A Dream of Red Mansion

by Cao Xueqin

  Separate lists were made of all the furnishings and the mansions conferred on the Duke of Rongguo. The title-deeds of houses and land and the bonds of the family slaves were also sealed up.

  Jia Lian, listening at one Side, was puzzled not to hear his own property listed.

  Then the two princes said, “Among the property confiscated are some IOU’s which are definitely usurious. Whose are they? Your Lordship must tell the truth.”

  Jia Zheng knelt down and kowtowed. “I am guilty of never having managed the household affairs and that is the truth,” he said. “I know nothing about such transactions. Your Highnesses will have to ask my nephew Jia Lian.”

  Jia Lian hastily stepped forward and knelt to report, “Since those documents were found in my humble house, how can I deny knowledge of them? I only beg Your Highnesses to be lenient to my uncle who knew nothing about this.”

  The two princes said, “As your father has already been found guilty, your cases can be dealt with together. You did right to admit this. Very well then, let a guard be kept over Jia Lian; the rest of the household can return to their different quarters. Lord Zheng, you must wait prudently for a further decree. We shall go now to report to His Majesty, leaving officers and runners here to keep watch.”

  They mounted their sedan-chairs, Jia Zheng and the others kneeling at the inner gate to see them off. The Prince of Beijing, on leaving, stretched out one hand with a look of compassion and said, “Please set your minds at rest.”

  By now Jia Zheng felt slightly calmer, although still dazed.

  Jia Lan suggested, “Grandfather, won’t you go in to see the old lady first? Then we can send for news of the East Mansion.”

  Jia Zheng hastily did so, and found serving-women from different apartments all milling about in confusion. In no mood to check what they were doing he entered his mother’s room, where one and all were in tears. Lady Wang, Baoyu and others had gathered silently around the old lady, tears streaming down their cheeks. Lady Xing was shaken by sobs. At his arrival they exclaimed in relief.

  “The master has come back safely,” they told the old lady. “Don’t worry any more, madam.”

  The Lady Dowager, apparently at her last gasp, feebly opened her eyes and quavered, “My son, I never thought to see you again!”

  She burst out weeping and all the others joined in until Jia Zheng, fearing these transports of grief might be too much for his mother, held back his tears.

  “Set your heart at rest, madam,” he urged. “It is a serious matter, but His Gracious Majesty and the two princes have shown us the kindest consideration. The Elder Master has been taken into custody for the time being; but once the matter is cleared up the Emperor will show more clemency. And our property is not being confiscated.”

  Jia She’s arrest distressed the old lady anew, and Jia Zheng did his best to comfort her.

  Lady Xing was the only one who ventured to leave, going back to her apartments. She found the doors sealed up and locked, the serving-women confined in a few rooms. Unable to get in she burst out wailing, then made her way back to Xifeng’s apartments. The side-gate there was also sealed, but Xifeng’s room was open and from it came the sound of continuous sobbing. Entering, she saw Xifeng lying with closed eyes, her face ashen-pale, while Pinger wept beside her. Thinking her dead, Lady Xing started sobbing too.

  “Don’t cry, madam,” said Pinger, stepping forward to greet her. “We carried her back just now in a dead faint, but presently she came to and cried a little. Now she is quieter. Please calm down, madam. How is the old lady now?”

  Lady Xing made no answer but went to rejoin the Lady Dowager. The only people there were members of Jia Zheng’s household, and she could not hold back her grief at the thought that both her husband and son had been arrested, her daughter-in-law was at death’s door, and her daughter was ill-treated by her husband, so that she had nowhere to turn. The others tried to console her. Li Wan told servants to clear out some rooms for her for the time being, and Lady Wang assigned maids to look after her.

  Jia Zheng outside was on tenterhooks, tweaking his beard and wringing his hands as he waited for the Emperor’s next decree.

