Chapter 61

Chapter 61

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Chapter 61: Baoyu Conspires to Shield Others for Fear of Compromising What They Cherish; Ping'er Wields Her Authority to Settle a Grievance and Pass Judgment

The woman from the Liu household laughed and said, "You little monkey! Your aunt's gone off to find a wild old man—so you'll get an extra uncle out of it. What's to be suspicious about? Don't make me tear off a few of those cunt hairs of yours that stick up like comb-teeth on your head! Now stop dawdling and let me in."

But the young servant didn't open the gate. Instead, he said with a grin, "Dear auntie, while you're in there, do steal some apricots for me to eat. I'll be waiting here. And if you forget, then in future when you come knocking at midnight or the third watch of the night wanting wine or oil, I won't open the gate for you, and I won't answer you either. You can shout your head off for all I care."

Mrs. Liu spat and said, "You must be out of your mind! This year isn't like previous years—everything's been divided up among all the young mistresses. Every last one of them acts as if her face had been clawed to pieces. Let a person walk past the tree, and their eyes get all beady like a black chicken's, and they won't let anyone touch their fruit! Yesterday I happened to walk under the plum tree, and a bee flew right past my face. I raised my hand to wave it away, and your dear mother-in-law just happened to see me. She was too far away to see clearly and thought I was picking plums. She started screeching and shrieking in that raucous voice of hers—saying again, 'They haven't been offered to Buddha yet,' and again, 'The Old Lady and the Lady aren't home, and we haven't sent in the fresh ones yet. Once they've been presented to their Ladyships, there'll be a share for all you sisters-in-law.' As if someone had been dying of a craving, waiting for the plums to sweat and ripen! I had no choice but to give her a piece of my mind and dress her down properly. Still, if your mother-in-law and aunts and three or four other relatives are all in charge, why don't you ask them for some? Why come to me? This is just like 'the granary mouse and the crow going to borrow grain—those who stay put have nothing, but those who fly around have plenty.'"

The young servant laughed and said, "Ai-ya! If you don't have any, just say so—no need to spout all that nonsense! I suppose you won't need me anymore from now on? Even if my sister finds a good position, and there are more days ahead when she'll need to summon people, as long as we give her what she needs, that'll be enough."

When Mrs. Liu heard this, she laughed and said, "You little clever monkey, always up to your tricks and putting on airs! What good position has your sister found?"

The young servant laughed and said, "Don't try to fool me—I've already heard about it. Just because you have your own inside connections, you think we don't have ours? I may be out here listening, but inside there are two sisters of mine who've got their own little system. What could possibly be kept from us?"

