第二十八回

第二十八回 蒋玉菡情赠茜香罗 薛宝钗羞笼红麝串

话说林黛玉只因昨夜晴雯不开门一事，错疑在宝玉身上。至次日又可巧遇见饯花之期，正是一腔无明〔一〕[2]正未发泄，又勾起伤春愁思，因把些残花落瓣去掩埋，由不得感花伤己，哭了几声，便随口念了几句。不想宝玉在山坡上听见，先不过点头感叹；次后听到“侬今葬花人笑痴，他年葬侬知是谁”，“一朝春尽红颜老，花落人亡两不知”等句，不觉恸倒山坡之上，怀里兜的落花撒了一地。试想林黛玉的花颜月貌，将来亦到无可寻觅之时，宁不心碎肠断！既黛玉终归无可寻觅之时，推之于他人，如宝钗、香菱、袭人等，亦可到无可寻觅之时矣。宝钗等终归无可寻觅之时，则自己又安在哉？且自身尚不知何在何往，则斯处、斯园、斯花、斯柳，又不知当属谁姓矣！——因此一而二，二而三，反复推求了去，真不知此时此际欲为何等蠢物，杳无所知，逃大造，出尘网[3]，始可解释这段悲伤。正是：花影不离身左右，鸟声只在耳东西。

那林黛玉正自伤感，忽听山坡上也有悲声，心下想道：“人人都笑我有些痴病，难道还有一个痴子不成？”想着，抬头一看，见是宝玉。林黛玉看见，便道：“啐！我道是谁，原来是这个狠心短命的……”刚说到“短命”二字，又把口掩住，长叹了一声，自己抽身便走了。

这里宝玉悲恸了一回，忽然抬头不见了黛玉，便知黛玉看见他躲开了，自己也觉无味，抖抖土起来，下山寻归旧路，往怡红院来。可巧看见林黛玉在前头走，连忙赶上去，说道：“你且站住。我知你不理我，我只说一句话，从今后撂开手。”林黛玉回头看见是宝玉，待要不理他，听他说“只说一句话，从此撂开手”，这话里有文章，少不得站住说道：“有一句话，请说来。”宝玉笑道：“两句话，说了你听不听？”黛玉听说，回头就走。宝玉在身后面叹道：“既有今日，何必当初！”林黛玉听见这话，由不得站住，回头道：“当初怎么样？今日怎么样？”宝玉叹道：“当初姑娘来了，那不是我陪着玩笑？凭我心爱的，姑娘要，就拿去；我爱吃的，听见姑娘也爱吃，连忙干干净净收着等姑娘吃。一桌子吃饭，一床上睡觉。丫头们想不到的，我怕姑娘生气，我替丫头们想到了。我心里想着：姊妹们从小儿长大，亲也罢，热也罢，和气到了儿，才见得比人好。如今谁承望姑娘人大心大，不把我放在眼里，倒把外四路的[4]什么宝姐姐凤姐姐的放在心坎儿上，倒把我三日不理四日不见的。我又没个亲兄弟亲姊妹。——虽然有两个，你难道不知道是和我隔母的？我也和你似的独出，只怕同我的心一样。谁知我是白操了这个心，弄的有冤无处诉！”说着不觉滴下眼泪来。

黛玉耳内听了这话，眼内见了这形景，心内不觉灰了大半，也不觉滴下泪来，低头不语。宝玉见他这般形景，遂又说道：“我也知道我如今不好了，但只凭着怎么不好，万不敢在妹妹跟前有错处。便有一二分错处，你倒是或教导我，戒我下次，或骂我两句，打我两下，我都不灰心。谁知你总不理我，叫我摸不着头脑，少魂失魄，不知怎么样才好。就便死了，也是个屈死鬼，任凭高僧高道忏悔也不能超生，还得你申明了缘故，我才得托生呢！”

黛玉听了这个话，不觉将昨晚的事都忘在九霄云外了，便说道：“你既这么说，昨儿为什么我去了，你不叫丫头开门？”宝玉诧异道：“这话从那里说起？我要是这么样，立刻就死了！”林黛玉啐道：“大清早起死呀活的，也不忌讳。你说有呢就有，没有就没有，起什么誓呢。”宝玉道：“实在没有见你去。就是宝姐姐坐了一坐，就出来了。”林黛玉想了一想，笑道：“是了。想必是你的丫头们懒待动，丧声歪气的也是有的。”宝玉道：“想必是这个原故。等我回去问了是谁，教训教训他们就好了。”黛玉道：“你的那些姑娘们也该教训教训，只是我论理不该说。今儿得罪了我的事小，倘或明儿宝姑娘来，什么贝姑娘来，也得罪了，事情岂不大了。”说着抿着嘴笑。宝玉听了，又是咬牙，又是笑。

二人正说话，只见丫头来请吃饭，遂都往前头来了。王夫人见了林黛玉，因问道：“大姑娘，你吃那鲍太医的药可好些？”林黛玉道：“也不过这么着。老太太还叫我吃王大夫的药呢。”宝玉道：“太太不知道，林妹妹是内症，先天生的弱，所以禁不住一点风寒，不过吃两剂煎药就好了，散了风寒，还是吃丸药的好。”王夫人道：“前儿大夫说了个丸药的名字，我也忘了。”宝玉道：“我知道那些丸药，不过叫他吃什么人参养荣丸。”王夫人道：“不是。”宝玉又道：“八珍益母丸？左归？右归？再不，就是麦味地黄丸[5]。”王夫人道：“都不是。我只记得有个‘金刚’两个字的。”宝玉扎手[6]笑道：“从来没听见有个什么‘金刚丸’。若有了‘金刚丸’，自然有‘菩萨散’了！”说的满屋里人都笑了。宝钗抿嘴笑道：“想是天王补心丹[7]。”王夫人笑道：“是这个名儿。如今我也糊涂了。”宝玉道：“太太倒不糊涂，都是叫‘金刚’‘菩萨’支使糊涂了。”王夫人道：“扯你娘的臊！又欠你老子捶你了。”宝玉笑道：“我老子再不为这个捶我的。”

王夫人又道：“既有这个名儿，明儿就叫人买些来吃。”宝玉笑道：“这些都不中用的。太太给我三百六十两银子，我替妹妹配一料丸药，包管一料不完就好了。”王夫人道：“放屁！什么药就这么贵？”宝玉笑道：“当真的呢，我这个方子比别的不同。那个药名儿也古怪，一时也说不清。只讲那头胎紫河车，人形带叶参，三百六十两不足龟，大何首乌，千年松根，茯苓胆[8]，诸如此类的药都不算为奇，只在群药里算。那为君的药[9]，说起来唬人一跳。前儿薛大哥哥求了我一二年，我才给了他这方子。他拿了方子去又寻了二三年，花了有上千的银子，才配成了。太太不信，只问宝姐姐。”宝钗听说，笑着摇手儿说：“我不知道，也没听见。你别叫姨娘问我。”王夫人笑道：“到底是宝丫头，好孩子，不撒谎。”宝玉站在当地，听见如此说，一回身把手一拍，说道：“我说的倒是真话呢，倒说我撒谎。”口里说着，忽一回身，只见林黛玉坐在宝钗身后抿着嘴笑，用手指头在脸上画着羞他。

凤姐因在里间屋里看着人放桌子，听如此说，便走来笑道：“宝兄弟不是撒谎，这倒是有的。上日薛大哥亲自和我来寻珍珠[10]，我问他作什么，他说配药。他还抱怨说，不配也罢了，如今那里知道这么费事。我问他什么药，他说是宝兄弟的方子，说了多少药，我也没工夫听。他说不然我也买几颗珍珠了，只是定要头上带过的，所以来和我寻。他说：‘妹妹就没散的，花儿上也得，掐下来，过后儿我拣好的再给妹妹穿了来。’我没法儿，把两枝珠花儿现拆了给他。还要了一块三尺上用大红纱去乳钵乳了隔面子[11]呢。”凤姐说一句，那宝玉念一句佛，说：“太阳在屋子里呢！”凤姐说完了，宝玉又道：“太太想，这不过是将就呢。正经按那方子，这珍珠宝石定要在古坟里的，有那古时富贵人家装裹的头面[12]，拿了来才好。如今那里为这个去刨坟掘墓，所以只是活人带过的，也可以使得。”王夫人道：“阿弥陀佛，不当家花花的！就是坟里有这个，人家死了几百年，这会子翻尸盗骨的，作了药也不灵！”

宝玉向林黛玉说道：“你听见了没有，难道二姐姐也跟着我撒谎不成？”脸望着黛玉说话，却拿眼睛飘着宝钗。黛玉便拉王夫人道：“舅母听听，宝姐姐不替他圆谎，他支吾着我。”王夫人也道：“宝玉很会欺负你妹妹。”宝玉笑道：“太太不知道这原故。宝姐姐先在家里住着，那薛大哥哥的事，他也不知道，何况如今在里头住着呢，自然是越发不知道了。林妹妹才在背后羞我，打谅我撒谎呢。”

正说着，只见贾母房里的丫头找宝玉林黛玉去吃饭。林黛玉也不叫宝玉，便起身拉了那丫头就走。那丫头说等着宝玉一块儿走。林黛玉道：“他不吃饭了，咱们走吧。”那个丫头道：“吃不吃，等他一块儿去。老太太问，让他说去。”黛玉道：“你就等着。我先走了。”说着便出去了。宝玉道：“我今儿还跟着太太吃罢。”王夫人道：“罢，罢，我今儿吃斋，你正经吃你的去罢。”宝玉道：“我也跟着吃斋。”说着便叫那丫头“去罢”，自己先跑到桌子上坐了。王夫人向宝钗等笑道：“你们只管吃你们的，由他去罢。”宝钗因笑道：“你正经去罢。吃不吃，陪着林姑娘走一趟，他心里打紧[13]的不自在呢。”宝玉道：“理他呢，过一会子就好了。”

一时吃过饭，宝玉一则怕贾母记挂，二则也记挂着林黛玉，忙忙的要茶漱口。探春惜春都笑道：“二哥哥，你成日家忙些什么？吃饭吃茶也是这么忙碌碌的。”宝钗笑道：“你叫他快吃了瞧林妹妹去罢，叫他在这里胡羼些什么。”

