The Crab-Flower Club

by Cao Xueqin

  ‘Just now as I was on the point of coming over,’ she said, bringing these reflections to a rapid conclusion, ‘two crates of quails arrived from my aunt’s. I told the servants to fry them, intending to send them over later for your dinner. Then, on my way in through your gate, I met some of the boys from here with your carriage. They said it had something wrong with it and they were taking it outside to be mended. Why not make use of my carriage instead? We can go over together in it now, and you can dine at my place afterwards on the quails.’

  Finding this proposal acceptable, Lady Xing called in her maids to help her change; then, supported by her ever-solicitous daughter-in-law, she got into the latter’s carriage and drove with her to the establishment next door. On their way Xi-feng pointed out that if they arrived at Grandmother Jia’s place together, the old lady might notice her outdoor clothes and ask her where she had been.

  ‘It would be better if you went in there alone, while I slip back to my own place to change,’ she said. ‘I’ll join you later, as soon as I’ve got into my everyday clothes.’

  Lady Xing thought that this sounded reasonable and went in on her own to see Grandmother Jia. After chatting with her for a few minutes about nothing in particular, she left on the pretext of visiting Lady Wang. This meant that she went out through the rear of the apartment, so that her way took her past Faithful’s room and she was able to look in casually in passing to see if she was there.

  Faithful was sitting in her room sewing, but stood up as Lady Xing entered.

  ‘What’s that you’re embroidering?’ Lady Xing asked her. ‘Let me look.’

  She took the embroidery from her hand and inspected it.

  ‘You are getting very good,’ she said, laying it down again, and proceeded to scrutinize the girl carefully, from head to foot.

  Faithful had on an almost new lilac-coloured dress of silk damask over which she wore a dag-edged sleeveless black satin jacket. Her skirt was a pale eau de Nil. Lady Xing observed the slender waist and elegantly sloping shoulders, the oval face, the lustrous, raven-black hair, the slightly aquiline nose, the cheeks slightly spotted with a few tiny moles. Faithful grew embarrassed and apprehensive beneath this scrutiny.

  ‘What brings Your Ladyship here at this hour?’ she asked. ‘You don’t often come over in the afternoon.’

  Lady Xing made a sign to the maids who had accompanied her to leave the room, then, seating herself in Faithful’s place, she took the maid by the hand and smiled at her graciously.

  ‘I’ve come to wish you joy, my dear.’

  Hearing this, Faithful was able to guess, more or less, what her visitor had come about. She coloured and hung her head in silence while Lady Xing continued.

  ‘You see, Sir She has no one nowadays he feels he can really rely on. He was thinking of buying someone; but you know, you can never trust those girls you get from the dealers. You don’t know how clean they are, and often you don’t find out what the snags are until it is too late. They seem all right when you buy them, but two or three days later you find them getting up to the most frightful antics. Well, then he thought he’d pick someone from among our house-born servants, but he just couldn’t seem to find anyone good enough. Either they weren’t good-looking enough, or their looks were all right but their characters wouldn’t do, or whatever it was there was always something wrong with them. Anyway – to cut a long story short – after half a year’s careful study, he has finally decided that you are the cream of the cream. In looks, in character, in behaviour he finds you perfect: gentle, reliable – in fact, all the things he is looking for in a girl. So he’s decided to ask Lady Jia if he can have you for his concubine. Of course, you would get much better treatment than a newly bought girl from outside could expect. In your case we should put your hair back straight away and treat you as a proper chamber-wife. You would be ‘Auntie’ to the children and ‘Mrs’ to the maids. In fact, you would have practically the status of a mistress. Now I know you are an ambitious young woman. You know what they say: “True gold will find its price.” In your case it’s proved by the fact that Sir She has taken this fancy to you. Here is a chance of doing all those things you ever set your heart on doing. And if you have any enemies, you will be in a position now to make them look very silly. Now – come along with me and tell Her Old Ladyship all about it.’

  She took Faithful’s hand and made as if to go, but Faithful reddened and snatched her hand away. Lady Xing assumed that she did so from bashfulness.

