Chapter 41: Jia Baoyu tastes tea at Green Bower Hermitage; Granny Liu gets drunk and sleeps in Happy Red Court

Chapter 41: Jia Baoyu Tastes Tea in Green Lattice Nunnery; Granny Liu Gets Drunk and Sleeps in Happy Red Court

As Granny Liu gestured with both hands, saying, “When the flower falls, it bears a big pumpkin,” everyone burst into loud laughter. After they had downed their ceremonial cups, she continued teasingly, “To tell you the truth, my hands and feet are clumsy, and I’ve had some wine; I’m afraid I might drop this porcelain cup. If you have a wooden cup, bring me one—if I drop it on the ground, it won’t matter.” Hearing this, everyone laughed again. Xifeng, hearing her say this, promptly replied with a smile, “If you really want a wooden one, I’ll fetch it. But let me say this first: this wooden cup is not like a porcelain one—they come in a set, and you must drink from every cup in the set for it to work.” Granny Liu thought to herself, “I was just joking for fun, but who knew she actually has such things? I’ve attended feasts at village gentry’s homes before and seen gold and silver cups, but I’ve never heard of wooden cups. Oh, I see—they must be the wooden bowls children use, just trying to trick me into drinking a few more bowls. Never mind; this wine is as sweet as honey water, so a few more bowls won’t hurt.” Having thought this, she said, “Bring them, and we’ll talk.” Xifeng then ordered Feng’er, “Go to the inner room at the front; on the bookshelf, there are ten bamboo-root nested cups—bring them here.” Feng’er acknowledged and was about to leave when Yuanyang laughed, “I know those ten cups are too small. Besides, you just said wooden cups, and now you’re bringing bamboo-root ones—that won’t look good. Why not bring the ten large nested cups carved from a single boxwood root from our place? Fill him up ten times with those.” Xifeng laughed, “Even better.” Yuanyang indeed ordered someone to fetch them. When Granny Liu saw them, she was both surprised and delighted: surprised because there were ten in a row, graded in size from largest to smallest—the largest was as big as a small basin, and the smallest was still twice the size of a regular cup; delighted because they were exquisitely carved, all with landscapes, trees, figures, and even cursive inscriptions and seals. She quickly said, “Just bring the small one; why so many?” Xifeng laughed, “There’s no rule about drinking from just one of these cups. In our house, no one has the capacity for it, so no one dares to use them. Since Grandma wants them, we’ve found them with difficulty—you must drink from each in order for it to work.” Granny Liu, startled, hurriedly said, “I wouldn’t dare. Good young mistress, spare me.” Lady Jia, Aunt Xue, and Lady Wang knew she was elderly and couldn’t handle it, so they quickly said with a smile, “Talking is talking, joking is joking—you mustn’t drink too much. Just drink the first cup.” Granny Liu said, “Amituofo! I’d better use a small cup. Keep this big cup; I’ll take it home and drink it slowly.” This made everyone laugh again. Yuanyang had no choice but to order someone to fill a large cup to the brim, and Granny Liu held it with both hands to drink. Lady Jia and Aunt Xue both said, “Slowly, don’t choke.” Aunt Xue also ordered Xifeng to serve some dishes. Xifeng laughed, “Grandma, what do you want to eat? Name it, and I’ll pick it up and feed you.” Granny Liu said, “What do I know about names? Everything is good.” Lady Jia laughed, “Pick some of that dried eggplant shreds and feed her.” Xifeng, hearing this, did as told and put some dried eggplant shreds into Granny Liu’s mouth, then laughed, “You eat eggplant every day—try ours and see if it’s tasty.” Granny Liu laughed, “Don’t fool me. If eggplant tastes like this, we wouldn’t need to grow grain—we’d just plant eggplant.” Everyone laughed, “It’s really eggplant; we’re not fooling you.” Granny Liu, surprised, said, “Really eggplant? I’ve been eating it for a while without knowing. Young mistress, feed me some more; I’ll chew this mouthful slowly.” Xifeng indeed put another piece into her mouth. Granny Liu chewed slowly for a while, then laughed, “It has a bit of eggplant fragrance, but it still doesn’t seem like eggplant. Tell me how it’s made, so I can make some to eat.” Xifeng laughed, “That’s not hard. Take the freshly picked eggplant, peel the skin, keep only the flesh, cut it into fine dices, fry it in chicken fat, then take chicken breast meat, dried mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, straw mushrooms, spiced dried tofu, and various dried fruits—all cut into dices—and stew them in chicken broth until dry. Add a bit of sesame oil, mix in some fermented rice sauce, and seal it in a porcelain jar. When you want to eat, take some out and mix it with fried chicken shreds.” Granny Liu, hearing this, shook her head and stuck out her tongue, saying, “My Buddha! It takes a dozen chickens to match it—no wonder it tastes like this!” As she spoke and laughed, she slowly finished her wine, still examining the cup with great interest. Xifeng laughed, “Still not satisfied? Have another cup.” Granny Liu quickly said, “No, no—I’d be dead drunk. I just love the craftsmanship; I wonder how he made it.” Yuanyang laughed, “Since you’ve finished the wine, what kind of wood is this cup?” Granny Liu laughed, “No wonder you don’t recognize it, miss—living in these golden gates and embroidered houses, how could you know wood? We spend every day with the woods as neighbors—sleep on them when tired, lean on them when weary, eat them in famine years when hungry—we see them in our eyes every day, hear them in our ears every day, talk about them with our mouths every day. So I can tell good from bad, true from false. Let me have a look.” As she spoke, she examined it carefully for a long time, then said, “A family like yours would never have cheap things; wood that’s easy to get wouldn’t be kept. I weigh this cup—it’s heavy—so it’s definitely not poplar wood; it must be yellow pine.” Hearing this, everyone burst into loud laughter.

