CHAPTER V
The Timely Intervention of the Mandarin Shan Tien's Lucky Day
When Kai Lung at length reached the shutter, after the delay caused byLi-loe's inopportune presence, he found that Hwa-mei was alreadystanding there beneath the wall.
"Alas!" he exclaimed, in an access of self-reproach, "is it possiblethat I have failed to greet your arriving footsteps? Hear thedegrading cause of my--"
"Forbear," interrupted the maiden, with a magnanimous gesture of thehand that was not engaged in bestowing a gift of fruit. "There is atime to scatter flowers and a time to prepare the soil. To-morrow afurther trial awaits you, for which we must conspire."
"I am in your large and all-embracing grasp," replied Kai Lung."Proceed to spread your golden counsel."
"The implacable Ming-shu has deliberated with himself, and deeming itunlikely that you should a third time allure the imagination of theMandarin Shan Tien by your art, he has ordered that you are again tobe the first led out to judgment. On this occasion, however, he hasprepared a cloud of witnesses who will, once they are given a voice,quickly overwhelm you in a flood of calumny."
"Even a silver trumpet may not prevail above a score of brazen horns,"confessed the story-teller doubtfully. "Would it not be well to engagean even larger company who will outlast the first?"
"The effete Ming-shu has hired all there are," replied Hwa-mei, with acurbing glance. "Nevertheless, do not despair. At a convenient hour atrusty hand will let fall a skin of wine at their assembling place.Their testimony, should any arrive, will entail some conflict."
"I bow before the practical many-sidedness of your mind, enchantingone," murmured Kai Lung, in deep-felt admiration.
"To-morrow, being the first of the Month of Gathering-in, will be oneof Shan Tien's lucky days," continued the maiden, her lookacknowledging the fitness of the compliment, but at the same timeindicating that the moment was not a suitable one to pursue the detailfurther. "After holding court the Mandarin will accordingly proceed tohazard his accustomed stake upon the chances of certain of thecompetitors in the approaching examinations. His mind will thus bealertly watchful for a guiding omen. The rest should lie within yourpersuasive tongue."
"The story of Lao Ting--" began Kai Lung.
"Enough," replied Hwa-mei, listening to a distant sound. "Already hasthis one strayed beyond her appointed limit. May your virtuous causeprevail!"
With this auspicious message the maiden fled, leaving Kai Lung morethan ever resolved to conduct the enterprise in a manner worthy of herhigh regard.
On the following day, at the appointed hour, Kai Lung was again ledbefore the Mandarin Shan Tien. To the alert yet downcast gaze of theformer person it seemed as if the usually inscrutable expression ofthat high official was not wholly stern as it moved in his direction.Ming-shu, on the contrary, disclosed all his voracious teeth withoutrestraint.
"Calling himself Kai Lung," began the detestable accuser, in a voiceeven more repulsive than its wont, "and claiming--"
"The name has a somewhat familiar echo," interrupted the Fountain ofJustice, with a genial interest in what was going on, rare in one ofhis exalted rank. "Have we not seen the ill-conditioned thing before?"
"He has tasted of your unutterable clemency in the past," repliedMing-shu, "this being by no means his first appearance thus. Claimingto be a story-teller--"
"What," demanded the enlightened law-giver with leisurely precision,"is a story-teller, and how is he defined?"
"A story-teller, Excellence," replied the inscriber of his spokenword, with the concise manner of one who is not entirely grateful toanother, "is one who tells stories. Having on--"
"The profession must be widely spread," remarked the graciousadministrator thoughtfully. "All those who supplicate in this veryaverage court practise it to a more or less degree."
"The prisoner," continued the insufferable Ming-shu, so lost to truerefinement that he did not even relax his dignity at a remark handeddown as gravity-removing from times immemorial, "has already beencharged and made his plea. It only remains, therefore, to call thewitnesses and to condemn him."
