At Convex Jade Hall, Listening to the Flute Brings a Sense of Desolation; At Concave Crystal Lodge, Matching Verses Mourns Loneliness

Let us leave aside for the moment how Jia She, Jia Zheng, and Jia Zhen, with the other men of the family, dispersed. Turning to Grandmother Jia: she had the screens removed and the two tables of food joined into one. The serving women wiped the tables, set out melons and fruit, changed the wine cups, washed the chopsticks, and arranged everything properly again. Grandmother Jia and the others all put on outer garments, rinsed their mouths, washed their hands, and drank tea before sitting down once more, gathered in a circle to enjoy the moon. Grandmother Jia looked around and saw that the Xue sisters, Baochai and Baoqin, were not at the table. She knew they had gone home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with their own family. Li Wan and Wang Xifeng were both ill in bed. With four people suddenly missing, the table felt much quieter. Grandmother Jia smiled and said, “In past years, when your father and the other men were away, we simply invited Aunt Xue to join us for moon-viewing, and it was lively. But even in lively times, I would remember that fathers and......