Chapter 111

Chapter 111

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CHAPTER 111

The Maid Yuanyang Dies Loyal to Her Mistress and Ascends to the Realm of the Immortals;

The Wicked Servant Gouzhi Cheats Heaven and Brings a Gang of Bandits upon the House

Fengjie, upon hearing the young maidservant's words, was so enraged, so distressed, and so heartbroken that she suddenly spat up a mouthful of blood, then fainted and collapsed to the ground. P'ing'er hurried to her side and, calling for help, had people support her mistress and slowly carry her back to P'ing'er's own room. There Fengjie was gently laid upon the brick bed, and Hsiao-hung was at once ordered to pour a cup of boiled water and bring it to Fengjie's lips. Fengjie sipped a mouthful and, still unconscious, fell asleep. Chiu-tung came over, glanced briefly at her, and then walked away, P'ing'er making no attempt to stop her. Only Feng'er stood nearby, and P'ing'er told him to go quickly and report that Second Mistress had spat up blood and fainted and could not attend to matters, and to inform the two Madams, Xing and Wang. Madam Xing surmised that Fengjie was feigning illness to hide and avoid her duties, but since there were many female relatives present, she could not say much else. Yet in her heart she did not entirely believe it, and merely said, "Tell her to go and rest." The others, too, said nothing. It was only that evening that guests came and went in an unending stream, and it was fortunate that several of the closer female relatives were there to manage things. The household servants, seeing that Fengjie was absent, also took the opportunity to shirk their duties and rest, and the confusion and clamor grew so great that everything was turned upside down and nothing was properly handled. After the second watch, when the more distant guests had departed, preparations were made for the ritual of bidding farewell to the deceased. The female mourners behind the funeral curtains all wailed for a while. Yuanyang had already fainted from her weeping, and after the others revived her by rubbing and pounding her, she regained consciousness and said, "The Old Lady was so kind to me—I shall follow her." Everyone assumed that such words were common among people overcome with grief and paid them no mind. When the time came for the farewell ritual, there were over a hundred people, high and low, but Yuanyang was not among them. In the general commotion, no one thought to check. When Poh and the others came to weep and make their offerings, Yuanyang was still absent. They supposed she was exhausted from weeping and was resting somewhere else, and said nothing. After the farewell ritual, Jia Zheng outside called Jia Lian to question him about the arrangements for the funeral procession and then discussed whom to leave to guard the house. Jia Lian replied, "Among the upper household, we have sent Yun'er to stay and attend to things, so he need not join the funeral procession. Among the lower household, we have assigned Lin Zhixiao's family to oversee the dismantling of the mourning sheds and so forth. But I do not know who should be put in charge inside?" Jia Zheng said, "I heard your mother say that your wife is ill and cannot go, so she is to stay at home. Your Cousin Zhen's wife also said that your wife is very seriously ill and asked Miss Si to accompany her, and that she should lead several maidservants and older women to look after the upper quarters." Jia Lian, upon hearing this, thought to himself: "Cousin Zhen's wife and Miss Si do not get along, and so she is urging that Miss Si not go. If the one above were to be in charge of things, she would be of no use at all. And our own one is also ill and would find it difficult to manage." After pondering this for a while, he replied to Jia Zheng: "Please rest a moment, Father. Let me go inside and discuss the matter, and then I will report back." Jia Zheng nodded, and Jia Lian went inside.

