Chapter 16: The Poet of Flying Blossoms — Husband and Wife Reunite in Brief;

The Jade Twin Fish — Parents and Children Are Made Whole

A lyric verse:

Heaven's heart is not so fickle as we fear —

it only seeks to test if human hearts are true.

Steadfast from beginning unto end,

unchanged by life or death, they walk together into old age.

On the east side, flesh; on the west side, bone —

yet this meeting comes by the most uncanny chance.

To see through it all in an instant, to speak it aloud in an instant:

such things are rarely seen in all the ages, past or present.

To the tune of "He Sheng Chao"

It is told that Duan, the Second-Place Graduate, had submitted a memorial requesting leave to visit his family, and by imperial decree the leave was granted. He set out together with Feng Yi and Madam Wang. When word spread among his colleagues in the capital that Feng Yi was departing and that the newly acclaimed Duan was returning home by imperial favour, all came to bid farewell to Feng Yi and Duan Chang. So the two men — one a Supervising Censor, one a Hanlin Academician — left the capital in great splendour. Wherever they passed — prefectures, subprefectures, counties — officials came out to greet them from afar and see them off again.

Before long they drew near Linqing. Feng Yi had sent servants ahead to find his former residence, but the house had been occupied by strangers and the household staff had all fled. When the occupants heard that Feng Yi had resumed his official post and that he was returning with the newly honoured Second-Place Graduate to reclaim the house, they were so frightened they lost all composure and moved out through the night. The servants then presented themselves to Feng Yi, who bore them no ill will. He moved in with his wife and nephew, engaged a few new servants, and set about putting the household in order.

In those rooms, Duan Chang found himself thinking again and again of that night long ago when he and the young lady had composed poems by moonlight. He would sigh to himself: "The place remains, but the person is gone — how true the old saying is." He also inquired after the location of the Tang family ancestral graves and at once sent men with proper offerings to perform the rites. The ceremony was conducted with great propriety and drew people from inside and outside the city of Linqing to witness it. They learned that the Second-Place Graduate Duan was the adopted son of Tang Xiyao, that he had returned in triumph to pay his respects at the graves, and that he had once been abducted and forced to change his surname. The only pity, everyone said, was that Tang Xiyao himself was nowhere to be found. Still, one and all admired and praised Duan Chang without reservation.

Several days later, runners arrived from the Yangzhou yamen to escort Feng Yi to take up his post. Duan Chang accompanied Feng Yi and Madam Wang as they departed, and within a short time they reached the borders of the prefecture. Feng Yi's subordinate officials came out to receive him, and even those outside his chain of command came along, drawn by the presence of the Second-Place Graduate, making the welcome party all the livelier. Once Feng Yi was settled in the yamen, Duan Chang stayed a few days more before taking his leave of Feng Yi and Madam Wang and travelling on alone to Songjiang. The Second-Place Graduate rode in a fine official vessel — a handsome and imposing sight.

When he reached Huating County, the county magistrate sent men to receive him. Duan Chang arrived home and paid his respects to his parents. In no time the doorway was crowded with well-wishers, and even the magistrate came to call, keeping the household busy for several days. Zhu Tianjue came to see Duan Ju and said: "Your son has returned home in honour today. The proposal I made to you aboard the boat the other day — I trust, old friend, that you have given it some thought. Pray give me a word, so that I may go and speak to Elder Chang." Since Duan Ju had not yet spoken plainly with his son, he could only give an evasive reply: "We on this side have no objection. But in matters of marriage one must begin with the girl's family. Please go to Elder Chang and obtain his agreement, and then we can proceed."

Zhu Tianjue hurried to the Chang household. Chang Quan received him, and Zhu Tianjue began at once: "The Second-Place Graduate Duan has returned in glory. When I saw him not long ago and observed him closely, I thought him fairer than Pan An and more gifted than Su and Liu — but that goes without saying. What is more, he is barely twenty and has already risen to the Hanlin Academy. Best of all, he is still unmarried. The arrangement we discussed the other day — I trust, old friend, that you have considered it well. Pray give me a word, so I may convey it to Elder Duan and urge that the betrothal gifts be sent, that the peach-blossom wedding song may soon be sung."

