Chapter 73: The foolish maid picks up a sachet with a spring scene; the cowardly lady does not question the lost gold phoenix

CHAPTER 73

A Foolish Maid Unwittingly Picks Up a Brocade Pouch of Amorous Charms

A Timid Young Lady Refuses to Ask About a Heavy Gold Phoenix Hairpin

Just as Concubine Zhao and Jia Zheng were talking, they suddenly heard a crash from the outer room and wondered what it was. Upon asking, they found that a window frame had not been fastened properly, and its hinge had broken, causing it to fall down. Concubine Zhao scolded the maids a few times, then led the servants herself to fix it before returning to see Jia Zheng settled for the night. But no more of this.

Now, in Happy Red Court, Baoyu had just lain down to sleep, and the maids were about to disperse and rest for the night when they suddenly heard someone knocking at the courtyard gate. The old woman opened the gate and saw that it was a maid named Xiaoque from Concubine Zhao's apartments. When asked what the matter was, Xiaoque did not answer but went straight inside to find Baoyu. Baoyu had only just lain down, and Qingwen and the others were still sitting by the bedside, laughing and chatting. Seeing her come, they all asked, "What is it? Why have you come running over at this hour?" Xiaoque smiled and said to Baoyu, "I've come to tell you some news. Just now our mistress said such-and-such to the master before him. You'd better watch out—tomorrow he's bound to question you." With that, she turned and left. Xiren told her to stay for tea, but for fear of the gate being locked, she went straight off.

When Baoyu heard this, he felt like the Great Sage Sun when he heard the Tight-Band Spell—suddenly his whole body and limbs, his four limbs and five viscera, all were thrown into discomfort. He thought it over and over, but could see no other way than to get his texts thoroughly familiar to prepare for the next day's interrogation. If he could recite without error, even if other matters arose, he might be able to fudge his way through half of them. So thinking, he hastily threw on his clothes and got up to study. Yet inwardly he regretted that these past days he had told himself he wouldn't think about it, only to let his lessons slip; he should have known to review a little every day, come what may. Now, as he took stock, the only things he could recite from memory were the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, and the Analects—both books, complete with commentaries. As for the first half of Mencius, half of it was half-baked; if a line were quoted out of context, he certainly could not continue the passage. By the second half of Mencius, he had forgotten a good part. As for the Five Classics, because he had been composing poetry lately, he had read a bit of the Book of Songs; though he was far from proficient, it might serve to patch things up. As for the others, he didn't remember them, but fortunately Jia Zheng had never ordered him to read them, so ignorance might not be a problem. As for ancient prose, the few pieces he had studied in past years—including passages from the Zuo Commentary, the Strategies of the Warring States, the Gongyang Commentary, the Guliang Commentary, and works from Han and Tang dynasties—amounted to only a few dozen pieces. In recent years he had not reviewed a single half-page or phrase; though he had glanced over them in idle moments, it was only on a whim, reading and forgetting at once, with no hard work invested—how could he remember them? This was definitely impossible to bluff through. And as for the eight-legged essay style, he had always detested it; it was not something the sages had created, so how could it elucidate the profound subtleties of the sages? It was merely a stepping-stone for later generations to seek fame and profit. Though Jia Zheng had, before his departure, selected over a hundred pieces for him to read, he had only occasionally looked at them when he found a passage here or there—perhaps a couple of "legs" in an essay, or the opening and transition sections—that was exquisitely crafted, or free-flowing, or playful, or sad, and slightly stirred his emotions. He would read such passages on a whim, but had he ever seriously studied a whole piece? Now, if he reviewed this, he feared the next day's questioning would be on that; if he reviewed that, he feared the interrogation would be on this. Besides, one night's effort could not possibly cover everything. Thus his anxiety only increased. His own study was bad enough, but it dragged all the maids in the room into sleeplessness. Xiren, Sheyue, Qingwen, and the other senior maids were naturally exempt; they trimmed the lamp and poured tea by his side. But the younger maids were drowsy-eyed, swaying forward and backward. Qingwen scolded, "What little wretches are you? All day and night you lie about like corpses, and you can't get enough of it. For once, because you sleep a little late, you put on these airs. If you go on like this, I'll give you a couple of pricks with my needle!"

