第41部分(第1/7 頁)

〃No；　it　will　not。〃

〃The　nobles'　rule；　then？〃

〃No；　nor　that。〃

〃The　high　officers'？〃

〃Not　even　that。〃

Lu　Bu　laughed；　saying；　〃Then　you　mean　me　to　go　by　the　rule　for　mon　people。〃

〃Nor　that　either。〃

〃Then　what　do　you　mean？〃

Chen　Gong　said；　〃In　the　midst　of　the　present　troubles；　when　there　is　great　rivalry　among　the　nobles；　do　you　not　see　that　the　others　will　be　exceedingly　jealous　of　your　marriage　alliance　with　such　a　high　family　as　the　Yuans？　Suppose　you　postpone　the　choice　of　the　day；　most　likely　when　your　fine　morning　arrives；　the　wedding　party　will　fall　into　an　ambush　on　the　road　and　the　bride　be　carried　off。　Then　what　could　be　done？　My　opinion　is　that　you　would　have　done　better　to　refuse。　But　since　you　have　consented；　then　carry　out　the　plan　at　once　before　the　lords　hear　of　it；　and　so　send　the　girl　over　without　delay　to　Shouchun。　You　can　hire　a　lodging　there　till　you　have　selected　the　wedding　day；　and　the　odds　are　greatly　against　any　failure。〃

〃What　you　say　is　quite　to　the　point；〃　replied　Lu　Bu。

He　went　into　the　private　apartments　to　see　his　wife　and　told　her　the　bride　elect　would　set　out　immediately　and　the　trousseau　was　to　be　prepared　as　far　as　it　could　be。　On　his　side　he　chose　some　good　horses　and　had　a　wedding　carriage　got　ready。　The　escort　consisted　of　Han　Yin　and　two　of　Lu　Bu's　generals；　Song　Xian　and　Wei　Xu。　The　procession　went　out　of　the　city　to　the　sound　of　music。

Now　at　this　time　Chen　Gui；　father　of　Chen　Deng；　was　placidly　waiting　till　the　evening　of　his　life　passed　into　night。　Hearing　this　burst　of　music　he　inquired　the　occasion；　and　the　servants　told　him。

〃They　are　working　on　the　'Relative…above…Stranger'　device；　then；〃　said　Chen　Gui。　〃Liu　Bei　is　in　danger。〃

There