Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Baichuan Tastes Lotus-Leaf Soup; Jinying Skillfully Knits a Plum-Blossom Net

If you recall, Baochai had distinctly heard Daiyu's cutting remarks. Since her mind was preoccupied with her mother and brother, she paid no attention and went straight on her way. Here, Daiyu remained standing alone beneath the flowers, gazing afar towards Happy Red Court. She saw that after Lady Li, Yingchun, Tanchun, Xichun, and various others had all gone to Happy Red Court, they dispersed in groups one after another. But Xifeng had not come. Daiyu pondered to herself: "Why hasn't she come to visit Baoyu? Even if she's been tied up with something, she would certainly have put in an appearance to show off and curry favor with the old lady and Lady Wang. That she hasn't come by now must mean something is amiss." While she was guessing and wondering, she looked up again and saw a large party approaching Happy Red Court. She fixed her eyes and saw the old lady, leaning on Xifeng's hand, followed by Lady Xing, Lady Wang, Concubine Zhou, and a retinue of maids and serving-women, all entering the courtyard. Daiyu nodded to herself, thinking how wonderful it must be to have parents, and at once tears streamed down her face. Presently, she saw Baochai and Aunt Xue enter too. Then Zijuan came up behind her and said, "It's time for your medicine, miss. The water's gone cold again." "What do you want of me?" snapped Daiyu. "You keep nagging. Whether I take it or not is none of your business!" Zijuan said with a smile, "You've only just got over your cough, and now you won't take your medicine. It's the fifth month now and the weather's hot, but you should still be careful. You've been standing in this damp place since early this morning. You should go back and rest." These words reminded Daiyu that her legs were aching. After standing there for a while, she slowly leaned on Zijuan and went back to Bamboo Lodge.

As soon as she entered the courtyard gate, she saw bamboo shadows crisscrossing the ground and moss growing thick and thin in patches. She was reminded of two lines from *The Romance of the Western Chamber*: "In this secluded spot where no one passes, the white dew glistens on the green moss." She sighed inwardly: "Shuangwen, Shuangwen, truly you are one with a hard fate. But though your fate was hard, you still had a widowed mother and a younger brother. Today, Lin Daiyu's fate is harder—I don't even have a widered mother or a younger brother. The ancients said 'beautiful women have hard fate,' but I am not even a beautiful woman—why should my fate be even harder than Shuangwen's?" As she thought this, she walked on. Startled by a sudden flapping of wings, she looked up to find the parrot in the corridor had swooped down at her approach with a squawk. "Damn you!" she cried. "You've dusted my head with dirt again." The parrot flew back onto its perch and called out, "Xueyan, quickly raise the curtain! The young lady is here." Daiyu stopped, rapping on its perch with her hand. "Have you been given food and water?" The parrot gave a long sigh that sounded remarkably like Daiyu's usual tone of lament, then recited:

"Men laugh at me burying flowers today,

But who will bury me, I wonder, one day?

When spring is spent and flowers fall away,

That is the time when beauty fades and dies.

When spring is spent and beauty fades away,

Both flowers and beauty are forgotten—who knows?"

Daiyu and Zijuan both laughed. "These are lines she's heard you recite so often," said Zijuan. "It's clever of her to have memorized them." Daiyu had the perch taken down and hung on a hook outside the moon-shaped window. Then she went into her room and sat inside the moon-shaped window. After taking her medicine, she saw bamboo shadows reflected through the gauze, filling the room with cool, green shade. The bamboo mats felt pleasantly cool. Having nothing to cheer her, she amused herself by teasing the parrot through the gauze window and teaching it some of her favorite poems. But let us leave that aside.

When Baochai reached home she found her mother having her hair dressed.

"Why have you come over so early?" asked Aunt Xue.

"I was anxious to know how you were. Yesterday, when I went there, I wondered if he had come round to make more trouble."

As she spoke she sat down beside her mother and burst into tears.

Aunt Xue, unable to restrain herself, also began crying and tried to console her: "Don't distress yourself, child. Leave it to me to deal with him. If anything happened to you, who would I have to depend on?"

Xue Pan, who had overheard them outside, hurried in and bowed repeatedly to Baochai.

