Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Third Episode: Jial Yucun Reinstated at Jinling; Lin Daiyu Taken in at the Rongguo Mansion

Now, when Yucun turned about in haste, he saw that the person was no other than one Zhang Rugui, a former colleague who had been impeached and dismissed from office in the same case. Zhang was a native of the region, and after his dismissal had retired to private life here. Having now learned that a memorial to the capital requesting the reinstatement of former officials had been approved, he was everywhere seeking influence and looking for a way forward when he happened to encounter Yucun, and so offered his congratulations with alacrity. The two men exchanged greetings, and Zhang Rugui told Yucun of the news. Yucun was naturally overjoyed. After exchanging a few hurried words, they took leave of each other and went their separate ways home. When Leng Zixing heard this, he at once offered his counsel, urging Yucun to ask Lin Ruhai for help, and through him to seek the assistance of Jia Zheng in the capital. Yucun accepted his suggestion, and after taking his leave returned to his quarters, where he hurriedly searched through the gazettes to verify the report.

The next day, he waited upon Ruhai and laid the matter before him. Ruhai replied, "By a fortunate coincidence, since the passing of my late wife, my mother-in-law in the capital, being concerned that my daughter has no one to care for and educate her, has already sent boats with attendants to fetch her. But as my daughter had not yet fully recovered, the journey was postponed. Now, I have long wished to repay the kindness you have shown in instructing her, and having this opportunity, how could I not do my utmost to express my gratitude? Set your mind at rest. I have already made my preparations and have written a letter of recommendation, which I will entrust to my brother-in-law, entreating him to do all he can to assist you. This should, in some small measure, convey my sincere regard. As for any expenses that may be customary, I have explained this clearly in my letter to my brother-in-law, so you need have no further concerns on that account." Yucun bowed repeatedly, his thanks knowing no end, and then inquired, "May I ask what office your esteemed relative now holds? I fear I am too rough and ready, and dare not intrude hastily upon the capital." Ruhai smiled and said, "Speaking of my humble kinsman, he and you, sir, share the same lineage. He is a grandson of Duke Rong. My elder brother-in-law now holds the hereditary rank of General of the First Class, and is named She, styled Enhou. My second brother-in-law is named Zheng, styled Cunzhou, and is currently serving as a Department Secretary in the Ministry of Works. He is humble, courteous, and generous in character, much inheriting the manner of his grandfather. He is no foppish, superficial official, and it is for this reason that I have written to trouble him with this request. Otherwise, I would not only be sullying your own integrity, sir, but I myself would consider such a thing beneath me." When Yucun heard this, he now believed fully what Zixing had told him the previous day, and thanked Lin Ruhai once more. Ruhai then said, "I have already chosen the second day of next month for my daughter's journey to the capital. If you were to travel on the same day, would that not be convenient for you both?" Yucun assented obediently, feeling exceedingly pleased within. Ruhai then made arrangements for parting gifts and a farewell banquet, all of which Yucun accepted.

As for the young pupil Daiyu, she had only just recovered, and could not bear to leave her father. However, her grandmother had insistently urged her to go, and Ruhai added, "Your father is approaching fifty, and has no intention of taking another wife. Moreover, you are frequently ill, and still very young. You have no mother above to nurture you, and no sisters or brothers below to support you. If you go now to stay with your grandmother and your aunts and cousins, it will ease the anxiety I feel on your account. Why then do you say you will not go?" When Daiyu heard this, she shed tears, took leave of her father, and departed in the company of her nurse and several elderly women from the Rong household, embarking upon a boat. Yucun had a separate boat, with two young servants, and followed in Daiyu's wake.

In due course they reached the capital and entered the sacred city. Yucun first adjusted his robes and cap, and taking his young servants with him, presented a card identifying himself as a nephew of the clan at the gate of the Rongguo Mansion. By then Jia Zheng had already read his brother-in-law's letter and at once invited him inside to meet. Observing that Yucun was a man of imposing appearance and refined speech, and being himself a great lover of scholars, courteous to the learned, and eager to assist those in distress—much in the manner of his ancestors—and considering moreover that this was a request from his brother-in-law, Jia Zheng treated Yucun with even greater distinction than usual. He exerted himself to the utmost in assisting from within, and when the matter was memorialized to the throne, Yucun was lightly granted a reinstatement and a vacancy to await. In less than two months, a vacancy arose in Yingtian Prefecture at Jinling, and Yucun was appointed to fill it. He took leave of Jia Zheng and set out for his post on the appointed day. But of this, no more.

