by Cao Xueqin
“I’m in earnest,” protested Baoyu, “yet you call me crazy! That monk and I knew each other before and he simply wished to see me. He never really wanted a reward but was just doing a good deed. After he’d explained that, he vanished. Isn’t that fine?”
His mother, not believing him, sent the page to question the gateman.
“The monk has really gone,” he came back to report. “He left word that Your Ladyships needn’t worry. He wants no silver, simply wants Master Bao to pay him occasional visits. ‘Just submit to fate and things will take their natural course,’“ he said.
“So he was a good monk after all! Did you ask where he lives?”
“The gateman said he told Master Bao, so he knows.”
But Baoyu when questioned answered with a smile, “That place is far or near, depending on how you look at it....”
“Wake up!” cut in Baochai, “Stop dreaming! The master and the mistress dote on you, and the master told you to study hard to advance yourself.”
“What I have in mind will advance us all, won’t it? Don’t you know the saying. ‘When one son renounces the world, seven of his ancestors will go to heaven’?”
Lady Wang lamented, “What’s to become of us? First Xichun insists on renouncing the world, and now here’s another. How can I live on like this?” She broke down and wept.
Baochai tried hard to console her and Baoyu said, “I was joking, madam. Don’t take it seriously.”
His mother stopped weeping to retort, “Is this a joking matter?”
Just then a maid came in to announce, “Master Lian is back, quite unlike his usual self. He hopes you’ll go back, madam, so that he can report something to you.”
“Tell him to come in here,” ordered Lady Wang in fresh alarm. “He’s known his sister-in-law since they were children, so he doesn’t have to avoid her.”
When Jia Lian had entered and paid his respects to her, Baochai stepped forward to greet him.
He reported, “I have just had word from my father that he’s seriously ill. He’s sent for me. Any delay and I may never see him again!” Tears coursed down his cheeks.
“What illness did he say he had?” asked Lady Wang.
“It started as influenza but turned into consumption, and now he’s dying. He sent a messenger posthaste with the news, warning that if I delay for so much as two days I shall be too late to see him. So I’ve come to ask your permission to leave at once, madam. But there’s no one at home to see to things unless we rope in Qiang and Yun. Though they aren’t much good at least they are men, and if business crops up outside they can report it.
“My own household is no problem. Because Qiutong kept weeping and wailing that she didn’t want to stay. I told her family to fetch her back and that has saved Pinger a good deal of vexation. Though Qiaojie has no one to look after her, Pinger is kind to her and she’s an intelligent girl though even more wilful than her mother, madam, so I hope you will discipline her from time to time.” The rims of his eyes were red now and he dabbed at them with the silk handkerchief attached to the sachet at his waist.
“The child has her grandmother here,” demurred Lady Wang. “Why should you entrust her to me?”
“If you bring that up, madam,” he muttered, “I may say something outrageous. I can only beg you any way to be kind, as you always are, to your nephew.”
He fell on his knees.
“Get up quickly!” she said, her own eyes reddening. “We are all one family, of course I’ll help. Only one thing: the child is growing up, and if anything should happen to your father her marriage would be delayed. If some suitable family makes a proposal, should we wait for your return or let her grandmother decide what to do?”
“Since Your Ladyships are at home, naturally you can decide without waiting for me.”
“Before you go, write to the Second Master telling him there is no one responsible at home and you don’t know whether your father will recover, so we hope he will have the old lady buried quickly and come back as fast as he can.”
Jia Lian assented and started out, then turned back. “We have enough servants here for the house,” he said, “But there’s not one in the Garden since Bao Yong went back to his master. And Master Xue Ke has vacated that compound where Aunt Xue lived to move to their own house. It’s not good having no caretakers for all those empty lodges in the Garden, so I hope you’ll send people from time to time to keep an eye on them. Green Lattice Nunnery belongs to us too, and since Miaoyu’s disappearance the nuns who attended her dare not take charge and want us to assign someone to see to things there.”
