第一一七回

第一一七回 阻超凡佳人双护玉 欣聚党恶子独承家

话说王夫人打发人来叫宝钗过去商量，宝玉听见说是和尚在外头，赶忙的独自一人走到前头，嘴里乱嚷道：“我的师父在那里？”叫了半天，并不见有和尚，只得走到外面。见李贵将和尚拦住，不放他进来。宝玉便说道：“太太叫我请师父进去。”李贵听了松了手，那和尚便摇摇摆摆的进去。宝玉看见那僧的形状与他死去时所见的一般，心里早有些明白了，便上前施礼，连叫：“师父，弟子迎候来迟。”那僧说：“我不要你们接待，只要银子，拿了来我就走。”宝玉听来又不像有道行的话，看他满头癞疮，混身腌破烂，心里想道：“自古说‘真人不露相，露相不真人’，也不可当面错过，我且应了他谢银，并探探他的口气。”便说道：“师父不必性急，现在家母料理，请师父坐下略等片刻。弟子请问，师父可是从‘太虚幻境’而来？”那和尚道：“什么幻境，不过是来处来去处去罢了！我是送还你的玉来的。我且问你，那玉是从那里来的？”宝玉一时对答不来。那僧笑道：“你自己的来路还不知，便来问我！”宝玉本来颖悟，又经点化，早把红尘看破，只是自己的底里未知；一闻那僧问起玉来，好像当头一棒，便说道：“你也不用银子了，我把那玉还你罢。”那僧笑道：“也该还我了。”

宝玉也不答言，往里就跑，走到自己院内，见宝钗袭人等都到王夫人那里去了，忙向自己床边取了那玉便走出来。迎面碰见了袭人，撞了一个满怀，把袭人唬了一跳，说道：“太太说，你陪着和尚坐着很好，太太在那里打算送他些银两。你又回来做什么？”宝玉道：“你快去回太太，说不用张罗银两了，我把这玉还了他就是了。”袭人听说，即忙拉住宝玉道：“这断使不得的！那玉就是你的命，若是他拿去了，你又要病着了。”宝玉道：“如今不再病的了，我已经有了心了，要那玉何用！”摔脱袭人，便要想走。袭人急得赶着嚷道：“你回来，我告诉你一句话。”宝玉回过头来道：“没有什么说的了。”袭人顾不得什么，一面赶着跑，一面嚷道：“上回丢了玉，几乎没有把我的命要了！刚刚儿的有了，你拿了去，你也活不成，我也活不成了！你要还他，除非是叫我死了！”说着，赶上一把拉住。宝玉急了道：“你死也要还，你不死也要还！”狠命的把袭人一推，抽身要走。怎奈袭人两只手绕着宝玉的带子不放松，哭喊着坐在地下。里面的丫头听见连忙赶来，瞧见他两个人的神情不好，只听见袭人哭道：“快告诉太太去，宝二爷要把那玉去还和尚呢！”丫头赶忙飞报王夫人。那宝玉更加生气，用手来掰开了袭人的手，幸亏袭人忍痛不放。紫鹃在屋里听见宝玉要把玉给人，这一急比别人更甚，把素日冷淡宝玉的主意都忘在九霄云外了，连忙跑出来帮着抱住宝玉。那宝玉虽是个男人，用力摔打，怎奈两个人死命的抱住不放，也难脱身，叹口气道：“为一块玉这样死命的不放，若是我一个人走了，又待怎么样呢？”袭人紫鹃听到那里，不禁嚎啕大哭起来。

正在难分难解，王夫人宝钗急忙赶来，见是这样形景，便哭着喝道：“宝玉，你又疯了吗！”宝玉见王夫人来了，明知不能脱身，只得陪笑说道：“这当什么，又叫太太着急。他们总是这样大惊小怪的，我说那和尚不近人情，他必要一万银子，少一个不能。我生气进来拿这玉还他，就说是假的，要这玉干什么。他见得我们不希罕那玉，便随意给他些就过去了。”王夫人道：“我打量真要还他，这也罢了。为什么不告诉明白了他们，叫他们哭哭喊喊的像什么。”宝钗道：“这么说呢倒还使得。要是真拿那玉给他，那和尚有些古怪，倘或一给了他，又闹到家口不宁，岂不是不成事了么？至于银钱呢，就把我的头面折变了，也还够了呢。”王夫人听了道：“也罢了，且就这么办罢。”宝玉也不回答。只见宝钗走上来在宝玉手里拿了这玉，说道：“你也不用出去，我合太太给他钱就是了。”宝玉道：“玉不还他也使得，只是我还得当面见他一见才好。”袭人等仍不肯放手，到底宝钗明决，说：“放了手由他去就是了。”袭人只得放手。宝玉笑道：“你们这些人原来重玉不重人哪。你们既放了我，我便跟着他走了，看你们就守着那块玉怎么样！”袭人心里又着急起来，仍要拉他，只碍着王夫人和宝钗的面前，又不好太露轻薄。恰好宝玉一撒手就走了。袭人忙叫小丫头在三门口传了焙茗等，“告诉外头照应着二爷，他有些疯了。”小丫头答应了出去。

王夫人宝钗等进来坐下，问起袭人来由，袭人便将宝玉的话细细说了。王夫人宝钗甚是不放心，又叫人出去吩咐众人伺候，听着和尚说些什么。回来小丫头传话进来回王夫人道：“二爷真有些疯了。外头小厮们说，里头不给他玉，他也没法，如今身子出来了，求着那和尚带了他去。”王夫人听了说道：“这还了得！那和尚说什么来着？”小丫头回道：“和尚说要玉不要人。”宝钗道：“不要银子了么？”小丫头道：“没听见说，后来和尚和二爷两个人说着笑着，有好些话外头小厮们都不大懂。”王夫人道：“糊涂东西，听不出来，学是自然学得来的。”便叫小丫头：“你把那小厮叫进来。”小丫头连忙出去叫进那小厮，站在廊下，隔着窗户请了安。王夫人便问道：“和尚和二爷的话你们不懂，难道学也学不来吗？”那小厮回道：“我们只听见说什么‘大荒山’，什么‘青埂峰’，又说什么‘太虚境’，‘斩断尘缘’这些话。”王夫人听了也不懂。宝钗听了，唬得两眼直瞪，半句话都没有了。

正要叫人出去拉宝玉进来，只见宝玉笑嘻嘻的进来说：“好了，好了。”宝钗仍是发怔。王夫人道：“你疯疯颠颠的说的是什么？”宝玉道：“正经话又说我疯颠。那和尚与我原认得的，他不过也是要来见我一见。他何尝是真要银子呢，也只当化个善缘就是了。所以说明了他自己就飘然而去了。这可不是好了么！”王夫人不信，又隔着窗户问那小厮。那小厮连忙出去问了门上的人，进来回说：“果然和尚走了。说请太太们放心，我原不要银子，只要宝二爷时常到他那里去去就是了。诸事只要随缘，自有一定的道理。”王夫人道：“原来是个好和尚，你们曾问住在那里？”门上道：“奴才也问来着，他说我们二爷是知道的。”王夫人问宝玉道：“他到底住在那里？”宝玉笑道：“这个地方说远就远，说近就近。”宝钗不待说完，便道：“你醒醒儿罢，别尽着迷在里头。现在老爷太太就疼你一个人，老爷还吩咐叫你干功名长进呢。”宝玉道：“我说的不是功名么！你们不知道，‘一子出家，七祖升天’呢。”王夫人听到那里，不觉伤心起来，说：“我们的家运怎么好，一个四丫头口口声声要出家，如今又添出一个来了。我这样个日子过他做什么！”说着，大哭起来。宝钗见王夫人伤心，只得上前苦劝。宝玉笑道：“我说了这一句顽话，太太又认起真来了。”王夫人止住哭声道：“这些话也是混说的么！”