宝玉吃了茶，便出来，一直往西院来。可巧走到凤姐儿院门前，只见凤姐蹬着门槛子拿耳挖子剔牙，看着十来个小厮们挪花盆呢。见宝玉来了，笑道：“你来的好。进来，进来，替我写几个字儿。”宝玉只得跟了进来。到了屋里，凤姐命人取过笔砚纸来，向宝玉道：“大红妆缎四十匹，蟒缎四十匹，上用纱各色一百匹，金项圈四个。”宝玉道：“这算什么？又不是帐，又不是礼物，怎么个写法？”凤姐儿道：“你只管写上，横竖我自己明白就罢了。”宝玉听说只得写了。凤姐一面收起，一面笑道：“还有句话告诉你，不知你依不依？你屋里有个丫头叫红玉，我要叫了来使唤，明儿我再替你挑几个，可使得？”宝玉道：“我屋里的人也多的很，姐姐喜欢谁，只管叫了来，何必问我。”凤姐笑道：“既这么着，我就叫人带他去了。”宝玉道：“只管带去。”说着便要走。

凤姐儿道：“你回来，我还有一句话呢。”宝玉道：“老太太叫我呢，有话等我回来说罢。”说着便来至贾母这边，只见都已吃完饭了。贾母因问他：“跟着你娘吃了什么好的？”宝玉笑道：“也没什么好的，我倒多吃了一碗饭。”因问：“林妹妹在那里？”贾母道：“里头屋里呢。”

宝玉进来，只见地下一个丫头吹熨斗，炕上两个丫头打粉线，黛玉弯着腰拿着剪子裁什么呢。宝玉走进来笑道：“哦，这是作什么呢？才吃了饭，这么空着头[14]，一会子又头疼了。”黛玉并不理，只管裁他的。有一个丫头说道：“那块绸子角儿还不好呢，再熨他一熨。”黛玉便把剪子一撂，说道：“理他呢，过一会子就好了。”宝玉听了，只是纳闷。

只见宝钗探春等也来了，和贾母说了一回话。宝钗也进来问：“林妹妹作什么呢？”因见林黛玉裁剪，因笑道：“妹妹越发能干了，连裁剪都会了。”黛玉笑道：“这也不过是撒谎哄人罢了。”宝钗笑道：“我告诉你个笑话儿，才刚为那个药，我说了个不知道，宝兄弟心里不受用了。”林黛玉道：“理他呢，过会子就好了。”宝玉向宝钗道：“老太太要抹骨牌，正没人呢，你抹骨牌去罢。”宝钗听说，便笑道：“我是为抹骨牌才来了？”说着便走了。

林黛玉道：“你倒是去罢，这里有老虎，看吃了你！”说着又裁。宝玉见他不理，只得还陪笑说道：“你也出去逛逛再裁不迟。”林黛玉总不理。宝玉便问丫头们：“这是谁叫裁的？”林黛玉见问丫头们，便说道：“凭他谁叫我裁，也不管二爷的事！”宝玉方欲说话，只见有人进来回说“外头有人请”。宝玉听了，忙撤身出来。黛玉向外头说道：“阿弥陀佛！赶你回来，我死了也罢了。”

宝玉出来，到外面，只见焙茗说道：“冯大爷家请。”宝玉听了，知道是昨日的话，便说：“要衣裳去。”自己便往书房里来。焙茗一直到了二门前等人，只见一个老婆子出来了，焙茗上去说道：“宝二爷在书房里等出门的衣裳，你老人家进去带个信儿。”那婆子说：“放你娘的屁！倒好，宝二爷如今在园里住着，跟他的人都在园里，你又跑了这里来带信儿来了！”焙茗听了，笑道：“骂的是，我也糊涂了。”说着一径往东边二门前来。可巧门上小厮在甬路底下踢球，焙茗将原故说了。小厮跑了进去，半日抱了一个包袱出来，递与焙茗。回到书房里，宝玉换了，命人备马，只带着焙茗、锄药、双瑞、双寿四个小厮去了。

一径到了冯紫英家门口，有人报与了冯紫英，出来迎接进去。只见薛蟠早已在那里久候，还有许多唱曲儿的小厮并唱小旦的蒋玉菡、锦香院的妓女云儿。大家都见过了，然后吃茶。宝玉擎茶笑道：“前儿所言幸与不幸之事，我昼悬夜想，今日一闻呼唤即至。”冯紫英笑道：“你们令表兄弟〔二〕倒都心实。前日不过是我的设辞，诚心请你们一饮，恐又推托，故说下这句话。今日一邀即至，谁知都信真了。”说毕大家一笑，然后摆上酒来。依次坐定，冯紫英先命唱曲儿的小厮过来让酒，然后命云儿也来敬。

那薛蟠三杯下肚，不觉忘了情，拉着云儿的手笑道：“你把那梯己新样儿的曲子唱个我听，我吃一坛如何？”云儿听说，只得拿起琵琶来，唱道：

两个冤家，都难丢下，想着你来又记挂着他。两个人形容俊俏，都难描画。想昨宵幽期私订在荼架，一个偷情，一个寻拿，拿住了三曹对案[16]，我也无回话。

唱毕笑道：“你喝一坛子罢了。”薛蟠听说，笑道：“不值一坛，再唱好的来。”

宝玉笑道：“听我说来：如此滥饮，易醉而无味。我先喝一大海，发一新令，有不遵者，连罚十大海，逐出席外与人斟酒。”冯紫英蒋玉菡等都道：“有理，有理。”宝玉拿起海来一气饮干，说道：“如今要说悲、愁、喜、乐四字，却要说出女儿来，还要注明这四字原故。说完了，饮门杯。酒面要唱一个新鲜时样曲子；酒底要席上生风[17]一样东西，或古诗、旧对、《四书》《五经》成语。”薛蟠未等说完，先站起来拦道：“我不来，别算我。这竟是捉弄我呢！”云儿也站起来，推他坐下，笑道：“怕什么？这还亏你天天吃酒呢，难道你连我也不如！我回来还说呢。说是了，罢；不是了，不过罚上几杯，那里就醉死了。你如今一乱令，倒喝十大海，下去斟酒不成？”众人都拍手道妙。薛蟠听说无法，只得坐了。

听宝玉说道：

女儿悲，青春已大守空闺。

女儿愁，悔教夫婿觅封侯[18]。

女儿喜，对镜晨妆颜色美。

女儿乐，秋千架上春衫薄。

众人听了，都道：“说得有理。”薛蟠独扬着脸摇头说：“不好，该罚！”众人问：“如何该罚？”薛蟠道：“他说的我通不懂，怎么不该罚？”云儿便拧他一把，笑道：“你悄悄的想你的罢。回来说不出，又该罚了。”于是拿琵琶听宝玉唱道：

滴不尽相思血泪抛红豆[19]，开不完春柳春花满画楼，睡不稳纱窗风雨黄昏后，忘不了新愁与旧愁，咽不下玉粒金莼[20]噎满喉，照不见菱花镜[21]里形容瘦。展不开的眉头，捱不明的更漏。呀！恰便似遮不住的青山隐隐，流不断的绿水悠悠。

唱完，大家齐声喝彩，独薛蟠说无板。宝玉饮了门杯，便拈起一片梨来，说道：

雨打梨花深闭门。[22]

完了令，下该冯紫英，说道：

女儿悲，儿夫染病在垂危。

女儿愁，大风吹倒梳妆楼。

女儿喜，头胎养了双生子。

女儿乐，私向花园掏蟋蟀。

说毕，端起酒来，唱道：

你是个可人，你是个多情，你是个刁钻古怪鬼灵精，你是个神仙也不灵。我说的话儿你全不信，只叫你去背地里细打听，才知道我疼你不疼！

唱完，饮了门杯，说道：

鸡声茅店月。[23]

令完，下该云儿。云儿便说道：

女儿悲，将来终身指靠谁？

薛蟠叹道：“我的儿，有你薛大爷在，你怕什么！”众人都道：“别混他，别混他！”云儿又道：

女儿愁，妈妈[24]打骂何时休！

薛蟠道：“前儿我见了你妈，还吩咐他不叫他打你呢。”众人都道：“再多言者罚酒十杯。”薛蟠连忙自己打了一个嘴巴子，说道：“没耳性[25]，再不许说了。”云儿又道：

女儿喜，情郎不舍还家里。

女儿乐，住了箫管弄弦索。

说完，便唱道：

荳蔻开花三月三，一个虫儿往里钻。钻了半日不得进去，爬到花儿上打秋千。肉儿小心肝，我不开了你怎么钻？

唱毕，饮了门杯，说道：“桃之夭夭。”[26]令完了，下该薛蟠。

薛蟠道：“我可要说了：女儿悲——”说了半日，不见说底下的。冯紫英笑道：“悲什么？快说来。”薛蟠登时急的眼睛铃铛一般，瞪了半日，才说道：“女儿悲——”又咳嗽了两声，说道：

女儿悲，嫁了个男人是乌龟。

众人听了都大笑起来。薛蟠道：“笑什么，难道我说的不是？一个女儿嫁了，汉子要当忘八，他怎么不伤心呢？”众人笑的弯腰说道：“你说的很是，快说底下的。”〔三〕薛蟠瞪了一瞪眼，又说道：

女儿愁——

说了这句，又不言语了。众人道：“怎么愁？”薛蟠道：

绣房蹿出个大马猴。

众人呵呵笑道：“该罚，该罚！这句更不通，先还可恕。”说着便要筛酒[28]。宝玉笑道：“押韵就好。”薛蟠道：“令官都准了，你们闹什么？”众人听说，方才罢了。云儿笑道：“下两句越发难说了，我替你说罢。”薛蟠道：“胡说！当真我就没好的了！听我说罢：

女儿喜，洞房花烛朝慵起。

众人听了，都诧异道：“这句何其太韵？”薛蟠又道：

女儿乐，一根往里戳。

众人听了，都扭着脸说道：“该死，该死！快唱了罢。”薛蟠便唱道：

一个蚊子哼哼哼。

众人都怔了，说：“这是个什么曲儿？”薛蟠还唱道：

两个苍蝇嗡嗡嗡。

众人都道：“罢，罢，罢！”薛蟠道：“爱听不听！这是新鲜曲儿，叫作哼哼韵。你们要懒待听，连酒底都免了，我就不唱。”众人都道：“免了罢，免了罢，倒别耽误了别人家。”

