A Dream of Red Mansion Read online

  In consternation all the maids rushed forward to pick up the jade while the Lady Dowager in desperation took Baoyu in her arms.

  “You wicked monster!” she scolded. “Storm at people if you’re in a passion. But why should you throw away that precious thing your life depends on?”

  His face stained with tears, Baoyu sobbed, “None of the girls here has one, only me. What’s the fun of that? Even this newly arrived cousin who’s lovely as a fairy hasn’t got one either. That shows it’s no good.”

  “She did have one once,” said the old lady to soothe him. “But when your aunt was dying and was unwilling to leave her, the best she could do was to take the jade with her instead. That was like burying the living with the dead and showed your cousin’s filial piety. It meant, too, that now your aunt’s spirit can still see your cousin. That’s why she said she had none, not wanting to boast about it. How can you compare with her? Now put it carefully on again lest your mother hears about this.”

  She took the jade from one of the maids and put it on him herself. And Baoyu, convinced by her tale, let the matter drop.

  Just then a nurse came in to ask about Daiyu’s quarters.

  “Move Baoyu into the inner apartment of my suite,” said his grandmother. “Miss Lin can stay for the time being in his Green Gauze Lodge. Once spring comes, we’ll make different arrangements.”

  “Dear Ancestress!” coaxed Baoyu. “Let me stay outside Green Gauze Lodge. I’ll do very well on that bed in the outer room. Why should I move over and disturb you?”

  After a moment’s reflection the Lady Dowager agreed to this. Each would be attended by a nurse and a maid, while other attendants were on night duty outside. Xifeng had already sent round a flowered lavender curtain, satin quilts and embroidered mattresses.

  Daiyu had brought with her only Nanny Wang, her old wet-nurse, and ten-year-old Xueyan, who had also attended her since she was a child. Since the Lady Dowager considered Xueyan too young and childish and Nanny Wang too old to be of much service, she gave Daiyu one of her own personal attendants, a maid of the second grade called Yingge. Like Yingchun and the other young ladies, in addition to her own wet-nurse Daiyu was given four other nurses as chaperones, two personal maids to attend to her toilet and five or six girls to sweep the rooms and run errands.

  Nanny Wang and Yingge accompanied Daiyu now to Green Gauze Lodge, while Baoyu’s wet-nurse, Nanny Li, and his chief maid Xiren made ready the big bed for him in its outer room.

  Xiren, whose original name was Zhenzhu, had been one of the Lady Dowager’s maids. The old lady so doted on her grandson that she wanted to make sure he was well looked after and for this reason she gave him her favourite, Xiren, a good, conscientious girl. Baoyu knew that her surname was Hua and remembered a line of poetry which ran, “the fragrance of flowers assails men.” So he asked his grandmother’s permission to change her name to Xiren.

  Xiren’s strong point was devotion. Looking after the Lady Dowager she thought of no one but the Lady Dowager, and after being assigned to Baoyu she thought only of Baoyu. What worried her, though, was that he was too headstrong to listen to her advice.

  That night after Baoyu and Nanny Li were asleep, Xiren noticed that Daiyu and Yingge were still up in the inner room. She tiptoed in there in her night clothes and asked:

  “Why aren’t you sleeping yet, miss?”

  “Please sit down, sister,” invited Daiyu with a smile.

  Xiren sat on the edge of the bed.

  “Miss Lin has been in tears all this time, she’s so upset,” said Yingge. “The very day of her arrival, she says, she’s made our young master fly into a tantrum. If he’d smashed his jade she would have felt to blame. I’ve been trying to comfort her.”

  “Don’t take it to heart,” said Xiren. “I’m afraid you’ll see him carrying on even more absurdly later. If you let yourself be upset by his behaviour you’ll never have a moment’s peace. Don’t be so sensitive.”

  “I’ll remember what you’ve said,” promised Daiyu. “But can you tell me where that jade of his came from, and what the inscription on it is?”