正闹着，只见丫头来回话：“琏二爷回来了，颜色大变，说请太太回去说话。”王夫人又吃了一惊，说道：“将就些，叫他进来罢，小婶子也是旧亲，不用回避了。”贾琏进来，见了王夫人请了安。宝钗迎着也问了贾琏的安。回说道：“刚才接了我父亲的书信，说是病重的很，叫我就去，若迟了恐怕不能见面。”说到那里，眼泪便掉下来了。王夫人道：“书上写的是什么病？”贾琏道：“写的是感冒风寒起来的，如今成了痨病了。现在危急，专差一个人连日连夜赶来的，说如若再耽搁一两天就不能见面了。故来回太太，侄儿必得就去才好。只是家里没人照管。蔷儿芸儿虽说糊涂，到底是个男人，外头有了事来还可传个话。侄儿家里倒没有什么事，秋桐是天天哭着喊着不愿意在这里，侄儿叫了他娘家的人来领了去了，倒省了平儿好些气。虽是巧姐没人照应，还亏平儿的心不很坏。妞儿心里也明白，只是性气比他娘还刚硬些，求太太时常管教管教他。”说着眼圈儿一红，连忙把腰里拴槟榔荷包的小绢子拉下来擦眼。王夫人道：“放着他亲祖母在那里，托我做什么。”贾琏轻轻的说道：“太太要说这个话，侄儿就该活活儿的打死了。没什么说的，总求太太始终疼侄儿就是了。”说着，就跪下来了。王夫人也眼圈儿红了，说：“你快起来，娘儿们说话儿，这是怎么说。只是一件，孩子也大了，倘或你父亲有个一差二错又耽搁住了，或者有个门当户对的来说亲，还是等你回来，还是你太太作主？”贾琏道：“现在太太们在家，自然是太太们做主，不必等我。”王夫人道：“你要去，就写了禀帖给二老爷送个信，说家下无人，你父亲不知怎样，快请二老爷将老太太的大事早早的完结，快快回来。”贾琏答应了“是”，正要走出去，复转回来回说道：“咱们家的家下人家里还够使唤，只是园里没有人太空了。包勇又跟了他们老爷去了。姨太太住的房子，薛二爷已搬到自己的房子内住了。园里一带屋子都空着，忒没照应，还得太太叫人常查看查看。那栊翠庵原是咱们家的地基，如今妙玉不知那里去了，所有的根基他的当家女尼不敢自己作主，要求府里一个人管理管理。”王夫人道：“自己的事还闹不清，还搁得住外头的事么。这句话好歹别叫四丫头知道，若是他知道了，又要吵着出家的念头出来了。你想咱们家什么样的人家，好好的姑娘出了家，还了得！”贾琏道：“太太不提起侄儿也不敢说，四妹妹到底是东府里的，又没有父母，他亲哥哥又在外头，他亲嫂子又不大说的上话。侄儿听见要寻死觅活了好几次。他既是心里这么着的了，若是牛着他，将来倘或认真寻了死，比出家更不好了。”王夫人听了点头道：“这件事真真叫我也难担。我也做不得主，由他大嫂子去就是了。”

贾琏又说了几句才出来，叫了众家人来交代清楚，写了书，收拾了行装，平儿等不免叮咛了好些话。只有巧姐儿惨伤的了不得，贾琏又欲托王仁照应，巧姐到底不愿意；听见外头托了芸蔷二人，心里更不受用，嘴里却说不出来，只得送了他父亲，谨谨慎慎的随着平儿过日子。丰儿小红因凤姐去世，告假的告假，告病的告病，平儿意欲接了家中一个姑娘来，一则给巧姐作伴，二则可以带量他。遍想无人，只有喜鸾四姐儿是贾母旧日钟爱的，偏偏四姐儿新近出了嫁了，喜鸾也有了人家儿，不日就要出阁，也只得罢了。

且说贾芸贾蔷送了贾琏，便进来见了邢、王二夫人。他两个倒替着在外书房住下，日间便与家人厮闹，有时找了几个朋友吃个车箍辘会[1]，甚至聚赌，里头那里知道。一日邢大舅王仁来，瞧见了贾芸贾蔷住在这里，知他热闹，也就借着照看的名儿时常在外书房设局赌钱喝酒。所有几个正经的家人，贾政带了几个去，贾琏又跟去了几个，只有那赖林诸家的儿子侄儿。那些少年托着老子娘的福吃喝惯了的，那知当家立计的道理。况且他们长辈都不在家，便是没笼头的马了，又有两个旁主人怂恿，无不乐为。这一闹，把个荣国府闹得没上没下，没里没外。那贾蔷还想勾引宝玉，贾芸拦住道：“宝二爷那个人没运气的，不用惹他。那一年我给他说了一门子绝好的亲，父亲在外头做税官，家里开几个当铺，姑娘长的比仙女儿还好看。我巴巴儿的细细的写了一封书子给他，谁知他没造化——”说到这里，瞧了瞧左右无人，又说：“他心里早和咱们这个二婶娘好上了。你没听见说，还有一个林姑娘呢，弄的害了相思病死的，谁不知道。这也罢了，各自的姻缘罢咧。谁知他为这件事倒恼了我了，总不大理。他打谅谁必是借谁的光儿呢。”贾蔷听了点点头，才把这个心歇了。

他两个还不知道宝玉自会那和尚以后，他是欲断尘缘。一则在王夫人跟前不敢任性，已与宝钗袭人等皆不大款洽了。那些丫头不知道，还要逗他，宝玉那里看得到眼里。他也并不将家事放在心里。时常王夫人宝钗劝他念书，他便假作攻书，一心想着那个和尚引他到那仙境的机关。心目中触处皆为俗人，却在家难受，闲来倒与惜春闲讲。他们两个人讲得上了，那种心更加准了几分，那里还管贾环贾兰等。那贾环为他父亲不在家，赵姨娘已死，王夫人不大理会他，便入了贾蔷一路。倒是彩云时常规劝，反被贾环辱骂。玉钏儿见宝玉疯颠更甚，早和他娘说了要求着出去。如今宝玉贾环他哥儿两个各有一种脾气，闹得人人不理。独有贾兰跟着他母亲上紧攻书，作了文字送到学里请教代儒。因近来代儒老病在床，只得自己刻苦。李纨是素来沉静，除了请王夫人的安，会会宝钗，馀者一步不走，只有看着贾兰攻书。所以荣府住的人虽不少，竟是各自过各自的，谁也不肯做谁的主。贾环贾蔷等愈闹的不像事了，甚至偷典偷卖，不一而足。贾环更加宿娼滥赌，无所不为。

