Lady Qin answered,
“If Your Excellency does not remember this humble concubine, then surely you have already forgotten me.”
At this, the Chancellor looked at her closely. After a moment he took Lady Qin’s slender hand and said, “Are you not the Qin maiden of Heyin County? You are the very one I longed for day and night.”
Caifeng’s throat closed, and no sound would come from her mouth. The Chancellor said, “I thought you had already returned beneath the earth, yet you were safely within the palace—what immeasurable fortune. When we parted in Huazhou, your household suffered a calamity so cruel there is no speaking of it. After I fled from the inn, was there ever a single day I did not think of you? That our old vow should be fulfilled today is truly something I never imagined; you, too, surely could not have hoped for it.”
With that, he took Qin’s letter from his pouch and set it out. Qin, too, brought forth the Chancellor’s letter and returned it to him. The two willow verses remained just as they had been on the day they answered one another. Qin said,
“Your Excellency knows only that our old vow was bound by the willow verses. You do not know that today’s bond was brought about by a silk fan.”
She then opened a box, took out the painted fan, and showed it to the Chancellor, explaining the whole story in detail. The Chancellor said,
“At that time, after I had fled to Mount Lantian and returned, I asked the innkeeper about you. Some said you had been confined in the palace; some said you had been sent to a distant district as an official bondmaid; some said you had not escaped disaster. Unable to learn any certain news, and seeing no hope of finding you again, I had no choice but to seek marriage elsewhere. Yet whenever I passed between Mount Hua and the Wei River, my body was like a wild goose that had lost its mate, and my heart like a fish caught on a hook. By Heaven’s deep grace, though we have now been reunited, there is one matter that leaves my heart uneasy. It is none other than this: the vow we made at the inn—how could it have been sworn for you to become a concubine? In the end, I have caused you to bend beneath another. How could this not be regrettable, how could it not be shameful?”
Qin answered,
“This humble concubine has always known her own ill-fated lot. At that time, when I sent my nurse to the inn, I said that if my lord already had a wife, I would willingly become a concubine. Now I hold the place next after the Princess; this is my glory and my good fortune. If I were to resent or lament it, Heaven would despise me.”
Thus that night, their old affection was renewed, and compared to the two nights before, they were even more intimate.
The Scheme of the Two Princesses and Chancellor Yang
The next day, the Chancellor gathered with Princess Nanyang in Princess Yingyang’s chamber, and they sat together drinking wine. Princess Yingyang lowered her voice and called a maidservant, asking her to summon Lady Qin. When the Chancellor heard her voice, a sorrowful feeling welled up within him and showed on his face. For on the former day, when Yang Sheng had dressed as a woman and entered the house of Situ Zheng, and had played the zither before the young lady, Princess Yingyang’s voice that day had been the very voice of Miss Zheng. Looking closely, her appearance, too, was that of Miss Zheng. At this, the Chancellor thought to himself,
‘There are indeed people in this world who resemble one another so closely. When I pledged marriage with Miss Zheng, I wished to share life and death with her. Now I have entered into the joy of wedded harmony, but where has Miss Zheng’s lonely soul come to rest? Wanting to avoid my own fault, I did not pour even one cup of wine before her grave, nor weep once before her spirit tablet. How greatly I have wronged Miss Zheng!’
Tears gathered in both his eyes. With Princess Yingyang’s mirror-bright heart, how could she fail to know what was in the Chancellor’s breast? She straightened her collar and asked, “Now, as my lord takes up his cup, a sorrowful look has suddenly appeared upon him. I dare to ask the reason.”
The Chancellor thanked her and said,
“How could Shaoyou hide what is in his heart from Your Highness? In days past, Shaoyou went to Situ Zheng’s house and saw his daughter. Your Highness’s voice and appearance so closely resemble the Zheng maiden that she flickered before my eyes and came alive again in my heart. Perhaps that is why I grew sad. I beg Your Highness not to think it strange.”
When Princess Yingyang heard this, a flush came to her cheeks. Suddenly she rose from her seat and entered the inner chamber, and for a long while did not come out. The Chancellor sent a maid to invite Princess Yingyang back, but the maid, too, did not return. Princess Nanyang said, “My elder sister has received the Empress Dowager’s utmost affection, and for that reason her nature does not know how to yield. She is not like this humble concubine in my submissiveness. It seems that my lord’s comparison of her to the Zheng maiden has left her greatly displeased.”
