On "the sign on the apricot tree is visible："

the apricot tree sign to drink wayfarers doth invite； A farm located on a hill， lo！ yonder strikes the sight！ And water caltrops， golden lotus， geese， as well as flows， And mulberry and elm trees which afford rest to swallows. That wide extent of spring leeks with verdure covers the ground； And o'er ten li the paddy blossom fragrance doth abound. In days of plenty there's a lack of dearth and of distress， And what need then is there to plough and weave with such briskness？

When the Chia consort had done with the perusal， excessive joy filled her heart. "He has indeed made proGREss！" she exclaimed， and went on to point at the verses on "the sign on the apricot tree，" as being the crowning piece of the four stanzas. In due course， she with her own hands changed the motto "a cottage in the hills where dolichos is bleached" into "the paddy-scented village；" and bidding also T'an Ch'un to take the several tens of stanzas written then， and to transcribe them separately on ornamented silk paper， she commanded a eunuch to send them to the outer quarters. And when Chia Cheng and the other men perused them， one and all sung their incessant praise， while Chia Cheng， on his part， sent in some complimentary message， with regard to her return home on a visit.

Yuan Ch'un went further and gave orders that luscious wines， a ham and other such presents should be conferred upon Pao-yue， as well as upon Chia Lan. This Chia Lan was as yet at this time a perfect youth without any knowledge of things in general， so that all that he could do was to follow the example of his mother， and imitate his uncle in performing the conventional rites.

At the very moment that Chia Se felt unable， along with a company of actresses， to bear the ordeal of waiting on the ground floor of the two-storied building， he caught sight of a eunuch come running at a flying pace. "The composition of verses is over，" he said， "so quick give me the programme；" whereupon Chia Se hastened to present the programme as well as a roll of the names of the twelve girls. And not a long interval elapsed before four plays were chosen； No. 1 being the Imperial Banquet； No. 2 Begging （the weaver goddess） for skill in needlework； No. 3 The spiritual match； and No. 4 the Parting spirit. Chia Se speedily lent a hand in the getting up， and the preparations for the performance， and each of the girls sang with a voice sufficient to split the stones and danced in the manner of heavenly spirits； and though their exterior was that of the characters in which they were dressed up for the play， their acting nevertheless represented， in a perfect manner， both sorrow as well as joy. As soon as the performance was brought to a close， a eunuch walked in holding a golden salver containing cakes， sweets， and the like， and inquired who was Ling Kuan； and Chia Se readily concluding that these articles were presents bestowed upon Ling Kuan， made haste to take them over， as he bade Ling Kuan prostrate herself.

"the honourable consort，" the eunuch further added， "directs that Ling Kuan， who is the best actress of the lot， should sing two more songs； any two will do， she does not mind what they are."

Chia Se at once expressed his obedience， and felt constrained to urge Ling Kuan to sing the two ballads entitled： "The walk through the garden" and "Frightened out of a dream." But Ling Kuan asserted that these two ballads had not originally been intended for her own role； and being firm in her refusal to accede and insisting upon rendering the two songs "The Mutual Promise" and "The Mutual Abuse，" Chia Se found it hard to bring her round， and had no help but to let her have her own way. The Chia consort was so extremely enchanted with her that she gave directions that she should not be treated harshly， and that this girl should receive a careful training， while besides the fixed number of presents， she gave her two rolls of palace silk， two purses， gold and silver ingots， and presents in the way of eatables.

Subsequently， when the banquet had been cleared， and she once more prosecuted her visit through those places to which she had not been， she quite accidentally espied the Buddhist Temple encircled by hills， and promptly rinsing her hands， she walked in and burnt incense and worshipped Buddha. She also composed the device for a tablet， "a humane boat on the （world's） bitter sea，" and went likewise so far as to show special acts of additional grace to a company of ascetic nuns and Taoist priestesses.

A eunuch came in a short while and reverently fell on his knees. "the presents are all in readiness，" he reported， "and may it please you to inspect them and to distribute them， in compliance with custom；" and presented to her a list， which the Chia consort perused from the very top throughout without raising any objection， and readily commanding that action should be taken according to the list， a eunuch descended and issued the gifts one after another. The presents for dowager lady Chia consisted， it may be added， of two sceptres， one of gold， the other of jade， with "may your wishes be fulfilled" inscribed on them； a staff made of lign-aloes； a string of chaplet beads of Chia-nan fragrant wood； four rolls of imperial satins with words "Affluence and honours" and Perennial Spring （woven in them）； four rolls of imperial silk with Perennial Happiness and Longevity； two shoes of purple gold bullion， representing a pen， an ingot and "as you like；" and ten silver ingots with the device "Felicitous Blessings." While the two shares for madame Hsing and madame Wang were only short of hers by the sceptres and staffs， four things in all. Chia She， Chia Cheng and the others had each apportioned to him a work newly written by the Emperor， two boxes of superior ink， and gold and silver cups， two pairs of each； their other gifts being identical with those above. Pao-ch'ai， Tai-yue， all the sisters and the rest were assigned each a copy of a new book， a fine slab and two pair of gold and silver ornaments of a novel kind and original shape； Pao-yue likewise receiving the same presents. Chia Lan's gifts consisted of two necklets， one of gold， the other of silver， and of two pair of gold ingots. Mrs. Yu， widow Li Wan， lady Feng and the others had each of them， four ingots of gold and silver； and， in the way of keepsakes， four pieces of silk. There were， in addition， presents consisting of twenty-four pieces of silk and a thousand strings of good cash to be allotted to the nurses， and waiting-maids， in the apartments of dowager lady Chia， madame Wang and of the respective sisters； while Chia Chen， Chia Lien， Chia Huan， Chia Jung and the rest had， every one， for presents， a piece of silk， and a pair of gold and silver ingots.

As regards the other gifts， there were a hundred rolls of various coloured silks， a thousand ounces of pure silver， and several bottles of imperial wine， intended to be bestowed upon all the men-servants of the mansions， on the East and the West， as well as upon those who had been in the garden overseeing works， arranging the decorations， and in waiting to answer calls， and upon those who looked after the theatres and managed the lanterns. There being， besides， five hundred strings of pure cash for the cooks， waiters， jugglers and hundreds of actors and every kind of domestic.

the whole party had finished giving expression to their thanks for her bounty， when the managers and eunuchs respectfully announced： "It is already a quarter to three， and may it please your Majesty to turn back your imperial chariot；" whereupon， much against her will， the Chia consort's eyes brimmed over， and she once more gave vent to tears. Forcing herself however again to put on a smile， she clasped old lady Chia's and madame Wang's hands， and could not bring herself to let them go； while she repeatedly impressed upon their minds： that there was no need to give way to any solicitude， and that they should take good care of their healths； that the grace of the present emperor was so vast， that once a month he would grant permission for them to enter the palace and pay her a visit. "It is easy enough for us to see each other，" （she said，） "and why should we indulge in any excess of grief？ But when his majesty in his heavenly generosity allows me another time to return home， you shouldn't go in for such pomp and extravagance."

Dowager lady Chia and the other inmates had already cried to such an extent that sobs choked their throats and they could with difficulty give utterance to speech. But though the Chia consort could not reconcile herself to the separation， the usages in vogue in the imperial household could not be disregarded or infringed， so that she had no alternative but to stifle the anguish of her heart， to mount her chariot， and take her departure.

the whole family experienced meanwhile a hard task before they succeeded in consoling the old lady and madame Wang and in supporting them away out of the garden. But as what follows is not ascertained， the next chapter will disclose it.