一日邢大舅王仁都在贾家外书房喝酒，一时高兴，叫了几个陪酒的来唱着喝着劝酒。贾蔷便说：“你们闹的太俗。我要行个令儿。”众人道：“使得。”贾蔷道：“咱们‘月’字流觞[2]罢。我先说起‘月’字，数到那个便是那个喝酒，还要酒面酒底。须得依着令官，不依者罚三大杯。”众人都依了。贾蔷喝了一杯令酒，便说：“飞羽觞而醉月。”[3]顺饮数到贾环。贾蔷说：“酒面要个‘桂’字。”贾环便说道：“‘冷露无声湿桂花’[4]。酒底呢？”贾蔷道：“说个‘香’字。”贾环道：“天香云外飘。”[5]大舅说道：“没趣，没趣。你又懂得什么字了，也假斯文起来！这不是取乐，竟是怄人了。咱们都蠲了，倒是搳搳拳，输家喝输家唱，叫做‘苦中苦’。若是不会唱的，说个笑话儿也使得，只要有趣。”众人都道：“使得。”于是乱搳起来。王仁输了，喝了一杯，唱了一个。众人道好，又搳起来了。是个陪酒的输了，唱了一个什么“小姐小姐多丰彩”。以后邢大舅输了，众人要他唱曲儿，他道：“我唱不上来的，我说个笑话儿罢。”贾蔷道：“若说不笑仍要罚的。”邢大舅就喝了杯，便说道：“诸位听着：村庄上有一座元帝庙[6]，旁边有个土地祠。那元帝老爷常叫土地来说闲话儿。一日元帝庙里被了盗，便叫土地去查访。土地禀道：‘这地方没有贼的，必是神将不小心，被外贼偷了东西去。’元帝道：‘胡说，你是土地，失了盗不问你问谁去呢？你倒不去拿贼，反说我的神将不小心吗？’土地禀道：‘虽说是不小心，到底是庙里的风水不好。’元帝道：‘你倒会看风水么？’土地道：‘待小神看看。’那土地向各处瞧了一会，便来回禀道：‘老爷坐的身子背后两扇红门就不谨慎。小神坐的背后是砌的墙，自然东西丢不了。以后老爷的背后亦改了墙就好了。’元帝老爷听来有理，便叫神将派人打墙。众神将叹口气道：‘如今香火一炷也没有，那里有砖灰人工来打墙！’元帝老爷没法，叫众神将作法，却都没有主意。那元帝老爷脚下的龟将军站起来道：‘你们不中用，我有主意。你们将红门拆下来，到了夜里拿我的肚子垫住这门口，难道当不得一堵墙么？’众神将都说道：‘好，又不花钱，又便当结实。’于是龟将军便当这个差使，竟安静了。岂知过了几天，那庙里又丢了东西。众神将叫了土地来说道：‘你说砌了墙就不丢东西，怎么如今有了墙还要丢？’那土地道：‘这墙砌的不结实。’众神将道：‘你瞧去。’土地一看，果然是一堵好墙，怎么还有失事？把手摸了一摸道：‘我打谅是真墙，那里知道是个假墙！’”众人听了大笑起来。贾蔷也忍不住的笑，说道：“傻大舅，你好！我没有骂你，你为什么骂我！快拿杯来罚一大杯。”邢大舅喝了，已有醉意。

众人又喝了几杯，都醉起来。邢大舅说他姐姐不好，王仁说他妹妹不好，都说的狠狠毒毒的。贾环听了，趁着酒兴也说凤姐不好，怎样苛刻我们，怎么样踏我们的头。众人道：“大凡做个人，原要厚道些。看凤姑娘仗着老太太这样的利害，如今焦了尾巴梢子[7]了，只剩了一个姐儿，只怕也要现世现报呢。”贾芸想着凤姐待他不好，又想起巧姐儿见他就哭，也信着嘴儿混说。还是贾蔷道：“喝酒罢，说人家做什么。”那两个陪酒的道：“这位姑娘多大年纪了？长得怎么样？”贾蔷道：“模样儿是好的很的。年纪也有十三四岁了。”那陪酒的说道：“可惜这样人生在府里这样人家，若生在小户人家，父母兄弟都做了官，还发了财呢。”众人道：“怎么样？”那陪酒的说：“现今有个外藩王爷[8]，最是有情的，要选一个妃子。若合了式，父母兄弟都跟了去。可不是好事儿吗？”众人都不大理会，只有王仁心里略动了一动，仍旧喝酒。

只见外头走进赖林两家的子弟来，说：“爷们好乐呀！”众人站起来说道：“老大老三怎么这时候才来？叫我们好等！”那两个人说道：“今早听见一个谣言，说是咱们家又闹出事来了，心里着急，赶到里头打听去，并不是咱们。”众人道：“不是咱们就完了，为什么不就来？”那两个说道：“虽不是咱们，也有些干系。你们知道是谁，就是贾雨村老爷。我们今儿进去，看见带着锁子，说要解到三法司[9]衙门里审问去呢。我们见他常在咱们家里来往，恐有什么事，便跟了去打听。”贾芸道：“到底老大用心，原该打听打听。你且坐下喝一杯再说。”两人让了一回，便坐下，喝着酒道：“这位雨村老爷人也能干，也会钻营，官也不小了，只是贪财，被人家参了个婪索属员的几款。如今的万岁爷是最圣明最仁慈的，独听了一个‘贪’字，或因糟塌了百姓，或因恃势欺良，是极生气的，所以旨意便叫拿问。若是问出来了，只怕搁不住。若是没有的事，那参的人也不便。如今真真是好时候，只要有造化做个官儿就好。”众人道：“你的哥哥就是有造化的，现做知县还不好么。”赖家的说道：“我哥哥虽是做了知县，他的行为只怕也保不住怎么样呢。”众人道：“手也长么？”赖家的点点头儿，便举起杯来喝酒。众人又道：“里头还听见什么新闻？”两人道：“别的事没有，只听见海疆的贼寇拿住了好些，也解到法司衙门里审问。还审出好些贼寇，也有藏在城里的，打听消息，抽空儿就劫抢人家。如今知道朝里那些老爷们都是能文能武，出力报效，所到之处早就消灭了。”众人道：“你听见有在城里的，不知审出咱们家失盗了一案来没有？”两人道：“倒没有听见。恍惚有人说是有个内地里的人，城里犯了事，抢了一个女人下海去了。那女人不依，被这贼寇杀了。那贼寇正要跳出关去，被官兵拿住了，就在拿获的地方正了法了。”众人道：“咱们栊翠庵的什么妙玉不是叫人抢去，不要就是他罢？”贾环道：“必是他！”众人道：“你怎么知道？”贾环道：“妙玉这个东西是最讨人嫌的。他一日家捏酸，见了宝玉就眉开眼笑了。我若见了他，他从不拿正眼瞧我一瞧。真要是他，我才趁愿呢！”众人道：“抢的人也不少，那里就是他。”贾芸道：“有点信儿。前日有个人说，他庵里的道婆做梦，说看见是妙玉叫人杀了。”众人笑道：“梦话算不得。”邢大舅道：“管他梦不梦，咱们快吃饭罢。今夜做个大输赢。”众人愿意，便吃毕了饭，大赌起来。

