Chapter Two: Lord Lao the Most High Shows Compassion and Saves the Golden Lad — The Heavenly Granddaughter Is Exiled to the Cloud-Brocade Palace

Now: the Most High Lord Lao had halted the execution of the Golden Lad outside the gates of the Jade Clarity Palace, and instructed the Yellow-Scarved warriors: "Wait for the imperial summons — I shall go up to the throne and resolve this matter myself." So saying, he made haste to the Hall of Luminous Clarity.

The herald star official, seeing Lord Lao approach, did not dare be slow, and immediately went into the informal audience hall to announce him. At once the imperial decree went out: "Receive Lord Lao in the Hall of Luminous Clarity." Meanwhile, the attendant star officials and the Golden Lad and his escort were arranged in proper formation and brought to the Hall of Luminous Clarity, where the Jade Emperor ascended to his throne. Lord Lao prostrated himself at the foot of the ceremonial steps and cried: "Long live the Emperor!" The Jade Emperor said: "Rise, my lord. What memorial do you bring?" Lord Lao rose and stood to the left, bowing as he spoke: "Your servant was in the Tushita Palace refining the nine-cycled, nine-myriad-year golden elixir when my heart suddenly stirred with premonition, and I set down my work at once, mounted a cloud, and opened my discerning eye. I perceived that the one condemned to the Immortal-Slaying Terrace for violating the heavenly law was the twelfth Golden Lad of Your Majesty's personal retinue. I am told he is being condemned to death for having teased and insulted the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid, having momentarily been touched by mortal desire. Your servant comes especially to beg clemency. If one is to be condemned for a momentary lapse of mortal sentiment, there is fault on both sides — moreover, the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid remains at Jasper Lake in the Holy Mother's palace, and no inquiry has been made of the circumstances on her side; yet solely on account of the matter of the plucked plum blossom, the Golden Lad alone is made to bear the full guilt. This does not seem altogether just." The Jade Emperor listened, pondered for some time, and then said with a slight smile: "Your words have merit, my lord. And yet since they have violated the heavenly law, they must be corrected as a warning to others. In your view, what alternative punishment might be fitting?" Lord Lao memorialized: "Since both have harbored mortal desire, such behavior has no place in the celestial court. One can only take into consideration their youth and ignorance, and punish them leniently as a caution. As for the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid — having lingered in a smile and allowed feeling to take hold, she too must be dealt with: let her dwell apart by the eastern bank of the Heavenly River and labor at her loom for a number of years; if she shows any negligence, stricter correction may then be applied. As for the Golden Lad — having violated the imperial errand to tease and insult the Heavenly Granddaughter, plucking and playing with the plum blossom from her hair, doing what is plainly the act of a common mortal man, and doing so openly while bearing the imperial command — he cannot go unpunished. Let him be sent down to the world below; let him endure the hardship and suffering of that turbulent existence, that he may come to repentance; thereafter he may be recalled to heaven, and then the two shall be fittingly joined as a heavenly match. I humbly beseech Your Majesty to approve and issue the decree." The Jade Emperor listened and nodded. "Follow the counsel of my lord. Convey the imperial will: the Golden Lad is spared execution — bring him back, and I shall personally rebuke him. Then dispatch the Grand White Star Lord to escort him to the world below."

The Most High Lord Lao went to the Immortal-Slaying Terrace, read aloud the imperial decree, and ordered the Judiciary Star Lord to release the Golden Lad, then led the Golden Lad back to the Hall of Luminous Clarity. The Golden Lad prostrated himself to beg forgiveness. The Jade Emperor said: "You were the Golden Lad who attended us in person; you were sent by imperial command to retrieve the warm-and-cool jade cup; and instead you threw Jasper Lake into disorder and, in the Holy Mother's palace, defied the imperial order to tease and insult the Heavenly Granddaughter — this was a crime that fully deserved no pardon. Taking into consideration your youth and ignorance, and the fact that the Most High Lord Lao has graciously interceded on your behalf, we spare your life and recall you from the execution ground. You are hereby banished to the world of dust below; let a measure of wandering and hardship be your portion. When you have felt the suffering of that turbulent life, you shall be permitted to redeem your guilt and be united with your destined companion." The decree having been issued, the Most High Lord Lao gave thanks and withdrew from the palace, mounted his auspicious cloud, and returned to the Tushita Palace. The Jade Emperor then issued a decree summoning the Grand White Star Lord to the throne, commanding him to escort the Golden Lad below to be reborn in the mortal world. The Grand White Star Lord received the command and led the Golden Lad out of the Hall of Luminous Clarity.

