第八十七回

第八十七回 感秋深抚琴悲往事 坐禅寂走火入邪魔

却说黛玉叫进宝钗家的女人来，问了好，呈上书子。黛玉叫他去喝茶，便将宝钗来书打开看时，只见上面写着：

妹生辰不偶[1]，家运多艰，姊妹伶仃，萱亲衰迈。兼之猇声狺语[2]，旦暮无休。更遭惨祸飞灾，不啻惊风密雨。夜深辗侧，愁绪何堪。属在同心[3]，能不为之愍恻[4]乎？回忆海棠结社，序属清秋，对菊持螯，同盟欢洽。犹记“孤标傲世偕谁隐，一样花开为底迟”之句，未尝不叹冷节遗芳[5]，如吾两人也。感怀触绪，聊赋四章，匪曰无故呻吟，亦长歌当哭之意耳。

悲时序之递嬗[6]兮，又属清秋。感遭家之不造[7]兮，独处离愁[8]。北堂有萱兮，何以忘忧？无以解忧兮，我心咻咻[9]。一解。

云凭凭兮秋风酸[10]，步中庭兮霜叶干。何去何从兮，失我故欢。静言思之兮恻肺肝！二解。

惟鲔有潭兮，惟鹤有梁。鳞甲潜伏兮，羽毛何长[11]！搔首问兮茫茫，高天厚地兮，谁知余之永伤。三解。

银河耿耿兮寒气侵，月色横斜兮玉漏沉[12]。忧心炳炳兮发我哀吟，吟复吟兮寄我知音。四解。

黛玉看了，不胜伤感。又想：“宝姐姐不寄与别人，单寄与我，也是惺惺惜惺惺〔一〕[14]的意思。”正在沉吟，只听见外面有人说道：“林姐姐在家里呢么？”黛玉一面把宝钗的书叠起，口内便答应道：“是谁？”正问着，早见几个人进来，却是探春、湘云、李纹、李绮。彼此问了好，雪雁倒上茶来，大家喝了，说些闲话。因想起前年的菊花诗来，黛玉便道：“宝姐姐自从挪出去，来了两遭，如今索性有事也不来了，真真奇怪。我看他终久还来我们这里不来。”探春微笑道：“怎么不来，横竖要来的。如今是他们尊嫂有些脾气，姨妈上了年纪的人，又兼有薛大哥的事，自然得宝姐姐照料一切，那里还比得先前有工夫呢。”正说着，忽听得唿喇喇一片风声，吹了好些落叶，打在窗纸上。停了一回儿，又透过一阵清香来。众人闻着，都说道：“这是何处来的香风？这像什么香？”黛玉道：“好像木樨香。”探春笑道：“林姐姐终不脱南边人的话，这大九月里的，那里还有桂花呢。”黛玉笑道：“原是啊，不然怎么不竟说是桂花香只说似乎像呢。”湘云道：“三姐姐，你也别说。你可记得‘十里荷花，三秋桂子’[15]？在南边，正是晚桂开的时候了。你只没有见过罢了，等你明日到南边去的时候，你自然也就知道了。”探春笑道：“我有什么事到南边去？况且这个也是我早知道的，不用你们说嘴。”李纹李绮只抿着嘴儿笑。黛玉道：“妹妹，这可说不齐。俗语说，‘人是地行仙’[16]，今日在这里，明日就不知在那里。譬如我，原是南边人，怎么到了这里呢？”湘云拍着手笑道：“今儿三姐姐可叫林姐姐问住了。不但林姐姐是南边人到这里，就是我们这几个人就不同。也有本来是北边的；也有根子是南边，生长在北边的；也有生长在南边，到这北边的，今儿大家都凑在一处。可见人总有一个定数，大凡地和人总是各自有缘分的。”众人听了都点头，探春也只是笑。又说了一会子闲话儿，大家散出。黛玉送到门口，大家都说：“你身上才好些，别出来了，看着了风。”

于是黛玉一面说着话儿，一面站在门口又与四人殷勤了几句，便看着他们出院去了。进来坐着，看看已是林鸟归山，夕阳西坠。因史湘云说起南边的话，便想着“父母若在，南边的景致，春花秋月，水秀山明，二十四桥[17]，六朝遗迹。不少下人服侍，诸事可以任意，言语亦可不避。香车画舫，红杏青帘，惟我独尊。今日寄人篱下，纵有许多照应，自己无处不要留心。不知前生作了什么罪孽，今生这样孤凄。真是李后主说的‘此间日中，只以眼泪洗面’[18]矣！”一面思想，不知不觉神往那里去了。

紫鹃走来，看见这样光景，想着必是因刚才说起南边北边的话来，一时触着黛玉的心事了，便问道：“姑娘们来说了半天话，想来姑娘又劳了神了。刚才我叫雪雁告诉厨房里给姑娘作了一碗火肉[19]白菜汤，加了一点儿虾米儿，配了点青笋紫菜。姑娘想着好么？”黛玉道：“也罢了。”紫鹃道：“还熬了一点江米粥。”黛玉点点头儿，又说道：“那粥该你们两个自己熬了，不用他们厨房里熬才是。”紫鹃道：“我也怕厨房里弄的不干净，我们各自熬呢。就是那汤，我也告诉雪雁和柳嫂儿说了，要弄干净着。柳嫂儿说了，他打点妥当，拿到他屋里叫他们五儿〔二〕瞅着炖呢。”黛玉道：“我倒不是嫌人家肮脏，只是病了好些日子，不周不备，都是人家。这会子又汤儿粥儿的调度，未免惹人厌烦。”说着，眼圈儿又红了。紫鹃道：“姑娘这话也是多想。姑娘是老太太的外孙女儿，又是老太太心坎儿上的。别人求其在姑娘跟前讨好儿还不能呢，那里有抱怨的。”黛玉点点头儿，因又问道：“你才说的五儿，不是那日和宝二爷那边的芳官在一处的那个女孩儿？”紫鹃道：“就是他。”黛玉道：“不听见说要进来么？”紫鹃道：“可不是，因为病了一场，后来好了才要进来，正是晴雯他们闹出事来的时候，也就耽搁住了。”黛玉道：“我看那丫头倒也还头脸儿干净。”说着，外头婆子送了汤来。雪雁出来接时，那婆子说道：“柳嫂儿叫回姑娘，这是他们五儿作的，没敢在大厨房里作，怕姑娘嫌肮脏。”雪雁答应着接了进来。黛玉在屋里已听见了，吩咐雪雁告诉那老婆子回去说，叫他费心。雪雁出来说了，老婆子自去。这里雪雁将黛玉的碗箸安放在小几儿上，因问黛玉道：“还有咱们南来的五香大头菜，拌些麻油醋可好么？”黛玉道：“也使得，只不必累赘了。”一面盛上粥来，黛玉吃了半碗，用羹匙舀了两口汤喝，就搁下了。两个丫鬟撤了下来，拭净了小几端下去，又换上一张常放的小几。黛玉漱了口，盥了手，便道：“紫鹃，添了香了没有？”紫鹃道：“就添去。”黛玉道：“你们就把那汤和粥吃了罢，味儿还好，且是干净。待我自己添香罢。”两个人答应了，在外间自吃去了。

