Chapter 117

Chapter 117

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Chapter 117: A Noble Maid Strives to Protect the Jade as Her Husband Seeks Release from the World; Wicked Sons Rejoice to Form a Cabal as They Usurp the Family Fortune

Word was sent by Lady Wang that she wished to discuss matters with Baochai. When Baoyu heard that a monk was waiting outside, he hurried out alone, shouting in confusion, "Where is my Master?" He called out several times, but there was no sign of the monk. He had to go out to the front, where he found Li Gui blocking the monk's way and not letting him in. Baoyu said, "The Mistress has asked me to invite the Master inside." Li Gui then relaxed his grip, and the monk walked in, swaying this way and that. Baoyu saw that the monk's appearance was exactly as he had seen at the moment of his death. He began to understand and stepped forward to bow, saying repeatedly, "Master, this disciple has been tardy in welcoming you." The monk said, "I don't need your hospitality. I only want silver. Give it to me and I'll be on my way." This hardly sounded like the talk of a man of true enlightenment. Seeing the monk's scabby head and his filthy, tattered clothes, Baoyu thought to himself, "The ancients said, 'A true man does not reveal his true form; he who reveals his true form is no true man.' I must not pass up this opportunity because of appearances. I'll offer him the silver and try to sound him out at the same time." So he said, "Master, there's no need to be impatient. My mother is making arrangements at the moment. Please sit down and wait a little while. May I ask, Master, have you come from the Land of Illusion?" The monk said, "What Land of Illusion? It's simply a matter of coming from the place of coming and going to the place of going. I have come to return your jade to you. Let me ask you: where did the jade come from?" Baoyu was at a loss for an answer. The monk said with a smile, "If you don't even know your own origins, why ask me?" Baoyu was naturally intelligent and had already been enlightened; he had long seen through the vanities of the mortal world. But he did not yet know his own innermost nature. When the monk asked about the jade, it was as if he had been struck on the head with a club. He said, "You needn't trouble about the silver. I'll give you the jade back instead." The monk said with a smile, "It is time for you to return it to me."

Baoyu said nothing in reply but rushed inside. He went straight to his own quarters, where he found that Baochai and Xiren had both gone to Lady Wang's apartments. He hurried to his bedside, took the jade, and came back out. Xiren ran right into him, bumping squarely into his chest, and gave her quite a fright. "The Lady said you were doing well sitting there with the monk," she said. "She's planning to give him some silver. Why have you come back?"

Baoyu said, "Go quickly and tell the Lady there's no need to prepare any silver. I'll just give him back this jade."

Xiren, hearing this, quickly pulled Baoyu back. "This simply won't do! That jade is your very life. If he takes it away, you'll fall ill again."

Baoyu said, "I won't fall ill anymore. I already have a heart. What use do I have for that jade?"

He shook Xiren off and tried to leave. Xiren, frantic, chased after him, shouting, "Come back! I have something to say to you."

Baoyu turned his head. "There's nothing left to say."

Xiren threw all propriety aside. She ran and shouted at the same time: "Last time the jade was lost, it nearly cost me my life! Now that we've only just got it back, if you take it away, you won't survive and I won't either! If you want to give it back, you'll have to kill me first!"

She caught up with him and grabbed him tight. Baoyu lost his temper. "I'll give it back whether you die or whether you don't!"

He pushed Xiren away with all his strength and pulled free. But Xiren had wrapped both hands around Baoyu's sash and would not let go. She sat on the ground crying and shouting.

The maids inside heard the commotion and rushed out. Seeing the state of both of them, they heard Xiren crying, "Quick, go tell the Lady—the Second Master Bao wants to give the jade back to the monk!"

A maid flew off to report to Lady Wang. Baoyu, even more furious now, tried to pry Xiren's hands apart, but she endured the pain and held on. Zijuan, inside the room, heard that Baoyu wanted to give the jade away. This frightened her more than anyone else. She forgot all her usual coolness toward Baoyu and rushed out to help hold him.

