Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter

Chapter 33

The Trivial Quarrel of Brother and Sister; The Severe Flogging of an Unworthy Scion

Now Lady Wang summoned the girl's mother and presented her with several hair ornaments and rings. She also gave orders for monks to be invited to perform sutras and offer prayers for the repose of Jinchuan's soul. The mother kowtowed in gratitude and withdrew.

Baoyu, who had just returned from his meeting with Yucun, had already heard the news. Learning that Jinchuan had killed herself out of shame and anger, he was stricken with grief even before he entered the room. Lady Wang scolded and lectured him, but he had nothing to say in reply. When Baochai came in, he seized the chance to slip out. He had no idea where he was going, so he walked along slowly, his hands behind his back, his head bowed, sighing as he went. Almost without realizing it, he found himself in the main hall. He had just turned past a screen door when he collided head-on with someone coming from the opposite direction. "Stop!" the person shouted. Baoyu was startled and looked up. It was none other than his father. He drew a sharp breath and stood to one side with his hands at his sides.

"Why do you go about hanging your head and sighing for no reason?" Jia Zheng demanded. "When Counsellor Yu came to see you just now, it took you ages to come out. And when you finally appeared, you lacked all sparkle and eloquence—you were listless and dejected. I can see a look of melancholy and frustration on your face, and now you're sighing and coughing. Are you still dissatisfied? Are you still unhappy? What's the reason for all this, when nothing has happened?"

Ordinarily, Baoyu was quick-witted in conversation, but at that moment his heart was full of grief for Jinchuan. He wished he could die and follow her. As for his father's words, he hadn't really heard them; he simply stood there in a daze.

Jia Zheng, seeing how flustered and unlike his usual self Baoyu was, was at first not angry, but this now provoked a measure of irritation in him. He was about to speak when a servant came in to report: "Someone from Prince Zhongshun's mansion is here to see you, Master."

Jia Zheng was puzzled. He thought to himself, "We have no dealings with Prince Zhongshun's household. Why should they send someone here today?" Even as he wondered, he ordered the visitor to be shown in at once and hurried out to receive him. It was the chief steward of Prince Zhongshun's household, whom he ushered quickly into the main hall and invited to sit down and have tea.

Before any pleasantries could be exchanged, the steward spoke: "I have not presumed to visit your esteemed mansion on my own authority. I come on the orders of His Highness to request a certain favor. In consideration of the Prince's gracious regard, I would ask you, sir, to act on this matter. Not only will His Highness be grateful, but we humble servants as well will be deeply indebted."

Jia Zheng, quite bewildered, rose with an ingraining smile and asked, "Since His Excellency has come on the Prince's orders, may I inquire what instructions he has for me? If you would be so good as to make them clear, I shall carry them out accordingly."

The steward smiled coldly. "There is no need to carry anything out. One word from you will suffice. In our household there is an actor named Qiguan, a young boy who plays female roles. He has always been with us, but for the past three to five days he has not returned. We have searched everywhere but cannot trace him, so we have made inquiries throughout the city. Eight out of every ten people say that he has recently become very close to your son, the young master born with the jade. Since your household is not one where we can intrude at will, we reported this to His Highness. The Prince said, 'If it were any other actor, a hundred would not matter, but this Qiguan is resourceful and obliging, cautious and honest—just the sort of person after my own heart. I absolutely cannot do without him.' Therefore I beg you, sir, to instruct your son to return Qiguan. This would both satisfy the Prince's earnest request and spare us the trouble of further searching." With that, he bowed hastily.

Jia Zheng was both shocked and furious. He immediately ordered Baoyu to be summoned. Baoyu had no idea what this was about, but hurried in.

"You wretched slave!" Jia Zheng said to him. "If you refuse to study at home, so be it—but how could you do such monstrous, lawless things! That Qiguan is a person who serves Prince Zhongshun. You are nobody—why did you entice him away? Now you've brought disaster on my head!"

Baoyu was alarmed. "I really know nothing about this! I don't even know who or what this 'Qiguan' is, let alone anything about 'enticing' him!" he said, and began to weep.

Before Jia Zheng could reply, the steward said with a cold smile, "There's no need for you to cover up, young master. Whether you're hiding him in your house or know where he is, just tell us and save us some trouble. Wouldn't that show your generosity?"

Baoyu insisted he didn't know. "Perhaps it's just a rumor," he said.

"We have proof," the steward retorted with another cold smile. "Why still deny it? If you tell us now, in front of your father, you'll spare yourself trouble. Since you claim not to know this person, then how did that red sash come to be tied around your waist?"