"The usual band appears to be more retiring than their custom is,"observed Shan Tien, looking around. "Their lack of punctual respectdoes not enlarge our sympathy towards their cause."
"They are all hard-striving persons of studious or commercial habits,"replied Ming-shu, "and have doubtless become immersed in their varioustraffics."
"Should the immersion referred to prove to be so deep--"
"A speedy messenger has already gone, but his returning footstepstarry," urged Ming-shu anxiously. "In this extremity, Excellence, Iwill myself--"
"High Excellence," appealed Kai Lung, as soon as Ming-shu's departingsandals were obscured to view, "out of the magnanimous condescensionof your unworldly heart hear an added plea. Taught by the inoffensiveexample of that Lao Ting whose success in the literary competitionswas brought about by a conjunction of miraculous omens--"
"Arrest the stream of your acknowledged oratory for a singlebreathing-space," commanded the Mandarin dispassionately, yet at thesame time unostentatiously studying a list that lay within his sleeve."What was the auspicious name of the one of whom you spoke?"
"Lao Ting, exalted; to whom at various periods were subjoined thoseof Li, Tzu, Sun, Chu, Wang and Chin."
"Assuredly. Your prayer for a fuller hearing will reach our lenientears. In the meanwhile, in order to prove that the example upon whichyou base your claim is a worthy one, proceed to narrate so much of thestory of Lao Ting as bears upon the means of his success."
The Story of Lao Ting and the Luminous Insect
It is of Lao Ting that the saying has arisen, "He who can graspOpportunity as she slips by does not need a lucky dream."
So far, however, Lao Ting may be judged to have had neitheropportunities nor lucky dreams. He was one of studious nature and froman early age had devoted himself to a veneration of the Classics. Yetwith that absence of foresight on the part of the providing deities(for this, of course, took place during an earlier, and probablyusurping, dynasty), which then frequently resulted in the unworthy andilliterate prospering, his sleeve was so empty that at times it seemedalmost impossible for him to continue in his high ambition.
As the date of the examinations drew near, Lao Ting's effortsincreased, and he grudged every moment spent away from books. His fewavailable cash scarcely satisfied his ever-moving brush, and hissleeve grew so light that it seemed as though it might become aballoon and carry him into the Upper Air; for, as the Wisdom has it,"A well-filled purse is a trusty earth anchor." On food he spent evenless, but the inability to procure light after the sun had withdrawnhis benevolence from the narrow street in which he lived was anever-present shadow across his hopes. On this extremity he patientlyand with noiseless skill bored a hole through the wall into the houseof a wealthy neighbour, and by this inoffensive stratagem he was ableto distinguish the imperishable writings of the Sages far into thenight. Soon, however, the gross hearted person in question discoveredthe device, owing to the symmetrical breathing of Lao Ting, andapplying himself to the opening unperceived, he suddenly blew a jet ofwater through and afterwards nailed in a wooden skewer. This he didbecause he himself was also entering for the competitions, though hedid not really fear Lao Ting.
Thus denied, Lao Ting sought other means to continue his study, if foronly a few minutes longer daily, and it became his custom to leave hisill-equipped room when it grew dusk and to walk into the outer ways,always with his face towards the west, so that he might prolong thebenefit of the great luminary to the last possible moment. When thetime of no-light definitely arrived he would climb up into one of thehigh places to await the first beam of the great sky-lantern, and alsoin the reasonable belief that the nearer he got to it the morepowerful would be its light.
It was upon such an occasion that Lao Ting first became aware of theentrancing presence of Chun Hoa-mi, and although he plain
ly recognizedfrom the outset that the graceful determination with which she led awater-buffalo across the landscape by means of a slender cord attachedto its nose was not conducive to his taking a high place in thecompetitions, he soon found that he was unable to withdraw himselffrom frequenting the spot at the same hour on each succeeding day.Presently, however, he decided that his previous misgiving wasinaccurate, as her existence inspired him with an all-conqueringdetermination to outdistance every other candidate in so marked amanner that his name would at once become famous throughout theprovince, to attain high office without delay, to lead a victoriousarmy against the encroaching barbarian foe and thus to save the Empirein a moment of emergency, to acquire vast riches (in a not clearlydefined manner), to become the intimate counsellor of the gratefulEmperor, and finally to receive posthumous honours of uniquedistinction, the harmonious personality of Hoa-Mi being inextricablyentwined among these achievements.
