‘Man’s life is uncertain,’ said Bao-yu. ‘Which of us knows when his time will come? Even if I die today or tomorrow or this year or next year, at least I shall have lived my life as I wanted to.’
The others would hardly let him finish what he was saying.
‘Worse and worse! Best not encourage him. What he was saying just now was simpleton’s talk, but this is raging lunacy!’
‘Don’t talk about dying, Cousin Bao,’ said little Xi-luan. ‘Lady Jia and Lady Wang are sure to feel lonely when all the girls have gone. I will come here and help you keep them company.’
Li Wan and You-shi both laughed.
‘Now you are talking like a simpleton, young lady. Don’t you think you will be getting married then as well?’
Xi-luan was overcome with bashfulness and hung her head.
The first watch was just sounding. They got up then and returned to their various apartments for the night.
*
On her way back to Grandmother Jia’s, Faithful observed that one of the side gates of the Garden was shut but not yet barred. There was no one about. A faint light burned in the duty-room and a sliver of moon half-way up the sky shed a feeble radiance from above. As she had no companion to talk to, carried no lantern, and was walking softly, the women in the duty-room seemed not to have noticed her. She had for some time been wanting to empty her bladder, and this seemed as good an opportunity as any for doing so. She left the path and began looking for a place where the grass was not too high to squat down in.
She had found what looked like a good spot under a large osmanthus tree behind a Tai-hu rock and was just making her way round the side of the rock to reach it when a rustle of clothing caused her to jump almost out of her skin. By straining her eyes she could make out two human shapes. They melted into the bushes at her arrival, but Faithful had very sharp eyes, and before they disappeared, the faint moonlight had enabled her to identify one of them by the red top, bouffant hair-style, and tall, somewhat heavy build, as Ying-chun’s head maid, Chess. She assumed that Chess and some other girl had been using the place as a convenience and had hidden themselves in the bushes when they saw her coming, intending to jump out at her presently and give her a scare.
‘Chess, come out of there!’ she called. ‘If you frighten me I shall scream, and then you will be taken for a thief. This is no time to be playing monkey-tricks, a big girl like you!’
These words were spoken in jest with no other motive than to prevent Chess jumping out and scaring her, but to Chess’s guilty conscience they seemed to imply that the secret she was hiding had been discovered. She was terrified that Faithful might cry out and others get to know about it as well, which would be even more frightful; and as Faithful had always been kind to her in the past, she resolved to throw herself on her mercy. Running out of the bushes, she knelt down and clung to her imploringly.
‘Faithful, I beg of you, for God’s sake don’t cry out!’
Not knowing what to make of this exaggerated reaction to her words, Faithful hastily pulled her to her feet.
‘Well, well, what’s all this about?’
Chess seemed unable to reply, but her body was trembling all over. Faithful was more mystified than ever. She looked again in the direction from which Chess had just come and saw a figure lurking there. It looked like a boy’s. She began to guess the reason for Chess’s terror. A sickening embarrassment made her own heart beat faster and she could feel her face burning to the very tips of her ears. She was afraid, too. After a brief silence in which she managed to recover some of her composure, she asked Chess, in a tremulous whisper, who ‘that other person’ was. Chess sank once more to her knees.
‘He’s my cousin, Faithful,’ she said faintly, ‘my father’s sister’s son.’
Faithful made a scornful sound, as if she did not believe her; but she was still too embarrassed to say anything.
‘There’s no need to hide,’ Chess called out softly to the boy. ‘My friend here had already seen you. Come out quickly and kotow.’
The boy darted out from the cover of the tree, threw himself on his knees in front of Faithful, and began knocking his head on the ground as if he were pounding garlic in a mortar. Faithful wanted to turn away, but Chess clung to her tearfully and beseechingly.
‘Our lives are in your hands, Faithful. Be merciful!’
