Page:Romance of the Three Kingdoms - tr. Brewitt-Taylor - Volume 1.djvu/194

 He left and next day conducted his master into Ts‘ao Ts‘ao’s presence. Ts‘ao was generous. Then he entered Wanch‘êng, the greater part of the army being put in camp outside where the lines extended some ten li. Great banquets were given every day and Ts‘ao Ts‘ao was always being entertained.

One day, when Ts‘ao Ts‘ao returned to his quarters in a more than usual merry mood, he asked the attendants if there were any singing girls in the city. The son of his elder brother heard the question and said, “Peeping through one of the partititionspartitions [sic] last evening I saw a perfectly beautiful woman in one of the courts. They told me she was the wife of Chang Hsiu’s uncle. She is very lovely.”

Tsʻao Tsʻao, inflamed by the description given him of the beauty, told his nephew to go and bring her to visit him. He did so supported by an armed escort and very soon the woman stood before him.

She was a beauty indeed and Ts‘ao Ts‘ao asked her name. She replied, “Thy handmaid was wife to Chang Chi; I was born of the Tsou family.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“I have known the Minister by reputation a long time. I am happy to see him and be permitted to bow before him,” said she.

“It was for your sake that I allowed Chang Hsiu to submit; otherwise I would have slain him and cut him off root and branch,” said Ts‘ao.

“Indeed, then, I owe my very life to you; I am very grateful,” said she.

“To see you is a glimpse of paradise, but there is one thing I should like better. Stay here and go with me to the capital where I will see that you are properly cared for. What do you say to that?”

She could but thank him.

“But Chang Hsiu will greatly wonder at my prolonged absence and gossips will begin to talk,” said she.

“If you like you can leave the city tomorrow.”

She did so, but instead of going at once to the capital she stayed with him among the tents, where Tien Wei was appointed as a special guard over her apartments. Ts‘ao was the only person whom she saw and he passed the days in idle dalliance with the lady, quite content to let time flow by.

But Chang’s people told him what had gone amiss and he was angry at the shame brought upon the family. He confided his trouble to Chia Hsü who said, “Keep this secret, wait till he appears again to carry on business and then ……”

A plan was arranged quite secretly.

Not long after this Chang Hsiu went into Ts‘ao Ts‘ao’s tent to say that, as many of his men were deserting, it would be