Chapter 81A fond young master pleads for his departing maidsAroma bids her companions a tearful farewell

After Ying-chun had gone back to the Suns’, the windows of Amaryllis Eyot remained shut day after day. Only two or three old women stayed on to keep watch at night. The New Year was now past, but the weather was still cold. All along the way to the Lotus Pavilion, the withered lotus stalks were frozen into the water, and no one came to pull them out.

One day Bao-yu went to pay his respects to Lady Wang and found that a woman had just arrived from the Suns’. She was in her forties, wearing a somewhat worn dark-blue cotton jacket, with a copper pin in her hair. Having kowtowed and paid her respects to Bao-yu, she stood before them and hastily offered up a small parcel in both hands.

‘My mistress sent these for Your Ladyship,’ she said with a smile. ‘Two pairs of stockings she made herself.’

Lady Wang told someone to take them.

‘Is your mistress well?’ she asked.

The woman lowered her head and rubbed her eyes.

‘Well enough.’

Lady Wang picked up her teacup and set it down again.

‘And her health? Is that all right?’

‘She’s all right.’ After a long pause the woman added, ‘My mistress also asked whether her set of playing pieces at Amaryllis Eyot in the garden is still where it was.’

Lady Wang had been fingering an old string of prayer-beads made of giant-clam shell and coral. At this her hand stopped. After a while she said:

‘Tell your mistress they are being kept safe. Not a single one is missing.’

She had some sewing things, tea and fruit brought for the woman to take back, with only the message that they were a gift from Her Ladyship. The woman withdrew with profuse thanks, and Zhou Rui’s wife showed her out.

Lady Wang remained where she was, still fingering her beads. Then she undid the little parcel, took out the two pairs of stockings and examined the stitching by the window. On one pair the stitches were closely set, on the other more widely spaced. The thread in the sole of the latter pair had broken and been roughly joined again. Lady Wang rubbed the join between her fingers. After looking at it for a time, she wrapped the stockings up again and told someone to put them away.

Bao-yu stood beside her, watching the parcel being put away.

Lady Wang saw that he looked unwell and had grown thinner than he had been a few days before. She sighed.

‘Your grandmother hasn’t been well these last few days. You’re growing up now, too. You mustn’t spend all your time playing in the garden. Do read a few things, at least. There will have to be some changes everywhere in the next few days, and your rooms will be no exception.’

Bao-yu lowered his head and said, ‘Yes.’

As they were speaking, a young maid lifted the curtain and ran in, out of breath.

‘Your Ladyship, Her Old Ladyship has sent Parrot to ask you to come over at once.’

Lady Wang got up hurriedly to change, telling Silver to look after the room. At the door she turned to look at Bao-yu before setting off with her attendants straight for Grandmother Jia’s courtyard. Bao-yu noticed that the slender Ru-ware beauty vase on the table was empty, with no flowers in it, and withdrew.

Now, since Grandmother Jia had fallen ill, spending had been tightened throughout the household. One day, passing the kitchen, Bao-yu heard two of the older women discussing it inside.

‘The charcoal still hasn’t come,’ said one. ‘They said the third, and here it is the eighth.’

‘Never mind the charcoal for now. They’re still holding back our monthly wages. Mrs Lian’s ill, and that one in the accounts office knows how to put you off: nothing but “Waiting for Her Ladyship’s instructions.”’

‘What instructions? When they were looking into the gambling last year, someone said they ought to find some fault with the older girls, send them away and marry them off. It would save trouble and money too. Her Ladyship said Her Old Ladyship might not agree, and that was the only reason they dropped it.’

‘Well, Her Old Ladyship’s ill now,’ the other said with a laugh.

‘Just so,’ said the first, laughing too. ‘Weren’t Parfumée and the others taken away by their godmothers last year? Her Ladyship even gave them leave to find husbands outside. You should have seen those godmothers when they came to fetch them, all smiles, making more fuss of them than if they’d been their own.’

