第130部分(第2/7 页)

　event？〃　ejaculated　the　old　lady。

〃The　betrothal　of　your　beloved　daughter　to　Liu　Bei。　And　he　has　arrived　too；　as　surely　you　know。〃

〃My　poor　old　self　does　not　know；〃　said　the　Dowager。　〃I　have　heard　nothing　of　all　this。〃

She　at　once　summoned　her　son　and　also　sent　her　servants　out　into　the　town　to　see　what　was　going　about。

They　quickly　returned　to　say：　〃The　whole　city　know　of　the　ing　wedding；　and　the　bridegroom　is　now　at　the　guest…house。　Moreover；　he　has　e　with　a　large　escort；　and　they　are　spending　freely；　buying　pork　and　mutton　and　fruits；　all　in　readiness　for　the　wedding　feasting。　Lu　Fan　and　Sun　Qian　are　the　intermediaries　on　each　side；　and　they　are　in　the　guest…house　too。〃

The　Dowager　Marchioness　was　terribly　taken　aback　and　upset　so　that；　when　Sun　Quan　arrived；　he　found　his　mother　beating　her　breast　and　weeping　bitterly。

〃What　has　disturbed　you；　Mother？〃　asked　he。

〃What　you　have　just　done；〃　said　she。　〃You　have　treated　me　as　a　nonentity。　When　my　elder　sister　lay　dying；　what　did　she　tell　you？〃

Sun　Quan　began　to　be　frightened；　but　he　said　boldly；　〃Please　speak　out　plainly；　Mother。　What　is　this　great　sorrow？〃

〃When　a　son　is　grown；　he　takes　a　wife；　and　when　a　girl　is　old　enough；　she　goes　to　her　husband。　And　that　is　right　and　proper。　But　I　am　the　mother；　and　you　ought　to　have　told　me　that　your　sister　was　to　bee　the　wife　of　Liu　Bei。　Why　did　you　keep　me　in　the　dark？　It　was　my　place　to　promise　her　in　marriage。〃

〃Whence　es　this　story？〃　said　the　Marquis；　really　much　frightened。

〃Do　you　pretend　ignorance？　There　is　not　a　soul　in　the　city　who　does　not　know！　But　you　have　succeeded　in　keeping　me　in　the　dark。〃

〃I　heard　it　several　days　ago；〃　said　the　State　Patriarch　Qiao。　〃And　I　came　just　now　to　offer　my