He was always called Chang Lao—Chang the Old Gentleman, so to speak. No one knew his given name, nor whence he came, nor his exact age. The people of Luho couldn't remember a time when he had not been a poor gardener living in a small house next to that of Wei Shu, a retired officer. Chang was quiet, he didn't go out much and people easily forgot he existed.
Wei Shu had a marriageable daughter. At the proper time, he called in a matchmaker. They talked long and seriously. She was tired and in a hurry to get home when she stepped through the gate and Wei Shu's maidservant closed it behind her. As the matchmaker walked quickly away, she was accosted by Chang Lao. It was with an effort of memory that she identified him.
"How do you do?" he said politely. "Would you mind stopping at my house for something to eat and drink. There's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you. It won't take long."
"That's kind of you, Mr. Chang," the matchmaker replied, "but I really don't have the time. It's getting late, you know, and I have things to do at home."
"Oh, yes, Mr. Wei really is in a hurry to marry off his daughter. But then you won't have any trouble finding a proper husband. She's quite a nice girl, you know, and pretty, too."
The matchmaker nodded agreement. "Proper husbands are easy enough to get," she said, "but rich ones... Ah! there's the problem, usually."
"I really think I might be able to help," Chang Lao told her. "Come on in. You'll find my wine is not so bad and there's some very nice cake."
Unwillingly but somehow unable to help herself, the matchmaker followed him into the garden. Small it was, but perfectly proportioned. Never had she seen such gorgeous blooms. A vegetable patch at one side was lush with succulent looking crops. The thought flashed through her mind that not every vegetable to be seen there was in season. The house was tiny and yet it wasn't. The furnishings were planks, yet these were comfortable. Strangely, everything seemed to be just what you hoped it would be. The hall they entered was just the right size for a quiet talk.
Mr. Chang brought out the wine and the cake. The glassware sparkled and the china was exquisite. The matchmaker tasted the wine and thought of Heaven. The cake was a perfect complement.
"Well, you are certainly comfortable here," she observed.
"Do you think so?" he asked. "I'm happy you are favorably impressed, because it will make more credible what I am about to say. You see, I would like to offer myself as Miss Wei's prospective husband."
"What!" she exclaimed. "A simple gardener like you and a fine young lady—you must be out of your head. Mr. Wei would never think of it."
"But I am healthy and maybe not so old as I look. Besides, I work hard and earn a good living." Chang Lao did somehow look a little younger as he spoke.
The matchmaker looked down her long nose at him. "Mr. Wei is a gentleman," she said, "and you are nothing but a tiller of the soil. I couldn't think of recommending you. This wine and this cake are good, but you cannot tempt me with such small things. I am under obligation to the Wei family."
The gardener said nothing. From a small cabinet he took out a soft cloth and unrolled it. Onto the table fell a fine ruby—not of great size yet big enough and of perfect color and unique cut. When the matchmaker looked at the ruby, she felt a pleasant glow of health and well-being.
"This is yours," said Chang Lao, "whether Mr. Wei accepts me or not. You have only to ask him."
She picked up the stone. Immediately her rheumatism felt better. Glancing in the copper mirror on the wall, she had the feeling that she was younger and more attractive.
Then she steeled herself professionally and started to refuse once again. Something stopped her. The words that came out were not quite hers, and yet her voice was speaking. "I suppose I can try,''' she said. She was still shaking her head wonderingly as he bowed her out of the gate. But the ruby was in her hand and her step was quicker and surer than it had been in years.
She called on Wei Shu the next day. After the pleasantries, she asked if Mr. Wei knew his neighbor Chang Lao.
"Oh, that gardener fellow. Everyone forgets he's around somehow. Yes, I know him. He does some work for me now and again. Come to think of it, I still owe him for the last few times he pruned the trees and trimmed the hedges. He doesn't care much for money, I guess."
"Maybe he's better off than you think," the matchmaker replied. "At least he's rich enough to ask for the hand of your daughter."