这里黛玉添了香，自己坐着。才要拿本书看，只听得园内的风自西边直透到东边，穿过树枝，都在那里唏哗喇不住的响。一回儿，檐下的铁马[21]也只管叮叮当当的乱敲起来。一时雪雁先吃完了，进来伺候。黛玉便问道：“天气冷了，我前日叫你们把那些小毛儿衣服晾晾，可曾晾过没有？”雪雁道：“都晾过了。”黛玉道：“你拿一件来我披披。”雪雁走去将一包小毛衣服抱来，打开毡包，给黛玉自拣。只见内中夹着个绢包儿，黛玉伸手拿起打开看时，却是宝玉病时送来的旧手帕，自己题的诗，上面泪痕犹在，里头却包着那剪破了的香囊扇袋并宝玉通灵玉上的穗子。原来晾衣服时从箱中捡出，紫鹃恐怕遗失了，遂夹在这毡包里的。这黛玉不看则已，看了时也不说穿那一件衣服，手里只拿着那两方手帕，呆呆的看那旧诗。看了一回，不觉的簌簌泪下。紫鹃刚从外间进来，只见雪雁正捧着一毡包衣裳在旁边呆立，小几上却搁着剪破的香囊，两三截儿扇袋和那铰折了〔三〕的穗子，黛玉手中自拿着两方旧帕，上边写着字迹，在那里对着滴泪。正是：

失意人逢失意事，新啼痕间旧啼痕。

紫鹃见了这样，知是他触物伤情，感怀旧事，料道劝也无益，只得笑着道：“姑娘还看那些东西作什么，那都是那几年宝二爷和姑娘小时一时好了，一时恼了，闹出来的笑话儿。要像如今这样斯抬斯敬，那里能把这些东西白遭塌了呢。”紫鹃这话原给黛玉开心，不料这几句话更提起黛玉初来时和宝玉的旧事来，一发珠泪连绵起来。紫鹃又劝道：“雪雁这里等着呢，姑娘披上一件罢。”那黛玉才把手帕撂下。紫鹃连忙拾起，将香袋等物包起拿开。这黛玉方披了一件皮衣，自己闷闷的走到外间来坐下。回头看见案上宝钗的诗启尚未收好，又拿出来瞧了两遍，叹道：“境遇不同，伤心则一。不免也赋四章，翻入琴谱，可弹可歌，明日写出来寄去，以当和作。”便叫雪雁将外边桌上笔砚拿来，濡墨挥毫，赋成四叠[23]。又将琴谱翻出，借他《猗兰》《思贤》两操，合成音韵，与自己做的配齐了，然后写出，以备送与宝钗。又即叫雪雁向箱中将自己带来的短琴拿出，调上弦，又操演了指法。黛玉本是个绝顶聪明人，又在南边学过几时，虽是手生，到底一理就熟。抚了一番，夜已深了，便叫紫鹃收拾睡觉。不题。

却说宝玉这日起来梳洗了，带着焙茗正往书房中来，只见墨雨笑嘻嘻的跑来迎头说道：“二爷今日便宜了，太爷不在书房里，都放了学了。”宝玉道：“当真的么？”墨雨道：“二爷不信，那不是三爷和兰哥儿来了。”宝玉看时，只见贾环贾兰跟着小厮们，两个笑嘻的嘴里咭咭呱呱不知说些什么，迎头来了。见了宝玉，都垂手站住。宝玉问道：“你们两个怎么就回来了？”贾环道：“今日太爷有事，说是放一天学，明儿再去呢。”宝玉听了，方回身到贾母贾政处去禀明了，然后回到怡红院中。袭人问道：“怎么又回来了？”宝玉告诉了他，只坐了一坐儿，便往外走。袭人道：“往那里去，这样忙法？就放了学，依我说也该养养神儿了。”宝玉站住脚，低了头，说道：“你的话也是。但是好容易放一天学，还不散散去，你也该可怜我些儿了。”袭人见说的可怜，笑道：“由爷去罢。”正说着，端了饭来。宝玉也没法儿，只得且吃饭，三口两口忙忙的吃完，漱了口，一溜烟往黛玉房中去了。

走到门口，只见雪雁在院中晾绢子呢。宝玉因问：“姑娘吃了饭了么？”雪雁道：“早起喝了半碗粥，懒待吃饭。这时候打盹儿呢。二爷且到别处走走，回来再来罢。”宝玉只得回来。

无处可去，忽然想起惜春有好几天没见，便信步走到蓼风轩来。刚到窗下，只见静悄悄一无人声。宝玉打谅他也睡午觉，不便进去。才要走时，只听屋里微微一响，不知何声。宝玉站住再听，半日又拍的一响。宝玉还未听出，只见一个人道：“你在这里下了一个子儿，那里你不应么？”宝玉方知是下大棋，但只急切听不出这个人的语音是谁。底下方听见惜春道：“怕什么，你这么一吃我，我这么一应，你又这么吃，我又这么应。还缓着一着儿呢，终久连得上。”那一个又道：“我要这么一吃呢？”惜春道：“阿嗄，还有一着‘反扑’在里头呢！我倒没防备。”宝玉听了，听那一个声音很熟，却不是他们姊妹。料着惜春屋里也没外人，轻轻的掀帘进去。看时不是别人，却是那栊翠庵的槛外人妙玉。这宝玉见是妙玉，不敢惊动。妙玉和惜春正在凝思之际，也没理会。宝玉却站在旁边看他两个的手段。只见妙玉低着头问惜春道：“你这个‘畸角儿’不要了么？”惜春道：“怎么不要。你那里头都是死子儿，我怕什么。”妙玉道：“且别说满话，试试看。”惜春道：“我便打了起来，看你怎么样。”妙玉却微微笑着，把边上子一接，却搭转一吃，把惜春的一个角儿都打起来了，笑着说道：“这叫做‘倒脱靴势’[24]。”

惜春尚未答言，宝玉在旁情不自禁，哈哈一笑，把两个人都唬了一大跳。惜春道：“你这是怎么说，进来也不言语，这么使促狭唬人。你多早晚进来的？”宝玉道：“我头里就进来了，看着你们两个争这个‘畸角儿’。”说着，一面与妙玉施礼，一面又笑问道：“妙公轻易不出禅关[25]，今日何缘下凡一走？”妙玉听了，忽然把脸一红，也不答言，低了头自看那棋。宝玉自觉造次，连忙陪笑道：“倒是出家人比不得我们在家的俗人，头一件心是静的。静则灵，灵则慧。”宝玉尚未说完，只见妙玉微微的把眼一抬，看了宝玉一眼，复又低下头去，那脸上的颜色渐渐的红晕起来。宝玉见他不理，只得讪讪的旁边坐了。惜春还要下子，妙玉半日说道：“再下罢。”便起身理理衣裳，重新坐下，痴痴的问着宝玉道：“你从何处来？”宝玉巴不得这一声，好解释前头的话，忽又想道：“或是妙玉的机锋。”转红了脸答应不出来。妙玉微微一笑，自和惜春说话。惜春也笑道：“二哥哥，这什么难答的，你没的听见人家常说的‘从来处来’么。这也值得把脸红了，见了生人的似的。”妙玉听了这话，想起自家，心上一动，脸上一热，必然也是红的，倒觉不好意思起来。因站起来说道：“我来得久了，要回庵里去了。”惜春知妙玉为人，也不深留，送出门口。妙玉笑道：“久已不来这里，弯弯曲曲的，回去的路头都要迷住了。”宝玉道：“这倒要我来指引指引何如？”妙玉道：“不敢，二爷前请。”

