The Butterfly Lovers · chapter 19 of 25
The Medicine
一张药方
With the Zhu gate shut against him, Sijiu must find another way in, and Yingtai must find an answer to a sick man's letter.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 几天以后，四九终于跑到了上虞，来到祝家的大门外。
Jǐ tiān yǐhòu, Sìjiǔ zhōngyú pǎo dào le Shàngyú, láidào Zhù jiā de dàmén wài.
A few days later, Sijiu finally reached Shangyu and came to the Zhu family's front gate.
- Sijiu 开门啊！我是会稽梁家的四九，我有急事要见祝小姐！
Kāi mén a! Wǒ shì Kuàijī Liáng jiā de Sìjiǔ, wǒ yǒu jíshì yào jiàn Zhù xiǎojie!
Open the gate! I'm Sijiu from the Liang family of Kuaiji. I have to see Miss Zhu. It's urgent!
- Narrator 门里没有人回答。祝老爷说过，梁家的人，一个也不能进门。
Mén lǐ méiyǒu rén huídá. Zhù lǎoye shuō guo, Liáng jiā de rén, yí gè yě bù néng jìn mén.
No one answered from inside. Master Zhu had ordered that no one from the Liang family was to come in.
Chapter 19 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.
- Sijiu 怎么办？公子还在床上等着药呢……
Zěnme bàn? Gōngzǐ hái zài chuáng shàng děngzhe yào ne…
What do I do? The young master is lying in bed waiting for the medicine...
- Yinxin 四九，四九！快到这边来，后门在这儿！
Sìjiǔ, Sìjiǔ! Kuài dào zhèbiān lái, hòumén zài zhèr!
Sijiu, Sijiu! Over here, quick. The back gate's here!
- Sijiu 银心，太好了！你们家的大门，为什么不开？
Yínxīn, tài hǎo le! Nǐmen jiā de dàmén, wèi shénme bù kāi?
Yinxin, thank goodness! Why won't they open your front gate?
- Yinxin 老爷不让开。你小声点儿，跟我来，从花园偷偷进去。
Lǎoye bú ràng kāi. Nǐ xiǎoshēng diǎnr, gēn wǒ lái, cóng huāyuán tōutōu jìnqù.
The master won't allow it. Keep your voice down and follow me. We'll sneak in through the garden.
- Yinxin 你来这儿的事，是我们两个人的秘密。谁也不能知道！
Nǐ lái zhèr de shì, shì wǒmen liǎng gè rén de mìmì. Shéi yě bù néng zhīdào!
Your coming here is a secret between the two of us. Nobody can know!
- Sijiu 好，好，你走慢一点儿！我跑了三天，腿都要断了！
Hǎo, hǎo, nǐ zǒu màn yìdiǎnr! Wǒ pǎo le sān tiān, tuǐ dōu yào duàn le!
All right, all right, slow down! I've been running for three days. My legs are about to snap!
- Yinxin 又要断了？你的腿要是会断，早就断了一百次了！
Yòu yào duàn le? Nǐ de tuǐ yàoshi huì duàn, zǎo jiù duàn le yìbǎi cì le!
About to snap again? If your legs could snap, they'd have snapped a hundred times by now!
- Narrator 花园里，石榴树上一片叶子也没有了。英台一个人站在树下。
Huāyuán lǐ, shíliushù shàng yí piàn yèzi yě méiyǒu le. Yīngtái yí gè rén zhàn zài shù xià.
In the garden, the pomegranate tree had lost every leaf. Yingtai stood beneath it alone.
- Yinxin 小姐，你看谁来了！
Xiǎojie, nǐ kàn shéi lái le!
Miss, look who's here!
- Zhu Yingtai 四九，怎么是你？梁兄呢，他还好吗？
Sìjiǔ, zěnme shì nǐ? Liáng xiōng ne, tā hái hǎo ma?
Sijiu, it's you? Where's Brother Liang? Is he all right?
- Sijiu 祝小姐，公子病了，病得很重。他不吃饭，也不睡觉，只叫你的名字。
Zhù xiǎojie, gōngzǐ bìng le, bìng de hěn zhòng. Tā bù chīfàn, yě bú shuìjiào, zhǐ jiào nǐ de míngzi.
Miss Zhu, the young master is ill, very ill. He won't eat or sleep. He only calls your name.
- Sijiu 我们家太太天天在床边哭，大家一点儿办法也没有。
Wǒmen jiā tàitai tiāntiān zài chuángbiān kū, dàjiā yìdiǎnr bànfǎ yě méiyǒu.
His mother weeps by his bed every day, and nobody knows what to do.
- Sijiu 这是公子写给你的信，你快看看吧。
Zhè shì gōngzǐ xiě gěi nǐ de xìn, nǐ kuài kànkan ba.