Baoyu, though a man and strong enough to throw and strike, found it hard to free himself with two people clinging to him for dear life. He sighed and said, "For the sake of a piece of jade, you hold on so desperately. If I were to leave by myself, what then?"

When Xiren and Zijuan heard this, they burst into loud wailing. Just as the struggle seemed endless, Lady Wang and Baochai hurried in. Seeing the scene, Lady Wang cried out through her tears, "Baoyu, have you gone mad again?"

Seeing that Lady Wang had arrived, Baoyu knew he could not get away. He forced a smile and said, "It's nothing. Why must you trouble yourself, Lady? They always make such a fuss over nothing. I told you that monk is unreasonable—he insists on ten thousand taels of silver, not a single one less. I came in angry to take this jade and give it back to him. I'll tell him it's a fake—what use is the jade anyway? When he sees that we don't treasure it, we can just give him whatever and be done with it."

Lady Wang said, "If you truly meant to give it back, that would be one thing. Why didn't you make it clear to them, making them carry on with all that crying and shouting?"

Baochai said, "If that's the case, it might still work. If you really gave him the jade, and the monk is somewhat strange, and giving it to him caused trouble in the household, wouldn't that be a disaster? As for money, even if I have to pawn my jewelry and ornaments, it should be enough."

Lady Wang listened and said, "Very well. Let's do it that way."

Baoyu made no reply. Baochai stepped forward and took the jade from Baoyu's hand. "You need not go out. I'll give him the money with the Lady."

Baoyu said, "It's fine not to return the jade, but I still need to see him face to face."

Xiren and the others still refused to let go, but Baochai was decisive. "Let go of him and let him go."

Xiren had no choice but to release him. Baoyu smiled and said, "So all of you value the jade more than the person! Since you've let me go, I'll follow him and leave. Let's see how you manage with nothing but that piece of jade!"

Xiren's anxiety flared up again, and she tried to pull him back. But with Lady Wang and Baochai present, she could not be too forward. Just then, Baoyu pulled free and left. Xiren quickly called to a young maid to go to the third gate and send word to Beiming: "Tell the men outside to keep an eye on the Second Master. He's gone a bit mad."

The maid agreed and went out.

Lady Wang and Baochai came in and sat down. They asked Xiren about the circumstances of her coming, and Xiren recounted everything Baoyu had said in detail. Lady Wang and Baochai were greatly unsettled. They again sent someone out to instruct the servants to wait attentively and listen to what the monk might say. A little maid came back in to report to Lady Wife Wang: "The Second Master really seems to have gone mad. The pages outside say that since the women inside wouldn't give him the jade, he couldn't do anything about it. Now he's come out of the house and is begging that monk to take him away."

Lady Wang, upon hearing this, said: "This simply won't do! What did that monk say?"

The little maid replied: "The monk said he wanted the jade, not the person."

Baochai said: "He doesn't want silver anymore?"

The little maid said: "I didn't hear him say so. Later the monk and the Second Master talked and laughed together—there was quite a lot of talk that the pages outside couldn't make heads or tails of."

Lady Wang said: "You muddled creature! If you couldn't understand it, you should have repeated what you heard anyway." She then told the little maid: "Go and call that page in here."

The little maid hurried out and called the page in. He stood below the covered walkway and bowed through the window. Lady Wang then asked: "If you didn't understand what the monk and the Second Master were saying, couldn't you at least repeat what you heard?"

The page replied: "We only heard talk about 'Great Waste Mountain' and 'Blue Ridge Peak,' and also something about the 'Realm of Grand Vacuity' and 'severing mortal ties.'"

Lady Wang heard this and didn't understand either. When Baochai heard it, her eyes widened in shock and she was rendered completely speechless. She was just about to send someone out to drag Baoyu back inside when Baoyu walked in with a smile on his face, saying: "It's settled! It's settled!"

Baochai was still in a daze.

Lady Wang said: "What are you raving about in your wild and crazed way?"