Chang Quan listened, then gave a long sigh. "Your suggestion the other day was truly admirable and perfectly suited to one's heart. I only regret that the bond of fate between them is too thin." Zhu Tianjue was astonished. "With your daughter's virtue and refinement matched against the Second-Place Graduate Duan's talent and grace — two exceptional people meeting as one — such an opportunity comes once in a thousand years. What could possibly be lacking in this match?" Chang Quan sighed again. "After receiving your kind counsel, I spoke at length with my wife. And having since met young Duan, I myself was truly taken with him. But when my wife mentioned the matter to our daughter, the girl simply would not agree. The reasons are not easy to explain at length, and so I find myself unable to take charge, but can only defer to her wishes."

Zhu Tianjue pressed him in greater astonishment: "From time immemorial, though a marriage requires that the man be willing and the woman glad, still it must be established by the parents' command and the matchmaker's words. How can it be that a parent is unable to take charge of his own household? What you say, Elder Chang, is the most singular thing I have ever heard in all the ages." Chang Quan only sighed. Zhu Tianjue said: "If you yourself think little of this man and deem it beneath you to honour the agreement, why not say so plainly and simply refuse? Why push the blame onto your daughter?"

Chang Quan, seeing Zhu Tianjue growing agitated, had no choice but to speak: "How can this be called pushing blame? It is something I myself wish for with all my heart. The truth is, my daughter was betrothed when she was very young." Zhu Tianjue said: "If she was betrothed, where is that man now?" Chang Quan replied: "Though the man is still alive, he is at the ends of the earth, and a meeting seems near impossible. Yet my daughter holds fast to her fidelity and cannot be persuaded otherwise. When I was serving as a military officer, the General-in-Chief sought my daughter as a wife for his son. At the time I did not know the whole story behind my daughter's prior engagement and mistakenly gave my consent. When my daughter heard of it, she said nothing aloud — but she stopped eating. She wasted away like a wilting flower, and it seemed she would simply fade from the world. By good fortune, Heaven had not yet closed the book on her life, and her departed soul returned. Only after repeated and earnest questioning did we learn that she is resolute in her fidelity, knowing only to remain constant to one person and no other. In that situation, not to marry meant she could not escape the existing betrothal; to force the marriage meant our daughter would simply die. Caught between two impossible choices, I was prepared to face the consequences — but General Zhou devised a stratagem, substituting the plum for the peach, and thus we narrowly escaped the crisis. Fearing, moreover, that word might leak out and bring trouble later, he had a memorial submitted on my behalf ordering me home, so as to put an end to the matter. When you raised your proposal aboard the boat the other day, I neither agreed nor refused outright, only because Young Chang is a mere military man, not what she wishes for — whereas your young Duan, a top Hanlin laureate, young and accomplished, might perhaps be judged differently. So I had my sister-in-law drop a gentle hint to sound her out. But who would have thought my daughter is as steadfast as frost and pine? She judges by fidelity alone, not by the man. In her eyes, young Duan is no different from young Chang. And so I am helpless — and for this I must beg pardon of you, and of Elder Duan as well."

Zhu Tianjue, hearing all this, exclaimed in astonishment: "So your daughter has been through such a tangle, and yet possesses such fierce integrity — truly admirable. But I must say this: if the man she is pledged to were known to be somewhere, then waiting for him would be reasonable. Yet his fate is entirely unknown, his life or death uncertain — would you really have a gifted young woman live and die in vain? This is one great unresolved burden on your heart, Elder Chang, that you cannot afford to leave unattended." Chang Quan nodded. "You are quite right. Let me think further on it." And Zhu Tianjue took his leave.

The next day Zhu Tianjue came to see Duan Ju and said: "I thought being a matchmaker was easy work, so I took it upon myself — but who knew it would cost me such breath and effort." Duan Ju laughed: "Old friend, don't complain of the trouble yet. I'm afraid the trouble may come to nothing, and then you'll have more to complain of." Zhu Tianjue said: "The trouble will certainly come to something." Duan Ju frowned. "I'm afraid this particular something is rather hard to achieve. This very morning I carefully explained your intentions to my son — I expected him to be delighted at once. But instead he swore to the death that he would refuse, and let down your kind hopes."

