The Warning Voice (44 page)

Ever since the Faithful fiasco Grandmother Jia's attitude towards Lady Xing seemed to have hardened, whilst Xi-feng's stature seemed to have grown at her mother-in-law's expense. The jealousy and resentment that Lady Xing felt as a consequence of this had recently been exacerbated by an imagined slight: the passing over of Ying-chun when the Dowager Princess of Nan-an asked to see the Jia girls and Tan-chun was the only one of the three to be called. Mischief-makers were not wanting to play upon her resentment, in this case representing Xi-feng's action as a deliberate attack on her authority.

Early next morning she went to pay her respects to Grandmother Jia. This was the junior clansmen's day. When Lady Xing got there, the junior clansmen had already arrived and the players were waiting to begin. Grandmother Jia always enjoyed meeting young people, and so today she was appearing in person to receive their congratulations, dressed in her ordinary clothes, since this was a family party and the guests were all her juniors. She was reclining in the middle of the rear part of the hall on a large wooden couch furnished with a back-rest and bolsters and a footstool in front of it in case she should wish to sit upright. Around her couch were ranged a number of identical stools on which Bao-chai, Bao-qin, Dai-yu, Xiang-yun, Ying-chun, Tan-chun and Xi-chun were sitting. Of the twenty or so girls of their generation whose mothers had brought them there on this occasion two, Jia Bin's sister Xi-luan and Jia Qiong's sister Si-jie, had, on account of their good looks, well-spokenness and charming manners, found particular favour with Grandmother Jia and been invited to sit on stools with the other seven. Bao-yu sat up on the couch with his grandmother and massaged her legs for her. Aunt Xue had been given the place of honour in the ordering of the feast and the two lines of tables which rayed out on either side were occupied by the other ladies according to their husbands' seniority in the clan. The men sat on the verandah at either side of the hall, also in order of seniority.

Presently the birthday ceremony began. The female members of the clan were the first to make their kotows. The males would have come next, but Grandmother Jia lay back on the couch and sent someone outside to excuse them. Then Lai Da arrived with the male domestics. They knelt down, row upon row of them, from the ornamental gate all the way up to the steps at the foot of the hall, to make their kotows. After them it was the turn of the married women, and after them of the maids. Something like the time it would take to eat two or three meals must have elapsed before all the kotowing was over. Next a number of bird-cages were set down in the middle of the courtyard and the birds released from them. Then Jia She
and the other seniors supervised the burning of paper offerings to Heaven-and-Earth and Old Longevity. Only then did the drinking and the play-acting begin.

Grandmother Jia remained until the players' mid-day interval before retiring to rest in her own room. She insisted that those of them who had escorted her there should go back and enjoy themselves, and asked Xi-feng to arrange for Xi-luan and Si-jie to stay on for a couple of nights after the party.

Xi-feng went off to speak to the girls' mothers. Both had received favours from her in the past and were only too happy to comply with anything she asked them, and the girls themselves were of course delighted at the prospect of playing in the Garden all day and not having to go home for the night.

Lady Xing bided her time until the evening; then, just as everyone was getting ready to go, she went up to Xi-feng in front of all the others and made her a request.

‘I understand that you became angry with two old women last night and sent Zhou Rui's wife to have them tied up. I don't know what crime they had committed and it isn't of course my business to interfere, but it does seem to me that Lady Jia's birthday is an occasion when we should all be doing our utmost to help, those less fortunate than ourselves – giving money and free rice to the old and needy and that sort of thing – hardly a time for maltreating aged domestics. Could you not see your way to releasing them, for Lady Jia's sake, if not for mine?'

Having said that, she got into her carriage and drove away.

The humiliation of being addressed like this in front of so many people filled Xi-feng with anger and confusion. Her face turned a dusky red colour and for some moments she was so taken aback that she was unable to speak; then, turning to Lai Da's wife, she said, with a forced laugh:

‘But this is ridiculous! Last night I heard that some of our people had been rude to Mrs Zhen, and as I was afraid that she might be feeling vexed about it, I naturally had them tied up so that they could be placed at her disposal. It wasn't
me
they had offended. I wonder what tale-bearing busybody is responsible for carrying this story next door?'

