第八十一回

第八十一回 占旺相四美钓游鱼 奉严词两番入家塾

且说迎春归去之后，邢夫人像没有这事，倒是王夫人抚养了一场，却甚实伤感，在房中自己叹息了一回。只见宝玉走来请安，看见王夫人脸上似有泪痕，也不敢坐，只在旁边站着。王夫人叫他坐下，宝玉才捱上炕来，就在王夫人身旁坐了。王夫人见他呆呆的瞅着，似有欲言不言的光景，便道：“你又为什么这样呆呆的？”宝玉道：“并不为什么，只是昨儿听见二姐姐这种光景，我实在替他受不得。虽不敢告诉老太太，却这两夜只是睡不着。我想咱们这样人家的姑娘，那里受得这样的委屈。况且二姐姐是个最懦弱的人，向来不会和人拌嘴，偏偏儿的遇见这样没人心的东西，竟一点儿不知道女人的苦处。”说着，几乎滴下泪来。王夫人道：“这也是没法儿的事。俗语说的，‘嫁出去的女孩儿泼出去的水’，叫我能怎么样呢。”宝玉道：“我昨儿夜里倒想了一个主意：咱们索性回明了老太太，把二姐姐接回来，还叫他紫菱洲住着，仍旧我们姐妹弟兄们一块儿吃，一块儿顽，省得受孙家那混帐行子的气。等他来接，咱们硬不叫他去。由他接一百回，咱们留一百回，只说是老太太的主意。这个岂不好呢！”王夫人听了，又好笑，又好恼，说道：“你又发了呆气了，混说的是什么！大凡做了女孩儿，终久是要出门子的，嫁到人家去，娘家那里顾得，也只好看他自己的命运，碰得好就好，碰得不好也就没法儿。你难道没听见人说‘嫁鸡随鸡，嫁狗随狗’？那里个个都像你大姐姐做娘娘呢。况且你二姐姐是新媳妇，孙姑爷也还是年轻的人，各人有各人的脾气，新来乍到，自然要有些扭别的。过几年大家摸着脾气儿，生儿长女以后那就好了。你断断不许在老太太跟前说起半个字，我知道了是不依你的。快去干你的去罢，不要在这里混说。”说得宝玉也不敢作声，坐了一回，无精打彩的出来了。憋着一肚子闷气无处可泄，走到园中，一径往潇湘馆来。

刚进了门，便放声大哭起来。黛玉正在梳洗才毕，见宝玉这个光景，倒吓了一跳，问：“是怎么了？和谁怄了气了？”连问几声。宝玉低着头，伏在桌子上，呜呜咽咽，哭的说不出话来。黛玉便在椅子上怔怔的瞅着他，一会子问道：“到底是别人和你怄了气了，还是我得罪了你呢？”宝玉摇手道：“都不是，都不是。”黛玉道：“那么着，为什么这么伤起心来？”宝玉道：“我只想着咱们大家越早些死的越好，活着真真没有趣儿！”黛玉听了这话，更觉惊讶，道：“这是什么话，你真正发了疯了不成！”宝玉道：“也并不是我发疯，我告诉你，你也不能不伤心。前儿二姐姐回来的样子和那些话，你也都听见看见了。我想人到了大的时候，为什么要嫁？嫁出去受人家这般苦楚！还记得咱们初结‘海棠社’的时候，大家吟诗做东道，那时候何等热闹。如今宝姐姐家去了，连香菱也不能过来，二姐姐又出了门子了，几个知心知意的人都不在一处，弄得这样光景。我原打算去告诉老太太接二姐姐回来，谁知太太不依，倒说我呆、混说，我又不敢言语。这不多几时，你瞧瞧，园中光景，已经大变了。若再过几年，又不知怎么样了。故此越想不由人不心里难受起来。”黛玉听了这番言语，把头渐渐的低了下去，身子渐渐的退至炕上，一言不发，叹了口气，便向里躺下去了。

紫鹃刚拿进茶来，见他两个这样，正在纳闷。只见袭人来了，进来看见宝玉，便道：“二爷在这里呢么，老太太那里叫呢。我估量着二爷就是在这里。”黛玉听见是袭人，便欠身起来让坐。黛玉的两个眼圈儿已经哭的通红了。宝玉看见道：“妹妹，我刚才说的不过是些呆话，你也不用伤心。你要想我的话时，身子更要保重才好。你歇歇儿罢，老太太那边叫我，我看看去就来。”说着，往外走了。袭人悄问黛玉道：“你两个人又为什么？”黛玉道：“他为他二姐姐伤心；我是刚才眼睛发痒揉的，并不为什么。”袭人也不言语，忙跟了宝玉出来，各自散了。宝玉来到贾母那边，贾母却已经歇晌，只得回到怡红院。

到了午后，宝玉睡了中觉起来，甚觉无聊，随手拿了一本书看。袭人见他看书，忙去沏茶伺候。谁知宝玉拿的那本书却是《古乐府》[3]，随手翻来，正看见曹孟德“对酒当歌，人生几何”[4]一首，不觉刺心。因放下这一本，又拿一本看时，却是晋文[5]，翻了几页，忽然把书掩上，托着腮，只管痴痴的坐着。袭人倒了茶来，见他这般光景便道：“你为什么又不看了？”宝玉也不答言，接过茶来喝了一口，便放下了。袭人一时摸不着头脑，也只管站在旁边呆呆的看着他。忽见宝玉站起来，嘴里咕咕哝哝的说道：“好一个‘放浪形骸之外’[6]！”袭人听了，又好笑，又不敢问他，只得劝道：“你若不爱看这些书，不如还到园里逛逛，也省得闷出毛病来。”那宝玉只管口中答应，只管出着神往外走了。