Zhu Tianjue was taken aback. "That is extraordinary. Your son is at exactly the right age to take a wife — having passed both the metropolitan and the palace examinations — who could possibly not wish it? Why would your son refuse so stubbornly?" Duan Ju replied: "It is a long story I cannot easily tell in a moment. You had best ask my son yourself." He sent someone to invite the young master. Before long Duan Chang came out to pay his respects, and Zhu Tianjue said: "Elder Chang's daughter is gifted beyond Xie Daoyun and lovely beyond Xi Shi. You, young sir, serve in the Hanlin Academy and are perfectly matched in age — if you were to be each other's zither-and-lute, with drums and bells sounding your joy, it would be the finest union under heaven. Why do you disregard your father's wishes and persist in refusing?"

Duan Chang quickly bowed and replied: "How would I dare defy my father's wishes or wrong a virtuous young lady? But I believe that, for one living in this world, fidelity and honour are of the highest importance. Without them, what distinguishes a person from a beast? I dare not deceive you, Uncle. The truth is that since I was young, a gifted young lady showed me her regard, and through poems exchanged as proof, we have long pledged our lives to each other. Though she has been scattered by the winds and I have no way to find her, still honour binds me and affection holds me — how could I betray her? For this reason, though I approach my twentieth year, I have never entertained a thought of marriage. My only wish is to seek her to the ends of the earth and sea, so as to fulfil that pledge. If I cannot, I will remain alone for the rest of my life — and I am willing to wait."

Zhu Tianjue heard this and exclaimed in great amazement: "So the young sir refuses to marry out of the same fidelity! Truly, he and Miss Chang are a matching wonder of our time!" Duan Ju hurriedly asked: "What is remarkable about Miss Chang?" Zhu Tianjue then recounted in full what Chang Quan had told him, saying: "Miss Chang keeps faith and will not marry; your son keeps honour and will not take a wife — are they not a matching wonder?" Father and son both privately marvelled at this. Seeing that neither side was willing to proceed, Zhu Tianjue had no choice but to take his temporary leave. As the saying goes:

The faithful wife gladly remains unwed;

the honourable man refuses to be matched.

Both families uphold the bonds of propriety —

only the poor matchmaker is left to suffer.

Now it so happened that one day, Chang Quan, wishing to congratulate the Second-Place Graduate on his recent return, sent a card inviting him and his father to come. He also invited Zhu Tianjue to keep them company. The crabapple blossoms were then in full flower in Chang Quan's garden, and Chang Quan laid out a banquet there among them. Toward midday the Duan father and son arrived, and Zhu Tianjue came as well. The four men took their seats and drank beneath the blooms, accompanied by a few young performers singing softly. The wine flowed pleasantly, and as the party grew warm with drink, Zhu Tianjue said: "I have long heard of the Second-Place Graduate's exceptional gift for verse. Here we are in a fine spring afternoon, beneath these very blossoms — will you not favour us with a poem to mark the joy of this day?" Chang Quan added: "A capital suggestion from Elder Zhu — perfectly in keeping with the season and perfectly befitting men of letters. Young Duan, you must be moved to compose." A page boy was dispatched to fetch brush, inkstone, and writing paper.

The page boy went into the inner rooms and happened upon Miss Chang seated in the study, reading to pass the time. Seeing the boy hurrying off with brush and inkstone, the young lady asked: "What are you fetching the writing things for?" The boy replied: "The master is in the garden with Elder Duan, the Second-Place Graduate Duan, and Master Zhu, admiring the flowers and drinking wine. They want the Second-Place Graduate to compose a poem, so the master sent me to fetch the things." The young lady thought to herself: "A young man who placed second in all the land — his poetic gifts must be quite unlike ordinary men. I wonder what sort of poem he will compose." Then it occurred to her: "I have a plan." She told the boy: "When you go back, if the young master has finished writing, quietly bring the paper in for me to see for a moment — then take it back out at once." The boy agreed and went off.

The page arrived at the party and set out the brush, inkstone, and paper. Duan Chang was just about to settle his thoughts when he happened to look up and saw petals drifting down in flurries, swirling and dancing before the banquet table. All at once the sight stirred something from long ago, and he thought of the wonderful flying-blossom poem composed by Miss Feng on the boat. He picked up the brush and wrote out the poem he had composed in answer to hers. When it was done, he passed it to Chang Quan and Zhu Tianjue to read together. Everyone admired it: "The young sir dashed this off as if from a standing start, yet it reads as though long prepared. The tone is graceful and unrestrained, the sentiment rich and lingering — a true master of the Hanlin!" Cups were again raised and wine urged upon him. The poem was set aside on the table, and the party fell into mutual compliments over drinks.

