Chapter 51: Xue Baoqin composes nostalgic poems; the quack doctor prescribes drastic medicine
When the whole company heard that Baoqin, using the historical sites of the various provinces she had visited as her themes, had composed ten poems in the jueju form on ancient places, each containing an enigma about some object, they all praised the idea as original and ingenious. Eagerly they crowded round to read them. The poems read as follows:
The Red Cliffs: A Meditation on the Past (No. 1)
The Red Cliffs lie submerged, the river’s flow is stayed;
In vain a name is left on that empty ship displayed.
A torch loud-crackling, a wind sad and chill—
Unnumbered hero-souls within those waters still.
Jiaozhi: A Meditation on the Past (No. 2)
A bronze-cast bell resounds, the state’s great laws to tell;
Its music spreads overseas, to tribes where wild men dwell.
Ma Yuan’s achievements surely are the greatest known;
No need to speak of Zhang Liang with his iron flute blown.
Zhong Mountain: A Meditation on the Past (No. 3)
Fame and profit never once were your companion true;
Uncalled-for, an imperial summons pulled you from the common view.
Entanglements and ties are hard to sever or to break—
Do not resent the frequent mockery others make.
Huaiyin: A Meditation on the Past (No. 4)
A stalwart man must guard against the cur’s abuse;
When the Three Qi domains are settled, then the coffin’s use.
To the worldly I say: do not despise the lowly born—
The favor of a meal, even in death, is not forsworn.
Guangling: A Meditation on the Past (No. 5)
Cicadas’ chirp and crows’ perch pass in a fleeting glance;
How fares the Sui scenery now, at a single glance?
Only because it won the name of gallantry and grace,
It draws a host of tongues to chatter in that place.
Taoye Ferry: A Meditation on the Past (No. 6)
Decayed grass and idle flowers mirror the shallow pool;
Peach branches and peach leaves forever part, a cruel rule.
The beams and rafters of the Six Dynasties are many so;
A small portrait hangs empty on a wall, a tale of woe.
The Green Mound: A Meditation on the Past (No. 7)
The black waters stretch vast, they choke and will not flow;
The icy strings are plucked, the tune’s grief all to show.
The Han house’s institutions are truly to be sighed;
The worthless trees should feel eternal shame, in disgrace they hide.
Mawei Slope: A Meditation on the Past (No. 8)
Lonely traces of rouge, stained with sweat’s wet gleam;
Her tenderness once given to the eastern stream.
Only because she left behind a trace of amorous art,
Her robes and coverlets even now still fragrant start.
Pudong Temple: A Meditation on the Past (No. 9)
Little Hong, with her humble bones, was light and small;
By stealth she was led and carried, forced to comply with all.
Though often by the lady she was hung up high,
She had already lured that man to go with her nearby.
Plum Blossom Nunnery: A Meditation on the Past (No. 10)
Not by the plum, but by the willow, the place is found;
Who will pick up the painted beauty on that ground?
Do not remember the arrival of fragrant spring when all is well—
Parting with the west wind, another year must tell.
After reading these, everyone exclaimed at their subtlety and excellence. Baochai was the first to speak: “The first eight poems are based on historical records, but the last two have no verifiable source. We don’t really understand them, so it would be better to compose two others instead.” Daiyu promptly interrupted: “Sister Baochai is being far too rigid and pedantic! Even if the last two have no historical basis, and even if we haven’t read those unofficial histories and don’t know the details, haven’t we at least seen the two operas? Even a three-year-old child knows them, let alone us!” Tanchun said, “Exactly.” Li Wan added, “Besides, she has actually been to those places. Although these two stories cannot be verified, from ancient times to the present, errors have been handed down, and meddlesome people have deliberately created these historical sites to fool others. For instance, when I came to the capital that year, I saw three or four different tombs of Lord Guan alone. Lord Guan’s whole life’s achievements are all well-documented; how could he have so many tombs? Naturally, later generations, out of admiration for his conduct during his lifetime, may have fabricated these from that admiration. When you look at the ‘Comprehensive Gazetteer,’ it’s not just Lord Guan’s tombs that are numerous; since ancient times, men of some reputation have many tombs, and there are even more unverifiable historical sites. Now, although these two poems cannot be verified, everything in storytelling, opera, and even the verses on fortune sticks are annotated and known by everyone—old and young, male and female, in common sayings and everyday talk. Besides, it’s not like we’re reading the lyrics of ‘The Western Chamber’ or ‘The Peony Pavilion,’ fearing that they are immoral books. There’s no harm; let them stay.” Only then did Baochai desist. Everyone tried to guess the riddles, but none succeeded.
