Six Records of a Floating Life (Chapter one: Wedded Bliss 19)

    "Now I have found a girl who has both beauty and charm," Yun said to me. "I have already asked Hanyuan to come and see us tomorrow, and I'll arrange it for you." I was taken by surprise.

    "You know we are not a wealthy family. We can't afford to keep a girl like that, and we are so happily married. Why do you want to find somebody else?"

    "But I love her," said Yun smilingly. "You just leave it to me."

    The following afternoon, Hanyuan actually came. Yun was very cordial to her and prepared a feast, and we played the finger-guessing game and drank, but during the whole dinner, not a word was mentioned about securing her for me.

    When Hanyuan had gone, Yun said, "I have secretly made another appointment with her to come on the eighteenth, when we will pledge ourselves as sisters. You must prepare a sacrificial offering for the occasion"; and pointing to the emerald bracelet on her arm, she continued, "if you see this bracelet appear on Hanyuan's arm, you'll understand that she has consented. I have already hinted at it to her, but we haven't got to know each other as thoroughly as I should like to yet. "I had to let her have her own way.

    On the eighteenth, Hanyuan turned up in spite of a pouring rain. She disappeared in the bedroom for a long time before she came out hand-in-hand with Yun. When she saw me, she felt a little shy, for the bracelet was already on her arm. After they had burnt incense and pledged an oath, Yun wanted to have another drink together with her that day. But it happened that Hanyuan had an engagement to go and visit she Shih-hu Lake, and soon she left.

    Yun came to me all smiles and said, "Now that I have found a beauty for you, how are you going to reward the go-between?" I asked her for the details.

    "I had to broach the topic delicately to her," she said, "because I was afraid that she might have someone else in mind. Now I have learnt that there isn't anyone, and I asked her, 'Do you understand why we have this pledge today?'

    'I should feel greatly honoured if I could come to your home, but my mother is expecting a lot of me and I can't decide by myself. We will watch and see,' she replied. As I was putting on the bracelet, I told her again, 'The jade is chosen for its hardness as a token of fidelity and the bracelet's roundness is a symbol of everlasting faithfulness. Meanwhile, please put it on as a token of our pledge. She replied that everything depends on me. So it seems that she is willing herself. The only difficulty is her mother, Lenghsiang. We will wail and see how it turns out. ”

    "Are you going to enact the comedy Linhsiangpan of Li Liweng right in our home?""Yes!" Yun replied.From that time on, not a day passed without her mentioning Hanyuan's name. Eventually Hanyuan was married by force to some influential person, and our arrangements did not come off. And Yun actually died of grief on this account.