第一○○回
第一○○回 破好事香菱结深恨 悲远嫁宝玉感离情
话说贾政去见了节度，进去了半日不见出来，外头议论不一。李十儿在外也打听不出什么事来，便想到报上的饥荒，实在也着急，好容易听见贾政出来，便迎上来跟着，等不得回去，在无人处便问：“老爷进去这半天，有什么要紧的事？”贾政笑道：“并没有事。只为镇海总制是这位大人的亲戚，有书来嘱托照应我，所以说了些好话。又说我们如今也是亲戚了。”李十儿听得，心内喜欢，不免又壮了些胆子，便竭力纵恿贾政许这亲事。贾政心想薛蟠的事到底有什么挂碍，在外头信息不早，难以打点，故回到本任来便打发家人进京打听，顺便将总制求亲之事回明贾母，如若愿意，即将三姑娘接到任所。家人奉命赶到京中，回明了王夫人，便在吏部打听得贾政并无处分，惟将署[1]太平县的这位老爷革职，即写了禀帖安慰了贾政，然后住着等信。
且说薛姨妈为着薛蟠这件人命官司，各衙门内不知花了多少银钱，才定了误杀具题。原打量将当铺折变给人，备银赎罪。不想刑部驳审，又托人花了好些钱，总不中用，依旧定了个死罪，监着守候秋天大审。薛姨妈又气又疼，日夜啼哭。宝钗虽时常过来劝解，说是：“哥哥本来没造化。承受了祖父这些家业，就该安安顿顿的守着过日子。在南边已经闹的不像样，便是香菱那件事情就了不得，因为仗着亲戚们的势力，花了些银钱，这算白打死了一个公子。哥哥就该改过做起正经人来，也该奉养母亲才是，不想进了京仍是这样。妈妈为他不知受了多少气，哭掉了多少眼泪。给他娶了亲，原想大家安安逸逸的过日子，不想命该如此，偏偏娶的嫂子又是一个不安静的，所以哥哥躲出门的。真正俗语说的‘冤家路儿狭’，不多几天就闹出人命来了。妈妈和二哥哥也算不得不尽心的了，花了银钱不算，自己还求三拜四的谋干。无奈命里应该，也算自作自受。大凡养儿女是为着老来有靠，便是小户人家还要挣一碗饭养活母亲，那里有将现成的闹光了反害的老人家哭的死去活来的？不是我说，哥哥的这样行为，不是儿子，竟是个冤家对头。妈妈再不明白，明哭到夜，夜哭到明，又受嫂子的气。我呢，又不能常在这里劝解，我看见妈妈这样，那里放得下心。他虽说是傻，也不肯叫我回去。前儿老爷打发人回来说，看见京报唬的了不得，所以才叫人来打点的。我想哥哥闹了事，担心的人也不少。幸亏我还是在跟前的一样，若是离乡调远听见了这个信，只怕我想妈妈也就想杀了。我求妈妈暂且养养神，趁哥哥的活口现在，问问各处的帐目。人家该咱们的，咱们该人家的，亦该请个旧伙计来算一算，看看还有几个钱没有。”薛姨妈哭着说道：“这几天为闹你哥哥的事，你来了，不是你劝我，便是我告诉你衙门的事。你还不知道，京里的官商名字已经退了，两个当铺已经给了人家，银子早拿来使完了。还有一个当铺，管事的逃了，亏空了好几千两银子，也夹在里头打官司。你二哥哥天天在外头要帐，料着京里的帐已经去了几万银子，只好拿南边公分里银子并住房折变才够。前两天还听见一个荒信，说是南边的公当铺也因为折了本儿收了。若是这么着，你娘的命可就活不成的了。”说着，又大哭起来。宝钗也哭着劝道：“银钱的事，妈妈操心也不中用，还有二哥哥给我们料理。单可恨这些伙计们，见咱们的势头儿败了，各自奔各自的去也罢了，我还听见说帮着人家来挤我们的讹头。可见我哥哥活了这么大，交的人总不过是些个酒肉弟兄，急难中是一个没有的。妈妈若是疼我，听我的话，有年纪的人，自己保重些。妈妈这一辈子，想来还不致挨冻受饿。家里这点子衣裳家伙，只好听凭嫂子去，那是没法儿的了。所有的家人婆子，瞧他们也没心在这里，该去的叫他们去。就可怜香菱苦了一辈子，只好跟着妈妈过去。实在短什么，我要是有的，还可以拿些个来，料我们那个也没有不依的。就是袭姑娘也是心术正道的，他听见我哥哥的事〔一〕，他倒提起妈妈来就哭。我们那一个还道是没事的，所以不大着急，若听见了也是要唬个半死儿的。”薛姨妈不等说完，便说：“好姑娘，你可别告诉他。他为一个林姑娘几乎没要了命，如今才好了些。要是他急出个原故来，不但你添一层烦恼，我越发没了依靠了。”宝钗道：“我也是这么想，所以总没告诉他。”
正说着，只听见金桂跑来外间屋里哭喊道：“我的命是不要的了！男人呢，已经是没有活的分儿了。咱们如今索性闹一闹，大伙儿到法场上去拚一拚。”说着，便将头往隔断板上乱撞，撞的披头散发。气得薛姨妈白瞪着两只眼，一句话也说不出来。还亏得宝钗嫂子长、嫂子短，好一句、歹一句的劝他。金桂道：“姑奶奶，如今你是比不得头里的了。你两口儿好好的过日子，我是个单身人儿，要脸做什么！”说着，便要跑到街上回娘家去，亏得人还多，扯住了，又劝了半天方住。把个宝琴唬的再不敢见他。若是薛蝌在家，他便抹粉施脂，描眉画鬓，奇情异致的打扮收拾起来，不时打从薛蝌住房前过，或故意咳嗽一声，或明知薛蝌在屋，特问房里何人。有时遇见薛蝌，他便妖妖乔乔、娇娇痴痴的问寒问热，忽喜忽嗔。丫头们看见，都赶忙躲开。他自己也不觉得，只是一意一心要弄得薛蝌感情时，好行宝蟾之计。那薛蝌却只躲着；有时遇见，也不敢不周旋一二，只怕他撒泼放刁的意思。更加金桂一则为色迷心，越瞧越爱，越想越幻，那里还看得出薛蝌的真假来。只有一宗，他见薛蝌有什么东西都是托香菱收着，衣服缝洗也是香菱，两个人偶然说话，他来了，急忙散开，一发动了一个醋字。欲待发作薛蝌，却是舍不得，只得将一腔隐恨都搁在香菱身上。却又恐怕闹了香菱得罪了薛蝌，倒弄得隐忍不发。
一日，宝蟾走来笑嘻嘻的向金桂道：“奶奶看见了二爷没有？”金桂道：“没有。”宝蟾笑道：“我说二爷的那种假正经是信不得的。咱们前日送了酒去，他说不会喝；刚才我见他到太太那屋里去，那脸上红扑扑儿的一脸酒气。奶奶不信，回来只在咱们院门口等他，他打那边过来时奶奶叫住他问问，看他说什么。”金桂听了，一心的怒气〔二〕，便道：“他那里就出来了呢。他既无情义，问他作什么！”宝蟾道：“奶奶又迂了。他好说，咱们也好说，他不好说，咱们再另打主意。”金桂听着有理，因叫宝蟾瞧着他，看他出去了。宝蟾答应着出来。金桂却去打开镜奁，又照了一照，把嘴唇儿又抹了一抹，然后拿一条洒花绢子，才要出来，又似忘了什么的，心里倒不知怎么是好了。只听宝蟾外面说道：“二爷今日高兴呵，那里喝了酒来了？”金桂听了，明知是叫他出来的意思，连忙掀起帘子出来。只见薛蝌和宝蟾说道：“今日是张大爷的好日子，所以被他们强不过吃了半钟，到这时候脸还发烧呢。”一句话没说完，金桂早接口道：“自然人家外人的酒比咱们自己家里的酒是有趣儿的。”薛蝌被他拿话一激，脸越红了，连忙走过来陪笑道：“嫂子说那里的话。”宝蟾见他二人交谈，便躲到屋里去了。
