Chinese Literature
him here to repair it.” Accordingly, the emperor ordered the Prince of Hsienan to send Tsui Ning to the palace.
When the prince reported that Tsui was living at Chienkang because he had committed a crime, messengers were immediately despatched to summon him to the capital. The emperor gave Tsui the jade figurine and told him to repair it carefully. Tsui thanked. the emperor, then found jade of the same colour as the original piece, made a new bell and fixed it to the kuanyin. When he returned the figurine to the emperor, he received a handsome reward and was ordered to move back to the capital.
“Now I am in the emperor’s good books, I am in luck again!” said Tsui. “T shall find another house by the river where I can set up my workshop; and I shan’t care who sees me!”
As it happened, he had opened shop only a couple of days when Sergeant Kuo passed by. When he saw Tsui, he said: “Congratulations, Mr. Tsui! So this is where you live!” But when he looked up and saw Hsiu-hsiu standing behind the counter, he gave a start and turned to 0.
“Call back that sergeant!” said Hsiu-hsiu to Tsui. “T want to ask him something.” ;
Tsui laid hold of Sergeant Kuo, who was shaking his head and muttering: “Strange! Strange!’’ And he had to go back with Tsui to the shop.
After Hsiu-hsiu had greeted Kuo, she said: “Sergeant Kuo, in Tanchow we were good to you and kept you to a feast; but when you came back you told the prince and broke up our marriage. Now we have been pardoned by the emperor: we are not afraid of anything you may say!”
The sergeant had nothing to answer, and could only mutter an apology as he slunk off. ;
When he got back to the palace, he told the prince: “TI have seen a ghost!”
“Is this fellow raving?’ demanded the prince.
“Your Highness, I’ve seen a ghost!”
“What ghost?”
“Just now I passed the riverside and saw Tsui’s jade shop. Then I saw a woman behind the counter, and it was that maid Hsiu-hsiu.”
“Nonsense!” thundered the prince. “I had Hsiu-hsiu beaten to death and buried in the back garden. You saw it yourself. How could she be there again? Are you trying to make a fool of me?”
“T wouldn’t dare, Your Highness!” protested Kuo. “Just now she called me to stop and spoke to me. If Your Highness doesn’t believe me, I’m prepared to bet my life on it.”
“All right,” said the prince. “Write that down and sign it.”
Kuo was fated to get into trouble: he actually signed a wager, which the prince kept. Then the prince ordered two bearers who were on duty to take a sedan-chair to Tsui’s shop, and told Kuo: “Fetch that woman
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