At other times, however, he became subject to a funereal convictionthat he would fail discreditably in the examinations to anaccompaniment of the ridicule and contempt of all who knew him, thathe would never succeed in acquiring sufficient brass cash to ensure ameagre sustenance even for himself, and that he would probably end hislower existence by ignominious decapitation, so that his pale andhungry ghost would be unable to find its way from place to place andbe compelled to remain on the same spot through all eternity. Yet soquickly did these two widely diverging vistas alternate in Lao Ting'smind that on many occasions he was under the influence of bothpresentiments at the same time.
It will thus be seen that Lao Ting was becoming involved in emotionsof a many-sided hue, by which his whole future would inevitably beaffected, when an event took place which greatly tended to restore histranquillity of mind. He was, at the usual hour, lurking unseen on thepath of Hoa-mi's approach when the water-buffalo, with the perversityof its kind, suddenly withdrew itself from the amiable control of itsattendant's restraining hand and precipitated its resistless footstepstowards the long grass in which Lao Ting lay concealed. Recognizingthat a decisive moment in the maiden's esteem lay before him, thelatter, in spite of an incapable doubt as to the habits and manner ofbehaviour of creatures of this part, set out resolutely to subdueit. . . . At a later period, by clinging tenaciously to its tail, heundoubtedly impeded its progress, and thereby enabled Hoa-mi to greethim as one who had a claim upon her gratitude.
"The person who has performed this slight service is Ting, of theoutcast line of Lao," said the student with an admiring bow in spiteof a benumbing pain that involved all his lower attributes. "Having asyet achieved nothing, the world lies before him."
"She who speaks is Hoa-mi, her father's house being Chun," replied themaiden agreeably. "In addition to the erratic but now repentant animalthat has thus, as it were, brought us within the same narrow compass,he possesses a wooden plough, two wheel-barrows, a red bow withthreescore arrows, and a rice-field, and is therefore a person ofsome consequence."
"True," agreed Lao Ting, "though perhaps the dignity is less imposingthan might be imagined in the eye of one who, by means of successiveexaminations, may ultimately become the Right hand of the Emperor."
"Is the contingency an impending one?" inquired Hoa-mi, with politeinterest.
"So far," admitted Lao Ting, "it is more in the nature of a vision.There are, of necessity, many trials, and few can reach the ultimateend. Yet even the Yangtze-kiang has a source."
"Of your unswerving tenacity this person has already been witness,"said the maiden, with a glance of refined encouragement.
"Your words are more inspiring than the example of the aged woman ofShang-li to the student Tsung," declared Lao Ting gratefully. "Unlessthe Omens are asleep they should tend to the same auspicious end."
"The exact instance of the moment escapes my recollection." ProbablyHoa-mi was by no means willing that one of studious mind shouldassociate her exclusively with water-buffaloes. "Is it related in theClassics?"
"Possibly, though in which actual masterpiece just now evades mygrasp. The youth referred to was on the point of abandoning a literarycareer, appalled at the magnitude of the task before him, when heencountered an aged woman who was employed in laboriously rubbing awaythe surface of an iron crowbar on a block of stone. To his inquiry shecheerfully replied: 'The one who is thus engaged required a needle tocomplete a task. Being unable to procure one she was about to give wayto an ignoble despair when chance put into her hands this bar, whichonly requires bringing down to the necessary size.' Encouraged by thispainstaking example Tsung returned to his books and in due coursebecame a high official."
"Doubtless in the time of his prosperity he retraced his footsteps andlavishly rewarded the one to whom he was thus indebted," suggestedHoa-mi gracefully.