"Unbelievable! My daughter marry such a low fellow! You must be out of your head. Don't insult the Wei family like this. Maybe we are no longer so rich, but we don't need any gardener to support us."
"Please don't be angry, sir," the matchmaker said. "I want to show you something." She took out the perfect ruby and its facets gave off a red glow of happiness. "He gave me this merely to plead his case, and I don't have to give it back, even if you say no."
Wei Shu gazed at the gem and grew thoughtful. Could the old man have a hidden treasure? And if so, where had it come from? He couldn't take eyes off the ruby, which grew more beautiful, he thought, the longer he looked. Then his anger was gone.
"I'll tell you what, Miss Matchmaker," he said. "You tell Chang Lao that for 500,000 cash he can have my daughter." The price was beyond reach, of course. Even a rich gardener couldn't have that much money hidden away.
The matchmaker's hopes fell, but as she picked up the ruby her confidence returned. ''I'll see him right away," she said.
Chang Lao answered the bell in an instant. Maybe he had been watching through the crack and saw her coming. "Come in," he said, "and welcome. What luck did you have? I think maybe you have a proposition."
"How did you guess?" she asked. "I never could have. Yes, Mr. Wei is interested, but the price would be 500,000 cash, and that's out of the question. If you could offer maybe half, I think he would come down. The family fortunes are badly in need of replenishment."
"I don't want to bargain for a bride," the gardener said. "Come back at the same time tomorrow and the money will be ready."
"You had better take it yourself," the matchmaker said. "I'll go with you, though." She wanted to see the color of the money, some of which would be hers.
Wei Shu was incredulous when he looked down at the 500 strings of cash. "How could you come by such a sum?" he asked.
"Oh, I have saved all my life," Chang Lao said quietly, "and I have worked hard."
"Well never mind," Mr. Wei responded. "I am sorry, but I couldn't think of accepting money for a man my daughter didn't want. Maybe I'm too modern, but I love her and she must approve the man she weds."
"Of course," Chang Lao said. "I wouldn't think of marrying a girl who was unwilling or reluctant. Why don't we ask the lady? If she declines my suit, that will put an end to matters."
Wei Shu thought this couldn't do any harm. Besides, the sight of all that money was beginning to have an impact on his will. Such a sum would solve the family's financial problem for a long time to come.
Yun-chang bowed to her father and looked Chang Lao straight in the eye, as though she knew what was to be asked of her.
"This man requests your hand in marriage," Mr. Wei said. "He has brought the bride price of 500,000 cash. That's a lot of money, but never will this family be so poor that I shall compel a daughter of mine to accept a husband she does not approve. What do you say? If you wish time to consider, you have but to ask. Or if you answer in the negative, that will end the negotiation once and for all."
Yun-chang looked at Chang Lao again. "Father, I think I know what you wish and my fate has already been sealed in Heaven. I shall marry Mr. Chang and try to make him a good wife."
So the wedding was arranged. Chang Lao seemed to have neither friends nor family. The Wei clan and their acquaintances more than made up for that, however, and aside from comments about a beautiful young maid marrying a gardener, and one not so young at that, the occasion went well enough.
Yun-chang moved into the small house next door and helped Chang Lao with his cultivating of vegetables and flowers. She watered and weeded and carried out the household chores without complaint. She took gifts when she called upon her father, who was happy in his new affluence but a little ashamed that his daughter should have had to marry an aging gardener.
The Changs seemed content enough. On an evening they sat in the garden enjoying the breeze and gazing at the moon. Yun-chang was happy to be with her new husband and at the same time glad that she could continue to show her filial feelings for her father.
As time went on, Wei family members came from afar to express their shock and indignation at the marriage. "You have sold your daughter for a few cash," said one. "You should be ashamed," said another. "We are disgraced in the community." "Why didn't you ask for help from the family?" scolded a third. "We have lowered ourselves to the level of the commonest laborer."
