Hao Qiu Zhuan/en/Chapter 11
Chapter 11: A Warm Heart Cannot Rest: Rushing a Thousand Li to Help
Modern English translation by Martin Woesler (2025)
To the tune of "Rouged Lips":
Say not it is no concern of yours — Every fiber of heart and body is bound to it. He races and flies, Still fearing she will think him slow. Can there be hesitation? It is all a matter of how deep the feeling runs. There is no holding back — Who but I, in this cold and warmth, Shall tend to it?
It was told how Young Master Guo, seeing that Inspector Feng would not press the marriage for him but had instead issued a proclamation to protect Miss Shui against forced unions, was thoroughly displeased. He called again and again, but the Inspector refused to receive him. In his agitation, unable to discover what had gone wrong, he went to Magistrate Bao to seek information, telling him of the Inspector's astonishing proclamation.
Magistrate Bao was genuinely surprised: "What can be the reason?" After a moment's thought he said: "It must be that Miss Shui has worked some new marvel and brought the Inspector to heel."
Young Master Guo said: "Her father is not at home. She is a young girl who never leaves her chambers. What marvel could she possibly work?"
Magistrate Bao said: "Do not underestimate Miss Shui. Though she is merely a young woman, she possesses the resolution of the greatest heroes of all time. The other day, when I brought the Inspector's orders to her, she agreed to everything without a murmur — and I immediately suspected she had some plan in reserve. Later, when I went back to impress upon her that she must not change her mind, she replied: 'I shall not change my mind — I only fear the Inspector will change his.' And now the Inspector has indeed changed his mind. Is this not her doing?"
Young Master Guo had no choice but to take his leave and resume his inquiries at the Inspector's office. Under normal circumstances, since the whole office knew about Miss Shui's dramatic appearance at court, the truth should have come to light easily. But the Inspector, fearing the scandal, had ordered everyone to keep silent, and so Young Master Guo could learn nothing. He stewed in frustration for more than twenty days.
Then, unexpectedly, the Inspector sent for him. Young Master Guo, imagining good news, hurried to the appointment. But when they met in the private chambers, Inspector Feng spoke first: "In attending to your matter, I very nearly brought a great disaster upon myself."
Young Master Guo said: "To promote a marriage in your jurisdiction — even if there are some complications — how can that lead to disaster? Why has Your Excellency reversed your position?"
Inspector Feng said: "I too thought of Miss Shui as merely a girl under my jurisdiction, and so I issued my orders to compel her submission. But this Miss Shui turns out to be a formidable individual — a woman of great intelligence and vast resourcefulness. When my orders arrived, she did not so much as bat an eye. She accepted everything with the utmost composure. Then, in secret, she composed a memorial to the throne, dispatched a household servant to the capital, and had him strike the Drum of Grievances to impeach me. Can you believe such audacity?"
Young Master Guo was stunned: "A young girl — would she really dare go so far? I suspect this is a bluff, designed to buy her time."
Inspector Feng said: "It was no bluff. She had the temerity to bring the memorial to me in person — here, at this very court."
Young Master Guo said: "Then Your Excellency should have torn it up and punished her severely. That would have put an end to it."
Inspector Feng said: "She was clever enough to dispatch the original three days before coming to see me. If I had punished her severely and the original arrived at court — if the throne accepted it and demanded the accused — what then? And that was not all: she stood before me with a dagger in her hand, ready to kill herself. If she had died, the situation would have been beyond all remedy."
Young Master Guo said: "Even if her memorial reached the throne, Your Excellency could submit a counter-memorial. Surely you could prevail against her."
Inspector Feng said: "You have not seen her memorial. She demolished my position utterly — there is no angle from which to mount a defense. If the memorial had been accepted, not only would I have been ruined, but you and your father would have been dragged into it as well. And so I had no choice but to issue the proclamation to pacify her, obtain from her the servant's name and description, and send a man racing after him day and night to bring the memorial back. The reason I could not receive you these past days was my fear that the memorial might not be intercepted in time, and that if our meetings became public knowledge, it would only add fuel to the fire. Fortunately, the memorial has now been recovered. I have asked you here today to see it for yourself, so that you will understand I did not reverse my position capriciously — I simply had no choice."
