The Debt of Tears

  *

  Bao-yu, after his brief interview with his father, was escorted back by Aroma to his kang in the inner room. Intimidated by the Master’s presence in the next room, none of the maids dared speak to him and he soon fell into a deep sleep. As a consequence he did not hear a word of the conversation between his father and Grandmother Jia. Aroma and the others did, however, and stood in complete silence taking it all in. Aroma had heard rumours of this marriage-plan, rumours whose likelihood, it is true, had been strengthened by Bao-chai’s repeated absence from family gatherings. Now that she knew it for a fact, all became crystal clear. She was glad.

  ‘They’ve shown some sense at last!’ she thought to herself. ‘Those two will make by far the better match. And I shall be better off too. With Miss Chai here I’ll be able to unload a lot of my responsibilities. The only trouble is, Master Bao still thinks of no one but Miss Lin … It’s a good thing he didn’t hear just now. If he knew what they are planning, I dread to think what trouble we’d have.’

  This cast a shadow over her previous optimism. ‘What’s to be done?’ she continued to brood to herself. ‘Her Old Ladyship and Her Ladyship obviously don’t know about the secret feelings Master Bao and Miss Lin have for each other, and in their enthusiasm they could tell him their plan, to try and cure him. But if he still feels as he did – when he first saw Miss Lin, for instance, and hurled his jade to the ground and wanted to smash it to pieces; or last summer in the Garden, when he mistook me for her and poured his heart out to me; or when Nightingale teased him by saying that Miss Lin was going away, and had him in such floods of tears – and if they go and tell him now that he’s betrothed to Miss Chai and will have to give Miss Lin up for ever, so far from turning his luck they’ll probably kill him! (Unless of course he’s going through one of his deaf-and-dumb spells, in which case he probably won’t even notice.) I’d better tell them what I know, or three people may suffer!’

  Aroma’s mind was made up. As soon as Jia Zheng had taken his leave of the ladies, she left Ripple to look after Bao-yu, and went into the outer room. She walked over to Lady Wang and whispered that she would like a word with her privately in the room to the rear of Grandmother Jia’s apartment. Grandmother Jia imagined it to be some message from Bao-yu and did not pay much attention, but continued to engross herself in the wedding arrangements. Lady Wang rose to leave, and Aroma followed her into the rear chamber, where she at once fell on her knees and began crying. Lady Wang had no idea what it was all about, and taking her by the hand, said:

  ‘Come now! What is all this? Has someone done you wrong? If so, stand up, and tell me.’

  ‘It is something I shouldn’t really say, but in the circumstances I feel I must.’

  ‘Well, tell me then. And take your time.’

  ‘You and Her Old Ladyship have made an excellent decision, in choosing Miss Bao-chai as Bao-yu’s future bride …’ began Aroma. ‘But, I wonder, ma’am, if you have noticed which of the two young ladies Bao-yu is more closely attached to, Miss Chai, or Miss Lin?’

  ‘As they have lived together since they were children,’ replied Lady Wang, ‘I suppose he would be a little closer to Miss Lin.’

  ‘More than a little!’ protested Aroma, and went on to give Lady Wang a detailed history of how things had always stood between Bao-yu and Dai-yu, and of the various incidents that had occurred between them.

  These are all things that you would have seen for yourself, ma’am,’ she added, ‘with the exception of his outburst during the summer, which I have not mentioned to a soul until now.’

  Lady Wang drew Aroma towards her.

  ‘Yes, most of what you have told me I have been able to deduce for myself. What you have said simply bears out my own observations. But you must all have heard the Master’s words. Tell me, how did Bao-yu react?’

  ‘As things are at present, ma’am, Bao-yu smiles if someone talks to him, but otherwise he just sleeps. He heard nothing.’

  ‘In that case, what are we to do?’

  ‘It is not my place to say,’ replied Aroma. ‘Your Ladyship should inform Her Old Ladyship of what I have said, and think of a suitable way of solving the problem.’

  ‘Then you had better go,’ said Lady Wang, ‘and leave it to me. Now would not be a good moment to bring it up; there are too many people in the room. I shall wait for an opportunity to tell Her Old Ladyship, and we will discuss what to do.’

