The Tale of Kiều
by Nguyễn Du
Ch. 27: Kiều Tried At Court
Translated by Vuong Thanh 

Chapter 27: Kiều Tried At Court 

His father flew into a stormy and thunderous rage.

Heart heavy with concern for his son, he thought to split up the pair.

Determined, he spoke his order right away:

Back to her old whorehouse, this painted-cheeked girl must return. 

Before the explicit, unconditional paternal order,

the young man took courage and appealed to his father’s feelings.

He said, “I know I’m guilty of many crimes.

However you want to punish me, I’ll not mind. 

But my fingers already dipped into indigo.

I was foolish but there’s no way to be wise again.

Even if I lived with her for just one day, 

who would hold a lute and have the heart to rip the strings off?

If you will not have compassion for my heart’s desire,

well then, I would rather die than to betray her trust.” 

The stubborn words aroused the old man’s anger.

He knelt in a district court and presented his complaint.

On a level plain suddenly arose surging waves

The prefect summoned the lovers to come in for questioning.

Together, they followed the sheriff

into a court, and knelt down together side by side.

Looking up, they saw the stern face of the prefect.

To establish his authority, he began with harsh words:

“That young man there is a foolish reveler;

and this girl here is nothing but a shifty cheat.

What is it but a discarded flower, a used perfume, 

who borrows the shine of rouge and powder to dazzle the naive.

To judge from the state of the complaint, 

nothing have been settled between the two of you.

According to the law that’s applied to this matter:

There are two choices, which one to choose is up to you. 

One choice is to undergo physical punishment decreed by the Law.

The other is to send her back to the brothel.”  

Kiều said, “My mind’s already made up!

I shall not be caught in the spider’s web again.

Soiled or clean, it’s still a choice for my body and my life.

Weak and helpless, I’ll endure the Law’s severe punishment .”

The prefect ordered, “Apply the punishment.”

So pitiful she looked, a peony in shackles, cuffs, and cangue.

Resigned to her fate, she dared not cry against injustice.

Her rosy cheeks smeared with tears, her eyebrows knitted in pain.

She lay writhing on the floor, filled with dust and mud.  

Her face lost its glow, her frame looked thinner than a plum branch.  

Young Thúc’s situation was pitiful.

From afar he watched her being tortured, his heart felt torn. 

He cried, “All her sufferings, because of me!

If I had listened to her, this wouldn’t have happened.

With my shallow mind, I did not think deeply enough,

and had caused her all this grief and shame.”

When the prefect heard those words, his heart was moved,  

He then asked young Thúc to tell him his story.

Thúc Sinh immediately responded, stifling sobs,

and recounted all that she’d said when he proposed:

“She’d thought of all the possibilities. 

From the start, she knew that something like today would happen.

It was me who tried to take care of everything

which caused her to come to this lamentable plight.” 

On hearing the story, the prefect took pity on them.

His severity put aside, he thought of how to get them out of this situation.

He said, “If what you told me is the truth, then this harlot 

still knows her place and what’s right and wrong.” 

Thúc Sinh replied, “Although just a woman of lowly stature,

she’d taken some classes and knows a little of poetry and literature.”

The prefect laughed: “Well, that’s very good then!

Let she improvise a piece on the the theme of the cangue.”

She complied – she raised the brush and quickly wrote. 

Then put the flowery sheet of paper on his desk.