Wei Shu was discountenanced by all this. But what could he do? The marriage had been solemnized and consummated. What the gods had joined together man could not put asunder. Then he got the inkling of an idea: out of sight is out of mind. He asked Chang Lao and his daughter to dinner and gently broached the subject.
"You know," he told Chang Lao, "the land is rich a few li to the south. You could sell your little place and buy a bigger piece of land for your garden. We'd hate to lose you and Yun-chang, but your welfare is more important than seeing you so often."
Chang Lao smiled discreetly. "Maybe you have a point," he said. "This place is really too small. I have never mentioned it before, but I have a little farm at the foot of Wangwu hill where I could enlarge the scope of my gardening. If we moved, could you look out for the small property next door? You might rent it or raise vegetables and flowers for your own use."
Wei Shu rubbed his hands together. Things were going better than he had expected. Not only would the Changs be out of the neighborhood, but his own holdings would be enlarged, even if he didn't hold the deed.
Chang Lao and his wife departed not long afterward. Yun-chang cried as she embraced her father. She was not really unhappy, though. The slights of the Wei family seemed to roll off Chang Lao's back like water from a duck. Her skin was not so thick, but she knew her husband was a remarkable gardener.
"We shall not come this way again for a long time," Chang Lao told his father-in-law. "There is much to be done at our new place and I know the property here will be in good hands. If you miss your daughter too much and must see her, or want to send a message, have your son come to the land south of Tientan Mountain. Anyone living there will be able to tell him where we live. Should you need help, you must call upon us, because yours is a filial daughter who would insist that we do what we could."
Wei Shu nodded. His heart was contrite, although not to the point of doing anything about having secretly had his way. Mrs. Chang climbed to the back of her husband's donkey. She looked prettier than ever in a new long skirt and a big hat to ward off the sun. Chang Lao bowed deeply and set off on foot after the donkey. A long trip lay ahead.
Wei Shu had been right. The family quickly forgot the marriage and Chang Lao and his bride. Wei rented out Chang Lao's garden. The rent and the money from the betrothal of Yun-chang kept Wei Shu and his immediate family comfortable, although he lacked the wit to invest money wisely and was slowly using up the capital.
The years passed. As Mr. Wei began to age, he wondered more and more often about what could have happened to his daughter. Her life as a gardener's wife must be hard. Maybe she had sickened or even died. Were there children? Probably Chang Lao was too old, but Wei Shu would like to know for sure.
At last he decided the time had come to send his son Yi-fang south to find Tientan Mountain. The young man set out rather reluctantly. He was far from sure he would ever find his sister and her husband. Yet he had no sooner arrived at Tientan Shan than he saw a boy riding a yellow cow and plowing a pleasant looking field.
"Hey there, boy, can you tell me where Chang Lao lives?" he called.
The boy jumped off the cow and bowed. "Young master," he said, "why have you not come before? Master Chang has been expecting you for a long time. I was delegated to watch for you. But never mind. You are here now, and there will be rejoicing. Come, I shall guide you to the farm."
He walked toward the east accompanied by Yi-fang. There was no rope but the cow trailed along behind. The countryside was of an inexpressible loveliness. From the hill, they looked down upon a blue, blue stream, its gentle current singing a happy song as little wavelets danced over the rocks. There were tall trees of many kinds, all in full leaf although winter was near. The broad meadows and rich fields stretched as far as the eye could see. The trail on which they were walking broadened into an avenue paved with bricks.
Ahead of them rose a castle, its towers and battlements rising above stout walls. Bird calls resounded through the forest. Cranes and pheasants and other rare birds of wondrous plumage could be seen on the wing, while some were feeding in the green, green paddies. Yi-fang blinked and then looked again. Surely he had seen a phoenix. What place could this be? As though reading his thought, the boy said, "Don't be surprised, this is only Mr. Chang's residence." Farmer or king? Yi-fang could only open his mouth in astonishment as one elysian vista after another opened up. They went on toward the farmhouse which some magician had transformed into a castle.