  Lady Wang returned to Grandmother Jia’s apartment. The old lady was talking to Xi-feng, and when she saw Lady Wang come in, asked:

  ‘What did Aroma want? What was all that mysterious whispering about?’

  Lady Wang answered her directly, and told the whole story of Bao-yu’s love for Dai-yu, as Aroma had told it her. When she had finished, Grandmother Jia was silent for a long while. Neither Lady Wang nor Xi-feng dared say a word. At last, Grandmother Jia sighed and said:

  ‘Everything else seemed somehow soluble. It does not matter so much about Dai-yu. But if Bao-yu really feels this way about her, it seems we have run into an insoluble problem.’

  Xi-feng looked very thoughtful for a minute, then said:

  ‘Not insoluble. I think I can see a solution. But I am not sure if you would agree to it or not, Aunt.’

  ‘Whatever your idea is,’ said Lady Wang, ‘speak up and let Mother know. Then we can all discuss it together.’

  ‘There is only one solution that I can think of,’ said Xi-feng. ‘It involves two things: a white lie, and a piece of discreet substitution.’

  ‘Substitution? What do you mean?’ asked Grandmother Jia.

  ‘First of all,’ replied Xi-feng, ‘whether Bao-yu knows anything yet or not, we let it be known that Sir Zheng proposes to betroth him to Miss Lin. We must watch for his reaction. If he is quite unaffected, then there is no need to bother with my plan. But if he does seem at all pleased at the news, it will make things rather more complicated.’

  ‘Supposing he is pleased?’ asked Lady Wang. ‘What then?’

  Xi-feng went over and whispered at some length in Lady Wang’s ear. Lady Wang nodded, smiled and said:

  ‘Well, well … An ingenious idea, I must say!’

  ‘Come on, you two!’ exclaimed Grandmother Jia. ‘Let me in on the secret: what are you whispering about?’

  Xi-feng was afraid that Grandmother Jia might not grasp her idea at once, and might inadvertently give the game away. She leant across and whispered in the old lady’s ear. Grandmother Jia did seem rather puzzled at first. Xi-feng smiled, and added a few more words of explanation. Grandmother Jia finally said with a smile:

  ‘Why not? But isn’t it rather hard on Bao-chai? And what about Miss Lin? What if she gets to hear of it?’

  ‘We shall only tell Bao-yu’ replied Xi-feng. ‘No one else will be allowed to mention it. That way no one need know.’

  A maid came in and informed them that Mr Lian had returned. Lady Wang was worried that Grandmother Jia might inquire into the distressing news that had occasioned his journey, and cast a meaningful glance in Xi-feng’s direction. Xi-feng went out to intercept him, and signalled to him with her lips to accompany her to Lady Wang’s apartment and wait there. It was not long before Lady Wang came in, to find Xi-feng red-eyed from weeping. Jia Lian paid his respects to Lady Wang, and gave her an account of the funeral arrangements for Wang Zi-teng at Ten Mile Village.

  ‘He has been posthumously awarded the rank of Grand Secretary, by Imperial Decree,’ Jia Lian went on, ‘and the title Lord Wen-qin. The Court has given instructions for the family to accompany the coffin en cortège to Nanking, and all local mandarins have been instructed to look after them en route. The whole family left yesterday for the South. Uncle’s widow asked me to convey her respects. She said that there was so much she wanted to talk to you about, but that she would not be able to come to the capital at present. My brother-in-law Wang Ren is coming here, so I heard, and if they meet him on the way, they will tell him to come and give us the latest news.’
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  Lady Wang responded to all of this with a grief that the reader can surely imagine.

  ‘Why don’t you lie down for a while, Aunt?’ said Xi-feng. ‘In the evening, we can talk further about Bao-yu’s affairs.’

  Having uttered these comforting words, Xi-feng returned with Jia Lian to her own apartment, where she informed him of all that had been decided and told him to give instructions for the cleaning and refurbishing of the courtyard that was to be the couple’s new home. But of this no more for the present.