于是二人别了惜春，离了蓼风轩，弯弯曲曲，走近潇湘馆，忽听得叮咚之声。妙玉道：“那里的琴声？”宝玉道：“想必是林妹妹那里抚琴呢。”妙玉道：“原来他也会这个，怎么素日不听见提起？”宝玉悉把黛玉的事述了一遍，因说：“咱们去看他。”妙玉道：“从古只有听琴，再没有‘看琴’的。”宝玉笑道：“我原说我是个俗人。”说着，二人走至潇湘馆外，在山子石坐着静听，甚觉音调清切。只听得低吟道：

风萧萧兮秋气深，美人千里兮独沉吟。望故乡兮何处，倚栏杆兮涕沾襟。

歇了一回，听得又吟道：

山迢迢〔四〕兮水长，照轩窗兮明月光。耿耿不寐兮银河渺茫，罗衫怯怯兮风露凉。

又歇了一歇。妙玉道：“刚才‘侵’字韵是第一叠，如今‘阳’字韵是第二叠了。咱们再听。”里边又吟道：

子之遭兮不自由，予之遇兮多烦忧。之子与我兮心焉相投，思古人兮俾无尤[27]。

妙玉道：“这又是一拍。何忧思之深也！”宝玉道：“我虽不懂得，但听他音调，也觉得过悲了。”里头又调了一回弦。妙玉道：“君弦太高了，与无射律只怕不配呢[28]。”里边又吟道：

人生斯世兮如轻尘，天上人间兮感夙因。感夙因兮不可惙[29]，素心如何天上月。

妙玉听了，呀然失色道：“如何忽作变徵[30]之声？音韵可裂金石矣。只是太过。”宝玉道：“太过便怎么？”妙玉道：“恐不能持久。”正议论时，听得君弦蹦的一声断了。妙玉站起来连忙就走。宝玉道：“怎么样？”妙玉道：“日后自知，你也不必多说。”竟自走了。弄得宝玉满肚疑团，没精打彩的归至怡红院中，不表。

单说妙玉归去，早有道婆接着，掩了庵门，坐了一回，把“禅门日诵”念了一遍。吃了晚饭，点上香拜了菩萨，命道婆自去歇着，自己的禅床靠背俱已整齐，屏息垂帘，跏趺[31]坐下，断除妄想，趋向真如。坐到三更过后，听得屋上骨碌碌一片瓦响，妙玉恐有贼来，下了禅床，出到前轩，但见云影横空，月华如水。那时天气尚不很凉，独自一个凭栏站了一回，忽听房上两个猫儿一递一声厮叫。那妙玉忽想起日间宝玉之言，不觉一阵心跳耳热。自己连忙收慑心神，走进禅房，仍到禅床上坐了。怎奈神不守舍，一时如万马奔驰，觉得禅床便恍荡起来，身子已不在庵中。便有许多王孙公子要求娶他，又有些媒婆扯扯拽拽扶他上车，自己不肯去。一回儿又有盗贼劫他，持刀执棍的逼勒，只得哭喊求救。早惊醒了庵中女尼道婆等众，都拿火来照看。只见妙玉两手撒开，口中流沫。急叫醒时，只见眼睛直竖，两颧鲜红，骂道：“我是有菩萨保佑，你们这些强徒敢要怎么样！”众人都唬的没了主意，都说道：“我们在这里呢，快醒转来罢。”妙玉道：“我要回家去，你们有什么好人送我回去罢。”道婆道：“这里就是你住的房子。”说着，又叫别的女尼忙向观音前祷告，求了签，翻开签书看时，是触犯了西南角上的阴人[32]。就有一个说：“是了。大观园中西南角上本来没有人住，阴气是有的。”一面弄汤弄水的在那里忙乱。那女尼原是自南边带来的，服侍妙玉自然比别人尽心，围着妙玉，坐在禅床上。妙玉回头道：“你是谁？”女尼道：“是我。”妙玉仔细瞧了一瞧，道：“原来是你。”便抱住那女尼呜呜咽咽的哭起来，说道：“你是我的妈呀，你不救我，我不得活了。”那女尼一面唤醒他，一面给他揉着。道婆倒上茶来喝了，直到天明才睡了。

女尼便打发人去请大夫来看脉，也有说是思虑伤脾的，也有说是热入血室[33]的，也有说是邪祟触犯的，也有说是内外感冒的，终无定论。后请得一个大夫来看了，问：“曾打坐过没有？”道婆说道：“向来打坐的。”大夫道：“这病可是昨夜忽然来的么？”道婆道：“是。”大夫道：“这是走魔入火的原故。”众人问：“有碍没有？”大夫道：“幸亏打坐不久，魔还入得浅，可以有救。”写了降伏心火的药，吃了一剂，稍稍平复些。外面那些游头浪子听见了，便造作许多谣言说：“这样年纪，那里忍得住。况且又是很风流的人品，很乖觉的性灵，以后不知飞在谁手里，便宜谁去呢。”过了几日，妙玉病虽略好，神思未复，终有些恍惚。

一日惜春正坐着，彩屏忽然进来回道：“姑娘知道妙玉师父的事吗？”惜春道：“他有什么事？”彩屏道：“我昨日听见邢姑娘和大奶奶那里说呢。他自从那日和姑娘下棋回去，夜间忽然中了邪，嘴里乱嚷说强盗来抢他来了，到如今还没好。姑娘你说这不是奇事吗。”惜春听了，默然无语，因想：“妙玉虽然洁净，毕竟尘缘未断。可惜我生在这种人家不便出家。我若出了家时，那有邪魔缠扰，一念不生，万缘俱寂。”想到这里，蓦与神会，若有所得，便口占一偈云：

大造本无方，云何是应住。[34]

既从空中来，应向空中去。

占毕，即命丫头焚香。自己静坐了一回，又翻开那棋谱来，把孔融王积薪[35]等所著看了几篇。内中“荷叶包蟹势”、“黄莺搏兔势”都不出奇，“三十六局杀角势”一时也难会难记，独看到“八龙走马”[36]〔五〕，觉得甚有意思。正在那里作想，只听见外面一个人走进院来，连叫彩屏。未知是谁，下回分解。

[1] 生辰不偶——降生的时辰不吉利，即命运不好。不偶：即数奇，谓命运不佳。数：气数；命运。奇：机遇不佳。

[2] 猇（xiāo消）声狺（yín银）语——形容恶言叫骂。猇声：虎吼声。狺语：狗叫声。

[3] 属在同心——谓相互知心，关系亲密。

[4] 愍（mǐn敏）恻——同情。愍：哀怜、伤痛。

[5] 冷节遗芳——这是以菊的品格自喻。冷节：清冷的季节。遗芳：百花凋谢后菊花才开，故称遗芳。

[6] 递嬗（dì　shàn第善）——不断地更迭、变化。

[7] 不造——不成，不幸。《诗经·周颂·闵予小子》：“遭家不造，嬛嬛（同‘茕茕’）在疚。”

