Huo Xiaoyu

I n the Dali years a young man of Longxi named Li Yi passed the imperial examination at twenty, and the next year sat the higher selection and waited on the Ministry for a post. In the sixth month he came to Chang'an and took lodgings in the Xinchang ward. He was of good family and had been quick since boyhood; his verses were reckoned without equal, and the great men of the age deferred to him. He thought well of his own elegance, and what he wanted was a beautiful match — he had been asking after famous courtesans a long while, and had found no one. In the Dali era, a scholar of Longxi named Li Yi, aged twenty, passed the jinshi examination. The following year he took the examination for selecting the outstanding and awaited appointment at the Ministry of Personnel. In summer, the sixth month, he came to Chang'an and lodged in the Xinchang ward. He was of a pure and distinguished lineage, talented from his youth; his fine phrases and excellent lines were said in his day to be without equal, and senior gentlemen unanimously deferred to him. He often prided himself on his romantic elegance and hoped for a fine mate; he sought widely among famous courtesans, but for a long time it had not come together.

In Chang'an there was a matchmaker called Bao the Eleventh, once a maid in the household of the imperial son-in-law Xue, freed and married out these ten years and more. She had a gift for flattery and a quick tongue, and there was no wealthy house she did not visit; in her trade she was reckoned the best of her kind. Li had paid her well and pressed his case sincerely, and she felt she owed him. One idle afternoon, between the hours of the monkey and the sheep, he was at the south pavilion of his lodging when a sharp knocking came at the gate — Bao the Eleventh had arrived. He gathered his robe and hurried out. "There is an immortal," she laughed, "banished down to the mortal world; she wants no money, only a man of style. That is a beauty made for you." Li leaped up, light-headed with joy, and took her hand, bowing and thanking her over and over. "I would be her slave all my life," he said, "and not flinch at death." Then he asked her name and where she lived. In Chang'an there was a matchmaker, Bao the Eleventh, formerly a maidservant in the household of the Commandant-Consort Xue; she had bought out her bond and returned to common status more than ten years before. She was obliging by nature and clever of speech; there was no wealthy or titled house she did not frequent, and in pursuing matches and pressing schemes she was reckoned the chief of her kind. She had received Li's sincere entrustment and generous gifts, and felt rather obliged to him. After some months, Li was idling at the south pavilion of his lodging. Between the shen and wei hours he suddenly heard urgent knocking at the gate; it was said Bao the Eleventh had come. Gathering his robe, he went to her and asked, "Bao, why have you come so suddenly today?" Bao laughed, "There is an immortal, banished to the lower world, who does not seek wealth but only admires elegance. A beauty of this sort is well matched with you, Tenth Master." Hearing it, Li leaped with delight, his spirit soaring and his body light; he took Bao's hand, bowing and thanking her, and said, "All my life I would be her slave; even death I would not dread." Then he asked her name and where she lived.

Bao told him everything. The girl was the youngest daughter of the late Prince Huo, styled Xiaoyu, whom the prince had doted on; her mother, Jingchi, had been his favorite maid. When the prince died, his brothers, holding it against her that she was a servant's child, would scarcely own her. They handed her a share of the property, set her up in a house of her own outside the walls, and changed her surname to Zheng, so that no one knew she was a prince's daughter. "She is more beautiful than anyone I have seen," Bao said, "and her spirit and bearing finer still; music, poetry, books — there is nothing she does not understand. She sent me to find her a young man worthy of her, and when I named you she was delighted, for she already knew your name." A meeting was fixed for noon the next day. Bao told him fully. "She was the youngest daughter of the late Prince Huo, styled Xiaoyu, and the prince loved her dearly. Her mother, called Jingchi, was the prince's favored maidservant. When the prince first died, his brothers, because she was born of a base concubine, did not much acknowledge her. So they gave her a portion of property and sent her to live outside, changing her surname to Zheng; people did not know she was the prince's daughter. Her beauty and quality are the most exquisite I have seen in all my life; her lofty feeling and free manner surpass others in everything, and in music, poetry, and books there is nothing she does not understand. Yesterday she sent me to seek a fine young man of matching temper, and I told her of you. She too knew the name Li Tenth Master, and was extraordinarily pleased. She lives at the Old Temple Lane in the Shengye ward, in the house by the carriage gate. I have already made an appointment for you; tomorrow at noon, only go to the head of the lane and look for Guizi, and it will be done."

