The Debt of Tears

by Cao Xueqin

  ‘Isn’t this what you are looking for?’

  Now these servants were all employed on external duties, and though they had heard tell of Bao-yu’s jade, had hardly ever set eyes on it. This was in fact their first opportunity of inspecting the thing at close quarters. This did not deter them from running into the house in a great state of excitement, racing to be the first with the news.

  They found that both Jia Zheng and Jia She were out. It was Jia Lian who received their report.

  ‘Is it genuine or a fake?’ he asked them sceptically.

  ‘I saw it with my own eyes!’ replied one of them. ‘He wouldn’t hand it over to us though, but insisted on seeing one of the masters, so that he could exchange it directly for the money.’

  Jia Lian could not help being infected by their enthusiasm, and went in straight away to tell Lady Wang and Grandmother Jia. Aroma, when she heard, was overjoyed, and brought her hands piously together in a prayer of thanks to Lord Buddha. Grandmother Jia stood firmly by her word.

  ‘Tell Lian to invite him into the study at once,’ she said to Lady Wang in a flurry of excitement. ‘Once we have had a look at it, he will get his money straight away.’

  Jia Lian did as instructed and invited the stranger in, treating him most politely and expressing profuse thanks.

  ‘I should just like to let the owner have a look at it, if I may,’ he said. ‘Then you shall have your money, every penny of it, I assure you.’

  Reluctantly, the man handed him a little parcel wrapped in red silk. Jia Lian opened it. There lay a lustrous jade. Surely this was it! Jia Lian, to tell the truth, had never taken much, notice of it while it hung round Bao-yu’s neck. Now he looked closely at it for some time. The inscription was certainly familiar. He remembered some of the words, such as “dispels the harms of witchcraft”. With a jubilant air, he strode in to show it to the ladies, leaving a servant to wait on the stranger.

  By now the whole family had heard the news, and were gathered in Grandmother Jia’s apartment, waiting eagerly, each one anxious to be the first to see. Xi-feng saw Jia Lian come in, and thrusting forward her hand, snatched the parcel from him and without looking at it herself, placed it in Grandmother Jia’s hand.

  ‘Can’t you even let me take the credit for a small thing like this?’ said Jia Lian with a sneer.

  Grandmother Jia opened the silk bundle and examined the stone. It seemed a great deal duller than she remembered. She rubbed it between her fingers. Faithful brought her spectacles, and put them on for her. She examined it again.

  ‘How peculiar! This must surely be it; and yet it seems to have lost its original lustre entirely.’

  Lady Wang now inspected it. She too felt unable to identify it with any certainty, and told Xi-feng to come over and take a look.

  ‘There is a certain similarity,’ said Xi-feng after her inspection. ‘But the colour is not quite right. We should show it to Bao-yu himself. He will be able to tell.’

  Aroma was standing at her side, and had managed to have a look at the stone. Her eyes told her that it was not the one, but her heart was too full of hope to allow her to voice her misgivings. Xi-feng took the stone from Grandmother Jia’s hands and went with Aroma to show it to Bao-yu, who had just awoken.

  ‘Your stone has been found!’ announced Aroma.

  Bao-yu’s eyes were still heavy with sleep. He took the stone in his hand, and without so much as a glance, let it drop to the ground.

  ‘Why try to fool me!’ he said, smiling strangely.

  Xi-feng picked it up promptly.

  ‘That’s odd,’ she said. ‘How can you tell without even looking at it?’

  Bao-yu only smiled again. Lady Wang had come in meanwhile, and observed what happened.

  ‘It is perfectly natural,’ she commented. ‘That strange jade came into the world with him, it is his very own. He would be bound to know whether this was genuine or not. Someone must have read the reward-notice and faked it.’

  The truth dawned on them all. Jia Lian, who heard it all from the outer room, said at once:

  ‘If it is a fake, give it to me! I’ll have it out with this impostor! How dare he play a trick on us, in such a serious matter!’