At these words, Baoyu was thunderstruck. His jaw dropped and he stared in blank amazement. He thought to himself, "How could he know about that? If he knows this secret, he probably knows everything else as well. I'd better get rid of him quickly before he reveals anything else." So he said, "Since you know so much about him, how is it you don't know about the big affair of his buying a house? I heard that in the eastern suburbs, about twenty li from the city, there's a place called Sandalwood Fort, where he bought several mu of land and a few rooms. He might be there, for all I know."

The steward smiled. "If that's the case, he must be there. I'll go and look. If I find him, well and good; if not, I'll come back to consult you." With that, he hurried away.

By now Jia Zheng was so furious that his mouth hung open on one side. He escorted the Prince's steward to the door with one hand while turning his head to order Baoyu, "You are not to move! I shall have words for you when I return!" Only after seeing the official off did he turn back. Suddenly he caught sight of Jia Huan racing across the courtyard with several pages in wild pursuit. Jia Zheng barked at the pages, "Beat him! Beat him at once!" At the sight of his father, Jia Huan was so terrified that his bones turned soft and his sinews went limp. He lowered his head and stood still. Jia Zheng demanded, "What are you running for? Those who are supposed to attend you pay no heed—no one knows where they've let you wander off to, like a wild colt!" He ordered the people who accompanied him to school to be summoned. Seeing his father in such a towering rage, Jia Huan seized the opportunity and said, "I wasn't running just now. I happened to pass by the well, and there was a servant girl who had drowned in it. I saw her head—this big—and her body—this thick—all swollen and soaked. It was truly horrid, so I hurried away." Jia Zheng was alarmed and perplexed. "Who in the world would throw herself into the well for no good reason? Nothing of this sort has ever happened in our family. Since our ancestors' time, we have always treated our servants with gentleness and forbearance. It must be that in recent years I have been negligent in managing household affairs, so that those in charge have seized power for themselves and practiced extortion, bringing about this calamity of wanton destruction and a life thrown away. If this becomes known to outsiders, what will become of our ancestors' good name!" He ordered Jia Lian, Lai Da, and Lai Xing to be summoned at once. The pages assented and were just about to go when Jia Huan rushed forward, seized the hem of Jia Zheng's robe, knelt down close to his knees, and said, "Father, don't be angry. No one except the people in Lady Wang's apartments knows anything about this. I heard my mother say—" Here he paused and glanced around in all directions. Jia Zheng understood his meaning. He cast a look at the pages, who took the hint and withdrew to the sides and the rear. Jia Huan then whispered, "My mother told me that Brother Baoyu, the other day in Lady Wang's room, tried to force himself on Lady Wang's maid Jinchuan but couldn't have his way. He gave her a beating. Then Jinchuan, in a fit of resentment, threw herself into the well and died." Before he had finished speaking, Jia Zheng's face had turned the color of golden paper. He roared, "Fetch Baoyu here at once!" He spoke as he strode toward the study inside, shouting, "If anyone dares to dissuade me today, I shall hand over my rank, my estate, and everything to him along with Baoyu! I would rather be a sinner, have these few troublesome hairs shaved off my temples, and find some pure place to end my days—so as to avoid the sin of disgracing my ancestors above and breeding a rebellious son below." When the secretaries and servants saw Jia Zheng in such a state, they knew it was again on Baoyu's account. One and all they bit their fingers in dismay and hastily withdrew. Jia Zheng sat bolt upright on his chair, panting, his face streaked with tears, crying out in rapid succession, "Seize Baoyu! Fetch the heavy rod! Fetch ropes to bind him! Close every gate! If anyone sends word inside, he shall be beaten to death on the spot!" The pages had no choice but to answer in unison, and several of them went to look for Baoyu.

When Baoyu had heard Jia Zheng's order that he was not to move, he knew at once that the outlook was more dire than favorable. He had not expected Jia Huan to add so much more fuel to the fire. He was pacing back and forth in the hall in helpless agitation. If only someone could get inside to carry word, but there was not a soul about—even Biye was nowhere to be found. Just as he was longing for someone, an old nurse came out. Baoyu clutched at her as though she were a precious treasure and said, "Quick, go inside and tell them: the Master is going to beat me! Quick, quick! It's urgent! It's urgent!" For one thing, Baoyu was too flustered to speak clearly; for the other, the old woman happened to be deaf. She caught only the word "urgent" as "thrown into the well" and laughed, "Let her jump if she wants. What's Young Master afraid of?" Realizing she was deaf, Baoyu said in exasperation, "Then go out and call one of my pages." The old woman replied, "What's so urgent about it? It's all over and done with long ago. Her Ladyship has already bestowed clothes and silver on her. How can it not be settled?"

