Wang did as she suggested, and they set up a small stall outside their lodgings, where he and the servant worked hard together selling wine and tea, while Bird made capes and embroidered purses. They were able to earn enough each day to live quite well, and after a year or so they could even afford to take on a maid and an old serving-woman of their own. Now Wang no longer needed to don an apron himself, but became the manager of their little family enterprise.

One day, all of a sudden, Bird seemed very downcast. 'Alas!' she cried. 'I know that something terrible will happen tonight!'

He asked her to explain.

'My mother has found out where I am. She will be after my blood for sure. She may send my elder sister, in which case all will be well. But I'm afraid she may come herself.'

At midnight, she suddenly became more cheerful. 'All is well! It's my sister Maid who is coming.'

Sure enough, shortly afterwards her sister pushed open the door and walked in. Bird greeted her with a smile, but her sister scolded her harshly.

'Weren't you ashamed, to run away like that? Mother has sent me to find you and bring you home.'

With these words she took out a rope and tied it round Bird's neck. Bird cried out indignantly, 'And why should I not stay faithful to one man?'

Maid grew angrier and angrier and seized hold of her sister, tearing her dress. By now the servants had come to witness the spectacle, and eventually Maid took fright and hurried away.

'Now that she's gone,' said Bird, 'it will be mother's turn. She is sure to come herself. Disaster is nigh! We must act quickly.'

They packed their things in haste and made ready to move on, but before they could get away the bawd was at the door, her face dark with anger.

'I knew you would disobey your sister and that I would have to come and get you myself!'

Bird fell to her knees and pleaded tearfully, but the bawd paid her no heed, seizing her by the hair and marching her off, leaving Wang to brood in misery, unable to sleep or eat. He hastened back to Six Rivers, willing to pay money to redeem her, but though he found the house, there was no sign of the ladies and the neighbours had no idea where they might have gone to. Wang returned to Hankou in despair, and finally he disbanded his household and returned east to Shandong with what money he still had.

Several years later, he happened to be in Peking on his travels and was walking past a Foundlings Home when he caught sight of a boy of seven or eight. His servant stared at the child, thinking that he bore a striking resemblance to his master.

'Why are you staring at that boy?' asked Wang. The servant smiled as he mentioned the likeness that he had observed, and Wang seemed to find the idea strangely pleasing. He looked at the boy more closely. He was a handsome child, and reflecting that he himself had no male heir and that this foundling did indeed resemble him in some strange way, he decided on the spot to buy him and adopt him as his son. When he asked the boy his name, he replied, 'Little Wang.'

'If you were abandoned as a baby,' asked Wang, 'how do you come to know your name?'

'My teacher told me that when I was found I had the words "Son of Wang Wen of Shandong" written on my chest.'

'But that is my name!' cried Wang in astonishment. 'And I don't have a son...'

The only explanation he could think of was that this was the son of some other man with the same name as himself. And yet something about the boy had taken his fancy, and he already felt a growing sense of attachment. When they returned home to Shandong, all who saw them assumed that they were father and son.

As Little Wang grew up he showed a great liking for physical activities, especially hunting and combat of all sorts, and was not in the least squeamish when it came to taking life. In fact he positively relished it, and there was nothing his father could do to curb him. The family business was of no interest to him whatsoever. The boy also claimed to be able to detect the presence of ghosts and fox-spirits, a claim the locals at first refused to credit. But then a villager was possessed by a fox-spirit and when they asked Little Wang to go and find it, he went to the man's house, pointed immediately to the place where the fox was hiding and told them to attack it where it was. They did so, and they heard the fox howling, and then a mess of blood and fur came tumbling to the ground and the villager was never again troubled. From then on, the locals all agreed that the boy was a 'strange one'.

One day, Wang Wen was strolling in the marketplace when he ran into his old friend Zhao Donglou, the wealthy merchant, now greatly changed, dishevelled and haggard, a shadow of his former self. Wang inquired, in some alarm, where he had been all this time and what had happened to him. Zhao asked him gloomily if they could find somewhere private to talk, and Wang took him off and bought him a cup of wine.

