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"He hasn't been able to make any reply，" Tai-yue rejoined sneeringly， "and must therefore be held to be discomfited； but were he even to make suitable answer now， there would be nothing out of the common about it！ Anyhow， from this time forth you mustn't talk about Buddhistic spells， for what even we two know and are able to do， you don't as yet know and can't do； and do you go and concern yourself with abstraction？"
Pao-yue had， in his own mind， been under the impression that he had attained perception， but when he was unawares and all of a sudden subjected to this question by Tai-yue， he soon found it beyond his power to give any ready answer. And when Pao-ch'ai furthermore came out with a religious disquisition， by way of illustration， and this on subjects， in all of which he had hitherto not seen them display any ability， he communed within himself： "If with their knowledge， which is indeed in advance of that of mine， they haven't， as yet， attained perception， what need is there for me now to bring upon myself labour and vexation？"
"Who has， pray，" he hastily inquired smilingly， after arriving at the end of his reflections， "indulged in Buddhistic mysteries？ what I did amounts to nothing more than nonsensical trash， written， at the spur of the moment， and nothing else."
At the close of this remark all four came to be again on the same terms as of old； but suddenly a servant announced that the Empress （Yuean Ch'un） had despatched a messenger to bring over a lantern-conundrum with the directions that they should all go and guess it， and that after they had found it out， they should each also devise one and send it in. At these words， the four of them left the room with hasty step， and adjourned into dowager lady Chia's drawing room， where they discovered a young eunuch， holding a four-cornered， flat-topped lantern， of white gauze， which had been specially fabricated for lantern riddles. On the front side， there was already a conundrum， and the whole company were vying with each other in looking at it and making wild guesses； when the young eunuch went on to transmit his orders， saying： "Young ladies， you should not speak out when you are guessing； but each one of you should secretly write down the solutions for me to wrap them up， and take them all in together to await her Majesty's personal inspection as to whether they be correct or not."
Upon listening to these words， Pao-ch'ai drew near， and perceived at a glance， that it consisted of a stanza of four lines， with seven characters in each； but though there was no novelty or remarkable feature about it， she felt constrained to outwardly give utterance to words of praise. "It's hard to guess！" she simply added， while she pretended to be plunged in thought， for the fact is that as soon as she had cast her eye upon it， she had at once solved it. Pao-yue， Tai-yue， Hsiang-yuen， and T'an-ch'un， had all four also hit upon the answer， and each had secretly put it in writing； and Chia Huan， Chia Lan and the others were at the same time sent for， and every one of them set to work to exert the energies of his mind， and， when they arrived at a guess， they noted it down on paper； after which every individual member of the family made a choice of some object， and composed a riddle， which was transcribed in a large round hand， and affixed on the lantern. This done， the eunuch took his departure， and when evening drew near， he came out and delivered the commands of the imperial consort. "The conundrum，" he said， "written by Her Highness， the other day， has been solved by every one， with the exception of Miss Secunda and master Tertius， who made a wrong guess. Those composed by you， young ladies， have likewise all been guessed； but Her Majesty does not know whether her solutions are right or not." While speaking， he again produced the riddles， which had been written by them， among which were those which had been solved， as well as those which had not been solved； and the eunuch， in like manner， took the presents， conferred by the imperial consort， and handed them over to those who had guessed right. To each person was assigned a bamboo vase， inscribed with verses， which had been manufactured for palace use， as well as articles of bamboo for tea； with the exception of Ying-ch'un and Chia Huan， who were the only two persons who did not receive any. But as Ying-ch'un looked upon the whole thing as a joke and a trifle， she did not trouble her mind on that score， but Chia Huan at once felt very disconsolate.
"This one devised by Mr. Tertius，" the eunuch was further heard to say， "is not properly done； and as Her Majesty herself has been unable to guess it she commanded me to bring it back， and ask Mr. Tertius what it is about."
After the party had listened to these words， they all pressed forward to see what had been written. The burden of it was this：
the elder brother has horns only eight； The second brother has horns only two； The elder brother on the bed doth sit； Inside the room the second likes to squat.
After perusal of these lines， they broke out， with one voice， into a loud fit of laughter； and Chia Huan had to explain to the eunuch that the one was a pillow， and the other the head of an animal. Having committed the explanation to memory and accepted a cup of tea， the eunuch took his departure； and old lady Chia， noticing in what buoyant spirits Yuean Ch'un was， felt herself so much the more elated， that issuing forthwith directions to devise， with every despatch， a small but ingenious lantern of fine texture in the shape of a screen， and put it in the Hall， she bade each of her grandchildren secretly compose a conundrum， copy it out clean， and affix it on the frame of the lantern； and she had subsequently scented tea and fine fruits， as well as every kind of nicknacks， got ready， as prizes for those who guessed right.
And when Chia Cheng came from court and found the old lady in such high glee he also came over in the evening， as the season was furthermore holiday time， to avail himself of her good cheer to reap some enjoyment. In the upper part of the room seated themselves， at one table dowager lady Chia， Chia Cheng， and Pao-yue； madame Wang， Pao-ch'ai， Tai-yue， Hsiang-yuen sat round another table， and Ying-ch'un， Tan-ch'un and Hsi Ch'un the three of them， occupied a separate table， and both these tables were laid in the lower part， while below， all over the floor， stood matrons and waiting-maids for Li Kung-ts'ai and Hsi-feng were both seated in the inner section of the Hall， at another table.
Chia Chen failed to see Chia Lan， and he therefore inquired： "How is it I don't see brother Lan，" whereupon the female servants， standing below， hastily entered the inner room and made inquiries of widow Li. "He says，" Mrs. Li stood up and rejoined with a smile， "that as your master didn't go just then to ask him round， he has no wish to come！" and when a matron delivered the reply to Chia Cheng； the whole company exclaimed much amused： "How obstinate and perverse his natural disposition is！" But Chia Cheng lost no time in sending Chia Huan， together with two matrons， to fetch Chia Lan； and， on his arrival， dowager lady Chia bade him sit by her side， and， taking a handful of fruits， she gave them to him to eat； after which the party chatted， laughed， and enjoyed themselves.
