"Sun Yanqi, tell me—what am I supposed to do?"
"I've run out of ideas myself. So tell me, what am I supposed to do?"
"You come from lowly stock, and my father won't consent to our marriage. To marry you, I went so far as to ruin my own reputation, letting it be said that I had been carried off by the lecher White Chrysanthemum. How was I to know that Sister Tie would hear of it? She was so outraged on my behalf that she went to hunt that lecher down and avenge me."
"If anything happens to Sister Tie, I will never know peace in this life. Tell me, what am I supposed to do?"
A pretty young girl, her face streaked with tears. Beside her stood a young man, wringing his hands, at a loss. Only after a long while did he stammer out, "There is one thing I must tell you plainly."
"My mother has heard of this. She says you are no longer clean, and she threatens to kill herself if I do not give you up."
Shock blanked the girl's face, and her pretty features went dead white in an instant. The young man's words cut at her heart like a knife and plunged her into an ice pit; her whole body seemed to float away into the sky. She staggered two steps, then suddenly cried out loud, "Sister Tie, I have failed you! I'll go right now and fight that lecher to the death, and get you out of there!"
Her steps were wild and unsteady. She went several dozen paces, then could not help herself and looked back—and her heart turned ten times colder than before. The young man had not followed. He only stood where he was, rubbing his hands together. Her talk of fighting White Chrysanthemum to the death had been nothing but a fit of wounded pride; a girl as young and lovely as she, if she fell into a lecher's hands, would surely meet a fate too foul to name. And yet her sweetheart had shown not the slightest intent of stopping her!?
She set her teeth and thought, "Even if I throw myself away, I will save Sister Tie. I won't let her come to ruin at that lecher's hands on my account!"
She brought her lightness skill into play and raced away. The young man never chased after her. Only when her figure had vanished did he close his eyes in misery and mutter to himself, "Lianmei, I know you are innocent. But people's tongues are a fearful thing—a fearful thing!"
"And what am I to do, with my mother threatening to die? I have betrayed you. I have betrayed you. I have betrayed you!"
…The girl: So when it comes to me, I don't even deserve a name? Damn it—even that faithless dog of a man gets a name…
Chapter 5