第一○二回

第一○二回 宁国府骨肉病灾祲 大观园符水驱妖孽

话说王夫人打发人来唤宝钗，宝钗连忙过来，请了安。王夫人道：“你三妹妹如今要出嫁了，只得你们作嫂子的大家开导开导他，也是你们姊妹之情。况且他也是个明白孩子，我看你们两个也很合的来。只是我听见说宝玉听见他三妹妹出门子，哭的了不的，你也该劝劝他。如今我的身子是十病九痛的，你二嫂子也是三日好两日不好。你还心地明白些，诸事也别说只管吞着不肯得罪人，将来这一番家事，都是你的担子。”宝钗答应着。王夫人又说道：“还有一件事，你二嫂子昨儿带了柳家媳妇的丫头来，说补在你们屋里。”宝钗道：“今日平儿才带过来，说是太太和二奶奶的主意。”王夫人道：“是呦，你二嫂子和我说，我想也没要紧，不便驳他的回。只是一件，我见那孩子眉眼儿上头也不是个很安顿的。起先为宝玉房里的丫头狐狸似的，我撵了几个，那时候你也知道，不然你怎么搬回家去了呢。如今有你，自然不比先前了。我告诉你，不过留点神儿就是了。你们屋里就是袭人那孩子还可以使得。”宝钗答应了，又说了几句话，便过来了。饭后到了探春那边，自有一番殷勤劝慰之言，不必细说。

次日，探春将要起身，又来辞宝玉。宝玉自然难割难分。探春便将纲常大体的话，说的宝玉始而低头不语，后来转悲作喜，似有醒悟之意。于是探春放心，辞别众人，竟上轿登程，水舟车陆而去。

先前众姊妹们都住在大观园中，后来贾妃薨后，也不修葺。到了宝玉娶亲，林黛玉一死，史湘云回去，宝琴在家住着，园中人少，况兼天气寒冷，李纨姊妹、探春、惜春等俱挪回旧所。到了花朝月夕，依旧相约顽耍。如今探春一去，宝玉病后不出屋门，益发没有高兴的人了。所以园中寂寞，只有几家看园的人住着。那日尤氏过来送探春起身，因天晚省得套车，便从前年在园里开通宁府的那个便门里走过去了。觉得凄凉满目，台榭依然，女墙[2]一带都种作园地一般，心中怅然如有所失，因到家中，便有些身上发热，扎挣一两天，竟躺倒了。日间的发烧犹可，夜里身热异常，便谵语[3]绵绵。贾珍连忙请了大夫看视。说感冒起的，如今缠经，入了足阳明胃经[4]，所以谵语不清，如有所见，有了大秽[5]即可身安。尤氏服了两剂，并不稍减，更加发起狂来。

贾珍着急，便叫贾蓉来打听外头有好医生再请几位来瞧瞧。贾蓉回道：“前儿这位太医是最兴时的了。只怕我母亲的病不是药治得好的。”贾珍道：“胡说，不吃药难道由他去罢。”贾蓉道：“不是说不治。为的是前日母亲从西府去，回来是穿着园子里走来家的，一到了家就身上发烧，别是撞客着了罢？外头有个毛半仙，是南方人，卦起的很灵，不如请他来占卦占卦。看有信儿呢，就依着他，要是不中用，再请别的好大夫来。”贾珍听了，即刻叫人请来。坐在书房内喝了茶，便说：“府上叫我，不知占什么事？”贾蓉道：“家母有病，请教一卦。”毛半仙道：“既如此，取净水洗手，设下香案。让我起出一课来看就是了。”一时下人安排定了。他便怀里掏出卦筒来，走到上头恭恭敬敬的作了一个揖，手内摇着卦筒，口里念道：“伏以太极两仪，交感。图书[6]出而变化不穷，神圣作而诚求必应。兹有信官贾某，为因母病，虔请伏羲、文王、周公、孔子四大圣人，鉴临在上，诚感则灵，有凶报凶，有吉报吉。先请内象三爻[7]。”说着，将筒内的钱倒在盘内，说“有灵的头一爻就是交。”拿起来又摇了一摇，倒出来说是单。第三爻又是交。检起钱来，嘴里说是：“内爻已示，更请外象三爻，完成一卦。”起出来是单拆单。那毛半仙收了卦筒和铜钱，便坐下问道：“请坐，请坐。让我来细细的看看。这个卦乃是‘未济’之卦。世爻是第三爻，午火兄弟劫财，晦气是一定该有的。如今尊驾为母问病，用神是初爻，真是父母爻动出官鬼来。五爻上又有一层官鬼，我看令堂太夫人的病是不轻的。还好，还好，如今子亥之水休囚，寅木动而生火。世爻上动出一个子孙来，倒是克鬼的。况且日月生身，再隔两日子水官鬼落空，交到戌日就好了。但是父母爻上变鬼，恐怕令尊大人也有些关碍。就是本身世爻〔一〕比劫过重，到了水旺土衰的日子也不好。”说完了，便撅着胡子坐着。贾蓉起先听他捣鬼，心里忍不住要笑，听他讲的卦理明白，又说生怕父亲也不好，便说道：“卦是极高明的，但不知我母亲到底是什么病？”毛半仙道：“据这卦上世爻午火变水相克，必是寒火凝结。若要断得清楚，揲蓍[9]也不大明白，除非用大六壬[10]才断得准。”贾蓉道：“先生都高明的么？”毛半仙道：“知道些。”贾蓉便要请教，报了一个时辰。毛先生便画了盘子，将神将排定。“算去是戌上白虎，这课叫做‘魄化〔二〕课’。大凡白虎乃是凶将，乘旺象气受制，便不能为害。如今乘着死神死煞及时令囚死，则为饿虎，定是伤人。就如魄神受惊消散，故名‘魄化’。这课象说是人身丧鬼，忧患相仍，病多丧死，讼有忧惊。按象有日暮虎临，必定是傍晚得病的。象内说，凡占此课，必定旧宅有伏虎作怪，或有形响。如今尊驾为大人而占，正合着虎在阳忧男，在阴忧女。此课十分凶险呢。”贾蓉没有听完，唬得面上失色道：“先生说得很是。但与那卦又不大相合，到底有妨碍么？”毛半仙道：“你不用慌，待我慢慢的再看。”低着头又咕哝了一会子，便说“好了，有救星了！算出巳上有贵神救解，谓之‘魄化魂归’。先忧后喜，是不妨事的。只要小心些就是了。”

