Chapter 106: Wang Xifeng Brings Disaster upon Herself and Feels Ashamed; Grandmother Jia Prays to Heaven to Avert Calamity

Chapter 106: Xifeng Brings Disaster and Shame; Lady Jia Prays to Heaven to Avert Calamity

When Jia Zheng learned that Lady Jia was in critical condition, he hurried in to see her. He found that she had been so frightened that her breath had reversed; Lady Wang, Yuanyang, and others had revived her, and after taking some pills to soothe her breath and calm her spirit, she gradually improved, though she was heartbroken and in tears. Jia Zheng stood by her side, trying to console her, always saying, "Your sons are unfilial, bringing calamity upon you and causing you to suffer such fright. If you can be at ease, your sons can still manage affairs outside; but if anything should happen to you, our sins would be even greater." Lady Jia said, "I have lived more than eighty years, from the time I was a girl until I came into your father's hands, always relying on the blessings of our ancestors. I have never heard of such things before. Now that I am old, to see you suffer—how can my heart bear it? I might as well close my eyes and follow you all." As she spoke, she wept again.

At this moment, Jia Zheng was extremely anxious, and he heard someone outside say, "Master, there is news from the inner court." Jia Zheng hurried out and saw the Chief Steward of the Prince of Beijing's mansion. As soon as they met, the steward said, "Great news." Jia Zheng thanked him and invited the steward to sit down, asking, "What is His Highness's command?" The steward replied, "Our prince and the Prince of Xiping entered the palace to present a memorial, and they conveyed your feelings of fear and gratitude for the imperial favor on your behalf. His Majesty was deeply compassionate and, mindful that the Imperial Consort had passed away not long ago, could not bear to add punishment. He has graciously ordered that you continue to serve as an Assistant Director in the Board of Works. As for the confiscated property, only Jia She's share will be taken into the treasury; the rest will be returned. An imperial decree also commands you to devote yourself to your duties. As for the loan documents that were seized, our prince has been ordered to examine them. Any that involve usurious interest beyond the legal limit will be confiscated according to regulations; those that bear interest within the legal limits, along with land and property deeds, will be fully returned. Jia Lian is to be stripped of his official rank but pardoned and released." When Jia Zheng heard this, he immediately rose and kowtowed in gratitude for the imperial favor, then bowed to thank the prince's kindness. "Please, Chief Steward, convey my thanks on my behalf. I will go to the palace tomorrow morning to express my gratitude, and then I will come to the prince's mansion to pay my respects." The steward then left. Shortly afterward, the imperial decree was made public. The officials in charge followed the decree, checking and clarifying everything: what was to be confiscated was confiscated, and what was to be returned was returned. Jia Lian was released, and all the men and women under Jia She's name were registered and confiscated.