Who would have thought that after Yuanyang had had her cry, she reflected: "I've been with the Old Lady all my life, and now I have no place to rest my body. Although the Elder Master is away from home, I can't stomach the way the Elder Mistress is behaving. The Master doesn't concern himself with affairs—in the future, it'll be every man for himself, and won't the rest of us be at their mercy? Who'll be kept in the house, who'll be married off to a servant boy—I couldn't endure such torment. Better to die clean and be done with it. But how should I do it?" As she thought this, she walked back to the Old Lady's inner suite. She had just stepped across the threshold when she saw the lamplight was dim and ghastly, and in the shadows a woman appeared to be holding a kerchief as though about to hang herself. Yuanyang was not frightened. She thought to herself: "Who is this? She shares my own resolve—she's even gotten ahead of me." She called out: "Who are you? We two have the same heart. If we're to die, let us die together." The other woman made no reply. Yuanyang walked up to take a closer look and saw that she was not a maid of this household. She looked more carefully, and just as a chill struck into her, the figure vanished. Yuanyang stood dazed for a moment, then withdrew and sat down on the edge of the kang. After thinking it over carefully, she said: "Ah, I know now. That is Young Mistress Qin from the East Mansion! She died long ago—what is she doing here? She must have come for me. But why was she hanging herself?" After further thought, she said: "I see—she must be showing me how to die." Once Yuanyang had this thought, a malign influence crept into her very bones. She stood up, and as she wept, she opened her toilet case and took out a lock of hair she had cut off that year, tucked it into her bosom, then unfastened a kerchief from her clothes and tied it where the woman Qin had just indicated. After weeping once more, she heard the guests outside dispersing and, fearing someone might come in, hastily shut the door. Then she fetched a footstool and stood on it, tied the knot of the kerkerchief around her throat, and kicked the footstool away. Alas—her breath was cut off and her sweet soul left her body. Having nowhere to go, she saw the dim figure of Qin ahead. Yuanyang's soul hurried after her, calling out: "Young Mistress Rong, wait for me!" The figure replied: "I am not Young Mistress Rong at all. I am Jinghuan's sister, Keqing." Yuanyang said: "You are clearly Young Mistress Rong—how can you say you're not?" The other replied: "There is a reason for this. Let me tell you, and you will understand. In the Palace of Jinghuan I was the chief of the Seat of Passion, in charge of matters of romance and love. Having descended to the mortal world, I was to be the foremost lover, leading these lovelorn women back early to the Bureau of Passion. That is why I was destined to hang myself by the neck. But since I saw through mortal passion and rose above the sea of passion into the heaven of passion, the Bureau of Passion in the Land of Great Void has been left without a head. Now the Fairy Jinghuan has appointed you to take my place and manage this bureau, so she sent me to guide you here." Yuanyang's soul said: "I am the most unfeeling of persons—how can you count me among those who feel?" The other replied: "You don't understand yet. The people of the world take lust and call it 'passion,' and so they do things that corrupt morals, yet they still call themselves romantic and think it doesn't matter. They don't know that the word 'passion'—before joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure are expressed, it is one's nature; once joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure are expressed, it is passion. As for the passion that belongs to us, it is passion that has not yet been expressed—like a flower still in bud. Once it is allowed to burst forth, it is no longer true passion." Yuanyang's soul heard this and nodded in understanding, then followed the woman Qin Keqing away.

Here, Hupo took leave of the coffin. After hearing the two Ladies Xing and Wang assign the servants to watch the house, she went to ask Yuanyang how they would travel by carriage the next day. She searched the outer room of the Old Lady's quarters but could not find her, so she went into the inner suite. Just as she reached the door, she saw it was shut. Peeping through the crack, she saw the lamplight was half-dim, the shadows indistinct, and her heart filled with fear. Hearing no sound from inside, she turned back and said: "Where has that wench run off to?" She ran into Zhenzhu and asked: "Have you seen Sister Yuanyang?" Zhenzhu said: "I've been looking for her too. The Ladies are waiting for her to speak with them. She must have fallen asleep in the inner suite." Hupo said: "I looked—she's not in the room. No one had trimmed the lamp wick either; it was pitch dark and awfully frightening, so I didn't go in. Let's go in together now and see if she's there." As Hupo and the others went in to trim the lamp, Zhenzhu said: "Who left this footstool here? I almost tripped over it." As she spoke, she looked up and let out a cry of alarm, her body reeling backward and toppling onto Hupo. Hupo saw it too and let out a great shout, though her two feet could not move.