'As soon as the bawd got hold of Bird again,' began Zhao, 'she beat her and abused her horribly. Then she moved north and tried again to break the girl's will, but Bird vowed she would rather die than have another man, so the old woman locked her up. Bird gave birth to a baby boy, and was forced to abandon it in a little alley. The child was taken to the Foundlings Home. He must be a big boy by now. He is your own flesh and blood!'

'Heaven sent him to me!' wept Wang, and told his friend the story of finding the boy. 'But how do you yourself come to be in such a dreadful state?'

'I have finally learned for myself,' said the other, 'the perils of the pleasure-houses and their life of "love and joy". What more can I say?'

It emerged that he had followed the bawd north to Peking, taking his wares with him. They were heavy and awkward to transport, and in the end he was obliged to sell them at a loss. And what with the assorted expenses of travelling not to mention Maid, who expected him to provide her with every luxury as time went by he ruined himself and the bawd began to treat him with the open contempt she reserved for the impecunious. Sometimes Maid was sent out to sleep with wealthy customers and would not return for several days in a row. Zhao would be seething with rage, but could do nothing.

One day, when the bawd was away, Bird called to him from a window, 'In a place like this there is no such thing as love! The only thing they know how to love is money. You must get away from here, or you will come to a terrible end.'

These words filled Zhao with a sudden sense of fear and foreboding. For him it was as if he had awoken from a dream. He decided to leave and return home to Shandong, but before he left he went secretly to see Bird, who gave him a letter for Wang. After he had told his tale, he handed Wang the letter, which read in part: '... I know that our boy is with you now. Zhao can tell you of my troubles. This is all the working of karma! What is there left to say! I am kept locked in a dark room and never see the light of day. I am beaten till my flesh breaks out in sores. Hunger gnaws at my heart. A single day seems to last a year. If you still remember that first night we spent together, when we held each other close and kept each other warm, with nothing but a thin quilt against the cold and the snow, then for our love's sake I beg you and our son to find a way to rescue me from this torment. I beg you to spare my mother and sister. They are cruel and heartless, it is true, but they are my flesh and blood, so please tell the boy not to harm them. That is my earnest wish...'

As Wang read the letter, tears streamed down his face. He gave Zhao a generous gift of money and went on his way.

His son, Little Wang, was by now eighteen years old. When he told him all about his mother and showed him the letter, the youth's eyes blazed with anger, and that very day he went to the capital and ascertained the whereabouts of the bawd Wu (for that was her name). Arriving at her establishment, he walked directly in through the throng of customers and found Maid sitting drinking with a client. When she set eyes on him, she stood up with a look of sheer terror on her face. He pounced on her and killed her outright, to the great alarm of the other guests, who took him for a common thief until they saw the woman's corpse change into that of a dead fox before their very eyes. Little Wang hurried on in, sword in hand, and found the bawd in a back room supervising one of the women who was making soup. As he ran into the room, the bawd vanished from sight in an instant. Casting a quick glance around the room, he drew his bow and shot an arrow up towards one of the beams. A fox fell to the ground transfixed, and instantly he decapitated it. Then he discovered the place where his own mother was being held and threw a stone to break the casement of her window. Mother and son called out to one another, and the first question she asked was what had become of her mother.

'I have already killed her!' cried the impetuous youth.

'Why did you not listen to my words?' she cried in anguish. She told him to bury the old bawd-fox out in the fields. He pretended to agree to this, but instead skinned both foxes and put their pelts away in his bag. He went through the bawd's coffers and took all the money he could find, before setting off home with his mother.

Mother and father were reunited in a touching scene. Wang asked his son what he had done with the bawd.

'She is here,' replied the son. 'In my bag.'

And he produced two fox pelts, to the great consternation of his mother.

'You are a disobedient son!' she reproached him angrily. 'Why was this necessary?'