赌到三更多天，只听见里头乱嚷，说是四姑娘合珍大奶奶拌嘴，把头发都绞掉了，赶到邢夫人王夫人那里去磕了头，说是要求容他做尼姑呢，送他一个地方，若不容他，他就死在眼前。那邢王两位太太没主意，叫请蔷大爷芸二爷进去。贾芸听了，便知是那回看家的时候起的念头，想来是劝不过来的了，便合贾蔷商议道：“太太叫我们进去，我们是做不得主的。况且也不好做主，只好劝去。若劝不住，只好由他们罢。咱们商量了写封书给琏二叔，便卸了我们的干系了。”两人商量定了主意，进去见了邢王两位太太，便假意的劝了一回。无奈惜春立意必要出家，就不放他出去，只求一两间净屋子给他诵经拜佛。尤氏见他两个不肯作主，又怕惜春寻死，自己便硬做主张，说是：“这个不是索性我耽了罢。说我做嫂子的容不下小姑子，逼他出了家了就完了。若说到外头去呢，断断使不得。若在家里呢，太太们都在这里，算我的主意罢。叫蔷哥儿写封书子给你珍大爷琏二叔就是了。”贾蔷等答应了。不知邢、王二夫人依与不依，下回分解。

[1] 吃个车箍辘会——轮流作东的聚餐会。

[2] “月”字流觞——酒令的一种。古人每逢三月三日聚会于环曲的水流旁，在上游放置酒杯，任其顺流而下，停在谁的面前，谁即取饮，叫做“流觞”。见《荆楚岁时记》。后来就把传杯行令这种游戏叫“流觞”，规定在酒令中必须带出一个“月”字的就叫“月字流觞”。觞：酒杯。

[3] “飞羽觞而醉月”——语出唐代李白《春夜宴桃李园序》。羽觞：盛酒器。《汉书·外戚传·班倢伃赋》：“酌羽觞兮销忧”，注：“孟康曰：‘羽觞，爵也，作生爵（通“雀”）形，有头尾羽翼。’”

[4] 冷露无声湿桂花——见唐代王建《十五夜望月寄杜郎中》诗。

[5] 天香云外飘——见唐代宋之问《灵隐寺》诗。

[6] 元帝庙——即玄帝庙。玄帝亦即玄武。《后汉书·王梁传》注：“玄武，北方之神，龟蛇合体。”道教祀玄武。宋时因避讳，改玄为真，尊为“镇天真武灵应祜圣帝君”，简称真武帝君。清代因避讳康熙帝玄烨讳改“玄”为“元”。

[7] 焦了尾巴梢子——骂别人没有后代。俗有“干尾巴绝后”的话。

[8] 外藩王爷——这里指分封在京师以外的王爷。藩：屏障；保卫。

[9] 三法司——明、清两代以刑部、都察院、大理寺为三法司，重大案件由三法司会审。见《清史稿·职官志》。

CHAPTER 117. Two fair damsels conspire to save the jade, and forestall a flight from earthly bondage An infamous rogue takes charge of the mansion, and assembles a gang of cronies

Lady Wang sent for Bao-chai to consult with her, while Bao-yu, hearing that the monk was outside, rushed to the front courtyard on his own.

‘Where is my Master?’ he shouted.

Finally, as there was no sign of the monk there, he went outside, where he found his groom Li Gui barring the monk’s way.

‘My mother bids me invite His Reverence in,’ said Bao-yu.

Li Gui relaxed his grip, and the monk went swaggering in. Bao-yu observed at once the resemblance between this monk and the guide in his dream, and the truth began to grow clearer in his mind. He bowed:

‘Master, please forgive your disciple for being so slow in welcoming you.’

‘I have no desire to be entertained,’ said the monk. ‘I just want my money, and then I’ll be off.’

This was hardly the way one would have expected a man of great spiritual attainments to talk, reflected Bao-yu. But then he looked at the monk’s head, which was covered with scabs, and at his filthy, tattered robe, and thought to himself:

‘There’s an old saying: “The True Sage does not reveal himself, and he who reveals himself is no True Sage.” I must be careful not to waste this opportunity. I had better reassure him about the money, and sound him out a little.

‘Father,’ he said, ‘please be patient. My mother is preparing your money at this very moment. Please be seated and wait a while. May I venture to enquire, Father, whether you have recently returned from the Land of Illusion?’

‘Illusion, my foot!’ exclaimed the monk. ‘I come whence I come, and I go whither I go. I came here to return your jade. But let me ask you a question: where did your jade come from?’

For a minute or so Bao-yu could think of no reply. The monk laughed.

‘If you know nothing of your own provenance, why delve into mine?’

Bao-yu had always been a sensitive and intelligent child, and his recent illumination had enabled him to penetrate to a certain extent the veil of earthly vanity and illusion. But he still knew nothing of his own personal ‘history’, and the monk’s question hit him like a whack on the head.

‘I know!’ he exclaimed. ‘It’s not the money you’re after. It’s my jade. I’ll give you that back instead.’

‘And so you should!’ chuckled the monk.

Without a word, Bao-yu ran into the house. He reached his apartment and, finding that Bao-chai, Aroma and the others had all gone out to wait on his mother, he quickly picked up his jade from where it lay by his bed and ran back with it. As he left the room, he collided with Aroma, giving her the fright of her life.

‘Her Ladyship was just saying what a good idea it was,’ she protested, ‘for you to sit and keep the monk company, while she tried to work out a way of raising the money. What on earth have you come rushing in here for again?’

‘I want you to go back at once,’ ordered Bao-yu, ‘and tell Mother she needn’t bother about the money. I shall give him back the jade. That will settle the bill.’

Aroma seized Bao-yu at once:

‘That’s completely crazy! The jade is your very life! If he takes that away, you’ll fall ill again for sure.’

‘Not now,’ replied Bao-yu. ‘I shall never fall ill again. Now that I know my true purpose, what do I need the jade for?’

He shook Aroma off and made to leave. She hurried after him, crying:

‘Come back! There’s something else I want to tell you!’

Bao-yu glanced back at her:

‘There’s nothing more to be said.’

She pressed after him, casting aside her inhibitions and crying as she ran:

‘Don’t you remember the last time you lost it, how it was nearly the end of me? You’ve only just got it back, and if he takes it away again now it will cost you your life and me mine too! You’ll be sending me to my death.’

She caught up with him as she was speaking, and held him tightly.

‘Whether it means your death or not,’ said Bao-yu with strange vehemence, ‘I shall still give it back.’

He pushed Aroma away with all his might and tried to extricate himself from her grip. She, however, wound the ends of his sash around her hands and sank to the ground, sobbing and calling for help.

The maids in the inner apartments heard the noise and came running out, to find the two of them locked in this desperate impasse.

