Chapter Three: Husband and Wife Face Peril and Steel Their Hearts to Part with Their Child; Kinsmen Seek Pleasure but Suddenly Fall Prey to a Villain Who Seizes a Young Girl

A lyric prefaces this chapter:

Driven to the end of the road, stumbling and desperate,

advance and retreat alike a wretched trap.

They spoke of severing the bond of love —

who knew Heaven's will was at work all along?

Vile though fate may be,

it never dealt a poisoned blow.

Without one terrible shock,

how could two souls ever be joined?

To the tune of "Frost Sky at Dawn's Corner"

Now the story resumes. Du Shi was resting at the inn when, in the middle of the night, she suddenly broke into a fever. Her whole body ached, and she grew so heavy with illness she could scarcely move. Chang Quan could do nothing but endure the hours until daylight, then hurried to the innkeeper and said, "My wife fell ill in the night — I am greatly worried. Is there a skilled physician nearby?" The innkeeper replied, "On the street ahead, Tang Xiyao comes from a line of famous doctors; more often than not, the illness is cured the moment his hand touches the patient. If Madam is unwell, you must send for him." Chang Quan said, "If there is such a doctor, please trouble yourself to fetch him. I would be most grateful."

The innkeeper wasted no time. Before long he had brought Master Tang, who examined Du Shi's pulse and said, "This illness has an inner cause — the suppression of the seven emotions — and an outer cause — an invasion of wind and cold. That is why she has fever and pain and lies in a daze. First we must use Guizhi Tang to dispel the external chill, and then Erchen Liqi Tang to dissolve the inner stagnation; she will recover on her own." He measured out two doses of medicine, with two slices of ginger as a guide herb. Chang Quan saw the doctor off, then set the medicine to brew at once.

At that moment Du Shi lay deep in unconsciousness. When the decoction was ready Chang Quan lifted her up and poured it slowly down her throat, then settled her back to sleep. She slept for a good while, and presently a faint sweat appeared on her brow. Knowing the medicine was working, Chang Quan quickly gave her a second bowl, then covered her well with a quilt. Soon the sweat came in waves. Du Shi gradually roused herself, and Chang Quan was overjoyed. "Thank Heaven and Earth without end," he said.

The following morning she took the second dose. The fever had already eased somewhat. Tang Xiyao was called again to check her pulse and prescribe further medicine. This continued for several days before Du Shi began truly to improve. The escorts, seeing how gravely ill she was, could not in decency press them to move on, so they waited for her to recover. But no sooner had Du Shi improved a little than Chang Quan himself fell ill — and that too lasted several days before he mended. Tang Xiyao, taking pity on these travelers stricken on the road, came every day to call without ever complaining of the hour. Though Chang Quan's fever had passed, walking was still an effort. Sitting up in bed, he turned over all his sufferings in his mind, and then said to Du Shi, "In this great illness you and I have had, we are fortunate not to have died. Yet I think of the long road still ahead — the frontier is far, and if we wear ourselves down on the journey, who knows what will become of us? I cannot say what end awaits us. What grieves me most is our child. He is little, innocent, without understanding — how can I bear to drag him through such hardship?"

He drew the boy into his arms and said, "My son, my son. Even if you were not born to wealth, even if you had been born in a plain commoner's household, it would have been better than being born into mine, to suffer under the burden of this soldier's register." When he finished, tears streamed down his face. Du Shi said, "I have been thinking: whatever suffering you and I must face — life or death — there is nothing more to be said about that. The one thing I cannot put from my mind is this child. If we cling to him and refuse to let go, we all perish together. But if we can steel our hearts and entrust him to another — letting him live on — then should the Chang line not be fated to die out, he may escape disaster, grow to manhood, seek out his origins, and carry on the Chang family name. Even if we die, we could rest content in the earth below. And who is to say Heaven will not be kind, and that you and I may not return and meet again? But if we think only of the present moment and cannot bear to part, and the road ahead grows ever longer — when we reach some distant foreign land and we are both suddenly gone, he will be abandoned in a desolate and alien place. Though still alive, it would be no different from death. Far better to leave him in the heartland of our own country, where at least there is some hope. If we pity him, if we love him, and insist on keeping him with us out of weakness — we will be destroying him."

