A Dream of Red Mansion

by Cao Xueqin

  “Is there another garden like this apart from our Grand View Garden?” he exclaimed in surprise.

  As he was puzzling over this some girls—all serving-maids— approached.

  Again he exclaimed in surprise, “So Yuanyang, Xiren and Pinger aren’t the only fine girls!”

  “What is Baoyu doing here?” the girls asked each other.

  Assuming that they were talking about him he answered with a smile, “I happened to stroll in here, not that I know which of my family’s friends this garden belongs to. Will you show me round it, sisters?”

  “Why, this isn’t our Baoyu,” cried the girls. “He’s not bad-looking though, and soft-spoken too.”

  “Do you have another Baoyu here, sisters?” he asked.

  “It was the old lady and mistress who told us to call him Baoyu, so as to make him live longer and keep him out of danger,” they said. “He likes it when we call him by his name. But how can a stinking young upstart from far away like you start using it at random? You’d better watch out or we’ll beat you to a pulp, you filthy lout!”

  “Let’s go before Baoyu sees him,” urged another.

  “He’d think talking to this stinking wretch had made us stink too.”

  With that they left.

  “Why should they insult me like this?” wondered Baoyu. “I’ve never been treated in such a way before. Can I really have a double?”

  Occupied with these thoughts he had wandered into a courtyard.

  “Why, this is another Happy Red Court!” he marvelled.

  He ascended the steps and walked in. There was someone lying on a couch inside, with a few girls by him sewing or amusing themselves. The young man on the couch sighed.

  “Why don’t you sleep, Baoyu, instead of sighing?” asked one of the girls. “I suppose it’s your cousin’s illness that’s worrying you?”

  As Baoyu marvelled at this the young man replied, “I didn’t believe the old lady when she told me that in the capital there’s another Baoyu whose character’s just like mine. Just now, though, I had a dream. I dreamed I was in a big garden in the capital, where I met some girls who called me a stinking wretch and refused to talk to me. When at last I found his rooms he was asleep. Only his empty form was there—his real self had gone, I don’t know where.”

  Baoyu hearing this interjected hastily, “I came here to find Baoyu. So you’re Baoyu!”

  The other stepped down from the couch and caught hold of him. “So you’re Baoyu!” he cried. “This isn’t a dream then.”

  “Of course not. It’s absolutely true.”

  As he said this someone announced, “The master wants Baoyu.” That threw both of them into a panic. One started out while the other called:

  “Baoyu, come back! Come back!”

  Xiren nearby heard him calling out in his sleep and shook him to wake him up.

  “Where’s Baoyu?” she asked.

  Baoyu, although awake now, was still confused.

  Pointing outside the door he answered, “He’s just left.”

  “You’ve been dreaming,” Xiren told him with a smile. “Rub your eyes and look—that’s your own reflection in the mirror.”

  When Baoyu saw that he was indeed looking at himself in the big mirror, he also smiled. By now some maids had brought him a rinse-bowl and some strong tea to rinse his mouth.

  Sheyue remarked, “No wonder the old lady keeps warning us, ‘There mustn’t be too many mirrors in children’s rooms. A young person’s spirit is weak, and if he looks at himself too much in the glass he may be frightened in his sleep and have nightmares.’ Yet we’ve put his couch in front of this big mirror. It’s all right when the cover’s down, but now that the hot weather’s made us sleepy we keep forgetting to lower it. Just now, for instance, we forgot again. He must have been lying there amusing himself by looking at his own reflection; then as soon as he closed his eyes he started dreaming foolish dreams. Otherwise he wouldn’t have called out his own name. Tomorrow we’d better move the couch inside.”

  She was interrupted by the arrival of a messenger from Lady Wang to fetch Baoyu. To know why she wanted him, read the next chapter.

  Chapter 57

  Artful Zijuan Tests Baoyu’s Feelings

  Kindly Aunt Xue Comforts Daiyu

  Baoyu hurried to his mother as soon as summoned, to find that she wanted to take him to call on Lady Zhen. Naturally delighted to go, he changed his clothes hurriedly and accompanied her. The Zhens’ house struck him as much like the Rong and Ning mansions, if not slightly grander, and by making careful inquiries he learned that they did indeed have a young master called Baoyu. By the time they has spent the day there, for Lady Zhen kept them to a meal, he was quite convinced of this.