Daiyu had, in fact, been expected. Since the day she left her boat and stepped ashore, a sedan-chair from the Rongguo mansion had been waiting for her, together with carts to carry her luggage.

Daiyu constantly recalled her mother's words: her maternal grandmother's house was not like other houses. Even the few third-rank servant women she had seen on her arrival had an air of luxury about their clothing and daily expenses—let alone what she would see when she reached the house itself. So she was careful at every step, attentive at every moment, unwilling to say a word more than was necessary or take a step more than was needed, for fear of being laughed at.

Once in the chair, she peered through the gauze window at the city. The bustling streets, the dense crowds of people—all was different from anywhere else she had known. After half a day's journey, she suddenly saw two large stone lions crouching on the north side of the street, and three gates with animal-head ornaments, in front of which sat ten or so richly dressed men. The central gate was shut; people entered and exited only through the side gates to the east and west. Above the central gate hung a plaque with five large characters: *CHìZÀO NÍNGGUÓFŪ*—"Built by Imperial Command, the Ningguo Mansion." Daiyu thought: This must be the house of the eldest branch of my grandmother's family.

With this thought, she continued westward. Before long, there was another set of three gates, just the same—and this was the Rongguo Mansion. They did not enter through the main gate, but only through the western side gate. The bearers carried the chair inside, went the distance of a bow-shot, and as they reached the point where they would have turned, they set it down and withdrew. The older women behind had already dismounted from their chairs and hurried forward. Three or four young servants, aged seventeen or eighteen and neatly dressed, came forward and lifted the chair again. The women on foot followed alongside until they reached a gate hung with trailing flowers, where they stopped. The young servants withdrew, and the older women raised the curtain of the chair and helped Daiyu alight.

Leaning on the old woman's arm, Daiyu entered the gate with the trailing flowers. On either side were covered walkways that wound around the courtyard; in the center was a passage hall, where a large screen of marble set in a rosewood frame stood. Passing the screen, she came to a small three-roomed hall, and behind that was the main courtyard. Directly ahead were five upper rooms, all with carved beams and painted rafters, and on both sides, linked by corridors that wound through the hills, were chambers hung with all manner of parrots, thrushes, and other birds. On the terrace sat several maids dressed in red and green. As soon as they saw them coming, they hurried forward with smiles and said, "The Old Lady was just speaking of you—how timely your arrival is!" Four of them vied to raise the curtain, and a voice was heard announcing: "Miss Lin has arrived."

As Daiyu entered the room, she saw an old lady with silver-white hair being supported by two people who came forward to greet her. Daiyu knew at once that this was her grandmother. She was about to bow when her grandmother seized her and drew her into her bosom, crying out between sobs, "My precious darling, my flesh and blood!" All those standing below covered their faces and wept, and Daiyu herself could not stop crying. After a time, the others gradually comforted them and calmed them down, and then Daiyu paid her formal respects to her grandmother. This was the Grand Lady Shi whom Leng Zixing had spoken of—the mother of Jia She and Jia Zheng.

The Lady Jia now pointed them out to Daiyu one by one: "This is your first uncle's wife. This is your second uncle's wife. This is the wife of your eldest cousin, Zhu." Daiyu greeted each of them in turn.

Then the Lady Jia said, "Ask the young ladies to come. Since a guest has arrived from afar today, there is no need to go to school." Two of the servants withdrew after acknowledging the order.

Presently, three nurse-maids and five or six maids ushered in three girls. The first was slightly plump, of medium build, with cheeks like fresh lychees and a nose like creamy goose-fat—gentle and quiet, one look at her inspired warmth and affection. The second had narrow shoulders and a slender waist, a willow-leaf figure, an egg-shaped face, beautiful eyes and elegantly arched brows, glances that seemed to fly with spirit—so rich in wit and refinement that one forgot all vulgarity. The third was not yet fully grown, her features still small. But their hair ornaments, dresses, and jackets were all alike in style.

Daiyu rose hastily to greet them, and after they had exchanged introductions, they all sat down. The maids poured tea. For a while they spoke only of how Daiyu's mother had fallen ill, how doctors had been called and medicine prescribed, how she had been given the last rites and buried. The Lady Jia could not help being moved to grief again. "Of all my children," she said, "the one I loved most was your mother. Now she has left me first, and I did not even see her face once more. Now that I see you, how can I not be heartbroken!" She drew Daiyu into her arms once more and sobbed. The others hastened to comfort and reason with her, and gradually she calmed down.