But the little page boy, mindful of Miss Chang's instructions, quietly edged up to the table when the men were most absorbed in their merriment, pretended to be gathering up the brush and inkstone, and slipped the poem away with them. He went straight to the study and handed it to the young lady. She opened it eagerly and saw that the poem bore the title "Flying Blossoms." The words struck something deep in her heart, and she could not suppress a pang of emotion. She thought to herself: "I wonder what approach this Second-Place Graduate has taken?" As she read on carefully, she found it was word for word the very poem she herself had composed on the Feng family's boat all those years ago, not a single character different. She gave a start. "How extraordinary! This poem of mine was known only to the Feng family — Father and Mother Feng, Uncle Tang, and myself. No one else knew of it. How has this Second-Place Graduate come to copy it? Could it be that Cousin Tang is acquainted with him and told him?"

She looked more closely. "Not only is the poem mine — the very rise and fall of the brushstrokes is the unmistakable hand of Cousin Tang. Could it be that this Second-Place Graduate is actually Cousin Tang himself?" Her thoughts fell into turmoil. She wished to slip quietly into the garden and steal a look — but then thought: "I cannot. He is an outsider; how would it do for me to go and look?" After deliberating a while longer she thought: "I have a way. Why not write out his answering poem and send it back to him, and see whether it startles him or not — then I shall know whether he is or is not the one." Her mind made up, she took a sheet of the same paper, matched his layout precisely, and wrote out the answering "Flying Blossoms" poem he had once written to her — then gave it to the page boy to take out and place back in its original spot. The boy obeyed and put it down.

Duan Chang drank a few more cups of wine, but could not stop thinking of the wonderful poem Miss Feng had written. He reached for the paper to look at it again — and saw that the sheet no longer bore Miss Feng's original poem, but his own poem written in answer to hers. He was so startled that he shook his head in confusion and cried out: "Extraordinary! Extraordinary! Who has altered this poem? And how could whoever did so have produced my answering poem to Miss Feng? Besides, only Miss Feng knows of that answering poem — can it be that Miss Feng herself altered it? Extraordinary! Extraordinary!" He turned again and again toward Chang Quan, bowing repeatedly: "Elder Chang, for the sake of these two poems, I have been on the brink of death more than once. Today, having seen this poem appear before me, I must have a clear answer — who wrote this?"

Everyone looked on in astonishment. Chang Quan quickly took the paper and examined it — it was indeed not the original poem. And hearing the Second-Place Graduate invoke "Miss Feng" again and again, his mind had already begun to form a suspicion. He said: "Young sir, there is no need to be agitated. Let me look into this and give you a clear answer." He took the poem and went inside to ask his daughter: "Is it true that you altered this poem?"

The young lady, seeing that the matter now had substance, dared not deny it. She replied: "It was indeed I who wrote it, Father." Chang Quan said: "Why did you do so?" The young lady replied: "These two 'Flying Blossoms' poems were the verses we first exchanged when we pledged ourselves to each other — no one outside us knew of them. Since he has not forgotten, and still writes my original verses — how could I bear to be faithless, and not write back his answering poem? Now that both poems have served as proof, and that person still lives, my long-standing failure to tell my parents the truth is shown to be no deception at all." Chang Quan said: "If that is so, then you can no longer refuse to marry him today." The young lady replied: "Having kept faith for his sake — how could I now decline?"

Chang Quan was overjoyed. He walked back out and said with a smile to the assembled company: "It turns out that my daughter's faithfulness was kept for the sake of these 'Flying Blossoms' poems — and that the young sir's refusal was likewise kept for the sake of the very same poems. Now the 'Flying Blossoms' have flown away and flown back, and have flown together here once more. Both the one who waited and the one who refused have at last come through bitterness to sweetness." Duan Ju heard this and was overjoyed: "If that is so, then the one my son refused for is precisely your daughter — and the one your daughter has kept faith for is precisely my son. What could not be obtained by intention in the past has been brought together without effort today. Truly, Heaven's workings are wondrous beyond all telling!"

