Chapter 52

Chapter 52

# Chapter 52

## Clever Ping'er Covers Up the Bracelet Affair; Brave Qingwen Mends the Golden-Feathered Cape While Ill

"My very point!" said the Lady Dowager. "I meant to say this last time, but I saw you had so many important matters on your hands, and now there are these additional worries. Naturally you wouldn't dare complain, but I was afraid you might think I only cared about these younger grandchildren and wasn't considerate of you, who manage the household. Now that you've brought it up yourself, so much the better."

Since Aunt Xue, Li Wan's mother-in-law, Madam Xing, and Madam You were all present, having come to pay their respects, the Lady Dowager turned to Lady Wang and the others, saying, "Today I've spoken my mind. I don't say this as a rule, partly because I didn't want to make Feng'er too big for her boots, and partly because the others wouldn't have stood for it. But now that you're all here and all of you have been daughters-in-law or sisters-in-law, has anyone else thought of such things?"

Aunt Xue, Li Wan's mother-in-law, Madam You, and the others all smiled and said, "Truly, she's a rare one. Others are just polite and keep up appearances, but she genuinely dotes on her younger brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. And she's genuinely filial to the old lady too."

The Lady Dowager nodded and sighed with feeling. "I do dote on her, but I sometimes fear that being too clever may not be a good thing."

Xifeng quickly said with a smile, "The Ancestress is wrong there. Everyone says that if you're too clever and intelligent, you won't live long. Everyone says it and everyone believes it, but the Ancestress shouldn't say it and shouldn't believe it. The Ancestress is ten times more clever and intelligent than I am, so how is it that you're blessed with such fortune and longevity? I may even surpass the Ancestress by half tomorrow! I'll only die after I've lived a thousand years and you've gone to the Western Paradise."

The Lady Dowager laughed. "If everyone else is dead and only we two old monsters are left, what would be the point of that?"

This made everyone laugh.

Baoyu, worried about Qingwen and Xiren, went back to the Garden ahead of the others. When he reached the room, it was full of the smell of medicine. There was no one there—he saw only Qingwen lying alone on the brick bed, her face burning red. He touched her and found her skin burning hot. He quickly warmed his hands over the brazier and reached under the covers to feel her body—it was scorching too.

"Where have the others gone?" he asked. "Even Sheyue and Qiuwen? How can they be so heartless as to leave you and go off on their own?"

"I sent Qiuwen away to her dinner," said Qingwen. "Sheyue went out just now when Ping'er came looking for her. Those two were being very mysterious—I don't know what they were talking about. They must be saying I'm too ill to go out."

"Ping'er isn't that sort of person," said Baoyu. "Besides, she didn't know you were ill when she came to see you. She must have come to talk to Sheyue, and when she happened to see you were sick, she casually said she'd come specially to see how you were. That's just common tact. Even if you don't go out, how is that her fault? And you're all such good friends—there's no way she'd let a thing like this spoil your harmony."

"That's true," said Qingwen. "But I wonder why they're suddenly keeping things secret from me."

"Let me go out the back door and listen under the window," said Baoyu with a smile. "Then I'll come back and tell you."

He went out the back door and crept under the window to listen.

He heard Sheyue ask in a low voice, "How did you find out?"