Those present observed that though Daiyu was young in years, her manner and conversation were refined; though her frame and features were frail and delicate, she had a natural grace and charm. They could tell she suffered from some constitutional deficiency.

"What medicine do you usually take?" they asked. "Why not have it treated urgently?"

Daiyu replied: "It has always been like this with me. I have been taking medicine ever since I began to eat, and I have never stopped to this day. I have seen many famous doctors and tried many prescriptions, but none has been effective. When I was three years old, a scabby-headed monk came and said he wanted to take me away to become a nun. My parents naturally refused. He then said: 'If you cannot bear to part with her, I fear her illness will never be cured in this lifetime. If she is to recover, she must never, from this day on, hear any crying. Apart from her parents, she must have no contact with any relatives or friends outside the family, and only then will she pass through this life in peace.' Raving like that, he spoke such wild nonsense that no one paid him any heed. At present, I am still taking Ginseng Nourishing Vigor Pills."

The Lady Jia said, "That is just right. I am having pills compounded here. I shall tell them to prepare an extra batch for you."

Before the words were still out of his mouth, a peal of laughter was heard from the back courtyard and a voice cried, "I'm late! I've missed our guest from afar!"

Daiyu thought this strange. "Everyone here is so silent and respectful, so proper and dignified. Who can this be, so rambunctious and ill-mannered?"

Even as she wondered, she saw a group of maids and serving-women escorting someone in through the back door.

This person's dress was quite different from that of the other young ladies. She was resplendent in embroidered finery, like a goddess from heaven: on her head she wore a golden filigree headdress clustered with pearls and precious stones, pinned with a five-phoenix coronet hung with sun-facing pendants; around her neck was a ruby-red gold necklace coiled with chi-dragons; at her waist was tied a palace-green silk sash, with a pair of matching rose-colored mandarin-duck pendants; she wore a close-fitting crimson foreign-silk jacket embroidered with gold butterflies flitting among flowers, over which was a coat of slate-blue squirrel fur with multicolored silk tapestry; and below, a skirt of imported crepe scattered with embroidered flowers. Her eyes were almond-shaped phoenix eyes with pointed corners; her brows, willowy leaves tilted at the tips. She was slender and graceful, with a voluptuous figure. Her powdered face held a springtime warmth yet concealed a latent authority; her cinnabar lips had not yet parted but her smile was already apparent.

Daiyu quickly rose to greet her.

The Lady Dowager laughed. "You don't know her. She's what we call around here a rascal and a ne'er-do-well. In the south they call such a person a 'pepper-pot.' You may just call her 'Peppery Feng.'"

Daiyu was not sure how to address her, when the other girls hurriedly told her, "This is Sister-in-law Lian."

Though Daiyu had never met her, she had heard her mother mention that Jia Lian, the elder uncle Jia She's son, had married a niece of the second uncle's wife Lady Wang. She had been raised as a boy from childhood, and her school-room name was Wang Xifeng.

Daiyu quickly forced a smile and greeted her, addressing her as "Sister-in-law."

This Xifeng took Daiyu's hand and looked her up and down carefully, then led her back to sit beside the Lady Dowager. "Well!" she cried. "I never knew there could be such a beauty in the world! But I see her today! And she has such an air about her—she's not like the Old Ancestor's grandchild on the daughter's side at all, but a true-born granddaughter. No wonder the Old Ancestor can't stop thinking of her and talking about her every minute of the day! It's just so hard on my poor sister that her mother should have died!" And she dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.

The Lady Dowager laughed. "I was just feeling better when you came to upset me. Your cousin has come a long way and she's delicate. I've just succeeded in calming her—don't bring that up again."

At once Xifeng switched from grief to joy. "Why, of course! Now that I've seen my cousin, my whole heart is full of her. I was so happy and so sad that I forgot the Old Ancestor. I deserve a good slap! I deserve a good slap!" And taking Daiyu's hand again, she asked, "How old are you, cousin? Have you started school? What medicine are you taking? You mustn't be homesick here. If there's anything you want to eat or any toy you'd like, just tell me. If the maids or old nurses don't behave, just tell me that too."

She turned to the serving-women. "Have Miss Lin's things been brought in? How many people has she brought with her? Be quick and sweep out two rooms for them to rest in."

By now tea and fruit had been served. Xifeng personally handed around the tea and fruit.