Baoyu said: "When I speak properly, you say I'm mad. That monk and I were originally acquainted. He simply wanted to come see me once. He never really wanted silver—it was just a matter of cultivating a good karmic connection. So after explaining, he drifted away. Isn't this a fine outcome!"

Lady Wang was not convinced. She again asked the page through the window. The page hurried out to ask the gatekeepers and came back to report: "The monk has indeed left. He asked us to tell the Ladies not to worry. He said he didn't want silver in the first place—he only wanted Master Bao to visit him from time to time. Everything will follow its own karmic conditions and will naturally work out according to principle."

Lady Wang said: "So he was a good monk after all. Did you ask where he lives?"

The gatekeeper said: "I did ask, sir. He said our Second Master would know."

Lady Wang asked Baoyu: "Where does he actually live?"

Baochai said with a smile: "This place—you could say it's far, or you could say it's near."

Before he could finish, Baochai said: "Wake up, I beg you! Don't keep losing yourself in all this. At present, your Father and Mother dote on you alone, and your Father has instructed you to pursue scholarly honor and advancement."

Baoyu said: "Isn't that exactly what I'm talking about! You don't know the saying—'When one son enters monastic life, seven ancestors ascend to heaven.'"

When Lady Wang heard this, she was overcome with grief and said: "What good fortune has our family had—one Fourth Sister was always talking about becoming a nun, and now another one has appeared. What am I living for, carrying on like this!"

Saying this, she burst into loud weeping. Seeing Lady Wang so distressed, Baochai could only step forward and try hard to comfort her.

Baoyu said with a smile: "I made one playful remark, and Mother takes it seriously again."

Lady Wang stopped her weeping and said: "Can one speak such words carelessly!"

While they were in the midst of this commotion, a maid came in to report: "Master Lian has returned. His face is greatly changed. He asks the Lady to come back to speak with him."

Lady Wang was again alarmed. She said: "Never mind formalities—tell him to come in. His younger aunt is an old relation; there's no need for her to withdraw."

Jia Lian came in, saw Lady Wang, and paid his respects. Baochai stepped forward and also inquired after Jia Lian's well-being.

Jia Lian replied: "I just received a letter from my father saying he is gravely ill and asking me to go at once. If I delay, I'm afraid I won't be able to see him again." As he said this, tears fell from his eyes.

Lady Wang said: "What illness does the letter describe?"

Jia Lian said: "It says he started with a cold, but now it has turned into consumption. The situation is critical. He specially sent a man who has traveled day and night without stopping. He said that if I delay even another day or two, I won't be able to see him. So I've come to report to the Lady—your nephew really must go at once. It's only that there's no one to look after the household. Though Qiang'er and Yun'er are rather muddled, they are at least men—if something happens outside, they can relay messages. At my own home there's nothing much going on. Qiu Tong cried and shouted every day that she didn't want to stay here, so I had her family come and take her away—which saved Ping'er a good deal of grief. As for little Qiaojie, though no one is looking after her, fortunately Ping'er's heart isn't too unkind. The girl is sensible too, though her temperament is even more stubborn than her mother's. I ask the Lady to discipline her from time to time."

As he said this, his eyes reddened, and he quickly pulled down the small silk sachet that hung at his waist—the one holding betel nut—to wipe his eyes.

Lady Wang said: "With her own grandmother right here, why entrust her to me?"

Jia Lian said softly: "If the Lady speaks like that, your nephew deserves to be beaten to death. There's nothing more to say—I only ask that the Lady continue to be kind to your nephew to the very end."

Saying this, he knelt down.