一时走到沁芳亭，但见萧疏景象，人去房空。又来至蘅芜院，更是香草依然，门窗掩闭。转过藕香榭来，远远的只见几个人在蓼溆一带栏杆上靠着，有几个小丫头蹲在地下找东西。宝玉轻轻的走在假山背后听着。只听一个说道：“看他洑上来不洑上来。”好似李纹的语音。一个笑道：“好，下去了。我知道他不上来的。”这个却是探春的声音。一个又道：“是了，姐姐你别动，只管等着。他横竖上来。”一个又说：“上来了。”这两个是李绮邢岫烟的声儿。宝玉忍不住，拾了一块小砖头儿，往那水里一撂，咕咚一声，四个人都吓了一跳，惊讶道：“这是谁这么促狭？唬了我们一跳。”宝玉笑着从山子后直跳出来，笑道：“你们好乐啊，怎么不叫我一声儿？”探春道：“我就知道再不是别人，必是二哥哥这样淘气。没什么说的，你好好儿的赔我们的鱼罢。刚才一个鱼上来，刚刚儿的要钓着，叫你唬跑了。”宝玉笑道：“你们在这里顽竟不找我，我还要罚你们呢。”大家笑了一回。宝玉道：“咱们大家今儿钓鱼占占谁的运气好。看谁钓得着就是他今年的运气好，钓不着就是他今年运气不好。咱们谁先钓？”探春便让李纹，李纹不肯。探春笑道：“这样就是我先钓。”回头向宝玉说道：“二哥哥，你再赶走了我的鱼，我可不依了。”宝玉道：“头里原是我要唬你们顽，这会子你只管钓罢。”探春把丝绳抛下，没十来句话的工夫，就有一个杨叶窜儿[7]吞着钩子把漂儿坠下去，探春把竿一挑，往地下一撩，却活迸的。侍书〔一〕在满地上乱抓，两手捧着，搁在小磁坛内清水养着。探春把钓竿递与李纹。李纹也把钓竿垂下，但觉丝儿一动，忙挑起来，却是个空钩子。又垂下去，半晌钩丝一动，又挑起来，还是空钩子。李纹把那钩子拿上来一瞧，原来往里钩了。李纹笑道：“怪不得钓不着。”忙叫素云把钩子敲好了，换上新虫子，上边贴好了苇片儿。垂下去一会儿，见苇片[9]直沉下去，急忙提起来，倒是一个二寸长的鲫瓜儿[10]。李纹笑着道：“宝哥哥钓罢。”宝玉道：“索性三妹妹和邢妹妹钓了我再钓。”岫烟却不答言。只见李绮道：“宝哥哥先钓罢。”说着水面上起了一个泡儿。探春道：“不必尽着让了。你看那鱼都在三妹妹那边呢，还是三妹妹快着钓罢。”李绮笑着接了钓竿儿，果然沉下去就钓了一个。然后岫烟也钓着了一个，随将竿子仍旧递给探春，探春才递与宝玉。宝玉道：“我是要做姜太公[11]的。”便走下石矶，坐在池边钓起来，岂知那水里的鱼看见人影儿，都躲到别处去了。宝玉抡着钓竿等了半天，那钓丝儿动也不动。刚有一个鱼儿在水边吐沫，宝玉把竿子一幌又唬走了。急的宝玉道：“我最是个性儿急的人，他偏性儿慢，这可怎么样呢。好鱼儿，快来罢！你也成全成全我呢。”说得四人都笑了。一言未了，只见钓丝微微一动。宝玉喜得满怀，用力往上一兜，把钓竿往石上一碰，折作两段，丝也振断了，钩子也不知往那里去了。众人越发笑起来。探春道：“再没见像你这样卤人。”

正说着，只见麝月慌慌张张的跑来说：“二爷，老太太醒了，叫你快去呢。”五个人都唬了一跳。探春便问麝月道：“老太太叫二爷什么事？”麝月道：“我也不知道。就只听见说是什么闹破了，叫宝玉来问，还要叫琏二奶奶一块儿查问呢。”吓得宝玉发了一回呆，说道：“不知又是那个丫头遭了瘟了。”探春道：“不知什么事，二哥哥你快去，有什么信儿，先叫麝月来告诉我们一声儿。”说着，便同李纹李绮岫烟走了。

宝玉走到贾母房中，只见王夫人陪着贾母摸牌。宝玉看见无事，才把心放下了一半。贾母见他进来，便问道：“你前年那一次大病的时候，后来亏了一个疯和尚和个瘸道士治好了的。那会子病里，你觉得是怎么样？”宝玉想了一回，道：“我记得得病的时候儿，好好的站着，倒像背地里有人把我拦头一棍，疼的眼睛前头漆黑，看见满屋子里都是些青面獠牙、拿刀举棒的恶鬼。躺在炕上，觉得脑袋上加了几个脑箍似的。以后便疼的任什么不知道了。到好的时候，又记得堂屋里一片金光直照到我房里来，那些鬼都跑着躲避，便不见了。我的头也不疼了，心上也就清楚了。”贾母告诉王夫人道：“这个样儿也就差不多了。”

说着凤姐也进来了，见了贾母，又回身见过了王夫人，说道：“老祖宗要问我什么？”贾母道：“你前年害了邪病，你还记得怎么样？”凤姐儿笑道：“我也不很记得了。但觉自己身子不由自主，倒像有些鬼怪拉拉扯扯要我杀人才好，有什么，拿什么，见什么，杀什么。自己原觉很乏，只是不能住手。”贾母道：“好的时候还记得么？”凤姐道：“好的时候好像空中有人说了几句话似的，却不记得说什么来着。”贾母道：“这么看起来竟是他了。他姐儿两个病中的光景和才说的一样。这老东西竟这样坏心，宝玉枉认了他做干妈。倒是这个和尚道人，阿弥陀佛，才是救宝玉性命的，只是没有报答他。”凤姐道：“怎么老太太想起我们的病来呢？”贾母道：“你问你太太去，我懒待说。”王夫人道：“才刚老爷进来说起宝玉的干妈竟是个混帐东西，邪魔外道的。如今闹破了，被锦衣府拿住送入刑部监[12]，要问死罪的了，前几天被人告发的。那个人叫做什么潘三保，有一所房子卖与斜对过当铺里。这房子加了几倍价钱，潘三保还要加，当铺里那里还肯。潘三保便买嘱了这老东西，因他常到当铺里去，那当铺里人的内眷都与他好的。他就使了个法儿，叫人家的内人便得了邪病，家翻宅乱起来。他又去说这个病他能治，就用些神马[13]纸钱烧献了，果然见效。他又向人家内眷们要了十几两银子。岂知老佛爷有眼，应该败露了。这一天急要回去，掉了一个绢包儿。当铺里人捡起来一看，里头有许多纸人，还有四丸子很香的香。正诧异着呢，那老东西倒回来找这绢包儿。这里的人就把他拿住，身边一搜，搜出一个匣子，里面有象牙刻的一男一女，不穿衣服，光着身子的两个魔王，还有七根朱红绣花针。立时送到锦衣府去，问出许多官员家大户太太姑娘们的隐情事来。所以知会了营[14]里，把他家中一抄，抄出好些泥塑的煞神，几匣子闹香[15]。炕背后空屋子里挂着一盏七星灯[16]，灯下有几个草人，有头上戴着脑箍的，有胸前穿着钉子的，有项上拴着锁子的。柜子里无数纸人儿，底下几篇小帐，上面记着某家验过，应找银若干。得人家油钱香分[17]也不计其数。”凤姐道：“咱们的病，一准是他。我记得咱们病后，那老妖精向赵姨娘处来过几次，要向赵姨娘讨银子，见了我，便脸上变貌变色，两眼黧鸡似的。我当初还猜疑了几遍，总不知什么原故。如今说起来，却原来都是有因的。但只我在这里当家，自然惹人恨怨，怪不得人治我。宝玉可和人有什么仇呢，忍得下这样毒手。”贾母道：“焉知不因我疼宝玉不疼环儿，竟给你们种了毒了呢。”王夫人道：“这老货已经问了罪，决不好叫他来对证。没有对证，赵姨娘那里肯认帐。事情又大，闹出来，外面也不雅，等他自作自受，少不得要自己败露的。”贾母道：“你这话说的也是，这样事，没有对证，也难作准。只是佛爷菩萨看的真，他们姐儿两个，如今又比谁不济了呢。罢了，过去的事，凤哥儿也不必提了。今日你和你太太都在我这边吃了晚饭再过去罢。”遂叫鸳鸯琥珀等传饭。凤姐赶忙笑道：“怎么老祖宗倒操起心来！”王夫人也笑了。只见外头几个媳妇伺候。凤姐连忙告诉小丫头子传饭：“我和太太都跟着老太太吃。”正说着，只见玉钏儿走来对王夫人道：“老爷要找一件什么东西，请太太伺候了老太太的饭完了自己去找一找呢。”贾母道：“你去罢，保不住你老爷有要紧的事。”王夫人答应着，便留下凤姐儿伺候，自己退了出来。