‘Quickly!’ cried Aroma. ‘Go and tell Her Ladyship! Master Bao wants to give his jade back to the monk!’

The maids flew to Lady Wang with this message, while Bao-yu grew angrier than ever and tried to wrench his sash from Aroma’s hands. She held on for dear life, and Nightingale came rushing out from the inner apartment as soon as she heard what Bao-yu was contemplating. Her alarm and concern seemed if anything greater than Aroma’s, and her previous resolution to be indifferent towards Bao-yu seemed to have vanished without trace. She joined forces with Aroma, and Bao-yu, though a man against women, and though he flailed and struggled for all he was worth, could do nothing in the face of their desperate refusal to let go. Unable to set himself free, he could only sigh and say:

‘Will you fight like this to preserve a piece of jade? What would you do if I left you?’

These words produced a noisy outburst of sobbing from Aroma and Nightingale.

Things had reached this impasse when Lady Wang and Bao-chai hurried onto the scene. Now Lady Wang could verify the truth of the report with her own eyes.

‘Bao-yu!’ she cried, her voice choking with sobs. ‘Have you taken leave of your senses again?’

Bao-yu knew that with the arrival of his mother he no longer stood any chance of escape – and therefore changed his tactics.

‘There was really no need for you to alarm yourself so, Mother,’ he said, with a placatory smile. ‘They always make such a fuss about nothing. I thought the monk was being most unreasonable, insisting on being paid every penny of ten thousand taels. It made me very cross and I came in here with the idea of handing him back the jade and at the same time pretending that it was a fake and worthless to us anyway. If I could convince him that it was of no real value to us, then he would probably accept whatever reward we offered him.’

‘Goodness! I thought you were in earnest!’ exclaimed Lady Wang. ‘I must say, you might have told them the truth – look at the state they’re all in!’

‘It may seem a good idea to do as Bao-yu suggests,’ said Bao-chai. ‘But I still think it would be risky even to go through the motions of giving it back. If you ask me, there’s something most peculiar about that monk. He could very easily do something terrible and throw the whole family into confusion all over again. We can always sell my jewellery if we need to raise the money.’

‘Yes,’ said Lady Wang. ‘Let’s try that first.’

Bao-yu made no comment. Bao-chai came up to him and took the jade from his hand.

‘There is no need for you to go,’ she said. ‘Mother and I can give him the money.’

‘Very well then, I won’t give him the jade,' said Bao-yu. ‘But I must at least see him this once.’

Aroma and Nightingale were still loath to allow him out of their sight. In the end it was Bao-chai who ordered them to set him free:

‘He’d better go if he wants to.’

Reluctantly Aroma complied.

‘You all of you seem to value the jade more highly than its owner!’ said Bao-yu with a wry smile. ‘What if I go away with the monk and leave you with the jade? You’ll look rather silly then, won’t you?’

This revived Aroma’s anxiety, and she would have seized hold of him again had she not felt constrained by the presence of Lady Wang and Bao-chai and by the need to preserve some semblance of respect towards Bao-yu. It was too late anyway, for the moment they loosened their grip Bao-yu was gone. Aroma contented herself with despatching a junior maid to the inner gate with instructions for Tealeaf and Bao-yu’s other page-boys to keep an eye on him, as he was ‘acting rather strangely’. The maid went at once to do her bidding.

Lady Wang and Bao-chai meanwhile walked in to Bao-yu’s apartment and sat down. They asked Aroma exactly what had happened and she gave them a full account of all that Bao-yu had said. They were both extremely perturbed and sent another messenger with instructions that the servants were to watch Bao-yu and do their utmost to hear what the monk said. A short while later, a junior maid returned to report to Lady Wang:

‘Master Bao is acting very strangely, madam. The pages outside say that since you would not give him the jade, he now feels obliged to offer himself in its place.’

‘Gracious!’ exclaimed Lady Wang. ‘And whatever did the monk say to that?’

‘He said he wanted the jade, not the man,’ replied the maid.

‘Not the money?’ asked Bao-chai.

‘They didn’t even mention that. Afterwards the monk and Master Bao started talking and laughing together. There was a lot said that the pages couldn’t follow.’

‘The little idiots!’ complained Lady Wang. ‘Even if they couldn’t understand it themselves, they could at least repeat it to us. Go and tell them to come here.’

The maid sped to do Lady Wang’s bidding. Presently Tealeaf arrived, stood outside in the covered walk and paid his respects through the intervening window.

‘Surely,’ said Lady Wang, ‘if you couldn’t understand the meaning of what Master Bao and the monk were saying, you could at least manage to repeat the words to us.’

‘All we caught, ma’am,’ answered Tealeaf, ‘was something about a Great Fable Mountain and a Greensickness Peak. And then something about a Land of Illusion and “severing earthly ties”.’

To Lady Wang this made as little sense as it had to the pages; but it seemed to have a startling effect on Bao-chai, who stared dumbfounded in front of her.

They were about to send someone to bring Bao-yu back, when in he came himself, wreathed in smiles, announcing:

‘All is well! All is well!’

Bao-chair stared at him in dismay, while Lady Wang asked:

‘What have you been raving to that monk about now?’

‘It was anything but raving. It was a very serious conversation. It turns out that he knows me, and that all he really wanted was to see me. He never wanted the money. At the most he was hoping for a friendly contribution, which would create good karma. As soon as we had reached an understanding, he got up and went. Just like that. So I think you’ll agree, all is well!’

Lady Wang could not believe this, and asked Tealeaf, who was still standing on the other side of the window, to verify Bao-yu’s story. He hurried out to question the gateman, and returned presently to report:

‘It is true. The monk really has left. As he was going he said: “Their Ladyships are not to worry themselves. I never wanted the money.” He says he only wants Master Bao-yu to call on him whenever he can. “Let all be fulfilled in accordance with karma; a fixed purpose resides in all things.” Those were his parting words.’

‘So he was a holy man after all!’ exclaimed Lady Wang. ‘Did anyone ask him where he lived?’

‘According to the gateman, the monk said that Master Bao would know where to find him.’

Lady Wang turned to Bao-yu:

‘Well – where does he live?’

Bao-yu smiled enigmatically:

‘His abode is, well … far away and yet at the same time close at hand. It all depends how you look at it.’

‘For goodness’ sake!’ interrupted Bao-chai impatiently, before he had finished speaking. ‘Pull yourself together and stop all this nonsense! You know how Mother and Father love you! And Father has told you how important it is for you to succeed in life!’

‘Does what I am talking about not count as success?’ asked Bao-yu in a droll tone. ‘Haven’t you heard the saying: “When one son becomes a monk, the souls of seven generations of ancestors go to Heaven”?’

When she heard this Lady Wang was more distressed than ever:

‘Our family is doomed! Xi-chun talks of nothing but her nunnery, and now here’s another! Why should I bother to drag my life out any longer!’

She began sobbing hysterically. Bao-chai tried to comfort her, but Bao-yu only laughed and said:

‘I was joking! There was no need to take it so seriously, Mother.’

Lady Wang ceased her tears:

‘How can you joke about such a thing?’

At this juncture a maid came in to report the return of Jia Lian:

‘He looks very upset too, ma’am. He would like you to go over and have a word with him.’

