第31部分(第2/7 页)

l　on　him　to　stay　at　home。　Late　in　the　afternoon　some　presents　arrived　from　Li　Jue's　palace；　and　Lady　Qiong　secretly　put　poison　into　the　delicacies　before　she　set　them　before　her　lord。

Guo　Si　was　going　to　taste　at　once　but　she　said；　〃It　is　unwise　to　consume　things　that　e　from　outside。　Let　us　try　on　a　dog　first。〃

They　did　and　the　dog　died。　This　incident　made　Guo　Si　doubt　the　kindly　intentions　of　his　colleague。

One　day；　at　the　close　of　business　at　court；　Li　Jue　invited　Guo　Si　to　his　palace。　After　Guo　Si　arrived　home　in　the　evening；　rather　the　worse　for　too　much　wine；　he　was　seized　with　a　colic。　His　wife　said　she　suspected　poison　and　hastily　administered　an　emetic；　which　relieved　the　pain。

Guo　Si　began　to　feel　angry；　saying；　〃We　did　everything　together　and　helped　each　other　always。　Now　he　wants　to　injure　me。　If　I　do　not　get　in　the　first　blow；　I　shall　suffer　some　injury。〃

So　Guo　Si　began　to　prepare　his　guards　for　any　sudden　emergency。

This　was　told　to　Li　Jue；　and　he　in　turn　grew　angry；　saying；　〃So　Guo　Si　is　doing　so　and　so！〃

Then　Li　Jue　got　his　guards　under　way　and　came　to　attack　Guo　Si。　Both　houses　had　ten　thousand；　and　the　quarrel　became　so　serious　that　they　fought　a　pitched　battle　under　the　city　walls。　When　that　was　over　both　sides　turned　to　plunder　the　people。

Then　a　nephew　of　Li　Jue；　Li　Xian；　suddenly　surrounded　the　Palace；　put　the　Emperor　and　Empress　in　two　carriages；　and　assigned　Jia　Xu　and　Zuo　Ling　to　carry　them　off。　The　Palace　attendants　were　made　to　follow　on　foot。　As　they　went　out　of　the　rear　gate；　they　met　Guo　Si's　army　who　began　to　shoot　at　the　cavalcade　with　arrows。　They　killed　many　attendants　before　Li　Jue's　army　came　up　and　forced　them　to　retire。

The　carriages　were　got　out　of　the　Palace　and　eventu