Chapter 50

Chapter 50

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CHAPTER 50

A POEM IS COMPOSED OUT OF DOOR BY THE SNOW

AND RIDDLES ARE MADE IN THE WARM-FRAGRANT ARBOUR

“Let’s settle the order properly,” said Baochai. “I’ll write it out.” She told them to draw lots, and the first name drawn was Li’s. Then the rest came out in turn.

“If that’s how it is,” said Xifeng, “let me contribute a line too.”

“Even better!” they all cried with a laugh.

Baochai added the character for “Phoenix” above the name Farmer of Fragrant Rice. Li Wan then explained the subject to her. Xifeng thought for a while and said with a laugh, “Don’t laugh at me. I only have one rough line—after that I’m lost.”

“The rougher the better,” they all said, laughing. “Say it and then go about your business.”

“I thought that when it snows there must be a north wind,” said Xifeng. “Last night I heard the north wind blowing all night long. I have a line: ‘All night the north wind blew strong.’ Will that do?”

They all exchanged glances and laughed. “Though rough, it doesn’t reveal what comes after—this is just how a poem should start. Not only is it good, but it leaves plenty of room for those who come after. Let this be the opening line. Farmer of Fragrant Rice, write it down quickly and continue.”

After Xifeng, Li Wan’s mother and Ping’er had a couple of cups of wine, they left.

Then Li Wan wrote:

All night the north wind blew strong,

and continued herself:

The door opens—snow still drifts.

Pitiful, its whiteness trampled into the mud.

Xiangling said:

The whole ground is strewn with precious jade.

It means well by the withered grass,

Tanchun said:

But has no heart to deck the blighted stalks.

The price of village wine rises when it’s ripe,

Li Qi said:

In a good year the official granaries overflow.

The reed ashes stir and fly from the pipes,

Li Wen said:

The Yang returns and the Dipper’s handle turns.

The cold hills have lost their green,

Xiuyan said:

The frozen shore no longer hears the tide.

Easy to hang on sparse willow branches,

Xiangyun said:

Hard to pile up on broken banana leaves.

Musk charcoal melts in the precious tripod,

Baoqin said:

Embroidered sleeves warm the golden marten fur.

Light outshines the mirror before the window,

Daiyu said:

Fragrance clings to the pepper on the wall.

The slanting wind still blows and blows,

Baoyu said:

The clear dream grows distant and faint.

Where is the flute playing “Plum Blossom”?

Baochai said:

Whose jade flute is that? The tortoise grieves—the earth’s axis sinks.

Li Wan said with a laugh, “I’ll go and see to the hot wine.”

Baochai told Baoqin to continue. But Xiangyun stood up and said:

The dragon battles—the battle clouds disperse.

The lone oar turns back from the wild shore,

Baoqin also stood up and said:

The poet’s whip points to Bashi Bridge.

Bestowing fur cloaks—pitying the frontier guards,

Xiangyun would not yield to anyone, and the others could not match her quickness. They all watched her raise her brows and draw herself up as she said:

Adding wadding—thinking of conscript labour.

Hollows and hillocks—carefully judging the level or steep,

Baochai praised her eagerly and then continued:

Branches and boughs fear to be shaken.

Gently, the white snow treads lightly,

Daiyu hastily continued:

Daintily, it dances at the waist.

Boiling taro becomes a new treat,

As she spoke, she nudged Baoyu and told him to continue. Baoyu had been watching the three of them—Baochai, Baoqin, and Daiyu—fighting Xiangyun together, which was great fun. He had no attention left for composing a line. Now that Daiyu nudged him, he said:

Scattering salt is an old ballad.

The straw-cloaked fisherman still moors his boat,

Xiangyun said with a laugh, “Hurry up and sit down. You’re no use—you’re only holding me up.” Then Baoqin continued:

Woodcutters’ axes are not heard in the forest.

Prostrate elephants—a thousand peaks jut out,

Xiangyun hastily continued:

Coiling snakes—one path winds far.

Flowers gather because of the cold,

Baochai and the others quickly praised her. Tanchun then said:

Can colour fear the frost’s withering?

The deep courtyard startles the cold sparrows,

Xiangyun was thirsty and hurriedly drank tea, but Xiuyan had already said:

The empty mountain weeps with old owls.