这金桂初时原要假意发作薛蝌两句，无奈一见他两颊微红，双眸带涩，别有一种谨愿可怜之意，早把自己那骄悍之气感化到爪洼国去了，因笑说道：“这么说，你的酒是硬强着才肯喝的呢。”薛蝌道：“我那里喝得来。”金桂道：“不喝也好，强如像你哥哥喝出乱子来，明儿娶了你们奶奶儿，像我这样守活寡受孤单呢！”说到这里，两个眼已经乜斜了，两腮上也觉红晕了。薛蝌见这话越发邪僻了，打算着要走。金桂也看出来了，那里容得，早已走过来一把拉住。薛蝌急了道：“嫂子放尊重些。”说着浑身乱颤。金桂索性老着脸道：“你只管进来，我和你说一句要紧的话。”正闹着，忽听背后一个人叫道：“奶奶，香菱来了。”把金桂唬了一跳，回头瞧时，却是宝蟾掀着帘子看他二人的光景，一抬头见香菱从那边来了，赶忙知会金桂。金桂这一惊不小，手已松了。薛蝌得便脱身跑了。那香菱正走着，原不理会，忽听宝蟾一嚷，才瞧见金桂在那里拉住薛蝌往里死拽。香菱却唬的心头乱跳，自己连忙转身回去。这里金桂早已连吓带气，呆呆的瞅着薛蝌去了。怔了半天，恨了一声，自己扫兴归房，从此把香菱恨入骨髓。那香菱本是要到宝琴那里，刚走出腰门，看见这般，吓回去了。
是日，宝钗在贾母屋里听得王夫人告诉老太太要聘探春一事。贾母说道：“既是同乡的人，很好。只是听见说那孩子到过我们家里，怎么你老爷没有提起？”王夫人道：“连我们也不知道。”贾母道：“好便好，但是道儿太远。虽然老爷在那里，倘或将来老爷调任，可不是我们孩子太单了吗。”王夫人道：“两家都是做官的，也是拿不定。或者那边还调进来；即不然，终有个叶落归根。况且老爷既在那里做官，上司已经说了，好意思不给么？想来老爷的主意定了，只是不敢做主，故遣人来回老太太的。”贾母道：“你们愿意更好。只是三丫头这一去了，不知三年两年那边可能回家？若再迟了，恐怕我赶不上再见他一面了。”说着，掉下泪来。王夫人道：“孩子们大了，少不得总要给人家的。就是本乡本土的人，除非不做官还使得，若是做官的，谁保得住总在一处。只要孩子们有造化就好。譬如迎姑娘倒配得近呢，偏是时常听见他被女婿打闹〔三〕，甚至不给饭吃。就是我们送了东西去，他也摸不着。近来听见益发不好了，也不放他回来。两口子拌起来就说咱们使了他家的银钱。可怜这孩子总不得个出头的日子。前儿我惦记他，打发人去瞧他，迎丫头藏在耳房里不肯出来。老婆子们必要进去，看见我们姑娘这样冷天还穿着几件旧衣裳。他一包眼泪的告诉婆子们说：‘回去别说我这么苦，这也是命里所招，也不用送什么衣服东西来，不但摸不着，反要添一顿打。说是我告诉的。’老太太想想，这倒是近处眼见的，若不好更难受。倒亏了大太太也不理会他，大老爷也不出个头！如今迎姑娘实在比我们三等使唤的丫头还不如。我想探丫头虽不是我养的，老爷既看见过女婿，定然是好才许的。只请老太太示下，择个好日子，多派几个人送到他老爷任上。该怎么着，老爷也不肯将就。”贾母道：“有他老子作主，你就料理妥当，拣个长行的日子送去，也就定了一件事。”王夫人答应着“是”。宝钗听得明白，也不敢则声，只是心里叫苦：“我们家里姑娘们就算他是个尖儿，如今又要远嫁，眼看着这里的人一天少似一天了。”见王夫人起身告辞出去，他也送了出来，一径回到自己房中，并不与宝玉说话。见袭人独自一个做活，便将听见的话说了。袭人也很不受用。
却说赵姨娘听见探春这事，反欢喜起来，心里说道：“我这个丫头在家忒瞧不起我，我何从还是个娘，比他的丫头还不济。况且洑上水护着别人。他挡在头里，连环儿也不得出头。如今老爷接了去，我倒干净。想要他孝敬我，不能够了。只愿意他像迎丫头似的，我也称称愿。”一面想着，一面跑到探春那边与他道喜说：“姑娘，你是要高飞的人了，到了姑爷那边自然比家里还好。想来你也是愿意的。便是养了你一场，并没有借你的光儿。就是我有七分不好，也有三分的好，总不要〔四〕一去了把我搁在脑杓子后头。”探春听着毫无道理，只低头作活，一句也不言语。赵姨娘见他不理，气忿忿的自己去了。
这里探春又气又笑，又伤心，也不过自己掉泪而已。坐了一回，闷闷的走到宝玉这边来。宝玉因问道：“三妹妹，我听见林妹妹死的时候你在那里来着。我还听见说，林妹妹死的时候远远的有音乐之声。或者他是有来历的也未可知。”探春笑道：“那是你心里想着罢了。只是那夜却怪，不似人家鼓乐之音。你的话或者也是。”宝玉听了，更以为实。又想前日自己神魂飘荡之时，曾见一人，说是黛玉生不同人，死不同鬼，必是那里的仙子临凡。忽又想起那年唱戏做的嫦娥，飘飘艳艳，何等风致。过了一回，探春去了。因必要紫鹃过来，立刻回了贾母去叫他。无奈紫鹃心里不愿意，虽经贾母王夫人派了过来，也就没法，只是在宝玉跟前，不是嗳声，就是叹气的。宝玉背地里拉着他，低声下气要问黛玉的话，紫鹃从没好话回答。宝钗倒背地里夸他有忠心，并不嗔怪他。那雪雁虽是宝玉娶亲这夜出过力的，宝钗〔五〕见他心地不甚明白，便回了贾母王夫人，将他配了一个小厮，各自过活去了。王奶妈养着他，将来好送黛玉的灵柩回南。鹦哥等小丫头仍服侍了老太太〔六〕。宝玉本想念黛玉，因此及彼，又想跟黛玉的人已经云散，更加纳闷。闷到无可如何，忽又想起黛玉死得这样清楚，必是离凡返仙去了，反又欢喜。