Before she had finished speaking, there was a thud from the outer room. They hurriedly looked and saw that a little maid, dozing as she sat, had knocked her head against the wall and been startled awake from her dream. Just at the moment Qingwen spoke, the maid, dazed, thought Qingwen had hit her, and sobbed, "Dear sister, I won't dare again." Everyone burst out laughing. Baoyu quickly urged, "Let her off. You really ought to let them all go to sleep. You should take turns sleeping too." Xiren hastily said, "My little ancestor, just mind your own business. You have only this one night's time; put your heart temporarily into these few books. Once you've gotten past this hurdle, you can attend to other things—and it won't be too late." Baoyu heard the sincerity in her words and had no choice but to read on. He had read only a few lines when Sheyue poured him another cup of tea to moisten his throat. Baoyu took the tea and drank it. Noticing that Sheyue was only wearing a short jacket, having taken off her skirt, Baoyu said, "The night is quiet and cold; you really should put on a long outer garment." Sheyue smiled and pointed at the book, saying, "For the moment, forget about us, and just turn your heart a little toward that."

Before she had finished speaking, Venus Glass ran in from the back door, shouting, "Something terrible! Someone jumped down from the wall!" Everyone heard this and quickly asked where, then raised a hue and cry, searching everywhere. Qingwen, seeing Baoyu exhausted from studying all night and uncertain of success the next day, had been thinking of a way to help him escape this predicament. This sudden fright gave her an idea, and she said to Baoyu, "Take this chance to pretend you're ill, say you've been scared." This suited Baoyu perfectly, so he called for the night watchmen, who lit lanterns and searched everywhere but found no trace. They said, "The young girls must have seen things in a daze, or mistaken wind-blown branches for people." Qingwen retorted, "Don't talk nonsense! You didn't search carefully and are afraid of blame, so you make excuses. It wasn't just one person who saw it; Baoyu and we went out on business, and we all saw it with our own eyes. Now Baoyu's face is pale with fright, and he's burning with fever. I'm about to go to the main hall to get calming medicine. When the mistress asks, we'll have to explain clearly. Do you think we can just let it go with your words?" The crowd, terrified, dared not speak and had to search again. Qingwen and Glass indeed went out to get the medicine, deliberately making a fuss so everyone knew Baoyu had been frightened. Lady Wang heard and immediately sent someone to check on him and give the medicine, then ordered all night watchmen to search thoroughly, and also called for the young servants on duty outside the second gate by the garden wall to be investigated. So the garden was lit with lanterns and torches all night long. By the fifth watch, the stewards and stewardesses were summoned and ordered to conduct a careful investigation, interrogating all inside and outside night watchmen. When the Dowager heard Baoyu had been frightened, she asked for the details, and the crowd, daring not conceal anything further, had to report truthfully. The Dowager said, "I had long expected something like this. That the night watchmen are careless is a minor matter; I fear they might even be the thieves themselves." At that moment, Lady Xing and Lady You came to pay their respects, with Xifeng, Li Wan, and the young ladies in attendance. Hearing the Dowager speak thus, they all fell silent. Only Tanchun rose from her seat and said with a smile, "Recently, because Sister Xifeng has been unwell, the people in the garden have grown much more reckless than before. At first, they only stole moments now and then, or when sitting