The story goes that Huangfu Jing refused to accept the marriage proposal as he disliked the extravagance of the Lius. Thus, he shrunk away from the proposal with an excuse and only said that there was already another suitable family in his mind. Gu Hongye knew clearly that Huangfu Jing was rejecting his matchmaking, so he went back feeling disappointed.
Too ashamed to directly return to the Liu Mansion
He waited until the next day to share the rejection
Sister blamed brother while nephew blamed uncle
Because the embarrassment he invited made the family feel ashamed
Madam Liu struck the table and shouted loudly
“How distinguished is the Huangfu family?
Last time—losing the court robe to Shaohua already made me seethe with anger
Now this time—the failed marriage proposal has completely outraged me
My husband has now been conferred the title of marquis
How can my dear son be inferior to others?
This is exactly—an unfortunate woman lacks the blessing
To lead an affluent and noble living
From now on, my son, just do not bother
As you still have your father and mother
Why care about the minister and commissioner-in-chief?
Just submit a memorial to the imperial court about it
To convict them of—a crime of unreasonably snatching another’s marriage
Why worry that the whole Huangfu family will not be punished?”
Kuibi smiled at his mother’s words faintly
But flew into a fury when he returned to his study
With a sigh he laid back in his bed
Gritting his teeth when evil thoughts were devised:
“Agh!1 I really hate it!”
“Previously the bet on robe shooting in the garden ended in failure
Making me ride back home in a temper
Though he won the daughter of the minister
My resentment may have gradually relieved itself later
Unexpectedly my marriage proposal was rejected furthermore
Making my towering rage so hard to endure”
“Shaohua, Shaohua, I, Liu Kuibi, swear to be irreconcilable with you!”
“You are the son of the commissioner-in-chief but I’m the son of a marquis
How can I be willing to grant you superiority over me?
When there are two tigers fighting, one must die
As you and I can no longer live under the same sky
If heaven may ever show mercy on me
Make the great wish in my heart come true
After putting Shaohua to death and escaping future trouble
Liu Kuibi—can marry the beautiful Miss Meng and have a marriage that is blissful”
“Aye, let it be! Our rivalry was set by fate, so he is mine to annihilate.”
“Henceforth, I will pretend to be a good person
And to him I will display friendliness and adoration
Meanwhile, I will seek for a great opportunity
To persecute his entire family
From now on, in Kuibi’s mind this idea existed
And he muttered to himself no matter walking or seated
With brows always knitted, he sought for a sound strategy
Suffering from an upset state of mind to devise this plan of cruelty
He often attended banquets with Shaohua together
To whom he pretended to be solicitous and sincere
With Shaohua, he never mentioned the marriage matter
Only speaking about their friendship thereafter
Huangfu Shaohua was a righteous and outstanding elite
He unexpectedly took these disingenuous acts for sincerity
Kuibi became one whom he greatly respected and admired
And he treated him as if they were born by the same mother
When the last month of spring passed and summer arrived
It was at times cloudy, at others sunny, and the weather was bright and warm
Shaohua sat right in the study
Where he heard the servant report:
To young master: The heir of the Marquis of Yuancheng is now outside the city and invites you to visit the Kunming Pond. He is not sure whether you will pay a visit. The servant he sent here is eagerly waiting for your response.
The hero pushed aside the chair and tidied up his clothes
And then asked servants to prepare his brocade saddle2
Sitting sullenly in the study was too boring
And now he encountered the coincidental invitation to go sight-seeing
Kunming Pond was abundant with wonderful sights
And today he cannot avoid paying a visit
After some hesitation, the decision was made by the young master
And he said goodbye to his stern father and compassionate mother
Madam Huangfu urged her own son again and again
That he must come back early if he wanted to enter through the city gate
While hurriedly walking out the young master answered
And his silk whip was handed over by two family guards
Releasing hold of his horse which can chase the wind and cover a thousand miles per day
He finally rushed out of the high city wall without delay
In a second, he had arrived at Kunming Chi
And Young Master Liu— rowed a boat out from the riverbank
Hearing that the fine Young Master had been picked up
He got out of the boat to welcome him with a joyful expression
Repeatedly saying that Brother Huangfu3 arrived just in time
He invited Young Master Huangfu to board the boat
Young Master Shaohua swiftly jumped onto the vessel
Where he entered the cabin and greeted Kuibi
When armchairs were arranged and everyone was settled
Towards the rear cabin, Young Master Liu4 smiled and said:
“Beautiful girls—Come out and greet the son of commissioner-in-chief!”