Chang Quan nodded again and again. "Wife, what you say is very reasonable. But just now, where on this vast road is there anyone to whom we might entrust him?" Du Shi said, "Saying it is one thing — we must simply watch carefully and not act in haste." So day by day they nursed their strength and gradually became able to walk again. The escorts were beginning to urge departure. Chang Quan said to Du Shi once more, "It is thanks to Tang Xiyao that you and I survived. He has shown us great benevolence and virtue — we cannot leave without thanking him." Du Shi said, "Of course we must thank him. But I regret we have no fine gift; we can only invite him to a meal to show our hearts." Chang Quan nodded. "Just so." He quickly took out some silver and handed it to the innkeeper, saying, "We owe our lives to Master Tang's great skill. We cannot repay him, so please help us set out a modest spread of food and wine and invite him to dine." The innkeeper agreed and arranged everything promptly. Before long Tang Xiyao arrived, and Chang Quan thanked him over and over for the miracle of his medical art. They sat down together — Tang, the two escorts, the innkeeper, and Chang Quan — five people at one table, and they drank together.

Midway through the meal Tang Xiyao asked, "Little brother observes that Elder Brother Chang speaks no idle word and acts with perfect propriety — a true gentleman of modest virtue. What offence has brought you to this, that you must take your honorable wife all the way to serve on the distant frontier?" Chang Quan could not hold back his tears. "My suffering is not something I dare speak of lightly. But since you ask so kindly, how could I refuse to answer? Though I am of little worth, I did once hold a place in the examination halls. It is only because my family register is that of soldiers that I suddenly received an imperial summons and was compelled to go — which is why I wander these roads in such misery." Tang Xiyao said, "So that is it!" He sighed. "To draft a scholar and fill a soldier's post — it harms both the scholarly and the military alike. This is a flaw in the dynasty's governance. But once an imperial decree has been issued, there is no refusing it. Elder Brother Chang can only accept it with a resolute spirit. If you give yourself over to grief, I fear you will fall ill again." Chang Quan said, "As for my wife's life and my own — we have set those outside our concern. What stops me is that when we left home I could not bear to leave our son behind and brought him along. But now at every step I see mortal danger. To bring him further, I fear I cannot keep him safe; to entrust him to someone, I fear I can find no one. The matter cuts both ways, and so I am at a loss." Tang Xiyao said, "How old is your son?" Chang Quan said, "He is eight years old this year." Tang Xiyao said, "Elder Brother Chang is a southerner. You are bound for the far north — the winds beyond the passes are fierce; even you may find it hard to endure. How much less so a boy reared in comfort, still so young and tender. This road is truly not suited for him. It would be better to leave him behind. If you worry about finding someone to take him in — I myself am fifty years old and have never had a son or daughter. If Elder Brother Chang does not disdain me, I would take your son in, raise him, and when he is grown he may seek out his own roots. This seems to me a fitting arrangement. What does Elder Brother Chang think?"

Chang Quan was greatly moved. "If you, kind Elder Brother, would show such compassion and take him in with a sincere heart, that would be like giving him new parents! Even if my wife and I die far from home, we could close our eyes in peace. How could we refuse?" Tang Xiyao was delighted to see Chang Quan willing. "Tomorrow is an auspicious day by the almanac. Little brother will call at your door in the morning to make the arrangement." Chang Quan then brought out his son Chang Gu and presented him. The boy bowed, and was then asked to sit beside the table. Tang Xiyao looked at him — fine eyebrows, bright eyes, a handsome face — and was very pleased. The whole company drank freely, and parted in high spirits.

Tang Xiyao took his leave and went home, where he told his wife, Madam Zhao, the whole story and described what a fine, clever young student the boy was. Madam Zhao was delighted — she could hardly wait to hold the child and call him her son. Meanwhile, the innkeeper's wife was telling Du Shi how wealthy and respectable the Tang family was, with relatives holding official posts, and what a virtuous and capable woman Madam Zhao was. Chang Quan and his wife were very glad to hear it.

