‘So far as the prince is concerned, your side of the family is the one that he recognizes,’ said Jia Huan. ‘The whole thing is settled, and now they are preparing to send you a large consignment of presents. With this prince married to your granddaughter, Uncle She is bound to be given an important position. It will benefit us all. I don’t want to sound critical of Mother, but all the time sister Yuan-chun was an Imperial Concubine, it didn’t prevent them from treating some of us very shoddily. I hope Qiao-jie will be less ungrateful. I must have a word with her.’
‘Yes, you should speak to her,’ said Lady Xing. ‘It will give her a chance to see how much you’ve done for her. I am sure if her father were at home he would never have found her such a good match! That foolish creature Patience has been saying things against it and protesting that your mother disapproves. It is probably nothing more than sour grapes on their part. We must lose no time, or Lian will be back and then they will set him against the idea too and we’ll never be able to go through with it.’
‘So far as the prince is concerned, the matter is already settled,’ said Jia Huan. ‘They are only waiting for you to send over the horoscope. Then, according to their princely customs, she will be fetched three days later for the wedding. There is however one condition that you may object to. They say that in view of the circumstances, because it is not quite proper to marry the granddaughter of a disgraced official, they will have to take her away quietly without any ceremony. Later, when Uncle She has been pardoned and reinstated in office, they can celebrate the union with all the usual festivities.’
‘Of course I agree,’ said Lady Xing. ‘What they suggest is only correct.’
‘In that case all you have to do now is give them the Eight Characters for Qiao-jie’s horoscope.’
‘Silly boy! What can we womenfolk do? You’d better ask Yun to write them out for you.’
Jia Huan was delighted by Lady Xing’s response and agreed at once to this proposal, which suited him perfectly. He hurried over to have a word with Jia Yun, and asked Wang Ren to go to the prince’s palace to sign the contract and receive the money.
The conversation between Jia Huan and Lady Xing had been overheard by one of Lady Xing’s maids who owed her appointment to Patience and who therefore, as soon as an opportunity presented itself, went straight to see Patience and told her the gist of what was happening. Patience had known all along that no good would come of this marriage plan, and had already told Qiao-jie all that she knew about it. When she first learnt that she was to be married, Qiao-jie had cried all night long; she demanded that they wait for her father’s return before making a decision, and insisted that there was no need to obey Lady Xing. Now, when this latest news arrived, she began howling and wanted to go and complain to Lady Xing herself. Patience hastened to prevent her:
‘You must calm down, miss. Lady Xing is your own grandmother, and with your father away she has every right to make these decisions. Besides, your own uncle is acting as go-between. They’re all in this together, and you’re on your own. You’ll never make them change their minds. And I am only a maid, I can say nothing. We must try to think of a plan ourselves, and not do anything rash!’
‘You’d better be quick,’ advised Lady Xing’s maid, ‘or it will be too late. The bridal chair will be here any day now and then Miss Qiao-jie will be taken away.’
With these gloomy words she returned to Lady Xing’s apartment.
Patience turned round to see Qiao-jie huddled up and weeping disconsolately to herself. She reached out a hand to comfort her:
‘It’s no use crying, miss. There’s nothing your father can do for you now. From what they’ve been saying, it seems as if …’
Before she could complete her sentence, a messenger arrived from Lady Xing’s and announced:
‘This is indeed a happy day for Miss Qiao-jie! Will Patience please prepare whatever Miss Qiao-jie will need to take with her. Her trousseau can wait until Mr Lian’s return.’
Patience was going through the motions of obeying these instructions, when Lady Wang arrived. Qiao-jie hugged her tightly and wept into her bosom. Lady Wang was in tears herself:
‘Try not to worry, child. I’ve spoken to your grandmother and done everything I can for you, and I’ve received nothing but insults for my pains. I can’t make her change her mind. We can only go along with it, and try to delay things as much as possible. Meanwhile we must send someone straight to your father to tell him what is going on.’
‘But haven’t you heard, ma’am?’ said Patience. ‘Early this morning Master Huan was over at Her Ladyship’s. According to this prince’s custom the bride will be fetched in three days. Her Ladyship has already asked Mr Yun to prepare the horoscope. By the time Mr Lian returns it will all be over!’