‘Of course I shall; you don’t need to ask,’ said Faithful. ‘Tell him to go away. Whatever happens, I shan’t tell anyone. There’s no need for all this drama.’
Before she had finished speaking, a voice could be heard from the direction of the corner gate.
‘Miss Faithful’s already gone out. We can bar the gate now.’
Chess was still clinging to her so hard that Faithful could not get away. She had to call out to the woman from where she stood.
‘No, I’m still here. I’ve been doing something. Just a second: I’ll be out directly.’
Chess, when she heard her say that, was obliged to let her go. The rest will be told in the following chapter.
CHAPTER 72
Wang Xi-feng refuses to see a doctor And Brightie’s wife seeks help with a betrothal
As Faithful went out of the corner gate, her cheeks were still burning and her heart was beating wildly. What an extraordinary encounter – and how unexpected! She began to consider what the consequences would be if she were to tell anyone. A crime involving both sexual delinquency and illicit entry could cost the offenders their lives – and other persons might well be implicated. She resolved to keep her discovery to herself. ‘After all,’ she reflected, ‘it is really no business of mine.’ And so, when she got back to Grandmother Jia’s apartment, she gave only a routine account of her mission and went to bed without telling anyone about her experience.
But what of Chess? She and her father’s sister’s son – the boy whom Faithful had discovered with her in the Garden – had often played together as little children. In those days they were childhood sweethearts, innocently vowing, before they even knew the full meaning of the vow, that they would be husband and wife when they grew up or else would never marry. The years passed by and each grew up into a good-looking adolescent. Significant looks would pass between them when they saw each other during Chess’s occasional visits home, and they knew, without needing to tell each other, that the childhood bond between them was as strong as ever. As they were both dreadfully afraid that their parents would oppose their meeting, they contrived – he working on his side and she on hers – to buy the support of the Garden women, so that gates might be left conveniently unbarred and notice obligingly be given when the coast was clear; and now, today, taking advantage of the confusion caused by the birthday celebrations, they had met for the first time inside the Garden. They had not yet reached the point of physical union when Faithful surprised them, but they had exchanged vows and keepsakes and passionate endearments and were not far off it. Shortly after their discovery by Faithful, the boy managed to dodge away through the bushes and slip out of the corner gate unseen.
Chess did not sleep that night. She lay awake until dawn, bitterly regretting that she had ever agreed to the assignation. Meeting Faithful next day caused her to go hot and cold by turns, and all day long she felt as wretched and uncomfortable as if she were carrying a devil’s child inside her. She had lost all her appetite for food and drink, and whether sitting or standing felt equally jumpy and ill at ease. This continued for two days. When two days had gone by and still nothing had happened, she began to feel a little easier.
But then one morning one of the old women from the Garden gate came round and whispered some news to her.
‘Your cousin’s run away. He hasn’t been home now for three or four days. They’re out everywhere looking for him.’
A wave of mingled alarm, anger and grief swept over her.
‘Even if she’d told, he ought to have stayed,’ she thought, ‘and we could have died together. How can he love me, running away like that, w
ithout even waiting to find out?’
As a result of this latest shock she woke up next morning with a feeling of weakness inside her, and after trying unsuccessfully for a while to drag herself around, was forced to go back and lie down. This time she was ill in earnest.
When Faithful heard that one of the boys had unaccountably run away and that Chess was so ill that there was already talk of moving her out of the Garden, she was sure that in either case it was fear that she might betray them that had been the cause. So concerned did she feel about this that, on the pretext of paying a sick visit, she went to see Chess and reassure her. As soon as she could get the others out of the room, she swore a most solemn oath that she would never give her away.
‘So just stop worrying and get better.’ she told her. ‘You are too young to throw your life away because of a thing like this.’
Chess clung to her hand and wept.