This call opened the door of the rear cabin
Where pairs of beautiful girls walked out
Their black coils were combed up with phoenix ornaments hanging down
And cloudlike buns were combed low, with long hairpins weighing them down
Their eyebrows were as delicate as a spring breeze gently blowing through
Glimmers of smiles stirred by the movement of rosy cheeks
One girl—dressed in a light green gauze top with cyan outer sleeves
Another—wore a pair of pale red yarn pants and embroidered shoes
Handkerchiefs of five colors tied their waists
A pair of green ribbons separately adorned their skirts
Both were young and fair
Kneeling down on the dust to make obeisance
“The lowly us5, Li Ruhua, Xiao Saiyu, greet you with honor6”
Young Master Shaohua hurriedly stood up
Turning to brother Liu to ask who they were
“Today we came to Kunming Pond for wonderful sceneries
Why did you bring along these two beauties7?”
Young Master Liu gave a faint smile:
“We cannot only drink without watching a performance
So I casually sent servants to invite
These two girls to gain you immense pleasure
Although they were working in the brothels
Their names spread across Yunnan Prefecture
The first was known as Ru Xizi8
And the second was called Sai Zhaojun9
Being very drunk today may fail to make us intoxicated
I thus invited these two beautiful girls”
Hearing this the Young Master was shocked inwardly
At Brother Liu’s frivolous behaviors and character
Coming for a simple sightseeing at Kunming Pond
How could they order beautiful girls as drinking partners?
But he had to pretend to be glad and apologetic for his lack of manners10:
“I was so pleased to have met these two beauties today
I am too young to get used to these romantic affairs
And had no understanding of the affections within the pleasure corners”
The two fair ladies both made a woman’s bow
With feigned abashment they opened their rosy lips
“We are reduced to living in brothels
Feeling ashamed to meet your eminence with our unattractive appearance
We will not complain about seeing you so late today
But only hope that you may bestow favors to us frequently
If, hopefully, you do not mind our humble origins
Please visit the brothel from time to time”
The young hero replied with a smile:
“Thank you very much for inviting me”
The two charming girls laughed together
As playing the coquette was their nature
Kuibi turned back and called to arrange the banquet
So servants walked back and forth without any stops
The banquet was settled in mere moments
And the two heroes settled down in their seats
Shouting for the boatman to start the painted pleasure boat
With the squeaks of oars, the boat sailed out of the green poplar trees
Only seen when—given a paddle did the boat glide forward on the water
By blowing the sail, the ever warm, southerly breeze assisted
The vast expanse of azure water appeared to be clear and bottomless
And the brocade trees and jade forests reflected the faraway sky
The red sun approached while sailing towards range upon range of remote mountains
And brilliant knotweed blossoms grew all the way along the long, long banks
The sounds of singing were entangled around the rising colored glaze
And sleeves of dancers spun and moved at the luxurious banquet
Across the woods there were delicate flowers whose shadows swayed
And facing the water, the emerald skirts of beauties revealed a sense of coldness
Pure songs and graceful dance entertained people
Who tipsily watching drifting clouds returning to the remote mountains
After a day of boating, dusk approached
By the forest edges the reflection of the setting sun vanished
[1] The original Chinese text here is “a’yo” 啊唷, which expresses the painful feeling in this line. [2] The original text, jin’an 锦鞍, can be understood in two ways. One is directly understanding it as “brocade saddle.” Another is understanding it as a use of metonymy, using “brocade saddle” to make a general reference to all saddles that are expensive and well-decorated. [3] The original text, shixiong 世兄, is a polite way for one to address a male peer who from a family that has shijiao 世交 [a friendship spanning two or more generations with his/her own family]. Here, the Liu family did not necessarily have shijiao with the Huangfu family, but Kuibi is using the term to establish an even closer relationship with Shaohua. [4] The original text is Liulang 劉郎.Lang 郎 [gentleman] is a respectful way of addressing a (presumably young) man in ancient to premodern China. [5] The original text, jianqie 賤妾 [lowly concubine], or sometimes simply “qie 妾 [concubine]”, was a humble way for a woman to address herself to men who have higher social status in ancient China. This is an example of qianci 謙辭 [modest words], which is often used to describe the speaker himself/herself as a sign of modesty. [6] The original text, baijian 拜見, is a respectful term used when greeting a senior or superior. This is also an example of jingci 敬辭 [term of respect]. [7] The Chinese text, pingting 娉婷, originally means (a woman’s figure or demeanor is) graceful, which later on became a byword for graceful women. [8] The original text, Ru Xizi 如西子, means “a beauty like Xi Shi”. Here the nickname of “Ru Xizi” was used to emphasize the beauty of the courtesan. See also the entry of Nan Wei Xi Zi and luoyan chenyu. [9] The original text is Sai Zhaojun 赛昭君, meansing “better than Zhaojun.” Like “Ru Xizi”, it is a nickname to emphasize the beauty of the courtesan. See also the entry of luoyan chenyu. [10] The original text, shijing 失敬, is also a jingci 敬辭 [term of respect], which is used to apologize to people and blame yourself for not being polite enough to them.
