"Unattainable stands the star of the Cowherd.
Clear shines the star of the Spinning Maiden.
Diligently her white hands move back and forth;
'Chih, chili goes the sound of her loom,
But the whole days labor is not enougfi to complete her work;
Like rain is the falling of her tears.
Clear is the Heavenly River and shallow,
Yet how may it be crossed?
Separated by the flowing tide
They gaze at each other in silence."
Yang Kuei-fei stopped singing. Impulsively she threw her arms about him and buried her head against his breast.
"Nothing must part us," she cried vehemently, "nothing."
"Nor will it," he assured her. As he spoke he lifted her slim body in his arms and carried her in to their apartment.
She sighed contentedly as he set her down on a chair near the scarlet bed.
16.
Far off in the mountains, Wang Wei's mother was dead, fallen to earth like a withered leaf in the forest. For weeks her coffin had stood in a corner of her room, waiting to receive her body.
Beside the bed, Wang Chin sat like a stoic. Although his heart wept, he showed no emotion.