‘Dear Faithful! We’ve known each other now since we were little girls. You have always been nice to me, and I have always respected you. If you really don’t tell anyone about this stupid mistake of mine, I promise to honour you as if you were my mother. From now on, each day I live will be a day I owe to you. If I get better, I shall set up a tablet with your name on it and kotow and burn incense to it every day and pray that you may have a long and happy life. But if I die, then I hope I may be reborn as a dog or an ass, if only I can have the chance to repay you.’
She went on to say much more in this vein, the tears all the while streaming down her cheeks, so that Faithful herself became affected and began to cry as well.
‘It’s your own imagination that is making you so ill,’ she said, shaking her head sadly. ‘Why should I want to go out of my way to destroy your reputation? To win someone’s approval? Surely you know me better than that? In any case, I am much too shy to talk about such things. Please stop worrying. From now on you must start getting better. And when you are better, try to live a little more sensibly in future. Don’t go getting yourself into scrapes like this again.’
Chess nodded her head vigorously upon the pillow. After speaking a few more words to comfort her, Faithful took her leave.
Faithful had noticed that Xi-feng had been somewhat off colour during these past few days. She happened to know that Jia Lian was out and thought she might as well drop in on Xi-feng on her way back and ask how she was. The servants on the inner gate stood up as she approached and remained standing until she disappeared into Xi-feng’s courtyard. As she entered the reception room, Patience was just emerging from inside. She smiled when she saw Faithful and hurried up to her.
‘She’s just eaten and now she’s having an afternoon nap,’ she said in a low voice. ‘Come into the other room and we’ll have a chat.’
At her insistence Faithful accompanied her into the room on the east side of the reception room and sat down with her. A junior maid poured them both some tea.
‘Tell me, what’s been the matter with your mistress during these past few days?’ said Faithful. ‘She seems so lethargic.’
Patience sighed.
‘It’s not just these last few days,’ she said, having first looked round to make sure that no one else was within hearing. ‘It goes back a month at least. It’s just that all the work of the last few days and that upset with Lady Xing coming on top of it have made her worse, so that people are beginning to notice.’
‘In that case why doesn’t she call a doctor?’
‘My dear Faithful,’ said Patience, ‘surely you know our Mrs Lian better than that? It’s not just calling a doctor or taking medicine that she objects to. Sometimes, because I can’t bear to see her looking so ill, I’ll ask her, quite casually, “How do you feel today?”; but even that will be enough to make her angry. She says there’s nothing wrong with her and that I’m trying to make her ill by talking about it. In spite of feeling so poorly, she still insists on keeping up with everything that goes on in the household. It worries me. How can she ever get better if she herself won’t face up to the fact that she is ill?’
‘She really ought to call a doctor,’ said Faithful. ‘Surely it would be a relief just to know what she is suffering from?’
Patience sighed.
‘Whatever it is, if you ask me, it’s something pretty serious.’
‘Oh?’ said Faithful. ‘What kind of trouble is it then?’
Patience leaned forwards and spoke very softly into her ear.
‘During this past month, ever since she had her last period, it’s been drip-drip, drip-drip all the time. Surely that’s serious, isn’t it?’
‘Aiyo!’ said Faithful. ‘It sounds as if the blood-gate has burst.’
Patience gave a little laugh.
‘Oh Faithful, you are a baby! What a thing to say! Poor Mrs Lian!’
Faithful coloured, and she laughed as well, a trifle sheepishly.
‘Well I don’t know what it means myself. It’s just that I heard them saying it about my elder sister. You’ve probably forgotten: she died of something rather like this. I was too young at the time to know what was the matter with her, but I remember hearing my mother talking about it to my sister’s mother-in-law and one of them saying “The blood-gate’s burst” and wondering at the time what it could mean. Later on, when I heard more about her illness, I thought I understood, but I don’t suppose I did really.’
While they were talking, a little maid came in with a message.
‘Old Mrs Zhu has been again. We told her the mistress had just laid down for her afternoon nap so she went off to Lady Wang’s room.’
Patience nodded.