  “Which house do you belong to anyway?” he heard the guards outside shouting. “As you’ve come butting in here, we’ll put you down on our list and chain you up to hand over to the officers inside.”

  Jia Zheng went out and saw it was Jiao Da.

  “Why did you come here?” he asked.

  Jiao Da stamped his foot and wailed, “I warned those degenerate masters of ours all along, but they treated me as their sworn enemy! Even you don’t know, sir, what hardships I endured serving the old duke. Now things have come to a pretty pass with Sir Zhen and Rong arrested by some princes’ officers! The ladies’ trinkets were looted by the officers and runners and they were shut up in an empty room! And those useless slaves cooped up like pigs and dogs! Everything has been confiscated, furniture broken in pieces, porcelain smashed they even want to put me in chains too! I’ve lived eighty to ninety years and trussed people up for the old duke; how can I let myself be trussed up instead? I told them I belonged to the West Mansion and broke out, but those fellows wouldn’t let me go. They hauled me here, where I find things are just as bad. I’m sick of life—I’ll have it out with them!” With that he butted the runners.

  As he was so old and their orders were not to make trouble, the runners simply said, “Pipe down, old man. This is done by Imperial decree. You’d better take it easy and wait for news.”

  Although Jia Zheng tried to ignore this, he felt as if a knife had been plunged in his heart. “We’re done for, done for!” he sighed. “To think that we should be reduced to this!”

  As he was waiting impatiently for news from court, Xue Ke came running in. “What a time I had getting in here!” he panted. “Where is uncle?”

  “Thank Heaven you’ve come!” Jia Zheng exclaimed. “How did you gain admittance?”

  “By pleading hard and promising them money.”

  Jia Zheng described the raid to him and asked him to make inquiries. “I can’t very well send messages to other relatives and friends now that we’re under fire,” he explained. “But you can deliver messages for me.

  “It never occurred to me that you’d have trouble here, sir; but I’ve heard something about the East Mansion’s business.”

  “What exactly are the charges against them?”

  “Today I went to the yamen to find out what Cousin Pan’s sentence is, and I heard that two censors have accused Cousin Zhen of corrupting young nobles by getting them to gamble—that isn’t so serious. The more serious charge is of abducting the wife of an honest citizen, who was forced to kill herself rather than submit. To bring this charge home, the censors got our man Bao Er and a fellow called Zhang as witnesses. This may involve the Court of Censors too, as that fellow Zhang had brought a suit before.”

  Jia Zheng stamped his foot. “Terrible! We’re done for!” he sighed, tears streaming down his cheeks.

  Xue Ke tried to reassure him then went off to find out more news, returning a few hours later.

  “It looks bad,” he informed him. “When I asked at the Board of Punishments, I didn’t hear the result of the two princes’ report but was told that this morning Censor Li brought another charge against the prefect of Pingan, accusing him of pandering to an official in the capital and oppressing the people to please his superior—there were several serious charges.”

  “Never mind about other people,” said Jia Zheng impatiently. “What did you hear about us?”

  “That charge against the prefect of Pingan involves us too, sir. The official in the capital referred to by the censor was Lord She, who’s accused of tampering with lawsuits. This adds fuel to the flames! All your colleagues are trying hard to keep out of this, so who would send you word? Even those relatives and friends at your feast either went home or are keeping well away until they know the upshot. Some clansmen of yours—confound them!—ha
ve been saying openly, “Their ancestors left them property and titles. Now that they’re in trouble who knows whom the title may go to. We all ought to take steps....’“

  Without hearing him out Jia Zheng stamped his foot again. “What a fool my brother is!” he groaned. “It’s a scandal, too, the way they’ve carried on in the East Mansion! For all we know this may be the death of the old lady and Lian’s wife! Go and see what more you can find out while I look in on the old lady. If there’s any news, the sooner we know it the better.”

  Just then a great commotion broke out inside and they heard cries of “The old lady’s dying!” Jia Zheng hurried anxiously in. To know whether she lived or died, you must read the next chapter.

