Chapter 2: Lady Jia Dies in the City of Yangzhou; Leng Zixing Discourses on the Rongguo Mansion

CHAPTER 2: Lady Jia Dies in Yangzhou; Leng Zixing Expounds on the Rong Mansion

A verse:

The outcome of a game is hard to foretell;

Incense burns out, tea cools, yet still we linger.

To know the signs of rise and fall at hand,

Ask the cold-eyed onlooker standing by.

Now, Feng Su, hearing the summons from the officers, hurried out with a smile and respectfully inquired. Those men only shouted: "Call out Master Zhen at once!" Feng Su hastened to reply with a smile: "Your humble servant's surname is Feng, not Zhen. Only my former son-in-law was named Zhen, but he has now been a monk for a year or two. I wonder if it is him you seek?" The officers said: "We don't know anything about 'true' or 'false.' We come on orders from the magistrate. Since he is your son-in-law, we'll take you to see the magistrate yourself to report, so we won't have to run about." With that, they would not let Feng Su say another word, and they pushed and dragged him away. Everyone in the Feng household was panic-stricken, not knowing what this portended.

Around the second watch that night, Feng Su returned, beaming with joy. The family eagerly asked what had happened. He then said: "It turns out that the newly promoted magistrate of this prefecture is named Jia Hua, a native of Huzhou, who was an old acquaintance of my son-in-law. Just now, as he was passing our gate, he saw the maid Jiaoxing buying thread, and so he thought my son-in-law had moved here. I explained the whole story to him. The magistrate sighed with regret, then asked about my granddaughter. I said she was lost while watching the lanterns. He said: 'Never mind, I will send runners to search for her and bring her back without fail.' After a while of talk, before leaving, he gave me two taels of silver." When Lady Zhen heard this, she could not help feeling sad. Nothing more happened that night.

The next day, Yucun sent someone with two packets of silver and four bolts of brocade to thank Lady Zhen, and also sent a secret letter to Feng Su, asking him to persuade Lady Zhen to give Jiaoxing to him as a concubine. Feng Su was overjoyed, eager to curry favor, and vigorously urged his daughter to agree. That same night, using only a small sedan chair, he sent Jiaoxing over. Yucun's delight goes without saying; he gave Feng Su a hundred taels of gold, besides many gifts for Lady Zhen, telling her to take good care of herself while waiting for news of her daughter's whereabouts. Feng Su returned home, and nothing more was said.

Now, this maid Jiaoxing was the same one who had glanced back at Yucun that year. That chance look had led to this affair—an unexpected stroke of fortune she could never have foreseen. Who would have thought her fate was so blessed? No sooner had she come to Yucun than she bore him a son within a year, and half a year later, Yucun's first wife suddenly fell ill and died, whereupon Yucun raised her from concubine to principal wife. Truly:

By a single careless glance,

She rose above the common lot.

It turned out that after Shiyin had given him money that year, Yucun set out for the capital on the sixteenth day. At the time of the great examinations, he was unexpectedly successful, passing as a Presented Scholar and being selected for an external post. Now he had been promoted to prefect of this prefecture. Though talented and capable, he was somewhat greedy and harsh, and being proud of his abilities, he insulted his superiors, drawing the enmity of other officials. Within less than a year, his superiors found a pretext and submitted a memorial accusing him of "being cunning by nature, arbitrarily altering the rites, feigning an upright reputation while secretly forming ties with wolfish underlings, thereby causing much trouble in the locality and making life unbearable for the people." The Emperor was greatly angered and immediately approved his dismissal. When the official decree arrived, all the officials in the prefecture rejoiced. Though Yucun felt deeply humiliated and resentful, he showed no sign of anger on his face, but remained cheerful and composed. After handing over his duties, he sent his accumulated wealth and his household to his native place, made proper arrangements, and then, shouldering the wind and the moon, set off to tour the famous scenic spots of the empire.

