Hearing her wishes, the two girls promptly tuned their cords, to suit the pitch of the song, and struck up on their guitars.
'What watch of the night is it?' old lady Chia at this point inquired.
'It's the third watch,' the matrons replied with alacrity.
'No wonder it has got so chilly and damp!' old lady Chia added.
Extra clothes were accordingly soon fetched by the servants and maids.
Madame Wang speedily rose to her feet and forced a smile. 'Venerable senior,' she said, 'wouldn't it be prudent for you to move on to the stove couch in the winter apartments? It would be as well. These two relatives are no strangers. And if we entertain them, it will he all right.'
'Well, in that case,' dowager lady Chia smilingly rejoined, 'why shouldn't the whole company adjourn inside? Wouldn't it be warmer for us all?'
'I'm afraid there isn't enough sitting room for every one of us,' Madame Wang explained.
'I've got a plan,' old lady Chia added. 'We can now dispense with these tables. All we need are two or three, placed side by side; we can then sit in a group, and by bundling together it will be both sociable as well as warm.'
'Yes, this will be nice!' one and all cried.
Assenting, they forthwith rose from table. The married women hastened to remove the debandade of the banquet. Then placing three large tables lengthways side by side in the inner rooms, they went on to properly arrange the fruits and viands, some of which had been replenished, others changed.
'You must none of you stand on any ceremonies!' dowager lady Chia observed. 'If you just listen while I allot you your places, and sit down accordingly, it will be all right!'
Continuing, she motioned to Mrs. Hsueeh and 'sister-in-law' Li to take the upper seats on the side of honour, and, making herself comfortable on the west, she bade the three cousins Pao-ch'in, Tai-yue and Hsian-yuen sit close to her on the left and on the right. 'Pao-yue,' she proceeded 'you must go next to your mother.' So presently she put Pao-yue, and Pao-ch'ai and the rest of the young ladies between Mesdames Hsing and Wang. On the west, she placed, in proper gradation, dame Lou, along with Chia Lan, and Mrs. Yu and Li Wan, with Chia Lan, (number two,) between them. While she assigned a chair to Chia Jung's wife among the lower seats, put crosswise. 'Brother Chen,' old lady Chia cried, 'take your cousins and be off! I'm also going to sleep in a little time.'
Chia Chen and his associates speedily expressed their obedience, and made, in a body, their appearance inside again to listen to any injunctions she might have to give them.
'Bundle yourself away at once!' shouted dowager lady Chia. 'You needn't come in. We've just sat down, and you'll make us get up again. Go and rest; be quick! To-morrow, there are to be some more grand doings!' Chia Chen assented with alacrity. 'But Jung Erh should remain to replenish the cups,' he smiled; 'it's only fair that he should.'
'Quite so!' answered old lady Chia laughingly. 'I forgot all about him.'
'Yes!' acquiesced Chia Chen. Then twisting himself round, he led Chia Lien and his companions out of the apartment.
(Chia Chen and Chia Lien) were, of course, both pleased at being able to get away. So bidding the servants see Chia Tsung and Chia Huang to their respective homes, (Chia Chen) arranged with Chia Lien to go in pursuit of pleasure and in quest of fun. But we will now leave them to their own devices without another word.
'I was just thinking,' meanwhile dowager lady Chia laughed, 'that it would be well, although you people are numerous enough to enjoy yourselves, to have a couple of great-grandchildren present at this banquet, so Jung Erh now makes the full complement. But Jung Erh sit near your wife, for she and you will then make the pair complete.'
The wife of a domestic thereupon presented a play-bill.
'We, ladies,' old lady Chia demurred, 'are now chatting in high glee, and are about to start a romp. Those young folks have, also, been sitting up so far into the night that they must be quite cold, so let the plays alone. Tell them then to have a rest. Yet call our own girls to come and sing a couple of plays on this stage. They too will thus have a chance of watching us a bit.'
After lending an ear to her, the married women assented and quitted the room. And immediately finding some servant to go to the garden of Broad Vista and summon the girls, they betook themselves, at the same time, as far as the second gate and called a few pages to wait on them.