He produced Miss Shui's memorial and showed it to Young Master Guo. Young Master Guo, though he did not fully grasp all its implications, was chilled by the phrase "fawns upon his patron and abuses his power." He said: "What insolence! Truly unforgivable. Can we really let this stand? I simply cannot contain my fury, and I simply cannot give her up. I beg Your Excellency, for my father's sake, to find some other way."
Inspector Feng said: "In any other matter, I would gladly oblige. But this match with Miss Shui — frankly, there are irregularities. I advise you to let it go. Pressing the matter further will only lead to disaster. This young woman's actions are utterly unpredictable — she is not someone to trifle with."
Young Master Guo, seeing the Inspector's refusal, had no recourse. He went home and summoned his confidant Cheng Qi to devise a plan. He recounted the gist of the memorial and said: "She accuses me of 'fawning upon his patron and abusing power' — dragging my own father into it! Is that not outrageous?"
Cheng Qi said: "Her memorial may be vicious, but if you look at it from her perspective — she is fighting to the death to avoid the marriage. She does not object to your appearance or your talent. Her only insistence is that both parties must have their fathers' consent. On the strict proprieties of marriage, she is not wrong. I think this match simply cannot be forced. If you are absolutely determined to have her, the only way is this: your father will soon be Grand Secretary. Write to him at once, explain the situation, and ask him to act. He can send someone to the garrison where Vice-Minister Shui is serving his sentence and propose the match there. Think about it — Shui, in his present disgrace, will hardly refuse. And once her father has consented, she can fly to heaven for all the good it will do her."
Young Master Guo was overjoyed: "Of course! The highway lies straight before me — why have I been taking byroads?" He wrote an earnest letter to his father, provided traveling funds, and dispatched Cheng Qi along with an old family servant to carry the proposal to the capital.
As the verse says:
You search the whole tree for blossoms and find none, Then go to dig for roots beneath. Who would have thought that spring was in the neighbor's garden? Butterflies and bees buzzing — all in the wrong direction.
We shall set aside Cheng Qi's journey to the capital for the moment.
Now Tie Zhongyu, after returning from Shandong to his family home in Daming Prefecture, carried in his heart an abiding admiration for Miss Shui. He gradually curbed his headstrong ways and devoted himself solely to study, intent on success in the examinations. One day, reading the official gazette, he saw that his father, Censor-in-Chief Tie, had submitted a memorial pleading illness. Not knowing the reason, he grew anxious. Taking Xiao Dan and riding post-haste, he hurried to the capital to see his father.
As he neared the capital, he noticed a man on a donkey riding ahead of him. Tie Zhongyu's horse was faster, and as he overtook the donkey he glanced back — and recognized Shui Yong, servant of the Shui household. He pulled up in surprise: "Shui Yong! What brings you here?"
Shui Yong looked up, saw Tie Zhongyu, and scrambled off his donkey in haste: "I was just coming to find you, sir!"
Tie Zhongyu was alarmed: "Find me? What for?" He reined in his horse and dismounted. "Is it on account of the master, or the young lady?"
Shui Yong said: "On account of the young lady."
Tie Zhongyu started again: "What has happened to the young lady? Is it Young Master Guo making trouble again?"
Shui Yong said: "Exactly — Young Master Guo making trouble again. Worse than before. My young lady is in such distress that she has sent me to the capital to strike the Drum of Grievances and submit a memorial. But she feared I would bungle it, so she told me to find you first, sir, and ask for your guidance."
Tie Zhongyu said: "Submitting a memorial is simple enough. But first tell me — what has Young Master Guo done that is so terrible it requires a memorial?"
Shui Yong said: "Before, when Young Master Guo was acting on his own, his schemes were shallow and my young lady could parry them as they came. But now the new Provincial Inspector is the elder Guo's protégé, and he has thrown his full weight behind the match — issuing two official orders to the county, demanding the marriage be completed within a month. How can she stand against that? My young lady had no choice but to compose a memorial impeaching him, and she sent me to find you for guidance. It is my great good fortune to have run into you. Please, sir, take me to the proper office at once. I have the necessary funds with me."
