They entered the gate with black doors and were ushered into the gatekeeper's room. Outside under the archway there were tables already filled with boatmen and hired men. Ai-ku was not quite brazen enough to look at them closely but a brief glance told her that the "old beast" and the "little beast" were not among them. By the time the New Year pudding soup was brought out, she became more uneasy than ever, without knowing why. "Is it possible that he won't talk human speech, simply because he has become a sworn brother of the magistrate?" she said to herself in an effort to bolster up her courage. "Yes, scholars are understanding men. I'll explain everything to His Honor Seven. I'll begin with the time when I was married into their house at the age of fifteen . . . "
When she finished her pudding soup she surmised that the moment was near. Soon she and her father were following a hired man and making their way toward the inner compound. They passed through the great hall, turned a corner, and stepped into the reception hall.
She did not have time to look carefully at all the things in the room or the people in it, but she was impressed by the shiny, purple-blue satin horse jackets that so many of them wore. She was sure that the man who caught her eyes first was His Honor Seven. Although he also was round faced and round headed, he was nevertheless much heavier and more impressive than His Honor Wei. His huge face carried two thin, slitlike eyes and a thin moustache. His head was close shaven and both his scalp and face were pink and shiny. Ai-ku marveled at it, but she found an explanation immediately: he must have smeared himself with pork fat.
"This is known as an 'anus-stopper,' something which the