"Good sister, forgive me this time! It was because I'd been drinking yesterday that I came home late. I must have been possessed by some spirit, for when I got home I still wasn't sober and don't know what nonsense I may have talked. It's not my fault that you were so angry."

Baochai had been covering her face while she cried, but this speech made her laugh in spite of herself. She raised her head and spat on the ground.

"Don't put on an act like this. I know you've long wanted the two of us out of the way so that you could have a free hand."

"How can you say such a thing?" Xue Pan asked hastily, forcing a smile. "If that were true, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on. You've never been one to take things the wrong way or say such things."

"Don't mind her wrong-headed talk," put in Aunt Xue. "But shouldn't you think about what you yourself said last night? You must have been out of your mind!"

"Mother, don't be angry. Sister, don't be upset. From now on I'll never drink or go roaming with those fellows again."

"So you've come to your senses at last!" said Baochai with a smile.

"If I had that much backbone," said Aunt Xue, "dragons would lay eggs."

"If I ever go roaming with them again, sister, you're welcome to spit in my face and call me a beast and no man. Why should the two of you worry yourselves every day on my account? It may be forgivable for Mother to lose her temper on my account, but if sister has to fret over me too, I'm worse than a beast. Now that Father's dead, instead of being a better son to Mother and a better brother to you, I've only caused Mother to be angry and you to be upset. I'm not fit to live!"

As his eyes filled with tears, Aunt Xue, who had stopped crying, was reminded of her grief again.

"You've had your scene," Baochai said with an effort at a smile. "And now you've started Mother crying again."

Xue Pan hastily wiped his eyes.

"I didn't mean to! Well, let's drop the matter. Send Xiangling here to pour tea for sister."

"I don't want any tea," said Baochai. "When Mother's washed her hands, we'll go over."

"Let me look at your necklace," said Xue Pan. "It probably needs re-gilding."

"Why re-gild it? It's still bright enough."

"You ought to have some new clothes too. Just tell me what colours and designs you'd like."

"I haven't worn all the clothes I have, and you want to make me more!"

Presently Aunt Xue changed her clothes and took Baochai inside, and Xue Pan went out.

Aunt Xue and Baochai now went to the Garden to see Baoyu. When they reached Happy Red Court they found so many maids and old nurses standing in the vestibule and on the covered verandahs that they knew the Lady Dowager and the others must be there too.

Mother and daughter went in and exchanged greetings. Baoyu was lying on a couch. Aunt Xue asked him how he was.

He tried to sit up, murmuring, "Much better. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Aunt Xue quickly made him lie down again.

"If there's anything you'd like, just tell me," she said.

"If I think of anything, I'll certainly let you know," Baoyu answered with a smile.

"What would you like to eat? We can have it sent over," asked Lady Wang.

"I don't really want anything special. But that soup with tiny lotus leaves and lotus seed-pods we had once was rather good."

"What a palate you have!" put in Xifeng. "The ingredients are not expensive but it's too much trouble to make. But how you're longing for it!"

The Lady Dowager immediately called out to have it made.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Old Ancestress," said Xifeng with a smile. "Let me think who has the moulds."

She sent an old serving-woman to ask the kitchen superintendent, who returned after some time to report, "The head cook says all four sets of soup-moulds have been sent over."

"That's right, I remember now," said Xifeng. "They're probably in the tea-room."

She sent someone to ask the man in charge of the tea-room, but he hadn't kept them either. In the end they were produced by the man in charge of gold and silver vessels.

When Aunt Xue first took a look at the object, she found it was a small box containing four sets of silver molds, each over a foot long and an inch square, engraved with designs the size of a bean—chrysanthemums, plum blossoms, lotus seedpods, water caltrops—some thirty or forty varieties in all, crafted with exquisite skill. She laughed and said to the Lady Dowager and Lady Wang, "Your household has thought of everything! Even for a bowl of soup you have all these molds. If no one had told me, I wouldn't have known what they were for."