  On their return that evening Lady Wang ordered a sumptuous feast to be prepared and a celebrated opera company hired to entertain Lady Zhen and her daughter, who two days later set off for Nanjing without any further leave-taking.

  One day, having seen that Xiangyun was on the road to recovery, Baoyu went to call on Daiyu. She was taking a siesta, and not wishing to disturb her he’s joined Zijuan who was sewing on the verandah.

  “Was her cough any better last night?” he asked.

  “A little.”

  “Amida Buddha! I do hope she soon gets well.”

  “Really, this is news to me! Since when have you started invoking Buddha?” she teased.

  “‘Men at death’s door will turn in desperation to any doctor,’“ he quipped.

  Noticing that she was wearing a thin padded silk tunic with black dots under a lined blue silk sleeveless jacket, he reached out to feel her clothes.

  “You shouldn’t sit in the wind so lightly dressed,” he remarked. “If you fall ill too in this treacherous early spring weather, it will be even worse.”

  “When we talk to each other in future kindly keep your hands to yourself,” retorted Zijuan. “You’re growing up now and should want people to respect you, but you keep provoking those wretches to gossip behind your back. You’re so careless, you still carry on like a little boy. Well, that won’t do. Our young lady’s warned us many a time not to joke with you. Haven’t you noticed recently how she’s been avoiding you?”

  She got up then and took her needlework inside.

  Baoyu felt as if doused by a bucket of cold water. He was staring blankly at the bamboo grove when Mrs. Zhu came to dig up some bamboo shoots and trim the bamboos. Then, stupefied, he went away. Presently, his wits wandering, not knowing what he did, he sank down in a daze on a rock and shed tears. For the time half a dozen meals would take he sat there brooding, but could not think what to do.

  It so happened that Xueyan passed here now on her way back from Lady Wang’s quarters with some ginseng. Turning her head towards the rock below the peach tree she noticed someone sitting there lost in thought, his face propped on his hands. To her surprise she saw it was Baoyu.

  “What’s he doing here all alone on such a chilly day?” she wondered. “Spring’s a dangerous time for people in delicate health. Can his wits be wandering again?”

  Going over she crouched down beside him.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “What do you want with me?” countered Baoyu as soon as he saw who it was. “Aren’t you a girl too? To prevent gossip she’s ordered you to ignore me, but here you come seeking me out. If you’re seen, there will be talk. Hurry up and go home.”

  Thinking Daiyu had been scolding him again, Xueyan had to go back to Bamboo Lodge where she gave Zijuan the ginseng, as their mistress was still asleep.

  “What’s Her Ladyship doing?” Zijuan asked.

  “She’s been having a siesta too. That’s why I’ve been so long,” replied Xueyan. “But let me tell you something amusing, sister. As I was waiting for the mistress and chatting with Sister Yuchuan in the maids’ quarters, who should beckon me out but Concubine Zhao. I thought she had some message, but it turned out she was there to ask leave from the mistress to
go to her brother’s wake tonight and the funeral tomorrow; and she wanted to borrow my pale-blue satin tunic for her little maid Jixiang, who’s to go with her too but has nothing decent to wear. Well, I thought, they’ve clothes of their own, they just don’t want to wear them to the funeral for fear of getting them dirty— they’d rather borrow someone else’s to soil. Of course, I’m not all that fussy about my clothes, but what kindness has that woman ever done us? So I told her. ‘All my clothes and trinkets are kept by Sister Zijuan on our young lady’s orders. I should have to tell her first and then report to my young mistress. And as our young lady’s not well, it would be a lengthy business and delay you, madam. Can’t you borrow from someone else?’“

  “You imp!” Zijuan laughed. “You shift the blame for not lending your things to us, to stop her complaining about you. Is she leaving now or not till tomorrow morning?”

  “She was just setting off. I expect she’s gone by now.”

  Zijuan nodded in silence.

