Chapter 96

瞒消息凤姐设奇谋

泄机关颦儿迷本性

The man grovels to the furious Lian before Lai Da dismisses him. Zheng is told nothing of the incident. Soon after, Xifeng reports to Lady Wang that Wang Ziteng has died en route to the capital. Lian confirms that he died after taking quack medicine for a cold. Lady Wang is extremely upset, and asks Lian to help with the funeral. Zheng, already despondent at Baoyu’s state, responds with gloom to the news, and he does not want to celebrate a promotion which will take him away from the household. He is called to Lady Jia, who is upset that he is leaving and she will have only the deranged Baoyu to look after her. She has had his fortune told, and wants to expedite the marriage as a result. He is also concerned for his own lineage, and despite the mourning period for Yuanchun and Pan’s prison sentence, Lady Jia decides to hold a low key wedding before Zheng’s departure to help his health; she also hopes it will draw the jade back. Zheng has grave doubts, but cannot go against her and she sets about the arrangements.

Baoyu and his maids were present at that meeting, and while he did not hear anything, Aroma is at first glad both to know the truth and that he is to marry Baochai, but his secret feelings for Daiyu and potential reaction sets her brooding. She takes Lady Wang aside and reveals her concerns. Lady Wang has deduced the same and brings it up with Lady Jia later. Lady Jia sighs – it is in insoluble problem. Xifeng, however, is also present, and proposes a plan: the first part is that they tell him that he is to marry Daiyu and gauge his reaction; the second part she whispers in the others’ ears. Lian returns, and Xifeng intercepts him before he can reveal Ziteng’s death to Lady Jia. He tells Lady Wang of the funeral arrangements and his posthumous promotion.

A few days later, Daiyu is walking to Grandmother Jia’s when she overhears sobbing at the place where she once buried the flowers. It is a maid, Simple, who tells Daiyu that her sister struck her for talking about Baoyu and Baochai’s wedding. Daiyu calms herself before the maid talks more about the arrangements. After she mentions their plans to find Daiyu a husband she is speechless with horror, but Simple carries on narrating the injustice done to her. She wanders aimlessly in her distress, and is found by Nightingale, to whom it is obvious that she is utterly confused. She guides her to Grandmother Jia’s nonetheless, where Daiyu goes into Baoyu’s room. They just stare at each other like halfwits until she asks him why he is sick. He says that it is because of Miss Lin; the maids are pale with fright and Nightingale and Ripple lift her to her feet and take her out. Nightingale guides her home, and they are nearly back when Daiyu stumbles, blood gushing from her mouth.

Chapter 73

A window casement has fallen; Aunt Zhao organises for it to be fixed. Her maid Magpie 小鹊 has hurried to Baoyu’s to let him know that she overheard Zheng and Aunt Zhao talking about something involving him. This makes him very uncomfortable, and he decides that the only solution is to revise his texts. It is soon clear that there is too much he doesn’t know, and he is merely getting himself into a more fraught state. The senior maids look after him, but the junior maids, obliged to stay awake but with no role, keep dropping off, causing Skybright indignation. Parfumée enters having seen an intruder; he cannot be found, but Skybright takes the opportunity of the panic to get Baoyu off his duties the next day because of the shock. The next day, Grandmother Jia is angry to find out about the intruder; Tanchun suggests that security is lax because Xifeng has been ill and the guards have become lax and gamble. The ill Xifeng gives a dressing down to Lin Zhixiao’s wife and the chief stewardesses, and Grandmother Jia orders them to find out who are the gambling ringleaders. They are soon found, and the three principal organisers beaten and dismissed. One of them is Yingchun’s nurse; Yingchun is humiliated and tries to get her off, with no luck.

Leaving Grandmother Jia’s, Lady Xing spots one of Lady Jia’s maids, Simple 傻大姐 who is young, stupid and has very big feet, smiling and holding a colourful object. It is an embroidered purse, on one side of which is an erotic scene. Lady Xing is shocked and confiscates it; she is puzzled by its origin. She goes to Yingchun’s to rebuke her about her nurse, and goes on to compare her unfavourably to Tanchun – also a chamber wife’s daughter - in every respect, before leaving for Grandmother Jia’s again. Yingchun argues with her maid Tangerine 绣桔 about her nurse, who Tangerine and Lady Xing believe to have been taking her property (particularly a pearl and gold phoenix) and pawning it for gambling money. Tangerine wants to tell Xifeng; this disturbs the nurse’s daughter-in-law, who overhears the conversation. She rushes in and confesses that the nurse took it, but intends to redeem and return it. Yingchun refuses to appeal for her again and Tangerine rebukes her, causing an argument about money. To stop the fuss and fighting, Yingchun declares that she will tell Lady Xing that she has just lost the phoenix. This upsets Tangerine further, as she expects to take the blame; Chess joins the argument. Meanwhile, Baochai, Daiyu, Baoqin and Tanchun arrive to check on Yingchun; Tanchun’s presence breaks up the argument, but she overhears some snippets and quizzes Yingchun about the phoenix. The daughter-in-law rushes back in to explain, but Tanchun politely suggests that she go to Xifeng and save some face. Patience arrives on cue, arranged by Tanchun. The daughter-in-law bounds up to Patience, and is rebuked for her bad manners and leaves. Tanchun explains the situation to Patience, and coldly asks her if Xifeng is trying to undermine her, Yingchun and Xichun. She turns to Yingchun, who is reading, and expresses at some length her desire to let the situation rest and not exacerbate by interfering, which amuses the others.