Zhu:
Preposterous! Does she want me to lose face? Has she not thought about the dishonour that will bring to the Zhu clan if anything untoward happened to her?
Mdm Zhu:
I have been through all that with her… but she seems determined. Well, actually it has already been a week since she asked me and I thought I could let some time pass before bringing it up with you… now I am a little alarmed…
Zhu:
Why? What has happened?
Mdm Zhu:
She has been staying in her bed for the last three days… not eating a single morsel of rice nor a single sip of broth… [sighs] this daughter of ours… how can she go on like this?
Zhu:
Does she intend to starve herself to death?
Mdm Zhu:
The way things are going right now… I am afraid she will do just that… I have just seen her this morning… all pale and wan, looking like… O I just don’t know what to do…
Zhu:
What has gone into her? Have we not done our duty by raising her with care and attention? Have we not given her the best? Where have I gone wrong?
Mdm Zhu:
She mentioned something about the promptings of her soul…
Zhu:
Does she not realize how precious she is to us? [sighs] I just don’t understand at all. Perhaps we have given her too much education…
Mdm Zhu:
How can you say that? Yingtai has her charms as a young lady but her virtue lies in her intelligence and scholarship. We know that she has even surpassed her last tutor… it is only natural that she sees her next step as studying with a master…
Zhu:
But she’s a girl…
Mdm Zhu:
Don’t I know it? We still have to look for a way to unravel this tricky turn of events now.
Zhu:
And I was just thinking of sending out a matchmaker to find out our chances of being in-laws with Magistrate Ma, the wealthiest family surely in this province, and this has to happen now…
Mdm Zhu:
Well you better hold your horses then… you don’t want such plans to go wrong, she being in the mood she is in right now…
Zhu:
But we must tackle the situation before us… who can help us?
Mdm Zhu:
Well, yesterday Yin Xin was telling me how increasingly worried she is about Yingtai’s health, and she had suggested that we seek the advice of a fortune teller to look up the position of the stars… I thought it was a good idea. At least it will be some direction… so I have asked her to look for one today…
[enter Yin Xin]
Yin Xin:
Madam, the fortune teller has come.
Mdm Zhu:
Ah, invite him in then…
[Yin Xin exits to bring in the fortune teller – a young scholarly looking man, with gentle features]
Yin Xin:
The fortune teller…
Mdm Zhu:
Please do come in, master, and pray be seated… Yin Xin, please serve tea to the master…
Fortune teller:
O honoured elder and respected madam, I see dark clouds hanging over you… a problem is unloading its burden onto you… never mind the tea
Zhu:
Erh, respected master, we are indeed stuck in a rut, unable to move forwards or backwards… but first, pray tell us what your honoured name is, and do have some tea…
Fortune teller:
Your humble servant is Fu, and named Sheng. My humble knowledge of the stars have been passed down to me by my grandfather, the great Fu Zhong of Wujia, no doubt you have heard of him…
Zhu:
Erh, I am afraid I have not had the….
Fortune teller:
O… but which man of wealth and position has not heard of the name Fu Zhong, astrologer to the generals. Why, battles were won based on strategies inspired by his knowledge of the celestial spheres… but never mind… that was quite long ago… I am sure your present problem is more pressing than your memory of my family history… I will not take offence…
Zhu:
Perhaps you will guide us then…
Fortune teller:
What exactly is your problem?
Mdm Zhu:
It’s our daughter…
Fortune teller:
How old is she?
Mdm Zhu:
When the spring festival comes, she will be seventeen…
Fortune teller:
Her particulars?
Mdm Zhu:
The eighth month, on the first…
[he calculates on his fingers, mumbles to himself]
Fortune teller:
Problem!
Zhu:
Problem!
Fortune teller:
Problem! She is your only daughter, highly intelligent, keen on study, strong willed but patient. Loved by you both like treasure from three generations… but problem…
Mdm Zhu:
Why is that a problem?
Fortune teller:
Right now her stars are badly afflicted and she is now burdened with a sickness that medicine cannot cure. This is only the beginning, the first manifestation of her astrological affliction. Very soon, their negative influence will come down upon your entire family… she must be sent away in order that harmony will be restored both to her health as well as your household…
Mdm Zhu:
O heavens! Why must this happen to us…
Zhu:
Respected master… when… when should we… and where should we send her?
Mdm Zhu:
She mentioned about studying in Hangzhou…
Fortune teller:
That’s a brilliant idea! Leave the house to restore health and harmony to herself and her home and acquire more knowledge on the way… it’s a good step indeed
Zhu:
Well if that’s the only solution, we will have to follow it. But how will she do that? There are no schools for girls?!
Mdm Zhu:
She thinks she can disguise herself as a boy to do that…
Zhu:
Isn’t that a preposterous idea? How can a girl look like a boy?
Fortune teller:
It’s really not so difficult, dear father…
Zhu:
Excuse me, what did you say?
Fortune teller:
Your daughter has proven her point… [removes his scholar’s cap]
Zhu:
You mean, it’s you, Yingtai!
Yingtai:
Isn’t it me?
Zhu:
What a trick you have played on us…
Mdm Zhu:
What a clever trick, my child!
Yin Xin:
Well done, miss…
Yingtai:
So off I go… to that great master who knows… in Hangzhou…
Zhu:
But… but… aiyah!
No comments:
Post a Comment