Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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Chapter 7: Zhou Rui's Wife Delivers Palace Flowers and Sighs over Yinglian; Qin Zhong Discusses His Studies and Bonds with Baoyu

The poem reads:

Twelve blossoms, their beauty the freshest of all—

Who, I wonder, is the one who cherishes flowers?

Should you meet her and ask her family name,

She hails from Jiangnan, and her surname is Qin.

To resume. After Zhou Rui's wife had seen off Granny Liu, she went to report to Lady Wang. As it happened, Lady Wang was not in her main apartment. When the maids were asked, they said she had gone to chat with Aunt Xue. Zhou Rui's wife accordingly passed through the eastern corner gate to the east compound and made her way to the Pear Fragrance Court. Just as she reached the gate, she saw Golden, one of Lady Wang's maids, and a young girl who had only recently grown her hair up, playing on the terrace slope. Seeing Zhou Rui's wife approaching, they knew she had a message to report, and Golden jerked her head toward the inside.

Zhou Rui's wife softly lifted the curtain and entered. Lady Wang and Aunt Xue were engaged in a long, drawn-out conversation about household matters and people's doings. Zhou Rui's wife dared not disturb them, so she went into the inner room instead. There she saw Xue Baochai, dressed in everyday clothes, her hair simply pinned up in a loose coil, sitting on the inner kang. She was bent over a small kang table, tracing flower patterns with her maid Ying'er. Upon seeing Zhou Rui's wife, Baochai set down her brush, turned around, and with a broad smile said, "Sister Zhou, sit down." Zhou Rui's wife hurriedly smiled back and asked, "How is Miss Bao?" As she sat down on the edge of the kang, she added, "Haven't seen Miss visit that side for two or three days. Could it be that Brother Bao offended you?" Baochai smiled and said, "What an idea! It's just that my old ailment flared up again, so I haven't left my rooms these past two days." Zhou Rui's wife said, "Indeed! Whatever the root of your illness is, you ought to have a proper doctor in sooner rather than later, get a good prescription, and take several courses of medicine to root it out once and for all. At such a young age to have planted the seed of a chronic ailment—that's nothing to treat lightly." When Baochai heard this, she laughed and said, "Don't even mention taking medicine. For this illness, I don't know how many taels of silver have been spent on doctors and drugs. No matter how famous the physician or how miraculous the medicine, not the slightest effect was ever seen. Later, it was all thanks to a bald-headed monk who claimed to specialize in treating nameless disorders. I asked him to examine me. He said this was a heat-toxin I carried from the womb. Fortunately, my constitution is strong by nature, so it does no great harm. Ordinary medicine would be of no use. He prescribed a 'sea-borne formula' and gave me a packet of medicinal powder as a catalyst—strangely fragrant, strangely pungent. No one knew where he had got it. He said that when the attack comes, one pill would do the trick. Oddly enough, his medicine did prove somewhat effective."

Zhou Rui's wife asked, "What is this sea-borne formula? If Miss would tell us, we could remember it and pass it on. If someone else should suffer from the same ailment, it would be a good deed." Baochai, thus asked, smiled and said, "Better not to use this formula at all—if one does, it will truly drive a person to distraction! The medicinal ingredients are all fairly easy to obtain; the only difficulty is the word 'coincidence.' You need twelve ounces of white peony petals gathered when they bloom in spring, twelve ounces of white lotus stamens gathered when they bloom in summer, twelve ounces of white hibiscus petals gathered when they bloom in autumn, and twelve ounces of white plum blossom petals gathered when they bloom in winter. These four kinds of petals must be dried in the sun on the following year's Spring Equinox, then ground together with the medicinal powder. You also need twelve coins' worth of rainwater collected on the day of Rain Water—" Zhou Rui's wife hastily interrupted, "Goodness! At that rate, it would take three whole years! What if it doesn't happen to rain on the day of Rain Water?" Baochai smiled and said, "Exactly—that's why it's so hard to come by such a coincidental rain. If it doesn't rain, one simply has to wait. Then twelve coins' worth of dew collected on the day of White Dew, twelve coins' worth of frost collected on the day of Frost's Descent, and twelve coins' worth of snow collected on the day of Light Snow. Mix these four kinds of water evenly, blend them with the medicine, add twelve coins' worth of honey and twelve coins' worth of white sugar, and form pills the size of longan fruit. Store them in an old porcelain jar and bury it beneath the roots of a pear tree. When the ailment flares up, take one pill, washed down with a decoction of twelve parts phellodendron bark."