The people outside had heard it too. They rushed in, saw what had happened, and raised a clamor, reporting the matter to the two Lady Xings and Lady Wang. When Lady Wang and Baochai heard the news, they wept and went to look. Lady Xing said, "I never expected Yuanyang to have such resolve! Quickly, go and tell the master." Only Baoyu, upon hearing this news, was so terrified that his eyes stared straight ahead. Xiren and the others hurriedly supported him, saying, "If you want to cry, then cry—don't hold your breath in." Baoyu forced himself with all his might before he finally burst into tears. He thought to himself, "Someone like Yuanyang—and yet she had to die this way!" Then he thought, "Truly, the spiritual essence of heaven and earth is concentrated in these women alone. She has found a worthy death, while we are after all mere filthy creatures—even as the Old Lady's own children and grandchildren, none of us can match her." And then he felt glad again. At that moment Baochai heard Baoyu weeping loudly and came out. When she reached his side, she saw him smiling. Xiren and the others quickly said, "This is bad—he's going mad again." Baochai said, "It's nothing. He has his own reasons." When Baoyu heard this, he admired Baochai's words even more. "She at least understands my heart—how could anyone else know?" He was lost in his confused thoughts when Jia Zheng and the others came in, sighing deeply and saying, "Good child—the Old Lady's love for you was not wasted!" He ordered Jia Lian to go out and have people buy a coffin and prepare the body that very night. "Tomorrow she will accompany the Old Lady's funeral procession, and her coffin will be placed behind the Old Lady's—thus fulfilling her wish." Jia Lian assented and left. Here they ordered that Yuanyang's body be laid down and placed in the inner room. P'ing-er also came to know of it, and she came over with Xiren, Ying-er, and all the others, weeping as if their hearts would break. Among them, Zijuan also thought to herself that she had no future anywhere, "I wish I had gone with Miss Lin—I would have repaid the kindness between mistress and servant and found a worthy death as well. Now I hang emptily in Baoyu's quarters. Although Baoyu is still tender and affectionate, in the end it amounts to nothing at all." And she wept all the more bitterly.

Lady Wang summoned Yuanyang's sister-in-law and had her attend to the laying out of the body. She discussed the matter with Lady Xing and rewarded Yuanyang's sister-in-law with a hundred taels of silver from the Old Lady's estate, adding that when things settled down, all of Yuanyang's belongings would be given to them. Her sister-in-law kowtowed and left, and instead of grieving, she said with satisfaction, "Truly our girl was a woman of resolve and of good fortune—she has won a good name and a good funeral." A nearby old woman said, "Come now, sister-in-law—you're selling a living girl for a hundred taels of silver and you're so pleased about it! If she had been given to the Grand Master back then, you would have gotten who knows how much money—you would have been even prouder." These words stabbed at the sister-in-law's heart, and she left with a red face. She had just reached the second gate when she saw Lin Zhixiao leading people carrying in the coffin. She had no choice but to follow them inside and help with the laying out, pretending to wail a few times. Jia Zheng, because she had died for the Old Lady, took some incense, lit three sticks, and made a bow, saying, "She is one who died to accompany the dead—she must not be treated as an ordinary servant girl. All of you in the younger generation should pay her your respects." When Baoyu heard this, he was beside himself with joy. He stepped forward and reverently kowtowed several times. Jia Lian, thinking of her goodness in the past, also wanted to come forward and pay his respects, but Lady Xing said, "Having one gentleman is enough—don't humble yourself so much that she cannot be reborn." Jia Lian then did not come forward. When Baochai heard this, she was quite unsettled in her heart, and she said, "Originally I should not have to pay her respects, but since the Old Lady has passed away, we all have unfinished duties and dare not act recklessly. Since she was willing to perform filial duty on our behalf, we too should entrust her to serve the Old Lady well on her journey to the west, and thus fulfill a small measure of our own hearts." Saying this, she supported Ying-er and walked to the spirit tablet, where she offered wine. The tears had already been streaming down her face. When the libation was finished, she bowed several times and wept bitterly. Among the crowd, some said that Baoyu and his wife were both fools, some said they had good hearts, and some said they understood propriety. Jia Zheng, for his part, was pleased. They discussed and decided that Xifeng and Xichun would remain to look after the household, while the rest were all sent to accompany the soul. That night no one dared to sleep peacefully. At the fifth watch, they heard the people assembling outside. At the first watch of the dragon hour, the funeral procession set out. Jia Zheng, as the eldest, wore mourning garments and wept, performing the rites of a filial son to the utmost. When the coffin left the door, there were roadside offerings from various households along the way—the grandeur of the procession along the route need not be described in detail. After half a day's journey, they arrived at Iron Threshold Temple to install the spirit tablet. All the filial sons and others were to remain at the temple to keep vigil. Here the account ends.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhixiao at the mansion had the sheds dismantled, the doors and windows properly secured, and the courtyard swept clean. He also assigned night watchmen to patrol and keep watch after dark. According to the Rong Mansion's rules, once the first and second watch had passed, the inner gates were shut, and no men could enter. Only the women remained inside to make their nightly rounds. Though Xifeng had gradually recovered some of her wits after the previous night, she still could not move about. Only Pingshi and Xichun walked through the various quarters, gave instructions to the night watch, and then each retired to her own room.

