On their arrival at the temple, the sound of bells and the rattle of
drums struck their ear. Forthwith appeared the head-bonze Chang, a stick
of incense in hand; his cloak thrown over his shoulders. He took his
stand by the wayside at the head of a company of Taoist priests to
present his greetings. The moment dowager lady Chia reached, in her
chair, the interior of the main gate, she descried the lares and
penates, the lord presiding over that particular district, and the clay
images of the various gods, and she at once gave orders to halt. Chia
Chen advanced to receive her acting as leader to the male members of the
family. Lady Feng was well aware that Yuean Yang and the other attendants
were at the back and could not overtake their old mistress, so she
herself alighted from her chair to volunteer her services. She was about
to hastily press forward and support her, when, by a strange accident, a
young Taoist neophyte, of twelve or thirteen years of age, who held a
case containing scissors, with which he had been snuffing the candles
burning in the various places, just seized the opportunity to run out
and hide himself, when he unawares rushed, head foremost, into lady
Feng's arms. Lady Feng speedily raised her hand and gave him such a slap
on the face that she made the young fellow reel over and perform a
somersault. "You boorish young bastard!" she shouted, "where are you
running to?"

The young Taoist did not even give a thought to picking up the scissors,
but crawling up on to his feet again, he tried to scamper outside. But
just at that very moment Pao-ch'ai and the rest of the young ladies were
dismounting from their vehicles, and the matrons and women-servants were
closing them in so thoroughly on all sides that not a puff of wind or a
drop of rain could penetrate, and when they perceived a Taoist neophyte
come rushing headlong out of the place, they, with one voice, exclaimed:
"Catch him, catch him! Beat him, beat him!"