The steps rise and fall,

Xiangyun hastily set down her cup and said:

The pool water drifts as it pleases.

Shining brightly as the clear dawn approaches,

Daiyu said:

Whirling into the endless night.

Sincerity forgets the three feet of cold,

Xiangyun said with a laugh:

Good fortune melts away the ninefold drought.

Who asks after the stiffly lying sick?

Baoqin also said with a laugh:

The mad wanderer gladly invites them.

Heaven’s loom has severed its white ribbon,

Xiangyun said quickly:

The sea market has lost its mermaid silk.

Daiyu would not let her speak first, and said at once:

Lonely, facing the terraces and pavilions,

Xiangyun said:

In purity and poverty, thinking of basket and gourd.

Baoqin would not be outdone either, and said:

For brewing tea the ice gradually boils,

Xiangyun, seeing all this, was thoroughly enjoying herself. She laughed and said:

For warming wine the leaves are hard to burn.

Daiyu also said with a laugh:

No broom—the mountain monk sweeps it,

Baoqin also said with a laugh:

Burying a lute—the child picks it up.

Xiangyun laughed so hard she bent over. She quickly recited a line. “What on earth did you say?” they all asked.

Xiangyun shouted:

The stone tower idly sleeps with cranes,

Daiyu clutched her chest, laughing, and cried out:

The brocade blanket warmly nuzzles the cat.

Baoqin also said with a laugh:

The moon cave turns over silver waves,

Xiangyun said:

The rosy city hides its red beacon.

Daiyu said:

The soaked plum blossoms—their fragrance can be tasted,

Baochai praised her and said:

The drenched bamboo—drunken, can be tuned.

Baoqin said:

It may dampen the mandarin-duck sashes,

Xiangyun said:

It often freezes the kingfisher’s crest.

Daiyu said:

Without wind, still tender and longing,

Baoqin said:

Without rain, still softly falling.

Xiangyun, leaning on Baochai, had already laughed herself limp. The three of them scrambled and snatched at the lines, and the others, forgetting all about composing their own poems, simply stood watching and laughing. Daiyu still urged Xiangyun to continue, saying, "Even you must run out of talent sooner or later. Let's hear what else you have to chew on!" Xiangyun only nestled in Baochai's arms, laughing without stop. Baochai pushed her up and said, "If you have the ability, use up every word in the 'Second Xiao' rhyme category, then I'll be convinced." Xiangyun stood up and laughed, "I'm not composing poetry—I'm fighting for my life!" Everyone said, "Go on, then, you finish it." Tanchun had long since concluded there would be no lines left for her to link, so she had already written hers out. "It hasn't quite come to a close yet," she said. Li Wan took it and linked with a line:

"To record this morning's joy—"

Li Qi closed with a line:

"We offer poems to Shun and Yao."

Li Wan said, "That's enough, enough. Even though we haven't exhausted all the rhyme words, forcing in whatever's left would spoil it." Thereupon they all came to examine the verses carefully. Xiangyun's were the most numerous, and everyone laughed, saying, "It's all thanks to that venison!"