Now, Zhou Rui's godson He San, when Jia Zhen had been managing affairs the previous year, had gotten into a fight with Bao Er. Jia Zhen had him beaten and turned him out. Since then, he had spent his days gambling. Learning that the Old Lady had died, he figured there would be errands to run and opportunities to profit, but after making inquiries for several days, he had found no prospects at all. With a sigh, he returned to the gambling house and sat down in low spirits. The others said, "Third Brother, what's the matter? Not coming down to recoup your losses?" He San said, "I'd like to recoup, if only I had the money." They said, "You spent several days at your Master Zhou's place. Who knows how much of the family's money you must have gotten hold of—and now you come here putting on a poor act!" He San said, "You're the ones who ought to know. They've got millions in gold and silver, and they just sit on it. They won't be satisfied until it's burned up in a fire or stolen by thieves." They said, "You're lying again. Their property was confiscated—how much gold and silver could they have left?" He San said, "You don't know the half of it. What they confiscated was just what couldn't be hidden. Now that the Old Lady has died, she's left behind a good deal of gold and silver. None of them will spend a cent—it's all sitting in the Old Lady's room, waiting to be divided after the funeral." One of the men, who had heard this, threw the dice a few times and then said, "I've lost a bit of money and I'm not going to try to win it back. I'm off to bed." He got up, came over, and took He San by the arm. "Third Brother, I want a word with you." He San followed him out. The man said, "You're a clever man like that, yet you're so poor—it makes me indignant on your behalf." He San said, "I was born poor. What can I do about it?" The man said, "You just said the Rong Mansion has all that silver. Why not go and take some to use?" He San said, "Brother, even though they have plenty of gold and silver, do you think they'd give us a copper if we went and asked for it?" The man laughed. "If they won't give it to us, can't we just take it?" Hearing the implication in these words, He San asked, "What do you mean—how would we take it?" The man said, "I'm saying you lack the ability. If it were me, I'd have taken it long ago." He San said, "What ability do you have?" The man said quietly, "If you want to get rich, you take the lead. I have several friends with extraordinary talents. Never mind that they've gone to the funeral—with only a few women left in the house, it wouldn't matter how many men there were. I'm just afraid you don't have the guts." He San said, "What do you mean, dare or not! You think I'm afraid of that godfather of mine? I acknowledged him as godfather only out of respect for my godmother's feelings—otherwise, what sort of man is he! As for what you just said, I'm only afraid that if we can't pull it off, we'll end up in trouble. Don't they have connections with every yamen? Even if we succeeded in taking something, it would come out." The man said, "Then I'd say your luck has turned. My friends include some from the coast. They're all here right now, watching for an opportunity, waiting for an opening. Once we get our hands on it, there's no point in you and me staying here. Why not all go to the coast and enjoy ourselves? If you can't bear to leave your godmother behind, we might as well take her along too, and everyone can have a good time. What do you say?" He San said, "Elder Brother, you must be drunk—what kind of nonsense is this?" He pulled the man to a quiet spot, and the two of them talked things over before going their separate ways. But let us leave this for now.