The other spat.

‘You old fool. What do you mean, making a fuss of them? They were thinking how many taels they could sell them for.’

Bao-yu, listening outside the window, stood still for a moment.

‘So that was how Skybright and the others were sent away last year,’ he thought.

Instead of going on into the garden, he turned and went straight to Lady Wang’s rooms.

‘Why have you come over here instead of staying in the garden?’ she asked when she saw him.

At first he gave no answer. Only when she asked again did he speak.

‘Mother, please don’t let outsiders come and take away the people in my rooms.’

Lady Wang was taken aback. She looked him up and down.

‘Who have you been listening to, and what have they been saying?’

‘Let their own parents come and fetch them,’ Bao-yu said urgently.

‘That is the usual way,’ said Lady Wang. ‘Who said their parents weren’t to fetch them?’

At this Bao-yu could think of nothing more to say. After a moment he added:

‘And please give them some extra clothes and money, Mother.’

Lady Wang looked at him and sighed.

‘That is usual too. Whatever has put all this into your head?’

Bao-yu could not answer. After a long silence he suddenly said:

‘I shall settle down to my books from now on.’

This pleased Lady Wang. She nodded and smiled.

‘I’m glad you’ve come to think that way. You can speak to the people in your rooms yourself. Give them whatever extra money is called for, and take it out of my allowance. People outside who know nothing about it might otherwise say our family has no consideration for its servants.’

Bao-yu agreed to everything and turned to go.

Lady Wang called him back.

‘One thing more. Aroma’s brother, Hua Zi-fang, came the other day. He said their mourning for their mother was over and he was the only one left at home now, so he wanted to take Aroma back. I had been thinking of a gentleman who has some dealings with your father. He is rather old, but comfortably off, and would do her the honour of taking her as a secondary wife. A household like that would be better than sending her away to marry just anyone. I have my own plans for Aroma. You needn’t concern yourself with her.’

Bao-yu stood there, unable either to agree or to say nothing. At last he gave a quiet word of assent and went out.

By the time Bao-yu returned to the House of Green Delights, the maids had already heard rumours. Under the verandah Swallow and a little maid were exchanging remarks.

‘I think Ripple’s going to leave,’ said the little maid.

‘What do you know?’ said Swallow, laughing. ‘If anyone leaves, the little ones go first. You work out who’s the youngest in this courtyard.’

The little maid would not have it.

‘Little? Pah! You were still tending the kitchen fire when I came here!’

‘And what’s wrong with tending the fire?’ Swallow laughed. ‘The one who tended the fire is in the rooms now, and the ones in the rooms are going out. Master Bao said it himself: once you marry, you’re a dead pearl; and when you get old, you’re nothing but a fish’s eye.’

They were the first to laugh at their own talk. They laughed till they squatted on the ground and could not get up, and then rolled together, wrestling. Swallow’s mother, Mamma He, came over and scolded them.

‘You little hussies! Are you asking for trouble? There’s serious business being discussed inside, and here you are behaving like lunatics.’

They stopped, though they were still pinching each other’s arms. At the sight of Bao-yu coming in, both slipped behind the verandah pillars.

Bao-yu called the maids together. He stood before them looking as though he had done something wrong.

‘Mother has given her orders. Anyone whose family comes to fetch her is to go home with them. Melilot’s grandmother has already sent someone, and Ripple’s family have asked twice.’

His eyes reddened before he could go on.

‘I’ll give you money. It isn’t I who want to send you away.’

For a moment the whole room was utterly silent.

Ripple was the first to speak.

‘How much money do you mean, Master Bao?’

‘How much do you want?’ said Bao-yu.

Ripple asked no more. She gave a cold laugh.

‘Why should it be my turn first? Why isn’t Mackerel going? She came here after I did.’

‘Sister Ripple,’ Musk said softly.

Ripple paid no attention. She shook out and folded the jacket she held, then shook it out again: lilac foreign satin patterned with a hundred butterflies among flowers.