  *

  A day or two after these events, Dai-yu, having eaten her breakfast, decided to take Nightingale with her to visit Grandmother Jia. She wanted to pay her respects, and also thought the visit might provide some sort of distraction for herself. She had hardly left the Naiad’s House, when she remembered that she had left her handkerchief at home, and sent Nightingale back to fetch it, saying that she would walk ahead slowly and wait for her to catch up. She had just reached the corner behind the rockery at Drenched Blossoms Bridge – the very spot-where she had once buried the flowers with Bao-yu – when all of a sudden she heard the sound of sobbing. She stopped at once and listened. She could not tell whose voice it was, nor could she distinguish what it was that the voice was complaining of, so tearfully and at such length. It really was most puzzling. She moved forward again cautiously and as she turned the corner, saw before her the source of the sobbing, a maid with large eyes and thick-set eyebrows.

  Before setting eyes on this girl, Dai-yu had guessed that one of the many maids in the Jia household must have had an unhappy love-affair, and had come here to cry her heart out in secret. But now she laughed at the very idea. ‘How could such an ungainly creature as this know the meaning of love?’ she thought to herself. ‘This must be one of the odd-job girls, who has probably been scolded by one of the senior maids.’ She looked more closely, but still could not place the girl. Seeing Dai-yu, the maid ceased her weeping, wiped her cheeks, and rose to her feet.

  ‘Come now, what are you so upset about?’ inquired Dai-yu.

  ‘Oh Miss Lin!’ replied the maid, amid fresh tears. Tell me if you think it fair. They were talking about it, and how was I to know better? Just because I say one thing wrong, is that a reason for sister to start hitting me?’

  Dai-yu did not know what she was talking about. She smiled, and asked again:

  ‘Who is your sister?’

  ‘Pearl,’ answered the maid.

  From this, Dai-yu concluded that she must work in Grandmother Jia’s apartment.

  ‘And what is your name?’

  ‘Simple.’

  Dai-yu laughed. Then:

  ‘Why did she hit you? What did you say that was so wrong?’

  ‘That’s what I’d like to know! It was only to do with Master Bao marrying Miss Chai!’

  The words struck Dai-yu’s ears like a clap of thunder. Her heart started thumping fiercely. She tried to calm herself for a moment, and told the maid to come with her. The maid followed her to the secluded corner of the garden, where the Flower Burial Mound was situated. Here Dai-yu asked her:

  ‘Why should she hit you for mentioning Master Bao’s marriage to Miss Chai?’

  ‘Her Old Ladyship, Her Ladyship and Mrs Lian,’ replied Simple, ‘have decided that as the Master is leaving soon, they are going to arrange with Mrs Xue to marry Master Bao and Miss Chai as quickly as possible. They want the wedding to turn his luck, and then …’

  Her voice tailed off. She stared at Dai-yu, laughed and continued:

  ‘Then, as soon as those two are married, they are going to find a husband for you, Miss Lin.’

  Dai-yu was speechless with horror. The maid went on regardless:

  ‘But how was I to know that they’d decided to keep it quiet, for fear of embarrassing Miss Chai? All I did was say to Aroma, that serves in Master Bao’s room: “Won’t it be a fine to-do here soon, when Miss Chai comes over, or Mrs Bao … what will we have to call her?” That’s all I said. What was there in that to hurt sister Pearl? Can you see, Miss Lin? She came across and hit me straight in the face and said I was talking rubbish and disobeying orders, and would be dismissed from service! How was I to know their Ladyships didn’t want us to mention it? Nobody told me, and she just hit me!’

  She started sobbing again. Dai-yu’s heart felt as though oil, soy-sauce, sugar and vinegar had all been poured into it at once. She could not tell which flavour predominated, the sweet, the sour, the bitter or the salty. After a few moments’ silence, she said in a trembling voice:

  ‘Don’t talk such rubbish. Any more of that, and you’ll be beaten again. Off you go!’

  She herself turned back in the direction of the Naiad’s House. Her body felt as though it weighed a hundred tons, her feet were as wobbly as if she were walking on cotton-floss. She could only manage one step at a time. After an age, she still had not reached the bank by Drenched Blossoms Bridge. She was going so slowly, with her feet about to collapse beneath her, and in her giddiness and confusion had wandered off course and increased the distance by about a hundred yards. She reached Drenched Blossoms Bridge only to start drifting back again along the bank in the direction she had just come from, quite unaware of what she was doing.

  Nightingale had by now returned with the handkerchief, but could not find Dai-yu anywhere. She finally saw her, pale as snow, tottering along, her eyes staring straight in front of her, meandering in circles. Nightingale also caught sight of a maid disappearing in the distance beyond Dai-yu, but could not make out who it was. She was most bewildered, and quickened her step.