贾蓉奉上卦金，送了出去，回禀贾珍，说是：“母亲的病是在旧宅傍晚得的，为撞着什么伏尸白虎[12]。”贾珍道：“你说你母亲前日从园里走回来的，可不是那里撞着的。你还记得你二婶娘到园里去，回来就病了。他虽没有见什么，后来那些丫头老婆们都说是山子上一个毛烘烘的东西，眼睛有灯笼大，还会说话，把他二奶奶赶了回来，唬出一场病来。”贾蓉道：“怎么不记得。我还听见宝叔家的茗烟说，晴雯是做了园里芙蓉花的神了，林姑娘死了半空里有音乐，必定他也是管什么花儿了。想这许多妖怪在园里，还了得！头里人多阳气重，常来常往不打紧。如今冷落的时候，母亲打那里走，还不知踹了什么花儿呢，不然就是撞着那一个。那卦也还算是准的。”贾珍道：“到底说有妨碍没有呢？”贾蓉道：“据他说，到了戌日就好了。只愿早两天好，或除两天才好。”贾珍道：“这又是什么意思？”贾蓉道：“那先生若是这样准，生怕老爷也有些不自在。”

正说着，里头喊说：“奶奶要坐起到那边园里去，丫头们都按捺不住。”贾珍等进去安慰定了。只闻尤氏嘴里乱说：“穿红的来叫我，穿绿的来赶我。”地下这些人又怕又好笑。贾珍便命人买些纸钱送到园里烧化，果然那夜出了汗，便安静些。到了戌日，也就渐渐的好起来。由是一人传十，十人传百，都说大观园中有了妖怪。唬得那些看园的人也不修花补树，灌溉果蔬。起先晚上不敢行走，以致鸟兽逼人，甚至日里也是约伴持械而行。过了些时，果然贾珍患病。竟不请医调治，轻则到园化纸许愿，重则详星拜斗。贾珍方好，贾蓉等相继而病。如此接连数月，闹得两府俱怕。从此风声鹤唳，草木皆妖。园中出息，一概全蠲，各房月例重新添起，反弄得荣府中更加拮据。那些看园的没有了想头，个个要离此处，每每造言生事，便将花妖树怪编派起来，各要搬出，将园门封固，再无人敢到园中。以致崇楼高阁，琼馆瑶台，皆为禽兽所栖。

却说晴雯的表兄吴贵正住在园门口，他媳妇自从晴雯死后，听见说作了花神，每日晚间便不敢出门。这一日吴贵出门买东西，回来晚了。那媳妇子本有些感冒着了，日间吃错了药，晚上吴贵到家，已死在炕上。外面的人因那媳妇子不妥当，便都说妖怪爬过墙吸了精去死的。于是老太太着急的了不得，替另派了好些人将宝玉的住房围住，巡逻打更。这些小丫头们还说，有的看见红脸的，有的看见很俊的女人的，吵嚷不休。唬得宝玉天天害怕。亏得宝钗有把持的，听得丫头们混说，便唬吓着要打，所以那些谣言略好些。无奈各房的人都是疑人疑鬼的不安静，也添了人坐更，于是更加了好些食用。

独有贾赦不大很信，说：“好好园子，那里有什么鬼怪！”挑了个风清日暖的日子，带了好几个家人，手内持着器械，到园踹看动静。众人劝他不依。到了园中，果然阴气逼人。贾赦还扎挣前走，跟的人都探头缩脑。内中有个年轻的家人，心内已经害怕，只听呼的一声，回过头来，只见五色灿烂的一件东西跳过去了，唬得嗳哟一声，腿子发软，便躺倒了。贾赦回身查问，那小子喘嘘嘘的回道：“亲眼看见一个黄脸红须绿衣青裳一个妖怪走到树林子后头山窟窿里去了。”贾赦听了，便也有些胆怯，问道：“你们都看见么？”有几个推顺水船儿的回说：“怎么没瞧见，因老爷在头里，不敢惊动罢了。奴才们还撑得住。”说得贾赦害怕，也不敢再走，急急的回来，吩咐小子们：“不要提及，只说看遍了，没有什么东西。”心里实也相信，要到真人府[13]里请法官驱邪。岂知那些家人无事还要生事，今见贾赦怕了，不但不瞒着，反添些穿凿，说得人人吐舌。