“When I am dead I will become a vengeful ghost, and give your wives and your women not one day's peace as long as they live.”

When Bao had gone, Li made ready. He sent his boy Qiuhong to borrow a black dapple-grey and a gold bridle from a cousin, washed and groomed himself, and lay awake the whole night; at first light he studied his own face in the mirror, afraid only that it would go badly. He reached the Shengye ward at noon and found the maid in green waiting. She led him in and barred the gate. In the courtyard stood four cherry trees, and a parrot in a cage in the northwest corner called out as he entered, "Someone has come in — quick, lower the blind." Li, a quiet man by nature and already nervous, startled at the bird and stopped short. Then Bao brought down the mother, Jingchi — a graceful woman of forty or so — who welcomed him warmly. "I have a daughter," she said, "poorly taught but not ill-favored; she would suit a gentleman well." She called for wine, and sent for Xiaoyu. When Bao had left, Li prepared for the journey. He had his servant-boy Qiuhong borrow from his cousin Shang, an officer of Jingzhao, a black dappled colt with a gold bridle. That evening Li washed his clothes and bathed, arranged his appearance, joy and excitement mingled in him, and did not sleep the whole night. At dawn he put on his headcloth and looked at himself in the mirror, fearing only that it would not go well. He lingered until midday, then ordered his mount driven swiftly straight to Shengye. At the appointed place he indeed saw the maid in green waiting, who greeted him, "Are you not Li Tenth Master?" He dismounted, was led inside, and the gate was quickly locked. Bao came out from within, laughing from afar, "What young man is this, barging in so rashly?" Before Li had finished his bantering reply, she led him through the inner gate. In the courtyard were four cherry trees; to the northwest hung a parrot cage, and seeing Li come in it said, "Someone has entered — quickly lower the blind." Li was by nature refined and reserved, and his heart still misgave him; startled at the bird's speech, he did not dare go on. After a moment Bao led the mother, Jingchi, down the steps to meet him and invited him to sit facing her. She was perhaps over forty, graceful and full of charm, her talk and laughter most winning. She said to Li, "I have long heard that Tenth Master is talented and elegant, and now I see your refined bearing too; a famous name is indeed no empty thing. I have a daughter who, though poorly taught, is not ugly to look at, and would be quite fitting matched to a gentleman." Li thanked her. Then she ordered wine and food, and had Xiaoyu come out from the eastern chamber of the hall.

Li rose to bow to her, and the whole room seemed to fill with jade and light; when her eyes turned to him they struck like brilliance. She sat beside her mother, who said, "You always loved that couplet — 'When the blind lifts and the wind stirs the bamboo, I take it for my old love come again.' Those are his own lines. You recited them and dreamed over them all day long. Well, how does the man compare?" Xiaoyu lowered her head and smiled, and said softly, "Seeing the face is not what hearing the name promised. But how could a talented man have no looks?" Li bowed again and again. "The lady loves talent, and I love beauty," he said. "Between us, the two are matched." Mother and daughter looked at each other and laughed. After several rounds of wine he asked her to sing; she refused, her mother pressed her, and when she sang her voice came clear and bright, the melody strange and fine. Li at once rose to greet her. He felt as if the whole room were a forest of jade trees shining upon one another, and her glancing eyes shot brilliance at him. Then she sat by her mother's side. The mother said to her, "You have always loved to recite, 'When the blind lifts, the wind stirs the bamboo; I suspect it is my old love come.' Those are Tenth Master's own lines. You chanted and longed over them all day — how does this compare with seeing him?" Xiaoyu then lowered her head and smiled faintly, and murmured, "Seeing the face is not as good as hearing the name. How could a talented man be without looks?" Li rose repeatedly and bowed, "The young lady loves talent, and I, humble man, value beauty. Our two goods reflect each other; talent and looks are joined." Mother and daughter looked at each other and laughed. They raised their cups several rounds. Li rose and asked Xiaoyu to sing. At first she would not; her mother insisted. Her voice came forth clear and bright, and the melody was exquisite.