忽然听见袭人和宝钗那里讲究探春出嫁之事，宝玉听了，啊呀的一声，哭倒在炕上。唬得宝钗袭人都来扶起说：“怎么了？”宝玉早哭的说不出来，定了一回子神，说道：“这日子过不得了！我姊妹们都一个一个的散了！林妹妹是成了仙去了。大姐姐呢已经死了，这也罢了，没天天在一块。二姐姐呢，碰着了一个混帐不堪的东西。三妹妹又要远嫁，总不得见的了。史妹妹又不知要到那里去。薛妹妹是有了人家的。这些姐姐妹妹，难道一个都不留在家里，单留我做什么！”袭人忙又拿话解劝。宝钗摆着手说：“你不用劝他，让我来问他。”因问着宝玉道：“据你的心里，要这些姐妹都在家里陪到你老了，都不要为终身的事吗？若说别人，或者还有别的想头。你自己的姐姐妹妹，不用说没有远嫁的；就是有，老爷作主，你有什么法儿！打量天下独是你一个人爱姐姐妹妹呢，若是都像你，就连我也不能陪你了。大凡人念书，原为的是明理，怎么你益发糊涂了。这么说起来，我同袭姑娘各自一边儿去，让你把姐姐妹妹们都邀了来守着你。”宝玉听了，两只手拉住宝钗袭人道：“我也知道。为什么散的这么早呢？等我化了灰的时候再散也不迟。”袭人掩着他的嘴道：“又胡说。才这两天身上好些，二奶奶才吃些饭。若是你又闹翻了，我也不管了。”宝玉慢慢的听他两个人说话都有道理，只是心上不知道怎样才好，只得强说道：“我却明白，但只是心里闹的慌。”宝钗也不理他，暗叫袭人快把定心丸给他吃了，慢慢的开导他。袭人便欲告诉探春说临行不必来辞，宝钗道：“这怕什么。等消停几日，待他心里明白，还要叫他们多说句话儿呢。况且三姑娘是极明白的人，不像那些假惺惺的人，少不得有一番箴谏。他以后便不是这样了。”正说着，贾母那边打发过鸳鸯来说，知道宝玉旧病又发，叫袭人劝说安慰，叫他不要胡思乱想。袭人等应了。鸳鸯坐了一会子去了。那贾母又想起探春远行，虽不备妆奁，其一应动用之物俱该预备，便把凤姐叫来，将老爷的主意告诉了一遍，即叫他料理去。凤姐答应，不知怎么办理，下回分解。
[1] 署——旧时称代理、暂任或试充官职叫署。
〔一〕 “我哥哥的事”，底本、藤本、金本同。程乙本作“咱们家的事”。
〔二〕 “怒气”，底本、藤本、王本同。程乙本作“恼意”。
〔三〕 “被他女婿打闹”，底本、藤本、金本同。程乙本作“他和女婿打闹”。
〔四〕 “总不要”，底本、藤本、金本同。程乙本作“也别说”。
〔五〕 “宝钗”，底本、藤本、金本同。程乙本作“宝玉”。
〔六〕 在前八十回中，紫鹃、鹦哥似即一人（参阅第九十七回校记〔七〕）。这里上文说黛玉死后，紫鹃已到宝玉处，此处又说“鹦哥等小丫头仍服侍了老太太”。因无他本可据校改，故仍其旧。
CHAPTER 100. Caltrop disturbs an elaborate seduction and inspires bitter resentment Bao-yu learns of a distressing betrothal and laments an imminent departure
Jia Zheng was with the Viceroy for a long time, and outside the yamen speculation mounted as to the reason for the summons. Li Ten, in the absence of any information, assumed that his master was wanted in connection with this latest trouble in the Gazette, and feared the worst. At last the interview was over, and Li hurried forward to meet Jia Zheng and accompany him home. He was too impatient to wait until their return, and as soon as they were alone he asked Jia Zheng:
‘What kept you so long, sir? Something of great importance, I suppose?’
Jia Zheng smiled.
‘Not really. It turns out that the Commandant of the Haimen region, who has offered his son’s hand in marriage to my daughter, is himself related to the Viceroy, and has written asking him to take a special interest in my well-being. The Viceroy was most affable, and even went so far as to say to me: “Now we are related too!” ’
Li rejoiced inwardly, seeing in this new turn of events cause to be bolder still in his own schemes. He encouraged Jia Zheng enthusiastically to proceed with the marriage.