Chang Quan turned to Duan Chang and said: "Young sir, do you now understand?" Duan Chang bowed again and again: "I understand! I understand!" Zhu Tianjue then asked: "Now that the Second-Place Graduate understands, will this marriage be refused or not?" Duan Chang bowed once more: "I dare not refuse!" Zhu Tianjue burst into hearty laughter: "So even a matchmaker has his day of success after all! Splendid, splendid — this celebration wine is well and truly earned!" Everyone burst out laughing, and they drank together all over again with renewed joy. With their hearts so light, they drank on in a warm and merry haze before at last taking their leave. As the saying goes:

You may wear out your iron shoes searching without success,

yet the thing you seek may come to you without the least effort.

The Chang and Duan families having reached glad agreement, with Zhu Tianjue arranging things on both sides, the Duan family sent an exceptionally lavish betrothal gift, and the Chang family prepared the most generous of dowries. On the auspicious day, the Duan household laid out a great banquet and invited all their relatives and friends. The Second-Place Graduate Duan wore his red official robe and black gauze court hat, a silver-embossed belt at his waist, a yellow embroidered silk parasol held aloft above him, and rode a tall fine horse at the head of the procession, preceded by the silver ceremonial insignia of the Hanlin Academy. Flutes and oboes filled the air; strings of firecrackers split the sky. In this fashion he rode in the bridal procession to the door of the Chang family. There, servants came forward bearing embroidered paper, brush, and inkstone, requesting that the new Second-Place Graduate compose a "Hasten the Bride's Dressing" poem. He smiled, and seated there on his horse, dashed off a poem at a stroke:

The flying blossoms fly away, then fly back again,

still a rich and brilliant cluster on their bough.

Now at last I look and smile in the lamplight —

the blossoms rejoice, and meet their match in human joy.

The young lady read it and was filled with delight. "This is truly my cousin's hand — today my wish is fulfilled at last!" She completed her dressing. When the party outside had urged and urged her again, she bowed farewell to her parents and was escorted by her attendants into the bridal sedan chair. The Second-Place Graduate rode on horseback before the chair; Chang Quan rode in the lead chair; the Chang family's own ceremonial retinue followed behind the bridal chair, swelling the procession further. All along the way it was splendidly festive and full of honour.

When they arrived at the Duan household, Duan Ju received them into the main hall and invited the new bride to descend from the chair. Maids and attendants supported the young lady as she and the Second-Place Graduate first bowed to Heaven and Earth, then to his parents, and were then escorted to the bridal chamber. The attendant lifted the veil from the young lady's head. The Second-Place Graduate stole a glance and saw that she had grown even more strikingly beautiful than in the days he remembered. He did not dare speak. Before long the candles were arranged for the wedding-night ceremony; the curtains were drawn back, and they drank the conjugal cup together. The Second-Place Graduate sent all the attendants out of the chamber. Then, with great propriety, he turned to face Miss Chang and made her a deep bow, saying: "Since I parted from you, dear sister, I could neither sleep nor eat for longing, and no effort could console my grief of separation. Time and again I wished I could fly to your side, but I met with misfortune and wandered helplessly, unable to fulfill that wish. Yet sustained by your words of encouragement, I strove hard and had the fortune to pass the examinations, then risked all to go to your father's rescue. My only hope was that you would return with me and that our long-promised day was at hand — but then you were scattered from me yet again. Consumed by guilt and regret, with no path forward and no will to die, I held firm in my resolve not to marry, to honour what I owe you. Now, against all expectation, we have found each other again here — it is truly a meeting more wondrous than any could have imagined!"

Miss Chang made no show of maidenly airs but spoke directly in reply: "I am grateful, dear elder brother, that you did not cast me aside. The pledge we made beneath the moon — I truly hoped to reach the capital and find a way to honour it. But then I followed my father into far-off exile, and was separated from him along the way. I was taken in and raised by the Duan family's kindness, and so grew gradually more distant from my origins. Then came the General's unexpected proposal for his son — and my father, not knowing the whole story, mistakenly gave his consent. So I ceased to eat and died, only to be brought back from the brink by the kindness of someone who devised a plan — a servant-girl taking my place as the wife. That is how I came back to life from the very threshold of death. Then the imperial decree sent my father home, and I came to live here. I had already resigned myself to keeping faith alone for the rest of my life. Only yesterday was I being pressed on account of this Second-Place Graduate Duan's proposal, and I was still searching for words to refuse — little did I dream that this Second-Place Graduate Duan would turn out to be none other than you, dear brother. Truly, this is a union made by Heaven — beyond all human devising!"