When the wine was done and dusk had come, Bao led Li to rest in the west court, where the chambers were deep and the curtains rich. Soon Xiaoyu came to him, her words gentle, her manner all tenderness, and their joy that night was complete; Li thought that not even the goddesses of Wushan and the Luo could have surpassed it. But at midnight she suddenly wept, watching his face. "I am a singing-house girl," she said, "and I know I am no fit match. You love me now for my beauty; but I am afraid that one day the beauty will fade and your heart will move on, and I will be the vine with nothing to climb, the fan folded away when autumn comes. At the very height of happiness, the grief comes without asking." Li heard her out with a deep pang. When the wine had run low and it grew dark, Bao led Li to rest in the west court. The quiet courtyard and deep chambers had most splendid curtains and hangings. Bao had the maids Guizi and Huansha take off Li's boots and loosen his belt. Presently Xiaoyu arrived; her speech was warm, her words and manner tender and winning. As she took off her silk robe, her bearing had grace to spare; they lowered the curtain and shared the pillow in the utmost joy of love. Li thought that even the goddesses of Wushan and the Luo could not surpass it. In the middle of the night Xiaoyu suddenly wept and gazed at Li. "I am by origin a singing-house girl, and know I am no match for you. Now, loved for my beauty, I entrust myself to your kindness and worth. But I fear that once my beauty fades, your favor will shift and your love be replaced, so that the dodder-vine has nothing to cling to and the autumn fan is cast aside. At the height of our joy, sorrow comes to me unbidden." Hearing this, Li could not contain his sighs.

He drew her head onto his arm. "All my life I wanted this, and today I have it," he said. "Though my bones were ground to powder, I would never let you go. Why do you talk this way? Bring me white silk, and I will write our vow on it." Drying her tears, she had the maid Cherry hold up the curtain and the candle, and set out brush and inkstone — the fine old writing-things of the prince's house — then drew from an embroidered pouch three feet of ruled white silk. Li, whose gift with words was quick, wrote it out at once, calling the mountains and rivers to witness and pointing to the sun and moon, every line so earnest it moved whoever heard it. When the ink had dried she stored it in a jeweled casket. After that they were tender and inseparable, like kingfishers in flight; and so, day and night together, two years passed. He put his arm under her head as a pillow and said slowly, "My lifelong wish is fulfilled today. Though my bones be ground and my body broken, I swear I will not forsake you. Madam, why do you say such a thing? Let me set down our covenant on plain silk." Xiaoyu then dried her tears and had her maid Cherry draw back the curtain and hold the candle, and gave Li brush and inkstone. In her leisure from music Xiaoyu loved poetry and books; the boxes of brushes and inkstones were all the old things of the prince's house. She took an embroidered pouch and brought out three feet of Yue-maiden black-ruled white silk, and gave it to Li. Li, being of ready talent, took up the brush and made his composition, drawing analogies from mountains and rivers, pointing to the sun and moon for his sincerity, every line earnest and moving to hear. When he had finished writing, she had it stored inside a treasure casket. From then on they were tenderly devoted to each other, like kingfishers upon the cloud-path. Thus for two years they were together day and night.

The next spring Li passed a further examination and was made registrar of Zheng county. In the fourth month, before taking up the post, he was to go to Luoyang to pay respects to his family, and his Chang'an relatives feasted him in farewell. The spring was not quite over and the summer just turning fine; when the wine was done and the guests gone, the thought of parting hung over them. "With your talent and your name," Xiaoyu said, "many will want you, and there are surely families eager to marry you a daughter. You have a stern parent at home and no wife in your house — when you go, you will make a good marriage, and the words of our vow will come to nothing. Still, I have one small wish. Will you hear it?" Li was startled. "What have I done, that you say such a thing? Tell me, and I will honor it." The following spring Li passed the examination for selecting the outstanding in composition and judgment, and was appointed registrar of Zheng county. In the fourth month, about to take up his office, he was to pay his respects at Eastern Luoyang. His relatives in Chang'an held many farewell feasts. The things of spring still lingered and the summer scene was first growing lovely; when the wine was done and the guests dispersed, thoughts of parting filled their hearts. Xiaoyu said to Li, "With your talent, position, and reputation, many admire you, and those who would wish to marry you are surely many. Moreover, you have a stern parent at home and no principal wife in your chamber; when you go from here, you will certainly make a fine match, and the words of our covenant will be mere empty talk. Yet I have a small wish that I would set before you. Committing myself to your heart forever — can you still listen?" Li, startled and puzzled, said, "What fault have I, that you suddenly speak so? Say what you would say, and I will surely honor it."

