by Cao Xueqin
“Our Old Ancestress and Aunt Xue mustn’t stand on ceremony but do as I say,” declared Xifeng, approaching them with a bundle of ivory chopsticks wrapped in a handkerchief.
“This is how we do things,” the old lady told Aunt Xue, who acquiesced cheerfully.
Xifeng placed four pairs of chopsticks before the Lady Dowager, Aunt Xue, Baochai and Xiangyun, while Lady Wang and Li Wan superintended the serving of the dishes. Then Xifeng called for clean bowls and chose dishes for Baoyu.
After the lotus broth arrived and the old lady had inspected it, Lady Wang commissioned Yuchuan who was standing behind her to take Baoyu his meal.
“She can’t carry all this single-handed,” remarked Xifeng.
Just then, as it happened, Yinger and Xier arrived. Baochai knew that they had eaten already.
“Master Bao wants you to make some nets for him,” she told Yinger. “You’d better go with Yuchuan.”
As the two maids left on this errand Yinger asked, “How are we to carry this hot soup all that way?”
“Don’t worry.” Yuchuan smiled. “Leave it to me.”
She made an old nurse put the broth and dishes in a hamper and carry this behind them while they walked empty-handed to Happy Red Court. There Yuchuan took over the hamper and the two girls went in. Xiren, Sheyue and Qiuwen, who were amusing Baoyu, stood up to greet them.
“How did you two happen to arrive together?” they asked, taking the hamper.
Yuchuan promptly sat herself down on a chair, but Yinger would not presume to sit although Xiren hastily fetched a foot-stool for her.
Baoyu was delighted by Yinger’s arrival but distressed and embarrassed by the sight of Yuchuan, who reminded him of her elder sister Jinchuan. For this reason he addressed himself exclusively to her. This made Xiren afraid that Yinger might feel slighted, and since she refused to be seated she took her to the outer room for some tea and a chat.
Meanwhile Sheyue and the others had fetched Baoyu’s bowl and chopsticks, but instead of starting his lunch he asked Yuchuan: “How is your mother?”
Scowling and refusing to look at him, for a long time she did not answer. Then she snapped out: “All right.”
Silence followed this snub. Then Baoyu tried again. “Who asked you to bring me my lunch?”
“The madams and the ladies, naturally.”
Well aware that Jinchuan’s death was behind Yuchuan’s displeasure, Baoyu cast about for some means to placate her. Not wanting to humble himself in front of the others, he dismissed them on various pretexts and then put himself out to be pleasant. And tempted though Yuchuan was to cold-shoulder him, she could not but be mollified by the amiable way in which he put up with all her rudeness. It was her turn to feel embarrassed.
“Do pass me the broth to taste, dear sister,” he begged when he saw her face begin to brighten.
“I’ve never fed anyone. Wait till the others come back.”
“I don’t want you to feed me but I can’t get out of bed,” he said coaxingly. “If you’ll just pass me the bowl, you can report back so much the sooner and have your own meal. I mustn’t keep you here starving. If you can’t be bothered to move I’ll have to fetch the bowl myself, however much it hurts.”
He struggled to get out of bed and could not suppress a groan. At that Yuchuan no longer had the heart to refuse.
“Lie down,” she said, leaving her seat. “What a sight you are, suffering for the sins committed in your previous incarnations.”
With a giggle she passed him the bowl.
“If you must be angry, dear sister, be angry here,” advised Baoyu amiably. “Try to keep your temper in front of the old lady and the mistress. If you carry on like this with them, you’ll get another scolding.”
“Drink your soup, goon, I’m not taken in by that sweet talk.”
She made him drink a couple of mouthfuls, but Baoyu pretended not to like the flavour and left the rest untouched.
“Gracious Buddha!” she exclaimed. “You’re hard to please.”
“It’s got no taste at all. If you don’t believe me, try it.”
Rising to his bait, Yuchuan took a sip. At once he cried with a laugh: “Now it must taste delicious!”
Realizing that she had been tricked she said, “First you don’t like it, now you say it’s delicious. Well, I shan’t let you have any more.”
