Then the King spoke to his people. ‘You all know this gardener, my friends. And you know why he is here. He was the lover of my daughter. For many weeks I did not know that, but I know it now. What happens to a wrongdoer in our country? That too we know. He must choose: the lady or the tiger. If he opens the wrong door, he must fight the tiger. If he opens the right door, he must marry the lady. So now choose, young man. Choose very carefully if you want to live and not die.’
The young man stood quietly and listened to the Jing’s words. But his eyes were not on the King. They were on the face of the King’s daughter. She had no smile for him today, but he looked at her eyes. Her eyes told him something. She looked down quickly at her hand. Then she looked up again.