"Doubtless," admitted Lao Ting, "but the detail is not pursued to soremote an extremity in the Classic. The delicate poise of the analogyis what is chiefly dwelt upon, the sign for a needle harmonizing withthat for official, and there being a similar balance between crowbarand books."
"Your words are like a page written in vermilion ink," exclaimedHoa-mi, with a sideway-expressed admiration.
"Alas!" he declared, with conscious humility, "my style is meagre andalmost wholly threadbare. To remedy this, each day I strive toperfect myself in the correct formation of five new written signs.When equipped with a knowledge of every one there is I shall becompetent to write so striking and original an essay on any subjectthat it will no longer be possible to exclude my name from the list ofofficial appointments."
"It will be a day of well-achieved triumph for the spirits of yourexpectant ancestors," said Hoa-mi sympathetically.
"It will also have a beneficial effect on my own material prospects,"replied Lao Ting, with a commendable desire to awaken images of a morespecific nature in the maiden's imagination. "Where hitherto it hasbeen difficult to support one, there will then be a lavish profusionfor two. The moment the announcement is made, my impatient feet willcarry me to this spot. Can it be hoped--?"
"It has long been this one's favourite resort also," confessed Hoa-mi,with every appearance of having adequately grasped Lao Ting's desiredinference, "Yet to what number do the written signs in questionstretch?"
"So highly favoured is our unapproachable language that the number canonly be faintly conjectured. Some claim fivescore thousand differentwritten symbols; the least exacting agree to fourscore thousand."
"You are all-knowing," responded the maiden absently. With her face inan opposing direction her lips moved rapidly, as though she might bein the act of addressing some petition to a Power. Yet it is to bedoubted if this accurately represents the nature of her innerthoughts, for when she again turned towards Lao Ting the engagingfrankness of her expression had imperceptibly deviated, as shecontinued:
"In about nine and forty years, then, O impetuous one, our convergingfootsteps will doubtless again encounter upon this spot. In themeanwhile, however, this person's awaiting father is certainlypreparing something against her tardy return which the sign for acrowbar would fittingly represent."
Then urging the water-buffalo to increased exertion she fled, leavingLao Ting a prey to emotions of a very distinguished intensity.
In spite of the admittedly rough-edged nature of Hoa-mi'sleave-taking, Lao Ting retraced his steps in an exalted frame of mind.He had spoken to the maiden and heard her incomparable voice. He nowknew her name and the path leading to her father's house. It onlyremained for him to win a position worthy of her acceptance (if theEmpire could offer such a thing), and their future happiness might beregarded as assured.
Thus engaged, Lao Ting walked on, seeing within his head the arrivalof the bridal chair, partaking of the well-spread wedding feast,hearing the felicitations of the guests: "A hundred sons and athousand grandsons!" Something white fluttering by the waysiderecalled him to the realities of the day. He had reached the buildingsof the outer city, and on a wall before him a printed notice wasdisplayed.
It has alr
eady been set forth that the few solitary cash which fromtime to time fell into the student's sleeve were barely sufficient tofeed his thirsty brush with ink. For the material on which to writeand to practise the graceful curves essential to a style he was drivento various unworthy expedients. It had thus become his habit to lurkin the footsteps of those who affix public proclamations in the waysand spaces of the city, and when they had passed on to remove, asunostentatiously as possible, the more suitable pronouncements and tocarry them to his own abode. For this reason he regarded every noticefrom a varying angle, being concerned less with what appeared upon itthan with what did not appear. Accordingly he now crossed the way andendeavoured to secure the sheet that had attracted his attention. Inthis he was unsuccessful, however, for he could only detach a meagrefragment.
