第六十九回

第六十九回 弄小巧用借剑杀人 觉大限吞生金自逝

话说尤二姐听了，又感谢不尽，只得跟了他来。尤氏那边怎好不过来的，少不得也过来跟着凤姐去回，方是大礼。凤姐笑说：“你只别说话，等我去说。”尤氏道：“这个自然。但一有个不是，是往你身上推的。”说着，大家先来至贾母房中。

正值贾母和园中姊妹们说笑解闷，忽见凤姐带了一个标致小媳妇进来，忙觑着眼看，说：“这是谁家的孩子！好可怜见的。”凤姐上来笑道：“老祖宗倒细细的看看，好不好？”说着，忙拉二姐说：“这是太婆婆，快磕头。”二姐忙行了大礼，展拜起来。又指着众姊妹说：这是某人某人，你先认了，太太瞧过了再见礼。二姐听了，一一又从新故意的问过，垂头站在旁边。贾母上下瞧了一遍，因又笑问：“你姓什么？今年十几了？”凤姐忙又笑说：“老祖宗且别问，只说比我俊不俊。”贾母又戴了眼镜，命鸳鸯琥珀：“把那孩子拉过来，我瞧瞧肉皮儿。”众人都抿嘴儿笑着，只得推他上去。贾母细瞧了一遍，又命琥珀：“拿出手来我瞧瞧。”鸳鸯又揭起裙子来。贾母瞧毕，摘下眼镜来，笑说道：“竟是个齐全孩子，我看比你俊些。”

凤姐听说，笑着忙跪下，将尤氏那边所编之话，一五一十细细的说了一遍，“少不得老祖宗发慈心，先许他进来，住一年后再圆房。”贾母听了道：“这有什么不是。既你这样贤良，很好。只是一年后方可圆得房。”凤姐听了，叩头起来，又求贾母着两个女人一同带去见太太们，说是老祖宗的主意。贾母依允，遂使二人带去见了邢夫人等。王夫人正因他风声不雅，深为忧虑，见他今行此事，岂有不乐之理。于是尤二姐自此见了天日，挪到厢房居住。

凤姐一面使人暗暗调唆张华，只叫他要原妻，这里还有许多赔送外，还给他银子安家过活。张华原无胆无心告贾家的，后来又见贾蓉打发人来对词，那人原说的：“张华先退了亲。我们皆是亲戚。接到家里住着是真，并无娶嫁之说。皆因张华拖欠了我们的债务，追索不与，方诬赖小的主人那些个。”察院都和贾王两处有瓜葛，况又受了贿，只说张华无赖，以穷讹诈，状子也不收，打了一顿赶出来。庆儿在外替他打点，也没打重。又调唆张华：“亲原是你家定的，你只要亲事，官必还断给你。”于是又告。王信那边又透了消息与察院，察院便批：“张华所欠贾宅之银，令其限内按数交还；其所定之亲，仍令其有力时娶回。”又传了他父亲来当堂批准。他父亲亦系庆儿说明，乐得人财两进，便去贾家领人。

凤姐儿一面吓的来回贾母，说如此这般，“都是珍大嫂子干事不明，并没和那家退准，惹人告了，如此官断。”贾母听了，忙唤了尤氏过来，说他作事不妥，“既是你妹子从小曾与人指腹为婚，又没退断，使人混告了。”尤氏听了，只得说：“他连银子都收了，怎么没准。”凤姐在旁又说：“张华的口供上现说不曾见银子，也没见人去。他老子说：‘原是亲家母说过一次，并没应准。亲家母死了，你们就接进去作二房。’如此没有对证的话，只好由他去混说。幸而琏二爷不在家，没曾圆房，这还无妨。只是人已来了，怎好送回去，岂不伤脸。”贾母道：“又没圆房，没的强占人家有夫之人，名声也不好，不如送给他去。那里寻不出好人来。”尤二姐听了，又回贾母说：“我母亲实于某年月日给了他十两银子退准的。他因穷急了告，又翻了口。我姐姐原没错办。”贾母听了，便说：“可见刁民难惹。既这样，凤丫头去料理料理。”凤姐听了无法，只得应着。回来只命人去找贾蓉。

贾蓉深知凤姐之意，若要使张华领回，成何体统，便回了贾珍，暗暗遣人去说张华：“你如今既有许多银子，何必定要原人。若只管执定主意，岂不怕爷们一怒，寻出个由头，你死无葬身之地。你有了银子，回家去什么好人寻不出来。你若走时，还赏你些路费。”张华听了，心中想了一想，这倒是好主意，和父亲商议已定，约共也得了有百金，父子次日起个五更，便回原籍去了。

贾蓉打听得真了，来回了贾母凤姐，说：“张华父子妄告不实，惧罪逃走，官府亦知此情，也不追究，大事完毕。”凤姐听了，心中一想：若必定着张华带回二姐去，未免贾琏回来再花几个钱包占住，不怕张华不依。还是二姐不去，自己相伴着还妥当，且再作道理。只是张华此去不知何往，他倘或再将此事告诉了别人，或日后再寻出这由头来翻案，岂不是自己害了自己。原先不该如此将刀靶付与外人去的。因此悔之不迭，复又想了一条主意出来，悄命旺儿遣人寻着了他，或讹他作贼，和他打官司将他治死，或暗中使人算计，务将张华治死，方剪草除根，保住自己的名誉。

旺儿领命出来，回家细想：人已走了完事，何必如此大作，人命关天，非同儿戏，我且哄过他去，再作道理。因此在外躲了几日，回来告诉凤姐，只说张华是有了几两银子在身上，逃去第三日在京口地界，五更天已被截路人打闷棍打死了。他老子唬死在店房，在那里验尸掩埋。凤姐听了不信，说：“你要扯谎，我再使人打听出来敲你的牙！”自此方丢过不究。凤姐和尤二姐和美非常，更比亲姊亲妹还胜十倍。

那贾琏一日事毕回来，先到了新房中，已竟悄悄的封锁，只有一个看房子的老头儿。贾琏问他原故，老头子细说原委，贾琏只在镫中跌足。少不得来见贾赦与邢夫人，将所完之事回明。贾赦十分欢喜，说他中用，赏了他一百两银子，又将房中一个十七岁的丫鬟名唤秋桐者，赏他为妾。贾琏叩头领去，喜之不尽。见了贾母和家中人，回来见凤姐，未免脸上有些愧色。谁知凤姐儿他反不似往日容颜，同尤二姐一同出迎，叙了寒温。贾琏将秋桐之事说了，未免脸上有些得意之色，骄矜之容。凤姐听了，忙命两个媳妇坐车往那边接了来。心中一刺未除，又平空添了一刺，说不得且吞声忍气，将好颜面换出来遮掩。一面又命摆酒接风，一面带了秋桐来见贾母与王夫人等。贾琏心中也暗暗的纳罕。

那日已是腊月十二日，贾珍起身，先拜了宗祠，然后过来辞拜贾母等人。和族中人直送到洒泪亭方回，独贾琏贾蓉二人送出三日三夜方回。一路上贾珍命他好生收心治家等语，二人口内答应，也说些大礼套话，不必烦叙。

且说凤姐在家，外面待尤二姐自不必说得，只是心中又怀别意。无人处只和尤二姐说：“妹妹的声名很不好听，连老太太、太太们都知道了，说妹妹在家做女孩儿就不干净，又和姐夫有些首尾，‘没人要的了你拣了来，还不休了再寻好的。’我听见这话，气得倒仰，查是谁说的，又查不出来。这日久天长，这些个奴才们跟前，怎么说嘴。我反弄了个鱼头来拆。”说了两遍，自己又气病了，茶饭也不吃，除了平儿，众丫头媳妇无不言三语四，指桑说槐，暗相讥刺。