回至房中，和贾政说了些闲话，把东西找了出来。贾政便问道：“迎儿已经回去了，他在孙家怎么样？”王夫人道：“迎丫头一肚子眼泪，说孙姑爷凶横的了不得。”因把迎春的话述了一遍。贾政叹道：“我原知不是对头，无奈大老爷已说定了，教我也没法。不过迎丫头受些委屈罢了。”王夫人道：“这还是新媳妇，只指望他以后好了好。”说着，嗤的一笑。贾政道：“笑什么？”王夫人道：“我笑宝玉，今儿早起特特的到这屋里来，说的都是些孩子话。”贾政道：“他说什么？”王夫人把宝玉的言语笑述了一遍。贾政也忍不住的笑，因又说道：“你提宝玉，我正想起一件事来。这小孩子天天放在园里，也不是事。生女儿不得济，还是别人家的人；生儿若不济事，关系非浅。前日倒有人和我提起一位先生来，学问人品都是极好的，也是南边人。但我想南边先生性情最是和平，咱们城里的孩子，个个踢天弄井[18]，鬼聪明倒是有的，可以搪塞就搪塞过去了；胆子又大，先生再要不肯给没脸，一日哄哥儿似的，没的白耽误了。所以老辈子不肯请外头的先生，只在本家择出有年纪再有点学问的请来掌家塾。如今儒大太爷虽学问也只中平，但还弹压的住这些小孩子们，不至以颟顸[19]了事。我想宝玉闲着总不好，不如仍旧叫他家塾中读书去罢了。”王夫人道：“老爷说的很是。自从老爷外任去了，他又常病，竟耽搁了好几年。如今且在家学里温习温习，也是好的。”贾政点头，又说些闲话，不题。

且说宝玉次日起来，梳洗已毕，早有小厮们传进话来说：“老爷叫二爷说话。”宝玉忙整理了衣服，来至贾政书房中，请了安站着。贾政道：“你近来作些什么功课？虽有几篇字，也算不得什么。我看你近来的光景，越发比头几年散荡了，况且每每听见你推病不肯念书。如今可大好了，我还听见你天天在园子里和姊妹们顽顽笑笑，甚至和那些丫头们混闹，把自己的正经事，总丢在脑袋后头。就是做得几句诗词，也并不怎么样，有什么稀罕处！比如应试选举，到底以文章为主，你这上头倒没有一点儿工夫。我可嘱咐你：自今日起，再不许做诗做对的了，单要习学八股文章。限你一年，若毫无长进，你也不用念书了，我也不愿有你这样的儿子了。”遂叫李贵来，说：“明儿一早，传焙茗跟了宝玉去收拾应念的书籍，一齐拿过来我看看，亲自送他到家学里去。”喝命宝玉：“去罢！明日起早来见我。”宝玉听了，半日竟无一言可答，因回到怡红院来。

袭人正在着急听信，见说取书，倒也欢喜。独是宝玉要人即刻送信与贾母，欲叫拦阻。贾母得信，便命人叫过宝玉来，告诉他说：“只管放心先去，别叫你老子生气。有什么难为你，有我呢。”宝玉没法，只得回来嘱咐了丫头们：“明日早早叫我，老爷要等着送我到家学里去呢。”袭人等答应了，同麝月两个倒替着醒了一夜。

次日一早，袭人便叫醒宝玉，梳洗了，换了衣服，打发小丫头子传了焙茗在二门上伺候，拿着书籍等物。袭人又催了两遍，宝玉只得出来过贾政书房中来，先打听“老爷过来了没有？”书房中小厮答应：“方才一位清客相公请老爷回话，里边说梳洗呢，命清客相公出去候着去了。”宝玉听了，心里稍稍安顿，连忙到贾政这边来。恰好贾政着人来叫，宝玉便跟着进去。贾政不免又嘱咐几句话，带了宝玉上了车，焙茗拿着书籍，一直到家塾中来。

早有人先抢一步回代儒说：“老爷来了。”代儒站起身来，贾政早已走入，向代儒请了安。代儒拉着手问了好，又问：“老太太近日安么？”宝玉过来也请了安。贾政站着，请代儒坐了，然后坐下。贾政道：“我今日自己送他来，因要求托一番。这孩子年纪也不小了，到底要学个成人的举业，才是终身立身成名之事。如今他在家中只是和些孩子们混闹，虽懂得几句诗词，也是胡诌乱道的；就是好了，也不过是风云月露，与一生的正事毫无关涉。”代儒道：“我看他相貌也还体面，灵性也还去得，为什么不念书，只是心野贪顽。诗词一道，不是学不得的，只要发达了以后，再学还不迟呢。”贾政道：“原是如此。目今只求叫他读书、讲书、作文章。倘或不听教训，还求太爷认真的管教管教他，才不至有名无实的白耽误了他的一世。”说毕，站起来又作了一个揖，然后说了些闲话，才辞了出去。代儒送至门首，说：“老太太前替我问好请安罢。”贾政答应着，自己上车去了。