Just then, an old woman came to ask Lady Jia, “The young ladies have all arrived at Lotus Fragrance Pavilion. May I request your instructions—shall they perform now or wait a while?” Lady Jia quickly laughed, “Oh, I forgot about them. Tell them to perform now.” The old woman acknowledged and left. Before long, the sound of flutes and pipes rose melodiously, with shengs and flutes playing together. It was a time of clear wind and refreshing air; the music came through the woods and across the water, naturally lifting the spirits and broadening the mind. Baoyu couldn’t restrain himself—he picked up the pot, poured a cup, and drank it all in one gulp. He poured another and was about to drink when he saw Lady Wang also wanting to drink. She ordered someone to heat the wine, and Baoyu quickly took his own cup, brought it to Lady Wang’s lips, and she took two sips from his hand. Soon, the heated wine arrived; Baoyu returned to his seat, and Lady Wang took the warm pot and stepped down from the table. Everyone else also rose; Aunt Xue stood up too. Lady Jia quickly ordered Li Wan and Xifeng to take the pot, saying, “Let your aunt sit down, so everyone can be at ease.” Hearing this, Lady Wang handed the pot to Xifeng and returned to her seat. Lady Jia laughed, “Let’s all have a couple of cups—today is truly enjoyable.” As she spoke, she raised her cup to toast Aunt Xue, then said to Xiangyun and Baochai, “You two sisters have a cup too. Even though your younger sister doesn’t drink much, don’t let her off.” With that, she drained her own cup. Xiangyun, Baochai, and Daiyu also drained theirs. At that moment, Granny Liu, hearing the music and having had some wine, grew even more delighted, waving her hands and stamping her feet. Baoyu left his seat and came over to Daiyu, laughing, “Look at Granny Liu’s antics.” Daiyu laughed, “In ancient times, when the sacred music played, all the beasts danced; now we have just one ox.” The sisters all laughed.

Soon the music stopped. Aunt Xue rose from her seat and laughed, “I think everyone has had enough wine. Let’s go out for a stroll and then sit again.” Lady Jia also wanted to stretch her legs, so everyone left their seats and followed Lady Jia for a walk. Lady Jia, wanting to amuse Granny Liu, took her by the hand and wandered with her among the hills and trees for a while, telling her, “This is such-and-such a tree, this is such-and-such a rock, this is such-and-such a flower.” Granny Liu took it all in, then said to Lady Jia, “Who would have thought that in the city, not only are people noble, but even the birds are noble. As soon as these birds come to your place, they become clever and learn to talk.” The others didn’t understand and asked what bird had become clever and learned to talk. Granny Liu said, “That green-feathered, red-beaked bird on the gold stand in the corridor is a parrot—I recognize it. But how did that black crow in the cage grow a phoenix crest and learn to talk too?” Hearing this, everyone burst out laughing.