When Lao Ting reached his uninviting room the last pretence ofdaylight had faded. He recognized that he had lost many preciousmoments in Hoa-mi's engaging society, and although he would willinglyhave lost many more, there was now a deeper pang in his regret that hecould not continue his study further into the night. As this wasimpossible, he drew his scanty night coverings around him and composedhis mind for sleep, conscious of an increasing rigour in the air; for,as he found when the morning came, one who wished him well, passing inhis absence, had written a lucky saying on a stone and cast it throughthe paper window.
When Lao Ting awoke it was still night, but the room was no longerentirely devoid of light. As his custom was, an open page lay on thefloor beside him, ready to be caught up eagerly with the first gleamof day; above this a faint but sufficient radiance now hung, enablinghim to read the written signs. At first the student regarded thesurroundings with some awe, not doubting that this was in the natureof a visitation, but presently he discovered that the light wasprovided by a living creature, winged but docile, which carried aglowing lustre in its tail. When he had read to the end, Lao Tingendeavoured to indicate by a sign that he wished to turn the page. Tohis delight he found that the winged creature intelligently graspedthe requirement and at once transferred its presence to the requiredspot. All through the night the youth eagerly read on, nor did thismiraculously endowed visitor ever fail him. By dawn he had more thanmade up the time in which the admiration of Hoa-mi had involved him.If such a state of things could be assured for the future, the vistawould stretch like a sunlit glade before his feet.
Early in the day he set out to visit an elderly monk, who lived in acave on the mountain above. Before he went, however, he did not failto procure a variety of leaves and herbs, and to display them aboutthe room in order to indicate to his unassuming companion that he hada continued interest in his welfare. The venerable hermit received himhospitably, and after inviting him to sit upon the floor and topartake of such food as he had brought with him, listened attentivelyto his story.
"Your fear that in this manifestation you may be the sport of amalicious Force, conspiring to some secret ill, is merelysuperstition," remarked Tzu-lu when Lao Ting had reached an end."Although creatures such as you describe are unknown in this province,they undoubtedly exist in outer barbarian lands, as do apes with thetails of peacocks, ducks with their bones outside their skins, beingswhose pale green eyes can discover the precious hidden things of theearth, and men with a hole through their chests so that they requireno chair to carry them, but are transposed from spot to spot by meansof poles."
"Your mind is widely opened, esteemed," replied Lao Ting respectfully."Yet the omen must surely tend towards a definite course?"
"Be guided by the mature philosophy of the resolute Heng-ki, who,after an unfortunate augury, exclaimed to his desponding warriors: 'Doyour best and let the Omens do their worst!' What has happened is asclear as the iridescence of a dragon's eye. In the past you have lenta sum of money to a friend who has thereupon passed into the UpperAir, leaving you unrequited."
"A friend receiving a sum of money from this person would have everyexcuse for passing away suddenly."
"Or," continued the accommodating recluse, "you have in some other wayplaced so formidable an obligation upon one now in the Beyond that hisdisturbed spirit can no longer endure the burden. For this reason ithas taken the form of a luminous insect, and has thus returned toearth in order that it may assist you and thereby discharge the debt."
"The explanation is a convincing one," replied Lao Ting. "Might it nothave been more satisfactory in the end, however, if the graciousperson in question had clothed himself with the attributes of theexamining chancellor or some high mandarin, so that he could haveupheld my cause in any extremity?"
Without actually smiling, a form of entertainment that was contrary tohis strict vow, the patriarchal anchorite moved his features somewhatat the youth's innocence.
"Do not forget that it is written: 'Though you set a monkey onhorseback yet will his hands and feet remain hairy,'" he remarked."The one whose conduct we are discussing may well be aware of his owndeficiencies, and know that if he adopted such a course a humiliatingexposure would await him. Do not have any fear for the future,however: thus protected, this person is inspired to prophesy that youwill certainly take a high place in the examinations. . . . Indeed,"he added thoughtfully, "it might be prudent to venture a string ofcash upon your lucky number."