秋桐自为系贾赦之赐，无人僭他的，连凤姐、平儿皆不放在眼里，岂肯容他。张口是“先奸后娶没汉子要的娼妇，也来要我的强”。凤姐听了暗乐，尤二姐听了暗愧暗怒暗气。凤姐既装病，便不和尤二姐吃饭了。每日只命人端了菜饭到他房中去吃，那茶饭都系不堪之物。平儿看不过，自拿了钱出来弄菜与他吃，或是有时只说和他园中去顽，在园中厨内另做了汤水与他吃，也无人敢回凤姐。只有秋桐一时撞见了，便去说舌告诉凤姐说：“奶奶的名声，生是平儿弄坏了的。这样好菜好饭浪着不吃，却往园里去偷吃。”凤姐听了，骂平儿说：“人家养猫拿耗子，我的猫只倒咬鸡。”平儿不敢多说，自此也要远着了。又暗恨秋桐，难以出口。

园中姊妹如〔一〕李纨、迎春、惜春等人，皆为凤姐是好意，然宝黛一干人暗为二姐担心。虽都不便多事，惟见二姐可怜，常来了，倒还都悯恤他。每日常无人处说起话来，尤二姐便淌眼抹泪，又不敢抱怨。凤姐儿又并无露出一点坏形来。

贾琏来家时，见了凤姐贤良，也便不留心。况素习以来因贾赦姬妾丫鬟最多，贾琏每怀不轨之心，只未敢下手。如这秋桐辈等人，皆是恨老爷年迈昏愦，贪多嚼不烂，没的留下这些人作什么，因此除了几个知礼有耻的，馀者或有与二门上小幺儿们嘲戏的。甚至于与贾琏眉来眼去相偷期的，只惧贾赦之威，未曾到手。这秋桐便和贾琏有旧，从未来过一次。今日天缘凑巧，竟赏了他，真是一对烈火干柴，如胶投漆，燕尔新婚[3]，连日那里拆的开。那贾琏在二姐身上之心也渐渐淡了，只有秋桐一人是命。

凤姐虽恨秋桐，且喜借他先可发脱二姐，自己且抽头，用“借剑杀人”之法“坐山观虎斗”，等秋桐杀了尤二姐，自己再杀秋桐。主意已定，没人处常又私劝秋桐说：“你年轻不知事。他现是二房奶奶，你爷心坎儿上的人，我还让他三分，你去硬碰他，岂不是自寻其死？”那秋桐听了这话，越发恼了，天天大口乱骂说：“奶奶是软弱人，那等贤惠，我却做不来。奶奶把素日的威风怎都没了。奶奶宽洪大量，我却眼里揉不下沙子去。让我和他这淫妇做一回，他才知道。”凤姐儿在屋里，只装不敢出声儿。气的尤二姐在房里哭泣，饭也不吃，又不敢告诉贾琏。次日贾母见他眼红红的肿了，问他，又不敢说。

秋桐正是抓乖卖俏之时，他便悄悄的告诉贾母王夫人等说：“专会作死，好好的成天家号丧，背地里咒二奶奶和我早死了，他好和二爷一心一计的过。”贾母听了便说：“人太生娇俏〔二〕了，可知心就嫉妒。凤丫头倒好意待他，他倒这样争锋吃醋的。可是个贱骨头。”因此渐次便不大欢喜。众人见贾母不喜，不免又往下踏践起来，弄得这尤二姐要死不能，要生不得。还是亏了平儿，时常背着凤姐，看他这般，与他排解排解。

那尤二姐原是个花为肠肚雪作肌肤的人，如何经得这般磨折，不过受了一个月的暗气，便恹恹得了一病，四肢懒动，茶饭不进，渐次黄瘦下去。夜来合上眼，只见他小妹子手捧鸳鸯宝剑前来说：“姐姐，你一生为人心痴意软，终吃了这亏。休信那妒妇花言巧语，外作贤良，内藏奸狡，他发恨定要弄你一死方罢。若妹子在世，断不肯令你进来，即进来时，亦不容他这样。此亦系理数应然，你我生前淫奔不才，使人家丧伦败行，故有此报。你依我将此剑斩了那妒妇，一同归至警幻案下，听其发落。不然，你则白白的丧命，且无人怜惜。”尤二姐泣道：“妹妹，我一生品行既亏，今日之报既系当然，何必又生杀戮之冤。随我去忍耐。若天见怜，使我好了，岂不两全。”小妹笑道：“姐姐，你终是个痴人。自古‘天网恢恢，疏而不漏’[5]，天道好还[6]。你虽悔过自新，然已将人父子兄弟致于麀聚之乱，天怎容你安生。”尤二姐泣道：“既不得安生，亦是理之当然，奴亦无怨。”小妹听了，长叹而去。

尤二姐惊醒，却是一梦。等贾琏来看时，因无人在侧，便泣说：“我这病便不能好了。我来了半年，腹中也有身孕，但不能预知男女。倘天见怜，生了下来还可，若不然，我这命就不保，何况于他。”贾琏亦泣说：“你只放心，我请名人来医治。”于是〔三〕出去即刻请医生。

谁知王太医亦谋干了军前效力，回来好讨荫封的。小厮们走去，便请了个姓胡的太医，名叫君荣。进来诊脉看了，说是经水不调，全要大补。贾琏便说：“已是三月庚信[8]不行，又常作呕酸，恐是胎气。”胡君荣听了，复又命老婆子们请出手来再看看。尤二姐少不得又从帐内伸出手来。胡君荣又诊了半日，说：“若论胎气，肝脉[9]自应洪大。然木盛则生火，经水不调亦皆因由肝木所致。医生要大胆，须得请奶奶将金面略露露，医生观观气色，方敢下药。”贾琏无法，只得命将帐子掀起一缝，尤二姐露出脸来。胡君荣一见，魂魄如飞上九天，通身麻木，一无所知。

一时掩了帐子，贾琏〔四〕就陪他出来，问是如何。胡太医道：“不是胎气，只是瘀血凝结。如今只以下迂血通经脉要紧。”于是写了一方，作辞而去。贾琏命人送了药礼，抓了药来，调服下去。只半夜，尤二姐腹痛不止，谁知竟将一个已成形的男胎打了下来。于是血行不止，二姐就昏迷过去。贾琏闻知，大骂胡君荣。一面再遣人去请医调治，一面命人去打告胡君荣。胡君荣听了，早已卷包逃走。

这里太医便说：“本来气血生成亏弱，受胎以来，想是着了些气恼，郁结于中。这位先生擅用虎狼之剂，如今大人元气十分伤其八九，一时难保就愈。煎丸二药并行，还要一些闲言闲事不闻，庶可望好。”说毕而去。急的贾琏查是谁请了姓胡的来，一时查了出来，便打了半死。

凤姐比贾琏更急十倍，只说：“咱们命中无子，好容易有了一个，又遇见这样没本事的大夫。”于是天地前烧香礼拜，自己通陈[11]祷告说：“我或有病，只求尤氏妹子身体大愈，再得怀胎生一男子，我愿吃长斋念佛。”贾琏众人见了，无不称赞。贾琏与秋桐在一处时，凤姐又做汤做水的着人送与二姐。又骂平儿不是个有福的，“也和我一样。我因多病了，你却无病也不见怀胎。如今二奶奶这样，都因咱们无福，或犯了什么，冲的他这样。”因又叫人出去算命打卦。偏算命的回来又说：“系属兔的阴人冲犯。”大家算将起来，只有秋桐一人属兔，说他冲的。