This was another shock for Lady Wang.

‘Ask him just this once if he can come here. Mrs Bao is his cousin, so he needn’t worry about her being here too.’

Jia Lian duly came in and paid his respects to Lady Wang. Bao-chai also greeted him.

‘I have just received a letter from Father,’ said Jia Lian, ‘saying that he has fallen seriously ill. I must go to him at once, or it may be too late!’

Tears were streaming down his cheeks.

‘Did the letter say what kind of illness?’ asked Lady Wang.

‘It began as a cold but has developed into pneumonia, which has now reached a critical stage. A special messenger travelled by day and night to bring us the news, and says that if I delay my departure for even a day or two it may be too late. I must leave as soon as possible. I am concerned that with Uncle away in the South there will be no one left to take charge of things here. You will have to make do with young Qiang and Yun; whatever their shortcomings, at least they are men and can communicate with you about anything that may crop up outside. There’s nothing much to worry about in my apartment. Autumn spends her time crying and complaining and says she wants to leave, so I have told her family to come and take her away. That will make life a little more bearable for Patience at any rate. There is no one to look after Qiao-jie, I know, but Patience is not too bad with her. Qiao-jie is quite a sensible girl, but has an even more difficult temperament than her mother, so I hope you will try to offer her guidance whenever you can, Aunt.’

As he spoke, a telltale red came into his eyes and he extracted a little silk handkerchief from the betel-nut bag at his waist and dabbed them with it.

‘With her own grandmother so close at hand, what need is there for you to entrust her to me?’ asked Lady Wang.

‘If you adopt that attitude, I might as well beat myself to death!’ said Jia Lian to his aunt in a somewhat histrionic sotto voce. ‘I won’t say any more, just beg you to be kind to me and do what you can.’

He knelt at her feet.

‘Get up at once!’ exclaimed Lady Wang. Her eyes too were moist with tears. ‘What way is this for aunt and nephew to talk to one another? There is one thing we should discuss. The child is of age now. If anything untoward should happen to your father and you should be delayed, and if in the meantime a suitable family should make a proposal of marriage, do you wish me to wait for your return, or shall I let her grandmother decide in your absence?’

‘Of course you need not wait for me. As you and Mother will be here, the two of you should do whatever you think best.’

‘You had better go now,’ said Lady Wang. ‘Write your Uncle Zheng a note. Tell him that your father is in a precarious state of health, and that there are no menfolk left at home. Ask him to complete your grandmother’s burial rites and come home as quickly as possible.’

‘Very well, Aunt.’

As he was on the point of leaving, Jia Lian turned back once more and said:

‘There should be enough servants in the house. But there is no one in the Garden. The place is altogether too deserted, especially now that Bao Yong has gone back with the Zhens and Cousin Ke and Aunt Xue have moved out of their old compound next to the Garden to live in an apartment of their own. All the buildings in the Garden are empty and have been neglected. You should send someone round regularly to inspect the place. Green Bower Hermitage is a family foundation, and now that Adamantina has disappeared something must be done about her various attendants. The Sister Superior does not feel she can make the decision herself, and would like someone in the family to take charge.’

‘That will have to wait,’ replied Lady Wang. ‘With our own affairs in such disarray, we are in no position to start taking on extra responsibilities. You must on no account mention this to Xi-chun. It would only encourage her in her own ideas. Oh dear, what are we coming to? A nun in the family would be the last straw!’

‘That is something I would not have brought up myself,' said Jia Lian. ‘But since you have done so, I should perhaps offer my advice, for what it’s worth. Xi-chun belongs after all to the Ning-guo side of the family. Neither of her parents is alive, her elder brother has been sent into exile, and she and her sister-in-law are on bad terms with one another. I hear that she has threatened suicide quite a few times. If her heart is really set on being a nun and we continue to be so inflexible, she may really take her own life. And then we would lose her altogether!’

Lady Wang nodded:

‘It is too heavy a burden to lay on my shoulders! This really isn’t my responsibility. I must leave it to her sister-in-law to decide.’

Jia Lian said a few more words and took his leave. He summoned the servants and gave them their instructions. Then he wrote a letter to Jia Zheng, and packed his bags. Patience urged him at some length to take good care of himself, while Qiao-jie seemed exceedingly upset by her father’s departure. Jia Lian expressed his wish to entrust her to the care of her uncle Wang Ren, but she wouldn’t consider it; and when she learned that Jia Yun and Jia Qiang were to be on outside duty she also felt extremely uneasy, though she said nothing. She bade her father farewell, and resolved to lead a quiet life at home with Patience.

Felicity and Crimson had been frequently absent since Xi-feng’s death, on some occasions asking for leave, on others pleading sickness. Patience had contemplated asking a young lady from some other branch of the Jia family to come and stay with them, partly to keep Qiao-jie company, partly to help educate her, but the only names that occurred to her were those of Xi-luan and Si-jie, Grandmother Jia’s favourites, and of these two Xi-luan had recently married while Si-jie was engaged and due to leave home any day.

Jia Yun and Jia Qiang saw Jia Lian off and then went in to report to Ladies Xing and Wang. The two men took turns on night-duty in the outer study, and during the daytime enjoyed themselves with the servants, throwing parties and inviting a variety of friends, who took it in turns with them to act as host. There was even some serious gambling. The ladies of course had no inkling of this.

One day Lady Xing’s brother Xing De-quan and Wang Ren dropped by. Learning that Yun and Qiang were now established at Rong-guo House, and observing the good times that were being had, they began to call quite frequently, to ‘see how things were getting on’, and had soon formed a regular drinking and gambling foursome in the outer study. All the decent servants had accompanied either Jia Zheng or Jia Lian, and the only menservants left behind were the various sons and nephews of stewards Lai and Lin, who were used to the easy life their parents’ good fortune had brought them, and were quite ignorant of the principles according to which a proper household should be run. With their parents away, they were like colts let loose in the meadow. And with the two degenerate young masters to spur them on, their pleasures knew no bounds. Under this new regime, the family motto might as well have been: Anything Goes.

Jia Qiang thought of inviting Bao-yu to join them, but Jia Yun soon squashed that idea:

‘That fellow is an absolute killjoy. It would only be asking for trouble. A year or two ago I had a perfect marriage lined up for him. The girl’s father was a tax-collector in one of the provinces, the family owned several pawnshops, and the girl herself was an absolute peach. I went to a lot of trouble and wrote him a long letter about it, but I might as well have saved myself the bother. He’s an utter spoilsport.’

Yun glanced round to make sure there was no one else listening and continued:

‘The truth was, he already fancied this new missis of his! And then there was Miss Lin, you must have heard about that. She died of a broken heart, it’s common knowledge. And it was all his fault. But that’s another story. To each his fate in love, I suppose. All the same, I don’t see why he had to get so angry with me, and start cutting me dead. Perhaps he thought I was trying to get into his good books or something.’