Li Wan said with a laugh, "Taken line by line, it all flows coherently, but Baoyu has come in last again." Baoyu smiled and said, "I never could do linked verse to begin with—you'll just have to forgive me." Li Wan said, "We've never had to forgive you in every single session before. First you said the rhyme category was too difficult, then you made mistakes in timing, and now you can't do linked verse. Today you must be punished. I noticed the red plum blossoms at Green Bamboo Cottage are delightful—I want to cut a branch to put in a vase. That Miaoyu at the nunnery is insufferable, though, and I won't deal with her. So I'll punish you—go fetch a branch for me." Everyone agreed this was an elegant and amusing punishment. Baoyu was happy to oblige and set off at once. Xiangyun and Daiyu both said, "It's bitterly cold outside—drink a cup of hot wine before you go." Xiangyun quickly seized the pot, and Daiyu handed him a large cup, filling it to the brim. Xiangyun laughed, "If you drink our wine and don't come back with the branch, we'll double the penalty." Baoyu hastily drank the cupful and went out into the snow. Li Wan told a servant to follow him closely. Daiyu quickly stopped her, "No need—having someone along would only make it impossible." Li Wan nodded and said, "Quite right." She ordered a maid to bring a beautiful vase with sloping shoulders, filled it with water to hold the plum, and added with a laugh, "When he returns, we should compose poems on the red plum." Xiangyun said eagerly, "Let me be the first to write one!" Baochai interjected, "Today we absolutely cannot let you do it again. You've snatched everything already, and if the others just sit idle, that's no fun. When Baoyu comes back, we'll punish him—he said he can't do linked verse, so let him compose on his own now." Daiyu said, "That's a good idea. I have another thought—since the linked verse wasn't enough, why not have those who linked the fewest lines compose the red plum poems?" Baochai said, "That's an excellent idea. Xing, Li, and Xue were underused today, and they're our guests besides. The three girls—Baoqin, Xiangyun, and Daiyu—snatched up so many lines. The rest of us shouldn't write at all; let only those three compose." Li Wan said, "Qi'er isn't much good at writing either—let Baoqin do it instead." Baochai had no choice but to agree. She added, "Use the three characters 'red plum blossom' as rhymes. Each person writes a seven-character regulated verse. Elder Sister Xing takes 'red,' your younger Sister Li takes 'plum,' and Baoqin takes 'blossom.'" Li Wan said, "I'm not satisfied with letting Baoyu off." Xiangyun said quickly, "I have a good subject for him." Everyone asked what it was. Xiangyun said, "Tell him to write 'Visiting Miaoyu to Beg for Red Plum Blossoms'—wouldn't that be amusing?" Everyone agreed it was delightful.

Before she had finished speaking, Baoyu came in smiling, carrying a branch of red plum on his shoulder. The maids quickly took it and placed it in the vase. Everyone laughed and thanked him. Baoyu said, "Now you can enjoy them—you have no idea how much effort it cost me." As he spoke, Tanchun had already passed him a cup of warm wine, and the maids came forward to take his straw cape and brush the snow off him. Maids from each room brought clothes, and Xiren sent someone to deliver a half-old fox-fur jacket. Li Wan had a servant place a plate of the steamed taro root, and two plates of red oranges, yellow oranges, and olives, and sent them to Xiren. Xiangyun then told Baoyu the poetry subject and urged him to compose quickly. Baoyu said, "Sisters, let me use my own rhymes—don't restrict me." Everyone said, "Go ahead as you please."

As they spoke, they all admired the plum branch. It was only about two feet tall, with a horizontal branch stretching out some five or six feet long. The small branches branching off were varied—some coiling like horned dragons, some stiff like dead worms, some standing alone like brushes, others clustered thick as a forest. The flowers shed rouge-red color, and their fragrance overpowered orchids and irises. Everyone praised it admiringly. Who would have thought that Xing Liyan, Li Wen, and Xue Baoqin had already finished their poems and each written them out. The others looked at them in the order of the three rhyme characters "red plum blossom":

On the Red Plum Blossom, using "Red"

Xing Liyan

The peach has not yet bloomed, the apricot not yet red;

Bursting through the cold, it first laughs at the east wind.

Its soul flies to Yu Ridge—spring hard to distinguish;

Rosy clouds screen Luofu—dreams cannot get through.

Green calyxes add adornment, melting like jeweled torches;

White immortals, propped in drunkenness, cross the fading rainbow.

Look at it—how could this be an ordinary hue?

Dense or faint, it rests amid the ice and snow.

On the Red Plum Blossom, using "Plum"

Li Wen

The white plum is too lazy to write—I'll compose on the red;

Flaunting its beauty, it first opens to drunken eyes.

The frozen face bears traces—all of blood;

The drunk heart bears no grudge—yet turns to ash.

By mistakenly swallowing elixir pills, it shifted its true bones;

By secretly descending from Jasper Lake, it shed its old form.

North and south of the river, spring is brilliant—

I tell the bees and butterflies: do not doubt in vain.

On the Red Plum Blossom, using "Blossom"

Xue Baoqin

Sparse are the branches, brilliant are the flowers;

Spring's young ladies vie in splendor.