The Jade Emperor withdrew from court and returned to his palace, making his way to the Jade Clarity Palace, where the Holy Mother received him and they sat down — she as a subject, he as her sovereign. The Holy Mother asked: "What was it that the Most High Lord Lao came before Your Majesty to request?" The Jade Emperor then recounted the whole matter — how Lord Lao had interceded to spare the Golden Lad's guilt, and the imperial decision to send him down to the mortal world. The Holy Mother said: "That is reasonable. When I return to my palace, I shall likewise send the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid to the eastern bank to labor at her weaving; if she shows any negligence, stricter restraint may be applied." The Jade Emperor nodded his assent. The Holy Mother then rose, took her leave, departed the palace, and walked through the Hall of Luminous Clarity out of the Noon Gate, where she once again boarded the six-cloud carriage. Attended by her retinue of Yellow-Scarved warriors and celestial maidens, she rode up on a cloud of colored light. Along the way, five-colored auspicious clouds floated in streams, and immortals went and came in a ceaseless procession. The wind carried the cloud carriage along, and in an instant they had arrived before the Jasper Lake Palace.

The Holy Mother descended from the six-cloud carriage; the celestial handmaids came forward to escort her into the Jasper Lake Palace. The Holy Mother took her seat and at once ordered a celestial maiden to summon the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid. The maiden received the command and went to the confinement chamber on the west side of Jasper Lake, brought the Heavenly Granddaughter out, and together with the attending celestial maidens they all came to the palace. The Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid, seeing the Holy Mother, knelt at once to beg forgiveness. The Holy Mother reproved her: "I had just escorted the Golden Lad to present the warm-and-cool jade cup at the Hall of Luminous Clarity and reported the matter to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor was greatly angered by your acts of mortal desire and issued a decree to put the Golden Lad on trial for his offense. Fortunately the Most High Lord Lao showed benevolent compassion in submitting a memorial on his behalf; the Jade Emperor, granting clemency from the death sentence and taking into account his youth and ignorance, has exiled him to the mortal world to endure hardship. He has already been sent below by the Grand White Star Lord." Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid was deeply shaken, and in her heart she could not help but feel pity — yet she dared not speak a word in defense. The Holy Mother reproved her further: "He has already been sent down to endure the hardships of mortal life — it would not be fitting for you to enjoy your leisure and comfort undisturbed."

She then turned to the attending celestial maidens and Yellow-Scarved warriors and said: "You are to escort the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid to the Cloud-Brocade Palace on the eastern bank of the Heavenly River, where she shall labor at her loom throughout each day without rest or negligence. You are to keep watch over her; if there is any sign of disobedience, come to me at once and further strict measures will be taken." Upon hearing this decree, the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid was so frightened that her soul seemed to leave her body; she kowtowed and begged to be spared. The Holy Mother said in anger: "You are still unwilling to accept your punishment? Do you not know that one must reap what one sows — how can you resist the laws of heaven? If you labor diligently at your weaving and show no negligence, the Jade Emperor will come to feel compassion of his own accord; when the day of fulfillment comes for you both, he may grant that you redeem your guilt and be united. Why do you importune me at this moment?" The Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid, hearing this decree from the Holy Mother, felt regret in her heart, yet could do nothing. She had no choice but to bow her head and receive the command. The attending celestial maidens and Yellow-Scarved warriors received the order, escorted the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid out of the Jasper Lake Holy Mother's Palace, mounted together upon an auspicious cloud, and drifted gently away.