Jia Qiang nodded and gave up the idea of inviting Bao-yu. What neither of them knew was that, ever since his meeting with the monk, Bao-yu was finally resolved to sever his ties with the world. In his mother’s presence he still tried to behave as normally as possible, but there was already a marked cooling-off in his relations with Bao-chai and Aroma. The maids were unaware of this change and continued to tease him as before, only to find themselves totally ignored. He was completely oblivious of practical household affairs; and as for his studies, whenever his mother and Bao-chai chivvied him on, he would feign diligence, but in reality his mind was filled with thoughts of the monk and his mysterious excursion to the fairy domain. Everyone around him now seemed unbearably mundane, and he began to find his own family environment less and less congenial. When he was free of other commitments, it was Xi-chun that he chose as a companion. The two of them found they had more and more in common, and their lively conversations further strengthened his own resolution. He had little time now for Jia Huan and Jia Lan.

Jia Huan, now that his father was away from home and his mother Aunt Zhao dead, and since Lady Wang paid little attention to what he did, began to gravitate towards Jia Yun and his cronies. Suncloud, who constantly tried to dissuade him from this course, received nothing but abuse for her pains. Silver observed to herself that Bao-yu was becoming more deranged than ever, and asked her mother if she could be taken out of service. Bao-yu and Jia Huan in their different ways succeeded in alienating the people around them. Jia Lan, by contrast, sat by his mother’s side conscientiously studying, and when he had finished a composition would take it to the family school for the Preceptor’s comments. Recently the Preceptor had been bedridden a great deal of the time, and consequently Jia Lan had been obliged to work on his own. His mother had always been fond of peace and quiet, and apart from calling on Lady Wang and Bao-chai she did not get about much but sat at home and watched Jia Lan at his work. So although life continued in Rong-guo House, everyone was very much minding his own business, which left Jia Huan, Jia Qiang and company free to indulge themselves unmolested. They were soon pawning or selling all manner of family property in order to subsidize their disgraceful activities. Jia Huan was the worst. His whoring and gambling knew no bounds.

One day Xing De-quan and Wang Ren had called and were in the outer study drinking. They were in high spirits and decided to send for some singsong girls to entertain them with a song or two and join in their carousing.

‘This is turning into a downright orgy!’ protested Jia Qiang playfully. ‘I suggest we have a drinking game to raise the tone a little.’

Everyone agreed that this was a good idea.

‘Let’s play Pass the Goblet, on the word “moon”,’ proposed Jia Qiang. ‘I shall say a line and count it out, and whoever gets the word “moon” has to drink and then recite two lines – a Head and a Tail –according to my instructions. The forfeit is three big cups.’

Everyone agreed to his rules. First Jia Qiang drank a cup as MC, and then he recited Li Bo’s line:

‘ “The Peacock Goblets fly, the drunken moon …” ’ The ‘moon’ fell on Jia Huan.

‘For the Head, give me a line with Cassia,’ said Jia Qiang.

Jia Huan came up with a line by the Tang poet Wang Jian: ‘ “A cold dew silently soaks the Cassia flowers …” ’

‘And Fragrance for the Tail,’ concluded Jia Qiang.

Jia Huan obliged with a line by another Tang poet, Song Zhi-wen:

‘ “Beyond the clouds there wafts a heavenly Fragrance …” ’

‘Boring! Boring!’ complained Xing De-quan. ‘Stop posing, Huan, me old fellow! Fat lot you know about poetry! This is no fun at all, it’s enough to make you sick! Let’s drop it and play Guess-fingers instead. Loser to drink and sing a song, a double sconce. Anyone who can’t sing can tell a joke instead. But it better be a good one.’

They all agreed to this new proposal and there was a noisy scene as they began to throw out fingers and make their calls. Wang Ren was the first loser. He drank and sang a song.

‘Bravo!’ they cried and set to again. Next to lose was one of the girls. She sang a song called ‘Little Miss Glamorous’. Then it was Xing De-quan. Everyone wanted a song from him, but he protested that he was tone-deaf:

‘I’ll tell a joke instead.’

‘If nobody laughs,’ Jia Qiang warned him, ‘you’ll have to pay another forfeit.’

Xing downed his cup and began his story:

‘Ladies and gentlemen: once upon a time, in a certain village, there were two temples – a big one, dedicated to the Great Lord of the North, and by its side a smaller one, dedicated to the Village God. The Great Lord was always inviting the Village God over for a chat. One day something was stolen from his temple, and he asked the Village God to look into the matter. “But there are no thieves in this district,” protested the lesser deity. “It must be carelessness on the part of one of your door-gods. Someone must have sneaked in past them and stolen these things.” “Nonsense!” replied the Great Lord. “You’re in charge round these parts. If there’s been a theft, then you’re responsible. What’s the meaning of this? You should be trying to catch the thief, not accusing my door-gods of being careless!” “What I meant by careless,” prevaricated the Village God, “was that your temple must have been badly sited – you know, the Dragon Lines must be at fault …” “I had no idea you could read fengshui,” commented the Great Lord in a tone of disbelief. “Allow me to take a look for you,” offered the Village God, “and see what I can see.” He walked around the temple, peering into every nook and cranny, and after a while reported: “My Lord, behind your throne there is a double-leaved red door. An unfortunate oversight. Personally I have a good solid brick wall behind my throne, so naturally I never have things stolen. You can easily remedy the present situation by having a wall built in place of the door.” This seemed plausible to the Great Lord, and he instructed his door-gods to call in builders and put up a wall. “But we can’t even afford a single candle or stick of incense in this temple!” moaned the door-gods. “How can we possibly buy bricks and mortar and hire the labour to build a wall?” The Great Lord could think of no solution. He ordered them to find one, but they were stumped too. Just then the Tortoise General, whose recumbent stone form lay at the Great Lord’s feet, stood up and said: “You’re a useless lot! I’ve got an idea: pull down the red door, and use my belly to block up the doorway. I’m sure that will do the job perfectly well.” “An excellent plan!” cried the door-gods in chorus. “Convenient, dependable and free!” So the Tortoise General became Rear Wall, and peace prevailed – for a while. Then things began to disappear from the temple again. The door-gods summoned the Village God and complained: “You guaranteed our security if we built a wall, but look what’s happened! We’ve got a wall and still we’re losing things!” “Your wall can’t be solid enough.” “Have a look at it for yourself,” they insisted. The Village God went and did so. It certainly seemed a solid enough wall. All most puzzling. Then he felt it with his hand. “Aaah!” he exclaimed. “No wonder! I meant a properly built wall. Any old thief could push down this false wall (jia qiang).” ’

They all laughed, even Jia Qiang, whose name had provided the raw material for the joke.

‘Come on, Dumbo!’ he protested. ‘Be fair! I never called you names! Drink a forfeit, there’s a boy!’

Dumbo, who was already a sheet or so in the wind, willingly complied. They all had a few more cups, and in the general state of intoxication Dumbo let fly a few barbed remarks about his sister (Lady Xing), while Wang Ren had a go at desecrating the memory of his (Xi-feng), both of them evincing great bitterness. Their example and the wine lent Jia Huan a little courage, and he too had his fling, complaining how heartless Xi-feng had been, and how she had tried to ruin so many of their lives.