Just as they were talking, they heard an old woman inside the gate call out, "You little monkeys, go quick and fetch your Aunt Liu — any longer and she'll be late." Aunt Liu, hearing this, broke off her conversation with the young servant and hurried through the gate, smiling. "No rush — I'm here." She came at once into the kitchen — though there were several others there, none dared act on their own authority; they waited for her to direct and distribute the work. She asked the assembled company, "Where's Little Five?" They all said, "She's just gone to the tea room to find her sisters." Aunt Liu, hearing this, put away the poria cocos sweets and began assigning the dishes according to each household. Suddenly Lianhua, a little maid from Yingchun's apartments, came over and said, "Sister Siji says she wants a bowl of eggs, stewed very tender." Aunt Liu said, "How grand we've become. I don't know what's happened, but eggs are scarce this year — you can't even find one for ten coppers. The other day, when they sent congee and rice to relatives above, four or five buyers went out, and they barely managed to scrape together two thousand. Where am I supposed to find them? Tell her she'll have to eat them another day." Lianhua said, "The other day she wanted tofu, and you gave her some that was spoiled, and she gave me a scolding for it. Now she wants eggs and there aren't any. What precious things they are — I simply refuse to believe there are no eggs. Don't make me go looking for them." Even as she spoke, she walked right over, lifted the lid of the vegetable chest, and found there were in fact a dozen or so eggs inside. "Here they are! You're so harsh! What's eaten belongs to the mistress; we have our allotted share — why should you begrudge it? They're not your eggs you're afraid people will eat." Aunt Liu dropped what she was doing and came over at once. "You, keep that foul mouth shut! Your mother's the one who lays eggs! There are only these few set aside, kept as garnish for dishes. Even the young ladies don't want them put in, and they won't have them prepared unless there's an emergency. If you eat them, and then someone calls for something good, there won't even be eggs. You live deep in the mansion, reaching out your hand for water and opening your mouth for food — you only know eggs are ordinary things, but you have no idea what the market prices are out there. Never mind this — there was a year when even grass roots were gone. I urged them: fine rice and white rice every day, fat chickens and big ducks — make do with that. But they got bored with it, and then they'd make a fuss again over blanched greens. Eggs, tofu, and what else — gluten, pickled radish fritters — they presume to switch flavors on a whim. But I'm not at anyone's beck and call — if every place wants something different, that's ten things at once. I'd rather not serve the primary mistresses and just prepare for you secondary ones." Lianhua, hearing this, flushed red and cried, "Who asks you for things every day? You've given us a whole cartload of talk! We didn't call you here for bargains — what else would it be for? The other day Little Swallow came and said, 'Sister Wenwen wants to eat artemisia stems' — how busy you were, asking whether to stir-fry with meat or chicken! Little Swallow said, 'The meat dish wasn't good, so she asked you to stir-fry gluten instead, with less oil.' You busily said, 'I must be losing my mind,' and rushed to wash your hands and fry it, then carried it over yourself, tail wagging like a dog. Now you use me as a whipping boy and tell everyone about it." Aunt Liu said hastily, "Amida Buddha! These people saw it with their own eyes. Never mind the other day — ever since I took charge of the kitchen last year, whenever anyone in any household, whether young lady or girl, wanted to add even half a dish, who didn't come with money first, to buy and add it separately? Whether they had it or not, it sounded good to say I managed the young ladies' kitchen efficiently and had leftovers — but when the accounts were reckoned, it was sickening: the young ladies and girls together, forty or fifty people, in a whole day only required two chickens, two ducks, ten or so catties of meat, and a string of cash worth of vegetables. You figure it — enough for what? It couldn't even cover the basic two meals, let alone this ordering one thing and that ordering another, buying things they don't eat and then buying something else. If it's like that, I'd better report to the Mistress and ask for larger allotments — like the big kitchen that prepares the Old Lady's meals, write up every dish in the world on a water board, and rotate them every day, reckoning it all up at the month's end. The other day Third Young Lady and Miss Bao happened to discuss wanting a dish of oil-and-salt stir-fried wolfberry sprouts, and they immediately sent a maid with five hundred cash to me. I laughed and said, 'Even if you two young ladies were the big-bellied Maitreya Buddha, you couldn't eat five hundred cash's worth. This is a matter of twenty or thirty coppers — I can manage that.' I hurried to send the money back. They absolutely wouldn't take it, said to keep it as a reward to buy wine, and added, 'Now that the kitchen is inside, you can't guarantee the people in the apartments won't come pestering you — every grain of salt and every drop of soy sauce, wasn't that bought with money? If you don't give it, it's bad; if you do, you have no way to make up for it. Take this money — consider it repayment for all the things they've pestered you for.' These are the understanding, considerate young ladies — we only pray for them in our hearts. But when Aunt Zhao heard, she was indignant, saying it was too much of a bargain for me. Hardly ten days would pass before she'd send a little maid looking for this or that too, and I'd laugh again. You've all become a custom — if it's not this, it's that — where am I supposed to find the means to make up for all of it?"