Zhou Rui's wife laughed and said, "Amida Buddha! What a confounded business! You might wait ten years and still not get everything so perfectly timed!" Baochai said, "As it happened, it went well. After he spoke, within a year or two everything was obtained by sheer coincidence, and I finally managed to prepare one full course. Now I have brought it south to north, and it is buried right beneath the pear blossom tree." Zhou Rui's wife asked again, "Does this medicine have a name?" Baochai said, "Yes. The scabby-headed monk gave it one—it's called the 'Cold Fragrance Pill.'" Zhou Rui's wife nodded, then asked, "When the ailment flares up, what exactly does it feel like?" Baochai said, "It doesn't feel like much of anything—just some wheezing and coughing. After taking one pill, I feel somewhat better."

When Zhou Rui's wife was about to speak again, she suddenly heard Lady Wang ask, "Who is in the room?" Zhou Rui's wife hurried out to answer, and took the opportunity to report the matter of Granny Liu. After waiting a short while and seeing that Lady Wang said nothing, she was about to withdraw when Aunt Xue suddenly laughed and said, "Stay a moment. I have something here for you to take to them." So saying, she called Xiangling. There was a rustle of the portiere, and the same little maid who had been playing with Jinduan came in and asked, "What does the mistress want of me?" Aunt Xue said, "Bring the flowers from the box." Xiangling assented and went to fetch a small brocade box from the other side. Aunt Xue said, "These are twelve sprays of flowers made of gauze in a new style from the palace. I thought of them yesterday — it seemed a pity to leave them here idle. Why not give them to the girls to wear? I meant to send them over yesterday but forgot it. You've come at just the right time — take them along. Give a pair each to the three young ladies of your household. Of the remaining six sprays, give two to Miss Lin and the other four to Sister Feng." Lady Wang said, "Keep them for Bao-chai to wear instead. Why bother with the others?" Aunt Xue said, "You don't know, but Bao-chai is an odd girl — she's never cared for flowers or cosmetics."

With that, Zhou Rui's wife took the box and left the room. Outside she found Jinduan still sunning herself there. Zhou Rui's wife asked her, "Is that little Xiangling the one they say was bought just before they came to the capital — the one whose purchase led to that manslaughter case?" Jinduan said, "That's her." Even as they spoke, Xiangling came along smiling. Zhou Rui's wife took her hand and studied her carefully for a moment, then said to Jinduan with a laugh, "What a fine-looking girl! She really bears some resemblance to the young mistress of the East Mansion, Madam Rong." Jinduan laughed and said, "That's just what I've been saying." Zhou Rui's wife then asked Xiangling, "How old were you when you came here?" She also asked, "Where are your parents now? How old are you this year? What is your native place?" When Xiangling heard these questions, she shook her head at each one and said, "I don't remember." Zhou Rui's wife and Jinduan were moved to sigh with pity.

Presently Zhou Rui's wife arrived with the flowers at the back of Lady Wang's main apartment. It turned out that the Dowager had recently said there were too many granddaughters crowded together in one place, which was inconvenient, so she had kept only Bao-yu and Dai-yu with her for company while moving Ying-chun, Tan-chun, and Xi-chun to three small rooms in a rear annex near Lady Wang's quarters, with Li Wan to accompany and look after them. Zhou Rui's wife therefore went there first, following the natural course of the way. She found several little maids in the annex waiting to be summoned. Ying-chun's maid Si-qi and Tan-chun's maid Dai-shu were just coming out, each carrying a teacup. Zhou Rui's wife knew the sisters must be sitting together inside, so she went into the inner room, where she found Ying-chun and Tan-chun playing weiqi by the window. Zhou Rui's wife presented the flowers and explained the reason. They stopped their game at once and both rose to thank her, telling their maids to take the flowers away.

