by Cao Xueqin
As Sheyue and Qiuwen were leaving, she hurried after them with a final warning: “Don’t start by asking those who came to the feast. Because then, if you can’t find it, that will cause more trouble and make matters worse.”
Sheyue and Qiuwen agreed and went off separately to make inquiries; but nobody had seen the jade, and they were all alarmed. The two of them hurried back to eye each other blankly in consternation. By now Baoyu was alarmed too, while Xiren could only sob in desperation. The jade had vanished, and they dared not report it. All the inmates of Happy Red Court were petrified.
While they were in this state of stupefaction, along came some people who had heard of their loss. Tanchun ordered the Garden gate to be closed and sent an old serving-woman with two young maids to make another comprehensive search, promising a handsome reward to anyone who found the jade. Eagerness to clear themselves and receive a reward made everyone search frantically high and low—they even scoured the privies. But it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. They searched all day in vain.
“This is no laughing matter,” said Li Wan in desperation. “I’ve a blunt proposal to make.”
“What is it?” the others asked.
“Things have come to such a pass, we can’t be too nice. Now apart from Baoyu all the others in the Garden are women. I’m going to ask all you girls, as well as the maids you brought with you, to take off your clothes to be searched. If the jade isn’t found, we’ll tell the maids to search the serving-women and the maids doing the rough work. What do you say?”
“That’s an idea,” they agreed. “With such a crowd of us here we’re a mixed lot, and this would be a way to clear ourselves.” Only Tanchun made no comment.
As the maids also wanted to clear themselves of suspicion, Pinger volunteered to be the first to be searched. Then the others stripped too, and Li Wan searched them in turn.
“Sister-in-law!” snapped Tanchun. “Where did you learn to behave in this scandalous way? If anyone stole it she wouldn’t keep it on her, would she? Besides, this jade may be treasured here but to outsiders not in the know it’s quite useless, so why should anyone steal it? I’m sure that someone is up to monkey tricks.”
When they heard this and noticed Huan’s absence—though earlier on he had been running all over the place—they suspected him but were unwilling to say so.
“Huan’s the only one who’d play such a trick,” Tanchun continued. “Send somebody to fetch him quietly and persuade him to return it; then give him a scare to make him keep his mouth shut, and that will be that.”
The others nodded approval.
Li Wan told Pinger, “You’re the only one who can get the truth out of him.”
Pinger agreed to try and hurried off, coming back before long with Jia Huan. The rest pretended that nothing was amiss and told maids to serve him tea in the inner room. Then they excused themselves, leaving him to Pinger.
“Your Brother Bao has lost his jade,” she told him with a smile. “Have you seen it?”
Jia Huan flushed scarlet and glared.
“When he loses something, why suspect me?” he protested. “Am I a convicted thief?”
He looked so worked up that Pinger dared not press him. “I didn’t mean that,”
She explained with a smile. “I thought you might have taken it to scare them; that’s why I simply asked if you’d seen it or not, to help them find it.”
“He was the one wearing the jade, so he’s the one you should ask instead of me. You all make so much of him! When there’s something good going, you don’t ask me to share it; but when anything’s lost, I’m the one you ask about it!” He got up and marched out, and they could not stop him.
“All this trouble’s due to that silly thing!” burst out Baoyu. “I don’t want it, so you needn’t make such a fuss. When Huan gets back he’s bound to tell everyone and raise a fearful rumpus.”
Weeping in desperation Xiren said, “You may not care that the jade’s lost, Little Ancestor, but if this comes to the mistresses’ ears it’ll be the death of us!” She broke down and sobbed.
Now that it was clear that this could not be hushed up, feeling even more worried they discussed how best to report it to the old lady and other mistresses.
“There’s no need to discuss it,” expostulated Baoyu. “Just say I’ve smashed it.”
“How casually you’re taking it, sir!” rejoined Pinger. “Suppose they ask why you smashed it? These girls will still be the ones to take the blame. And suppose they ask to see the broken bits?”
