Page:Frank Owen - The Scarlett Hill, 1941.djvu/286

RV 281 (AN LU-SHAN) "Tonight," said Ming Huang, "the stars of earth twinkle more brilliantly than the stars in the sky."

"But not more brilliantly than the stars in the eyes of Yang Kuei-fei," said An Lu-shan gallantly.

She squeezed his arm in ecstasy.

"You are right," the Emperor agreed. "The stars copy the glory of her eyes, even as flowers mirror her beauty and butterflies flutter in her fragrance."

"Yes," Yang Kuei-fei thought, "it is indeed a joyous night."

When they grew tired, they hired sedan chairs, dispensing with them when their weariness vanished. On such a night no one could spare the time for rest. And it happened that eventually they found themselves at Indigo Bridge which for centuries had been a symbol of romance, since the day when the youth, Wei Sheng Kao, had a rendezvous with his beloved beneath the bridge. Suddenly the waters rose but he would not leave, preferring death to abandonment of his sacred tryst. And so the waters closed over his head and he was drowned. Ever afterward, sweethearts burned tapers to his memory.

"Would you die for me?" Yang Kuei-fei asked her companions.

"Willingly," replied An Lu-shan. "Oceans could bear down upon my shoulders and I would make no complaint."

Ming Huang was more reserved. "I live for you," he said; "is that not far better?" RV 281 (281)