A Dream of Red Mansion

by Cao Xueqin

  When Xiren got up first thing the next morning she felt heavy and out of sorts. Her head ached, her eyes were swollen her limbs were burning like fire. She tried to carry on as usual at first but soon had to give up and lie down, fully dressed, on the kang. Baoyu at once informed the Lady Dowager, and a doctor was sent to examine her.

  “It’s nothing but a cold,” said the doctor. “She will be all right after a couple of doses of medicine to relieve the congestion.”

  The doctor left after making out the prescription. The medicine was brought and decocted, and Xiren drank it. Baoyu left her well covered so as to induce perspiration and went off to see Daiyu.

  Daiyu was having a siesta, and since all her maids had gone out on then-own business the place was unusually quiet. Baoyu raised the embroidered curtain and walked into the inner room, where he found her sleeping.

  “Dear cousin!” he called, shaking her gently. “How can you sleep just after a meal?”

  When Daiyu woke and saw who it was, she said, “Why don’t you go for a stroll? I haven’t recovered yet from all that excitement the other night. I’m still aching from head to foot.”

  “A few aches are nothing, but if you go on sleeping you’ll really fall ill. Let me amuse you to keep you awake and then you’ll be all right.”

  “I’m not sleepy.” She closed her eyes. “All I want is a little rest. Run away and play for a while. You can come back later.”

  “Where can I go?” He nudged her again. “I find everyone else so boring.”

  Daiyu could not suppress a laugh. “All right, if stay you must, go and sit down properly over there and we’ll talk.”

  “I want to curl up too.” Seeing that there was no extra pillow, he added, “Why don’t we share that pillow of yours?”

  “What nonsense! Aren’t there pillows in the outer room? Just help yourself to one.”

  Baoyu went out to have a look, coming back to say, “I don’t want any of them. Who knows what dirty old woman has been using them?”

  Daiyu opened her eyes at this and sat up, laughing.

  “You really are the bane of my life! All right, have this,” she pushed her pillow towards him and fetched herself another. Then they lay down facing each other. Observing on his left cheek a bloodstain the size of a button, she leaned over to look at it carefully and laid one finger on it.

  “Whose nails was it this time?”

  Baoyu drew back, grinning. “That’s not a scratch. I may have splashed myself with the lip-salve I’ve just been mixing for the girls.”

  As he searched for a handkerchief, Daiyu rubbed the place clean with her own, scolding as she did so, “Isn’t that just like you? And you have to leave traces too. Even if uncle doesn’t see it, that’s the sort of thing people love to gossip about and some may tell on you in order to win favour; and if such stories reach his ears it’ll mean trouble for all of us.”

  Baoyu was not listening, however, so intent was he on the fragrance emanating from Daiyu’s sleeve, which he found intoxicating—it seemed to melt the marrow of his bones. He caught hold of her sleeve to see what she had hidden inside.

  “Who wears anything fragrant in mid-winter?” she asked.

  “Where does that scent come from then?”

  “How do I know? Unless it’s some fragrance from my wardrobe that’s clung to my gown.”

  Baoyu shook his head. “I doubt it. It’s a very unusual scent. Not the kind you would get from perfumed pastilles, scent-balls or sachets.”

  “Do I have a Buddhist arhat to give me scent?” demanded Daiyu archly. “Even if I had some rare recipe, I’ve no kind cousin or brother to concoct it for me with stamens, buds, dew and snow. All I have are common scents.”

  “Whenever I say one word, off you go!” Baoyu grinned. “I shall have to teach you a lesson. From now on, I’ll show you no mercy.”

  He rose to his knees, blew on his hands, then stretched them out and started tickling her in the ribs and under her armpits.

  Daiyu had always been ticklish, and this surprise attack set her giggling SO much that she very nearly choked.

  “Stop it, Baoyu,” she gasped. “Stop, or I’ll be angry.”

  He desisted then, demanding with a smile, “Will you talk that way any more?”

  “I dare not.” Smoothing her hair she laughed. “You say I’ve an unusual scent, have you a warm scent?”

  “A warm scent?” He looked puzzled.