In the midst of the commotion, Sicheng sent someone again to urge Lianhua'er: "Are you dead here? Why won't you come back?" Lianhua'er returned in a huff and, upon reporting to Sicheng, added her own embellishments. When Sicheng heard this, anger flared up within her. Having just finished attending to Yingchun's meal, she led the little maids over. Seeing so many people eating, and sensing that her arrival boded ill, they all hastily rose and smiled, offering her a seat. Sicheng then ordered the little maids to get to work: "Whatever vegetables are in the chests and cupboards, throw them all out to feed the dogs—let's see them profit from it now!" The little maids were only too glad to obey. Seven hands and eight feet scrambled up, and there was a great deal of ransacking and tossing about. Some tried to restrain her, while others pleaded with Sicheng: "Don't believe what the children said. Even if Sister Liu had eight heads, she wouldn't dare offend you. It's true that eggs are hard to buy. We just told her she doesn't know what's good for her—no matter what it takes, she should have found a way. She's already come to her senses and steamed one up right away. If you don't believe us, go look at the stove." After much coaxing from everyone, Sicheng's anger gradually subsided. Before the little maids could finish smashing things, they were pulled away. Sicheng ranted and raged for a while before the crowd finally persuaded her to leave. Sister Liu could only smash bowls and toss plates to vent her own frustration, then steamed a bowl of egg and sent someone with it. Sique poured the whole thing onto the floor. The messenger dared not report back, fearing more trouble might arise. Sister Liu had her daughter drink some soup and eat half a bowl of congee, then told her about the Poria Frost incident. After hearing this, Wu'er felt she should share some with Fangguan. She used paper to wrap up half of it and, at dusk when few people were about, went to find Fangguan, hiding herself among flowers and willows along the way. Happening to encounter no inquiries, she reached the gate of Happy Red Court but did not dare enter. She stood by a cluster of rose bushes, gazing into the distance. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, it so happened that Little Swallow came out, and Wu'er hurried forward to call to her. Little Swallow did not know who it was; coming closer and seeing clearly, she asked what she wanted. Wu'er smiled: "Call Fangguan out for me—I need to speak with him." Little Swallow whispered with a smile: "Elder sister, you're too impatient. In any case, in ten days or so you'll be here anyway. Why must you find him now? I just sent him to the front. You'd better wait a moment. Otherwise, tell me what you have to say, and I'll pass it on. I'm afraid you can't wait—the garden gates may be closed soon." Wu'er then handed the Poria Frost to Little Swallow, explaining what it was, how to take it, and how it nourishes the body. "I got some to give him—I'll trouble you to pass it along to him." With that, she took her leave.

She was walking along the Liuxu stretch when she suddenly saw Lin Zhixia's wife approaching head-on with several old women. Wu'er had no time to hide and could only step forward and greet her. Lin Zhixia's wife asked, "I heard you were sick. How did you end up here?" Wu'er smiled and replied, "I've been better these past two days, so I came in with my mother for a stroll to clear my head. Mother sent me to Happy Red Court to deliver some things." Lin Zhixia's wife said, "That doesn't add up. I just saw your mother leave, and that's when I closed the gate. If your mother sent you, why didn't she tell me you were here? She went out and let me close the gate—what was her intention? Clearly you're lying." Wu'er had no answer and could only say, "Mother told me early on to fetch it, but I forgot and only remembered just now. Mother must have thought I'd already left, so she didn't mention it to you, madam." Lin Zhixia's wife noticed that her words were halting and her expression evasive. Moreover, in recent days, Yuchuan'er had said that things were missing from the main house on that side, and several maids were blaming each other without anyone taking responsibility. Suspicion arose in her heart. As it happened, Little Cicada, Lianhua'er, and several other young married women came along and, seeing this, said, "Mrs. Lin should really interrogate her. These past two days she's been running back and there in a most suspicious manner—skulking about, no one knows what she's up to." Little Cicada added, "That's right. Yesterday Sister Yuchuan said the cabinet in the Mistress's side room had been opened and quite a few small things were missing. Madam Lian sent Ping'ern and Sister Yuchuan to ask for some rose dew, and it turned out a whole jar was gone too. If they hadn't been looking for the dew, they wouldn't have known." Lianhua'er laughed: "I didn't hear about that, but today I happened to see a dew bottle." Lin Zhixia's wife was already at a loss over these matters, and every day Xifeng urged her through Ping'ern. Hearing this, she quickly asked where. Lianhua'er said, "In their kitchen." Lin Zhixia's wife immediately ordered lanterns lit and led the group to search. Wu'er, in desperation, said, "That was given to me by Fangguan from Master Bao's quarters." Lin Zhixia's wife replied, "I don't care if he's Fangguan or Roundguan—now that the evidence of the crime is found, I'll simply report it, and you can explain yourself before your mistress." As she spoke, she entered the kitchen. Lianhua'er led the way and brought out the dew bottle. Fearing there might be other stolen items, they searched carefully again and also found a packet of Poria Frost. Taking everything along with Wu'er, they went to report to Li Wan and Tanchun.