With this auspicious leave-taking Tzu-lu dismissed him, and Lao Tingreturned to the city greatly refreshed in spirit by the encounter.Instead of retiring to his home he continued into the more reputableways beyond, it then being about the hour at which the affixers ofofficial notices were wont to display their energies.
So it chanced indeed, but walking with his feet off the ground, owingto the obliging solitary's encouragement, Lao Ting forgot his usualcaution, and came suddenly into the midst of a band of these men at anangle of the paths.
"Honourable greetings," he exclaimed, feeling that if he passed themby unregarded his purpose might be suspected. "Have you eaten yourrice?"
"How is your warmth and cold?" they replied courteously. "Yet why doyou arrest your dignified footsteps to converse with outcasts soilliterate as ourselves?"
"The reason," admitted Lao Ting frankly, "need not be buried in awell. Had I avoided the encounter you might have said amongyourselves: 'Here is one who shuns our gaze. This, perchance, is hewho of late has lurked within the shadow of our backs to bear away ourlabour.' Not to create this unworthy suspicion I freely came amongyou, for, as the Ancient Wisdom says: 'Do not adjust your sandalswhile passing through a melon-field, nor yet arrange your hat beneathan orange-tree.'"
"Yet," said the leader of the band, "we were waiting thus inexpectation of the one whom you describe. The incredible leper whorules our goings has, even at this hour and notwithstanding that nowis the appointed day and time for the gathering together of theHarmonious Constellation of Paste Appliers and Long Brush Wielders,thrust within our hands a double task."
"May bats defile his Ancestral Tablets and goats propagate within hisneglected tomb!" chanted the band in unison. "May the sinews of hishams snap suddenly in moments of achievement! May the principles ofhis warmth and cold never be properly adjusted but--"
"Thus positioned," continued the leader, indicating by a gesture thatwhile he agreed with these sentiments the moment was not opportune fortheir full recital, "we await. If he who lurks in our past draws nearhe will doubtless accept from our hands that which he will assuredlypossess behind our backs. Thus mutual help will lighten the toil ofall."
"The one whom you require dwells beneath my scanty roof," said theyouth. "He is now, however, absent on a secret mission. Entrust to methe burden of your harassment and I will answer, by the sanctity ofthe Four-eyed Image, that it shall reach his speedy hand."
When Lao Ting gained his own room, bowed down but rejoicing beneaththe weight of his unexpected fortune, his eyes were gladdened by thesoft light that hung about his books. Although it was not yet dark,the radiance of the glow seemed greater than before. Going to the spotthe delighted student saw that in place of one there were now four,the gr
ateful insect having meanwhile summoned others to his cause. Allthese stood in an expectant attitude awaiting his control, so thatthrough the night he plied an untiring brush and leapt onward in thegarden of similitudes.
From this time forward Lao Ting could not fail to be aware that thefaces of those whom he familiarly encountered were changed towardshim. Men greeted him as one worthy of their consideration, and he evenheard his name spoken of respectfully in the society of learnedstrangers. More than once he found garlands of flowers hung upon hisouter door, harmonious messages, and--once--a gift of food. Incredibleas it seemed to him it had come to be freely admitted that the unknownscholar Lao Ting would take a very high place in the forthcomingcompetition, and those who were alert and watchful did not hesitate toplace him first. To this general feeling a variety of portents hadcontributed. Doubtless the beginning was the significant fact, knownto the few at first, that the miracle-working Tzu-lu had staked hisinner garment on Lao Ting's success. Brilliant lights were seenthroughout the night to be moving in the meagre dwelling (for the fourefficacious creatures had by this time greatly added to theirnumbers), and the one within was credited with being assisted by theForces. It is well said that that which passes out of one mouth passesinto a hundred ears, and before dawn had become dusk all the early andastute were following the inspired hermit's example. They whoconducted the lotteries, becoming suddenly aware of the burden of thehazard they incurred, thereat declared that upon the venture of LaoTing's success there must be set two taels in return for one.Whereupon the desire of those who had refrained waxed larger thanbefore, and thus the omens grew.