One day, he happened to travel to the region of Weiyang, having heard that the Salt Commissioner this year was Lin Ruhai. This Lin Ruhai, whose given name was Lin Hai and courtesy name Ruhai, was a Tanhua (third-place graduate) of a previous examination, now promoted to the post of Censor of the Orchid Terrace. He was a native of Gusu, and had been specially appointed by imperial decree as the Salt Inspector, having taken up his post just over a month ago. It turned out that Lin Ruhai's ancestors had been enfeoffed as marquises, and by Ruhai's time, this had continued for five generations. At first, the title was only hereditary for three generations, but because of the current Emperor's surpassing grace and virtue, additional favor was granted, so that Ruhai's father inherited for one more generation. As for Ruhai himself, he had risen through the examination system. Though his family was one of bell and cauldron (aristocratic), it was also a house of scholarship. Unfortunately, the Lin family was not prolific, with few descendants. Though there were a few branches, they were all distant relatives of Ruhai, with no close direct lineage. Now Ruhai was forty years old, and had once had a three-year-old son, who had unfortunately died the previous year. Though he had several concubines, fate had not granted him a son, which was beyond remedy. At present, his principal wife, née Jia, had borne him a daughter, with the infant name Daiyu, who was just five years old. The couple had no son, so they cherished her like a jewel. Moreover, seeing that she was intelligent and refined, they wanted her to learn to read a few characters, merely as if she were a son adopted to ease their sorrow at having no heir.

Yucun happened to catch a cold and lay ill in an inn for nearly a month before gradually recovering. Partly because he was tired and partly because his funds were running low, he was looking for a suitable place to rest temporarily. Fortunately, he had two old friends living in this area. Hearing that the Salt Commissioner was seeking a tutor, Yucun asked his friends for help and secured the position, thus finding a place to settle. Fortunately, there was only one female student, along with two maids as companions. The girl was young and extremely frail, so her lessons were not demanding in quantity, making the work very easy. A year passed quickly, but then the girl's mother, Lady Jia, fell ill and died. The girl attended to her mother's medicine and observed mourning with great sorrow, so Yucun planned to resign and seek another position. However, Lin Ruhai wished his daughter to continue her studies while observing mourning, so he asked Yucun to stay. Recently, because the girl had grieved excessively, and being naturally delicate and prone to illness, she had relapsed and had not attended school for several days. Yucun, with nothing to do in his leisure, would take walks after meals whenever the weather was fine.

One day, he happened to wander outside the city, intending to enjoy the rural scenery. Strolling aimlessly, he came to a place surrounded by hills and winding streams, with dense woods and deep bamboo groves. There, half-hidden, stood a temple with a dilapidated gate and crumbling walls. Above the gate was a horizontal plaque bearing the words "Temple of Wisdom and Penetration." Beside the gate hung an old, tattered couplet, which read:

"When there is surplus behind, one forgets to draw back;

When there is no road ahead, one thinks of turning around."

After reading it, Yucun thought: "Though these words are simple, their meaning is profound. I have visited many famous mountains and grand temples, but I have never seen such a saying. There must be someone inside who has turned a somersault (experienced a reversal of fortune). Why not go in and see?" He entered and found only an ancient, decrepit monk cooking gruel. Yucun paid him no attention. When he asked the old monk a couple of questions, the man turned out to be both deaf and senile, with missing teeth and a thick tongue, answering irrelevantly.

Yucun grew impatient and came out again, intending to go to a village tavern for a few drinks to enhance the rustic pleasure. He walked slowly. As he was about to enter the tavern, he saw one of the drinkers rise with a laugh and come out to greet him, saying: "What a coincidence! What a coincidence!" Yucun looked closely and recognized the man as Leng Zixing, an antique dealer from the capital whom he had known in former days. Yucun had always praised Leng Zixing as a man of enterprise and great ability, and Zixing, in turn, valued Yucun's scholarly reputation. Thus, the two got along well and were very congenial. Yucun smiled and asked: "When did you arrive here, brother? I had no idea. Meeting you by chance today is truly a remarkable coincidence!" Zixing replied: "I returned home at the end of last year. I'm about to go back to the capital now, so I came this way to visit a friend and deliver a message. Out of kindness, he insisted I stay a few more days. I have no urgent business, so I'm lingering a while; I'll set out around the middle of the month. Today, my friend had matters to attend to, so I strolled here to rest my feet. Who would have thought we'd meet so fortuitously!" As he spoke, he invited Yucun to sit at his table and ordered fresh wine and dishes. The two chatted and drank leisurely, recounting what had happened since they last parted.