秋桐近见贾琏请医治药，打人骂狗，为尤二姐十分尽心，他心中早浸了一缸醋在内了。今又听见如此说他冲了，凤姐儿又劝他说：“你暂且别处去躲几个月再来。”秋桐便气的哭骂道：“理那起瞎肏的混咬舌根！我和他‘井水不犯河水’，怎么就冲了他！好个爱八哥儿，在外头什么人不见，偏来了就有人冲了。白眉赤脸，那里来的孩子？他不过指着哄我们那个棉花耳朵的爷罢了。纵有孩子，也不知姓张姓王。奶奶希罕那杂种羔子，我不喜欢！老了谁不成？谁不会养！一年半载养一个，倒还是一点搀杂没有的呢！”骂的众人又要笑，又不敢笑。

可巧邢夫人过来请安，秋桐便哭告邢夫人说：“二爷奶奶要撵我回去，我没了安身之处，太太好歹开恩。”邢夫人听说，慌的数落凤姐儿一阵，又骂贾琏：“不知好歹的种子，凭他怎不好，是你父亲给的。为个外头来的撵他，连老子都没了。你要撵他，你不如还你父亲去倒好。”说着，赌气去了。秋桐更又得意，越性[12]走到他窗户根底下大哭大骂起来。尤二姐听了，不免更添烦恼。

晚间，贾琏在秋桐房中歇了，凤姐已睡，平儿过来瞧他，又悄悄劝他：“好生养病，不要理那畜生。”尤二姐拉他哭道：“姐姐，我从到了这里，多亏姐姐照应。为我，姐姐也不知受了多少闲气。我若逃的出命来，我必答报姐姐的恩德；只怕我逃不出命来，也只好等来生罢。”平儿也不禁滴泪说道：“想来都是我坑了你。我原是一片痴心，从没瞒他的话。既听见你在外头，岂有不告诉他的。谁知生出这些个事来。”尤二姐忙道：“姐姐这话错了。若姐姐便不告诉他，他岂有打听不出来的，不过是姐姐说的在先。况且我也要一心进来，方成个体统，与姐姐何干。”二人哭了一回，平儿又嘱咐了几句，夜已深了，方去安息。

这里尤二姐心下自思：“病已成势，日无所养，反有所伤，料定必不能好。况胎已打下，无可悬心，何必受这些零气，不如一死，倒还干净。常听见人说，生金子可以坠死，岂不比上吊自刎又干净。”想毕，拃挣起来，打开箱子，找出一块生金，也不知多重，恨命含泪便吞入口中，几次狠命直脖，方咽了下去。于是赶忙将衣服首饰穿戴齐整，上炕躺下了。当下人不知，鬼不觉。

到第二日早晨，丫鬟媳妇们见他不叫人，乐得且自己去梳洗。凤姐便和秋桐都上去了。平儿看不过，说丫头们：“你们就只配没人心的打着骂着使也罢了，一个病人，也不知可怜可怜。他虽好性儿，你们也该拿出个样儿来，别太过逾了，墙倒众人推。”丫鬟听了，急推房门进来看时，却穿戴的齐齐整整，死在炕上。于是方吓慌了，喊叫起来。平儿进来看了，不禁大哭。众人虽素习惧怕凤姐，然想尤二姐实在温和怜下，比凤姐原强，如今死去，谁不伤心落泪，只不敢与凤姐看见。

当下合宅皆知。贾琏进来，搂尸大哭不止。凤姐也假意哭道：“狠心的妹妹！你怎么丢下我去了，辜负了我的心！”尤氏贾蓉等也来哭了一场，劝住贾琏。贾琏便回了王夫人，讨了梨香院停放五日，挪到铁槛寺去，王夫人依允。贾琏忙命人去开了梨香院的门，收拾出正房来停灵。贾琏嫌后门出灵不像，便对着梨香院的正墙上通街现开了一个大门。两边搭棚，安坛场做佛事。用软榻铺了锦缎衾褥，将二姐抬上榻去，用衾单盖了。八个小厮和几个媳妇围随，从内子墙[13]一带抬往梨香院来。那里已请下天文生预备，揭起衾单一看，只见这尤二姐面色如生，比活着还美貌。贾琏又搂着大哭，只叫：“奶奶，你死的不明，都是我坑了你！”

贾蓉忙上来劝：“叔叔解着些儿，我这个姨娘自己没福。”说着，又向南指大观园的界墙，贾琏会意，只悄悄跌脚说：“我忽略了，终久对出来，我替你报仇。”天文生回说：“奶奶卒于今日正卯时，五日出不得，或是三日，或是七日方可。明日寅时入殓大吉。”贾琏道：“三日断乎使不得，竟是七日。因家叔家兄皆在外，小丧不敢多停，等到外头，还放五七，做大道场才掩灵。明年往南去下葬。”天文生应诺，写了殃榜[14]而去。宝玉已早过来陪哭一场。众族中人也都来了。

贾琏忙进去找凤姐，要银子治办棺椁丧礼。凤姐见抬了出去，推有病，回：“老太太、太太说我病着，忌三房[15]，不许我去。”因此也不出来穿孝，且往大观园中来。绕过群山，至北界墙根下往外听，隐隐绰绰听了一言半语，回来又回贾母说如此这般。贾母道：“信他胡说，谁家痨病死的孩子不烧了一撒，也认真的开丧破土起来。既是二房一场，也是夫妻之分，停五七日抬出来，或一烧或乱葬地上埋了完事。”凤姐笑道：“可是这话。我又不敢劝他。”

正说着，丫鬟来请凤姐，说：“二爷等着奶奶拿银子呢。”凤姐只得来了，便问他：“什么银子？家里近来艰难，你还不知道？咱们的月例，一月赶不上一月，鸡儿吃了过年粮。昨儿我把两个金项圈当了三百银子，你还做梦呢。这里还有二三十两银子，你要就拿去。”说着，命平儿拿了出来，递与贾琏，指着贾母有话，又去了。恨的贾琏没话可说，只得开了尤氏箱柜，去拿自己的梯己。及开了箱柜，一滴无存，只有些折簪烂花并几件半新不旧的绸绢衣裳，都是尤二姐素习所穿的，不禁又伤心哭了起来。自己用个包袱一齐包了，也不命小厮丫鬟来拿，便自己提着来烧。

平儿又是伤心，又是好笑，忙将二百两一包的碎银子偷了出来，到厢房拉住贾琏，悄递与他，说：“你只别作声才好，你要哭，外头多少哭不得，又跑了这里来点眼。”贾琏听说，便说：“你说的是。”接了银子，又将一条裙子递与平儿，说：“这是他家常穿的，你好生替我收着，作个念心儿。”平儿只得掩了，自己收去。贾琏拿了银子与衣服〔五〕，走来命人先去买板。好的又贵，中的又不要。贾琏骑马自去要瞧，至晚间，果抬了一副好板进来，价银五百两赊着，连夜赶造。一面分派了人口穿孝守灵，晚来也不进去，只在这里伴宿。正是——