Tie Zhongyu, hearing this, was incensed: "Which Inspector dares behave like this?"
Shui Yong said: "His name is Feng."
Tie Zhongyu said: "It must be that scoundrel Feng Ying! If the young lady has composed a memorial, it will certainly be devastating. There is no difficulty here. We need not even use the Drum — I shall deliver it to the Office of Transmission, and have it presented to the throne at once. When the reply comes down, I shall ask the Supervising Censors to file supplementary impeachments — and then let us see how long that scoundrel keeps his post!"
Shui Yong said: "If you would do that for us, sir, everything would be resolved."
Tie Zhongyu spurred his horse: "We cannot talk on the road. My horse is fast — I shall ride ahead. Follow as quickly as you can to the Censor-in-Chief's private residence. I shall have Xiao Dan wait for you at the gate." Shui Yong agreed.
Tie Zhongyu whipped his horse and was gone like the wind. He arrived at the residence in no time. His father, Censor-in-Chief Tie, had submitted his memorial of illness as a formality — it had not been accepted, and the residence was still bustling with activity. Tie Zhongyu hurried inside, paid his respects to his parents, and learned that his father's memorial was merely a routine matter connected to a major policy debate requiring the Censor-in-Chief's involvement. Nothing serious. Relieved, he immediately sent Xiao Dan to the gate to wait for Shui Yong. Xiao Dan waited until evening — no sign of him.
Tie Zhongyu surmised: "Miss Shui specifically sent him to ask me to submit the memorial — why hasn't he come? Perhaps his donkey is slow and he arrived late and found lodgings for the night. He will surely come in the morning." The next morning he sent Xiao Dan to the gate again. Xiao Dan waited until past noon — still no sign.
Tie Zhongyu grew uneasy: "Could he have found some influential acquaintance who submitted the memorial for him, and so did not need to come to me?" He dispatched a capable clerk to the Office of Transmission to inquire whether a memorial had been submitted by the daughter of Vice-Minister Shui. The clerk came back: "No such memorial." Tie Zhongyu, still not satisfied, sent someone to the Gate of the Meridian to ask whether anyone had struck the Drum of Grievances that day. Again: "No."
Now Tie Zhongyu was truly alarmed. He thought: "Shui Yong told me plainly he wanted my help to submit the memorial — why has he vanished? Could the Inspector's agents have discovered what was afoot and done away with him in secret? Or has he fallen suddenly ill?"
A thousand anxious thoughts raced through his mind. It never occurred to him that Shui Yong, just as he was approaching the capital gates, had been overtaken by Inspector Feng's officer and sent back. Tie Zhongyu dispatched people in every direction to search — for three, then five days — without a trace.
Tie Zhongyu grew desperate. He thought: "If the memorial had been accepted and submitted, Miss Shui would have nothing to fear from the Inspector. But now the memorial has not been submitted, and the Inspector's authority is bearing down on her. However capable she may be, she is one woman alone — how can she hold out? Her father is in exile, and in all of Licheng County everyone is currying favor with Young Master Guo. If I do not go to her aid, who will? As the saying goes: 'A man of honor will die for one who truly knows him.' Miss Shui and I, Tie Zhongyu — we are kindred spirits of the rarest kind. If I did not know, I might be excused. But I know, and to stand by and do nothing — a man with whiskers and eyebrows, outdone by a girl — would that not be to betray a kindred spirit?"
His mind made up, he took leave of his parents, claiming he was going home to study. But in secret, without even riding his horse, he hired a donkey and, with only Xiao Dan for company, rode day and night toward Licheng County in Shandong, determined to help Miss Shui.
