Scene 39: Arriving at Hangzhou
Scene 39: Arriving at Hangzhou
[Tang Duo Ling] (Liu Mengmei enters) The bright moon over the sea has not yet been buried by dust. (Du Liniang enters) My new makeup is already arranged before the mirror. (Liu Mengmei) Rolling up the wind and color of the Qiantang River, I break the silence of my study. (Du Liniang) Husband, last night beyond the fragrant clouds of the sky, it seemed as if osmanthus blossoms fell from the moon in full bloom. (Liu Mengmei) "A couple sojourning in a strange land, our worries hard to dissolve." (Du Liniang) "Let me call for a flask of wine to buy a cup." (Liu Mengmei) "The angry tide on the river is like a thousand feet of snow." (Du Liniang) "It seems like a sudden thunderclap at the Gate of Yu on level ground." (Liu Mengmei) You and I, husband and wife, have followed each other and come to the capital city of Lin'an. I have rented an empty house where I can study texts and histories. But unfortunately, the examination date is still far off, and the melancholy of our sojourn grows ever deeper. What is to be done? (Du Liniang) This morning I told the nun to buy a flask of wine to relieve your worries a little, but she has not yet returned. (Liu Mengmei) I am grateful for your trouble, my wife. I have never asked you before: at first I only thought you were the girl from the western neighbor. Who would have known you moved the dark realms of the dead, and we hastily became husband and wife? All along the journey, I have never learned the truth. Did you, my lady, first see me to the west of the nunnery? How did the line in your poem—"Not by the plum tree, but by the willow"—specify my name? How could this spiritual understanding have come about? (Du Liniang smiles) Dear Liu, saying I saw you west of the nunnery is false. In my former life!
[River Water] By chance, I once dreamed with you in the back garden. You held a willow branch and wanted me to match it with a poem. As I was composing, I went with you to the Peony Pavilion. (Liu Mengmei smiles) Was it pleasant? (Du Liniang smiles) Ah, just at the best part, falling blossoms startled me awake. After that, my spirit was unsettled, and I fell ill, languishing. This is the clever being burdened by cleverness, the sincere not finding sincerity, the destined enemy knotting this destined debt. A trace of sensual passion is hard to destroy. Reborn into the world, my words split into two separate strands.
[Previous Tune] (Liu Mengmei) Hearing your words, I am utterly stunned. Only because I am a fool for love did I believe you were real. I still fear that lewdness might provoke the wrath of the underworld, and I dread offending against the precepts of life and death by violating a tomb. A poor scholar receives the love of a woman from the shades, making your physical form incorruptible. Emerging from the earth as a living person, I now see the splendor of this imperial city. (The old woman enters carrying wine) "My road passes through the Crimson Phoenix City; my wine is bought at the Golden Fish Tavern." Ah, sir and lady, you do not know: as I was buying wine by the river, I saw scholars from all over heading to the examination hall. You have missed a great stroke of good fortune, sir. (Liu Mengmei and Du Liniang bustle about in panic) (Du Liniang) Husband, you must go quickly. (The old woman) This wine is the very "Top Scholar's Red."
[Little Big Character] (Du Liniang offers wine) The joy of a single night of love is shattered by the words "fame and merit." How delightful, these three cups of imperial wine; let us set out the four beauties of the moon and human reunion. At court, waiting before the fifth watch gate, I hear the clamor of the six streets' bustling crowds. With the talent to compose a poem in seven steps, I ascend the eight-treasure terrace of the Cold Palace. Drunk with the spring colors of the ninth heaven, I shall return after viewing the flowers for ten miles.
[Previous Tune] (Liu Mengmei) Ten years by the cold window, I met the plum blossom only when it opened in the ninth month of frost. The fate of a husband's honor and a wife's glory is arranged by the eight characters. I dare to hope you will ride steadily in a seven-fragrance carriage, summoned by the six palaces to your court audience. A five-colored patent of nobility is not beyond your due. In the four virtues, like your three obediences, our vows will be harmonious. A two-inch slip of gold-dusted paper brings the news of joy. A black-canopied carriage comes flying. (Du Liniang) Husband, I recall the words of the spring portrait poem.
[Coda] I long for this day to draw near to you, the guest of the Moon Palace. You and I, with doubled spirit, will present our policies before the golden steps. When you pass with high honors, we will go together to visit your father and mother. They will say I ascended to immortality from the underworld—a great, resounding cheer!
(Du Liniang) "My good man truly has rare talent." (The old woman) "I fear missing the good time, then urgent summons press." (Du Liniang) "In the red-towered boudoir, she counts the days." (Together) "From afar, I hear laughter coming from the sky."