贾赦没法，只得请道士到园作法事驱邪逐妖。择吉日先在省亲正殿上铺排起坛场，上供三清圣像，旁设二十八宿并马、赵、温、周四大将[14]，下排三十六天将图像。香花灯烛设满一堂，钟鼓法器排两边，插着五方旗号。道纪司[15]派定四十九位道众的执事，净了一天的坛。三位法官行香取水毕，然后擂起法鼓，法师们俱戴上七星冠，披上九宫八卦的法衣〔三〕，踏着登云履，手执牙笏，便拜表请圣。又念了一天的消灾驱邪〔四〕接福的《洞元经》[18]，以后便出榜召将。榜上大书“太乙混元上清三境灵宝符录演教大法师行文敕令本境诸神到坛听用。”

那日两府上下爷们仗着法师擒妖，都到园中观看，都说：“好大法令！呼神遣将的闹起来，不管有多少妖怪也唬跑了。”大家都挤到坛前。只见小道士们将旗幡举起，按定五方站住，伺候法师号令。三位法师，一位手提宝剑拿着法水，一位捧着七星皂旗，一位举着桃木打妖鞭，立在坛前。只听法器一停，上头令牌三下，口中念念有词，那五方旗便团团散布。法师下坛，叫本家领着到各处楼阁殿亭房廊屋舍山崖水畔洒了法水，将剑指画了一回，回来连击牌令，将七星旗祭起，众道士将旗幡一聚，接下打怪鞭望空打了三下。本家众人都道拿住妖怪，争着要看，及到跟前，并不见有什么形响。只见法师叫众道士拿取瓶罐，将妖收下，加上封条。法师朱笔书符收禁，令人带回在本观塔下镇住，一面撤坛谢将。

贾赦恭敬叩谢了法师。贾蓉等小弟兄背地都笑个不住，说：“这样的大排场，我打量拿着妖怪给我们瞧瞧到底是些什么东西，那里知道是这样收罗，究竟妖怪拿去了没有？”贾珍听见骂道：“糊涂东西，妖怪原是聚则成形、散则成气，如今多少神将在这里，还敢现形吗！无非把这妖气收了，便不作祟，就是法力了。”众人将信将疑，且等不见响动再说。那些下人只知妖怪被擒，疑心去了，便不大惊小怪，往后果然没人提起了。贾珍等病愈复原，都道法师神力。独有一个小子笑说道：“头里那些响动我也不知道，就是跟着大老爷进园这一日，明明是个大公野鸡飞过去了，拴儿吓离了眼，说得活像。我们都替他圆了个谎，大老爷就认真起来。倒瞧了个很热闹的坛场。”众人虽然听见，那里肯信，究无人住。

一日，贾赦无事，正想要叫几个家下人搬住园中，看守房屋，惟恐夜晚藏匿奸人。方欲传出话去，只见贾琏进来，请了安，回说今日到他大舅家去听见一个荒信，“说是二叔被节度使参进来，为的是失察属员，重征粮米，请旨革职的事。”贾赦听了吃惊道：“只怕是谣言罢。前儿你二叔带书子来说，探春于某日到了任所，择了某日吉时送了你妹子到了海疆，路上风恬浪静，合家不必挂念。还说节度认亲，倒设席贺喜，那里有做了亲戚倒提参起来的。且不必言语，快到吏部打听明白就来回我。”

贾琏即刻出去，不到半日回来便说：“才到吏部打听，果然二叔被参。题本上去，亏得皇上的恩典，没有交部，便下旨意，说是失察属员，重征粮米，苛虐百姓，本应革职，姑念初膺外任，不谙吏治，被属员蒙蔽，着降三级，加恩仍以工部员外上行走[19]，并令即日回京。这信是准的。正在吏部说话的时候，来了一个江西引见知县，说起我们二叔，是很感激的，但说是个好上司，只是用人不当，那些家人在外招摇撞骗，欺凌属员，已经把好名声都弄坏了。节度大人早已知道，也说我们二叔是个好人。不知怎么样这回又参了。想是忒闹得不好，恐将来弄出大祸，所以借了一件失察的事情参的，倒是避重就轻的意思也未可知。”贾赦未听说完，便叫贾琏：“先去告诉你婶子知道，且不必告诉老太太就是了。”贾琏去回王夫人。未知有何话说，下回分解。

[1] 祲（jìn浸）——妖气，不祥之气。《左传》昭公十五年：“吾见赤黑之祲。”杜预注：“祲，妖氛也。”

[2] 女墙——城墙上的短墙。《释名·释宫室》：“城上垣曰睥睨……亦曰女墙。”这里指短墙。

[3] 谵（zhān沾）语——妄语；说胡话。

[4] 缠经、足阳明胃经——中医术语。缠经即传经。足阳明胃经：人体十二经脉中的足三阳经之一，体表循行始于眼眶下的承泪穴，一支上行止于额角部，一支下行止于足趾部，主头面、胃肠及神志病等本经所过部位的病症。

[5] 大秽——大便。秽：粪便。

[6] 图书——即河图、洛书。传说远古之时有龙马从黄河出现，背负“河图”；有神龟从洛水出现，背负“洛书”。有人说伏羲根据“河图”、“洛书”画成八卦，就是《周易》的来源。也有人说伏羲依照“河图”画成八卦，夏禹效法“洛书”而成《洪范》。

[7] “内象三爻（yáo摇）”一段——“内象三爻”为占卜术语。《周易》把表示自然变化和人事休咎的卦爻等符号称之为象。后来卜者附会《周易》，因卦起课。占卜时焚香祝祷说明缘由，将三枚制钱放进卦筒内摇动后倒出，凡两背一面的叫“拆”，一背两面的叫“单”，三个都是背的叫“重”，三个都是面的叫“交”。摇倒一次成为一爻，共进行六次，前三爻为“内象”，后三爻为“外象”，合成一卦；爻旁地支叫做课，以此推断吉凶祸福谓之“文王课”。

