Sending Palace Flowers, Jia Lian Teases Xifeng; Feasting at Ning Mansion, Baoyu Meets Qin Zhong

After seeing Granny Liu off, Zhou Rui's wife went up to report to Lady Wang. But Lady Wang was not in her main room; on asking the maids, she learned that she had gone to Aunt Xue's quarters for a chat. So Mrs. Zhou turned out through the east corner gate and made her way to the Pear Fragrance Court in the eastern compound. As she reached the gate, she saw Lady Wang's maid Jinchuan playing on the steps with a little girl who had just begun to grow her hair. Seeing Mrs. Zhou approach and knowing she had business to report, Jinchuan motioned with her lips toward the room.

Mrs. Zhou lifted the curtain softly and went in. Lady Wang and Aunt Xue were deep in conversation about household affairs and family matters. Not daring to disturb them, Mrs. Zhou slipped into the inner room. There she found Xue Baochai, in everyday clothes with her hair simply pinned up, sitting at the back of the kang, leaning over a small table and tracing embroidery patterns with her maid Ying'er. When Baochai saw her come in, she set down her brush, turned around, and greeted her with a warm smile: "Sister Zhou, please sit down." Mrs. Zhou returned the smile and asked, "How are you, miss?" She sat down on the edge of the kang and said, "We haven't seen you over at our side for two or three days now. I hope Brother Bao hasn't offended you?" Baochai laughed, "Not at all. It's just that my old ailment flared up again, so I've been keeping indoors." Mrs. Zhou said, "Speaking of that, miss, what exactly is the root of your trouble? You should call a good doctor and get a proper prescription—take a few doses and cure it once and for all. At your age, to have such a chronic condition is no joke." Baochai smiled at this, "Don't even mention taking medicine. For this illness I've spent heaven knows how much silver on doctors and drugs. Famous physicians and miraculous remedies alike—none did the least good. Then a bald-headed monk came along, claiming he could cure strange ailments, and we had him take a look. He said it was a congenital heat-poison I'd brought from the womb, but luckily my constitution was strong enough to withstand it; ordinary medicine wouldn't work. He gave a recipe for an immortal elixir from overseas, along with a packet of powdered medicine as a base, which gave off an extraordinary fragrance—I don't know where he got it. He said to take one pill whenever an attack came on. Strange to say, his medicine did prove somewhat effective."

Mrs. Zhou asked, "What was this overseas prescription? If you tell me, I can remember it and pass it on to others—should anyone meet with such a complaint, it would be a meritorious deed." Baochai laughed, "Better not to use it at all, for it's dreadfully fussy. The ingredients themselves are not hard to come by, but the trick lies in the 'just-so' timing. You need twelve ounces of white peony stamens blooming in spring, twelve ounces of white lotus stamens blooming in summer, twelve ounces of white hibiscus stamens blooming in autumn, and twelve ounces of white plum stamens blooming in winter. These four kinds of stamens are to be dried on the Spring Equinox of the following year and ground together with the powdered base. Then you need twelve qian of rain water collected on the Rain Water day..." Mrs. Zhou broke in, "Oh dear! That would take three whole years. And what if it doesn't rain on that very day?" Baochai said, "That's the point—such coincidences are hard to come by. If there's no rain, you simply wait another year. Then you need twelve qian of dew from the White Dew day, twelve qian of frost from the Frost's Descent day, and twelve qian of snow from the Light Snow day. Mix these four waters together, blend with the medicine, add twelve qian of honey and twelve qian of white sugar, form pills the size of longans, store them in an old porcelain jar, and bury it under the roots of a flowering tree. When an attack comes, take one pill, to be swallowed with a decoction of twelve qian of cork bark."

Mrs. Zhou laughed, "Buddha save us! That's enough to drive one to despair—you might wait ten years and never have such luck." Baochai said, "Fortunately, after he told us, within a year or two all the coincidences fell into place, and we managed to compound one batch. I've brought it all the way from the south, and now it's buried under the pear tree in the courtyard." Mrs. Zhou asked, "Does this medicine have a name?" Baochai replied, "Yes. The bald-headed monk called it 'Cold-Fragrance Pills.'" Mrs. Zhou nodded, then asked, "And what does an attack actually feel like?" Baochai said, "Nothing much—just a little wheezing and coughing. One pill eases it somewhat."

