The Tale of Kiều
by Nguyễn Du
Ch. 36: Lovers Dare Not Recognize Each Other
Translated by Vuong Thanh 

Chapter 36: Lovers Dare Not Recognize Each Other 

Months and days passed slowly by.

Young Thúc with close-at-hand worries, 

didn’t know of her servitude in his home.

Since his lovebird had flown away,

poor Thúc have been living alone at Lin-tzu. 

He looked at the crescent moon and saw her eyebrows.

His heart ached with sorrow when he smelled her old perfume.

The lotuses wilted, and the mums bloomed.  *

Long hours of melancholy while the day grew shorter. 

Then winter passed and spring arrived.

Where could he find her in this world of red dust?

To ease his grief, he told himself all that happened was fated. 

Nostalgia wakened thoughts of his hometown.

Longing for home, he went back to see his family.

Miss Hoạn, waiting at the gate, greeted him with effusion.

They inquired each other’s health and talked of many things.

She then had the drapes rolled up, and called Kiều

to come out to greet and kowtow to the master on his return. 

* The lotus wilted and the mums bloomed: from summer to autumn

Kiều hesitantly walked out, step by step.

From afar, she looked at the man, and thought:

“Is it because of the lights or the sun shining in my eyes

that made me see, sitting there, clearly is my Thúc? 

Now I knew what plot was in the mistress’s mind.

Oh, no! I had been trapped in her wicked plot.

What kind of a strange plot in the world is this?

How is it that this world has such a devilish person?

Plainly, Thúc and I are a married couple.

But now, I’m made a servant, and he’s the master.

Outwardly, she talked and laughed so cheerfully,

but inside, she’s insidious, and kill without using a dagger. 

Now that Thúc’s position and mine are like heaven and earth, 

What should I say and what should I do now?

The more she looked at him, the more confused she became.

Her heart’s all tangled up like a raveled skein of silk. 

For fear of the mistress’s authority, she dared not disobey.

She made a deep bow and knelt down on the floor.

Thúc was astounded and dismayed:

Alas! Isn’t that my beautiful Kiều?

How is it that she came to this pass?

O! we had fallen into my wife’s trap.

He did not dare to say that he knew Kiều.

But cannot prevent tears spilling from his eyes. 

Miss Hoạn saw and questioned:

“You just arrived home. What happened to make you look thus?

Thúc replied, “I just took off mourning. 

But I thought of Mother, and my heart’s filled with grief.”

She praised, “What a filial son!

Let’s celebrate your return, and may the wine dissipate

the melancholy of autumn nights.”

The husband and wife toasted several cups of wine to each other.

Kiều was ordered to stand there to serve them the drinks.

The lady would try to find fault just to scold her.

She was made to kneel and offer up each drink. 

Thúc acted more and more like a dazed men.

Tears streamed down his face, as he drank and drank.

Averting his eyes, he would suddenly laugh or speak.

Using the pretext that he’s drunk, he tried to leave.  

The lady hurriedly shouted: “Flower Slave,  

persuade him to drink, if he doesn’t, I will lash you. 

On hearing this, Thúc’s heart became even more shattered.

He  finished the offered drink, and swallowed its bitterness.

The lady laughed and talked in a joyous, half-drunk mood.

The wine feast not yet finished, she called for entertainment.

She said: “Flower Slave has many talents.

Let her play some music piece for you to hear.”

Kiều was devastated, her mind in a daze.

She obeyed nonetheless and sat before the thin gauze screen to tune her lute.

The four strings together seemed to cry and moan,

wrenching the heart of the person who’s feasting on the table. 

It’s still the same melody, but the lady smiled, 

and the man cried inside.

Not able to hold back the tears,

he bent his head down, and wiped them off.

The lady then shouted at her:

“Why do you play such a heart-rending piece for our joyful feast?

Why don’t you think before you act?

If the lord is distressed, it’s your sin.”

On hearing this, Thúc felt even more distressed.

He hurriedly smiled and said a few words to have the matter dropped.

When the dragon-shaped waterclock marked the third watch,

the lady appeared to be appeased.

In her heart, she was elated:

“This joy has made up for all my past silent sufferings.”

He, however, felt ashamed and sorrowed.

The more he thought, the more bitter was his heart.

The man and the lady went into their bedroom.

Meanwhile, Kiều stood alone, by the lamp, in the long night:

“Now, I understood the reason for Thúc’s wife’s long silence. 

Such a strange jealousy, so hard to believe!

Her plot was to separate the two lovebirds, me and Thúc.

And make us go separate ways. And cannot look each other in the eyes.

Now, we’re separated like the abyss and the sky.

No more exchange of thoughts and feelings possible between us.

My fate fragile like a candlewick, my heart heavy like lead,

When I can get out of here, will I still have my youth?

A helpless woman in the winds of fate,

will I be able to escape whole from this storm?

Alone in the night, she kept brooding on the present and the past.

Tears streamed down her cheeks throughout the night’s five watches.