The Butterfly Lovers · chapter 18 of 25

Lovesick

相思病

Back home in Kuaiji, Shanbo grows weaker every day, and no doctor can help him. Then Sijiu thinks of a very special kind of medicine.

Read what you hear

Narrator 秋天快过完了。在会稽的家里，梁山伯已经病了很多天了。
Qiūtiān kuài guò wán le. Zài Kuàijī de jiā lǐ, Liáng Shānbó yǐjīng bìng le hěn duō tiān le.
Autumn was almost over. At home in Kuaiji, Liang Shanbo had been ill for many days.
Liang's Mother 山伯，孩子，你吃一口饭吧。你已经三天没吃东西了。
Shānbó, háizi, nǐ chī yì kǒu fàn ba. Nǐ yǐjīng sān tiān méi chī dōngxi le.
Shanbo, my child, eat a mouthful of rice. You haven't eaten anything for three days.
Liang Shanbo 妈，我吃不下，一口也吃不下……
Mā, wǒ chī bu xià, yì kǒu yě chī bu xià…
Mother, I can't eat. I can't eat a single bite...

Chapter 18 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of The Butterfly Lovers (chapters 1–5) is free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.

Liang's Mother 四九说，那天雨很大，你在回家的路上就病倒了。
Sìjiǔ shuō, nà tiān yǔ hěn dà, nǐ zài huí jiā de lù shàng jiù bìngdǎo le.
Sijiu says it was pouring that day, and you fell ill on the way home.
Liang's Mother 医生的药，你也喝了好几天，怎么一点儿也没有好呢？
Yīshēng de yào, nǐ yě hē le hǎo jǐ tiān, zěnme yìdiǎnr yě méiyǒu hǎo ne?
You've been taking the doctor's medicine for days. Why aren't you any better at all?
Liang Shanbo 英台……英台，你在哪儿？
Yīngtái… Yīngtái, nǐ zài nǎr?
Yingtai... Yingtai, where are you?
Liang's Mother 四九，他白天叫，晚上也叫。这个英台，到底是谁啊？
Sìjiǔ, tā báitiān jiào, wǎnshang yě jiào. Zhège Yīngtái, dàodǐ shì shéi a?
Sijiu, he calls that name day and night. Who on earth is this Yingtai?
Sijiu 太太，英台就是公子的同学，祝公子……不对，是祝小姐！
Tàitai, Yīngtái jiù shì gōngzǐ de tóngxué, Zhù gōngzǐ… bú duì, shì Zhù xiǎojie!
Ma'am, Yingtai is the young master's classmate, Young Master Zhu... no, Miss Zhu!
Liang's Mother 小姐？你是说，山伯的那个同学，是一个姑娘？
Xiǎojie? Nǐ shì shuō, Shānbó de nàge tóngxué, shì yí gè gūniang?
Miss? You mean Shanbo's classmate was a girl?
Sijiu 是啊！她打扮成男孩子，在杭州读了三年书。公子一点儿也没看出来。
Shì a! Tā dǎban chéng nánháizi, zài Hángzhōu dú le sān nián shū. Gōngzǐ yìdiǎnr yě méi kàn chūlái.
Yes! She dressed as a boy and studied in Hangzhou for three years. The young master never guessed a thing.
Sijiu 还有她的书童银心，也是一个丫鬟。这个，我早就看出来了！
Hái yǒu tā de shūtóng Yínxīn, yě shì yí gè yāhuan. Zhège, wǒ zǎo jiù kàn chūlái le!
And her book boy, Yinxin, was a maid too. That one I spotted long ago!
Liang's Mother 你看出来了？那你怎么不早说呢？
Nǐ kàn chūlái le? Nà nǐ zěnme bù zǎo shuō ne?
You spotted it? Then why didn't you say so sooner?
Sijiu 我……我只看出来一点点。
Wǒ… wǒ zhǐ kàn chūlái yìdiǎndiǎn.
I... I only spotted a tiny bit.
Liang's Mother 那个姑娘，她现在怎么样了？
Nàge gūniang, tā xiànzài zěnmeyàng le?
That girl... what's become of her now?
Sijiu 她爸爸已经答应了马家的亲事。明年春天，她就是马家的人了。
Tā bàba yǐjīng dāying le Mǎ jiā de qīnshì. Míngnián chūntiān, tā jiù shì Mǎ jiā de rén le.
Her father has already agreed to a match with the Ma family. Next spring, she'll belong to them.
Liang's Mother 可怜的孩子……山伯，你是为了她，才病成这样的吗？
Kělián de háizi… Shānbó, nǐ shì wèile tā, cái bìng chéng zhèyàng de ma?