Yucun then asked, “Is there any news from the capital recently?” Zixing replied, “Nothing much, but a rather odd little affair has occurred in a family of the same clan as yours, sir.” Yucun laughed, “None of my clan live in the capital—how could you speak of that?” Zixing smiled, “You share the same surname—are you not of the same clan?” Yucun asked which family it was. Zixing said, “The Jia family of the Rongguo Mansion—does that not dishonor your lineage, sir?” Yucun laughed, “So it’s their family. If we trace it, our clan indeed has many branches. Since the Han dynasty Jia Fu, the lineage has spread wide, with members in every province—who can investigate it thoroughly? As for the Rongguo branch, we are indeed of the same genealogy. But their house is so illustrious, it’s not convenient for us to claim kinship, and so we’ve grown estranged and hard to recognize as relatives.” Zixing sighed, “Don’t say that, sir. Now both the Ning and Rong houses are in decline, not what they once were.” Yucun said, “In the beginning, the Ning and Rong households had many people—how could they have declined?” Leng Zixing replied, “Exactly—it’s a long story.” Yucun said, “Last year I went to Jinling, wanting to visit the ruins of the Six Dynasties. That day I entered Stone City and passed by their old mansion. East of the street was the Ningguo Mansion, west of the street the Rongguo Mansion—the two estates connected, taking up nearly half the street. Though the front gates were desolate and empty, when I looked over the walls, the halls, pavilions, and towers inside were still lofty and spacious, and even the trees, rocks, and gardens in the back still had a lush and thriving air—how could it look like a declining family?” Leng Zixing laughed, “For a man who passed the civil examinations, you’re surprisingly ignorant! The ancients said, ‘A centipede dies but never stiffens.’ Though it’s not as prosperous as before, compared to ordinary official families, the atmosphere is still different. Now the population grows daily, affairs multiply daily, and among masters and servants, many enjoy wealth and honor without a single one planning or managing. Daily expenses cannot be reduced or economized. Though the outer facade hasn’t completely fallen, the inside is already hollow. That’s still a small matter. There’s a greater one: who would have thought that in such a family of bells and cauldrons, a house of poetry and literature, the sons and grandsons are now worse than each generation before!” Yucun, hearing this, was also startled and said, “How could a family of such rites and poetry not know the way of education? I don’t know about other houses, but these two, Ning and Rong, are the most skilled at teaching their sons.”

Zixing sighed, “It’s precisely these two houses I speak of. Let me tell you: the Duke of Ningguo and the Duke of Rongguo were brothers born of the same mother. The Duke of Ning was the elder, and he had four sons. After the Duke of Ning died, Jia Daihua inherited the title and also raised two sons: the eldest, Jia Fu, died at eight or nine, leaving only the second son, Jia Jing, who inherited the title. Now he is devoted solely to the Way, only fond of alchemy and elixirs, caring for nothing else. Fortunately, he left a son early, named Jia Zhen, and because his father wanted to become an immortal, he let him inherit the title. His father refuses to return to his native place, only fooling around with Daoists outside the capital. This Master Zhen has a son, just sixteen this year, named Jia Rong. Now the Honorable Jing pays no attention to anything. This Master Zhen has no interest in studying, only indulging in pleasure, turning the Ningguo Mansion upside down, with no one daring to control him. As for the Rong Mansion, listen—the strange affair I just mentioned comes from there. After the Duke of Rong died, his eldest son, Jia Daishan, inherited the title and married a daughter of the Marquis Shi family of Jinling, a hereditary noble house. They had two sons: the eldest, Jia She, and the second, Jia Zheng. Now Daishan has long passed away, but the Grand Lady still lives. The eldest son, Jia She, holds the title; the second son, Jia Zheng, has loved reading since childhood. His grandfather doted on him most, originally intending for him to advance through the civil exams. Unexpectedly, on his deathbed, Daishan submitted a final memorial, and the emperor, out of compassion for his late minister, ordered the eldest son to inherit the title and also asked how many other sons there were, summoning them for an audience. Thus, he granted this Honorable Zheng an extra position as a secretary, allowing him to study in a ministry. Now he has been promoted to a deputy director. This Honorable Zheng’s wife, née Wang, first bore a son named Jia Zhu, who entered school at fourteen, married and had a son before twenty, then died of illness. The second child was a daughter, born on the first day of the new year—that was strange enough. But later, a son was born, stranger still: at birth, he had a piece of brightly colored jade in his mouth, with many characters on it, and so they named him Baoyu. Isn’t that a remarkable thing?”