Soon after, some maids came to invite them to have some refreshments. Lady Dowager said, "Having drunk two cups of wine, I'm not really hungry. But never mind, just bring them here and we'll all have a bite." The maids went and brought two small tables, along with two small covered boxes. When they opened them, each box contained two kinds of refreshments: in one box there were lotus-root flour and cassia-sugar cakes, and pine-kernel and goose-fat rolls; in the other box there were tiny dumplings about an inch long. Lady Dowager asked what the filling was, and the old serving women hurriedly replied that they were crab-filled. Lady Dowager frowned upon hearing this and said, "These are so greasy—who would eat such things!" The other kind were various small pastries fried in cream, which she also didn't like. So she urged Aunt Xue to eat, but Aunt Xue only picked up a cake. Lady Dowager chose a roll, tasted it, and handed the remaining half to a maid. Granny Liu, seeing that the small pastries were all exquisitely carved and translucent, picked out one shaped like a peony blossom and said with a laugh, "Even the cleverest girls in our place couldn't cut out paper ones as fine as this. I want to eat it, but I can't bear to. I'd rather wrap some up and take them home to use as patterns for embroidery." Everyone laughed. Lady Dowager said, "When you go home, I'll give you a whole jar of them. For now, eat these while they're hot." The others merely picked one or two of their favorites, but Granny Liu had never tasted such things before, and since they were all made so dainty and didn't look like much piled on the plate, she and Ban'er ate a little of each, finishing off half the plate. Of the leftovers, Xifeng had two more plates made up, along with a combined dish, and gave them to the actresses and others to eat. Suddenly the wet nurse brought in little Dajie, and everyone amused her for a while. Dajie was playing with a large pomelo when she suddenly saw Ban'er holding a Buddha's hand citron, and she wanted it too. The maids coaxed her to wait while they fetched one, but Dajie couldn't wait and began to cry. Everyone quickly gave the pomelo to Ban'er and coaxed the Buddha's hand citron from him to give to Dajie, and that settled the matter. As for Ban'er, after playing with the Buddha's hand citron for half the day and now grabbing some fruit to eat with both hands, he suddenly found the pomelo both fragrant and round, much more fun to play with, and even kicked it around like a ball, so he no longer wanted the Buddha's hand citron.

By then, Lady Dowager and the others had finished their tea and took Granny Liu to Green Bower Hermitage. Miaoyu hurriedly welcomed them inside. When they entered the courtyard and saw the luxuriant flowers and trees, Lady Dowager said with a smile, "Indeed, those who cultivate themselves are always tending things; it looks even better here than elsewhere." As she spoke, she headed toward the eastern meditation hall. Miaoyu smiled and invited them in. Lady Dowager said, "We've just been drinking wine and eating meat, and you have bodhisattvas here—it would be a sin to offend them. Let's just sit here for a while; bring us some of your fine tea, and we'll have a cup before we go." Upon hearing this, Miaoyu quickly went to brew the tea. Baoyu watched carefully to see how she would proceed. He saw Miaoyu herself carrying a small tea tray carved with a crabapple blossom design, inlaid with gold and depicting a cloud dragon offering longevity, on which rested a small covered cup of Chenghua ware with five-colored enamel, which she presented to Lady Dowager. Lady Dowager said, "I don't drink Lu'an tea." Miaoyu smiled and replied, "I know. This is Old Man's Eyebrow tea." Lady Dowager took it and then asked what water was used. Miaoyu answered with a smile, "It's rainwater collected last year." Lady Dowager took a sip, then handed the cup with a smile to Granny Liu, saying, "Try this tea." Granny Liu drank it all in one gulp and said with a laugh, "It's good, but a bit weak. If you'd boiled it longer, it would be even better." Lady Dowager and the others all burst out laughing. Then the rest were all served with identical official-ware, thin-bodied, white-glazed covered cups.

