"My son, why don't you tell her that it was her brother's vendor who begged for honor, opened the city gate and let the army in. Why don't you bear the black pot?" Women wipe their tears with wet pads to avoid dazzling their delicate makeup.

The man was flushed and apparently had a high fever. He waved his hand and whispered, "She's a man of love and righteousness. It's better to hate me than her family."

After that, he gasped a few times, then fell back on the bed, murmuring his beloved's name, and then suddenly changed into decadent and sad.

"She won't come back. Now, she really won't...