Yucun laughed, “Truly remarkable! This person’s origins must be no small matter.” Zixing sneered, “Everyone says so, and so his grandmother first cherished him like a treasure. That year, when he was one, the Honorable Zheng wanted to test his future aspirations, so he laid out countless things from the world for him to grab. But he took nothing, only reaching for rouge, powder, hairpins, and bracelets. The Honorable Zheng was furious, saying, ‘He’ll be nothing but a wastrel of wine and lust!’ and so disliked him greatly. But the old Lady Shi still treats him as her very life. Stranger still, now that he’s seven or eight, though he’s exceptionally naughty, his cleverness and quickness are beyond a hundred ordinary boys. And his childish words are odd: he says, ‘Daughters are made of water, men of mud. When I see a daughter, I feel refreshed; when I see a man, I feel foul and repulsive.’ Isn’t that ridiculous? He’ll surely be a lecher in the future!” Yucun, with a rare stern look, quickly stopped him, saying, “No! It’s a pity you don’t know this person’s origins. The Honorable Zheng likely mistakes him for a demon of lust and lechery. Only one who has read many books, knows many affairs, practiced the investigation of things and extension of knowledge, and grasped the principles of enlightenment can understand.”

Zixing, seeing how seriously he spoke, quickly asked for the explanation. Yucun said, “When heaven and earth produce human beings, aside from the two categories of great benevolence and great evil, the rest have no major differences. If one is of great benevolence, he is born in response to a prosperous era; if of great evil, he is born in response to a calamitous age. A prosperous era brings peace to the world; a calamitous age brings danger and chaos. Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, Zhou, Shao, Kong, Meng, Dong, Han, Zhou, Cheng, Zhang, Zhu—all were born in response to a prosperous era. Chi You, Gong Gong, Jie, Zhou, the First Emperor, Wang Mang, Cao Cao, Huan Wen, An Lushan, Qin Hui—all were born in response to a calamitous age. Those of great benevolence govern and order the world; those of great evil disrupt and throw it into chaos. Clarity, intelligence, and spiritual excellence are the upright qi of heaven and earth, which the benevolent inherit; cruelty, perversity, and eccentricity are the corrupt qi of heaven and earth, which the evil inherit. In this present age, when the dynasty flourishes and its mandate is long, in a time of peace and inaction, those who inherit the qi of clarity, intelligence, and spiritual excellence fill the court above and the common people below, everywhere without exception. The remaining spiritual excellence, having no fixed, becomes sweet dew and gentle breezes, harmoniously irrigating the four seas. That cruel, perverse, and eccentric corrupt qi cannot drift freely in the broad daylight, so it condenses and fills deep ravines and great valleys. Occasionally, stirred by the wind or driven by clouds, it is slightly moved and inspired, and a wisp or half a strand leaks out by mistake. When it happens to encounter the qi of spiritual excellence passing by, the upright cannot tolerate the corrupt, and the corrupt envies the upright—neither yielding to the other—like wind, water, thunder, and lightning: once they meet within the earth, unable to disperse or retreat, they must clash and erupt until spent. Thus this qi is also endowed upon people, and it disperses only after being fully vented. Men and women born by chance with this qi cannot become benevolent gentlemen and virtuous scholars in high positions, nor can they become great villains and monsters in low ones. Placed among ten thousand people, their intelligence, talent, and spiritual excellence surpass all others; their perversity, eccentricity, and inhumanity fall below all others. If born into wealthy and noble families of dukes and marquises, they become lovestruck fools and sentimentalists; if born into families of scholars, poor but pure, they become recluses and lofty gentlemen; even if by chance born into humble and cold households, they can never become common soldiers or sturdy servants, willing to be driven and controlled by mediocrities, but must become extraordinary actors or famous courtesans. For example, in former times: Xu You, Tao Qian, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Liu Ling, the Wang and Xie clans, Gu Hutou, Chen Houzhu, Tang Minghuang, Song Huizong, Liu Tingzhi, Wen Feiqing, Mi Nangong, Shi Manqing, Liu Qiqing, Qin Shaoyou; and in recent times: Ni Yunlin, Tang Bohu, Zhu Zhishan; and again, such as Li Guinian, Huang Fanchuo, Jing Xinmo, Zhuo Wenjun, Hongfu, Xue Tao, Cui Ying, Chaoyun and the like—these are all the same kind of people, just in different places.”