night watch, three or four would gather to throw dice or play cards for small stakes, just to stay awake. Lately, it's developed further, and they've started gambling rings, even with bankers and dealers, with losses of thirty, fifty, or three hundred strings of cash. Half a month ago, there was even a fight." The Dowager heard this and said quickly, "If you knew, why didn't you report it to us earlier?" Tanchun replied, "I thought the mistress had many affairs and had been unwell for days, so I didn't report it. I only told the elder sister-in-law and the managers, and warned them several times; it's been better lately." The Dowager said hastily, "You're a young lady, how could you understand the dangers involved? You think gambling is a common matter, only fearing disputes. But you don't realize that if they gamble at night, they can't help drinking; and if they drink, they can't avoid leaving doors unlocked. They might go out to buy things, or look for this person or that; in the quiet of the night with few people, they might harbor thieves or seducers, or invite robbers—what couldn't happen? Moreover, the young ladies in the garden are attended by maids and married women, a mix of good and bad. Theft is a small matter; if something else occurs, even a slight taint would be serious. How can this be lightly forgiven?" When Tanchun heard this, she silently returned to her seat. Xifeng, though not fully recovered, had less energy than usual, and seeing the Dowager so angry, said quickly, "And I had to fall ill just now." She turned and ordered someone to summon Lin Zhixiao's wife and the other four stewardesses in charge of household affairs, and had them reprimanded in front of the Dowager. The Dowager ordered an immediate investigation into the bankers and gamblers, offering a reward for informants and penalties for concealing the truth. Lin Zhixiao's wife and the others, seeing the Dowager enraged, dared not show favoritism. They hurried to the garden, gathered everyone, and interrogated them one by one. Though many denied it, the truth eventually came out. They found three chief bankers, eight minor bankers, and over twenty gamblers in total. All were brought before the Dowager, kneeling in the courtyard and kowtowing for mercy. The Dowager first asked for the names of the chief bankers and the amounts of money. The three chief bankers turned out to be: one was Lin Zhixiao's wife's relative by marriage, one was the sister of Cook Liu's wife in the garden kitchen, and one was Yingchun's wet nurse. These were the ringleaders; the rest were too numerous to record. The Dowager ordered the dice and cards burned, the money confiscated and distributed among the others, the ringleaders each given forty strokes with a heavy board and expelled, never to be allowed back in; the followers each given twenty strokes, three months' wages deducted, and assigned to latrine duty. She also reprimanded Lin Zhixiao's wife severely. Lin Zhixiao's wife, feeling embarrassed that her relative had brought shame on her, was discomfited. Yingchun, present, also felt awkward. Daiyu, Baochai, and Tanchun, seeing Yingchun's wet nurse in such trouble, felt a sense of kinship and rose, smiling, to plead with the Dowager: "This nanny never used to gamble; we don't know why she took it up suddenly. Please, for Second Sister's sake, forgive her this once." The Dowager said, "You don't understand. These wet nurses, each relying on having nursed young masters and ladies, think they're above others. They stir up trouble, more odious than anyone, and specialize in inciting their mistresses to be partial and shield them. I've experienced it all. Besides, I needed to make an example of someone, and just happened to find one. Don't interfere; I know what I'm doing." Baochai and the others, hearing this, had to desist.