[8] 离愁——遭遇忧愁。离：同“罹”，遭到。

[9] 咻（xiū休）咻——本为嘘气声，引申为烦扰不安。

[10] “凭（pínɡ平）凭”句——凭凭：云层厚积的样子。秋风酸：令人辛酸凄楚的秋风。李贺《金铜仙人辞汉歌》：“东关酸风射眸子”。

[11] “惟鲔（wěi委）”四句——鲔：鲟、鳇之类的鱼。上两句似从《诗经·小雅·白华》“有鹙在梁，有鹤在林”翻改。朱熹集注：“鹙，秃鹙也。梁，鱼梁（筑于水中以捕鱼的堤堰）也。”“鹙鹤皆以鱼为食，然鹤之于鹙，清浊则有间矣。今鹙在梁而鹤在林，鹙则饱而鹤则饥矣。”比喻小人在位，君子在野。这里四句意谓：鲔在潭、鹤在梁，都应各得其所；可是为什么龙龟隐而不现，乌雀（喻小人）却在高飞。

[12] 玉漏沉——犹言夜深沉。漏：即漏壶，古代滴水计时仪器，故“漏”亦借指时刻。玉漏：镶以玉饰的漏壶。漏壶以滴水计时，壶内之水下沉，说明时逝夜深。

〔一〕 “惺惺惜惺惺”，原作“星星惜星星”，从程乙本改。

[14] 惺惺惜惺惺——才情、境遇相类的人相互同情、爱惜。常用以表示同病相怜。元杂剧《西厢记》第三折：“方信道，惺惺的自古惜惺惺。”惺惺：聪明。

[15] 十里荷花，三秋桂子——宋代柳永《望海潮》词中描写西湖景色的句子。

[16] 人是地行仙——俗谚有“人是地行仙，一日不见走三千”之说。地行仙：仙人的一种。佛教认为人通过修炼能够成仙，这种仙人共有十种，如地行仙、空行仙、通行仙等等。见《楞严经》。

[17] 二十四桥——江苏扬州名胜之一。有二说：一说有桥二十四座，见《舆地纪胜》：“所谓二十四桥者，或存或废，不可得而考”；一说为一座桥名，又名红药桥，见《扬州画舫录》。

[18] 此间日中，只以眼泪洗面——南唐后主李煜亡国后，囚居于宋，他在给旧宫人的信里说：“此中日夕，只以眼泪洗面”。极言去国哀伤心情。见龙衮《江南录》。

[19] 火肉——火腿之肉。

〔二〕 在前八十回中，柳五儿已死。但在后四十回又重新出现。后文关于柳五儿的情节，均保持底本原貌，不作改动。

[21] 铁马——又叫檐马。挂在房檐下的铁片（原为马形，后也有其它形状）或铃铛，风吹时互相碰撞发出叮当声。

〔三〕 “铰折了”，“折”原作“拆”，藤本作“铰断了”。“折”、“断”义同，“折”、“拆”当系形近而误。因改。

[23] 叠——按前面乐章的格式，曲调重奏一次或文辞重复一章叫“一叠”。

[24] 反扑、畸角儿、倒脱靴势——均为围棋术语。反扑：指甲方在吃乙方棋子以后，乙方又反过来将甲方吃掉。畸角儿：全盘围棋的某一角。畸角面积虽小，但容易活棋、占子多，俗称“金角、银边”，以示宝贵，故常为双方重视、争夺。倒脱靴势：甲方利用原已死定的数子，再多送一子或两子给乙方吃，以造成立即吃回乙方数子之势。

[25] 禅关——此指僧、尼静修之所。

〔四〕 “山迢迢”，原作“山迢超”，从藤本、王本改。

[27] 思古人兮俾（bǐ比）无尤——语见《诗·邶风·绿衣》：“我思古人，俾无尤兮。”意谓思念古人的美德，使自己避免过错。俾：使。尤：过失，罪过。

[28] 君弦太高，与无射律只怕不配——君弦：古琴近徽一侧的第一根弦，又名初弦、大弦，最粗，是确定基音的。蔡邕《琴操》：“大弦者君也，宽和而温。小弦者臣也，清廉而不乱。”无射律：十二律之一。我国古代以竹管或钟、弦来定音，共有十二个标准音，称十二律。因无射律音阶较高，故君弦定音太高，无射律的音阶则更高，弹奏就极困难。

[29] 惙（chuò绰）——通“辍”，中止；停止。

[30] 变徵（zhǐ纸）——古代七声音阶分宫、商、角、变徵、徵、羽、变宫。曲调以宫音为起点的叫宫调式，以变徵音为起点的叫变徵调式。调式不同，产生不同音乐效果。变徵调式一般表现激越悲凉的情绪。《史记·刺客列传》：荆轲出使秦国，“为变徵之声，士皆垂泪涕泣”。黛玉将调式突然变为“变徵之声”，当与末句从平声韵突变为入声韵（“月”）相适应的。

[31] 跏趺（jiā　fū加伕）——“结跏趺坐”的省称。佛教修禅者的坐法，盘膝，两足交叉以足背搭于左右股上。趺指足背。

[32] 阴人——这里指死人或阴魂。

[33] 热入血室——中医用语。即热邪进入下焦，以至胞宫。据《金匮要略》载：此症使人神志恍惚，“暮则谵语，如见鬼状”。血室：多有所指，明代张介宾则指胞宫，即子宫。

[34] “大造”两句——现实世界本非永恒不变，何处是应当迷恋不舍的立脚点呢？无方：无常。住：佛家语，即住相，执迷于现实世界。

[35] 孔融、王积薪——二人皆擅围棋。孔融：东汉时人。王积薪：唐代人，著有《围棋十诀》。

[36] 荷叶包蟹势、黄莺搏兔势、三十六局杀角势、八龙走马——均围棋术语，属围棋对杀手段。“黄莺搏兔势”疑为“黄鹰搏兔势”或“苍鹰搏兔势”之误；“八龙走马”疑为“八王走马势”之误。后者棋谱有据。

〔五〕 “八龙走马”，程乙本作“十龙走马”；藤本作“人龙走马”；王本同底本。

CHAPTER 87. Autumnal sounds combine with sad remembrances to inspire a composition on the Qin And a flood of passion allows evil spirits to disturb the serenity of Zen

The serving-woman was shown into the Naiad’s House. After paying her respects, she delivered a letter for Dai-yu and was taken off to drink tea with the maids. Dai-yu opened her letter. It was from Bao-chai, and began:.

