Page:Frank Owen - The Scarlett Hill, 1941.djvu/157

RV 152 (LADY T'AI CHÊN) carried the thought a step further. The superior man needs not colorful silks, nor rich brocades; neither does he need jewels, nor medals. No banners need accompany him on his pilgrimages. His equipage may be without tassels of any color, no runner ringing a gong need clear the way before him. The superior man could go barefooted, dress in sackcloth, walk unaccompanied, without the vestige of an official cap. His sole possession might be a begging bowl. And as he crouched in an unfrequented road in the shade of a friendly tree, the world would come forward, lift him up to a high pedestal. For the mind of the superior man is like the brilliance of the sun; it lights the intellectual world, and in the intellect are all the things men live by. So when the officers of the Court at Changan strutted about in gorgeous raiment, Ming Huang smiled. He was quite capable of appraising the value of those about him. And none could surpass in devotion, in friendship, in understanding, Kao Li-shih, the Grand Eunuch.

The Emperor did not know that Kao was uneasy about Lady T'ai Chên. Far too frequently beautiful women had played havoc with the Annals of China. Nothing must happen to spoil the regime of this greatest of Emperors.

However, as time wore on with disarming placidity, Kao breathed more easily. Nevertheless he was ever watchful. Nothing happened during the first year to cause particular dismay. The Court accepted Lady T'ai Chên. It is not hard to pay homage to beauty. Strangely RV 152 (152)