As they reached the gate, a liveried servant saluted. Other servants dressed in purple lined the way as they entered the courtyard and then moved into the great hall of the castle. The furnishings were rich and deeply cushioned. Precious scrolls, paintings and tapestries adorned the walls. The rug under foot felt soft as eiderdown. Yi-fang took each step gingerly as though he were walking on a cloud which might plunge him from Heaven to Earth at any moment.
A bell rang softly and musically. From between curtains at the far end of the room came two comely maids dressed in blue. One offered him a golden basin of water with which to wash away the grime of travel. The other held out a towel. No sooner was he refreshed than another maiden brought him a silver cup of green tea with just a hint of mint flavor. As he sipped, the weariness of the journey melted away. It was as though he had just gotten out of his bed after the most restful of sleeps.
Yi-fang raised his lips from the cup to see a corps of beautiful maids emerge from the curtains and form two lines leading toward him. The girls sang softly and sank to the floor in graceful gesture of greeting. The curtains parted and a man dressed in red robe and silk shoes emerged. He had grace of the gods and a kind of radiance in his manner. Yi-fang could scarcely believe his eyes. It was Chang Lao, but so young and handsome and dignified as to be virtually unrecognizable. How could this princely figure ever have been a gardener?
Although Yi-fang had an inclination to prostrate himself, he had no chance. Chang Lao greeted him with a warm embrace. "How are you, brother, and how is my father-in-law?" he asked. "Your sister and I often think of you and hope you are doing well. You must tell us all about yourself and life in that distant land. And about my old garden. As you can see, we live differently. This is land so fruitful that we need not work too hard." He laughed and added, "Why it's almost like the fairyland we used to read about in books."
Yi-fang looked at him closely but could see nothing beyond the literal meaning of the words.
"Let us go see your sister," Chang Lao said. "She was combing her hair, but now the maid signals that she has finished." This maid was even lovelier than the others. Yi-fang thought that she must be the personal attendant of his sister, and he was right. Again, he doubted the message of his sight. Sister was radiant. He could not recall her being so beautiful. Her hair was piled high and there was a jade phoenix to hold it in place. Her light green bodice was wonderfully embroidered with plum blossoms. Her white skirt had the look and the purity of newly fallen snowflakes. Sister's complexion was glowing with an inner light. She curtsied and then came to him. Her walk was that of a princess.
Seating him, Yun-chang asked a thousand questions about the family and the state of her father's affairs. Yi-fang answered as best he could. When he could take his eyes off the exquisite flower that his sister had become, he looked around this perfect room. Sandalwood and other precious timbers had been lavished on walls and ceiling. Windows were of the thinnest jade and there were walls of pearl. Nothing here was cheap and nothing was ugly. Articles of the most mundane use were treasures worth a fortune.
"Sister, tell me," Yi-fang pleaded, "did I die on my journey and go to Heaven? You married a simple gardener and here I find you living like the gods. Or have you been turned into a fairy princess by your husband, who must be the greatest sorcerer in the world?"
Her laughter pealed forth with the sound of tiny stream bubbling from the ground on the driest day. "Not at all like that, brother," she said. "My husband told you he had worked hard and saved his money. What you didn't know was that he had inherited this wealth. He couldn't tell you. The information was proscribed, so to speak."
There was a feast of feasts that evening. Yi-fang was plied with wines and dishes that could only have been made in Heaven. The most perfectly formed of the maidens served him and their beauty was that of a million gemstones. There was music and dancing. Tipsy and tired, Yi-fang was taken to his bedchamber, where he slept well and refreshingly, but not dreamlessly.
In his dream a servant came to Chang Lao and whispered in his ear. The former gardener turned to his wife and said, "But how can we leave him? Supposing he sees us fly through the air on our way to Penglai Mountain. He will know we are of the immortals."
