Page:Romance of the Three Kingdoms - tr. Brewitt-Taylor - Volume 1.djvu/237

 The news of the audience for Tung Ch‘êng had been taken to the Minister, who at once went to the Palace and arrived as Tung Ch‘êng was passing out at the gate. They met face to face and Tung Ch‘êng could in nowise avoid him. He went to the side of the road and made his obeisance.

“Where are you from, State Uncle?” asked Ts‘ao Ts‘ao.

“His Majesty summoned me into the Palace and has given me this robe and beautiful girdle.”

“Why did he give you these?”

“He had not forgotten that I saved his life in the old days.”

“Take it off and let me see it.”

Tung Ch‘êng who knew that a secret decree was hidden away somewhere in the garments was afraid Tsʻao Ts‘ao would notice a breach somewhere in the material, so he hesitated and did not obey. But the tyrant called his servants. So he took off the girdle. Then Ts‘ao looked it over carefully. “It certainly is a very handsome girdle,” said he. “Now take off the robe and let me look at that.”

Tung Ch‘êng’s heart was melting with fear but he dared not disobey. So he handed over the robe. Ts‘ao took it and held it up against the sun with his own hand and minutely examined every part of it. When he had done this he put it on, girded it with the girdle and turning to his suite said, “How is it for length?”

“Beautiful!” they chorussed.

Turning to Tung Ch‘êng he said, “Will you give these to me?”

“My King’s presents to me I dare not give to another. Let me give you another robe in its stead,” said Tung.

“Is there not some intrigue connected with these presents? I am sure there is,” said Ts‘ao.

“How could I dare?” said Tung, trembling. “If you are so set upon it then I must give it up.”

“How could I take away what your King has given you? It was all a joke,” said the Minister.

He returned both robe and girdle and their owner made the best of his way home. When night came and he was alone in his library, he took out the robe and looked over every inch of it most carefully. He found nothing.

“He gave me a robe and a girdle and bade me look at them carefully. That means there is something to be looked for but I can find no trace of it. What does it mean?” he soliloquised.

Then he lifted the girdle and examined that. The jade plates were carved into the semblance of small dragons interlaced among flowers. The lining was of purple silk. All was sewn together most carefully and neatly and he could find nothing out of the common. He was puzzled. He laid the belt on the table. Presently he picked it up and looked at it again. He