lAO Yu LAY ON THE BED FOR A WHILE LONGER, QUITE EXHAUSTED AND
giddy from the experience of his dream. He felt as if he had lost some‐
thing. Having strengthened himself with a few sips of cinnamon soup,
he got up and the maid Pearl helped him to dress. As she was about to
fasten his garter her finger chanced to touch his bare thigh and she
felt something like cold, sticky sweat. She drew her hand back in alarm.
"What has happened to you?" she whispered. His blush and a light
pressure of the hand was the answer. Now, Pearl was quite an intelli‐
gent girl and besides she was two years older than he and already knew
the facts of life. She understood at once, blushed herself, and did not
ask anything more.
When she was helping him to undress again that same night before
he went to bed, she happened to be in the room with him alone for a
while.
"Look here, dear sister, you will keep it to yourself, won't you?" he
begged her, blushing again.
"What did you actually dream, that this happened to you?" she re‐
plied, with an understanding smile.
"I cannot tell it all to you in one word." And he began to describe
his dream adventure in detail. When he came to the part of his story
where the fairy instructed him in the practice of the "Play of Cloud and
Rain," Pearl coyly covered her face with her hands and doubled up
with laughter. Pao Yu had always been very familiar with Pearl. He
liked the friendly, pretty little thing better than all the other maids and
servants. Pearl on her part was aware of the special position of con‐
fidence with which the Princess Ancestress had honored her. Because
of this she permitted herself some liberties in her association with her
charge.
In short, she did not hesitate to try out at once with him the "Play
of Cloud and Rain," whereby they faithfully followed the instructions
imparted to him. Luckily, they were left undisturbed while thus oc‐
cupied. From that hour he no longer treated her as a servant but as an
intimate friend, and she rewarded his confidence with still rnqre ardeni
devotion.
One day Madame Phoenix was over in the Ningkuo palace visiting
Princess Chen and her daughter‐in‐law Mistress Yung. At his own re‐
quest she had taken Pao Yu with her. While the three ladies were con‐
versing as usual about household matters the time seemed very long to
him. Mistress Yung, who noticed that he was restlessly fidgeting about
this way and that way on his seat, said to him:
"My younger brother, for whom you recently asked, happens to be
here today. He is probably in the library now. If you like, go and wel‐
come him!"
Pao Yu quickly slid down from the heated divan.
"Why do you not have him come here? I should also like to make
his acquaintance," suggested Madame Phoenix. "Or perhaps I should
not ask to?"
Mistress Yung tried to dissuade her from her request. The boy was
so shy and simple, quite different from the cheeky, lively boys of the
Chia clan. She would be disappointed and would only be inclined to
laugh at him. But Madame Phoenix stuck to her request, and so to
please her Chin Chung, for so the boy was called, was brought in.
Madame Phoenix was most agreeably surprised. The boy, who bowed
to her and politely inquired about her health, compared very well with
Pao Yu, who was the same age. He was somewhat slimmer than the
latter, but in beauty of face and form, in liveliness of expression, in his
whole deportment and his charm of manner, he almost surpassed him,
except that he was a little shy and awkward, almost like a girl. Madame
Phoenix took him by the hand, drew him down to her side, and began
questioning him energetically abobt his name, age, lessons, and every‐
thing possible. Meantime she had hurriedly sent some servants of her
retinue back to the Yungkuo palace belatedly to fetch some gifts such
as are usually presented by the elder to the younger upon first meeting.
Bearing in mind the close friendship between Madame Phoenix and
Mistress Yung, they chose some specially valuable presents, namely, a
piece of silk for a new coat, and two gold medallions inscribed with the
wish that the owner would win first place at examinations. Madame
Phoenix considered these gifts too insignificant, so great was her sym‐
pathy for her new nephew.