The night passed. The following afternoon, four young manservants arrived carrying a great many gifts, followed by two empty sedan chairs, sent to fetch Chang Quan and Du Shi. There were also three bright red calling cards — invitations to the two escorts and the innkeeper for a meal that same afternoon. Du Shi asked the innkeeper to receive the gifts, then climbed into one chair with her son, while Chang Quan took the other. They left the inn, turned onto the main street, and went straight to the Tang residence. When they arrived at the gate, Tang Xiyao and Madam Zhao were already waiting at the door to welcome them as they stepped down from the chairs. Madam Zhao saw Chang Gu and found him truly handsome — she stretched out her hands at once to help him from the chair and had a maidservant carry him, then led Chang Quan and Du Shi into the hall.

In the hall an altar to Heaven and Earth had been set up with the paper images, and a red felt carpet had been spread on the floor. Tang Xiyao first bowed to Chang Quan four times, then exchanged greetings with Du Shi, bowing four times to her as well. Chang Quan and Du Shi then presented themselves to Madam Zhao. Chang Quan placed two chairs side by side in the center of the hall and invited Tang Xiyao and Madam Zhao to be seated, then brought Chang Gu forward to bow eight times before them. When the ceremony was finished, Madam Zhao led Du Shi away and had a maidservant carry Chang Gu into the inner rooms. Tang Xiyao then burned the altar paper offerings. He also sent to invite several neighbors and acquaintances to join the men's table, and arranged for a number of ladies to keep Du Shi company within. Before long all the guests had arrived and the feast was underway. They drank deep into the night before the company dispersed. Chang Quan, mindful of the inn, returned there with the escorts. Du Shi stayed at the Tang house for the night. She and Madam Zhao talked together as though they had always known each other. Indeed:

If at this meeting hearts are truly joined,

then strangers become kin by ties as strong as blood.

How many grieve that they have none to lean on far from home —

who would have thought that here, too, one may find a hand to hold?

Tang Xiyao, having taken Chang Gu as an adopted son, could not bring himself to erase the boy's original family name. So he added the Tang surname while keeping the Chang, and dropped only the "Gu" — henceforth the boy was called Tang Chang. Madam Zhao kept Du Shi with them for several days. The escorts, having received generous gifts from Tang Xiyao, refrained from pressing too hard. But Chang Quan himself came to see Tang Xiyao and said, "Now that my son is in your care, my wife and I can go forward with our minds at rest. I am overwhelmed by your family's affection, and dare not speak of parting. But the road ahead is long, and the escort cannot be delayed indefinitely — we must reluctantly take our leave." Tang Xiyao said, "It will be hard to meet again. I truly cannot bear to say farewell. Please stay a few more days." Chang Quan said, "I have heard that the imperial decree urges rapid settlement of the border. If we linger too long on the road and violate the decree, crime will be piled upon crime, and our suffering will only deepen. We must go — we cannot delay any further." Tang Xiyao said, "If that is truly so, I dare not hold you against your will. But have you settled on a date?" Chang Quan said, "We have set tomorrow."

Tang Xiyao saw that they could not be kept. He arranged one more feast and invited the escorts and the innkeeper to a farewell dinner. During the meal he urged the escorts at length to look after Chang Quan and Du Shi on the road, and gave each man ten taels of silver for travel expenses. The escorts were overjoyed. The following day Chang Quan and Du Shi took their leave of the Tang couple. Chang Gu, hearing suddenly that his parents were going, clutched at their clothing and flung himself to the ground, sobbing so hard he would not let Chang Quan go. Du Shi also wept bitterly. "As your parents, how could we bear to leave you? But to leave you is to live; to stay with you is to die. It is beyond our power to choose." Chang Gu cried, "I would rather follow my father and mother and die than be parted from them and live." Chang Quan said, "You must not die. If you die, the Chang line will end. That is why we leave you here. You are better off with this family than with your own blood parents. Serve them with the deepest filial devotion, and do not betray my words."