As he rode, he pondered: "By rights, I should march straight into the scoundrel's court, give him a piece of my mind, and make a public spectacle of him — that would be satisfying. But he is a Provincial Inspector, touring on behalf of the Son of Heaven. If I did that, he could submit a memorial accusing me of insulting an imperial envoy, and he would have the better argument. Even at the imperial court, though his case is weak and mine is strong, I would not fear him — but I remember how Miss Shui overcame her adversaries without stirring a ripple. If I create a great uproar, she will only laugh at me again for acting on hot blood. Better to go first to Miss Shui, secure the Inspector's two orders demanding the marriage, take them to the capital, and have my father submit a memorial impeaching him for 'fawning upon his patron and abusing his power, compelling a senior minister's daughter into an illegitimate match.' Then let us see how he extricates himself!"
As the verse says:
Though the warm heart is single, Within it are ten thousand thoughts. Until the mind comes to rest in safety, The restless pacing never ends.
Tie Zhongyu's plan was settled. He pressed on without stopping and within days reached Licheng County. He found lodgings, left his baggage with Xiao Dan to guard, and walked to the Shui mansion.
The gate was quiet — not a soul coming or going. He entered the outer gate; still no one. He passed through the second gate, and though he saw no one, he noticed a proclamation posted on the wall. He went closer and read it — and it was indeed the Inspector's proclamation prohibiting forced marriages.
He thought: "That scoundrel issued two orders demanding a forced marriage — and now he issues a proclamation against it? What a puzzle! Did Miss Shui manage to submit her memorial after all, and the result came down in her favor? Or has Vice-Minister Shui been reinstated, and the Inspector does not dare offend? Or did she bribe him?" He could make no sense of it. He wanted to go inside and ask, but then he thought: "She lives alone. I am neither kin nor friend. If she were in danger from a forced marriage, I might go in and inquire without impropriety. But with this perfectly placid proclamation posted at her gate — if I go in now, it would look like I was using public duty as a pretext for private designs. That is absolutely not permissible. Let me go outside and make discreet inquiries. Perhaps someone knows."
He turned to leave. Just as he stepped through the main gate, he ran straight into Shui Yun walking past. They recognized each other and exchanged greetings.
Shui Yun thought: "He left in such a huff before — what brings him back? He must have caught the fever too." He asked: "When did you arrive, sir? Have you seen my niece?"
Tie Zhongyu said: "I arrived just today. I have not presumed to disturb your niece."
Shui Yun said: "If you have not seen my niece, then why are you here?"
Tie Zhongyu said: "While in the capital, I heard that Inspector Feng had been abusing his authority — issuing one order after another, demanding that your niece be married off within a month. I reflected that a girl's marriage is her father's decision — what business is it of a Provincial Inspector? My sense of justice was offended, and so I traveled a thousand li to lend my support. But just now, inside the gate, I saw the Inspector's proclamation — prohibiting forced marriages — a measure of good governance. I realize that the reports I heard in the capital were mistaken. And so I shall depart."
Shui Yun laughed heartily: "So the Iron young gentleman has truly 'come at what he heard, and goes at what he sees'! A noble deed, to be sure — but rather hasty in execution. Be that as it may, since you have come all this way, you should at least stay a moment. Let me tell my niece, so she may come out and thank you properly. Otherwise this long journey of yours will have been entirely in vain."
Tie Zhongyu said: "I did not come entirely for another person's sake — I came mainly to ease the unrest in my own heart. Now that my heart is at peace, what need is there for gratitude, or for thanks?" He cupped his hands: "I bid you good day, sir." And without another word he turned and strode away.
Shui Yun tried to say more, but Tie Zhongyu had already rounded the corner. Shui Yun was thoroughly vexed. He thought: "That arrogant puppy — still as insufferable as ever! How can I teach him a lesson?" After pondering without result, he thought: "I had better consult with Young Master Guo."
He first sent a boy to follow Tie Zhongyu discreetly and discover where he was lodging. Then he went straight to see Young Master Guo and told him everything. Young Master Guo stamped his foot: "The wretch has come back to steal my bride! I will not stand for this! I shall spare no effort to deal with him."
Shui Yun said: "But how?"
Young Master Guo said: "Tomorrow I shall seek him out and, on some pretext, provoke a quarrel. Then I shall have a few strong men lying in wait. We shall beat him half to death — and where will he go to complain? Then I shall report it to the Inspector. Even if old Feng knows the boy is the Censor-in-Chief's son and wants to protect him, he cannot very well punish us either. In the end, they will patch it up somehow and let him go — and he will never dare so much as look at a citizen of Licheng County again. Would that not be satisfying?"