The winter days are short; before they knew it, it was time for the evening meal in the front hall, and they all went together to eat. Just then, someone reported to Lady Wang: “Hua Zifang, Xiren’s brother, has come to say that his mother is very ill and misses her daughter. He begs for the favor of taking Xiren home for a visit.” Lady Wang heard this and said, “A mother and daughter—how could I refuse to let her go?” She immediately called for Xifeng, told her about it, and ordered her to handle the arrangements properly.
Xifeng agreed and returned to her room, where she told Mrs. Zhou to inform Xiren of the reason. She also instructed Mrs. Zhou: “Take another married attendant with you. The two of you, plus two little maids, will accompany Xiren. Outside, assign four older men to follow the carriage. Prepare one large carriage for you to ride in, and one small one for the maids.” Mrs. Zhou acknowledged and was about to leave when Xifeng added, “Xiren is a sensible girl. Tell her from me: she is to wear some colorful, good-quality clothes, and pack a large bundle of garments, using a good wrapping cloth. She should also take a good hand-warmer. Before she leaves, have her come and let me see her.” Mrs. Zhou agreed and left.
After a while, Xiren indeed came, dressed and ready, with two maids and Mrs. Zhou carrying her hand-warmer and clothes bundle. Xifeng saw that Xiren wore several gold hairpins and pearl bracelets on her head, quite ornate, and that she was dressed in a peach-red gown embroidered with a hundred children in kesi, lined with ermine, an onion-green brocade skirt with gold-thread embroidery, and a black satin jacket lined with squirrel fur. Xifeng laughed and said, “These three garments were all given to you by the Lady, and they suit you well, but this jacket is too plain, and it’s cold to wear now. You should put on a heavy fur one.” Xiren replied with a smile, “The Lady only gave me this squirrel-fur jacket and one ermine one. She said I’ll get a heavy fur one at New Year’s, but I haven’t received it yet.” Xifeng laughed, “I do have a heavy fur one, but I don’t like the way the fur trim is done; I was about to have it altered. Very well, I’ll let you wear it for now. When the Lady gives you one at New Year’s, I’ll have one made for myself then. Just consider it as if you’re repaying me.” Everyone laughed and said, “You’re always saying things like that, ma’am. Year in and year out, you’ve been generous and secretly made up for many things the Lady has overlooked, truly spending more than you can tell—and how could you ever settle accounts with her? And now you make such a petty joke!” Xifeng laughed, “How could the Lady think of all these things? After all, this isn’t a serious matter. If I didn’t take care of it, it would reflect badly on all of us. I don’t mind taking a little loss myself to dress everyone decently, so I can at least earn a good name. If everyone looked like burned pancakes, people would laugh at me, saying that as the manager, I’ve turned everyone into beggars.” Everyone sighed and said, “Who is as wise as you, ma’am? You consider the Lady above, and you care for the servants below.” As they spoke, Xifeng ordered Pinger to bring out the azure-blue kesi jacket with eight medallions and a lining of celestial horse fur from yesterday and give it to Xiren. She then looked at the bundle, which was only a lined cloth of speckled black flowers on a water-red silk lining, containing just two half-worn cotton-padded jackets and a fur jacket. Xifeng then ordered Pinger to bring out a woolen brocade bundle with a jade-colored silk lining, and also to pack a snow cape.
Pinger went and brought them out: one was a half-worn bright red felt cape, and the other a bright red feather satin one. Xiren said, “One of these is already more than I deserve.” Pinger laughed, “Take this felt one. And take this other one along, and have someone send it to Miss Xing. Yesterday it snowed so heavily, and everyone had a cape—either felt or feather satin or feather silk. A dozen bright red garments looked so splendid against the snow. But she was the only one wearing that old felt cape, which made her look all hunched and shivering—so pitiful. Now give her this one.” Xifeng laughed, “So my things, she gives away without asking me! I can’t even spend enough for myself, and with you adding to it, it’s even better!” Everyone laughed, “This is all because you, ma’am, are usually so respectful to the Lady and so kind to the servants. If you were usually stingy and cared only about things, without regard for the servants, how would Miss Pinger dare to act like this?” Xifeng laughed, “So the one who knows my heart is only her, and even then, only three parts of it.” With that, she again instructed Xiren: “If your mother recovers, that’s fine; but if she’s beyond help, just stay there and send someone to let me know. I’ll send someone else to bring your bedding. Don’t use other people’s bedding or combs and toiletries.” She also told Mrs. Zhou, “You naturally know the rules here, so I don’t need to instruct you.” Mrs. Zhou replied, “I know. When we get there, we’ll make sure all their people keep out of the way. If we stay, we’ll be sure to ask for one or two inner rooms.” With that, she followed Xiren out, then ordered a lantern to be prepared, and they got into the carriage and went to Hua Zifang’s home. No more of this for now.