“Well then, say I lost it outside.”
That sounded more plausible, until they remembered that Baoyu had not been to school for a couple of days or paid any visits outside. They pointed this out.
“That’s not true,” he remonstrated. “Three days ago I went to see the opera in the Duke of Linan’s mansion. Just say I lost it that day.”
“That won’t do,” countered Tanchun. “If you lost it then, why didn’t you report it at the time?”
They were racking their brains to think up some good story when they heard sobbing and wailing—it was Concubine Zhao approaching.
“You lose something, yet instead of looking for it you torture my Huan behind my back!” she screamed. “I’ve brought him here to hand him over to you arse-lickers. You can kill him or slice him to pieces just as you please!” With that she shoved Huan forward. “You’re a thief!” she cried. “Own up, quick.”
Then Huan started crying too from mortification.
Before Li Wan could placate them a maid announced, “Here comes the mistress!”
Xiren and the other maids wished the earth would swallow them up, but they had to hurry out with Baoyu to meet her. Concubine Zhao went with them, afraid to say any more for the time being. And when Lady Wang saw the panic they were in, she realized that the news she had heard was true.
“Is the jade really lost?” she demanded.
No one dared answer.
Lady Wang went inside and sat down, then called for Xiren, who fell on her knees in confusion, tears in her eyes, preparing to make her report.
“Get up,” ordered Lady Wang, “Have another careful search made. It’s no use losing your heads.” Xiren sobbed, unable to speak.
For fear she might tell the truth Baoyu put in. “This has nothing to do with Xiren, madam. I lost it on the road the other day when I went to the duke’s mansion to see the opera.”
“Why didn’t you look for it then?”
“I was afraid to let on, so I didn’t tell them. Instead I asked Beiming and the rest to hunt for it outside.”
“Nonsense!” his mother exclaimed. “Don’t Xiren and the other girls help you off with your clothes? Whenever you come back from outside, if so much as a handkerchief or pouch is missing they have to look into it, not to mention that jade! They would certainly have asked about it.”
This silenced Baoyu but pleased Concubine Zhao.
“If he lost it outside why should they accuse Huan... “she began.
Before she could finish Lady Wang rapped out, “We’re talking about the jade. Stop drivelling!”
With Concubine Zhao crushed, Li Wan and Tanchun told Lady Wang all that had happened, making her shed tears in dismay. She decided to report this to the old lady so that she could send people to question those members of Lady Xing’s household who had come with her to Happy Red Court that morning.
Just then, however, along came Xifeng, having heard about the loss of Baoyu’s jade and Lady Wang’s visit to the Garden. Although still an invalid, feeling unable to hold aloof she now arrived leaning on Fenger’s arm, just as Lady Wang was about to leave.
“How are you madam?” she faltered.
Baoyu and the others went over and greeted her.
“So you’ve heard too?” said Lady Wang. “Isn’t it odd? It just vanished all of a sudden and can’t be found. Think now, which of the maids from the old lady’s place down to your Pinger is unreliable and a mischief-maker? I
shall have to report this to the old lady and organize a thorough-going search. Otherwise, Baoyu’s life may be cut short!”
“Our household’s so big, it’s a mixed lot,” Xifeng answered. “As the proverb says, you can’t judge by appearances, madam. Who can guarantee that everyone here is honest? But if we raise a hue and cry so that this becomes public knowledge, the thief will realize that if you find him out—or her, as the case may be—he will have to pay for it with his life, and in desperation he may smash the jade to destroy the evidence. Then what shall we do? In my foolish opinion, we’d better say that Baoyu never liked it and its loss is of no consequence, so long as we all keep this secret and don’t let the old lady and the master know. At the same time, we can secretly send people to search high and low and trick the thief into producing it. Once we have the jade back, we can punish the culprit. What do you think of this, madam?”
After some thought Lady Wang answered, “You’re right of course, but how are we to keep this from the master?” She called Huan over and told him, “Your brother’s jade is lost. Why should you raise such a row when simply asked a question? If you spread the news and the thief smashes the jade, I can’t see you living it down!”