"In the empty courtyard and winding railings there is no more snow; in the flowing stream and deserted mountains there are drifting rosy clouds. A chill dream follows the flute played beside red sleeves; the fragrance of wandering immortals floats upon the raft in the River of Stars. Her former life must surely have been as a plant from the Jasper Terrace; one need no longer doubt that her coloring differs from the rest."

When everyone had read them, they all praised the poems with a laugh, and pointed to the last one as being even better. Baoyu saw that Baqin was the youngest and yet the most quick-witted, and marveled greatly at it. Daiyu and Xiangyun poured a small cup of wine each and together congratulated Baqin. Baochai said with a smile, "Each of the three poems has its own merits. The two of you have been teasing me and making me sick of it every day, and now you've come to tease him." Li Wan then asked Baoyu, "Have you got yours?" Baoyu said hastily, "I had one, but as soon as as I saw those three poems, I was so frightened I forgot it. Let me think again." When Xiangyun heard this, she picked up a copper fire-tongs and struck the hand-warmer, saying with a laugh, "I'm beating the drum. If you can't finish by the time the drum stops, you'll be penalized." Baoyu said with a smile, "I've got it." Daiyu picked up the brush and said, "You recite, I'll write." Xiangyun struck once and laughed, "One drum's length!" Baoyu said with a smile, "I've got it, you write." The others listened as he recited:

Before the wine was opened or the lines were polished,

Daiyu wrote it down, shook her head and smiled, "The opening is rather flat." Xiangyun said again, "Hurry up!" Baoyu said with a smile:

Seeking spring and asking after winter, one arrives at Penglai.

Daiyu and Xiangyun both nodded and smiled, "There's some meaning to it now." Baoyu continued:

I do not seek the dew in the vase of the Bodhisatta;

I beg instead for plum blossoms beyond the railing of the Moon Goddess.

Daiyu wrote it down and shook her head again, "Just a lucky chance." Xiangyun hurriedly urged the second drum, and Baoyu said with a smile:

Entering the world, I coldly pick my way through the red snow;

Leaving the dust behind, I cut my way through the purple clouds with their fragrance.

Who pities the gnarled, thin-poet's shoulders?

On my robe still clings the moss of the Buddhist cloister.

When Daiyu had finished writing and Xiangyun and the others were just about to comment, several young maids came running in and said, "The Old Ancestress is here!" Everyone hurried out to greet her. They all laughed and said, "How high-spirited we all are!" As they spoke, they saw from afar that the Dowager, wrapped in a large hooded cloak, wearing a warm grey squirrel-skin hood, riding in a small bamboo sedan-chair, with a blue silk oil umbrella over her, and a dozen or so maids like Yuanyang and Hupo, each holding an umbrella, escorting the sedan-chair as they came. Li Wan and the others hurried forward to welcome her, but the Dowager ordered them to stop, saying, "Just stay where you are." When she arrived before them, the Dowager said with a smile, "I came without telling your mistress and Sister Feng. It's no harm sitting in the snow, but there's no need to have them come tramping through it." Everyone hurried forward to take her cloak and support her on either side, while answering her. When the Dowager entered the room, she said first with a smile, "What splendid plum blossoms! You know how to enjoy yourselves too—I've come to join you." As she spoke, Li Wan had already ordered someone to bring a large wolfskin mat and spread it in the center. The Dowager sat down and said with a smile, "Go on having fun and eating and drinking as you were. Because the days are short now, I didn't dare take my afternoon nap. I played a round of cards and then thought of you all, so I came to add to the fun." Li Wan quickly brought over a hand-warmer again, and Tanchun took another set of cups and chopsticks, personally poured warm wine, and presented it to the Dowager. The Dowager took a sip and asked what was on that platter. Everyone hurriedly brought it forward and replied that it was braised quail. The Dowager said, "That will do. Tear off a little leg for me." Li Wan answered at once, asked for water to wash her hands, and personally tore it apart. The Dowager said again, "Go on sitting and talking and laughing so I can listen." She also ordered Li Wan, "You sit down too, and act just as if I weren't here—otherwise I'll leave." When everyone heard this, they sat down in order, and Li Wan moved to the very bottom seat. The Dowager asked what they had been doing, and they said they had been composing poems. The Dowager said, "If you're composing poems, you might as well make up some lantern riddles—something for everyone to enjoy in the first month of the year." Everyone agreed. After chatting and laughing for a while, the Dowager said, "It's damp here; don't sit too long, or you'll catch the damp." She added, "Your Fourth Sister's place is warm. Let's go there and look at her painting—will it be done by New Year's?" Everyone laughed and said, "How could it be done by New Year's? I'm afraid it won't be done until next year's Dragon Boat Festival." The Dowager said, "That's too much! She's taking even more time on it than it took to build this garden."