  ‘No, Lian!’ ordered Grandmother Jia. ‘Give it back to him, and tell him to leave. No doubt he was desperately poor, and when he read the notice, saw a way of making a few pennies. It’s understandable. Now he has been found out, and whatever it cost him to make the thing has been wasted too. Don’t be too hard on him. Give him back the jade, and just say that it’s not ours, and there’s been a mistake. Give him a few taels of silver. If people hear that he’s been well treated, it will encourage someone with genuine information to come forward. If we treat this one harshly, no one will bring it in even if they do find it.’

  Jia Lian went as bidden. The impostor had been waiting in the study, and as time went by and no one returned, had already begun to lose his nerve. Now he saw the irate figure of Jia Lian advancing into the room. For the outcome of their subsequent interview, please read the next chapter.

  Chapter 96

  Xi-feng conceives an ingenious plan of deception

  And Frowner is deranged by an inadvertent disclosure

  When he saw the scowl on Jia Lian’s face, the impostor’s heart sank. He rose nervously to greet him, but before he could say a word, Jia Lian gave a chilling laugh and silenced him with:

  ‘Impudent fool! I should like to wring your miserable little … Do you realize who you are dealing with? How dare you play such tricks on us?’

  Turning, he called for his pages. The order was echoed outside like a clap of thunder, and several pages responded in unison and presented themselves.

  ‘Fetch a rope and bind this fellow!’ order Jia Lian. ‘When the Master returns, I shall report the matter and pack him off to the yamen.’

  ‘Ready, sir!’ cried the chorus of pages. But not one of them moved a muscle.

  The impostor was at first immobilized with terreor. But Jia Lian’s hectoring, and the prospect of being taken to court, finally stirred him to action. He fell on his knees and kotowed frantically in Jia Lian’s direction, jabbering:

  ‘Your Honour! Spare me! It was poverty forced me to it! I know it was a shameful thing to do. I had to borrow money to have it made, but please keep it and give it to the young master of the house with my humble compliments, to play with!’

  Repeated head-knocking followed. Jia Lian spat contemptuously.

  ‘Idiot! We certainly don’t want any of your trash here!’

  At this point, Lai Da came into the room.

  ‘Do not waste your anger on this creature, sir,’ he interceded, with a placatory smile. ‘Spare him this once, and throw him out.’

  ‘Why should I? The worm …’

  While Jia Lian and Lai Da continued to haggle over the poor man’s fate, the servants standing in the doorway offered him their advice:

  ‘Come on, you great ninny! Kotow to Mr Lian and Mr Lai, and clear off! What are you waiting for? A kick in the stomach?’

  The man was down in a flash, kotowed to Jia Lian and Lai Da, wrapped his hands round the back of his head and fled like a rat.

  This episode became known in the locality as ‘the case of Master Jia Bao-yu and the Counterfeit (Jia) Precious Jade (Bao-yu).

  *

  When Jia Zheng returned home that same day from a visit, no one told him what had happened in his absence. They thought that with the Lantern Festival coming up, it would be a mistake to make him angry about something that was, after all, over and done with. What with Yuan-chun’s death, and their concern at Bao-yu’s illness, the family was far too gloomy and preoccupied to celebrate New Year in anything but a perfunctory fashion, and it passed by without any event worthy of notice in this chronicle.

  By the seventeenth of the first month, when Lady Wang was expecting her brother to arrive in the capital any day, she had an unannounced visit from Xi-feng:

  ‘Lian has just come h
ome with a piece of bad news, Aunt. It is about Uncle Zi-teng. He was travelling post-haste on his way to the capital, and was only seventy miles from here, when he died. Had you heard?’

  ‘No!’ exclaimed Lady Wang, aghast. ‘Sir Zheng didn’t mention anything of the sort yesterday evening. Where did Lian hear this?’

  ‘At the home of Excellency Zhang from the Privy Council.’

  Lady Wang stared in silence. Tears started from her eyes. Wiping them away, she finally said:

  ‘Go and tell Lian to get confirmation of the news, and to see me as soon as he has.’

  Xi-feng departed as bidden. Left on her own, Lady Wang gave way to her tears. A brother and daughter dead, a son deranged – she could contain her burden of grief and anxiety no longer. She began to feel a pain in her chest. And here was Jia Lian to confirm the story:

  ‘Uncle was exhausted by the strain of the journey, and caught a chill. They were at Ten Mile Village when this happened. A doctor was called, but the only one available in such a remote spot turned out to be incompetent. He prescribed the wrong drugs, and the first dose proved fatal. Uncle’s own family have set out for the place already, but I do not know if they have arrived yet.’