Poor Jia Lian! As for the items in his quarters, aside from the documents that were returned according to regulations, the rest, though not fully confiscated, had already been looted by the search party. Only furniture and odds and ends remained. At first, Jia Lian had been terrified of punishment, but after being released, he counted himself fortunate. Yet when he thought of the goods he had accumulated over the years, along with Xifeng's private savings—no less than seventy or eighty thousand taels of silver—all gone in a single day, how could he not grieve? Moreover, his father was still imprisoned in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Xifeng was critically ill. Overcome with sorrow, he then saw Jia Zheng, tears in his eyes, calling him over and asking, "Because I was occupied with official duties and had little time to manage the household, I entrusted you and your wife with the overall management of family affairs. What your father did was hard to dissuade, but who was behind this usurious moneylending? Such behavior is not befitting a family like ours. Now that it has been confiscated, the loss of silver is not the main issue—but what of our reputation once this gets out? How can we bear it!" Jia Lian knelt and said, "Nephew has managed family affairs without any selfish intent. All income and expenses have been recorded by Lai Da, Wu Xindeng, and Dai Liang. You need only summon them to inquire. In recent years, the treasury has seen more outflows than inflows; though I have not supplemented it from my own funds, we have run up many debts in various places. If you ask Madam, you will know. As for these loans that were made, even I do not know where that silver came from. You would have to ask Zhou Rui and Wang'er to find out." Jia Zheng said, "From what you say, you don't even know what goes on in your own household, let alone the affairs of the whole family. I won't question you further now. Since you are currently free of charges, why don't you go and find out about your father's and your cousin Zhen's cases?" Filled with grievance, Jia Lian choked back tears, assented, and withdrew. Jia Zheng sighed repeatedly and thought to himself, "My grandfather labored diligently in the service of the state, established merit, and earned two hereditary titles. Now, because of the offenses in both branches, they have been stripped away. I see none of these sons and nephews making any progress. Heaven! O Heaven! How has my Jia family fallen to such ruin? Though I have been graciously favored by His Majesty with the return of the property, the expenses of the two households will have to be merged into one. How can I alone support it? And just now, what Lian said is even more alarming—not only is the treasury empty, but there are also debts. For years, we have been living on a false reputation. I only hate myself for being so foolish. If my son Zhu were still alive, he would be a support. Baoyu, though grown, is utterly useless." Thinking this, he could not help but wet his lapel with tears. Then he thought, "Lady Jia is so advanced in age, and her sons have not been able to support her for a single day; instead, we have frightened her nearly to death. All these sins—to whom can I attribute them?" As he grieved alone, a servant announced that various relatives and friends had come to pay their respects. Jia Zheng thanked each one and said, "Our family's misfortune stems from my inability to discipline my sons and nephews, and so it has come to this." Some said, "I have long known that your elder brother, Master She, acted improperly, and that cousin Zhen over there was even more arrogant. If this had been a mistake in official duties, one could feel blameless, but now they have brought this on themselves, and it has dragged you into it." Others said, "Plenty of families have had troubles, but not all are impeached by censors. If it weren't for Zhen offending his friends, how could it have come to this?" Still others said, "Don't blame the censors either. We heard that it was your household's servants, along with some riffraff outside, who stirred up this rumor. The censors, afraid of making a false report, coaxed people from here into speaking out. I thought your household treated its servants generously—how did this happen?" Another said, "In general, servants are not to be supported. Since we are here among good friends, I dare to say this: even when you served in the provinces, I can vouch for you—you are not fond of money—but the rumors outside were not good either. It was all caused by the servants. You should be on your guard. Although your estate has not been touched now, if His Majesty becomes suspicious again, it could be very inconvenient." When Jia Zheng heard this, he became alarmed and asked, "What have you all heard about my reputation?" The guests replied, "We haven't heard any solid evidence, but outside people say that when you were Grain Intendant, you allowed your gatekeeper to demand money." Jia Zheng said, "I can swear by Heaven—I have never entertained the thought of demanding money. But if servants act arrogantly and deceive others, and trouble arises, I cannot bear the consequences." The guests said, "There is no use in worrying now. You should strictly investigate your current stewards. If any servants defy their master, find them out and deal with them severely." Jia Zheng nodded in agreement. Just then, the gatekeeper came in to report, "A messenger from Master Sun, your son-in-law, says he is too busy to come and has sent someone to pay respects. He says that the elder master owes him a sum of money, and he expects you, the second master, to repay it." Jia Zheng, feeling deeply troubled, merely said, "I understand." The guests all sneered and said, "People say that your relative Sun Shaozu is a scoundrel, and it seems to be true. Now that his father-in-law's property has been confiscated, he doesn't come to visit or offer help, but instead rushes to demand money. It really is unreasonable." Jia Zheng said, "Let's not talk about him for now. That marriage was arranged wrongly by my elder brother. My niece has already suffered enough, and now I am being dragged into it." As he spoke, Xue Ke entered and said, "I have learned that Magistrate Zhao of the Embroidered Uniform Guard intends to proceed according to the censor's impeachment. I fear that the elder master and Master Zhen will not be able to withstand it." The guests all said, "Second Master, you must go and beg the prince to see if something can be done to reverse this. Otherwise, these two families will be finished." Jia Zheng agreed, expressed his thanks, and the guests dispersed.

By that time, it was already the hour for lighting lamps. Jia Zheng went in to pay his respects to Lady Jia and saw that she was slightly better. Returning to his own room, he blamed Jia Lian and his wife for their lack of judgment in causing this trouble over loan interest, which had brought shame on everyone. Now that he saw what Xifeng had done, he felt deeply displeased. Xifeng was gravely ill, and knowing that all her possessions had been looted, she was filled with pent-up anguish. For the moment, Jia Zheng did not reproach her but held his peace and said nothing. That night passed without incident. The next morning, Jia Zheng went to the palace to express his gratitude, and then to the mansions of the Prince of Beijing and the Prince of Xiping to kowtow and thank them, begging the two princes to look after his elder brother and nephew. The princes agreed. Jia Zheng also pleaded for help from his colleagues and close associates.