"The day I was washing my hands it disappeared," said Ping'er. "Second Madam told us not to make any noise about it. As soon as we left the Garden, she had all the mothers in every quarter of the Garden make a careful search. We suspected that Miss Xing's maids—they're poor, and we thought perhaps the girls had never seen such a thing and picked it up. We never expected it to be one of your people here. Fortunately Second Madam wasn't in the room. Old Mother Song from your place went to her with this bracelet and said young girl Zhui'er had stolen it and she'd seen it and reported it to Second Madam. I hurriedly took the bracelet and thought it over: Baoyu always pays special attention to your people and likes you to outdo the others. A few years ago, when that Liang'er stole the jade, even after a year or two had passed, people still brought it up to make trouble. Now there's another one who's stolen gold. And what's worse, she stole it from people in another household. Of all people, it had to be one of his—it's his people who make him look bad. So I went out of my way to warn Old Mother Song on no account to tell Baoyu. She was to act as if nothing had happened and not mention it to anyone. Secondly, the old lady and Lady Wang would be angry if they heard about it. Thirdly, it would reflect badly on Xiren and all of you. So when I reported to Second Madam, I said, 'I was on my way to First Madam's place when the bracelet slipped off my wrist and fell by the roots of the grass. The snow was deep and I didn't see it. Now that the snow has melted, it's lying there gleaming yellow in the sun, and I picked it up.' Second Madam believed me. That's why I've come to tell you. Watch her in future and don't send her on errands elsewhere. When Xiren comes back, you can discuss it among yourselves and find some way to send her away."

"That little trollop has seen some things in her time," said Sheyue. "How can she be so greedy?"

"After all, how heavy is this bracelet?" said Ping'er. "Second Madam said it's called a 'shrimp-whisker bracelet'—it's really the pearl on it that's valuable. Qingwen is a piece of crackling charcoal—if we told her, she couldn't bear it. She'd lose her temper and start hitting or shouting, and it would get out after all. That would be worse. That's why I've just told you to keep an eye on things."

With that, she took her leave.

Baoyu was at once delighted, vexed and sighing. He was delighted because Ping'er had shown such consideration for him; vexed because Zhui'er had been pilfering; and sighing because a clever girl like Zhui'er should have done such a shameful thing. He went back to his room and told Qingwen everything Ping'er had said. "She says you're a girl who likes to keep up appearances," he added. "Now that you're ill, hearing this would only make you worse. She'll tell you about it after you've recovered." Qingwen was indeed furious: her brows knitted and her phoenix eyes flashed as she immediately shouted for Zhui'er. Baoyu hurriedly tried to stop her. "If you raise an outcry, you'll be throwing away the good will Ping'er has shown us. You'd better accept his kindness and send the girl away afterwards." Qingwen retorted, "Even so, how can I swallow such an insult?" "Why get so worked up?" said Baoyu. "Just rest and nurse your illness."

After taking her medicine, Qingwen took another dose in the evening. She perspired a little at night, but with no apparent effect. She still had a fever, a headache, her nose was blocked and her voice sounded heavy. Next day the Imperial Physician Wang came again to examine her and modified her prescription. The fever abated somewhat, but she still had a headache. Baoyu told Sheyue, "Fetch the snuff. If she sniffs some and sneezes a few times, her nose will be clear." Sheyue went and fetched a flat box of gold-inlaid star-patterned glass, which she handed to Baoyu. He opened the lid to reveal a picture of a blonde, bare-bodied woman with wings on her ribs, painted on enamel from the West. Inside was some genuine Wancha foreign snuff. Qingwen was staring at the picture. "Sniff some quickly," said Baoyu, "or the scent will evaporate." At once Qingwen took up some with her fingernail and sniffed it up her nose, but it had no effect. She took more and sniffed again. Suddenly a sour, pungent sensation shot up into her forehead and she sneezed five or six times in succession, tears and mucus streaming from her eyes and nose. Qingwen quickly put the box away and laughed. "Marvelous! How refreshing! Bring me some paper." A maid promptly handed her a wad of fine paper, and Qingwen blew her nose sheet by sheet. Baoyu asked with a smile, "How is it now?" "I do feel clearer," she replied with a laugh, "but my temples still ache." "If that's so," said Baoyu, "let's use Western medicine to cure you, and you'll get well." He told Sheyue, "Go to Second Sister-in-law and tell her that I said she often has that Western plaster called 'Ephedrine' for headaches. Ask her for a little." Sheyue assented and went off. Half a day later she came back with half a stick. She then found a piece of red satin, cut out two rounds the size of a finger-tip, warmed the plaster and spread it on them with a hairpin. Qingwen herself took a small mirror and applied the plasters to her temples. Sheyue laughed. "You look just like a scarecrow with your hair in such a mess, but now you've put these on you look quite smart. Second Sister-in-law uses them all the time, so they don't show as much on her." Then she told Baoyu, "Second Sister-in-law says tomorrow is your uncle's birthday and your mother wants you to go. What will you wear? Better get things ready tonight to save trouble tomorrow morning." "I'll just wear whatever comes to hand," said Baoyu. "Every year there are so many birthdays, it's impossible to keep track of them all." With that he got up and went to Xichun's quarters to look at her paintings.