Lady Wang's eyes also reddened. She said: "Get up quickly. What is this, you and I talking like this? Just one thing—the child is grown now. If something should happen to your father and there's a delay, or if a suitable match should present itself, it would still be—"

"Since you will not be here, your wife will make the decisions, then?" Jia Lian said, "The ladies are in charge at home now, naturally they will make the decisions. There is no need to wait for me." Lady Wang said, "Since you are going, write a memorial and send it to the Second Master. Tell him there is no one managing the household, we do not know how your father is, and ask the Second Master to bring the old lady's funeral matters to a swift conclusion and return quickly." Jia Lian assented, saying "Yes," and was just about to go out when he turned back and said again, "Our household servants are still sufficient for service, but without anyone in the garden it is too empty. Bao Yong has gone with their master. Second Master Xue has moved from the house where Madam Xue lived into his own house. All the buildings along the garden are vacant and terribly lacking in oversight. You will still need to have someone inspect them regularly, madam. That Green Bower Nunnery was originally on our family's land, but now no one knows where Miao-yu has gone. The principal nun in charge of her affairs does not dare make decisions on her own and has asked that someone from the mansion be sent to manage things." Lady Wang said, "We cannot even manage our own affairs properly, how can we take on outside matters? On no account let this reach Fourth Miss's ears, for if she learns of it, she will start clamoring about her wish to become a nun again. Think what sort of family ours is—for a perfectly good girl to become a nun, how could that be tolerated!" Jia Lian said, "If you had not mentioned it, nephew would not have dared speak either, but Fourth Sister is after all from the East Mansion and has no parents. Her own brother is away, and her sister-in-law has little influence. Nephew has heard that she has tried to do away with herself several times. Since her mind is already made up, if we force her and she actually takes her own life some day, that would be even worse than becoming a nun." Lady Wang nodded and said, "This matter is truly a difficult one for me to bear. I cannot decide it either—let her sister-in-law handle it."

Jia Lian spoke a few more words before coming out. He summoned the household servants and gave them clear instructions, wrote a letter, and packed his luggage. Ping-er and the others could not help giving him many parting words of caution. Only Chieh-chieh was inconsolably grief-stricken. Jia Lian also wished to entrust Wang Jen with looking after her, but Chieh-chieh was unwilling. When she learned that he had entrusted the two Yun and Ch'iang on the outside, she was even more displeased, though she could not say so. She could only see her father off and, being ever so careful, follow Ping-er in daily life. Feng-er and Little Ping, since Sister Feng had died, asked leave on grounds of mourning or illness. Ping-er wanted to bring a girl from home to keep Chieh-chieh company and also to look after her. She thought it over but could no one. Only Hsi Luan and Fourth Sister had been old Lady Jia's favorites, but Fourth Sister had recently married, and Hsi Luan too was betrothed and would be married any day. So nothing came of it.

Now Jia Yun and Jia Ch'iang, having seen Jia Lian off, came in to see the two ladies, Xing and Lady Wang. They took turns staying in the outer study, and during the day they caroused with the servants. Sometimes they found some friends and drank in turn, even going so far as to gamble, and those inside knew nothing of it. One day Elder Brother Xing and Wang Jen came and saw that Jia Yun and Jia Ch'iang were living there. Knowing it was lively, they used the pretext of looking after things to frequent the outer study, where they set up gambling parties and drank wine. Of the few proper servants, Jia Cheng had taken several with him, and Jia Lian had followed with several more. Only the sons and nephews of the Lai, Lin and other families remained. These young men, who had lived off their parents' fortune and were used to eating and drinking, knew nothing of managing a household or making plans. Moreover, with their elders all away from home, they were horses without a halter, and with two such go-betweens egging them on, none refused to join in. This uproar turned the whole mansion of Duke Ning-kuo upside down, inside and out. Jia Ch'iang even thought of trying to lead Pao-yu astray, but Jia Yun stopped him. "That Master Pao is a luckless man—leave him alone. One year I told him of an absolutely splendid match. The girl's father was a revenue official in the provinces, and they had several pawnshops at home. The girl herself was more beautiful than a fairy. I carefully and painstakingly wrote him a letter, but who would have thought he had no such fortune—" Here he glanced about to make sure no one was near and went on: "He had long been intimate with our Second Aunt. Haven't you heard? There was also a Miss Lin, who died of lovesickness over him—everyone knows that. But so much for that, each person has their own fate. Who would have expected that because of this matter he would take offense at me and barely speak to me? He assumes that whoever it is must be trying to borrow someone else's influence." Jia Ch'iang nodded when he heard this and gave up the idea.