Shui Yun shook his head: "That will not do. I have heard that his father is Censor-in-Chief — the Inspector's own superior. Even if the Inspector wanted to act on your behalf, he would not dare cross the Censor-in-Chief's son."
Young Master Guo was alarmed: "You are right — I had not thought of that. What then?"
Shui Yun said: "I have a better plan. We need not make a grand production of it. Just give him a little taste of humiliation — knock him about, leave him black and blue, with no one to complain to — and that will be satisfaction enough."
Young Master Guo said: "If we could manage that, so much the better. But how?"
Shui Yun said: "This Tie fellow, for all his tough talk, is young. I suspect his real motive in coming here is my niece. He ran into me just now and had to put on a brave face, talking about justice and all that. But in his heart he is dying for a chance to see her. If we play upon that — send a boy to invite him, claiming the message comes from Miss Shui, saying she learned of his visit this morning and wishes to meet him tonight at the first watch, at the back garden gate, to have a confidential word — even a god could not tell it was a trick. When he arrives, you have some tough fellows hidden in ambush. Beat him black and blue — and where will he turn for redress?"
Young Master Guo was so pleased that his whole face lit up: "Brilliant! A stroke of genius! We shall give him a thrashing and let him know that the heroes of Licheng County are not to be trifled with."
He called out a clever, smooth-talking page boy and carefully rehearsed him in what to say — do this, say that. The boy was indeed clever, and understood everything perfectly. Just as the instructions were complete, the boy whom Shui Yun had sent to find Tie Zhongyu's lodgings returned. Shui Yun had the boy lead the page to the spot.
Now Tie Zhongyu, troubled by the Inspector's proclamation and unable to learn its true cause, had gone to the county hall to ask Magistrate Bao for an explanation. But Magistrate Bao was away on business. Tie Zhongyu returned to his lodgings.
The Shui household boy, seeing him approach, pointed him out to the page: "That is the Iron young gentleman coming now." The page took note of his face. He let Tie Zhongyu enter the lodgings, then followed him in. In a low voice he called out: "Master Tie — where have you been all day? I have been waiting a long time."
Tie Zhongyu turned and saw a page boy of about fourteen or fifteen. "Whose boy are you?" he asked. "What do you want with me?"
The page did not answer at once. He looked around carefully, and seeing that no one was nearby, he sidled up to Tie Zhongyu and said in a whisper: "I was sent by Miss Shui."
Tie Zhongyu was suspicious: "Miss Shui has her chief steward Shui Yong and other servants. Why would she not send one of them, but send you instead?"
The page said: "The young lady was going to send Shui Yong, but she said it would be inconvenient for him to speak freely. So she sent me instead. I am the young lady's personal attendant — I can communicate her innermost thoughts."
Tie Zhongyu said: "What innermost thoughts require your communication?"
The page said: "The young lady says that this morning she learned of your visit, sir. She wished to come out and see you, but — firstly, with everyone watching, it was not convenient for a private conversation; secondly, if anyone had seen, there would have been talk; thirdly, since you did not knock at the gate or send in a card, she could not very well invite you in without its looking improper. And so she restrained herself. But she is deeply grateful for your kindness in coming all this way, and she must thank you in person. So she has sent me to you in secret."
Tie Zhongyu said: "Go back and tell the young lady this: though Tie Zhongyu came here because he could not bear to see injustice done, it was to ease his own conscience — not to see the young lady's face. Even if the young lady feels gratitude, there is no reason and no propriety in meeting. Men and women are not the same as friends."
The page said: "The young lady is well aware that a man and a woman should not meet. But she says that since you have already met before, and since today you have traveled such a distance for her sake, to refuse a meeting now on grounds of propriety would be a breach of friendship. She wishes to propose that you come at the first watch of the night, quietly, to the back garden gate, where the two of you might speak briefly. No one will know — it will be convenient for both sides. She earnestly hopes you will not break the appointment, lest you disappoint the young lady's heart."