Baoyu stamped his foot in desperation, having nowhere to turn, when one of Jia Zheng's pages came up and hustled him out. The moment Jia Zheng saw him, his eyes turned a purplish red. He did not even take the time to ask about Baoyu's wandering outside with actors, his giving away private gifts, his neglect of his studies at home, or his violation of his mother's maid. He simply ordered, "Stop up his mouth and beat him soundly!" The pages dared not disobey. They held Baoyu down on a bench and raised the heavy board, striking him some ten times or more. Jia Zheng still thought the beating too light. He kicked the man who held the board out of the way, snatched it up himself, and with clenched teeth brought it down with all his might some thirty or forty times. The secretaries, seeing that the beating had taken a dangerous turn, hurried forward to snatch the board and intervene. Jia Zheng would not listen. "Ask yourselves," he said, "whether the things he has done can be pardoned or not! It is you people who have spoiled him day by day. Now that things have come to this pass, you still step forward to plead for him. Wait until he goes so far as to murder his sovereign or his father—then will you stop pleading?"

Hearing these harsh words, the servants realized he was beside himself with rage. They hastily withdrew and went to find someone who could carry a message inside.

Lady Wang dared not report to the Dowager first. She dressed hurriedly and rushed out, caring nothing whether anyone was about, and hastened to the study in a flurry, throwing the hangers-on and young pages into such confusion that they could scarcely get out of her way.

No sooner had Lady Wang entered the room than Jia Zheng flared up like oil poured on fire. The blows he struck fell even harder and faster. The two pages holding Baoyu hastily let go and stepped aside. By now Baoyu could hardly move.

When Jia Zheng wanted to go on beating him, Lady Wang threw herself forward and seized the board.

"Stop! Stop!" he cried. "So you want to drive me to my death today!"

"If Baoyu deserved a beating, Your Lordship must still take care of yourself," sobbed Lady Wang. "Besides, in this sweltering heat Her Ladyship is not at all well. Baoyu's death would be a small matter, but if anything should happen to her, that would be serious!"

"Don't talk to me about that!" Jia Zheng said with a sardonic smile. "I've raised this unfilial wretch — that's already a failure in filial duty. When I try to teach him a lesson, a whole crowd of people protect him. I'd better have him strangled here and now, to prevent future trouble!"

He called for a cord to strangle him.

Lady Wang threw herself on his arms, weeping. "Even if you have every right to discipline your son, you should still think of me, your wife. I'm nearly fifty now and this wretched boy is my only child. If I must use him as a warning, I dare not say much. But if you insist on killing him today, you're deliberately cutting me off. If you want to strangle him, take a cord and strangle me first, then him. Mother and son won't harbour a grudge, and at least in the shades below we'll have each other to depend on."

With this she threw herself over Baoyu and wept.

Jia Zheng heaved a deep sigh and sank into his chair, the tears streaming down his face.

Lady Wang, embracing Baoyu, saw how pale and feeble he was. His green silk underdrawers below were soaked with blood. She could not restrain herself from untying his waistband to look. From his buttocks to his shins, the flesh was blue or purple, unbroken or lacerated — not a sound spot anywhere. She burst out sobbing, "My poor child!"

Then she thought of Jia Zhu and, calling his name, cried, "If only you were alive, I wouldn't care if a hundred like him died."

By now the people inside had heard that Lady Wang had come out. Li Wan, Wang Xifeng, and the Yingchun sisters had already emerged. When Lady Wang wept and called Jia Zhu's name, the others could bear it, but Li Wan could not restrain herself and burst into loud weeping too.

Hearing this, Jia Zheng's tears rolled down like big melon seeds.

Just when things were at a deadlock, a maid announced, "Her Ladyship the Dowager is coming."

Before she finished, a quavering voice was heard outside the window: "Kill me first, then kill him. That would be simpler!"

Jia Zheng, distressed and alarmed at his mother's arrival, hurried out to greet her. The Dowager, leaning on a maid, came panting up to the door.

He stepped forward and said with an ingratiating smile, "In this sweltering heat, why should Your Ladyship trouble to come in person because you're angry? You could simply have summoned me to give your orders."

The Dowager stopped to catch her breath, then said sternly, "So you're still willing to talk to me! I have orders to give too, only I'm sorry I've lived all my life without bringing up a worthy son. Who else is there for me to talk to?"