Just as he reached the courtyard gate, he saw Baoqin's little maid Xiao Luo passing by. He hurried after her and asked, "Where are you going?" Xiao Luo smiled. "Both our young ladies are at Miss Lin's place. That's where I'm going too." Hearing this, Baoyu changed direction and went with her to Bamboo Lodge. Not only were Baochai and her sister there, but Xing Xiuyan as well. The four of them were chatting together on the brazier couch. Zijuan was sitting in the warm inner room doing needlework by the window. When they saw him they all laughed. "Here comes another! But there's no room for you to sit now." Baoyu smiled. "What a 'Gathering of Beauties in a Winter Boudoir'! It's a pity I'm a step too late. Still, this room is warmer than the others, and these chairs aren't cold to sit on." So saying, he sat down in the chair where Daiyu usually sat, which was covered with a grey squirrel-skin cushion. He noticed in the warm inner room a jade trough in which a number of single-potted narcissi had been planted, with ornamental stones scattered among them. "What lovely flowers!" he exclaimed. "The warmer the room, the sweeter the fragrance. I didn't see them yesterday." Daiyu said, "They were presented to Second Sister Xue by your chief steward Lai's wife—two pots of winter plum and two of narcissus. She gave me a narcissus and gave Jia'niang a winter plum. I didn't want it at first, but I hated to seem ungrateful. If you'd like it, I'll give it to you." "I already have two pots in my room, but not as fine as this one. Since Sister Qin gave it to you, how can you give it away? I really can't accept it." Daiyu said, "I'm taking medicine all day long, I'm being kept alive by medicine. How could I stand the additional scent of flowers? It would only make me weaker. Besides, the smell of medicine in this room spoils the fragrance of the flowers. You'd better take it away. Then the flowers will be pure, without any other scent to spoil them." Baoyu said with a laugh, "There's a sick person taking medicine in my room today too. How did you know?" Daiyu laughed. "That's strange. I was just saying what came into my mind. How should I know what's happening in your room? If you'd come earlier to hear some old tales, you wouldn't be so startled now that you're here."