代儒回身进来，看见宝玉在西南角靠窗户摆着一张花梨[20]小桌，右边堆下两套旧书，薄薄儿的一本文章，叫焙茗将纸墨笔砚都搁在抽屉里藏着。代儒道：“宝玉，我听见说你前儿有病，如今可大好了？”宝玉站起来道：“大好了。”代儒道：“如今论起来，你可也该用功了。你父亲望你成人恳切的很。你且把从前念过的书，打头儿理一遍。每日早起理书[21]，饭后写字，晌午讲书，念几遍文章就是了。”宝玉答应了个“是”，回身坐下时，不免四面一看。见昔时金荣〔二〕辈不见了几个，又添了几个小学生，都是些粗俗异常的。忽然想起秦钟来，如今没有一个做得伴说句知心话儿的，心上凄然不乐，却不敢作声，只是闷着看书。代儒告诉宝玉道：“今日头一天，早些放你家去罢。明日要讲书了。但是你又不是很愚夯的，明日我倒要你先讲一两章书我听，试试你近来的工课何如，我才晓得你到怎么个分儿上头。”说得宝玉心中乱跳。欲知明日听解何如，且听下回分解。

[1] 占旺相——占：占卜。旺相：亦作王相，这里是指好运气。《论衡·命禄篇》：“春夏囚死，秋冬王相”。“囚死”、“旺相”本系阴阳家术语，凡行动得时为“旺相”，失时为“囚死”。

[2] 严词——即严训；父训。严：指父亲。

[3] 《古乐府》——古代乐府诗集名，元代左克明编辑。共十卷。

[4] 曹孟德“对酒当歌，人生几何”——孟德：曹操的字。所引诗是曹操《短歌行》的头两句，意谓人生在世面对有酒有歌的欢乐时光能有多少呢？当：对。

[5] 晋文——疑指《西晋文纪》二十卷，明代梅鼎祚辑，通编西晋一代之文。从上下文看，此书似应包括东晋之文，未详何书。

[6] 放浪形骸之外——见东晋王羲之《兰亭序》。放浪：放纵不受拘束。形骸：人的形体。

[7] 杨叶窜儿——一种淡水小鱼，俗称“鲳条鱼”，形状细长似杨柳叶子。

〔一〕 “侍书”是探春丫鬟的名字，前八十回作“待书”，后四十回程本承甲辰本作“侍书”。前八十回与后四十回不一致处甚多，无法一一校改以求一致，故均不作改动。

[9] 苇片——即浮漂。

[10] 鲫瓜儿——即小鲫鱼。

[11] 姜太公——即吕尚，字子牙，本姓姜，因其先世封于吕，故又姓吕。曾隐居渭水之滨，周文王出猎，与他相遇，交谈投机，文王喜曰：“吾太公望子久矣”。因号太公望，俗称姜太公。传说他曾在渭水边用无饵的直钩离水面三尺之上钓鱼，说“负命者上钩来！”故俗谚有“姜太公钓鱼，愿者上钩”之语。

[12] 锦衣府、刑部监——锦衣府：又名锦衣卫，即锦衣亲军都指挥使司，明洪武十五年始设，原为管理护卫皇宫的禁卫军和掌管皇帝出入仪仗的官署，后逐渐演变为专管纠查、侦察的特务组织。刑部监：隶属于刑部的监狱。刑部：隋唐以来中央一级的官署之一，掌国家的法律和刑狱，和吏部、户部、礼部、兵部、工部并称六部。

[13] 神马——亦作神码、月光马。《燕京岁时记·月光马儿》：“京师谓神像为神马儿，不敢斥言神也。月光马者，以纸为之。”

[14] 营——这里指京师五城巡捕营，掌治安职责，属步军营的步军统领统辖。《清史稿》卷一百十七：巡捕营“掌分汛防守，巡逻纠察，以执御非违”。

[15] 闹香——即闷香。一种熏人能使之昏迷的香。闹：用药毒谓“闹”，如闹鱼、闹耗子。

[16] 七星灯——这里是供在佛前专以祭神的油灯，燃有七个灯火，故名。

[17] 油钱香分（fèn忿）——巫祝僧道借口请神作法诈取钱物的名目。油、香这里皆为假托祭神的用品。

[18] 踢天弄井——极言小孩活蹦乱跳、调皮玩闹。

[19] 颟顸（mān　hān满阴平，鼾）——糊涂；不明事理。

[20] 花梨——即花梨木，有两种，一曰花榈木，一曰海南檀（心材红褐色），皆落叶乔木，木质坚硬，纹理细密，同为贵重家具和雕刻用材，与紫檀并称，旧时对名贵家具有“花梨紫檀”之说。

[21] 理书——旧时俗称温书曰理书。理：犹言温习。

〔二〕 “金荣”，原作“金蓉”，从王本改。

CHAPTER 81. Four young ladies go fishing and divine the future Bao-yu receives a homily and is re-enrolled in the Family School

TO CONTINUE OUR STORY

After Ying-chun’s departure, Lady Xing continued as though nothing had happened. It was Lady Wang who had gone out of her way to be kind, and her sympathy was genuine and deeply felt. In the morning, when Bao-yu came to her apartment to pay his respects, he found her alone, sighing pensively to herself. He thought he could see traces of tears on her cheeks, and not wanting to intrude, stood to one side. When she told him to sit down, he sidled up onto the kang and settled down next to her.

He lapsed at once into a silent stare, and she could tell that he had something on his mind.

‘Well, and what are you looking so glum for?’

‘Nothing really… I just can’t stop thinking about Cousin Ying. It’s so awful. I haven’t mentioned it to Grannie, but I haven’t been able to sleep properly for two nights now. How helpless and defenceless she must feel, especially after growing up in a family like ours! She’s so weak too, and never could stand up for herself properly. Why should she of all people have to fall into the hands of such a bully, someone who’ll never be able to give her the sort of tenderness and understanding she needs?’

He was on the verge of tears.

‘It is hard, I know,’ said Lady Wang. ‘But as they say, “marry a daughter, throw out the water”. At this stage, what is there I could possibly do?’

‘I’ve thought of something,’ replied Bao-yu somewhat unexpectedly. ‘It came to me last night. If we report the whole thing to Grannie, we can get her permission to fetch Ying and move her back to Amaryllis Eyot. Why not? She’ll be able to lead her old carefree life, we’ll all be together again, and that Mr Sun can go to hell and take his temper with him! If he dares to try and ask for her back, we’ll simply refuse to let her go. He can come a hundred times, we’ll never give in. We’ll just say that it’s Grannie’s orders, and he won’t be able to do a thing. Don’t you think it’s a brilliant plan?’

