_Hsing shih heng yen (1627),
28th Tale._




A STRANGE DESTINY


In epochs of deep peace
When days are lengthening,
The flute sounds and songs are heard
Among the drunken villages.
The Phoenix Car is said to be approaching
With the Emperor,
And each one turns his eye
To the splendor of that procession.

In the reign of Hui Tsung of the Sung dynasty, near the capital of
the East, on the borders of the Lake of Clearness of Gold, a new wine
pavilion had just been opened, under the sign of The Quick Hedge. Fan,
the landlord, and his brother Erh-lang, were the proprietors. Neither
of them was married; and their business prospered.

It was the week when Spring melts into Summer, and men walk abroad in
number to enjoy the freshness and beauty of nature.

One day Erh-lang roamed the lakeside, delighting in the soft air, and
saw, in front of a teahouse, a ravishing girl of about eighteen, in
whose face, which was as dreamful as the Night Star, flowered all the