The Cloud Dream of the Nine | Page 7

shade and looked out through the painted railing. Her hair, like a tumbled cloud, rested soft and warm [pxxv] upon her temples. The long jade pin that held the plaits together had been pushed aside till it showed slantwise through her tresses. Her sleepy eyelids were as if she had just emerged from dreamland. Rouge and cosmetics had vanished under the unceremonious hand of sleep and her natural beauty was unveiled, a beauty such as no painter has ever portrayed. The two looked at each other with a fixed and startled expression but said not a word. The maiden suddenly recollected herself, closed the blind and disappeared from view. A suggestion of sweet fragrance was borne to Yang on the breeze."
The maiden, Chin See, said to her old nurse: "A woman's lot in life is to follow her husband. Her glory or her shame, her experiences for the span of life are wrapped up in her lord and master. I am an unmarried girl and dislike dreadfully to become my own go-between and propose marriage, but it is said that in ancient times courtiers chose their own king, so I shall make inquiry concerning this gentleman. I cannot wait for my father's return, for who knows whither he has gone or where I shall look for him in the four quarters of the earth?" She then unclasped a roll of satin paper and wrote a verse or two which she gave to her nurse, telling her to find "a gentleman handsome as the gods, with eyebrows like the loftiest touches of a picture, and his form among common men like the phoenix among feathered fowls." The practical old nurse replied, "What shall I do if the gentleman is already married or engaged?" The maiden thought for a moment and then said, "If that unfortunately be so, I shall not object to become his secondary wife." Her message was: [pxxvi]
"Willows waving by the way, Bade my lord his course to stay, He, alas, has failed to ken, Draws his whip and rides again."
Yang's response was prompt and unmistakably reassuring:
"Willow catkins soft and dear, Bid thy soul to have no fears Ever may they bind us true, You to me, and me to you."
But Yang's love affair with Chin See of the willow grove came nearer tragedy than any of the eight experiences. Many vicissitudes prevented their speedy union. Meanwhile the love dramas in which two peerless dancing girls, Moonlight and Wildgoose, played their part saved Master Yang from grieving too much over the temporary loss of Chin See.
Moonlight was the next love. She it was who foretold Yang's future greatness and his certain victory at the Competitive Examination. Moonlight chose Yang from among a group of youths who were competing for her favour. When Yang, at Moonlight's invitation, was entertained by her privately, she made her feelings known to him with entire frankness. "I am yours from to-day," she said, "and shall tell you my whole heart." She told the story of the death of her father and the sale of herself by her stepmother for one hundred yang. "I stifled my resentful soul and did my best to be faithful," said Moonlight, "praying to God, who has had pity on me. To-day I have met my lord and look again on the light of sun [pxxvii] and moon. I have had opportunity to study thousands of passers by, yet never has one passed who is equal to my master. Unworthy as I am I would gladly become your serving-maid." Yang was as yet without experience and Moonlight became his wise counsellor, giving him hope for the future and confidence in his powers. As he was too poor to marry her, they agreed that he would always come to visit her when he passed that way.
Moonlight's prophecy was speedily fulfilled, and when Yang next visited her he had become a famous general and was on the road with "all the insignia of power--flags, drums and battle axes." Their meeting was full of joy. "Yang, with pent-up heart longings and desire to see her face to face, caught her lovely expression, which took fresh grip of him. . . . Moonlight saw him dismount and bowed low. She accompanied him into the guest room, where in her joy of soul she took hold of the border of his robes. Her tears flowed faster than her words. She congratulated Yang on his engagement to the daughter of Justice Cheung, and told him how she had had at one time to cut off her hair to escape dishonour so that she might remain true to him. "They renewed their former happy acquaintance and he tarried for several days."
Then follows an account of Moonlight's ruse to let Wildgoose become acquainted with Master Yang without his