The pages went with hurried step to the rooms reserved for the players, and taking with them the various grown-up members of the company, they only left the more youthful behind. Then fetching, in a little time, Wen Kuan and a few other girls, twelve in all, from among the novices in the Pear Fragrance court, they egressed by the corner gate leading out of the covered passage. The matrons took soft bundles in their arms, as their strength was not equal to carrying boxes. And under the conviction that their old mistress would prefer plays of three or five acts, they had put together the necessary theatrical costumes.
After Wen Kuan and the rest of the girls had been introduced into the room by the matrons, they paid their obeisance, and, dropping their arms against their sides, they stood reverentially.
'In this propitious first moon,' old lady Chia smiled, 'won't your teacher let you come out for a stroll? What are you singing now? The eight acts of the 'Eight worthies' recently sung here were so noisy, that they made my head ache; so you'd better let us have something more quiet. You must however bear in mind that Mrs. Hsueeh and Mrs. Li are both people, who give theatricals, and have heard I don't know how many fine plays. The young ladies here have seen better plays than our own girls; and they have heard more beautiful songs than they. These actresses, you see here now, formed once, despite their youth, part of a company belonging to renowned families, fond of plays; and though mere children, they excel any troupe composed of grown-up persons. So whatever we do, don't let us say anything disparaging about them. But we must now have something new. Tell Fang Kuan to sing us the 'Hsuen Meng' ballad; and let only flutes and Pandean pipes be used. The other instruments can be dispensed with.'
'Your venerable ladyship is quite right,' Wen Kuan smiled. 'Our acting couldn't, certainly, suit the taste of such people as Mrs. Hsueeh, Mrs. Li and the young ladies. Nevertheless, let them merely heed our enunciation, and listen to our voices; that's all.'
'Well said!' dowager lady Chia laughed.
'Sister-in-law' Li and Mrs. Hsueeh were filled with delight. 'What a sharp girl!' they remarked smilingly. 'But do you also try to imitate our old lady by pulling our leg?'
'They're intended to afford us some ready-at-hand recreation,' old lady Chia smiled. 'Besides, they don't go out to earn money. That's how it is they are not so much up to the times.' At the close of this remark, she also desired K'uei Kuan to sing the play: 'Hui Ming sends a letter.' 'You needn't,' she added, 'make your face up. Just sing this couple of plays so as to merely let both those ladies hear a kind of parody of them. But if you spare yourselves the least exertion, I shall be unhappy.'
When they heard this, Wen Kuan and her companions left the apartment and promptly apparelled themselves and mounted the stage. First in order, was sung the 'Hsuen Meng;' next, '(Hui Ming) sends a letter;' during which, everybody observed such perfect silence that not so much as the caw of a crow fell on the ear.
'I've verily seen several hundreds of companies,' Mrs. Hsueeh smiled, 'but never have I come across any that confined themselves to flutes.'
'There are some,' dowager lady Chia answered. 'In fact, in that play acted just now called: 'Love in the western tower at Ch'u Ch'iang,' there's a good deal sung by young actors in unison with the flutes. But lengthy unison pieces of this description are indeed few. This too, however, is purely a matter of taste; there's nothing out of the way about it. When I was of her age,' resuming, she pointed at Hsiang-yuen, 'her grandfather kept a troupe of young actresses. There was among them one, who played the lute so efficiently that she performed the part when the lute is heard in the 'Hsi Hsiang Chi,' the piece on the lute in the 'Yue Ts'an Chi,' and that in the supplementary 'P'i Pa Chi,' on the Mongol flageolet with the eighteen notes, in every way as if she had been placed in the real circumstances herself. Yea, far better than this!'
'This is still rarer a thing!' the inmates exclaimed.
Old lady Chia then shortly called the married women, and bade them tell Wen Kuan and the other girls to use both wind and string instruments and render the piece; 'At the feast of lanterns, the moon is round.'
The women servants received her orders and went to execute them. Chia Jung and his wife meanwhile passed the wine round.