Baoyu laughed: "Tomorrow when we next meet for a poetry gathering, we'll have a theme already—we can compose verses on the narcissus and winter plum." Daiyu, hearing this, laughed: "Enough, enough! I dare not write poetry anymore. Every time I write, I'm punished for it. It's too humiliating." As she spoke, she covered her face with both hands. Baoyu laughed: "What's the point of that? Why taunt me again? I'm not afraid of embarrassment, yet you go and hide your face." Baochai then laughed: "Next time I'll host a gathering. Four poetry themes and four ci themes. Four poems and four ci each. The first poetry theme will be 'On the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate,' using the rhyme category of *Yi Xian*, in pentasyllable regulated verse, and every rhyme in the *Yi Xian* category must be used—not a single one left over." Baoqin laughed: "From what you say, it's clear that Sister isn't truly serious about hosting a gathering. This is obviously designed to make things difficult for people. If one were forced to do it, one could manage something, but it would just be stringing together words from the *Book of Changes* back and forth—what pleasure could there be in it? When I was eight years old, I went with my father to the Western Sea coast to buy foreign goods. There we came across a girl from the country of Zhenzhen, fifteen years old, whose face was as beautiful as the ones in Western paintings. She had yellow hair, braided and coiled, and wore coral, cat's eyes, and emeralds all over her head. She was dressed in a golden-thread chain-mail jacket with foreign brocade sleeves and carried a Japanese sword inlaid with gold and jewels. Honestly, even paintings couldn't match her beauty. People said she was well-versed in Chinese poetry and books, could lecture on the Five Classics, and was able to compose poetry and ci. So my father asked an interpreter to request her to write out a poem she had composed." Everyone marveled and said it was extraordinary. Baoyu hurriedly laughed: "Good sister, bring it out and let me have a look." Baoqin laughed: "It's stored in Nanjing. How could I produce it now?" Baoyu was greatly disappointed and said: "What a pity—I have no fortune to see such a wonder." Daiyu laughingly pulled at Baoqin: "Don't try to fool us. I know that since you've come here, you wouldn't have left all these things at home—you must have brought them along. Now you're making up excuses saying you didn't bring them. They may believe you, but I don't." Baoqin blushed and lowered her head, smiling without a word. Baochai laughed: "It's just this Pin'er who always talks such nonsense—you've made her sharp." Daiyu said: "If you brought it, then let us have a look at it." Baochai laughed: "The trunks and boxes haven't been sorted out yet—who knows which one it's in! Wait until everything is properly arranged another day, then we'll find it and everyone can look at it together." She then said to Baoqin: "If you remember it, why not recite it for us?" Baoqin replied: "I remember it's a pentasyllable regulated verse. For a foreign girl, it's quite remarkable." Baochai said: "Don't recite it yet—let me call Yun'er over so she can listen too." With that, she called Xiaoluo and instructed her: "Go to my place and tell them that a foreign beauty has come here, and she's written a fine poem. Ask this 'poetry madwoman' to come have a look, and bring our 'poetry fool' along too." Xiaoluo went off laughing.

After a while, they heard Xiangyun laughing and asking: "Which foreign beauty has arrived?" Even as she spoke, she came in with Xiangling. Everyone laughed: "We've heard her voice before we've seen her form." Baoqin and the others quickly offered her a seat and repeated what had just been said. Xiangyun laughed: "Quick, recite it for us." So Baoqin recited:

Last night I dreamed in a red-towered hall;

Tonight I sing by the watery land.

Island clouds steam over the vast sea;

Mist and vapors join the forest deep.

The moon knows no distinction of ancient or present;

Feelings run deep or shallow of their own accord.

Spring in Hannan is vivid and clear—

How could my heart not be moved by it?

After hearing it, everyone said: "How remarkable! She's even better than us Chinese." Before the words had finished, Xinyue came in and said: "The Mistress has sent someone to tell the Second Young Master that he should go to his uncle's house early tomorrow morning. She says she's not feeling well herself and can't come in person." Baoyu quickly stood up and acknowledged: "Yes." He then asked whether Baochai and Baoqin would go. Baochai said: "We're not going. We already sent our gifts over yesterday." They talked a while longer and then dispersed.

Baoyu let the other girls go ahead and lingered behind. Daiyu then stopped him and asked: "When exactly will Xiren be back?" Baoyu said: "Naturally she'll come after the funeral." Daiyu had more to say but couldn't bring it out. After a moment's reverie, she said: "You'd better go." Baoyu also felt he had many things to say but couldn't find the words. After thinking a moment, he laughed: "Let's talk tomorrow." He started down the stone steps but turned back again and asked: "The nights are getting longer now. How many times do you cough in a night? How many times do you wake?" Daiyu said: "Last night I was better—I only coughed twice, but I only slept from the fourth watch to the end of the fifth, and then couldn't sleep anymore." Baoyu laughed again: "There's something important I've only just thought of now." As he spoke, he moved closer and whispered: "I was thinking about the bird's nest that Sister Bao gave you—" Before he could finish, Lady Zhao came in to visit Daiyu, asking: "How has the young lady been these past two days?" Daiyu knew she had come from Tanchun's place and was just passing by on a courtesy call. Daiyu hurriedly smiled and offered her a seat, saying: "How thoughtful of you, Auntie, to think of coming in person in such cold weather." She also quickly ordered tea and at the same time gave Baoyu a meaningful look. Baoyu understood and left.

