by Cao Xueqin
“If you weren’t a beauty, I’d trample you to bits!”
“It’s the fault of the bridle,” said Daiyu soothingly. “If you adjust it, it’ll be all right.”
Baoyu ordered this to be done and at the same time sent for another kite. They were all looking up and watching the kites sail through the air when the maids brought many others of different kinds and played with them for a while.
Then Zijuan exclaimed, “It’s pulling hard now, miss. Won’t you take over?”
Daiyu wrapped a handkerchief round her hand and pulled. Sure enough, the wind was blowing hard. She took the reel and paid out the cord. As the kite soared off, the reel whirred and all of a sudden the whole cord had run out. Then she urged the rest to let their kites drift away.
“We’re all ready,” they said. “You start first.”
“Though it’s fun to let it go, I haven’t the heart to,” she replied with a smile.
“Kite-flying is just for fun, that’s why we call it ‘sending off bad luck,’“ said Li Wan. “You should do this more often, and then you might get rid of that illness of yours. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“Our young lady’s getting more and more stingy,” put in Zijuan. “We always sent off a few kites every year, so why begrudge one today? If you won’t do it, miss, I will.” She took from Xueyan a pair of small silver Western scissors, and clipped the cord tied to the reel.
“There!” she said with a laugh. “That’ll carry off her illness.”
The kite drifted away until soon it seemed no bigger than an egg, then it dwindled to a speck like a black star and the next minute vanished from sight.
Watching with screwed-up eyes they cried, “What fun!”
“It’s a pity we don’t know where it’ll land,” observed Baoyu. “Let’s hope it falls somewhere with people about and gets picked up by some Children. If it falls in the wilderness where nobody lives, bow lonely it will feel. I’d better send this one after it to keep it company.” He cut the cord of his kite and let it go too.
Tanchun was about to cut the cord of her phoenix kite when she saw another just like it in the sky.
“Whose can that be?” she wondered.
The others advised, “Don’t cut yours loose yet. That other kite seems to be approaching it.”
Even as they spoke the two phoenixes converged, their cords becoming entangled. They tried to pull Tanchun’s back, but as the other side was pulling too, they could not disentangle them. And just then another kite the size of a door, in the form of the character “good-luck,” came zooming over, the bells on it ringing.
“This one will get entangled too,” they cried. “Don’t pull yours back. Let all three of them tangle together, that will be amusing.”
This new kite did indeed get entangled with the two phoenixes. The three kite-fliers tugged at their cords until these snapped and the three kites sailed away. They clapped and laughed, then, crying.
“What fun! Whose could that good-luck kite be? It played a dastardly trick.”
“My kite’s gone and I’m tired,” said Daiyu, “I’m going back to rest.”
“Just wait till we’ve sent off all our kites and then we’ll go,” said Baochai.
So they loosed their kites, then dispersed, Daiyu going back to her own apartments to rest.
To know what happened later, read the next chapter.
Chapter 71
Lady Xing Feeling Wronged Puts Xifeng in the Wrong
Yuanyang Happens Upon Two Lovers
Upon Jia Zheng’s return to the capital, after all his business was despatched, he was granted a month’s home leave. Growing old now and worn out by his heavy responsibilities, he was so happy after this long time away to be reunited with his family that banishing all thought of business he passed the time reading, and when he was tired would play chess or drink with his proteges or enjoy the domesticity of the inner quarters with his mother, sons and wife.
The second of the eighth month that year would be the old lady’s eightieth birthday, and all their relatives and friends were bound to come to offer congratulations. How were they to accommodate so many feasters? Jia Zheng talked it over with Jia She, Jia Zhen and Jia Lian, and they decided to hold feasts from the twenty-eighth of the seventh month to the fifth of the eighth in both mansions, the Ning entertaining the men, the Rong the ladies. Two of the larger buildings in Grand View Garden, Variegated Splendour Tower and Auspicious Shade Hall, could be prepared as retiring rooms. On the twenty-eighth they would invite the prince consorts, princes, princesses and dukes of the Imperial House together with their ladies; on the twenty-ninth, ministers, military governors and their titled wives; on the thirtieth, other officials with their titled wives, and relatives close and distant with their wives. Family feasts would be given on the first by Jia She, on the second by Jia Zheng, on the third by Jia Zhen and Jia Lian, on the fourth by the whole Jia family old and young. Finally, on the fifth, Lai Da, Lin Zhixiao and the other chief stewards would give a feast.