[1] 大限——寿数，亦指死期。

〔一〕 “如”，底本作“和”，从俄藏本改。

[3] 燕尔新婚——新婚和美。《诗经·邶风·谷风》：“宴尔新昏（昏与婚通），如兄如弟。”宴尔：即燕好、和美，指夫妻和谐。“宴”通“燕”，安乐。

〔二〕 “娇俏”，底本、己卯本作“俏”，梦稿本作“夭俏”。从甲辰本改。

[5] 天网恢恢，疏而不漏——《老子》：“天网恢恢，疏而不失。”明代薛蕙集解：“世之禁网虽密，然人多倖免者；惟天网恢恢广大，有若疏而不密，而为恶之人，无有能逃也。”天网：天道如网；后亦喻指国法。恢恢：宽广的样子。

[6] 天道好（hào号）还——上天所行之道是喜欢报复的。好：喜爱。还：报偿；报复。

〔三〕 “于是”，原作“于你”，又点去。从梦稿、蒙府、戚序、甲辰本改。

[8] 庚信——亦称月信，即月经。

[9] 肝脉——左手关脉可诊肝部病情，亦称肝脉。

〔四〕 “贾琏”，原无，从各本补。

[11] 通陈——向上天陈述己愿。

[12] 越性——索性。

[13] 内子墙——是和“外围墙”或“外界墙”相对而言的墙，即一座府第中两路相邻院落之间夹道两侧的墙。

[14] 殃榜——旧时由阴阳先生给死者写的文书，上有死者的年寿及“招魂”的话。

[15] 忌三房——旧俗，生病的人忌进新房、产房和灵房，称为“忌三房”。

〔五〕 “衣服”，底本作“众人”，从俄藏本改。

CHAPTER 69. A scheming woman kills with a borrowed knife And one who has ceased to hope swallows gold and dies

Er-jie was full of gratitude when she heard what Xi-feng was planning to do for her and gladly accompanied her to the inner mansion. You-shi, feeling that – in spite of what had been agreed – she could hardly stay away when her own step-sister was being formally presented to the family, went along with them, on the express understanding that she herself would say nothing and that, in the event of there being any opposition, Xi-feng would take sole responsibility.

When the three of them arrived in Grandmother Jia’s apartment, the old lady was talking to Bao-yu and the girls – such conversations, enlivened by much joking and laughter, being nowadays her principal source of amusement. Seeing Xi-feng come in accompanied by a beautiful young woman, she screwed up her eyes and peered at the latter with curiosity.

‘Well now, who is this charming young person?’

‘Have a good look, Grandma,’ said Xi-feng, taking Er-jie by the hand and drawing her forwards. ‘Tell me what you think of her. – Quick, make your kotow!’ she whispered to Er-jie. ‘This is Lian’s grandmother.’

When Er-jie had completed her obeisance, Xi-feng pointed to each of the cousins in turn and told her their names.

‘You can make your curtseys to them later, after you have been to see Their Ladyships,’ she said.

Er-jie had to greet each of the cousins by name, as if she were meeting them for the first time. After that she stood, with head demurely lowered, to one side.

Having studied her face for some moments, Grandmother Jia raised her head to think, but presently gave up with a laugh.

‘It’s no good,’ she said. ‘I can’t think who it is. But I’m sure I’ve seen her somewhere else before.’

‘Never mind about that, Grandma,’ said Xi-feng laughing. ‘Just tell me what you think of her. Is she prettier than me?’

Grandmother Jia put on a pair of spectacles.

‘Bring the child a little closer,’ she told Faithful and Amber. ‘Let me have a look at her skin.’

Amid suppressed titters from the others present, Er-jie was hustled forward. Grandmother Jia looked her up and down very carefully.

‘Hold her hand out,’ she said to Amber. ‘Let me look at her hand.’

When the hand had been inspected, Grandmother Jia took off her spectacles and laughed.

‘Flawless. Yes, she’s prettier than you.’

Xi-feng laughed too, then, kneeling down, proceeded to repeat, more or less word for word, what she had told You-shi she would say.

‘Will you be very kind and let her stay here, Grandma? She wouldn’t begin living with Lian until next year, when she is out of mourning.’

‘Yes, that’s perfectly all right,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘Very good of you to have suggested it. I’m very glad. Provided, as you say, that she and Lian don’t start sleeping together until next year.’

Xi-feng kotowed. Then she asked Grandmother Jia if she would mind deputing two of her women to take Er-jie round to see Lady Xing and Lady Wang, and whether it would be all right for them to say that Er-jie was being installed on Grandmother Jia’s initiative. The old lady consented and Er-jie was led off to see the other ladies. Xi-feng’s failure to take adequate steps for procuring her husband an heir had for some time now been a source of anxiety to Lady Wang, for she knew that her niece’s reputation must be suffering as a consequence. She was therefore delighted, when Er-jie was presented to her as Jia Lian’s new concubine, to learn that it was Xi-feng herself who was responsible for the arrangements. Now that Er-jie’s union with Jia Lian had been brought into the open, it was possible to move her from the Garden into the apartment in Xi-feng’s courtyard that had been prepared for her.

Meanwhile Xi-feng’s agents were secretly inciting Zhang Hua to claim his affianced wife, promising that she would come to him with a generous trousseau and that they would give him a substantial sum of money to set up house with. It was no easy task persuading him, since from the very start he had had little stomach for this case. His apprehensions seemed justified when, in answer to the summons, Jia Rong’s representative eventually appeared in court and made the following statement:

‘Zhang Hua had already broken off his engagement with the young lady before she entered our house. She did so, in any case, merely as a kinswoman, already related to the family by her sister’s marriage. There was never any talk of forcing her into matrimony. Zhang Hua trumped up this case against my master because my master was attempting to recover some money owing to him which Zhang Hua was unable to pay.’

The Censor, whose past connections with both the Jia and Wang families, not to mention the substantial bribe he had pocketed only the night before, inclined him to accept this as a reliable version of the facts, ruled that Zhang Hua was a person of untrustworthy character, driven by destitution to make a number of malicious and defamatory accusations against the defendants, none of which could be substantiated. The charges in the indictment were dismissed and Zhang Hua was sentenced to be flogged and driven from the court. By distributing money in the right quarters, Cheerful was able to ensure that the flogging administered was a light one and got to work again on Zhang Hua as soon as it was over.

‘There’s no question you were betrothed to this girl. If you go back and tell them that it’s the girl you want and nothing else, they’re sure to give judgement in your favour.’

Zhang Hua was induced to do this and the court, after further persuasions from Wang Xin, did in fact give judgement in his favour.

‘Zhang Hua is to repay the full amount owed by him to the Jia family within the period specified. But provided that he does so, his affianced wife is to be restored to him as soon as he is in a position to receive her.’

This judgement was confirmed in the presence of Zhang Hua’s father, who was specially summoned to the Court of Censors to hear it. When Cheerful explained to the old man that this meant that he and his son were to get not only the promised money but also Er-jie and her trousseau as well, he was naturally delighted and at once went along to the Jia mansion to claim the bride. Xi-feng went in feigned alarm to report this latest development to Grandmother Jia.

‘It’s all the fault of Cousin Zhen’s wife,’ she said. ‘It seems that the Zhang family had never agreed to break off this earlier engagement, and now they have sued us and the court has given judgement against us.’

Grandmother Jia summoned You-shi from the other mansion and rebuked her for her carelessness.

‘It seems that your sister’s betrothal before she was born to this Zhang person was never properly broken off, and now his family are suing us. I can’t imagine what you thought you were at when you made this arrangement!’

‘But it was broken off,’ You-shi protested. ‘They even took our money.’