Mrs. Zhou was about to say more when she heard Lady Wang ask, "Who is in there?" She hurried out to answer, and took the opportunity to report on Granny Liu's visit. After a short while, seeing Lady Wang had nothing more to say, she was about to withdraw when Aunt Xue suddenly laughed and said, "Wait a moment. I have something for you to take along." She called for Xiangling. The curtain rustled, and the little girl who had been playing with Jinchuan came in, asking, "What does madam wish?" Aunt Xue said, "Bring the flowers from that box." Xiangling went and fetched a small brocade box. Aunt Xue said, "These are the latest palace-style silk flowers—twelve of them. I thought of them yesterday and felt it a pity to leave them unused; why not give them to the young ladies to wear? I meant to send them over yesterday but forgot. You come just in time—take them along. Give two to each of the three young ladies of your house; of the remaining six, give two to Miss Lin, and the other four to Fengge." Lady Wang said, "Keep them for Baochai to wear—why think of them?" Aunt Xue said, "You don't know, sister—Baochai is peculiar; she has never cared for such trinkets."

With that, Mrs. Zhou took the box and went out. Seeing Jinchuan still sunning herself, she asked her, "That little girl Xiangling—is she the one who was bought just before you came to the capital, the one who caused that murder lawsuit?" Jinchuan said, "That's her." Just then Xiangling came over smiling. Mrs. Zhou took her hand and looked her over carefully, then said to Jinchuan, "She's really quite a pretty thing—she even has something of the bearing of our East Mansion's Mrs. Rong." Jinchuan agreed, "I've always thought so." Mrs. Zhou then asked Xiangling, "How old were you when you came here? Where are your parents now? How old are you this year? And where are you from originally?" Xiangling only shook her head, saying, "I don't remember." Mrs. Zhou and Jinchuan sighed with pity.

Presently Mrs. Zhou made her way with the flowers to the back of Lady Wang's main quarters. Lately the Dowager had felt there were too many granddaughters crowded together, so she kept only Baoyu and Daiyu with her for company, and moved Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun to three small rooms behind Lady Wang's house, under Li Wan's care. Mrs. Zhou went there first. Several little maids were waiting in the side rooms. Yingchun's maid Sigi and Tanchun's maid Daishu came out holding teacups, so Mrs. Zhou knew the sisters were together. She entered and found Yingchun and Tanchun playing go by the window. She presented the flowers and explained. They stopped their game, rose, thanked her, and told their maids to receive them.

Mrs. Zhou then asked, "Where is Fourth Miss? Perhaps she is at the Dowager's?" The maids said, "Isn't she in that room over there?" Mrs. Zhou went over and found Xichun playing with Zhineng, a little nun from Water-Moon Convent. Xichun asked what she wanted. Mrs. Zhou opened the box and explained. Xichun laughed, "I was just telling Zhineng that I would shave my head tomorrow and become a nun like her—and here come flowers! If I shave my head, where shall I wear them?" They all laughed. Xichun told her maid Ruhua to put them away.

Mrs. Zhou asked Zhineng, "When did you come? And where has your crooked-shave of a master gone?" Zhineng said, "We came early this morning. My master saw the lady, then went to Lord Yu's mansion, and told me to wait for her here." Mrs. Zhou asked, "Have you received the monthly incense-money for the fifteenth yet?" Zhineng shook her head, "I don't know." Xichun asked Mrs. Zhou, "Who is in charge of the monthly allowances for the various temples now?" Mrs. Zhou said, "Yu Xin." Xichun smiled, "That explains it. As soon as her master arrived, Yu Xin's wife came hurrying over and whispered with her for ages—that must have been what it was about."

Mrs. Zhou chatted a while longer with Zhineng, then went to Xifeng's quarters. Passing through the passage and by Li Wan's back window, she saw through the glass Li Wan lying dozing on the kang. She crossed the west flower-wall, went out the west corner gate, and entered Xifeng's courtyard. In the main hall, little maid Feng'er was sitting on the threshold of Xifeng's room and waved Mrs. Zhou toward the eastern room. Mrs. Zhou tiptoed to the eastern room, where the wet nurse was patting Sister Da to sleep. She whispered, "Is the little girl taking her nap? Time to wake her." The nurse shook her head. Just then, laughter came from the other room, and she heard Jia Lian's voice. Then the door opened, and Ping'er came out with a large bronze basin, telling Feng'er to fetch water. Ping'er came over and saw Mrs. Zhou, asking, "What brings you here again, old aunt?" Mrs. Zhou rose, handed her the box, and explained about the flowers. Ping'er opened it, took out four flowers, and went back. In a short while she returned with two flowers and told Caiming, "Take these to the East Mansion for young Mrs. Rong to wear." Then she told Mrs. Zhou to return with thanks.