Here Xifeng also summoned two of the old nurses from Happy Red Court and instructed them: “Xiren probably won’t be coming back. You know which of the senior maids are reliable; pick two to keep watch in Baoyu’s room at night. You must also look after things properly and not let Baoyu misbehave.” The two nurses left and returned shortly to report: “We have assigned Qingwen and Sheyue to the room. The four of us were originally taking turns to oversee the night watch.” Xifeng nodded and said, “Urge him to sleep early in the evening and get up early in the morning.” The old nurses acknowledged this and returned to the Garden. Soon after, a maid from Zhou Rui’s household brought word back to Xifeng: “Xiren’s mother has already been laid out; she cannot come back.” Xifeng reported this to Lady Wang and sent someone to Grand View Garden to fetch Xiren’s bedding and toilet articles.
Baoyu watched as Qingwen and Sheyue made the arrangements. After the things were sent off, Qingwen and Sheyue removed their daytime makeup and changed out of their skirts and jackets. Qingwen just sat huddled on the brazier cage. Sheyue laughed and said, “Don’t play the fine lady today; I advise you to stir yourself a bit.” Qingwen replied, “When you’ve all gone, I’ll stir myself soon enough. As long as you’re here, I’ll take my ease.” Sheyue laughed, “Good sister, I’ll make the bed; you let down the cover of the full-length mirror and fasten the clasp. You’re a bit taller than me.” With that, she went to make Baoyu’s bed. Qingwen gave a sigh and laughed, “I’ve only just got warm, and you come to disturb me.” Baoyu was sitting there feeling glum, wondering whether Xiren’s mother was alive or dead, when he heard Qingwen say this. He got up himself, went out, lowered the mirror cover, fastened the catch, and came back in, laughing, “You two warm yourselves; it’s all done.” Qingwen laughed, “I’ll never get warm properly. I’ve just remembered the hot-water bottle hasn’t been brought yet.” Sheyue said, “That was thoughtful of you! She never uses a hot-water bottle anyway. Our brazier cage is warm; not like that room with its cold kang. We can do without it tonight.” Baoyu laughed, “What you say is true, but if you both sleep on that cage, I’ll be alone out here, and I’m rather scared—I won’t sleep a wink all night.” Qingwen said, “I’ll stay here. Sheyue can sleep outside.” As they spoke, it was already the second watch. Sheyue had already let down the curtains, trimmed the lamp, added incense, and attended to Baoyu until he lay down, after which the two girls went to sleep.
Qingwen lay on the brazier cage, and Sheyue slept outside the warm inner room. After the third watch, in his dreams, Baoyu called out for Xiren. He called twice, but no one answered. He woke up and, remembering that Xiren wasn’t home, found it amusing. Qingwen was already awake and called out laughing to Sheyue, “Even I woke up, and she was right there beside him and didn’t know—she’s like a dead body propped up.” Sheyue turned over, yawned, and laughed, “He called Xiren—what’s that got to do with me?” Then she asked what he wanted. Baoyu wanted tea. Sheyue hurriedly got up, wearing only a red silk padded jacket. Baoyu said, “Put on my jacket before you go, mind you don’t catch cold.” Hearing this, Sheyue reached back and put on the sable-edged, full-front warm jacket Baoyu used for getting up at night. She went down, washed her hands in the basin, poured a cup of warm water, took the large rinsing bowl, let Baoyu rinse his mouth, then fetched a teacup from the tea shelf, rinsed it with warm water, poured half a cup of tea from the hot-water pot, and handed it to Baoyu to drink. She also rinsed her own mouth and drank half a cup. Qingwen laughed, “Good little sister, spare a mouthful for me.” Sheyue laughed, “You’re getting greedier by the minute!” Qingwen said, “Dear sister, tomorrow night don’t stir; I’ll wait on you all night—how about that?” Hearing this, Sheyue had no choice but to let her rinse her mouth and pour her half a cup of tea to drink. Sheyue laughed, “Don’t you two go to sleep; keep talking. I’m going out for a moment and I’ll be back.” Qingwen laughed, “There’s a ghost waiting for you outside.” Baoyu said, “There’s sure to be a bright moon outside. You go ahead while we talk.” As he spoke, he coughed twice.