As for Bao Yong, after Jia Zheng had barked orders assigning him to watch over the garden, things became hectic with the old lady's funeral arrangements, and he was given no further duties. He paid no attention to this in any case—he simply fed himself, slept when bored, and practiced with sword and staff whenever he felt like it in the garden, free and untrammeled. On the day of the Dowager's early-morning funeral procession, he knew about it, but since no errand had been assigned to him, he wandered about as he pleased. He saw a nun accompanied by a Taoist woman come to the inner gate of the garden and knock. Bao Yong walked over and said, "Where is the Sister going?"

The Taoist woman said, "We heard today that the old lady's affairs are concluded. We did not see Fourth Miss at the funeral procession, so we supposed she must be at home keeping watch over the house. We thought she might be lonely, and our Teacher has come to visit her."

Bao Yong said, "The masters are not at home. The garden gate is my charge. Please go back. If you wish to come, wait until the masters have returned."

The old woman said, "Where did you come from, you charcoal-black head? Now you want to control our coming and going too?"

Bao Yong said, "I don't want you people here. I didn't invite you—what can you do about it?"

The old woman flew into a rage and shouted, "This is outright rebellion against heaven! Even when the old lady was alive she couldn't stop our visits and movements. What kind of insolent brigand are you, so lawless and ungovernable? I insist on going through this gate!" With that, she struck the gate ring hard several times.

Miaoyu, already too furious to speak, was just turning to leave when, as chance would have it, the old woman who watched the inner gate heard what sounded like an argument and opened the door. She saw Miaoyu already turning to walk away and knew at once that Bao Yong must have offended her and driven her off. In recent days the old women had all learned that the ladies upstairs and Fourth Miss were on very close terms with her, and they feared that later she might say the gatekeepers had not let her in—how could they bear the blame? She hurried over and said, "We didn't know you were here, Teacher—we opened the gate too late. Our Fourth Miss has been at home thinking of you. Please come back quickly. The lad watching the garden is new—he doesn't know about our affairs. When we report this to the ladies upstairs, we'll give him a good beating and throw him out, and that will be the end of it."

Miaoyu heard all this but paid her no mind at all. It was only when the old woman who watched the inner gate caught up with her and entreated her again and again, finally saying that she herself would have to bear the blame and nearly dropping to her knees in desperation, that Miaoyu, having no choice, reluctantly went back with the old woman.

Bao Yong saw how things stood and naturally could not stop her. He could only return, glaring with fury and sighing with exasperation.

Here Miaoyu, accompanied by a Taoist nun, went to Xichun's place. After offering their greetings, they exchanged some idle chat. Xichun said, "Staying at home to look after things, I've managed to endure a few nights. But with Second Sister Feng ill, I'm both bored and frightened all alone. If I had just one person here, I'd feel at ease. There's not a single man in the house now. Since you've graciously come today, would you keep me company for the night? We could play chess and chat together—would that be all right?" Miaoyu was unwilling at first, but seeing how pitiable Xichun looked and reminded of chess, she was momentarily pleased and agreed. She sent the Taoist nun back to fetch her tea things and bedding, and ordered a maid to deliver them. The group sat together and talked through the night.

Xichun was overjoyed and ordered Caiping to open up the rainwater saved from the previous year and prepare good tea. Miaoyu had her own tea utensils. Before long, the Taoist nun returned, accompanied by another attendant carrying Miaoyu's everyday necessities. Xichun personally brewed the tea. The two found themselves in congenial conversation and talked for quite a while. By then it was the first watch of the night. Caiping set up the chessboard, and the two began to play. Xichun lost two games in a row; Miaoyu then gave her four stones, and Xichun managed to win by half a stone. By now it was the fourth watch—the sky was vast and the earth boundless, with no sound from any living thing.