‘I’ve still got the clothes Her Ladyship gave me that year.’

As she spoke, Crimson came in with a small parcel wrapped in olive-green camlet. She said Mrs Lian had sent it to Master Bao, put it down and left.

Ripple watched her go out through the courtyard gate.

‘All she did that day was pour Master Bao a bowl of tea,’ she said, laughing. ‘And I spat at her, and told her she ought to take a look in the mirror. Now she’s over there, doing very well for herself.’

She turned to Musk.

‘Of course it’s all right for you. You’re staying.’

Musk said nothing. Ripple felt she had spoken too harshly.

‘I’m not blaming you.’

She folded the jacket and shook it out again, but could not get it into a neat shape. Suddenly she said:

‘When I’m gone, who’s going to comb Master Bao’s hair in the morning? Who’s going to remember when it’s time for his medicine?’

‘I’m here,’ Musk said quickly.

Ripple turned to straighten the books on the shelf, but her hands did not move.

Mackerel stood leaning against the door-frame.

‘Her Old Ladyship sent me here in the first place. I shall just stay where I am.’

She fetched a piece of soft Western printed cloth and wiped the brush-pots and inkstones on the desk one by one, without another word.

Melilot alone neither cried nor made a fuss, but silently gathered her things: two old garments, a little mirror and a sewing bag. She wrapped them in a piece of indigo homespun and tied it into a small square bundle that she could carry in one hand. Someone from her grandmother’s household was already waiting outside, and her name had been struck off the tally register. When everything was ready, she picked up her bundle and walked to the courtyard gate. There she suddenly stopped, turned her head and looked once at the west-side room where Crimson used to live. The door was shut, and there was a tear in the window-paper. After that one look she turned and went out.

At the side gate the woman on duty was unlocking the door when a young master came over from the family school. He wore a rather worn blue cotton gown, patched at one elbow. It was Jia Jun. He stopped when he saw Melilot.

‘Aren’t you one of Uncle Bao’s maids? Where are you going?’

‘Back to my grandmother’s,’ said Melilot.

Still holding the key, the gatekeeper hurried Jia Jun along.

‘Run along, young master. This isn’t a place for you to stand about.’

Jia Jun ignored her and asked Melilot:

‘Has anyone come to fetch you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, I’ll come part of the way with you all the same,’ said Jia Jun, smiling.

He reached out and took her bundle. Melilot tried at once to take it back, but he would not let her have it. The woman called after him:

‘Master Jun! Master Jun! Mind your mother doesn’t hear of this!’

He did not turn his head. The two of them went through the side gate, one behind the other. At the end of the street there was indeed someone waiting. Only then did Jia Jun hand back the bundle. Melilot curtseyed to him.

‘Off you go,’ he said. ‘Take care on the way.’

Melilot went, never looking back. Jia Jun watched her out of sight, then turned and went back to the family school.

Emerald’s own parents came for her, and as soon as she was out a match was arranged. Servants were being reduced throughout the household on this occasion. Several were sent away from other rooms as well, among them Cicada from Tan-chun’s, but of these we need say no more.

When Bao-yu was back in his rooms, he called Ripple to him again, took a packet of silver from a drawer and pressed it into her hands.

‘Take it, dear sister.’

She tried to refuse, which only made him more urgent.

‘My own dear sister, please take it!’

Then he lowered his voice.

‘If things ever go badly for you, come to me.’

Only then did Ripple accept the silver. She knelt and kowtowed. When she stood up there were, after all, no tears on her face.

‘There’ll be no one to fold your clothes now, Master Bao,’ was all she said. ‘Tell Musk to fold them carefully.’

With that she turned and went away.

Two days later Bao-yu remembered his mother’s words, ‘I have my own plans.’ He sat in front of his chest for a while, but could find no way out of the difficulty.

While he sat fretting, Tealeaf happened to slip in with a message.

