Chapter 42

蘅芜君兰言解疑癖

潇湘子雅谑补余音

The party breaks up, and Grannie Liu tells Xifeng she intends to go home the next morning. Xifeng tells her she’s given Grandmother Jia and her baby a cold - she’s never seen her more active. Grannie Liu suggests they might have caught it from seeing a spirit, and Xifeng sends for her almanac. From this, she concludes it must have been a flower spirit, and she arranges an exorcism with positive results. Xifeng asks Grannie Liu to name her baby, and she chooses Qiaojie 巧姐 – it is the unlucky date of her birth, and she suggests fighting fire with fire. Before she goes to bed, Patience talks Grannie Liu through a large pile of presents for her – Grannie Liu is overawed, and promises to bring some vegetables next new year.

The next morning, Doctor Wang 王太医 arrives to see Grandmother Jia before Grannie Liu can get off. Grandmother Jia refuses to stand behind a curtain, and assesses Dr Wang to be a court physician of eminent stock. He prescribes no medicine; Xifeng enters with Qiaojie and she is also examined, and he prescribes missing a few meals and taking some pills. Grannie Liu says goodbye, and is given more presents by Faithful and the cup from the hermitage before leaving.

After calling on Grandmother Jia, Baochai invites Daiyu to hers. Baochai interrogates a nonplussed Daiyu; it transpires she wants to know the source of some of Daiyu’s drinking game quotes, which came from ‘The Return of the Soul’ and ‘the Western Chamber’. Daiyu is ashamed; Baochai confesses that as a girl she used to read books like that behind adults’ backs, but they were reading them too. She considers the corrupting influence of pernicious fiction, and that boys would be better off taking up business or agriculture, and girls sewing or spinning. At that point, Li Wan’s maid Candida arrives to summon them to discuss an important matter. It seems Xichun has asked to leave the club for a year, probably because of Grannie Liu’s comments on her painting – Grandmother Jia has asked her to paint the garden with some people. Daiyu repeatedly sets all laughing with comments about Grannie Liu and Xichun, and Baochai offers commentaries analysing her wit. Xiangyun breaks a chair laughing. Baoyu signals to her that her hair is loose; she corrects it, and rejoins the party, suddenly accusing Li Wan for all the horseplay. Li’s response makes her blush. Baochai suggests that, as the painting is going to be very difficult indeed, they compromise, and that she should have half a year’s leave from the club and that Baoyu should help, as he can ask his male friends for advice. Baochai scoffs at his inappropriate suggestion for the type of paper they should use, and suggests asking Lady Wang for the architectural drawings of the garden, as well as various pieces of artistic equipment. Finding that Xichun has no equipment at all, she dictates a long list of essentials to ask Lady Jia for. The teasing then continues all round, and at one point Daiyu pleads to Baochai for mercy during a tussle, making subtle reference to their earlier conversation, embarrassing her. Baochai then does Daiyu’s hair. After a while, they go to see Grandmother Jia, who is better.