She answered him. "I am just eighteen, and you are twenty-two. There are eight years yet before you turn thirty and must set up a household in earnest. Let me have all the love of this one life within that span. Then choose a wife from some great house — it will not be too late — and I will lay down the affairs of the world, cut off my hair and put on the dark robe of a nun. That has always been my wish, and it would be enough." Ashamed and moved, Li wept. "I swore by the bright sun, and I will keep it in life and death," he said. "To grow old with you would still not satisfy me — how could I have another thought? Only wait for me quietly. By the eighth month I will be back at Huazhou, and will send for you." A few days later he took his leave and went east. Xiaoyu said, "I am just beginning my eighteenth year, and you are but twenty-two; there are still eight years before you reach the age of establishing your household. I wish to exhaust this one life's joy and love within that time. After that you may make a fine choice from a high family and join in marriage — it will still not be too late — and I will cast off human affairs, cut my hair and don the black robe. My long-cherished wish would be fulfilled in this." Both ashamed and moved, Li could not help his tears flowing. He said to Xiaoyu, "My oath by the shining sun — I will hold to it in death and in life. To grow old together with you, I would still fear it fell short of my true wish; how should I dare have any second heart? I earnestly beg you not to doubt, but only to dwell at peace and wait for me. By the eighth month I will surely come back to Huazhou, and will send someone to fetch you; our meeting is not far off." A few days more, and Li took his leave and went east.

Ten days into his post he asked leave to visit his family in the Eastern Capital. Before he even reached home, his mother had settled a marriage for him with a cousin of the Lu clan; the agreement was already made. She was a hard, imperious woman, and Li did not dare refuse; he made his bows and accepted, and the date was set. The Lu were a great family, and would not marry a daughter out for less than a million in cash. Li's household was poor, so he went off on borrowed pretexts to distant relatives and friends to raise the sum, from autumn into the next summer. Knowing he had broken his vow and missed his promised return by far, he kept silent, meaning to kill her hopes, and told his relatives to let nothing slip. Within ten days of reaching his post, he asked leave to go to the Eastern Capital to see his parents. Before the day he arrived home, his mother had already arranged with him a match with his cousin, Miss Lu, and the agreement was settled. His mother was by nature stern and severe, and Li hesitated but did not dare decline; so he performed the betrothal rites, and the date was near. The Lu were also a first-rank clan; in marrying out a daughter, the betrothal gift had to be fixed at a million cash, and if the sum was not met, by custom the match would not go forward. Li's family was poor, and the matter required borrowing; so on borrowed pretexts he went far off to relatives and acquaintances, crossing the Jiang and the Huai, from autumn to summer. Since Li knew he had betrayed the covenant and greatly overrun the time of his return, he kept silent and unheard-of, wishing to cut off her expectation; he relied on distant relatives and friends and ordered that no word leak out.

From the day he overran his promise, Xiaoyu asked everywhere for word of him, and got only lies, a different story each day. She spent herself on shamans and diviners, sick with worry and resentment, for more than a year. Thin and bedridden in her empty room, she fell into a deep illness. His letters had stopped altogether, but her longing did not waver; she bribed anyone who might carry news. Her searching left her constantly short of money, and she began to sell off the clothes and ornaments in her chests, sending them in secret through a broker's shop in the West Market. From the time Li overran the date, Xiaoyu repeatedly sought news of him. False words and cunning tales came, different every day. She sought widely among shamans and diviners and inquired everywhere by the fortune-sticks, holding her worry and nursing her resentment, for more than a full year. Thin and lying in her empty chamber, she thus fell into a grave illness. Though Li's letters ceased entirely, Xiaoyu's longing did not shift; she gave gifts to relatives and acquaintances so that they might pass on word. Her seeking being so urgent, her resources were often exhausted, and she would secretly have her maid quietly sell the clothes and ornaments from her chests, mostly consigning them for sale through the shop of Hou Jingxian in the West Market.