Sheyue opened the back door and lifted the felt curtain to look. Indeed, the moonlight was beautiful. Qingwen, seeing her go out, wanted to startle her for fun. Relying on her usual robust health, she wasn’t afraid of the cold. Without putting on a jacket, wearing only her short padded garment, she tiptoed down from the brazier cage and followed her out. Baoyu laughed and warned, “Mind you don’t catch cold—this is no joke.” Qingwen just waved her hand and went out the door. The moonlight was like water. Suddenly a light breeze struck her, piercing to the bone, and she couldn’t help shivering. She thought to herself, “No wonder people say a warm body shouldn’t be exposed to the wind—this cold is truly severe.” Just as she was about to startle Sheyue, she heard Baoyu call out loudly from inside, “Qingwen has gone out!” Qingwen hurried back in and laughed, “Did you think I’d scare her to death? You’re always acting like an old woman, all fuss and bother!” Baoyu laughed, “It’s not that I’m afraid she’ll be scared—first, you’ll catch cold, which is bad; second, if she’s taken by surprise, she might scream, and if she wakes others, they won’t think we’re playing—they’ll say that the very night Xiren is away, you’re seeing ghosts and goblins. Come and tuck in my quilt here.” Qingwen came up, tucked it in, and reached in to feel. Baoyu laughed, “Your hands are freezing! I told you to mind the cold.” He saw that Qingwen’s cheeks were as red as rouge; he touched them and found them icy cold. Baoyu said, “Quick, get under the covers and warm up.” Before he finished, there was a creak as the door opened, and Sheyue came rushing in, laughing nervously, “I got such a fright. In the shadows, behind the rockery, I saw someone crouching. I was about to scream, but it was that big golden pheasant. When it saw me, it flew off into the light, and then I saw it clearly. If I’d yelled out thoughtlessly, it would have roused people.” As she spoke, she washed her hands and laughed again, “How is it I didn’t see Qingwen go out? She must have been going to scare me.” Baoyu laughed, “Here she is, warming up! If I hadn’t called out quickly, you’d have had a fright indeed.” Qingwen laughed, “I didn’t need to scare her—this little minx has scared herself.” As she spoke, she went back to her own bedding. Sheyue said, “Did you go out dressed like that, all smart as if you were going to a horse fair?” Baoyu laughed, “That’s exactly how she went.” Sheyue said, “You couldn’t have picked a worse time! If you’d stood out there a moment, the skin would have frozen off you.” With that, she lifted the copper cover from the brazier, used the ash shovel to stir the live coals and arrange them, picked up two pieces of plain incense and put them on, replaced the cover, went behind the screen to trim the lamp again, and then finally lay down.
Because she had been cold just now and now warm again, Qingwen couldn’t help sneezing twice. Baoyu sighed, “See? You’ve caught a chill after all.” Sheyue laughed, “She got up this morning complaining she didn’t feel well and didn’t eat all day. Now she won’t take care of herself and still wants to play tricks. If she falls ill tomorrow, she’ll have only herself to blame.” Baoyu asked, “Is your head feverish?” Qingwen coughed twice and said, “It’s nothing—since when am I so delicate?” As she spoke, the chiming clock on the filigree shelf in the outer room struck two, and the old nurse on night duty there coughed twice and said, “You young ladies go to sleep; we’ll talk tomorrow.” Baoyu then whispered with a laugh, “Let’s not talk anymore, or we’ll get them chattering again.” With that, they all went to sleep.