Chang Gu heard this and fell silent at last, though he wept without stopping — a grief that seemed to blot out Heaven and darken the earth. He seized Du Shi's sleeves with both hands and would not let go. Du Shi took the second jade fish and fastened it around his neck. "When these fish are reunited as a pair," she said, "you and your future wife will be united too, and the day your father and I see you again may yet come." They all wept on and could not stop. But the escorts and the cart-drivers pressed them again and again, and Chang Quan and Du Shi had no choice but to harden their hearts and walk out of the door, leaving Chang Gu behind. They returned to the inn to collect their things and set out. Shortly after, Tang Xiyao and Madam Zhao brought the boy to see them off on the road. Tang Xiyao quietly pressed fifty taels of silver into Chang Quan's hand for traveling expenses, and loaded them with food and provisions as well. They accompanied them all the way out of town before at last saying farewell. Indeed:

Of all the sorrows in this world,

none cuts deeper than parting — in death or in life.

Chang Quan and Du Shi set out together with the escorts. Though the thought of their son never left their hearts, they were glad he was well placed, and with one worry lifted from the road they felt lighter in body and freer in spirit. They climbed the mountains and crossed the ridges, resting at night and traveling at dawn, and went their way in peace. But let the account of them rest here for now.

Now let us speak of Duan Ju. After bidding farewell to Chang Quan, he returned home full of sorrow, though there was nothing he could do. He gave the jade fish from the Chang family to his daughter and told her to keep it safe. Rong Gu fastened it firmly around her neck and would often take it out to look at. At home Duan Ju devoted himself wholly to educating his daughter. Whenever he had a free moment, he would explain to her the stories of virtuous women past and present, and also guide her in verse, song, and poetry. He was glad to find that his daughter had a quick mind — whatever he explained, she grasped; whatever he spoke of, she understood. Duan Ju was very pleased.

One day he happened to notice a pair of purple martins carrying mud up to the beams, flying back and forth — a delightful sight. He said to his daughter, "My child, I see you have been studying poetry day after day. I wonder how far you have come. Today I see a fine subject right before us. Could you compose a poem and let me see it?" Rong Gu said, "I do not know what subject Father has in mind — please tell me, and let me think about it." Duan Ju pointed to the martins carrying mud and said, "The subject is 'Purple Martins Building Their Nest' — there is real spirit in it. Since you are learning to write poetry, go off and compose it carefully."

Rong Gu received her father's instruction and went at once to her study, where she wrote out a poem on a sheet of letter paper and brought it to her father. "My clumsy effort is unpolished," she said. "I hope Father will correct it." Duan Ju was startled when he saw it. "You finished it already?" He took it eagerly and read:

Purple Martins Building Their Nest

Returning to the painted rafters, they seek their old perch;

the falling blossoms, the flying catkins — still no mud to be found.

The pond's fragrance lures them to carry clay from afar through water's edge;

when the wind is still, they thread through the curtain, intent on an even course.

Chattering together, they share the work — high and low, each to their station;

sleeping side by side on the same tier, neither wary of heights nor depths.

The lady of the house stands watching them dart and hurry past —

their shadows cross the beam, and the sun has already slipped to the west.

Duan Ju read it and was overjoyed. "My child, your poetry has already reached a realm of true artistry! This poem conceives its image with grace and renders its details with exquisite care. If it were written by a man and placed on a literary stage, it could stand as a monument all its own." From that time on Rong Gu spent her days playing with verse and lyric, and before she knew it she was ten years old, and grown lovelier with every season. Her mother, Madam Li, said to her, "A woman who excels in poetry and letters is indeed admirable, but when you go to serve your future husband and manage a household, needlework, embroidery, and the daily work of the home must be your foundation. If you do nothing but scribble day after day and chant about snow from morning to night, charming as that may be, you risk becoming one-sided and losing the true nature of a woman. You must pursue both together — that is what makes a person complete."