At that time, Li Wan was not managing affairs because Lan'er was ill; she simply told them to go see Tanchun. Tanchun had already returned to her quarters. When the servant went in to announce them, the maids were all cooling themselves in the courtyard, and Tanchun was washing inside; only Shishu went in. After a while, she came out and said, "The young lady knows. She tells you to find Pinger and report to Second Mistress." Lin Zhixiao's wife had no choice but to lead them out. When she arrived at Sister Feng's place, she first found Pinger, who went in and reported to Sister Feng. Sister Feng had just lain down to rest when she heard the matter. She gave orders: "Give her mother forty strokes of the bamboo, drive her out, and never let her enter the inner gate again. Give Wu'er forty strokes of the bamboo at once, and hand her over to the estate farm to be sold or married off to someone." Pinger listened, then came out and relayed the orders to Lin Zhixiao's wife. Wu'er was so frightened she wept and wailed, kneeling before Pinger and giving a detailed account of Fangguan's involvement. Pinger said, "This is not difficult. We can ask Fangguan tomorrow and then we shall know the truth. But this poria fungus powder was sent here the other day, and we have been waiting for the Old Lady and the Lady to return before daring to open it—it should not have been stolen." When questioned, Wu'er hastily explained about the gift her uncle had brought. Pinger listened and laughed, "If that's the case, then you are completely innocent, and you've been made a scapegoat. It's late now, and the Mistress has just taken her medicine and gone to bed; it's not convenient to bother her over such a trifling matter. For now, we'll hand her over to the night watch to guard for the night, and tomorrow when I report to the Mistress, we'll decide what to do." Lin Zhixiao's wife dared not disobey, so she had no choice but to take her out and hand her over to the wives on night watch to guard, then she left on her own.

Here Wu'er was placed under soft confinement, not daring to take a single extra step. Moreover, the wives who urged her also told her she should not have done such a shameless thing; others complained, saying, "We can't even get a proper shift at the regular watches, and now they've made a thief for us to watch. If she kills herself while our backs are turned or runs away, it'll all be our fault." And then there were those who had long been on bad terms with the Liu family—seeing this situation, they were thoroughly delighted and all came to mock and ridicule her. Wu'er was inwardly both angry and aggrieved, with nowhere to turn. And she was naturally timid and unwell. That night she wanted tea but had no tea, wanted water but had no water, wanted to sleep but had no quilt or pillow—she sobbed and wept the whole night through.