〔一〕 “世爻”，原作“世鬼”，藤本、王本、金本同。从程乙本改。

[9] 揲蓍（shé　shī舌诗）——我国古代占卜的一种。蓍：草，多年生草本植物，古人用它的茎进行占卜。揲：依照一定规则，按蓍草的不同数目分组，以卜吉凶。

[10] 大六壬——占卜的一种。五行（水、火、木、金、土）以水为首，壬属水；六十甲子中，壬有六个，故名六壬。以天上十二辰分野和地上十二方位配合起来推算吉凶。

〔二〕 “魄化”，原作“鬼化”，从藤本、王本、程乙本改。

[12] 伏尸白虎——藏在尸体上的凶煞。白虎：相术家指凶神。

[13] 真人府——这里指道教“真人”居住的府第。“真人”本系道家对“得道成仙”者的尊称，后有少数道人被封建帝王封为“真人”。

[14] 马、赵、温、周四大将——为道教著名四位神将。马，即灵官马元帅，亦即五显灵官大帝华光天王。赵，即正一玄坛元帅赵公明，民间又奉为财神。温，即孚祐温元帅温琼。周，即风轮周元帅广泽。其事分别见于《三教搜神大全》及《南游记》、《北游记》等。有时亦作马、赵、温、关四天将，关即关羽。

[15] 道纪司——明清时代掌管州府中有关道教事务的官署。

〔三〕 “法衣”，原作“驱衣”，藤本作“仙衣”。从程乙本改。

〔四〕 “驱邪”，原无“驱”字，藤本同。从程乙本增。

[18] 《洞元经》——即《洞玄经》，道教《太上洞玄灵宝无量度人上品妙经》的简称，宣扬元始天尊开劫度人之说，也称《度人经》。

[19] 行走——入值办事的意思。清制，凡在朝廷某部门任职称在某处或某官上行走。

CHAPTER 102. Illness descends upon the Jia family in Ning-guo House And charms and holy water are used to exorcize Prospect Garden

Bao-chai went immediately to Lady Wang’s apartment.

‘As you know, Tan-chun is getting married,’ began Lady Wang, when Bao-chai had paid her respects. ‘You and Li Wan must have a word with her before she leaves, and try to cheer her up. She is your own cousin after all. She’s such a sensible girl, and I know how well the two of you get along together. I understand that Bao-yu was most upset and started crying when he heard the news. You must talk him round too.

‘I’ve been too poorly recently to be able to do much myself, and Feng spends half her days laid up in bed. You’re a clever girl. From now on you’re going to have to accept a greater share of the family responsibilities. Don’t feel you must hold back all the time for fear of causing offence. In time the weight of this entire household will rest on your shoulders.’

‘Yes, Mother.’

Lady Wang continued:

‘There’s another thing. Feng came here with Cook Liu’s daughter yesterday and said she wanted her to fill the vacancy in your apartment.’

‘Yes, Mother. Patience brought her over to start today,’ said Bao-chai. ‘She said that you and Cousin Feng were in agreement about it.’

‘Yes. As a matter of fact it was Feng’s idea. I decided it was not worth making an issue of it and going against her wishes. But I feel I should warn you all the same, the girl doesn’t look altogether reliable to me. She could make trouble. A while ago I had one or two of Bao-yu’s more flirtatious maids dismissed – I’m sure you knew about the affair; it led to your going home to live with your mother. Now that you and Bao-yu are married, things are different of course. But I still feel I ought to mention it, so that you can keep an eye on her. Remember, Aroma is the only dependable maid in your apartment.’

‘Yes, Mother.’

Bao-chai stayed a little longer and then left. After dinner she visited Tan-chun and talked with her at some length, offering what comfort and advice she could. We need not describe their conversation in any detail.

The next day was Tan-chun’s day of departure and she came once more to bid a final farewell to Bao-yu. He found the parting a painful one, as was only to be expected. But when she spoke to him calmly and philosophically of her ‘obligations in life’, although at first he hung his head in silence, in the end he began to look a little more cheerful. Tan-chun was relieved that he seemed able to view her future in a less tragic and more enlightened manner; and after saying goodbye to the rest of the family, she climbed into her sedan and set off on the long journey that would take her by land and water to the South.

Prospect Garden, once home to such a distinguished little society of young ladies, had since the death of the Imperial Concubine been left to fall into gradual ruin. With Bao-yu’s marriage, Dai-yu’s death and the departure of Xiang-yun and Bao-qin, the number of residents was already sadly depleted. Then, when the cold weather set in, Li Wan, her cousins Li Qi and Li Wen, Xi-chun and Tan-chun had all moved out to their previous abodes and had only ever gathered together in the Garden to enjoy themselves on particularly fine days or moonlit nights. With Tan-chun no longer at home and Bao-yu still convalescing and confined indoors, there was scarcely anyone left to enjoy the Garden’s delights. It became a desolate place, its paths frequented only by the handful of caretakers whom duty still obliged to live there.

On the day of Tan-chun’s departure, You-shi had come across to Rong-guo House to see her off. It was getting late by the time she left for home, and she decided to save herself the trouble of taking a carriage by returning through the Garden, using the side gate that communicated with Ning-guo House. As she walked through the grounds she was forcibly struck by the aura of desolation that pervaded the place. The buildings were unchanged, but she noticed that a strip of land along the inside of the Garden wall had already been converted into some sort of vegetable plot. A deep sense of melancholy oppressed her spirit. When she reached home she immediately developed a fever, and though she fought it off for a couple of days eventually she had to retire to bed. During the daytime the fever was not unduly severe, but at night it became almost insupportable and she grew delirious and started babbling to herself. Cousin Zhen sent for a doctor at once, who pronounced that she had caught a chill, which had developed complications and had entered into the yang-ming stomach meridian. This accounted for her delirious babbling and hallucinations. She would recover once she had opened her bowels.