When she heard that Huan was involved, Lady Wang was speechless with rage. Eventually she stammered out, ‘Bring him to me! Bring him to me at once!’ A servant went in obedience to her command, but returned to report that Master Huan had gone out early that morning with Mr Jia Qiang and Mr Wang Ren.
‘Where’s young Yun?’ asked Lady Wang.
‘We don’t know,’ was the reply.
The people gathered in Qiao-jie’s room stood staring impotently around them. Lady Wang lacked the nerve to go and challenge Lady Xing directly. They all wept bitterly on each other’s shoulders.
Just as their spirits had sunk to these depths of gloom, a serving-woman came in to announce that Grannie Liu had arrived at the back gate of the mansion.
‘We’re all at sixes and sevens,’ was Lady Wang’s comment. ‘How can we start receiving guests at a moment like this? Find some excuse and ask her to leave.’
‘Perhaps you should ask her in, ma’am,’ said Patience. ‘After all she is Qiao-jie’s godmother. We should tell her what is happening.’
Lady Wang said nothing. The serving-woman left the room and reappeared shortly with Grannie Liu, who exchanged greetings with all the ladies present. Seeing their eyes red from weeping, and having no idea what the matter was, Grannie Liu asked, with some hesitation:
‘What is the trouble? It’s Mrs Lian you’re grieving for, I’ll be bound.’
The mention of her mother set Qiao-jie weeping with renewed abandon.
‘There’s no point in avoiding the issue, Grannie,’ said Patience. ‘As her godmother you ought to know the truth.’
She went on to tell Grannie Liu the whole story. At first the old dame was aghast. Then, after a long silence, she suddenly laughed.
‘A smart young woman like you ought to be able to hit on something without much difficulty. Look at the drum ballads, they are full of clever plots and schemes for getting people out of scrapes like this one.’
‘Oh, Grannie!’ begged Patience. ‘If you can think of a way, please tell us quickly!’
‘It’s easy,’ said the old dame. ‘We mustn’t tell a soul, though, and we must be sure to make a quick getaway and hide – that’s all that’s needed.’
‘You can’t be serious!’ protested Patience. ‘Where could someone from a family like ours possibly hide?’
‘Well,’ said Grannie Liu, ‘if you’re willing – and that’s the only if – then you can both come to our village. I can keep Miss Qiao-jie hidden and at the same time I’ll tell my son-in-law to send a man with a letter (which Miss Qiao-jie must write with her own hand) straight to Mr Lian. Once he arrives on the scene, everything can be mended well enough.’
‘And if Lady Xing finds out meanwhile?’ asked Patience.
‘Do they know that I’m here?’ asked Grannie Liu.
‘Lady Xing is living at the front, and as she treats people so harshly no one ever tells her what’s going on. If you’d come in by the front gate she might have known. As it is, we have nothing to fear.’
‘Well then,’ said Grannie Liu, ‘let us agree on a time, and then I’ll tell my son-in-law to send a cart for you both.’
‘There’s not a moment to be lost,’ urged Patience.
‘I’ll be as quick as I can.’
She went into the inner room with Lady Wang, and having dismissed all the servants explained Grannie Liu’s plan to her. Lady Wang considered it carefully, and judged it altogether too risky.
‘But it’s our only hope!’ pleaded Patience. ‘I can speak my mind to you, ma’am. This is what I think you should do. You must pretend to know nothing about it; later you can even go to Lady Xing’s and ask her where Qiao-jie has gone. We’ll send a message to Mr Lian, and surely he won’t be long coming.’
Lady Wang was silent, and heaved a deep sigh. Qiao-jie had heard them talking and added her entreaties to those of Patience:
‘Oh Auntie, please! Save me! I know how grateful Father will be to you when he returns.’
‘We must go ahead with our plan,’ said Patience decisively. ‘You can return to your own apartment, ma’am. But please send someone to keep an eye on Qiao-jie’s room.’
‘Very well then – but be secret about it!’ urged Lady Wang. ‘And both of you, remember to take plenty of clothes and bedding with you.’