‘When Zhang Hua was giving evidence, he said he’d never seen any money,’ Xi-feng chipped in. ‘He said no one had ever approached him about breaking off the engagement. His father said your step-mother mentioned something about breaking it off but there was nothing final. He said that when your step-mother died, you moved your sister in regardless and married her to Lian as his Number Two. No one present at the time was able to refute those statements, so they were able to get away with them. It’s a good job Lian hasn’t slept with the girl yet. As far as that goes, there is nothing to stop her going back to Zhang. The only thing is, it would be a frightful loss of face for us to let her go again having once moved her in.’

‘Yes, but as you say, Lian hasn’t touched her yet,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘It would be even worse for our reputation to hold on to someone who by rights is somebody else’s wife. Much better hand her over to him. We can easily find someone else for Lian.’

‘The engagement really was broken off,’ said Er-jie, and named the date on which it had occurred. ‘My mother gave the Zhangs twenty taels for doing it. It must be because they are so hard up that they have brought this case against you. The things they have been saying are quite untrue. My sister made no mistake.’

‘It only goes to show how dangerous people like this are to provoke,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘Well, in that case, Feng, you had better go and see what you can do about it.’

Whatever reluctance she may have felt, Xi-feng was obliged to say that she would. She had Jia Rong summoned to her room to talk to him about it. Jia Rong knew her feelings well enough – but after all, how could a family like the Jias really contemplate handing over one of their women to a beggar? The idea was preposterous. When he reported the conversation to his father, Cousin Zhen sent someone to have a word privately with Zhang Hua.

‘Look here, you’ve had a lot of money out of them,’ the man said. ‘Why do you have to have the woman as well? If you insist too hard, my master is likely to start getting angry with you, and frankly I wouldn’t give much for your chances if he does. Why don’t you and your father go back to where you came from? With the money you’ve already got you’d have no difficulty in finding yourself a very nice little wife, and if you decide to go away, I can promise you some more money towards your travel expenses.’

This sounded to Zhang Hua like good advice, and after talking it over with his father, he agreed that if the money he had already received were to be made up to a total of one hundred taels, he and his father would undertake to make themselves scarce. The money was handed over, and father and son rose at four o’clock next morning to begin the journey back to their native village. As soon as he had made sure of their departure, Jia Rong went round to tell Grandmother Jia and Xi-feng.

‘Zhang Hua and his father have run away. The charges in the indictment were all fabricated and they lost their nerve because they thought they were going to be found out. The court knows all the facts now but has decided not to prosecute. So that is the end of the affair.’

Xi-feng was not as put out by this as might have been expected.

‘After all,’ she told herself, ‘even if I bad insisted on Zhang Hua taking her away, there was always the possibility that Lian might get back in time to reclaim her. He would only have had to give Zhang a little money and Zhang would surely not have refused to give her back. Perhaps it’s just as well that she’s staying here. I have her here safely under my thumb while I think of some other way of dealing with her. But I don’t like this idea of Zhang going off nobody knows where. Suppose he talks? Or suppose one day he finds some means of reopening the case? Everything I have done up to now will turn out to have been simply working towards my own downfall. Oh, I should never have put a weapon like this into somebody else’s hand!’

She began to grow more and more worried and eventually thought of a plan. Calling Brightie to her she told him to find out where Zhang Hua was and procure his death, either by laying a false accusation of robbery against him and leaving it to the magistrates and yamen runners to finish him off judicially, or else by employing an assassin. Only by such root-and-branch methods, she felt, could her fears be allayed and the threat to her reputation be removed.

Brightie went off agreeing to do what she had asked, but when he got home and had time to think about it, he began to feel misgivings.

‘The fellow’s already gone away,’ he thought. ‘Surely that’s the end of the matter? Why does she need to make such a great issue of it? Taking a man’s life is no children’s game; it’s a serious business. I’ll just have to humour her for the time being and think of some way out of this later.’

Having so resolved, he went into hiding for a few days before coming back and reporting to Xi-feng.

‘Three days after Zhang Hua and his father ran away, somewhere near Jing-kou in the early hours of the morning Zhang Hua was knocked down and killed by a highwayman for the sake of the money he was carrying. The old man died of a heart-attack shortly afterwards in a near-by inn. There was an inquest on the bodies and both of them were buried there, where it happened.’

Xi-feng did not believe him.

‘I’ll probably be sending someone to make inquiries shortly,’ she said. ‘If I find out that you’ve been lying, I’ll have every tooth in your head broken.’

But in the event she did nothing and let the matter drop.

From that time onwards her demeanour towards Er-jie was affable in the extreme. No sister could have shown a greater interest in her well-being.

A day came when Jia Lian’s business was at last transacted and he was able to start on his much-delayed journey back home. On his arrival in the city he called in first at the new house in order to see Er-jie, but he found the place locked and empty with only an aged caretaker in occupation. When, in answer to his questions, the old man told him what had happened, he stamped in his stirrups with vexation; but there was no time for indulging his feelings, for he had shortly to present himself before his parents and report to them on the successful conclusion of his mission.

Jia She was for once very pleased with him and praised him for his capability. He gave him a hundred taels as a reward and a seventeen-year-old girl from his own room called Autumn as a concubine. Jia Lian kotowed to receive his presents. He felt enormously pleased with himself; but there was a slightly hang-dog expression on his face when, after he had seen Grandmother Jia and the rest, he appeared once more before his wife.

To his surprise there were none of the expected recriminations. Xi-feng seemed, indeed, to have become a different person. She came out to meet him with Er-jie at her side, confined herself to questions about his health, his stay in Ping-an and the journey back home, and made not a single reference to his deception. When the time came for him to tell her about Autumn, he was unable to prevent a certain pleased smugness from stealing over his face. At once Xi-feng ordered two of the married servants to go round in a carriage to collect her. Here was another thorn in her bosom, even before the first one had been extracted! Yet not a trace of what she felt was allowed to show itself in her expression. With the same unchanging smile she ordered a ‘welcome home’ dinner for her husband and took Autumn to make her kotows to Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang. Jia Lian privately marvelled at the extraordinary change that had come over her.

It need hardly be said that Xi-feng harboured feelings about Er-jie very different from the ones her outward show of friendliness might have suggested. Once or twice when they were alone together she confided to her (in a sisterly manner, of course) that her reputation in the family was a very unsavoury one.

‘There is a nasty little story going around, my dear, that you weren’t all you should have been before you were married. They say you were much too thick with Cousin Zhen. I’m afraid even Lady Jia and Lady Wang seem to have got hold of it. They are beginning to ask me why I picked someone whom no one else would have, and why I don’t put you away and choose somebody more suitable. Needless to say, when I first heard this story I was flabbergasted. I’ve tried to find out who started it, but I’ve had no success. Oh, these servants! Just as I thought I’d done something to feel proud of, I find that I’ve got a fish’s head like this on my plate to contend with!’

Xi-feng’s sympathy for Er-jie was so great that, after telling her all this a couple of times, her indignation against these anonymous traducers. caused her to become quite ill; she refused all food and drink and began to spend the greater part of her time lying down in her room. The servants, with the sole exception of Patience, speculated freely about the cause of their mistress’s illness, and Er-jie, though seldom named, came in for frequent criticism.

Because Autumn had been presented to Jia Lian by his father, she had a very high opinion of her own importance, showing scant respect for Patience or even for Xi-feng, let alone for a poor, unwanted creature like Er-jie, who was commonly known to have been a fallen woman before she married. When Xi-feng noticed this she was secretly pleased.