  These details touched Lady Wang to the quick, and the pain in her chest became so severe that she could no longer sit upright. She told Suncloud to help her onto the kang, and struggling to keep a grip on herself, told Jia Lian to report at once to Jia Zheng.

  ‘Pack your things as quickly as you can, and go straight there to join the family and help them with the funeral arrangements. Come back as soon as possible and let us know how things stand. I know Xi-feng will not set her mind at rest until you are back.’

  Jia Lian could see that it would be inappropriate to raise any objections. He took his leave of Jia Zheng, and set out for Ten Mile Village.

  Jia Zheng had learned the news of Wang Zi-teng’s death independently. Depressed already by the moronic decline into which his son had fallen since the loss of his jade, a condition no doctor seemed able to cure, he responded with extreme gloom to this latest blow and to Lady Wang’s attack following upon it. The time had come round for the triennial review of civil servants stationed in the capital. Jia Zheng’s Board gave him a high commendation, and in the second month the Board of Civil Office presented him for an audience with the Emperor. His Majesty, in view of Jia Zheng’s record as a ‘diligent, frugal, conscientious and prudent servant of the Throne’, appointed him immediately to the post of Grain Intendant for the province of Kiangsi. The same day, Jia Zheng offered his humble acceptance and gratitude for the honour, and suggested a day for his departure. Friends and relatives were all eager to celebrate, but he was not in festive mood. He was loth to leave the capital at a time when things were so unsettled at home, although at the same time he knew that he could not delay his departure.

  He was pondering this dilemma, when a message came to summon him to Grandmother Jia’s presence. He made his way promptly to her apartment, where he found Lady Wang also present, despite her illness. He paid his respects to Grandmother Jia, who told him to be seated and then began:

  ‘In a few days, you will be leaving us to take up your post. There is something I should like to discuss with you, if you are willing.’

  The old lady’s eyes were wet with tears. Jia Zheng rose swiftly to his feet, and said:

  ‘Whatever you have to say, Mother, please speak: your word is my command.’

  ‘I shall be eighty-one this year,’ said Grandmother Jia, sobbing as she spoke. ‘You are going away to a post in the provinces, and with your elder brother still at home, you will not be able to apply for early retirement to come and look after me. When you are gone, of the ones closest to my heart I shall only have Bao-yu left to me. And he, poor darling, is in such a wretched state, I don’t know what we can do for him! The other day I sent out Lai Sheng’s wife to have the boy’s fortune told. The man’s reading was uncanny. What he said was: “This person must marry a lady with a destiny of gold, to help him and support him. He must be given a marriage as soon as possible to turn his luck. If not, he may not live.” Now I know you don’t believe in such things, which is why I sent for you, to talk it over with you. You and his mother must discuss it among yourselves. Are we to save him, or are we to do nothing and watch him fade away?’

  Jia Zheng smiled anxiously.

  ‘Could I, who as a child received such tender love and care from you, Mother, not have fatherly feelings myself? It is just that I have been exasperated by his repeated failure to make progress in his studies, and have perhaps been too ambitious for him. You are perfectly right in wanting to see him married. How could I possibly wish to oppose you? I am concerned for the boy, and his recent illness has caused me great anxiety. But as you have kept him from me, I have not ventured to say anything. I should like to see him now for myself, and form my own impression of his condition.’

  Lady Wang saw that his eyes were moist, and knew that he was genuinely concerned. She told Aroma to fetch Bao-yu and help him into the room. He walked in, and when Aroma told him to pay his respects to his father, did exactly as she said. Jia Zheng saw how emaciated his face had grown, how lifeless his eyes were. His son was like some pathetic simpleton. He told them to take him back to his room.

  ‘I shall soon be sixty myself,’ he mused. ‘With this provincial posting, it is difficult to tell how many years it will be before I return. If anything were to happen to Bao-yu, I should be left without an heir in my old age. I have a grandson, but that is not the same. And then Bao-yu is the old lady’s favourite. If anything untoward occurred, I should be still more deeply at fault.’