‘Dear Cousin,

Some malign star must surely have ruled the day of my birth! Misfortune pursues the family at every turn! Cousin Qin and I both fatherless; Mother advanced in years; to which add the sounds of bestial ululation that now emanate from our inner apartments at every hour of the day and night; and, to complete this recital of family woes, Brother Pan’s recent and most cruel blow! Alas! We are indeed beset with howling winds and torrential rains! As I lie awake at night, tossing on my bed, unable to master this grief, my only consolation is the thought of a kindred spirit such as yours. Ah, dear Cousin! You, I know, have the heart to share my present trials, as once you shared the joys of that golden autumn, when harmony and conviviality prevailed. Then, united beneath the aegis of the Crab-flower Club, we tasted crustacean delicacies and contemplated chrysanthemums. Once, I recall, you questioned the flowers thus:

“Who world disdainer, shares your hiding-place?

Of all the flowers, why do yours bloom so late?”

The lines never fail to rive my heart. For are not you and I late blooms, that tremble at the approaching chill?

‘I have endeavoured to compose a lament in four stanzas, to express these feelings of mine. I beg you, read it not as a piece of literary art, but as a simple vessel for my tears.

Your Affectionate Cousin,

Bao-chai.’

The poem was attached.

Alas! the seasons turn,

and turning bring once more

The chill of autumn

to our joy-forsaken door.

We have a flower,

flos matris is its name,

Heartsease…

Poor Mother! What art

can heal thy grief,

or ease thy heart?

My soul aches for thee.

The scudding clouds

by biting autumn winds are blown;

The courtyard-walk

with withered leaves is thickly strewn.

Whither shall I go?

To whom shall I turn?

My love is gone,

And only an anguish

too deep for words

remains.

My heart is desolate.

The mighty sturgeon

has his pool;

The stork upon the dam

makes his habitation.

Fish in scaly armour,

Birds in serried plumes,

find protection.

In my distress

I question

that inscrutable expanse:

O bowels of earth!

O boundless sky!

Will ye not hearken to my cry?

Above, the twinkling Milky Way;

The air cold,

Slanting moonlight,

The water-clock

sunk past midnight.

My restless heart

grieves still;

I read once more this sad lament,

Before entrusting it to you,

My kindred soul and friend!

Dai-yu was deeply moved. ‘She knew I’d be able to understand!’ she thought to herself. ‘That’s why she wrote to me rather than anyone else.’ She was lost in thought, when a voice called from outside:

‘Is Cousin Lin at home?’

Refolding the letter, she replied in a somewhat distant tone:

‘Who’s that?’

Her visitors were already on their way into the room – Tan-chun, Shi Xiang-yun and the two Li sisters. The girls exchanged greetings, and Snowgoose served them with tea. During the conversation that followed, Dai-yu found her thoughts turning back to the gathering, two years earlier, at which they had written the chrysanthemum poems:

‘Don’t you think it’s strange?’ she remarked to the others. ‘Since Cousin Chai moved out of the Garden, she’s only been to see us a couple of times all together. And now it seems as though nothing will induce her to come. I’m beginning to wonder if she’ll ever visit us again.’

Tan-chun smiled.

‘Of course she will! It’s just that at the moment things are a bit difficult: Cousin Pan’s wife is rather a tricky sort of person, Aunt Xue is getting on in years, and with this latest trouble of Pan’s on top of everything else, Chai really is needed to look after things at home. It’s not like the old days, when she was free to do as she pleased.’

As she spoke, they heard a sudden gust of wind outside, and a patter of falling leaves against the paper-covered window. A faint scent drifted into the room. They all tried to guess what flower it could be coming from.

‘It’s very like cassia-blossom,’ suggested Dai-yu.

Tan-chun laughed.

‘Still a southerner at heart! It’s the ninth month, long past cassia-time.’

Dai-yu smiled.

‘You’re right. But then I didn’t say it was, only very like…’

‘Anyway, Tan,’ Xiang-yun butted in, ‘you can’t talk. Don’t you know the lines:

The lotus fragrance drifts for miles,

The cassia blooms till autumn’s end?

In the South, the late-flowering cassia is at its best now. It’s just that you’ve never seen it. If you ever have a chance to go to the South, you’ll be able to see it for yourself.’

‘And what should I be doing in the South?’ retorted Tan-chun with a crushing smile. ‘Anyway, I knew all that ages ago, thanks very much…’

The Li sisters grinned at each other.

‘You never know, Tan,’ said Dai-yu. ‘We are “fairy earthlings, fleet of foot”, that’s what the old proverb says. Here today, who knows where tomorrow. Take me, for example. I was born a southerner, but here I am living in the North.’

Xiang-yun clapped her hands.

‘Well said! Dai’s got you there, Tan! And she’s not the only one to have had such an experience. Look at the rest of us. Some of us are northerners, born and bred. Some were born in the South but grew up in the North. And some grew up in the South and then moved here later. And yet here we all are together. It’s our fate, you see. People and places have an affinity. Their karma brings them together.’

They all nodded at Xiang-yun’s little discourse, except for Tan-chun who just smiled. After chatting for a while longer, they got up to go. Dai-yu walked with them as far as the door, and would have gone out, but they dissuaded her:

‘You’ve only just started to feel better. If you come out now, you might catch a chill.’

So she stood in the doorway, said a few parting words, and watched the four of them walk out of the courtyard gate.

When they had gone, she went indoors again and sat down. The birds were returning to their nests; the sun was setting. With Xiang-yun’s words about the South still ringing in her ears, Dai-yu drifted into a daydream. If her parents were still alive… If she still lived in the South, that gentle land of spring flowers and autumn moonlight, of limpid waters and luminous hills… How she would love to be there again, to visit the Twenty Four Bridges in Yangchow and all the famous historical sites of Nanking! In the South she would have plenty of servants of her own to wait on her. She could do and speak as she pleased, sail in painted pleasure-boats and ride in perfumed carriages, watch the fields of red apricot-blossom go by, spot the inn-signs through the trees… She would be a young lady in her own right, not an outsider, dependent on others for everything. However much the Jias did for her, she always felt the need to be on her best behaviour. What wrong had she done in a previous incarnation to deserve this lonely existence? Those words written in captivity by the last emperor of Southern Tang –

Here, all day long, I bathe my face in tears –

how well they expressed her own feelings! Her soul seemed transported to some distant region.

When Nightingale came in, a single glance sufficed to tell her the cause of Dai-yu’s ‘absence’. She had been in the room when Xiang-yun was talking, and knew how easily Dai-yu was upset by the slightest reference to the South.

‘I thought you might feel tired again, Miss,’ she said, ‘after all your visitors and such a lot of talking, so I’ve just sent Snowgoose to the kitchen for a bowl of ham and cabbage broth, cooked with dried shrimps, dried seaweed and bamboo-shoots. Doesn’t that sound good?’

‘I suppose so.’

‘And some congee?’

Dai-yu nodded.

‘I’d rather you and Snowgoose made the congee yourselves. Don’t have it done in the kitchen.’

‘No Miss. You can never be sure how clean things are in the kitchen. We’ll cook the congee ourselves. I asked Snowgoose to tell Cook Liu in the kitchen to take special care with the soup. Cook Liu said we were not to worry, she’d see to it personally and prepare it in her own room. Her daughter Fivey is going to keep an eye on it while it simmers.’