It was just the evening meal when he saw Lady Wang, who again urged him to return early. After Baoyu came back, he saw Qingwen take her medicine. That night Baoyu did not have Qingwen moved out of the warm pavilion but slept himself on the outside of her bed. He also ordered the brazier moved in front of the warm pavilion, and Sheyue slept on it. The night passed without incident. The next day, before it was light, Qingwen roused Sheyue. "You should be awake too," she said. "You're never satisfied with your sleep! Go out and tell them to prepare some tea and hot water. I'll wake him." Sheyue hastily threw on her clothes and got up. "When we wake him, we should let him dress first, carry this brazier out, and only then let the others in. The old nurses have already said he shouldn't be in this room for fear of infection. If they see us all crowded together, they'll scold us again." "That's what I say too," said Qingwen. The two of them then called him, but Baoyu was already awake and quickly got up to dress. Sheyue had a little maid come in first, and after everything was put in order, she sent for Qiuwen, Tanyun, and the others to attend to Baoyu as he washed and combed his hair. "It's overcast again," said Sheyue. "I'm afraid it's going to snow. Let's put on that felt outfit." Baoyu nodded and changed at once. A little maid then brought a covered bowl of Fujian lotus seeds and red dates in broth on a small tea tray, and Baoyu took a few sips. Sheyue also offered him a small dish of preserved ginger prepared by the French method, and Baoyu put a piece in his mouth. After giving Qingwen further instructions, he went to Grandmother Jia's quarters.

Grandmother Jia had not yet risen, but when she learned Baoyu was going out she had her door opened and called him in. He saw Baochai behind Grandmother Jia, her face turned to the wall, still asleep. Grandmother Jia noticed that Baoyu was wearing a荔色哆羅呢 jacket with "heavenly horse" sleeves and a red felt embroidered coat with gold-thread borders and stone-blue satin trim. "Is it snowing?" she asked. "The sky is overcast, but it hasn't started yet," Baoyu replied. Grandmother Jia told Yuanyang to bring the cloak of black clouds and leopard fur from the previous day. Yuanyang assented and went to fetch it. Baoyu saw that it glittered with gold and emerald colors, shimmering with brilliant hues—quite different from the wild-duck-down cape Baochai wore. Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "This is called 'peacock gold.' It's woven in Russia from thread made of peacock feathers. The other day I gave the wild-duck one to your little sister. This one is yours." Baoyu kowtowed and put it on. "First show your mother before you go," Grandmother Jia said with a smile. Baoyu assented and went out, but Yuanyang was standing on the ground rubbing her eyes. Ever since the day Yuanyang had sworn her oath of renunciation, she had not spoken a word to Baoyu. Baoyu had been deeply troubled day and night, and now when he saw her about to avoid him, he stepped forward with a smile and said, "Good sister, come and look—how does this suit me?" Yuanyang flounced her hands and went into Grandmother Jia's room. Baoyu went to Lady Wang's quarters, showed it to her, then returned to the Garden and showed it to Qingwen and Sheyue before going back to Grandmother Jia's room to report. "Mother saw it and said it was a pity, and told me to be careful wearing it and not to spoil it." "This is the last one left," said Grandmother Jia. "If you spoil it, there won't be another. It's not as if they could make you a special one just now." She then admonished him, "Don't drink too much wine, and come back early." Baoyu answered "yes" several times.

