Xue Pan Regrets Marrying the Lioness of Hedong; Jia Yingchun Mistakenly Weds the Wolf of Zhongsha

After Baoyu had finished his offerings to Qingwen, he suddenly heard someone speaking behind the flowers and was startled. Looking closer, he saw it was Lin Daiyu. Her face was full of smiles as she said, “That dirge is written with real novelty. It could almost be handed down alongside the Stele of Cao E.”

Baoyu blushed and answered with a smile, “I thought all the memorial texts in the world were old and vulgar, so I tried a new way of writing. I was only playing about with it, and never expected you to hear. It is not well written. Let us revise it together.”

Daiyu said, “Where is the original manuscript? I want to read it carefully. It is so long that just now I only heard two lines clearly: ‘In the red silk bed-curtain, the young gentleman is full of feeling; in the yellow earth mound, the maiden is ill-fated.’ That couplet has excellent meaning, only ‘in the red silk bed-curtain’ is too old-fashioned. There is a real scene right before our eyes. Why not use it?”

Baoyu quickly asked, “What real scene do you mean?”

Daiyu smiled. “Our rooms have window lattices pasted with rosy cloud gauze. Why not write, ‘Beneath the madder gauze window, the young gentleman is full of feeling’?”

Baoyu slapped his thigh and cried, “Wonderful! Only you could think of it! There are countless exquisite phrases in the world, but ordinary people never think of them. There is only one thing: that line refers to your gauze window. It suits you, but as for me, I truly do not dare accept it.” He said “I do not dare” more than ten times in a row.

Daiyu laughed. “What does that matter? My gauze window is your gauze window. Why be so distant? In ancient times, strangers could even share carriages, horses, clothes, and goods, and not care if they were damaged, let alone you and I.”

Baoyu smiled. “Friendship does not lie in carriages, horses, treasures, gold, silver, or jade. But this line concerns a lady’s chamber, and it is utterly improper. Simply replace ‘young gentleman’ and ‘maiden,’ and let it be as if you had written the memorial. That would be even better. You treated Qingwen well too. I would rather give up every other part of the piece than lose the line about the rosy gauze. Change it to: ‘Beneath the rosy gauze window, the young lady is full of feeling; in the yellow earth mound, the maid is ill-fated.’ Then it has nothing to do with me, and I can read it with an easy heart.”

Daiyu laughed. “Qingwen was not my maid. How could it be written that way? Besides, the pairing of young lady and maid is not elegant. Later, when Zijuan is gone, it will not be too late for me to write it so.”

Baoyu quickly smiled. “Why curse Zijuan for nothing?”

Daiyu said, “You were the one who said it, not I.”

Baoyu suddenly thought of a line. “I have revised it again. This line is safe: ‘Beneath the rosy gauze window, I was fated to have no bond; in the yellow earth mound, how ill-fated you are.’”

As soon as Daiyu heard this, her expression changed. Countless thoughts surged in her heart, but outwardly she remained calm. She smiled and nodded in praise. “That is well revised. Do not change it again. Go and attend to proper business. Just now Lady Wang sent someone to call you. Tomorrow morning you are to go to Elder Aunt’s. Second Sister Yingchun’s marriage has been settled. Tomorrow the Sun family is coming to send betrothal gifts and formally arrange the match. You are all to go over.”

Baoyu clapped his hands. “Why so urgent? I am not well. I may not be able to go tomorrow.”

Daiyu urged, “There you go again. I advise you to change your temper. You grow older year by year...” As she spoke, she began to cough.

Baoyu quickly said, “It is windy and cold here. Do not stand here long. Go back quickly.” Daiyu took her leave. Baoyu felt heavy at heart. Thinking that Daiyu was going back alone, he quickly sent a little maid to escort her. He himself returned to Happy Red Court. Sure enough, an old nanny sent by Lady Wang was there, instructing him to go to Jia She’s side early the next morning, just as Daiyu had said.

It turned out that Jia She had already betrothed Yingchun to the Sun family. The Sun family was from Datong Prefecture. Their ancestors had been military officers and had once been retainers of the Ning and Rong mansions, so the two families were old family friends. Now only Sun Shaozu remained in the capital, having inherited a command position. He was not yet thirty, tall and strong, skilled with bow and horse, and very good at social dealings. His family was wealthy, and he was waiting in the Ministry of War for a vacancy and promotion. He had not yet married. Jia She saw him as a junior of an old family, and thought his family and character matched, so he chose him as a son-in-law and reported the matter to Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia was not pleased in her heart, but she thought that Jia She was Yingchun’s own father, and if she opposed it he might not listen. The marriage of sons and daughters had its own fate. So she only said, “I know,” and did not interfere further. Jia Zheng detested the Sun family. In earlier years, the Sun ancestors had sought the protection of the Ning and Rong mansions and had become their retainers. They were not a scholarly family. Jia Zheng advised Jia She twice, but Jia She would not listen, and there was nothing more to be done.

