Oh, my wife!
What happened the other day in the Xiaochun Courtyard
Made Liu Kuibi anxious because his underlying schemes did not scceed
So Kuibi let his father know about the matter
And his father recommend me to go fighting against Chosǒn
This time, because we have a new emperor
All kinds of power belong to the Liu family
Following the emperor’s edict, I am now a marshal
It is hard to say whether I will survive or perish
The Liu family must have a dark conspiracy
With this recommendation they lure the tiger out of the mountain
It is hard for you, my wife and children, to remain here anymore
Yunnan Province—will naturally be replaced with a new commissioner
For now, leaving is our only option
You should leave before I set off for the army
It is the Mid-Autumn Festival and the weather is fine
The cool breeze and the lack of heat ensures your journey to be less difficult
Traveling back to the Jingzhou Prefecture of the Huguang Province
You shall temporarily reside in Jiangling and wait for my return
If I made a triumphant return and had an audience with the emperor
Husband, wife, son, and daughter can once again be reunited”
As he finished speaking, Tingshan grieved in his heart
Lady Ying’s tears had been continuously falling
The young master raised himself slightly and said:
“My respectful father, please listen to me
It is only through you that I have had access to the art of war
How can I be secluded in comfort and waste my vigorous young life?
As your son, I will always worry about you over a great distance
Why not allow me to follow you to attack Chosǒn?
If I may achieve but the smallest merit
It shall also show my, this humble servant, requital to the emperor!”
“Stop talking, you naive kid. No one is asking you to follow me to fight!
Now that Liu recommended me for the eastward expansion
There must be some malicious schemes hidden
Leaving you with the family has already caused me worry
What more if you accompany your father to war?
Your mother and sisters are not men
How could they endure travelling on the road?
Do not speak without any consideration to them!
You had better—recognize your abilities and go back home”
Young Master Shaohua respectfully agreed
He stepped back, flushed but without uttering another word
The commissioner-in-chief asked the servant girls
To quickly bring a calendar into the hall
Following the order, the servant girls hurried to retrieve the calendar
And handed it over to the upright Master Huangfu
The story goes that Huangfu Jing accepted the edict of eastward expedition. Facing the lamp, he chose the eighth day of the eighth lunar month to send his family back to his hometown, and he himself would leave on the twelfth day. After declaring these decisions, all the people in the mansion quickly began packing for their departure.
People in the mansion began packing on this very day
Servants both inside and outside were in a great hurry
Some of them—would follow the commissioner-in-chief to the east
Some of them—would escort the lady to return home
The whole mansion was busy making arrangements
Soon it was the eighth day and everyone was in huge sorrow
Tingshan himself ordered servants to prepare a feast
To say farewell to the ladies returning to their hometown
That night, the gorgeous feast was spread out in the hall
Presenting a variety of delicacies and good wines
Sister Changhua and Brother Shaohua also joined the feast
The commission-in-chief sat up right and raised the cup:
“My dear wife, please have some wine and listen to my words.
Now the emperor has commanded me to put on my military uniform
So I have to send you back to my hometown
On the road, please be cautious against bad weather
Be at ease and do not worry too much about me
Take good care of our son and daughter
Do not let them be too sad over our parting
I am going on this east expedition for our state
For now, my date of return is still hard to predict
As Shaohua is already engaged to the daughter of the Minister
There is no rush to find a match for our dear daughter
I am only afraid of the groundless messages from matchmakers
Which may push our dear daughter into the wrong marriage
All in all, wait for me, your humble husband, to return
In case there is any inappropriateness regarding her engagement
Back in our hometown, you ought to look after the family
Educate our son and daughter with the double door closed
I do not have a brother and am the only son of my family
Cultivation of good behaviors will completely depend on you, my wife
Please stay safe and peaceful till I win the victory
I will appreciate your, my virtuous wife, contributions to managing the household”
After these words the master sighed heavily
The hero could not help but cry, dampening his clothes
Lady Yin hurried to take over the cup of wine
Lowering her jaded face, her tears surged like spring:
“Ah, my dear master! I will obey your words without doubt. Let me also make a toast for you.
As soon as I married into your family
I let you, my husband, go on an expedition with you
It was three years of bloody battels before you were back
From the very beginning, I suffered enough from being apart
Now—you are in a high position with the unsurmountable grace of the emperor
Our son and daughter have well known reputations which pacifies my heart
I thought we would never be apart after that
Who would have predicted that you would go into war again
This time you will lead the army to the Kingdom of Chosǒn
Having no inkling of when you could ever return to the capital
I will take our children back to our hometown
Please take good care of yourself, my dear master
Please give compassion to the soldiers suffering the war
Do not kill surrenderors and commit sins
I only wish that the heavens have mercy on us
To grant our family a chance to reunion again”
When the lady spoke of the sorrow within her heart
She cried in a choked voice with tears damping her dress
Huangfu Tingshan’s face turned sickly pale
He emptied the wine of departure amidst his tears
Eventually, the couple together returned to their seats
The sister and brother asked the servants to pour the wine
Only see that—the two talents were like flowers and jades[1]
Holding golden cups, they stepped forwards
Both of them knelt down in great grief
With tears dripping down their pale faces, they began to say:
“Father, please drink this cup of wine
May you quickly defeat the invaders and return
As we, the children, cannot follow you into the battle
We promise to protect mother from stepping on dust[2]
Please be fully cautious around the frontier
Do not miss us too much during resting or traveling
We can only pray to the gods for help and support
Not letting us be apart in two places for too long
Today, we, your foolish children, bid you farewell
Father, please return early from the battle in the east”
After the speech, the sister and brother both began to wail
The military commander of the eastward expedition[3] grew even sadder
He took the cups and lifted up his son and daughter
Paused for a long while and then started to say:
[1] The original text is ruhua ruyu 如花如玉 [like flowers like jades]. Here this phrase is to praise that Zhanghua and Shaohua’s lookings were as good as flowers and jades. [2] The original text is ta chengai 踏塵埃 [stepping on dust]. Dust here is a metaphor of filthy things. Protecting the mother from stepping on dust means the children would like to protect their mother in a safe and quiet living condition. [3] The original text here is Zhengdong Yuanshuai 徵東元帥 [Military Commander of eastward expedition]. Here it refers to Huangfu Jing.