Communications between Kiangsi and the capital were slow, and it was hard for Jia Zheng to know whether or not he was personally implicated in Xue Pan’s troubles. At such a great distance it would be difficult for him to influence the course of events in Xue Pan’s favour. When he returned to his own yamen, he despatched a family servant to the capital to ascertain exactly what had happened, and at the same time to carry a message to Grandmother Jia, informing her of the marriage proposal. If she agreed, he suggested that Tan-chun should be sent straight away to join him, in preparation for the wedding. The servant set off with all speed for the capital. He reported first to Lady Wang, and then went to the Board of Civil Office, where his enquiries revealed that the only person to have suffered in the Xue Pan affair was the acting magistrate of Tai-ping, who had lost his job, and that Jia Zheng was not in any way implicated. The servant sent back a reassuring report to Jia Zheng, himself remaining behind to await further developments.
It will be remembered to what lengths Aunt Xue had gone, and with what large sums of money she had bribed the various courts involved, to bring in a verdict of ‘accidental homicide’ in the earlier stages of Xue Pan’s case. She had been proposing to raise the money for his fine by selling the family pawnshop business. Now when she heard of the new verdict brought by the Board of Punishments, she sent still more bribes, but to no avail. The sentence was confirmed – death by strangulation after the Autumn Assizes. Day and night she wept tears of grief and rage.
Bao-chai visited her several times and tried to offer consolation:
‘Brother Pan must have been born under an unlucky star, Mama! With the fortune that Grandpa left, he should have been able to lead a quiet and comfortable life. But instead it’s been one disaster after another. First came Nanking and that disgraceful business over Caltrop. He was entirely to blame for that poor young man’s death, and it was just lucky for him that we still had plenty of pull and money in those days, and were able to get him off.
‘You’d have thought a scrape like that would have been enough to make him mend his ways. You’d have thought he might have taken life a bit more seriously after that and devoted more time to looking after his own mother. But no, as soon as we arrived here, it was the same story all over again. I hate to think how much you’ve suffered on his account, Mama, how many tears you’ve shed. Then he got married, and at last we thought life might quieten down a bit for all of us. But fate evidently had something else in mind. Eventually that dreadful woman drove him away with her insufferable carryings-on.