Jia Zheng sensed something amiss in this. Kneeling quickly, he said with tears, "In disciplining my son, I too am thinking of the family's glory. How can I bear such a reproach from you, Mother?"

The Dowager spat in disgust. "You can't stand a single word from me, yet you think Baoyu can stand those murderous blows of yours? You say disciplining your son is for the family's glory — but how did your father discipline you?"

As she spoke, the tears rolled down her cheeks.

Jia Zheng said with another forced smile, "Don't distress yourself, Mother. I was carried away for a moment. I'll never beat him again."

The Dowager gave a contemptuous laugh. "Don't put on airs with me either. He's your son — it's not my business whether you beat him or not. I suppose you're sick and tired of us. We'd better leave you at once — that would be simpler for everyone."

She ordered her sedan-chair and horses to be got ready. "I shall take Lady Wang and Baoyu straight back to Nanjing at once!"

The servants had to agree, but did nothing.

The Dowager turned to Lady Wang. "There's no need for you to weep. Baoyu's young now and you dote on him, but when he grows up and becomes an official, he may not even think of you as his mother. You'd better stop pampering him — it may save you a few more groans in future."

At this Jia Zheng knocked his head on the floor, crying, "If you put it like that, Mother, I have no place to stand."

"You've left me no place to stand, yet you talk of yourself!" the Dowager retorted sarcastically. "Let us go back then. Your conscience will be clear, and we'll see who lets you beat him any more."

Even as she spoke, she ordered them to hurry up with the luggage, carriages, and sedan-chairs.

Jia Zheng knocked his head on the floor and pleaded for forgiveness.

While Grandmother Jia was speaking, her thoughts were constantly on Baoyu. She hurried in to see him and found that this beating was nothing like those of former days. Filled with anguish and anger, she threw herself on him and wept uncontrollably. Lady Wang and Xifeng tried for some time to comfort her before she gradually calmaed down.

When the maids and serving women came forward to help Baoyu up, Xifeng cursed them, "You fools! Can't you open your eyes and see? Look what state he's in — you still want to help him walk? Hurry up and fetch that rattan-bottomed stretcher from inside!"

The women rushed off at once and soon carried out the couch. They lifted Baoyu onto it and followed Grandmother Jia, Lady Wang, and the others into the house, bearing him to Grandmother Jia's room.

At this point Jia Zheng, seeing that his mother was still furious, did not dare to withdraw on his own and followed her in. He looked at Baoyu and found the beating had indeed been severe. Then he turned to Lady Wang, who cried out, "My son! My flesh! If only you had died early like Zhu, leaving him alive to spare your father's anger — I would not have wasted half a lifetime of worry in vain! And now if anything should happen to you, who would be left for me to depend on?" After this torrent of reproach she wept again, "My unfilial son!"

Jia Zheng, hearing this, lost heart and regretted that he had struck the boy so savagely. He tried to comfort his mother first, but Grandmother Jia said through her tears, "Why don't you go? What are you still doing here? Are you still unsatisfied? Do you want to stay and watch him die before you'll leave?"

At this Jia Zheng withdrew.

At that time Aunt Xue, Baochai, Xiangling, Xiren, and Shi Xiangyun were all present. Xiren was deeply aggrieved but could not show it fully. Seeing everyone crowded around — some pouring water, some fanning — and finding no way to help, she deliberately walked out to the second gate and ordered the pages to bring Beiming for a thorough interrogation. "Just now everything was perfectly fine," she said. "Why did the beating start? Why didn't you come to tell me sooner?"

Beiming said anxiously, "As it happened I wasn't there. I only heard about it halfway through. When I hurried to find out the reason, it turned out to be about Brother Qi and Sister Jinchuan."

"How did the Master find out?" asked Xiren.

"The Brother Qi business — it was probably Young Master Xue who'd been jealous for some time and couldn't vent his anger. He must have put someone up to it outside and stirred things up with the Master. The Sister Jinchuan business was brought up by Third Master. I heard it from the Master's own people."

Xiren, seeing that both accounts tallied with the facts, was about eighty or ninety percent convinced. She returned to find everyone applying remedies to Baoyu. When all the treatment was completed, Grandmother Jia ordered, "Carry him carefully back to his own room."

The others assented and hastily bore Baoyu back to Happy Red Court, laying him on his own bed. After another period of confusion, the crowd gradually dispersed, and only then did Xiren come forward to tend him carefully and find out exactly what had happened.

But listen to the next chapter for the sequel.