“We can’t set our own house in order, so how can we handle other people’s affairs? But mind you don’t mention this to Xichun, or she’ll plague us again to let her be a nun. How can a family like ours allow one of our daughters to become a nun?”
“If you hadn’t raised this, madam, I wouldn’t have ventured to. But after all Cousin Xichun belongs to the East Mansion, and because she has no parents, her elder brother’s away and she’s hardly on speaking terms with her sister-in-law, I hear that she’s often threatened to take her own life. Since her mind is made up, if we thwart her and she really kills herself, won’t that be worse than entering a nunnery?”
Lady Wang nodded. “This business is really too much for me. I can’t make the decision; that’s up to her sister-in-law.”
After a few further words Jia Lian went out, summoned the stewards to give them their instructions, then wrote to Jia Zheng and packed up for his journey.
Pinger naturally gave him some parting advice. It was Qiaojie, however, who was most distressed. Her father wished to entrust her to Wang Ren, but she was most unwilling; and it upset her even more, although she could hardly say this, to learn that Yun and Qiang would be in charge of outside business. She said goodbye to her father and settled down to live quietly with Pinger, for after Xifeng’s death Fenger and Hongyu had asked leave on the pretext of illness. Pinger would have liked to get a girl from the Jia family to keep Qiaojie company and look after her, but there was no one available; nor could she get Xiluan or Sijie—former favourites of the old lady—for the latter had recently married and the former was engaged and shortly to wed.
Jia Yun and Jia Qiang, having seen Jia Lian off, came in to pay their respects to Their Ladyships. They stayed in the outer study by turns, and during the day would fool around with the servants or assemble friends to feast, taking it in turn to stand treat. They even held gambling parties; but this was kept secret from the inner apartments.
One day Lady Xing’s brother and Wang Ren called and discovered Jia Yun and Jia Qiang staying there. As they were boon companions, on the pretext of helping with family affairs they often joined in the gambling and drinking parties. The few reliable stewards had gone away with Jia Zheng and Jia Lian, leaving only some sons and nephews of Lai Da and Lin Zhixiao. These young fellows, used to taking advantage of their parents’ positions to enjoy themselves, had no idea of how to manage a household and in their elders’ absence ran wild like unbridled colts. Egged on by their two masters who were only kinsmen they did just as they pleased. So the Rong Mansion was turned upside-down.
Jia Qiang thought of roping in Baoyu, but Jia Yun dissuaded him saying, “Don’t ask for trouble. Uncle Bao was born under an unlucky star. One year I proposed an excellent match for him—the girl’s father was a provincial tax-collector, the family owned several pawnshops, and she herself was prettier than a fairy. I went to the trouble of writing him the full particulars, but he wasn’t cut out for such luck.” Glancing round at his companions he continued, “He’d already fallen for Aunt Bao! And didn’t you hear too—everyone must know it—that he made Miss Lin die of a broken heart? Oh well, each one’s romance is fated by heaven. Yet he was annoyed with me because of this and since then has cold-shouldered me. He must have imagined I wanted to make him indebted to me.”
Jia Qiang nodded and did not press the point. Neither of them knew that since meeting
that monk Baoyu was eager to sever all worldly ties, and though he dared not break with his mother he was already holding aloof from Baochai and Xiren. When the younger maids, unaware of this, still tried to attract him he paid no attention. He did not care about the family either. Lady Wang and Baochai kept urging him to study and while he made a pretence of doing so he remained preoccupied with the fairyland to which the monk had led him, thinking all those around him vulgar creatures. Since his own household irked him, when at leisure he would go to talk with Xichun and, seeing eye to eye, they strengthened each other’s convictions.