于是蒋玉菡说道：

女儿悲，丈夫一去不回归。

女儿愁，无钱去打桂花油[29]。

女儿喜，灯花并头结双蕊[30]。

女儿乐，夫唱妇随真和合。

说毕，唱道：

可喜你天生成百媚娇，恰便似活神仙离碧霄。度青春，年正小；配鸾凤，真也着。呀！看天河正高，听谯楼[31]鼓敲，剔银灯同入鸳帏悄。

唱毕，饮了门杯，笑道：“这诗词上我倒有限。幸而昨日见了一副对子，可巧只记得这句，幸而席上还有这件东西。”说毕，便干了酒，拿起一朵木樨[32]来，念道：

花气袭人知昼暖。

众人倒都依了，完令。薛蟠又跳了起来，喧嚷道：“了不得，了不得！该罚，该罚！这席上又没有宝贝，你怎么念起宝贝来？”蒋玉菡怔了，说道：“何曾有宝贝？”薛蟠道：“你还赖呢！你再念来。”蒋玉菡〔四〕只得又念了一遍。薛蟠道：“袭人可不是宝贝是什么！你们不信，只问他。”说毕，指着宝玉。宝玉没好意思起来，说：“薛大哥，你该罚多少？”薛蟠道：“该罚，该罚！”说着拿起酒来，一饮而尽。冯紫英与蒋玉菡等不知原故，云儿便告诉了出来。蒋玉菡忙起身陪罪。众人都道：“不知者不作罪。”

少刻，宝玉出席解手，蒋玉菡便随了出来。二人站在廊檐下，蒋玉菡又陪不是。宝玉见他妩媚温柔，心中十分留恋，便紧紧的搭着他的手，叫他“闲了往我们那里去。还有一句话借问：也是你们贵班中，有一个叫琪官的，他在那里？如今名驰天下，我独无缘一见。”蒋玉菡笑道：“就是我的小名儿。”宝玉听说，不觉欣然跌足笑道：“有幸，有幸！果然名不虚传。今儿初会，便怎么样呢？”想了一想，向袖中取出扇子，将一个玉玦扇坠[34]解下来，递与琪官，道：“微物不堪，略表今日之谊。”琪官接了，笑道：“无功受禄，何以克当！也罢，我这里得了一件奇物，今日早起方系上，还是簇新的，聊可表我一点亲热之意。”说毕撩衣，将系小衣儿一条大红汗巾子解了下来，递与宝玉，道：“这汗巾子是茜香国女国王所贡之物，夏天系着，肌肤生香，不生汗渍。昨日北静王给我的，今日才上身。若是别人，我断不肯相赠。二爷请把自己系的解下来，给我系着。”宝玉听说，喜不自禁，连忙接了，将自己一条松花汗巾解了下来，递与琪官。

二人方束好，只听一声大叫：“我可拿住了！”只见薛蟠跳了出来，拉着二人道：“放着酒不吃，两个人逃席出来干什么？快拿出来我瞧瞧。”二人都道：“没有什么。”薛蟠那里肯依，还是冯紫英出来才解开了。于是复又归坐饮酒，至晚方散。

宝玉回至园中，宽衣吃茶。袭人见扇子上的坠儿没了，便问他：“那里去了？”宝玉道：“马上丢了。”睡觉时只见腰里一条血点似的大红汗巾子，袭人便猜了八九分，因说道：“你有了好的系裤子，把我那条还我罢。”宝玉听说，方想起那条汗巾子原是袭人的，不该给人才是，心里后悔，口里说不出来，只得笑道：“我赔你一条罢。”袭人听了，点头叹道：“我就知道又干这些事！也不该拿着我的东西给那起混帐人去。也难为你，心里没个算计儿。”再要说几句，又恐怄〔五〕上他的酒来，少不得也睡了，一宿无话。

至次日天明，方才醒了，只见宝玉笑道：“夜里失了盗也不晓得，你瞧瞧裤子上。”袭人低头一看，只见昨日宝玉系的那条汗巾子系在自己腰里呢，便知是宝玉夜间换了，忙一顿把[36]解下来，说道〔六〕：“我不希罕这行子[38]，趁早儿拿了去！”宝玉见他如此，只得委婉解劝了一回。袭人无法，只得系在腰里。过后宝玉出去，终久解下来掷在个空箱子里，自己又换了一条系着。

宝玉并未理论，因问起昨日可有什么事情。袭人便回说：“二奶奶打发人叫了红玉去了。他原要等你来的，我想什么要紧，我就作了主，打发他去了。”宝玉道：“很是。我已知道了，不必等我罢了。”袭人又道：“昨儿贵妃打发夏太监出来，送了一百二十两银子，叫在清虚观初一到初三打三天平安醮[39]，唱戏献供，叫珍大爷领着众位爷们跪香拜佛呢。还有端午儿的节礼也赏了。”说着命小丫头子来，将昨日所赐之物取了出来，只见上等宫扇两柄，红麝香珠[40]二串，凤尾罗二端，芙蓉簟[41]一领。宝玉见了，喜不自胜，问“别人的也都是这个？”袭人道：“老太太的多着一个香如意，一个玛瑙枕。太太、老爷、姨太太的只多着一个如意。你的同宝姑娘的一样。林姑娘同二姑娘、三姑娘、四姑娘只单有扇子同数珠儿，别人都没了。大奶奶、二奶奶他两个是每人两匹纱，两匹罗，两个香袋，两个锭子药[42]。”

宝玉听了，笑道：“这是怎么个原故？怎么林姑娘的倒不同我的一样，倒是宝姐姐的同我一样！别是传错了罢？”袭人道：“昨儿拿出来，都是一份一份的写着签子，怎么就错了！你的是在老太太屋里的，我去拿了来了。老太太说了，明儿叫你一个五更天进去谢恩呢。”宝玉道：“自然要走一趟。”说着便叫紫绡〔七〕来：“拿了这个到林姑娘那里去，就说是昨儿我得的，爱什么留下什么。”紫绡答应了，拿了去，不一时回来说：“林姑娘说了，昨儿也得了，二爷留着罢。”

宝玉听说，便命人收了。刚洗了脸出来，要往贾母那里请安去，只见林黛玉顶头来了。宝玉赶上去笑道：“我的东西叫你拣，你怎么不拣？”林黛玉昨日所恼宝玉的心事早又丢开，又顾今日的事了，因说道：“我没这么大福禁受，比不得宝姑娘，什么金什么玉的，我们不过是草木之人！”宝玉听他提出“金玉”二字来，不觉心动疑猜，便说道：“除了别人说什么金什么玉，我心里要有这个想头，天诛地灭，万世不得人身！”林黛玉听他这话，便知他心里动了疑，忙又笑道：“好没意思，白白的说什么誓？管你什么金什么玉的呢！”宝玉道：“我心里的事也难对你说，日后自然明白。除了老太太、老爷、太太这三个人，第四个就是妹妹了。要有第五个人，我也说个誓。”林黛玉道：“你也不用说誓，我很知道你心里有‘妹妹’，但只是见了‘姐姐’，就把‘妹妹’忘了。”宝玉道：“那是你多心，我再不的。”林黛玉道：“昨儿宝丫头不替你圆谎，为什么问着我呢？那要是我，你又不知怎么样了。”

正说着，只见宝钗从那边来了，二人便走开了。宝钗分明看见，只装看不见，低着头过去了，到了王夫人那里，坐了一回，然后到了贾母这边，只见宝玉在这里呢。薛宝钗因往日母亲对王夫人等曾提过“金锁是个和尚给的，等日后有玉的方可结为婚姻”等语，所以总远着宝玉。昨儿见元春所赐的东西，独他与宝玉一样，心里越发没意思起来。幸亏宝玉被一个林黛玉缠绵住了，心心念念只记挂着林黛玉，并不理论这事。此刻忽见宝玉笑问道：“宝姐姐，我瞧瞧你的红麝串子？”可巧宝钗左腕上笼着一串，见宝玉问他，少不得褪了下来。宝钗生的肌肤丰泽，容易褪不下来。宝玉在旁看着雪白一段酥臂，不觉动了羡慕之心，暗暗想道：“这个膀子要长在林妹妹身上，或者还得摸一摸，偏生长在他身上。”正是恨没福得摸，忽然想起“金玉”一事来，再看看宝钗形容，只见脸若银盆，眼似水杏，唇不点而红，眉不画而翠，比林黛玉另具一种妩媚风流，不觉就呆了，宝钗褪了串子来递与他也忘了接。

宝钗见他怔了，自己倒不好意思的，丢下串子，回身才要走，只见林黛玉蹬着门槛子，嘴里咬着手帕子笑呢。宝钗道：“你又禁不得风吹，怎么又站在那风口里？”林黛玉笑道：“何曾不是在屋里的。只因听见天上一声叫唤，出来瞧了瞧，原来是个呆雁。”薛宝钗道：“呆雁在那里呢？我也瞧一瞧。”林黛玉道：“我才出来，他就‘忒儿’一声飞了。”口里说着，将手里的帕子一甩，向宝玉脸上甩来。宝玉不防，正打在眼上，“嗳哟”了一声。要知端的，且听下回分解。

〔一〕 “无明”，原作“无名”，从各本改。

[2] 无明——佛教用语。意译为“痴”，即“没有智慧”。佛家认为，人的种种烦恼痛苦，是由“无明”引起的。后也称发火动怒为“无明火起”，无明便成为怒火的代称。

[3] 大造、尘网——皆泛指人间。大造：大自然创造、化育万物，指宇宙。尘网：比喻人在世间被名利声色束缚，如在网中不得解脱。

[4] 外四路——指关系疏远。

[5] 八珍益母丸、左归、右归、麦味地黄丸——这几个方剂皆出自明代张景岳的《景岳全书》。八珍益母丸由益母草、当归、熟地黄、人参、白术等九味药配成，治妇女气血亏损等症。左归即左归丸，以熟地为君药，配以枸杞子、鹿角胶、龟板胶等共八味药，能滋补肾阴。右归即右归丸，亦以熟地为君药，再加川附子、肉桂、杜仲等共十味药，功效是温补肾阳。麦味地黄丸是以六味地黄丸的配方为基础而加以化裁的药丸，君药为熟地黄，加入麦冬、五味子，能滋阴补肝肾，治疗虚劳咳嗽。