Zhou Rui's wife withdrew and remarked, "The Fourth Young Lady isn't in her room — I expect she's with the old lady." The maids said, "Isn't the Fourth Young Lady in that room?" Zhou Rui's wife went to look and found Xi-chun playing with Zhi-neng, a young novice from Water Moon Priory. When Xi-chun saw Zhou Rui's wife come in, she asked what she wanted. Zhou Rui's wife opened the box and explained. Xi-chun laughed and said, "I was just saying to Zhi-neng that I'll have my head shaved tomorrow and become a nun like her. And what happens? Flowers arrive. If I shave my head, where would I put these flowers?" At this they all laughed, and Xi-chun told her maid Ru-hua to take them.

Zhou Rui's wife then asked Zhi-neng, "When did you come? Where did your bald old scoundrel of a mistress go?" Zhi-neng said, "We came early this morning. My mistress went to the residence of Lord Yu after seeing the mistress, and told me to wait for her here." Zhou Rui's wife asked again, "Have you received the monthly allowance of incense and offerings due on the fifteenth?" Zhi-neng shook her head and said, "I don't know." Xi-chun overheard this and asked Zhou Rui's wife, "Who manages the monthly allowances to the various temples?" Zhou Rui's wife said, "Yu-xin." Xi-chun laughed and said, "That explains it. As soon as her mistress arrived, Yu-xin's wife came rushing up and whispered with her mistress for half the day. I suppose it was about this matter."

After Zhou Rui's wife had chatted a while longer with Zhi'neng, she went over to Wang Xifeng's quarters. She passed through the covered walkway behind Li Wan's rear window, and through the glass window saw Li Wan lying on the kang asleep. She then crossed the western flower wall, went out through the west gate, and entered Xifeng's courtyard. When she reached the main room, she saw the little maid Feng'er sitting on the threshold of Xifeng's chamber. Seeing Zhou Rui's wife approach, Feng'er hurriedly waved her hand to direct her to the eastern room. Zhou Rui's wife understood, and crept quietly into the eastern room, where she found the nursemaid patting the young miss to sleep. Zhou Rui's wife whispered to the nursemaid, "Is the young miss having her nap? She should be waking up by now." The nursemaid shook her head. Just then they heard a burst of laughter from the other side, and the voice of Jia Lian. After that the door opened, and Ping'er came out carrying a large brass basin, telling Feng'er to fetch water inside. Ping'er then came over, and seeing Zhou Rui's wife, asked, "What brings your venerable self here again?" Zhou Rui's wife quickly rose, presented the box to her, and explained about delivering the flowers. Ping'er listened, then opened the box, took out four sprays, and turned to leave. In half a moment she came back with two sprays, first calling out to Caiming, "Take these to the other house for Young Madam Xiaorong to wear." Then she told Zhou Rui's wife to go back and convey her thanks.

Zhou Rui's wife then made her way to the Lady Dowager's side. She passed through the entrance hall and suddenly saw her daughter, dressed up, coming from her in-laws' house. Zhou Rui's wife hurriedly asked, "What brings you here at this hour?" Her daughter said with a smile, "Has Mother been well? I waited at home all this time, but you didn't come out at all. What business keeps you so busy that you don't even come home? I got tired of waiting, so I went ahead and paid my respects to the Old Lady, and now I'm going to pay my respects to the Mistress. What errand are you still attending to, and what's in your hand?" Zhou Rui's wife said with a sigh, "Ah! Just today by chance Granny Liu came along. I took it upon myself to spend half the day running about on her account. Then the Second Mistress saw me and asked me to deliver these sprays of flowers to the young ladies and young mistresses. I haven't finished delivering them yet. You must have some particular reason for coming here." Her daughter said with a smile, "Your venerable self is quite a guesser. To tell you plainly, the other day your son-in-law had a bit too much to drink and got into a quarrel with someone. I don't know how, but someone spread a malicious rumor saying he has no proper background, and reported him to the yamen, wanting him deported back to his hometown. So I came to discuss with you—whose influence should we ask to settle this matter?" Zhou Rui's wife replied, "I knew it. This is nothing serious! You go home and wait for me. After I deliver the flowers to Miss Lin, I'll come home. At present both the Mistress and the Second Mistress are busy. Go back and wait for me. There's no need to get so worked up over this." Hearing this, her daughter turned to go, saying, "Mother, do come quickly." Zhou Rui's wife said, "Yes, yes. A young person like you hasn't seen much of the world—no wonder it makes you so anxious." With that, she went to Daiyu's room.