This is a letter the young master wrote to you. Please, read it quickly.
- Zhu Yingtai 他说……医生的药没有用，要我给他开一张药方……
Tā shuō… yīshēng de yào méiyǒu yòng, yào wǒ gěi tā kāi yì zhāng yàofāng…
He says... the doctor's medicine does no good, and he wants me to write him a prescription...
- Zhu Yingtai 可怜的梁兄……这个世界上，哪里有这样的药啊？
Kělián de Liáng xiōng… zhège shìjiè shàng, nǎlǐ yǒu zhèyàng de yào a?
My poor Brother Liang... where in all the world is there medicine like that?
- Sijiu 小姐，你就是公子的药！你跟我去会稽，看看他吧！
Xiǎojie, nǐ jiù shì gōngzǐ de yào! Nǐ gēn wǒ qù Kuàijī, kànkan tā ba!
Miss, you are his medicine! Come with me to Kuaiji and see him!
- Yinxin 四九，小姐不能出门。老爷不让她走出大门一步。
Sìjiǔ, xiǎojie bù néng chū mén. Lǎoye bú ràng tā zǒu chū dàmén yí bù.
Sijiu, Miss can't leave the house. The master won't let her take one step outside the gate.
- Zhu Yingtai 马家已经选好了日子。我哪儿也不能去……
Mǎ jiā yǐjīng xuǎn hǎo le rìzi. Wǒ nǎr yě bù néng qù…
The Ma family has already chosen the wedding day. I can't go anywhere...
- Zhu Yingtai 要是我能变成一只蝴蝶，就能飞到他身边去了。
Yàoshi wǒ néng biànchéng yì zhī húdié, jiù néng fēi dào tā shēnbiān qù le.
If only I could turn into a butterfly, I could fly to his side.
- Yinxin 小姐，那你给梁公子写一封信吧！你写好了，让四九带回去。
Xiǎojie, nà nǐ gěi Liáng gōngzǐ xiě yì fēng xìn ba! Nǐ xiě hǎo le, ràng Sìjiǔ dài huíqù.
Miss, then write Young Master Liang a letter! When you're done, Sijiu can take it back.
- Narrator 英台拿起笔，一边哭，一边写。
Yīngtái ná qǐ bǐ, yìbiān kū, yìbiān xiě.
Yingtai picked up a brush and wrote, weeping as she wrote.
- Zhu Yingtai 梁兄：你要好好吃饭，好好活着。要是活着不能在一起，我们死了也要在一起。
Liáng xiōng: nǐ yào hǎohǎo chīfàn, hǎohǎo huózhe. Yàoshi huózhe bù néng zài yìqǐ, wǒmen sǐ le yě yào zài yìqǐ.
Brother Liang: eat properly, and live. If we can't be together while we live, then in death we will be together.
- Zhu Yingtai 死了，我就跟你埋在一个墓里。这句话，我永远不改。
Sǐ le, wǒ jiù gēn nǐ mái zài yí gè mù lǐ. Zhè jù huà, wǒ yǒngyuǎn bù gǎi.
When I die, I will lie with you in one grave. I will never take back those words.
- Zhu Yingtai 四九，把信给他。还有，告诉那个书呆子，一定要吃饭！
Sìjiǔ, bǎ xìn gěi tā. Hái yǒu, gàosu nàge shūdāizi, yídìng yào chīfàn!
Sijiu, give him the letter. And tell that bookworm he has to eat!
- Sijiu 小姐放心，我现在就跑回去！
Xiǎojie fàngxīn, wǒ xiànzài jiù pǎo huíqù!
Don't worry, miss. I'll run back right now!
- Yinxin 快走！从后门出去，别让人看见你！
Kuài zǒu! Cóng hòumén chūqù, bié ràng rén kànjiàn nǐ!
Go, quick! Out the back gate, and don't let anyone see you!
- Zhu Yingtai 四九！告诉梁兄，我等他。活着也等，死了也等！
Sìjiǔ! Gàosu Liáng xiōng, wǒ děng tā. Huózhe yě děng, sǐ le yě děng!
Sijiu! Tell Brother Liang I'll wait for him. Alive or dead, I'll wait!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why can't Sijiu get in at the front gate?
“祝老爷说过，梁家的人，一个也不能进门。”
- How does Sijiu get into the Zhu house?
“跟我来，从花园偷偷进去。”
- Why can't Yingtai go to see Shanbo?
“老爷不让她走出大门一步。”
- What does Yingtai write in her answer?
“要是活着不能在一起，我们死了也要在一起。”……“死了，我就跟你埋在一个墓里。”
- What does Yingtai call out as Sijiu runs off?
“我等他。活着也等，死了也等！”