| In which a monk...: |
When Fan Jin's mother realized that everything in the house was hers, overcome with joy she fell senseless to the ground. The maids and her daughter-in-law, thrown into confusion, hastily summoned their master. Fan Jin hurried in, calling his mother, but she did not answer. At once he had her laid on the bed and sent for a doctor.
「The old lady's vital organs have been affected,」 said the doctor. 「She is beyond saving.」
Fan Jin called in several more physicians, but their diagnosis was the same, and he was in despair. As he and his wife watched by the bedside, weeping, he gave orders for the funeral; and when evening came the old lady breathed her last, so that the whole household was in a ferment all night. |