‘We must leave quickly if we are to succeed,’ said Patience. ‘If they come back with the contract signed, we’ll be done for!’
This seemed to bring Lady Wang to her senses:
‘Yes! Of course! You must hurry! You can depend on me!’ Lady Wang returned to her own apartment, and then went to engage Lady Xing in conversation and thus hold her at bay.
Patience despatched a servant to prepare their things, with instructions not to seem too furtive about it. ‘If anyone comes in and sees what you are doing, just say that you are acting on Lady Xing’s instructions, and that you’re ordering a carriage for Grannie Liu to go home in.’ Meanwhile the men on the back gate were bribed and told to hire a carriage. Patience dressed Qiao-jie to look like Grannie Liu’s granddaughter Qing-er, and hurried out with her. She pretended to be seeing the ‘Liu family’ off, and then at the last minute jumped into the carriage herself. Although the back gate had recently been kept open, there were only one or two men on regular duty; as for the various other domestic servants, the mansion was so large and understaffed – indeed almost deserted – that their departure was sure to go virtually unnoticed. Besides, Lady Xing had a reputation for meanness with the servants, and they disapproved of what they knew she was planning to do to Qiao-jie. They were therefore very much on Patience’s side and only too willing to connive at Qiao-jie’s escape. Lady Xing was thus successfully engaged in conversation with Lady Wang, and remained completely unaware of the escape.
Lady Wang was still most apprehensive. After talking to Lady Xing she made her way to Bao-chai’s, trying to attract as little attention as possible, and sat there, her mind filled with doubts as to the safety of the enterprise. Seeing how distracted she was, Bao-chai asked her what was on her mind, and Lady Wang explained everything to her in confidence.
‘How very dangerous!’ exclaimed Bao-chai. ‘We must find Yun quickly and order him to halt matters at his end at once.’
‘But I can’t even find Huan!’ complained Lady Wang.
‘You must carry on as if you know nothing at all,’ advised Bao-chai. ‘I shall find someone to inform Aunt Xing.’
Lady Wang nodded and left Bao-chai to proceed with her plan.
Our story now turns to the Mongol prince himself. This gentleman was in fact doing no more than looking for a couple of presentable young concubines to add to his harem, and on the strength of a professional broker’s recommendation had sent two of his women to examine Qiao-jie. When they returned, and when their master questioned them about the young lady’s provenance, they did not dare conceal the truth. The prince was deeply shocked to learn that she was from such an old and noble family:
‘But this is monstrous! Such a thing is strictly forbidden! I have come close to committing a grave crime! Besides, I have already been received in audience by His Majesty and will shortly be choosing a suitable day to start on my return journey. If anyone should come to pursue this matter further, send him packing!’
This was precisely the day on which Jia Yun and Wang Ren were delivering Qiao-jie’s horoscope to the palace. When they arrived they met with a brusque reception:
‘His Highness has instructed that any person daring to misrepresent a member of the Jia family as a common citizen is to be arrested and dealt with according to due process of law! What an outrageous way to behave in these peaceful times!’
Wang Ren and Jia Yun skulked off at once with their tails between their legs, grumbling to themselves that someone had betrayed them and going their separate ways in extremely low spirits.
Jia Huan was at home waiting for news, and had become very agitated when he received Lady Wang’s summons. He saw Jia Yun returning home on his own, and rushed up to him:
‘Well? Is everything arranged?’
Jia Yun stamped his foot frantically:
‘It’s terrible! Something’s gone badly wrong! I can’t think who can have given us away.’
He told the whole story to Huan, who was at first speechless with rage, then burst out:
‘Only this morning I was at Aunt Xing’s singing the praises of this match; now what am I supposed to do? You’re all trying to ruin me!’
Just as they were wondering how to save the situation, a confused hubbub reached them from the inner apartments. They heard their own names called, ‘wanted by Their Ladyships’, and slunk shamefacedly into Lady Wang’s apartment.
‘A fine mess you’ve made of things!’ exclaimed Lady Wang, waiting for them with fury written on her face. ‘Well, now you’ve driven Qiao-jie and Patience to their deaths! The least you can do is bring me back their corpses!’