[6] 扎手——两手摊开，是一种比较放肆、不大礼貌的姿势。

[7] 天王补心丹——由酸枣仁、柏子仁、当归、生地黄、人参等十三味药配制成的丸药，补养心神。出自《世医得效方》。

[8] 头胎紫河车、人形带叶参、三百六十两不足龟、大何首乌、千年松根、茯苓胆

——紫河车：即胎盘。其功能为补气养血，旧时认为以“头胎”（初产）者为佳。人形带叶参：即人参。参“形状如人，功参天地”，参叶有清肺、生津、止渴之功。三百六十两不足龟：“不足龟”即“无足龟”。无不二字互训，《说文通训定声》：“不，无一声之转。”《诗·王风·君子于役》：“不日不月”，《笺》：“无日月。”《经传释词》：“无，不也。”故无足龟即为不足龟。“无足龟”见宋·范成大《桂海虞衡志》：“玳瑁形如龟鼋辈，其形如龟鼋，背甲十三片，无足而有四鬣。”《本草纲目》释名玳瑁。“解毒清热之功同于犀角”，“宋时至宝丹始用之。”三百六十两，言龟之大，顾玠《海槎录》云“大者难得，小者时时有之。”松根：中药名，见《本草经集注》，千年，言其年代之久。千年松根，有补五劳益气之功。茯苓胆：即茯苓之菌核，其有益脾胃、宁心安神功用。

[9] 为君的药——中医处方中的各味药，根据不同的作用、药量，分为君、臣、佐、使。在群药中，有一种起主要作用的药，叫“君药”。

[10] 珍珠——产自蚌类壳中，可以入药，有泻热、定惊、镇心、下痰、安魂魄等功能，外用可拔毒生肌，内服时均研粉吞服或与其它药物共配成丸。珍珠粉要研得极细，否则伤胃，故下文说要“隔面子”。珍珠入药，不可用曾作首饰及经尸气者，下文宝玉说要古坟里的或作过头面的不过是笑谈，不足为凭。

[11] 去乳钵乳了隔面子——用乳钵把药研成碎末，再筛出细面。去乳钵：一种研磨药面用的小臼；把药研细叫乳。隔面子：筛药面子，这里用大红纱筛药面子。

[12] 装裹的头面——指死人戴的珠宝。装裹：装殓。头面：这里指死人头上戴的首饰。

[13] 打紧——确实。

[14] 空着头——俯身低头。空即“控”。

〔二〕 “令表兄弟”，原作“令姑表兄弟”，从梦稿本删。

[16] 三曹对案——指诉讼案件中的原告、被告和证人。审案件时，这三方面的人同时到场，进行对证，叫做“三曹对案”。

[17] 门杯、酒面、酒底、席上生风——门杯：对公杯而言，酒宴时用以敬酒、罚酒等公用的酒杯叫公杯，放在各人面前的酒杯叫门杯，也叫门前杯。酒面：斟满一杯酒，不饮，先行酒令，叫酒面。“酒面”的本义是满杯的样子。元杂剧《虎头牌》：“我斟的这盏面儿圆”。“酒面”与“盏面”义近。酒底：每行完一个酒令时，饮干一杯酒，叫“酒底”。席上生风：借酒席上的食品或装饰等现成东西，说一句与此有关的古诗或古文。

[18] 悔教夫婿觅封侯——见唐代王昌龄《闺怨》诗。

[19] 红豆——又名相思子，大如豌豆，色鲜红。这里用以代指眼泪。

[20] 玉粒金莼（chún纯）——玉粒：喻上好的米饭。莼：我国江南生长的一种睡莲科水生植物，夏天开赤褐色小花，嫩叶是一种名菜。金莼：泛指美味的菜肴。

[21] 菱花镜——古代铜镜。以其镜面平亮，映日光影如菱花，故称。南北朝庾信《镜赋》：“照日而壁上菱生。”

[22] 雨打梨花深闭门——宋代李重元《忆王孙》词：“……杜宇声声不忍闻，欲黄昏，雨打梨花深闭门。”又宋代秦观《鹧鸪天》词也有此句：“甫能炙得灯儿了，雨打梨花深闭门。”

[23] 鸡声茅店月——见唐代温庭筠《商山早行》诗：“鸡声茅店月，人迹板桥霜。”

[24] 妈妈——这里指妓女的养母，即“鸨（bǎo保）儿”。

[25] 没耳性——没记性。

[26] 桃之夭夭——《诗·周南·桃夭》：“桃之夭夭，灼灼其华（花）”。夭夭：美丽茂盛的样子。

〔三〕 “唱毕饮了门杯……快说底下的”一段原缺，各本均有，今从甲戌本增补。

[28] 筛酒——斟酒。

[29] 桂花油——一种有桂花香气的发油。

[30] 灯花结双蕊——蜡烛芯点燃后呈穗状，叫“烛花”。“双蕊”即两个“烛花”。旧时认为它象征吉祥或夫妻久别相会。

[31] 谯（qiáo樵）楼——即鼓楼。古代击鼓报时之楼。

[32] 木樨（xī西）——即桂花。

〔四〕 “蒋玉菡”，原作“蒋玉函”，从各本改。下同。

[34] 玉玦（jué决）扇坠——系在扇轴上的饰物。玉玦：古玉器名，环状，有缺口。

〔五〕 “怄”，原作“沤”，径改。

[36] 一顿把——形容动作迅速，犹言“一下子”、“一气儿”。

〔六〕 “说道”，原无，从各本补。

[38] 行（hán杭）子——贬称自己所不喜爱的东西或人。

[39] 打平安醮——道观为施主祭祀祝祷、祈福消灾的宗教仪式。

[40] 红麝香珠——又叫“红麝串”、“红麝串子”。用麝香加上其它配料做成的红色念珠儿，穿成串子，戴在手腕上作装饰。麝香为雄麝之麝香腺中分泌物，干燥后成红棕至暗棕色颗粒。

[41] 芙蓉簟（diàn电）——编有芙蓉花图案的细竹席。簟：竹席。

[42] 锭子药——把药制成各种形状的小块叫“锭子药”，便于患者识别和服用。

〔七〕 “紫绡”，蒙府、戚序本并同。原“绡”字点改为“鹃”。下同。

CHAPTER 28. A crimson cummerbund becomes a pledge of friendship And a chaplet of medicine-beads becomes a source of embarrassment

ON the night before the festival, it may be remembered, Lin Dai-yu had mistakenly supposed Bao-yu responsible for Skybright’s refusal to open the gate for her. The ceremonial farewell to the flowers of the following morning had transformed her pent-up and still smouldering resentment into a more generalized and seasonable sorrow. This had finally found its expression in a violent outburst of grief as she was burying the latest collection of fallen blossoms in her flower-grave. Meditation on the fate of flowers had led her to a contemplation of her own sad and orphaned lot; she had burst into tears, and soon after had begun a recitation of the poem whose words we recorded in the preceding chapter.

Unknown to her, Bao-yu was listening to this recitation from the slope of the near-by rockery. At first he merely nodded and sighed sympathetically; but when he heard the words

‘Can I, that these flowers’ obsequies attend, Divine how soon or late my life will end?’

and, a little later,

‘One day when spring has gone and youth has fled, The Maiden and the flowers will both be dead.’

he flung himself on the ground in a fit of weeping, scattering the earth all about him with the flowers he had been carrying in the skirt of his gown.

Lin Dai-yu dead! A world from which that delicate, flowerlike countenance had irrevocably departed! It was unutterable anguish to think of it. Yet his sensitized imagination did now consider it – went on, indeed, to consider a world from which the others, too – Bao-chai, Caltrop, Aroma and the rest – had also irrevocably departed. Where would he be then? What would have become of him? And what of the Garden, the rocks, the flowers, the trees? To whom would they belong when he and the girls were no longer there to enjoy them? Passing from loss to loss in his imagination, he plunged deeper and deeper into a grief that seemed inconsolable. As the poet says:

Flowers in my eyes and bird-song in my ears Augment my loss and mock my bitter tears.

Dai-yu, then, as she stood plunged in her own private sorrowing, suddenly heard the sound of another person crying bitterly on the rocks above her.

‘The others are always telling me I’m a “case”,’ she thought. ‘Surely there can’t be another “case” up there?’

But on looking up she saw that it was Bao-yu.

‘Pshaw!’ she said crossly to herself. ‘I thought it was another girl, but all the time it was that cruel, hate—’

‘Hateful’ she had been going to say, but clapped her mouth shut before uttering it. She sighed instead and began to walk away.

By the time Bao-yu’s weeping was over, Dai-yu was no longer there. He realized that she must have seen him and have gone away in order to avoid him. Feeling suddenly rather foolish, he rose to his feet and brushed the earth from his clothes. Then he descended from the rockery and began to retrace his steps in the direction of Green Delights. Quite by coincidence Dai-yu was walking along the same path a little way ahead.

‘Stop a minute!’ he cried, hurrying forward to catch up with her. ‘I know you are not taking any notice of me, but I only want to ask you one simple question, and then you need never have anything more to do with me.’

Dai-yu had turned back to see who it was. When she saw that it was Bao-yu still, she was going to ignore him again; but hearing him say that he only wanted to ask her one question, she told him that he might do so.

Bao-yu could not resist teasing her a little.

‘How about two questions? Would you wait for two?’

Dai-yu set her face forwards and began walking on again.

Bao-yu sighed.

‘If it has to be like this now,’ he said, as if to himself, ‘it’s a pity it was ever like it was in the beginning.’

Dai-yu’s curiosity got the better of her. She stopped walking and turned once more towards him.

‘Like what in the beginning?’ she asked. ‘And like what now?’