Who would have known that at this moment Daiyu was not in her own room but in Baoyu's room, where everyone was amusing themselves with the nine-linked rings. Mrs. Zhou Rui came in with a smile and said, "Miss Lin, the Lady Aunt has sent me to bring you some flowers." When Baoyu heard this, he immediately asked, "What flowers? Let me see them." Even as he spoke, he had already reached out and taken them. Opening the box, they saw that they were artificial flowers of palace make, crafted from piled gauze in a novel and ingenious style. Daiyu merely glanced at them from Baoyu's hand and then asked, "Were these sent to me alone, or do the other young ladies have them too?" Mrs. Zhou Rui said, "The others have all had theirs; these two branches are yours." Daiyu said with a cold laugh, "I knew it. Whatever the others didn't pick, the leftover is given to me." Mrs. Zhou Rui heard this and said nothing at all. Baoyu then asked, "Elder Sister Zhou, what did you go over there for?" Mrs. Zhou Rui replied, "Her Ladyship was there and went to make a report, so the Lady Aunt took the opportunity to have me bring them along." Baoyu said, "What is Sister Bao doing at home? Why hasn't she come over these past few days?" Mrs. Zhou Rui said, "She hasn't been feeling well." When Baoyu heard this, he told one of the maids, "Someone go and have a look. Just say that Miss Lin and I have sent you to pay our respects to the Lady Aunt and Sister, to ask what illness she has and what medicine she is taking now. In principle I should go myself, but say that I have just come from school and have caught a bit of a cold, so I will come in person another day." As he spoke, Qiexue agreed to go and left. Mrs. Zhou Rui departed on her own, and there is nothing more to tell.

Now, Mrs. Zhou Rui's son-in-law was Leng Zixingsheng, a friend of Yucun's. He had recently been involved in a lawsuit over selling antiques, so he had sent his wife to ask for influence. Mrs. Zhou Rui, relying on her masters' power, did not take these matters to heart. In the evening she simply went to seek Fengjie's help and that was the end of it.

By the time the lamps were lit, Fengjie had already removed her makeup and went to report to Lady Wang. "The things sent by the Zhen family today, I have already received. As for our gifts to them, since they have a boat going down for New Year's provisions, shall we have it all sent along with them?" Lady Wang nodded. Fengjie continued, "The birthday gifts for the old Lady of the Duke of Lin'an have already be put together. Whom shall we send to deliver them?" Lady Wang said, "See who is free and send four women. Why come and ask me about such a trifling matter as if it were something serious?" Fengjie said with a smile again, "Today the wife of Master Zhen came and invited me to visit tomorrow. As it happens, I have nothing particular to do tomorrow." Lady Wang said, "Whether you have business or not, it makes no difference. Whenever she used to invite you, when we were with you, naturally you felt it inconvenient. Now that she does not invite us but only invites you, it shows that she sincerely wants you to relax and amuse yourself. Do not disappoint her kind intentions. Even if you have business, you should go." Fengjie agreed. At that time, Li Wan, Yingchun, Tanchun, and the other sisters also came to pay their respects and then returned to their own rooms. There is nothing more to tell.

