A glow of hope kindled in the eyes of Niu, although he sighed heavily, and leaving the mother and her baby at a little distance he took Tuen and went up opposite the entrance. It seemed hours to the waiting girl, so intense was her anxiety, before the Viceroy appeared, though in reality his devotions were very short. When he saw that she and her father barred the way to his sedan he made an imperious gesture for them to stand aside, but Niu Tsang saluted him humbly, but did not move. There was even a quiet dignity about him that did not escape the Viceroy, as he said in a trembling voice:
"I crave your forgiveness, oh illustrious sir, but I have a most beautiful possession—all unworthy that I am—and as poverty presses hard upon me I now offer it to you."
"And what is it?" the Viceroy questioned impatiently, yet attracted by something in the manner of the man before him.
"Behold it," Niu answered, taking Tuen by the hand and drawing her from behind him, where she had hitherto stood unnoticed.
Her appearance it must be confessed was not attractive, for her loose outer robe was soiled and frayed, and the petticoat hanging below it was in tatters. Her face, which under other circumstances would doubtless have been round and plump, was now pinched and worn, and her lips were almost bloodless. A mass of uncombed hair hung to her waist, a faint pink flush, born of excitement, burned through the olive of her cheeks, and her little mouth quivered piteously as she waited with downcast eyes the verdict of this august personage.
"Beautiful, did you say?" the Viceroy questioned, with a sarcastic inflection in his voice that stung the sensitive Tuen to the quick, and caused her to raise her soft, solemn eyes to him with a pleading, half-reproachful look, while the flush on her cheeks deepened to crimson.
"Umh—she is not ugly," he said with sudden condescension. "And now tell me of her age, her home, and what she can do,—then will we talk of the price."
"She is no beggar maid," her father answered, lifting his head, "for I, her father, belong to the literati in my own province, and her people have ever been great ones. But alas! the wild rebellion swept through our land, and we saw our home in ruins, our all destroyed. Starvation must be our lot if we stayed there, so I started for Lu Chang, bringing my family, hoping here to find work. But I have failed, and Tuen is now my only hope. She is young and strong and fair, a valuable possession to the one who buys her. She is also wise and good, of most amiable disposition, and quick in learning woman's work, for her hands are deft and her mind alert. Because such girls are rare and cannot be often bought, the price for her is no petty sum," Niu concluded, anxious now to drive a good bargain.
After much haggling the amount was at last agreed upon, and Tuen listening wondered that so many strings of cash should be paid for a useless girl. "Far, far more than I am worth," she told herself with deep humility.
"Bring her to my yâmen[3] to-morrow at midday," the Viceroy said as he got into his sedan, "and the money will then be paid you."