live together."

  To this Chin Ch'uan-erh said not a word.

  "If that won't do," Pao-yue continued, "I'll wait for your mistress towake and appeal to her at once."

  Chin Ch'uan-erh distended her eyes wide, and pushed Pao-yue off. "What'sthe hurry?" she laughed. "'A gold hair-pin may fall into the well; butif it's yours it will remain yours only.' Is it possible that you don'teven see the spirit of this proverb? But I'll tell you a smart thing.Just you go into the small court, on the east side, and you'll find foryourself what Mr. Chia Huau and Ts'ai Yun are up to!"

  "Let them be up to whatever they like," smiled Pao-yue, "I shall simplystick to your side!"

  But he then saw Madame Wang twist herself round, get up, and give a slapto Chin Ch'uan-erh on her mouth. "You mean wench!" she exclaimed,abusing her, while she pointed her finger at her, "it's you, and thelike of you, who corrupt these fine young fellows with all the nicethings you teach them!"

  The moment Pao-yue perceived Madame Wang rise, he bolted like a streak ofsmoke. Chin Ch'uan-erh, meanwhile, felt half of her face as hot as fire,yet she did not dare utter one word of complaint. The variouswaiting-maids soon came to hear that Madame Wang had awoke and theyrushed in in a body.

  "Go and tell your mother," Madame Wang thereupon said to Yue Ch'uan-erh,"to fetch your elder sister away."

  Chin Ch'uan-erh, at these words, speedily fell on her knees. With tearsin her eyes: "I won't venture to do it again," she pleaded. "If you,Madame, wish to flog me, or to scold me do so at once, and as much asyou like but don't send me away. You will thus accomplish an act ofheavenly grace! I've been in attendance on your ladyship for about tenyears, and if you now drive me away, will I be able to look at any onein the face?"

  Though Madame Wang was a generous, tender-hearted person, and had at notime raised her hand to give a single blow to any servant-girl, she,however, when she accidentally discovered Chin Ch'uan-erh behave on thisoccasion in this barefaced manner, a manner which had all her lifetimebeen most reprehensible to her, was so overcome by passion that she gaveChin Ch'uan-erh just one slap and spoke to her a few sharp words. Andalbeit Chin Ch'uan-erh indulged in solicitous entreaties, she would noton any account keep her in her service. At length, Chin Ch'uan-erh'smother, Dame Pao, was sent for to take her away. Chin Ch'uan-erhtherefore had to conceal her disgrace, suppress her resentment, and quitthe mansion.

  But without any further reference to her, we will now take up our storywith Pao-yue. As soon as he saw Madame Wang awake, his spirits werecrushed. All alone he hastily made his way into the Ta Kuan garden. Herehis attention was attracted by the ruddy sun, shining in the zenith, theshade of the trees extending far and wide, the song of the cicadas,filling the ear; and by a perfect stillness, not even broken by the echoof a human voice. But the instant he got near the trellis, with thecinnamon roses, the sound of sobs fell on his ear. Doubts and surmisescrept into Pao-yue's mind, so halting at once, he listened withintentness. Then actually he discerned some one on the off-side of thetrellis. This was the fifth moon, the season when the flowers andfoliage of the cinnamon roses were in full bloom. Furtively peepingthrough an aperture in the fence, Pao-yue saw a young girl squattingunder the flowers and digging the ground with a hair-pin she held in herhand. As she dug, she silently gave way to tears.

  "Can it be possible," mused Pao-yue, "that this girl too is stupid? Canshe also be following P'in Erh's example and come to inter flowers? Whyif she's likewise really burying flowers," he afterwards went on tosmilingly reflect, "this can aptly be termed: 'Tung Shih tries toimitate a frown.' But not only is what she does not original, but it isdespicable to boot. You needn't," he meant to shout out to the girl, atthe conclusion of this train of thought, "try and copy Miss Lin'sexample." But before the words had issued from his mouth, he luckilyscrutinised her a second time, and found that the girl's features werequite unfamiliar to him, that she was no menial, and that she lookedlike one of the twelve singing maids, who were getting up the plays. Hecould not, however, make out what _roles_ she filled: scholars,girls, old men, women, or buffoons. Pao-yue quickly put out his tongueand stopped his mouth with his hand. "How fortunate," he inwardlysoliloquised, "that I didn't make any reckless remark! It was allbecause of my inconsiderate talk on the last two occasions, that P'inErh got angry with me, and that Pao-ch'ai felt hurt. And had I now giventhem offence also, I would have been in a still more awkward fix!"