Baoyu had never met Sun Shaozu. The next day he could only go through the motions. He heard that the wedding date was very close and that Yingchun was to be married this very year. He also heard that Lady Xing had reported to Grandmother Jia that Yingchun was to move out of the Grand View Garden. Baoyu grew even more listless and moped all day. When he heard that Yingchun was to take four maids with her as part of her dowry, he sighed deeply. “From today on, the world has five fewer clean people.”

Every day Baoyu went to Purple Caltrop Isle and wandered there. The pavilions and windows were cold and quiet, the curtains desolate. Only a few old women on night watch remained. On the banks, the smartweed flowers and reeds; in the pond, the weeds and water-caltrop leaves—all were scattered and drifting, as if mourning their former mistress, no longer blooming and vying in beauty as before. Moved by the scene, he recited a poem:

One night the pond wind turned cold in autumn,
Blowing apart the red-jade shadows of water chestnut and lotus.
Smartweed flowers and caltrop leaves cannot bear the sorrow;
Heavy dew and thick frost press the slender stems.
No longer is heard the click of chess all the long day;
Swallow mud speckles the chessboard bit by bit.
The ancients grieved at parting and pitied friends;
How much more should I, who am bound by flesh and blood?

He had just finished when someone behind him laughed. “What are you staring blankly at now?” He turned and saw it was Xiangling.

Baoyu smiled and asked, “Good sister, how is it you have come into the garden? I have not seen you for a long time.”

Xiangling clapped her hands and laughed. “It is not that I do not come. Now that your elder brother Xue Pan is back, things are not as free as before. Just now the mistress sent me to find Sister Xifeng. I heard she had come into the garden. I met Xifeng’s maid, who said she was at Rice-Scent Village. I was on my way there when I met you halfway. Let me ask you: is Sister Xiren well lately? How did Sister Qingwen suddenly die? What illness was it? Second Girl moved away so quickly. This place is so empty.”

Baoyu answered her one by one and invited her to Happy Red Court for tea.

Xiangling said, “I cannot. After I find Second Mistress and finish my proper business, I will come again.”

Baoyu asked what urgent matter it was. Xiangling said, “It is the great matter of your elder brother taking a wife.”

Baoyu said, “Which family has he settled on? For the past half year I have heard one change after another—the Zhang family, the Li family, the Wang family. A good girl is being picked over and over.”

Xiangling said, “Now it is settled. There is no more need to discuss other families. Last time when Xue Pan went out on business, he stopped by an old relative’s house. The two families had originally done business together under the Ministry of Revenue, and were among the greatest households in Chang’an. Everyone inside and outside the city called them the Cassia Xia family.”

Baoyu was curious. “Why are they called the Cassia Xia family?”

Xiangling said, “Their surname is Xia, and they are extremely wealthy. Not to speak of their other lands, they have dozens of acres planted especially with cassia. All the cassia shops in and around Chang’an are run by their family. Even the cassia bonsai for the palace are sent as tribute by them. That is how they got the nickname. Old Master Xia died long ago. Only Old Lady Xia and her only daughter are left. There is no son.”

Baoyu said, “Never mind that there is no heir. What is the girl like? How did Xue Pan take a fancy to her at first sight?”

Xiangling smiled. “First, it was fate. Second, in the eyes of a lover, she is a Xi Shi. The two families were old relatives, and when they were children they played together as cousins. After being apart for several years, this time when Xue Pan visited, Old Lady Xia had no son. When she saw Xue Pan, she cried and laughed and was dearer to him than if he had been her own son. She let the cousins meet. The girl was as beautiful as a flower and could read and write. Xue Pan made up his mind on the spot. He stayed three or four days at the Xia house before taking leave and going home. As soon as he got back, he pestered Aunt Xue to send a proposal. Aunt Xue had seen the girl before, and the families were well matched, so she agreed. She consulted Baochai and Xifeng, sent someone to propose, and it was settled at once. The wedding date is very close, and the family is busy. I hope she comes soon, so there will be one more person to write poetry with.”

Baoyu gave a cold smile. “That may be so, but somehow I cannot help feeling worried about your future.”

When Xiangling heard this, her face flushed red. She said seriously, “What kind of talk is that! Ordinarily we respect each other. Today you speak like this! No wonder everyone says you are hard to get close to.” She turned and walked away.

Baoyu was left disappointed. He stood blankly for a long time, then shed tears. Dejected, he returned to Happy Red Court. That night he slept badly, called Qingwen in his dreams, and had one nightmare after another. The next day he had no appetite and felt feverish. After all he had been through—the search of the Grand View Garden, the expulsion of Siqi, Yingchun’s distant marriage, Qingwen’s tragic death—his heart was full of grief and shock. Add to that an external chill, and he fell ill and took to his bed. Grandmother Jia came in person every day to see him. Lady Wang secretly regretted having pressed Qingwen so hard, but she did not show it. She only told the servants to care for him well and had the doctor take his pulse and prescribe medicine every day. After a month Baoyu slowly improved.