As they flew along, one of the Yellow-Scarved warriors said with a good-natured smile: "Heavenly Granddaughter, though the work ahead of you is hard, there will yet come a day of fulfillment and ease. In achieving immortality or Buddhahood, it is always bitterness first and sweetness after. Abide by the Way of Heaven, and do not act rashly — the Jade Emperor will show compassion of his own accord." The Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid replied: "When this affair first arose, it was truly beyond all my anticipation. I saw that the Golden Lad's bearing was gentle and agreeable, and I felt nothing more than a momentary stirring of sympathy — so I smiled. Little did I expect the Golden Lad would then act so boldly, plucking the plum blossom as a token, and so it has come to this: the Emperor's wrath has been roused, and the two of us are parted and driven apart — heaven above, mortal world below. Truly we are lovebirds cursed by misfortune." At these words, the immortal tears in the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid's eyes could no longer be held back, and they rolled down her cheeks.

The attending celestial maiden comforted her: "Heavenly Granddaughter, please do not grieve so bitterly. On this journey we go together to the Cloud-Brocade Palace on the eastern bank of the Heavenly River, and I shall be with you to share the work. When it is time to move, we move; when it is time to be still, we are still — so there will be no suffering from loneliness." The Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid replied: "Things have come to this pass and cannot be undone — we can only press forward. I only wonder: what kind of hardships will the Golden Lad face in the mortal world below, and what trials will he endure? I fear he will not know ease or comfort. Even here in the east of the Heavenly River at my weaving, it must still be far more comfortable than the world of dust." The attendants spoke back and forth among themselves, and before they knew it, they had arrived on the eastern bank of the Heavenly River.

They descended from the cloud and looked about in all directions. The waves of the Heavenly River stretched vast and boundless, with no shore in sight; strange and fantastical forms of magpie nests and dragon lairs dotted its expanse. The Heavenly River stretches nine hundred and ten thousand li from east to west, and three hundred and ten thousand li from north to south.

Dear reader, the author does not make such claims out of wild fancy or mere invention. He has consulted works on astronomy and celestial patterns, in which the form of heaven and earth is clearly described as neither square nor regular, but long and rounded — hence such measurements as these.

But enough of such digressions. Now the Heavenly Granddaughter and her company of immortals had finished viewing the scene and entered the Cloud-Brocade Palace together. The palace-guarding celestial maidens received the Heavenly Granddaughter and escorted her inside, informing the Cloud-Brocade Holy Mother. The Cloud-Brocade Holy Mother, having heard of the Heavenly Granddaughter's transgression against the heavenly law, could not help offering a few words of admonition; then she ordered the palace-guarding celestial maidens to escort her to the weaving chamber to begin her work. She also dispatched the Yellow-Scarved warriors back to Jasper Lake to report, and the warriors received the order, withdrew from the palace, and returned by the same road to the Jasper Lake Holy Mother's Palace to render their account — no more need be said of that.

In the Cloud-Brocade Palace, the Heavenly Granddaughter Weaving Maid and the attending celestial maiden came to the weaving chamber and took up their labor, toiling from morning till night without rest — for so it is in heaven as in the mortal world. Fortunately the attending celestial maiden was there as a companion to share the work, ready to offer comfort whenever the Heavenly Granddaughter was overcome with sorrow. The Heavenly Granddaughter turned the situation over in her mind: "That day when mortal nature stirred, it has brought us both to ruin and exposed our secret — now we are each of us apart, divided between heaven above and the world below. How can such pain not gnaw at the heart? Had the Golden Lad not been exiled on my account, I might feel nothing for him. Clearly our love and our karmic bond were woven together; we are a match destined by heaven. Now we suffer, but I can only hope that in time to come we shall become husband and wife — then these hardships will not have been endured in vain." Thinking these thoughts, she sank down upon the immortal divan and drifted off into a heavy sleep.

What happened next, the reader shall learn in the following chapter.