Soon after, the Dowager took her afternoon nap, and everyone dispersed. Knowing the Dowager was angry, none dared to go home, and they all waited here temporarily. Lady You went to Xifeng's place to chat for a while, but feeling uneasy, she then went to the garden to find the young ladies and sisters-in-law for casual talk. Lady Xing sat with Lady Wang for a bit, then also went to the garden to relax. As she reached the garden gate, she saw a young maid from the Dowager's quarters, Simple Sister, walking over with a smile, holding something colorful in her hand, head down, looking at it as she walked, not noticing Lady Xing until she looked up and stopped. Lady Xing said, "This silly girl, what dog-ignorant thing have you found that makes you so happy? Let me see it."

This Simple Sister was only fourteen or fifteen, newly assigned to the Dowager's quarters to carry water buckets and sweep the yard, doing rough work. Because she was stout, with a broad face and big feet, she was quick and efficient at menial tasks, but also simple-minded, understanding nothing, often acting and speaking improperly. The Dowager liked her briskness and the way her words could provoke laughter, so she named her "Doltish Sister," often amusing herself with her without restraint, and thus also called her "Silly Girl." Even if she was rude, because the Dowager favored her, no one was harsh with her. Relying on this privilege, when the Dowager didn't call her, she would wander into the garden to play. That day, while digging for crickets in the garden, she suddenly found a five-colored embroidered sachet behind a rockery. The sachet was gorgeous and exquisite, truly lovely, but embroidered not with flowers or birds, but with two naked figures sitting cross-legged, embracing each other on one side, and a few characters on the other. This silly girl didn't recognize it as a pornographic image and thought to herself, "Could these be two demons fighting? Or else, a couple quarreling." She guessed left and right but couldn't figure it out, and was about to take it to show the Dowager, so she walked along smiling, looking at it, when she suddenly met Lady Xing, who asked thus. She smiled and said, "Madam, you've hit it exactly! It's really something a dog wouldn't know. Please, madam, take a look." With that, she handed it over. Lady Xing took it, looked at it, and was so startled she clutched it tightly and quickly asked, "Where did you get this?" Simple Sister said, "I found it on a rock while digging for crickets." Lady Xing said, "Don't tell a single soul. This is not a good thing; even you could be beaten to death. Since you've always been simple, don't ever mention it again." Simple Sister, hearing this, turned pale with fright and said, "I never will again." She kowtowed and walked away blankly.

Lady Xing turned her head and saw that those around her were all young girls, so it was inconvenient to hand it to them. She tucked it into her own sleeve, feeling greatly astonished, and pondered where this object could have come from, but she betrayed no sign of it and went straight to Yingchun’s room. Yingchun, feeling downcast because her wet nurse had committed a crime, was already ill at ease. Suddenly, she was told that her mother had arrived, so she welcomed her into the inner chamber. After tea was served, Lady Xing said, “You’re this old now, and your wet nurse did such a thing—you didn’t even speak to her about it. Now everyone else is fine, but it’s our people who stirred up trouble—what’s the meaning of this?” Yingchun hung her head and fiddled with her sash, and after a long while replied, “I spoke to her about it twice, but she wouldn’t listen, and there was nothing I could do. Besides, she’s my wet nurse; she can scold me, but I can’t scold her.” Lady Xing said, “Nonsense! If you’re in the wrong, she ought to scold you, but now that she’s broken the law, you should assert your status as a young lady. If she dares not obey, you should come and tell me. Now it’s come to the point where outsiders know about it—what’s the point of that? What’s more, she’s the one running the gambling game; I’m afraid she might use sweet talk to borrow hairpins, bracelets, clothes, and shoes from you as capital. You’re softhearted and thin-skinned—you probably couldn’t resist helping her out a bit. If she cheats you out of them, I have no money to spare—see how you’ll manage at the festival tomorrow.” Yingchun said nothing, only hung her head and fiddled with her sash. Seeing her like this, Lady Xing sneered and said, “It’s always your fine brother and sister-in-law—that pair, so grand and imposing, Master Lian and Mistress Feng, covering the sky and blocking the sun, managing everything perfectly—yet they have this one sister and don’t care a bit about her. If she were born of my own flesh, it would be another story—I’d have to let them do as they please. Besides, you’re not my child. Though you’re not of the same mother as him, you share the same father, so you ought to look out for each other, to avoid others’ ridicule. I think things in this world are hard to predict. You were born to a concubine of the Elder Master, and here Tanchun was born to a concubine of the Second Master—your origins are the same. Now that your mother is dead, looking back, between your two mothers, yours was ten times better than the present Aunt Zhao, so you should be superior to Tanchun. How is it that you don’t even measure up to half of her? Who would have thought it wasn’t so—isn’t that strange? As for me, I’ve had no sons or daughters all my life—clean and pure—I can’t be bothered to invite gossip and criticism, and that’s best.” The waiting maidservants took the opportunity to say, “Our young lady is honest and benevolent—how could she be like the Third Young Lady, sharp-tongued and always showing off before the sisters? They know full well that Elder Sister is like this, yet they show no concern at all.” Lady Xing said, “Even her own brother and sister-in-law are like this—what can anyone else do?” Before she finished speaking, someone announced, “Mistress Lian has arrived.” Lady Xing, hearing this, gave two cold laughs and ordered someone to go out and say, “Ask her to go nurse her illness; I don’t need her attendance here.” Then a young maid from Tanchun came to report, “The old lady is awake.” Only then did Lady Xing rise and go to the front. Yingchun saw her out to the courtyard and then returned.