From the start of the seventh month streams of messengers had been arriving with gifts. The Ministry of Rites by Imperial decree presented the old lady with one gold and jade Ruyi sceptre, four lengths of coloured satin, four gold and jade ear-rings, and five hundred taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury. The Imperial Consort Yuanchun sent eunuchs with a golden image of the God of Longevity, an eaglewood cane, a string of scented beads, a box of rare incense, one pair of gold and four of silver ingots, twelve lengths of coloured satin and four jade cups. As for the gifts sent by all the princes and their consorts, as well as officials and officers high and low who had connections with the Jia family, these were too many to enumerate. A large table covered with a red felt was set in the hall to display all the best gifts for the old lady’s inspection. The first two days she enjoyed examining them, but after that she lost interest.
“Let Xifeng put them away,” she said. “I’ll look at them some other time when I’ve nothing to do.”
On the twenty-eighth, both mansions were hung with lanterns as decorations, phoenix screens were set up and lotus-patterned carpets spread, while the sound of fluting and drumming carried into the streets outside. The only guests that day in the Ning Mansion were the Prince of Beijing, the Prince of Nanan, Prince Consort Yongchang, the Prince of Leshan and a few young nobles. To the Rong Mansion came only the Dowager Princess of Nanan, the wife of the Prince of Beijing and a few other noble ladies.
The Lady Dowager and the rest received them in full court costume appropriate to their rank. After greetings had been exchanged the guests were invited to Auspicious Shade Hall in the Garden to drink tea and freshen up, after which they went to the Hall of Glorious Celebration to offer their congratulations and sit down to a feast. There was much polite deferring to each other before finally they sat down, the two princes’ consorts in the seats of honour, then the other ladies according to their rank. The wives of the Marquis of Jinxiang and the Earl of Linchang sat at the lower table on the left. The Lady Dowager, as hostess, took a lower seat on the right and Madam You, Xifeng and some other daughters-in-law, headed by Lady Xing and Lady Wang, ranged themselves behind her on both sides to wait on the guests. Outside the bamboo portiere matrons headed by the stewards’ wives Mrs. Lin and Mrs. Lai served the dishes and wine, while a few young maids supervised by Mrs. Zhou Rui stood behind the screens waiting for orders. The servants who had come with the guests were entertained elsewhere.
Presently, actors came on the stage to offer congratulations, which signified that it was time for the performance to start. At the foot of the stage stood twelve pages, still too young to let their hair grow. One of these with both hands presented a list of the repertoire to the woman in charge at the bottom of the steps, who passed it to Mrs. Lin. She laid it on a small tray and noiselessly raised the portiere, then sidled up to Madam You’s maid, the concubine Peifeng. Peifeng presented it to Madam You, who carried it over to the two highest seats. The mother of the Prince of N
anan after first declining this honour chose an auspicious item, then passed the list to the wife of the Prince of Beijing who—after a show of modesty—also selected one item. The rest after some deferring to each other finally all said:
“Let them sing whatever they think best.”
When dishes had been served four times followed by soup, the servants who had accompanied their mistresses brought forward tips which were given to the performers, after which they all had a wash and returned to the Garden where fresh tea was served. The mother of the Prince of Nanan, asking after Baoyu, was told by the Lady Dowager that he had gone to worship in one of the temples where monks were chanting sutras to pray for peace and longevity for her. Then she asked after the girls.