‘Miss Nuageuse at the Budding Grove has sent someone to say she has something important to tell you. She insists on speaking to you herself, Master Bao.’

Bao-yu made the excuse that he was going to fulfil a vow at a temple outside the city, and went out with Tealeaf alone. It was a small temple with few worshippers. A gust of wind set the iron chimes at the corners of the hall tinkling for a while. Nuageuse was waiting in front of the temple. After they had exchanged greetings, they went to sit under the verandah.

‘Our madam is getting on in years and wants to go home,’ said Nuageuse. ‘She’s going to turn the place over to someone else. I’d like to take it on myself, but I’m still a good deal short of the money. I’ve thought and thought, and there’s no one I can ask.’

She blushed as she spoke.

‘If it would be difficult for you, Master Bao, pretend I never said anything.’

Bao-yu listened without speaking. Seeing him like this, Nuageuse asked:

‘Is something troubling you, Master Bao?’

‘Mother is going to send Aroma away to be married. She’s one of my maids. I don’t even know who the husband is to be.’

‘Surely Her Ladyship wouldn’t treat her badly,’ Nuageuse said with a smile. ‘As for a suitable household, I can think of one. Bijou has bought land and a house east of the city these last few years. He lives alone, and he’s still unmarried. You remember that time at Mr Feng’s, when he recited “The flowers’ aroma steals upon us”? I was the one who pointed it out.’

Bao-yu suddenly looked up and clapped his hands.

‘Of course! How could I have forgotten? It was I who told them about the house at Zitan Fort that day.’

Then he added:

‘There’s just one thing. Do they still ask after him at that other mansion?’

‘They stopped that long ago,’ Nuageuse said, laughing. ‘He’s had his own house and land for years now, and he’s registered as a separate household too. Who’s going to trouble about an actor?’

‘I’ll help you with your business,’ said Bao-yu, smiling. ‘I have a Western gold mechanical boat, and a gold qilin too. You can have those to use for now. And I have a token to send to Bijou. I’ll send it all to you by Tealeaf.’

Nuageuse rose, smiling.

‘How can I deserve such kindness, Master Bao? I shan’t forget the money. When I have it, I shall certainly pay you back.’

‘Never mind paying me back,’ Bao-yu said with a smile. ‘Arrange Aroma’s marriage for me, and that will be worth more than anything.’

When Bao-yu got home, he opened his chest and searched out a scarlet sash. He looked at it for a while, then took the Western gold mechanical boat down from the curio shelves and the gold qilin from an old purse. He wrapped them in old silk, handed everything to Tealeaf and whispered a few instructions in his ear. Tealeaf understood and slipped away.

Seven or eight days later Tealeaf came back with his report.

‘Mr Jiang agreed at once. He said it was a blessing he must have earned over several lifetimes. The date’s settled: the twelfth of the second month, the Festival of Flowers.’

Bao-yu was taken aback for a moment when he heard this.

‘I see,’ was all he said.

Nuageuse had also sent word through Tealeaf that she had not felt she ought to dispose of the boat on her own, and had asked Jiang Yu-han to find a buyer for it outside.

When Hua Zi-fang heard, he came to explain the matter to Lady Wang. She asked a question or two about the Jiangs’ house and land, then asked who had made the match. Hua Zi-fang said it was an acquaintance outside. Lady Wang moved two beads along her string and asked no more.

‘If that is how it is, let it be so.’

After Hua Zi-fang had gone, Zhou Rui’s wife came to report on some business and asked:

‘Are Aroma’s two taels of silver and one string of cash to stop from this month?’

‘Yes, stop them,’ Lady Wang said without thinking, and picked up her tea.

Zhou Rui’s wife assented and was about to leave when Lady Wang hastily put down the cup and called her back.

‘No, leave it. It comes out of my allowance, after all, not the household funds. Let her draw it through the second month, and take it all with her.’

She added:

‘And find her deed of outright sale. Give it to her brother when she leaves. There’s no need to mention the money paid for her.’