‘What exactly happened last night?' asked Lady Wang.

Xi-feng explained.

‘I didn't even know about this myself,' said You-shi, laughing. ‘Really, Feng, I think you
were
a trifle officious.'

‘I was concerned about
you
,' said Xi-feng.'
You
had been insulted. It was a natural courtesy to place them at your disposal. Suppose I was at your place and some of your people insulted me? Wouldn't you send them over to me for me to deal with? I thought that was a general principle which all of us observed, even if the servant in question was a highly valued one. Some meddlesome person has blown this incident up out of all proportion for the sake of stirring things up next door. I shouldn't have thought myself that it was worth mentioning even.'

‘Your mother-in-law was quite right,' said Lady Wang. ‘Cousin Zhen's wife is one of us. There was no need for such empty courtesies in her case. Grandmother's birthday is much more important. The women ought to be released.'

Xi-feng's humiliation was now complete. A feeling of such wretchedness came over her that she could no longer hold back the tears of anger that had been collecting in her eyes. Not wishing them to be seen, she rushed back to her own apartment to weep alone.

She had hardly got back, though, when Grandmother Jia sent Amber round to summon her. Amber noticed with surprise that she had been crying.

‘Hullo, what's all this about? She's waiting to ask you about something.'

Xi-feng wiped away her tears, washed and dried her face, and put on a fresh lot of make-up before accompanying Amber back to Grandmother Jia's apartment.

‘How many of the people who sent presents gave me screens?' the old lady asked Xi-feng when she arrived.

‘Sixteen,' said Xi-feng. ‘There were twelve big screens and four little kang screens. The biggest screen was from the Zhens of Nanking: a twelve panel folding screen with a scene in silk tapestry on crimson satin from
A Heap of Honours
on one side and Symbols of Longevity in powder-gold on the
other. There's also quite a good enamelled screen from Admiral Wu's lady.'

‘Yes, well don't do anything with those two, then,' said Grandmother Jia. ‘Just put them by somewhere where they will be safe. I want to give them to someone as a present.'

Faithful went over to Xi-feng and peered into her face.

‘What are you staring at her like that for?' said Grandmother Jia. ‘Haven't you seen her before?'

‘I was wondering why her eyes are so swollen,' said Faithful.

‘Come over here,' Grandmother Jia commanded, and scrutinized Xi-feng herself.

‘It's because my eyes were itching and I've been rubbing them,' said Xi-feng.

‘Are you sure someone hasn't been upsetting you?' said Faithful, laughing.

‘Who would dare?' said Xi-feng. ‘And even if they had, I wouldn't dare to cry on Her Old Ladyship's birthday.'

‘I should think not indeed,' said Grandmother Jia. ‘I'm just going to have dinner now. You can stay with me and watch me eat it, and then you and Zhen's wife can share what's left over. The two of you can help these sisters here to pick up Buddha beans.' She indicated the pair of nuns whose presence Xi-feng had been vaguely aware of on entering. ‘It will add some years to your life. I let Bao-yu and the girls do it the other day. Now you two must have a go as well, so that no one can accuse me of favouritism.'

While she was speaking, the table had been laid and a meatless meal served for the two nuns. Then, when they had eaten, a meal with meat in it was served for Grandmother Jia. When she in turn had finished, the remains of her meal were carried into the outer room for Xi-feng and You-shi to eat. They had already started when Grandmother Jia had Xi-luan and Si-jie sent for to join them. After they had finished and washed their hands, some incense was lit and a pint of beans brought in, over which the two nuns chanted some prayers. The two young women, each armed with a pair of chopsticks, then had to pick the beans up one by one and drop them into a basket, to be boiled next day and given away to passers-by in the street.
While they were thus engaged, Grandmother Jia reclined on her couch and listened to edifying stories told her by the two nuns.

Faithful had heard from Amber about Xi-feng's crying and had been over to Xi-feng's apartment herself to find out the reason for it from Patience. Late that evening, when everyone else had left, she spoke about it to Grandmother Jia.

