The Golden Days

by Cao Xueqin

  ‘Right,’ said Bao-yu. ‘Right. I promise never to talk that way again.’

  ‘That was the first thing I wanted you to reform.’

  ‘I’ve reformed already,’ said Bao-yu. ‘If I ever talk that way again, you can pinch my lips! Then what ?’

  ‘The second thing is this,’ said Aroma. ‘I don’t care whether you really like studying or not, but even if you don’t, I’d like you at least to pretend that you do when you’re with the Master or any other gentlemen, and not always be making sarcastic remarks about it. If you could only put on an appearance of liking it, he would have less cause to be angry with you, and could even take a bit of pride in you when he was talking to his friends. Look at it from his point of view. Every generation of your family up to now have been scholars. Then suddenly you come along. Not only do you hate studying -that’s already enough to make him feel angry and upset – but on top of that you have to be forever making rude remarks about it – and not only behind his back but even when he’s there. According to you anyone who studies and tries to improve himself is a “ career worm ”. According to you the Illumination of Clear Virtue or whatever it’s called is the only genuine book ever written and all the rest are forgeries. No wonder the Master gets so angry with you. No wonder he’s every minute of the day wishing he could lay his hands on you and give you a thrashing.’

  Bao-yu laughed.

  ‘All right. I won’t say such things any more. In any case, these are all things I used to say when I was younger and didn’t know any better. I don’t say things like that nowadays. What else?’

  ‘You must leave off forever going on about people’s appearance and interfering with their make-up – and you must give up that filthy habit of stealing people’s lipstick and eating it on the sly. That’s most important!’

  ‘I’ll reform! I’ll reform I Is there anything else, now?’

  ‘Nothing else, really. Just to be a bit more careful about things in general and not always letting yourself get carried away by your whims and fancies. But if you will really keep your promise about these three things I’ve mentioned, I will promise never to leave you – even if they send a bridal chair and eight strong bearers to carry me away!’

  ‘Oh, come now! Isn’t that stretching it a bit?’ said Bao-yu with a laugh. ‘For eight bearers and a handsome husband I bet you’d go!’

  ‘It wouldn’t interest me in the least,’ said Aroma haughtily. ‘“Kind sir, for such blessing I am not willing.” Even if I did go, I should take no pleasure in it.’

  Their dialogue was interrupted by Ripple, who just at that moment entered the room.

  ‘It’s nearly midnight, you two. You ought to be in bed. Her Old Ladyship just now sent one of the nannies round to ask about you and I told her you were asleep.’

  Bao-yu asked for his watch and looked. The hand was pointing to half past eleven. He washed and cleaned his teeth all over again, and taking off his outer clothes, settled down once more to sleep.

  When Aroma got up first thing next morning she felt heavy and unwell. Her head ached, her eyelids were puffy and her whole body was afire. At first she dragged herself round performing her usual tasks, but eventually she could hold out no longer and had to lie down fully clothed on the kang. Bao-yu at once informed Grandmother Jia, who called in a doctor.

  Having taken Aroma’s pulses, the doctor informed them that she had ‘merely contracted a severe chill and would be all right after taking a few doses of medicine to relieve the congestion,’ and left after writing a prescription. Bao-yu sent out for the materials prescribed, and when they had been duly boiled up and the first draught taken, made her cover herself with a quilt to bring on a perspiration. Then he went off to see Dai-yu.

  Dai-yu was at that moment taking a midday nap. Her maids had all gone off about their own affairs. Not a sound could be heard from the inside room. As Bao-yu lifted the embroidered door-curtain and entered, he could see her lying asleep inside and hurried over to rouse her:

  ‘Sleeping after you’ve just eaten, coz? That’s bad! Wake up!’

  His voice woke her. She opened her eyes and saw that it was Bao-yu.

  ‘Do go away and play for a bit! I’m so dreadfully tired. I didn’t get any sleep last night and I haven’t been able to rest until now.’

  ‘Never mind how tired you are,’ said Bao-yu. ‘You’ll do yourself much more harm by sleeping after a meal. I’ll’ stay and amuse you to keep you awake if you feel sleepy.’