The Chancellor again sent Qin to apologize to Princess Yingyang, saying, “Shaoyou spoke rashly in his cups. If Your Highness will come out at once, Shaoyou shall request to be confined like Duke Wen of Jin.”
After some time, Qin returned, but delivered no message. The Chancellor asked,
“What did Her Highness say?”
Qin answered,
“Her Highness’s anger was great, and her words were excessive, so I dare not relay them.”
The Chancellor’s expression grew stern, and he said,
“Her Highness’s excessive words will not be counted as a fault of yours, Lady Qin. You must tell me everything in detail!”
Having no choice, Qin answered,
“Princess Yingyang said:
‘Though this humble concubine may be unworthy, I am the beloved daughter of the Empress Dowager. Though the Zheng maiden may be graceful, she is only a girl from a lowly household among the common streets. In the rites it is said that one bows at the waist to the royal steed. The horse itself is not what is honored; one honors what the sovereign rides. How much more so, then, for a sister cherished by the sovereign? The Zheng maiden once gave no thought to propriety, priding herself on her beauty, exchanging words with my lord, and discussing zither melodies with him. In any case, her conduct could not have been proper. Moreover, grieving that her marriage was delayed, she fell ill with melancholy and hastened away her youth. Her fate was most ill-starred, so how could my lord compare me to her? In olden times, when Qiuhu of Lu teased a mulberry-picking woman with gold, it is said that the woman drowned herself. How could I, with a face covered in shame, endure this? Hearing of it now after so long, it is just like Zhuo Wenjun playing the zither in the outer hall, or the young lady of the Jia household stealing incense. From this day forth, I swear I shall not step beyond the door, but shall end my life here. Nanyang is gentle by nature and is not like me, so I hope my lord will grow old together with Nanyang for a hundred years.’
That is what she said.”
The Chancellor was furious in his heart and said,
“In all the world, is there another woman who relies on her power as this Yingyang does? Now I truly know the sufferings of an imperial son-in-law.”
Then he said to Nanyang,
“My meeting with the Zheng maiden had its own circumstances, yet Yingyang now wishes instead to brand me with wantonness. That would not matter, but her words have reached even one who is already dead. This is truly lamentable.”
Nanyang said,
“This humble concubine shall go in and speak to my elder sister so that she may understand.”
Princess Nanyang at once turned and left the room, but until the day grew dark she, too, did not come out from Princess Yingyang’s quarters. Lamps and candles had already been set within the room when Nanyang sent a maid to deliver a message:
“Though this humble concubine has admonished her in every way, my elder sister has not changed her heart in the end.
From the beginning, this humble concubine swore with my elder sister before Heaven, Earth, gods, and spirits that we would share life and death, joy and sorrow together. If my elder sister grows old alone in the deep palace, this humble concubine also wishes to grow old in the deep palace. I beg the Chancellor to go to Lady Qin’s chamber and pass this night in peace.”
At this, anger surged up in the Chancellor, but he restrained his heart and did not let it show on his face or in his words. The Chancellor found the empty bed-curtains and painted screens all the more dreary. Leaning sideways against the bed, he looked toward Qin. Qin at once lifted a candle, guided the Chancellor back to the bedchamber, burned dragon-incense in a golden brazier, and spread a brocade coverlet upon the ivory couch. Then she said to the Chancellor, “Though this humble concubine is inadequate, I have long heard the conduct proper to a gentleman. The rites say, ‘When the principal wife is absent, how could a concubine dare attend the night?’ Now both Princesses have gone into the inner chamber. How could this humble concubine dare attend my lord and pass this night with him?
May the Chancellor sleep in peace.”
With that, she quietly walked out from the sleeping chamber. Though the Chancellor did not try to detain her,
the scene that night was exceedingly desolate. At last he lowered the bed-curtains, laid his head on the pillow, and lay down, but he tossed and turned and could not sleep. Alone, he said, ‘These women have banded together and devised a scheme to mock a man. How could I beg them for favor? In former days, when I was in the garden of Situ Zheng’s house, by day I drank myself drunk in the wine shops with Zheng Shisan, and by night I drank facing the candlelight with Chun-niang. Not a single day was unpleasant. Yet now, after only three days as an imperial son-in-law, my heart is greatly distressed.’
He raised his hand and opened the gauze window. The Milky Way slanted across the sky, and moonlight filled the courtyard. Slipping on his shoes, he went out and walked about. From afar he gazed toward Princess Yingyang’s chamber, where the candlelight shone brilliantly and the gauze windows glimmered. The Chancellor murmured inwardly, ‘The night is already deep. Why have the palace women not yet gone to sleep? Yingyang was angry with me and sent me here; has she already returned to her bedchamber?’