Though he smiled and pleaded she was adamant. She called the others to come to serve him his meal. As the maids came back they heard the unexpected announcement that two nannies sent by Second Master Fu had called to pay their respects.
Baoyu knew that they came from the house of the sub-prefect Fu Shi, one of his father’s former pupils who had prospered thanks to his connection with the celebrated Jia family. Jia Zheng treated him better than his other pupils, and Fu Shi was forever sending servants over. Now Baoyu disliked foolish old nurses as much as hulking men-servants, but today he asked these two in for the reason that Fu Shi’s younger sister Qiufang was said to be remarkably talented and good-looking; and although he had never seen her, his admiration for such a fine girl made him feel it would be slighting her not to admit them. So he promptly invited them in.
Fu Shi, being an upstart, wanted to consolidate his own position by marrying his pretty, gifted sister into some rich and noble family. Indeed, his requirements were so strict that she was still not engaged yet at twenty-three; for no proposals had come from the rich and great, who looked down on his poverty and humble origin. Naturally, then, Fu Shi had his own reason for ingratiating himself with the Jia house.
The two nurses sent today happened to be exceptionally stupid. When invited in they paid their respects to Baoyu, and Yuchuan stopped teasing him to listen, bowl in hand, to the conversation. Baoyu went on eating as he talked while both he and Yuchuan kept their eyes on the two visitors. When he reached out suddenly for the bowl and upset it, splashing soup over his hand, Yuchuan started although not hurt herself and gave a cry: “What are you doing?”
As the other maids rushed forward to take the bowl, Baoyu oblivious of his own pain cried:
“Where did you scald yourself, Yuchuan? Does it hurt?” Everyone laughed at that.
“You’re the one who got scalded, not me,” she pointed out. Only then did he realize that his own hand was smarting.
No time was lost in mopping up the spilt soup. Baoyu stopped eating, rinsed his fingers and sipped some tea while exchanging a few more remarks with the two nurses, who then took their leave and were seen off to the bridge by Qingwen and some other girls.
As soon as they were alone, the old women started talking as they ambled along.
One of them said with a laugh, “No wonder Baoyu’s called a handsome fool. Handsome is as handsome does, and anyone can see he’s a bit touched. He scalds his own hand and asks someone else if it hurts— what could be more stupid than that?”
“The last time I came here,” the other rejoined, “I heard several of those girls say he’s downright cracked. He got drenched himself in the rain and advised someone else to take shelter. Don’t you call that soft? When there’s no one about he laughs and cries to himself. When he sees a swallow he talks to the swallow, when he sees a fish in the stream he talks to the fish. He sighs or mumbles to the moon and stars, and has so little spirit he even puts up with the tantrums of those pert girls. When he’s in a saving mood he treasures the least scrap of thread, but at other times he doesn’t mind squandering millions.”
Chatting like this they left the Garden and after taking leave of the others went home.
To revert to Xiren, as soon as these visitors had left she brought Yinger in and asked Baoyu what sort of net he wanted.
“I was so busy talking I forgot you,” he told Yinger with an apologetic smile.
“I want to trouble you to make me some nets.”
“Nets for what?”
“Never mind about that. Make a few of each kind.”
“Good gracious!” Yinger clapped her hands an
d laughed. “That would take ten years and more.”
“You’ve nothing to do anyway, dear sister, so do make them for me.”
“You’re asking the impossible,” protested Xiren with a smile. “Let her first do a couple of the kind you need most.”
“And which are those?” asked Yinger. “Nets to hold fans, scented pouches, or sashes?”
“Yes,” said Baoyu. “One for a sash would be nice.”
“For what colour sash?” asked Yinger.
“Scarlet,” said Baoyu.
“A black or slate-blue net would make a good contrast, then.”
“What would match a light green one?”
“That would go well with peach-pink.”
“All right. Do me one also in peach-pink and another in leek-green.”
“What design would you like?”
“How many do you know?”