‘And even that was not the end of it. As the saying goes: “Fate moves in a narrow lane, and collisions are hard to avoid!” It was only a few days before he was mixed up in this new murder case! You and Cousin Ke have done everything you possibly could. Apart from all the money you’ve spent, you’ve never stopped asking for help and thinking of ways to get him out. You can’t go on struggling with fate. He’ll have to pay the price for his own misdeeds.
‘Most parents look to their children for support in their old age, and even in poor families a man will do his best to earn his mother a bowl of rice. But what has Pan done? Squandered a ready-made fortune, and made your life a misery. I know I shouldn’t say this, but the truth is, he’s the bane of your life, an affliction sent to test you, not a real son to you. You refuse to accept the truth, and wear yourself out like this, weeping at all hours of the day and night. You’ve got quite enough to cope with already, what with Jin-gui and her tantrums. It worries me so, seeing you in this state. I only wish I could be here with you all the time, and help keep the peace. But I can’t. Bao-yu would never let me come back, however half-witted he may be.
‘The other day Sir Zheng sent a message home to say how shocked he was to read the report in the Gazette. He has already sent one of his men to try to intervene on Pan’s behalf. So you see – there are so many people trying to help Pan out of this mess he’s made. And thank goodness I’m at least close by. I think if I were living a long way off and heard that this had happened, I’d simply die worrying about you. Please, Mama, give yourself a moment’s respite. Be thankful that Pan is still alive. Use this opportunity to take stock. Ask one of the older men in the firm to find out what we owe and what we are owed, and see exactly how much we have left.’
‘Dear girl,’ said Aunt Xue tearfully, ‘the past few days I have been so preoccupied with your brother I simply haven’t had time to tell you of our own troubles. Whenever you’ve come to see me it’s either been you trying to cheer me up or me giving you the latest news from the yamen. I haven’t told you the worst. We have been struck off the register of court purveyors. Two of our pawnshops have been sold and we have already spent the money from the sale, while the manager of the other pawnshop has run off with thousands of taels and we’re involved in another court case over that. Your cousin Ke has been out every day trying to collect some of the money owing to us. Our liabilities here will probably amount to several tens of thousands of taels, and we shall have to sell our share of the Nanking joint-stock business and some property as well, in order to meet our obligations. Two days ago I even heard a rumour that the pawnbroking side of the Nanking business has gone bankrupt and been closed down! If that turns out to be true, I really have come to the end of the road!’
Aunt Xue began weeping hysterically. Bao-chai was also in tears by now, but tried to comfort her:
‘There’s no sense in your distressing yourself about the finances, Mama. Let Cousin Ke take care of that. Though I must say it is distressing to see our employees abandon us and turn against us the moment we’re down on our luck. I can understand them wanting to save their own skins; but I know that some of them are actually encouraging outsiders to cheat us out of our money. As for Pan’s friends, it’s a waste of time expecting any help from them. The only thing they’re any good for is parties. The first sign of trouble and they’re off.
‘If you love me, Mama, please listen to my words of advice. At your age it’s time you took more care of yourself and worried about others less. Remember, even if the worst comes to the worst, you’ll manage somehow or other. Forget about the clothes and furniture. Let Jin-gui have them. Not many of the servants or serving-women will want to stay on, so you may as well let most of them go too. I feel sorry for Caltrop. After everything she’s been through, I think you should keep her on with you. If you ever run short of anything, I can always help out, provided we’ve got it at home. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. And Aroma is a decent sort of girl. She knows about our troubles; in fact the slightest mention of your name brings tears to her eyes. He doesn’t know that anything’s the matter, so he hasn’t been particularly worried. If he were to learn the truth, I think the shock might be too much for him.’
‘Dear girl,’ said Aunt Xue, not waiting for her to finish, ‘whatever you do, don’t tell him. He nearly died on account of Miss Lin. He’s a little better now. If he were to have a sudden relapse, it would be such a trial for you! And then if you had to spend all your time nursing him, I should be robbed of my last source of comfort.’
‘I’ve thought of that,’ replied Bao-chai. ‘That’s why I haven’t told him.’
At that very moment Xue Pan’s wife Jin-gui came running into the outer room, screaming:
‘What’s the good of being alive? My man’s done for now anyway. It’s no use pretending! The least we can do is march along to the execution ground and put up a fight! We’ve got nothing to lose!’
With this she began banging her head against the wooden partition, till her hair came undone and fell in disorder about her shoulders. Aunt Xue could only stare at her in speechless rage, while Bao-chai tried to reason with her ‘dear sister-in-law’, her ‘good sister-in-law’, all to no avail.
‘Dear Mrs Bao!’ retorted Jin-gui. ‘We all know how well you’ve done for yourself. You and your dear Mr Bao will live happily ever after, I dare say! But I’m all on my own. I’m long past caring about appearances!’
She announced her intention of returning to her mother’s, and made a dash for the street. Luckily there were enough people present to stop her, and eventually they managed to calm her down. Bao-qin, who was at this time still staying with Aunt Xue, in preparation for her own wedding, was so horrified by Jin-gui’s behaviour that she resolved to keep well out of her way from then on.
