評論
打印
Mrs. Chin had， while listening to these words， been， at an early period， so filled with concern that she cast away to distant lands the reckless rage she had been in recently while at her sister-in-law's house， when she had determined to go and discuss matters over with Mrs. Ch'in. Upon hearing Mrs. Yu inquire of her about a good doctor， she lost no time in saying by way of reply： "Neither have we heard of any one speak of a good doctor； but from the account I've just heard of Mrs. Ch'in's illness， it may still， there's no saying， be some felicitous ailment； so， sister-in-law， don't let any one treat her recklessly， for were she to be treated for the wrong thing， the result may be dreadful！"
"Quite so！" replied Mrs. Yu.
But while they were talking， Chia Chen came in from out of doors， and upon catching sight of Mrs. Chin； "Isn't this Mrs. Huang？" he inquired of Mrs. Yu； whereupon Mrs. Chin came forward and paid her respects to Chia Chen.
"Invite this lady to have her repast here before she goes，" observed Chia Chen to Mrs. Yu； and as he uttered these words he forthwith walked into the room on the off side.
the object of Mrs. Chin's present visit had originally been to talk to Mrs. Ch'in about the insult which her brother had received from the hands of Ch'in Chung， but when she heard that Mrs. Ch'in was ill， she did not have the courage to even so much as make mention of the object of her errand. Besides， as Chia Chen and Mrs. Yu had given her a most cordial reception， her resentment was transformed into pleasure， so that after a while spent in a further chat about one thing and another， she at length returned to her home.
It was only after the departure of Mrs. Chin that Chia Chen came over and took a seat. "What did she have to say for herself during this visit to-day？" he asked of Mrs. Yu.
"She said nothing much，" replied Mrs. Yu. "When she first entered the room， her face bore somewhat of an angry look， but， after a lengthy chat and as soon as mention of our son's wife's illness was made， this angered look after all gradually abated. You also asked me to keep her for the repast， but， having heard that our son's wife was so ill she could not very well stay， so that all she did was to sit down， and after making a few more irrelevant remarks， she took her departure. But she had no request to make. To return however now to the illness of Jung's wife， it's urgent that you should find somewhere a good doctor to diagnose it for her； and whatever you do， you should lose no time. The whole body of doctors who at present go in and out of our household， are they worth having？ Each one of them listens to what the patient has to say of the ailment， and then， adding a string of flowery sentences， out he comes with a long rigmarole； but they are exceedingly diligent in paying us visits； and in one day， three or four of them are here at least four and five times in rotation！ They come and feel her pulse， they hold consultation together， and write their prescriptions， but， though she has taken their medicines， she has seen no improvement； on the contrary， she's compelled to change her clothes three and five times each day， and to sit up to see the doctor； a thing which， in fact， does the patient no good."
"This child too is somewhat simple，" observed Chia Chen； "for what need has she to be taking off her clothes， and changing them for others？ And were she again to catch a chill， she would add something more to her illness； and won't it be dreadful！ The clothes may be no matter how fine， but what is their worth， after all？ The health of our child is what is important to look to！ and were she even to wear out a suit of new clothes a-day， what would that too amount to？ I was about to tell you that a short while back， Feng Tzu-ying came to see me， and， perceiving that I had somewhat of a worried look， he asked me what was up； and I told him that our son's wife was not well at all， that as we couldn't get any good doctor， we couldn't determine with any certainty， whether she was in an interesting condition， or whether she was suffering from some disease； that as we could neither tell whether there was any danger or not， my heart was， for this reason， really very much distressed. Feng Tzu-ying then explained that he knew a young doctor who had made a study of his profession， Chang by surname， and Yu-shih by name， whose learning was profound to a deGREe； who was besides most proficient in the principles of medicine， and had the knack of discriminating whether a patient would live or die； that this year he had come to the capital to purchase an official rank for his son， and that he was now living with him in his house. In view of these circumstances， not knowing but that if， perchance， the case of our daughter-in-law were placed in his hands， he couldn't avert the danger， I readily despatched a servant， with a card of mine， to invite him to come； but the hour to-day being rather late， he probably won't be round， but I believe he's sure to be here to-morrow. Besides， Feng-Tzu-ying was also on his return home， to personally entreat him on my behalf， so that he's bound， when he has asked him， to come and see her. Let's therefore wait till Dr. Chang has been here and seen her， when we can talk matters over！"
