MR. TIEN—Ah-may, I don’t want you to marry Mr. Chen.
MISS TIEN—(Greatly agitated) Oh, father, you don’t mean it!
MR. TIEN—Yes, I do mean it. This union is impossible. I am sorry.
MISS TIEN—Have you found anything against him?
MR. TIEN—No, I like him very much. I could not possibly choose a better son-in-law. So much the more I am sorry.
MISS TIEN—(Puzzled and grieved) And you don’t believe in the gods and fortune-tellers?
MR. TIEN—Oh, no.
MRS. TIEN AND MISS TIEN—(At the same time) What is it then?
MR. TIEN—(To Miss Tien) My child, you have been abroad for so long that you have forgotten our own custom and etiquette. You have even forgotten the law of our ancestors.
MISS TIEN—What is the law of our ancestors that forbids our marriage?