Whenever Xue Ke was at home, Jin-gui would select one of her more provocative gowns and issue forth, her cheeks heavily powdered and rouged, her eyebrows pencilled, her hair dressed in its most alluring style. She would contrive to walk past his apartment, where she would give an artificial-sounding cough, or ask innocently who was inside. If she encountered him in person, she would at once waylay him and attempt to beguile him with seductive small-talk, simpering, pouting and purring by turns, displaying for his benefit the full range of her feminine charms. When the maids saw what she was up to, they beat a hasty retreat. Jin-gui carried on regardless, intent on executing Moonbeam’s plan for the conquest of Xue Ke. He for his part avoided her if he could, and if he could not, endeavoured to be civil, out of a fear that she might otherwise cause worse trouble for him.
But Jin-gui’s infatuation blinded her to the truth, so that Xue Ke’s courteous manner only fanned the flames of her desire. The one thing she could not help noticing, however, the one detail that marred the illusion, was the way in which the object of her passion entrusted every smallest thing of his to Caltrop. The sorting, mending and washing of his clothes, all were given to her. And if she, Jin-gui, entered the room while the two of them were talking, she noticed how they hurriedly went their separate ways, as if she had intruded on some intimate tête-à-tête. All of this inflamed her jealousy. She could not, however, bring herself to confront Xue Ke directly about it, for fear that any move against Caltrop might set Xue Ke against herself. Instead she decided to bide her time, and continued to accumulate a deep and bitter store of resentment towards her rival.
One day Moonbeam came into her room and tittered:
‘Mrs Pan, have you seen Master Ke?’
Jin-gui: ‘I have not.’
Moonbeam: ‘I told you he was fooling us with all that strait-laced talk of his. When we sent him some wine, he said he didn’t drink; but just now I saw him at Mrs Xue’s, quite tipsy and red in the face. If you don’t believe me, why, go and wait for him in the doorway. He’ll be coming this way. Stop him and ask him. See what he says.’
Jin-gui (annoyed): ‘I’m sure he won’t be coming out just yet. Anyway, he’s such a cold fish. Words are wasted on him.’
Moonbeam: ‘You’re just being silly again, ma’am. Why not give it a try? If he plays, we can play too. If not, we’ll just have to think of another way.’
Perhaps she’s right after all, Jin-gui thought to herself. She posted Moonbeam outside to keep watch for Xue Ke, and went in once more to her dressing-table. She opened her mirror and looked herself up and down. A little more lipstick, a flowery handkerchief, and she was ready for the fray. Or almost ready: she still felt there was something missing, but before she could think what it was that she needed to add that final touch, she heard Moonbeam’s voice outside:
‘You seem in high spirits today, Master Ke! Been drinking somewhere, have you?’
This was her cue. Jin-gui raised the portière and stepped out just in time to hear Xue Ke’s reply:
‘Our manager Mr Zhang is celebrating his birthday today, and I was pressed into drinking half a cup. My face is still burning from it.’
Before he had finished, Jin-gui moved into the attack:
‘Other people’s wine has more flavour than ours, I dare say …’
Xue Ke felt the sting of her remark and blushed a deeper shade of red. He took a step towards her and said with a polite smile:
‘Of course not, sister-in-law.’
Now that the conversation was launched, Moonbeam disappeared inside and left them to it. Jin-gui had intended to feign anger with her darling, but there was something so appealingly boyish about the flush on his cheeks and the slightly befuddled innocence in his eyes, that her heart melted and her feigned hostility fled to the distant land of Java. She smiled.
‘You mean, you have to be led to water … ’
‘Precisely. I’m really no drinker.’
‘I’m glad to hear it. Better than your cousin, anyway, forever boozing his way into trouble. At least your wife won’t be left to sleep in an empty bed …’
She narrowed her eyes at him suggestively, and her cheeks began to glow. Xue Ke saw serious danger ahead, and decided to make a dash for it while he still could. But he was too slow. Jin-gui was not going to let him slip through her fingers now! In a second she was on him and had him in her clutches.
‘Sister-in-law!’ cried Xue Ke in consternation. ‘This is most undignified!’
He was trembling all over. Jin-gui threw caution to the winds.
‘Come in here with me. There’s something important I have to tell you.’
Things had reached this critical juncture when a voice behind her called:
‘Mrs Pan! It’s Caltrop. She’s coming this way!’
Jin-gui glanced wildly behind her. Moonbeam had lifted the portière to observe the course the interview was taking; and then when she caught sight of Caltrop coming from the other direction, had hastened to warn Jin-gui. Jin-gui in her panic relaxed her grip, and Xue Ke seized his chance of escape. Caltrop herself had noticed nothing and had been walking innocently on her way until Moonbeam called out, when she looked round and to her horror saw Jin-gui dragging Xue Ke into her boudoir. Caltrop immediately turned about and, heart thumping, began walking back in the direction she had come from. Jin-gui stood there a while, and stared in angry dismay after the vanishing form of Xue Ke. Then she gave a snort of exasperation and withdrew to her apartment, smarting with thwarted desire. Caltrop, who had come through the side gate and was making her way to Bao-qin’s when she stumbled upon them, hurried back to her room.
Resentment towards Caltrop now festered within Jin-gui’s bosom, and the poison worked its way into the very marrow of her being.
Later that same day, Bao-chai was in Grandmother Jia’s apartment, and heard Lady Wang speaking of the betrothal Jia Zheng had proposed for Tan-chun.