  Daiyu shook her head with a sigh. “How dense you are! You have jade, and someone else has gold to match it. So don’t you have a warm scent to match her cold scent?”

  Baoyu caught her meaning then and chuckled. “You were begging for mercy a minute ago, but now you’re worse than ever.” He reached out again.

  “Dear cousin, I promise not to tease,” she cried hastily. “All right, I’ll forgive you if you let me smell your sleeve.” With that he covered his face with her sleeve and started sniffing as if he would never stop. She pulled away her arm. “You ought to go now.”

  “Go I can’t. Let’s lie down in a civilized way and chat.”

  He stretched out again while Daiyu lay down too, covering her face with her handkerchief and paying no attention to his rambling questions. How old had she been when she came to the capital? What fine sights and monuments had she seen on the way? What places of historical interest were there in Yangzhou? What were the local customs and traditions? Daiyu made no reply and to keep her awake—for he feared sleep might give her indigestion—Baoyu played a new trick.

  “Aiya!” he exclaimed. “Do you know the extraordinary thing that happened near your yamen in Yangzhou?”

  Taken in by his straight face and earnest manner, Daiyu asked to hear about it. Then Baoyu, suppressing a laugh, started romancing.

  “In Yangzhou there’s a hill called Mount Dai, in the side of which is a cavern called Lin Cavern.”

  “You’re making this up,” cried Daiyu. “I’ve never heard of such a hill.”

  “Do you know all the hills and streams in the world? Let me finish my story before you pull it to pieces.”

  “Go on, then.”

  Baoyu went on, “In Lin Cavern lived a number of rat spirits. One year on the seventh day of the twelfth moon, the Rat Patriarch ascended his throne to hold a council. He announced, ‘Tomorrow is the Feast of Winter Gruel when all men on earth will be cooking their sweet gruel. Here in our cave we have few fruits or nuts; we must go foraging.’ He handed an arrow of command to an able young rat and ordered him to go out and reconnoitre.

  “Soon the young rat returned to report, ‘I have made a thorough search and inquired far and wide. The best store of grain and dried fruits is to be found in the temple at the foot of this hill.’“

  “‘How many kinds of grain? How many sorts of dried fruits?’

  “‘A whole granary full of rice and beans past counting, and five kinds of dried fruits: dates, chestnuts, peanuts, caltrops and sweet taros.’

  “Delighted by this information, the Patriarch promptly detailed rats to go forth. Taking up an arrow of command he asked:

  “‘Who will steal rice?’

  “One rat took the arrow and went off.

  ‘Who will steal beans?’ the Patriarch asked, picking up another arrow.

  “Another rat accepted the mission.

  “One by one they went off until finally there were only sweet taros left to be stolen.

  “The Patriarch, holding an arrow, asked, ‘Who will go and steal sweet taros?’

  “A very small, puny mouse volunteered, ‘I’ll go!’

  “Seeing how small and weak she was, the Patriarch and the rest of the tribe would not hear of her going, for fear she proved unequal to the task.

  “But the little mouse insisted, ‘Young and weak as I am, I have wonderful magic powers and great eloquence and cunning. I swear to manage better than all the rest.’

  “Asked to explain how, she said, ‘I shan’t steal outright like them, but change myself into a sweet
taro and mix in a pile of others to escape detection. Then I shall spirit the taros away one by one, until there are none left. Wouldn’t that be more effective than stealing outright?’

  “‘It certainly sounds it,’ replied the other rats. ‘But how do you manage the metamorphosis? Do show us.’

  “‘That’s easy.’ The little mouse laughed. ‘Just watch.’ She shook herself and changed into a lovely girl with a most bewitching face.

  “The other rats laughed. ‘You’ve made a mistake,’ they cried. ‘You’ve changed into a young lady, not a sweet taro.’

  “‘You ignorant lot!’ retorted the little mouse, resuming her original form. ‘You only know what sweet taros are, but don’t know that the daughter of Salt Commissioner Lin is sweeter than any taro.’“

  Daiyu scrambled over and pinned Baoyu down. “You scoundrel!” she cried laughing. “I knew you were making fun of me.”

  She pinched Baoyu until he begged for mercy. “Dear cousin, let me off. I won’t do it again,” he pleaded. “It was smelling that sweet scent of yours that reminded me of this allusion.”