  ‘Come,’ she said, ‘there’s no need to be bashful. You don’t have to say anything yourself if you don’t want to. Just come with me and let me do the talking.’

  But Faithful still hung her head and did not move.

  ‘Surely,’ said Lady Xing, when it became evident that Faithful was determined not to accompany her, ‘surely you can’t mean to refuse this offer? I must say, you’ll be a very silly girl if you do. What, throw away the chance of becoming a lady in order to go on being a maid? If you do, then in two or three years’ time when they marry you off, it will only be to one of the boys, you know. You’ll still be a slave just the same. Whereas if you come to live with us – well, you know my nature: I’m not a difficult person to get on with; and Sir She always treats his girls very nicely. And after you’ve been with him for a year or two, if you can bear him a child, you’ll be on the same level as me: everyone in the household will have to jump to it when you give them orders. If you throw away an opportunity like this, you’ll certainly live to regret it.’

  Faithful continued to hang her head and say nothing.

  ‘You’re such a lively person as a rule,’ said Lady Xing. ‘What’s got hold of your tongue? Is there any particular thing about this arrangement that doesn’t suit you? Please let me know if there is, and I promise that it shall be altered.’

  But Faithful still said nothing.

  ‘Oh, I know what it is,’ said Lady Xing. ‘I expect you’ve got parents and don’t like to say anything until you’ve heard from them. Why yes, very right and proper. I shall get in touch with your parents and no doubt you will be hearing from them in due course. Then anything you want to say, you will be able to say to them.’

  With that she left, and went round to Xi-feng’s apartment.

  Xi-feng had long since changed back into her ordinary clothes. As no one else was about, she had taken the opportunity of telling Patience about her interview with Lady Xing. Patience was amused, but shook her head doubtfully at Lady Xing’s optimism.

  ‘If you ask me, I think it’s very uncertain. From the way she’s always spoken in the past when we’ve been alone together, I should think she’ll refuse. Anyway, we’ll just have to wait and see.’

  ‘Lady Xing is sure to come here afterwards to talk about what happened,’ said Xi-feng. ‘If Faithful has accepted, it will be all right; but if Faithful hasn’t accepted, she’s not going to be in a very good mood, and it would embarrass her to have you here while she was telling me about it. You’d better order them to prepare some of those quails and a few other dishes to go with them so that I can offer her dinner when she arrives; but after you’ve done that, you’d better take yourself off for a bit – and don’t come back until you think she’s gone.’

  Patience gave Xi-feng’s instructions to the cook and then went off to enjoy herself in the Garden.

  When Lady Xing left, Faithful felt sure that she would go straight to Xi-feng’s for consultation and that soon after that someone else would arrive and put the same question to her again. It seemed to her that the best way of avoiding this would be to decamp. She sought out Amber in order to give some cover to her exit.

  ‘If Her Old Ladyship should ask for me, tell her that I’m not feeling well and couldn’t eat any lunch today. Say I’ve gone to walk in the Garden for a bit and shall be back again shortly.’

  Amber agreed to do this and Faithful went off to wander about in the Garden. While she was doing so, she came by coincidence upon Patience doing exact
ly the same thing.

  Seeing no one else but the two of them around, Patience felt no compunction in revealing her newly acquired knowledge.

  ‘Look who’s here!’ she called out teasingly. ‘Mrs Faithful!’

  Faithful blushed bright red.

  ‘I suppose you’re in the plot against me too. Well, never mind. I’ll be having it out with your mistress presently.’

  Patience could see that Faithful was really angry, and regretted her foolish jibe. Taking her by the hand, she led her to some rocks beneath a stand of maple-trees where they could sit down together, and proceeded to tell her all that Xi-feng had a few minutes earlier told her.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Faithful when she had finished. ‘You and I at least are still friends. When I think of our set – how many were we? – Aroma, Amber, Candida, Nightingale, Suncloud, Silver, Musk, Ebony, Kingfisher – she left to go with Miss Shi – Charmer and Golden – they both died – Snowpink that was dismissed – you and me – there must have been a dozen of us altogether: when we were young we always told each other everything and shared everything together; but now that we are older, the others all seem to go their different ways and just aren’t interested. Not me, though: I haven’t changed. I’m just the same as I always was. I don’t have any secrets from any of you. Now listen: I’m telling you this now for you to remember – only don’t go passing it on to your Mrs Lian. It’s not just a question of not wanting to be his concubine. I wouldn’t go to Sir She, not if Lady Xing had died and he sent matchmakers and witnesses and asked me to be his proper wife!’

