The running script on the screen's yellow silk was elegant and free of worldly vulgarity. It was Xie An's "Poem to Wang Huzhi," transcribed by Xie Daoyun:
"Fresh ice congeals like jade, yet melts when sunlight falls.
Pure snow gleams like pearls, its purity outlasts not a morning.
Fat burns away through its brightness; orchids wither through their fragrance.
The wise perceive this, yielding in harmony without flaunting themselves.
Outwardly they lodge no arrogance; inwardly fine jade lends its luster.
Like wild geese hidden from sight, brushing their wings against the clouds..."
In the overcast afternoon, a sudden shaft of sunlight pierced the clouds at a slant. Its light, too, was a hazy yellow. Streaming through the study's carved wooden window, it cast Xie Daoyun's slender silhouette upon the screen, so that those graceful lines of running script seemed written upon her body-
Xiao Chan went around the screen and saw a tall, thin young woman kneeling beside an ebony desk, a silk manuscript in her hand. Her brows slanted upward, her eyes were long and narrow, and her nose stood high. Her thinness gave her features a slightly harsh outline, while her complexion was as white as Zuo Bo paper-
"Xiao Chan, hello!"
Seeing Xiao Chan enter, Xie Daoyun greeted her with a smile and pointed to an embroidered cushion on the rush mat before her, intending to invite her to sit. Before she could speak, however, she changed her mind.
Xiao Chan gazed steadily at Xie Daoyun. Those brows and eyes were unmistakable: this was Master Zhu, whose talent looked proudly down upon the world, whose free and easy bearing set him apart from the crowd. After only a few months apart, she had grown so thin. Fighting back tears, Xiao Chan said, "Lady of the Xie Family,