  While wrapt in these thoughts, he felt much annoyance at not being ableto recognise who she was. But on further minute inspection, he noticedthat this maiden, with contracted eyebrows, as beautiful as the hills inspring, frowning eyes as clear as the streams in autumn, a face, withtransparent skin, and a slim waist, was elegant and beautiful and almostthe very image of Lin Tai-yue. Pao-yue could not, from the very first,make up his mind to wrench himself away. But as he stood gazing at herin a doltish mood, he realised that, although she was tracing on theground with the gold hair-pin, she was not digging a hole to buryflowers in, but was merely delineating characters on the surface of thesoil. Pao-yue's eyes followed the hair-pin from first to last, as it wentup and as it came down. He watched each dash, each dot and each hook. Hecounted the strokes. They numbered eighteen. He himself then set to workand sketched with his finger on the palm of his hand, the lines, intheir various directions, and in the order they had been traced a fewminutes back, so as to endeavour to guess what the character was. Oncompleting the sketch, he discovered, the moment he came to reflect,that it was the character "Ch'iang," in the combination, 'Ch'iang Wei,'representing cinnamon roses.

  "She too," pondered Pao-yue, "must have been bent upon writing verses, orsupplying some line or other, and at the sight now of the flowers, theidea must have suggested itself to her mind. Or it may very likely bethat having spontaneously devised a couplet, she got suddenly elated andbegan, for fear it should slip from her memory, to trace it on theground so as to tone the rhythm. Yet there's no saying. Let me see,however, what she's going to write next."

  While cogitating, he looked once more. Lo, the girl was still tracing.But tracing up or tracing down, it was ever the character "Ch'iang."When he gazed again, it was still the self-same Ch'iang.

  The one inside the fence fell, in fact, from an early stage, into afoolish mood, and no sooner was one 'Ch'iang,' finished than she startedwith another; so that she had already written several tens of them. Theone outside gazed and gazed, until he unwittingly also got into the samefoolish mood. Intent with his eyes upon following the movements of thepin, in his mind, he communed thus with his own thoughts: "This girlmust, for a certainty, have something to say, or some unspeakablemomentous secret that she goes on like this. But if outwardly shebehaves in this wise, who knows what anguish she mayn't suffer at heart?And yet, with a frame to all appearances so very delicate, how could sheever resist much inward anxiety! Woe is me that I'm unable to transfersome part of her burden on to my own shoulders!"

  In midsummer, cloudy and bright weather are uncertain. A few specks ofclouds suffice to bring about rain. Of a sudden, a cold blast swept by,and tossed about by the wind fell a shower of rain. Pao-yue perceivedthat the water trickling down the girl's head saturated her gauze attirein no time. "It's pouring," Pao-yue debated within himself, "and h
ow cana frame like hers resist the brunt of such a squall." Unable thereforeto restrain himself, he vehemently shouted: "Leave off writing! See,it's pouring; you're wet through!"

  The girl caught these words, and was frightened out of her wits. Raisingher head, she at once descried some one or other standing beyond theflowers and calling out to her: "Leave off writing. It's pouring!" Butas Pao-yue was, firstly, of handsome appearance, and as secondly theluxuriant abundance of flowers and foliage screened with their boughs,thick-laden with leaves, the upper and lower part of his person, justleaving half of his countenance exposed to view, the maiden simplyjumped at the conclusion that he must be a servant girl, and never for amoment dreamt that it might be Pao-yue. "Many thanks, sister, forrecalling me to my senses," she consequently smiled. "Yet is thereforsooth anything outside there to protect you from the rain?"

  This single remark proved sufficient to recall Pao-yue to himself. Withan exclamation of "Ai-yah," he at length became conscious that his wholebody was cold as ice. Then drooping his head, he realised that his ownperson too was drenched. "This will never do," he cried, and with onebreath he had to run back into the I Hung court. His mind, however,continued much exercised about the girl as she had nothing to shelterher from the rain.

  As the next day was the dragon-boat festival, Wen Kuan and the othersinging girls, twelve in all, were given a holiday, so they came intothe garden and amused themselves by roaming everywhere and anywhere. Asluck would have it, the two girls Pao-Kuan, who filled the _role_of young men and Yue Kuan, who represented young women, were in the IHung court enjoying themselves with Hsi Jen, when rain set in and theywere prevented from going back, so in a body they stopped up the drainto allow the water to accumulate in the yard. Then catching those thatcould be caught, and driving those that had to be driven, they laid holdof a few of the green-headed ducks, variegated marsh-birds and colouredmandarin-ducks, and tying their wings they let them loose in the courtto disport themselves. Closing the court Hsi Jen and her playmates stoodtogether under the verandah and enjoyed the fun. Pao-yue therefore foundthe entrance shut. He gave a rap at the door. But as every one insidewas bent upon laughing, they naturally did not catch the sound; and itwas only after he had called and called, and made a noise by thumping atthe door, that they at last heard. Imagining, however, that Pao-yue couldnot be coming back at that hour, Hsi Jen shouted laughing: "who's it nowknocking at the door? There's no one to go and open."

  "It's I," rejoined Pao-yue.