  ‘I’m not sleepy, I’m tired. I want to rest for a bit. Can’t you go and amuse yourself somewhere else for a few minutes and come back later?’

  Bao-yu gave her another shake.

  ‘Where else can I go?’ he said. ‘I’m so bored with everyone else.’

  ‘Chee-ee-ee!’ Dai-yu exploded in a little laugh. ‘All right. I suppose now you are here you may as well stay. You can sit very, very quietly over there and we will talk.’

  ‘I should prefer to lie down,’ said Bao-yu.

  ‘All right, lie down then!’

  ‘There isn’t a pillow. We shall have to share yours.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ said Dai-yu. ‘Look at all those pillows in the next room. Why don’t you get yourself one of them?’

  Bao-yu went into the outer room for a look but came back empty-handed.

  ‘I don’t want any of them,’ he said genially. ‘How do I know some dirty old woman hasn’t been sleeping on them?’

  Dai-yu opened her eyes very wide.

  ‘You really are the bane of my life!’ she said. ‘Here, take this!’ She pushed the pillow she had been lying on towards him and got up to fetch another one of her own to replace it with. The two of them then reclined, facing each other, at opposite ends of the bed.

  Glancing up from her recumbent position, Dai-yu noticed that there was a blood-spot about the size of a small button on Bao-yu’s left cheek. She bent over him to examine it more closely and touched it lightly with her finger.

  ‘Whose nails was it this time?’

  Bao-yu lay back to avoid her scrutiny and laughed.

  ‘It isn’t a scratch. I’ve just been helping them make rouge. A little of it must have splashed on to my face.’ He rummaged for a handkerchief to wipe it off with.

  Dai-yu wiped it off with her own, clicking her tongue censoriously as she did so.

  ‘So you’re up to those tricks again? You might at least refrain from advertising the fact! Even if Uncle doesn’t see you himself, someone else might who thought it an amusing story to go around gossiping about. He could easily get to hear about it in that way, and that would make it unpleasant for all of us.’

  But her words were lost on Bao-yu. He was preoccupied with a subtle fragrance which seemed to emanate from Dai-yu’s sleeve – a fragrance that intoxicated the senses and caused one to feel rather limp. He seized hold of the sleeve and demanded to know what perfume she was wearing.

  ‘Perfume? At this season?’ said Dai-yu with a laugh. ‘I’m not wearing any. “In the cold winter none smells sweet”!’

  ‘Well, where does it come from, then?’

  ‘I don’t know myself where it comes from,’ said Dai-yu. ‘I suppose it might have come from the wardrobe.’

  Bao-yu shook his head.

  ‘I doubt it. It’s a very unusual scent. Not the kind you would get from a scent-cake or a perfume-ball or sachet.’

  ‘I hope you don’t imagine it’s some exotic perfume given me by the Immortals of the Isles. Even if I had the recipe, I have no kind elder brother to get together all those flowers and stamens and things and make it up for me. I have got only the ordinary, vulgar sorts of perfume!’

  ‘Whatever I say, you are always dragging in things like that,’ said Bao-yu. ‘Very well. You will have to be taught a lesson. From now on, no mercy!’

  Half rising, he pretended to spit on his hands, then stretching them out before him, began to waggle his fingers up and down in the region of her ribs and armpits. Dai-yu had always be
en the most ticklish of mortals, and the mere sight of his waggling fingers sent her off into shrieks of laughter which soon ended in breathlessness:

  ‘Oh! Ohl Bao-yul No! Stop! I’ll be angry!’

  ‘Will you say things like that any more?’

  ‘No,’ said Dai-yu, laughing weakly, ‘I promise.’

  She proceeded to pat her hair into place, smilingly complacently:

  ‘So I’ve got an unusual fragrance, have I? Have you got a warm fragrance?’

  For the moment Bao-yu was puzzled:

  ‘Warm fragrance ?’

  Dai-yu shook her head pityingly.

  ‘Don’t be so dense! You have your jade. Somebody has a gold thing to match. Somebody has Cold Fragrance, ergo you must have Warm Fragrance to go with it!’

  ‘I’ve only just let you off,’ said Bao-yu, ‘and here you go again, worse than ever!’

