The officials hastened to disperse. One of them, Governor Wang Yün, who had witnessed all this, returned to his palace very pensive and much distressed. The same evening, a bright moonlight night, he took his staff and went strolling in his private garden. Standing near one of the creeper trellises he gazed up at the sky and the tears rolled down his cheeks. Suddenly he heard a rustle in the peony pavilion and some one sighing deeply. Stealthily creeping near he saw there one of the household singing girls named Tiaochʻan or Sable Cicada. This maiden had been brought up in his palace, where she had been taught to sing and dance. She was then just bursting into womanhood, a pretty and clever girl whom Wang Yün regarded more as a daughter than a dependant. After listening for some time he suddenly called out, “What mischief are you up to there, you naughty girl?” The maiden dropped on her knees in terror, “Would thy unworthy handmaid dare to do anything wrong?” said she. “Then what are you sighing about out here in the darkness?” “May thy handmaid speak from the bottom of her heart?” “Tell me the whole truth; do not conceal anything.” And the girl said, “Thy handmaid has been the recipient of bountiful kindness. She has been taught to sing and dance and been treated so kindly that were she torn in pieces for her lord’s sake it would not repay a thousandth part. She has noticed lately that her lord’s brows have been knit in distress and knows it is on account of the State troubles. But she has not dared to ask. This evening he seemed more sad than ever and she was miserable on her lord’s account. But she did not know she would be seen. Could she be of any use she would not shrink from a myriad deaths.” A sudden idea came to Wang and he stuck the ground with his staff. “Who would think that the fate of the Hans lay on your palm? Come with me!” The girl followed him into the house. Then he summoned all the waiting women and girls, placed Sable Cicada on a chair and bowed before her. She was frightened and threw herself on the ground, asking in terror what it all meant. Said he, “You can sympathise with the people of Han,” and the fount of his tears opened afresh. “As I said just now, use me in any way; I will never shrink,” said the girl.