The two of them spoke through everything that had passed between them, and their joy grew beyond measure. When they had drained the wedding cup, the Second-Place Graduate smiled and said: "We were children then — now we are both grown. Tonight, there is no more refusing as there once was." They looked at each other and laughed. The Second-Place Graduate drew close to her side, and gently loosened her sash and robe, and led her within the gold-threaded curtains, and there they joined their hearts as one, setting off for the dream of the King of Chu's cloud-and-rain country. Truly:

Like sweet rain after long drought;

like meeting an old friend in a distant land;

like the wedding night in the bridal chamber;

like seeing one's name on the golden roll of honour.

The joy of the Second-Place Graduate Duan and Miss Chang on their wedding night need not be described further.

Now it is told that one day, while Feng Yi was at his post in Yangzhou, a runner from the gate came in to report: "There is a gentleman outside who says he is the master's cousin, Tang Xiyao, requesting an audience." Feng Yi was overjoyed and immediately bid him enter. He welcomed Tang Xiyao into the inner courtyard, where they met Madam Wang, and all gave voice to the sorrows of their long separation. Feng Yi then said: "Our young cousin met with great hardship and was adopted into the Duan family. He has now passed the examinations and placed second, and has been appointed to the Hanlin Academy. My wife and I owe our rescue to his efforts. When your son was a small boy, he and my daughter made a childhood promise to be betrothed for life. But then my daughter was lost along the road, and our young cousin was bitterly disappointed. He also heard that you were nowhere to be found. He came with me from the capital, stayed for quite some time at Linqing, swept the ancestral graves, and then accompanied me here as I took up my post. He has since returned to Huating County to visit his parents. Once that visit is done, he will come looking for you."

Tang Xiyao, hearing all at once that his son had been found, and moreover that he had placed second in the palace examinations and risen to such distinction, was overwhelmed with joy beyond all telling. Madam Wang immediately sent someone to invite Madam Zhao into the yamen to live with them, and explained everything that had occurred. Madam Zhao was overjoyed. After a short while, just as they were about to go to Huating County to recognise their son, quite unexpectedly a messenger arrived from the Second-Place Graduate Duan bearing a letter reporting the news of the young lady's fate. The gatekeeper brought it in; Feng Yi opened and read it, and cried out in astonished delight: "So my daughter was taken in by someone all along, and our young cousin has found her — they are already married!"

Madam Wang heard this and was overjoyed: "Our daughter and our nephew have met and been joined in marriage — what a tremendous blessing! We are all family — why should we not all go together to make it right and proper? And I hear Huating is not far from here." Feng Yi, Tang Xiyao, and Madam Zhao all said: "Quite right, quite right." Feng Yi instructed his staff: "The Inspector will be out on official business." And he set out with Madam Wang, Tang Xiyao, and his wife, boarding a boat together.

In a matter of days they arrived at Huating County. Feng Yi sent word ahead to notify Duan Chang, who informed his father: "Elder Feng is the true father of Miss Chang." Duan Chang hurried first to the boat to welcome them. Reaching the vessel and stepping into the main cabin, he was confronted by an astonishing sight: on the left stood an old man with a white beard and white temples, and on the right stood an old woman with silver hair wound into a coil. As he paid his respects, something struck him. He thought to himself: "Though these two elders' hair is white, their faces are remarkably like those of my own parents of the Tang family. Why would they be here?" For a moment he was too flustered to dare step forward and make himself known.

