Chapter 38

林潇湘魁夺菊花诗

薛蘅芜讽和螃蟹咏

Xiangyun invites the senior ladies to a cassia viewing at the Lotus pavilion, with Baochai’s help. Grandmother Jia reflects on a childhood accident in a similar pavilion, and Xifeng teases her – Lady Jia laughs at her cheekiness. They sit with the girls and Baoyu for some tea, and Xifeng prepares the crabs, refusing to let Xiangyun look after the guests – some of the maids are invited to eat while she prepares. When Xifeng attends to them, they make her down three cups of wine and banters with Faithful. In all the bantering, Patience ends up smearing crab all over Xifeng’s face, and the jollity spreads across the tables. The party breaks up and they get on with the poetry, pinning up the titles. Daiyu is fishing, maids drinking, as they gradually divide up and all twelve poems. Li Wan declares Daiyu the winner, and they admire each other’s verse at length. Baoyu declares himself to have come last again. The party continues and, inspired, Baoyu writes a quick poem on the subject of cassias and crabs; Daiyu criticises it and writes her own. She tears it up before Baoyu praises it, declaring it worse than his. Baochai writes one, which all agree is the definitive poem on the subject of eating crabs. Patience arrives back in the garden.