Chapter 5: The Rong Residence, Part One

To return to the House of Jia.

In those days, Jia Yan and Jia Yuan, brothers by blood, followed the First Emperor of the Shun Dynasty in his uprising and won glorious merit on the battlefield. The two of them were enfeoffed together as dukes; Jia Yan, the elder brother, became the Duke of Ning, and Jia Yuan, the younger, the Duke of Rong.

By now, the Jia family had already passed through five generations.

Several years earlier, the emperor had taken a liking to Jia Yuanchun, the daughter of Jia Zheng, lord of the Rong Mansion, and bestowed upon her the title of Worthy and Virtuous Consort. Later an imperial decree was issued, granting her leave to return to her natal home for a visit.

To receive the Worthy and Virtuous Consort, Jia Yuanchun, the Ning and Rong mansions joined forces to build Prospect Garden.

After the imperial homecoming visit was completed, the Worthy and Virtuous Consort thought of the rare flowers and strange plants in the garden, and also remembered the sisters at home who could compose poems and essays. Fearing that such lovely women might fall into neglect and that the blossoms and willows would lose their charm, she sent Xia Shouzhong to the Rong Mansion with an imperial instruction, ordering Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Xue Baoqin, Jia Yingchun, Jia Tanchun, Jia Xichun, and Xing Xiuyan, among others, to move into the garden.

Knowing that her younger brother Jia Baoyu had grown up among a throng of sisters from childhood, the Worthy and Virtuous Consort worried that if all the sisters at home entered the garden, he would feel lonely and desolate, so she also ordered him to live there as well.

And fearing that they were still young, she summoned her widowed sister-in-law Li Wan to the garden too, so that in her spare time she might instruct them a little.

That day, Jia Baoyu had finished making offerings at a temple outside the city and was riding back in on horseback when he saw that the pedestrians along the road were hurrying about, their faces troubled.

When he reached the city gate, he found it jammed so tightly that not even water could pass through, with chaos everywhere. Fortunately, he had brought several servants with him; Mingyan, Chuyu, and the others joined hands to clear him a path.

He returned to the Rong Mansion.

“The Second Master has returned from outside the city!”

At the side gate, a group of gatekeepers had been gathered together whispering among themselves. Seeing the Second Master return astride a tall horse, they immediately scattered, then came forward with broad smiles to greet him and ask whether he had seen anything of note outside the city.

“There’s nothing unusual outside the city, only more people than usual today,” Jia Baoyu replied casually, not knowing what news they were trying to probe. Thinking of his Lin sister, he hurried through the side gate and into the house.

First he returned to the Pavilion of Eternal Delight. Before he had even gone in, he heard Qingwen, Xiren, Sheyue, and the others arguing about something inside. The moment he entered, they all fell silent.

Their expressions, however, were none too pleasant.

Jia Baoyu laughed and said, “What’s this? The moment I come back, you look as if you’re afraid of me. Not one of you is talking or laughing anymore, and you’ve grown distant with me too.”

“And what is there to laugh about? Disaster is right at our doorstep, and the Second Master still has the heart to make sport of us!” Qingwen’s words were sharp, but her lovely face was full of worry; she was in no mood to quarrel with Young Master Bao.

“When have I ever made sport of you? I’ve always treated you as elder and younger sisters, honoring and cherishing you.”

Jia Baoyu hastened to defend himself.

Xiren quickly soothed them. “Why start quarreling when everything has been fine? If the bandit king has not even entered the city yet, and the household is already in an uproar, people will only laugh at us.”

When Jia Baoyu heard this, he could not help asking in confusion, “What bandit king entering the city? Where did you hear such a thing, from some play?”

At these words, all the maids in the Pavilion of Eternal Delight stared at him in astonishment.

Still not understanding, Jia Baoyu was met only with Qingwen’s cold laugh. “The Second Master has come back from a temple outside the city, and he still does not know what has happened?”

Sheyue smiled. “The Second Master must have been in such a hurry to return and pay respects to the old madam and the mistress, and then go see the Lin Miss, that he never bothered to ask after the news in the city.”

The maids all laughed.

They had long known that the Second Master was especially close to the Lin Miss. If he failed to see her for half a day, he became as frantic as an ant on a hot pan.

Jia Baoyu did not answer. After sitting down, he smiled and said, “Good sisters, do stop teasing me. I’ve only just come back and my mouth is dry. Quickly fetch me a cup of tea. After I drink it, I’ll go pay my respects to the old madam and the mistress.”

Only then did Xiren and the others remember that the Second Master had returned long ago, yet they had forgotten to attend to him, standing there all this while only talking.

Xiren hurried to pour tea, while Bihen brought a small dish of jujube and yam cake and asked whether the Second Master would like some.

Jia Baoyu tasted a bite and then did not eat more, saying, “I’ll have my meal after I go to the old madam’s place in a little while. Is the Lin sister at home?”