  "It's Miss Pao-ch'ai's tone of voice," added She Yueeh.

  "Nonsense!" cried Ch'ing Wen. "What would Miss Pao-ch'ai come over to doat such an hour?"

  "Let me go," chimed in Hsi Jen, "and see through the fissure in thedoor, and if we can open, we'll open; for we mustn't let her go back,wet through."

  With these words, she came along the passage to the doorway. On lookingout, she espied Pao-yue dripping like a chicken drenched with rain.

  Seeing him in this plight, Hsi Jen felt solicitous as well as amused.With alacrity, she flung the door wide open, laughing so heartily thatshe was doubled in two. "How could I ever have known," she said,clapping her hands, "that you had returned, Sir! Yet how is it thatyou've run back in this heavy rain?"

  Pao-yue had, however, been feeling in no happy frame of mind. He hadfully resolved within himself to administer a few kicks to the person,who came to open the door, so as soon as it was unbarred, he did not tryto make sure who it was, but under the presumption that it was one ofthe servant-girls, he raised his leg and give her a kick on the side.

  "Ai-yah!" ejaculated Hsi Jen.

  Pao-yue nevertheless went on to abuse. "You mean things!" he shouted."It's because I've always treated you so considerately that you don'trespect me in the least! And you now go to the length of making alaughing-stock of me!"

  As he spoke, he lowered his head. Then catching sight of Hsi Jen, intears, he realised that he had kicked the wrong person. "Hallo!" hesaid, promptly smiling, "is it you who've come? Where did I kick you?"

  Hsi Jen had never, previous to this, received even a harsh word fromhim. When therefore she on this occasion unexpectedly saw Pao-yue gaveher a kick in a fit of anger and, what made it worse, in the presence ofso many people, shame, resentment, and bodily pain overpowered her andshe did not, in fact, for a time know where to go and hide herself. Shewas then about to give rein to her displeasure, but the reflection thatPao-yue could not have kicked her intentionally obliged her to suppressher indignation. "Instead of kicking," she remarked, "don't you yet goand change your clothes?"

  Pao-yue walked into the room. As he did so, he smiled. "Up to the ageI've reached," he observed, "this is the first instance on which I'veever so thoroughly lost control over my temper as to strike any one;and, contrary to all my thoughts, it's you that happened to come in myway?"

  Hsi Jen, while patiently enduring the pain, effected the necessarychange in his attire. "I've been here from the very first," shesimultaneously added, smilingly, "so in all things, whether large orsmall, good or bad, it has naturally fallen to my share to bear thebrunt. But not to say another word about your assault on me, why,to-morrow you'll indulge your hand and star-beating others!"

  "I did not strike you intentionally just now," retorted Pao-yue.

  "Who ever said," rejoined Hsi Jen, "that you did it intentionally! Ithas ever been the duty of that tribe of servant-girls to open and shutthe doors, yet they've got into the way of being obstinate, and havelong ago become such an abomination that people's teeth itch to revengethemselves on them. They don't know, besides, what fear means. So hadyou first assured yourself that it was they and given them a kick, alittle intimidating would have done them good. But I'm at the bottom ofthe mischief that happened just now, for not calling those, upon whom itdevolves, to come and open for you."

  During the course of their conversation, the rain ceased, and Pao Kuanand Yue Kuan had been able to take their leave. Hsi Jen, however,experienced such intense pain in her side, and felt such inwardvexation, that at supper she could not put a morsel of anything in hermouth. When in the evening, the time came for her to have her bath, shediscovered, on divesting herself of her clothes, a bluish bruise on herside of the size of a saucer and she was very much frightened. But asshe could not very well say anything about it to any one, she presentlyretired to rest. But twitches of pain made her involuntarily moan in herdreams and groan in her sleep.

  Pao-yue did, it is true, not hurt her with any malice, but when he sawHsi Jen so listless and restless, and suddenly heard her groan in thecourse of the night, he realised how severely he must have kicked her.So getting out of bed, he gently seized the lantern and came over tolook at her. But as soon as he reached the side of her bed, he perceivedHsi Jen expectorate, with a retch, a whole mouthful of phlegm. "Oh me!"she gasped, as she opened her eyes. The presence of Pao-yue startled herout of her wits. "What are you up to?" she asked.

  "You groaned in your dreams," answered Pao-yue, "so I must have kickedyou hard. Do let me see!"

  "My head feels giddy," said Hsi Jen. "My throat foul and sweet; throwthe light on the floor!"

  At these words, Pao-yue actually raised the lantern. The moment he castthe light below, he discerned a quantity of fresh blood on the floor.

  Pao-yue was seized with consternation. "Dreadful!" was all he could say.At the sight of the blood, Hsi Jen's heart too partly waxed cold.

  But, reader, the next chapter will reveal the sequel, if you really haveany wish to know more about them.