  Chapter 106

  Xifeng Is Conscience-Smitten at Causing Calamity

  The Lady Dowager Prays to Heaven to Avert Disaster

  The cry that the Lady Dowager was dying made Jia Zheng speed over to see her. She had in fact fainted from shock, but Lady Wang, Yuanyang and the rest had revived her and given her a sedative which had gradually restored her, though she was still crying for grief.

  In the hope of soothing her he said, “Your unfilial sons have brought this trouble upon our family, alarming you, madam. If you will take comfort, we can still handle the situation outside; but if you fall ill our guilt will be even greater!”

  “I’m four score years and more,” was her reply. “Ever since my girlhood when I married your father, thanks to our ancestors I’ve lived in the lap of luxury and never even heard tell of a nightmare like this. Now, in my old age, seeing you come to grief—it’s too bad! I wish I could die and be done with worrying about you!” She broke down again.

  Jia Zheng was at his wit’s end when a servant outside announced a messenger from the court. He went out at once and saw that it was the Prince of Beijing’s chamberlain.

  “Good news, sir!” were the chamberlain’s first words. Jia Zheng thanked him and offered him a seat. “What instructions has His Highness for me?” he asked.

  “Our master and the Prince of Xiping reported to the Emperor your trepidation, sir, and your gratitude for His Majesty’s magnanimity. As it is not long since the Imperial Consort’s passing, His Majesty, being most merciful, cannot bring himself to condemn you. You are to retain your post in the Ministry of Works. Regarding the family property, only Jia She’s share is to be confiscated; the rest will be restored to you and you are enjoined to work well. As for those promissory notes, our master has been ordered to examine them. All those at usurious, illegal rates of interest are to be confiscated according to regulations. Those on which the standard rates are charged are to be returned to you, together with your title-deeds. Jia Lian is dismissed from his post, but will be released without further punishment.”

  Jia Zheng rose to kowtow his thanks to the Emperor, then bowed his thanks to the prince.

  “I beg you, sir, to report my gratitude now,” he said. “Tomorrow I shall go to court to express my thanks, then go to your mansion to kowtow to His Highness.”

  Soon after the chamberlain had left the Imperial edict arrived and was put into force by the officers in charge, who confiscated certain things, returning the rest. Jia Lian was released, while all Jia She’s men and women bondservants were registered and sequestrated.

  Unhappy Jia Lian had lost virtually all his possessions apart from some furnishings and those legitimate promissory notes which were returned to him. For though the rest of his property was not confiscated, the runners during their raid had carried it off. He had dreaded being punished and rejoiced at his release, but the loss overnight of all his savings as well as Xifeng’s money—seventy or eighty thousand taels at least—was naturally gauling; on top of which he was afflicted by his father’s imprisonment by the Imperial Guards and Xifeng’s critical condition. And now Jia Zheng reproached him with tears in his eyes.

  “Because of my official duties, I turned over the supervision of our family affairs to you and your wife,” he said. “Of course you could hardly keep a check on your father, but who is responsible for this usury? Such conduct is most unbefitting a family like ours. Now that those notes of yours have been confiscated, the financial loss is of secondary importance, but think Of the damage to our reputation!”

  Jia Lian fell on his knees to reply, “In running the household I never presumed to act on selfish interests. All our income and expenditure were entered in the accounts by Lai Da, Wu Xindeng and Dai Liang, and you can check on them by asking them, sir. In the last few years, our expenditure has exceeded our income; and as I haven’t made good the difference there are certain deficits in the accounts. If you ask the mistress, sir, she will confirm this. As for those loans, I myself have no idea where the money came from. We shall have to find out from Zhou Rui and Lai Wang.”

  “According to you, you don’t know even what is going on in your own apartments, to say nothing about family affairs! Well, I won’t cross-examine you now. You’ve got off lightly yourself, but shouldn’t you go to find out about the cases of your father and Cousin Zhen?”

