to take goody Liu along with her to help her dispel her ennui, so promptly seizing the old dame's hand in hers, they threaded their way as far as the trees, which stood facing the hill. After lolling about with her for a few minutes, 'What kind of tree is this?' she went on to inquire of her. 'What kind of stone is this? What species of flower is that?'
Old goody Liu gave suitable reply to each of her questions. 'Who'd ever have imagined it,' she proceeded to tell dowager lady Chia; 'not only are the human beings in the city grand, but even the birds are grand. Why, the moment these birds fly into your mansion, they also become beautiful things, and acquire the gift of speech as well!'
The company could not make out the drift of her observations. 'What birds get transformed into beautiful things and become able to speak?' they felt impelled to ask.
'Those perched on those gold stands, under the verandah, with green plumage and red beaks are parrots. I know them well enough!' Goody Liu replied. 'But those old black crows in the cages there have crests like phoenixes! They can talk too!'
One and all laughed. But not long elapsed before they caught sight of several waiting-maids, who came to invite them to a collation.
'After the number of cups of wine I've had,' old lady Chia said, 'I don't feel hungry. But never mind, bring the things here. We can nibble something at our leisure.'
The maids speedily went off and fetched two teapoys; but they also brought a couple of small boxes with partitions. When they came to be opened and to be examined, the contents of each were found to consist of two kinds of viands. In the one, were two sorts of steamed eatables. One of these was a sweet cake, made of lotus powder, scented with sun-flower. The other being rolls with goose fat and fir cone seeds. The second box contained two kinds of fried eatables; one of which was small dumplings, about an inch in size.
'What stuffing have they put in them?' dowager lady Chia asked.
'They're with crabs inside,' 'hastily rejoined the matrons.
Their old mistress, at this reply, knitted her eyebrows. 'These fat, greasy viands for such a time!' she observed. 'Who'll ever eat these things?'
But finding, when she came to inspect the other kind, that it consisted of small fruits of flour, fashioned in every shape, and fried in butter, she did not fancy these either. She then however pressed Mrs. Hsueeh to have something to eat, but Mrs. Hsueeh merely took a piece of cake, while dowager lady Chia helped herself to a roll; but after tasting a bit, she gave the remaining half to a servant girl.
Goody Liu saw how beautifully worked those small flour fruits were, made as they were in various colours and designs, and she took, after picking and choosing, one which looked like a peony. 'The most ingenious girls in our village could not, even with a pair of scissors, cut out anything like this in paper!' she exclaimed. 'I would like to eat it, but I can't make up my mind to! I had better pack up a few and take them home and give them to them as specimens!'
Her remarks amused every one.
'When you start for home,' dowager lady Chia said, 'I'll give you a whole porcelain jar full of them; so you may as well eat these first, while they are hot!'
The rest of the inmates selected such of the fruits as took their fancy, but after they had helped themselves to one or two, they felt satisfied. Goody Liu, however, had never before touched such delicacies. These were, in addition, made small, dainty, and without the least semblance of clumsiness, so when she and Pan Erh had served themselves to a few of each sort, half the contents of the dish vanished. But what remained of them were then, at the instance of lady Feng, put into two plates, and sent, together with a partition-box, to Wen Kuan and the other singing girls as their share.
At an unexpected moment, they perceived the nurse come in with Ta Chieh-erh in her arms, and they all induced her to have a romp with them for a time. But while Ta Chieh-erh was holding a large pumelo and amusing herself with it, she casually caught sight of Pan Erh with a 'Buddha's hand.' Ta Chieh would have it. A servant-girl endeavoured to coax (Pan-Erh) to surrender it to her, but Ta Chieh-erh, unable to curb her impatience, burst out crying. It was only after the pumelo had been given to Pan-Erh, and that the 'Buddha's hand' had, by dint of much humouring, been got from Pan Erh and given to her, that she stopped crying.
Pan Erh had played quite long enough with the 'Buddha's hand,' and had, at the moment, his two hands laden with fruits, which he was in the course of eating. When he suddenly besides saw how scented and round the pumelo was, the idea dawned on him that it was more handy for play, and, using it as a ball, he kicked it along and went off to have some fun, relinquishing at once every thought of the 'Buddha's hand.'