  He glanced at Lady Wang. Her face was wet with tears. He thought of the sorrow it would cause her too, and stood up again to speak.

  ‘If, from your wealth of experience, you have thought of a way to help him, Mother, then how could I possibly raise any objection? We should do whatever you think is best. But has Mrs Xue been informed?’

  ‘My sister has already expressed her agreement,’ replied Lady Wang. ‘We have only been biding our time because Pan’s court-case has still not been settled.’

  ‘Yes, that is certainly the first obstacle,’ commented Jia Zheng. ‘How can a girl be given in marriage while her elder brother is in jail? And besides there is Her Grace’s death. Although that does not strictly entail any such prohibition, Bao-yu should at least abide by the set term of mourning for a deceased elder sister, which would mean a period of nine months during which marriage would be highly irregular. And then, my own date of departure has already been reported to the throne, and I cannot postpone it now. That only leaves us a few days. There is not enough time.’

  Grandmother Jia pondered her son’s words. ‘What he says is true,’ she thought to herself. ‘If we wait for all of these conditions to be fulfilled, his father will have left, and who knows to what state the boy’s health may deteriorate. And then it may be too late. We shall have to put aside the rules for once. There is no other way.’

  Having reached this conclusion in her own mind, she spoke to Jia Zheng again.

  ‘If you will agree to this for him, I shall take care of any problems that may arise. There is nothing that cannot be ironed out, of that I am confident. His mother and I shall go over and put the matter personally to Mrs Xue. As for Pan, I shall ask young Ke to go to him and explain that we are doing this to save Bao-yu’s life. When he knows the reason, I am sure he will agree. As for marrying during a period of mourning, strictly speaking one shouldn’t, I know. And besides, it is not right for him to marry while he is so ill. But it’s a question of turning his luck. Both families are willing, and as the children have the bond of gold and jade to justify their union, we can dispense with the usual reading of horoscopes. We just need to choose an auspicious day to exchange presents in proper style, and then set a date for the wedding itself, possible afterwards. No music during the wedding itself, but otherwise we can follow court practice: twelve pairs of long-
handled lanterns and an eight-man palanquin for the bride. We shall have the ceremony in our southern form, and keep our old customs of throwing dried fruit onto the bridal bed and so forth. That will be enough to make it quite a proper wedding. Bao-chai is a sensible girl. We need not worry on her account. And Aroma is a very reliable person. We can count on her to have a calming influence on Bao-yu. She gets on well with Bao-chai too.

  ‘One other thing: Mrs Xue once told us that a monk said Bao-chai should only marry someone with a jade to match her golden locket. Perhaps when she comes to live as Bao-yu’s wife, her locket will draw the jade back. Once they are married, things will look up and the whole family will benefit. So, we must prepare a courtyard and decorate it nicely – I should like you to choose it. We shan’t be inviting any friends or relations to the wedding, and we can have the party later, when Bao-yu is better and the mourning period is over. This way, everything will be done in time, and you will be able to see the young people married and set off with an easy mind.’

  Jia Zheng had grave doubts about the proposal. But as it was Grandmother Jia’s, he knew he could not go against it. He smiled dutifully, and hastened to reply:

  ‘You have thought it all out very well, Mother, and have taken everything into account. We must tell the servants not to go talking about this to everyone they meet. It would hardly redound to our credit if people knew. And personally I doubt if Mrs Xue will agree to the idea. But if she does, then I suppose we should do as you suggest.’

  ‘You need not worry about Mrs Xue,’ said the old lady. ‘I can explain things to her. Off you go then.’

  Jia Zheng took his leave. He felt extremely uneasy about the whole idea. Official business soon engulfed him, however – acceptance of his new papers of appointment, recommendations of staff from friends and relatives, an endless round of social gatherings of one sort or another – and he delegated all responsibility for the marriage plans to Grandmother Jia, who in turn left the arrangements to Lady Wang and Xi-feng. Jia Zheng’s only contribution was to designate a twenty-frame building in a courtyard behind the Hall of Exalted Felicity, to the side of Lady Wang’s private apartment, as Bao-yu’s new home. Grandmother Jia’s mind was now quite made up, and when she sent someone to communicate this to Jia Zheng he just replied: ‘Very well.’ But of this, more later.