“‘Incense-stick,’ ‘ladder,’ ‘lozenge,’ ‘double squares,’ ‘chains,’ ‘plum-blossom’ and ‘willow-catkins.’“
“What was that pattern you worked for Miss Tanchun the other day?”
“That was ‘clustered plum-blossom.’“
“That would do nicely,” Baoyu said. At the same time he asked Xiren to fetch the thread.
Then a nurse called through the window: “Your lunch is ready, misses!”
“Go and have lunch,” said Baoyu, “and come back as soon as you can.”
“How can we go when we’ve a visitor here?” asked Xiren with a smile.
“Nonsense,” declared Yinger, sorting out the thread. “Run along.” Then Xiren and all but two of the youngest girls left. Baoyu chatted with Yinger as he watched her work.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“Sixteen,” she replied, her fingers busy netting the thread. “What’s your family name?”
“Huang.” Baoyu smiled.
“Then you’re aptly named, because you really are a golden oriole.”
“My name used to be Jinying, but my young lady found that awkward and just called me Yinger instead. Now everyone’s got into the way of it.”
“Cousin Baochai is very fond of you,” he remarked. “When she marries she’s sure to take you along with her.” Yinger smiled at this and said nothing.
Baoyu went on, “I often tell Xiren he’ll be a lucky man, whoever gets the pair of you, mistress and maid.”
To this she replied, “I don’t think you quite realize that our young lady, apart from her good looks, has some wonderful qualities which you won’t find in anyone else in the world.”
Baoyu was enchanted by Yinger’s charming manner and the sweet, innocent way she spoke of her mistress.
“What wonderful qualities?” he asked. “Do tell me, dear sister.”
“If I do, you mustn’t let her know.”
“Of course not.”
Just then a voice outside asked, “Why are you so quiet?” Looking round they saw that it was Baochai herself. Baoyu hastily offered her a seat, and having sat down she asked Yinger what kind of net she was making. Examining the net, which was only half done, she remarked: “This isn’t very interesting. Why not make a net for his jade?”
“Of course, cousin!” Baoyu clapped his hands in approval. “I’d forgotten that. But what colour would be best?”
“Nothing too nondescript would do,” said Baochai. “But crimson would clash, yellow wouldn’t stand out well enough, and black would be too drab. I suggest you get some golden thread and plait it with black-beaded thread to make a net. That would look handsome.”
Baoyu was so delighted with this idea that he immediately called for Xiren to fetch the gold thread. She happened to come in at that moment with two dishes.
“This is odd,” she told him. “Her Ladyship has just sent me these two dishes.”
“There must be such a lot of dishes today that she has sent these for all you girls.”
“No, they said these were specially for me, and I needn’t go over to kowtow my thanks. This seems very strange.”
“If they’re for you, then eat them,” put in Baochai with a smile. “Don’t look so puzzled.”
“But such a thing has never happened before. I feel rather embarrassed.”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about?” Baochai smiled significantly. “Some day more embarrassing things than this will happen to you.”
Xiren sensed something behind these words, knowing that Baochai was not one to make cutting remarks. Recalling Lady Wang’s hint the previous day, she dropped the subject and simply showed Baoyu the dishes before withdrawing again with the assurance:
“I’ll fetch the thread as soon as I’ve washed my hands.”
After lunch, having rinsed her hands, she brought the gold thread to Yinger and found that Baochai had been summoned by her brother and left. While Baoyu watched Yinger at work, Lady Xing sent two maids with two varieties of fruit for him and the message:
“If you’re fit enough to walk, Her Ladyship hopes you’ll go over tomorrow to have a little distraction. She’s longing to see you.”
“If I’m able I’ll certainly come and pay my respects,” he answered. “I’m already feeling much better. Please tell her not to worry.”
He made the girls sit down and told Qiuwen to take half the fruit to Miss Lin. She was just leaving to do this when they heard Daiyu’s voice outside, and Baoyu lost no time in inviting her in.
To know what followed, read on.
