"If they're given to you," Pao-yu smiled, "why, you had better go and eat them. What's there in this to fill you with conjectures?"

"There's never been anything like this before," Hsi Jen added, "so, it makes me feel uneasy."

Pao-ch'ai compressed her lips. "If this," she laughed; "makes you fell uneasy, there will be by and bye other things to make you far more uneasy."

Hsi Jen realised that she implied something by her insinuations, as she knew from past experience that Pao-ch'ai was not one given to lightly and contemptuously poking fun at people; and, remembering the notions entertained by Madame w.a.n.g on the last occasion she had seen her, she dropped at once any further allusions to the subject and brought the eatables up to Pao-yu for his inspection. "I shall come and hold the cords," she observed, "as soon as I've rinsed my hands."

This said, she immediately quitted the apartment. After her meal, she washed her hands and came inside to hold the gold cords for Ying Erh to plait the net with.

By this time, Pao-ch'ai had been called away by a servant, despatched by Hsueh P'an. But while Pao-yu was watching the net that was being made he caught sight, at a moment least expected, of two servant-girls, who came from the part of Madame Hsing of the other mansion, to bring him a few kinds of fruits, and to inquire whether he was able to walk. "If you can go about," they told him, "(our mistress) desires you, Mr. Pao-yu, to cross over to-morrow and have a little distraction. Her ladyship really longs to see you."

"Were I able to walk," Pao-yu answered with alacrity, "I would feel it my duty to go and pay my respects to your mistress! Anyhow, the pain is better than before, so request your lady to allay her solicitude."

As he bade them both sit down, he, at the same time, called Ch'iu Wen.

"Take," he said to her, "half of the fruits, just received, to Miss Lin as a present."

Ch'iu Wen signified her obedience, and was about to start on her errand, when she heard Tai-yu talking in the court, and Pao-yu eagerly shout out: "Request her to walk in at once!"

But should there be any further particulars, which you, reader, might feel disposed to know, peruse the details given in the following chapter.

CHAPTER x.x.xVI.

While Hsi Jen is busy embroidering mandarin ducks, Pao-yu receives, in the Chiang Yun Pavilion, an omen from a dream.

Pao-yu apprehends that there is a destiny in affections, when his feelings are aroused to a sense of the situation in the Pear Fragrance court.

Ever since dowager lady Chia's return from Madame w.a.n.g's quarters, for we will now take up the string of our narrative, she naturally felt happier in her mind as she saw that Pao-yu improved from day to day; but nervous lest Chia Cheng should again in the future send for him, she lost no time in bidding a servant summon a head-page, a constant attendant upon Chia Cheng, to come to her, and in impressing upon him various orders. "Should," she enjoined him, "anything turn up henceforward connected with meeting guests, entertaining visitors and other such matters, and your master mean to send for Pao-yu, you can dispense with going to deliver the message. Just you tell him that I say that after the severe thrashing he has had, great care must be first taken of him during several months before he can be allowed to walk; and that, secondly, his constellation is unpropitious and that he could not see any outsider, while sacrifices are being offered to the stars; that I won't have him therefore put his foot beyond the second gate before the expiry of the eighth moon."

The head-page listened patiently to her instructions, and, a.s.senting to all she had to say, he took his leave.

Old lady Chia thereupon also sent for nurse Li, Hsi Jen and the other waiting-maids and recommended them to tell Pao-yu about her injunctions so that he might be able to quiet his mind.

Pao-yu had always had a repugnance for entertaining high officials and men in general, and the greatest horror of going in official hat and ceremonial dress, to offer congratulations, or express condolences, to pay calls, return visits, or perform other similar conventionalities, but upon receipt on the present occasion of this message, he became so much the more confirmed in his dislikes that not only did he suspend all intercourse with every single relative and friend, but even went so far as to study more than he had ever done before, his own caprices in the fulfilment of those morning and evening salutations due to the senior members of his family. Day after day he spent in the garden, doing nothing else than loafing about, sitting down here, or reclining there.

