Chapter Three: Elder Niu Receives a Son in His Late Years — The Wicked Mistress Ma Urges Her Husband to Seize the Family Wealth

Now: the Heavenly Granddaughter in the weaving chamber of the Cloud-Brocade Palace was lost in thought, grieving over what had passed and what was to come; she could not help sighing long and briefly, reluctant to think of the Golden Lad suffering through hardships in the mortal world. Dwelling on old memories, she lay back upon the immortal divan and drifted in and out of a daze until dawn. She rose in the early morning with tearstains still on her face; the attending celestial maiden offered gentle words of comfort. From that time onward she labored at her loom every day through every season — but this need not be dwelt upon further.

Now: the sixth day of the first month had arrived — the Jade Emperor's sacred birthday. In the Tushita Palace of the Thirty-Three Heavens, the Grand Peach Banquet had been laid out, and all the celestial deities and star officials, together with the Holy Mother of Jasper Lake, the Holy Mother of Cloud-Brocade, the Bodhisattva Guanyin, the Eight Immortals, and a host of immortal youths and maidens, gathered in procession to escort the Jade Emperor as he rode his Carefree Imperial Carriage upon five-colored clouds to the Tushita Palace. The Most High Lord Lao, in his court robes, came forward to receive the imperial carriage; the Jade Emperor descended from his vehicle and ascended to the throne. The assembled immortals made their obeisance and wished the Jade Emperor boundless sacred longevity. Lord Lao presented golden elixirs as tribute; the immortals gave thanks for the imperial grace; the celestial music of the Grand Peach Banquet rang through the halls — the magnificence and splendor of the Thirty-Three Heavens was beyond all telling. As it is said:

This music belongs rightly in heaven above;

How many times in mortal life does one encounter such wonders?

When all the immortals had finished offering their birthday felicitations and the celestial music had come to a close, the Jade Emperor rose from his throne, and Lord Lao saw the imperial carriage off. The Jade Emperor again boarded the Carefree Imperial Carriage and returned to his palace; the immortals each mounted their clouds and went their ways — no more need be said of them.

Now let us return to the Grand White Star Lord, who had received the imperial decree, and together with the twelfth Golden Lad mounted a pale cloud, passed over the Heavenly River, and came to the South Heavenly Gate. Looking down in all four directions, he saw snowflakes falling in six-pointed patterns and at once knew this to be a sign of a bountiful harvest in the world below. He said to the Golden Lad: "This year the world below is rich in goods and the people enjoy good health; the rivers run clear and the seas lie calm. But when entering a mortal body, you must choose a place where the land and the person are both favorable, so that the immortal body may properly take root." So saying, he bent his fingers and calculated — the destined destination was the Central Plains region below (now called Henan Province; since Henan lies at the very center of China, it is known as the "Central Plains"). There, in Henan, in the city of Luoyang, in Luoyang County, in the village of Niu Family Hamlet, there lived an Elder Niu — a man of great wealth and property. His first wife had died early, leaving him with only one son, named Niu Jincheng, who had taken a wife surnamed Ma. In later years, because of a filial son and a virtuous daughter-in-law, Elder Niu had subsequently taken a second wife named Li. Three years had passed without a child — but then, suddenly, she had found herself with child and was now approaching her confinement. Thus the Grand White Star Lord at the South Heavenly Gate had already reckoned this out and determined that the Niu household was the right destination. He went down together with the Golden Lad through the South Heavenly Gate, descended from the cloud, and came straight toward Henan.

In a moment they had reached the territory of Luoyang, and came directly to the village of Niu Family Hamlet, to the household of Elder Niu, where they halted. The Grand White Star Lord released a gentle breeze and sent the Golden Lad down to be reborn. The Golden Lad, knowing that the days of his hardship had arrived, could not hold back his tears; he implored the Grand White Star Lord: "Today I receive this punishment, and I could not regret my former transgressions more deeply. But now that the moment has come, it cannot be averted. When the days of my trials are fulfilled, I humbly hope the Star Lord will come to escort me back up to heaven at that time — and your servant shall be forever grateful for your boundless kindness." The Grand White Star Lord nodded his assent. In an instant, the Golden Lad rode the breeze downward. The Grand White Star Lord watched him depart and enter his mortal body, then rose again, mounted his cloud, and returned to the celestial court to report before the Hall of Luminous Clarity — no more need be said of that.