‘Oh, the beginning!’ said Bao-yu. ‘In the beginning, when you first came here, I was your faithful companion in all your games. Anything I had, even the thing most dear to me, was yours for the asking. If there was something to eat that I specially liked, I had only to hear that you were fond of it too and I would religiously hoard it away to share with you when you got back, not daring even to touch it until you came. We ate at the same table. We slept in the same bed. I used to think that because we were so close then, there would be something special about our relationship when we grew up – that even if we weren’t particularly affectionate, we should at least have more understanding and forbearance for each other than the rest. But how wrong I was! Now that you have grown up, you seem only to have grown more touchy. You don’t seem to care about me any more at all. You spend all your time brooding about outsiders like Feng and Chai. I haven’t got any real brothers and sisters left here now. There are Huan and Tan, of course; but as you know, they’re only my half-brother and half-sister: they aren’t my mother’s children. I’m on my own, like you. I should have thought we had so much in common – But what’s the use? I try and try, but it gets me nowhere; and nobody knows or cares.’

At this point – in spite of himself – he burst into tears.

The palpable evidence of her own eyes and ears had by now wrought a considerable softening on Dai-yu’s heart. A sympathetic tear stole down her own cheek, and she hung her head and said nothing. Bao-yu could see that he had moved her.

‘I know I’m not much use nowadays,’ he continued, ‘but however bad you may think me, I would never wittingly do anything in your presence to offend you. If I do ever slip up in some way, you ought to tell me off about it and warn me not to do it again, or shout at me – hit me, even, if you feel like it; I shouldn’t mind. But you don’t do that. You just ignore me. You leave me utterly at a loss to know what I’m supposed to have done wrong, so that I’m driven half frantic wondering what I ought to do to make up for it. If I were to die now, I should die with a grievance, and all the masses and exorcisms in the world wouldn’t lay my ghost. Only when you explained what your reason was for ignoring me should I cease from haunting you and be reborn into another life.’

Dai-yu’s resentment for the gate incident had by now completely evaporated. She merely said:

‘Oh well, in that case why did you tell your maids not to let me in when I came to call on you?’

‘I honestly don’t know what you are referring to,’ said Bao-yu in surprise. ‘Strike me dead if I ever did any such thing!’

‘Hush!’ said Dai-yu. ‘Talking about death at this time of the morning! You should be more careful what you say. If you did, you did. If you didn’t, you didn‘t. There’s no need for these horrible oaths.’

‘I really and truly didn’t know you had called,’ said Bao-yu. ‘Cousin Bao came and sat with me a few minutes last night and then went away again. That’s the only call I know about.’

Dai-yu reflected for a moment or two, then smiled.

‘Yes, it must have been the maids being lazy. Certainly they can be very disagreeable at such times.’

‘Yes, I’m sure that’s what it was,’ said Bao-yu. ‘When I get back, I’ll find out who it was and give her a good talking-to.’

‘I think some of your young ladies could do with a good talking-to,’ said Dai-yu, ‘– though it’s not really for me to say so. It’s a good job it was only me they were rude to. If Miss Bao or Miss Cow were to call and they behaved like that to her, that would be really serious.’

She giggled mischievously. Bao-yu didn’t know whether to laugh with her or grind his teeth. But just at that moment a maid came up to ask them both to lunch and the two of them went together out of the Garden and through into the front part of the mansion, calling in at Lady Wang’s on the way.

‘How did you get on with that medicine of Dr Bao’s,’ Lady Wang asked Dai-yu as soon as she saw her, ‘– the Court Physician? Do you think you are any better for it?’

‘It didn’t seem to make very much difference,’ said Dai-yu. ‘Grandmother has put me back on Dr Wang’s prescription.’

‘Cousin Lin has got a naturally weak constitution, Mother,’ said Bao-yu. ‘She takes cold very easily. These strong decoctions are all very well provided she only takes one or two to dispel the cold. For regular treatment it’s probably best if she sticks to pills.’

‘The doctor was telling me about some pills for her the other day,’ said Lady Wang, ‘but I just can’t remember the name.’

‘I know the names of most of those pills,’ said Bao-yu. ‘I expect he wanted her to take Ginseng Tonic Pills.’

‘No, that wasn’t it,’ said Lady Wang.

‘Eight Gem Motherwort Pills?’ said Bao-yu. ‘Zhang’s Dextrals? Zhang’s Sinistrals? If it wasn’t any of them, it was probably Dr Cui’s Adenophora Kidney Pills.’

‘No,’ said Lady Wang, ‘it was none of those. All I can remember is that there was a “Vajra” in it.’

Bao-yu gave a hoot and clapped his hands:

‘I’ve never heard of “Vajra Pills”. If there are “Vajra Pills”, I suppose there must be “Buddha Boluses”!’

The others all laughed. Bao-chai looked at him mockingly.

‘I should think it was probably “The Deva-king Cardiac Elixir Pills”,’ she said.

‘Yes, yes, that’s it!’ said Lady Wang. ‘Of course! How stupid of me!’

‘No, Mother, not stupid,’ said Bao-yu. ‘It’s the strain. All those Vajra-kings and Bodhisattvas have been overworking you!’

‘You’re a naughty boy to make fun of your poor mother,’ said Lady Wang. ‘A good whipping from your Pa is what you need.’

‘Oh, Father doesn’t whip me for that sort of thing nowadays,’ said Bao-yu.

‘Now that we know the name of the pills, we must get them to buy some for your Cousin Lin,’ said Lady Wang.

‘None of those things are any good,’ said Bao-yu. ‘You give me three hundred and sixty taels of silver and I’ll make up some pills for Cousin Lin that I guarantee will have her completely cured before she has finished the first boxful.’

‘Stuff!’ said Lady Wang. ‘Whoever heard of a medicine that cost so much?’

‘No, honestly!’ said Bao-yu. ‘This prescription is a very unusual one with very special ingredients. I can’t remember all of them, but I know they include

the caul of a first-born child; a ginseng root shaped like a man, with the leaves still on it; a turtle-sized polygonum root;

and

lycoperdon from the stump of a thousand-year-old pine-tree.

– Actually, though, there’s nothing so very special about those ingredients. They’re all in the standard pharmacopoeia. For “sovereign remedies” they use ingredients that would really make you jump. I once gave the prescription for one to Cousin Xue. He was more than a year begging me for it before I would give it to him, and it took him another two or three years and nearly a thousand taels of silver to get all the ingredients together. Ask Bao-chai if you don’t believe me, Mother.’

‘I know nothing about it,’ said Bao-chai. ‘I’ve never heard it mentioned. It’s no good telling Aunt to ask me.’

‘You see! Bao-chai is a good girl. She doesn’t tell lies,’ said Lady Wang.

Bao-yu was standing in the middle of the floor below the kang. He clapped his hands at this and turned to the others appealingly.

‘But it’s the truth I’m telling you. This is no lie.’

As he turned, he happened to catch sight of Dai-yu, who was sitting behind Bao-chai, smiling mockingly and stroking her cheek with her finger – which in sign-language means, ‘You are a great big liar and you ought to be ashamed of yourself.’

But Xi-feng, who happened to be in the inner room supervising the laying of the table and had overheard the preceding remarks, now emerged into the outer room to corroborate:

‘It’s quite true, what Bao says. I don’t think he is making it up,’ she said. ‘Not so long ago Cousin Xue came to me asking for some pearls, and when I asked him what he wanted them for, he said, “To make medicine with.” Then he started grumbling about the trouble he was having in getting the right ingredients and how he had half a mind not to make this medicine up after all. I said, “What medicine?” and he told me that it was a prescription that Cousin Bao had given him and reeled off a lot of ingredients – I can’t remember them now. “Of course,” he said, “I could easily enough buy a few pearls; only these have to be ones that have been worn. That’s why I’m asking you for them. If you haven’t got any loose ones,” he said, “a few pearls broken off a bit of jewellery would do. I’d get you something nice to replace it with.” He was so insistent that in the end I had to break up two of my ornaments for him. Then he wanted a yard of Imperial red gauze. That was to put over the mortar to pound the pearls through. He said they had to be ground until they were as fine as flour.’

‘You see!’ ‘You see!’ Bao-yu kept interjecting throughout this recital.

‘Incidentally, Mother,’ he said, when it was ended, ‘even that was only a substitute. According to the prescription, the pearls ought really to have come from an ancient grave. They should really have been pearls taken from jewellery on the corpse of a long-buried noblewoman. But as one can’t very well go digging up graves and rifling tombs every time one wants to make this medicine, the prescription allows pearls worn by the living as a second-best.’

‘Blessed name of the Lord!’ said Lady Wang. ‘What a dreadful idea! Even if you did get them from a grave, I can’t believe that a medicine made from pearls that had been come by so wickedly – desecrating people’s bones that had been lying peacefully in the ground all those hundreds of years – could possibly do you any good.’

Bao-yu turned to Dai-yu.

‘Did you hear what Feng said?’ he asked her. ‘I hope you’re not going to say that she was lying.’

Although the remark was addressed to Dai-yu, he winked at Bao-chai as he made it.

Dai-yu clung to Lady Wang.

‘Listen to him, Aunt!’ she wailed. ‘Bao-chai won’t be a party to his lies, but he still expects me to be.’

‘Bao-yu, you are very unkind to your cousin,’ said Lady Wang.

Bao-yu only laughed.

‘You don’t know the reason, Mother. Bao-chai didn’t know a half of what Cousin Xue got up to, even when she was living with her mother outside; and now that she’s moved into the Garden, she knows even less. When she said she didn’t know, she really didn’t know: she wasn’t giving me the lie. What you don’t realize is that Cousin Lin was all the time sitting behind her making signs to show that she didn’t believe me.’

Just then a maid came from Grandmother Jia’s apartment to fetch Bao-yu and Dai-yu to lunch.

Without saying a word to Bao-yu, Dai-yu got up and, taking the maid’s hand, began to go. But the maid was reluctant.

‘Let’s wait for Master Bao and we can go together.’

‘He’s not eating lunch today,’ said Dai-yu. ‘Come on, let’s go!’

‘Whether he’s eating lunch or not,’ said the maid, ‘he’d better come with us, so that he can explain to Her Old Ladyship about it when she asks.’

‘All right, you wait for him then,’ said Dai-yu. ‘I’m going on ahead.’

And off she went.

‘I think I’d rather eat with you today, Mother,’ said Bao-yu.