“Some of them are unwell, others are delicate, and they’re so shy in company that I told them to keep an eye on my rooms for me,” said the old lady. “As we have plenty of actresses, I’ve sent a troupe to perform in my hall, and they’re watching operas there with the girls in their aunt’s family.”
“In that case, do invite them over,” urged the Dowager Princess.
The Lady Dowager turned to tell Xifeng, “Go and fetch Xiangyun, Baochai, Baoqin and Daiyu, and ask Tanchun to come with them.”
Xifeng assented and went off. She found the girls eating sweetmeats and watching an opera in the old lady’s place with Baoyu, just back from the temple. When she passed on her instructions, Baochai, Baoqin, Daiyu, Tanchun and Xiangyun all went with her to the Garden where they were introduced and paid their respects. Some of the visitors had met them before. One or two had not, but all alike expressed their admiration. The mother of the Prince of Nanan knew Xiangyun best.
“When you heard I was here, why didn’t you come out?” she teased. “Were you waiting for an invitation? I shall take your uncle to task for this some time.”
Next she took Tanchun and Baochai by the hand to ask them their age and exclaimed in delight, so impressed was she by them. Then letting them go she drew Daiyu and Baoqin to her, subjected them to a close scrutiny and praised them in the highest terms.
“They’re all so charming,” she said laughingly, “I don’t know which to praise most.”
A servant had already brought in the five sets of presents prepared: five gold and five jade rings and five bracelets of scented beads.
“Don’t laugh at these gifts,” said the mother of the prince. “Take them to give to your maids.”
The five girls curtseyed their thanks, and then the wife of the Prince of Beijing also gave each of them a set of presents. There is no need to describe all the gifts presented them by the other guests.
After sipping tea the guests strolled for a while in the Garden. Then the Lady Dowager asked them to go back to feast, but the mother of the Prince of Nanan declined.
“I’m not feeling well today, but I simply had to come,” she said. “So please excuse me if I leave early.”
The old lady and others could not press her to stay, and after a further exchange of civilities they saw her to the Garden gate, where she mounted her sedan-chair and left. The wife of the Prince of Beijing stayed a little longer, then took her leave too. Some of the others withdrew early, some stayed till the end.
As the Lady Dowager had had a tiring day, the next day she did not receive any guests, leaving Lady Xing and Lady Wang to entertain them for her. The sons of noble families simply came to the outer hall to pay their respects, and were received by Jia She, Jia Zheng and Jia Zhen, who then took them off to feast in the Ning Mansion. But no more of this.
During these celebrations, Madam You did not go home at night. She spent each day entertaining guests, and stayed on in the evening to amuse the Lady Dowager and help Xifeng to supervise the disposal of the various utensils, the putting away of presents and tipping of servants, then retired for the night in Li Wan’s quarters in the Garden.
This evening after she had waited on the old lady during her meal, the latter said, “You must all be tired, I know I am. So eat early and go and rest. Tomorrow you have to get up early again.”
Madam You assented and withdrew to have dinner in Xifeng’s apartments; but Xifeng was in the upstairs storeroom overlooking the servants putting away the tapestry screens presented while Pinger, alone in the room, put away Xifeng’s clothes.
“Has your mistress had her meal?” asked Madam You.
Pinger smiled.
“How could we omit to invite you, madam, if we were having a meal?”
“Well then, I’ll go somewhere else to find something to eat. I’m ravenously hungry.”
As she started off, Pinger called, “Do come back, madam! Here are some cakes for you to be going on with. Then come for dinner later.”
“No, you’re all so busy here, I’ll go and cadge a meal from the girls in the Garden.” With that she left and Pinger could not detain her.
Madam You went straight to the Garden. As she found its main gate and the side gates still open and coloured lanterns still hanging there, she ordered her maid to fetch the women on duty, but the girl came back to report that not even the shadow of anyone was to be found in the gatehouse. Told to fetch the stewards’ wives in charge, she went to the corner house outside the inner gate where those women gathered to chat before work. There she found only two matrons sharing out sweetmeats and dishes.