The next day, after Fengjie had washed and dressed, she first went to report to Lady Wang and then came to take leave of the Lady Dowager. When Baoyu heard this, he too wanted to go along. Fengjie had no choice but to agree. She stood waiting while he changed clothes, and then uncle and niece rode in a carriage together and soon entered the Ning mansion. Before long, Madam You, wife of Jia Zhen, and Madam Qin, wife of Jia Rong, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, led out a number of concubines, maids, and servants to receive them at the ceremonial gate. The moment Madam You saw Fengjie, she would first laugh and tease her for a while, then taking Baoyu by the hand, led him into the upper room to sit down. After Madam Qin had served tea, Fengjie said, "What did you invite me here for? If you have anything good to offer me, present it quickly, for I still have business to attend to." Before Madam You and Madam Qin could reply, several concubines below laughed and said, "If Second Madam had not come today, that would have been that. Since she is here, she won't be able to have her way." Even as they spoke, Jia Rong came in to pay his respects. Baoyu asked, "Is Elder Brother not at home today?" Madam You said, "He has gone out of the city to pay his respects to the Master. Are you bored? Why sit here? Why not go and have a look around?"

Madam Qin said with a smile, "What a coincidence! Last time Bao-yu was so eager to see my younger brother. He is here today, I think, in the library. Why doesn't Bao-yu go and have a look?" When Baoyu heard this, he immediately got off the brick bed to leave. Both Madam You and Fengjie hastily said, "Be careful, what's the hurry?" At the same time they ordered the servants to follow him carefully and not let him be wronged—it wasn't the same as when he came with the old lady. Fengjie said, "Since that is the case, why not invite this young Master Qin in for me to see as well? Is it that I cannot see him?" Madam You said with a laugh, "Enough, enough! There's really no need to see him. He is not like our children, who are used to roughing it. Their child is used to being gentle and refined. If he suddenly saw you, a slovenly creature, people would laugh to death!" Fengjie said with a laugh, "Of all the people in the world, if I do not laugh at them, that is enough. Would you have this little child laugh at me?" Jia Rong said with a smile, "That is not what I mean. He is naturally shy and has never seen a grand occasion. If you, Auntie, were to see him, he might be upset." Fengjie said, "No matter what sort of person he is, I must see him! Stop your mother's nonsense. If you don't take me to see him right now, I'll give you a good slap." Jia Rong said with a grin, "I dare not refuse. I'll bring him right away."

With that, he went out and indeed brought in a young lad, somewhat thinner than Baoyu, with clear brows and a handsome face, pink cheeks and red lips, a graceful figure and refined manners that seemed even superior to Baoyu's—only he was timid and bashful, with an air of girlish modesty, as he slowly approached Xifeng with an awkward bow and greeting. Xifeng was delighted and first pushed Baoyu forward, laughing, "He's been outdone!" Then she leaned forward, took the boy by the hand, and had him sit beside her, asking him at leisure: how old he was, what books he was reading, how many brothers he had, and what his school name was. Qin Zhong answered each question in turn. Xifeng's maids and serving-women, seeing that she had not prepared any first-meeting gift for Qin Zhong, had long since hurried over to tell P'ing-erh. Knowing that Xifeng and Madam Qin were close friends, P'ing-erh thought that though the boy was young, they should not be too stingy; so on her own initiative she took a length of cloth and two small gold ingots stamped with "Zhuangyuan Ji Di" and sent them over. Xifeng still remarked that the gift was too modest and so forth. After the Qins had expressed their thanks, they ate a meal together, and then Madam You, Xifeng, and Madam Qin played cards—but no more of that.

Ever since Baoyu had first seen Qin Zhong's outstanding qualities, he felt as though something had been lost to him. He stood in a daze for half a day, his mind wandering into idle fancies. He thought to himself: "So there are such people in the world! Now that I've seen him, I realize I'm nothing but a mud pig or mangy dog. What a pity that I was born into this noble household! If only I had been born into a poor scholar's family, I could have made friends early on and not have lived my life in vain. Though I am supposedly more exalted than he, the truth is that brocade and silk are just wrapping this dead block of wood, and fine wine and lamb are only filling this dung pit and mud ditch. The word 'wealth and honor'—I never expected it would be poisoned by me!"