By the time she woke up the next day, Qingwen indeed felt a stuffy nose and a heavy voice, too lazy to move. Baoyu said, "Don't make a sound about it quickly! If Madam finds out, she'll make you move back home to recuperate. Going home is fine, but it's colder there; it's better to stay here. You just lie down in the inner room, and I'll have someone call a doctor, who can come quietly through the back gate to take a look." Qingwen replied, "Even so, you really should tell the elder mistress; otherwise, when the doctor comes and someone asks, what will we say?" Baoyu thought this made sense, so he called an old nanny and instructed her, "Go tell the elder mistress that Qingwen caught a bit of a chill during the day, nothing serious. Xiren isn't home either; if she goes home to recover, there'll be even fewer people here. Have a doctor come quietly through the back gate to examine her, but don't report it to Madam." The old nanny left for quite a while, then returned to report, "The elder mistress knows and says if a couple of doses of medicine cure it, fine; if not, it's better to leave. The season's unhealthy now; it's a small matter if she infects others, but the young ladies' health is important." Qingwen, lying in the warm alcove, kept coughing and, upon hearing this, fumed, "When did I ever catch the plague that I'd infect anyone? If I leave this place, see if any of you ever have a headache or fever for the rest of your lives!" With that, she started to get up. Baoyu quickly held her down and laughed, "Don't be angry; it's just her duty, afraid Madam might scold her if she finds out. She's just saying it casually. You're always quick to anger, so naturally your liver fire is strong now."
Just as they were speaking, someone reported the doctor had arrived. Baoyu stepped over and hid behind the bookshelf. He saw two or three old nannies from the back gate bring a doctor in. The maids here all withdrew, and three or four old nannies lowered the large red embroidered curtain over the warm alcove. Qingwen stretched out only her hand from behind the curtain. When the doctor saw that this hand had two fingernails, fully three inches long, with traces of gold phoenix flower dye still bright red, he quickly turned his head away. An old nanny promptly covered it with a handkerchief. Only then did the doctor take her pulse for a while, then stood up and went to the outer room, saying to the nannies, "The young lady's ailment is an external chill combined with internal stagnation. The season's unhealthy lately, so it's a mild case of typhoid fever. Fortunately, the young lady usually eats lightly, and the chill isn't severe; it's just that her blood and energy are inherently weak, and she's caught a bit by chance. A couple of doses of medicine to disperse it will cure her." With that, he followed the women out.
By then, Li Wan had already sent word to the back gate personnel and the maids to keep out of sight, so the doctor only saw the garden scenery and not a single woman. Soon, after leaving the garden, he sat in the guard's room at the garden gate and wrote out a prescription. The old nanny said, "Sir, don't leave just yet; our young master is fussy and might have more to say." The doctor quickly asked, "Was that not a young lady just now, but a young gentleman? That room was just like a boudoir, with the curtain down too—how could it be a gentleman?" The old nanny chuckled quietly, "My good sir, no wonder the servants said just now that they'd called in a new doctor today—you really don't know our household. That room belongs to our young master; the person inside was his maid, a senior maid, not a young lady at all. If it were a young lady's boudoir and she were ill, would you have gotten in so easily?" With that, she took the prescription and went inside.
When Baoyu looked at it, it contained herbs like perilla, platycodon, saposhnikovia, and schizonepeta, followed by immature bitter orange and ephedra. Baoyu exclaimed, "Damn it, damn it! He's treating girls the same way he treats us—how can that work! No matter what internal stagnation she has, how can she withstand such things as immature bitter orange and ephedra? Who called him? Send him off quickly! Get another experienced doctor." The old woman said, "We don't know about whether the medicine is good or not. It's easy enough to send a servant to fetch Dr. Wang again, but this doctor wasn't summoned through the steward's office, so we have to give him his sedan-chair fare." Baoyu asked, "How much should he get?" The woman replied, "Too little wouldn't look right; it has to be at least one tael of silver to match our household's etiquette." Baoyu asked, "What do we give Dr. Wang when he comes?" The woman laughed, "Dr. Wang and Dr. Zhang never get paid each time; we just send them gifts at the four major festivals each year—that's the fixed annual custom. This fellow's new here, so we have to give him one tael." Upon hearing this, Baoyu told Sheyue to fetch the silver. Sheyue said, "I don't know where Sister Xiren keeps it." Baoyu said, "I often saw her take money from that mother-of-pearl-inlaid cabinet. I'll look with you." So saying, the two went to Baoyu's storage room and opened the mother-of-pearl cabinet. The top shelf held brushes, inkstones, fans, incense cakes, various pouches, and sashes; the bottom shelf held several strings of cash. Opening a drawer, they saw a small basket with a few lumps of silver and a small steelyard. Sheyue picked up a lump of silver, lifted the steelyard, and asked Baoyu, "Which mark is for one tael?" Baoyu laughed, "You're asking me? That's funny—you're acting like a newcomer." Sheyue laughed too and was about to ask someone else. Baoyu said, "Just pick the biggest one and give it to him. We're not running a business—why bother with weighing!" Sheyue heard this, put down the steelyard, picked a lump, weighed it in her hand, and laughed, "This lump might be about one tael. Better too much than too little; don't let that poor fellow mock us, saying we're stingy instead of admitting we don't know the steelyard." The old woman, standing on the steps outside, laughed, "That's half of a five-tael ingot; this piece must be at least two taels! There's no cutting shears now, miss. Put that one away and pick a smaller one." Sheyue had already closed the cabinet and come out, laughing, "Who's going to look again! If it's too much, take it anyway." Baoyu said, "Just hurry and tell Mingyan to fetch Dr. Wang again." The old woman took the silver and went to handle matters.