Miaoyu then tugged at the sleeves of Baochai and Daiyu, and the two followed her out. Baoyu quietly slipped after them. He saw Miaoyu lead them into a side room, where Baochai sat on a couch and Daiyu sat on Miaoyu's meditation cushion. Miaoyu herself fanned the fire on the brazier, boiled fresh water, and brewed another pot of tea. Baoyu walked in and said with a grin, "So you're all having your private tea, are you?" The two girls laughed and said, "You've come running again to cadge some tea. There's none for you here." Miaoyu was just about to fetch a cup when she saw an old nun clearing away the tea things from the main hall. Miaoyu quickly ordered, "Don't put away that Chenghua cup—leave it outside." Baoyu understood that because Granny Liu had drunk from it, Miaoyu found it too dirty to keep. Then he saw Miaoyu bring out two other cups. One had a handle on the side and was engraved with three characters in clerical script: "Ban Bao Jia," followed by a line in small regular script: "Treasured by Wang Kai of the Jin Dynasty," and another line: "Seen by Su Shi of Meishan in the Secret Treasury in the fifth year of Yuanfeng of the Song Dynasty." Miaoyu poured tea into this vessel and handed it to Baochai. The other cup was shaped like an alms bowl but smaller, also engraved with three characters in seal script shaped like hanging pearls: "Dian Xi Qiao." Miaoyu poured tea into this and gave it to Daiyu. She then took the green jade beaker she usually used herself, poured tea into it, and gave it to Baoyu. Baoyu said with a laugh, "As the saying goes, 'In the Dharma, all is equal.' They get such rare antiques and curiosities, while I get only a common utensil." Miaoyu replied, "Is this a common utensil? I'm not boasting, but I doubt you could find anything like this in your own household." Baoyu laughed and said, "As the saying goes, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' Once I'm here, naturally all gold, jade, and jewels are dismissed as vulgar." Hearing this, Miaoyu was greatly pleased, so she searched out a large cup carved from a whole bamboo root, shaped like a coiled dragon with nine curves, ten rings, and a hundred and twenty segments, and said with a smile, "This is the only one left. Can you drink a whole sea of tea?" Baoyu was delighted and quickly said, "I can!" Miaoyu laughed and said, "Even if you could, I wouldn't waste so much tea. Haven't you heard 'One cup is for savoring; two cups are for quenching thirst like a boor; three cups are for watering oxen and mules'? What would you be if you drank a whole sea?" This made Baochai, Daiyu, and Baoyu all laugh. Miaoyu took the pot and poured only about a cup's worth into the large cup. Baoyu drank it slowly and found it exceptionally light and pure, praising it endlessly. Miaoyu said sternly, "The tea you're drinking today is thanks to those two. If you'd come alone, I wouldn't have given you any." Baoyu smiled and said, "I know that well. I don't owe you any thanks—I'll just thank the two of them." Hearing this, Miaoyu said, "Now that's a sensible remark." Daiyu then asked, "Is this also last year's rainwater?" Miaoyu sneered and said, "For someone like you, you're quite a philistine—you can't even taste the water. This is snow I collected from plum blossoms five years ago when I lived at the Panxiang Temple on Xuanmu Hill. I got a whole celadon-glazed jar of it, but I couldn't bear to drink it, so I buried it underground and only opened it this summer. I've drunk it only once before, and this is the second time. How could you not taste the difference? Rainwater stored from last year could never be so light—how could it be worth drinking?" Daiyu knew that Miaoyu had an eccentric nature, so she didn't say much more, nor did she stay long. After finishing her tea, she invited Baochai and left together.

Baoyu said to Miaoyu with an apologetic smile, "That cup may be dirty, but wouldn't it be a pity to throw it away? In my opinion, why not give it to that poor old woman? She could sell it to make a living. What do you think?" Miaoyu thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's acceptable. Luckily, I never drank from that cup. If I had used it, I'd have smashed it to pieces rather than give it to her. If you want to give it to her, I won't interfere—just take it and get it out of here quickly." Baoyu smiled and said, "Of course. If you were to hand it to her and speak with her, you'd only be sullied too. Just leave it to me." Miaoyu then ordered someone to bring the cup and hand it to Baoyu. Baoyu took it and added, "After we leave, shall I have some servants bring a few buckets of river water to wash the floor?" Miaoyu laughed and said, "Even better, but tell them to leave the water outside the temple gate by the wall and not to come inside." Baoyu said, "Naturally." With that, he tucked the cup into his sleeve and gave it to a little maid from Lady Dowager's quarters, saying, "Tomorrow when Granny Liu goes home, give it to her to take along." Having settled that, Lady Dowager had already come out and was ready to leave. Miaoyu did not press them to stay, escorted them out through the temple gate, turned back, and closed the door. That is all for now.