Mrs. Zhou then went toward the Dowager's quarters. Passing through the hall, she saw her daughter, dressed in her married clothes, coming from her in-laws' home. She asked, "What brings you here at this hour?" Her daughter smiled, "How are you, Mother? I waited at home all this time, but you never came out—what keeps you so busy? I got impatient, so I went first to pay my respects to the Dowager, and now I'm going to see Lady Wang. What's that you're carrying?" Mrs. Zhou laughed, "Oh, today of all days a Granny Liu came, and I had to run about for her all morning. Then I was spotted by Aunt Xue, who gave me these flowers for the young ladies. I haven't finished delivering them yet. You must have something to tell me." Her daughter said, "You guess well. To be honest, your son-in-law drank a bit too much the other day and got into an argument; somehow someone lodged a malicious complaint, saying his background was suspicious, and took him to court—they want to deport him back to his native place. So I came to ask your advice—who could we ask to settle this?" Mrs. Zhou said, "I knew it. That's nothing to worry about! You go home and wait for me. I'll deliver these flowers to Miss Lin and then come home. The lady and the Second Mistress are both busy now. Go back and wait. There's no need to get so worked up." Her daughter left, saying, "Mother, do come quickly." Mrs. Zhou said, "All right. Young people who've never been through anything get so flustered." Then she went to Daiyu's room.

Now Daiyu was not in her own room but in Baoyu's, playing the nine-link puzzle with him. Mrs. Zhou came in smiling, "Miss Lin, Aunt Xue sent me to bring you these flowers." Baoyu asked first, "What flowers? Let me see." He took the box and opened it to see the palace-made silk flowers, delicately fashioned. Daiyu only glanced at them in Baoyu's hands and asked, "Are these for me alone, or have the other young ladies also received theirs?" Mrs. Zhou said, "Everyone has theirs—these two are yours." Daiyu said with a cold smile, "I knew it—they wouldn't give me any until everyone else had picked them over." Mrs. Zhou did not reply. Baoyu asked, "Sister Zhou, why did you go over there?" She explained, "I went to see Lady Wang on business, and Aunt Xue gave me the flowers to bring." Baoyu asked, "What is Cousin Baochai doing at home? Why hasn't she come over these days?" Mrs. Zhou said, "She's not been well." Baoyu then said to the maids, "Who will go and see her? Tell her that I and Miss Lin sent you to pay our respects to Aunt and Cousin, and to ask what her illness is and what medicine she's taking. I ought to go myself, but tell her I just returned from school and caught a slight chill, so I'll come another day." Xixue volunteered to go. Mrs. Zhou then went off, and there is nothing more to tell.

Now this Zhou's son-in-law was Leng Zixing, an old friend of Jia Yucun's, who had recently been involved in a lawsuit over antique dealing and had sent his wife to plead for help. Mrs. Zhou, relying on her mistress's influence, did not take it to heart and simply planned to ask Xifeng's help that evening.

At dusk, Xifeng, having removed her makeup, came to see Lady Wang to report: "I have received the things sent by the Zhen family. As for our return gifts, since their family will send a boat with New Year tribute, shall we give them all to be carried along?" Lady Wang nodded. Xifeng added, "The birthday gifts for the old lady of Lin'an Earl's mansion are ready. Whom shall we send to deliver them?" Lady Wang said, "See who is free and send four women—why do you ask me about such routine matters?" Xifeng smiled again, "Today Cousin Zhen's wife came to invite me to visit tomorrow—I have nothing much to do." Lady Wang said, "Whether you have business or not is irrelevant. Usually when she invites you, we are here, so you naturally feel awkward. Since she didn't invite us but only you, it shows she sincerely wants you to relax. Don't disappoint her—even if you have something to do, you should go." Xifeng agreed. Then Li Wan, Yingchun, Tanchun, and the other sisters came to pay their respects, and each retired for the night.

The next morning Xifeng washed and dressed, reported to Lady Wang, and then took leave of the Dowager. Baoyu wanted to go along, so Xifeng had to agree and waited while he changed. The two of them rode over to the Ning Mansion. They were met at the ceremonial gate by You Shi, wife of Jia Zhen, and Qin Keqing, wife of Jia Rong, along with many concubines, maids, and married women. You Shi greeted Xifeng with her usual teasing and took Baoyu's hand as they entered the main hall. After Qin Keqing served tea, Xifeng said, "Why did you invite me? If you have something good to offer, bring it out quickly—I have other things to do." Before You Shi and Qin Keqing could answer, the concubines on the floor laughed, "Now that you're here, Second Mistress, you can't just leave as you please." Just then Jia Rong came in to pay his respects. Baoyu asked, "Is Brother Zhen not at home today?" You Shi said, "He went out of town to pay his respects to his father. But you must be bored sitting here—why don't you go for a walk?"

