FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81  
82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   >>  
the savour of a woman about the 'young noble.' I hope she is not one of those heaven-born genii who appear on earth to plague men, and who, just when they have aroused the affections they wished to excite, ascend through the air and leave their lovers mourning." Just at this moment the door opened, and Jasmine entered, looking more lovely than ever, with the flush begotten by exercise on her beautifully moulded cheeks. At sight of her Tu again burst out laughing, to Jasmine's not unnatural surprise, who, thinking that there must be something wrong with her dress, looked herself up and down, to the increasing amusement of Tu. "So," said he at last, "you deceitful little hussy, you have been deceiving me all these years by passing yourself off as a man, when in reality you are a girl." Overcome with confusion, Jasmine hung her head, and murmured: "Who has betrayed me?" "You have betrayed yourself," said Tu, holding up the incriminating document; "and here we have the story of the arrow with which you shot the hawk, but what the box of precious ointment means I don't know." Confronted with this overwhelming evidence, poor Jasmine remained speechless, and dared not even lift her eyes to glance at Tu. That young man, seeing her distress, and being in no wise possessed by the scorn which he had put into his tone, crossed over to her and gently led her to a seat by him. "Do you remember," he said, in so altered a voice that Jasmine's heart ceased to throb as if it wished to force an opening through the finely formed bosom which enclosed it, "on one occasion in our study at home I wished that you were a woman that you might become my wife? Little did I think that my wish might be gratified. Now it is, and I beseech you to let us join our lives in one, and seek the happiness of the gods in each other's perpetual presence." But, as if suddenly recollecting herself, Jasmine withdrew her hand from his, and, standing up before him with quivering lip and eyes full of tears, said: "No. It can never be." "Why not?" said Tu, in alarmed surprise. "Because I am bound to Wei." "What! Does Wei know your secret?" "No. But do you remember when I shot that arrow in front of your study?" "Perfectly," said Tu. "But what has that to do with it?" "Why, Wei discovered my name on the shaft, and I, to keep my secret, told him that it was my sister's name. He then wanted to marry my sister, and I undertook, fool that
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81  
82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   >>  



Top keywords:

Jasmine

 

wished

 
sister
 

secret

 

surprise

 

remember

 

betrayed

 
enclosed
 

occasion

 

heaven


beseech

 

gratified

 

Little

 
formed
 
opening
 

gently

 

crossed

 
plague
 

altered

 

ceased


finely
 

happiness

 
Perfectly
 

Because

 

discovered

 

wanted

 

undertook

 

savour

 

alarmed

 
presence

suddenly

 

recollecting

 

perpetual

 
withdrew
 

standing

 
quivering
 
possessed
 

moment

 

deceitful

 
opened

entered

 
increasing
 
amusement
 

mourning

 

lovers

 

passing

 

deceiving

 
looked
 
begotten
 

beautifully