‘That’s not what I meant,’ replied Dai-yu. ‘I wasn’t complaining that the kitchen was dirty. It’s just that I’ve been imposing on people for so long, and this illness of mine has caused quite enough extra trouble as it is. With all these special orders for soup and congee, I’m afraid I shall make myself unpopular.’

Her eyes were a tell-tale red.

‘Oh Miss! You’re imagining things!’ protested Nightingale. ‘You’re Her Old Ladyship’s own granddaughter, the apple of her eye. A chance to serve you is something people compete for, not grumble about.’

Dai-yu nodded thoughtfully.

‘By the way,’ she asked, ‘is that Fivey you mentioned the one who used to be friendly with Parfumée when she was at Master Bao’s place?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Didn’t I hear that she might be going into service at Master Bao’s herself?’

‘Yes, she was. Then she fell ill, and by the time she was better again and ready to start, there was all that trouble over Skybright, and it had to be put off.’

‘I’ve always liked the look of her, said Dai-yu.

Meanwhile a serving-woman had arrived with the soup, and Snowgoose went out to fetch it.

‘Cook Liu says to tell Miss Lin this one’s been specially cooked in her room by her Fivey,’ said the old woman, ‘so she won’t need to fuss about its not being clean.’

Snowgoose said she would relay this message and carried the soup into the room. Dai-yu, however, had already heard their conversation, and told Snowgoose to go back at once and ask the woman to thank Mrs Liu on her return. Snowgoose did this, and the old woman went on her way.

Snowgoose now laid out Dai-yu’s bowl and chopsticks on the table.

‘Would you like some of that dried turnip slaw we brought with us from the South, Miss, if I mix a little sesame-oil and vinegar dressing with it?’

‘If you like. But don’t go to too much trouble.’

Snowgoose filled her bowl with congee. Dai-yu ate half and drank a couple of spoonfuls of the soup. She put down her spoon, and the two maids cleared away the things and cleaned the little table, which they then removed and replaced with the one that usually stood there. Dai-yu rinsed her mouth and washed her hands.

‘Nightingale, have you put some incense on the brazier?’

‘I was just going to, Miss.

‘You and Snowgoose have some of the soup and congee. They’re good and wholesome. I’ll see to the incense.’

The maids went into the outer room to eat. Dai-yu put some more incense on the brazier and sat down again. She was about to pick up a book to read when her attention was caught by the melancholy soughing of the wind through the trees outside. A long sigh swept from one end of the Garden to the other. The metal wind-chimes started jangling under the eaves.

Snowgoose was the first to finish her soup, and came in to see if there was anything Dai-yu needed.

‘It’s turning colder,’ said Dai-yu. ‘Have those fur clothes had a proper airing yet – the ones I asked you to take out the other day?’

‘Yes, Miss.’

‘Bring them here, will you? I’d like something warm to put over my shoulders.’

Snowgoose went out and returned with a bundle of fur-lined clothes, wrapped in a piece of felt. She undid the wrapper and held the clothes out for Dai-yu to choose from. Dai-yu noticed among the clothes another smaller bundle wrapped in silk. She reached out a hand to pick it up, and untied the wrapper. Inside she found a pair of silk handkerchiefs. She recognized them at once as the ones Bao-yu had secretly sent her during his convalescence! There were the verses she had written on them! Even the tear-stains could still be seen! And next to them in the little bundle were the perfumed sachet she had embroidered for him (and half-demolished in a fit of pique), the torn fan-case, and the snipped remains of the silken cord she had made for his Magic Jade. Nightingale, in sorting out the clothes for airing, must have come across these mementos in one of the chests, and slipped them into this bundle for safety. Dai-yu seemed to have forgotten Snowgoose and the clothes entirely. She stood with the handkerchiefs in her hands and stared at them as though entranced. As she read the verses tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Nightingale came in, to find Snowgoose standing there dumbly, with the felt-wrapped bundle of clothes still held out in front of her, while spread on the little table at Dai-yu’s side were the sachet, fan-case and cord . Dai-yu was holding two faded handkerchiefs with some writing on them, and was gazing at them in tears. As the poet says:

Tokens of past estrangement

Catch the lover’s eye;

Fresh tears fall

On tears of days gone by.

Nightingale knew only too well the tender memories attached to each one of those objects. She thought that sympathy would have little chance of success as a remedy, and decided instead to administer a cheerful rebuke.

‘Come along now, Miss, what’s the sense in looking at things like that? They belong to the past. You and Master Bao were children then. Goodness knows how many silly tiffs you had! All smiles one minute, crying your hearts out the next. Thank goodness you’re both older and have learned to take life a bit more seriously. You wouldn’t dream of spoiling pretty things like these now would you?’

She had meant well. But her words only reminded Dai-yu of the old days with Bao-yu, and released a fresh flood of tears. Nightingale tried again to cheer her up:

‘Come on now, Miss. Snowgoose is waiting. Please choose something to wear.’

Dai-yu let the handkerchiefs drop. Nightingale swiftly retrieved them, wrapped them up again with the sachet and the other things, and put them away.

Finally Dai-yu draped one of the fur-lined jackets over her shoulders and walked listlessly to the outer-room. She sat down, and looking round saw Bao-chai’s poem and letter still lying on the table. She picked them up and reread them a couple of times.

‘The feeling’s the same,’ she said to herself with a sigh, ‘even if our circumstances are different. I should write something in reply. I’ll write four stanzas and set them to an air for the Qin. Then tomorrow I can make a copy and send it to Chai.’

She told Snowgoose to bring in her brush and inkstone, which were on the table outside, and moistening the ink, began to write. When she had completed four stanzas, she took a Qin Handbook from her shelf and looked through it. She decided to make a suite out of the two old melodies, Lonely Orchid Pavan and Saintly Virtue. Having done the pointing, she wrote out a copy of the words there and then to send to Bao-chai, and asked Snowgoose to fetch the three-quarter size Qin she had brought from home, which was stored in a trunk. She tuned the strings and did a few preliminary finger-exercises. Her natural aptitude compensated for her lack of practice, and it was not long before all that she had learnt as a child came back to her. After playing for a while, seeing that it was already late in the night, she told Snowgoose to put away the Qin, and went to bed. And so we must leave her.

*

One day Bao-yu, after completing his toilet, set off as usual with Tealeaf to go to school. On their way they encountered Inky, another of his page-boys, who came bounding up to them with a broad grin on his face and announced:

‘Good news, Master Bao! The Preceptor’s not at school today, and you’ve all been given the day off!’

‘Are you being serious?’ asked Bao-yu.

‘If you don’t believe me, take a look: isn’t that Master Huan and Young Master Lan on their way back now?’

Bao-yu looked and sure enough there were his half-brother and young nephew coming towards him with their contingent of pages, chatting away and giggling, though he could not catch what it was they were saying. When they saw him, they halted and stood with their arms respectfully at their sides.

‘Why have you come back from school so soon?’ Bao-yu asked them.

‘The Preceptor is busy today,’ replied Huan, ‘and says we can all have the day off. We’re to attend as usual tomorrow.’

Hearing this, Bao-yu turned about and, having reported the news to Grandmother Jia and his father, returned to Green Delights.

‘Why are you back?’ asked Aroma.

He told her what had happened, and after sitting with her for a minute or two made a move to go out again.