‘I’m glad the boy’s from a Nanking family,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘But if he came here once before, I can’t understand why Zheng has never mentioned it.’
‘We knew nothing about it either,’ said Lady Wang.
‘I can see advantages in the match,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘The only objection is the dreadful distance involved. I know that Zheng is posted there at present. But supposing he is transferred later on, poor Tan will be so isolated.’
‘With official families, there’s no telling where they may be posted,’ replied Lady Wang. ‘The boy’s father may also be recalled to the capital. Even if he isn‘t, one way or another “the falling leaf returns to the root”, as they say: they’re bound to come home sooner or later. Besides, Zheng’s superior is in favour of the match, and it would be very difficult for him to refuse. I think he has more or less made up his mind already, and has only written to you for your formal approval, Mother.’
‘If you are both in favour of it,’ said Grandmother Jia, ‘then well and good. It grieves me, though, to think how long it may be before Tan is able to come back and visit us. If it is more than a year or two, I fear I may no longer be alive to see her.’
She wept as she spoke.
‘Marriage is something that happens to every girl once she grows up,’ said Lady Wang, ‘and even if the husband’s family is a local one, you can never be sure that the two of them will stay in the district. He may always be posted away from home. That’s one of the hazards of official life. The most important thing is that they should be happy together. Take Ying-chun’s case. Her husband lives nearby. But that has not meant happiness for her. They never seem to stop fighting, and now he won’t even feed her properly, and forbids her to touch any of the things we send. And from what I hear, things are getting worse. He won’t allow her to come and visit us, and when the two of them quarrel, he pointedly reminds her that we owe his family money. Poor child! The future looks very bleak for her. The other day I was worried on her account and sent some of my women to call at the Sun home. Ying-chun was hiding in a side-room and wouldn’t come out to see them. They insisted on going in, and found her freezing to death, poor thing, with nothing on but some threadbare old clothes. And it was a bitterly cold day! She broke down in front of them and begged them not to reveal her miserable plight to us at home. “It’s my fate to suffer like this,” she said. And we’re not to send her any more clothes or food or anything. They never reach her, and her husband will only accuse her of complaining again and give her another beating. So you see, Mother, Ying may be close at hand, but the very closeness only makes her suffering harder for us to bear. Her mother turns a blind eye, and her father has refused to intervene at all. She is worse off than one of our lowest-grade maids!
‘Although Tan is not my own daughter, I’m sure Zheng wants to do the best for her. He has obviously seen the boy and must approve of him or he wouldn’t be in favour of the match. So I hope you’ll agree, and then we can choose a lucky day for her to make the journey and send a proper escort to accompany her to Zheng’s official residence. I am sure Zheng will see to it at his end that everything is done in a fitting manner.’
‘Very well then,’ Grandmother Jia concurred. ‘I’ll go along with Zheng’s idea, and I leave it to you to make the necessary arrangements. Choose a suitable day in the almanac for travelling. There, the matter is settled now.’
‘Yes, Mother.’
Bao-chai heard all this clearly, and although she did not breathe a word of protest, she thought to herself sadly:
‘Tan is one of the very best of us. And now she is being married as well and sent away. One by one our numbers are dwindling.’
Seeing that Lady Wang had risen and was taking her leave, Bao-chai accompanied her out of the room and then returned immediately to her own apartment. She said nothing to Bao-yu of Tan-chun’s engagement, but told Aroma later, when she found her sewing on her own. Aroma too was very unhappy at the news.
Aunt Zhao, on the other hand, was positively delighted.
‘The girl’s shown me nothing but disrespect,’ she thought to herself. ‘No one would ever have guessed that I was her mother! I receive worse treatment at her hands than one of her maids! She’s always trying to better herself, and sides with anyone rather than her own mother or brother. With her in the way, Huan would never have been able to get anywhere. If her father has sent for her, then good riddance! I’ve given up hoping for any respect from her. I hope she’s as miserable as Ying is. I’d be glad to see it happen.’
She hurried over to Tan-chun’s apartment to offer her ‘congratulations’.
‘You certainly are on your way up in the world, my dear!’ she crowed. ‘I’m sure life at your new home will be even more to your liking than it is here. You must be pleased. Now remember, I am your mother, for all the good it’s ever done me. So don’t think of me as all bad. And don’t forget about me altogether when you’re gone.’
Tan-chun refused to respond to this display of spite and kept her head bent silently over her needlework. Aunt Zhao was effectively snubbed and left the room in a state of high dudgeon.
Tan-chun could see the ridiculous side of her mother’s behaviour, but none the less it left her feeling both angry and wounded, and she sat for some time weeping quietly to herself. Eventually she walked out in a weary and dejected frame of mind, thinking she would like to drop in on Bao-yu.
‘Tell me, Tan,’ he said, the moment she entered his apartment, ‘I know that you were with Cousin Lin when she died, and that you heard music in the distance. Do you think there was some unexplained mystery behind it? Do you think Cousin Lin was really a fairy, and that at her death she was merely returning to her heavenly abode?’
Tan-chun smiled.
‘That sounds like another of your fancies. It was a strange night, though, that’s certainly true; and the music was unlike any that I’ve ever heard before. Who knows, you may even be right.’