Meanwhile, Jia Lian had learned that his father and elder brother’s affairs were not going well, and with no way to help, he could only return home. Pinger was by Xifeng’s side weeping, while Qiu Tong in the side room was complaining about Xifeng. Jia Lian approached and saw Xifeng gasping for breath, and even if he had many grievances, he could not bring himself to speak them at that moment. Pinger said through tears, “Now that things have come to this pass, what’s gone is gone and can’t be brought back. Madam is in such a state; we should call another doctor to treat and nurse her properly.” Jia Lian spat and said, “I can’t even save my own skin—why should I care about her?” When Xifeng heard this, she opened her eyes and glanced at him. Though she said nothing, her tears flowed without stop. Seeing Jia Lian leave, she said to Pinger, “Don’t be so foolish. Things have come to such a pass—why do you still bother about me? I wish I could die today. As long as you keep me in your thoughts, and after I’m gone you raise Qiaojie well, I will be grateful to you in the underworld.” On hearing this, Pinger burst into loud wails. Xifeng said, “You are a clever person too. Though they haven’t said it to my face, they must be blaming me. Even if the trouble started outside, if I hadn’t been greedy for wealth, none of this would have happened to me. Not only have I wasted all my schemes and striven all my life to be strong, but now I’ve fallen behind others. I only regret using the wrong people. I vaguely heard that the affair with Lord Zhen over there was about seizing a good man’s wife to make her a concubine, and when she refused, they forced her to death, with a man named Zhang involved. Think about it—who else could it be? If this case is tried, our Second Master won’t escape blame, and how could I face anyone then? If I were to die right now, I couldn’t bear swallowing gold or taking poison. And you still want to call a doctor—aren’t you, by caring for me, actually harming me instead?” The more Pinger heard, the more tragic it seemed; she thought it truly difficult to manage, and fearing Xifeng might take her own life, she could only keep close watch over her. Fortunately, the Lady Dowager knew nothing of the details. Since she had been feeling better of late, and seeing that Jia Zheng was safe, with Baoyu and Baochai constantly by her side day and night, she was somewhat relieved. Having always been fondest of Xifeng, she told Yuanyang, “Take some of my private things and give them to Feng girl, and also give some silver to Pinger. Nurse Feng girl well, and I’ll make further arrangements slowly.” She also ordered Lady Wang to look after Lady Xing. In addition, the Ningguo mansion had been confiscated, with all property, land, houses, and household slaves inventoried and taken away. The Lady Dowager then sent a carriage to fetch You-shi, her daughter-in-law, and the others. Pitifully, of that once illustrious Ning Mansion, only the two of them—mother-in-law and daughter-in-law—along with Peifeng and Xieluan remained, without even a single servant. The Lady Dowager assigned them a house to live in, next to Xichun’s quarters. She also sent four matrons and two maids to serve them. All meals and daily needs were distributed from the main kitchen; clothes and sundries were sent by the Lady Dowager, and incidental expenses were paid from the accounts office, all according to the monthly allowances of Rong Mansion’s staff. As for Jia She, Jia Zhen, and Jia Rong, who were detained at the Embroidered Clothes Mansion, the accounts office had no funds to allocate for them. By now, Xifeng had nothing left, and Jia Lian was burdened with debts. Jia Zheng, ignorant of household matters, merely said that he had entrusted things to someone and that they would be looked after. Jia Lian, at his wit’s end, thought that among their relatives, Aunt Xue’s household had already declined, Wang Ziteng was dead, and though other relatives existed, none could help. He could only secretly send someone to the countryside to sell several thousand taels’ worth of land temporarily, to use as expenses in the prison. Once Jia Lian did this, the household slaves, seeing their masters’ influence waning, took advantage of the situation to cheat, and even under the pretext of collecting rents from the eastern estates, they embezzled some. But that is a later story and need not be told now.

