By Willow Leaf Isle, She Rebukes the Oriole and Scolds the Swallow; In Crimson Cloud Studio, Generals Are Summoned and Talismans Fly

When Baoyu heard that Lady Jia and the others had returned, he put on an extra garment, leaned on his cane, and went to the front to greet them all. Lady Jia and the others, tired from their daily labors, wanted to rest early, and the night passed without incident. At the fifth watch the next morning, they went to court again. The day for escorting the coffin was near. Yuanyang, Hupo, Feicui, and Bolì were busy packing Lady Jia’s things, while Yu Chuan, Caiyun, Caixia, and the others packed Lady Wang’s things, checking them item by item in the presence of the stewardesses who would accompany them. Those following included six maids, great and small, ten old women and stewardesses, not counting the men. For days they had been preparing the mule-borne sedan chairs and equipment. Yuanyang and Yu Chuan were not going; they were to watch the rooms. A few days earlier, curtains, hangings, bedding, and furnishings had been sent ahead. Four or five stewardesses and several men had been dispatched first, traveling by a roundabout route in several carts to the lodging, where......