‘Yes, people ought to show a bit of common decency,’ they all agreed. ‘The way she used Lady Jia’s influence to bully everyone was dreadful. Well, she died without giving birth to an heir; she only ever had a daughter. Retribution in her own lifetime!’

Jia Yun, who remembered only too well how harsh Xi-feng had once been towards him, and how Qiao-jie had started bawling the instant she set eyes on him, allowed himself to wade into the general mêlée with some abuse of his own about the two of them. Jia Qiang tried to steer the party in a less vindictive direction:

‘Come on! Drink up! This gossip will get us nowhere!’

‘How old is the young lady you mentioned?’ enquired the two singsong girls. ‘Is she pretty?’

‘Oh yes,’ replied Jia Qiang. ‘Extremely so. She’s about thirteen.’

‘What a pity, in that case, that she was born into a family like yours!’ the girls exclaimed. ‘If only she came from a more humble home, she could soon find herself in a position to bring all her family lots of jobs, and pots of money into the bargain!’

‘What do you mean?’

‘We know of a certain Mongol prince,’ replied the girls. ‘Quite a ladies’ man he is. He is looking for a concubine, and the lady who fits the bill would be able to take her whole family along with her to live in the palace. What a marvellous stroke of luck that would be for somebody!’

None of them seemed to take much notice of this, except for Wang Ren, who looked very thoughtful. For the present he said nothing and continued drinking.

A little later two young lads came in, younger sons of Stewards Lai and Lin.

‘You seem to be having a fine time of it, sirs, by the looks of things!’ they exclaimed.

Everyone rose to greet them.

‘Why have the two of you been such a long time? We’ve been expecting you for ages.’

They explained:

‘Early this morning we heard rather a disturbing rumour that our family was in some sort of official trouble again, so we hurried out to see what news we could glean at the Palace. It turned out to have nothing to do with our family after all.’

‘In that case, why didn’t you come straight here afterwards?’

‘It wasn’t exactly our family, but it was connected with us. It was that Mr Jia Yu-cun. When we were at the Palace we saw him bound in chains. They told us he was being taken to the High Court for questioning. We knew he was a frequent visitor here, and were afraid that the case might somehow involve us, so we followed them to see what happened.’

‘Good thinking, my man!’ exclaimed Jia Yun. ‘We are most obliged to you. Sit down and have a drink, and then tell us all about it.’

The two sat down after a polite show of reluctance, and as they drank continued:

‘This Mr Yu-cun is certainly an able enough fellow, and knows how to pull strings. He’d done extremely well until recently, in fact; but greed was his downfall. There were several charges brought against him, “avarice” and “extortion” being two of them. As we all know, our present August Sovereign is exceptionally wise, compassionate and benevolent. There is one thing that stirs his wrath, however, and that is corruption, any form of tyrannical or bullying behaviour. So His Majesty decreed that the offender in this case should be arrested and brought to trial. If he is found guilty, things will look pretty grim for him; if he is acquitted, then the men who brought the charges will be in for trouble. It is certainly comforting to think what just times we live in! For those lucky enough to be officials in the first place!’

‘Like your elder brother,’ said one of the company, referring to Steward Lai’s eldest son, Lai Shang-rong. ‘He’s a county magistrate. Done very nicely for himself.’

‘True enough,’ replied young Lai. ‘But his conduct still leaves a lot to be desired, I’m afraid. He may not last long at this rate.’

‘Has he been taking squeeze himself?’

Lai nodded and drained his cup.

‘What other news did you pick up at the Palace?’ they asked them.

‘Oh, nothing much. A number of criminals from the coast have apparently been arrested, and sent to the High Court. During their trial they revealed the whereabouts of several others of their kind, lying low here in the capital, watching and waiting for fresh opportunities for crime. Fortunately the present civil and military authorities have such a sound grip on the situation, and are so dedicated to the service of the throne, that these criminal elements will be effectively controlled.’

‘If you’ve heard of such cases, perhaps you have news of our burglary?’ asked one of the party.

‘I’m afraid not,’ came the reply. ‘I heard something about a man from one of the inland provinces who got into trouble here in town for abducting a girl and running off with her to the coast. She put up a fight and he ended by killing her. They arrested him crossing the border, and executed him on the spot.’

‘Wasn’t Sister Adamantina from Green Bower Hermitage abducted in similar circumstances?’ put in one of the others. ‘Couldn’t it have been her?’

‘Bound to have been!’ muttered Jia Huan.

‘How could you know?’ they asked him.

‘She was a sickening creature!’ said Jia Huan. ‘Always giving herself airs and graces. She had only to set eyes on Bao-yu to get a big smile all over her face. But she wouldn’t so much as acknowledge my existence! I hope it is her!’

‘Plenty of people are kidnapped all the time,’ someone commented. ‘It could easily have been someone else.’

‘I can well believe it was her,’ said Jia Yun. ‘The day before yesterday I heard that one of the sisters at the Hermitage had a dream in which she saw Adamantina being killed.’

This was greeted with derision:

‘You can’t take dreams seriously!’

‘Dream or no dream, it’s all one to me,’ protested Dumbo. ‘Let’s get on with the real business of the evening, shall we? Eat up, everyone, and we can start tonight’s Big Game.’

This met with general approval, and as soon as they had finished their meal they began gambling in earnest. They were still at it well after midnight, when suddenly they heard a great commotion coming from the inner apartments. They were eventually informed that Xi-chun had been arguing with You-shi, and the upshot of it was that she had cut all her hair off and gone running to Ladies Xing and Wang. There she kowtowed and begged them to relent and let her have her wish. If they would not, she threatened to put an end to her life there and then. The two ladies were at their wits’ end, and sent for Jia Qiang and Jia Yun to intervene. Jia Yun however knew that this was something Xi-chun had resolved to do long ago, at least since the fateful night of the burglary when she had been left in charge of the house, and to him there seemed little hope in trying to dissuade her now. He talked it over with Jia Qiang:

‘Lady Wang says she wants us to intervene, but I don’t see how we can achieve anything. It’s a heavy responsibility, and they want to off-load it onto us. We’ll have to put on a show of talking Xi-chun out of her decision, and then, when she refuses to listen, we’ll have to pass the matter back to the ladies, and meanwhile write a letter to Uncle Lian, absolving ourselves from any blame.’

They both agreed on this strategy, called on Ladies Xing and Wang, and then went through the motions of trying to dissuade Xi-chun, who was every bit as adamant as they had predicted. If she could not take refuge in a convent outside the family mansion, then she said she would make do with a couple of quiet rooms within it, in which to recite her sutras and say her prayers. Eventually You-shi could see that the aunts were not prepared to take the responsibility; her own fear that Xi-chun might commit suicide got the better of her and she forced herself to compromise.

‘I can see I shall have to take the blame. Very well then. Let them say that it was I who could not tolerate my own husband’s sister and drove her to a nunnery! What do I care! But I cannot allow her to leave home. That is out of the question. She will have to stay here. Aunts Xing and Wang, I call you to witness my decision. Qiang, you had better write a letter informing my husband and Cousin Lian of what has happened.’

Jia Qiang acquiesced in You-shi’s decision. But to know whether Lady Xing and Lady Wang did likewise, you will have to turn to the next chapter.