Since Xi-feng’s pretended illness, she had ceased to eat with Er-jie, whose meals, on Xi-feng’s instructions, were now served to her in her own room. Invariably the food that was given her was inedible. Patience was so disgusted that she took to buying her things to eat with her own money, or, on the pretext of going for a walk with her in the Garden, taking her to the Garden kitchen where she could be given nourishing soups to eat under her supervision. Because it was Patience who did this, none of the other servants dared to inform against her. Unfortunately Autumn once came upon them there and, feeling no such compunction, went straight off to denounce her to Xi-feng.

‘Patience is going out of her way to give you a bad name, Mrs Lian. That Er woman wastes the good food you give her and goes into the Garden with Patience every day to sneak food from the kitchen.’

Xi-feng abused Patience angrily.

‘Most people keep a cat to keep down the mice for them. My cat seems to eat the chickens!’

Patience dared not answer back, and from then on kept away from Er-jie; but she secretly hated Autumn because of this.

Bao-yu and the girls were privately concerned about Er-jie. Though none of them would venture to speak out openly on her behalf, they all of them felt sorry for her. Sometimes, when no one else was about, one or other of them would get into conversation with her. Invariably she would be crying and wiping her eyes all the time they were talking to her; but she never uttered a word of complaint against Xi-feng – indeed, since Xi-feng was careful never to reveal herself in her true colours, it is hard to see what she could have complained of.

Jia Lian for his part failed to notice that anything was wrong. Since his return he had been completely taken in by Xi-feng’s show of magnanimity towards her rival; and in any case he was at present somewhat preoccupied. The sight of his father’s many maids and concubines had often in the past aroused libidinous feelings in him which he had perforce repressed; while on her side Autumn had often in the past, by flutterings of the eyelids and various other signals, expressed a marked interest in her master’s handsome son. It may be imagined what sort of blaze was kindled in the brushwood when two such eager bedfellows were brought together with full parental approval of their union. Day after day he spent in Autumn’s company –

aye sporting with his new-won bride

in the words of the poet. He seemed, indeed, scarcely able to prise himself away from her. Gradually, as Autumn became more and more the only centre of his concern, his former feelings towards Er-jie began to cool.

Xi-feng detested Autumn but was glad to have her as a means of ridding herself of Er-jie. She would ‘kill with a borrowed knife’ – or rather she would watch the killing from a safe distance, like a traveller reclining on a mountainside who watches two tigers tearing each other to pieces in the valley below. And when Autumn had disposed of Er-jie, Xi-feng herself would take care of Autumn. Once she had settled on this strategy, she lost no opportunity, whenever she found herself alone with Autumn, of stirring her up against her rival.

‘You are so young and headstrong. You ought to be more careful,’ she told her. ‘She is his second wife, after all. He is very, very fond of her. Even I have to give way to her a bit. It’s suicide to go constantly provoking her in the way you do.’

This had the desired effect of releasing a stream of abuse against Er-jie, uttered in a voice that could be heard from one end of the courtyard to the other.

‘You’re too soft with people, Mrs Lian. I wouldn’t behave so meekly if I was in your place. Where’s all your old authority gone to? You can be forgiving if you like, but if I’ve got a smut in my eye, I like to get it out. You just let me get at that bitch, I’ll give her a piece of my mind!’

Xi-feng pretended to be too scared of Autumn to rebuke her; but Er-jie, listening in her room, spent the whole day crying and was too upset to eat. She did not dare to tell Jia Lian what the matter was when he called in to see her, and next morning, when Grandmother Jia noticed that her eyes were red and swollen with weeping and asked her what the matter was, she would not say.

This was just the sort of opportunity that Autumn was waiting for. ‘She’s very good at putting on this dying duck act,’ she confided to Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang when Er-jie had gone. ‘We get this from her all the time. It’s because she hates sharing. She wishes that Mrs Lian and I were dead so that she could have Mr Lian all to herself.’

‘It’s possible to be too attractive,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘They say that a jealous nature often goes with it. How contemptible to be like that, though – especially when Feng has gone out of her way to be nice to her! One can see that she has no breeding.’

From that time onwards she appeared to have taken rather a dislike to Er-jie; and the servants, when they sensed that Grandmother Jia did not like her, were only too ready to press forwards and trample on her themselves. Now indeed life for the poor young woman became a burden, only occasionally alleviated when Patience, acting behind her mistress’s back and against her wishes, took up the cudgels on her behalf. How could so gentle a soul, one of those whom Nature, in the words of the poet,

did out of snow and rose-petals compound,

stand up to the barbarities to which she was now daily subjected? After suffering in silence for a month, she began to show the symptoms of an illness: there was a weakness and lassitude in her limbs which made moving them an effort; she could keep nothing down, either food or drink, and seemed to grow thinner and paler all the time; and she could not sleep at night. One night, when she was trying to get to sleep, San-jie appeared to her, carrying the sword that she had cut her throat with.

‘Sister,’ she said, ‘you always were a silly, weak-willed creature. I knew you would suffer for it in the end. Don’t trust the honied words of that jealous woman! Outwardly she seems kind and virtuous, but she is treacherous and cunning underneath. She hates you and will never rest until she has brought about your death. If I had been alive, I would never have allowed you to move inside here; or if I had, I would never have allowed her to treat you like this. But I was fated to kill myself and you were fated to suffer here alone. That is our punishment, because in our past lives our wantonness led other folk astray. Sister, you must do as I tell you. Take this sword, cut off that jealous woman’s head, and come with me to the tribunal of Disenchantment to await her judgement. You will die in any case, but if you do not do as I say, you will have died for nothing and no one will feel sorry for you.’

‘Sister,’ said Er-jie, weeping, ‘my whole life has been sinful. You yourself say that my present sufferings are a punishment. Why should I add the crime of murder to my other sins?’

San-jie left her sorrowfully, and Er-jie, waking up with a start, realized that she had been dreaming.

Next time Jia Lian came to see her she had a tearful disclosure to make.

‘This illness I am suffering from will not get better. It is half a year now since I came to you and already I am with child. It might be the son you want, though of course we cannot know that until it comes. If Heaven is merciful, I hope I may live long enough to bear it; but I fear I may die before, and the child with me.’

‘You mustn’t worry,’ said Jia Lian, weeping himself. ‘I’ll get a first-rate doctor to cure this illness.’

He lost no time in sending for one. Unfortunately the Dr Wang of the Imperial College who had attended Grandmother Jia and other members of the family in the past was at present with the Imperial Army in the field (he had some hopes of a baronetcy on his return) and the pages sent out to summon him ended up by calling in a colleague of his called Hu Jun-rong – that same doctor, in fact, who had been called in to attend Skybright a year or two previously. After taking Er-jie’s pulses he informed Jia Lian that her trouble was ‘irregularity of the menses caused by anaemia’.

‘But are you sure she isn’t pregnant?’ said Jia Lian. ‘It’s three months now since she had a period, and she is suffering all the time from morning-sickness.’

When he heard that, Hu Jun-rong asked the old women in attendance if he might have Er-jie’s arm again. It was thrust out through the curtain and he spent a long time feeling the pulses in it a second time.

‘It’s true that in a case of pregnancy the pulse from the liver would be a strong one,’ he said finally. ‘On the other hand wood in the ascendant generates fire, which can by itself cause the drying up of the menstrual fluid: so a strong liver pulse may be indicative only of an irregularity in the menses and not of pregnancy. I wonder if I might have a look at the lady’s face? Before I finally decide on the right treatment, I should like to see what sort of colour she has.’