Qin Keqing smiled, "What a coincidence! The last time Uncle Bao wanted so urgently to meet my brother, he happens to be here today—I believe he's in the study. Why doesn't Uncle Bao go see him?" Baoyu jumped down from the kang and made to leave. You Shi and Xifeng both called out, "Take care—no rushing!" and told the attendants to look after him well, not to let him feel slighted, though he was not as protected as when he came with the Dowager. Xifeng said, "In that case, why not invite this young Mr. Qin in for me to see as well? Am I not fit to meet him?" You Shi laughed, "No, no—no need to see him. He's not like our own boys, who are rough-and-tumble; he's a delicate, well-mannered lad, and if he suddenly meets a blustery creature like you, he'd be mortified." Xifeng laughed, "If I don't laugh at the rest of the world, would I let a mere child laugh at me?" Jia Rong said, "That's not it—he's shy and unused to grand occasions; Aunt might be put out if you see him." Xifeng said, "Whatever he's like, I will see him! Stop your nonsense. If you don't bring him to me, I'll give you a good slap." Jia Rong smiled, "I dare not refuse—I'll bring him."

So he went out and brought in a young lad, somewhat slighter than Baoyu, with clear eyebrows and handsome features, a fair face and red lips, a fine figure and graceful bearing—perhaps even more striking than Baoyu, but shy and bashful, with a girlish modesty. He slowly made his bow to Xifeng. Xifeng was delighted and pushed Baoyu first, laughing, "He puts you in the shade!" Then she leaned over, took the boy's hand, and made him sit beside her, asking him his age, what books he studied, how many brothers he had, and his school name. Qin Zhong answered all. Several of Xifeng's maids and married women, seeing that Xifeng had not prepared a gift for this first meeting, hurried over to tell Ping'er. Ping'er, knowing Xifeng's close friendship with Qin Keqing, felt that even for a young lad a gift should not be too meagre, so she took it upon herself to send a bolt of silk and two small gold ingots engraved with "Top Scholar," which were brought in. Xifeng said they were too modest. Qin Keqing thanked her. After a meal, You Shi, Xifeng, and Qin Keqing played dominoes, leaving the young ones to themselves.

Baoyu, having seen Qin Zhong's outstanding qualities, felt a pang of loss and sat in a daze for a long time, then fell into his usual reverie: "So such a person exists in the world! Compared to him, I am but a mud-pig or a mangy dog. Why was I born into this noble house? If I were of a poor, humble family, I could have befriended him long ago, and not have lived in vain. Though I am more privileged, all these fine silks and satins only cover this dead log of a body, and these rich wines and meats only fill this sewer. The word 'wealth' has been wasted on me!" And Qin Zhong, seeing Baoyu's exceptional looks and bearing, his golden crown and embroidered robes, his delicate maids and splendid attendants, thought to himself, "No wonder everyone dotes on this Baoyu. It is my misfortune to be born into such a poor family, unable to draw near him—indeed, poverty is a great barrier in this world." Each was lost in similar fancies. Suddenly Baoyu asked what books he studied. Qin Zhong answered truthfully, and as they chatted on, they grew more and more intimate.

Soon tea and refreshments were set out. Baoyu said, "We two don't drink—let's take the fruit to that little kang inside and sit there, so we won't disturb you." So they went into the inner room to drink tea. Qin Keqing, while attending to Xifeng's wine and fruit, came in to caution Baoyu: "Uncle Bao, if my nephew speaks rashly, please overlook it for my sake. Though shy, he can be rather headstrong and not very accommodating." Baoyu smiled, "Go on, I understand." Qin Keqing repeated her caution to her brother, then went back to Xifeng.

Presently Xifeng and You Shi sent someone to ask Baoyu, "If you want anything to eat, just ask." Baoyu only nodded, having little interest in food, and asked Qin Zhong about his recent studies. Qin Zhong said, "My tutor died last year, and my father is old and infirm, with many official duties, so he hasn't arranged for a new teacher yet. I've just been reviewing old lessons at home. Besides, in study one needs a like-minded companion for discussion, to make progress." Before he finished, Baoyu said, "Exactly! We have a family school—any of our clan who can't afford a tutor can study there, and even some relatives attend. My own tutor went home last year, so I've been idle too. My father wants to send me to review old texts there until my tutor returns next year, when I'll study at home again. But my grandmother said there are too many boys at the school and they might get up to mischief, and also I've been ill for a few days, so it's been delayed. It seems your father is also troubled by this matter. Why don't you go home today, tell him, and come to our school? I'll be there too, and we can help each other—wouldn't that be a good thing?" Qin Zhong smiled, "My father did mention the school here the other day and thought of asking our relative to recommend us, but he didn't want to trouble them over such a small matter. If Uncle Bao thinks this humble nephew might be of use as a study companion, why not quickly arrange it? Then neither of us would waste our time, we could often talk together, soothe our parents' hearts, and enjoy the pleasures of friendship—what could be better?" Baoyu said, "Don't worry. When we go back, I'll tell your brother-in-law and sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law Lian. You go home and tell your father, and I'll tell my grandmother—it will be settled at once." Having agreed, they came out, and the evening had drawn in. They watched the others play cards; You Shi and Qin Keqing ended up losing the stake for the theatre and drinks, and it was agreed that the treat would be given two days later. Then supper was announced.