Before anyone could respond, Xifeng laughed and said, "Auntie doesn't know about this. It was a trick they thought up for preparing meals in years past. I don't know what kind of dough they stamp with these, borrowing a bit of fresh lotus leaf fragrance, but it all depends on good broth in the end—it's really not much to speak of. Who makes it regularly? They prepared a sample once before, and it seems he thought of it today." So saying, she took the box, handed it to a servant woman, and ordered the kitchen to take several chickens at once, add other ingredients, and make ten bowls or so.

Lady Wang said, "What do you want all these for?"

Xifeng laughed and said, "There's a reason. This sort of thing isn't made often. Since Brother Bao brought it up today and it's being made specially for him, it wouldn't seem quite right if the Old Ancestress, Auntie, and you, Madam, didn't have any. Better to take the opportunity and make some for everyone—and I might as well ride along on the coattails and enjoy some myself."

The Lady Dowager laughed and said, "You monkey, so clever of you! Spending the household's money to win yourself favor."

Everyone laughed. Xifeng also hurriedly laughed and said, "It's nothing. I can afford this small gesture of hospitality." She turned and ordered the woman, "Tell the kitchen to make it properly with whatever extra is needed. Come to my account to collect the silver." The woman assented and left.

Baochai, sitting to one side, laughed and said, "I've been here several years now, and I've observed carefully—for all her cleverness, Sister Feng can never out-clever the Old Ancestress."

The Lady Dowager heard this and replied, "I'm old now, what cleverness do I have left? When I was Sister Feng's age, I was even better than she is. Though she's not what we were, she's still quite good—far better than your aunt. Your aunt is to be pitied. She hardly speaks, she's like a piece of wood, and doesn't make a good showing before her in-laws. Feng'er has a clever tongue—no wonder people dote on her."

Baoyu laughed and said, "If that's so, then those who don't speak much aren't doted on?"

The Lady Dowager said, "Those who don't speak much have their own lovable qualities, and those who are clever-tongued have their annoying side too. On the whole, it's better not to speak."

Baoyu laughed and said, "That's it then. I say Sister-in-Law Li hardly speaks either, and the Old Ancestress regards her just as well as Sister Feng. If only the clever-tongued ones were lovable, then among all these sisters, only Sister Feng and Sister Lin would be doted on."

The Lady Dowager said, "Speaking of the girls—I'm not flattering in front of Aunt Xue, but it's the honest truth: counting our four girls from the start, none of them can compare to Baochai."

Aunt Xue heard this and hurriedly laughed and said, "Your Ladyship is being partial in saying that."

Lady Wang also hurriedly laughed and said, "The Old Ancestress often tells me in private that Baochai is good—that's no falsehood."

Baoyu had been trying to draw the Lady Dowager into praising Lin Daiyu, but instead she praised Baochai. This was beyond his expectations, so he looked at Baochai and smiled. Baochai had already turned her head away and was speaking to Xiren.

Just then someone came to invite them to the meal. The Lady Dowager rose to her feet and told Baoyu to take good care of himself, gave the maids some instructions, then leaning on Xifeng with Aunt Xue making way for her, they all left the room. She asked whether the soup was ready, and asked Aunt Xue and the others, "What would you like to eat? Just tell me. I have the ability to get Sister Feng to prepare it for us."

Aunt Xue laughed and said, "Your Ladyship also likes to tease her. She often prepares things as offerings, but in the end you can't eat that much anyway."

Xifeng laughed and said, "Auntie, don't say that. Our Old Ancestress would find human flesh sour—if she didn't, she would have eaten me long ago."

Before she had finished speaking, she had made the Lady Dowager and everyone else burst into laughter. Baoyu, in his room, couldn't hold back his laughter either. Xiren laughed and said, "Truly, the Second Mistress's tongue is enough to scare a person to death!"

Baoyu reached out, took Xiren's hand, and laughed, "You've standing here all this time—are you tired?" As he said this, he pulled her to sit beside him. Xiren laughed and said, "But you've forgotten again. Since Miss Bao is in the courtyard, ask her to have Ying'er come over and weave a few tassels for you."

Baoyu laughed and said, "Good thing you reminded me." So saying, he raised his head and called out the window, "Sister Bao, when you've finished eating, send Ying'er over—could she weave a few tassels for me? Would she have time?"