My poor child... Shanbo, is it because of her that you've fallen so ill?
Liang Shanbo 妈，对不起。我舍不得您，可是我也舍不得她。
Mā, duìbuqǐ. Wǒ shěbude nín, kěshì wǒ yě shěbude tā.
Mother, I'm sorry. I can't bear to leave you, but I can't bear to lose her either.
Liang Shanbo 我这一辈子，只想娶她一个人。
Wǒ zhè yíbèizi, zhǐ xiǎng qǔ tā yí gè rén.
In my whole life, she's the only one I've ever wanted to marry.
Liang's Mother 山伯，你后悔吗？要是你没去杭州读书……
Shānbó, nǐ hòuhuǐ ma? Yàoshi nǐ méi qù Hángzhōu dúshū…
Shanbo, do you regret it? If only you had never gone to Hangzhou to study...
Liang Shanbo 不后悔。能跟英台同学三年，我一点儿也不后悔。
Bú hòuhuǐ. Néng gēn Yīngtái tóngxué sān nián, wǒ yìdiǎnr yě bú hòuhuǐ.
No. Three years at school with Yingtai... I don't regret it at all.
Sijiu 太太，我明白了！公子的病，不在身上，在心里！
Tàitai, wǒ míngbai le! Gōngzǐ de bìng, bú zài shēn shàng, zài xīn lǐ!
Ma'am, I've got it! The young master's sickness isn't in his body. It's in his heart!
Sijiu 心里的病，要用心里的药。这个药，只有祝小姐有！
Xīn lǐ de bìng, yào yòng xīn lǐ de yào. Zhège yào, zhǐyǒu Zhù xiǎojie yǒu!
A sick heart needs medicine for the heart. And only Miss Zhu has it!
Liang's Mother 可是，那位小姐，怎么能到会稽来呢？
Kěshì, nà wèi xiǎojie, zěnme néng dào Kuàijī lái ne?
But how could that young lady ever come to Kuaiji?
Sijiu 她不能来，我可以去！我去跟她要一张药方！
Tā bù néng lái, wǒ kěyǐ qù! Wǒ qù gēn tā yào yì zhāng yàofāng!
She can't come, but I can go! I'll go and ask her for a prescription!
Liang's Mother 四九，你是个好孩子。路上冷，多穿一件衣服。
Sìjiǔ, nǐ shì gè hǎo háizi. Lù shàng lěng, duō chuān yí jiàn yīfu.
Sijiu, you're a good boy. It's cold on the road, so put on something warm.
Sijiu 太太放心。我天天说腿要断了，可是我跑得比谁都快！
Tàitai fàngxīn. Wǒ tiāntiān shuō tuǐ yào duàn le, kěshì wǒ pǎo de bǐ shéi dōu kuài!
Don't worry, ma'am. I may moan every day that my legs are about to snap, but I run faster than anyone!
Liang Shanbo 四九，去拿纸和笔来，我要给英台写一封信。
Sìjiǔ, qù ná zhǐ hé bǐ lái, wǒ yào gěi Yīngtái xiě yì fēng xìn.
Sijiu, go and fetch paper and a brush. I'm going to write Yingtai a letter.
Liang's Mother 山伯，你慢慢写，别着急。
Shānbó, nǐ mànmàn xiě, bié zháojí.
Shanbo, write slowly. Don't rush.
Liang Shanbo 英台：我病了，医生的药没有用。请你给我开一张药方。
Yīngtái: wǒ bìng le, yīshēng de yào méiyǒu yòng. Qǐng nǐ gěi wǒ kāi yì zhāng yàofāng.
Yingtai: I am ill, and the doctor's medicine does no good. Please write me a prescription.
Liang Shanbo 四九，去上虞的路很远，你路上要小心。
Sìjiǔ, qù Shàngyú de lù hěn yuǎn, nǐ lù shàng yào xiǎoxīn.
Sijiu, it's a long way to Shangyu. Be careful on the road.
Sijiu 公子，你等我！我一定把药带回来！
Gōngzǐ, nǐ děng wǒ! Wǒ yídìng bǎ yào dài huílái!
Young master, wait for me! I'll bring back the medicine, I promise!

Hear the chapter

What changed in the story?

How has the doctor's medicine worked?
“医生的药，你也喝了好几天，怎么一点儿也没有好呢？”
What does Sijiu tell Shanbo's mother about Yinxin?
“还有她的书童银心，也是一个丫鬟。”
Does Shanbo regret going to school in Hangzhou?
“能跟英台同学三年，我一点儿也不后悔。”
Where does Sijiu say Shanbo's sickness is?
“公子的病，不在身上，在心里！”
What does Shanbo ask Yingtai for in his letter?
“请你给我开一张药方。”

All chapters in The Butterfly Lovers.