Liaozhai: Fox and Ghost Loves · chapter 11 of 25
Yingning
婴宁
The old woman calls in the girl who cannot stop laughing, and the next morning, in the garden, Wang finally tells her what the dried plum blossom means.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 天快黑了。山里的小房子里，老太太拉着子服的手，看了又看。
Tiān kuài hēi le. Shān li de xiǎo fángzi li, lǎotàitai lāzhe Zǐfú de shǒu, kàn le yòu kàn.
Night was falling. In the little house in the hills, the old woman held Zifu's hand and looked at him again and again.
- The Old Woman 外甥，我是你娘的姐姐啊！我跟你娘，很多年没见了。
Wàisheng, wǒ shì nǐ niáng de jiějie a! Wǒ gēn nǐ niáng, hěn duō nián méi jiàn le.
Nephew, I'm your mother's elder sister! Your mother and I haven't seen each other for many years.
- Wang Zifu 表哥没有骗我！那个拿梅花的姑娘，真的是我的表妹！
Biǎogē méiyǒu piàn wǒ! Nàge ná méihuā de gūniang, zhēn de shì wǒ de biǎomèi!
Wu didn't lie to me! The girl with the plum blossom really is my cousin!
Chapter 11 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of Liaozhai: Fox and Ghost Loves (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.
- Wang Zifu 姨妈，我就是来找您的！可是……我忘了问，您家姓什么？
Yímā, wǒ jiù shì lái zhǎo nín de! Kěshì… wǒ wàng le wèn, nín jiā xìng shénme?
Aunt, you're the one I came to find! But... I forgot to ask. What is your family name?
- The Old Woman 你这个孩子！我嫁到了秦家，我们家姓秦！
Nǐ zhège háizi! Wǒ jià dào le Qín jiā, wǒmen jiā xìng Qín!
Oh, you child! I married into the Qin family. Our family name is Qin!
- The Old Woman 我没有儿子，只有一个女儿。她不是我生的，她娘走了，把她留给了我。
Wǒ méiyǒu érzi, zhǐyǒu yí gè nǚ'ér. Tā bú shì wǒ shēng de, tā niáng zǒu le, bǎ tā liú gěi le wǒ.
I have no son, only a daughter. She isn't mine by birth: her mother went away and left her with me.
- The Old Woman 婴宁，婴宁！快来，你表哥来了！
Yīngníng, Yīngníng! Kuài lái, nǐ biǎogē lái le!
Yingning! Yingning! Come quickly, your cousin is here!
- Wang Zifu 门外有人在笑……是她，就是她！
Mén wài yǒu rén zài xiào… shì tā, jiù shì tā!
Someone is laughing outside the door... It's her, it's really her!
- The Old Woman 婴宁，有客人在，你还笑成这样！快进来！
Yīngníng, yǒu kèrén zài, nǐ hái xiào chéng zhèyàng! Kuài jìnlai!
Yingning! We have a guest, and you're still laughing like that! Come in this minute!
- The Old Woman 外甥，这就是婴宁，十六岁了。可是她还像小孩子一样，只会笑。
Wàisheng, zhè jiù shì Yīngníng, shíliù suì le. Kěshì tā hái xiàng xiǎo háizi yíyàng, zhǐ huì xiào.
Nephew, this is Yingning. She's sixteen, but she's still like a little child. All she can do is laugh.
- Wang Zifu 婴宁妹妹，你好。我十七岁，比你大一岁。
Yīngníng mèimei, nǐ hǎo. Wǒ shíqī suì, bǐ nǐ dà yí suì.
Hello, Yingning, my little cousin. I'm seventeen, one year older than you.
- Yingning 大一岁……他说话真好笑！
Dà yí suì… tā shuōhuà zhēn hǎoxiào!
One year older... The way he talks is so funny!
- Xiaorong 你看他的眼睛，还是那么亮，像贼一样！
Nǐ kàn tā de yǎnjing, háishi nàme liàng, xiàng zéi yíyàng!