Miaoyu said, "I must sit in meditation by the fifth watch. I have my own attendants; you go rest." Xichun was reluctant to part, but seeing that Miaoyu wished to cultivate her spirit, she didn't press her. Just as she was about to retire, there came a sudden burst of shouting from the night watchmen in the eastern wing, and the old women from Xichun's quarters took up the cry: "It's terrible! There are intruders!" Xichun and Caiping were frightened out of their wits. They heard the men on night watch outside raising a clamor.

Miaoyu said, "Something's wrong—there must be thieves here." Even as she spoke, they dared not open the door inside and instead dimmed the lamps. Peering through a window, they saw several men standing in the courtyard. Terrified into silence, they turned back, waving their hands and crawling down quietly. "Terrible—there are several big men standing outside," one of them said. Before she finished speaking, there came an unbroken clatter from the roof, and the night watchmen outside came in shouting to catch the thieves. One of them said, "Things have been stolen from the upper rooms, but no one's been seen. Someone's gone to the east side—let's go west."

When Xichun's old women heard their own people, they called out from the outer room: "A lot of people have gotten up onto the roof here!" The night watchmen all said, "Look—don't you see?" Everyone shouted together. Then they heard tiles flying down from the roof, and none of the crowd dared advance. Just when they were at their wits' end, there came a tremendous crash from the garden's side gate as it was broken open. In strode a tall, burly man carrying a cudgel. The servants were so frightened they couldn't hide in time. They heard the man shout: "Don't let a single one of them escape! All of you, follow me!"

When the family servants heard this, they were even more terrified—their bones turned soft and their sinews limp, and they couldn't even run. The man just stood there shouting wildly. Among the servants, one sharper-eyed fellow recognized him. Who do you think it was? It was Bao Yong, the man recommended by the Zhen family. The servants' courage revived, and they said with trembling voices: "One has gotten away, and some are still on the roof."

Bao Yong sprang to the ground and vaulted up onto the roof in pursuit of the thieves. The thieves, knowing full well that the Jia household had no able men, had first sneaked a look inside Xichun's quarters and seen a peerless Buddhist nun. Lustful thoughts arose in them, and since they assumed the upper rooms were all women and felt somewhat intimidated, they were just about to kick in the door when they heard someone coming in pursuit from outside, so the band of thieves went up onto the roof. Seeing there weren't many people, they still thought they could resist. Then suddenly they saw a single man vault up onto the roof in pursuit. Seeing it was just one man, the thieves paid him no mind and blocked him with short weapons. But Bao Yong swung his cudgel with such force that he knocked a thief off the roof. The thieves fled in a rush, going over the garden wall, and Bao Yong pursued them on the roof as well.

Who would have known that several accomplices had been hidden inside the garden all along to receive the stolen goods? They had already taken quite a few things, and when the band of thieves came running back, they all raised their weapons to protect them. Seeing that only one man was in pursuit, they reckoned that one could not overcome many and actually came forward to meet him. Bao Yong, seeing this, was furious: "You scoundrel thieves! You dare fight me?" The band of thieves said, "One of our mates has been knocked down by them—we don't know if he's dead or alive. Let's just grab him and get him out of there."

Bao Yong inside struck at the sound of their voices, and the thieves brandished their weapons. Five or six of them surrounded Bao Yong and set upon him wildly. The night watchmen outside also plucked up their courage and came rushing over. The thieves, finding they couldn't beat him, had no choice but to flee. Bao Yong was about to pursue further when he tripped over a crate. He steadied himself and looked around—the things hadn't been stolen, and the thieves had fled far away, so he didn't chase them further.

