To the left was the immortal Chang who gives
us children. To the right was the "Officer of the Star of Extended
Longevity."
Wang bowed before the goddess. Then he went to visit the penitents'
cells. Each ceiling was painted over with flowers, a carpet covered
each floor and the bed, the table and the chairs were spotlessly
clean.
He examined the cells carefully all over and found no crack. Not
a mouse, not even an ant could have entered in. He went out in
perplexity and, after the usual formalities, again stepped into his
palankeen, which was accompanied to the gate by all the bonzes.
Thinking to the right and musing to the left, as the proverb says,
the Governor suddenly conceived a plan. As soon as he arrived at the
palace, he summoned one of his secretaries, and said to him:
"Go and find me two harlots, and clothe them as honest women. Give one
of them a box of black ink and the other a box of vermilion paste, and
send them to pass the night at the monastery. If any one approaches
them, let them mark his head with the red and the black. I shall go
myself to-morrow morning to examine the matter. Above all, let this
thing be kept the closest secret."
The secretary at once went to seek out two public women of his
acquaintance. One was named Mei-chieh, and the other Wan-erh. He
took them to his house, explained the Governor's orders to them, and
clothed them as matrons of good family.
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