By this time dowager lady Chia and the other members had had tea, so leading off again goody Liu, they threaded their way to the Lung Ts'ui monastery. Miao Yue hastened to usher them in. On their arrival in the interior of the court, they saw the flowers and trees in luxuriant blossom.
'Really,' smiled old lady Chia, 'it's those people, who devote themselves to an ascetic life and have nothing to do, who manage, by constant repairs, to make their places much nicer than those of others!'
As she spoke, she wended her steps towards the Eastern hall. Miao Yue, with a face beaming with smiles, made way for her to walk in. 'We've just been filling ourselves with wines and meats,' dowager lady Chia observed, 'and with the josses you've got in here, we shall be guilty of profanity. We'd better therefore sit here! But give us some of that good tea of yours; and we'll get off so soon as we have had a cup of it.'
Pao-yue watched Miao Yue's movements intently, when he noticed her lay hold of a small tea-tray, fashioned in the shape of a peony, made of red carved lacquer, and inlaid with designs in gold representing a dragon ensconced in the clouds with the character 'longevity' clasped in its jaws, a tray, which contained a small multicoloured cup with cover, fabricated at the 'Ch'eng' Kiln, and present it to his grandmother.
'I don't care for 'Liu An' tea!' old lady Chia exclaimed.
'I know it; but this is old 'Chuen Mei,'' Miao Yue answered with a smile.
Dowager lady Chia received the cup. 'What water is this?' she went on to inquire.
'It's rain water collected last year;' Miao Yue added by way of reply.
Old lady Chia readily drank half a cup of the tea; and smiling, she proffered it to goody Liu. 'Just you taste this tea!' she said.
Goody Liu drained the remainder with one draught. 'It's good, of course,' she remarked laughingly, 'but it's rather weak! It would be far better were it brewed a little stronger!'
Dowager lady Chia and all the inmates laughed. But subsequently, each of them was handed a thin, pure white covered cup, all of the same make, originating from the 'Kuan' kiln. Miao Yue, however, soon gave a tug at Pao-ch'ai's and Tai-yue's lapels, and both quitted the apartment along with her. But Pao-yue too quietly followed at their heels. Spying Miao Yue show his two cousins into a side-room, Pao-ch'ai take a seat in the court, Tai-yue seat herself on Miao Yue's rush mat, and Miao Yue herself approach a stove, fan the fire and boil some water, with which she brewed another pot of tea, Pao-yue walked in. 'Are you bent upon drinking your own private tea?' he smiled.
'Here you rush again to steal our tea,' the two girls laughed with one accord. 'There's none for you!'
But just as Miao Yue was going to fetch a cup, she perceived an old taoist matron bring away the tea things, which had been used in the upper rooms. 'Don't put that 'Ch'eng' kiln tea-cup by!' Miao Yue hastily shouted. 'Go and put it outside!'
Pao-yue understood that it must be because old goody Liu had drunk out of it that she considered it too dirty to keep. He then saw Miao Yue produce two other cups. The one had an ear on the side. On the bowl itself were engraved in three characters: 'calabash cup,' in the plain 'square' writing. After these, followed a row of small characters in the 'true' style, to the effect that the cup had been an article much treasured by Wang K'ai. Next came a second row of small characters stating: 'that in the course of the fourth moon of the fifth year of Yuan Feng, of the Sung dynasty, Su Shih of Mei Shan had seen it in the 'Secret' palace.
This cup, Miao Yue filled, and handed to Pao-ch'ai.
The other cup was, in appearance, as clumsy as it was small; yet on it figured an engraved inscription, consisting of 'spotted rhinoceros cup,' in three 'seal' characters, which bore the semblance of pendent pearls. Miao Yue replenished this cup and gave it to Tai-yue; and taking the green jade cup, which she had, on previous occasions, often used for her own tea, she filled it and presented it to Pao-yue.
''The rules observed in the world,' the adage says, 'must be impartial,'' Pao-yue smiled. 'But while my two cousins are handling those antique and rare gems, here am I with this coarse object!'