  Xiren told her, “Not a soul in the whole family knows where it comes from. It was found in his mouth, so we hear, when he was born, with a hole for a cord already made in it. Let me fetch it here to show you.”

  But Daiyu would not hear of this as it was now late. “I can look at it tomorrow,” she said.

  After a little more chat they went to bed.

  The next morning, after paying her respects to the Lady Dowager, Daiyu went to Lady Wang’s apartments. She found her and Xifeng discussing a letter from Jinling. With them were two maid-servants who had brought a message from the house of Lady Wang’s brother.

  Daiyu did not understand what was going on, but Tanchun and the others knew that they were discussing Xue Pan, the son of Aunt Xue in Jinling. Presuming on his powerful connections, he had had a man beaten to death and was now to be tried in the Yingtian prefectural court. Lady Wang’s brother Wang Ziteng, having been informed of this, had sent these messengers to the Rong Mansion to urge them to invite the Xue family to the capital. But more of this in the next chapter.

  Chapter 4

  An Ill-Fated Girl Meets an Ill-Fated Man

  A Confounded Monk Ends a Confounded Case

  To resume. Daiyu and the other girls found Lady Wang discussing family affairs with messengers sent by her brother, and heard that her sister’s son was involved in a murder case. Since she was so occupied, the girls called on Li Wan.

  Li Wan was the widow of Jia Zhu who had died young, but luckily she had a son, Jia Lan, just five and already in school. Her father, Li Shouzhong, a notable of Jinling, had served as a Libationer in the Imperial College. All the sons and daughters of his clan had been devoted to the study of the classics. When he became head of the family, however, in the belief that “an unaccomplished woman is a virtuous woman,” instead of making his daughter study hard he simply had her taught enough to read a few books such as the Four Books for Girls, Biographies of Martyred Women, and Lives of Exemplary Ladies so that she might remember the deeds of worthy women of earlier dynasties while devoting her main attention to weaving and household tasks. That was why he gave her the name Li Wan and the courtesy name Gongcai.

  So this young widow living in the lap of luxury was no better off than withered wood or cold ashes, taking no interest in the outside world. Apart from waiting on her elders and looking after her son, all she did was to accompany the girls at their embroidery or reading.

  Though Daiyu was only a guest here, with cousins like these to keep her company she felt completely at home, except for worrying sometimes about her father.

  But to return to Jia Yucun. No sooner had he taken up his post as prefect of Yingtian than a charge of murder was brought to his court. It was a case of two parties claiming to have purchased the same slave girl, neither willing to give way, and in consequence one of them had been beaten to death. Yucun summoned the plaintiff for questioning.

  “The murdered man was my master,” the plaintiff testified. “He bought a slave girl not knowing that she’d been kidnapped and paid for her in silver. Our master said he’d take her home three days later because that would be a lucky day. Then the kidnapper sold her on the sly to the Xue family. When we found this out, we went to him to demand the girl. But the Xues lord it in Jinling with their money and powerful backing. A pack of their thugs beat my master to death, after which the murderers, master and men, disappeared without a trace, leaving here only a few people who weren’t involved. I lodged a charge a year ago, but nothing came of it. I beg Your Honour to arrest the criminals, punish the evildoers and help the widow and orphan. Then both the living and the dead will be everlastingly grateful!”

  “This is a scandal!” fumed Yucun. “How can men commit a murder and go scot-free?”

  He was about to order his runners to arrest the criminals’ relatives for interrogation, in order to find out the murderers’ wherea
bouts and issue warrants for their arrest, when an attendant standing by his table shot him a warning glance. Then Yucun refrained and left the court in some bewilderment.

  Back in his private office he dismissed everyone but the attendant, who went down on one knee in salute, then said with a smile:

  “Your Honour has risen steadily in the official world. After eight or nine years, do you still remember me?”

  “Your face looks very familiar, but I can’t place you.”

  The attendant smiled. “High officials have short memories,” he said. “So you’ve forgotten the spot you started from, Your Honour, and what happened in Gourd Temple?”