‘My dear child!’ exclaimed Lady Wang, her voice registering both amusement and motherly vexation at this effusion. ‘There you go again, carried away by yet another of your silly ideas! How can you be so hopelessly naive? Can’t you see that sooner or later every girl has to leave home, and that once she’s married her own family has no business to interfere? She must look to her own future. If fate has been kind to her, well and good. If not, she must learn to live with it all the same. You must know the old rhyme:

When rooster crows at break of day,

All his hen-folk must obey.

No choice for a dog’s wife

But to make the best of a dog’s life.

Not all the girls can be called to court like your elder sister, you know. Besides, Ying is still an inexperienced wife, and her husband a young man. Their temperaments differ, and if at this early stage they don’t get on very well together, that’s only to be expected. Given time, when they’ve both learned to understand one another better and have a family of their own, things will sort themselves out, I’m sure they will. You’re certainly not to breathe a word of this to your grandmother! If I discover that you have, I shall be extremely cross. Now, off you go, I’ve heard quite enough of your nonsense.’

Realizing that his mother was adamant, Bao-yu sat there a while longer in silence, then walked listlessly out of the room. Choking with frustration, he made his way back to the Garden and straight to the Naiad’s House. The instant he entered the door, he let out a great wail and burst into tears.

Dai-yu, who had only just that minute finished washing and putting up her hair, was shocked to see the state he was in and asked in some alarm:

‘Whatever’s the matter? Who’s upset you?’

Bao-yu, however, was already slumped over the table, sobbing his heart out and far too distraught to reply to her questions. From her chair Dai-yu studied him anxiously for a while, before asking again:

‘Well, at least let me know if I’m the culprit or not…’

‘That’s not it! It’s nothing like that!’ he replied at last, with a despairing motion of his hand.

‘Then why the tears and everything?’

‘I just think the sooner we all die the better! There’s no joy left in life!’

‘What do you mean? Have you gone quite mad?’

‘I’m not in the slightest mad. Let me explain and I’m sure you’ll feel as I do. When Ying was here, you saw how she looked, you heard everything she said, didn’t you? Why is it that the minute they’re grown up, girls are married off and have to suffer so? When I think of the happy times we all had together when we first started the Crab-flower Club, always inviting each other round for parties and holding poetry contests - there seemed no end of wonderful things to do. And now? Bao-chai has already moved out, which means Caltrop can’t come over either, and with Ying gone as well, our band of kindred spirits is being broken up, everything is being spoiled!

‘I had thought of a plan, to get Grannie on our side and rescue Ying. But when I told Mother, she just called me naive and silly and wouldn’t take me seriously. So I had to give up the idea.

‘You only have to look around you! Our Garden’s altered so much in such a short time. What could become of it in the next few years just doesn’t bear thinking about. Now do you see what I mean, and why I can’t help despairing?’

As she listened to all that he was saying, Dai-yu very slowly bowed her head and moved back almost imperceptibly onto the kang. She did not say a word, but only sighed and curled up facing the wall.

This was how Nightingale found them when she came in to serve tea. Her attempts to puzzle out what could have happened were cut short by the arrival of Aroma.

‘So this is where you are!’ she said as she came into the room. ‘You’re wanted at Her Old Ladyship’s, Master Bao. I thought I’d find you here…’

Recognizing Aroma’s voice, Dai-yu sat up a little and nodded to her to sit down. Bao-yu noticed that her eyes were red from crying.

‘I got a bit carried away, coz,’ he said. ‘Please don’t take it to heart so. What you must do is look after yourself properly and get fit and well. And when I say that, I mean it. So have a rest now. I’m wanted at Grannie’s. I’ll be back.’

With these words he set off.

‘What’s up with you two then?’ whispered Aroma.

‘Oh, he’s upset about Miss Ying,’ Dai-yu replied. ‘I’m all right. My eyes have been itching and I’ve been rubbing them, that’s all.’

Aroma said nothing and hurried out after Bao-yu. He reached Grandmother Jia’s only to find that she had already retired for her midday nap, and was obliged to go back to Green Delights.

In the afternoon he woke from his sleep feeling very bored, and picked up a book to read. Aroma hurried off to make tea, eager to sustain him in his studies. He had chanced upon an anthology of early verse, and as he turned its pages found himself reading a stanza by Cao Cao:

Come drink with me and sing,

For life’s a fleeting thing.

Full many a day has fled

Like the morning dew…

Far from distracting him, this only served to increase his ennui, and he put the book down and picked up another. This time it was ‘The Gathering at Orchid Pavilion and other Prose Selections from the Jin Dynasty’. After a page or two he suddenly closed it, and when Aroma returned with his tea, she found him sitting there, head propped on hand, looking his most dazed and distant.

‘Why have you given up so soon?’ she asked.

Bao-yu took his tea without a word of reply, drank a sip, then mechanically replaced the cup. Aroma was out of her depth and could do nothing but stand there dumbly looking on. Suddenly he stood up, and muttered sarcastically:

‘Ob gemlike ecstasy…’

Aroma half-wanted to laugh, but on reflection thought it safer not to probe too far.

‘If you don’t feel like reading,’ she suggested tactfully, ‘why not go for a walk in the Garden? There’s no sense in sitting here and working yourself up into one of your states again.’

Bao-yu mumbled something in reply and walked abstractedly out of the room.

He soon came to Drenched Blossoms Pavilion, and gazed out over the lake. All around him he saw nothing but dereliction and decay. Walking on, he reached All Spice Court, which was locked and shuttered. Only its rockery was still tenanted by the familiar herbs and creepers. He was just turning to go on past the Lotus Pavilion, when something caught his eye. Looking across the water, he could just distinguish a small group of people leaning over the stone balustrade on Smartweed Bank, and some maids down below, squatting on their heels and apparently searching for something. He darted behind a large rock and crept up on them, listening all the while.

‘Will it come up? Will it…’

He thought he recognized the voice of Li Wan’s cousin, Li Wen. Then came a laugh:

‘There! It’s gone! You see, I told you it wouldn’t bite!’ (There was no mistaking Tan-chun’s voice.)

‘Of course it won’t if you keep moving about like that, Wen!’

‘Look! It’s going to!’

The last two voices were those of Li Wen’s younger sister Qi, and Lady Xing’s niece Xiu-yan.

Such an opportunity was altogether too tempting. Picking a brickbat from the ground, Bao-yu lobbed it into the water right in front of the four girls. There was a resounding splash and they jumped for their lives, with cries of:

‘What the… Who’s that trying to give us a scare? Of all the mean…’

A beaming Bao-yu sprang from his hiding-place.

‘Having a lovely time, are you? And why wasn’t I invited, pray?’