  Once more he stretched out the threatening fingers and Dai-yu again began to shriek.

  ‘No! Bao-yu! Please! I promise!’

  ‘All right, I forgive you. But you must let me smell your sleeve.’

  He wrapped the free end of that garment over his face and abandoned himself to long and prodigious sniffs.

  Dai-yu jerked away her arm.

  ‘I really think you ought to go.’

  ‘Couldn’t go if I wanted to. Let’s lie down very quietly and genteelly and have a conversation.’ And he stretched himself out again.

  Dai-yu lay down too, and covered her face with a handkerchief.

  He tried to arouse hex interest with desultory chat – talking for the sake of talking. Dai-yu took no notice. He tried asking questions. How old was she when she first came to the Capital ? What had the scenery been like on the journey ? What places of historical interest were there in Yangchow ? What were its inhabitants like ? What were its local customs ? Dai-yu made no reply. Still concerned that she might fall asleep and injure her health, he tried a ruse.

  ‘Why, yes!’ he said, as if suddenly remembering something. ‘There’s a famous story that took place near Yangchow. I wonder if you know about it.’

  This was delivered with so straight a face and in so serious a tone of voice that Dai-yu was quite taken in.

  ‘Oh? What?’

  Mastering a strong inclination to laugh, he began to extemporize with whatever came into his head.

  ‘Near the city of Yangchow there is a mountain called Mt Yu-dai, in the side of which is a cavern called the Cave of Lin.’

  ‘That’s false, for a start,’ said Dai-yu. ‘I’ve never heard of a mountain of that name.’

  ‘There are a great many mountains in this world,’ said Bao-yu. ‘You could hardly be expected to know all of them. Leave your criticisms until I have finished my story.’

  ‘Carry on,’ said Dai-yu.

  ‘Now in the Cave of Lin there lived a tribe of magic mice, and one year, on the seventh day of the last month, the Oldest Mouse climbed up on to his throne and sat in council with the rest of the tribe.

  ‘“Tomorrow is Nibbansday,” he said, “and everywhere in the world of men they will be cooking frumenty. Since our cave is at present short of dry provender, we should take this opportunity of replenishing our stores by raiding theirs.” He took a ceremonial arrow from the receptacle in front of him and handing it to an able younger mouse, instructed him to carry out a reconnaissance. In due course the Able Younger Mouse came back and reported that, though he had looked positively everywhere, there were nowhere more plentiful stores to be found than in the temple at the foot of the mountain.

  ‘“How many kinds of grain have they got there, and how many sorts of dried fruits ?” the Oldest Mouse asked him.

  ‘“There is a whole granary full of rice and beans,” replied the Able Younger Mouse, “but only five kinds of dried fruits:

  the first, red dates

  the second, chestnuts

  the third, peanuts

  the fourth, caltrops

  the fifth, sweet potatoes.”

  ‘The Oldest Mouse was highly delighted, and picking up another arrow, he said,

  ‘“Who will go to steal rice?”

  ‘A mouse at once took the arrow and went off to steal rice.

  ‘“Who will go to steal beans?” he asked, picking up another arrow.

  ‘Another mouse took the arrow and went off to steal beans.

  ‘One by one they departed on their missions until only the sweet potatoes had still to be arranged for.

  ‘The Oldest Mouse took up another arrow.

  ‘“Who will go to steal sweet potatoes?”

  ‘A little puny, weak mouse replied,

  ‘“I will!”

  ‘Seeing how young and puny he was, the Oldest Mouse and the other members of the mousey tribe feared that he would be too lacking in training and experience and too timid and weak to carry out the task, and refused to let him go. But the little mouse said,

  ‘“Although I am young in years and weak in body, I am eloquent and resourceful and possess unlimited magic powers. I can guarantee to carry out this mission even more ex-pedkiously than the rest.”

  ‘“How will you do that?” asked the other mice.