Then the second aunt asked her, "Have you distributed the monthly allowances yet?"

"Yes, that's done," Xifeng replied. "I just took some people to the back storeroom to look for some silk. We searched all morning but couldn't find the kind you mentioned yesterday. Perhaps you've misremembered, ma'am?"

Lady Wang said, "Whether it's there or not doesn't matter." Then she added, "You should pick out two pieces for your cousin here to have some clothes made. Think of it tonight and send someone to fetch them tomorrow. Don't forget."

"Why, I've thought of that already," said Xifeng. "I knew Cousin Daiyu would arrive within the last day or two, so I've already set some aside. I'll send them over for your inspection when you return, ma'am."

Lady Wang smiled and nodded without a word.

The tea and refreshments had been cleared away, and the Dowager ordered two old nurses to take Dai-yu to pay her respects to her two maternal uncles. At this point, Madam Xing, wife of Jia She, rose hastily and said with a smile, "I'll take my niece over myself—it will be more convenient." The Dowager smiled and said, "Just so. Go along then, and don't bother to come back." Madam Xing acknowledged with a word of assent, took Dai-yu to take leave of Lady Wang, and they all escorted her as far as the covered passage. Passing through the gatehouse, they came to where a number of pages had already drawn up a carriage with a canopy of kingfisher-green silk. Madam Xing took Dai-yu's hand and they sat in the carriage together while the old nurses let down the blind and the pages lifted the carriage. They drew it out to a wider spot before harnessing a trained mule to it, and then passed through the west corner gate. Going east, they passed the main gate of the Rong Mansion, and then entered a black-lacquered gate, where they descended before the ceremonial gate. The pages withdrew, the carriage blind was raised, and Madam Xing, supporting Dai-yu by the hand, led her into the courtyard. Dai-yu surmised that the buildings and grounds must be a section partitioned off from the garden of the Rong Mansion. Passing through three ceremonial gates, she found that the main apartments, side rooms, covered walks, and corridors were all on a small and elegant scale, quite different in style from the spacious grandeur they had just left, and that trees and rocks were everywhere in the courtyard. They soon entered the main reception room, where a number of gorgeously dressed concubines and maids came forward to greet them. Madam Xing invited Dai-yu to sit down and sent a servant to the study to invite Jia She to receive his niece. Presently the servant returned and reported, "The Master says: 'I have been unwell these past few days, and meeting the young lady would only make us both sad, so I cannot bear to see her for the moment. Tell her not to pine for home and to follow the old Lady and her aunt, for it is the same as being at home. Her cousins may be a dull lot, but if they keep each other company, it should help to while away the time. If she has any grievancies, she should tell us and not keep them to herself.'" Dai-yu rose at once and listened respectfully to every word. After sitting a while longer, she took her leave. Madam Xing pressed her to stay for supper, but Dai-yu smilingly replied, "I ought not to refuse your kindness in offering me a meal, Aunt, but I still have to go and pay my respects to my second uncle, and it would seem disrespectful if I were to accept and then leave. Perhaps another day would be better. I hope you will forgive me." Madam Xing laughed and said, "That makes sense." She then ordered two or three nurses to escort the young lady in the same carriage with all care, and Dai-yu took her leave. Madam Xing escorted her as far as the ceremonial gate, gave a few instructions to the servants, and watched the carriage depart before returning.

Presently Dai-yu entered the Rong Mansion and descended from the carriage. The nurses led her east through a turning, then through a covered passage running east to west, and past the great hall to the south. Beyond the ceremonial gate was a large courtyard with a five-roomed main building in the center, flanked by side rooms, connected by covered passages in all directions, lofty and magnificent, quite different from the Dowager's quarters. Dai-yu realized that this was the main reception hall. A broad straight path led directly from it to the main gate. Entering the central room, she looked up and saw a large plaque inlaid with nine gold dragons on a blue-green ground. In large characters it read "Hall of Glorious Felicity," and below it in smaller characters, "Written and bestowed on Duke Jia Yuan of the Duke of Rong upon a certain date in a certain month and year," with the seal "Treasure of Imperial Calligraphy." On a large red sandalwood desk carved with dragons stood a three-foot-high bronze tripod of greenish patina from antiquity, and hanging above it was a great ink-painting of a dragon awaiting audience at court. On one side stood a gold-inlaid ritual vessel, and on the other a glass casket. On the floor below were two rows of sixteen rosewood armchairs. There was also a pair of couplets on ebony boards inlaid with silver engraving, which read:

The jewels of wisdom here shine bright as the sun and moon;

The splendor of office here gleams fresh as the mist and sunset glow.