The Chancellor hardened his heart, softened the sound of his footsteps, and quietly approached the window. The voices and laughter of the two Princesses, and the sound of dice and backgammon, leaked out beyond the window. Finding this strange, the Chancellor secretly peered through a crack in the lattice. One woman turned to trim the candle, and when he looked closely, it was Jia Chunyun. Originally, Chunyun had entered the palace on the day the Princesses held the great wedding rites. But that day Chunyun had hidden herself and had not met the Chancellor, so how could the Chancellor have known she was there? The Chancellor was startled and found it strange. He muttered to himself,
‘Surely the Princesses summoned Chunyun because they wished to see her beauty.’
Just then Qin suddenly set out the dice board again and said, “Since there is no wager, it is no fun. I shall make a wager with Lady Chun.”
Chunyun answered,
“Chunyun has always been poor and considers even a bowl of wine and meat a blessing. Lady Qin has been at the Princesses’ side, so surely you have abundant silk gauze and brocade, light carriages and jade pendants. What do you ask Chunyun to wager?”
Qin answered,
“If I lose, of the ornaments at my waist and the hairpins in my hair, I will give Lady Chun whichever she asks for. If you lose, my lady, you must grant my request. This matter will truly cost you nothing.”
Chunyun then asked,
“What is the request you wish to make, and what is it you wish to hear?”
Qin answered,
“A while ago I heard the two Princesses say that Lady Chun became an immortal maiden and a ghost in order to deceive the Chancellor. I have not heard the story in detail, so if you lose, my lady, tell me of it as an amusing tale.”
At this, Chunyun pushed the dice board aside and turned toward Princess Yingyang, saying, “My lady, my lady! My lady has always loved Chunyun most dearly, yet you told such a story to the Princesses, and now Lady Qin says she has already heard it. Among those in the palace who have ears, who could fail to know? With what face can Chunyun now meet others?”
Qin said,
“I have a word to say to Lady Chun. How could our Princess be Lady Chun’s young mistress? Princess Yingyang is the wife of the Grand Chancellor and the lady of the Duke of Wei’s household. Though her years are young, her rank is already exalted. How dare you call her ‘my lady’?”
Chunyun apologized,
"It is hard to mend in a single morning a tongue grown accustomed over ten years, and the days when we contended for flowers and fought to seize the branches seem as vivid as yesterday. I spoke rashly because I did not fear Your Highness; pray forgive me."
So saying, he burst into loud laughter. Princess Nanyang asked Princess Yeongyang,
"I did not get to hear the end of Chun-un’s story. Was the Chancellor truly deceived by Chun-un?"
Yeongyang then said,
"The Chancellor was often deceived by Chun-un; how could smoke rise from a chimney where no fire had been lit? I merely wished to see his frightened state, yet he was so deluded that he did not even know to loathe a ghost. The old saying, ‘A lustful man is a hungry ghost for women,’ is indeed no lie. How could one starved for ghosts know to loathe a ghost?"
At this, everyone laughed heartily.
The Chancellor was certain that Princess Yeongyang was none other than Miss Jeong, and, unable to contain his joy, was about to open the window and rush in. But he stopped himself and muttered alone,
‘Since they mean to deceive me, I shall be sure to deceive them.’
Thereupon he quietly returned to Lady Jin’s chamber and slept soundly. Early the next morning, Lady Jin came out and asked the maid,
"Has the Chancellor already risen?"
The maid replied,
"He has not yet risen."
Lady Jin stood outside the window for a long while. Before she knew it, the morning sunlight filled the lattice, and the breakfast table was about to be carried in, yet the Chancellor did not rise. From time to time, groans escaped from within, so Lady Jin went in and asked,
"Is Your Excellency unwell?"
The Chancellor opened his eyes and stared straight ahead, yet seemed not to see anyone, and now and then muttered as though talking in his sleep. Lady Jin asked again,
"Why is Your Excellency speaking in his sleep?"
The Chancellor seemed dazed and hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked in return, "Who are you?"
Lady Jin answered,
"Do you not know me? I am Suk-in Jin, your humble concubine."
The Chancellor merely nodded, then closed his eyes again and said in a voice from deep in his throat, "Suk-in Jin? Who is Suk-in Jin?"
Lady Jin was startled. She raised her hand to stroke the Chancellor’s forehead and said, "Your forehead is quite hot, so it is clear that Your Excellency is ill. But what illness could become so grave in the space of a single night?"