It was Tan-chun who replied:

‘Typical! I knew it! That had “Bao-yu” written all over it! Well I’m not going to waste my breath scolding you, just hurry up and catch us another fish to make up for that one. It was practically on the hook when you had to come along and scare it away.’

‘Not likely!’ said Bao-yu with a grin. ‘Here you are on a fishing excursion and leaving me out – it’s you who owe me a penalty!’

Everyone laughed.

‘I know,’ he went on. ‘As we’re all fishing today, why don’t we try a round of “Fateful Fish”? It’s very simple. If you catch a fish it means a year of good luck, and if you don’t a year of bad luck. Come on, who’s going to have first go?’

Tan-chun offered the rod to Li Wen, but she declined.

‘Oh well,’ said Tan-chun, ‘it looks as if I’ll have to start.’

She turned to Bao-yu. ‘If you scare mine away again, brother, you’ll be for it.’

‘I only wanted to make you all jump. You’ll be perfectly safe this time, I promise.’

Tan-chun cast her line, and in just a few seconds a little ‘leaf-wriggler’ swallowed the hook and down went the float. She pulled in and landed her catch, alive and jumping. Scribe, after a lot of scrambling about, managed to get a grip on the thing, and carrying it over in both hands, placed it carefully in a little earthenware jar of fresh water. Tan-chun passed the rod on to Wen. She too felt a tug on the line almost immediately, and pulled in excitedly, only to find nothing on the hook. She cast out again, and this time stood there angling for ages. At last the line tautened and she pulled in again. Another false alarm. She picked up the hook to examine it, and discovered that it was buckled.

‘No wonder I couldn’t catch anything!’

She laughed and without more ado told Candida to straighten it out for her, put on some fresh bait and fasten on the reed-float securely. This time after only a few minutes, down went the float, in she pulled with great determination, and there it was – a little two-inch silver carp. Delighted, she turned to Bao-yu.

‘You next.’

‘Qi and Xiu-yan must go first,’ replied Bao-yu. ‘I insist.’

Xiu-yan was silent.

‘You go first, Cousin Bao,’ protested Qi. As she spoke a big bubble popped on the water.

‘Come on!’ cried Tan-chun. There’s no need to overdo it. Look, the fish are all over there by you, Qi. You have a go quickly!’

Qi took the rod with a giggle of embarrassment. Sure enough, down went her float and she had a catch first time. Xiu-yan was the last of the girls to have her turn. She caught one and passed the rod back to Tan-chun, who handed it on to Bao-yu.

‘I shall follow in the footsteps of old Sire Jiang,’ he declared.

‘Straight was his hook,

His bait a single grain:

Yet of their own accord

The fish unto him came…’

Walking solemnly down the jetty, he sat at the water’s edge in the pose of the Fisherman Sage. Unfortunately, at the approach of this human shadow, the fish took refuge in the far end of the pond, and for all his exertions in the higher art of angling, a long time seemed to pass without the slightest sign of a bite. When once a fish did venture near and deigned to blow a few bubbles near the bank, he jerked the rod and scared it away.

‘Oh dear!’ he sighed. ‘It’s no good. The trouble is that I’m so confoundedly impatient, and the fish are so slow on the uptake. We must be incompatible. I shall never catch anything at this rate. Come on now, help me! Feel yourself being drawn, there’s my brave little fish!’

There was a peal of laughter from the girls. Then, before anyone could say a word, the line was seen to move a fraction. A bite at last! The sage yanked in for all he was worth. The rod crashed into a protruding rock and broke clean in two. The line snapped, and the hook (with whatever it may or may not have secured) sank without trace. This final stroke of virtuosity had his audience in stitches. Tan-chun called out:

‘I’ve never seen such a clumsy fool!’

As she was speaking, who should come rushing up but Musk, in a state of great excitement.

‘Master Bao, Her Old Ladyship has woken up and wants to see you at once!’

The five of them exchanged startled glances.

‘But what about?’ asked Tan-chun.

‘I don’t know,’ replied Musk. ‘All I heard was something about a “scandalous revelation” they want to question Master Bao about. They’ve asked Mrs Lian to come and answer questions as well.’

Bao-yu stood for a moment in stunned silence. Eventually he said:

‘I wonder which poor maid is in for the high jump this time?’

‘We’ve no idea what it’s about,’ said Tan-chun, ‘so Bao, ‘you’d better go straight away and as soon as you’ve any news, send Musk over to let us know.’

The four girls went their way, and Bao-yu set off for Grandmother Jia’s apartment. He arrived to find her in the middle of a game of cards with Lady Wang, and realized to his relief that it could be nothing as serious as he had feared. Grandmother Jia saw him come in and asked him:

‘Bao darling, do you remember last year, when you were so seriously ill, and those two holy men – that mad-looking monk and that lame Taoist – came and cured you, in the nick of time – what did the illness feel like?’

Bao-yu reflected for a moment.

‘I can remember how it started. I was standing in my room when suddenly someone seemed to come from behind and ram something hard, like a wooden bar, up against the back of my head. It hurt like anything, my eyes started throbbing and everything went pitch-black. All I could see in the room was a mob of green-faced devils with huge fangs, carrying swords and cudgels. I went to lie down on the kang, but then it felt as if I had tight bands round my head and the pain became so excruciating that I no longer knew what was happening.

‘I remember how I got better. There was a ray of golden light from the hall outside my room, that shone right onto my bed. The devils just took to their heels and vanished. They seemed scared of the light. My headache went away and I felt quite myself again.’

‘You see!’ exclaimed Grandmother Jia, turning to Lady Wang. ‘It ties in perfectly.’

As she was speaking, Xi-feng entered the room and greeted first Grandmother Jia, then Lady Wang.

‘What did you want to ask me about, Grannie?’ she asked.

‘Tell me,’ replied Grandmother Jia, ‘can you recall that nasty attack you had last year?’

Xi-feng laughed.

‘Not very clearly. The main thing I remember about it is that I was possessed. There was someone manipulating me, filling my head with the most bloodthirsty intentions. I had a terrible urge to grab hold of everything in sight and kill it. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t stop.’

‘And then?’ asked Grandmother Jia. ‘When you were cured?’

‘There was a voice,’ replied Xi-feng, ‘that seemed to speak to me from nowhere. But what it said I honestly can’t remember.’

‘That settles it!’ exclaimed the old lady. ‘That’s exactly the sort of thing she got up to! So it was her doing, it must have been! Oh! How could the old woman sink so low - and Bao-yu’s own godmother too! Gracious Lord, to think that if those two holy men had not arrived in time, he might easily have died! And we still have not repaid them…’

‘But Grannie,’ asked Xi-feng, ‘what made you think of all this in the first place?’