Some more days passed, and the first month was drawing to a close. Snow had fallen in the garden, whitening all the paths. No one swept it away; it was left to melt.

Since hearing what had been arranged, Aroma had neither cried nor smiled. She had only taken out her scarlet wedding clothes, looked them over, folded them and put them away again. At the bottom of her chest were a peach-pink silk-tapestry jacket with a hundred-boys pattern, lined with ermine; a blue satin coat lined with grey squirrel; and a padded skirt of spring green, worked in couched gold and coloured embroidery. These were Lady Wang’s gifts. A dark-blue silk-tapestry coat with eight roundels, lined with sand-fox fur; a scarlet broadcloth snow-cloak; and a scarlet foreign-crêpe skirt lined with ermine had been given her by Mrs Lian. She unfolded and looked at each piece, then folded each one again and pressed it flat. After this, when Bao-yu was in his rooms, Aroma generally sorted things outside; she came in only when he had gone out. One day they met under the verandah. Bao-yu opened his mouth to speak, but Aroma spoke first.

‘Your medicine hasn’t been boiled yet, Master Bao.’

She went off to the kitchen. Bao-yu stood there a while, then went into the inner room. When Aroma reached the kitchen, no water had been set on the stove. She simply stood looking at the fire for a long time before wiping her face with her sleeve. During these days she went through all the affairs of the House of Green Delights, inside and out. She asked someone to write out a list of the tallies, the keys and everything that needed handing over, and gave it to Musk to keep.

Musk’s eyes reddened as she took the list, but she managed to hold back her tears.

‘Once you go, sister, you’ll belong outside.’

Aroma was about to speak when her tears fell first. She hastily wiped them with the back of her hand before answering.

‘What’s all this about outside and inside? I won’t hide it from you today: when I first heard what sort of man it was, I was frightened for several days.’

Musk looked up and asked in a whisper:

‘And now?’

Aroma did not answer the question.

‘You and I have been together since we were children,’ she said. ‘A good many have gone these last few years. Winsome was married at this time of year too, to an ordinary family outside. We never heard from her again. Snowpink’s been gone for years, and I don’t know where she is. Crimson, at least, went to Mrs Lian and is still there.’

She lowered her voice.

‘And Charmer? Something went missing from Master Bao’s rooms once. She’d been on duty that night. They questioned her twice, and next day she was gone. When the business about Honesty came out afterwards, who said a word for her? She and Golden are in the same place now.’

Musk did not say a word.

‘When you look at it that way, I’m the fortunate one,’ said Aroma. ‘There’s land and property, and I’m going to be carried into the house as a properly wedded wife. And Master Bao has made such handsome arrangements for me.’

Musk lowered her head and folded the list twice.

‘You’re right, sister.’

Aroma glanced at her.

‘You must all make allowances for Master Bao from now on. He’s impatient, and you’ll have to smooth things over. When he’s asleep at night, take the jade off his neck, wrap it in a handkerchief and tuck it under the mattress. Then it won’t feel cold when he puts it on next morning. That’s one thing I haven’t put on the list.’

Musk put the list away in a drawer and went to shut the window.

One evening, at lamplighting time, Purple Silk came to help put away the clothes. A flower of soot had formed on the lamp-wick. The chests stood half open, the folded clothes neatly pressed down on one side, while a few remaining pieces hung over the edge of the kang. One girl passed them over and the other packed them. When they had finished, Aroma sat under the lamp holding a small, finely carved box of old huanghuali wood, no bigger than her palm. A spray of plum blossom was carved on the lid, so shallowly that the lines had almost worn away. Aroma pushed it across.

‘This is yours. Open it and see.’

Purple Silk opened it and found a pair of silver bracelets, with several taels of broken silver beneath them, wrapped in a square of old, soft silk. She quickly pushed the box back and looked up.

‘Sister, I couldn’t possibly.’

Aroma put out a hand to hold the box where it was and smiled.