Meanwhile, Lady Jia felt weary and fatigued, so she instructed Lady Wang and Yingchun and the other girls to accompany Aunt Xue to continue feasting, while she herself went to the Rice Fragrance Village to rest. Xifeng promptly ordered someone to bring a small bamboo chair; Lady Jia sat down, two matrons lifted it, and Xifeng, Li Wan, and the maids and matrons followed in attendance, leaving aside the others. Aunt Xue then took her leave and departed. Lady Wang sent away Wen Guan and the others, distributing the assorted snack boxes to the maids to eat, and then took the opportunity to rest herself, casually reclining on the couch where Lady Jia had just been sitting. She ordered a young maid to let down the curtain, told her to massage her legs, and instructed her: “If there’s any news from the old lady, call me.” With that, she too lay down and fell asleep.

Baoyu, Xiangyun, and the others watched as the maids placed the snack boxes on the rocks. Some sat on the rocks, some on the grass, some leaned against trees, and some stayed by the water, creating a lively scene. After a while, Yuanyang arrived to take Granny Liu on a tour around the garden, and everyone joined in teasing her. Soon they came to the memorial archway of the “Provincial Visitation Villa.” Granny Liu exclaimed, “Oh! There’s a big temple here!” With that, she knelt down and kowtowed, making everyone double over with laughter. Granny Liu said, “What’s so funny? I can read all the characters on this archway. Where I come from, there are plenty of temples like this, all with such archways, and those characters are the temple’s name.” The crowd laughed and said, “Do you know what temple this is?” Granny Liu looked up and pointed at the characters, asking, “Isn’t that ‘Jade Emperor’s Precious Hall’?” Everyone laughed so hard they clapped their hands and stamped their feet, still wanting to make fun of her. Granny Liu felt a sudden rumbling in her belly, quickly grabbed a young maid, asked for two sheets of paper, and began to undress. The crowd laughed again but also hurriedly scolded her, “You can’t do that here!” They quickly ordered a matron to take her to the northeast. The matron pointed out the spot and then happily went off to rest herself.