When the old nurse followed him to the main hall, Baoyu's foster brother Li Gui and Wang Rong, Zhang Ruojin, Zhao Yihua, Qian Qi, and Zhou Rui—six men in all—together with Mingyan, Banhe, Chuxiao, and Sihong, four young pages carrying his clothes bundle, holding his seat cushions, and leading a white horse with a carved saddle and colored reins, had been waiting for some time. The old nurse gave the six men further instructions, and they hastily answered "yes" several times, then held his whip and stirrup. Baoyu slowly mounted, while Li Gui and Wang Rong took hold of the bit. Qian Qi and Zhou Rui led the way, and Zhang Ruojin and Zhao Yihua pressed close on either side behind Baoyu. Baoyu said from horseback, "Brother Zhou, Brother Qian, let's go through the corner gate so we won't have to dismount again at your master's study door." Zhou Rui turned and smiled. "Your master is not at home. The study is locked every day, so you needn't dismount." "Even if it's locked, I should get down," Baoyu said with a smile. Li Gui, Qian Qi, and the others all laughed. "The young master is right. Even if you're too lazy to dismount, if we happen to meet Master Lai or Master Lin, though they wouldn't say anything to you, they'd give us a few words of advice. Any fault would be put on us, and they'd say we hadn't taught you proper manners." Zhou Rui and Qian Qi then went straight out through the corner gate.

Just then, they met Lai Da coming from the opposite direction. Baoyu hastily reined in his horse, meaning to dismount. Lai Da quickly came up and held his leg. Baoyu stood up in the stirrup and, smiling, took his hand and exchanged a few words. Then a young page appeared, followed by twenty or thirty men carrying brooms and dustpans. On seeing Baoyu, they all stood along the wall with their hands at their sides, but their leader went down on one knee and saluted. Baoyu, not knowing his name, simply smiled and nodded. When the horse had passed, the man led his men away. They then went out through the corner gate, where Li Gui's six men's pages and several grooms had prepared over ten horses in readiness. The moment they passed through the gate, Li Gui and the others mounted their horses, and the escort before and around him swept away like a puff of smoke.

Here, after taking her medicine, Qingwen still showed no sign of improvement. In her frustration, she cursed at the doctors, saying, "All they know how to do is swindle people's money—not a single decent dose of medicine will they give a person!" Sheyue laughed and tried to calm her: "You're too impatient. As the saying goes, 'Illness comes like a mountain tumbling down, but recovery is like reeling in silk thread.' This isn't the Old Lord's elixir of immortality—what medicine works that well! Just rest quietly for a few days, and you'll naturally get better. The more anxious you get, the worse you make it." Qingwen then started cursing at the junior maids: "Where have you all burrowed off to? Seeing I'm sick, you've all grown bold enough to run off. When I'm well again, I'll have the skin off every one of you!" This frightened the junior maid Zhuan'er, who hurried in and asked, "What does the young miss want?" Qingwen said, "Everyone else has died—are you the only one left alive?" Even as she spoke, she saw Zhuier also creeping in. Qingwen said, "Look at this little vixen—if no one asked after her, she wouldn't come. Here they're distributing the monthly allowance and handing out fruit, and you ought to be running ahead of everyone. Come forward a bit—I'm not a tiger that's going to eat you!" Zhuier had no choice but to edge forward. Qingwen then suddenly leaned forward, seized his hand, pulled out the emerald hairpin from her pillow, and stabbed at his hand with it wildly, cursing all the while: "What use are these claws of yours? Can't handle a needle, can't lift a thread—all they're good for is stealing food. Eyes as shallow as a puddle, fingers as light as a feather, a disgrace to everyone—better if they were stabbed to a pulp!" Zhuier howled and wailed in pain. Sheyue hurriedly pulled Zhuier away, pushed Qingwen back down to lie, and laughed: "You've just started sweating, and now you're asking for trouble. When you've recovered, how many beatings can't you give? What's the point of carrying on like this!" Qingwen then ordered someone to call in Nanny Song and said, "Master Bao the Second just told me to tell you: Zhuier is very lazy. When Master Bao the Second gives him orders to his face, he won't budge an eyebrow. Even when Xiren sends him on an errand, he curses her behind his back. Today he must be sent away for certain. Tomorrow Master Bao the Second will report it to the Mistress himself." When Nanny Song heard this, she knew in her heart that the bracelet affair had come to light. She smiled and said, "Even so, we should wait for Miss Hua to come back and be informed before sending him away." Qingwen said, "Master Bao the Second gave me a thousand warnings and ten thousand admonitions today—what does it matter whether it's 'Miss Hua' or 'Miss Grass'? We naturally have our reasons. Just do as I say and quickly have his family come to fetch him." Sheyue said, "That's settled then. Sooner or later he'll have to go—take him away now and we'll have one more day of peace."