Zixing said, “According to your words, it’s ‘the one who succeeds becomes king or marquis; the one who fails becomes a bandit.’” Yucun said, “That’s exactly the idea. You don’t yet know that since I was dismissed from office, I’ve traveled through various provinces these past two years and have come across two especially remarkable children. So just now, when you mentioned this Baoyu, I guessed it with eight or nine parts certainty—he’s also of this type. No need to speak of distant places—within Jinling city itself, there’s the Zhen family, whose head is the imperial commissioner of the Benevolence and Righteousness Institute of Jinling Province. Do you know of them?” Zixing said, “Who doesn’t know! The Zhen family and the Jia family are both old relatives and old family friends. Their interactions are extremely close. Even I have had dealings with that family for quite some time.”

Yucun laughed and said, “Last year in Jinling, someone recommended me to teach at the Zhen residence. I went in to observe the situation; who would have thought that despite their great wealth and honor, they were a family both rich and fond of propriety—a rare and good position indeed. But this student, though only in his initial, gave me more trouble than one preparing for the civil examinations. To speak of it is even more ridiculous: he said, ‘I must have two girls accompany me while I study before I can recognize characters and understand them in my mind; otherwise, my mind is muddled.’ He also often said to his attendant pages, ‘These two words “daughter” are extremely noble and extremely pure—more honored and matchless than those precious titles “Amitabha” or “Primordial Heavenly Lord”! You foul-mouthed, stinking-tongued fellows must never, under any circumstances, profane these two words—this is crucial. Whenever you must say them, you must first rinse your mouth with clear water and fragrant tea; if you err, you’ll face being pierced in the teeth or having your cheeks slit, and such things.’ He was violent, impetuous, willful, foolish, and eccentric in all sorts of ways. But as soon as school was over and he went inside to see those girls, he became gentle, kind, intelligent, and refined—as if he had changed into a different person. For this reason, his father had beaten him nearly to death several times, but in the end, he could never change. Whenever he was beaten and the pain was unbearable, he would call out wildly ‘Elder sister! Younger sister!’ Later, he heard the girls inside teasing him: ‘When you’re beaten severely, why do you keep calling out “sisters”? Is it to beg them to plead for mercy for you? Aren’t you ashamed?’ His answer was the most wonderful. He said, ‘When the pain is sharp and urgent, calling out the words “elder sister” or “younger sister” might perhaps relieve the pain—who knows? Because when I called out once, I indeed felt the pain lessen, and so I got this secret method: whenever the pain reaches its peak, I call out “sisters” repeatedly.’ Now tell me, isn’t that ridiculous? Also, because his grandmother doted on him without discernment, each time she scolded the son for the grandson’s abuse of the teacher, I therefore resigned from that post. Now I am teaching at the home of the Salt Commissioner Lin. You see—such a young man surely cannot preserve his grandfather’s foundation or heed the admonitions of teachers and elders. It’s only a pity that several of his sisters are extraordinary.”

