Summary

In Chapter 4, Shao-yu arrived in Ch'ang-an and visited his aunt Tu, a Taoist priestess, who his mother had written asking for help finding him a wife. Tu told Shao-yu that her best idea is the daughter of Minister Cheng, who Ch'an-yüeh had told him about. Shau-yu wanted to see her before arrangements were made, but Tu told him that it was not possible. When he insisted, they made a plan for Shao-yu to disguise himself as a priestess and go to the Cheng's to play music for the minister's wife and daughter, Ch'iung-pei. Dressed as a woman, Shao-yu played nine songs on the ch'in, each of which Ch'iung-pei analyzed. During the final song, called "The Phoenix Seeks a Mate," Ch'iung-pei ran out of the room. Later, she told her servant and closest friend, Ch'un-yün, that she realized she had been tricked and...