  Patience was about to answer when there was a laugh from behind the rocks on which they were sitting and a voice called out.

  ‘What’s this shameless boasting I hear? It’s enough to set one’s teeth on edge!’

  Startled, the two of them rose to their feet and went to look behind the rockery to find out who it was. Aroma emerged, laughing, as they did so.

  ‘What’s all this about? Tell me about it too.’

  The three of them sat down on the rocks together and Patience retold all that she had just told Faithful.

  ‘Well!’ said Aroma when Patience had finished. ‘I suppose it’s not for someone in my place to say so, but what a nasty old man! Unless they’re downright misshapen, just about no one is safe from him.’

  ‘I can tell you a way out of this if you want to refuse,’ said Patience.

  ‘What?’ said Faithful.

  ‘Have a word with Her Old Ladyship and get her to tell him that she’s already given you to Mr Lian. That’ll cool his ardour.’

  ‘You too now?’ said Faithful angrily. ‘You’re a nice lot, I must say! It was your mistress who suggested that the other day. I thought we hadn’t heard the last of that.’

  ‘If you don’t want either of them,’ said Aroma, ‘then if you ask me I think your best plan would be to get her to tell him that she’s promised you to Master Bao. That would put him off right away!’

  Both embarrassed and exasperated by these taunts, Faithful rounded on her tormentors with some heat.

  ‘You’re rotten, both of you, and I hope you both come to bad ends! I thought you were decent sorts who might try to comfort me in my trouble. But even if you don’t care, you might at least refrain from treating it as a joke. I suppose you think you don’t have to worry about me because your own futures are assured and each of you will end up as chamber-wife to the person of your choice. Well, as I see it, things in this world don’t always turn out the way you want them to. I wouldn’t be quite so cock-a-hoop if I were you. You might be in for some nasty shocks yourselves.’

  The others saw that they had really rattled her and laughingly did their best to calm her down.

  ‘Now, now, Faithful, don’t take it so much to heart. We three have been like sisters ever since we were little girls. We were only teasing you a bit because there’s no one else around. Tell us what plan you’ve decided on, so that we shan’t be so worried about you.’

  ‘Plan?’ said Faithful. ‘I’ve got no plan. I just shan’t go to him and that’ll be the end of it.’

  Patience shook her head.

  ‘I very much doubt if it will. You know what Sir She’s temper is like. It’s true that he can’t touch you as long as you’re with Her Old Ladyship; but you’re not going to be with her all your life, are you? You’ll have to leave in the end, and if you fall into his clutches then, you’ll be in real trouble.’

  Faithful smiled grimly.

  ‘As long as Her Old Ladyship lives, I shall stay with Her Old Ladyship. And when all’s said and done, even when the old dear goes to her rest, there are still the years of mourning. There would be no question of his taking a concubine with his mother just dead. And by the time the period of mourning is over – well, anything might have happened. I’ll just have to wait and see. If I get really desperate, I can always shave my hair off and become a nun; or failing that, there’s always suicide. I don’t mind going through life without a man. Glad to keep myself clean.’

  The other two tittered protestingly.

  ‘The things you say, Faithful! Have you no shame?’

  ‘There’s not much room left for shame when things have come to this pass,’ said Faithful. ‘Anyway, if you don’t believe me, just wait and see. Lady Xing said just now that she was going to see my parents about this. I wonder if she will. She’ll have to go all the way to Nanking if she does!’

  ‘Your parents are looking after the house in Nanking and can’t be fetched,’ said Patience, ‘but they can be got in touch with eventually. And in any case, your elder brother and his wife are here. It’s a pity you’re a house-born servant and not on your own here like me and Aroma.’

  ‘It makes no odds,’ said Faithful. ‘ “You can take an ox to the water, but you can’t make him drink.” Just because I refuse him, he’s not going to kill my parents!’