Of a morning, he would, as soon as it was day, stroll as far as the quarters of dowager lady Chia and Madame w.a.n.g, to repair back, however, in no time. Yet ever ready was he every day that went by to perform menial services for any of the waiting-maids. He, in fact, wasted away in the most complete _dolce far niente_ days as well as months. If perchance Pao-ch'ai or any other girl of the same age as herself found at any time an opportunity to give him advice, he would, instead of taking it in good part, fly into a huff. "A pure and spotless maiden,"

he would say, "has likewise gone and deliberately imitated those persons, whose aim is to fish for reputation and to seek praise; that set of government thieves and salaried devils. This result entirely arises from the fact that there have been people in former times, who have uselessly stirred up trouble and purposely fabricated stories with the primary object of enticing the filthy male creatures, who would spring up in future ages, to follow in their steps! And who would have thought it, I have had the misfortune of being born a masculine being!

But, even those beautiful girls, in the female apartments, have been so contaminated by this practice that verily they show themselves ungrateful for the virtue of Heaven and Earth, in endowing them with perception, and in rearing them with so much comeliness."

Seeing therefore what an insane mania possessed him, not one of his cousins came forward to tender him one proper word of counsel. Lin Tai-yu was the only one of them, who, from his very infancy, had never once admonished him to strive and make a position and attain fame, so thus it was that he entertained for Tai-yu profound consideration. But enough of minor details.

We will now turn our attention to lady Feng. Soon after the news of Chin Ch'uan-erh's death reached her, she saw that domestics from various branches of the family paid her frequent visits at most unexpected hours, and presented her a lot of things, and that they courted her presence at most unseasonable moments, to pay their compliments and adulate her, and she begun to harbour suspicions, in her own mind, as she little knew what their object could possibly be. On this date, she again noticed that some of them had brought their gifts, so, when evening arrived, and no one was present, she felt compelled to inquire jocosely of P'ing Erh what their aim could be.

"Can't your ladyship fathom even this?" P'ing Erh answered with a sardonic smile. "Why, their daughters must, I fancy, be servant-girls in Madame w.a.n.g's apartments! For her ladyship's rooms four elderly girls are at present allotted with a monthly allowance of one tael; the rest simply receiving several hundreds of cash each month; so now that Chin Ch'uan-erh is dead and gone, these people must, of course, be anxious to try their tricks and get this one-tael job!"

Hearing this, lady Feng smiled a significant smile. "That's it. Yes, that's it!" she exclaimed. "You've really suggested the idea to my mind!

From all appearances, these people are a most insatiable lot; for they make quite enough in the way of money! And as for any business that requires a little exertion, why they are never ready to bear a share of it! They make use of their girls as so many tools to shove their own duties upon. Yet one overlooks that. But must they too have designs upon this job? Never mind! These people cannot easily afford to spend upon me the money they do. But they bring this upon their own selves, so I'll keep every bit of thing they send. I've, after all, resolved how to act in the matter!"

Having arrived at this decision, lady Feng purely and simply protracted the delay until all the women had sent her enough to satisfy her, when she at last suited her own convenience and spoke to Madame w.a.n.g (on the subject of the vacant post).

Mrs. Hsueh and her daughter were sitting one day, at noon, in Madame w.a.n.g's quarters, together with Lin Tai-yu and the other girls, when lady Feng found an opportunity and broached the topic with Madame w.a.n.g. "Ever since," she said, "sister Chin Ch'uan-erh's death, there has been one servant less in your ladyship's service. But you may possibly have set your choice upon some girl; if so, do let me know who it is, so that I may be able to pay her her monthly wages."

This reminder made Madame w.a.n.g commune with her own self. "I fancy," she remarked; "that the custom is that there should be four or five of them; but as long as there are enough to wait upon me, I don't mind, so we can really dispense with another."

"What you say is, properly speaking, perfectly correct," smiled lady Feng; "but it's an old established custom. There are still a couple to be found in other people's rooms and won't you, Madame, conform with the rule? Besides, the saving of a tael is a small matter."

After this argument, Madame w.a.n.g indulged in further thought. "Never mind," she then observed, "just you bring over this allowance and pay it to me. And there will be no need to supply another girl. I'll hand over this tael to her younger sister, Yu Ch'uan-erh, and finish with it. Her elder sister came to an unpleasant end, after a long term of service with me; so if the younger sister, she leaves behind in my employ, receives a double share, it won't be any too excessive."

Lady Feng expressed her approval and turning round she said smilingly to Yu Ch'uan-erh: "I congratulate you, I congratulate you!"