Xiu Ju said, “Well, now—a few days ago I told you, miss, that the gold phoenix with pearls and filigree work had disappeared. I reported it to you, but you didn’t even ask about it. I said it must have been taken by Old Nurse to pawn for money to run the gambling game, but you didn’t believe me and said Siqi had it put away. I asked Siqi, and though she’s ill, she’s clear-headed. I questioned her, and she said she didn’t put it away—it was still in the box on the bookshelf, temporarily stored there, ready for wear at the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth. You should have asked Old Nurse about it, but you’re too soft-faced and afraid of offending people. Now I’m afraid it’s lost. Tomorrow, when everyone wears theirs, if we’re the only ones without one, what’s the point?” Yingchun said, “What need is there to ask? Of course she took it to borrow for a while. I thought she’d take it out quietly and, in a day or so, quietly bring it back, and that would be the end of it. Who knew she’d forget? And today, of all days, it’s come to light. Asking her won’t do any good.” Xiu Ju said, “How could she forget! She’s tested your nature thoroughly, that’s why she acts like this. Now I have an idea: I’ll go straight to Mistress Lian’s room and report it to her. Either she’ll send someone to demand it back, or she’ll take the easy way and give a few strings of cash to have it redeemed. What do you think?” Yingchun quickly said, “Enough, enough, enough—spare yourself the trouble. Better to do without it than stir up trouble.” Xiu Ju said, “How can you be so weak, miss? If we all try to avoid trouble, even you, miss, will be cheated away someday. I must go.” With that, she started off. Yingchun said nothing, having no choice but to let her go.

Now it happened that the daughter-in-law of Yingchun’s wet nurse, Wang Zhuer’s wife, had come to beg Yingchun to intercede on behalf of her mother-in-law, who had gotten into trouble. Hearing them talking about the gold phoenix, she didn’t go in. Since Yingchun was usually weak-willed, they all took her lightly. Now, seeing that Xiu Ju was determined to report the matter to Xifeng, she figured the thing couldn’t be avoided, and besides, she needed Yingchun’s help, so she had to go in. Smiling apologetically, she first spoke to Xiu Ju: “Miss, don’t go stirring up trouble. The gold phoenix—our Old Nurse was foolish, lost a few coins, and couldn’t win back her stake, so she borrowed it temporarily. She said she’d redeem it in a day or two, but since she never got her stake back, it got delayed. Coincidentally, today someone let the news slip, and trouble’s broken out. Still, it’s the mistress’s property, and we wouldn’t dare neglect it—it will be redeemed eventually. Now I beg you, miss, for the sake of the milk you sucked as a child, go to the old lady and plead for mercy, to save the old woman.” Yingchun first said, “Good sister-in-law, you’d better give up that idea right now. If you wait for me to plead, even by next year it won’t do any good. Just now, even with Cousin Baochai and Cousin Lin and everyone pleading together, the old lady wouldn’t agree—how could I alone manage? I’m already ashamed enough; I wouldn’t go looking for a snub.” Xiu Ju said, “Redeeming the phoenix is one thing, pleading for mercy is another—don’t mix them up. Do you mean that if the miss doesn’t plead, you won’t redeem it? Sister-in-law, bring the phoenix first, and then we’ll talk.” When Wang Zhuer’s wife heard Yingchun refuse her so bluntly and Xiu Ju’s words were so sharp, she had no reply and felt humiliated. Knowing that Yingchun was usually easygoing, she turned on Xiu Ju and said, “Miss, don’t throw your weight around too much. Look at the whole household—whose nurse or wet nurse doesn’t benefit from the young masters and mistresses? Why should it be just us who are so strict, one thing is one thing? You allow yourselves to cheat and swindle in secret. Ever since Miss Xing arrived, the mistress ordered that one tael of silver be saved each month to give to the young lady’s mother. That added Miss Xing’s expenses but reduced a tael. Often we’re short of this or lacking that—who provided it? Who ever asked for anything back? We just made do. By now, it must be at least thirty taels. All our money over this time—hasn’t it been thrown into a bottomless pit?” Before she could finish, Xiu Ju spat and said, “What do you mean, thrown into a bottomless pit for thirty taels? Let me settle accounts with you—what has the young lady ever taken from you?” Yingchun, hearing the maid expose Lady Xing’s private schemes, quickly stopped her: “Enough, enough, enough. If you can’t bring the phoenix, there’s no need to drag in all sorts of things and make a racket. I don’t want that phoenix anymore. Even if the mistresses ask, I’ll just say it’s lost—it won’t affect you. Go and rest, that’s best.” With that, she called for Xiu Ju to bring tea. Xiu Ju, both angry and anxious, said, “Even if you, miss, aren’t afraid, what are we here for? To let your things be lost? She’s even claiming you used their money, and now she wants to offset it. If the mistress asks why you spent so much money, won’t they say we profited from it? That would be unbearable!” As she spoke, she began to cry. Siqi, unable to bear it any longer, forced herself over to help Xiu Ju confront the woman. Yingchun tried to stop them but couldn’t, so she picked up a copy of the Taishang Ganying Pian (The Treatise of the Most High on Action and Response) and began to read.

