Sunday, 26 February 2012

Chapter 11


庆寿辰宁府排家宴 
见熙凤贾瑞起淫心
 
It is the birthday of the nominal head of the Ningguo House, Jia Jing 贾敬, who lives outside the city. Jing isn’t present to celebrate, so a troupe of entertainers arrives. Grannie Jia was taken ill after eating bad peaches, but attends, and Xifeng discusses Qinshi’s illness with Zhen and Rong as the guests arrive. Xifeng and Baoyu go with Rong to see Qinshi, who regrets her fate. Baoyu is reminded of his dream, but is moved to tears by Qinshi’s words.

Baoyu leaves first, and Xifeng bumps into Jia Rui on her walk back; she struggles to identify him, he ogles her. She senses his game, and leads him on, despite finding him odious. With Youshi, Lady Wang and Aunt Xing, Xifeng selects the plays for the entertainment, before they head home exhausted.

Rui visits the Rong household on numerous occasions, invariably finding Xifeng absent, often visiting Qinshi at Ningguo. During one visit, Rui asks Patience to ask Xifeng to pay him a call. Xifeng has a plan for next time he calls.

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