While the ladies then settled down to a game of chess, Pao Yu took
the opportunity of leaving the table with his nephew and going to chat
with him undisturbed in a side room. The boy had made a deep im‐
pression on him. When he first saw him, he thought to himself, quite
abashed: Compared to such a person I am no better than a dirty pig
or a mangy dog! Who knows, if I, like him, had grown up in the cold
poverty of a simple, honorable, middle‐class family, I might have made
his valuable acquaintance long ago and not dawdled away my time
uselessly as I have done up to now. What is the good of riches and
rank? This silk finery which I wear only hides the hollow, rotten core of
an inferior being. These luxurious meals, on which I feed every day,
only conceal the dirty refuse‐pit of a corrupt character. The two con‐
ceptions, riches and rank, mean nothing hut dirt and poison !
The painful reflection of Chin Chung upon seeing Pao Yu for the
first time, in all his finery and with his large retinue, was exactly the
opposite. Oh, what misfortune, he mused, to come from a poor, even
though honorable, civil service family! That is indeed the curse of
poverty, that it sets up an insurmountable barrier between people like
him and people like me. If it were not for that I should probably long
ago have enjoyed the advantage of his company.
Thus, both one and the other of them was moved by confused, fool‐
ish reflections. After a few opening questions about books and studies,
they became friendly. Pao Yu was so eager to get to know the inner
family circumstances of his new companion that he quite forgot about
the dainty morsels and fruits which had been sent over to them from
the table. He learned that at the moment Chin was without schooling,
as his previous tutor had had leave of absence for months past. His
father was old, sickly, and overburdened with official duties, and there‐
fore unable to bother much about his education. AH he could do at
present was to go through his old lessons over and over again, but un‐
fortunately he lacked the company of a good comrade, for one could
learn much better in company than alone.
"That is what I think too!" interrupted Pao Yu eagerly. "You know
we have a free family school here for those members of the clan who
cannot have their own tutor or do not want to keep one. At my father's
wish I myself am soon going to attend this school for a time; for my
former tutor has also got several months' leave, and my father does not
want to have me sittjng around idle meantime, forgetting what I have
learned. I would have been attending the school long ago if I had not
been ill. Besides, Grandmother was against it up to now, because she
thinks that in a class with a lot of pupils there would be nothing but
disturbance and mad pranks. But my father now insists that there must
be an end to my idling. Would you not like to come to our school too?
Then we could learn together and help one another. Won't you speak to
your father about it?"
"With pleasure! Only recently my father greatly praised the insti‐
tution of your family school. In fact, he has been intending to apply
to my sister's father‐in‐law, Prince Chen, to accept me. But he has put
off doing so again and again because he did not like to bother his il‐
lustrious relatives about such a trifle, and did not wish to seem ob‐
trusive. But if my uncle thinks that his nephew would be of any use to
him in the school, maybe to stir the India ink or to clean his writing
implements, perhaps he would see about the matter himself and put in
a word of recommendation? How grand it would be if we could study
together! Besides, we could become real friends and give our parents
less to worry about. There would be many advantages in it."
"Do not worry ! I will speak about it to my grandmother at once. We
will also tell your sister Yung and my sister‐in‐law Feng of our wishes,
and you yourself must talk to your father. Then we shall see if the
thing can be managed."
Meantime darkness had fallen and the time had come to get their
lanterns. The two finished their earnest consultation, joined the com‐
pany at the table again, and watched the ladies playing chess for
a while. Princess Chen and Mistress Yung lost the game to Madame
Phoenix and pledged themselves to pay their gambling debt by stand‐
ing a banquet and theater the evening after next. Then they sat down
again for an evening snack, after which the guests started to depart.
"Who is going to take Chin Chung home?" Princess Chen asked her
women attendants.
"The majordomo has ordered Chiao Ta to do so," they said: "He is
tipsy again and in his usual abusive humor."
"It is just too stupid to choose that old boor as an escort," ex‐
claimed both Princess Chen and Mistress Yung at the same time, with
annoyance. "But to cancel the order now would only irritate the old
man."