  Wronged as he felt, Jia Lian assented with tears and went away. Heaving sigh after sigh Jia Zheng thought, “My ancestors spared no pains in his sovereign’s service, winning fame and two hereditary titles; but now that both our houses have got into trouble these titles have been lost. As far as I can see, none of our sons or nephews amounts to anything. Merciful Heaven! Why should our Jia family be ruined like this? Though His Gracious Majesty has shown extraordinary compassion by restoring my property, how am I—alone—to meet our two households’ expenses? Jia Lian’s admission just now was even more shocking: it seems that not only is our treasury empty but there are deficits in the accounts, so we’ve made a mere show of affluence all these years, and I can only blame myself for being such a fool! If my son Zhu were alive he would have been my right hand. Baoyu, though he’s grown up, is a useless creature.” By now tears had stained his clothes, and he reflected, “My mother is so old yet not for a single day have we, her sons, provided for her out of our own earnings. Instead of that we’ve made her faint for terror. How can I shirk the blame for all these misdeeds?”

  He was sunk in self-abasement when a servant announced some relatives and friends who had called to condole with him. Jia Zheng thanked each in turn.

  “I am to blame for this family disaster,” he said. “I failed to bring up my sons and nephews well.”

  One of them replied, “I have long known of your brother Lord She’s unseemly conduct, and Master Zhen of that mansion was even more profligate. If they are blamed for their malpractices, it is no more than they deserve. Unfortunately, this scandal they’ve created has involved you as well, sir.”

  Another said, “Plenty of others kick over the traces without being impeached by the censors. This must be because Master Zhen offended some of his friends.”

  “It’s not the censors’ fault,” put in another. “We heard that one of your servants connived with some rogues outside to raise a hue and cry against your house. Then for fear there wasn’t sufficient evidence, the censors tricked others of your men into talking. I always had the impression that your family treated its servants most generously, so why should such a thing happen?”

  “No slaves are any good,” someone else declared. “We’re all relatives and friends here and can speak frankly. Even at that post in the provinces, sir, scrupulous as you are yourself, I suspect that those grasping servants of yours damaged your reputation; so you had better watch out. Though your property hasn’t been touched, if the Emperor’s suspicions are aroused it may be troublesome.”

  In consternation Jia Zheng asked, “What talk against me have you gentlemen heard?”

  “There’s no evidence of this, but it was said that when you served as Grain Commissioner you allowed your subordinates to feather their nests.”

  T swear to Heaven I never dared to think of such a thing’!” Jia Zheng protested. “But if those slaves of mine fleeced and swindled people, a
nd trouble comes of it, I shall be done for!”

  “It’s no use panicking,” they said. “You must make a serious checkup of your stewards, and if you find any of them insubordinate you should crack down on them hard.”

  Jia Zheng nodded. Then a gateman came in to report, “The Elder Master’s son-in-law Young Master Sun has sent word that he is too busy to call in person and so has sent a messenger instead. He says that the Elder Master owed him money and wants you to pay him back, sir.”

  “Very well,” answered Jia Zheng with a sinking heart. The others sneered, “No wonder your kinsman Sun Shaozu is said to be a scoundrel. Now that his father-in-law’s house has been raided, instead of coming to help out he loses no time in demanding his money back. This is truly fantastic!”

  “Let’s not talk about him,” said Jia Zheng. “My brother should never have agreed to that match. My niece has already paid dearly for his mistake, and now her husband has started dunning me!”

  As they were talking Xue Ke brought back the news, “Commissioner Zhao of the Imperial Guards insists on pressing the charges made by the censors. I’m afraid things look black for the Elder Master and for Master Zhen.”

  “You must go and beg the princes to intervene, sir,” Jia Zheng’s friends urged him. “Otherwise both your families will be ruined.”