You-shi took two doses of the medicine the doctor prescribed, but showed no sign of improvement. If anything she became more deranged than before. Cousin Zhen was now seriously concerned and sent for Jia Rong:

‘Get hold of the names of some good doctors in town and send for one immediately. We must have a second opinion.’

‘But the doctor who came the other day is extremely well thought of,’ objected Jia Rong. ‘It seems to me that in Mother’s case medicine is of little use.’

‘How can you talk like that!’ exclaimed Cousin Zhen. ‘If we don’t give her medicine, what are we supposed to do? Just let her fade away?’

‘I didn’t say she couldn’t be cured,’ said Jia Rong. ‘What was going through my mind was this: when Mother went over to Rong-guo House the other day, she came back through the Garden. And the fever began as soon as she reached home. It could be that she encountered some evil spirit on the way and is now possessed. I happen to know of an excellent fortune-teller in town, by the name of Half-Immortal Mao. He hails from the South, and is something of a specialist in The Book of Changes. I think we should ask him for a consultation first. See if he can shed any light on the matter. If that gets us nowhere, then let’s by all means look for another doctor.’

Cousin Zhen agreed, and they sent for the fortune-teller at once. When he arrived, he and Jia Rong sat down together in the study and after drinking his tea Half-Immortal Mao began the consultation proper:

‘On what matter does my esteemed client wish me to consult the Changes?’

‘It concerns my mother,’ said Jia Rong. ‘She has fallen ill. Could you please seek some illumination from the Changes on her behalf?’

‘Very well,’ replied Mao. ‘First I shall require some clean water with which to wash my hands. Then, will you be so good as to light some incense, and to set up a small altar? And I shall proceed with the divination.’

The servants carried out these instructions, and Mao extracted the divining cylinder from within his gown, approached the altar, and after making a profound reverence began shaking the cylinder, intoning the following prayer:

‘In the name of the Supreme Ultimate, of the Yin and of the Yang, and of the Generative Powers of the Cosmos; in the name of the Holy Signs made manifest in the Great River, which embody the Myriad Transformations of the Universe, and of the Saints who in their wisdom leave no sincere request unheeded: here, in good faith, Mr Jia, on the occasion of his mother’s illness, devoutly beseeches the Four Sages, Fu Xi, King Wen, the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, to look down from above and vouchsafe an efficacious response to this his earnest supplication. If evil lies hidden, then bring the evil to light; if good, then show the good. First we ask to be told the Three Lines of the Lower Trigram.’

He turned the cylinder upside down and the coins fell onto the tray.

‘Ah! Most efficacious: for the Prime we have a Moving Yin.’

The second throw gave a Yang At Rest, the third another Moving Yin Picking up the coins, Half-Immortal Mao said:

‘The Lower Trigram has been communicated. Now let us ask to receive the Three Lines of the Upper Trigram, and thus complete the Hexagram.’

These fell as follows: Yang At Rest, Yin At Rest, Yang At Rest . Half-Immortal Mao replaced the cylinder and coins inside his gown, and sat down.

‘Pray be seated,’ he said. ‘Let us consider this in greater detail. We have here the sixty-fourth Hexagram, “Before Completion”: . The Line of most significance to you and to your generation is the Tertian, with Fire at the Seventh Branch Wu, and the Signature “Ruin”. This certainly indicates that Dire Misfortune lies in store. You have asked me to consult the Changes concerning your mother’s illness, and great attention should therefore be paid to the parental Prime, which contains the Signature “Spectre”, as does the Quintal. It would seem that your mother is indeed seriously afflicted. But all will still be for the best. The present misfortune is concatenated with Water at the First Branch Zi and at the Twelfth Branch Hai; but when this element wanes, with the Third Branch Yin comes Wood and thence Fire. The Signature “Offspring” at the Tertian also counteracts the Spectral influence, and with the regenerative effect of the continuing revolution of both the solar and lunar bodies, in two days the “Spectre” originally concatenated with Water at the First Branch Zi should be rendered void, and by the day Xu all will be well. But I see that the parental Prime contains further Spectral permutations. I fear your father may himself be afflicted. And your own personal Line has a severe concentration of “Ruin”. When Water reaches its zenith and Earth its nadir, be prepared for misfortune to strike.’

Mao sat back, thrusting his beard forward, as if to emphasize the authenticity of his prognosis.

At the beginning of this rigmarole it was all Jia Rong could do to keep a straight face. But gradually Mao impressed him as a man who knew what he was talking about, and when he went on to predict misfortune for Cousin Zhen, Jia Rong began to take him rather more seriously.

‘Your exposition is certainly very learned,’ he commented. ‘But could you, I wonder, be more precise as to the nature of the illness that is afflicting my mother?’

‘In the Hexagram,’ replied Mao, ‘Fire at the Seventh Branch Wu in the Prime changes to Water and is thus controlled. This would indicate some inner congestion in which both cold and heat are combined. But I am afraid a precise diagnosis lies beyond the limitations of even a more elaborate milfoil reading of the Changes. For that, you would have to cast a Six Cardinal horoscope.’

‘Is that branch of divination one with which you are also conversant?’ asked Jia Rong.

‘To a certain extent,’ replied Mao.

