As the night wore on and the moon rose above the willow trees, Hongniang reminded Yingying to burn some incense in the garden. But the young lady was so despondent she sighed lonesomely.
“Incense! What’s the use of burning incense?”
“My lady, you’ve been so devout. What’s with the sudden disrespect for piety? A prayer made in sincerity will always have its reward.”
“You silly girl, what do you know of these things? Good things don’t necessarily happen to good people.”
Hongniang burst into laughter.
“Oh please, save your philosophizing for someone else. Come on, let’s go.”
When they entered the garden a soft breeze was blowing and the tranquil moonlight shone brightly onto the ground as if scattering a thin layer of frost. The garden was empty except for the two young women and their shadows. The seeming desolation of the scene only served to increase Yingying’s melancholy as she slowly lit a stick of incense. Hongniang coughed loudly, and suddenly the garden was filled with the melodious sound of lute music coming from beyond the wall. The music sounded like pieces of jade jingling together, bells ringing from a distant tower, or water drops falling into copper kettles.
When the music reached its crescendo, the listener heard angry waves crashing against the rocky shore and flying cranes wailing in the sky. At its nadir, one heard a children’s whisper or a lover’s whimper. Enveloped in the music, Yingying stood motionless, her emotions moving in tune with the sounds of the lute. She felt as if she dissolved in place and forgot everything around her. Hongniang noticed her state and called her name several times, but Yingying didn’t answer, not even knowing that she was there.
The musician started to play another tune, A Phoenix Woos His Mate, first performed by an ancient scholar when he pursued his true love. Soon afterward she heard a poem chanted to the same tune:
My mind lingers on the beauty I saw the other day.
She took my heart at the very first sight.
The phoenix flies around the world in pursuit of its love.
Pity that the lady is nowhere to be found.
I sing my longing through the string of the lute.
When will you be mine and my helplessness come to an end?
When will you promise your love and our hands be joined?
If we cannot soar together, my life will end in vain.
The music and the poem were so imbued with sorrow and despair that Yingying was reduced to tears. She then heard a deep sigh coming from the other side of the wall.
“The mother was ungrateful, while the daughter was telling lies. Gods in Heaven! Why must I suffer such misfortune?”
Yingying then knew that the lute player was none other than the one who had saved her life and to whom her mother had promised her as his wife. In her despair, Yingying could only speak to him in her heart.
“You wrongly accuse me! My mother is the one who changed her mind and broke her promise; I did not lie but her. My heart knows to whom it belongs, but I cannot disobey my mother. There is nothing I can do. If it were up to me, I would have gone with you a long time ago.”
Just as Yingying was so immersed in the music and couldn’t get out of it, Hongniang came over and had to stir her from the daze the music had induced.
“Your mother is looking for you, my lady. Let’s head back.”
One the way back to their rooms, Hongniang turned to Yingying.
“My dear lady, what good is it only listening to his music? Scholar Zhang is preparing to leave the temple soon.”
“Who told you this?” Yingying asked in shock.
“Scholar Zhang asked me personally to tell you so.”
“Then you must go to him immediately and tell him to stay a little while longer.”
“And for what?” Hongniang asked mischievously.
“Never mind why, just go!”
