評(píng)論
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As he passed this remark， he pulled her up， and taking her hand in his own， they walked out of the room and came and had breakfast. When the time arrived to make a selection of the plays， dowager lady Chia of her own motion first asked Pao-ch'ai to mark off those she liked； and though for a time Pao-ch'ai declined， yielding the choice to others， she had no alternative but to decide， fixing upon a play called， "the Record of the Western Tour，" a play of which the old lady was herself very fond. Next in order， she bade lady Feng choose， and lady Feng， had， after all， in spite of madame Wang ranking before her in precedence， to consider old lady Chia's request， and not to presume to show obstinacy by any disobedience. But as she knew well enough that her ladyship had a penchant for what was exciting， and that she was still more partial to jests， jokes， epigrams， and buffoonery， she therefore hastened to precede （madame Wang） and to choose a play， which was in fact no other than "Liu Erh pawns his clothes."
Dowager lady Chia was， of course， still more elated. And after this she speedily went on to ask Tai-yue to choose. Tai-yue likewise concedingly yielded her turn in favour of madame Wang and the other seniors， to make their selections before her， but the old lady expostulated. "To-day，" she said， "is primarily an occasion， on which I've brought all of you here for your special recreation； and we had better look after our own selves and not heed them！ For have I， do you imagine， gone to the trouble of having a performance and laying a feast for their special benefit？ they're already reaping benefit enough by being in here， listening to the plays and partaking of the banquet， when they have no right to either； and are they to be pressed further to make a choice of plays？"
At these words， the whole company had a hearty laugh； after which， Tai-yue， at length， marked off a play； next in order following Pao-yue， Shih Hsiang-yuen， Ying-ch'un， T'an Ch'un， Hsi Ch'un， widow Li Wan， and the rest， each and all of whom made a choice of plays， which were sung in the costumes necessary for each. When the time came to take their places at the banquet， dowager lady Chia bade Pao-ch'ai make another selection， and Pao-ch'ai cast her choice upon the play： "Lu Chih-shen， in a fit of drunkenness stirs up a disturbance up the Wu T'ai mountain；" whereupon Pao-yue interposed， with the remark： "All you fancy is to choose plays of this kind；" to which Pao-ch'ai rejoined， "You've listened to plays all these years to no avail！ How could you know the beauties of this play？ the stage effect is grand， but what is still better are the apt and elegant passages in it."
"I've always had a dread of such sensational plays as these！" Pao-yue retorted.
"If you call this play sensational，" Pao-ch'ai smilingly expostulated， "well then you may fitly be looked upon as being no connoisseur of plays. But come over and I'll tell you. This play constitutes one of a set of books， entitled the 'Pei Tien Peng Ch'un，' which， as far as harmony， musical rests and closes， and tune go， is， it goes without saying， perfect； but there's among the elegant compositions a ballad entitled： 'the Parasitic Plant，' written in a most excellent style； but how could you know anything about it？"
Pao-yue， upon hearing her speak of such points of beauty， hastily drew near to her. "My dear cousin，" he entreated， "recite it and let me hear it！" Whereupon Pao-ch'ai went on as follows：
My manly tears I will not wipe away， But from this place， the scholar's home， I'll stray. The bonze for mercy I shall thank； under the lotus altar shave my pate； With Yuean to be the luck I lack； soon in a twinkle we shall separate， And needy and forlorn I'll come and go， with none to care about my fate. Thither shall I a suppliant be for a fog wrapper and rain hat； my warrant I shall roll， And listless with straw shoes and broken bowl， wherever to convert my fate may be， I'll stroll.
As soon as Pao-yue had listened to her recital， he was so full of enthusiasm， that， clapping his knees with his hands， and shaking his head， he gave vent to incessant praise； after which he went on to extol Pao-ch'ai， saying： "there's no book that you don't know."
"Be quiet， and listen to the play，" Lin Tai-yue urged； "they haven't yet sung about the mountain gate， and you already pretend to be mad！"
At these words， Hsiang-yuen also laughed. But， in due course， the whole party watched the performance until evening， when they broke up. Dowager lady Chia was so very much taken with the young actor， who played the role of a lady， as well as with the one who acted the buffoon， that she gave orders that they should be brought in； and， as she looked at them closely， she felt so much the more interest in them， that she went on to inquire what their ages were. And when the would-be lady （replied） that he was just eleven， while the would-be buffoon （explained） that he was just nine， the whole company gave vent for a time to expressions of sympathy with their lot； while dowager lady Chia bade servants bring a fresh supply of meats and fruits for both of them， and also gave them， besides their wages， two tiaos as a present.
"This lad，" lady Feng observed smiling， "is when dressed up （as a girl）， a living likeness of a certain person； did you notice it just now？"
Pao-ch'ai was also aware of the fact， but she simply nodded her head assentingly and did not say who it was. Pao-yue likewise expressed his assent by shaking his head， but he too did not presume to speak out. Shih Hsiang-yuen， however， readily took up the conversation. "He resembles，" she interposed， "cousin Lin's face！" When this remark reached Pao-yue's ear， he hastened to cast an angry scowl at Hsiang-yuen， and to make her a sign； while the whole party， upon hearing what had been said， indulged in careful and minute scrutiny of （the lad）； and as they all began to laugh： "The resemblance is indeed striking！" they exclaimed.
After a while， they parted； and when evening came Hsiang-yuen directed Ts'ui Lue to pack up her clothes.
"What's the hurry？" Ts'ui Lue asked. "There will be ample time to pack up， on the day on which we go！"
"We'll go to-morrow，" Hsiang-yuen rejoined； "for what's the use of remaining here any longer——to look at people's mouths and faces？"
Pao-yue， at these words， lost no time in pressing forward.
"My dear cousin，" he urged； "you're wrong in bearing me a grudge！ My cousin Lin is a girl so very touchy， that though every one else distinctly knew （of the resemblance）， they wouldn't speak out； and all because they were afraid that she would get angry； but unexpectedly out you came with it， at a moment when off your guard； and how ever couldn't she but feel hurt？ and it's because I was in dread that you would give offence to people that I then winked at you； and now here you are angry with me； but isn't that being ungrateful to me？ Had it been any one else， would I have cared whether she had given offence to even ten； that would have been none of my business！"
Hsiang-yuen waved her hand： "Don't，" she added， "come and tell me these flowery words and this specious talk， for I really can't come up to your cousin Lin. If others poke fun at her， they all do so with impunity， while if I say anything， I at once incur blame. The fact is I shouldn't have spoken of her， undeserving as I am； and as she's the daughter of a master， while I'm a slave， a mere servant girl， I've heaped insult upon her！"
"And yet，" pleaded Pao-yue， full of perplexity， "I had done it for your sake； and through this， I've come in for reproach. But if it were with an evil heart I did so， may I at once become ashes， and be trampled upon by ten thousands of people！"
"In this felicitous firstmonth，" Hsiang-yuen remonstrated， "you shouldn't talk so much reckless nonsense！ All these worthless despicable oaths， disjointed words， and corrupt language， go and tell for the benefit of those mean sort of people， who in everything take pleasure in irritating others， and who keep you under their thumb！ But mind don't drive me to spit contemptuously at you."
As she gave utterance to these words， she betook herself in the inner room of dowager lady Chia's suite of apartments， where she lay down in high dudgeon， and， as Pao-yue was so heavy at heart， he could not help coming again in search of Tai-yue； but strange to say， as soon as he put his foot inside the doorway， he was speedily hustled out of it by Tai-yue， who shut the door in his face.
