by Cao Xueqin
“Do you think this is like the old days when we had silver lying idle?” retorted Jia Zhen. “Go and borrow some for the time being. I don’t care from where.”
Yu Lu smiled.
“I can probably raise a couple of hundred taels somewhere,” he said. “But how can I get hold of four or five hundred so fast?”
Jia Zhen thought it over, then instructed Jia Rong, “Go and ask your mother for this sum. After the funeral the Zhen family in the south sent us five hundred taels for a sacrifice. That money arrived yesterday, and we haven’t sent it to the treasury yet. Get that first and give it to him.”
Jia Rong assented and went over to tell his mother, coming back to report:
“We’ve already spent two hundred of the five that arrived yesterday. The remaining three hundred were sent home today to be kept by granny.”
“In that case, take Yu Lu along and get it from her. You can also make sure that all’s well at home and ask after your two aunts. Yu Lu can borrow the rest.”
Jia Rong and Yu Lu agreed and were just starting out when Jia Lian came in. Yu Lu stepped forward to pay his respects. Jia Lian asked what he had come for, and Jia Zhen told him. At once Jia Lian thought, “This is a chance for me to go to the Ning Mansion and see Second Sister.”
“This is a small sum,” he said. “Why borrow from others?” Yesterday I received some silver which I haven’t spent yet. Better give him that for this payment to save trouble.”
“Fine,” said Jia Zhen. “Send Rong along and tell him how to get it.”
“I shall have to get it myself,” said Jia Lian hastily. “Besides, I haven’t been home these last few days; I ought to go and pay my respects to the old lady and my other elders. Then I’ll go to your place to make sure that the servants aren’t making trouble, and call on old Mrs. You as well.”
“I don’t like putting you to so much trouble,” objected Jia Zhen.
“What does it matter between cousins?” Jia Lian answered.
So Jia Zhen told his son, “Go with your uncle, and mind you go too to pay your respects to the old lady, master and mistresses of the other house. Give them our regards and ask if the old lady is better now or still taking medicine.”
Jia Rong assented and went off with Jia Lian. Taking a few pages with them, they mounted their horses and rode back to the city, chatting idly on the way.
Then Jia Lian deliberately mentioned Second Sister You, praising her for her good looks and modest behaviour, her lady-like ways and gentle speech, as if she were a paragon admired and loved by all.
“Everyone praises your Aunt Xifeng,” he said, “but to my mind she can’t stand comparison with your Second Aunt.”
Jia Rong, knowing his game, rejoined, “If you’ve taken such a fancy to her, uncle, I’ll act as your go-between to make her your secondary wife. How about that?”
“That would be fine!” Jia Lian beamed. “I’m only afraid your Aunt Xifeng wouldn’t agree, and neither might your grandmother. Besides I heard that your Second Aunt is already engaged.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Jia Rong assured him. “My second and third aunts aren’t my grandfather’s daughters but only stepdaughters. I’ve been told that while old Mrs. You was in the other family she promised her second daughter, before the child was born, to the Zhang family who managed the Imperial Farm. Later the Zhangs were ruined by a lawsuit, and she herself married again into the You family. Now, for the last ten years or so, the two families have lost touch completely. Old Mrs. You often complains that she’d like to break off the engagement, and my father also wants to find Second Aunt a different husband. As soon as they’ve picked a suitable family, all they need do is send someone to find the Zhangs, pay them a dozen or so taels of silver, and have a deed written breaking off the betrothal. The Zhangs are so hard up that when they see the silver they’re bound to agree; on top of which they’ll know that in dealing with a family like ours they can’t do anything else. If a gentleman like you, uncle, wants her as a secondary wife, I guarantee both her mother and my father will be willing. The only problem is my Aunt Xifeng.”
At this Jia Lian was too overjoyed to speak and could only grin foolishly.
After a little reflection Jia Rong continued, “If you have the nerve to do as I say, uncle, I guarantee it will be all right. It will simply mean spending a little extra money.”
“What’s your plan? Out with it quick! Of course I’ll agree.”