Just then, a maid called from outside the door, “The Lin Miss and the Second Miss Xue have come!”

Everyone looked outside and saw the two young ladies walking in together. One was elegant and radiant, as if all the refined spirit of heaven and earth had gathered in her alone, compelling every eye to turn and admire her beauty.

The other was so slender that she looked as though a gust of wind might carry her away. A look of sorrow hung on her small, palm-sized face; her brows were knit as if not knit, and after she saw Jia Baoyu, those fine brows relaxed a little as she smiled at him. “So you finally came back. If you had not returned soon, we should have begun to suspect that the bandit king had seized you away!”

When Jia Baoyu saw the thin and frail Lin Daiyu, he first felt delight, then puzzlement, and he too smiled. “You keep talking about a bandit king or not a bandit king, but who exactly is this bandit king?”

Xue Baoqin looked at him in astonishment. “Does Brother Bao still not know? The bandit king, Chu Yan, has already brought two hundred thousand troops to the outskirts of the city. Sister Lin and I were worried, and when we heard that you had returned, we came here to ask whether you had seen the bandit army.”

“What?!”

Jia Baoyu nearly jumped up, standing there like a wooden goose.

Lin Daiyu had always known that he paid no heed to matters of state and was, in his whole life, most disgusted by career and worldly success. So she was not especially surprised, though her heart remained heavy. She sighed. “The news has already spread throughout the household. Everyone inside and out is in a panic, saying that once the bandit king enters the city, he will massacre the family and wipe out the clan. My father in Yangzhou was also killed because the city was besieged by rebels...”

At the mention of this sorrowful memory, tears could not help but fall.

Lin Daiyu had been blessed by nature with flower-like beauty. Now, with those tears, she was truly like pear blossoms in the rain, and all who saw her pitied her.

Xue Baoqin hurried to console her. “Sister Lin, do not grieve any longer. That bandit king has killed who knows how many people in the south of the Yangtze; sooner or later Heaven will take him!”

Baoqin had originally lived in Jinling, and it was only because of the unrest in the south of the Yangtze two years earlier that she had had no choice but to come to the capital with her brother and mother to seek refuge with relatives. Now she too lived in the Grand Prospect Garden of the Jia family, sharing meals and lodgings with Daiyu, Baochai, and the other sisters.

“Massacre the family and wipe out the clan...”

Jia Baoyu murmured the words to himself. Suddenly panic seized him, and he began pacing back and forth in the room. After a long while he abruptly turned to go outside. “Lin sister, come with me to find the old madam and ask what the old madam and the mistresses have to say! I wonder whether Father has returned yet?”

Lin Daiyu went with him.

Xue Baoqin, however, remained where she was. In her heart she thought, The civil and military officials of the court have done nothing against the bandit army. Though the old madam has always shown us great affection, she surely has no clever plan at hand for dealing with two hundred thousand troops.

After sitting a while longer, she too left, returning to discuss the matter with her sister Baochai.

Qingwen, one of the senior maids in the Pavilion of Eternal Delight, sat in the room with no heart for anything, feeling only agitation.

The bandit army was sweeping in like heavenly soldiers, leaving her, confined to the inner quarters of the Rong Mansion, able only to wait helplessly, waiting for the court to issue an edict announcing the suppression of the rebellion.

Or else waiting for the bandit king to enter the city.

“Ah!”

Qingwen let out a heavy sigh. Seeing that the day was still early, she rose, took several sticks of incense from the cabinet, and went alone to the Cottage of the Green Arbors.

She meant to offer incense to the Bodhisattva and pray that Heaven would help the court drive back the bandit king.

When she arrived at the Cottage of the Green Arbors, Qingwen saw from afar two women standing before the gate. One was a relative from the old mistress’s family, named Xing Xiuyan, who was dignified and lovely, a woman of no small grace.

But compared with Miaoyu standing beside her, she seemed to pale.

“I remember you.”

As Qingwen drew near, Miaoyu asked her, “Have you come to burn incense at the convent? How is the city now?”

Qingwen knew that Miaoyu had rather peculiar habits. Though she had been to the Cottage of the Green Arbors several times, she had never exchanged a proper greeting with her.

Since Miaoyu had asked, Qingwen replied, “How should I know what is happening outside? Girls like us in the inner quarters cannot get out; we can only stay at home and wait. Don’t be anxious. Even if that bandit king does break in, he will not lay hands on a nun.”

Miaoyu was a nun who had not shaved her head and still kept her hair. After hearing this, she turned and walked away at once.

Xing Xiuyan, who remained behind, exchanged a few jokes with Qingwen before hurrying after Miaoyu into the convent. What they talked about, no one knew.

Qingwen did not care. She entered the Buddhist hall within the convent and reverently offered three sticks of incense to the Bodhisattva. “Bodhisattva, please protect the capital and keep me safe and sound. Protect the Second Master and do not let the bandit king break in.”

After respectfully bowing three times, Qingwen left the Cottage of the Green Arbors.