  ‘Why are you turning back again, Miss?’ she asked softly. ‘Where are you heading for?’

  Dai-yu only heard the blurred outline of this question. She replied:

  ‘I want to ask Bao-yu something.’

  Nightingale could not fathom what was going on, and could only try to guide her on her way to Grandmother Jia’s apartment. When they came to the entrance, Dai-yu seemed to feel clearer in mind. She turned, saw Nightingale supporting her, stopped for a moment, and asked:

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I went to fetch your handkerchief,’ replied Nightingale, smiling anxiously. ‘I saw you over by the bridge and hurried across. I asked you where you were going, but you took no notice.’

  ‘Oh!’ said Dai-yu with a smile. ‘I thought you had come to see Bao-yu. What else did we come here for?’

  Nightingale could see that her mind was utterly confused. She guessed that it was something that the maid had said in the garden, and only nodded with a faint smile in reply to Dai-yu’s question. But to herself she was trying to imagine what sort of an encounter this was going to be, between the young master who had already lost his wits, and her young mistress who was now herself a little touched. Despite her apprehensions, she dared not prevent the meeting, and helped Dai-yu into the room. The funny thing was that Dai-yu now seemed to have recovered her strength. She did not wait for Nightingale but raised the portière herself, and walked into the room. It was very quiet inside. Grandmother Jia had retired for her afternoon nap. Some of the maids had sneaked off to play, some were having forty winks themselves and others had gone to wait on Grandmother Jia in her bedroom. It was Aroma who came out to see who was there, when she heard the swish of the portière. Seeing that it was Dai-yu, she greeted her politely:

  ‘Please come in and sit down, Miss.’

  ‘Is Master Bao at home?’ asked Dai-yu with a smile.

  Aroma did not know that anything was amiss, and was about to answer, when she saw Nightingale make an urgent movement with her lips from behind Dai-yu’s back, pointing to her mistress and making a warning gesture with her hand. Aroma had no idea what she meant and dared not ask. Undeterred, Dai-yu walked on into Bao-yu’s room. He was sitting up in bed, and when she came in made no move to get up or welcome her, but remained where he was, staring at her and giving a series of silly laughs. Dai-yu sat down uninvited, and she too began to smile and stare back at
Bao-yu. There were no greetings exchanged, no courtesies, in fact no words of any kind. They just sat there staring into each other’s faces and smiling like a pair of half-wits. Aroma stood watching, completely at a loss.

  Suddenly Dai-yu said:

  ‘Bao-yu, why are you sick?’

  Bao-yu laughed.

  ‘I’m sick because of Miss Lin.’

  Aroma and Nightingale grew pale with fright. They tried to change the subject, but their efforts only met with silence and more senseless smiles. By now it was clear to Aroma that Dai-yu’s mind was as disturbed as Bao-yu’s.

  ‘Miss Lin has only just recovered from her illness,’ she whispered to Nightingale. ‘I’ll ask Ripple to help you take her back. She should go home and lie down.’ Turning to Ripple, she said: ‘Go with Nightingale and accompany Miss Lin home. And no stupid chattering on the way, mind.’

  Ripple smiled, and without a word came over to help Nightingale. The two of them began to help Dai-yu to her feet. Dai-yu stood up at once, unassisted, still staring fixedly at Bao-yu, smiling and nodding her head.

  ‘Come on, Miss!’ urged Nightingale. ‘It’s time to go home and rest.’

  ‘Of course!’ exclaimed Dai-yu. ‘It’s time!’

  She turned to go. Still smiling and refusing any assistance from the maids, she strode out at twice her normal speed. Ripple and Nightingale hurried after her. On leaving Grandmother Jia’s apartment, Dai-yu kept on walking, in quite the wrong direction. Nightingale hurried up to her and took her by the hand.

  ‘This is the way, Miss.’

  Still smiling, Dai-yu allowed herself to be led, and followed Nightingale towards the Naiad’s House. When they were nearly there, Nightingale exclaimed:

  ‘Lord Buddha be praised! Home at last!’

  She had no sooner uttered these words when she saw Dai-yu stumble forwards onto the ground, and give a loud cry. A stream of blood came gushing from her mouth.