Still seated in her bamboo sedan-chair, they all escorted her onward. They passed the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion, then entered a lane with gateways on both the east and west sides. The gate towers had stone tablets embedded on both the inner and outer faces. They now entered through the western gate. The tablet facing outward bore the inscription "Piercing the Clouds," while the one facing inward read "Traversing the Moon." When they reached the center, they entered the main gate facing south. the Lady Dowager alighted from her chair, and Xichun had already come out to meet her. They passed through the covered corridor inside, which led to Xichun's bedroom. Above the doorway were the three characters "Warm-Scented Nook." Several attendants had already raised the scarlet felt curtain, and a warm fragrance brushed against their faces as soon as they entered. They all went inside, but the Lady Dowager did not sit down. She merely asked where the painting was. Xichun said with a smile, "It's gotten cold, and the glue has all congealed and lost its moisture. If I painted now, it probably wouldn't look good, so I put it away." The Lady Dowager laughed and said, "I want it by the New Year. Don't be lazy—hurry up and bring it out for me to paint." Before she had finished speaking, Xifeng appeared, draped in a purple serge jacket, smiling cheerfully. She said, "Old Ancestor, you didn't tell anyone today and came off by yourself. I've been looking everywhere for you." The Lady Dowager was naturally delighted to see him and said, "I was afraid you'd all be cold, so I didn't let them tell you. You really are a clever little spirit—you found me after all. Strictly speaking, filial devotion isn't about this sort of thing." Xifeng laughed and said, "How could I have come looking out of filial devotion? When I got to Old Ancestor's place, it was perfectly quiet—not a crow or sparrow in sight. I asked the young maids, but they wouldn't tell me, so I had to come looking for you in the garden. I was puzzled when several nuns suddenly appeared, and then it dawned on me. I thought the nuns must have come to deliver the year-end accounts or to collect the annual incense and allowance money. With so much to do for the New Year, Old Ancestor must have been hiding from her creditors. I quickly asked the nuns, and sure enough, that was it. I promptly gave them their annual allowance and sent them off. Now I've come back to report to Old Ancestor: the creditors are gone, so there's no need to hide anymore. I've prepared tender young wild pheasant—please come for the evening meal. If we wait much longer, it'll be overcooked." As she spoke, the others laughed all along the way.

Xifeng did not wait for the Lady Dowager to respond; she ordered the servants to bring the sedan-chair around. The Lady Dowager smiled, took Xifeng's hand, and got back into the chair. With the whole party in tow, they chatted and laughed their way out through the eastern gate of the lane. All around, the scene was like powder and snow sculpted from silver. Suddenly they saw Baochai—no, Baoqin—standing on a hillside in her duck-down cape, waiting in the distance, with a maid behind her holding a vase of red plum blossoms. Everyone laughed and said, "Two people are missing, and here she is waiting on the hill, having gone to gather plum blossoms too." The Lady Dowager said joyfully, "Look at how this hillside suits her, with her looks, and that garment, and the plum blossoms behind her—what does it resemble?" Everyone said, "It's just like the painting *Double Beauty* by Qiu Shizhou hanging in the old lady's room." The Lady Dowager shook her head and laughed: "How could that painting have a garment like that? And the person couldn't be this beautiful either!" Before she had finished speaking, someone draped in a great red felt cloak emerged from behind Baoqin. The Lady Dowager said, "And who is that girl?" Everyone laughed, "We're all here—that's Baoyu." The Lady Dowager said, "My eyes are getting worse and worse." As they spoke, he came right up to them. It was indeed Baoyu and Baoqin. Baoyu said with a smile to Baochai, Daiyu, and the others, "I just went to Green Lattice Nunnery again. Miao-yu sent each of you a plum branch—I've already had them delivered." Everyone laughed and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

Before long, they had passed through the Garden gate and reached the Lady Dowager's quarters. After supper, they chatted and laughed for a while. Suddenly Aunt Xue arrived. "What a heavy snow!" she said. "I haven't come to pay my respects to you all day, Old Lady. Are you not in good spirits today? This is just the weather for enjoying the snow."