Jia Huan and Jia Lan were left to their own devices. Jia Huan, because his father was not at home, his own mother had died and Lady Wang paid little attention to him, joined Jia Qiang’s group; and when Caiyun reproached him she only got cursed for her pains. Yuchuan, having seen how unbalanced Baoyu was growing, had also asked her mother to take her home. So Jia Huan and Baoyu, each in his different way, were making themselves shunned by all. Only Jia Lan stayed with his mother and studied hard, writing compositions which he took to school for Jia Dairu to correct; but as recently the tutor had been confined to his bed the boy had at present to study on his own. Li Wan had always been sedate and now, apart from duty calls on Lady Wang and visits to Baochai, she did not stir from her rooms, just watching her son study. So although there were not a few inmates in the Rong Mansion, they kept to themselves, not imposing their will on others. Thus Jia Huan and Jia Qiang went from bad to worse, going so far as to steal things to pawn or sell. And Jia Huan in particular stopped at nothing, even frequenting brothels and gambling-dens.
One day when Uncle Xing and Wang Ren were drinking with them in the outer study, being in high spirits they sent for some singsong girls to join them and propose toasts.
“The racket you make is too vulgar,” objected Jia Qiang. “I suggest we recite some verses while we drink.”
“All right,” agreed the rest.
“Start with the word ‘moon,’“ he went on. “I’ll recite a line first, and we’ll count round to see who has to drink when I reach the word ‘moon.’ Then he must recite another line on my orders and, if he fails, must drink three big cups as a forfeit.”
When they acquiesced he tossed off a cup and declaimed:
“Winged goblets fly as we drink to the moon.”
This made it Jia Huan’s turn. “Recite a line ending with ‘oleander,’“ he was ordered.
“Silently the cold dew wets the oleander.”
After this quotation he asked, “What’s the other line?”
“One containing the word ‘fragrance’.”
“Heavenly fragrance wafts down from the clouds.”
“How deadly dull!” protested Uncle Xing. “A fat lot of literature you know, yet you pose as literati! This isn’t fun; it’s downright exasperating! Let’s drop it and play a finger-game instead with the loser drinking and singing a song—’a double dose of gall’ this is called. If someone can’t sing he can tell a joke, provided it’s amusing.”
“Right!” cried the rest.
They started playing wildly. Wang Ren lost, drained a cup and sang a song which was applauded. Then they began again and the singsong girl who lost sang Such a Pretty Young Lady. The next loser was Uncle Xing, who when asked for a song said, “I can’t sing. I’ll tell you a joke instead.”
“If it doesn’t make us laugh,” warned Jia Qiang, “you must pay the forfeit.”
Uncle Xing emptied his cup. “Listen, gentlemen,” he began. “In a certain village stood a temple to Emperor Yuandi, with next to it the shrine of the tutelary god whom the Emperor often called over for a chat. One day Yuandi’s temple was robbed, and he told the tutelary god to investigate.
“The tutelary god reported, “There are no thieves in this locality. Your officers must have slipped up and allowed thieves from outside to break in and rob you.’
“‘Nonsense!’ said Yuandi. ‘As the local deity, you’re responsible for any thefts; yet instead of catching the robbers you’re accusing my officers of negligence!”
“The other said, ‘If they weren’t negligent, there must be something unlucky about your temple.’
“Yuandi asked, ‘Do you know anything about geomancy?’
“‘Let me have a look round,’ the other replied. He did this, then reported, ‘You’re running a risk with those double red doors behind you. Behind my shrine is a wall, so naturally I don’t lose things. Once you build a wall behind yourself all will be well.’
“Emperor Yuandi was convinced and ordered his officers to fetch masons to build a wall.
“His officers objected, ‘Nowadays no one comes to offer incense, so how are we to get the bricks and mortar and masons to build a wall?’
“Not knowing what to do, he told them to use magic but they were powerless.
“Then General Tortoise at Yuandi’s feet stood up to say, ‘You fellows are useless, but I have a plan. Just pull down those red doors, and when night falls I’ll stop up the doorway with my belly. Wouldn’t that do as well as a wall?’
“The other officers approved, ‘Good. This costs no money and should be very solid.’
“So General Tortoise undertook this task and for a few days all was quiet. Then, however, things started disappearing again. They summoned the tutelary god and told him, ‘You said that once we had a wall these thefts would stop. Now with a wall, we’re still losing things; how is that?’