After supper, as it was dark, You Shi said, "Send two lads to escort this Mr. Qin home." The women relayed the order, and after a while Qin Zhong took his leave. You Shi asked, "Whom did you send?" The women answered, "Jiao Da was sent outside, but he's drunk and cursing again." You Shi and Qin Keqing said, "Why send him of all people? There are plenty of young servants—why provoke him?" Xifeng said, "I've always said you're too soft—if you let your household get like this, what will become of it?" You Shi sighed, "You don't know Jiao Da. Even the master won't reproach him, nor your Cousin Zhen. He went on three or four campaigns with the old masters, carried the old master out of a heap of corpses to save his life, went hungry to steal food for his master, and when there was no water for two days, gave the half bowl he got to his master and drank horse urine himself. Because of these old services, our ancestors treated him with special respect; now no one dares offend him. He's old and reckless, and drinks too much; when drunk he abuses everyone. I often tell the stewards not to assign him tasks—just treat him as dead. And now they sent him anyway." Xifeng said, "Of course I know Jiao Da. But you lack foresight—if he's like that, why not send him far off to one of the estates and be done with it?" Then she asked, "Are our carriages ready?" All answered, "They are ready."

Xifeng rose to leave, and Baoyu went with her. You Shi and the others escorted them to the main hall, where lanterns blazed and the young servants stood waiting in the courtyard. Jiao Da, emboldened by Jia Zhen's absence (and even if he were home, he could do little to him), was in full riot. He first cursed the chief steward Lai Er, accusing him of favouritism, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, "Sending others on good errands, and sending me to escort people in the dead of night—you heartless turtle's egg! You set yourself up as a steward! Just remember, Old Jiao can lift his foot higher than your head. Twenty years ago, who did Old Jiao care about? Let alone you pack of bastards and turtle-eggs!"

While he raged, Jia Rong came out to see Xifeng's carriage off; the servants could not stop Jiao Da, so Jia Rong cursed him and ordered him tied up, "Tomorrow when you're sober, we'll see if you still want to die or not!" But Jiao Da did not take Jia Rong seriously at all. He shouted back, chasing after Jia Rong, "Young Master Rong, don't put on master's airs with me. Not to mention you—your father, your grandfather, none of them dared to stand up to Old Jiao! If it weren't for me alone, would you be officials enjoying glory and wealth? Your ancestors fought through life and death to build this estate, and now you don't repay my services, but put on airs as my master. Say nothing else, but if you do, I'll give you a red knife in and a white knife out!" Xifeng said from the carriage, "Jia Rong, why haven't you got rid of this lawless creature? Keeping him here is a disaster! If relatives and friends hear of it, won't they laugh that such a household has no rules?" Jia Rong agreed.

The servants, seeing Jiao Da too unruly, seized him, bound him, and dragged him to the stable. Jiao Da then cursed even Jia Zhen, shouting, "I'll go to the ancestral hall and weep before the old masters. Who would have thought they would breed such beasts! Every day stealing dogs and fowling, covering ash in the chimney, taking younger brothers' wives—I know everything! But we 'hide a broken arm in the sleeve'!" The servants were terrified to hear such outrageous talk, and without further thought, they stuffed his mouth full of earth and horse dung.

Xifeng and Jia Rong heard from afar but pretended not to. Baoyu, in the carriage, found this drunken brawl amusing and asked, "Sister, what does 'covering ash in the chimney' mean?" Xifeng at once glared and snapped, "Nonsense! That's a drunkard's ravings—how can you, of all people, not pretend not to hear, but ask such questions? Wait till I tell Lady Wang, and see if she doesn't give you a beating!" Baoyu was frightened and begged, "Dear sister, I won't dare again." Xifeng said, "That's better. When we get home, we'll tell the Dowager that it's time to send you to school with your cousin Qin." So they returned to the Rongguo Mansion. As the verse says:

Not because of his good looks did they become friends—
It was for love of elegance that they took up their books.