Soon enough, Mingyan indeed brought Dr. Wang. After taking her pulse, he described the symptoms similarly to the previous diagnosis, but on the prescription, there were indeed no herbs like immature bitter orange or ephedra; instead, there were angelica, tangerine peel, white peony, and such, with the doses also reduced compared to the earlier one. Baoyu was delighted, "Now this is proper medicine for girls! Even though it's meant to disperse things, it shouldn't be too strong. Last year when I was ill with typhoid and food stagnation, he examined me and said I couldn't tolerate such harsh drugs as ephedra, gypsum, and immature bitter orange. Compared to you, I'm like an old poplar tree that's grown for decades in a wild graveyard, while you're like the white crabapple that Yun'er brought me in autumn, just blooming. If even I can't handle such medicine, how can you possibly endure it?" Sheyue and the others laughed, "Are there only poplars in wild graves? Aren't there pines and cypresses? What I dislike most is the poplar—such a big, clumsy tree, with only a few leaves, and even without a breath of wind, it rustles noisily. You compare yourself to that—how low-class!" Baoyu laughed, "I wouldn't dare compare myself to pines and cypresses. Even Confucius said, 'When winter comes, we know the pine and cypress are the last to wither.' So those two things are noble; only someone shameless would use them carelessly for comparison."
As they spoke, an old woman brought the medicine. Baoyu ordered the silver pot for decocting medicine to be found and had it heated on the brazier. Qingwen said, "It would be better to have it decocted in the tea room properly; filling this room with the smell of medicine won't do." Baoyu said, "The smell of medicine is more elegant than any flower's fragrance or fruit's aroma. Immortals gather and burn herbs, and reclusive scholars gather and prepare them—it's the finest thing. I've been thinking this room has everything except the scent of medicine; now it's perfect." As he spoke, he had someone set it to simmer. He also instructed Sheyue to prepare things and send an old nanny to see Xiren, urging her not to cry too much. After attending to everything properly, he went to the front to pay his respects to Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang and have his meal.
Just then, Xifeng was in the midst of discussing with Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang: “The days are short and cold now; wouldn’t it be better if from now on the elder sister-in-law could have the young ladies eat in the Garden? When the days grow longer and warmer, they can run back and forth again without harm.” Lady Wang laughed and said, “That’s a good idea. It would also be convenient when there’s wind or snow. If they eat something after being chilled, it’s no good either—coming on an empty stomach, with a belly full of cold wind, then pressing food on top of that is also bad. It would be better to use those five large rooms inside the back garden gate—since there are women on night watch there anyway—and pick two women cooks to prepare meals just for the sisters. Fresh vegetables are already allocated; they can draw supplies from the main storehouse, or ask for money or goods. As for the pheasants, roe deer, gourds, and all sorts of game, just share some of those with them.” Grandmother Jia said, “I was thinking the same thing, but I was afraid adding another kitchen might cause extra trouble.” Xifeng replied, “It’s not much trouble at all. The same allocations apply—if we add here, we reduce there. Even if it takes a bit more effort, the young ladies braving the cold wind—others may endure, but first and foremost, how could Sister Lin bear it? Even Brother Bao can’t stand it, let alone the other young ladies.” Grandmother Jia said, “That’s exactly it. I wanted to mention this before, but I saw you had so many major matters to handle, and now there’s more being added...” To learn what happened next, turn to the following chapter.