Ai. I will explain.
Emperor. Speak on.
Ai. Your servant has heard that Yao and Shun by filial duty reduced the world to order, Chieh and Chow by arrogance lost their crowns. I, by Your Majesty’s favour, received a Princess to wife, and am son-in-law to the Eternal One. More than life I owe. But since my wedding the “red lamp,”[1] has often hung at the palace gate, and only by permission could I enter; only after much ceremony was I allowed to embrace my bride.
Tzu-I. Surely you speak too freely!
Emperor. The Princess has been in fault. Hear now my commands. No longer shall the red lamp be displayed, and you are free to come and go at will. Speak on.
Ai. Yesterday was the birthday of my parents, eighty years old were they. All the court officials came in crowds to offer their felicitations. Only I, of all my family, came alone with the painful thought that my wife, the Princess, remained in her palace forgetful of my father and mother.
Tzu-I. The Princess should not come to visit a simple subject.
Ai. The Heir to the Dragon Throne, he who awaits the day in the east palace, came to bow.
Tzu-I. That was—
Emperor. I hear and understand. Yesterday, on your birthday, the Princess did not appear; that is an offence.
Ai. O most noble and omniscient!
Emperor. My brother.
Tzu-I. Your servant hears.
Emperor. I hear the words of your son, and he is in the right. He has told me all, and my heart is glad that he knows
- ↑ A signal that Kuo Ai was not to enter the palace.