The Lady Dowager smiled. "Who says I'm not in good spirits? I've been amusing myself with the girls for some time."

Aunt Xue smiled. "Only last night I was thinking of asking our kinswoman to lend me the Garden today so that I could give a modest feast and invite you to enjoy the snow. But then I heard you had retired early, and my daughter told me you were feeling rather out of sorts. So I didn't dare disturb you. Had I known, I should have pressed my invitation."

"This is only the first snow of the tenth month," the Lady Dowager said with a smile. "There will be plenty more snowy days ahead. You can wait before going to that expense."

"If that's so," Aunt Xue said, smiling, "then my devotion has been duly rewarded."

Xifeng cut in, "Now take care you don't forget, Aunt. Fifty taels of silver, if you please. Hand them over to me for safekeeping. Then as soon as it snows I'll have the feast ready. You needn't worry about a thing, and you won't be able to forget."

"If that's the case," the Lady Dowager said, laughing, "let my kinswoman give him fifty taels to keep. Then we'll split it, twenty-five each. When it snows, I'll pretend to be out of sorts and put her off. She needn't worry either. Xifeng and I will have the real benefit."

Xifeng clapped her hands. "Splendid! That's just what I had in mind."

The others all laughed.

"Shameless creature!" the Lady Dowager cried, laughing. "You're quick enough to climb a pole when it's offered to you! You should have said that our kinswoman is a guest and may feel slighted in our house, so that we ought to be inviting her. How can we let her spend money? If you hadn't said that, you'd still have had the face to demand fifty taels first. Have you no shame at all?"

"Well, Old Ancestress has the sharpest eyes," Xifeng said with a laugh. "Let me tell you what happened. You tested Aunt to see if she'd agree. If she'd loosened her purse-strings, you'd have taken the fifty taels and shared it with me. Now that you see that won't work, you turn the tables and make me the target, coming out with all these generous sentiments. Very well then, I won't ask Aunt for any silver. I'll pay for the feast myself and invite you, Old Ancestress, to eat it. On top of that, I'll put up another fifty taels to show my devotion to you, as a fine for meddling in other people's business. How about that?"

Before she had finished, the whole company had tumbled laughing onto the kang.

The Lady Dowager then remarked that the picture of Baoqin picking plum blossoms in the snow was even more beautiful than a painting, and asked in detail about her age, her horoscope, and her family circumstances. Aunt Xue guessed from her manner that the old lady was thinking of matching her with Baoyu. This would have suited her too, but Baoqin had already been betrothed to the son of Academician Mei. Since the Lady Dowager had not openly broached the subject, Aunt Xue felt she could not take the initiative either. So she told her, half in hints and half openly, "The pity is that this girl has no luck. Her father died the year before last. But she has seen a great deal of the world. She traveled all over the country with her parents, over mountains and across rivers. Her father loved sightseeing and had business interests in various places, so he took his family on a trip to one province for a year, then to the next for six months. Altogether they must have visited five or six out of every ten provinces under heaven. She was betrothed to Academician Mei's son here, but the very next year her father passed away. And her mother suffers from a phlegm condition."

Before she had finished, Xifeng stamped her feet with a sigh. "What a pity! I was just going to play matchmaker, but she's already engaged to someone else."

"Who did you want to match?" the Lady Dowager asked, smiling.

"Don't worry about that, Old Ancestress," said Xifeng. "I could tell in my own mind that those two would make a perfect match. But since she's already promised to another, there's no point in saying any more."

The Lady Dowager understood what Xifeng meant, and hearing that the girl was already betrothed, she dropped the subject. After more small talk they dispersed. Nothing further happened that night.

The next day the snow cleared. After breakfast, Grandmother Jia again gave Xichun her instructions. "Never mind whether it's warm or cold—just go on with your painting. If you can't finish by New Year, so be much. The most important thing is to add that painting of the plum blossoms done yesterday by your young cousin and the maid. You must reproduce it exactly, without a single stroke of difference, and do it quickly."