Once she sent the maid Huansha with a purple jade hairpin to sell. On the way an old palace jade-carver saw it and came to look. "I made this hairpin," he said. "Years ago Prince Huo's little daughter was to put up her hair, and she had me make it, and paid me ten thousand. I have never forgotten it. Who are you, and how do you come by it?" Huansha told him — her mistress was the prince's daughter; the household had broken up and she had given herself to a man; her husband had gone to the Eastern Capital and sent no word; she had grieved herself into illness these two years, and had sent the hairpin to be sold, to buy news of him. The old man wept. "That the children of the great should fall so far — that I should live to see such a rise and fall." He took Huansha to the mansion of Princess Yanxian and told the whole story, and the princess too sighed a long while, and gave a hundred and twenty thousand in cash. Once she had her maid Huansha take a single purple jade hairpin to Hou Jingxian's shop to sell it. On the road she met an old palace jade-worker, who, seeing what Huansha carried, came forward to examine it and said, "This hairpin I made myself. In years past, when Prince Huo's young daughter was about to put up her hair, she had me make it and paid me ten thousand cash. I have never forgotten it. Who are you, and from where did you get it?" Huansha said, "My young lady is the daughter of Prince Huo. The household was broken and scattered, and she lost her station and gave herself to a man. Her husband went to the Eastern Capital last year, and there has been no more news. She has grown melancholy and ill, now near two years; she has had me sell this to make gifts to people, so as to seek word of him." The jade-worker wept sorrowfully, "That the sons and daughters of the noble should lose their footing and fall from their station to such a pass. My remaining years are near their end, and to see this rise and decline, I cannot bear the grief." He then led her to the mansion of Princess Yanxian and told the whole matter, and the princess also grieved and sighed for her a long while, and gave a hundred and twenty thousand cash.

By now the Lu bride was in Chang'an. Li, having paid the betrothal in full, went back to Zheng county, and in the twelfth month came again to the city for the wedding, taking a quiet lodging in secret so that no one would know. He had a cousin named Cui Yunming, a decent, warm-hearted man who in earlier days had drunk and laughed with him at Xiaoyu's house, and who told her honestly whatever he heard of Li; she had often helped Cui with firewood and clothes, and he was grateful to her. When he learned Li was in the city, he told her the truth. "How can there be such a thing in the world?" she cried, and begged all their friends to bring him to her by any means. But Li, knowing he had broken his word and knowing how far her illness had gone, was too ashamed to face her and steeled himself to be done with her; he went out at dawn and came home at dusk to avoid her. Xiaoyu wept day and night and forgot to sleep or eat, hoping only to see him once, and could find no way. Her grief hardened into rage, and she sank down onto her bed. By now people in Chang'an had begun to know of it — the men of feeling pitied her constancy, and the men of spirit were furious at his shabbiness. At this time the Lu daughter to whom Li was betrothed was in Chang'an. Having completed the betrothal gift, Li returned to Zheng county. In the twelfth month of that year he again asked leave to enter the city for the marriage, and secretly found a quiet dwelling, letting no one know. There was a classicist named Cui Yunming, Li's cousin, generous and kindly by nature, who in past years had often shared happy hours with Li in Zheng's house, cups and dishes and laughter, never estranged. Whenever he had news of Li, he faithfully told Xiaoyu; and she had often supplied Cui with firewood and clothing, so that he felt grateful to her. When Li arrived, Cui told Xiaoyu the truth. Xiaoyu sighed in resentment. "How can there be such a thing under heaven?" She begged all her friends and kin and by many means tried to bring him. But Li, knowing he had broken the date and betrayed the vow, and knowing that her illness was deep and lingering, was ashamed and hardened himself to cut her off, and would not go in the end. He went out in the morning and returned at evening, meaning to avoid her. Xiaoyu wept day and night, wholly forgetting sleep and food, hoping for one meeting, but there was no way to it. Her grievance and rage grew deeper, and she collapsed upon her bed. From then, more and more people in Chang'an came to know of it; the men of romantic feeling all pitied Xiaoyu's devotion, and the men of chivalrous temper all raged at Li's base conduct.