“Are none of the stewards’ wives here?” she asked. “My mistress from the East Mansion wants one of them immediately.”
The two matrons, intent on the food, hearing that it was a mistress from the other mansion answered casually:
“They’ve just gone.”
“Well then, go to their homes and fetch them,” urged the maid.
“We’re caretakers, not messengers. If you want someone fetched, send a messenger.”
“Aiya, this is mutiny! So you won’t take orders!” the girl cried. “And why can’t you go yourselves? You may be able to fool newcomers but you can’t fool me. Who’s to run errands if not you? Whenever you get wind of any perks of handouts to one of the stewards’ wives, you dash off like dogs with wagging tails to announce it. Have you no sense of respect? Would you respond like this to Madam Lian’s instructions?”
The women had been drinking, and now that this maid had shown them up they retorted angrily:
“Shut your filthy mouth. Whether we run errands or not is none of your business. You’ve no right to nag at us. You know very well how that father and mother of yours toady to the stewards of your mansion —they’re worse than any of us. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. We know what’s what. We belong to different households. Go and impress your own people if you can, before you come here meddling in our affairs.”
“Fine, fine,” snapped the maid. “That’s fine!”
Livid with anger she hurried back to report this.
Madam You, now in the Garden, had come across Xiren, Baoqin and Xiangyun exchanging stories and jokes with two nuns from the Ksitigarbha Nunnery. Explaining that she was hungry, she went on to Happy Red Court where Xiren offered her some sweet and savoury pastries. The two nuns and Baoqin and Xiangyun went on sipping tea and telling stories till the maid arrived, fuming, to report everything the women had said.
“Who were they?” asked Madam You grimly.
To spare her feelings, the nuns and Baoqin and Xiangyun suggested that it must be a misunderstanding—the maid had heard wrongly. The nuns nudged the maid.
“You lose your temper too easily, miss,” they scolded. “Why pass on all the nonsense those silly old women talk? Madam’s health is what’s important. Here she’s been wearing herself out for days, and not a bite to eat or a drop to drink has she had yet. The least we can do is try to keep her amused. Why should you tell such tales?”
Xiren drew the maid aside.
“Good sister, just go out and have a rest,” she coaxed. “I’ll get someone to fetch them.”
“No need,” said Madam You. “Just send for those two women, then ‘fetch Xifeng he
re.’“
“I’ll go,” offered Xiren.
“No, not you,” replied Madam You.
The two nuns rose respectfully to their feet to demur, “You’re so magnanimous, madam, won’t it make for talk if you lose your temper today of all days when our Old Ancestress is celebrating her birthday?”
Baoqin and Xiangyun interceded too.
“All right then,” said Madam You. “If it weren’t for the old lady’s birthday I’d certainly thrash this out. As it is, I’ll overlook it for the time being.”
Meanwhile the girl sent by Xiren to find some woman in charge outside the Garden had met Zhou Rui’s wife and told her what had happened. Though Mrs. Zhou was not in charge, as the maid who had attended Lady Wang to the Jia mansion at the time of her marriage she was a person of some consequence, and so quick-witted and ingratiating that all the mistresses liked her. She now hurried to Happy Red Court, exclaiming as she ran:
“The mistress’s angry! That will never do. Things have come to a pretty pass. If only I’d been there! I’ll slap their faces for them, and in a few days we’ll deal with them properly.”
When Madam You saw her she cried, “Come on, Sister Zhou, let’s hear what you think about this. The Garden gates are still wide open so late, with the lanterns alight and all sorts of people going in and out. What if anything happens? So I decided to tell the women on duty to put out the lights and lockup. But to my surprise there was no one there at all.”
“How outrageous!” said Mrs. Zhou. “The other day Madam Lian told them that with all sorts of people here these days they must lock up and put out the lights as soon as it gets dark, and not let any outsiders into the Garden. Yet today they leave their posts. When these celebrations are over, some of them must be given a good hiding!” Madam You then told her what the maid had reported.