  “You make fun of me and dare pretend it’s an allusion....” Just then in walked Baochai with a radiant face. “Who’s talking about allusions?” she asked. “I must hear this.”

  Daiyu hastily offered her a seat. “Can’t you see?” She laughed. “He mocks me, then pretends it’s an allusion.”

  “Cousin Bao, is it? No wonder.” Baochai smiled. “He knows so many allusions. The only trouble is that he forgets them just when he needs them most. If his memory is so good today, why didn’t he remember that allusion about the plantain the other night? He actually forgot the most obvious one. Everyone else was freezing, but he was so frantic that he was perspiring. So now his memory has come back again.”

  “Amida Buddha!” cried Daiyu laughing outright. “She’s my good sister after all. You’ve met your match now. This just shows that no one can escape retribution.”

  At that moment the sound of squabbling and angry shouting broke out in Baoyu’s apartments. What it was will be disclosed in the next chapter.

  Chapter 20

  Xifeng Reproves a Jealous Woman

  Daiyu Mocks a Prattling Girl

  Baoyu as we saw, was in Daiyu’s room telling her the story about the rat spirits when Baochai burst in and teased him for forgetting the “green wax” allusion on the night of the Feast of Lanterns. Baoyu felt relieved as they laughed and made fun of each other, for he had feared that sleeping after lunch might give Daiyu indigestion or insomnia that night, and so injure her health. Luckily Baochai’s arrival and the lively conversation that followed it had woken Daiyu up.

  Just then, a commotion broke out in Baoyu’s apartments and the three of them pricked up their ears.

  “It’s your nanny scolding Xiren,” announced Daiyu. “There’s nothing wrong with Xiren, yet your nanny is for ever nagging at her. Old age has befuddled her.”

  Baoyu wanted to rush straight over, but Baochai laid a restraining hand on his arm. “Don’t quarrel with your nurse now.” She warned him. “She’s a silly old thing, but you should bear with her.”

  “I know,” said Baoyu, and dashed off.

  Back in his apartments he found Nanny Li leaning on her cane in the middle of his room and roundly abusing Xiren.

  “Ungrateful slut!” she scolded. “You owe your position to me, yet there you he giving yourself such airs on the kang, and won’t even look at me when I come in. All you think about is making up to Baoyu, so that he pays no attention to me but does everything you say. A slave girl bought for a few taels of stinking silver, you’ve turned everything here topsy-turvy. If you don’t behave, you’ll be dragged out and married off. We’ll see whether you can still bewitch Baoyu then.”

  Imagining that Nanny Li was angry with her for lying in bed, Xiren at first explained, “I’m ill and just starting to perspire, so I’d covered up my head and didn’t see you, granny.”

  But when the old woman accused her of vamping Baoyu and threatened to have her married off, the injustice of these taunts reduced her to tears.

  Baoyu overheard this tirade, but there was not much he could do except explain that Xiren was unwell and had just taken medicine.

  “If you don’t believe me,” he added, “ask any of the maids.”

  This only added fuel to the fire.

  “That’s right. Stick up for those vixens of yours. Who am I, after all?” his nurse stormed. “Which of them am I supposed to ask? They’ll all take your side. They’re all under Xiren’s thumb. I know everything that goes on here. I’m going to have this out with you in the presence of the old lady and lady Wang. I suckled you, I raised you; but now that you don’t need my milk any more, you push me aside and let your maids insult me.” She was weeping with rage.

  By this time Daiyu and Baochai had come over too and they set to work to soothe her.

  “Make some allowances for them, nanny,” they urged. “Let it blow over.”

  The old woman seized on them to pour out her complaints: Qianxue’s dismissal for drinking a cup of tea, and the business of the junket the previous day.... It was hard to make head or tail of her maundering.

  Xifeng happened just then to be in the Lady Dowager’s apartments totting up the scores after a game. When she heard angry voices she knew that Nanny Li was on the rampage again, working off on Baoyu’s maids her annoyance over her gambling losses today. She hurried across and pulled the nurse aside.

