評論
打印
Chia Yuan-ch'un is， on account of her talents， selected to enter the Feng Ts'ao Palace. Ch'in Ching-ch'ing departs， in the prime of life， by the yellow spring road.
But we must now return to the two lads， Ch'in Chung and Pao-yue. After they had passed， along with lady Feng from the Temple of the Iron Fence， whither she had gone to see how things were getting on， they entered the city in their carriages. On their arrival at home， they paid their obeisance to dowager lady Chia， madame Wang and the other members of the family， whence they returned to their own quarters， where nothing worth mentioning transpired during the night.
On the next day， Pao-yue perceiving that the repairs to the outer schoolroom had been completed， settled with Ch'in Chung that they should have evening classes. But as it happened that Ch'in Chung， who was naturally of an extremely delicate physique， caught somewhat of a chill in the country and clandestinely indulged， besides， in an intimacy with Chih Neng， which unavoidably made him fail to take good care of himself， he was， shortly after his return， troubled with a cough and a feverish cold， with nausea for drink and food， and fell into such an extremely poor state of health that he simply kept indoors and nursed himself， and was not in a fit condition to go to school. Pao-yue's spirits were readily damped， but as there was likewise no remedy he had no other course than to wait until his complete recovery， before he could make any arrangements.
Lady Feng had meanwhile received a reply from Yuen Kuang， in which he informed her that everything had been satisfactorily settled， and the old nun apprised the Chang family that the major had actually suppressed his indignation， hushed his complaints， and taken back the presents of the previous engagement. But who would have ever anticipated that a father and mother， whose hearts were set upon position and their ambition upon wealth， could have brought up a daughter so conscious of propriety and so full of feeling as to seize the first opportunity， after she had heard that she had been withdrawn from her former intended， and been promised to the Li family， to stealthily devise a way to commit suicide， by means of a handkerchief. The son of the Major， upon learning that Chin Ko had strangled herself， there and then jumped into the river and drowned himself， as he too was a being full of love. The Chang and Li families were， sad to relate， very much cut up， and， in very truth， two lives and money had been sacrificed all to no use.
Lady Feng， however， during this while， quietly enjoyed the three thousand taels， and madame Wang did not have even so much as the faintest idea of the whole matter. But ever since this occasion， lady Feng's audacity acquired more and more strength； and the actions of this kind， which she， in after days， performed， defy enumeration.
One day， the very day on which Chia Cheng's birthday fell， while the members of the two households of Ning and Jung were assembled together offering their congratulations， and unusual bustle and stir prevailed， a gatekeeper came in， at quite an unexpected moment， to announce that Mr. Hsia， Metropolitan Head Eunuch of the six palaces， had come with the special purpose of presenting an edict from his Majesty； a bit of news which plunged Chia She， Chia Cheng and the whole company into GREat consternation， as they could not make out what was up. Speedily interrupting the theatrical performance， they had the banquet cleared， and the altar laid out with incense， and opening the centre gate they fell on their knees to receive the edict.
Soon they caught sight of the head eunuch， Hsia Ping-chung， advancing on horseback， and besides himself， a considerable retinue of eunuchs. The eunuch Hsia did not， in fact， carry any mandate or present any decree； but straightway advancing as far as the main hall， he dismounted， and， with a face beaming with smiles， he walked into the Hall and took his stand on the southern side.
"I have had the honour，" he said， "of receiving a special order to at once summon Chia Cheng to present himself at Court and be admitted in His Majesty's presence in the Lin Ching Hall."
When he had delivered this message， he did not so much as take any tea， but forthwith mounted his horse and took his leave.
Chia Cheng and the others could not even conceive what omen this summons implied， but he had no alternative but to change his clothes with all haste and to present himself at Court， while dowager lady Chia and the inmates of the whole household were， in their hearts， a prey to such perplexity and uncertainty that they incessantly despatched messengers on flying steeds to go and bring the news.
After the expiry of four hours， they suddenly perceived Lai Ta and three or four other butlers run in， quite out of breath， through the ceremonial gate and report the glad tidings. "We have received，" they added， "our master's commands， to hurriedly request her venerable ladyship to take madame Wang and the other ladies into the Palace， to return thanks for His Majesty's bounty；" and other words to the same purport.
Dowager lady Chia was， at this time， standing， with agitated heart， under the verandah of the Large Hall waiting for tidings， whilst the two ladies， mesdames Hsing and Wang， Mrs. Yu， Li Wan， lady Feng， Ying Ch'un and her sisters， even up to Mrs. Hsueeh and the rest， were conGREgated in one place ascertaining what was the news. Old lady Chia likewise called Lai Ta in and minutely questioned him as to what had happened. "Your servants，" replied Lai Ta， "simply stood waiting outside the Lin Chuang gate， so that we were in total ignorance of what was going on inside， when presently the Eunuch Hsia came out and imparted to us the glad tidings； telling us that the eldest of the young ladies in our household had been raised， by His Majesty， to be an overseer in the Feng Ts'ao Palace， and that he had， in addition， conferred upon her the rank of worthy and virtuous secondary consort. By and by， Mr. Chia Cheng came out and also told us the same thing. Master is now gone back again to the Eastern Palace， whither he requests your venerable ladyship to go at once and offer thanks for the Imperial favour."
When old lady Chia and the other members of the family heard these tidings they were at length reassured in their minds， and so elated were they all in one moment that joy was visible in their very faces. Without loss of time， they commenced to don the gala dresses suitable to their rank； which done， old lady Chia led the way for the two ladies， mesdames Hsing and Wang， as well as for Mrs. Yu； and their official chairs， four of them in all， entered the palace like a trail of fish； while Chia She and Chia Chen， who had likewise changed their clothes for their court dress， took Chia Se and Chia Jung along and proceeded in attendance upon dowager lady Chia.
Indeed， of the two households of Ning and Jung， there was not one， whether high or low， woman or man， who was not in a high state of exultation， with the exception of Pao-yue， who behaved just as if the news had not reached his ears； and can you， reader， guess why？ The fact is that Chih Neng， of the Water Moon Convent， had recently entered the city in a surreptitious manner in search of Ch'in Chung； but， contrary to expectation， her visit came to be known by Ch'in Yeh， who drove Chih Neng away and laid hold of Ch'in Chung and gave him a flogging. But this outburst of temper of his brought about a relapse of his old complaint， with the result that in three or five days， he， sad to say， succumbed. Ch'in Chung had himself ever been in a delicate state of health and had besides received a caning before he had got over his sickness， so that when he now saw his aged father pass away from the consequences of a fit of anger， he felt， at this stage， so full of penitence and distress that the symptoms of his illness were again considerably aggravated. Hence it was that Pao-yue was downcast and unhappy at heart， and that nothing could， in spite of the promotion of Yuan Ch'un by imperial favour， dispel the depression of his spirits.