The three of them were in the midst of a heated quarrel when, as it happened, Bao-chai, Dai-yu, Bao-qin, and Tan-chun, fearing that Ying-chun might be feeling uncomfortable that day, had all agreed to come and comfort her. As they entered the courtyard, they heard two or three people arguing. Tan-chun looked through the gauze window and saw Ying-chun leaning on the bed reading a book, as if she hadn’t heard a thing. Tan-chun smiled. The junior maids quickly raised the portiere and announced, “The young ladies have arrived.” Only then did Ying-chun put down her book and rise. When the woman saw that people had come, and that Tan-chun was among them, she stopped arguing without being urged, and seized the opportunity to leave. Tan-chun sat down and asked, “Who was speaking here just now? It sounded like a quarrel.” Ying-chun smiled and said, “It was nothing, just them making a mountain out of a molehill. Why bother asking her?” Tan-chun smiled and said, “I just heard something about a ‘golden phoenix,’ and something about ‘if you have no money, just come begging from us servants.’ Who was begging money from servants? Surely you weren’t begging money from servants? Don’t you, like us, have a monthly allowance, and expenses to meet?” Si-qi and Xiu-ju said, “Miss, you speak rightly. All the young ladies are the same. Which young lady’s money isn’t spent by the nurses and nannies as they see fit? Even we don’t know how the accounts are kept; we just ask for things with a word. Now she insists that you’ve overspent, and that she’s made up the difference out of her own pocket. But you’ve never asked her for anything.” Tan-chun smiled and said, “Since sister didn’t ask her for anything, it must be that one of us did! Call her in; I want to ask her about this.” Ying-chun smiled and said, “That’s ridiculous. You have no connection to this, why drag her into it?” Tan-chun smiled and said, “That’s not so. You and I are the same; your affairs are like my own. If she speaks of you, she’s speaking of me. If someone in my household complains about me, and you hear it, it’s the same as complaining about you. We are mistresses; naturally we don’t bother with such trivial money matters. We just think of something and ask for it—that does happen. But I wonder how the gold-threaded phoenix hairpin got mixed up in this?” Wang Zhuer’s wife, fearing that Xiu-ju and the others might expose her, hurried in to cover things up with words. Tan-chun understood her intentions well, so she smiled and said, “You people are so muddled. Now that your mistress (the nurse) has already been found at fault, take this chance to beg Second Mistress (Wang Xi-feng) to use some of the money that hasn’t yet been distributed to redeem the pawned items, and that will be the end of it. It’s not like before, when it hadn’t come out, and everyone was hiding things to save face. Now that face is lost, even if you had ten offenses, only one person would be punished—they can’t cut off two heads. Listen to me: go and talk to Second Mistress. Making such a racket here is not proper.” The woman, hit where it hurt by Tan-chun, could no longer deny it, but she didn’t dare to go and confess to Xi-feng. Tan-chun smiled and said, “If I hadn’t heard it, that would be one thing, but since I have heard it, I have to sort it out for you.” Unknown to them, Tan-chun had already given a signal to Dai-shu, who then went out.