Grandmother Jia instructed that he was to rest well, and only after a full hundred days could he eat meat or go out. Within those hundred days he was not even allowed to leave the courtyard gate, and could only amuse himself in his room. After forty or fifty days, Baoyu was so bored from being shut in that he begged in every way, but Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang would not relent. He could only joke and play freely with the maids.

He heard that Xue Pan had held great feasts and opera performances, and that Xia Jingui had already been married in. They said Miss Xia was beautiful and somewhat literate. Baoyu wanted very much to see her. After a while he also heard that Yingchun had married. Baoyu remembered how the sisters had once been together morning and evening. Now that they were parted, even if they met again they could not be as close as before. Since he could not go out to visit, he felt bitter. He could only endure and joke with the maids to pass the time, so that Jia Zheng would not force him to study. During those hundred days, Happy Red Court was turned upside down.

Now as for Xiangling. After Baoyu’s rebuff that day, she felt he had spoken frivolously. She thought it was no wonder Baochai was unwilling to grow close to him, and that Daiyu often quarreled with him. After that she tried to enter the Grand View Garden as little as possible. When Xue Pan married, Xiangling thought to herself that at last her burden would be lifted and she could live in peace. She also heard that the new mistress was both talented and beautiful, and assumed she must be gentle by nature. She longed for Xia Jingui to enter the house even more eagerly than Xue Pan did. When Xia Jingui finally married in, Xiangling was careful and attentive in serving her.

Xia Jingui was seventeen that year. She was good-looking and knew some characters. In scheming and calculation she was not inferior to Wang Xifeng. Unfortunately, her father had died when she was young, and she had no brothers. Her widowed mother treated her as a treasure and indulged her in every way, forming a fierce and domineering temper. She regarded herself as a Bodhisattva and others as dung. Outside she was like a flower; inside her temper was fire. At home she often beat and scolded the maids. After marrying, she was determined to be the mistress of the household and to display her authority over the servants. She saw that Xue Pan was rough and arrogant, and planned to get him under her thumb early so as to secure her position. She also saw that the household contained a concubine like Xiangling, both talented and beautiful, and could not tolerate her. In her heart she resolved to get rid of Xiangling.

Her family was famous for cassia, and her childhood name was Jingui, Golden Cassia. At home no one was allowed to say the words “golden cassia” carelessly. Anyone who slipped and said them was severely punished. She also felt that the name cassia could not be forbidden thoroughly enough, so borrowing the allusion of the cassia tree in Chang’e’s moon palace, she changed the name of cassia to Chang’e flower, thereby elevating herself.

Xue Pan was by nature fond of the new and tired of the old. In the first days of marriage, everything was fresh, and he yielded to Xia Jingui in all things. Jingui pressed him step by step. In the first month of marriage, the two were evenly matched. After two months, Xue Pan gradually had his spirit beaten down. One day, after drinking, Xue Pan had something he wanted to do. Jingui absolutely refused. Xue Pan could not hold back and said a few words, then went off in anger to do it himself. Jingui cried and made a great scene, refused food and drink, and pretended to be ill. The doctor took her pulse and said it was depression, and that she needed to be soothed. Aunt Xue scolded Xue Pan severely. “We had such difficulty marrying a girl like a phoenix. She took a fancy to you and was willing to marry you. You do not settle down and live properly. Instead you get drunk and torment your wife. Now we must spend money on medicine, all because you ask for trouble.”

Xue Pan regretted it very much and in turn coaxed Jingui. When Jingui saw her mother-in-law scold Xue Pan, she became even more pleased with herself and deliberately ignored him. Xue Pan was helpless and blamed himself entirely. After more than ten days, he managed to coax her back to good humor. From then on Xue Pan was even more careful, and his spirit was lower still. Jingui saw that her husband was soft and her mother-in-law kind, so she grew bolder and bolder. First she controlled Xue Pan, then she wanted to control Aunt Xue, and then Baochai. Baochai had long seen through her mind and adapted to circumstances, quietly suppressing her in speech. Jingui wanted to find fault with Baochai but could find no handle, and could only keep up a surface politeness.

One day Jingui had nothing to do and chatted idly with Xiangling. She asked Xiangling about her native place and parents. Xiangling said she could not remember them clearly. Jingui was displeased and thought Xiangling was deliberately hiding things. She asked who had given Xiangling the name “Xiangling.” Xiangling said Baochai had chosen it. Jingui sneered, “Everyone says Miss Bao is learned, but this name alone is inept.”

Xiangling quickly smiled and said, “Mistress does not know. Our young lady’s learning is often praised even by Uncle.”

What happened afterward will be told in the next chapter.