Bao-yu took this as confirmation of his hypothesis. He also recalled the words of the man he had encountered in his strange dream of a few months before, who had said that Dai-yu was ‘no ordinary mortal and no ordinary shade, but a visitor from some immortal realm’. This mingled in his mind with another vivid memory, that of the Moon Goddess in the play he had seen the previous year. The Goddess and Dai-yu possessed the same ethereal beauty, the same otherworldly charm … After a while, when Tan-chun had gone, he felt a sudden and overwhelming urge to have Nightingale close at hand, and asked Grandmother Jia to send her over to his apartment.
Nightingale was unwilling, on this as on previous occasions, to comply with Bao-yu’s request; but she could hardly disobey an order emanating from Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang. Whenever she was in Bao-yu’s presence, she did nothing but sigh, in a way that seemed to express both grief (for her mistress) and disapproval (of Bao-yu). When they were alone together, and Bao-yu took her by the hand and asked her very tenderly to speak to him about Dai-yu, she always refused to confide in him. Bao-chai observed this attitude of hers, and far from being cross, commended her to others for her loyalty to her mistress. As for Snowgoose, although it was she who had come forward to assist at the wedding, Bao-chai thought her rather a silly sort of girl and asked Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang to marry her off to one of the pages and set them up on their own somewhere. Nannie Wang had been retained to escort Dai-yu’s coffin to the South at a later date, while Dai-yu’s junior maids were transferred to Grandmother Jia’s apartment.
Bao-yu’s grief for Dai-yu and his general state of gloom were further compounded when he considered this dispersal of the remaining occupants of the Naia’s House. Then suddenly her death struck him in a new light: Dai-yu had been (or so Tan-chun had told him) perfectly lucid at her moment of death; this lucidity, when combined with the strange music, constituted conclusive proof that she had left this world to return to a higher one; and that surely was cause for joy! His new-found joy was short-lived, however, for presently he overheard Bao-chai and Aroma in the next room discussing the impending marriage of Tan-hun. With a cry of dismay, he fell back weeping on the kang. Bao-chai and Aroma came hurrying in to support him, with cries of ‘What’s the matter?’, but he was too distraught to reply. After a while he composed himself sufficiently to speak:
‘This is the final blow! One by one all my sisters and cousins have been taken away from me! Cousin Lin has joined the ranks of the fairies; my eldest sister has died – though it’s true that even in her lifetime we had little enough chance to be together; Ying is coupled with that brute; now Tan is being sent to the ends of the earth to be married, and I shall never set eyes on her again! As for Xiang-yun, who knows where she will end up? Bao-qin is engaged to be married and won’t be with us much longer. Will no one be spared? Am I to be left here all on my own?’
Aroma was ready with words of comfort, but Bao-chai silenced her with a wave of her hand:
‘Don’t humour him. Let me ask him a question instead.’
She turned to Bao-yu.
‘What is it that you want exactly? Do you expect all your cousins to stay here and grow up into old maids, just in order to keep you company in your dotage? Don’t they have your gracious permission to marry and lead their own lives? Tan is the first of your sisters to be sent such a long way from home, and since it’s Father’s decision there’s no going against it. As for the others, has it never occurred to you that they might have plans of their own? You’re not the only person in the world with feelings of brotherly love, you know. But if everyone with those feelings adopted your attitude, for a start, I wouldn’t be living with you now, I’d still be at home.
‘Honestly! Reading books is supposed to improve the mind and foster a more sensible approach to life. But your wits seem more addled than ever! If that’s what you really think, Aroma and I may as well go and live somewhere else. Then you can go ahead and invite all the others to move in and look after you.’
Bao-yu took both of them by the hand:
‘I know you’re right. But why must it happen so soon? Couldn’t they wait till I am dust and ashes!’
Aroma put her hand over his mouth:
‘There you go! More nonsense! You’ve only just begun to recover, and Mrs Bao’s getting her appetite back again at last. If you make another scene I shall wash my hands of you altogether!’
Bao-yu knew that they were talking sense. But in his heart he couldn’t find a way to their sensible point of view. ‘What you are saying is obviously right,’ he moaned. ‘But what can I do? I feel so utterly wretched.’
Bao-chai said nothing more but secretly despatched Aroma to fetch him a sedative. They did their best to calm him down, and Aroma suggested to Bao-chai that they should ask Tan-chun to refrain from calling on Bao-yu before her departure.
‘There’s no need to worry,’ said Bao-chai. ‘In a day or two, when he’s in a more reasonable frame of mind, it would actually be a good thing for them to have a long talk. Tan is an extremely intelligent person, and not the type to pander to the sensibilities of others. I’m sure she’ll give him some sound advice, and help to cure him from thinking in this way.’
Meanwhile Faithful arrived with a message from Grandmother Jia who had just learned of Bao-yu’s relapse. Aroma was to comfort him and on no account to allow him to fret. Aroma assured Faithful that she would follow Grandmother Jia’s instructions, and after sitting with them for a short while Faithful returned.
Grandmother Jia was also concerned about the preparations for Tan-chun’s departure. Although Tan-chun would not be travelling with a complete trousseau, they should nevertheless provide her with all the personal effects she might need. Grandmother Jia sent for Xi-feng, told her of Jia Zheng’s decision and placed these arrangements in her hands. Xi-feng undertook this responsibility, but to learn how she managed you must turn to the next chapter.