He called for the others to hold up the lamps. On the ground there were only a few empty crates, which he had them gather up. He then wanted to run back to the upper rooms. Not being familiar with the paths, he ended up at Sister Feng's side. Seeing the lamps and candles blazing inside, he asked, "Are there thieves here?" Ping'er inside, trembling with fear, said: "We haven't opened the door here either. We only heard the upper rooms shouting that there are thieves. You'd better go over there." Bao Yong was still at a loss when he saw the night watchmen approaching in the distance, and he followed them together back to the upper rooms. There he found the doors wide open and the night watchmen weeping inside.

Presently Jia Yun and Lin Zhixiao came in and saw that there had been a robbery. Everyone hurried inside to investigate. The old lady's gate stood wide open; when they held up a light, they found the lock had been twisted off. Going in, they saw that the chests and cabinets had already been opened. They cursed the women who had been on night watch: "Are you all dead? Didn't you know robbers had come in?" Those on night watch wept and said, "Several of us took turns on watch—we were in charge of the second and third watches, and we never stopped moving back and forth. The robbers came during the fourth and fifth watches, after our shift had ended. We only heard them shouting—we didn't see a single person. When we hurried to look, we didn't know when the things had already been stolen. Please, sirs, ask those who were on the fourth and fifth watches." Lin Zhixiao said, "Every one of you deserves to die—we'll deal with that later. Let's first go look everywhere else." The men on night watch led them over to Madame You's quarters. The door was shut tight, and several voices from inside said, "We've been frightened to death." Lin Zhixiao asked, "Was anything lost here?" Only then did the people inside open the door and say, "Nothing was lost here." Lin Zhixiao led the group to Jia Xichun's courtyard, where they heard someone inside saying, "It's terrible! The young lady has been frightened to death—wake her up!" Lin Zhixiao ordered the door opened and asked what had happened. The old woman inside opened the door and said, "The robbers fought here and frightened the young lady terribly. Fortunately, Sister Miao and Cairong managed to revive her. Nothing was stolen." Lin Zhixiao said, "How did the robbers fight?" The men on night watch said: "Fortunately, Bao the elder went up onto the roof and drove the robbers away. We also heard one man get knocked down." Bao Yong said, "He's by the garden gate." Jia Yun and the others went over and indeed found a man lying dead on the ground. Looking closely, he seemed to be Zhou Rui's adopted son. Everyone was astonished. They posted one man to watch the body and sent two others to watch the front and back gates, which were all locked again as before.

Lin Zhixiao then had the gate opened and reported to the garrison officer, who immediately came to investigate. They traced the robbers' tracks—they had come over the back wall onto the roof, reached the roof of the west courtyard house, where the tiles were shattered beyond recognition, and continued straight through to the back garden. All the men on night watch said in unison, "These weren't thieves—they were bandits!" The garrison officer said anxiously: "Since they didn't come with torches and weapons openly, how can you call them bandits?" The night watchmen said: "When we chased the robbers, they threw tiles at us from the roof and we couldn't get near them. Fortunately, our Bao from the family went up and drove them off. When we chased them into the garden, there were several robbers who actually fought with Bao, but they couldn't beat him and all ran away." The garrison officer said: "Well then—if they were bandits, how could they not beat your man? Never mind. You quickly make a list of the missing items and submit a report of the losses, and we'll file it."

Jia Yun and the others went back to the main house, where they found Sister Feng already coming over despite her illness, and Xichun had also come. Jia Yun paid his respects to Sister Feng and inquired after Xichun's well-being. Everyone checked the lost items. Since Yuanyang had died and Hupo and the others had gone to attend to the funeral arrangements, all those things had belonged to the old lady and had never been inventoried—they had simply been locked up. Where were they to begin checking now? Everyone said: "There was no shortage of things in those chests and cabinets, and now they are completely empty. The theft must have taken considerable time—what were those women on night watch doing? Moreover, the dead robber was Zhou Rui's adopted son—they must have been in league with each other." Sister Feng heard this, her eyes blazing with fury, and said: "Tie up all those women on night watch and hand them over to the garrison for interrogation." The women cried out in despair and knelt to beg for mercy. What became of them, and whether the stolen goods were ever recovered, will be told in the next chapter.

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