Baochai heard and turned her head. "Why wouldn't she have time? I'll have her come in a moment."

The Lady Dowager and the others hadn't quite caught what was said and stopped to ask Baochai. Baochai explained, and then everyone understood. The Lady Dowager added, "Good child, have her come and make a few for your brother. If you need someone to wait on you, I have plenty of idle maids—whichever one you like, just have her come to serve you."

Aunt Xue, Baochai, and the others all laughed and said, "Just have her come and do it—what use would we have for her? She's idle all day getting into mischief anyway."

As they were talking along the way, they suddenly saw Xiangyun, Pinger, and Xiangling by the rockery, picking balsam flowers. Seeing them approach, they all came forward to greet them.

A short while later, they reached the edge of the garden. Lady Wang, fearing that the Dowager might be tired, wanted to invite her to rest in the main reception room. The Dowager's legs were aching too, so she nodded in agreement. Lady Wang then ordered the maids to go ahead and arrange the seats at once. At this time, Concubine Zhao pleaded illness, so it was only Concubine Zhou and the various old women and maids who busied themselves drawing the curtains, setting up the backrests, and spreading the bedding. The Dowager, leaning on Xifeng's arm, came in and took her seat as host opposite Aunt Xue. Baochai and Xiangyun sat below them. Lady Wang personally brought tea and presented it to the Dowager, while Li Wan served Aunt Xue. The Dowager said to Lady Wang, "Let the younger daughters-in-law wait on us. You sit down there so we can talk comfortably." Lady Wang then sat down on a small stool and instructed Xifeng, "The Old Ancestress's meal will be served here. Bring the food when it's ready." Xifeng assented and went out, sending someone to inform the Dowager's quarters. The old women there quickly passed the word outside, and the maids all hurried over. Lady Wang then said, "Invite the young ladies to come." After some time, only Tanchun and Xichun came. Yingchun was feeling unwell and had no appetite, and as for Daiyu, needless to say, she normally managed only five out of ten meals, so no others paid it much mind. Shortly after, the meal arrived, and everyone set about arranging the table. Xifeng, holding a bundle of ivory chopsticks wrapped in a handkerchief, stood on the ground and laughed, "Old Ancestress and Aunt, don't stand on ceremony—just let me do as I say." The Dowager said to Aunt Xue with a smile, "That's just how we are." Aunt Xue smiled and agreed. So Xifeng laid out four pairs: the top two pairs were for the Dowager and Aunt Xue, and the ones on either side were for Baochai and Xiangyun. Lady Wang, Li Wan, and the others all stood on the ground watching the dishes being served. Xifeng first busied herself fetching clean utensils to select dishes for Baoyu.

A short while later, the lotus-leaf broth arrived, and the Dowager inspected it. Lady Wang, turning her head and seeing Yuchuan'er nearby, ordered her to take it to Baoyu. Xifeng said, "She can't carry it all by herself." As it happened, Ying'er and Xier both arrived just then. Baochai knew they had already eaten, so she said to Ying'er, "Brother Bao has been asking you to do some knotwork—you two go together." Ying'er assented and set out with Yuchuan'er. Ying'er said, "It's so far and so hot—how are we supposed to carry it?" Yuchuan laughed, "Don't worry, I have a plan." She called an old woman over and had her place the broth and food into a tray carrier, then told her to carry it and follow. The two of them walked with empty hands. When they finally reached the gate of Happy Red Court, Yuchuan'er took the tray from the old woman and went with Ying'er into Baoyu's room. Xiren, Sheyue, and Qiuwen were there playing with Baoyu. Seeing the two arrive, they all got up and laughed, "What a coincidence—the two of you arriving together!" As they spoke, they took the things from them. Yuchuan sat down on a small stool, but Ying'er did not dare sit. Xiren quickly brought a footstool over, but Ying'er still did not dare sit. When Baoyu saw Ying'er, he was overjoyed, but catching sight of Yuchuan'er, he thought of her sister Jinchuan'er and was overcome with grief and shame. He put Ying'er aside and spoke instead with Yuchuan'er. Xiren, seeing that Ying'er was being ignored and fearing she might feel embarrassed, and noticing that she still would not sit, took Ying'er by the hand and led her out to the other room to drink tea and chat.