He and Jia Huan did not yet know that, ever since Baoyu had encountered that monk, he had been determined to sever all worldly ties. On the one hand, he dared not assert himself before Lady Wang and had already grown rather distant from Baochai, Xiren, and the others. The maids did not understand this and still tried to coax him into their games, but Baoyu paid them no heed whatsoever. He likewise paid no mind to household affairs. When Lady Wang and Baochai urged him to study, he would pretend to apply himself to his books, all the while thinking of the mechanism by which that monk had led him to that fairy realm. In his eyes, everyone he encountered was a vulgar creature. He found it hard to bear staying at home, and in his spare time he would chat with Xichun. The two of them hit it off, and their shared inclination grew all the more certain. They paid no attention at all to Jia Huan, Jia Lan, or the others. Jia Huan, finding his father away from home and his mother, Conc Zhao, already dead, and with Lady Wang paying him little heed, fell in with Jia Qiang. It was Caoyun who tried to counsel him regularly, only to be reviled and cursed by Jia Huan in return. Yuchuan, seeing that Baoyu's madness had grown even worse, had long since spoken to her mother and asked to be released from service. Now Baoyu and Jia Huan, the two brothers, each had his own peculiar temperament, and their behavior had reached the point that no one wished to have anything to do with them. Only Jia Lan, following his mother's example, applied himself vigorously with great diligence, composing essays and sending them to the school to seek old Dai Ru's instruction. Since Dai Ru had of late been bedridden with illness, Jia Lan simply exerted himself on his own. Li Wan, being by nature quiet and restrained, apart from paying her respects to Lady Wang and occasionally visiting Baochai, set foot nowhere else—she did nothing but watch over Jia Lan's studies. Thus, though the Rong Mansion still housed no small number of people, each went his or her own way, and no one was willing to take charge of anyone else. Jia Huan, Jia Qiang, and their sort behaved more and more outrageously, even resorting to pawning and selling things on the sly—there was no telling what they might do next. Jia Huan went so far as frequenting prostitutes and gambling recklessly, stopping at nothing.