Chapter 36
A Dream During the Embroidering of Mandarin Ducks in Red Rue Studio Foretells the Future
Baoyu Learns in Pear Fragrance Court That Each Has His Share of Love
The Lady Dowager went back from Lady Wang’s rooms to her own quarters very pleased by Baoyu’s steady recovery. To forestall any further summons from his father, she sent for Jia Zheng’s chief page and gave him these orders:
“Next time your master wants Baoyu to meet or entertain guests, you can tell him without reporting it to me that I’ve forbidden the boy to set foot outside the second gate until after the eighth month. For one thing, it will be several months before he can walk again after that terrible beating. For another, just now his stars are unpropitious, and he mustn’t meet any outsiders while sacrifices are being made to the stars.”
When the page had assented and left, Nanny Li and Xiren were summoned and instructed to tell Baoyu this to reassure him.
Baoyu had an inveterate dislike of entertaining literati or men in general. He hated putting on ceremonial dress to pay calls, return visits or offer congratulations or condolences. Delighted by his grandmother’s decision, he not only stopped seeing most relatives and friends but even grew lax about asking after the health of his seniors each morning and evening. After paying his respects early in the morning to his grandmother and mother he spent the rest of the day amusing himself in the Garden, often glad to idle away his time by offering his services to the maids. When Baochai or any of the others advised against this it only angered him.
“Imagine a pure, innocent girl joining the ranks of time-servers and place-seekers, who set such store by reputation!” he would fume. “This is all the fault of the ancients who had nothing better to do than coin maxims and codes to control stupid, uncouth men. It’s too bad that in our time even those in refined ladies’ chambers have been contaminated. This is an offence against Heaven and Earth which endowed them with the finest qualities.”
Going further in his anger against the ancients, he burned all the Confucian classics in his possession except the Four Books. His wild ways discouraged people from talking to him about serious matters. And the only person he really admired was Daiyu precisely because she alone had never urged him to seek an official career or fame for himself.
But now let us return to Xifeng. After Jinchuan’s death several servants suddenly started bringing her gifts and coming to pay their respects or flatter her. She became at a loss to account for the stream of presents sent her. One evening, when no one else was abo
ut, she remarked to Pinger:
“These families never had much to do with me before. Why are they making up to me now like this?”
“Isn’t it obvious, madam?” Pinger smiled. “I fancy their daughters are working for Lady Wang. Her four chief maids get one tael of silver a month, the others only a few hundred cash apiece. Now that Jinchuan’s dead they’re all hoping to land this cushy one-tael job.”
“Of course.” Xifeng laughed. “Good for you. There’s no satisfying some people. They’ve squeezed enough and no hard work ever comes their way. You’d think they’d be contented with getting their daughters off their hands, but no, they want something better. Well, it’s not often they spend their money on me. Since they’re doing this of their own free will I’ll accept whatever they bring, but it won’t make any difference to my decision.”
So she waited until enough gifts had been sent before taking the matter up with Lady Wang.
Her chance came at noon one day when Aunt Xue, Baochai and Daiyu were eating water-melons in Lady Wang’s apartments.
“Since Yuchuan’s sister died you’ve been one maid short, madam,” observed Xifeng. “If there’s any girl you fancy, just tell me, and next month we can issue her allowance.”
Lady Wang thought this over.
“I don’t see why we must have a fixed number of maids,” she said. “I’ve all I need, why not let it go at that?”
“What you say makes good sense, of course, madam,” answered Xifeng. “This just happens to be the tradition. If even the concubines have two maids apiece, why shouldn’t you have your full quota? It’s only saving one tael in any case.”
“Very well,” said Lady Wang on second thoughts. “You can issue the allowance but don’t assign me another maid. We’ll give this tael to Yuchuan. Jinchuan waited on me all that time before coming to such a sad end, it’s only fair this double pay should go to her sister.” Xifeng turned to look at Yuchuan. “Congratulations!” she called with a smile. Then Yuchuan stepped forward to kowtow her thanks. “That reminds me,” said Lady Wang. “How much “are the concubines Zhao and Zhou allowed a month?”