The Chancellor opened his eyes again, gathered his wits, and said, "How strange! Miss Jeong tormented me all night long; how should I know?"
When Lady Jin asked him to tell her the details, the Chancellor again seemed dazed, gave no answer, and shifted his body to turn away. Greatly worried, Lady Jin sent a maid to report to the princesses,
"The Chancellor is ill, so please come quickly and see him."
Princess Yeongyang said,
"What illness could have befallen His Excellency, who was drinking yesterday? In any case, this must be a trick to make us go see him."
But Lady Jin hurried in and reported,
"His Excellency’s mind is clouded; he does not recognize people even when he sees them, and he keeps muttering toward the darkness. Would it not be best to inform His Majesty and summon a physician to treat him?"
When the Empress Dowager heard this, she summoned the princesses and rebuked them, saying, "You have deceived the Chancellor too excessively. Now that you hear his illness is grave, you do not even go to see him. What sort of conduct is this? Go at once to inquire after him, and if his symptoms are severe, summon the most skillful physician among the court doctors to examine and treat him!"
Yeongyang went with Nanyang to the Chancellor’s bedchamber and remained on the veranda. First, she had Princess Nanyang and Lady Jin go in to look. The Chancellor was sometimes waving both hands about, sometimes glaring with both eyes wide open. At first, he seemed not to hear Nanyang’s questions, but at last he said in a voice from his throat,
"Since my life is about to end, I wish to bid Yeongyang my final farewell, yet I cannot see Yeongyang."
Nanyang said,
"How can Your Excellency say such a thing?"
The Chancellor added in a sorrowful voice,
"Last night, between dream and waking, Miss Jeong came to me and said, ‘My lord, why have you broken your promise?’
Her anger was like autumn frost, and she gave me a handful of pearls. I took them and swallowed them, and this is truly an ominous sign. When I close my eyes, Miss Jeong presses down upon my body; when I open them, Miss Jeong stands before me. How could I possibly live?"
Before he could finish speaking, he again pretended to be utterly spent, turned his face toward the wall, and began to babble. Nanyang observed his condition and, feeling both alarmed and anxious, went outside and said to Yeongyang,
"The Chancellor’s illness is surely an ailment born of suspicion. Unless it is treated by you, Sister, no one will be able to cure it."
She then described the symptoms. Yeongyang hesitated, half believing and half doubting, so Nanyang took her by the hand and led her inside. The Chancellor was still muttering in his sleep, and all his words were addressed to Miss Jeong. Nanyang raised her voice and said,
"Chancellor, Chancellor! Sister is here, so open your eyes and look."
The Chancellor lifted his head for a moment, repeatedly rolled his eyes, and made as though to rise. They supported him and seated him on the couch. Facing the princesses, the Chancellor said, "Soyu has, by extraordinary imperial grace, been wed to two noble princesses and hoped to grow old together with them. Yet there is one who seems determined to carry me off, so I cannot remain long in this world. That is what grieves me."
Yeongyang said,
"The Chancellor is a gentleman who understands reason. How can you speak such baseless words? Even if Miss Jeong’s scattered soul remained, how could it enter the ninefold palace, guarded by a hundred spirits? And how could it invade the precious body of the Grand Chancellor?"
The Chancellor cried out loudly,
"Miss Jeong is beside me this very moment, so how can you say she cannot enter?"
Nanyang said,
"The ancients said that a man, seeing a snake in his wine cup, drank and fell ill from suspicion, but when he later learned it had been the shadow of a bow hanging on the wall, shaped like a snake, his illness was cured. I believe the Chancellor’s illness is the same, and that the means of recovery must be similar."
The Chancellor closed his eyes and gave no answer, merely moving his hands. Yeongyang, seeing that his condition was growing steadily worse, came closer and sat down, saying, "Does Your Excellency think only of the dead Miss Jeong and not wish to see the living Miss Jeong? If Your Excellency wishes to see Miss Jeong, then I, your humble concubine, am none other than Jeong Gyeongpae."
The Chancellor pretended not to believe her and said, "What are you saying? Minister Jeong had one daughter, and she has long since died. The dead Miss Jeong is already within my body, so how could there be another living Miss Jeong besides her? If one has not died, one is alive; if one is not alive, one is dead. This is the fixed order of human affairs. It is said that ‘the dead do not come back to life,’ so I cannot believe Your Highness’s words."