Xichun found this difficult, but she had to agree.

Presently the others gathered to see how she was getting on. Xichun simply sat lost in thought.

Lishuang smiled at the others. "Let her work it out for herself. Let's chat for a while. Yesterday, when Her Ladyship asked us to make up lantern riddles, Qi and Wen couldn't sleep for thinking it over. I composed two based on the *Four Books*, and they each made up two as well."

When they heard this, everyone laughed. "That's just the thing. Tell us and we'll try to guess."

Lishuang smiled. "'The Goddess of Mercy has no family chronicle passed down'—a line from the *Four Books*."

Xiangyun promptly answered: "'It rests in the highest excellence.'"

Baochai laughed. "Think about the meaning of 'family chronicle passed down' before you guess."

Lishuang said: "Think again."

Daiyu smiled. "Oh, I've got it: 'Although good, it has no proof.'"

Everyone agreed: "That's the one."

Lishuang continued: "'A pond of green grass—what is the green grass called?'"

Xiangyun quickly said: "'The rush and the reed.' What else could it be?"

Lishuang smiled. "That was hard for you to guess. Wen's riddle is: 'Water flows out cold from the side of a rock'—the name of an ancient person."

Tanchun asked with a smile: "Could it be Shan Tao?"

Li Wen smiled. "Yes."

Lishuang went on: "Qi's riddle is the character *ying*—guess one character."

They puzzled over it for some time, then Baoqin laughed. "This one is rather deep. Could it be the character *hua*, as in 'flower'?"

Li Qi smiled: "Exactly right."

The others said: "What does *ying* have to do with *hua*?"

Daiyu smiled. "Brilliant! Isn't a firefly transformed from grass?"

They all caught the meaning, laughed, and said: "Well done!"

Baochai said: "These are all very good, but they don't suit Her Ladyship's taste. We should make some simpler things that everyone, refined and common alike, can enjoy."

The others all agreed: "Yes, we ought to make some simple, common things."

Xiangyun laughed. "I've composed a tune to the tune 'Rouged Lips'—it's a perfectly common thing. Guess what it is." Then she recited:

*Parted by streams and hills,*

*Playing games in the dusty world—*

*What real joy is there?*

*Fame and profit are empty,*

*And what comes after can never be continued.*

The others were baffled. After thinking for a long time, some guessed it was a monk, some a Taoist priest, and some a puppeteer.

Baoyu laughed for a while, then said: "None of those. I've guessed it—it must be a performing monkey."

Xiangyun smiled: "That's exactly right."

The others said: "The first part is all fine, but how do you explain the last line?"

Xiangyun said: "Isn't every performing monkey's tail cut off?"

They all burst out laughing. "Even her riddles are eccentric and strange!"

Lishuang said: "Yesterday Aunt Xue said that Baoqin has seen a lot of the world and traveled many roads—you ought to be making up riddles. That's just the thing for you. And your poems are so good too—why don't you compose some for us to guess?"

Baoqin nodded, smiling, and went off to think it over.

Baochai had already composed one and recited it:

*Carved sandalwood and incised catalpyx, layer upon layer—*

*Could they be piled up by a skilled craftsman?*

*Though the wind and rain of half a sky have passed,*

*When was the sound of a Buddhist bell ever heard?*

Guess a thing.

While the others were guessing, Baoyu had also composed one and recited it:

*Heaven and earth, both distant and dim,*

*After the bamboo festival, beware and guard well.*

*The messages of cranes and swans must be watched carefully,*

*Better to answer Heaven with a sigh.*

Daiyu had also composed one, which she recited:

*Why bother to tether the swift steed with purple rope?*

*It charges cities and leaps ramparts, fierce and wild.*

*At its master's command, wind and thunder stir—*

*A lone name upon the back of the giant tortoise and the three islands.*

Tanchun had also composed one and was about to recite it when Baoqin came over and laughed. "Since childhood, I've visited quite a few ancient sites. I've chosen ten of them and written ten nostalgic poems. Though the poems are crude, they cherish past events and also secretly conceal ten common things. Please try to guess them."

When the others heard this, they all said: "How clever! Why don't you write them out so we can all read them?"

What happened next will be told in the following chapter.