She wailed and beat herself and wanted only to die. Wang did his utmost to console her, and told their son to bury the pelts.

'Now that you are safe and happy,' protested Little Wang, 'suddenly you forget all the beatings and hardships you once endured!'

This provoked another outburst of anger from Bird, after which she broke down in a fit of weeping. The son went off and buried the pelts, and when he reported to her that it had been done, she became calmer.

With Bird's return, Wang prospered. He greatly appreciated the part played by his friend Zhao in all of this, and rewarded him handsomely, telling him the whole story of the bawd and her daughters, and that they were all foxes.

Caption

The woman's corpse turned into that of a dead fox.

Little Wang was an extremely devoted son, but subject to the direst rages and tantrums if crossed.

'We must deal with our son's wild streak,' said Bird to Wang one day. 'If we do not, I am afraid he will commit further murders and ruin us all.'

So that night she crept up on Little Wang while he was asleep and secretly bound him hand and foot.

'I have done nothing wrong!' he cried as he awoke.

'I am only going to cure you of your wild streak,' said his mother. 'It won't hurt.'

He yelled and screamed but could not break loose. Taking a large needle, she drove it into the side of his ankle, to a depth of about half an inch, then she wrenched it out with all her might. There was a sharp, cracking sound. She repeated the procedure on his arm and on the top of his head. Then she untied him and patted him gently until he fell asleep. The following morning, he hurried straight in to see his father and mother, with tears on his face.

'All night I've been remembering the dreadful things I've done, things no man ought ever to do!'

They were both delighted at his change of heart. From that day forth, he was gentle as a young girl, and regarded in the district as the very model of virtue.

82.

PRINCESS LOTUS.

At Jiaozhou, there lived a man by the name of Dou Xu. One afternoon, he had just dozed off when he saw a man dressed in rough servant's clothing standing beside his bed, looking around nervously as if he wished to say something. He asked him what he wanted, and the man replied, 'My master invites you to call on him.'

'And who, pray, is your master?'

'He lives close by,' was all the old man would say.

So the two of them set off. After turning a corner, they came to a place where pavilion rose above storeyed pavilion in a succession of elaborately roofed buildings, and as they wound their way through this unending maze, it seemed to Dou that he was entering a world utterly different from the world of men. A stream of maids and ladies-in-waiting kept passing by, calling out 'Has Mr Dou arrived?', to which the servant answered in the affirmative. Presently a distinguished-looking mandarin came forward to meet them, greeting Dou very politely and escorting him up into a reception hall.

'This is most kind of you,' said Dou. 'But I do not have the honour of knowing who you are, and have never called on you before, so I cannot help but feel somewhat ill at ease.'

'My lord and master,' replied the mandarin, 'has long heard of you as a man of excellent family and the highest principles. He is most anxious to make your acquaintance.'

'And who is this lord of yours?' asked Dou, with growing puzzlement.

'That you will see for yourself in just a moment.'

Two maids-in-waiting then appeared carrying banners, and led Dou on through doorway after doorway until finally they came to a great hall where Dou saw a person who was clearly a king, sitting on a throne. The King came down to greet him at once, insisting that Dou should occupy the place of honour on his left, and as soon as the formalities were over and they were both seated, he gave orders that a fine banquet should be set before them. Dou gazed tongue-tied at the wall above them, where he observed a calligraphic panel hanging, inscribed with the words 'Cassia Palace'. The King spoke first.

'I am honoured to have you as a neighbour, and greatly value the bond of affinity that exists between us. Please let us put aside all constraint, all suspicion and fear, and enjoy ourselves to the full!'

Dou expressed his agreement with this proposal. When the wine had gone round several times, he heard a sound in the distance, of pipes and singing, an ethereal, delicate music unaccompanied by any beating of the drum. After a minute or two, the King looked about him and cried out to his assembled courtiers, 'I am going to give you all a line of verse, and would trouble one of you gentlemen to give me a line in response. My first line is this: A genius enters the Cassia Palace.'