Zixing said, “As for the Jia family, the three now there are not bad either. The eldest daughter of Lord Zheng, named Yuanchun, has been selected for her virtue, filial piety, talent, and worthiness to enter the palace as a female secretary. The second young lady is the daughter of Lord She’s former wife, named Yingchun; the third young lady is Lord Zheng’s concubine-born daughter, named Tanchun; the fourth young lady is the younger sister of Master Zhen of the Ning family, named Xichun. Because the old Lady Shi greatly loves her granddaughters, they all study together at their grandmother’s place, and I hear they are all quite accomplished.” Yucun said, “What’s even more remarkable is the custom of the Zhen family: they name their daughters just like sons, not using those flowery characters like ‘Spring,’ ‘Red,’ ‘Fragrance,’ or ‘Jade’ as other families do. Why does the Jia family also favor such vulgar conventions?” Zixing said, “Not so. It’s only because the eldest young lady was born on the first day of the first month that she was named Yuanchun, and the rest followed suit, using the character ‘chun.’ For the previous generation, the names also came from the brothers. There’s evidence for this: the wife of your current employer, Lord Lin, is the younger sister of Lords She and Zheng of the Rong family; when at home she was called Jia Min. If you don’t believe me, go back and inquire carefully, and you’ll know.” Yucun clapped the table and laughed, “No wonder this female student, whenever she reads the character ‘Min’ in books, pronounces it as ‘Mi’—she always does this. When writing, when she encounters the character ‘Min,’ she omits one or two strokes. I was a bit puzzled in my mind. Hearing what you’ve said today, it’s undoubtedly for this reason. No wonder this female student of mine has speech and mannerisms that are different, not like those of today’s women. I guessed her mother must have been extraordinary to produce such a daughter. Now that I know she is the granddaughter of the Rong family, it’s no longer strange—but it’s a pity that last month she passed away.” Zixing sighed, “Of the four sisters in the elder generation, this one was the youngest, and now she’s gone. Not one of the elder-generation sisters remains. We can only see what kind of son-in-law the younger generation will find.”

Yucun said, “Exactly. Just now you mentioned that Lord Zheng has a son born with jade, and also a weak grandson left by his eldest son. Does Lord She have none at all?” Zixing said, “After Lord Zheng had the jade-bearing son, his concubine also bore another—whether good or bad, I don’t yet know. For now, he has two sons and one grandson, but the future is uncertain. As for Lord She, he also has two sons. The eldest son is named Jia Lian, now about twenty years old. They married within the family—he married the niece of Lady Wang, Lord Zheng’s wife—and it’s been two years since the wedding. This Master Lian holds a purchased office of sub-prefect; he also doesn’t like to study, but is clever in worldly affairs and his speech is passable, so he currently lives at his uncle Lord Zheng’s house, helping to manage some household affairs. But who would have thought that since he married his wife, there is not a single person above or below who doesn’t praise her—Master Lian has been pushed a bow-shot’s distance back. As for her appearance, it is extremely beautiful; her speech is quick and sharp; her mind is deep and subtle—she is truly one in ten thousand men cannot match.”

Yucun laughed and said, "This proves my earlier point was correct. These people we were just discussing—they are probably all from that same category of those born from the blending of good and evil, who knows?" Zixing said, "Evil or good, never mind about other people's affairs. You should have a drink yourself." Yucun replied, "Indeed, I've been so caught up in talking that I've actually had several cups too many." Zixing laughed, "Gossiping about other people's business is just the thing to go with wine. What harm is there in a few more cups?" Yucun looked out the window and said, "It's getting late. We must be careful not to miss the city gates closing. We can take our time entering the city and continue our talk there—that would be fine." So the two men rose, settled their bill for the wine, and were about to leave when they heard someone call from behind: "Brother Yucun, congratulations! I've come specially to bring you good news." Yucun hurriedly turned his head to look—

If you want to know who it was, listen to the next chapter for the explanation.