Those who had long been at odds with the mother and daughter were only too eager to see them expelled at once, fearing that some change might occur overnight. So they all rose at dawn and came quietly to make their case with Ping'er, bringing her gifts, praising her decisiveness in handling affairs, and recounting all the misdeeds of the mother in days past. Ping'er received them all graciously, acknowledged their words, and sent them away. Then she went in secret to visit Xiren and asked whether Fangguan had truly given her the dew. Xiren said, "The dew was indeed given by Fangguan, but I do not know to whom Fangguan passed it on." Xiren thereupon asked Fangguan, and when Fangguan heard this, she was thrown into a great panic and hastily confessed that she herself had given it. Fangguan then told Baoyu, and Baoyu was alarmed as well. He said, "Although the dew matter is settled, if the poria frost is brought up, she will surely confess to that too. And if it is heard that it came from her uncle's household, then her uncle will also be implicated. Wouldn't that mean that someone's good intentions have been turned by us into a frame-up?" He quickly discussed the matter with Ping'er. "The dew business is finished, but there is still this poria frost that is problematic. Dear sister, just tell her to say that Fangguan gave it to her, and that will settle everything." Ping'er smiled and said, "Even so, she already told people last night that her uncle gave it to her. How can we now say that you gave it? Moreover, the dew that was lost over there had no known owner—now the one with evidence has been let go freely, so whom shall we look for next? Who would be willing to admit it? The others would not be convinced either." Qingwen came over and laughed, saying, "As for the dew from Madam's side, there is no one else—it was clearly Caiyun who stole it for Huan. You're all talking nonsense." Ping'er smiled and said, "Everyone knows this is the reason, but now Yuchuan is weeping in distress, and when I quietly questioned her, she admitted it. If Yuchuan is settled, then everyone will let it go and muddle along without further inquiry. Do you think we wanted to take this matter on out of good intentions? What is infuriating is that Caiyun not only did not admit it, but even pushed Yuchuan, saying that she was the one who stole it. The two of them started firing at each other from within, and their quarrel became known throughout the whole household. How could we pretend to be unconcerned? We have no choice but to investigate. Little do they know that the one who reported the theft is the thief herself, and without evidence, how can we accuse her?" Baoyu said, "Very well, I will take responsibility for this matter too. I will say that I was frightening them for fun and secretly stole it from Madam. Both matters will then be settled." Xiren said, "That would indeed be an act of hidden merit, preserving someone's reputation from the name of thief. But if Madam hears of it, she will say you are childish and don't know what's good for you." Ping'er smiled and said, "This is a minor matter. Now, it would be easy to recover the stolen goods from Concubine Zhao's quarters, but I only fear that we would hurt the dignity of a good person. Let everyone else not concern themselves—but this one person would surely be angered again. It is her I pity—one should not break the jade vase just to hit a mouse." As she spoke, she held up three fingers. Xiren and the others understood at once that she was referring to Tanchun. They all hastened to say, "That is right. It would be best for us here to take responsibility." Ping'er smiled again and said, "We must still summon Caiyun and Yuchuan, these two troublemakers, and question them thoroughly before we can proceed. Otherwise, if they gain the advantage and do not acknowledge this matter, it will seem as though I lacked the ability to find out and had to trouble this place to finish the business—and from now on they will steal all the more and neglect all the more." Xiren and the others laughed and said, "Exactly. You must also leave yourself room to maneuver." Ping'er then ordered someone to summon the two of them and said, "Do not be alarmed—the thief has already been found." Yuchuan asked first where the thief was. Ping'er said, "She is now in Second Young Mistress's room. Whatever you ask her, she admits to. I know in my heart that she did not steal it, but in her fear she confessed to everything. Here, Master Bao feels it is not right and wants to take responsibility for half of it. I was about to speak out, but the thief has long been a good friend of mine, and the one who harbored her is an ordinary person, while inside it would also wound the dignity of a good person. For these reasons it is difficult, and I have no choice but to beg Master Bao to take the blame, so that everyone may be free of trouble. Now I must ask the two of you—what do you say? If from now on everyone will be careful and preserve dignity, then we will ask Master Bao to take the blame. If not, I will report to Second Young Mistress, and we must not wrong an innocent person." When Caiyun heard this, she could not help but blush, and a sense of shame and conscience was stirred within her. She said, "Sister, set your mind at rest. Do not wrong an innocent person, and do not involve the innocent and harm their dignity. It was Concubine Zhao who repeatedly begged me, and I took some for Huan out of genuine feeling. Even when Madam was at home, we used to take things and give them to others—it was a common practice. I originally said that after a couple of days the fuss would die down. Now that an innocent person has been wronged, my heart cannot bear it. Sister, take me to report to the mistress, and I will confess to everything and settle the matter." When the others heard these words, they were all astonished—she truly had courage and honor. Baoyu hastily smiled and said, "Sister Caiyun is indeed a decent person. Now there is no need for you to confess. I will simply say that I secretly stole it to frighten you for fun, and now that trouble has arisen, I should own up. I only ask that all of you be more careful in the future, and everything will be well." Caiyun said, "Why should you take the blame for what I did? For better or worse, I should bear the consequences." Ping'er and Xiren hastened to say, "It is not like that. If you confess, it will inevitably bring up Concubine Zhao, and when Third Young Lady hears of it, will she not be angry? It would be better for Master Bao to take the blame, so that everyone is free of trouble, and besides these few people, no one else need ever know of this matter—how perfectly clean. Only, from now on, everyone must be much more careful. If you want to take anything, at least wait until Madam returns home—even if they gave away this entire house, we would have no part in it." When Caiyun heard this, she lowered her head and thought—