  “If our young lady’s still asleep, who’s been upsetting Baoyu?” continued Xueyan. “He’s sitting out there crying.”

  “Out where?”

  “Under the peach-blossom behind Seeping Fragrance Pavilion.” At once Zijuan laid down her needlework.

  “Be ready if she calls,” she told Xueyan. “If she asks for me, tell her I’ll be back in a minute.” So saying she left Bamboo Lodge to look for Baoyu.

  Finding him, she told him gently, “I was only thinking of what’s best for us all. Why take offence and rush over here to sit crying in the wind? Are you trying to scare me by risking your health like this?”

  “I didn’t take offence,” he answered with a smile. “You were quite right. But if everyone feels the way you do, before long nobody will speak to me at all. The thought of that upset me.”

  Zijuan sat down too then beside him.

  “Just now we were talking face to face but you wouldn’t stay,” he pointed out. “Why are you sitting right beside me now?”

  “You’ve probably forgotten, but a few days ago you and your cousin had just started talking about bird’s nest when Concubine Zhao burst in. I’ve just heard that she’s gone out, and that reminded me to come and ask you: what more did you mean to say if she hadn’t interrupted you that day?

  “Oh, nothing much,” said Baoyu. “It simply occurred to me that now that she’s taking bird’s-nest and has to keep it up, it’s not right to impose too much on Baochai who’s only a visitor here. As it’s no use asking my mother. I dropped a hint to the old lady, and I suspect she must have told Xifeng. That was what I started explaining. I understand an ounce of bird’s-nest is being sent over to you every day now, so that’s all right.”

  “So it was you who suggested that, was it?” said Zijuan. “That was very good of you. We’ve been wondering what made the old lady suddenly start sending an ounce every day. So that’s the reason.”

  “If she takes it regularly every day, after two or three years her health should be much better.”

  “She can have some every day here, but where will the money come from to continue the cure when she goes home next year?”

  Baoyu gave a start.

  “Who’s going to which home?” he demanded. “Your cousin—back to Suzhou.”

  “Nonsense!” Baoyu chuckled. “Suzhou may be her hometown, but she came here because there was no one there to look after her after her parents’ death. Whom could she go back to next year? No, you’re obviously fibbing.”

  “What a poor opinion you have of other people!” Zijuan snorted. “You Jias may be a big, wealthy family, but do other families have only a father and mother and not other relatives? Our young lady was brought here for a few years while she was still only a child, because the old lady felt for her and didn’t think her uncles could take the place of her parents. When she grows up to marriageable age, she’s bound to be sent back to the Lin family.

  “How can a daughter of the Lins stay all her life with you in your Jia family? Even if the Lins were desperately poor, for generations they’ve been a family of scholars and officials: they’d never expose themselves to ridicule by abandoning a daughter to relatives. So next spring or next autumn at the latest, even if your family doesn’t send her back, the Lins are sure to send to fetch her.

  “The other evening our young lady told me to ask you for all the little gifts and souvenirs she’s given you since you were children. She means to return all yours to you as well.”

  Baoyu was thunderstruck. Zijuan waited for him to answer, but not a word could he utter. And just then Qingwen came up.

  “So here you are, Baoyu!” she cried. “The old lady wants you.”

  “He’s been inquiring after Miss Daiyu’s health, and I’ve been reassuring him,” Zijuan remarked. “But he won’t believe me. You’d better take him away.” With that she returned to her room.

  Qingwen noticed Baoyu’s distraught look, the hectic flush on his cheeks and the sweat on his forehead. She at once led him by the hand to Happy Red Court where his appearance horrified Xiren, who imagined he must have caught a chill in the wind while overheated. A fever was not too alarming, but his eyes were fixed and staring, saliva was trickling from the corners of his lips, and he seemed in a state of stupefaction. He would lie down if a pillow was put for him, would sit up if pulled, and drink tea if it was brought. His condition threw them all into a panic, but not daring to report this too hastily to the Lady Dowager they first sent for his old nurse, Nanny Li.