When the days that remained before the opening of the trial could becounted on the fingers of one hand, there came, at a certain hour, asummons on the outer door of Lao Ting's house, and in response to hisspoken invitation there entered one, Sheng-yin, a competitor.
"Lao Ting," said this person, when they had exchanged formalities, "inspite of the flattering attentions of the shallow"--he here threw uponthe floor a garland which he had conveyed from off Lao Ting'sdoor--"it is exceedingly unlikely that at the first attempt your namewill be among those of the chosen, and the possibility of it headingthe list may be dismissed as vapid."
"Your experience is deep and wide," replied Lao Ting, the circumstancethat Sheng-yin had already tried and failed three and thirty timesadding an edge to the words; "yet if it is written it is written."
"Doubtless," retorted Sheng-yin no less capably; "but it will never beset to music. Now, until your inconsiderate activities prevailed, thisperson was confidently greeted as the one who would be first."
"The names of Wang-san and Yin Ho were not unknown to the expectant,"suggested Lao Ting mildly.
"The mind of Wang-san is only comparable with a wastepaper basket,"exclaimed the visitor harshly; "and Yin Ho is in reality as dull assplit ebony. But in your case, unfortunately, there is nothing to goon, and, unlikely though it be, it is just possible that this person'swell-arranged ambitions may thereby be brought to a barren end. Forthat reason he is here to discuss this matter as between virtuousfriends."
"Let your auspicious mouth be widely opened," replied Lao Tingguardedly. "My ears will not refrain."
"Is there not, perchance, some venerable relative in a distant part ofthe province whose failing eyes crave, at this juncture, to rest uponyour wholesome features before he passes Upwards?"
"Assuredly some such inopportune person might be forthcoming,"admitted Lao Ting. "Yet the cost of so formidable a journey would befar beyond this necessitous one's means."
"In so charitable a cause affluent friends would not be lacking.Depart on the third day and remain until the ninth and twenty taels ofsilver will glide imperceptibly into your awaiting sleeve."
"The prospect of not taking the foremost place in thecompetition--added to the pangs of those who have hazarded their storeupon the unworthy name of Lao--is an ignoble one," replied thestudent, after a moment's thought. "The journey will be a costly taskat this season of the rains; it cannot possibly be accomplished forless than fifty taels."
"It is well said, 'Do not look at robbers sharing out their spoil:look at them being executed,'" urged Sheng-yin. "Should you be soill-destined as to compete, and, as would certainly be the case, beawarded a position of contempt, how unendurable would be your anguishwhen, amidst the execrations of the deluded mob, you remembered thatthirty taels of the purest had slipped from your effete grasp."
"Should the Bridge of the Camel Back be passable, five and forty mightsuffice," mused Lao Tung to himself.
"Thirty-seven taels, five hundred cash, are the utmost that yourobliging friends would hazard in the quest," announced Sheng-yindefinitely. "On the day following that of the final competition thesum will be honourably--"
"By no means," interrupted the other, with unswerving firmness. "Howthus is the journey to be defrayed? In advance, assuredly."
"The requirement is unusual. Yet upon satisfactory oaths beingoffered--"
"This person will pledge the repose of the spirits of his veneratedancestors practically back to prehistoric times," agreed Lao Tingreadily. "From the third to the ninth day he will be absent from thecity and will take no part in anything therein. Should he eat hiswords, may his body be suffocated beneath five cart-loads of books andhis weary ghost chained to that of a leprous mule. It is spoken."
"Truly. But it may as well be written also." With this expression ofnarrow-minded suspicion Sheng-yin would have taken up one from aconsiderable mass of papers lying near at hand, had not Lao Tingsuddenly restrained him.
"It shall be written with clarified ink on paper of a specialexcellence," declared the student. "Take the brush, Seng-yin, andwrite. It almost repays this person for the loss of a degree to beholdthe formation of signs so unapproachable as yours."