Below, in smaller characters, was written: "Written with respectful hand by Mu Shi, hereditary Prince of Dong'an, fellow provincial, junior in the bonds of friendship."

Lady Wang, as it turned out, did not use this main reception room for her daily living and entertaining, but occupied instead three rooms on the east side of the main hall. The old nurses led Dai-yu to the door of the eastern chamber. The large kang by the window was covered with a scarlet foreign rug, and on it were arranged a large red embroidered back-rest with a gold-threaded python design, a blue-green gold-threaded python bolster, and a large dark gold-threaded python-patterned mattress. On either side stood a pair of plum-blossom-shaped foreign-lacquered small tables. On the left table were a tripod from the reign of King Wen, chopsticks, spoon, and an incense box; on the right table was a Ru-ware beauty-shaped vase containing fresh flowers, together with a tea bowl, spittoon, and other articles. On the floor to the west were four chairs in a row, each with a rose-red embroidered chair-cover and a matching footstool. On either side of the chairs stood a pair of tall side tables, on which tea bowls and vases of flowers were provided. The rest of the furnishings need not be described in detail. The old nurses invited Dai-yu to sit on the kang, where two embroidered cushions had been laid out opposite each other, but Dai-yu, judging the seating precedence, did not sit on the kang but took a seat on one of the chairs facing east. A maid of the house promptly served tea. As she sipped her tea, Dai-yu observed these maids—their dress, their clothes, their bearing and deportment—and found them indeed different from those of other families.

Before the tea had been finished, a maid in a red silk jacket and a green satin vest embroidered at the hem came in with a smile and said, "The mistress asks the young lady Lin to go over and sit there."

The old nurse obeyed and led Daiyu out again. They went to three small principal rooms in the east corridor. In the main room, a kang table stood crosswise on the kang, piled high with books and tea things. Against the east wall, facing west, were placed a somewhat worn green satin cushion and bolster. But Lady Wang was sitting on the west side, on the lower seat, also on a worn green satin cushion. When she saw Daiyu, she gestured toward the east.

Daiyu surmised that this must be Jia Zheng's place. Observing that the chairs along the kang—three in a row—also had faded ink-printed chair covers, she sat down on one of them. After Lady Wang repeatedly urged her to come up onto the kang, she finally went over and sat beside her.

Lady Wang said, "Your uncle has gone to observe his fast today, so you will see him another time. But I have a word to say to you: your three cousins are all excellent. Later on, when you study together, learn your characters and needlework, or occasionally amuse yourselves, they will all defer to you. But there is one thing that worries me most: I have a wicked root and a bane of the family, a 'little tyrant of the world.' Today he has gone to the temple to fulfill a vow and has not yet returned. You will see him this evening. Just pay no attention to him in future—none of your cousins dare to cross him."

Daiyu had often heard her mother say that her second aunt had a son who was born with a piece of jade in his mouth, that he was exceptionally unruly, detested studying, and loved to fool about among the women, and that his grandmother doted on him so much that no one dared to discipline him. When she heard Lady Wang speak like this, she knew at once that it was this cousin she meant. She smiled and replied, "What you refer to, Aunt, is it the elder brother born with the jade? When I was at home, I often heard Mother say that this elder brother is one year older than I, with the little name Baoyu. Although he is very wild and stubborn, it is said he is very good in his feelings toward his female cousins. Besides, since I have come, I will naturally stay only with my cousins; the boys will be in separate courtyards and different quarters—how could I possibly have anything to do with him?"

Lady Wang smiled and said, "You don't know the circumstances: he is different from other people. From childhood, because the old lady loved him, he was spoiled and brought up together with the girls. If the girls ignore him for a day, he is rather quiet; even if he is bored, he will go out behind the second gate and vent his temper on a couple of little pages, grumbling for a while, and that will be the end of it. But if the girls say one extra word to him in a day, his heart is delighted and he creates all sorts of trouble. That is why I tell you not to pay him any attention. One moment he speaks honeyed words, the next he talks wildly and recklessly, and the next he acts crazy and foolish—just don't believe anything he says."

Daiyu agreed to everything. Then a maid came to report, "The old lady's place is sending for the evening meal."