It was the third month now, and people were out in the spring. Li went with five or six companions to the Chongjing temple to see the peonies, walking the west gallery and trading verses. His close friend Wei Xiaqing was among them. "Fine weather, and everything in flower," Wei said, "and there is poor Zheng, wronged in an empty room. If you can truly cast her off, you are a hard man. A man's heart should not be like this. Think on it." As they spoke, a gallant in a light yellow shirt, a bow at his side, handsome and richly dressed, came up with a single close-cropped foreign boy behind him; he had been listening. He bowed to Li. "Are you not Li Tenth Master? My people are from east of the mountains, joined to the imperial house by marriage. I have no gift for letters, but I honor worth, and long admiring your name I have hoped to meet you. My house is near, with music and wine and a dozen fine horses — come, just once." Li's friends admired the man, and he rode off with him, turning quickly through the wards until they came to Shengye. When Li saw how near they were to Xiaoyu's lane he made an excuse and tried to turn his horse. "My house is a step away — would you throw me over?" said the gallant, and seized the bridle and drew him on. Before Li could get free they were at the lane, and he whipped his horse to flee; but the gallant had his servants take hold of Li and carry him forward, pushed him through the carriage gate, ordered it locked, and called out that Li Tenth Master had come. The whole house started up in joy, and the noise carried into the street. It was already the third month, and many were on spring outings. Li and five or six companions went to the Chongjing temple to view the peonies, walking along the west corridor and reciting verses in turn. Wei Xiaqing of Jingzhao, Li's close friend, also went along, and said to Li, "The scene is most lovely, the plants in full flower. Grievous it is that Zheng-qing bears her wrong in an empty room. If you can in the end set her aside, you are truly a hard man. A gentleman's heart should not be like this. You ought to consider it." As they were lamenting and reproaching, suddenly there was a gallant in a light yellow ramie shirt, carrying a bow and pellets, of handsome and spirited air and light, rich dress, with only a single close-cropped foreign youth following behind, who had been quietly walking and listening. Presently he came forward and bowed to Li, "Are you not Li Tenth Master? My clan is originally from east of the mountains, and connected by marriage to the imperial affines. Though I lack literary elegance, my heart has always delighted in the worthy. Admiring your fame, I have long wished to meet you. Today by good fortune we meet, and I may behold your fine bearing. My humble house is not far off, and has music enough to please the spirit — eight or nine lovely women, a dozen fine horses, whatever you wish. Only come once." Li's companions all heard these words and admired them the more. So Li rode off together with the gallant, swiftly turning through several wards, and came to Shengye. Since it was near where Zheng dwelt, Li did not wish to pass by, and on a pretext tried to turn his horse's head back. The gallant said, "My humble dwelling is a hair's breadth away — can you bear to forsake me?" And he took hold of Li's horse and pulled it along. In the delay they had already reached Zheng's lane. Li, dazed and distracted, whipped his horse to turn back, but the gallant at once ordered several servants to seize and hold him and go forward. They ran swiftly and pushed him in at the carriage gate, then had it locked, and announced that Li Tenth Master had arrived. The whole household was startled with joy, and the sound was heard outside.

The night before, Xiaoyu had dreamed that a man in a yellow shirt carried Li in and set him down, and made her take off her shoes. She woke in fear and told her mother, and reasoned it out herself. In the dream a shoe meant union, so they would be joined again; but taking it off meant loosing, and to be joined and then loosed meant they would part forever. "By this I know we will surely meet," she said, "and that after we meet I will die." At dawn she asked her mother to comb and dress her. Her mother, thinking her long illness had unsettled her mind, half disbelieved it, but combed and dressed her all the same — and no sooner was it done than Li indeed arrived. The night before this, Xiaoyu had dreamed that a man in a yellow shirt carried Li in, came to the mat, and made Xiaoyu take off her shoes. She woke startled and told her mother, then explained it herself. A shoe [xié] means harmony [xié], so husband and wife will be joined again; to take off [tuō] means to loose [jiě], and having joined and then loosed, it must be an eternal parting. From this sign, she said, they would surely meet, and after meeting she would die. At dawn she asked her mother to dress and comb her hair. Her mother, because she had long been ill and her mind was disordered, did not much believe her, but reluctantly, forcing herself, dressed and combed her. The dressing and combing were barely finished when Li indeed arrived.