"Never mind," said his wife, "he will remember only that he was dreaming. I put the drug of forgetfulness in his drink."
So it was that in his dream Yi-fang saw Chang Lao, his sister and a younger girl he sensed was Chang's sister fly over the wall on the backs of that bird of birds, the phoenix. Cranes and a retinue of other birds flew alongside. Their singing made a heavenly harmony sweeter than any poem ever sung by mortal man. The fragrance of incense that rose from the garden was of a billion flowers. Attendants followed, some mounted on cranes and some on giant pheasants. Together, the company vanished into the eastern sky. The music died away and only a hint of the fragrance lingered on.
Yi-fang dreamed that he awoke to find the gayest and prettiest of young maids imaginable at his side. She brought him delicacies and told him stories. When he asked about Chang Lao and his sister, she told him a tale of magic and the gods. Chang Lao, she said, descended from Heaven long ago and had tried to help humans distinguish right from wrong and live together in harmony. He often failed, however, and in time of discouragement or disillusionment, took refuge in this fairy palace. His sister had been one of the immortals but had erred in a small matter and had been banished to earth. The decree of her punishment held that she would marry a god, thinking him a mortal, and would thereupon be returned to heavenly status.
Still dreaming, Yi-fang saw his host and hostess return the way they had come. His maid met them in the garden and reported that he was sleeping still. He would wake to believe he had dreamed of a world that never existed and could never be. The most glorious of sunsets cast its radiant glow over everything, and dark descended. He woke up.
Chang Lao was standing beside him. "Were you dreaming?" he asked Yi-fang.
"I think I was," his brother-in-law answered, "but I can't remember what the dream was about, except it was unbelievably wonderful."
"Well, this is a strange place," Chang Lao said. "Some people say it is the water and some the garden and some the hills. But those who come here dream and later the dreams come true for some of them. Only when they relive the experience they know they were not dreaming at all. I cannot explain it. An explanation is for the gods."
Somehow Yi-fang knew that he must return in another day. His second sleep was dreamless and he awoke sad but determined upon the homeward journey. His sister spoke of her love for their father and her wish that he convey this to Mr. Wei. Chang Lao gave him a sack of gold as token of remembrance. "Take it and go always in good fortune," he said, "but in case hard days befall, take also this old hat. I wore it when I was a gardener. There is a druggist named Wang Lao in the city of Yangchow. If ever you take this old hat to him, he will give you ten million cash. The money is mine but only the wearer of the hat can claim it."
Yi-fang took his departure half regretfully. He knew the surroundings were too rich for his blood, like a pastry that tastes like ambrosia but has to be eaten sparingly. He sorrowed to be leaving his sister, however, and he had the feeling that under the garb of gardener or rich landholder, Chang Lao was a personage beyond his understanding. He waved back many times. The boy who had met him at the mountain accompanied him for the same distance on the way back, then bowed and was gone.
Tales were often heard of bandits who had their lair on Tientan Mountain. Yi-fang felt eyes upon him. He saw no one, however, and reached civilization and home without untoward occurrence. Wei Shu and his clansmen were greatly surprised by the gift of gold and by the stories that Yi-fang told. "We must go and visit Chang Lao and our sister," they agreed. This talk went on for a long time, and eventually some of them formed a large party, purchased handsome gifts and set out for Tientan Mountain. They found no boy and in the end no castle. Bandits appeared. Miraculously, they were not molested but they left the area hastily and returned home as fast as they could travel.
Much as they wanted to ridicule Yi-fang, they dared not. There was the money he had given his father. They didn't know about the old hat. Yi-fang kept quiet about that.
The Wei clan prospered for a while. But their numbers increased and the gold was stretched thinner and thinner. The day came when the family was not much better off than when Yun-chang took a gardener for husband.
Yi-fang decided there was only one way out. He told his aging father about the old hat of Chang Lao. Wei Shu at first could place no credence in the story. Then he thought back over the events which had stemmed from the time his path crossed that of Chang Lao. There are more things between Heaven and Earth than man can know.