  At this disconcerting remark, the past came back to Yucun like the crash of a thunder-bolt. Now this attendant had been a novice in Gourd Temple. When the fire left him stranded he decided that work in a yamen would be easier and, having had enough of monastic austerity, instead of going to another temple he had taken advantage of his youth to grow his hair again and get this post. No wonder Yucun had failed to recognize him.

  Now, taking his hand, the prefect observed with a smile: “So we are old acquaintances.”

  He invited him to take a seat, but the attendant declined the honour.

  “We were friends in the days when I was hard up,” said Yucun. “Besides, this is my private office. As we are going to have a good talk, how can you remain standing all the time?”

  Then, deferentially, the attendant perched sideways on the edge of a chair. And Yucun asked why he had stopped him from issuing the warrants.

  “Now that Your Honour’s come to this post,” said the attendant, “surely you’ve copied out the Officials’ Protective Charm for this province?”

  “Officials’ Protective Charm? What do you mean?”

  “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of it? In that case you won’t keep your job long. All local officials nowadays keep a secret list of the most powerful, wealthy and high-ranking families in their province. Each province has such a list. Because if unknowingly you offend one of these families, you may lose not only your post but your life as well. That’s why it’s called a Protective Charm. This Xue family mentioned just now is one Your Honour can’t afford to offend. There’s nothing difficult about this case, but out of deference to them it was never settled by your predecessor.”

  With that he took a hand-written copy of the Officials’ Protective Charm from his pocket and handed it to Yucun. It was a doggerel catalogue of the most notable families in that district with notes on their ancestry, ranks and family branches. It started off:

  The Jinling Jias,

  If truth be told,

  Have halls of jade,

  Stables of gold.

  Twenty branches descended from the Duke of Ningguo and the Duke of Rongguo. Apart from eight branches in the capital, there are twelve branches in their ancestral district.

  Vast O Pang Palace,

  Fit for a king,

  Isn’t fine enough

  For the Shis of Jinling.

  Twenty branches descended from

  Marquis Shi of Baoling, Prime Minister.

  Ten in the capital, ten in the ancestral district.

  If the Dragon King wants

  A white jade bed,

  He applies to the Wangs

  Of Jinling, it’s said.

  Twelve branches descended from Earl Wang the High Marshal.

  Two in the capital, the rest in the ancestral district.

  The Xues in their affluence

  Are so rich and grand,

  Gold is like iron to them

  And pearls like sand.

  Eight branches descended from Lord Xue, Imperial Secretary,

  Now in charge of the Treasury.

  Before Yucun could finish reading the list, a chime sounded at the gate and a certain Mr. Wang was announced. Putting on his official robes and cap again, he went to receive the caller, coming back in the time it takes for a meal to ask for more information.

  “These four families are all closely connected,” said the attendant, “Injure one and you injure them all, honour one and you honour them all. They help each other and cover up for each other. This Xue charged with murder is one of the Xues on that list. Not only can he count on the support of those three other families, he has plenty of influential friends and relatives both in the capital and in the provinces. So whom is Your Honour going to arrest?”

  “If that’s so, how are we to settle the case?” asked Yucun. “I take it you know the murderer’s hiding-place?”

  “I won’t keep it from Your Honour.” The attendant grinned. “I know not only where the murderer has gone. I know the kidnapper who sold the girl, and I knew the poor devil who bought her. Let me put all the facts before you.

  “The man who was killed, Feng Yuan, was the son of one of the minor local gentry. Both his parents died when he was young and he had no brothers; he lived as best he could on his small property. Up to the age of eighteen or nineteen he was a confirmed queer and took no interest in women. But then, no doubt as retribution for entanglements in a former life, he ran into this kidnapper and no sooner set eyes on this girl than he fell for her and made up his mind to buy her for his concubine. He swore to have no more to do with men and to take no other wife. That was why he insisted on her coming to him three days later. Who was to know that the kidnapper would sell her on the sly to the Xues, meaning to abscond with the payment from both parties? Before he could get away with this, they nabbed him and beat him within an inch of his life. Both refused to take back their money—both wanted the girl. Then young Xue, who will never give an inch to anyone, ordered his men to beat Feng Yuan into a pulp. Three days after being carried home he died.