‘Ask your aunt,’ replied Grandmother Jia. ‘I’ve done enough of the talking.’

Lady Wang took over the story.

‘Sir Zheng told us when he was here this morning. Apparently Bao-yu’s godmother, Mother Ma, is an evil old woman and a practising witch. As the result of certain scandalous revelations, she’s been arrested by the secret police and sent to the Central Jail. I should imagine she’s been sentenced to death by now.

‘The whole thing started the other day, when a Mr Pan San-bao informed against her. He had been trying to sell a property to a pawnbroker across the street. His price had already risen by several hundred per cent, and when he asked for more the pawnbroker backed out. So, in an attempt to salvage his sale, Mr Pan hired the services of our Mother Ma, whom he knew to be a regular visitor at the pawnshop and intimate with all the womenfolk there. She duly succeeded, by some evil means, in throwing the pawnbroker’s wife into a convulsion. Then, waiting until the attack reached alarming proportions, she had the effrontery to arrive in person, claiming to possess a patent cure for the affliction. And sure enough, after a few burnt offerings of her paper charms, paper money and so forth, the wife recovered and the witch coolly demanded a dozen or so taels of silver for her services in exorcizing her own spell!

‘But nothing escapes the watchful eye of the Good Lord Buddha,’ continued Lady Wang. ‘Her detection and downfall were already close at hand. That same day, in her haste to leave the pawnbroker’s premises, she inadvertently dropped a silk bundle. The pawnbroker picked it up, took a look inside, and noticed a number of paper figures and four unusually potent cakes of incense. He became suspicious, and when the old woman returned to recover her bundle he seized her and subjected her to a quick search. He discovered hidden on her person a casket containing two ivory statuettes, a male and a female, both completely naked - you know those pocket-sized figures of the devil they use – and seven red embroidery needles.

‘She was taken straight to the secret police, and when questioned revealed her intimate connections with the mistresses and young ladies of several eminent and wealthy families. The case was reported to the highest authorities, and her house was searched. They found quite a few clay figures of those horrible Spectral Furies and several boxes of narcotic incense; also, hanging in a hidden compartment behind the kang, a Seven Star Lamp with all kinds of straw effigies spread below it, some with bands round their heads, others with nails through their chests or padlocks round their necks. She had a whole cupboard full of spare paper figures, and there were account slips all over the floor, listing families dealt with and amounts outstanding, together with records of goodness knows how much money received for “oil and incense”.’

‘Our attacks were definitely her doing!’ exclaimed Xi-feng. ‘I remember now. It was after we recovered – when the old witch came to visit Aunt Zhao a couple of times to collect her “contributions” – something horrible seemed to come over her when she saw me; she went pale, and there was a nasty look in her eyes. I wondered what it meant at the time, but I just couldn’t see any reason for her to cause trouble. After what you’ve just said, though, it all makes sense. With my responsibilities I can’t help making enemies, and some of them are bound to try and get their own back somehow or other. But who could bear a grudge against Bao-yu? That must be pure malice.’

‘Or jealousy,’ suggested Grandmother Jia, ‘because she knows I’m not as fond of Huan as I am of Bao-yu. Perhaps that’s why she tried to harm you both.’

‘Anyway,’ said Lady Wang, ‘as the old woman is already in prison, we won’t be able to call on her to testify, and without her evidence we will never be able to make Aunt Zhao confess. Besides we simply can’t have the family involved in a scandal of this sort. We must bide our time. She is certain to give herself away sooner or later.’

‘You’re quite right,’ Grandmother Jia complimented Lady Wang. ‘In cases like this it is so hard to prove anything without conclusive evidence. We must just be thankful that the all-seeing Lord Buddha and his bodhisattvas have kept our two from harm. There! It’s all over! And please, Feng, don’t ever bring the subject up again. You can both stay and have dinner with me.’ She turned to Faithful and Amber. ‘Tell them we are ready to be served.’

The old lady’s parting shot did not go unnoticed by Xi-feng, who laughed and said:

‘So now I’m the one that set you worrying, am I?’

Lady Wang laughed at them both. Meanwhile the waiting-women were standing expectantly outside the door, and Xi-feng told the junior maids that she and Lady Wang were staying to dinner and that they could commence service. As she was speaking, Silver came in with a message for Lady Wang from Sir Zheng. He had mislaid something, and would she go over after dinner and help him find it?

‘You’d better go now,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘You never know – it might be something important.’

‘Yes, Mother.’

Leaving Xi-feng to hold the fort, Lady Wang walked over to her own apartment. A brief search soon revealed the missing item.

‘Has Ying-chun gone back yet?’ Jia Zheng asked her in the course of conversation. ‘How is she getting on with the Suns?’

‘The poor girl could do nothing but cry while she was here,’ replied Lady Wang. ‘She says her husband is an absolute monster.’

Jia Zheng sighed as she told him Ying-chun’s sad tale.

‘I knew they were unsuited,’ he commented. ‘But what could I do? Brother She insisted on going ahead with it. The child will have her share of suffering, I’m afraid.’

‘They’ve not been married long, don’t forget,’ replied Lady Wang. ‘We must hope that time will sort things out for them.’

She suddenly laughed.

‘What’s the joke?’ asked Jia Zheng.

‘Oh, I just remembered some nonsense of Bao-yu’s. He came here first thing this morning specially to talk to me about Ying-chun.’

‘Oh yes? What did he have to say?’

Lady Wang gave a humorous account of her early morning interview with Bao-yu and of his ‘brilliant plan’, which despite himself Jia Zheng found rather amusing.

‘Speaking of Bao-yu,’ he said, in a more serious tone, ‘the boy spends all his time loafing about in the garden – it simply won’t do. With one’s daughters – well, one has one’s disappointments, I realize, but in the long run girls get married and leave the family anyway. With a son, however, it is totally different. If he should fall by the wayside, the whole future of the family could be threatened.

‘It so happens that only the other day a friend recommended a tutor, a widely-read scholar, a man of the highest principles, and what is more a southerner like ourselves. But I have come to the conclusion that southerners are altogether too easy-going for the boys up here in the capital, who misbehave themselves abominably and are most of them smart enough to get by without having to do a stroke of work. They’re a bumptious breed to begin with, and if their teacher mollycoddles them and is not prepared to take them down a peg or two, it’s a waste of everyone’s time.

‘That is why it has never been a family practice to engage outside tutors, and why we have always had a member of the clan, an older man, with a decent smattering of culture of course, to run the school. Dai-ru, the present preceptor, may be rather a mediocre scholar, but he’s certainly an effective disciplinarian, and sees to it that the work gets done. Bao-yu’s present state of idleness is thoroughly unsatisfactory, and in my opinion the best solution would be for him to resume his studies at the Family School.’

