In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Jf \ Old Man Su' s Contact wit h Master Ho u ^ ? The ma n standin g a t th e bo w o f th e boa t wa s indee d Ho u Fangyu , wh o als o recognized old man Su. 'Old Su! Old Su! Why are you here?' Hou exclaimed . Though S u had a thousand thing s to say, he was quite unable t o express his thoughts coherently. Without a word, he followed Hou into the cabin . 'Master Hou, why are you here?' he asked instead. Hou removed his cap and said unhappily, 'I f I am not here, where else can J be?' 'Is the great lord here with his family?' Su asked. 'No, no,' Hou replied. 'My father is taking refuge i n the village outside Guide City.' Old man Su saw that there was not one soldier on board and concluded tha t Hou was not on military duty. If he had left the army, and the family was all in the country, what was he doing here all by himself? Even as he was deep in thought, Hou began, 'Are Purity Lady and Perfume d Lady well? Why are you not i n Nanjing? Why have you travelled thus far to th e north?' Su touched his grey beard and replied sadly, 'Not only have I come all the way to the north, I have even gone to the Guide Prefecture once. I had not expecte d the mai n gate s o f your honourable hom e t o b e s o firmly closed . I saw no one . When I tried t o fin d ou t wher e Lor d Ho u an d hi s famil y were , nobod y knew . There was nothing I could do but return to the south!' Hou opened wide his dark eyes and asked in great astonishment, 'What? Have you been looking for me for something?' 225 The Peach Blossom Fan Su gaze d at him an d complained , 'O f cours e I am looking for yo u for som e matter. I left Nanjing i n the Twelfth Moon last year. During the journey I suffered much in windy and stormy weather; I was robbed by the troops and bandits a few times, and I nearly lost this old life of mine!' Hou rose and saluted him grandly, then patted him on the shoulder and smiled, 'Old Su, I shall most certainly reciprocate your great kindness in the future! Bu t first tell me why are you searching for me?' Then, naughtil y winkin g an d smiling , Ho u said , ' I gues s th e Fragran t Fa n Pendant has asked you to deliver a letter to me!' 'She's alread y married , wh y shoul d sh e sen d yo u an y letter! ' S u sai d nonchalantly. On hearing these words, Hou's complexion changed and he was stunned int o silence. Old Su deliberately ignored him in order to test his sentiment towards Perfumed Lady. He simply put his head out of the cabin and studied the scenery on the lake. Seeing that Su paid no attention to him, Hou flew into a temper. It was only with immens e self-restrain t tha t h e prevente d himsel f fro m ventin g hi s ange r towards Perfume d Lad y o n th e ol d man . Slappin g hi s bac k violently , h e sai d reproachfully, 'Ol d Su! Have you lost your speech? Why don't you tell me whom Perfumed Lad y married? I am sure it must be Lady Purity who'd forced Perfume d Lady to marry! Perhaps you too had a part in this and stirred things up from on e side!' Old Su exclaimed in defence, 'Master Hou, you have blamed the wrong person! It has nothing to do with me!' Hou shook his hand and sighed several times. Stamping his feet, he shouted , 'Good! Good! I do not blame you, nor do I blame Lady Purity! I only blame myself for being so completely blind to befriend suc h a trash! I blame myself for leavin g Nanjing i n th e firs t place . I always knew tha t onc e I left Nanjing , th e matte r about Perfumed Lad y would be finished! ' With thes e words , Ho u wa s on th e verg...

Share