Here Sheyue and the others had prepared chopsticks and bowls and were waiting on him at the meal. Baoyu simply would not eat. He asked Yuanchuan, "How is your mother's health?" Yuanchuan's face was full of anger; she would not so much as look at Baoyu. After a long while, she finally uttered a single word: "Fine." Baoyu felt abashed. After some time, he could not help but ask again with an ingratiating smile, "Who told you to bring this to me?" Yuanchuan replied, "Only the ladies and the old lady." Baoyu saw that she still wore that mournful expression and knew it was on account of Jinchuan's death. He wanted to humble himself and coax her around, but with so many people present, it was not easy to lower himself. So he tried every method to send everyone out of the room, and then with a conciliating smile he began asking her this and that. At first Yuanchuan remained displeased, but she could not help noticing that Baoyu showed no temper at all—no matter how sullenly she treated him, he remained gentle and amiable. She herself began to feel embarrassed, and a trace of pleasure finally showed on her face. Baoyu then smiled and begged her, "Good sister, bring that soup over and let me taste it." Yuanchuan said, "I've never fed anyone anything. Wait till the others come and you can eat then." Baoyu smiled and said, "I'm not asking you to feed me. It's because I can't walk—if you hand it to me and I eat it, you can go back early and make your report, and then you can have your meal. If I keep you waiting, won't you starve? And if you can't be bothered to move, I'll have to endure the pain and get down and fetch it myself." So saying, he tried to get out of bed. He struggled up, unable to suppress a groan of pain. Yuanchuan, seeing him like this, could not help but rise and say, "Lie down! What karma you created in some former life—now you're paying for it right before my eyes!" Even as she spoke, she let out a little snort of laughter and brought the soup over. Baoyu smiled and said, "Good sister, if you must be angry, be angry here. But when you see the Old Lady and Lady Wang, do try to be more amiable. If you carry on like this, you'll only get a scolding again." Yuanchuan said, "Eat, eat! Don't try your sweet talk with me—I don't believe a word of it!" She urged Baoyu to drink two mouthfuls of soup. Baoyu deliberately said, "It doesn't taste good. I won't eat it." Yuanchuan said, "Amida Buddha! If this doesn't taste good, what does?" Baoyu said, "It has no flavor at all. If you don't believe me, taste it and you'll see." Yuanchuan actually did take a sip in a fit of pique. Baoyu smiled and said, "Now that's good, isn't it?" Only then did Yuanchuan realize that Baoyu had been coaxing her to take a bite herself. She said, "Since you said it didn't taste good before, now that you say it's good, I still won't give it to you." Baoyu kept pressing her with smiles and entreaties to be allowed to eat, but Yuanchuan would not give it to him, while at the same time telling the others to serve the meal.

Just as the maids were coming in, someone suddenly came to report: "Two nurses from Master Fu the Second have come to pay their respects and wish to see the Second Master." Baoyu understood at once that these were the nurses of Fu Pan, the assistant magistrate. This Fu Pan had originally been a protégé of Jia Zheng's. Over the years he had relied on the Jia family's prestige to get ahead, and Jia Zheng had treated him with genuine regard, so he was different from the other protégés. His household frequently sent people to pay visits. Baoyu had always had a deep aversion to tiresome men and foolish women. Why then had he sent for these two old women today? There was a reason. It was because Baoyu had heard that Fu Pan had a younger sister named Fu Qiufang, a jewel of a young lady. He had often heard people say that she was gifted with both talent and beauty. Though he had never seen her in person, his heart was filled with ardent admiration from afar. He feared that if he did not admit them, it would slight Fu Qiufang, so he immediately ordered them to be shown in. This Fu Pan had come up in the world rather suddenly. Because Fu Qiufang had a fair share of beauty and was exceptionally clever, Fu Pan was set on using his sister to form a marriage connection with a great and noble house and was unwilling to lightly betroth her to anyone, and so the matter had been delayed to this day. Fu Qiufang was now already twenty-three and still unmarried. The trouble was that those great and noble families looked down on his poverty and humble origins and were unwilling to seek her hand. Fu Pan, being close to the Jia family, had his own designs on the matter. As it happened, the two old women he had sent today were extremely ignorant. When they heard that Baoyu wished to see them, they came in, offered their greetings, and had barely spoken two sentences. When Yuanchuan saw strangers arrive, she stopped her banter with Baoyu and stood holding the soup, listening to the conversation. Baoyu in turn kept his attention on the old women, eating with one hand while reaching out with the other for the soup. Both of their eyes were on the other people, and without thinking, Baoyu reached out too sharply—he knocked the bowl over, spilling the soup onto Baoyu's hand. Yuanchuan herself was not scalded, but she gave a start and could not help laughing. "What is this?" she cried. The maids hurried forward to take the bowl. Baoyu, who had scalded his own hand, did not even notice it. He kept asking Yuanchuan, "Where did you get burned? Does it hurt?" Yuanchuan and all the others burst out laughing. Yuanchuan said, "You're the one who got burned, and you keep asking me!" Only then did Baoyu realize that he himself had been scalded. The maids came up and quickly set things to rights. Baoyu stopped eating, washed his hands, drank some tea, and exchanged a few more words with the two old women. Then the two nurses took their leave. Qingwen and the others escorted them as far as the bridge before returning.