  “Young Xue had already fixed on a day to set off for the capital. But happening to see this girl two days before leaving he decided to buy her and take her along, not knowing the trouble that would come of it. Then, having killed a man and carried off a girl, he set off with his household as if nothing had happened, leaving his clansmen and servants here to settle the business. A trifling matter like taking a man’s life wouldn’t frighten him away. So much for him. But do you know who the girl is?”

  “How could I know?”

  “She’s by way of being Your Honour’s benefactress.” The attendant sniggered. “She’s Yinglian, the daughter of Mr. Zhen who lived next to Gourd Temple.”

  “Well!” exclaimed Yucun in astonishment. “So that’s who she is! I heard that she was kidnapped when she was five. Why didn’t they sell her before?”

  “Kidnappers of this type make a point of stealing small girls. They bring them up somewhere out of the way until they’re eleven or twelve, then take them elsewhere to sell according to their looks. We used to play with Yinglian every day. Although seven or eight years have passed and she’s now a good-looking girl of twelve or thirteen, her features haven’t changed and anyone who knew her can easily recognize her. Besides, she had a red birthmark the size of a grain of rice between her eyebrows, which makes me quite sure it’s her.

  “As the kidnapper happened to rent rooms from me, one day when he was away I asked her outright. She’d been beaten so much she was afraid to talk; she just insisted that he was her father, selling her to clear his debts. When I tried repeatedly to wheedle it out of her, she burst into tears and said she didn’t remember a thing about her childhood. So there’s no doubt. It’s her, all right.

  “The day that young Feng met her and paid down his silver, the kidnapper got drunk. Then Yinglian sighed, ‘At last my trials are over!’ She started worrying again, though, when she heard Feng wouldn’t be fetching her for three days. I was so sorry for her that as soon as the kidnapper went out I sent my wife to cheer her up.

  “My wife told her: ‘Mr. Feng’s insistence on waiting for a lucky days is proof that he won’t be treating you like a servant. Besides, he’s a very fine gentleman, quite well-to-do, who never could abide women in the past, yet now he’s paid a fancy price for you. T
hat all goes to show you’re quite safe. Just be patient for two or three days. You’ve no reason to worry.’

  “She perked up a bit then, believing that she’d soon have a place where she belonged. But this world is full of disappointments: the very next day she was sold to the Xues. Any other family wouldn’t have been so bad; but this young Xue, otherwise known as the Stupid Tyrant, is the most vicious ruffian alive, who throws money about like dirt. He started a big fight and then dragged her off by force more dead than alive. What’s become of her since, I don’t know.

  “Feng Yuan dreamed of happiness, but instead of finding it he lost his life. Wretched luck, wasn’t it?”

  “This was retribution, no accident,” replied Yucun with a sigh. “Otherwise, why should Feng Yuan have taken a fancy to Yinglian and no one else? As for her, after being knocked about all those years by the kidnapper she at last saw a way out with a man who loved her, and if she’d married him all would have been well; but then this had to happen! Of course, Xue’s family is richer than Feng’s, but a profligate like Xue Pan is sure to have troops of maids and concubines and to be thoroughly debauched—he could never be as true to one girl as Feng Yuan. So this romance was an empty dream, a chance encounter between an ill-fated young couple. Well, enough of that. What’s the best way to settle this

  case?”

  “Your Honour used to be shrewd enough in the past,” said the attendant with a smile. “What’s made you so short of ideas today? I heard that your appointment was due to the good offices of the Jias and Wangs, and this Xue is related to the Jias by marriage. So why not sail with the stream and do them a good turn, settling this case in such a way that you can face them in future?”

  “There’s much in what you say. But a man’s life is involved. Moreover, I’ve been re-instated by the Emperor’s favour and am in fact beginning a new life. I should be doing my utmost to show my gratitude. How can I flout the law for private considerations? I really can’t bring myself to do such a thing.”