Xiaoyu had been bedridden so long she could not turn without help, but when she heard that Li had come she rose all at once, changed her clothes, and went out as though a spirit had entered her. She faced him, staring in cold fury, and said nothing. Her wasted body and delicate beauty seemed almost too frail to bear; again and again she covered her face with her sleeve and turned to look back at him, and everyone there sighed. Presently dozens of dishes of wine and food arrived from outside — all sent, they learned, by the gallant in yellow. They set them out and sat down together. Xiaoyu had been sunk in illness for many days and needed help to turn over; but suddenly hearing that Li had come, she rose abruptly of herself, changed her clothes and came out, as if some spirit possessed her. She met Li, glaring with concentrated anger, and spoke no more. Her frail frame and delicate beauty seemed as if unable to bear it; from time to time she covered her face with her sleeve and turned back to look at Li. Moved by the sight, wounded to the heart, all present sighed. Presently there came dozens of platters of wine and delicacies from outside. The whole company looked up startled and asked the reason, and all had been sent by the gallant. So they set them out and sat down together.

Xiaoyu turned her body aside and looked at him a long while from the corner of her eye. Then she lifted a cup of wine and poured it out on the ground. "I am a woman, and my fate is this wretched. You are a man, and this is how you have betrayed me. In the bloom of my years I die swallowing my grief. My kind mother is still living, and I cannot care for her. My silks and my music end here, forever. I carry my pain down to the Yellow Springs, and you have caused it all. Li Yi, Li Yi — now we part for good. When I am dead I will become a vengeful ghost, and give your wives and your women not one day's peace as long as they live." With her left hand she gripped his arm, threw the cup to the floor, and with a few long wailing cries she died. Her mother lifted the body and laid it in Li's arms and told him to call her back; but she did not wake again. Li put on white mourning and wept for her, morning and evening, most bitterly. Xiaoyu turned her body and set her face aside, looking at Li from the corner of her eye for a long while. Then she raised a cup of wine and poured it on the ground as a libation, saying, "I as a woman have a fate as wretched as this. You as a man have betrayed my heart like this. In fair face and tender years I die swallowing my grief. My kind mother is in the hall, and I cannot support her. My fine silks and strings and pipes end here forever. Bearing my pain down to the Yellow Springs — it is all your doing. Li Yi, Li Yi, now we part forever. After I die, I will surely become a vengeful ghost, and make your wives and concubines never at peace all their days." Then with her left hand she grasped Li's arm, flung the cup to the ground, and with several long, wailing cries she expired. The mother lifted the corpse and laid it in Li's arms, bidding him call to her, but she revived no more. Li put on white mourning for her and wept morning and evening most grievously.

On the eve of the burial Li suddenly saw her inside the funeral curtain, as lovely as she had been in life, in a pomegranate skirt and a red-and-green cape, leaning against the curtain with an embroidered sash drawn through her hand. She looked at him and said, "I thank you for seeing me off; there is still some feeling left in you. Even in the world of shadows, how could I not be moved?" And with that she was gone. The next day they buried her on the Yusu plain outside Chang'an. Li went to the grave, mourned to the full, and came away. On the eve of the burial, Li suddenly saw Xiaoyu within the funeral curtain, her face beautiful, just as in life. She wore a pomegranate skirt, a purple under-jacket, and a red-and-green cape; leaning sidewise against the curtain, her hand drawing an embroidered sash, she looked at Li and said, "I am grateful that you see me off — there is still some feeling left. Here in the world of shadows, how could I not sigh with emotion?" When she had spoken, she was seen no more. The next day she was buried on the Yusu plain near Chang'an. Li went to the grave, mourned to the utmost, and returned.