Having found themselves alone, the two old women talked as they walked along. One of them laughed and said, "No wonder some people say that Baoyu of their household looks good on the outside but is muddleheaded inside—fair to see but of no use. He really does have a touch of the simpleton. He scalded his own hand and then asked if it hurt—isn't that the act of a fool?" The other woman laughed too and said, "When I was here last time, I heard many people in his family complain that he truly is a bit touched. Once, drenched in a downpour like a waterlogged chicken, he told someone else, 'It's raining—go and take shelter quickly.' Don't you find that ridiculous? When no one is around, he weeps and laughs by himself. When he sees a swallow, he talks to the swallow; when he sees fish in the river, he talks to the fish; when he sees the stars and the moon, he either sighs heavily or mutters under his breath. What's more, he has no backbone at all—he even puts up with the tantrums of those little maids. When it comes to treasuring things, even a scrap of thread is precious to him; but when it comes to wasting things, he doesn't care if they're worth a fortune." As they chatted, they walked out of the garden, took their leave of the others, and went home—but no more of that.

Now let us return to Xiren. Seeing that the visitors had gone, she brought Yinger over and asked Baoyu what kind of netting he wanted made. Baoyu smiled at Yinger and said, "I was so busy talking that I forgot you. I didn't ask you here for anything else—I just want you to make a few lengths of netting for me." "What is it for?" asked Yinger. When Baoyu was asked this, he smiled and said, "Never mind what it's for—just make a few of each kind." Yinger clapped her hands and laughed. "That would be endless! If you want it that way, I couldn't finish in ten years." Baoyu laughed. "Dear sister, you have nothing else to do anyway—make them all for me." Xiren smiled and said, "They can't all be finished at once. For now, let's pick the most important ones and make two." "What's important?" said Yering. "Just fans, sachet pendants, and sweat-cloths." "A sweat-cloth will do," said Baoyu. "What color sweat-cloth?" asked Yinger. "Bright red," said Baoyu. "For bright red, black netting would look best, or perhaps stone-blue—something to set off the color." "What goes with pine-yellow?" asked Baoyu. "Pine-yellow goes with peach-red," said Yinger. "That would be lovely," said Baoyu. "And I want something elegant with a touch of beauty." "Willow-green and willow-yellow are my favorites," said Yinger. "Very well then, make one peach-red and one willow-green," said Baoyu. "What pattern?" asked Yinger. "How many patterns are there?" asked Baoyu. "Incense-pillar, heaven-stool, elephant-eye, linked-diamonds, interlocking rings, plum-blossom, and willow-leaf," said Yinger. "What pattern did you use for Third Miss the other day?" asked Baoyu. "That was a gathered-heart plum-blossom," said Yinger. "That one is good," said Baoyu. As he spoke, he told Xiren to fetch the thread she had just brought in, but an old woman outside the window announced that the young ladies' meals were ready. "Go and eat," said Baoyu. "Come back quickly when you're done." Xiren smiled and said, "We have a guest here. How can we leave?" Yinger, sorting the thread as she worked, smiled and said, "Where did that come from? Go and eat properly and come back quickly." Only then did Xiren and the others leave, keeping behind two little maids to wait on them.