Because Granny Liu had drunk some wine—which didn’t agree with her constitution—and had also eaten many greasy dishes, she grew thirsty and drank several bowls of tea, inevitably bringing on diarrhea. She squatted for a long time before finishing. When she came out of the latrine, the wind hit her, and being elderly, after squatting so long, she suddenly stood up and felt dizzy, her vision blurred, unable to tell the path. Looking around, she saw only trees, rocks, towers, and houses, but had no idea where any of them led. She had no choice but to slowly follow a cobblestone path. When she reached a building, she couldn’t find the door. After searching for a long time, she suddenly saw a bamboo fence. Granny Liu thought to herself, “So there are bean trellises here too.” As she thought this, she followed a flowering hedge and came to a moon gate, entering through it. Before her lay a pool of water, only seven or eight feet wide, with stone banks, filled with clear green water flowing away, and a white stone bridge spanning it. Granny Liu stepped onto the stone and crossed, then followed a cobblestone path. After two turns, she saw a door. She entered the room and saw a girl facing her, smiling warmly, coming forward to greet her. Granny Liu hurriedly smiled and said, “You young ladies have abandoned me, and I’ve run into this place by accident.” As she spoke, she noticed the girl didn’t answer. Granny Liu reached out to grab her hand, but with a “thud,” she banged into a wooden partition, knocking her head painfully. Looking closely, she saw it was a painting. Granny Liu thought to herself, “So a painting can be so lifelike that it bulges out.” As she thought, she looked and touched it, but it was perfectly flat. She nodded and sighed twice. Turning around, she found a small door with a soft curtain of spring-green fabric embroidered with flowers. Granny Liu lifted the curtain and entered, looked up, and saw walls all around, exquisitely carved, with zithers, swords, vases, and censers mounted on them. Brocade cases and gauze covers gleamed with gold and pearls, and even the floor tiles were jade-green with carved patterns, making her even more dizzy. She tried to find the door to leave, but where was it? To the left was a bookshelf, to the right a screen. Just as she turned behind the screen to find a door, she saw her son’s wife’s mother coming in from outside. Granny Liu was startled and quickly asked, “You must have noticed I haven’t been home for a few days, so you came looking for me. Which young lady brought you in?” Her in-law just smiled and didn’t reply. Granny Liu laughed and said, “You really have no experience. Seeing the flowers in this garden are so beautiful, you’ve gone and stuck them all over your head without regard for life or death.” Her in-law still didn’t answer. Then it suddenly occurred to her: “I’ve often heard that in wealthy families there are full-length mirrors. Could this be me in a mirror?” Saying this, she reached out to touch it, and looking more carefully, it was indeed so—a mirror set into a carved zitan wood partition. So she said, “If this blocks me, how can I get out?” As she spoke, she kept touching it. This mirror was a Western mechanism that could open and close. Unexpectedly, as Granny Liu fumbled around, her strength coincidentally hit the mechanism, pushing the mirror aside, revealing a door. Startled and delighted, Granny Liu stepped out and suddenly saw a most exquisite bed with curtains. By now, she was seven or eight parts drunk and exhausted from walking, so she sat down on the bed with a plop, saying she would rest a bit. But before she knew it, she was swaying back and forth, her eyes blurry, and she lay down and fell fast asleep on the bed.

Meanwhile, the crowd noticed she hadn’t returned. Ban’er, seeing his grandmother missing, cried in panic. Everyone laughed and said, “Could she have fallen into the latrine? Send someone quickly to check.” So they ordered two matrons to look, but they returned saying she wasn’t there. The crowd searched everywhere but couldn’t find her. Xiren guessed her route: “She’s drunk and lost her way, following this path to our back courtyard. If she entered through the flowering hedge to the back door, even if she bumped into things, the young maids would know. But if she didn’t enter the hedge and went southwest instead, if she got out that way, it’d be fine; if not, she’d be wandering around for a good while. Let me go check.” As she thought this, she turned back and entered Happy Red Court, calling out, but the maids in those rooms had sneaked off to play.

Xiren went straight into the main room, passed the screen with the collection of curios, and heard snoring like thunder. She hurried in and smelled the stench of wine and flatulence. Looking around the room, she saw Granny Liu lying on the bed, arms and legs sprawled out, sound asleep. Xiren was greatly alarmed and rushed over, shaking her awake with all her might. Granny Liu woke with a start, opened her eyes, saw Xiren, and quickly sat up, saying, “Miss, I’ve made a mistake! I haven’t soiled the bed or curtains.” As she spoke, she brushed at herself with her hands. Xiren, afraid of alarming others or letting Baoyu find out, just waved her hand at her, signaling her not to speak. She quickly put three or four pinches of lily incense into the censer and covered it with its lid. After tidying up a bit—fortunately, there was no vomiting—she hurriedly said softly, “It’s nothing. I’ll handle it. Follow me out.” Granny Liu followed Xiren out to the young maids’ room, where Xiren had her sit down and told her, “Just say you got drunk and dozed off on the rocks.” Granny Liu agreed. Xiren gave her two bowls of tea, which sobered her up, and then Granny Liu asked, “Which young lady’s embroidery room is this? So exquisite! I feel like I’ve entered heaven.” Xiren smiled faintly and said, “This? It’s Master Bao’s bedroom.” Granny Liu was so frightened she dared not make a sound. Xiren led her out through the front, and when they met the others, she said Granny Liu had been sleeping on the grass and brought her along. The crowd didn’t pay it any mind and let it go.

Soon Lady Jia woke up, and dinner was served in the Rice Fragrance Village. Feeling too weary to eat, Lady Jia had them bring the small bamboo sedan chair and returned to her own quarters to rest, ordering Xifeng and the others to go eat. The girls then went back into the garden. If you want to know what happened next, listen to the next chapter’s explanation.