‘Take it. I put your share aside long ago. I’ve still got Sandal’s share too. She didn’t take it when she went.’

Then she added:

‘Don’t be afraid. Master Bao won’t turn you out, and if your family comes for you, he won’t force you to stay. If you go home to your parents one day, don’t let anyone cheat you. If you stay here, listen to Musk. And when there’s talk of a husband for you, ask someone to make proper inquiries.’

Purple Silk asked quietly:

‘Has there ever been any news of Sandal since she left?’

Aroma did not answer. She only reached out and gently closed the lid of the box, then drew back her hand. Seeing that she would not answer, Purple Silk could not very well ask again. She stood up with the box in her arms.

‘On your wedding day I’ll be up early to see you off,’ she said softly.

Aroma nodded.

Before long it was the eve of the Festival of Flowers. Xi-feng had been told two days earlier. Although ill, she was still in good spirits, and now she had Patience open the chests and check everything, item by item. The trousseau made two loads, packed in chests: one held lengths of silk and satin, hairpins, bracelets and other jewellery, clothes for all four seasons, and bedding and quilts; the other held things for everyday use, several taels of broken silver, two bolts of cotton and a packet of needles and thread.

When Patience came to the needles and thread, she brought them in to ask:

‘Isn’t this rather little, ma’am?’

Xi-feng was reclining on the kang.

‘No, it isn’t. Put in a set of thimbles and a pair of scissors as well. When you’re keeping house, sewing things are one thing you can’t skimp on.’

She coughed, then added:

‘Pack that little mirror-case inlaid with mother-of-pearl. She’s going to be a wife and run a household, not put on a show. Every one of these things matters more than the money at the bottom of her chest. That’s what people look at, not how many chests you carry in.’

‘Shall I pack the pair of silver basins too?’ Patience asked.

‘Yes,’ said Xi-feng, smiling. ‘Wrap them properly in cotton cloth. It won’t be funny if they get knocked out of shape on the way.’

‘I’ve put all the heavy things at the bottom and the light things on top,’ said Patience. ‘And the two loads weigh the same.’

‘I hear their courtyard’s small,’ said Xi-feng. ‘There won’t be room to turn round once they carry them in. Tell the boys to go round by the back.’

Patience said she would.

‘Their house has just been done up, ma’am,’ Patience went on. ‘They may not have everything they need. I thought we might add a couple of coarse porcelain jars and a few sets of bowls and chopsticks. They don’t cost much, but she’ll need them the moment she gets there. On her first night in a strange place, if she couldn’t even find a drink of hot water, wouldn’t she be at her wits’ end?’

Xi-feng glanced at her and smiled.

‘You’ve thought of more than she has herself.’

Patience lowered her head without speaking.

‘Put them in,’ said Xi-feng. ‘Go and see to it.’

Patience also asked about the chair.

‘Have them hire a new little chair from a chair-shop outside,’ said Xi-feng. ‘Blue silk curtains, not too new and not too old, and a red top.’

‘But it’s a wedding, ma’am. Shouldn’t the curtains be red as well?’

Xi-feng waved a hand.

‘She’s leaving as a maid of this household. On our side, it’s not the same as marrying off a daughter. A red top is quite enough.’

She added:

‘Aroma has sense. She’s not one to insist on a grand display. Who would it be for? So long as she’s treated with proper respect, that’s enough. What do we want with all that finery? Are we carrying her out for the people in the street to look at?’

She also assigned the attendants: two women to go with the chair, four pages to carry the chests. Even the foot-cloths and towels were ordered and made ready.

On the appointed day a little light rain fell early in the morning, but soon stopped. Aroma was up before anyone else. She washed and dressed, putting on her scarlet foreign-satin phoenix-tail skirt, embroidered in gold and silver thread with a hundred butterflies among flowers, and covering her head with a scarlet silk-tapestry veil bearing the character for joy. Bao-yu stood beside a verandah pillar at the foot of the steps. His hair was held in a green-jade coronet, gilded and set with gems, and a brow-band embroidered in colours and couched gold lay level with his eyebrows. He wore a pale-blue Japanese-satin gown with a self-coloured woven double-joy pattern and thick-soled boots of dark-blue satin, worked in cut velvet with a swastika design.