‘Where are you off to in such a hurry?’ she asked. ‘If you’ve been given the day off school, that doesn’t mean you have to go charging about. You ought to make it a day of rest.’

Bao-yu stopped in his tracks and hung his head.

‘I know you’re right. But when will I next have a chance to get out and have some fun? Be a sport…’

He said this in such an appealing tone of voice that Aroma relented.

‘All right,’ she said with a smile.

Meanwhile lunch had been brought in, and he had to stay and eat it. He bolted it down, rinsed his mouth and was off. Fast as a puff of smoke he sped to the Naiad’s House. He found Nightingale in the courtyard hanging handkerchiefs out to dry.

‘Has Miss Lin had her lunch yet?’ he asked.

‘She had half a bowl of congee earlier on,’ replied Nightingale, ‘but wasn’t feeling very hungry. She’s sleeping at the moment. You’d better go somewhere else just now, Master Bao, and come back a bit later.’

He left reluctantly, not knowing quite where to go. Suddenly it occurred to him that he had not seen Xi-chun for several days, and he began strolling in the direction of Smartweed Loggia. When he reached the courtyard and stood by one of the windows, it all seemed very quiet and deserted. She too, he concluded, was having her nap and not to be disturbed. He was about to leave when he heard a faint sound coming from inside, too faint to identify. He stood still and listened again, in the hope of hearing it more clearly. There it was! A distinct little tap! He was still trying to think what it could be, when a voice said:

‘Why have you made that move, and not countered there?’

It was a game of Go! But Bao-yu did not have time to recognize the voice of the speaker. He heard Xi-chun reply:

‘Why should I bother? If you take me there, I shall simply counter here, and if you take me again I shall take you again. I shall still be one move ahead, and in the end I shall be able to connect.’

‘And what if I take you here?’

‘Aiyo!’ exclaimed Xi-chun. ‘You had an inside counterattack up your sleeve. I’m defenceless.’

That other girl’s voice was so familiar! But he still couldn’t quite place it. It wasn’t one of his cousins, he was sure of that. And yet Xi-chun was unlikely to be entertaining an outsider. Lifting the door-curtain very gently aside, he peeped in. The Go-partner was none other than the nun from Green Bower Hermitage, the Dweller Beyond The Threshold, Adamantina. He dared not intrude any further. The girls were totally absorbed in their game, and had neither of them noticed that they were being spied upon. Bao-yu continued to stand there and watch. Adamantina leant low over the board and said to Xi-chun:

‘Do you want to lose that whole corner?’

‘Of course not! It’s perfectly safe. All those pieces of yours are “dead”, aren’t they?’

‘Are you sure? Go ahead and try.’

‘All right. There’s my move. Now let’s see what you can do.’

A smile crossed Adamantina’s face. She placed her next piece to link up with one she already had on the edge of the board, and then pounced on one of Xi-chun’s pieces and annihilated her entire corner. She laughed:

‘That’s called “Pulling Your Boots Off Upside Down”!’

Before Xi-chun had time to reply, their unobserved observer, unable to contain himself any longer, burst out laughing. The two girls were startled out of their wits.

‘What do you mean by sneaking in here without saying a word?’ exclaimed Xi-chun. ‘What an ill-mannered way to behave, honestly! How long have you been there?’

‘I came in just as you started to play for that corner. I had to watch it out.’

He bowed to Adamantina.

‘Greetings, Reverend Sister!’ he said with a smile. ‘Wherefore this rare excursion from the mystic portals of Zen? What karma brings thee to Maya’s dusty realm?’

She blushed from ear to ear, said nothing, lowered her head and stared at the Go-board. Bao-yu could see that he had embarrassed her, and tried to make up for it.

‘Seriously,’ he said, with a charming smile, ‘how can common mortals compare with those who, like you, have renounced the world? In the first place, you have achieved inner peace. And with that peace comes a deep spirituality. And with that spirituality a clear insight…’

As he was speaking, Adamantina lifted her eyes a fraction and glanced at him. She looked down again at once, and a deep flush spread slowly across her face. Bao-yu realized that she was deliberately trying to ignore him, and sat down awkwardly beside the table. Xi-chun wanted to continue the game, but after a silence Adamantina said:

‘Let’s play another day.’

Having said this, she stood up, straightened out her dress and sat down again. Then, turning to Bao-yu, she asked, in a zany tone of voice:

‘Where have you come from?’

It came as a great relief to Bao-yu that she should speak to him at all, and he was grateful of the chance to remedy his earlier blunder. But then it suddenly struck him that her question might not be as straightforward as it sounded. Was this one of her Zen subtleties? He sat there tongue-tied and red in the face. Adamantina smiled and turned to talk to Xi-chun. Xi-chun smiled too.

‘Cousin Bao,’ she said, ‘what’s so hard about that? Haven’t you heard the saying “I come from whence I come”? To judge by the colour of your face anyone would think you were among strangers. Don’t be shy!’

Adamantina seemed to take this banter personally. She experienced a strange stirring of emotion, and her face grew hot. She knew she must be blushing again, and became extremely flustered. Rising to her feet, she said:

‘I’ve been here a long time. I think I should be making my way back to the Hermitage.’

Xi-chun knew the peculiarity of Adamantina’s temperament and did not press her to stay. She was showing her out, when Adamantina gave a little laugh and said:

‘It’s so long since I’ve been to see you, and the way home is so full of twists and turns. I’m afraid of losing my way.’

‘Pray allow me to be your guide!’ volunteered Bao-yu promptly.

‘I would be greatly honoured,’ she replied. ‘Please go ahead, Master Bao.’

The two of them said goodbye to Xi-chun and walked out of Smartweed Loggia. Their winding path led them near the Naiad’s House, and as they approached they heard strains of music in the air.

‘That’s a Qin,’ said Adamantina. ‘Where could it be coming from, I wonder?’

‘It must be Cousin Lin playing in her room,’ replied Bao-yu.

‘Really? Is that another of her accomplishments? I’ve never heard her mention it.’

Bao-yu repeated what Dai-yu had told him.

‘Shall we go and watch?’ he suggested.

‘You mean listen, I suppose?’ said Adamantina. ‘One listens to the Qin. One never watches.’

‘There you are!’ said Bao-yu with a grin. ‘I said I was a common sort of mortal.’

They had now reached a rockery close to the Naiad’s House. They sat down and listened in silence, touched by the poignancy of the melody. Then a murmuring voice began to chant:

‘Autumn deepens, and with it

the wind’s bitter moan.

My love is far away;

I mourn alone.

Gazing in vain

For a glimpse of home,

I stand at my balcony.

Tears bedew my gown.’

After a brief pause, the chant began again:

‘Hills and lakes melt

into distant night.

Through my casement shines

the clear light

Of the moon

And the sleepless Milky Way.

My thin robe trembles

As wind and dew alight.’

There was another brief pause. Adamantina said to Bao-yu:

‘The first stanza rhymed on “moan”, the second on “night”. I wonder how the next will rhyme?’

The chant began again from within:

‘Fate denies you freedom,

holds you bound;

Inflicting on me too

a heavy wound.