In his terror Huan sobbed, “I won’t breathe a word about it!”
And Concubine Zhao was too cowed to say any more.
Lady Wang now told the others, “There must be places you haven’t searched. It was here all right, so how could it fly away? But the thing is to keep this quiet. I give you three days, Xiren, to find it for me. If you still haven’t recovered it by then, I’m afraid we shan’t be able to hush it up and there will be no peace for anyone!” She told Xifeng to go with her to Lady Xing’s house to discuss plans for a search.
Li Wan and the others talked it over again, then summoned the servants in charge of the Garden and made them lock the gates. Next they sent for Lin Zhixiao’s wife and told her to order the gatekeepers both at the front and the back not to let out any domestics, whether male or female, for the next three days. All were to remain in the Garden until something missing had been found again.
“Very well,” said Mrs. Lin, adding, “the other day we lost something at home of no great value. But to trace it my husband went out to consult a fortune-teller, a man called Iron-Mouth Liu, who cleared up the problem for us by analysing a character. And sure enough, when Zhixiao came back and looked where he suggested, we found the thing at once.”
“Good Mrs. Lin,” Xiren begged her,” do go and get your husband to consult that fortune-teller for us now.”
Mrs. Lin agreed readily to this and left.
“Actually those fortune-tellers and diviners outside are no use,” said Xiuyan. “When I was down south, I heard that Miaoyu was able to divine by writing on sand. Why don’t we consult her? Besides, this jade is said to be supernatural, so the oracle should disclose its whereabouts.”
The others rejoined in surprise, “We often see her but never heard tell of this.”
“I doubt if she’ll agree if we others ask her, miss,” said Sheyue to Xiuyan. “So let me kowtow to you and beg you to take this errand on yourself. If she clears up this mystery, we shall never forget your kindness as long as we live!”
She knelt down to kowtow but Xiuyan stopped her, while Daiyu and the other girls also urged her to go straight to Green Lattice Nunnery.
Just then, however, Mrs. Lin came back. “Good news, young ladies!” she cried. “My husband’s been to see the fortune-teller and he says the jade can’t be lost: someone is bound to return it.”
Most of them found this hard to believe, but Xiren and Sheyue were overjoyed.
“What character did he analyse?” Tanchun asked.
“He said a whole lot, too much for me to repeat,” answered Mrs. Lin. “I remember that the character he picked was shang meaning ‘gift.’ Then, without asking any questions, that Iron Mouth Liu said, ‘You’ve lost something, I take it.’“
“A good guess!” exclaimed Li Wan.
Mrs. Lin continued, “Then he said the upper part of the character is the xiao for ‘small’ with the kou for ‘mouth’ below; so the thing should be small enough to put in the mouth and must be some sort of jewel.”
“That’s really miraculous!” they cried. “What else did he say?”
“The lower half of the character was a stroke or two short of jian meaning ‘see,’ so the object must have disappeared from sight. And as the top half was the same as in dang for ‘pawn,’ we should look for the missing object in a pawnshop. When we add ren, a ‘man,’ to shang, it gives chang meaning to ‘redeem.’ So once we hit on the right pawnshop, we’ll find whoever pawned it and then we can redeem it.”
“In that case,” said the others, “let’s first look near by. If we search the neighbourhood pawnshops we’re bound to find it. Once we have the jade, it’ll be easy to question the thief.”
“Provided we get the jade back, it doesn’t matter whether we question the thief or not,” was Li Wan’s opinion. “Please go right away, Mrs. Lin, to tell Madam Lian what the fortune-teller says, and report it to Her Ladyship too so that she can stop worrying. Then ask Madam Lian to send men to investigate.”
Mrs. Lin went off on this errand.
Feeling a little more reassured, they were waiting blankly for Xiuyan’s return when they saw Baoyu’s page Beiming beckoning outside the door to a young maid. The girl at once went out.