Jia Rong asked him to cast the horoscope, and wrote down the relevant Stems and Branches. Mao proceeded to adjust his Diviner’s Compass, setting the co-ordinates for the Heavenly Generals. The reading obtained was: ‘White Tiger’ at the Eleventh Branch Xu.

‘This Configuration,’ said Mao, ‘is known as “Dissolution of the Soul”. The “White Tiger” is inauspicious, but is contained and prevented from doing injury when it occurs at a zenith of fortune. In this case, however, it is enveloped in a Mephitic Aura, and occurs at a seasonal passage where Confinement and Death predominate; it is therefore a hungry tiger and sure to do harm. The effect is similar to the spiritual dispersion consequent upon extreme shock. Hence the name of the configuration, which represents a state of acute physical and mental alarm, of profound melancholy; in illness it foresees death, in litigation misfortune. The Tiger is seen approaching at sunset, which means the illness must have been contracted in the evening. The wording reads: “In this configuration, a Tiger lies hidden in some old building, making mischief, or manifests itself in some more palpable way.”

‘You are enquiring specifically about your parents. In a Yang or daylight environment, the Tiger afflicts the male, while in a Yin or night-time environment it afflicts the female. This configuration therefore bodes ill for both of your parents.’

Jia Rong was stunned by this, and turned ashen pale.

‘It all sounds very convincing,’ he said, before Mao could continue. ‘But it doesn’t exactly tally with the Hexagram in The Book of Changes. How dangerous is the situation, do you think?’

‘Do not panic,’ said Mao. ‘Let me look into this a little more carefully.’

He lowered his head in thought and mumbled to himself for a few moments. Then:

‘All is well! We are saved! My Compass reveals a “Delivering Spirit” at the Sixth Branch Si. In other words, what we have here is a “Dissolution of the Soul” leading to a “Restoration of the Spirit”, or Sorrow turning to Joy. There is therefore no real cause for concern. You should just exercise a little caution.’

Jia Rong handed him his fee and saw him off the premises, before returning to report to his father:

‘The fortune-teller says that Mother’s illness was contracted towards evening in an old building, and was caused by an encounter with a White Tiger spirit emanating from a corpse.’

‘Didn’t you say that she came back through the Garden the other evening?’ said Cousin Zhen. ‘It must have been there that she ran into this thing. And didn’t your aunt Feng go walking in the Garden too, and fall ill afterwards? She denied having encountered anything out of the ordinary, but the maids and serving-women all told a different story. They said she’d seen a hairy monster up on a hill, with eyes as big as lanterns, and that she’d even heard it talk. It gave your aunt Feng such a fright that she went running home, and immediately fell ill and took to her bed.’

‘Of course!’ exclaimed Jia Rong. ‘I remember! And I heard Bao-yu’s boy Tealeaf say that Skybright had turned into a Hibiscus Fairy. So she must be haunting the Garden, for a start. And when Cousin Lin died, music was heard in the air, so she’s probably there somewhere too, looking after some other flower. Ugh! It makes your flesh creep, to think of all the sprites and fairies there must be cooped up in there! It used to be perfectly safe when there were plenty of people living there and the place had a feeling of life about it. But now it’s so dashed lonely! When Mother went through, she probably trod on one of the flowers, or bumped into one of the fairies. It sounds as if Mao’s Hexagram was on the mark all right.’

‘Did he talk of any real danger?’ asked Cousin Zhen.

‘According to him, by the day Xu all will be well. I must say, though, I hope his calculations don’t turn out to be too accurate …’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Cousin Zhen.

‘Well, if he’s right, then there could be some trouble in store for you too, Father.’

As they were talking, there came a cry from one of the serving-women in the inner apartments:

‘Mrs Zhen insists on getting up and going to the Garden! The maids can’t hold her down!’

Cousin Zhen and Jia Rong went in to pacify You-shi.

‘The one in red is coming to get me!’ she screamed deliriously. ‘The one in green is after me!’

The servants found her behaviour at once funny and frightening. Cousin Zhen despatched one of them to buy paper money, and burn it in the Garden. That night You-shi came out in a sweat and calmed down considerably, and by the day Xu she gradually started to recover.

Word soon spread that Prospect Garden was haunted, and the caretakers became too frightened to carry out their duties. Plants were left untended, trees unpruned, and all the flower-beds un-watered. No one dared walk around after dark, and as a result the resident wildlife began to make it their own domain. Things eventually got so bad that even in broad daylight the servants would enter the Garden only accompanied and armed with cudgels.

After a few days, Cousin Zhen fell ill as predicted. He did not send for a doctor. Whenever the illness permitted, he went to the Garden to pray and burn paper money; whenever it became severe, he uttered feverish prayers in his chamber. He recovered, and then it was Jia Rong’s turn to go down; and after Jia Rong, the others, one by one. This continued for several months, and both households lived in constant fear. Even the slightest rustle or cry of a bird was suspect, and every plant or tree was feared to harbour a malicious spirit. Now that the Garden was abandoned and no longer productive, extra funds were needed again for the various apartments of the household, and this added to the already crushing deficit of Rong-guo House. The Garden’s caretakers saw nothing to be gained by staying. They all wanted to leave the place, and invented a whole series of incidents to substantiate the presence of diabolical tree-imps and flower sprites. Eventually they achieved their goal: they were all evacuated, the garden gate was securely locked, and no one dared go in at all. Fine halls, lofty pavilions, elegant rooms and terraces became nothing more than nesting-places for birds and lairs for wild beasts.

