Hsiang-yün replied.

When she had done with her part, she drank a cup of wine. "I've got another set," Yüan Yang began, "the one on the left is a double three."

"The swallows, pair by pair, chatter on the beams;"

Pao-ch'ai remarked.

"The right piece is a six," Yüan Yang added.

"The marsh flower is stretched by the breeze e'en to the length of a green sash,"

Pao-ch'ai returned.

"The centre piece is a three and six, making a nine spot," Yüan Yang pursued.

"The three hills tower half beyond the azure skies;"

Pao-ch'ai rejoined.