Even as the courtiers were busy racking their brains for an answering line, Dou sang out: 'A gentleman cherishes the lotus flower.'

'How strange!' exclaimed the King. 'Lotus is my daughter's name. What a coincidence! There must surely be a predestined affinity between the two of you. Send word to the Princess to come in and meet our guest!'

In a few moments, the tinkling of jade ornaments was heard, and a delicious fragrance of orchid and musk wafted through the hall, announcing the arrival of a young lady of sixteen or seventeen years, of peerless beauty. The King instructed her to curtsey to their guest, and introduced her as his daughter the Princess Lotus. Once these formalities were completed, the Princess withdrew once more to her chamber.

As Dou watched her leave, his soul was utterly transported. He sat there entranced, and when the King raised his goblet and urged him to drink, he simply stared into space. The King seemed to understand what was going on in his mind.

'You and my daughter certainly seem a perfect match if it were not for the problem posed by the difference of species. What do you say?'

It was as if Dou had not even heard the King speak. He continued gazing into the distance like a man deranged, until finally one of the courtiers sitting next to him nudged his foot.

'Didn't you see His Majesty raise his goblet? Didn't you hear His Majesty speak?'

Dou started and, recovering himself at once, rose from the table and apologized abjectly to the King for his rudeness.

'Your hospitality has been so generous, and without being aware of it I am afraid I must have drunk to excess. Please forgive my boorish behaviour. It is growing late, and you must be tired, sire. I should take my leave.'

'I am most delighted to have met you,' replied the King, rising to his feet, 'and I am only sorry that you are in such a hurry to leave. But I will not detain you. If you care to remember us, I shall be very glad to invite you here again.'

He instructed some of his eunuchs to escort Dou home. On the way one of them asked him, 'Just now when His Majesty said that you and the Princess were a perfect match, he seemed to be offering you her hand in marriage. Why did you say nothing?'

Dou stamped his foot in frustration at the thought of his missed opportunity, and all the way home his mind was filled with a painful sense of regret.

And then suddenly he awoke, to find that the sun had almost set. He sat there on his bed in the evening light, brooding on everything that had happened to him in his dream. After his evening meal he put out his candle, hoping to revisit the Cassia Palace once more. But it was beyond recall, and he heaved a sigh of bitter disappointment.

Caption

The King introduced her as his daughter the Princess Lotus.

One evening, he was lounging on his couch with a friend when he saw before him the very same servant who had come on the previous occasion, summoning him once again to appear before the King. Up he jumped and hurried off to the palace, where he prostrated himself before the King, who raised him up and once more offered him a seat beside his throne.

'Since we last met,' began the King, 'I know that we have been much in your thoughts. I have a mind to offer you my daughter in marriage. I trust you will not disdain to accept such an offer...'

Dou rose to his feet and thanked the King, who gave orders to his chamberlains and officers of state to join them for a banquet. When they had finished their wine it was announced by one of the ladies-in-waiting that the Princess had completed her preparations, and immediately afterwards a bevy of young ladies accompanied her into the hall, a red silken veil covering her face. She glided forwards with tiny steps and stood, supported by her maids, on a woollen carpet, where she and Dou proceeded to perform the rites of marriage. When this was concluded they were escorted to their residence, to the exquisite warmth and heady sweet fragrance of the nuptial chamber.

'Having you by my side, my dearest,' he said to the Princess, 'brings me such joy that I could forget death itself. My only fear is that today's meeting will turn out to be no more than a dream.'

'But here we are together, you and I!' replied the Princess, holding her hand to her mouth to stifle a little laugh. 'It is clear as anything. How could it be a dream?'

In the morning, Dou rose and amused himself by helping the Princess to apply her make-up, and then with a sash he carefully measured the size of her waist, and with his fingers the length of her feet.

'Have you gone mad?' she said with a laugh.

'I have so often been deceived by dreams in the past,' he replied. 'So I am making a careful record of everything. If this turns out to be a dream, at least these details will help me to remember it.'

They were still happily chatting when a maid came rushing into the room.