Tang Xiyao and Madam Zhao, for their part, saw a young man in official hat and robe, bearing a dignified and distinguished air, and likewise dared not rashly call out to him. But then Feng Yi and Madam Wang came out from the rear cabin and said: "Nephew, these are your parents — why do you not come and pay your respects?" Duan Chang, hearing that it was truly his parents, rushed forward, took his father Tang Xiyao by the left hand and his mother Madam Zhao by the right, knelt down and wept aloud: "Your unworthy son, since the misfortune that separated us, has been unable to attend to you for all these years, yet has thought of you morning and night without ceasing. Now, having fortunately passed the examinations, I hoped at last to repay even a small part of what I owe you — but then my parents disappeared to escape harm, and I had no way to trace you. In my anguish and despair, I unexpectedly encountered my young cousin. Because of a childhood pledge made at home, and urged again and again by the generous counsel of her foster parents, I have taken the liberty of marrying her. I beg you both to forgive your son for acting without first obtaining your consent."

Tang Xiyao and Madam Zhao clasped Duan Chang and wept aloud: "The day you went into the examination hall and never came back — your mother and I pined for you and longed for you until our hearts were wrung to shreds. We thought we would never see you again in this life. But then we met Elder Feng and at last learned that our son had passed the great examinations in glory, and that you had married your cousin. How could our hearts not overflow? That is why we came to see you. And what joy — that you kept your ambition and achieved renown, and have not disappointed the hopes we placed in you." So saying, they helped Duan Chang to rise. Duan Ju had also arrived, and all exchanged greetings. Duan Chang then explained the whole situation to him. Duan Ju now understood for the first time that these two were his son's birth parents, and that such a reunion had come to pass this day — and he too was overwhelmed with joy. He warmly welcomed them all back to the house.

On this very day, the full-month celebration was being held. Chang Quan and Madam Du were both in the inner rooms when someone came rushing in to report: "The young master went to welcome Elder Feng at his boat and has unexpectedly encountered his own birth parents there — they are all coming now." Chang Quan was at once astonished and delighted. He hastened out to receive them, first welcoming Feng Yi inside with formal courtesy, then going back to receive the second guest — the newly recognised father of Duan Chang — who now stood before him. He was an elderly man whose face seemed dimly familiar, resembling someone who had entrusted him with a child at Linqing years ago. Yet in the rush of the moment he dared not cry out impulsively. Before he could speak, the old man looked at Chang Quan with an expression of startled uncertainty and asked: "Could it be that you are Master Chang, whom I met at Linqing some years ago?" Chang Quan's face broke into a great smile: "If you recognise Chang Quan, then you must indeed be my old friend Tang Xiyao!"

The two men, having confirmed their identities, were both astonished and overjoyed. They went together into the hall, and all the parties exchanged greetings. Chang Quan then said: "My humble self was fortunate enough to have a daughter, and to have gained a Second-Place Graduate as a son-in-law — I thought myself quite honoured indeed. But now I find that my daughter was originally the own daughter of Elder Feng, my kinsman by marriage; and then most unexpectedly I find that my son-in-law is the own son of Elder Tang, my kinsman by marriage as well. Looking at it now, whatever honour I possess is truly a light borrowed from both of you, my worthy kinsmen."

Tang Xiyao burst out laughing. "Elder Chang says he borrows light from me — little does he know I borrow far more light from Elder Chang. Elder Chang, do you know who this Second-Place Graduate son of mine really is? He is none other than the very boy that Elder Chang himself placed in my keeping long ago!"

Chang Quan, hearing this, was overcome with stupefied delight: "So my son-in-law is not my son-in-law at all — he is my own birth son, Chang Gu! Extraordinary, extraordinary!" Duan Ju, hearing the two men lay out the full story, was likewise struck with astonishment: "By this reckoning, my son Duan Chang is not my son at all — he is the very son-in-law I chose for myself years ago! Extraordinary, extraordinary!"

Before they had finished speaking, Duan Chang came forward and said: "My father-in-law has turned out to be my birth father, and my birth father has turned out to be my father-in-law — that is already extraordinary enough. But then — who would have thought that the daughter-in-law of the Duan family is the very daughter-in-law originally betrothed to the Chang family; and the adopted daughter of the Chang family is the own birth daughter of the Duan family? Is that not even more extraordinary?"