A month or so later he married the Lu bride, but he was low and joyless. In the fifth month he took her home to Zheng county, and ten days after they arrived, as he lay with her one night, a rustling started outside the bed-curtain. Li looked, and saw a handsome young man of twenty or so half-hidden in the hangings, beckoning to his wife again and again; Li sprang up in alarm and circled the curtain, and the man was suddenly gone. From then he was eaten with suspicion, jealous of everything, and there was no peace between them. His mood eased a little when relatives talked him round — but ten days later he came home to find his wife at the qin, and someone threw in through the door a small inlaid box, an inch across, holding a scrap of silk tied in a lover's knot and a handful of love-charms. Li roared like a beast, snatched up the qin and struck her with it, and demanded she confess. She had nothing to confess. After that he beat her again and again with every cruelty, and in the end took her to court and cast her off. A month or so later he married into the Lu family. Wounded in feeling and moved by every sight, he was gloomy and unhappy. In summer, the fifth month, he traveled with Miss Lu and returned to Zheng county. Ten days after reaching the county, Li was lying with Miss Lu when suddenly outside the bed-curtain there came a rustling sound. Li looked in alarm and saw a man of perhaps twenty-odd, of gentle and handsome form, hiding himself in the shadow of the hangings and repeatedly beckoning to Miss Lu. Li, terrified, leaped up and circled the hangings several times, and abruptly the figure was gone. From this Li harbored suspicion and loathing, jealous and mistrustful in a thousand ways, so that between husband and wife there was no peace in living. Some of his kin gently reasoned with him, and Li's mood eased a little. Ten days later, Li again came home from outside to find Miss Lu playing the qin on the couch, when suddenly someone threw in from the gate a mottled-rhino inlaid-flower box, something over an inch across, containing a light silk tied into a lover's knot, which fell into Miss Lu's lap. Li opened it and saw two "love-longing" beans, one kowtow-beetle, one aphrodisiac stamen, and a little "donkey-foal charm." At that moment Li roared with rage, his voice like a jackal or a tiger; he took up the qin and struck his wife, demanding that she confess the truth. Miss Lu could not to the end clear herself. After that he often violently beat her, visiting every cruelty upon her, and at last brought suit in the public court and put her away.

After Lu was cast out, Li grew jealous of every maid or concubine he took to bed, and some he killed. Traveling once to Guangling, he took up with a famous courtesan called Ying the Eleventh, a soft and lovely woman he was greatly taken with. Sitting with her he would say, "In such a place I had such a woman, who did such a thing, and I killed her in such a way" — telling it over and over to make her fear him and keep his house in order. When he went out he would set a bathing-tub over her on the bed and seal it round, and examine the seals before he opened it on his return. He kept a short, keen sword, and told the maids, "This is good iron from Gexi in Xinzhou — fit only for cutting off a guilty head." Every woman he ever knew, he came to suspect; and though he married three times, it was always as it had been at the first. After Miss Lu was cast out, whenever Li shared a pillow with a maid or concubine, he would add jealousy, and some he even killed on that account. Li once traveled to Guangling and got a famous courtesan named Ying the Eleventh, of moist and charming appearance, with whom he was much pleased. Whenever they sat facing each other, he would say to Ying, "In such a place I got such a woman; she committed such an offense, and I killed her by such a method." Day after day he recounted it, wishing to make her fear him and so keep his women's quarters in order. When he went out, he would cover Ying with a bathing-tub upon the bed and seal it all around, and on returning would examine it closely before opening it. He also kept a short sword, very sharp, and said to his maids, "This is iron from Gexi in Xinzhou — fit only to cut off the head of the guilty." In general, of every woman Li ever saw he grew suspicious; and though he married three times, it was in each case just as at the first.

霍小 The original Chinese · honored as an artifact

大曆中，隴西李生名益，年二十，以進士擢第。其明年，拔萃，俟試於天官。夏六月，至長安，舍於新昌里。

Opening lines, classical Chinese · 傳奇 · Tang chuanqi, via 太平廣記 Taiping Guangji