Judge Bao and the Swapped Prince · chapter 3 of 6
The Broken Kiln
破窑里的老人
Twenty years later, a storm drives Judge Bao into a broken kiln. There he finds a blind old woman who says she was once a consort, and that her son is alive.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 二十年过去了，当今的皇上是仁宗。那天，包大人从外地回京城，路上下起了大雨。
Èrshí nián guòqù le, dāngjīn de huángshang shì Rénzōng. Nà tiān, Bāo dàrén cóng wàidì huí jīngchéng, lùshàng xiàqǐ le dàyǔ.
Twenty years passed, and the emperor now was Renzong. On that day, Judge Bao was coming home to the capital when heavy rain began to fall.
- Court Clerk 大人，雨太大了！前面有一个破窑，我们进去躲一躲吧！
Dàrén, yǔ tài dà le! Qiánmiàn yǒu yí gè pòyáo, wǒmen jìnqù duǒ yi duǒ ba!
Sir, the rain is too heavy! There's a broken kiln ahead. Let's shelter inside!
- Judge Bao 好。……等一下，你听，里面好像有人在哭。
Hǎo. … děng yíxià, nǐ tīng, lǐmiàn hǎoxiàng yǒu rén zài kū.
Good. ...Wait a moment. Listen, it sounds like someone is crying inside.
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Judge Bao and the Swapped Prince is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Court Clerk 有人？在这种地方？大人，这里又黑又破，该不会是鬼吧？
Yǒu rén? Zài zhè zhǒng dìfang? Dàrén, zhèlǐ yòu hēi yòu pò, gāi bú huì shì guǐ ba?
Someone? In a place like this? Sir, it's dark and falling apart. It couldn't be a ghost, could it?
- Judge Bao 你怎么什么都怕鬼？
Nǐ zěnme shénme dōu pà guǐ?
Why are you afraid of ghosts in everything?
- Court Clerk 大人，上次那个黑盆会说话啊！我到现在还睡不好！
Dàrén, shàngcì nà ge hēipén huì shuōhuà a! Wǒ dào xiànzài hái shuì bù hǎo!
Sir, last time the black pot talked! I still can't sleep well!
- Judge Bao 里面有人吗？我们是路过的，想躲一躲雨。
Lǐmiàn yǒu rén ma? Wǒmen shì lùguò de, xiǎng duǒ yì duǒyǔ.
Is anyone in there? We're travelers passing by, and we'd like to get out of the rain.
- Old Lady Li 谁？谁在那里？我……我看不见你们。
Shéi? Shéi zài nàlǐ? Wǒ… wǒ kànbujiàn nǐmen.
Who? Who is there? I... I can't see you.
- Judge Bao 老人家，别怕。我姓包，是京城的官。你怎么一个人住在这里？
Lǎorenjia, bié pà. Wǒ xìng Bāo, shì jīngchéng de guān. Nǐ zěnme yí gè rén zhù zài zhèlǐ?
Old lady, don't be afraid. My name is Bao, and I am an official of the capital. Why do you live here all alone?
- Old Lady Li 官？……我不想见官。没有官听我说话，已经二十年了。
Guān? … wǒ bù xiǎng jiàn guān. Méiyǒu guān tīng wǒ shuōhuà, yǐjīng èrshí nián le.
An official? ...I don't want to see officials. No official has listened to me for twenty years.
- Court Clerk 大人，她的衣服都破了，一定很饿。我去拿点吃的。
Dàrén, tā de yīfu dōu pò le, yídìng hěn è. Wǒ qù ná diǎn chī de.
Sir, her clothes are all torn. She must be hungry. I'll get some food.
- Judge Bao 快去。老人家，来，先吃点东西，慢慢说。
Kuàiqù. Lǎorenjia, lái, xiān chī diǎn dōngxi, mànmàn shuō.
Go quickly. Old lady, come, eat something first and tell me slowly.
- Old Lady Li 谢谢……好久没有人，对我这么好了。
Xièxie… hǎojiǔ méiyǒu rén, duì wǒ zhème hǎo le.
Thank you... no one has been this kind to me in a long time.
- Judge Bao 你的眼睛，是怎么了？
Nǐ de yǎnjing, shì zěnme le?
What happened to your eyes?
- Old Lady Li 我哭了二十年，哭得什么都看不见了。
Wǒ kū le èrshí nián, kū de shénme dōu kànbujiàn le.
I cried for twenty years, until I couldn't see anything anymore.
- Judge Bao 你为什么哭了二十年？
Nǐ wèishénme kū le èrshí nián?