“Don’t let on a word about this when you go home. Wait till I’ve told my father and settled it with my grandmother; then we’ll buy a house and the furnishings for it somewhere near the back of our mansion, and install a couple of our servants and their wives there. That done, we’ll choose a day and you can get married on the sly. We’ll forbid the servants to tell anyone about it. As Aunt Xifeng lives tucked away inside the big mansion, how can she possibly get to know of it? Then you’ll have two homes, uncle. After a year or so, if word does get out, at most you’ll get reprimanded by your father; but you can say that as my aunt had no son you arranged this in secret outside, in the hope of having descendants. When Aunt Xifeng sees that the rice is already cooked, she’ll have to put up with it; and if you ask the old lady then to put in a word for you, the whole thing will blow over.”
As the old proverb says, “Lust befuddles the mind.” Jia Lian was so infatuated by Second Sister’s beauty that he felt Jia Rong’s plan was foolproof, completely forgetting that he was in mourning and how inappropriate it was to have a concubine outside when he had a stern father and jealous wife at home.
As for Jia Rong, he had ulterior motives. He was attached to both his young aunts, but his father’s presence at home cramped his style. If Jia Lian married Second Sister he would have to have a separate establishment outside, where Jia Rong could go to fool about in his absence.
Of course none of this occurred to Jia Lian, who thanked him saying, “Good nephew, if you fix this up I’ll buy you two really ravishing maids.” By now they had reached the Ning Mansion and Jia Rong said, “Uncle, while you go in to get the silver from my grandmother and give it to Yu Lu, I’ll go on ahead to call on the old lady.”
Jia Lian nodded, then said with a smile, “Don’t tell the old lady that I’ve come with you.”
“I know.” Jia Rong whispered then into his ear, “If you see Second Aunt today, don’t act too rashly. If there’s any trouble now, it will make things more difficult in future.”
“Don’t talk rot,” chuckled Jia Lian. “Go on. I’ll wait for you here.”
Jia Rong accordingly went to pay his respects to the Lady Dowager.
When Jia Lian entered the Ning Mansion, some of the stewards stepped forward with other servants to pay their respects and followed him to the hall. Jia Lian questioned them briefly for appearance’s sake, then dismissed them and went in alone. As he and Jia Zhen were cousins and on a close footing, he was not subject to any restrictions here and did not need to wait to be announced. He went straight to the main apartment. The old woman on duty in the corridor lifted the portiere as soon as she saw him; and on entering the room he saw Second Sister sewing with two maids on the couch on the south side, but of old Mrs. You and Third Sister there was no sign. Jia Lian went forward to greet Second Sister, who asked him to take a seat, and he sat down with his back to the east partition.
After an exchange of civilities he asked, “Where are your mother and Third Sister? Why aren’t they here?”
“They just went to the back for something; they’ll be here soon,” she told him.
As the maids had gone to fetch tea and there was no one else present, Jia Lian kept darting smiling glances at Second Sister, who lowered her head to hide a smile but did not respond, and he dared not make any further advances. Seeing that she was toying with the handkerchief to which her pouch was fastened, he felt his waist as if groping for his own pouch.
“I’ve forgotten to bring my pouch of betel-nuts,” he said. “Will you let me try one of yours, s
ister?”
“I have some, but I never give mine away.”
Smiling, he approached her to take one; and afraid this would look bad if someone came in, she laughingly tossed him her pouch. Having caught it he emptied it out, chose one half-eaten nut which he popped into his mouth, then pocketed all the others. He was about to return the pouch when the two maids came back with the tea. As Jia Lian sipped his tea, he surreptitiously took off a Han-Dynasty jade pendant carved with nine dragons and tied this to her handkerchief. And when both maids were looking the other way, he tossed the handkerchief back. Second Sister just let it lie and went on drinking her tea, as if she had not noticed. Then the portiere behind them swished and in came old Mrs. You and Third Sister with two young maids. With a wink Jia Lian signaled to Second Sister to pick up the handkerchief, but she simply paid no attention; and not knowing what she meant by this he felt frantic. He had to step forward to greet the newcomers. As he did so, he glanced back at Second Sister, who was still smiling as if nothing had happened. But looking again he noticed with relief that the handkerchief had vanished. They all sat down now and chatted for a while.