The request was an unusual one, but Jia Lian felt he had no choice but to grant it. The bed-curtains were drawn back a few inches and Er-jie thrust her head out through the slit. The vision thus presented to him seemed to deprive the doctor temporarily of his senses, so that it is doubtful whether he was able to make any observations of diagnostic value while he was goggling at it. After a moment or two the curtains were drawn to again and Jia Lian accompanied the doctor outside and once more asked him for his opinion.

‘It isn’t pregnancy,’ said the doctor. ‘There is some clotted blood which is holding back the natural discharge. The important thing is to disperse the clot and get her menstruating again.’

He wrote a prescription out and took his leave. Jia Lian sent someone to pay him and also to purchase the drugs named in his prescription. The medicine was made up, infused and taken. From about midnight Er-jie began to suffer from continuous abdominal pain, and after what seemed hours of agony, produced a foetus already sufficiently developed to be recognizable as a male child. This was followed by continuous bleeding in the course of which she fainted away.

Jia Lian cursed Hu Jun-rong bitterly when they told him. He sent someone immediately to call another doctor. He also sent someone to look for Hu Jun-rong; but Hu Jun-rong, having got wind of what had happened, had already packed his bags and disappeared.

The new doctor was not encouraging.

‘Obviously your lady’s constitution was not very robust to start with. It looks to me as if in the course of her pregnancy she must have been subjected to some sort of emotional distress resulting in a congestion of the pneuma. By mistakenly attacking this with a far too drastic dispersant, I am afraid the previous consultant has done a lot of damage. The vital essence has been eighty or ninety per cent impaired. As things look at present, I am afraid I really cannot guarantee a cure. I propose a treatment using both liquid and solid medicines simultaneously. If you can make quite sure that she neither sees nor hears anything likely to upset her during the treatment, there might be some hope of improvement.’

Having given his diagnosis he departed, but not before writing out two prescriptions, one for an infusion and one for some pills.

Jia Lian was beside himself. He insisted that the culprit responsible for calling in Hu Jun-rong should be discovered, and had him beaten within an inch of his life. But Jia Lian’s distress was as nothing compared with the transports of grief displayed by Xi-feng.

‘It is beginning to look as if we are fated not to have a son,’ she lamented. ‘To think that a doctor’s incompetence should ruin everything, just as we were so near to having one!’

She had a little ‘altar to Heaven and Earth’ set up on which she burned incense and in front of which she knelt down and prayed with the utmost fervency for Er-jie’s recovery.

‘Let me be ill instead of her,’ she prayed. ‘Only let You-shi’s sister get well again and bear us a man-child, and I vow to spend all my remaining days in prayer and fasting.’

Jia Lian and all the others who saw her and heard her pray were filled with admiration.

While Jia Lian and Autumn were alone together, Xi-feng had all sorts of soups and invalid slops made specially for Er-jie. She even sent the characters of Er-jie’s nativity to a fortune-teller to have her fortune told. The fortune-teller sent word back that Er-jie’s stars were temporarily in collision with those of some other female born under the sign of the Rabbit. A rapid investigation revealed that Autumn was the only person in the household born under that sign. It was her astral influence that was harming Er-jie.

The sight of Jia Lian rushing agitatedly about, calling for doctors, ordering medicines, dispensing curses and floggings among the servants, and in general showing a most singular devotedness to Er-jie, had already caused Autumn’s system to secrete several gallons of vinegar. Her jealous fury when she was informed that Er-jie’s illness was due to her influence and when she was urged by Xi-feng to move elsewhere for a few days in Er-jie’s interest can be imagined.

‘Who pays any attention to what those beggarly swindlers tell you?’ she said. ‘It’s all rubbish anyway. How can I have any influence on her? I have nothing to do with her.

The water in the well And the water in the sea: I’ve naught to do with you Or you to do with me.

Precious little darling! She saw plenty of all sorts when she was living outside. She didn’t suffer from any influences then, why should she start suffering from them now, I wonder? Anyway, there’s something I’d like to ask her. I’d like to ask her where she got that child from. She may fool that cotton-eared master of ours. As long as she gave him a child, it would be all one to him whether it was a Zhang or a Wang. But do you really care about that whore’s brat, Mrs Lian? I’m damned if I do! What’s so special about having a baby? Give me a year or ten months and I’ll have one myself – and it won’t have half the city for its father, either!’

The servants hearing her were at some pains not to laugh.

It happened that Lady Xing had come over that day to pay her respects to Grandmother Jia. Autumn took the opportunity of complaining to her.

‘Mr and Mrs Lian are trying to drive me out of here. I don’t know which way to turn. Put in a good word for me, Your Ladyship, I beg of you!’

This led Lady Xing to give Xi-feng a severe telling-off, after which she proceeded to give a piece of her mind to Jia Lian.

‘Ungrateful wretch! Whatever the girl’s like, she was given to you by Sir She. Fancy trying to turn her out for the sake of an outsider! Have you no respect for your father at all?’

She walked off in a huff, giving him no opportunity to explain. Autumn, now thoroughly cock-a-hoop, stood outside Er-jie’s window and favoured the world at large with an expanded and even more abusive version of what she had said earlier to Xi-feng. Er-jie, lying inside, heard every word of it, as she was meant to, and was deeply distressed.

That night, when Jia Lian and Autumn were in bed together and Xi-feng was asleep in her own room, Patience went to see Er-jie and tried to comfort her.

‘You must try to get well,’ she said. ‘Don’t take any notice of that animal.’

Er-jie clutched her hand. She was crying weakly as she replied.

‘Sister, you have been so good to me, ever since I came to this place. I don’t know how much unpleasantness you haven’t had to put up with on my account. If I come out of this alive, I promise I shall do my best to repay your kindness. I fear I shan’t, though. I shall have to try and repay you in another life.’

Patience could not help crying too.

‘All these things that have happened to you – it’s all my fault. I was so stupid. I always told myself that I’d never deceive my mistress, and so when I heard about you and Mr Lian living together outside, I thought I had to tell her. I never thought it would all turn out like this.’

‘You’re wrong to blame yourself,’ said Er-jie. ‘She would have found out sooner or later, even if you hadn’t told her. It was only a question of time. And anyway, I wanted to come here. I wanted so much to be respectable. It really had nothing to do with you.’

The two young women wept a while in silence. Once more Patience tried to comfort her and urged her to get better; then, because it was long past midnight, she left her to go and get some sleep.

After Patience had gone, Er-jie lay thinking.

‘This illness seems to have got its grip on me. I’m losing rather than gaining all the time. It doesn’t look as if I shall ever get better. And now that I’ve lost the baby, there’s nothing much left for me to live for. I don’t have to put up with all this hatred and malice. Why don’t I just die and get it over with? They say you can die by swallowing gold. It would be a better way of dying than hanging oneself or cutting one’s throat.’

She struggled out of bed, opened one of her boxes, and hunted out a nugget of raw gold. Then she wept a little. It was four o’clock in the morning. Summoning up all the will-power she could muster, she forced herself to swallow it. She had to hold her head back and swallow many times before it would go down; but in the end it did. Then she dressed herself hurriedly in her best clothes, put on her jewellery and ornaments, laid herself down upon the kang, and sank at once into unconsciousness.

Hearing no call from her next morning, the maids – Xi-feng and Autumn having gone off to Grandmother Jia’s place for their morning duty – were only too pleased to get on with their toilets undisturbed. Patience was disgusted by their callousness and reproached them bitterly.