Thereupon Nanyang added,
"Our Empress Dowager took Miss Jeong as her adopted daughter and invested her as Princess Yeongyang, commanding her to serve the Chancellor together with me. Sister Yeongyang is the very Miss Jeong who once listened to your geomungo. If that were not so, how could she be identical to Miss Jeong without the slightest difference?"
The Chancellor did not answer this, but let out a faint groan. Then, suddenly raising his head and drawing a deep breath, he said,
"When I was at the Jeong household, Miss Jeong’s maid Ga Chun-un came to me and served as my attendant. Now I wish to ask Chun-un something, but where is she? I long to see her, yet that too is difficult. Alas! How boundless my regret!"
Nanyang then revealed,
"Chun-un entered the palace because she wished to pay her respects to Sister Yeongyang, and she is also concerned for the Chancellor’s illness. She is now outside, asking after you."
Then Chun-un entered and inquired,
"How does Your Excellency feel?"
The Chancellor said,
"I wish only Chun-un to remain, and everyone else to leave."
At this, the two princesses and Suk-in went outside and stood leaning against the railing.
The Chancellor immediately rose from his seat, washed, and straightened his robes and headgear. Then he had Chun-un summon the three women back in. Chun-un came out with a smile and said to the two princesses and Suk-in,
"The Chancellor requests your presence."
When the four women entered together, the Chancellor was wearing a Huayang cap, dressed in an embroidered silk robe, holding a white jade ruyi, and sitting propped against an armrest. His bearing was like the bright, flower-laden weather of spring, showing not the slightest sign of a man who had just risen from illness. Princess Yeongyang then realized she had been deceived and smiled, lowering her head and asking no further after his health. Princess Nanyang, however, asked,
"How is the Chancellor’s condition now?"
Chancellor Yang, with a solemn air, replied gravely,
"Soyu has observed the strange customs of recent days: beauties employ their charms to deceive men of mettle. Where, then, is one to seek the serene and upright virtue of womanhood? Since Soyu stands in the ranks of high ministers, he pondered deeply over a remedy to correct this and thereby fell ill. Now he has recovered, so Your Highness need not worry."
Nanyang and Suk-in laughed and gave no answer. Yeongyang said, "This matter is not something we women know of. If Your Excellency wishes to know the root of your illness, you should look back upon yourself, repent of the times you deceived others, and also report the matter to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."
The Chancellor could not restrain the delight in his heart and burst into laughter, saying, "With Yang Soyu’s uncanny and elusive stratagem, I have discovered the full truth of the beauties’ schemes from beginning to end. The saying, ‘A wife lies beneath a man,’ is indeed correct. Yet what Soyu truly reveres and admires are the Empress Dowager’s grace in regarding me as her own child, His Imperial Majesty’s thoughtfulness in treating me as a close minister, and Your Highnesses’ affectionate virtue. Soyu shall devote all his sincerity to enjoying for many long years the harmony of zither and lute."
The two princesses and Suk-in merely blushed and nodded their heads, saying nothing.
Chancellor Yang Brings the Great Lady to a Banquet
At this time, the Empress Dowager learned from a palace maid why the Chancellor had feigned illness. She laughed heartily and said,
"I truly had my suspicions."
Then she summoned the Chancellor. The two princesses were also seated in attendance, and the Empress Dowager asked,
"I hear the Chancellor has renewed his severed bond with the deceased Miss Jeong. Is this true?"
The Chancellor prostrated himself and replied,
"Your grace is as vast as creation itself. Even if this subject’s bones were ground to dust and his body shattered, it would be difficult to repay."
The Empress Dowager said,
"How can a little jest be called grace?"
On that day, the Son of Heaven appeared in the main hall and received the court audience of all his ministers. The ministers reported,
"Recently, bright stars have risen high, sweet dew has fallen, the waters of the Yellow River have run clear, and the harvests have been abundant. The military governor of Sejin has come to court offering up his lands, and the mighty Tibetans have surrendered. All this has been accomplished through Your Majesty’s sacred virtue."
The Emperor modestly declined the praise and attributed the merit to all his ministers. Then all the ministers spoke with one voice,
"Because Yang Soyu has recently remained long in the palace, many affairs of state in the government offices have been delayed."
The Emperor laughed heartily and said,
"Because the Empress Dowager has been summoning him day after day, the Chancellor has not dared to come forth. We shall personally persuade him and have him attend to affairs of state."
The next day, Minister Yang went to the government offices to handle official business, and at length submitted a memorial, seeking to bring his mother to the capital.
Your servant Yang Soyu, Chancellor, Duke of Wei, and Fuma Commandant, kowtows a hundred times and reverently addresses this to Your Imperial Majesty.