Why did you cry for twenty years?
- Old Lady Li 因为我的儿子。他一生下来，我就再也没有见过他。
Yīnwèi wǒ de érzi. Tā yì shēng xiàlái, wǒ jiù zài yě méiyǒu jiàn guò tā.
Because of my son. From the moment he was born, I never saw him again.
- Court Clerk 天哪……他被人抱走了吗？
Tiān nǎ… tā bèi rén bào zǒu le ma?
Heavens... was he taken away?
- Old Lady Li 是的。我不知道他在哪里，也不知道他还活不活着。
Shì de. Wǒ bù zhīdao tā zài nǎlǐ, yě bù zhīdao tā hái huó bu huózhe.
Yes. I don't know where he is, or whether he is even alive.
- Judge Bao 你是谁？你以前住在哪里？
Nǐ shì shéi? Nǐ yǐqián zhù zài nǎlǐ?
Who are you? Where did you live before?
- Old Lady Li 我不敢说。说了，你们会以为我是疯子。
Wǒ bù gǎn shuō. Shuō le, nǐmen huì yǐwéi wǒ shì fēngzi.
I don't dare say. If I do, you'll think I'm mad.
- Judge Bao 我做了二十年的官，听过很多真话，也听过很多假话。你说吧，我听。
Wǒ zuò le èrshí nián de guān, tīng guò hěn duō zhēnhuà, yě tīng guò hěn duō jiǎhuà. Nǐ shuō ba, wǒ tīng.
I have been an official for twenty years. I have heard many truths and many lies. Speak, and I will listen.
- Old Lady Li 好。……我以前，是皇宫里的娘娘。
Hǎo. … wǒ yǐqián, shì huánggōng lǐ de niángniang.
All right. ...I used to be a consort in the palace.
- Court Clerk 什么？！娘娘？
Shénme?! Niángniang?
What?! A consort?
- Judge Bao 别出声。老人家，你接着说。
Bié chūshēng. Lǎorenjia, nǐ jiēzhe shuō.
Quiet. Old lady, please go on.
- Old Lady Li 我姓李。他们说，我生下的是一只狸猫，皇上就把我赶出了皇宫。可是我的孩子，是真正的太子啊！
Wǒ xìng Lǐ. Tāmen shuō, wǒ shēng xià de shì yì zhī límāo, huángshang jiù bǎ wǒ gǎnchū le huánggōng. Kěshì wǒ de háizi, shì zhēnzhèng de tàizǐ a!
My name is Li. They said what I gave birth to was a civet cat, and the emperor drove me out of the palace. But my child was a real prince!
- Court Clerk 狸猫？大人，这个故事，太奇怪了。
Límāo? Dàrén, zhège gùshi, tài qíguài le.
A civet cat? Sir, this story is very strange.
- Judge Bao 狸猫……二十年前，京城里真的有过这个传说。她是骗人，还是真的李娘娘？我一定要查清楚。
Límāo… èrshí nián qián, jīngchéng lǐ zhēnde yǒu guò zhège chuánshuō. Tā shì piàn rén, háishi zhēnde Lǐ niángniang? Wǒ yídìng yào chá qīngchu.
A civet cat... twenty years ago, the capital really did whisper this tale. Is she lying, or is she truly Lady Li? I must find out.
- Old Lady Li 大人，你会帮我吗？我不要别的。我只想知道，我的孩子还活着没有。
Dàrén, nǐ huì bāng wǒ ma? Wǒ bú yào biéde. Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng zhīdao, wǒ de háizi hái huózhe méiyǒu.
Sir, will you help me? I want nothing else. I only want to know whether my child is still alive.
- Judge Bao 老人家，我会帮你。
Lǎorenjia, wǒ huì bāng nǐ.
Old lady, I will help you.
- Judge Bao 如果你说的是真话，那么现在坐在龙椅上的皇上，就是你的儿子。
Rúguǒ nǐ shuō de shì zhēnhuà, nàme xiànzài zuò zài lóngyǐ shàng de huángshang, jiùshì nǐ de érzi.
If what you say is true, then the emperor who sits on the dragon throne today is your son.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why do Judge Bao and his clerk go into the kiln?
“雨太大了”
- Why is the clerk afraid to go inside?
“该不会是鬼吧”
- Why can the old woman no longer see?
“我哭了二十年，哭得什么都看不见了”
- What does the old woman say happened to her baby?
“他一生下来，我就再也没有见过他”
- What does Judge Bao realize at the end?
“现在坐在龙椅上的皇上，就是你的儿子”