‘What you girls need is a really hard-hearted mistress – one who would curse you and beat you every day. There’s a sick woman in there: can’t you feel any sympathy for her at all? Even though she’s so easily put upon, I’m surprised you don’t show her a little consideration, if only for appearance’s sake. “Everyone helps to push over a falling wall” they say; but don’t you think you carry it a bit too far?’

Shamed by her reproaches, the maids pushed open Er-jie’s door and went inside to look. They found her dressed up in all her finery and stretched out dead upon the kang. Their frightened screams brought Patience running in as well. She could not help weeping out loud when she saw the cause. The other servants, too, when they remembered how sweet and gentle Er-jie had been and how unfailingly kind to her inferiors, were moved to tears by her death, but they were all so scared of Xi-feng that they dared not let her see their tears.

Soon everyone in the household had heard the news. When Jia Lian arrived he clung to the corpse and wept uncontrollably. Xi-feng made a show of weeping too and hypocritically reproached Er-jie for her ‘cruelty’.

‘Hard-hearted sister!’ she wailed. ‘How could you bear to leave me like this when you knew how much I cared for you?’

You-shi and Jia Rong also came and wept a while, after which they urged Jia Lian to cease his lamentations and begin to perform his duties. The first of these was to report Er-jie’s death formally to Lady Wang and ask if he might lay out the body in Pear-tree Court for five days and after that move it to the Temple of the Iron Threshold. Lady Wang gave her permission, whereupon he at once sent servants to open up Pear-tree Court and make the principal room in it ready to receive the corpse.

Jia Lian did not like the idea of Er-jie’s leaving the mansion for the last time by way of the rear gate and into the back streets beyond. He therefore opened up the gate in the outer wall of Pear-tree Court giving on to the passage-way between the two mansions which led into Two Dukes Street. A wnings were put up on either side of this gate to accommodate sūtra-chanting monks.

A beautifully-embroidered satin pall was draped over a camp-bed and Er-jie’s body laid on it and covered over with a sheet. On this it was carried by eight pages, followed by a number of married womenservants, along the foot of the inside walls and all the way to the room in Pear-tree Court which had been made ready for it. The official geomancer had been summoned and was waiting there in readiness. He lifted the coverlet back to look at Er-jie’s face. She looked almost alive – if anything even more beautiful than in life. The sight provoked a fresh outburst of grief from Jia Lian. Once more he clung to her and wept.

‘My poor wife!’ he sobbed. ‘You should never have died. I blame myself for allowing this to happen.’

Jia Rong nervously urged restraint.

‘There, there, Uncle! Take it easy! She was unlucky, poor Auntie. That’s all you can say about it.’

He pointed in the direction of the wall separating Pear-tree Court from the mansion. Jia Lian, understanding his meaning, lowered his voice, though he continued to reproach himself.

‘I was too careless. I should have noticed what was going on.’ He addressed himself to the dead woman. ‘One of these days I shall get to the bottom of this and you shall be revenged.’

At last the coverlet was replaced and the geomancer made his pronouncement.

‘I am assuming that she died at the end of the fifth watch. In that case you won’t be able to take her out of here on the fifth day, I’m afraid. It will have to be either the third or the seventh. For the encoffining, the best time would be four o’clock tomorrow morning.’

‘The third day is much too soon,’ said Jia Lian. ‘It will have to be the seventh. I couldn’t keep her here much longer than that, because my uncle and my cousin are both away and I should need to have their permission; but I am planning to do much more for her when we get her to the temple outside. I’d like to keep her there for the full thirty-five days and give her a really decent funeral with a requiem and so forth at the end of it. We can take her south to Nanking and bury her in the family graveyard next year.’

The geomancer agreed to all this, wrote out the burial licence, and took his leave.

Various male kinsmen – Bao-yu was the first – came over to help Jia Lian mourn. When they had gone, he went back to his own apartment to look for Xi-feng and ask her for some money to buy timber for a coffin with and pay for the funeral.

Now Xi-feng had used her illness as a pretext for not accompanying the others to Pear-tree Court. She claimed that she had received strict instructions from Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang that until she had fully recovered she was to avoid all places connected in any way with birth, sickness or death. She refused to go into mourning for the same reason. The ban did not however prevent her from slipping out into the Garden when everyone else had gone, making her way round it between the rocks and the perimeter wall to the foot of the wall that separated it from Pear-tree Court, and eavesdropping on what was going on inside. She could not hear very much, but enough to send her scurrying back to Grandmother Jia to report on what Jia Lian was up to. Grandmother Jia was indignant.

‘I never heard such nonsense! When a consumptive child dies, one just burns it and scatters the ashes. Burying her in Nanking indeed! What can the man be thinking of? If he feels he has to do something special for her because she was his wife, let him observe the Thirty-Five Days. But after that he should either have her carried out and burned or else buried in the common graveyard. Nanking, indeed!’

Xi-feng laughed.

‘That’s what I thought, but it wasn’t for me to say.’

Just then a maid arrived from Jia Lian, looking for her.

‘Mr Lian’s back, madam. He’s waiting for you to give him some money.’

Xi-feng went back to see him.

‘What’s this about wanting money?’ she asked him. ‘Don’t you know how difficult things are lately? Every month now our allowance falls short of our expenditure. I managed to raise three hundred taels yesterday to pay some of the bills with by pawning two of my gold necklaces. There’s still twenty or thirty taels of that left that you can have if you like.’

She told Patience to get it out and give it to him; then, muttering something about Grandmother Jia having something more to say, she went away again, leaving Jia Lian speechless with resentment. He was obliged to go through Er-jie’s drawers and cupboards looking for the savings he had entrusted to her. But someone seemed to have been through them before him, for all he could find were a few bits of broken jewellery and a few far from new silk dresses. The sight of these clothes which she had worn brought on another outburst of anguished weeping. He felt sure there was something suspicious about her death but dared not utter what he thought. He made the things up into a bundle and was apparently intending to take them outside and sell them, for he had called no servant, and when Patience saw him was carrying the bundle himself. She found the sight of him carrying it both pathetic but also a trifle ludicrous. Hurriedly abstracting a packet containing two hundred taels of miscellaneous bits and pieces of silver from one of Xi-feng’s chests, she drew him into one of the side rooms where no one could see them and gave it to him.

‘Psst! Not a word! And by the way, if you want to cry, you can cry as much as you like outside, but for goodness’ sake don’t make an exhibition of yourself here, where everyone can see you!’

‘You are right,’ said Jia Lian, taking the money. He handed her a skirt out of the bundle. ‘Here, take this. It’s something she often used to wear. Keep it to remember her by.’

As he was insistent, she took it from him and put it away wit! her things.

Now that Jia Lian had some money, he sent someone to buy timber for the coffin. Unfortunately the best planks turned out to be too expensive and the more modestly priced ones did not meet with his approval. In the end he got on his horse and insisted on going to see for himself. The outcome was that a set of planks costing five hundred taels and obtained by him on credit were delivered from the timber-merchant’s that evening. The carpenters were set to work on them immediately and ordered to go on working through the night so that the ccffin should be ready in time.

He ordered some of the servants to dress in mourning and keep vigil at Er-jie’s side. He himself did not return to his own apartment that evening, but spent that and every other night of the seven at Pear-tree Court. Towards the end of this sojourn he was somewhat surprised to receive a summons from Grandmother Jia.

The reason for the summons will be revealed in the chapter which follows.