Now let us speak of how Grandmother Jia saw the hereditary official ranks of her ancestors stripped away, with her descendants now imprisoned and awaiting trial, while Lady Xing and Madam You wept day and night, and Xifeng lay critically ill, on the verge of death. Though Baoyu and Baochai were by her side, they could only offer comfort and share none of her burdens, so she found no peace day or night, her thoughts turning over past and present, tears flowing unceasingly. One evening, as dusk fell, she sent Baoyu back and struggled to sit up herself, ordering Yinyang and the others to light incense at every Buddhist shrine, and also to burn a great heap of incense in her own courtyard. Leaning on her staff, she walked out into the yard. Hupo, knowing that the old lady intended to worship the Buddha, spread a large red felt kneeling mat. Grandmother Jia lit incense, knelt down, and bowed her head many times, reciting prayers for a while, then with tears in her eyes addressed Heaven and Earth: "August Heaven and merciful Buddha above, I, a daughter of the Shi family, married into the Jia clan, offer my devout prayers and beg for the Buddha's compassion. For generations, our Jia family has never dared to commit violent or tyrannical acts. I have assisted my husband and guided my sons; though I could not do good, I also dared not do evil. It must be that my descendants have grown arrogant, extravagant, lazy, and wasteful, squandering Heaven's gifts, thus bringing ruin upon the entire household. Now my sons and grandsons are imprisoned; surely fortune favors them little. This is all my sin—I failed to teach my children and grandchildren properly, and so we have come to this pass. Today I beg Heaven to protect them: may those in prison turn misfortune into blessing, and may the sick find early peace. Even if the whole family's sins must be borne, I am willing to bear them alone, only begging that my children and grandchildren be spared. If Heaven takes pity on me, seeing my sincerity, may it grant me an early death and remit the offenses of my descendants." As she murmured these words, she could not contain her grief and sobbed aloud. Yinyang and Zhenzhu, while comforting her, helped her back into the room. There they saw Lady Wang, accompanied by Baoyu and Baochai, coming to pay their evening respects. Seeing Grandmother Jia so grief-stricken, all three began to wail loudly. Baochai's pain was even deeper: She thought of her elder brother, also in the outer prison, awaiting execution, uncertain whether his sentence might be commuted; though her parents-in-law were safe, she saw the family fortunes declining; Baoyu remained foolish and demented, utterly without ambition. Thinking of her own future and lifelong prospects, she wept even more bitterly than Grandmother Jia or Lady Wang. When Baoyu saw Baochai so heartbroken, a similar sorrow filled him. He mused that the old lady was old and could find no peace; that his father and mother could not help but grieve at such a scene; that all the sisters had scattered like wind-blown clouds, diminishing day by day. He recalled how they had once composed poems and formed societies in the garden, how lively it had been! Ever since Sister Lin’s death, he had been depressed, and with Sister Bao now by his side, he could not often give way to sorrow. Seeing her worry about her brother and long for her mother, rarely smiling day or night, and now seeing her grief threatening to destroy her, his heart could bear it no longer, and he burst into loud sobs. Yinyang, Caiyun, Ying’er, and Xiren, seeing them thus, each had their own thoughts and began to weep as well. The other maids, moved by the sight, also joined in crying, so that no one was left to offer comfort. The whole room was filled with such earth-shaking wails that the old women on night duty outside were terrified and hurried to report to Jia Zheng. Jia Zheng was brooding in his study when the messenger from the old lady arrived; alarmed, he rushed to the inner courtyard. Hearing the great weeping from afar, he thought the old lady must have passed away, and his soul nearly fled in fright. He dashed inside, only to see everyone seated and sobbing, and his spirit finally calmed. He said, "The old lady is grieving—you should be comforting her. How could you all start crying together?" Hearing Jia Zheng’s voice, the company hastily stopped their weeping, staring at each other in confusion. Jia Zheng stepped forward to console the old lady, then scolded the others briefly. Each thought to themselves: "We came to comfort her, fearing her grief—how did we forget ourselves and join in crying?" Just as they were puzzling over this, an old woman brought in two maidservants from the house of the Marquis of Shi. They paid their respects to Grandmother Jia, then to the rest of the company, and said: "Our master, our lady, and our young mistress sent us to say that, having heard of what happened at your mansion, it seems nothing very serious—just a temporary fright. Fearing that you, sir, and you, madam, might be distressed, they told us to come and inform you that the second master here need not worry any longer. Our young mistress wished to come herself, but as she is to be married in a few days, she could not." When Grandmother Jia heard this, she did not feel it proper to thank them directly, but said: "When you return, give my regards. This is the fate of our family, and so it must be. I am grateful for your master and lady’s concern; another day I shall come to thank them in person. As for your young mistress’s marriage, I suppose there is no need to speak of her betrothed. How are their family circumstances?" The two maids replied: "Their family circumstances are not extraordinary, but the young gentleman is very handsome and of an amiable disposition. We have seen him several times; he seems much like our Second Young Master Bao here, and we hear he is also talented and learned." Grandmother Jia was pleased and said: "We are all from the south. Though we have lived here long, we still observe the great customs of the south, so we have never met the new son-in-law. The other day I was thinking of my own family. The one I love most is your young mistress. Out of three hundred and sixty days in the year, she spends over two hundred with me; she has grown up so. I had planned to find her a good husband, but since her uncle was away, I could not well take it upon myself. Now that fortune has matched her with a good son-in-law, I am relieved. When she married this month, I had hoped to come and drink a cup of wedding wine, but I never expected such trouble to befall our house. My heart feels as if it were boiling in a hot cauldron—how could I go to your home? When you return, give my regards, and tell everyone here that I send my greetings. Also, tell your young mistress not to worry about me. I am over eighty years old; even if I die, it cannot be said that I have not enjoyed good fortune. I only hope that after she is married, the couple will live in harmony and grow old together—then I will be at peace." As she spoke, tears fell unbidden. The maids said: "You must not grieve so, old lady. After the young mistress is married, when she returns for the ninth-day visit, she will surely come with her husband to pay her respects. Then you will be happy to see her." Grandmother Jia nodded. The women withdrew. The others paid little attention, but Baoyu, upon hearing this, was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself: "Now things are getting worse day by day. Why must a daughter, once raised to adulthood, inevitably be married off, and then change so completely? A girl like Sister Shi is forced by her uncle into a match; when she sees me in the future, she will surely ignore me. When a man is left with no one to care for him, what is the point of living?" At this thought, he grew sorrowful again. But seeing that Grandmother Jia had just calmed down, he dared not weep, and remained silent and dejected.