Nanny Song had no choice but to go out and summon Zhuier's mother. After packing up his belongings, the mother came to see Qingwen and the others, saying, "What have the young misses done? If your niece has misbehaved, you should have taught her—why cast her out? At least leave us some face." Qingwen said, "Save your questions for when Baoyu comes to ask you yourself—it has nothing to do with us." The woman said with a cold smile, "Do I have the nerve to ask him! Isn't it true that everything he does follows the young misses' instructions? Even if he agrees, if the young misses don't agree, it won't necessarily come to anything. Take just now, for instance—even though we were speaking behind his back, the young miss called him by his name directly. It's fine for the young misses to do so, but for us it makes us savages." When Qingwen heard this, her face flushed red with anger all the more. "I called his name—go report me to the old lady then, say I'm unruly, and have me thrown out too!" Sheyue quickly said, "Sister-in-law, just take the girl and go—we can talk more later. Is this a place where you can shout and lecture about propriety? Have you ever seen anyone stand on ceremony with us? Let alone you, sister-in-law—even Old Mrs. Lai and Mrs. Lin the Elder would make allowances for us. As for calling names, from childhood until now, it's all been by the old lady's orders—and you know this. Fearing he wouldn't thrive, she had his childhood name written out and posted everywhere for ten thousand people to call, just so he would grow strong and healthy. Even the water-carriers and dung-collectors can call it—let alone us! Just yesterday, when Mrs. Lin the Elder called out 'young master,' even the old lady scolded her for it—that's one thing. Second, when we go to report to the old lady and the Mistress, do we not use his name when speaking? Are we supposed to call him 'young master' too? Don't we say 'Baoyu' two hundred times a day? And now you, sister-in-law, come picking on this! When you have time one day, go listen at the old lady's or the Mistress's side and hear how we call him to his face. Sister-in-law, you don't hold any proper position before the old lady and the Mistress—you spend your whole year hanging about outside the outer gate, so no wonder you don't know the rules inside. This is no place for you to stand for long. In a moment, we won't even need to say anything—someone will come to question you. If you have anything to argue, take the girl with you, go back to Mrs. Lin the Elder, and have her come speak with the Second Master. There are a thousand people in this household—if you come running and we all come running, we can't even keep track of who's who!" With that, she called to a junior maid: "Bring the floor-wiping cloth and wipe the floor!" The woman had no retort and didn't dare linger. Grumbling with resentment, she took Zhuier and left. Nanny Song quickly said, "No wonder this sister-in-law doesn't know the rules. Your daughter has spent time in this room—before leaving, she should at least kowtow to the young misses. There's no other gift of thanks—and even if there were, they wouldn't care for it—but a kowtow would show her heart. How can she just leave like that?" Zhuier, hearing this, had to turn around and come back in to kowtow twice to the two of them, then went looking for Qiuwen and the others. They paid her no mind. The woman sighed and sighed, but dared not say a word, and left nursing a bitter grudge.