Yu Ch'uan-erh thereupon crossed over and prostrated herself.

"I just want to ask you," Madame w.a.n.g went on to inquire, "how much Mrs.

Chao and Mrs. Chou are allowed monthly?"

"They have a fixed allowance," answered lady Feng, "each of them draws two taels. But Mrs. Chao gets two taels for cousin Chia Huan, so hers amounts in all to four taels; besides these, four strings of cash."

"Are they paid in full month after month?" Madame w.a.n.g inquired.

Lady Feng thought the question so very strange that she hastened to exclaim by way of reply: "How are they not paid in full?"

"The other day," Madame w.a.n.g proceeded, "I heard a faint rumour that there was some one, who complained in an aggrieved way that she had got a string short. How and why is this?"

"The monthly allowances of the servant-girls, attached to the secondary wives," lady Feng hurriedly added with a smile, "amounted originally to a tiao each, but ever since last year, it was decided, by those people outside, that the shares of each of those ladies' girls should be reduced by half, that is, each to five hundred cash; and, as each lady has a couple of servant-girls, they receive therefore a tiao short. But for this, they can't bear me a grudge. As far as I'm concerned, I would only be too glad to let them have it; but our people outside will again disallow it; so is it likely that I can authorise any increase, pray? In this matter of payments I merely receive the money, and I've nothing to do with how it comes and how it goes. I nevertheless recommended, on two or three occasions, that it would be better if these two shares were again raised to the old amount; but they said that there's only that much money, so that I can't very well volunteer any further suggestions!

Now that the funds are paid into my hands, I give them to them every month, without any irregularity of even so much as a day. When payments. .h.i.therto were effected outside, what month were they not short of money?

And did they ever, on any single instance, obtain their pay at the proper time and date?"

Having heard this explanation, Madame w.a.n.g kept silent for a while.

Next, she proceeded to ask, how many girls there were with dowager lady Chia drawing one tael.

"Eight of them," rejoined lady Feng, "but there are at present only seven; the other one is Hsi Jen."

"Quite right," a.s.sented Madame w.a.n.g. "But your cousin Pao-yu hasn't any maid at one tael; for Hsi Jen is still a servant belonging to old lady Chia's household."

"Hsi Jen," lady Feng smiled, "is still our dear ancestor's servant; she's only lent to cousin Pao-yu; so that she still receives this tael in her capacity of maid to our worthy senior. Any proposal, therefore, that might now be made, that this tael should, as Hsi Jen is Pao-yu's servant, be curtailed, can, on no account, be entertained. Yet, were it suggested that another servant should be added to our senior's staff, then in this way one could reduce the tael she gets. But if this be not curtailed, it will be necessary to also add a servant in cousin Chia Huan's rooms, in order that there should be a fair apportionment. In fact, Ch'ing Wen, She Yueh and the others, numbering seven senior maids, receive each a tiao a month; and Chiao Hui and the rest of the junior maids, eight in all, get each five hundred cash per mensem; and this was recommended by our venerable ancestor herself; so how can any one be angry and feel displeasure?"

"Just listen," laughed Mrs. Hsueh, "to that girl Feng's mouth! It rattles and rattles like a cart laden with walnuts, which has turned topsy-turvy! Yet, her accounts are, from what one can gather, clear enough, and her arguments full of reason."

"Aunt," rejoined lady Feng smiling, "was I likely, pray, wrong in what I said?"

"Who ever said you were wrong?" Mrs. Hsueh smiled. "But were you to talk a little slower, wouldn't it be a saving of exertion for you?"

Lady Feng was about to laugh, but hastily checking herself, she lent an ear to what Madame w.a.n.g might have to tell her.

Madame w.a.n.g indulged in thought for a considerable time. Afterwards, facing lady Feng, "You'd better," she said, "select a waiting-maid tomorrow and send her over to our worthy senior to fill up Hsi Jen's place. Then, discontinue that allowance, which Hsi Jen draws, and keep out of the sum of twenty taels, allotted to me monthly, two taels and a tiao, and give them to Hsi Jen. So henceforward what Mrs. Chao and Mrs.

Chou will get, Hsi Jen will likewise get, with the only difference that the share granted to Hsi Jen, will be entirely apportioned out of my own allowance. Mind, therefore, there will be no necessity to touch the public funds!"