“He answered, ‘Your wall can’t be solid enough.’
“‘Go and see for yourself they retorted.
“He examined it and it was certainly solid. So why were things still disappearing? However, when he felt it he exclaimed, ‘I thought it was a real wall, but this is just a fake wall’!”’
All hooted with laughter, even Jia Qiang joining in.
“Fine, Foolish Uncle!” he cried. “Why should you abuse me without any provocation? Hurry up and drink a big cup as punishment.”
Although already tipsy Uncle Xing did so, and the others went on carousing until they were all rather drunk. Then Uncle Xing ran down his elder sister and Wang Ren his younger, in the most virulent terms. Jia Huan in his cups also spoke scathingly of the way Xifeng had bullied his mother and him, trampling all over them.
“People should be more considerate,” said the others. “Xifeng was so ruthless when she had the old lady’s backing that now she’s died sonless, leaving only one daughter. She’s suffering for her sins!”
Jia Yun, recalling how shabbily Xifeng had treated him and how Qiaojie had Cried at the Sight of him, joined in the general abuse till Jia Qiang said, “Let’s drink! Why gossip about other people?”
The two singsong girls asked, “How old is this daughter of hers? What does she look like?”
“She’s very good-looking,” answered Jia Qiang, “and nearly fourteen already.”
“It’s too bad she was born into such a rich family,” said one of the girls. “If she were from a humble family, she could help her parents and brothers get official titles and make pots of money.” Asked what she meant she explained, “There’s a borderland prince not related to the Imperial House, a very gallant noble who is looking for a concubine. If she took his fancy, her whole family could move into his palace. Wouldn’t that be fine?”
The others paid little attention as they went on drinking, but Wang Ren made a mental note of this.
At this point they were joined by two youngsters from the families of Lai Da and Lin Zhixiao. “What a jolly party you gentlemen are having!” they said.
The others stood up to rejoin, “Why are you so late? We’ve been waiting for you for some time.”
“This morning we were worried by a rumour about more trouble for our family. We hurried off to investigate; but it’s not true.”
“If it has nothing to do with us, why didn’t you come earlier?”
“Though we’re not directly concerned there is a connection. You know who’s in trouble? Mr. Jia Yucun. This morning we
went there and saw him in chains and were told he was to be taken to court for trial. Knowing what a frequent visitor he was here, we were afraid our house might be involved and therefore went to make inquiries.”
“That was thoughtful of you, brothers,” said Jia Yun. “Yes, you were right to find out. Sit down and drink a cup, then tell us about it.”
After some polite deferring they sat down to drink and said, “This Jia Yucun is an able gentleman and clever climber, who holds quite a high post but is too grasping; so several charges of extorting money from his subordinates have been brought against him. Our most sagacious, benevolent Emperor is angered by nothing so much as reports of venal officials who abuse their power to oppress good citizens; he therefore issued a decree for his arrest and trial. If he is found guilty he will be in trouble; if the charges prove groundless, those who impeached him will suffer. This is a really good reign, if only we had the luck to be officials!”
“Your elder brother’s in luck,” the others told Lai Da’s son. “Isn’t he sitting pretty as a magistrate?”
“I’m only afraid he may not remain a magistrate for long, the way he’s carrying on,” was the reply.
“Does he fleece people too?”
The young man nodded, then raised his cup to drink.
“What other news did you hear?” they were asked.
“Nothing much,” the two of them answered. “Only that a number of brigands captured at the coast have been tried, and during their interrogation they revealed the whereabouts of many more, some of them lying low here in town and looking out for a chance to break into more houses. But now all our high officials are good administrators and strategists, exerting themselves to repay the Emperor’s favour, so wherever they go they quickly wipe out brigands.”
“You spoke of some brigands in town. Have they found out who robbed our family?”
“That we haven’t heard. There was some vague talk about a man from the provinces who robbed a house here and kidnapped a girl to take her to the coast; because she resisted him the brigand killed her, and before he could leave the capital he was caught and executed on the spot.”