Lady Wang quickly took Daiyu through the back door and along the rear corridor to the west. They passed through the corner gate and came upon a broad north-south passageway. On the south side were three small reversed-facing rooms forming a portico; on the north stood a large whitewashed screen wall, behind which was half a gate and a small house. Lady Wang smiled and pointed to Daiyu, saying, "This is your Sister Feng's room. When you come back, you can find her here. If you need anything, just tell her."

On the gate of this courtyard stood four or five young pages, their hair still in tufts, all standing in attendance with their hands at their sides. Lady Wang then led Daiyu through an east-west passageway, and they arrived at the rear courtyard of the Lady Dowager. Entering the back door, they found many people waiting there. When they saw Lady Wang, they began to set the tables and chairs. Jia Zhu's wife, Li, served the rice; Xifeng placed the chopsticks; Lady Wang brought in the soup. The Lady Dowager sat alone on the main couch, with four empty chairs on either side. Xifeng quickly pulled Daiyu to sit in the first chair on the left, but Daiyu declined very earnestly.

The Lady Dowager smiled and said, "Your aunts and your sisters-in-law are not eating here. You are a guest, and you should sit here as is proper."

Daiyu then offered her thanks and sat down. The Lady Dowager told Lady Wang to sit. Only then did the three cousins—Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun—offer their thanks and come forward. Yingchun sat in the first seat on the right, Tanchun in the second on the left, and Xichun in the second on the right. The maids nearby stood holding fly-whisk, spittoon, and handkerchief. Li and Feng stood beside the table serving. Although there were many wives and maids waiting outside, not even the sound of a cough was heard. In perfect silence, the meal was finished.

Then each maid brought tea on a small tray. At that time, Lin Ruhai had taught his daughter to cherish her blessings and nurture her health, saying that after a meal one must wait until the rice was swallowed and then drink tea a while later, so as not to injure the spleen and stomach. Now Daiyu saw that many things here did not conform to the customs of her own home. She had no choice but to adapt, so she took the tea. But presently someone brought a spittoon, and Daiyu rinsed her mouth accordingly. After washing her hands, tea was brought again, and this was the tea to drink.

The Lady Dowager then said, "You may go; let us talk freely among ourselves."

Lady Wang, upon hearing this, quickly rose and exchanged a few casual remarks before leading Feng and Li away.

The Lady Dowager asked Daiyu what books she had been studying. Daiyu said, "I have just finished the Four Books."

Daiyu then asked what books her cousins were reading.

The Lady Dowager replied, "What books? They merely recognize a couple of characters—they are not blind, that is all!"

Before she had finished speaking, there came the sound of footsteps outside, and a maid came in, laughing. "Baoyu is here!"

Daiyu was wondering to herself. "I wonder what sort of a good-for-nothing, ignorant little wretch this Baoyu is? I'd just as soon not see this stupid creature." Even as she thought this, before the maid had finished announcing him a young gentleman walked in.

On his head was a gold filigree crown inlaid with a precious pearl, and across his brows a gold band with two dragons chasing a pearl. He wore a red silk tunic embroidered with golden butterflies and flowers, and a colored-silk sash embroidered with flowers and long tassels. Over this he wore an olive-gray satin coat from Japan with a raised pattern of flowers arranged in eight panels, and his shoes were of black satin with white soles.

His face was as clear as an autumn moon, his complexion as fresh as spring flowers. The hair at his temples was as sharply outlined as if cut with a knife, his brows as black as if painted, his face like peach-blossom, his eyes like autumn ripples. Even when he frowned he seemed to smile, and there was tenderness in the very glance of his anger. Round his neck hung a gold locket and chain, and on a colored silk cord he wore a beautiful piece of jade.

At this first sight of him Daiyu started, and thought with surprise, "How strange! He looks exactly as if I had seen him somewhere before. How extraordinarily familiar he seems!"

Baoyu now paid his respects to the Dowager, who told him, "Go and see your mother." He turned at once and went out. When he came back a little later he had changed his clothes. All the short hair round his head was plaited into little queues tied with red silk, and drawn up to the top where it was knotted with the hair of his childhood into one large queue black and glossy as lacquer. This was adorned with four large pearls and a gold pendant. He wore a half-worn loose gown of pink flowered silk and still had on his neck his locket, his padlock, and his life-preserving charm. Below this were glimpsed flowered trousers of pine-green silk, socks embroidered along the edge with black and white patterns, and thick-soled red shoes.