‘I agree with you entirely,’ said Lady Wang. ‘Since your last posting he has been constantly ill, and what with one thing and another has fallen a long way behind with his studies. I think the routine of going to school would do him good.’

Jia Zheng nodded, and they continued chatting for a while longer.

*

Little time was lost. The very next day, as soon as Bao-yu was up and had finished washing and combing his hair, a deputation of pages arrived and sent in the message: ‘Sir Zheng wishes to see Master Bao.’ Hurriedly tidying his clothes, Bao-yu went straight over to his father’s study. He paid his morning respects and stood to attention.

‘Tell me,’ Jia Zheng began, ‘what you have been doing recently in the way of work? A fair amount, were you going to say? A very magnum opus of your worthless doodling, no doubt… I have observed you of late. Your idleness goes from strength to strength. I am also constantly hearing of some new ailment of yours, or shall we rather say ingenious pretext to play truant. I trust I find you fully recovered?

‘Another thing: I gather you spend the greater part of your time fooling around with your cousins in the garden, and that even the maidservants are permitted to participate in your infantile antics. Isn’t it time you grew up and acquired a little self-esteem? You must understand that those verses you write are not going to impress anyone. The only thing the examiners are interested in is a well-written composition. And the effort you have expended in that direction has so far been non-existent.

‘Now listen carefully to what I have to say. From today, I want you to forget all about your verses and couplets. You are to concentrate exclusively on Octopartite Compositions. I will give you twelve months’ grace. If by the end of that time you are still in your present unregenerate state, you may as well give up altogether, and I for my part shall have to think again about owning a creature like you as my son.’

He summoned Li Gui.

‘Inform Tealeaf that he is to take Bao-yu first thing tomorrow morning to collect the required textbooks, and then bring them here for my inspection. I shall be accompanying him to school myself.’

Turning to Bao-yu:

‘Off with you!’ he trumpeted. ‘I shall expect you early tomorrow morning.’

Bao-yu returned to Green Delights, where Aroma was anxiously awaiting him. The pleasure with which she received the news of his renewed course of study contrasted strangely with the incredulous horror that had rendered him speechless while in Jia Zheng’s presence, and that now prompted him to send an urgent message through to Grandmother Jia, begging her to intervene. She sent for him at once and said:

‘You should give it a try, my darling. You don’t want to anger your father. Don’t worry. Remember I shall always be here if you need me.’

There was nothing for it but to go back and give the maids their instructions. ‘Wake me at the crack of dawn, as Father will be waiting to take me to school.’ Aroma and Musk took it in turns to stay awake that night.

In the morning Aroma woke Bao-yu punctually, helped him wash, comb his hair and dress, and sent a junior maid out with instructions for Tealeaf to wait with the books at the inner gate. She had to spur him on a couple of times before finally he left and made his way towards the study. On his way he stopped to inquire if Sir Zheng had arrived yet, and was informed by a page from the study that one of the literary gentlemen had just called, but had been kept waiting outside, as the Master was still in his dressing-room. This calmed Bao-yu’s nerves a little, and he proceeded on to the inner sanctum. As luck would have it, a servant was at that very moment coming out on his way to fetch him, so he went straight in. After another brief homily, Jia Zheng led the way and father and son took a carriage to the school, Tealeaf following with the books.

A look-out had been posted, and Dai-ru had been alerted and was standing in readiness for the party’s arrival. Before the old man could come forward to greet him, however, Jia Zheng walked into the schoolroom and paid his respects. Dai-ru took him by the hand and inquired politely after Lady Jia. Bao-yu then went up and paid his respects. Jia Zheng remained standing throughout, and insisted on waiting until Dai-ru was seated before sitting down himself.

‘I have come here today,’ he began, ‘because I felt the need to entrust my son to you personally, and with a few words of instruction. He is no longer a child, and if he is to shoulder his responsibilities and earn a place in the world, it is high time he applied himself conscientiously to preparing for his exams. At home, unfortunately, he spends all his time idling about in the company of children. His verses, the only field in which he has acquired any competence, are for the most part turgid juvenilia, at their best romantic trifles devoid of substance.’

‘And he looks such a fine lad,’ interposed Dai-ru. ‘He seems so intelligent. Why this refusal to study, this perverse streak of hedonism? Not that one should entirely neglect poetic composition. But there is surely time enough for that later on in one’s career.’

‘Precisely,’ said Jia Zheng. ‘For the present I would humbly suggest a course of reading and exegesis of primary scriptural texts, and plenty of compositions. If he should show the least sign of being a recalcitrant pupil, I earnestly beseech you to take him in hand, and in so doing to save him from a shallow and wasted life.’

On this note he rose, and with a bow and a few parting remarks took his leave. Dai-ru accompanied him to the door.

‘Please convey my respects to Lady Jia.’

‘I will,’ said Jia Zheng, and climbed into his carriage.

When Dai-ru returned to the classroom, Bao-yu was already sitting at a small rosewood desk in the south-west corner of the room, by the window. He had two sets of texts and a meagre-looking volume of model compositions stacked in a pile on his right. Tealeaf was instructed to put his paper, ink, brush and inkstone away in the drawer of the desk.

‘I understand you have been ill, Bao-yu,’ said Dai-ru. ‘I hope you are quite recovered?’

Bao-yu rose to his feet.

‘Quite recovered, thank you sir.’

‘We must see to it that you apply yourself with zeal from now on. Your father is most insistent that you should do well. Start by revising the texts you have already memorized.

‘Your timetable will be as follows:

Pre-prandium – General Revision Post-prandium – Calligraphy Meridianum - Exegesis

And conclude the day’s work by reciting quietly to yourself a few model compositions. That should do for the time being.’

‘Yes sir.’

As Bao-yu sat down again, he glanced around him. Most of the old faces from the Jokey Jin days were gone, and in their place were quite a few new boys. He reflected on their exceptionally boorish appearance, and the face of Qin Zhong came suddenly into his mind. Since the death of his friend there had been no one to keep him company in his studies, no one to share his innermost thoughts. He was overwhelmed with a sense of grief and loneliness, and sat silently staring at his books.

Not long afterwards Dai-ru came over to say that as this was his first day he could leave early.

‘Tomorrow,’ he said, ‘I shall go through a passage with you. On second thoughts, to do justice to your natural intelligence, I should like you to expound a passage or two for me. That will give me a clearer idea of the sort of work you have been doing and the standard you have reached.’

Bao-yu’s heart was already thumping. But to learn how he fared the following day, you must read the next chapter.