Skybright’s cousin, Wu Gui, lived, it will be remembered, opposite the rear gate-house of the Garden. It had reached the ears of Wu Gui’s wife that Skybright, after her death, had become a flower fairy, and from then on she took the precaution of staying indoors every evening. One day Wu Gui went shopping and stayed out later than usual. His wife had caught a slight cold and during the day took the wrong medicine, with the result that when Wu Gui returned that evening he found her lying dead on the kang. Because of her reputation for promiscuity, other members of the household staff concluded that a sprite must have climbed over the Garden wall, enjoyed her at inordinate length, and finally ‘sucked the sap’ out of her.

This incident put Grandmother Jia in a great tizzy. She increased the guard around Bao-yu’s apartment and had it constantly watched and patrolled. Some of the younger maids subsequently claimed to have seen weird red-faced creatures lurking in the vicinity, while others testified to the presence of a strange female apparition of great beauty. Such rumours soon multiplied, and Bao-yu lived in mortal terror. Bao-chai was less easily taken in, and warned the maids that any more fear-mongering would bring them a good hiding. Although this quietened things down a bit, there was still an atmosphere of great apprehension throughout both mansions, and more watchmen were taken on, which was an additional expense.

Jia She was the only one not to believe a word of it.

‘There’s nothing the matter with the Garden, for heaven’s sake! Haunted! What an absurd notion!’

He waited for a warm day when there was a mild breeze, and went to inspect the Garden himself, accompanied by a large number of armed servants. They all advised him against going, but he would not listen. When they entered the Garden, the atmosphere was so dark and sinister, so oppressively Yin, that they could almost touch it. Jia She refused to turn back, and his servants reluctantly followed him in, with many a furtive and shrinking sideways glance. One young lad among them, already scared to death, heard a sudden ‘whoosh!’, and turning to look saw something brightly coloured go flashing past. He uttered a terrified ‘Aiyo!’, went instantly weak at the knees and collapsed on the ground. When Jia She looked back and stopped to question him, he replied breathlessly:

‘I saw it with my own eyes! I did! A monster with a yellow face and a red beard, all dressed in green! It went up there, into that grotto behind those trees!’

Jia She was somewhat shaken himself.

‘Did anyone else see this thing?’

Some of the servants decided to take advantage of the situation and replied:

‘Clear as daylight, sir. You were up in front and we didn’t want to alarm you, sir. So we tried to keep a grip on ourselves, and act as if nothing had happened.’

Jia She now lacked the courage to go any further. He turned back and went home as quickly as possible, telling the boys who had accompanied him not to say anything about what had happened, but merely to let it be known that they had had an uneventful tour of the Garden. He himself needed no further convincing that the Garden was haunted, and began to think it might be advisable to apply to the Taoist Pontificate for priests to perform an exorcism. His servants, meanwhile, who were by nature fond of making trouble, saw how frightened their master was, and far from concealing the episode, retailed it with a great deal of gusto and embellishment, creating quite a sensation and eliciting a good deal of open-mouthed astonishment.

In the end Jia She decided that there was no other recourse than to go ahead and hold a formal ceremony of exorcism. A suitable day in the almanac was chosen, and an altar was constructed in the Garden, on a dais in the main hall of the Reunion Palace. Images of the Three Pure Ones were set up, flanked by figures of the spirits presiding over each of the Twenty-Eight Constellations, and of the Four Great Commanders – Ma, Zhao, Wen and Zhou. Further down the hall, the sacred precinct was made complete with a diagrammatic representation of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals. The air was heavy with flowers and incense, the hall blazed with lanterns and candles. Bells, drums, liturgical instruments and other paraphernalia were arrayed along both sides of the hall, and emblematic banners were hoisted at each of the Five Cardinal Points (the Four Corners and the Centre). The Taoist Pontiff had delegated Forty-Nine Deacons for the ceremony, and they began by spending a whole day purifying the altar. Then three priests went the rounds of the hall, waving smoking bundles of joss-sticks and sprinkling holy water, and when this was done the great Drum of the Dharma thundered forth. The priests now donned their Seven Star Mitres and robed themselves in their chasubles emblazoned with the Nine Heavenly Mansions and the Eight Trigrams. Wearing Cloud-Mounting Pattens on their feet and holding ivory tablets in their hands, they addressed themselves in reverent supplication to the sages. For a full day they chanted the Arcanum Primordii, a text renowned for its efficacy in the dispelling of misfortune, the exorcizing of evil spirits and the general enhancement of propitious vibrations. Then they produced the Spirit Roll, which called on the Heavenly Generals to be present. It was inscribed with the following large characters:

A SUMMONS IN THE NAME OF THE THREE REALMS, THE ULTIMATE, THE PRIMORDIAL, AND THE PURE; IN THE NAME OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF AND THE TALISMANIC POWER VESTED IN HIM; ALL BENEVOLENT SPIRITS OF THE REGION ARE HEREBY CALLED TO THIS ALTAR TO DO SERVICE

The menfolk of both Rong-guo and Ning-guo House had taken courage from the presence of the priests, and were gathered in the Garden to watch the demon-hunt.

‘Most impressive!’ they all agreed. ‘All those benevolent spirits and powers are bound to strike fear into the heart of even the most obdurate demon!’

