voice.

Chin Ch'uan pursed up her lips and gave him a smile. Then waving her
hand so as to bid him quit the room, she again closed her eyes.

Pao-yue, at the sight of her, felt considerable affection for her and
unable to tear himself away, so quietly stretching his head forward, and
noticing that Madame Wang's eyes were shut, he extracted from a purse,
suspended about his person, one of the 'scented-snow-for-moistening-mouth
pills,' with which it was full, and placed it on Chin Ch'uan-erh's lips.
Chin Ch'uan-erh, however, did not open her eyes, but simply held (the
pill) in her mouth. Pao-yue then approached her and took her hand in his.
"I'll ask you of your mistress," he gently observed smiling, "and you and
I will live together."

To this Chin Ch'uan-erh said not a word.

"If that won't do," Pao-yue continued, "I'll wait for your mistress to
wake and appeal to her at once."

Chin Ch'uan-erh distended her eyes wide, and pushed Pao-yue off. "What's
the hurry?" she laughed. "'A gold hair-pin may fall into the well; but
if it's yours it will remain yours only.' Is it possible that you don't
even see the spirit of this proverb? But I'll tell you a smart thing.
Just you go into the small court, on the east side, and you'll find for
yourself what Mr. Chia Huau and Ts'ai Yun are up to!"

"Let them be up to whatever they like," smiled Pao-yue, "I shall simply
stick to your side!"