‘No, no, you can’t,’ said Lady Wang. ‘Today is one of my fast-days: I shall only be eating vegetables. You go and have a proper meal with your Grandma.’

‘I shall share your vegetables,’ said Bao-yu. ‘Go on, you can go,’ he said, dismissing the maid; and rushing up to the table, he sat himself down at it in readiness.

‘You others had better get on with your own lunch,’ Lady Wang said to Bao-chai and the girls. ‘Let him do as he likes.’

‘You really ought to go,’ Bao-chai said to Bao-yu. ‘Whether you have lunch there or not, you ought to keep Cousin Lin company. She is very upset, you know. Why don’t you?’

‘Oh, leave her alone!’ said Bao-yu. ‘She’ll be all right presently.’

Soon they had finished eating, and Bao-yu, afraid that Grandmother Jia might be worrying and at the same time anxious to rejoin Dai-yu, hurriedly demanded tea to rinse his mouth with. Tan-chun and Xi-chun were much amused.

‘Why are you always in such a hurry, Bao?’ they asked him. ‘Even your eating and drinking all seems to be done in a rush.’

‘You should let him finish quickly, so that he can get back to his Dai-yu,’ said Bao-chai blandly. ‘Don’t make him waste time here with us.’

Bao-yu left as soon as he had drunk his tea, and made straight for the west courtyard where his Grandmother Jia’s apartment was. But as he was passing by the gateway of Xi-feng’s courtyard, it happened that Xi-feng herself was standing in her doorway with one foot on the threshold, grooming her teeth with an ear-cleaner and keeping a watchful eye on nine or ten pages who were moving potted plants about under her direction.

‘Ah, just the person I wanted to see!’ she said, as soon as she caught sight of Bao-yu. ‘Come inside. I want you to write something down for me.’

Bao-yu was obliged to follow her indoors. Xi-feng called for some paper, an inkstone and a brush, and at once began dictating:

‘Crimson lining-damask forty lengths, dragonet figured satin forty lengths, miscellaneous Imperial gauze one hundred lengths, gold necklets four, – ’

‘Here, what is this?’ said Bao-yu. ‘It isn’t an invoice and it isn’t a presentation list. How am I supposed to write it?’

‘Never you mind about that,’ said Xi-feng. ‘As long as I know what it is, that’s all that matters. Just put it down anyhow.’

Bao-yu wrote down the four items. As soon as he had done so, Xi-feng took up the paper and folded it away.

‘Now,’ she said, smiling pleasantly, ‘there’s something I want to talk to you about. I don’t know whether you’ll agree to this or not, but there’s a girl in your room called “Crimson” whom I’d like to work for me. If I find you someone to replace her with, will you let me have her?’

‘There are so many girls in my room,’ said Bao-yu. ‘Please take any you have a fancy to. You really don’t need to ask me about it.’

‘In that case,’ said Xi-feng, ‘I’ll send for her straight away.’

‘Please do,’ said Bao-yu, and started to go.

‘Hey, come back!’ said Xi-feng. ‘I haven’t finished with you yet.’

‘I’ve got to see Grandma now,’ said Bao-yu. ‘If you’ve got anything else to say, you can tell me on my way back.’

When he got to Grandmother Jia’s apartment, they had all just finished lunch. Grandmother Jia asked him if he had had anything nice to eat with his mother.

‘There wasn’t anything nice,’ he said. ‘But I had an extra bowl of rice.’

Then, after the briefest pause:

‘Where’s Cousin Lin?’

‘In the inner room,’ said Grandmother Jia.

In the inner room a maid stood below the kang blowing on a flat-iron. Up on the kang two maids were marking some material with a chalked string, while Dai-yu, her head bent low over her work, was engaged in cutting something from it with her shears.

‘What are you making?’ he asked her. ‘You’ll give yourself a headache, stooping down like that immediately after your lunch.’

Dai-yu took no notice and went on cutting.

‘That corner looks a bit creased still,’ said one of the maids. ‘It will have to be ironed again.’

‘Leave it alone!’ said Dai-yu, laying down her shears. ‘It will be all right presently.’

Bao-yu found her reply puzzling.

Bao-chai, Tan-chun and the rest had now arrived in the outer room and were talking to Grandmother Jia. Presently Bao-chai drifted inside and asked Dai-yu what she was doing; then, when she saw that she was cutting material, she exclaimed admiringly.

‘What a lot of things you can do, Dai! Fancy, even dress-making now!’

Dai-yu smiled malignantly.

‘Oh, it’s all lies, really. I just do it to fool people.’

‘I’ve got something to tell you that I think will amuse you, Dai,’ said Bao-chai pleasantly. ‘When our cousin was holding forth about that medicine just now and I said I didn’t know about it, I believe actually he was rather wounded.’

‘Oh, leave him alone!’ said Dai-yu. ‘He will be all right presently.’

‘Grandma wants someone to play dominoes with,’ said Bao-yu to Bao-chai. ‘Why don’t you go and play dominoes?’

‘Oh, is that what I came for?’ said Bao-chai; but she went, notwithstanding.

‘Why don’t you go?’ said Dai-yu. ‘There’s a tiger in this room. You might get eaten.’

She said this still bending over her cutting, which she continued to work away at without looking up at him.

Finding himself once more ignored, Bao-yu nevertheless attempted to remain jovial.

‘Why don’t you come out for a bit too? You can do this cutting later.’

Dai-yu contined to take no notice.

Failing to get a response from her, he tried the maids:

‘Who told her to do this dress-making?’

‘Whoever told her to do it,’ said Dai-yu, ‘it has nothing whatever to do with Master Bao.’

Bao-yu was about to retort, but just at that moment someone came in to say that he was wanted outside, and he was obliged to hurry off.

Dai-yu leaned forward and shouted after him: ‘Holy name! By the time you get back, I shall be dead.’

Outside the gateway to the inner quarters Bao-yu found Tealeaf waiting.

‘Mr Feng invites you round to his house,’ said Tealeaf.

Bao-yu realized that this must be in connection with the matter Feng Zi-ying had spoken of on the previous day. He told Tealeaf to send for his going-out clothes, and went into his outer study to wait for them.

Tealeaf went back to the west inner gate to wait for someone who would carry a message inside to the maids. Presently an old woman came out:

‘Excuse me, missus,’ said Tealeaf. ‘Master Bao is waiting in the outer study for his going-out clothes. Could you take a message inside to say that he wants them?’

‘— your mother’s twat!’ said the old woman. ‘Master Bao lives in the Garden now. All his maids are in the Garden. What do you want to come running round here for?’

Tealeaf laughed at his own mistake.

‘You’re quite right. I’m going cuckoo.’

He ran round to the gate of the Garden. As luck would have it, the boys on that gate were playing football in the open space below the terraced walk, and when Tealeaf had explained his errand, one of them ran off inside for him. He returned after a very long wait, carrying a large bundle, which he handed to Tealeaf, and which Tealeaf carried back to the outer study.

While he was changing, Bao-yu asked for his horse to be saddled, and presently set off, taking only Tealeaf, Ploughboy, Two-times and Oldie as his attendants. When they reached Feng Zi-ying’s gate, someone ran in to announce his arrival, and Feng Zi-ying came out in person to greet him and led him inside to meet the company.

This comprised Xue Pan, who had evidently been waiting there for some time, a number of boy singers, a female impersonator called Jiang Yu-han and a girl called Nuageuse from the Budding Grove, a high-class establishment specializing in female entertainers. When everyone had been introduced, tea was served.

‘Now come on!’ said Bao-yu, as he picked up the proffered cup of tea. ‘What about this “lucky accident” you mentioned yesterday? I’ve been waiting anxiously to hear about it ever since I saw you. That’s why I came so promptly when I got your invitation.’

Feng Zi-ying laughed.

‘You and your cousin are such simple souls – I find it rahver touchin’! Afraid it was pure invention, what I said yesterday. I said it to make you come, because I fought that if I asked you outright to come and drink wiv me, you’d make excuses. Anyway, it worked.’

The company joined in his merriment.

Wine was now brought in and everyone sat down in the places assigned to them. Feng Zi-ying first got one of the singing-boys to pour for them; then he called on Nuageuse to drink with each of the guests in turn.

Xue Pan, by the time he had three little cupfuls of wine inside him, was already beginning to be obstreperous. He seized Nuageuse by the hand and drew her towards him:

‘If you’d sing me a nice new song – one of your specials, I’d drink a whole jarful for you. How about it, eh?’

Nuageuse had to oblige him by taking up her lute and singing the following song for him to her own accompaniment:

Two lovely boys Are both in love with me And I can’t get either from my mind. Both are so beautiful So wonderful So marvellous To give up either one would be unkind. Last night I promised I would go To meet one of them in the garden where the roses grow; The other came to see what he could find. And now that we three are all Here in this tribunal, There are no words that come into my mind.

‘There you are!’ she said. ‘Now drink your jarful!’

‘That one’s not worth a jarful,’ said Xue Pan. ‘Sing us a better one.’

‘Now just a minute,’ said Bao-yu. ‘Just guzzling like this will make us drunk in no time without giving us any real enjoyment. I’ve got a good new drinking-game for you. Let me first drink the M .C.’s starting-cup, and I’ll tell you the rules. After that, anyone who doesn’t toe the line will be made to drink ten sconce-cups straight off as a forfeit, give up his seat at the party, and spend the rest of the time pouring out drinks for the rest of us.’

Feng Zi-ying and Jiang Yu-han agreed enthusiastically, and Bao-yu picked up one of the extra large cups that had now been provided and drained its contents at a single draught.

‘Now,’ he said. ‘We’re going to take four words – let’s say “upset”, “glum”, “blest” and “content”. You have to begin by saying “The girl is—”, and then you say one of the four words. That’s your first line. The next line has to rhyme with the first line and it has to give the reason why the girl is whatever it says – “upset” or “glum” or “blest” or “content”. When you’ve done all four, you’re entitled to drink the wine in front of you. Only, before drinking it, you’ve first got to sing some new popular song; and after you’ve drunk it, you’ve got to choose some animal or vegetable object from the things in front of us and recite a line from a well-known poem, or an old couplet, or a quotation from the classics—’

Before he could finish, Xue Pan was on his feet, protesting vigorously:

‘You can count me out of this. I’m taking no part in this. This is just to make a fool of me, isn’t it?’