‘Which Mrs Zhu is that?’ said Faithful.
‘She’s an official marriage-broker working for one of the yamens,’ said Patience. ‘She’s come on behalf of Sir Sun Somebody-or-other who wants one of our young Jia ladies for his son. Old nuisance! She’s been around here every day during the past few days, flashing her card at everyone.’
At that moment another little maid came hurrying into the room.
‘Mr Lian’s back!’
Patience hurried out to meet him as he stepped into the reception room outside. He began walking into the side room, since it was the room that Patience had just come out of, but halted on the threshold when he caught sight of Faithful sitting inside on the kang.
‘Ah, my dear Faithful!’ he said, smiling broadly. ‘What favourable wind has blown you to our humble abode?’
Faithful smiled back at him. She made no effort to get up.
‘I came here to pay my respects to you and Mrs Lian, but one of you was out and the other one was having a nap.’
‘You’re so busy all the year round waiting on Her Old Ladyship,’ said Jia Lian, still smiling, ‘it’s we who should come to see you, not the other way round.’ He paused. ‘As a matter of fact it’s rather a stroke of luck that you have come here today. I was on my way to see you just now. The only reason I dropped in here was because this gown I am wearing is too hot and I wanted to change into something cooler before going on to see you. But God is good to me, it seems: your being here means that I am saved the trouble of going out again.’
He sat himself down in a chair.
‘What was it you wanted to see me about?’ said Faithful.
Jia Lian gave a preliminary laugh.
‘Something I’ve forgotten about that you may perhaps remember. On Her Old Ladyship’s birthday last year some travelling monk made her a present of a Buddha’s hand modelled in coloured wax. She was so taken with it that she immediately had it put on display somewhere where she could admire it. When I was going through the inventory of her ornaments the other day in preparation for these birthday celebrations, I found an entry for the thing but couldn’t discover where it had got to; and as I wasn’t able to tick it off on the inventory, the steward of the ornaments room has been on to me a couple of times since then asking me to find out where it is. Do you know? Has Her Old Ladyship still got the thing on display somewhere in her own apartment,
or has she handed it over to someone else?’
‘After she’d had it on display for a couple of days, she grew tired of it and gave it to Mrs Lian,’ said Faithful. ‘I don’t know why you should be asking me about it! I can even remember the day, and the person I sent round with it. It was Old Wang’s wife. You should ask Mrs Lian or Patience about it. They will tell you.’
Patience, who had just been seeing to some clothes, came hurrying in again.
‘Certainly she gave it to us. It’s upstairs here in the loft. Mrs Lian long ago sent someone to tell the steward that we’d got it. I suppose he was too lazy to make a note of it at the time. It’s too bad that he should be making a fuss about it now.’
‘If she gave it to your mistress,’ said Jia Lian, ‘how is it that I don’t know anything about it? I think you must have been hiding it from me.’
‘The mistress did tell you about it,’ said Patience. ‘You wanted to give it to someone as a present, but the mistress wouldn’t let you. She had a terrible job persuading you to let her keep it. Fancy your forgetting – and then having the nerve to accuse us of hiding it from you! If we were going to start hiding things from you, we could do a bit better than that! We have been given things ten times more valuable, but invariably you have been told.’
Jia Lian looked down smilingly and reflected, then clapped his hands suddenly as he remembered.
‘Why yes, of course. How stupid of me! I’m forgetting everything these days; no wonder people get so cross with me. I’m not the man I was!’
‘It’s hardly surprising,’ said Faithful. ‘You have so much to do and so many people to deal with. By the time you’ve had a couple of drinks, you can’t be expected to remember very much!’
She got up to go. Jia Lian too rose to his feet.
‘Do stay a little longer. I want to ask you a favour.’
He turned rather crossly to one of the junior maids.
‘Can’t we have some better tea than this? Get some clean cover-cups and use some of that tea we were given yesterday.’