"Lao Ting," replied the visitor, pausing in his task, "you areoccasionally inspired, but the weakness of your character results in alack of caution. In this matter, therefore, be warned: 'The crocodileopens his jaws; the rat-trap closes his; keep yours shut.'"
When Lao Ting returned after a scrupulously observed six days ofabsence he could not fail to become aware that the city was in anuproar, and the evidence of this increased as he approached the cheapand lightly esteemed quarter in which those of literary ambitionsfound it convenient to reside. Remembering Sheng-yin's parting, heforbore to draw attention to himself by questioning any, but when hereached the door of his own dwelling he discovered the one of whom hewas thinking, standing, as it were, between the posts.
"Lao Ting," exclaimed Sheng-yin, without waiting to make any politereference to the former person's food or condition, "in spite of thiscalamity you are doubtless prepared to carry out the spirit of youroath?"
"Doubtless," replied Lao Ting affably. "Yet what is the nature of thecalamity referred to, and how does it affect the burden of my vow?"
"Has not the tiding reached your ear? The examinations, alas! havebeen withheld for seven full days. Your journey has been in vain!"
"By no means!" declared the youth. "Debarred by your enticement from aliterary career this person turned his mind to other aims, and has nowgained a deep insight into the habits and behaviour ofwater-buffaloes."
"They who control the competitions from the Capital," continuedSheng-yin, without even hearing the other's words, "when all had beenarranged, learned from the Chief Astrologer (may subterranean firessinge his venerable moustaches!) that a forgotten obscuration of thesun would take place on the opening day of the test. In the face of soformidable a portent they acted thus and thus."
"How then fares it that due warning of the change was not set forth?"
"The matter is as long as The Wall and as deep as seven wells,"grumbled Sheng-yin, "and the Hoang Ho in flood is limpid by its side.Proclamations were sent forth, yet none appeared, and they entrustedwith their wide disposal have a dragon-story of a shining lordly youthwho ever followed in their steps. . . . Thus in a manner of expressingit, the spirit--"
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p; "Sheng-yin," said Lao Ting, with courteous firmness, yet so moving thedoor so that while he passed in the former person remained outside,"you have sought, at the expenditure of thirty-seven taels fivehundred cash, to deflect Destiny from her appointed line. The resulthas been lamentable to all--or nearly all--concerned. The lawlesseffort must not be repeated, for when heaven itself goes out of itsway to set a correcting omen in the sky, who dare disobey?"
When the list and order of the competition was proclaimed, the name ofWang-san stood at the very head and that of Yin Ho was next. Lao Tingwas the very last of those who were successful; Sheng-yin was thenext, and was thus the first of those who were unsuccessful. It was asmuch as the youth had secretly dared to hope, and much better than hehad generally feared. In Sheng-yin's case, however, it was infinitelyworse than he had ever contemplated. Regarding Lao Ting as the causeof his disgrace he planned a sordid revenge. Waiting until night hadfallen he sought the student's door-step and there took a potent drug,laying upon his ghost a strict injunction to devote itself to hauntingand thwarting the ambitions of the one who dwelt within. But even inthis he was inept, for the poison was less speedy than he thought, andLao Ting returned in time to convey him to another door.
On the strength of his degree Lao Ting found no difficulty in earninga meagre competence by instructing others who wished to follow in hisfootsteps. He was also now free to compete for the next degree, wheresuccess would bring him higher honour and a slightly less meagrecompetence. In the meanwhile he married Hoa-mi, being able to displaythirty-seven taels and nearly five hundred cash towards that end.Ultimately he rose to a position of remunerative ease, but it isunderstood that he attained this more by a habit of acting as thenecessities of the moment required than by his literary achievements.
Over the door of his country residence in the days of his profusion hecaused the image of a luminous insect to be depicted, and he engravedits semblance on his seal. He would also have added the presentment ofa water-buffalo, but Hoa-mi deemed this inexpedient.
Kai Lung's Golden Hours Page 6