  ‘“I shan’t rush at the job head-on like the others,” said the little mouse. “By just giving my body a couple of shakes I shall change myself into a sweet potato; I shall roll myself into the pile of sweet potatoes without anyone seeing me; then -very, very gently – I shall roll the sweet potatoes away, one by one, until there aren’t any more left. Isn’t that a more expeditious way of doing it than the crude and headlong approach which the others have adopted ? ”

  ‘“That’s all very well,” said the other mice, “but what about this transformation business ? Let’s see you do it first”

  ‘“Nothing easier I”! said the little mouse with a confident smile. “Watchl”

  ‘He gave his body a couple of shakes.

  ‘“Hey presto!”

  ‘And at once he turned into the most exquisitely beautiful young lady.

  ‘The other mice all laughed.

  ‘“No, no, no, you’ve made a mistake! That’s not a sweet potato, that’s a young lady you’ve turned into!”

  ‘The little mouse resumed his own shape and smiled at them pityingly.

  ‘“It is you who are mistaken. You have seen too little of the world to understand. The vegetable tuber is not the only kind of sweet potato. The daughter of our respected Salt Commissioner Lin is also a sweet potato. She is the sweetest sweet potato of them all.” ‘

  Dai-yu got up on her knees and, crawling over, planted herself on top of Bao-yu.

  ‘I’ll teach you to make fun of me, you hateful creature! I’ll teach you!’

  She seized his lips between thumb and finger and began to pinch and shake them.

  ‘Help!’ cried Bao-yu. ‘Mercy! I won’t do it again! It was smelling your beautiful perfume that put me in mind of the allusion.’

  ‘Allusion?’ said Dai-yu. ‘You vilify someone else and then call it an allusion?’

  Just at that moment Bao-chai walked in.

  ‘Who’s this talking about allusions? I must hear this!’

  Dai-yu invited her to sit down.

  ‘Look! Who else would you expect it to be ? He says a lot of horrid things about me and then tells me it’s an allusion!’

  ‘Oh,’ said Bao-chai. ‘Cousin Bao. I’m not surprised, then. He is full of allusions. The only trouble is that he tends to forget them at the very moment when they are most needed. If he can remember allusions today, he ought to have been able to remember that allusion about the plantain the other night. But no, it just wouldn’t come, and though everyone else was dying of cold, he was perspiring I Yet now his memory has come back again. Strange!’

  ‘Now praised be!’ said Dai-yu. ‘I have a nice, kind cousin to stick up for me. You’ve met your match now,’ she said to Bao-yu. ‘Now you are going to get as good as you give! Now we shall see you paid in your own coin!’


  Their conversation was interrupted by a burst of angry shouting from the direction of Bao-yu’s room.

  The occasion of it will be discussed in the following chapter.

  Chapter 20

  Wang Xi-feng castigates a jealous attitude

  with some forthright speaking

  And Lin Dai-yu makes a not unattractive speech

  impediment the subject of a jest

  We have shown how Bao-yu was in Dai-yu’s room telling her the story of the magic mice; how Bao-chai burst in on them and twitted Bao-yu with his failure to remember the ‘green wax’ allusion on the night of the Lantern Festival; and how the three of them sat teasing each other with good-humoured banter.

  Bao-yu had been afraid that by sleeping after her meal Dai-yu would give herself indigestion or suffer from insomnia through being insufficiently tired when she went to bed at night, but Bao-chai’s arrival and the lively conversation that followed it banished all Dai-yu’s desire to sleep and enabled him to lay aside his anxiety on her behalf.

  Just then a sudden commotion arose from the direction of Bao-yu’s room, and the three of them stopped talking and turned their heads to listen. Dai-yu was the first to speak:

  ‘That’s your Nannie quarrelling with Aroma,’ she said. ‘To think how that poor girl goes out of her way to be nice to the old woman, yet still she manages to find fault with her! She really must be getting senile.’

  Bao-yu was for rushing over straight away, but Bao-chai restrained him:

  ‘Don’t go quarrelling with your Nannie, whatever you do! She’s only a silly old woman. You have to indulge her a bit.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Bao-yu and ran off.

  He found Nannie Li leaning on her stick in the middle of the room abusing Aroma:

  ‘Ungrateful little baggage! After all I’ve done for you – and now when I come to call on you, you lie back there on the kang like a young madam and haven’t even the grace to look up and take notice of me! You and your airs and graces!