One day, Uncle Xing and Wang Ren were drinking together in the Jia family's outer study. In high spirits, they called in a few singing girls to drink and sing while urging them on. Jia Qiang said, "You're making too much of a racket. Let me propose a drinking game." The others said, "Go ahead." Jia Qiang said, "Let's play 'passing the cup by the moon.' I'll start with the character 'moon,' and whoever the count lands on must drink. They also need to provide a 'face' and a 'base' for the cup. You must all follow the rules of the game master. Anyone who doesn't comply gets three cups as a penalty." Everyone agreed. Jia Qiang drank a cup to start the game and then said, "Flying cups and drunken moon." Counting along, the cup landed on Jia Huan. Jia Qiang said, "For the face, give me the character 'cassia.'" Jia Huan said, "Cold dew silently wets the cassia flowers." Jia Qiang said, "For the base, give me the character 'fragrant.'" Jia Huan said, "Heavenly fragrance drifts beyond the clouds." Uncle Xing said, "No fun, no fun! What do you know about characters? Putting on airs like a scholar! This isn't entertainment—it's torture. Let's forget it all. Better to play finger-guessing instead. Loser drinks and loser sings—let's call it 'bitter within bitter.' If someone can't sing, they can tell a joke instead, as long as it's funny." Everyone said, "Fine." So they started guessing wildly. Wang Ren lost, drank a cup, and sang a song. Everyone applauded, and they guessed again. One of the singing girls lost and sang something about "Miss, Miss, so graceful and fair." Then Uncle Xing lost, and the others wanted him to sing. He said, "I can't sing. Let me tell a joke instead." Jia Qiang said, "If it's not funny, you'll still be penalized." Uncle Xing drank a cup and said, "Listen, everyone: In a village there was a Temple of the Primordial Emperor, with a Shrine of the Earth God beside it. The Primordial Emperor would often call the Earth God over to chat. One day, the Temple of the Primordial Emperor was robbed, and he told the Earth God to investigate. The Earth God reported, 'There are no thieves in this area. It must have been your divine generals who weren't careful—an outsider stole the goods.' The Primordial Emperor said, 'Nonsense! You're the Earth God of this place. If there's a robbery, who else should I ask? Instead of catching the thief, you blame my divine generals for being careless?' The Earth God reported, 'Even if they were careless, ultimately it's because the temple's feng shui is no good.' The Primordial Emperor said, 'So you can read feng shui?' The Earth God said, 'Let this humble deity take a look.' The Earth God looked around for a while and then reported back, 'Behind where Your Lordship sits, there are two red doors that aren't secure. Behind where I sit, there's a solid wall, so naturally nothing gets lost. If Your Lordship's back were also changed to a wall, that would solve it.' The Primordial Emperor thought this made sense and told his divine generals to send men to build a wall. The divine generals sighed and said, 'We don't even have a single stick of incense as offering money these days—where would we get bricks, mortar, and labor to build a wall?' The Primordial Emperor had no choice and told the divine generals to use magic, but none of them had any ideas. Then the Turtle General, who stood at the Primordial Emperor's feet, rose up and said, 'You're all useless. I have an idea. Take down the red doors, and at night use my belly to block that doorway. Wouldn't that serve as well as a wall?' The divine generals all said, 'Good! It doesn't cost anything, and it's convenient and sturdy.' So the Turtle General took on this duty, and things were quiet for a while. But after a few days, things were stolen from the temple again. The divine generals called the Earth God and said, 'You said that once a wall was built, nothing would be lost. Now that there's a wall, why are things still being stolen?' The Earth God said, 'The wall wasn't built solidly.' The divine generals said, 'Go take a look.' The Earth God looked and saw it was indeed a fine wall—how could there still be thefts? He ran his hand over it and said, 'I thought it was a real wall—who knew it was a fake wall!'" Everyone burst out laughing. Jia Qiang couldn't help laughing either and said, "Silly Uncle, well played! I didn't insult you—why did you insult me? Quick, bring a cup and penalize me with a big one." Uncle Xing drank, already somewhat tipsy. Everyone drank a few more cups, and they all got drunk. Uncle Xing spoke ill of his sister, and Wang Ren spoke ill of his sister, both saying vicious, poisonous things. Jia Huan, riding the wine, also spoke ill of Sister Feng—how harsh she was to us, how she trampled on us. Everyone said, "Generally speaking, a person should be kind. Look at Miss Feng—she relied on the Old Lady's power, but now her tail's singed. She's left with only one daughter, and she'll probably get her comeuppance in this life." Jia Yun thought of how Sister Feng had treated him badly, and remembering how Qiaojie cried whenever she saw him, he also joined in the slander. Jia Qiang still said, "Let's just drink—why talk about other people?" The two singing girls said, "How old is this young lady? What does she look like?" Jia Qiang said, "Her looks are very fine. She's about thirteen or fourteen years old." The singing girls said, "It's a pity someone like that was born into a family like this. If she'd been born into a humble family, her parents and brothers could have become officials and made a fortune." Everyone said, "How so?" The singing girls said, "Now there's a foreign prince who is most sentimental and wants to choose a consort. If she fits the requirements, her parents and brothers could all go with her. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" No one paid much attention, except that Wang Ren's heart stirred slightly, and he went on drinking.

Two men from the Lai and Lin families walked in.

“What a fine time you gentlemen are having!” they said.

Everyone stood up. “How come you, Number One and Number Three, only turn up now? We’ve been waiting for you.”

“We heard a rumor this morning that some fresh trouble had broken out in the family,” the two explained. “We were worried, so we went to make inquiries, but it turned out to have nothing to do with our branch.”

“Then it’s all over, why didn’t you come at once?”

“Although it’s not our branch, we’re still involved somehow. Do you know who it is? Magistrate Jia Yucun. When we went in today, we found him in chains and heard that he was to be sent to the Court of Justice for trial. As he’s often at our house we thought something might be up, so we went along to find out.”