He now appeared even more delicate, his face like powdered chalk, his lips like red lipstick. His glance was captivating and his speech was punctuated with smiles. There was a natural grace in his brows and lids, and a whole world of passion in his eyes.

His outward appearance was extremely handsome, but what lay beneath it was hard to tell. A later poet wrote two verses to the tune of West River Moon which aptly describe Baoyu:

Oftimes he sought out grief and made him moan,

Oftimes he looked just crazy and forlorn.

For all his handsome face, his heart was dull;

His understanding low, his talents null.

Obstinate, he would not mend his ways,

He loathed all useful work and worthy praise.

Wayward and wild, he shunned the world's rebuke,

No matter what his family might lose.

Prosperous, he could not play his proper part,

And poverty would break his tender heart.

So lovable, he let the years slip by,

His country and his family he passed by.

Of all the useless sons beneath the sky,

Baoyu was the most worthless, history avers.

Then let all well-born youths who read these lines

Take warning by this boy's dissolute designs!

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "You haven't even met our guest, and already you've changed your clothes. Go and see your cousin!" Baoyu had long since noticed the extra young lady present and surmised at once that she must be the daughter of his Aunt Lin. He hurried over and made his bow. After the formal introduction, he resumed his seat and studied her features carefully—she was quite unlike the others: two eyebrows that seemed to frown yet not to frown, like mist-wreathed willow leaves; eyes that seemed to weep yet not to weep, glistening with unshed tears. A delicate sadness graced both her cheeks; an air of frailty pervaded her whole being. Here and there a glint of tears; a faint, gentle breath. In repose she was like a lovely flower mirrored in the water; in movement she was like a swaying willow in the breeze. She was sharper of wit than Bigan by one notch; she was more delicate of frame than Xishi by a third. When Baoyu had finished looking at her, he said with a laugh, "I've seen this cousin before."

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "There you go again! How could you possibly have seen her?"

Baoyu said with a laugh, "I may not have seen her before, but her face seems familiar—in my heart I feel she's an old acquaintance. Even if we treat today as a reunion after a long parting, surely that's not impossible."

Grandmother Jia said, "That's even better, even better! If it's like that, you'll get along all the more harmoniously."

Baoyu then went to sit beside Daiyu and scrutinized her once more, then asked, "Has my cousin been educated?"

Daiyu replied, "I haven't. I attended school for only a year and picked up a few characters."

Baoyu asked again, "What are my cousin's two characters?"

Daiyu told him her given name. Baoyu then asked if she had a courtesy name.

Daiyu said, "I have none."

Baoyu laughed and said, "Let me give my cousin a wonderful courtesy name—'Pinpin' would be perfect!"

Tanchun asked where he had come up with it.

Baoyu said, *The Compendium of Persons Ancient and Modern* states: 'In the West there is a stone called dai that can serve as ink for painting eyebrows.' And since this Cousin Lin's brows seem always knit, wouldn't these two characters be doubly apt?"

Tanchun laughed and said, "I'm afraid you made it up again."

Baoyu laughed and said, "Apart from the *Four Books*, there's too much fabrication—why should I be the only one who's not allowed to make things up?"

He then asked Daiyu, "Do you have a jade as well?"

The others did not understand his question. Daiyu reasoned that since he himself had a jade, he was asking whether she had one too. She replied, "I don't have one. I imagine that jade is a rare thing—how could everyone have one?"

When Baoyu heard this, his foolish fit seized him at once. He tore off the jade and threw it violently to the ground, shouting, "What rare thing! It can't even tell the difference between high and low, and they call it 'magic' and not 'magic'! I don't want this wretched thing anymore!"

Everyone rushed forward in alarm to pick up the jade. Grandmother Jia hastily threw her arms around Baoyu and said, "Wicked boy! If you're angry, it's easy enough to hit someone or scold them—why must you throw that life-giving talisman?"

Baoyu said through his tears, "None of my sisters and cousins at home have one, only I do—I found it tiresome. Now this fairy-like cousin has come and she doesn't have one either. Clearly this is no good thing."

Grandmother Jia quickly coaxed him, "Your cousin did originally have one. When your aunt passed away, she couldn't bear to part with your cousin and had no way to manage it, so she took your cousin's jade with her: first, to fulfill the funeral rites and show your cousin's filial devotion, and second, so that your aunt's spirit could, as it see it, see her daughter. That's why she says she doesn't have one—it was her way of not boasting about it. How can you compare with her? You'd better put it back on properly, and mind your mother doesn't hear about this." As she spoke, she took the jade from the maid's hands and fastened it on him herself.