Patience sent word that the chair was waiting outside the inner gate. Supported by two old matrons with the full blessings of family life, Aroma passed through the moon-gate of the House of Green Delights and went first to kowtow to Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang. Lady Wang gave her two more garments and said only:

‘Make a good life for yourself out there.’

Hua Zi-fang was also waiting outside the inner gate to accompany the chair. Bao-yu, Musk and the others followed as far as the inside of the gate. Xi-feng came too, leaning on a little maid, and stood to one side. Aroma turned, pushed away the matrons’ hands and went up to Bao-yu. She knelt squarely on the blue-grey flagstones and kowtowed three times, her forehead striking the stone audibly each time. Bao-yu hurried to help her, but she had already risen of her own accord and stood motionless beneath her veil.

After a long time she said in a trembling voice:

‘Master Bao.’

Bao-yu too could hardly speak for the tears in his throat. He lowered his head.

‘Tell me.’

But Aroma said no more. After standing a while longer, she suddenly said:

‘That time I told you I was going to buy my freedom and go home, you cried for such a long time.’

Bao-yu opened his mouth, but in the end no words came. One of the matrons beside them urged Aroma on.

‘My dear girl, we shall miss the hour.’

Aroma turned towards the little chair. With one foot already inside, she suddenly stopped. Without looking back, she said through her sobs:

‘Master Bao, whatever you do, keep Musk.’

Bao-yu only nodded hard. Xi-feng, standing a few paces off, heard the words distinctly. She looked at Musk, then turned and called to the women:

‘It’s time. Lift the chair!’

Aroma got into the chair. A short string of firecrackers was set off, but there was no music. Four bearers lifted the little chair and carried it out through the side gate. Outside, some older women who had come to watch were huddled together gossiping.

‘That’s Miss Aroma from Master Bao’s rooms,’ said one.

‘She’s marrying an actor,’ another said, laughing.

The first woman shushed her. A third was busy counting the chests.

‘Two loads.’

‘Two loads isn’t bad,’ said another.

‘What do you know?’ the first said with a laugh. ‘It’s what’s inside them that counts. There’s a mother-of-pearl mirror-case in that one. I saw it with my own eyes.’

‘Don’t talk nonsense,’ the other said, laughing. ‘When were you ever inside Mrs Lian’s rooms?’

The first woman reddened.

‘Just because I don’t go into the rooms, am I not allowed to look when a chest is carried right under my nose?’

They all laughed. One of them gave a snort.

‘This is nothing. You should see the bustle round the concubine’s rooms on the west side these days. Someone coming or going every other day. Who knows what all that visiting’s about?’

The woman beside her quickly tugged at her. Then Zhou Rui’s wife appeared from inside, and they all scattered. The chests followed the chair, two pages to each, in a reasonably orderly procession.

Xi-feng stood inside the inner gate a while longer, then went back to her rooms. Patience followed her in and found her supporting herself with one hand on the edge of the table.

‘What is it, ma’am?’ she asked at once.

Xi-feng waved a hand, paused to catch her breath, then said:

‘Nothing.’

She added:

‘Go and check the account for the chests. Make sure nothing of hers is missing.’

With that she went into the inner room. Patience dared ask no more.