Jia Yun remarked, “It’s just as well that our Number One is so thoughtful. You’d better sit down and have a drink first.”

After some polite protests they sat down and accepted a cup of wine.

“This Magistrate Jia Yucun is an able, pushing man,” they said. “He’d risen to quite a high rank, but he’s greedy for money. He was accused of extorting from his subordinates. His Majesty today is most enlightened and merciful, but the word ‘greedy’ infuriates him. If an official has ruined the people or used his position to bully decent folk, the Emperor is furious and orders his arrest. If the charges stick, Jia is done for. But if there’s nothing in them, the man who brought the charge will be in trouble too. It really is a good time to be in office—anyone with luck can get a post.”

“Your elder brother is a lucky man,” said the others. “He’s a magistrate now, isn’t that good enough?”

“My brother may be a magistrate,” the Lai man replied, “but I’m not sure how long he’ll keep the position, judging by his behavior.”

“Are his hands too long?”

The Lai man nodded and raised his cup to drink.

“What other news have you heard in the yamen?” they asked.

“Nothing else. We heard that quite a few pirates on the coast have been captured and sent to the court for trial. It was discovered that some of them had been hiding in the city, gathering information and seizing chances to rob people. But now it’s known that the gentlemen at court are all scholars and warriors, eager to serve the country. Wherever they go, they wipe out the pirates.”

“You’ve heard that some were in the city. Do you know if the robbery at our house has come out in the trial?”

“We didn’t hear that. But somebody vaguely mentioned that a man from the interior committed a crime in the city, abducting a woman to take her to sea. When she resisted, the pirate killed him. As he was trying to get through a pass, soldiers captured him and executed him on the spot.”

“Could that be Miaoyu from Green Bower Nunnery, who was carried off?” they asked.

“It must be!” cried Jia Huan.

“How do you know?”

“That creature Miaoyu is most disgusting. She’s always putting on airs, but the minute she sees Baoyu her face lights up. Whenever I meet her, she won’t look me straight in the eye. If it is her, I’ll be only too glad.”

“There must have been many kidnappers. Why should it be her?”

“There’s some basis for it,” Jia Yun said. “The other day someone told me that a Taoist nun in her nunnery had a dream in which she saw Miaoyu being killed by her abductors.”

“Dreams don’t count,” they said with a laugh.

“Never mind dreams,” said Uncle Xing. “Let’s eat quickly. We’ll have a big gamble tonight.”

This met with general approval. They finished their meal and started a high-stakes gamble.

After the third watch, there was a commotion inside. Fourth Sister and Madam Zhen had quarreled so fiercely that the girl had cut off her hair. She had kowtowed to Lady Xing and Lady Wang to ask permission to become a nun. They must find a place for her, she declared; if they refused, she would kill herself on the spot.

As the two ladies did not know what to do, they summoned Qiang and Yun.

Jia Yun realized that this was the outcome of an idea she’d conceived when she had been left in charge of the house, and that she could not be talked out of it. He consulted Jia Qiang.

“The ladies have sent for us, but we can’t make the decision, nor is it right for us to do so. We can only try to talk her round. If she won’t listen, we’ll have to leave it to her. Let’s write a letter to Second Uncle Lian to relieve ourselves of responsibility.”

Having agreed on this, they went in to see Lady Xing and Lady Wang and made a show of trying to dissuade Xichun. But she was determined to leave the world and refused to go out. All she asked was a quiet room in which to recite sutras and worship Buddha.

When Madam You saw that the two young men would not take the decision, and was afraid that Xichun might kill herself, she made the decision herself.

“I’m the one who should take the blame,” she said. “People will say I couldn’t get on with my sister-in-law and forced her to become a nun. But she can’t be allowed to leave the house. Since the ladies are all here, I’ll make the decision. Tell Qiang to write to your elder brother and Second Uncle Lian.”

Jia Qiang and the others agreed. Whether the two ladies accepted this or not will be told in the next chapter.