“My sister-in-law says she gave you some silver the other day to keep for her, madam,” said Jia Lian. “Today they have to settle an account, so Cousin Zhen sent me to fetch it and to see if everything is all right at home.”
On hearing this old Mrs. You immediately sent Second Sister to fetch the key and get the silver.
Jia Lian went on, “I wanted to come anyway to pay my respects to you and see both the young ladies. It’s good of you to have come here, madam, but we’re sorry to be putting our two cousins to such trouble too.”
“What way is that for close relatives to talk!” she protested. “We’ve made ourselves at home here. The truth is, sir, that since my husband died we’ve found it hard to make ends meet, and we’ve only managed thanks to my son-in-law’s help. Now that they have their hands full, we can’t help in any other way but at least we can keep an eye on things here for them—how can you talk of putting us to trouble?”
By now Second Sister had brought the silver and given it to her mother, who passed it to Jia Lian. He sent a young maid to fetch a serving-woman.
“Give this to Yu Lu,” he ordered her. “Tell him to take it back to the other house and wait for me there.”
As the old woman assented and left, they heard Jia Rong’s voice in the courtyard; and presently in he came to pay his respects to the ladies.
“Just now His Lordship your father was asking about you, uncle,” he said. “He has some business he wants you to see to and was gong to send to the temple to fetch you, but I told him you’d be coming presently. His Lordship told me, if I met you, to ask you to hurry.”
As Jia Lian rose to leave he heard Jia Rong tell old Mrs. You, “The young man I told you about the other day, grandmother, the one my father has in mind for Second Aunt, has much the same features and build as this uncle of mine. How does he strike you, madam?”
As he said this he pointed slyly at Jia Lian and motioned with his lips at Second Sister. She was too embarrassed to say anything, but her sister scolded:
“What a devilish monkey you are! Have you nothing else to talk about? Just wait, I’m going to pull out that tongue of yours.”
She ran towards him but Jia Rong had slipped out, laughing, and now Jia Lian took his leave of them with a smile. In the hall he cautioned the servants not to gamble and drink, then secretly urged Jia Rong to hurry back and take the matter up with his father. Next he took Yu Lu over to the other house to make up the sum of silver needed; and while the steward went off with this he paid his respects to his father and the Lady Dowager.
To return to Jia Rong, when he saw that Yu Lu and Jia Lian had gone for the money and he had nothing to do, he went in again to fool around with his two aunts before leaving.
It was evening by the time he got back to the temple and reported to his father, “The money’s been given to Yu Lu. The old lady’s much better now and has stopped taking medicine.” He then took this opportunity to describe how Jia Lian had told him on the road of his wish to make Second Sister You his secondary wife and set up house outside, so that Xifeng should know nothing about it.
“This is just because he’s worried at having no son,” Jia Rong explained. “And as he’s seen Second Aunt, who’s already related to our family, marrying her would be better than getting some girl from a family about which we know nothing. So uncle repeatedly begged me to propose this to you, father.” He omitted to say that this idea had originated with him.
Jia Zhen thought it over.
“Actually, it would be just as well,” he said finally. “But we don’t know whether your Second Aunt would be willing. Go and talk it over first with your old granny tomorrow. Get her to make sure your Second Aunt agrees before we make any decision.”
Then, having given his son some further instructions, he went to broach the matter to his wife. Madam You, knowing that this would be improper, did her best to dissuade him; but as Jia Zhen had already made up his mind and she was in the habit of falling in with his wishes, and as Second Sister was only her step-sister and she was therefore not so responsible for her, she had to let them go ahead with this preposterous scheme.
Accordingly, the first thing the next day, Jia Rong went back to the city to see old Mrs. You and tell her his father’s proposal. In addition, he expatiated on Jia Lian’s good qualities and declared that Xifeng was mortally ill and, if they bought a house to live in outside for the time being, after a year or so when Xifeng died his Second Aunt could move in as the proper wife. He also described the betrothal presents his father would give, and the wedding ceremony Jia Lian would arrange.
“They’ll take you in to live in comfort in your old age, madam,” he assured her. “And later they’ll see to Third Aunt’s marriage too.”