Aroma’s little chair was first carried to Hua Zi-fang’s house, where the Jiangs’ bridal chair was already waiting outside. With pipes and drums playing all the way, she was then carried to Zitan Fort, twenty li east of the city. It was a busy day at the Jiangs’ too. They had several newly repaired rooms under a tiled roof; a coloured canopy had been put up in the courtyard, and red paper pasted on the doors. Half a stack of unused new bricks still stood at the foot of the wall, covered with an old mat. Most of those who came to offer congratulations were old members of the troupe and a few neighbours. Feng Zi-ying had arrived early, in everyday clothes, and stood in the courtyard joking with the musicians, cooks and the rest. He smiled at everyone and put on no airs. Tealeaf ran errands in and out, seeing to the wine and calling to the chair-bearers. Someone made him drink two cups; his face went red, and everyone laughed. He was kept busy until the sun was low in the west. Before leaving, Feng Zi-ying took Jiang Yu-han’s hand and said with a smile:

‘Make a good life for yourselves.’

Then he mounted his horse and rode away. The wedding feast and all that went with it need not detain us.

That evening, when the guests had gone, the two of them were alone in their room. The newly added sets of coarse porcelain bowls and chopsticks stood at one corner of the table, with some of their red-paper wrappings still on. The silver basins, still wrapped in cotton cloth, rested against the wall. The windows had been newly papered, and in the lamplight a few streaks of paste could still be seen. Jiang Yu-han took something from inside his robe and spread it under the lamp. It was a scarlet sash.

‘This is what Master Bao used to make the match,’ he said, smiling. ‘It was mine to begin with. I was wearing it that day at Mr Feng’s, when I gave it to him. Who would have thought it would come back after all these years?’

Aroma looked at the sash, picked it up and turned it over. Even after these years a trace of fragrance remained. She set it down again. As she looked, she noticed the end of a sash showing at Jiang Yu-han’s waist. It was pine-pollen green, washed almost colourless. She pointed to it.

‘Where did that one come from?’

‘Master Bao took it off and gave it to me that same day,’ said Jiang Yu-han. ‘I’ve been wearing it all these years.’

Aroma fell silent, then reached out and touched it.

‘That one was mine.’

Jiang Yu-han was taken aback and looked up at her.

‘When Master Bao gave it away that day, I asked him for it back,’ said Aroma. ‘He said he would give me another one. He never did.’

Jiang Yu-han untied the sash from his waist and laid it beside the scarlet one under the lamp, one red, one green. Aroma looked at them for a while, then suddenly laughed.

‘So these two sashes were married before we were. We’ve come afterwards.’

‘That’s a new way of putting it,’ Jiang Yu-han said, laughing too.

He put them both in a little chest and locked it.

Meanwhile, back at the Rong mansion, it was growing dark. The lamps had not yet been lit at the House of Green Delights. The crab-apple tree in the courtyard was still half dead. Musk sat on a stool in the outer room, trying to thread a needle by the last of the light from the window. She had tried several times, but could not get the thread through the eye. On her lap lay a pale-blue silk-twill stocking she had begun for Bao-yu; only half the heel had been stitched. Bao-yu sat in the inner room without lighting the lamp, looking at a few things on the table: a comb, some silk threads for removing facial hair, and a cloth-covered basket with a piped rim. They were all old and worn. He reached out for the old comb and held it in his hand. Suddenly he looked up and called:

‘Musk.’

She hurried in from the outer room.

‘What is it, Master Bao?’

‘Light the lamp, will you?’

Musk went to light it.

Looking at the now empty cupboard, Bao-yu began to sing whatever came into his head:

‘I don’t know what I’m saying myself,’ he muttered when he had finished, and sat without moving. Musk was standing by the lamp. At the words ‘dear sister’ the needle in her hand had stopped; then she gently laid it on the table. Suddenly she gave a little snort of laughter.

‘Can’t you think of anything else, you big monkey?’

Bao-yu could not help laughing too. He looked up at Musk in the mirror.

‘If I’m the big monkey, the one beside me must be the little monkey.’

They had been laughing together for only a little while when a young maid came running in.

‘Master Bao, Her Ladyship sent me to say that His Lordship has just been asking what books you’ve been reading lately. You’re to go and give him an answer tomorrow.’

Bao-yu tossed down the comb he was holding and sat there dumbfounded.

To learn what answer Bao-yu gave next day, you must read the next chapter.