On second thought, she agreed. So after they had settled matters satisfactorily, Ping'er took the two of them along with Fangguan to the front. She went to the night watch quarters and summoned Wu'er, quietly coaching her to say that the poria powder had been a gift from Fangguan, and Wu'er was overwhelmed with gratitude. Ping'er brought them to her own quarters, where she found Lin Zhixia's wife already waiting with several other women escorts, who had been holding the wife of Liu for some time. Lin Zhixia's wife said to Ping'er, "I brought her here this morning, afraid there'd be no one in the Garden to serve the young ladies' meals, so I've temporarily assigned Qin Xian's wife to take over. Please report this to Her Ladyship as well. She's clean and careful—let her serve permanently from now on." Ping'er said, "Who is this Qin Xian's wife? I'm not very familiar with her." Lin Zhixia's wife said, "She's on night watch at the south corner of the Garden. She has nothing to do during the day, so you wouldn't know her well. She has high cheekbones and large eyes, and she's remarkably clean and efficient." Yuchuan said, "That's right. Sister, how could you forget? She is the aunt of Suiqi, who serves Second Miss. Though Suiqi's parents are on Master She's side, this uncle of hers is on our side." Only then did Ping'er remember, and she laughed, "Oh, if you'd said so earlier, I would have understood." She added with a laugh, "Still, you were too hasty. Now that this matter is eight-tenths settled, even the things stolen from Her Ladyship's quarters the other day have been accounted for. It was Baoyu who came that day and asked these two little wretches for something, and they teased him, saying they didn't dare take anything since Her Ladyship wasn't home. So Baoyu watched for a moment when they weren't looking and went in himself and took something. The two of them didn't know, and they panicked. Now that Baoyu heard others were being implicated, he told me everything in detail. I looked at the things he produced—everything matched. The poria powder was something Baoyu got from outside, and he's given it to many people, not just those in the Garden. Even the nurses have taken some out to give to relatives, and it's been passed around further—Xiren once gave some to Fangguan and the like. It's common for them to have their own private exchanges of favors. The other two baskets are still sitting in the council hall, perfectly sealed and untouched—how can they go around blaming people? I'll report to Her Ladyship and then deal with it." With that, she went into the bedroom and reported the whole matter to Xifeng as she had been told. Xifeng said, "Even so, Baoyu's nature is that he doesn't care whether a thing is black or white—he loves to take on other people's troubles. If someone begs him a bit more, he can't resist a few kind words, and they put a basket of charcoal on his head and he'll agree to anything. If we believe him now, and some major affair comes up the same time, how will we ever manage people? We must still investigate thoroughly. In my opinion, bring all the maids from Her Ladyship's quarters. We can't exactly beat them, but make them kneel on broken porcelain in the sun and don't give them tea or food. If they won't talk today, keep them kneeling tomorrow. Even if they're made of iron, they'll confess in a day. Besides, as they say, 'a fly doesn't buzz around an egg without a crack.' Though this wife of Liu didn't steal, there's still some shadow of suspicion, which is why people talk about her. Even if we don't punish her as a thief, she should be dismissed. Even the imperial court makes mistakes—it wouldn't be too great a wrong to her." Ping'er said, "Why go to all this trouble? 'When you can let go, let go.' What's so important that you can't afford to show mercy? In my opinion, even if you exhaust yourself a hundred percent in this household, in the end we'll be going over to that side. There's no point making enemies of people and breeding resentment. Besides, you yourself have had your three disasters and eight difficulties—you finally conceived a boy, and lost him at six or seven months. Who knows if it wasn't from overwork and anger damaging your health? For now, it's better to handle half and leave half alone." This speech made Xifeng laugh. "Do what you want, you little wench. I'm feeling clearer-headed now—don't make me angry again." Ping'er laughed, "This is serious business!" Then she turned and went out, handling everything one by one. To learn what happened, please listen to the next chapter.