"Is the carriage ready?" asked Madame Phoenix, turning to her at‐
tendants.
"It is waiting in front of the great hall," they replied. Madame
Phoenix said good‐by, took Pao Yu by the hand, and walked through
the brightly illuminated hall between a solemn double row of silent
servants to the carriage. Among the servants was old Chiao Ta, who was
so drunk that he could not be prevented, even before the visitors, from
disturbing the stately farewell ceremony by kicking up a horrible row
and uttering filthy abuse. His rancor was directed against the major‐
domo Lai Sheng: "Is that the thing to do, to chase out an old man like
me on a cold winter's night?" he howled at him. "When there's an un‐
pleasant job to be done, I'm good enough for it, but for a nice job
there are others. Is that justice? And to think that such a clumsy, blind
tortoise should be majordomo! But beware that old Chiao Ta does not
raise his foot and crush you, you miserable worm!"
During this volley of abuse Chia Yung walked through the hall by
the side of Madame Phoenix and escorted her to her carriage. When
the old man would not stop reviling, in spite of appeals from the other
servants, Chia Yung rebuked him angrily:
"Will you shut up at last? If not, I will have you tied and locked up
until you are sober again! And we shall see if you get out this time
safe and sound!"
But the angry old man refused to be intimidated. He walked up to
him menacingly, shouting: "Little friend, don't play the great gentle‐
man before old Chiao Ta! If your forefathers did not dare to reprimand
old Chiao Ta, how dare you, little cock, start cackling! Where would
all your greatness be today without old Chiao Ta? Nine times I
snatched your grandfather from the jaws of death! It was he who piled
up all your riches. Is this treatment the thanks I get for my good serv‐
ices? Instead of rewarding me properly, you blow yourself up like a
frog and play the great gentleman! The least I can expect is that you
keep your mouth shut. Otherwise, just take care that my sword does
not go into your body white and come out red!"
"Why have you not got rid of that dangerous old bandit long ago?"
whispered Madame Phoenix to her nephew from the carriage window,
disgusted at the painful scene. "He is endangering the reputation of the
whole family and making you a laughingstock before the people."
"You are right," agreed her nephew, nodding; and he ordered the
servants to fetter the old man and lock him up in an empty shed near
the stable. While they were dragging him away by force, Chiao Ta con‐
tinued to shout and rage. "I will go to the Temple of the Ancestors and
complain, to the great old master! He shall learn what a clean‐living
brood he has left behind! Whoring like rutting dogs and fowls; cousins
and brothers‐in‐law carrying on together 'scratching in the ashes'
that's all the accursed brood is good for! . . ."
In the face of this horrible, grossly obscene speech, which caused the
sun to disappear behind the clouds in shame, and made the souls of the
listeners almost leave their bodies in horror, the servants who were
dragging him away could do nothing but stop his mouth with mud and
horse manure.
Madame Phoenix and her nephew Yung, who understood every word
of his abusive speech, behaved nevertheless as if they had heard noth‐
ing. But Pao Yu, in his innocence, could not refrain from asking
Madame Phoenix during the journey in the carriage: "Sister, what did
he mean by the expression 'scratching in the ashes'?"
Violently angry, which was quite unusual for her, she rebuked him:
"Do not ask stupid questions! You not only listen to the foolish chatter
of a drunkard, but have to ask questions about it! Just wait until I tell
your grandmother! You will pay for this with a thrashing!"
"Ah, dear big sister, please do not tell on me! I certainly will not
ask such a stupid question again," pleaded the frightened Pao Yu. In‐
deed, he would not have asked if he had known that the expression 'to
scratch in the ashes' referred to illicit association between a father‐in‐
law and a daughter‐in‐law.
"Very well, dear child,'' said Madame Phoenix, quickly appeased.
"And when we are home I shall speak to Grandmother and ask her for
your sake to help to have your nephew Chin Chung admitted to your
school."