Meanwhile, Jia Zheng grew uneasy and came in again to see how the Old Lady was. Finding her somewhat improved, he went out and summoned Lai Da, ordering him to bring the register of the household stewards on the estate. He made a thorough check: apart from those of Jia She’s which had been confiscated, there were still over thirty households, comprising two hundred and twelve men and women in total. Jia Zheng then called in the twenty-one men currently serving in the mansion and asked about the annual household expenses—how much came in and how much went out. The chief steward presented the recent ledgers. When Jia Zheng examined them, he saw that income fell short of expenditure; moreover, the years of official spending had added debts, with considerable sums borrowed from outside. Checking further the land rents from the eastern estates, he found that recent years’ yields were less than half of what their ancestors had collected, while current expenses were ten times greater than in the past. Had Jia Zheng not looked, it might have been well enough; but once he saw, he stamped his foot in alarm and cried, “This is appalling! I thought that although Lian was managing things, there was still some control at home. Who would have guessed that for several years now we’ve been using next year’s money this year, and still putting on a show, treating our hereditary stipend as if it were nothing! How could we not be ruined! If I try to economize now, it’s already too late.” Thinking thus, he paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back, utterly at a loss. The others knew that Jia Zheng had no head for household management and that his worry was futile, so they said, “Your Excellency need not fret. This is the way with every family. If you reckon it all up, even the princes’ households fall short. It’s all just keeping up appearances—we go along as best we can. Now, thanks to His Majesty’s favor, you still have some property left. If it had all been confiscated, would you then have no way to go on?” Jia Zheng scolded, “Nonsense! You pack of servants have no conscience at all. While your master was well off, you spent recklessly; now that it’s all gone, you scatter and run, not caring whether your master lives or dies! And now you say it’s good that nothing has been sealed up, but you don’t know the reputation outside. The very foundation is not secure, let alone your putting on airs and boasting and cheating people out there, and then when trouble comes, you shift the blame onto your master and that’s that! Now, about the affairs of the Elder Master and Master Zhen—it’s said that our servant Bao Er spread things abroad. But I see no Bao Er on this register. How is that?” The men replied, “Bao Er is not on the rolls. He was originally on the register of the Ning Mansion, but because the Second Master thought him honest, he brought the couple over here. After his wife died, he went back to the Ning Mansion. Later, when Your Excellency had official business and the ladies and gentlemen went to the imperial tombs, Master Zhen took over the household management and brought him over again, but he left later. Your Excellency hasn’t managed family affairs for years—how could you know all this? You think that if a name is not on the register, that person doesn’t exist, but you don’t realize that under one man there may be his relatives, and servants have their own servants.” Jia Zheng said, “This is outrageous!” He thought it over, unable to sort things out for the moment, so he dismissed the men with a reprimand, having already formed a plan in his mind, and decided to wait and see how the trials of Jia She and the others would turn out before making any decisions.

One day, while he was calculating in his study, a man rushed in and said, “Please, Your Excellency, go quickly to the inner court for questioning.” Hearing this, Jia Zheng felt a pang of anxiety but had no choice but to go in. Whether the outcome would be good or ill will be told in the next chapter.