They both knelt at her feet. Jia Huan did not dare to open his mouth, but Jia Yun bowed his head and said:
‘I would never have dared to do it myself. We only mentioned this match to you, Great-aunts, because Great-uncle Xing and Uncle Wang suggested it. It was all their idea. Then Great-aunt Xing agreed to it and asked me to write out the horoscope. Now the other party wants to back out. How can you accuse us of driving Qiao-jie to her death?’
‘Huan told your great-aunt Xing that they would be arriving in three days to take the girl away,’ said Lady Wang. ‘Whoever heard of a proper wedding being conducted in such a hurry? I shall ask no more questions. Just give me back Qiao-jie. We shall see what Sir Zheng decides to do with you when he returns.’
Lady Xing wept in silent shame. Lady Wang turned next on Jia Huan:
‘That harpy Aunt Zhao evidently left behind her a son every bit as vile as herself!’
She called one of her maids to support her and retired to her bedroom.
Left on their own Jia Huan, Jia Yun and Lady Xing began to indulge in mutual recrimination, until finally one of them said:
‘What’s the use of blaming each other like this? The girl probably isn’t dead at all. Patience has almost certainly taken her off to hide in the home of a relative.’
Lady Xing summoned the janitors from the front and rear gates and after giving them a good scolding asked them where Qiao-jie and Patience had gone.
‘It’s no good asking us, ma’am,’ they replied with one voice. ‘Ask one of the stewards, they’re the ones who ought to know. We wouldn’t advise you to make a scene, ma’am. If Lady Wang should choose to question us, there’s plenty we could tell. And if one person is beaten or given the sack, it will have to be everyone. Since Mr Lian left it’s been a sheer disgrace what has been going on in the front of the mansion. We haven’t even received our wages or monthly grain allowance, but they’ve been drinking and gambling away, fooling around with pretty little actors, inviting girls into the house – is that how masters of the family are supposed to behave?’
Jia Yun and Jia Huan were silent. A servant arrived from Lady Wang’s with renewed orders to ‘hurry up and find Patience and Qiao-jie’, which sent them into another flurry of desperate activity. They did not even bother to question the servants in Qiao
-jie’s own apartment, knowing they would be too hostile to reveal the whereabouts of the missing pair (though this was hardly something they could say to Lady Wang). Instead they had to go asking at the home of every relative, and still failed to unearth the slightest clue. Lady Xing in the inner apartments and Jia Huan in the outer spent a hectic few days and nights.
At last came the day when the examinations were due to be concluded and the students released from their cells. Lady Wang was eagerly awaiting the return of Bao-yu and Jia Lan, and when midday came and there was still no sign of either of them, she, Li Wan and Bao-chai all began to worry and sent one servant after another to find out what had become of them. The servants could obtain no news, and not one of them dared to return empty-handed. Later another batch was despatched on the same mission, with the same result. The three ladies were beside themselves with anxiety.
When evening came, someone returned at last: it was Jia Lan. They were delighted to see him, and immediately asked:
Where is Bao-yu?
He did not even greet them but burst into tears.
‘Lost!’ he sobbed.
For several minutes Lady Wang was struck dumb. Then she collapsed senseless onto her couch. Luckily Suncloud and one or two other maids were at hand to support her, and they brought her round, themselves sobbing hysterically the while. Bao-chai stared in front of her with a glazed expression in her eyes, while Aroma sobbed her heart out. The only thing they could find time to do between their fits of sobbing was to scold Jia Lan:
‘Fool! You were with Bao-yu – how could he get lost?’
‘Before the examinations we stayed in the same room, we ate together and slept together. Even when we went in we were never far apart, we were always within sight of each other. This morning Uncle Bao finished his paper early and waited for me. We handed in our papers at the same time and left together. When we reached the Dragon Gate outside there was a big crowd and I lost sight of him. The servants who had come to fetch us asked me where he was and Li Gui told them: “One minute he was just over there clear as daylight, the next minute he was gone. How can he have disappeared so suddenly in the crowd?” I told Li Gui and the others to split up into search parties, while I took some men and looked in all the cubicles. But there was no sign of him. That’s why I’m so late back.’