Nuageuse, too, stood up and attempted to push him back into his seat:

‘What are you so afraid of, a practised drinker like you? You can’t be any worse at this sort of thing than I am, and I’m going to have a go when my turn comes. If you do it all right, you’ve got nothing to worry about, and even if you can’t, you’ll only be made to drink a few cups of wine; whereas if you refuse to follow the rules at the very outset, you’ll have to drink ten sconces straight off in a row and then be thrown out of the party and made to pour drinks for the rest of us.’

‘Bravo!’ cried the others, clapping; and Xue Pan, seeing them united against him, subsided.

Bao-yu now began his own turn:

‘The girl’s upset: The years pass by, but no one’s claimed her yet.

The girl looks glum: Her true-love’s gone to follow ambition’s drum.

The girl feels blest: The mirror shows her looks are at their best.

The girl’s content: Long summer days in pleasant pastimes spent.’

The others all applauded, except Xue Pan, who shook his head disapprovingly:

‘No good, no good!’ he said. ‘Pay the forfeit.’

‘Why, what’s wrong with it?’ they asked him.

‘I couldn’t understand a word of it.’

Nuageuse gave him a pinch:

‘Keep quiet and try to think what you’re going to say,’ she advised him; ‘otherwise you’ll have nothing ready when your own turn comes and you’ll have to pay the forfeit yourself.’

Thereupon she picked up her lute and accompanied Bao-yu as he sang the following song:

‘Still weeping tears of blood about our separation: Little red love-beans of my desolation. Still blooming flowers I see outside my window growing. Still awake in the dark I hear the wind a-blowing. Still oh still I can’t forget those old hopes and fears. Still can’t swallow food and drink, ’cos I’m choked with tears. Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me it’s not true: Do I look so thin and pale, do I look so blue? Mirror, mirror, this long night how shall I get through? Oh – oh – oh! Blue as the mist upon the distant mountains, Blue as the water in the ever-flowing fountains.’

General applause – except from Xue Pan, who objected that there was ‘no rhythm’.

Bao-yu now drank his well-earned cup – the ‘pass cup’ as they call it – and, picking up a slice of pear from the table, concluded his turn with the following quotation:

‘Rain whips the pear-tree, shut fast the door.’

Now it was Feng Zi-ying’s turn:

‘The girl’s upset: Her husband’s ill and she’s in debt.

The girl looks glum: The gale has turned her room into a slum.

The girl feels blest: She’s got twin babies at the breast.

The girl’s content: Waiting a certain pleasurable event.’

Next, holding up his cupful of wine in readiness to drink, he sang this song:

‘You’re so exciting, And so inviting; You’re my Mary Contrary; You’re a crazy, mad thing. You’re my goddess, but oh! you’re deaf to my praying: Why won’t you listen to what I am saying? If you don’t believe me, make a small investigation: You will soon find out the true depth of my admiration.’

Then he drained his bumper and, picking up a piece of chicken from one of the dishes, ended the performance, prior to popping it into his mouth, with a line from Wen Ting-yun:

‘From moonlit cot the cry of chanticleer.’

Next it was the turn of Nuageuse:

‘The girl’s upset:’

she began,

‘Not knowing how the future’s to be met –’

Xue Pan laughed noisily.

‘That’s all right, my darling, don’t you worry! Your Uncle Xue will take care of you.’

‘Shush!’ said the others. ‘Don’t confuse her.’

She continued:

‘The girl looks glum:

Nothing but blows and hard words from her Mum –’

‘I saw that Mum of yours the other day,’ said Xue Pan, ‘and I particularly told her that she wasn’t to beat you.’

‘Another word from you,’ said the others, ‘and you’ll be made to drink ten cups as a punishment.’

Xue Pan gave his own face a slap.

‘Sorry! I forgot. Won’t do it again.’

‘The girl feels blest:’

said Nuageuse,

‘Her young man’s rich and beautifully dressed. The girl’s content:

She’s been performing in a big event.’

Next Nuageuse sang her song:

‘A flower began to open in the month of May. Along came a honey-bee to sport and play. He pushed and he squeezed to get inside, But he couldn’t get in however hard he tried. So on the flower’s lip he just hung around, A-playing the see-saw up and down. Oh my honey-sweet, Oh my sweets of sin, If I don’t open up, How will you get in?’

After drinking her ‘pass cup’, she picked up a peach:

‘So bonny blooms the peach-tree-o.’

It was now Xue Pan’s turn.

‘Ah yes, now, let’s see! I have to say something now, don’t I?’

‘The girl’s upset –’

But nothing followed.

‘All right, what’s she upset about then?’ said Feng Zi-ying with a laugh. ‘Buck up!’

Xue Pan appeared to be engaged in a species of mental effort so frightful that his eyes seemed about to pop out of his head. After glaring fixedly for an unconscionable time, he said:

‘The girl’s upset –’

He coughed a couple of times. Then at last it came:

‘The girl’s upset: She’s married to a marmoset.’

The others greeted this with a roar of laughter.

‘What are you laughing at?’ said Xue Pan. ‘That’s perfectly reasonable, isn’t it? If a girl was expecting a proper husband and he turned out to be one of them, she’d have cause to be upset, wouldn’t she?’

His audience were by now doubled up.

‘That’s perfectly true,’ they conceded. ‘Very good. Now what about the next bit?’

Xue Pan glared a while very concentratedly, then:

‘The girl looks glum –’

But after that was silence.

‘Come on!’ said the others. ‘Why was she glum?’

‘His dad’s a baboon with a big red bum.’

‘Ho! Ho! Ho! Pay the forfeit,’ they cried. ‘The first one was bad enough. We really can’t let this one go.’

The more officious of them even began filling the sconce-cups for him. But Bao-yu allowed the line.

‘As long as it rhymes,’ he said, ‘we’ll let it pass.’

‘There you are!’ said Xue Pan. ‘The M.C. says it’s all right. What are the rest of you making such a fuss about?’

At this the others desisted.

‘The next two are even harder,’ said Nuageuse. ‘Shall I do them for you, dear?’

‘Piss off!’ said Xue Pan. ‘D’you think I haven’t got any good lines of my own? Listen to this:

The girl feels blest: In bridal bower she takes her rest.’

The others stared at him in amazement:

‘I say, old chap, that’s a bit poetical for you, isn’t it?’

Xue Pan continued unconcernedly:

‘The girl’s content: She’s got a big prick up her vent.’

The others looked away with expressions of disgust.

‘Oh dear, oh dear! Hurry up and get on with the song, then.’

‘One little gnat went hum hum hum,’

Xue Pan began tunelessly. The others looked at him open-mouthed:

‘What sort of song is that?’

Xue Pan droned on, ignoring the question:

‘Two little flies went bum bum bum, Three little–’

‘Stop!’ shouted the others.

‘Sod you lot!’ said Xue Pan. ‘This is the very latest new hit. It’s called the Hum-bum Song. If you can’t be bothered to listen to it, you’ll have to let me off the other thing. I’ll agree not to sing the rest of the song on that condition.’

‘Yes, yes, we’ll let you off,’ they said. ‘Just don’t interfere with the rest of us, that’s all we ask.’

This meant that it was now Jiang Yu-han’s turn to perform. This is what he said:

‘The girl’s upset: Her man’s away, she fears he will forget.

The girl looks glum: So short of cash she can’t afford a crumb.

The girl feels blest: Her lampwick’s got a lucky crest.

The girl’s content: She’s married to a perfect gent.’

Then he sang this song:

‘A mischievous bundle of charm and love, Or an angel come down from the skies above? Sweet sixteen And so very green, Yet eager to see all there is to be seen. Aie aie aie The galaxy’s high In the roof of the sky, And the drum from the tower Sounds the midnight hour. So trim the lamp, love, and come with me Inside the bed-curtains, and you shall see!’

He raised the pass cup to his lips, but before drinking it, smiled round at his auditors and made this little speech:

‘I’m afraid my knowledge of poetry is strictly limited. However, I happened to see a couplet on someone’s wall yesterday which has stuck in my mind; and as one line in it is about something I can see here, I shall use it to finish my turn with.’

So saying, he drained the cup and then, picking up a spray of cassia, recited the following line:

‘The flowers’ aroma breathes of hotter days.’

The others all accepted this as a satisfactory conclusion of the performance. Not so Xue Pan, however, who leaped to his feet and began protesting noisily:

‘Terrible! Pay the forfeit. Where’s the little doll? I can’t see any doll on the table.’

‘I didn’t say anything about a doll,’ said Jiang Yu-han. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Come on, don’t try to wriggle out of it!’ said Xue Pan. ‘Say what you said just now again.’

‘The flowers’ aroma breathes of hotter days.’

‘There you are!’ said Xue Pan. ‘ “Aroma”. That’s the name of a little doll. Ask him if you don’t believe me.’ – He pointed to Bao-yu.

Bao-yu looked embarrassed.

‘Cousin Xue, this time I think you do have to pay the forfeit.’

‘All right, all right!’ said Xue Pan. ‘I’ll drink.’

And he picked up the wine in front of him and drained it at a gulp.

Feng Zi-ying and Jiang Yu-han were still puzzled and asked him what this was all about. But it was Nuageuse who explained. Immediately Jiang Yu-han was on his feet apologizing. The others reassured him.

‘It’s not your fault. “Ignorance excuses all”,’ they said.

Shortly after this Bao-yu had to take temporary leave of the company to ease his bladder and Jiang Yu-han followed him outside. As the two of them stood side by side under the eaves, Jiang Yu-han once more offered Bao-yu his apologies. Much taken with the actor’s winsome looks and gentleness of manner, Bao-yu impulsively took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

‘Do come round to our place some time when you are free,’ he said. ‘There’s something I want to ask you about. You have an actor in your company called “Bijou” whom everyone is talking about lately. I should so much like to meet him, but so far I haven’t had an opportunity.’

‘That’s me!’ said Jiang Yu-han. ‘ “Bijou” is my stage-name.’

Bao-yu stamped with delight.