"What do we have to lose?" he asked Yi-fang. "You made the journey last time but I shall go this time. I am an old man with nothing to lose. If it's some kind of trap, or just foolishness, I won't be hurt."
Yi-fang reluctantly agreed. Remembering the castle in the wilderness and the dream he still couldn't recall in detail, he wanted to invite the lightning to strike again. But his father was adamant and set off for Yangchow.
Wei Shu made many inquiries in Yangchow but no one had ever heard of Wang Lao. He was tired and almost ready to give up. Then on the far northern outskirts of the city, he saw an old man sitting in a herb shop. He sensed a resemblance to Chang Lao but couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was.
"Old man," he said, "is your name Wang Lao? "
"How did you know?" the herbalist replied. "Not many people remember me these days. I am more than a hundred, you know."
"Wang Lao," said Wei Shu, "Do you see this hat and do you understand its meaning?" Mr. Wei took off the weatherbeaten, battered headgear and held it out, but he didn't relinquish his hold.
Wang Lao didn't reach out. He just looked at the hat, long and carefully.
"That hat looks sort of familiar," he said, "but I can't be sure. If it's the hat I think it is, you are not the original owner."
"Of course not," Wei Shu said. "Chang Lao gave it to my son and told him that should our family be in need, you would give us ten million cash."
"That's your story," the old man said, "but how can I be sure, even if there is ten million? You can see that this is a poor place and that I have not much longer to live."
A young girl had been listening in a small back room. Now she came forward. "I can tell if this is the hat," she said. "Often I mended Chang Lao's old hat for him. The last time I had no black thread and used gray. Also, I know my stitches. Here, let me look more closely."
Reluctantly, Wei Shu yielded the hat.
"Yes, there is no question about it," she told her grandfather. "This is Chang Lao's hat."
As she spoke, Wei Shu seemed to see a hint of his daughter around her mouth, and the voice was a whisper of Yun-chang's. He shook his head and the impression was gone.
"Very well," Wang Lao said, "the money must be yours, and I shall be glad to be rid of it. The trust has been a long one. Go into the city and hire porters you can trust. The money will be ready when you return."
Wei Shu returned to his clansmen a wealthy man and the family never fell on impoverished days again so long as he lived. Sometimes he was lonely for his daughter but all attempts to find her failed. The countryside around Tientan Mountain had changed drastically. Civilization was moving toward the hills. If castle there was, it had vanished into another world.
Yi-fang brought home the only clue. He was on a business trip to Yangchow one day when he saw his old guide, the boy, now grown to handsome manhood, drinking in a wineshop. "May I buy you a drink?" Yi-fang asked. The man looked up, smiled and said, "Of course. You want news of your sister and her husband. I can tell you they are well and happy. I cannot tell you where they are, but they told me that if ever I met you, I was to give you this." He held out a package. "Please do not open it until you are home with your father." He saluted and hurried from the shop.
Yi-fang had other business and his travels took him several more days. He almost forgot the parcel. Home again, he found it in one of the saddlebags of his donkey and took it to his father.
Hands trembling, Wei Shu opened the gift. Inside was the copper mirror which once had hung in Chang Lao's humble cottage. As they looked into the shiny surface, they could see the moving images of Chang Lao and Yun-chang. The palace was as Yi-fang remembered but the countryside was different. It had the look of another world. They watched as they would a play. After a while the image faded. Thereafter they looked into the mirror every evening. Sometimes they saw the Changs and sometimes they saw only themselves. Friends and others of the clan saw only a bronze mirror. By the time Wei Shu went to his grave, Chang Lao and Yun-chang were forgotten by all except Yi-fang. As Yi-fang grew older, the image dimmed and was to be seen infrequently. He almost ceased to wonder whether Chang Lao and Yun-chang were mortal or from a sphere of which he was sure he once had dreamed. (Adapted from an old tale.)