Look at his eyes, still as bright as ever, just like a thief's!
- Yingning 小荣，走，我们去看花！
Xiǎoróng, zǒu, wǒmen qù kàn huā!
Come on, Xiaorong! Let's go and look at the flowers!
- Narrator 第二天早上，子服一个人到园子里走走。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, Zǐfú yí gè rén dào yuánzi li zǒuzou.
The next morning, Zifu took a walk by himself in the garden.
- Wang Zifu 树上是谁？……啊，是婴宁妹妹！
Shù shang shì shéi?… A, shì Yīngníng mèimei!
Who's up in the tree?... Oh, it's my little cousin Yingning!
- Yingning 大哥，你怎么也在这儿？
Dàgē, nǐ zěnme yě zài zhèr?
Cousin! What are you doing here too?
- Wang Zifu 快别笑了！你会掉下来的！
Kuài bié xiào le! Nǐ huì diào xiàlai de!
Stop laughing, quick! You're going to fall!
- Yingning 我真的掉下来了！
Wǒ zhēn de diào xiàlai le!
I really did fall!
- Wang Zifu 妹妹，你看，这是什么？
Mèimei, nǐ kàn, zhè shì shénme?
Cousin, look. What's this?
- Yingning 这枝梅花早就干了，你还留着做什么？
Zhè zhī méihuā zǎo jiù gān le, nǐ hái liúzhe zuò shénme?
This plum blossom dried up long ago. Why are you still keeping it?
- Wang Zifu 元宵节那天，是你扔下来的。我一直放在枕头下。
Yuánxiāo jié nà tiān, shì nǐ rēng xiàlai de. Wǒ yìzhí fàng zài zhěntou xià.
You tossed it down at the Lantern Festival. I've kept it under my pillow ever since.
- Yingning 这有什么！你喜欢花，园子里的花，我都给你！
Zhè yǒu shénme! Nǐ xǐhuan huā, yuánzi li de huā, wǒ dōu gěi nǐ!
That's nothing! If you like flowers, I'll give you every flower in the garden!
- Wang Zifu 我爱的不是花，是拿花的人。
Wǒ ài de bú shì huā, shì ná huā de rén.
It isn't the flowers I love. It's the girl who held them.
- Yingning 我们是一家人，我也爱你啊。
Wǒmen shì yì jiā rén, wǒ yě ài nǐ a.
We're family. I love you too!
- Wang Zifu 我说的爱，是夫妻的爱。
Wǒ shuō de ài, shì fūqī de ài.
The love I mean is the love of husband and wife.
- Yingning 那有什么不一样呢？
Nà yǒu shénme bù yíyàng ne?
So what's the difference?
- Wang Zifu 夫妻晚上要睡在一起。
Fūqī wǎnshang yào shuì zài yìqǐ.
Husband and wife sleep together at night.
- Yingning 我不习惯跟生人睡。
Wǒ bù xíguàn gēn shēngrén shuì.
I'm not used to sleeping with strangers.
- The Old Woman 婴宁，饭早就好了，你们去哪儿了？
Yīngníng, fàn zǎo jiù hǎo le, nǐmen qù nǎr le?
Yingning! Lunch has been ready for ages. Where did you two go?
- Yingning 娘！大哥说，他想跟我一起睡！
Niáng! Dàgē shuō, tā xiǎng gēn wǒ yìqǐ shuì!
Mother! Cousin says he wants to sleep with me!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What family did the old woman marry into?
“我嫁到了秦家”
- What does Xiaorong whisper about Wang's eyes?
“还是那么亮，像贼一样”
- Where is Yingning when Wang walks in the garden?
“树上是谁？……啊，是婴宁妹妹！”
- Where has Wang kept the plum blossom since the festival?
“我一直放在枕头下”
- What does Yingning say when Wang explains the love of husband and wife?
“我不习惯跟生人睡”