Qingwen had just caught a fresh draft of wind and taken in some aggravating qi, so she felt even worse than before. She tossed and turned until the lamps were lit, when she finally grew calmer. Then Baoyu came home, wailing and stamping his feet the moment he walked through the door. Sheyue hurriedly asked what had happened. Baoyu said, "Today the Grandmother gave me this jacket in a perfectly good mood, but who would have known that the back got a burn on it? Luckily it was getting late, and neither the Grandmother nor the Mother noticed." Even as he spoke, he took it off. Sheyue looked and sure enough there was a hole the size of a fingertip. She said, "It must have been a spark from a hand warmer. It's nothing serious. Let's quickly have someone take it out quietly and find a skilled weaver to mend it." She wrapped it in a bundle and handed it to a servant woman, saying, "It would be best if it's done by daybreak. On no account let the Grandmother or the Mother find out." The old woman went out for a long time and came back with it again, saying, "I asked not only skilled weavers but also tailors, embroiderers, and seamstresses, and none of them could tell what this material was — none of them dared take the job." Sheyue said, "What are we to do then! We simply won't wear it tomorrow." Baoyu said, "Tomorrow is the main day, and the Grandmother and the Mother said I'm still to wear this. For it to get burned the very first day — how disheartening." Qingwen, who had been listening for a while, couldn't help but turn over and say, "Bring it over and let me have a look. If I'm not blessed enough to wear it, so be it. But now you're all in a panic." Baoyu laughed and said, "That's well said." He handed it to Qingwen and moved the lamp closer. After examining it carefully for a moment, Qingwen said, "This is woven with peacock-gold thread. Now if we take peacock-gold thread and weave it densely in the cross-hatch pattern, we might just be able to make it pass." Sheyue laughed and said, "The peacock thread is ready at hand, but who here besides you knows the cross-hatch weaving technique?" Qingwen said, "I have no choice — I'll just have to force myself through it." Baoyu said quickly, "How can you do that! You've only just started to recover — how can you do needlework?" Qingwen said, "Don't be such a fussbudget. I know my own limits." As she spoke, she sat up, gathered her hair and pinned it up, and threw on her clothes. But she felt heavy-headed and light-bodied, with golden stars bursting before her eyes — she truly could not hold herself up. Yet if she didn't do it, she feared Baoyu would worry, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure it by sheer force of will. She told Sheyue to help her by holding the thread. Qingwen first took a strand and held it up for comparison, saying with a smile, "It won't look exactly the same, but once it's mended, it won't show too much." Baoyu said, "That will be fine enough. Where else would we find a tailor from the Land of Oros?" Qingwen first tore open the lining, tacked a bamboo bow the size of a teacup opening to the back, then used a small knife to scrape the fibers around the four edges of the hole until they were loose and fluffy. Next she stitched two guide lines with a needle, separating the warp and weft just as in the cross-hatch technique. She first established the ground pattern, then wove back and forth following the original garment's design. After two stitches she would look, weave two more, then examine it again. But alas — her head swam and her eyes went dark, her breath came in gasps, and her spirit was weak. After no more than three or five stitches she would have to lie back on the pillow and rest a while. Baoyu, standing beside her, would at one moment ask, "Would you like some hot water?" and at another say, "Do rest a while." At one point he threw a gray squirrel cape over her back, and at another he ordered a bolster to be placed behind her for support. Qingwen, in exasperation, pleaded, "Little ancestor! Just go to sleep. If you stay up half the night again, what will we do when your eyes are all sunken tomorrow!" Seeing her so distressed, Baoyu had no choice but to lie down haphazardly, though he still couldn't sleep. After a while, the self-striking clock sounded four chimes. She had just finished mending it and was slowly using a small brush to tease out the nap. Sheyue said, "This is excellent. If you don't look closely, you'd never notice it." Baoyu hurriedly asked to see it and said, "It's truly identical." Qingwen had been coughing for some time and had barely managed to finish the mending when she said, "Mended it is, but in the end it's not quite the same. I can do no more!" With a groan, she collapsed, unable to control herself. To know what happened next, listen to the following chapter.