“Wonderful news!” he told her. “Hurry up and tell our Master Bao and all the ladies inside.”
“Tell me what it is, quick!” she retorted. “Don’t drag it out.”
Beiming clapped his hands, chuckling. “When I’ve told you, miss, and you go in and pass on the news, we’ll both of us get tipped. Can you guess what’s happened? I’ve got definite news about Master Bao’s jade.”
If you want to know the upshot, read the next chapter.
Chapter 95
A Rumour Comes True and the Imperial Consort Yuanchun Dies
A Fraud Is Perpetrated After Baoyu Loses His Mind
After hearing from Beiming that the jade had been found, the young maid hurried in to report this to Baoyu. The others all urged him to go out to question his page, and stepped into the corridor themselves to listen. Feeling reassured, Baoyu went to the door and asked:
“Where did you find it? Bring it here at once.”
“I can’t do that,” said Beiming, “till we’ve found a guarantor.”
“Tell me where it is then, and I’ll send someone to get it.”
“When I learned outside that Mr. Lin was going to consult a fortuneteller, I followed him. Then, hearing that it could be found in a pawnshop, without waiting for him to finish I rushed over to several pawnshops and gave them a description of the jade, and one shop said they’d got it. When I asked for it, though, they wanted the pawn-ticket. ‘How much was it hocked for?’ I asked. They said, ‘We give from three hundred to five hundred cash. The other day someone brought in a jade like that and pawned it for three hundred. Today another man came with a piece and pawned it for five hundred.’“
Baoyu cut him short with the order, “Go at once, taking money to redeem both; then we’ll see whether one is the right piece or not.”
“Don’t listen to him, Master Bao!” scoffed Xiren from inside. “When I was small my brother often told me that hawkers of small pieces of jade pawn them when they need cash. Every single pawnshop must have some.”
The others had been surprised by Beiming’s report. Now, thinking over Xiren’s comment, they laughed.
“Tell Master Bao to come in,” they cried. “Pay no attention to that simpleton. The jade he’s talking about can’t be the right one.”
Baoyu was laughing too when Xiuyan came back.
Now Xiuyan on reaching Green Lattice Nunnery, as soon as she saw Miaoyu had asked her—without any preliminaries—to consult an oracle for them by writing on sand. Miaoyu laughed disdainfully.
“I’ve treated you as my friend,�
� she said, “because you’re not one of the vulgar herd. Why trouble me like this today on the base of some rumour? Besides, I know nothing about ‘writing on sand.’“ And this said, she ignored her.
Knowing the young nun’s temperament, Xiuyan regretted having come. Still she reflected, “After telling the others, I can hardly go back empty-handed.” Since she could not very well argue with Miaoyu and affirm that she could use a planchette, she explained to her with a conciliatory smile that the lives of Xiren and the other maids depended on this. When she saw her wavering, she got up and curtseyed to her several times.
Miaoyu sighed, “Why should you put yourself out for others? No one’s known, since I came to the capital, that I can consult oracles. If I make an exception for you today, I’m afraid I shall have a lot of trouble in future.”
“I couldn’t help blurting it out, counting on your kindness,” said Xiuyan. “If you’re pestered in future, it’s up to you whether you agree or not—who’d dare to force you?”
Miaoyu smiled and told the old deaconess to burn some incense, then from her case she took out a sand-board and stand and wrote an incantation. Xiuyan, after bowing and praying on her instructions, got up to help hold the planchette. Presently the wand wrote swiftly:
Ah! Come and gone without a trace
By the ancient pine at the foot of Blue Ridge Peak.
To seek it, cross myriads of mountains:
Entering my gate with a smile you will meet again.
This written, the wand stopped.
“Which deity did you invoke?” Xiuyan asked.
“Saint Li the Cripple.”
Xiuyan wrote down the oracle, then begged Miaoyu to explain it. “I can’t,” was the answer. “I don’t understand it myself. Hurry up and take it back. You have plenty of clever people over there.”