Just as they were speaking, they suddenly saw Ping-er enter. Bao-qin clapped her hands and laughed, saying, “Third Sister, do you have some magic charm to summon gods or generals?” Dai-yu laughed and said, “This isn’t some Taoist mystical art; it’s the most refined tactic of warfare—what they call ‘as still as a virgin in defense, as swift as a hare in flight’—a brilliant surprise move.” The two of them laughed. Bao-chai gave them a warning glance, signaling them not to behave so, and then changed the subject. Tan-chun, seeing that Ping-er had arrived, asked, “Is your mistress feeling any better? She’s truly muddled with illness, not caring about anything, leaving us to suffer such grievances.” Ping-er quickly said, “How have you suffered a grievance, miss? Who would dare to give you trouble? Please, miss, give me your orders.” At that moment, Wang Zhuer’s wife became flustered and rushed forward to Ping-er, saying, “Please sit down, miss, and let me tell you the whole story.” Ping-er said sternly, “When the young lady is speaking here, is it proper for you and me to interrupt? If you had any sense of propriety, you should be waiting outside. There’s no rule for you to enter without being called, and since when is it customary for women from outside to come into the young ladies’ rooms without reason?” Xiu-ju said, “You don’t know that in this room there’s no propriety at all—anyone who wants to comes in.” Ping-er said, “It’s all your fault. The young lady is good-natured; you should have driven them out and then reported it to the mistress.” Wang Zhuer’s wife, hearing Ping-er’s rebuke, blushed and withdrew. Tan-chun then said, “Let me tell you this: if someone else had offended me, it might be overlooked. But now this Wang Zhuer’s wife and her mother-in-law, relying on being the wet nurse and taking advantage of Second Sister’s good nature, have taken her jewelry to gamble, and on top of that, they’ve concocted false accounts and are threatening to ask for favors. They’ve been shouting in the bedroom with these two maids, and Second Sister can’t even control them. So I, unable to stand it, have asked you to come: is this woman an outsider who doesn’t know the rules? Or is someone behind her, first subduing Second Sister, and then intending to deal with me and Fourth Sister?” Ping-er hurriedly smiled and said, “How can you say such things today, miss? How could our mistress bear such a charge!” Tan-chun sneered and said, “As the saying goes, ‘Creatures grieve for their own kind,’ and ‘When the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold.’ Naturally, I’m alarmed.” Ping-er said, “As for this matter, it’s not a big issue and can be easily settled. But she is the young lady’s nurse’s daughter-in-law. What do you think should be done, miss?” At this moment, Ying-chun was merely reading the Tract of the Quiet Way with Bao-chai, and hadn’t even heard what Tan-chun had said. Suddenly, hearing Ping-er speak, she smiled and said, “If you ask me, I have no solution. Their wrongs are of their own making; they must suffer the consequences. I won’t plead for them, nor will I be harsh. As for the things they took without permission, if they return them, I’ll keep them; if not, I won’t ask for them. If the mistresses question it, I can cover it up—that’s their good fortune. If I can’t hide it, I have no choice; I can’t deceive the mistresses for their sake. I’ll have to tell the truth. If you say I’m too good-natured and indecisive, and you have a better plan that can satisfy everyone without angering the mistresses, then do as you see fit—I’ll have no part in it.” Hearing this, everyone found it amusing. Dai-yu laughed and said, “Truly, ‘When the tiger and wolf are at the doorstep, she still talks of karma.’ If Second Sister were a man, how would she manage all these people in this household?” Ying-chun smiled and said, “Exactly. So many men are like this, let alone me.” Before she finished speaking, another person entered. Who it was, let the next chapter unfold.