And Qin Zhong, having seen Baoyu's distinguished appearance and extraordinary bearing, not to mention his gold crown and embroidered robes, his proud maids and pampered pages, also thought to himself: "Indeed, no wonder everyone dotes on this Baoyu. What a pity I was born into a poor family and cannot be close to him. So the word 'poverty' confines a person—truly one of the greatest frustrations in this world!" Both of them were lost in such wild fancies.

Suddenly Baoyu asked him what books he was reading. When Qin Zhong was asked, he answered truthfully. The two of them exchanged words, and after a dozen sentences or so, they felt ever closer.

Soon tea and fruit were set out. Baoyu said, "Since neither of us is drinking wine, let's have the fruit placed on the small kang inside—we'll sit there so we won't disturb you." So the two went into the inner room to drink tea. Madam Qin busied herself arranging wine and fruit for Xifeng, then hurried in to caution Baoyu: "Uncle Bao, if my nephew says anything rash, please for my sake pay no mind to him. Though he's shy, he's stubborn and won't easily go along with others—that is a fault he has." Baoyu laughed and said, "Go on, I know." Madam Qin then cautioned her brother once more before going back to keep Xifeng company.

Presently Xifeng and Madam You sent people to ask Baoyu, "What would you like to eat? If there's anything outside, just ask for it." Baoyu merely assented, having no interest in food or drink; he only asked Qin Zhong about his family affairs in recent days. Qin Zhong replied, "My teacher passed away from illness last year. My father is old, inflicted with disabilities, and burdened with official duties, so he hasn't yet discussed hiring another teacher. For now I'm just reviewing old lessons at home. As for studying, one or two like-minded companions are essential—only through constant discussion can one make progress."

Before he finished, Baoyu answered, "Exactly! We have a family school. Those in the clan who cannot afford a private tutor can attend, and relatives of the family may also enroll. My teacher went home last year too, so my studies have been neglected. My father intends to send me there for now to review old books, and when the teacher returns next year, we'll each study at home again. But Grandmother said that on the one hand, there are too many boys in the family school and they might get into mischief together, and on the other hand, since I was ill for a few days, she put it off for the time being. So I take it your honored father is also worried about this matter. Why not speak to him when you go back and come to our humble school? I'll keep you company, and we'll both benefit—wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Qin Zhong smiled and said, "The other day my father mentioned hiring a teacher and also said the charity school here would be good—he originally intended to discuss a recommendation with the relatives here. But since you're all so busy, he didn't want to bother you over such a small matter. If Uncle Bao thinks I might serve to grind the ink and wash the brush, why not arrange it quickly? Then neither of us will neglect our studies, we can see each other often, we'll ease our parents' minds, and we'll enjoy the pleasure of friendship—wouldn't that be splendid?"

Baoyu said, "Don't worry, don't worry. When we go back we'll tell your sister-in-law and sister-in-law Lian's wife. You go home today and tell your father, and I'll tell Grandmother—there's no reason it won't be arranged at once."

Having settled their plan, and since by now it was lamp-lighting time, they came out and watched the others play cards for a while. When settling the accounts, it turned out that Madam Qin and Madam You had both lost the forfeit of providing wine, and they agreed to host the feast the next day. Then they ordered dinner to be served.

After dinner was finished, as it was already dark, You-jie said, "Send two lads ahead to escort Young Master Qin home." The women servants relayed the order, but after a long time, Qin Zhong rose and took his leave. You-jie asked, "Who was sent to escort them?" The women servants replied, "They assigned Jiao Da outside, but who would have thought Jiao Da would be drunk again, carrying on and cursing." You-jie and Qin-shi both said, "Why must they always assign him! There are plenty of young lads here—any one of them could be sent. Why insist on provoking him?"

Xifeng said, "I've told you day after day that you're too soft. If you let the servants in your household get away with this, what won't they do?"

You-jie sighed with resignation. "Don't you know this Jiao Da? Even my lord ignores him, and your Elder Brother Zhen ignores him too. He followed the old master on three or four military expeditions, carried the old master out of a pile of corpses on his back and saved his life. He went hungry himself, yet stole things to feed his master. When there was no water for two days, he obtained half a bowl of water for his master to drink, while he himself drank horse urine. Simply because of these past services and the old master's affection, he was always shown special consideration. Who nowadays would want to cross him? Now that he's grown old and has no regard for decency, he just drinks, and when he's drunk, he abuses everyone. I've often told the stewards not to assign him duties—just treat him as if he were dead. And today they went and assigned him again."