When Baoyu heard this, he thought it over and decided there was good reason in it, and raised no further objections.

At that moment, the nurse came to ask about Daiyu's quarters. Grandmother Jia said, "We'll move Baoyu out and have him share my warm inner suite. We'll put your Miss Lin in the green gauze cabinet for now. After the rest of winter has passed, in the spring we'll prepare proper rooms for them and make new arrangements."

Baoyu said, "Good Ancestress, I'll be perfectly comfortable on the bed just outside the green gauze cabinet. Why drag you out here and disturb your peace?"

Grandmother Jia thought it over and said, "Very well, then." Each was assigned a nurse and a maid to attend them, while the rest slept in the outer room and answered calls at night. Even before this, Xifeng had already sent someone to deliver a lotus-pink flowered canopy, along with several silk quilts and brocade coverlets.

Daiyu had brought only two people with her: her childhood nurse, Nurse Wang, and a ten-year-old little maid, also with her from childhood, called Xueyan. Grandmother Jia saw that Xueyan was very small and childish, and that Nurse Wang was very old, and reckoned that Daiyu would find neither of them satisfactory or helpful. She therefore gave Daiyu one of her own second-ranking mais, called Yinger. In other respects, just like Yingchun and the others, each had, in addition to her childhood nurse, four instructing nannies, and besides two personal maids in charge of jewelry, dressing, and bathing, five or six smaller maids for sweeping the rooms and running errands. That day, Nurse Wang and Yinger attended Daiyu inside the green gauze cabinet. Baoyu's nurse, Nurse Li, and his chief maid, called Xiren, attended him on the big bed in the outer room.

Now Xiren had originally been a maid of Grandmother Jia's, whose original name was Zhenzhu. Because Grandmother Jia doted on Baoyu and feared that none of his maids would serve him with all her heart and soul, and because she had always admired Xiren's honest nature and devotion to duty, she gave her to Baoyu. Baoyu, knowing that her surname was Hua and having once seen the poetic line "the fragrance of flowers assails one," spoke to Grandmother Jia and changed her name to Xiren. This Xiren had a touch of the obsessive in her: when she served Grandmother Jia, her heart and eyes held only Grandmother Jia; now that she served Baoyu, her heart and eyes held only Baoyu. It was only because Baoyu's temperament was so peculiar that she constantly tried to counsel him, and in her heart she was truly worried.

That evening, after Pao-yu and his nurse Li Ma-ma had gone to bed, she noticed that inside the room Tai-yu and Ying-ko had not yet retired. She removed her own makeup and slipped in quietly, smiling as she asked, "Why hasn't the Young Lady gone to bed yet?" Tai-yu quickly urged her, "Elder Sister, please sit down." His-jen sat on the edge of the bed. Ying-ko laughed and said, "The Young Lady Lin is just now shedding tears here, saying to herself, 'I only arrived today, and already I've stirred up your young master's madness. If that jade gets broken, won't it be all my fault!' That's why she's so upset. I've only just managed to comfort her." His-jen said, "Young Lady, please don't take it so to heart. In the future there are likely to be even stranger and funnier incidents than this! If you let yourself be troubled and upset by such behavior, I'm afraid you'll never have done being upset. Do stop taking it to heart!" Tai-yu said, "What you elder sisters have said, I'll remember. But after all, what is the history of that jade? Are there characters on it?" His-jen said, "Even our whole household doesn't know its history. There are ready-made holes in it, and we've heard that when he was born it was pulled out of his mouth. Let me bring it out and show you." Tai-yu quickly stopped her, "Never mind. It's late now. It won't be too late to look at it tomorrow." They chatted a while longer, then at last went to sleep.

The next morning, after paying her respects to the Lady Dowager, Tai-yu went to Lady Wang's quarters. It happened that Lady Wang and Hsi-feng were together reading letters that had come from Chin-ling, and two maids sent by Lady Wang's elder brother and his wife had also come to speak with her. Though Tai-yu did not know what it was about, T'an-ch'un and the others all understood that the matter concerned Pao-chai's mother's nephew, Hsueh P'an, the son of their aunt from the Hsueh family who lived in Chin-ling. Relying on his wealth and power, he had killed a person and was now being tried in the Ying-tien prefecture. Now their uncle Wang Tzu-t'eng had received the news and had sent his household people here to inform them, with the intention of having them summoned to the capital.

What happened next will be told in the next chapter.