  Nanny Li, arriving presently, examined Baoyu carefully. When he made no answer to any of her questions she felt his pulse, then pinched his upper lip so hard that her fingers left deep imprints—yet he felt no pain. At that she gave a great cry of despair and, taking him in her arms, started weeping and wailing.

  Xiren frantically pulled her away.

  “Is it serious, nanny?” she demanded. “Do tell us, so that we can let the old lady and the mistress know. Don’t start carrying on like this.”

  Nanny Li beat the bed and pillows with her fists.

  “He’s done for,” she wailed. “A life-time of care gone for nothing!”

  Xiren had asked the nurse to have a look because she respected her age and experience. So now her words carried conviction. They all started sobbing.

  Qingwen told Xiren then what had just happened, whereupon Xiren dashed off to Bamboo Lodge. There she found Zijuan giving Daiyu her medicine. Blind to everything else, Xiren flew at her.

  “What have you been saying to our Baoyu?” she demanded. “Go and see the state he’s in! You’ll have to answer for this to the old lady. I wash my hands of it.” So saying she threw herself into a chair.

  Daiyu was taken aback by Xiren’s furious, tear-stained face and this behaviour which was so unlike her. “What’s happened?” she asked.

  Making an effort to calm herself Xiren sobbed, “I don’t know what your Miss Zijuan’s been telling him, but the silly boy’s eyes are staring, his hands and feet are cold; he can’t speak, and when Nanny Li pinched him he felt nothing. He’s more dead than alive! Even Nanny Li says there’s no hope and is weeping and wailing there. He may be dead by now for all I know.”

  Nanny Li was such an experienced old nurse that Daiyu could not but believe her gloomy predictions. With a cry she threw up all the medicine she had just taken, and was racked by such dry coughing that her stomach burned and it seemed her lungs would burst. Red in the face, her hair tousled, her eyes distended, limp in every limb, she choked for breath and could not lift up her head. Zijuan made haste to massage her back while she lay gasping on her pillow.

  “Stop thumping me,” cried Daiyu at last, pushing her away. “You’d far better fetch a rope to strangle me.”

  “I didn’t say anything,” the maid protested with tears. “Just a few words in fun, which he took seriously.”

  “You should know how seriously the silly boy always takes teasing,” scolded Xiren.

  “Whatever you said, go and clear up
the misunderstanding, quick!” urged Daiyu. “That may bring him back to his senses.”

  Zijuan jumped up then and hurried off with Xiren to Happy Red Court, where the old lady and Lady Wang had already arrived. At sight of Zijuan the old lady’s eyes flashed.

  “You bitch!” she stormed. “What did you say to him?”

  “Nothing, madam. Nothing but a few words in fun.”

  At the sight of her Baoyu cried out and burst into tears, to the relief of everybody present. The Lady Dowager caught Zijuan’s arm, thinking she had offended him, and urged him to beat her. But Baoyu seized hold of her and would not let go.

  “If you go,” he shouted, “you must take me with you!”

  No one could understand this till Zijuan, when questioned, explained her threat made in fun of going back to Suzhou.

  “Is that all?” exclaimed the Lady Dowager, the tears running down her cheeks. “So it was because of a joke.” She scolded Zijuan, “You’re such a sensible girl normally, how could you tease him like that when you know how credulous he is?”

  “Baoyu’s always been too trusting,” put in Aunt Xue soothingly. “And since Daiyu came here as a child and they’ve grown up together, they’re particularly close. This sudden talk of her leaving would have upset even a hard-hearted grown-up, let alone such a simple, credulous boy. But this disorder isn’t serious; you ladies mustn’t worry. One or two doses of medicine will set him right.”

  Just then it was announced that the wives of Lin Zhixiao and Shan Daliang had come to inquire after the young master.

  “Show them in,” said the old lady. “It’s thoughtful of them.”

  But on hearing the name Lin, Baoyu grew frantic again.

  “No, no!” he shouted from his bed. “The Lins have come to fetch her. Drive them away!”

  Hastily chiming in, “Drive them away!” his grandmother assured him. “They’re not from the Lin family. All those Lins are dead. Nobody will ever come to fetch her. Don’t you worry.”