Xifeng said, "How could I not know this Jiao Da? The trouble is, you people have no backbone. With a fellow like this, why not send him far away to one of the farms and be done with it?"

She then asked, "Are our carriages ready?"

All those below answered, "They're ready and waiting."

Xifeng rose to take her leave, and she and Baoyu left hand in hand. You-jie and the others escorted them to the main hall, where the candlelight blazed brilliantly and all the young servants stood in attendance on the terrace. Jiao Da, emboldened by the fact that Jia Zhen was not at home—and even if he were, he wouldn't be dealt with too harshly—gave himself full license to rant and rave. Riding on the tide of his drunkenness, he cursed the chief steward Lai Er first, calling him "unfair, bullying the soft and fearing the hard. When there's a good assignment, you give it to someone else; a job like escorting people in the middle of the night, you give to me. You ungrateful son of a bitch! Playing at being a steward! Don't you know that when Old Master Jiao Da lifts his foot, it's higher than your head? Twenty years ago, who did Old Master Jiao Da even look at? Let alone you bastards, you pack of mongrels!"

Just as he was in the thick of his tirade, Jia Rong came out to see Xifeng off in her carriage. The others tried to restrain him, but he wouldn't listen. Jia Rong could not contain himself and cursed him a couple of orders, telling the servants to tie him up. "Wait until tomorrow when he's sober and ask him whether he's looking for death or not!"

Jiao Da had no regard for Jia Rong whatsoever. He shouted even louder, running after Jia Rong and yelling, "Nephew Rong, don't you try to throw your weight as a master in front of Jiao Da! Even someone like you—never mind your father or your grandfather—wouldn't dare to square their shoulders at Jiao Da! If it weren't for Jiao Da alone, you'd be holding office, enjoying glory and receiving wealth? Your ancestor built up this estate through nine deaths and one life, and now, instead of repaying my kindness, you set yourself up as my master. You can say anything else you like, but say anything more and I'll go in red blade and come out white!"

From the carriage, Xifeng said to Jia Rong, "In the future, get rid of this lawless creature early! What's the point of keeping him here—isn't he a disaster? If relatives and friends found out, wouldn't they laugh at a household like ours, not even having proper rules and discipline?"

Jia Rong answered, "Yes."

The young servants saw that he was going too far, so several of them came up, threw him down, tied him up, and dragged him off to the stable. Jiao Da, carried away even further, now brought up Jia Zhen's name, shouting wildly, "I want to go to the ancestral temple and weep before the old master's spirit tablet! Who would have thought that today such beasts would be born! Day after day they steal dogs and toy with hens—the old man who climbs the ashes, the one who keeps his brother-in-law—what don't I know? We 'hide a broken arm in the sleeve'!"

When the young servants heard him speak such heaven-defying words, their souls nearly flew from their bodies in terror. Paying no heed to anything else, they tied him up and stuffed his mouth full of dirt and horse manure.

Xifeng and Jia Rong, hearing this from afar, both pretended not to have heard.

In the carriage, Baoyu found this drunken commotion rather amusing and asked Xifeng, "Sister, did you hear him say 'the old man who climbs the ashes'? What does 'climbing the ashes' mean?"

Xifeng's brows shot up and her eyes blazed as she scolded him sharply, "Stop your nonsense! That's just the foul talk of a drunkard. A person like you—instead of saying you didn't hear it, you go and ask about it in detail! Wait until I get back and report this to the Lady Dowager, and see if I have you beaten or not!"

Baoyu was frightened and quickly pleaded, "Good Sister, I'll never dare again."

Xifeng said, "That's better. When we get home, we'll report to the Old Lady and send you off to study with your nephew Qin at the school—that's what matters."

With that, she made her way back to the Rong Mansion. And so it was:

Not because of good looks is friendship hard to sustain,

But for the sake of romance does one first take up study.