Rong Gu took her mother's teaching to heart and began also to learn needlework and household arts. Madam Li taught her herself, but the girl had a gifted mind and nimble fingers — she mastered each thing after a single lesson. Before long the embroidery Rong Gu produced was so bright and delicate it drew gasps of admiration, and her mother could not match it. In her moments of rest from the embroidery frame she also learned to paint landscapes and flowers, to play chess and the qin — all as a way of refreshing her spirits. There was nothing she could not do, and what she did she did with excellence. Word spread throughout Huating County: everyone marveled at Duan Ju's young daughter, so beautiful and so gifted. Every gentry family with an eligible son sent matchmakers to seek her hand. Duan Ju declined them all, saying simply, "She is already betrothed."

In a proper family that would have been the end of it. But news travels from one mouth to another, and praises pile on praises, and at last a certain wicked man's desire was inflamed. This man's surname was Song; his nickname was Tuotian — "Boundless Rogue." He had come from a decent enough family, but refused to apply himself to anything good, idling away his days in leisure until his family fortune was spent. He then fell in with a gang of disreputable men, spending his time gambling, drinking, and stirring up trouble wherever the opportunity arose. By his late twenties or early thirties he had neither wife nor children. Now he heard the talk going around — that the Duan family's daughter was beautiful, accomplished, and that her poetry and painting were worth a fine price. A base idea took root in his mind. "I've reached this age with no wife and no livelihood," he thought. "If I could get this Duan girl and make her my wife, wouldn't I have ease and comfort for the rest of my days?" Then he thought again: "I've heard that gentry families have asked for her hand and all been refused. Given the state I'm in, why would they ever agree to give her to me? Her father is after all only a licentiate. My own father in his time was a licentiate as well — our families are not so far apart. True, she is still very young and a match cannot be made just now — but if I could get her and wait a year or two, that wouldn't be impossible. Yet if I wait for her to grow up, won't someone else have taken her by then?" He turned it over in his mind and felt something still wasn't right.

He thought for several days, then one day a plan struck him. "I have it! A soft approach is worse than a bold one; an open move is worse than a secret one. Only by seizing the moment — snatch and grab — will she fall into my hands." With his scheme set, he spent his days lurking near the Duan house, watching and listening. Then one day, as fate would have it, Duan Ju's brother-in-law Bai Jian returned home from a trading venture in Huguang — very prosperous, having had a smooth journey. Back home, he put on a theatrical performance to thank the gods, and sent someone to invite his sister-in-law Madam Li and his niece Rong Gu to come and watch.

As it happened, that very day Song Tuotian was loitering near the Duan gate when he saw two sedan chairs being carried out. He followed and pulled aside the boy who walked beside one of the chairs, asking quietly, "Where are the mistress and the young lady going today?" The boy said, "Master Bai in Jinxiang Lane is putting on a play to fulfill a vow — he sent to invite them." Song Tuotian asked, "What relation is this Master Bai to your family?" The boy said, "He's our master's brother-in-law." Then the boy trotted off and was gone.

Song Tuotian had the information he needed and was pleased. He went and found his usual gang and said, "Today I need a favor from you all." The men said, "We are as close as bone and flesh, bound by ties of life and death — whatever you need, Big Brother Song, we dare not refuse." Song Tuotian said, "There is a girl — we were engaged since childhood. Now that I am poor, her family refuses to give her to me. I am so angry I have no choice but to ask my brothers to help me take her by force." The men said, "In broad daylight, how can this be done?" Song Tuotian said, "No, no — during the day the girl has been taken to visit relatives. Tonight they are watching the play, and deep into the night, when it's noisy and no one is paying attention, is the perfect time to snatch her. If you're afraid of pursuit, just set a fire as we leave — while they're all fighting the fire, who will bother chasing after us?"

The men asked, "Whose daughter is it?" Song Tuotian said, "The famous Duan family's daughter." The men said, "We've heard this girl is still quite young. You're already in your late twenties or thirties — how can you make a match like that?" Song Tuotian said, "You don't understand. As long as I get her, I'm happy to wait a couple of years." The men said, "Bride-snatching has been done before — we'll do it. But where will you hide her? If word gets back to her parents and officials get involved, what then?" Song Tuotian said, "That's easy. I have already found a small boat. We'll hide her away in some remote, out-of-the-way place. Two or three years hiding — once we're married and come back, the rice will be cooked, the deed done. Will they still be able to take her back?" The men said, "Since she was promised to you in the first place, naturally that's the end of it."

