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A Banquet in th e Stone Nest Garde n The visitor was none other than Yang Longyou. During the day he had heard from Su tha t som e very damaging criticisms agains t him had bee n voice d i n th e Ca i Yisuo Bookshop. He was unnerved b y what he was told and , therefore, cam e i n haste to see Chen Dingsheng , hoping that he would smooth things over. When Chen saw him, he said, 'Old sir, you are the busiest person in Nanjing. It is seldom that you find the spare time to visit this humble abode.' Yang sighed, 'M y brother-in-law M a Shiyin g arrive d i n Nanjing las t night , and I have been obliged to run about the whole day!' Pretending to be surprised, Chen asked, 'Governor-General Ma is fighting th e roving brigands at the front, how can he spare the time to come to Nanjing?' Yang laughed ou t loudly , 'Brother Chen , yo u are too naive!' He the n cam e closer and whispered into Chen's ear, 'Do you really believe this phantom talk of fighting th e brigands? Ma simply wants to preserve his own power; he never stirs his own troops.' Chen sai d i n friendl y reproach , 'Yo u brothers-in-law ar e reall y interesting ? You do not even try to paste things over for a relative!' Speaking with exaggerated determination, Yang cried, 'Ma and I never agree!' Chen invite d Yan g to go into th e parlour, saying , 'Huang Taichong di d no t return to the Clear Cool Temple tonight. He is spending the night with me. He's taken too much wine and is now asleep. I'll wake him up to keep you company.' Yang declined th e offe r an d said , 'He i s already asleep , what i s the point o f waking him? There is nothing of importance in any case.' 'Every da y Huang want s t o visit you , an d yo u ar e very much o n hi s mind, ' replied Chen . 71 The Peach Blossom Fan Chen foun d Huan g aslee p i n his street clothes. Huang rubbed his eyes afte r being woken up and asked what the matter was. In a low voice Chen told him that Yang was here on a visit. He urged Chen to hurry and keep him company. Huang became annoyed. 'You are really a pest! I was having a good sleep and you had t o come and disturb me. Yang set a trap to trick Hou; the purpose i s to demolish the Revival Club. Is it worth taking any notice of him?' 'Why not?' said Chen with a smile. 'He has found his way here himself. A dose of fiery and acrid ridicule is in order! Let him have a complete taste of all the five flavours: sweet, sour, bitter, hot and salty.' On this understanding Huang meekly came out to the parlour with Chen . This was the first tim e Yang visited th e parlour. He looke d a t the painting s and calligraphie s o n eithe r sid e o f th e wal l whils t h e waited . A Son g Dynast y painting o f rock s an d orchid s o n spotte d beig e pape r particularl y attracte d hi s attention. 'Old sir, you are an expert painter of rocks and orchids, what do you think of this one?' Chen asked behind him . Having exchanged salutations with Huang, Yang put out his tongue and said, 'This painting of rocks and orchids surpasses even those by Ni Yunlin and Wan g Shuming. I didn't expect that Cai Yisuo would have such an excellent work in his collection!' With his eyes half closed, Chen remarked , 'You have seen enough painting s and calligraph y i n th e Ston e Nes t Garden . Thos e tha t onc e belonge d t o Gu o Shengpu are now all in your honourable home. Some of those are rare treasures. I did not expect that you would be fond of this painting!' Yang blushed and said nothing. Huang wa s not abou t t o le t th e matte r pass . He brok e in , 'Ol d sir , you ar e somewhat unfair i n your dealings. Of all...

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