He painted such a glowing picture that naturally old Mrs. You agreed. Besides, she was wholly dependent on Jia Zhen for money, and now that he had proposed this match she would not have to provide any dowry. Furthermore, Jia Lian was a young gentleman from a noble family, ten times better than the wretched Zhang family. So she went straight to discuss it with her second daughter.
Second Sister was a coquette. She had already had an affair with Jia Zhen, and it was her constant regret that her betrothal to Zhang Hua prevented her from making a better marriage. Now that Jia Lian had taken a fancy to her and her brother-in-law himself had proposed the match, of course she was only too willing. She nodded in assent, and this was at once reported to Jia Rong, who went back to inform his father.
The next day they sent to invite Jia Lian to the temple. When Jia Zhen told him that old Mrs. You had given her consent, he was so overjoyed that he could not thank Jia Zhen and Jia Rong enough. They made plans then to send stewards to find a house, have trinkets made and the bride’s trousseau prepared, as well as the bed, curtains and other furnishings for the bridal chamber.
Within a few days everything was ready. The house they bought was in Flower Spring Lane about two li behind the Ning and Rong Street. It had over twenty rooms. They also bought two young maids. In addition, Jia Zhen installed his own servant Bao Er and his wife there to wait on Second Sister after she moved in. He then sent for Zhang Hua and his father and ordered them to write a deed canceling the betrothal for old Mrs. You.
Now Zhang Hua’s grandfather had been in charge of the Imperial Farm. After his death Zhang Hua’s father had taken his place, and as he was a good friend of old Mrs. You’s first husband, Zhang Hua and Second Sister You had been engaged to each other before they were born. Later the Zhangs became involved in a lawsuit which ruined their family, leaving them too poor to feed and clothe themselves well, to say nothing of bringing home a bride for their son. And as old Mrs. You had left her first husband’s home, the two families had lost touch for more than ten years. When the Jia family’s stewards summoned Zhang Hua and ordered him to renounce his betrothal to Second Siste
r You, although unwilling he had to agree for fear of the power which Jia Zhen and the others wielded. He accordingly wrote a deed canceling the engagement, and old Mrs. You gave him ten taels of silver, after which the matter was settled.
When Jia Lian saw that all preparations were ready, he chose the third of the next month, an auspicious day, for the wedding, of which more will be told in the next chapter.
Truly:
Because he lusted after a kinswoman,
Husband and wife fell out.
Chapter 65
A Hen-Pecked Young Profligate Takes a Concubine in Secret
A Wanton Girl Mends Her Ways and Picks Herself a Husband
Jia Lian, Jia Zhen and Jia Rong, consulting together, soon had everything satisfactorily arranged. On the second of the month, old Mrs. You and Third Sister were escorted first to the new house. Old Mrs. You saw at a glance that it was not as grand as Jia Rong had claimed; still, it appeared quite respectable, and she and her daughter were both satisfied. Bao Er and his wife gave them an effusive welcome, assiduously addressing old Mrs. You as “Old Madam” or “Old Lady” and Third Sister as “Third Aunt” or “Third Young Mistress.”
The next day at dawn when Second Sister was brought over in a white sedan-chair, all the incense, candles and sacrificial paper as well as fine bedding, wine and food were ready. Presently Jia Lian, dressed in mourning, arrived in a small sedan-chair, after which they bowed to Heaven and Earth and burned sacrificial paper. And old Mrs. You was most gratified to see Second Sister’s new finery, so unlike the trinkets and clothes she had worn at home. The bride was helped into the bridal chamber, where that night she and Jia Lian enjoyed the transports of love.
Jia Lian, more enamoured than ever of his new bride, did all in his power to please her in every way. He forbade Bao Er and the other servants to refer to her as “Second Mistress.” They must all call her the mistress just as he did, as if Xifeng had been blotted out of existence. Whenever he went home he merely claimed to have been detained by business in the East Mansion; and Xifeng, knowing how close he and Jia Zhen were, thought it natural for them to talk things over together and never suspected the truth. As for the domestics, they never interfered in affairs of this kind. In fact, the idlers among them who made a point of learning all the gossip tried to profit by the situation, seizing this chance to make up to Jia Lian; thus none of them was willing to expose him. So Jia Lian’s gratitude to Jia Zhen knew no bounds.