‘But this is wonderful! I must say, you fully deserve your reputation. Oh dear! What am I going to do about a First Meeting present?’

He thought for a bit, then took a fan from his sleeve and broke off its jade pendant.

‘Here you are,’ he said, handing it to Bijou. ‘It’s not much of a present, I’m afraid, but it will do to remind you of our meeting.’

Bijou smiled and accepted it ceremoniously:

‘I have done nothing to deserve this favour. It is too great an honour. Well, thank you. There’s rather an unusual thing I’m wearing – I put it on today for the first time, so it’s still fairly new: I wonder if you will allow me to give it to you as a token of my warm feelings towards you?’

He opened up his gown, undid the crimson cummerbund with which his trousers were fastened, and handed it to Bao-yu.

‘It comes from the tribute sent by the Queen of the Madder Islands. It’s for wearing in summer. It makes you smell nice and it doesn’t show perspiration stains. I was given it yesterday by the Prince of Bei-jing, and today is the first time it’s ever been worn. I wouldn’t give a thing like this to anyone else, but I’d like you to have it. Will you take your own sash off, please, so that I can put it on instead?’

Bao-yu received the crimson cummerbund with delight and quickly took off his own viridian-coloured sash to give to Bijou in exchange. They had just finished fastening the sashes on again when Xue Pan jumped out from behind and seized hold of them both.

‘What are you two up to, leaving the party and sneaking off like this?’ he said. ‘Come on, take ‘em out again and let’s have a look!’

It was useless for them to protest that the situation was not what he imagined. Xue Pan continued to force his unwelcome attentions upon them until Feng Zi-ying came out and rescued them. After that they returned to the party and continued drinking until the evening.

Back in his own apartment in the Garden, Bao-yu took off his outer clothes and relaxed with a cup of tea. While he did so, Aroma noticed that the pendant of his fan was missing and asked him what had become of it. Bao-yu told her that it had come off while he was riding, and she gave the matter no more thought. But later, when he was going to bed, she saw the magnificent blood-red sash round his waist and began to put two and two together.

‘Since you’ve got a better sash now,’ she said, ‘do you think I could have mine back, please?’

Bao-yu remembered, too late, that the viridian sash had been Aroma’s and that he ought never to have given it away. He now very much regretted having done so, but instead of apologizing, attempted to pass it off with a laugh.

‘I’ll get you another,’ he told her lightly.

Aroma shook her head and sighed.

‘I knew you still got up to these tricks,’ she said, ‘but at least you might refrain from giving my things to those disgusting creatures. I’m surprised you haven’t got more sense.’

She was going to say more, but checked herself for fear of provoking an explosion while he was in his cups. And since there was nothing else she could do, she went to bed.

She awoke at first daylight next morning to find Bao-yu smiling down at her:

‘We might have been burgled last night for all you’d have known about it – Look at your trousers!’

Looking down, Aroma saw the sash that Bao-yu had been wearing yesterday tied round her own waist, and knew that he must have exchanged it for hers during the night. She tore it off impatiently.

‘I don’t want the horrible thing. The sooner you take it away the better.’

Bao-yu was anxious that she should keep it, and after a great deal of coaxing she consented, very reluctantly, to tie it on again. But she took it off once and for all as soon as he was out of the room and threw it into an empty chest, having first found another one of her own to put on in its place.

Bao-yu made no comment on the change when they were together again. He merely inquired whether anything had happened the day before, while he was out.

‘Mrs Lian sent someone round to fetch Crimson,’ said Aroma. ‘She wanted to wait for you; but it seemed to me that it wasn’t all that important, so I took it on myself to send her off straight away.’

‘Quite right,’ said Bao-yu. ‘I already knew about it. There was no need to wait till I got back.’

Aroma continued:

‘Her Grace sent that Mr Xia of the Imperial Bedchamber yesterday with a hundred and twenty taels of silver to pay for a three-day Pro Viventibus by the Taoists of the Lunar Queen temple starting on the first of next month. There are to be plays performed as part of the Offering, and Mr Zhen and all the other gentlemen are to go there to burn incense. Oh, and Her Grace’s presents for the Double Fifth have arrived.’

She ordered a little maid to get out Bao-yu’s share of the things sent. There were two Palace fans of exquisite workmanship, two strings of red musk-scented medicine-beads, two lengths of maidenhair chiffon and a grass-woven ‘lotus’ mat to lie on in the hot weather.

‘Did the others all get the same?’ he asked.

‘Her Old Ladyship’s presents were the same as yours with the addition of a perfume-sceptre and an agate head-rest, and Sir Zheng’s, Lady Wang’s and Mrs Xue’s were the same as Her Old Ladyship’s but without the head-rest; Miss Bao’s were exactly the same as yours; Miss Lin, Miss Ying-chun, Miss Tan-chun and Miss Xi-chun got only the fans and the beads; and Mrs Zhu and Mrs Lian both got two lengths of gauze, two lengths of chiffon, two perfume sachets and two moulded medicine-cakes.’

‘Funny!’ said Bao-yu. ‘I wonder why Miss Lin didn’t get the same as me and why only Miss Bao’s and mine were the same. There must have been some mistake, surely?’

‘When they unpacked them yesterday, the separate lots were all labelled,’ said Aroma. ‘I don’t see how there could have been any mistake. Your share was in Her Old Ladyship’s room and I went round there to get it for you. Her Old Ladyship says she wants you to go to Court at four o’clock tomorrow morning to give thanks.’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Bao-yu inattentively, and gave Ripple instructions to take his presents round to Dai-yu:

‘Tell Miss Lin that I got these things yesterday and that if there’s anything there she fancies, I should like her to keep it.’

Ripple went off with the presents. She was back in a very short time, however.

‘Miss Lin says she got some yesterday too, and will you please keep these for yourself.’

Bao-yu told her to put them away. As soon as he had washed, he left to pay his morning call on Grandmother Jia; but just as he was going out he saw Dai-yu coming towards him and hurried forward to meet her.

‘Why didn’t you choose anything from the things I sent you?’

Yesterday’s resentments were now quite forgotten; today Dai-yu had fresh matter to occupy her mind.

‘I’m not equal to the honour,’ she said. ‘You forget, I’m not in the gold and jade class like you and your Cousin Bao. I’m only a common little wall-flower!’

The reference to gold and jade immediately aroused Bao-yu’s suspicions.

‘I don’t know what anyone else may have been saying on the subject,’ he said, ‘but if any such thought ever so much as crossed my mind, may Heaven strike me dead, and may I never be reborn as a human being!’

Seeing him genuinely bewildered, Dai-yu smiled in what was meant to be a reassuring manner.

‘I wish you wouldn’t make these horrible oaths. It’s so disagreeable. Who cares about your silly old “gold and jade”, anyway?’

‘It’s hard to make you see what is in my heart,’ said Bao-yu. ‘One day perhaps you will know. But I can tell you this. My heart has room for four people only. Grannie and my parents are three of them and Cousin Dai is the fourth. I swear to you there isn’t a fifth.’

‘There’s no need for you to swear,’ said Dai-yu. ‘I know very well that Cousin Dai has a place in your heart. The trouble is that as soon as Cousin Chai comes along, Cousin Dai gets forgotten.’

‘You imagine these things,’ said Bao-yu. ‘It really isn’t as you say.’

‘Yesterday when Little Miss Bao wouldn’t tell lies for you, why did you turn to me and expect me to? How would you like it if I did that sort of thing to you?’

Bao-chai happened to come along while they were still talking and the two of them moved aside to avoid her. Bao-chai saw this clearly, but pretended not to notice and hurried by with lowered eyes. She went and sat with Lady Wang for a while and from there went on to Grandmother Jia’s. Bao-yu was already at his grandmother’s when she got there.

Bao-chai had on more than one occasion heard her mother telling Lady Wang and other people that the golden locket she wore had been given her by a monk, who had insisted that when she grew up the person she married must be someone who had ‘a jade to match the gold’. This was one of the reasons why she tended to keep aloof from Bao-yu. The slight embarrassment she always felt as a result of her mother’s chatter had yesterday been greatly intensified when Yuan-chun singled her out as the only girl to receive the same selection of presents as Bao-yu. She was relieved to think that Bao-yu, so wrapped up in Dai-yu that his thoughts were only of her, was unaware of her embarrassment.

But now here was Bao-yu smiling at her with sudden interest.

‘Cousin Bao, may I have a look at your medicine-beads?’

She happened to be wearing one of the little chaplets on her left wrist and began to pull it off now in obedience to his request. But Bao-chai was inclined to plumpness and perspired easily, and for a moment or two it would not come off. While she was struggling with it, Bao-yu had ample opportunity to observe her snow-white arm, and a feeling rather warmer than admiration was kindled inside him.

‘If that arm were growing on Cousin Lin’s body,’ he speculated, ‘I might hope one day to touch it. What a pity it’s hers! Now I shall never have that good fortune.’

Suddenly he thought of the curious coincidence of the gold and jade talismans and their matching inscriptions, which Dai-yu’s remark had reminded him of. He looked again at Bao-chai –

that face like the full moon’s argent bowl; those eyes like sloes; those lips whose carmine hue no Art contrived; and brows by none but Nature’s pencil lined.

This was beauty of quite a different order from Dai-yu’s. Fascinated by it, he continued to stare at her with a somewhat dazed expression, so that when she handed him the chaplet, which she had now succeeded in getting off her wrist, he failed to take it from her.

Seeing that he had gone off into one of his trances, Bao-chai threw down the chaplet in embarrassment and turned to go. But Dai-yu was standing on the threshold, biting a corner of her handkerchief, convulsed with silent laughter.

‘I thought you were so delicate,’ said Bao-chai. ‘What are you standing there in the draught for?’

‘I’ve been in the room all the time,’ said Dai-yu. ‘I just this moment went to have a look outside because I heard the sound of something in the sky. It was a gawping goose.’

‘Where?’ said Bao-chai. ‘Let me have a look.’

‘Oh,’ said Dai-yu, ‘as soon as I went outside he flew away with a whir-r-r—’

She flicked her long handkerchief as she said this in the direction of Bao-yu’s face.

‘Ow!’ he exclaimed – She had flicked him in the eye.

The extent of the damage will be examined in the following chapter.