Everyone asked in astonishment: "How can this be?" Duan Chang explained: "My birth mother just now spoke of how, when I was young and was being paired in a matching game, and was being betrothed as a future son-in-law, there was a pair of jade twin fish — one was given to the intended bride as a betrothal token, and the other was tied to my person as a token of the pair-bond. When disaster struck and I was sent into the care of my Tang parents, the jade fish was left behind as a keepsake. Just now my birth mother and my Duan mother were speaking of old times, and my birth mother took out her jade fish and asked whether the other one was still to be found. My Duan mother said she had hung it on her daughter, and that it had been lost along with the daughter — and she lamented this deeply. But then my wife remembered that she too has a jade fish that she has worn since childhood, one she loves so dearly she has never set it aside. She took it off and the two were placed together: the pivot and clasp in the middle fitted together without the slightest gap. It became clear then that the young lady taken in and raised by Elder Feng is the very own daughter lost by the Duan family. And if she is the Duan family's birth daughter, is she not precisely the young lady to whom I was betrothed as a small boy? With everything thus turned upside down and inside out — is that not even more extraordinary?"

Everyone listened and could not cease exclaiming in wonder and delight. The jade fish were brought out for all to see — and indeed the two pieces fitted together into one whole, a precious treasure. The joy of the whole gathering was beyond all words. "For so long we have all been in the dark," everyone said. "Now that all is made clear, names and relationships must be properly set right." A memorial was duly submitted to restore the name Chang Gu. Chang Quan and Madam Du were recognised as birth parents; Tang Xiyao and Madam Zhao were honoured as foster parents; and Duan Ju and Madam Li were acknowledged as parents-in-law. Miss Caiwen took Duan Ju and Madam Li as her birth parents, recognised Feng Yi and Madam Wang as her foster parents, and served Chang Quan and Madam Du as her parents-in-law. A banquet was laid out afresh, with great music and celebration, and all bowed to one another in proper ceremony, so that every name and relationship was at last set right. As the verse says:

Long ago the grief of parting knew no end;

today the joy of meeting surpasses all telling.

Without one bout of cold that chills the bone,

how could the plum blossom send its fragrance to the nose?

From this time forward, Chang the Second-Place Graduate could not bear to let Tang Xiyao and Madam Zhao go far away, and Miss Duan could not bear to be parted from Feng Yi and Madam Wang. Feng Yi, Tang Xiyao, Madam Wang, and Madam Zhao likewise could not bear to be separated from one another. They pooled their means and acquired a large house, and all three families lived together under one roof. Feng Yi, having been away from his post for some time, could not remain long — he had no choice but to return to Yangzhou alone and serve three more years as Salt Inspector. When his appointment ended, he requested retirement and did not return to Linqing, but came to Huating to live together with the rest.

Chang the Second-Place Graduate also set out for the capital. Before he left, Chang Quan instructed him: "In the past, had it not been for the kindness of Zhou Chongwen, how could we have reached the good fortune of this day? How could father and son have been reunited? When you go to the capital, repay virtue with virtue — that is what filial duty demands." Chang Gu accepted the charge. Miss Duan also said: "When Chang Yong sought a daughter-in-law, it was Chunhui who took my place. Without Chunhui, I would long since be dust and bones — how could I be here today enjoying with you the joy of husband and wife, of home and family? If on your way you find any opportunity to repay her kindness, do so on my behalf." Chang Gu promised and proceeded to the capital to resume his duties, holding his former post.

In the course of time he spoke well of his benefactors before those with influence, and had Zhou Chongwen given the elevated rank of Commander-in-Chief with honorary insignia. Finding that Chang Yong had been stripped of his post, he also interceded with others to have Chang Qi admitted to the county school, as a return of kindness to Chunhui. Later, when Zhou and Chang heard of this, they came to understand that all the acts of repayment had come from their kinsmen, and the families exchanged visits without ceasing. Chang Gu then sent for Miss Duan to join him in the capital. In later years Chang Gu rose to the rank of Grand Secretary; when he saw that his parents were growing old, he at last petitioned for retirement and returned home. Chang Quan lived to the age of ninety; Feng Yi, Duan Ju, and Tang Xiyao all enjoyed long lives and passed away one after another. Madam Li, Madam Zhao, and Madam Du all died without illness. Chang Gu had four sons: two passed the metropolitan examinations; two entered the prefectural school. Together they carried on the lines of three families. Husband and wife grew ever more devoted to each other as the years passed, and both lived to eighty before they died. Their story has been handed down to this day as "The Poet of Flying Blossoms" and "The Tale of the Jade Twin Fish."