"Not so！" ventured Tzu-h'sing. "It is simply because the eldest daughter was born on the first of the first moon， that the name of Yuan Ch'un was given to her； while with the rest this character Ch'un （spring） was then followed. The names of the senior generation are， in like manner， adopted from those of their brothers； and there is at present an instance in support of this. The wife of your present worthy master， Mr. Lin， is the uterine sister of Mr. Chia. She and Mr. Chia Cheng， and she went， while at home， under the name of Chia Min. Should you question the truth of what I say， you are at liberty， on your return， to make minute inquiries and you'll be convinced."

Yue-ts'un clapped his hands and said smiling， "It's so， I know！ for this female pupil of mine， whose name is Tai-yue， invariably pronounces the character _min_ as _mi_， whenever she comes across it in the course of her reading； while， in writing， when she comes to the character 'min，' she likewise reduces the strokes by one， sometimes by two. Often have I speculated in my mind （as to the cause）， but the remarks I've heard you mention， convince me， without doubt， that it is no other reason （than that of reverence to her mother's name）。 Strange enough， this pupil of mine is unique in her speech and deportment， and in no way like any ordinary young lady. But considering that her mother was no commonplace woman herself， it is natural that she should have given birth to such a child. Besides， knowing， as I do now， that she is the granddaughter of the Jung family， it is no matter of surprise to me that she is what she is. Poor girl， her mother， after all， died in the course of the last month."

Tzu-hsing heaved a sigh. "Of three elderly sisters，" he explained， "this one was the youngest， and she too is gone！ Of the sisters of the senior generation not one even survives！ But now we'll see what the husbands of this younger generation will be like by and bye！"

"Yes，" replied Yue-ts'un. "But some while back you mentioned that Mr. Cheng has had a son， born with a piece of jade in his mouth， and that he has besides a tender-aged grandson left by his eldest son； but is it likely that this Mr. She has not， himself， as yet， had any male issue？"

"After Mr. Cheng had this son with the jade，" Tzu-hsing added， "his handmaid gave birth to another son， who whether he be good or bad， I don't at all know. At all events， he has by his side two sons and a grandson， but what these will grow up to be by and bye， I cannot tell. As regards Mr. Chia She， he too has had two sons； the second of whom， Chia Lien， is by this time about twenty. He took to wife a relative of his， a niece of Mr. Cheng's wife， a Miss Wang， and has now been married for the last two years. This Mr. Lien has lately obtained by purchase the rank of sub-prefect. He too takes little pleasure in books， but as far as worldly affairs go， he is so versatile and glib of tongue， that he has recently taken up his quarters with his uncle Mr. Cheng， to whom he gives a helping hand in the management of domestic matters. Who would have thought it， however， ever since his marriage with his worthy wife， not a single person， whether high or low， has there been who has not looked up to her with regard： with the result that Mr. Lien himself has， in fact， had to take a back seat （_lit_. withdrew 35 li）。 In looks， she is also so extremely beautiful， in speech so extremely quick and fluent， in ingenuity so deep and astute， that even a man could， in no way， come up to her mark."

After hearing these remarks Yue-ts'un smiled. "You now perceive，" he said， "that my argument is no fallacy， and that the several persons about whom you and I have just been talking are， we may presume， human beings， who， one and all， have been generated by the spirit of right， and the spirit of evil， and come to life by the same royal road； but of course there's no saying."

"Enough，" cried Tzu-hsing， "of right and enough of evil； we've been doing nothing but settling other people's accounts； come now， have another glass， and you'll be the better for it！"

"While bent upon talking，" Yue-ts'un explained， "I've had more glasses than is good for me."

"Speaking of irrelevant matters about other people，" Tzu-hsing rejoined complacently， "is quite the thing to help us swallow our wine； so come now； what harm will happen， if we do have a few glasses more."

Yue-ts'un thereupon looked out of the window.

"the day is also far advanced，" he remarked， "and if we don't take care， the gates will be closing； let us leisurely enter the city， and as we go along， there will be nothing to prevent us from continuing our chat."

Forthwith the two friends rose from their seats， settled and paid their wine bill， and were just going， when they unexpectedly heard some one from behind say with a loud voice：

"Accept my congratulations， Brother Yue-ts'un； I've now come， with the express purpose of giving you the welcome news！"

Yue-ts'un lost no time in turning his head round to look at the speaker. But reader， if you wish to learn who the man was， listen to the details given in the following chapter.