They crowded in front of the altar to watch the rest of the proceedings. The young banner-bearing Deacons took up their positions in the hall, one group at each of the Five Cardinal Points, North, East, South, West and Centre, and awaited their orders. The three priests stood on the lower steps of the altar: one held the Magic Sword and the Holy Water, one the black Seven Star Banner, and one the peach-wood Demon Whip. The music ceased. The gong sounded thrice, the monks intoned a prayer, and the cohorts of banner-bearers began performing circular gyrations. The priests then descended from the altar and instructed the Jia menfolk to conduct them to every storeyed building, studio, hall, pavilion, chamber, cottage or covered walk, every hillside and water’s edge in the Garden. In each place they sprinkled the Holy Water and brandished the Magic Sword. On their return, the gong rang out again, the Seven Star Banner was raised aloft and consecrated, and as it descended the Deacons formed a phalanx around it with their lesser banners, and the Demon Whip was cracked three times in the air.

This, thought the Jias, must be the climactic moment; now at last the entire company of evil spirits would be routed and captured. They thronged forward to be in at the finish. But nothing seemed to happen. No apparition, no sound; only the voice of one of the priests, ordering the Deacons to ‘bring on the jars’. These receptacles were duly ‘brought on’, and in them the priests proceeded to ‘confine’ the invisible spirits, sealing them afterwards with official seals. The Abbot inscribed some magical characters in vermilion, and put the jars to one side, giving orders that they should be taken back to the temple. There they were to be placed beneath a pagoda, whose geomantic location would ensure that they and their contents were safely ‘contained’. The temporary altar was dismantled and thanks given to the Heavenly Powers. Jia She made a solemn kowtow of gratitude to the Abbot.

Afterwards Jia Rong and the younger men of the family had a good laugh about it all in private:

‘All that pantomime to catch the evil spirits! They might at least have let us have a look! What a farce! They probably didn’t manage to catch a single one!’

‘Fools!’ snapped Cousin Zhen, when he heard this. ‘Evil spirits don’t behave like that at all. At certain times they condense into crude matter, at others they dissolve into the ether. With so many benevolent spirits present of course they wouldn’t dare take on material form. It’s their etheric form that’s in question here. That is what Their Holinesses have taken hold of; by so doing they have rendered the spirits harmless. That is how the magic works.’

The younger generation were only half-convinced, and reserved their judgement until such time as they could observe a more visible diminution in demonic activity; the servants, who were told quite firmly that the spirits had now been caught, became less apprehensive as a result, and no further incidents or sightings were reported; while Cousin Zhen and the other invalids made a complete recovery (which they had no hesitation in attributing to the efficacy of the monks’ spells).

There was, however, one page-boy who continued to find the whole episode highly amusing, and who shared his amusement with the others:

‘I don’t know what the earlier business was about, but that day we were in the Garden with Sir She, it was nothing more than a big pheasant that took off out of the undergrowth and went flying past us. Old Ropey got the fright of his life and thought he’d seen a ghost or something. He made a great song and dance about it afterwards. Most of the others believed him and backed him up, and Sir She swallowed the whole thing. Oh well, at least they put on a nice bit of mumbo-jumbo for us!’

But no one was convinced by his version of the story. And certainly no one was willing to live in the Garden again.

Some days later, when things had quietened down somewhat, Jia She thought he might discreetly move a few servants back into the Garden as caretakers, to make sure that no undesirable characters tried to sneak their way in there at night. He was about to issue instructions to this effect when Jia Lian came in.

‘I have just been to visit Uncle Wang Zi-teng’s family,’ he said, after paying his respects, ‘and while I was there I heard the most devastating piece of news. Uncle Zheng has apparently been impeached by the Viceroy! The charge against him is that he failed to control his subordinates and was responsible for the requisitioning of extortionate quantities of tax-grain. The Viceroy has asked for his dismissal.’

Jia She was stunned:

‘This must surely be some idle rumour. Why, there was a letter from your uncle Zheng only the other day. Full of good news. He wrote that Tan-chun had arrived safely, and that he had chosen a suitable day to escort her to her future husband’s family on the coast. The journey had passed off without mishap. Absolutely no cause for concern. What’s more, the Viceroy is supposed to be related to Tan-chun’s husband, and even gave a party to celebrate the wedding. How could the man impeach his own relative? Well, it’s no use speculating like this: you’d better go and see the Civil Office people. Find out what you can, and report straight back to me.’

Jia Lian departed at once and returned a few hours later.

‘It’s as I feared, Father. Uncle Zheng has been impeached. However, as an act of Imperial clemency his case did not go through the normal channels, but was dealt with directly by His Majesty. I have the exact wording of the Imperial Rescript:

On account of Jia Zheng’s failure to control subordinate officials, and on account of the extortionate levying of tax-grain and cruel exploitation of the common people perpetrated under his administration, he deserves to be dismissed altogether. But because this is his first provincial posting, and because he is inexperienced as an administrator and has in this matter been deceived by his own subordinates, he is only to be demoted three grades, and by a special dispensation will be reinstated as Under-Secretary in the Board of Works. He is to return at once to the capital.

‘This news is official. While I was at the Board of Civil Office a county magistrate from Kiangsi came for an audience. He said he was indebted to Uncle Zheng in many ways and had a high opinion of him, but considered him an inept manager of people. His servants got up to all sorts of skulduggery behind his back, and were squeezing the local officials for all they were worth. Uncle’s reputation was already ruined. The Viceroy had known about it for some time, and he too was of the opinion that Uncle Zheng was basically a good man. I don’t know quite why he brought the impeachment in the end. Perhaps he was afraid that things had got out of hand and that more serious trouble might lie ahead. In using this relatively minor charge as grounds for impeachment, maybe he was really trying to save Uncle Zheng from an even worse fate.’

Jia She interrupted Jia Lian:

‘Go and tell your aunt Wang about this straight away. But don’t trouble your grandmother at present.’

So Jia Lian went to report to Lady Wang. For the sequel, please turn to the next chapter.