Chapter 82

老学究讲义警顽心

病潇湘痴魂惊恶梦

After school, Baoyu checks in with Zheng and Grandmother Jia before heading to Daiyu’s. He has some tea and complains to her at length; to his surprise she defends octopartite essays. He returns to Green Delights to find Aroma is shaken by a notice that they will be dismissed for fooling around any more with Baoyu; he promises to work hard, and starts immediately, struggling at the classics till late. He cannot sleep, and is feeling ill; the next morning he is late for school. Dairu makes him recite passages from the classics, giving lengthy and pedantic criticism.

With Baoyu at school, Aroma is left with her thoughts, pondering Baoyu’s likely marriage to Daiyu; she goes to visit her for a gossip, the first time she has done so with Daiyu. An old woman comes blundering in with lychees from Baochai, and makes everyone awkward by talking about Daiyu and Baoyu.

That night, Daiyu is feeling weary and depressed, when Jia Yucun, Xifeng and others arrive saying that she is to leave and be married to a relation of a new stepmother. Panicked, and in a cold sweat, she finds herself pleading Grandmother Jia to let her stay. Grannie Jia orders the emotional girl out. In her suicidal despair, she conceives of Baoyu as her only hope, but he just congratulates her. Suddenly, however, it is clear to her – she was brought to the house to be engaged to him, and he tells her to stay if she wants. To prove himself, he takes a knife and cuts into his chest to show her his heart. She cries out, trying to staunch the blood flow; he cannot find his heart any more, and so dies. She screams, and hears Nightingale calling to her that she has been having a nightmare. Her pillow is sodden; she considers the dream, knowing her parents are dead and she is not really engaged to Baoyu. Thinking about the dream and Baoyu dying distresses her further; Nightingale is distressed at her ill condition, particularly when she notices blood in her spittoon. Daiyu works out something is wrong from her reaction. Nightingale tells her that she’s not well, and tries to reassure her by talking about the household members; given her dream, this only upsets her more. She nearly faints, before coughing up more blood. Nightingale sends Snowgoose to fetch someone; as she leaves, she bumps into two maids who have arrived to fetch Daiyu. Xichun, Tanchun and Xiangyun are elsewhere discussing Xichun’s painting of the garden, and the two maids explain Daiyu’s illness to them. Tanchun and Xiangyun set off to see her; their entrance again reminds her of her dream and sets her brooding. Xiangyun exclaims her shock at the spittoon; Tanchun covers up for her to stop Daiyu worrying. They are about to leave when they hear a loud voice outside.