As Baoyu watched Yinger make the netting, he chatted with her and asked, "How old are you?" Yinger worked as she answered. "Sixteen." "What's your family name?" asked Baoyu. "Huang," said Yinger. Baoyu laughed. "That name suits you perfectly—you really are a golden oriole." Yinger smiled. "My name originally had two characters—Jin Ying, Golden Oriole. Miss found it too much of a mouthful, so she just calls me Yinger, and that's what I'm called now." "Miss Bao is quite fond of you," said Baoyu. "When Miss Bao gets married, you'll no doubt go with her." Yinger pursed her lips and smiled. Baoyu laughed and said, "I often say to Xiren, I wonder who will be the lucky man to enjoy both mistress and maid." Yinger smiled and said, "You don't even know the several extraordinary qualities our Miss has that no one else in the world possesses—her looks are actually secondary." Seeing how Yinger was charming, artless, and spoke with such innocent delight, Baoyu was already quite captivated—and this reminded him even more of Baochai. So he asked, "What are these qualities? Dear sister, tell me in detail." Yinger smiled and said, "I'll tell you, but you mustn't tell her." "Naturally not," said Baoyu. Just then they heard someone outside say, "Why is it so quiet in here?" They turned around—it was none other than Baochai. Baoyu quickly offered her a seat. When Baochai had sat down, she asked Yinger, "What are you making?" As she asked, she reached over to look at what Yinger was holding—it was only half finished. Baochai smiled and said, "What's interesting about that? You'd be better off making a netting to set the jade in." This remark struck Baoyu, and he clapped his hands and laughed. "Sister, you're right—I'd forgotten. But what color should I use?" Baochai said, "Mixed colors certainly won't do. Bright red would clash with the jade, yellow wouldn't stand out, and black would be too dark. Let me think of a way—take some gold thread and mix it with black pearl thread, strand by strand, and weave it into a netting. That would look fine."

Baoyu was overjoyed to hear this and called out repeatedly for Xiren to fetch the gold thread. It happened that Xiren was just then coming in with two dishes of food, and she told Baoyu, "Strange things are happening today. Her Ladyship the Mistress has just sent someone over with two dishes for me." Baoyu laughed and said, "It must be that there are extra dishes today, and she sent them for everyone to share." Xiren said, "No, they were sent to me by name, and she didn't even ask me to come and kowtow my thanks. Isn't that strange?" Baochai laughed and said, "If they're for you, just eat them. What's there to wonder about?" Xiren smiled and said, "This has never happened before—it makes me quite embarrassed." Baochai pursed her lips and smiled. "And this embarrasses you? Tomorrow there will be things that embarrass you even more." Xiren sensed there was something behind these words. She had always known that Baochai was not the sort to make light of others with barbed remarks, and she suddenly recalled what Lady Wang had been hinting at the other day. She did not pursue the matter further, but showed the dishes to Baoyu and said, "Wash your hands and come get the thread." With that, she went straight out. After the meal, Baoyu washed his hands and came back in to get the gold thread and have Ying'er weave the netting. By this time, Baochai had already been invited away by a messenger sent by Xue Pan.

While Baoyu was watching the netting being woven, two maids arrived from Lady Xing's quarters with two kinds of fruit for him to eat. They asked him, "Are you able to walk yet? If you can move about, the Mistress would like you to come over tomorrow to amuse yourself. She's been thinking of you a great deal." Baoyu replied eagerly, "If I can walk, I must go and pay my respects to the Mistress. The pain is somewhat better than before—please reassure the Mistress not to worry." He told the two maids to sit down, and then called Qiuwen over, asking her to take half of the fruit that had just been brought and deliver it to Miss Lin. Qiuwen assented and was just about to leave when they heard Daiyu talking in the courtyard. Baoyu quickly called out, "Invite her in at once!" What happened next will be told in the following chapter.