Your servant was originally a lowly commoner of the land of Chu, and as I lacked the means to provide amply for my aged mother, I dared, with a petty talent no larger than a peck or basket—a talent of small capacity—to seek to support her with the stipend of the state. Without measuring my own station, I entered service as a provincial tribute candidate, was selected through the examinations, and came to court. Within a few years, I received an imperial edict and struck down powerful enemies, making the military governors bend the knee; again, receiving Your command, I campaigned westward, and the fierce Tubo, unable to move against us, came forward to surrender. How could this be due to any single stratagem of mine?
All of this was brought about by the awe-inspiring virtue of Your Imperial Majesty, and by the generals who fought ready to die; yet Your Majesty has instead commended this small toil of mine and honored me with high office, leaving my heart boundlessly awed and ashamed. Moreover, Your instruction in the matter of selecting a fuma was earnest and the heavenly grace profound, so that I, base and humble though I am, could not flee from it, but received and obeyed it. For this too I am deeply overwhelmed.
What my aged mother hoped for from me was no more than a modest stipend from the state, and what I myself desired was nothing beyond some minor post of low rank. Yet now I occupy the seat of general and minister, and hold the title of duke and marquis, wishing to devote the loyalty of a dog or horse to affairs of state; and because of this, I have found no leisure to bring my aged mother here. My dwelling and food are utterly different from those of my mother, and this is to place my own body amid wealth and honor while treating my mother with poverty and hardship. Is this not a grave departure from the duty of a son?
How much more so when my mother is advanced in years and heavily burdened with illness, yet has no other children and so cannot be cared for; mountains and rivers lie far between us, and news likewise cannot pass often. My longing to see my aged mother is most earnest. Now, as the state is without incident and the offices are at leisure, I prostrate myself and beg that Your Majesty will look upon my urgent circumstances and consider my wish to serve and support my mother. If You would specially grant me a few months’ leave, I would return in that time to sweep the graves of my ancestors, bring my aged mother back, and, mother and son together, praise Your sacred virtue; thus may I fulfill the devotion of the fledgling crow that carries food back to its mother. I shall surely exhaust my loyalty to repay this heavenly grace, so may Your Sacred Majesty take pity on me and grant Your permission.
When the Emperor had finished reading the memorial, he sighed in admiration and said,
"How filial you are, Soyu!"
He then specially bestowed one thousand geun of gold and eight hundred bolts of silk, ordering him to offer them to his aged mother in celebration of her longevity, and also instructed him to meet his mother and bring her back swiftly. The Chancellor entered the palace to express his gratitude, then took leave of the two princesses, Lady Jin Sukin, and Lady Ga Yuin.
Leaving the capital, he arrived at Tianjin Bridge. The two courtesans, Gye Seomwol and Jeok Gyeonghong, had received word from the prefect and were already waiting at the guesthouse. The Chancellor smiled and said to the two courtesans, "This journey is a private one, not a military expedition. How did you know I was coming?"
Gyeonghong and Seomwol replied,
"The procession of the Chancellor, Duke of Wei, and Fuma Commandant is known even in deep mountains and rugged valleys, and news of it resounds everywhere. Though we live in a remote place, how could we have no ears or eyes? Moreover, the prefect treats us as second only to Your Excellency; how could he not send word? In former years, when Your Excellency passed through here, our prestige rose ten thousand fathoms high; now that Your Excellency’s rank is higher still and your fame and merit greater still, our glory has likewise increased a hundredfold. We have heard that Your Excellency has become fuma to two princesses, and we wish to know whether the two princesses will be able to accept us."
The Chancellor answered,
"One of the princesses is His Imperial Majesty’s younger sister, and the other is the daughter of Minister Jeong, adopted as a daughter by the Empress Dowager. This was precisely what Lady Gye recommended, so how could Lady Jeong forget the grace of Lady Gye’s recommendation? Moreover, both princesses possess the virtue of cherishing people and accepting others, so how could this not be called good fortune for you two ladies?"
Gyeonghong and Seomwol looked at one another and offered their congratulations.
The Chancellor spent the night with the two of them, then set out again and reached his hometown. In former days, he had been a fifteen-year-old scholar who took leave of his mother at her knee and went far away; now he returned to visit his kin, riding in the carriage of a Chancellor, wearing the ceremonial robes of the Duke of Wei, and bearing as well the rank and seal of a fuma. What he had accomplished in four years was indeed a magnificent thing.