Tie Zhongyu heard this and exploded with fury: "Nonsense! What kind of talk is this? Has your young lady lost her mind?"
The page said: "My young lady means it with the best intentions — why is the Iron young gentleman angry?"
Tie Zhongyu was seething, but even in his anger he thought: "Miss Shui has always been the strictest upholder of propriety — how could she say such things? Could she really have become a different person in so short a time? There must be a trick behind this."
He seized the boy by the collar with one hand and raised the other as if to strike: "You little wretch! How dare you come here with a honey-trap to deceive me? Miss Shui is a heroine among women of our age — how dare you put such filthy words in her mouth? And I, Tie Zhongyu, am a man as bright and clean as polished steel — how dare you try to lure me with such lewd talk? These words are beyond anything a boy your age could invent — someone put you up to this. Tell me the truth: whose boy are you, and who taught you these words? Tell me honestly and I shall let you go. But if you hedge by so much as half a word, I shall drag you to the county hall and have the magistrate beat you to death!"
The page had been speaking with such fluency and conviction when Tie Zhongyu suddenly grabbed him. The boy was terrified out of his wits. And when Tie Zhongyu laid bare the whole deception before he could even finish, the page was more terrified still. At first he tried to bluff: "It truly was Miss Shui who sent me. These are truly the young lady's own words." But after two sharp slaps across the mouth, the truth came tumbling out: "I am actually Young Master Guo's page. These words were all taught me by old Master Shui. It truly has nothing to do with me — please spare me, sir!"
Tie Zhongyu threw his head back and laughed: "Goblins and ghosts, daring to play their tricks in the broad light of day!" He released the boy: "Since you have told the truth, I shall let you go. Tell that old wretch of the Shui family this: I, Tie Zhongyu, am a man of iron principle, and Miss Shui is a woman beyond compare. Our actions are governed by nothing but righteousness and honor — and petty men cannot so much as begin to fathom them. Tell him to stop asking for trouble. Now go!"
The page, freed at last, dared not utter another word. He pulled his sleeve across his face and ran crying all the way back. Shui Yun and Young Master Guo were still sitting together waiting for news when the page stumbled in, crestfallen and tearful. Young Master Guo demanded: "What happened to you?"
The page, having endured such a beating, burst into tears at the sight of his master: "It is all old Master Shui's fault!"
Shui Yun said: "I told you to go as a Shui household boy, deliver Miss Shui's message — he should have been delighted. How is it my fault?"
The page said: "Old Master Shui, you underestimate the Iron young gentleman far too much! He is terrifyingly sharp. Those two eyes of his see right through you — better than any fortune-teller. That mouth of his can discuss anything as though he had witnessed it himself. The moment I said I was sent by Miss Shui, he was already suspicious — 'If Miss Shui sent you, why not send the chief steward? Why send you?' I said I was the young lady's personal attendant, trusted with her private thoughts. Already his face was dark, and he demanded: 'What private thoughts?' I had no choice but to deliver old Master Shui's whole message about Miss Shui inviting him to a secret meeting in the back garden. Before I was halfway through, he flew into a rage, grabbed me by the collar, and started hitting me: 'Whose boy are you, you little wretch? How dare you come here with a honey-trap! Miss Shui is a paragon of virtue — how dare you put such filthy words in her mouth!' And: 'Who taught you all this? Tell the truth or I shall have you beaten to death at the county hall!' I held out at first, but after two slaps I could not hold out any more, and I told him everything. As I was leaving he called old Master Shui a goblin and a ghost, and said to tell him to stop pulling a tiger's whiskers and asking for trouble."
Young Master Guo and Shui Yun stared at each other, speechless. After a long, stunned silence, Young Master Guo ground his teeth: "That insufferable wretch! I absolutely will not let him off. Yet I cannot think how to get at him."
Shui Yun said: "I have one more plan — I am determined to pay him back!"
And this plan was to lead to the truth of the saying:
Those who create mischief for others End by suffering the mischief themselves.
To learn what plan Shui Yun had in mind, read on in the following chapter.