  While she was talking, her sister-in-law appeared some distance from where they were sitting, walking in their direction.

  ‘There you are!’ said Aroma. ‘They’ve evidently found that they can’t get in touch with your parents, so they’ve already had a word with your sister-in-law.’

  ‘That cow!’ said Faithful. ‘She’s a regular camel-dealer, that one. She’d just jump at a thing like this!’

  The ‘cow’ was already upon them, smiling all over her face.

  ‘Ah, here you are, miss! I’ve looked for you everywhere. Come with me. I’ve got something to tell you.’

  Patience and Aroma fussed round her, inviting her to sit with them on the rock.

  ‘No, you young ladies sit down,’ said the woman. ‘I’ve got to have a word with our Faithful.’

  ‘Is it really very urgent?’ they asked her innocently. ‘We’ve been playing “I spy”. Can’t it wait until we’ve finished guessing?’

  ‘What is it?’ said Faithful. ‘Why not just tell me?’

  ‘Come with me,’ said her sister-in-law. ‘I’ll tell you over there. It’s good news, anyway.’

  ‘Oh, is it by any chance the thing Lady Xing was talking about?’ said Faithful.

  ‘There!’ said her sister-in-law. ‘You knew about it all the time! What were you having me on for? Now come on, hurry, and I’ll tell you all the details. It’s a wonderful, wonderful piece of news!’

  Faithful stood up and spat hard and deliberately in her sister-in-law’s face.

  ‘Why don’t you take your bloody trap out of here?’ she shouted, pointing at her angrily. ‘ “Wonderful news” indeed! I suppose you’ve been studying the way families of maids who’ve become concubines can throw their weight about, so you just can’t wait to push me into that fire. If I find favour, then of course you’ll be the great lady and be able to put on airs and throw your weight about too. If I don’t, if I’m a failure – oh, you’ll just draw your tortoise-head back into your tortoise-shell and leave me to get on with it. Whether I live or die, it will be all the same to you.’

  She began crying hyste
rically and had to be restrained and comforted by Patience and Aroma.

  ‘Huh!’ said her sister-in-law in an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve her ruffled dignity. ‘Whether you’re willing or not, you might at least be civil. Anyway, I don’t see why you need drag other people into it. “One doesn’t discuss short legs in front of a dwarf,” they say. I make no comment on the nasty things you said about me, but what about these young ladies? They’ve done nothing to provoke you. This talk about concubines is not very nice for them.’

  ‘Oh no!’ said the two young ladies in question. ‘She wasn’t referring to us when she said that. It’s you who are dragging in other people. What makes you think that either of us has been chosen as a concubine? By whom? Even if we had been, neither of us has any family in this household to throw their weight about, so she can say what she likes on the subject: there’s no occasion for us to get worked up about it.’

  ‘It’s because I made her look silly,’ said Faithful. ‘She’s trying to cover up by setting you two against me. Fortunately you are too intelligent to be taken in. I lost my temper just now and I’m afraid I didn’t choose my words very carefully. She evidently thought she could take advantage of that.’

  Faithful’s sister-in-law was by now finding her situation so disagreeable that she removed herself from it by walking away in a huff. Faithful herself was still extremely angry and for some time continued to hurl invectives at her retreating back; but Patience and Aroma reasoned with her, and gradually she began to calm down.

  ‘Why were you hiding there just now?’ Patience asked Aroma when Faithful’s composure had been restored. ‘It’s funny that we didn’t see you.’

  ‘I’d been over to Miss Xi-chun’s to see Master Bao,’ said Aroma, ‘but I got there a moment too late. They said he had just that minute left for home. I couldn’t understand why in that case I hadn’t run into him on the way, so I thought perhaps he might have gone to Miss Lin’s; but just as I was going there to look for him, I met one of Miss Lin’s people who said that he wasn’t with her, so I began wondering if he might have gone out of the Garden altogether. Then just at that moment you came along from the direction I was looking in, so I slipped behind a tree and hid. When Faithful came, I slipped out from behind my tree and hid behind this rock. I could see you both sitting there talking, but your two pairs of eyes couldn’t see me.’