  “Don’t be angry, nanny dear,” she said with a smile. “It’s just after the festival and the old lady’s had a happy day. At your age you ought to stop other people from brawling. Don’t forget yourself and start a rumpus here which may upset the old lady. Tell me who’s been annoying you and I’ll have her beaten for you. Now I’ve a broiled pheasant in my room, piping hot. Come along and have a drink with me, quick!”

  With these words she tugged the nurse out, calling over her shoulder to her maid, “Fenger, bring Nanny Li’s cane for her, and a handkerchief to dry her tears.”

  Unable to hold her ground Nanny Li was borne off, lamenting as she went, “I’m old enough to die and have done with it. But I’d sooner forget myself and lose face making a scene like this than put up with the insolence of that dirty bitch.”

  Baochai and Daiyu in the background had been watching how Xifeng handled the situation. Now they laughed and clapped their hands.

  “How lucky that this hurricane sprang up and carried the old creature off!”

  Baoyu nodded and sighed. “Goodness only knows how this started. She keeps picking on people who can’t defend themselves. I suppose one of the other girls annoyed her yesterday, and she tried to settle scores like this....”

  The words were scarcely out of his mouth when Qingwen gave a laugh.

  “We’re not off our heads,” she said. “Why should we annoy her? And even if we had, we’d have taken the blame ourselves, not shift it to somebody else.”

  Xiren caught hold of Baoyu’s hand and sobbed, “First you offend your old nurse because of me, and now because of me you’re offending everyone here. Haven’t I enough to put up with, without dragging them in as well?”

  Because she was ill and upset Baoyu had to be patient. He urged her to lie down again and perspire. She was burning with fever and stretching out beside her he tried to soothe her.

  “Just think of your health. Don’t upset yourself over such trifles.”

  Xiren smiled bitterly.

  “If I got upset easily, how could I stay a single minute in this room? But when it goes on like this day after day, what do you expect us to do? I’m always urging you to stop offending people on our account. You’re just out to stick up for us on the spur of the moment, but they remember it, and the next chance they have at the very least they say something unpleasant. Think how difficult you make if for us all.” She could not help crying as she spoke, but for fear of upsetting Baoyu she fought back her tears.

  Presently the odd-j
ob woman brought in the second dose of medicine. Baoyu would not let Xiren get up since she seemed on the point of perspiring. Instead he carried the medicine to her and raised her on the pillow to drink it. Then he told some of the younger maids to prepare his kang.

  “Whether you mean to eat there or not, you’d better go and sit with the old lady and Lady Wang for a while,” suggested Xiren. “Then keep the young ladies company for a bit before coming back. I shall be all right after a quiet nap here.”

  Hearing this, Baoyu removed her hairpins and bracelets for her and settled her for the night before going to dine in the lady Dowager’s quarters.

  After dinner his grandmother felt disposed to play cards with some of the old stewardesses. Baoyu, still worried about Xiren, went back to find her dozing. It was still early for him to go to bed, but Qingwen, Yixian, Qiuwen and Bihen had gone off to have some fun with Yuanyang and Hupo, leaving only Sheyue playing solitaire by the lamp in the outer room.

  With a smile Baoyu asked, “Why didn’t you go with the others?”

  “I haven’t any money.”

  “There’s a pile stacked under the bed. Isn’t that enough for you to lose?”

  “If we all went off to play, who’d mind this place, with her lying ill here too? There are lamps above and stoves below everywhere. Those old women deserve a rest after waiting on you all day, and the girls ought to have some fun too after a day’s work. So I let them all go while I keep an eye on things here.”

  Why, she’s another Xiren, thought Baoyu and smiled.

  “I’ll be here,” he told her. “Don’t worry. You can go.”

  “If you’re here there’s even less reason for me to go. Why don’t we both sit here and talk?”

  “Just the two of us sounds rather dull. What can we do? I know! You were saying this morning that your head felt itchy. Since we’ve nothing to do, let me comb your hair for you.”

  “If you like.”

  Sheyue fetched her dressing-case and mirror, then pulled out her hairpins and let down her hair. Baoyu had just started combing it with a fine comb when Qingwen hurried in to fetch some money. She laughed mockingly at the sight of them.