In closest harmony

Our hearts resound;

In contemplation of the Ancients

Is solace to be found.’

‘That must be the end of the third stanza,’ said Adamantina. ‘How tragic it is!’

‘I don’t know anything about music,’ said Bao-yu. ‘But just from the way she sang, I found it terribly sad.’

There was another pause, and they heard Dai-yu tuning her Qin.

‘That tonic B-flat of hers is too sharp for the scale,’ commented Adamantina.

The chanting began again:

‘Alas! this particle of dust,

the human soul,

Is only playing out

a predetermined role.

Why grieve to watch

The Wheel of Karma turn?

A moonlike purity remains

My constant goal.’

As she listened, Adamantina turned pale with horror.

‘Just listen to the way she suddenly uses a sharpened fourth there! Her intonation is enough to shatter bronze and stone! It’s much too sharp!’

‘What do you mean, too sharp?’ asked Bao-yu.

‘It will never take the strain.’

As they were talking, they heard a sudden twang and the tonic string snapped. Adamantina stood up at once and began to walk away.

‘What’s the matter?’ asked Bao-yu.

‘You will find out in time. Please don’t say anything about this.’

She walked off, leaving Bao-yu in a state of great confusion. Eventually he too made his way dejectedly home. And there our narrative leaves him.

*

Adamantina arrived back at Green Bower Hermitage to find the old lay-sisters waiting for her return. They closed the gate after her and she sat with them for a while, intoning her Zen breviary. They had dinner, and after dinner the incense braziers were replenished. They all bowed before the shrine of the Bodhisattva and the women went off duty, leaving Adamantina alone. Her couch and back-rest were set out for her. Sitting cross-legged, she first regulated her breathing and closed her eyes. Then, cleansed of all wayward thoughts, her mind began to soar towards the realm of higher truth. She sat in meditation until well after midnight, when she was disturbed by a sudden clattering sound on the roof. Afraid there might be burglars about, she rose from her couch and went into the front hall. Looking out, all she could see were long clouds that stretched across the sky, and the moon shining through a watery haze. It was a mild night, and she stayed there for a while, leaning over the balustrade.

Suddenly two cats started wailing to each other on the roof above her head. The words Bao-yu had spoken to her that afternoon came flashing into her mind. She felt an involuntary racing of the heart, her ears burned. Making a determined effort to compose herself, she went back into her meditation room and sat down again on her couch. Her efforts were in vain. Something was overpowering her. She felt ten thousand horses stampeding through her head. The couch itself seemed to start swaying, and her body seemed to leave the Hermitage. She was surrounded by handsome young noblemen, all asking for her hand in marriage. There were matchmakers hustling her towards a bridal carriage against her will. Then the scene changed again. Now she was being kidnapped. A gang of ruffians with swords and clubs was threatening her, mauling her. She started screaming for help.

By now the old nuns and lay-sisters were wide awake, and had come hurrying into the hall with candles to discover the cause of the disturbance. They found her lying on the ground, with her arms outstretched, frothing at the mouth. She was woken from this apparent coma, only to fix her eyes into a rigid stare and cry out, her cheeks burning a fierce crimson:

‘Buddha is my Protector! Don’t touch me, you ruffians!’

The women were too scared to do anything but call out:

‘Wake up! Wake up! We’re here now!’

‘I want to go home!’ replied Adamantina. ‘Who’ll be my friend and take me home?’

‘But this is your home!’

While the others stayed talking to her, one of the nuns was sent to pray at the shrine of the Goddess of Mercy. She shook the bamboo-box of tallies kept by the altar, and on consulting the relevant passage in the divination-book read that the Yin spirit of the south-west corner had been offended.

‘Of course!’ exclaimed one of the others, when she reported back. ‘The south-west corner of the Garden was originally uninhabited, so it would be sure to contain a high concentration of Yin essence.’

Some busied themselves making soup, others brought water. One of the nuns, who had come with Adamantina from the South and was for that reason closer and more devoted to her than the others, sat next to her on the couch and put her arms protectively round her. Adamantina turned her head:

‘Who’s that?’

‘It’s only me.’

Adamantina looked at her curiously for a minute.

‘Oh it really is!’ she cried, and flung her arms round the nun, sobbing hysterically. ‘Oh Mother, save me, or I’m going to die!’

The nun called out to her in an attempt to bring her to her senses, and began to massage her gently. The old women brought in tea, and they sat up together till dawn when finally Adamantina dozed off. The nun sent for the doctor, and several doctors came and took her pulses. There were as many differing diagnoses as there were doctors. Excessive worry damaging the spleen; phlogistic intrusion into the haematic system; offence caused to an evil spirit; a combination of internal and external chill. None of these seemed conclusive. Finally a doctor came whose first question after reading her pulses was:

‘Did the young lady practise meditation?’

The women informed him that it was a regular thing with her.

‘And did this illness develop quite suddenly last night?’

‘Yes, it did.’

‘Indubitably a case of heat in the cardiac orb affording entrance to a vagrant evil spirit.’

‘Will she be all right?’

‘Luckily the meditation does not seem to have been too far advanced and the spirit was therefore not able to penetrate too deeply. She will most probably recover.’

He wrote out a prescription for the Dephlogistication of the Cardiac Orb, after one dose of which Adamantina began to show signs of improvement.

News of her attack soon spread, and it became a subject of gossip for the lads in town. ‘All that chastity and religion was bound to be too much for a girl of her age. Especially such an attractive, lively thing… Sooner or later she’ll get soft on some lucky fellow and run away.’

A few days later Adamantina was slightly better. But her concentration seemed to have gone and she often found herself drifting off into a dreamlike state.

The news did not reach Xi-chun for a few days. She was sitting in her room when Landscape came hurrying in.

‘Miss, have you heard what’s happened to Sister Adamantina?’

‘No – what is it?’

‘I heard Miss Xing and Mrs Zhu talking about it yesterday. Remember that day she was here playing Go? Apparently that very night she had a fit. She was talking about bandits trying to carry her away and all sorts of other strange things. She still hasn’t quite recovered. Don’t you think it’s peculiar?’

Xi-chun thought silently to herself:

‘So for all her fastidious purity, Addie’s worldly karma is still not complete. If only I had been born into a different family! If only I were free to become a nun! I would never be tempted by evil spirits. I know I would be able to subdue every unholy thought and achieve total detachment from the world and all its entanglements.’

With this thought she experienced a sudden sense of illumination, which she tried to express in the following gātha:

Since at first there was no space,

Things can have no proper place.

From Void all comes;

To Void must all return.

She told a maid to light some incense, and meditated for a while. Then she took down her Go Handbook and began looking through it, studying the tactics of such famous Go Masters of old as Kong Rong and Wang Ji-xin. There was ‘Crab Wrapped in Lotus Leaves’, and ‘Golden Oriole Strikes Hare’; but she found neither of these very impressive, and ‘Corner Kill in Thirty Six Moves’ she found too hard to understand and harder still to remember. It was ‘Dragon-chain of Ten Galloping Horses’ that really caught her fancy. She was still working it out, when she heard someone come into the courtyard and call out:

‘Landscape!’

But to know who this visitor was, you must turn to the next chapter.