Song Tuotian went to find a boat belonging to one of his associates, had it poled to the village entrance of Jinxiang Lane and anchored there, ready to board at night. He then bought plenty of wine and meat and treated the whole gang. They ate and drank until they were well satisfied, then each took up a short cudgel and waited until the first watch was past, then scattered and made their way toward Jinxiang Lane.

Reaching the village entrance, they spotted the boat anchored as arranged — each man signaled to the others that he understood. Song Tuotian led the group slowly and quietly into the village. They arrived at the gate of the Bai house, where the play was in full swing — noise and light on all sides. Song Tuotian and his men mingled with the crowd, pretending to watch the performance. Through the curtain he could vaguely make out a small girl seated to one side. He pressed himself close against the curtain and did not move away. He waited for the most exciting moment of the play, when all eyes were fixed on the stage, then suddenly bellowed, "By official order — arrest the thief! So that's where he's been hiding!" His men surged into the hall all at once, knocked out the lamps, and began shouting, "Catch the thief — don't let him get away!" They swung their cudgels at anyone they met.

Song Tuotian had already slipped through the curtain, hoisted Rong Gu onto his back, pushed through the crowd, and slipped silently out. The actors and audience, terrified, dived under tables and benches to hide. Whoever crossed his men's path got a cudgel blow; whoever came too close got a stick. The rogues saw that Song Tuotian had carried the girl out, so they set fire to the hall, raised a shout, and all ran after Song Tuotian to the boat. They locked Rong Gu in the cabin. The men threatened her: "Make a sound and we'll kill you." Rong Gu was so frightened she had lost her wits; her whole body shook. She could only crouch silently in the cabin. The rogues pushed off from the bank and poled away into the dark, heading for some empty stretch of wilderness.

Now as for the Bai household: the sudden rush of violent men had thrown everyone into panic and hiding. When the intruders were gone and fire broke out in the hall, all their energy went to fighting the flames — no one gave another thought to pursuing the strangers. Once the fire was out and they checked their possessions, everything was in place and nothing had been stolen — except for a few silver cups. Everyone said, "Thanks be to Heaven and Earth! We may count ourselves fortunate."

They were still in an uproar when a great commotion erupted from the inner rooms: "Someone's gone missing!" Bai Jian rushed inside and found his sister-in-law Madam Li weeping frantically, crying out, "My precious child — where has she gone!" and making such a scene she seemed half-dead with grief. Bai Jian asked and learned the truth: when the men had pushed through the curtain, they had seized his niece and carried her off. He was shocked. "This is very strange! These men took no goods at all — why did they snatch only this small girl? They cannot have gone far." He immediately sent many people out with torches to search in every direction.

They searched for a long time, but there was not a shadow to be found. The commotion lasted until dawn with no trace. Word was sent at once to Duan Ju. When he heard, he was badly shaken. He hurried over, saw Madam Li, and the two of them wept bitterly together, helpless to do anything. He collected himself and went home, then filed a complaint at the county yamen. A warrant was issued and constables sent out in pursuit; notices were posted in all directions. It was like dredging a needle from the bottom of the river — not the faintest trace. Let the account of them rest here for now.

Now for Song Tuotian: in the excitement of the moment he and his gang had snatched the Duan girl and taken her aboard. Through the night they poled until dawn, not daring to show their faces, hiding among the reeds. Rong Gu wept without stopping. Song Tuotian sent one man ashore to find out what was happening. He came back and reported, "The Duan family has filed a complaint at the county. A search has been ordered and notices posted." Hearing this, the men all grew alarmed. "This place is not safe, and besides she does nothing but cry. We might as well drown her in the river and go home." Song Tuotian said, "Brothers, since you have already done this for my sake, let me now tell you my plan." Because of that plan, it is said:

The crying bird suddenly returns to the western tree;

the flying blossom drifts again to the eastern neighbor's wall.

What happened next? Read the following chapter to find out.