but now we are far beyond all difficulty. Why do you show such grief
to-day, when we are about to cross the river and to taste the joy of a
hundred years? There must surely be a reason. All things are shared in
common between husband and wife, in life and after death. If anything
is the matter, we must discuss it Why do you hide your sorrow from
me?"

Thus urged, the young man mastered his tears and said:

"I am crushed beneath the woe which Heaven heaps upon me. In the
generosity of your soul, you have not cast me by. You have endured a
thousand wrongs for me. That is no merit of mine. But I still think
of my father, whose commands I am defying and that against every
convention and all laws. He is of inflexible character, and I fear
that his wrath will grow double at the sight of me. Where, then, shall
we two, floating with the current, come to our anchorage? How shall
I ensure our happiness, when my father has broken with me? To-day my
friend Sun invited me to drink and spoke to me of my prospects, and
what he said has pierced my heart."

"What is my Lord's intention?" she asked in great surprise.

"I was turning madly in the web of our affairs, when my friend Sun
sketched out an excellent plan to me. But I fear that my benefactress
will refuse to allow it."

"Who is this friend, Sun? If his plan is good, why should I not agree
to it?"

"His first name is Fu, and his family had the salt monopoly at