Now let us return to Elder Niu. Seeing that his second wife Lady Li was approaching her confinement, he hurriedly engaged a midwife to attend to all the necessary preparations. Then a maidservant came to report: "In the upper chambers, Lady Li has given birth to a son." Elder Niu's heart was full of boundless joy; he thanked the midwife and paid her several taels of silver, then saw her out. He also hired two serving women to tend exclusively to the care of the mother after her confinement. As for Niu Jincheng and his wife, their hearts were greatly displeased, though they dared not say so openly; the husband and wife could only speak of it between themselves in private, unable to do anything about it. They could only curse the old man in secret: "Old and still not dead — already past fifty, already aged, and now he has fathered another son. It is enough to make one gnash one's teeth with rage. When will this resentment and this hatred ever be eased?" So Niu Jincheng and his wife harbored their grievances in private — this need not be dwelt upon further.

And so the Golden Lad descended into the mortal world, took on a body, and came into life. Lady Li gave birth to a son; after the midwife had washed and swaddled him and brought him to the bed, Lady Li was overjoyed at the sight of him. From that time on, the mother received careful nursing and attentive care. In the blink of an eye, the first full month had arrived. On the day of the full-month celebration, Elder Niu instructed the household servants to hang lanterns and put up decorations, arranging the tables and chairs, screens and hangings, until everything was set in fine order. Relatives, friends, neighbors, and fellow villagers all came to offer their congratulations. That day, the main hall was full of lively commotion — opera singers and dancers performed, musicians played, and guests engaged in finger-guessing games and drinking games, the hall alive with noise and merriment. Elder Niu also went to the upper chambers and instructed a maidservant to bring out his son — [lacuna in the original text]

Time flowed swiftly onward, the years passing in easy succession. It had now been six years since Elder Niu's younger son, Jinlang, had come into the world. During these years, the old man had done nothing but shield and protect his young son, and this had led to constant quarrels with his elder son Jincheng. The daily accumulation of agitation and frustration in his chest had eventually brought on an illness, and he now lay confined to his bed. Though Lady Li attended him with great care, Elder Niu had passed his sixtieth year; his vital energy had long been in decline and his strength had run dry. Physicians were called and medicines taken, but none showed any effect, and his condition worsened from one day to the next, until at last he could no longer take food or drink. Day after day Elder Niu called upon Jincheng and his wife to look in on him, but they paid him not the slightest heed — indeed, they spent the family wealth as freely and recklessly as they pleased. One clear morning, Lady Li saw that Elder Niu's illness had grown very grave: he was thin as a skeleton, with no remedy left but to wait for death. She sat on the bed, holding little Jinlang's hand, and wept as she spoke: "Your illness has grown so heavy, and medicines have failed you. Your elder son does not care for you at all, and I am a mere woman — I can do nothing. Should something happen to you, what am I to do? You leave behind this little unfortunate child — though there is family wealth, your elder son will not preserve it; he squanders it as he pleases. In what place can your widow and this young child stand? It would be better for us three to depart this world together." Elder Niu soothed her: "My dear, do not look so far ahead in worry. Life and death are fated; wealth and honor lie with heaven. Even should I die, you must raise this young child until he is grown. Though our present days are hard and the household must be kept in hardship, the hope is that you may one day rely upon this child. I hope you will open your heart and keep a calm spirit. After I am gone, my shade below in the Yellow Springs will watch over you still." As husband and wife spoke thus together, word suddenly came that the elder son had arrived.

What the elder son came for on this visit, the reader shall learn in the chapter following.