‘Mrs Lian is still crying. It's because she was shamed in front of everyone by Lady Xing.'

‘Oh?' said Grandmother Jia. ‘Why was that?'

Faithful told her.

‘I think Feng acted quite correctly,' said Grandmother Jia. ‘Surely we're not going to allow our slaves to insult everyone with impunity just because it's my birthday? I expect this was Lady Xing's way of getting her own back for some grudge or other that she hadn't had the courage to tackle her about at the time. It's hard to see what other motive she could have had for humiliating her in public'.

Just at that moment Bao-qin came in and the subject had to be dropped. Bao-qin's presence reminded Grandmother Jia of her two young visitors. She called one of her women to her and gave her a message about them which she was to convey to the principal womenservants in the Garden.

‘Tell them they must treat them just as they do our own young ladies. Anyone I hear of behaving disrespectfully to either of them will be punished mercilessly.'

‘Better let
me
go,' said Faithful, before the woman had had time to get away. ‘They'll never listen to her.'

She went off at once into the Garden. Her first call was at Sweet-rice Village; but neither Li Wan nor You-shi was there. The maids there told her that they were in Tan-chun's apartment with the others, so she retraced her footsteps and called in at Autumn Studio. She found Li Wan and You-shi in the Paulownia Room engaged in a conversation, punctuated by frequent bursts of laughter, with the rest of the Garden's little society. They welcomed Faithful with smiles and urged her to be seated.

‘What are
you
doing here at this late hour?, they asked her.

‘I suppose I'm allowed to walk in the Garden if I want to,'
said Faithful, and passed on Grandmother Jia's message about Xi-luan and Si-jie.

Li Wan rose respectfully to receive it and at once sent someone to transmit it to the heads of all the apartments and instruct them to pass it on to their subordinates.

‘Lady Jia has wonderful foresight,' You-shi commented drily. ‘We energetic younger ones may tie up a dozen servants, but we are still not so effective as her.'

‘I don't know,' said Li Wan. ‘Cousin Feng may not quite come up to Lady Jia's standard, but she doesn't do too badly. Personally I find her foresight quite uncanny. Certainly
I
could never hope to match it.'

‘You should have said
“poor
Cousin Feng”,' said Faithful. ‘She's in a bad way at the moment. During all the years she has been managing things she may not have put a foot wrong as far as Their Ladyships are concerned, but she has given a great deal of offence elsewhere. A daughter-in-law's life must be pretty impossible. If she is too meek and mild her in-laws will complain that she is stupid and the servants won't respect her, yet if she shows any initiative, there is always another set of problems rising up behind her back for every one that she deals with. In our household, where there are a certain number of mistresses who used once themselves to be maids, it's particularly difficult. Such people are so full of their own importance that they are always taking offence, and if they are the slightest bit crossed in anything they begin spreading stories about you or finding other ways of stirring up trouble. I haven't so far liked to say anything to Her Old Ladyship about this for fear of making her angry. If I ever do, people had better watch out, because then the sparks will begin to fly, I can tell you! Perhaps I shouldn't say this in front of you, Miss Tan, but you know how certain people are always carrying on about the way Her Old Ladyship makes a favourite of Bao-yu. Well now apparently that doesn't matter any more. That's just a “natural preference”. Now it seems they're angry because Her Old Ladyship has been favouring
you
. Did you ever hear of anything so ridiculous?'

‘There are a lot of very silly people about,' said Tan-chun. ‘One really can't be bothered with what they say. I often think
how nice it would be to live in a smaller household, even if it meant being poorer. Think how delightful it would be to have just oneself and one's parents and one or two brothers and sisters living together as one happy little family! People look at our great household and all its wealth and think how happy we must be; they don't realize that the vexations far outweigh the advantages.'

‘You're much too thin-skinned, Tan,' said Bao-yu. ‘I'm always telling you: you should pay no attention to what vulgar people say or do but concentrate on enjoying the luxuries and opportunities that wealth and position make available to us. Others who lack these things have some reason to complain. Why make yourself miserable when you have got them?'

‘We can't all be as happy-go-lucky as you are,' said You-shi. ‘All you think about is amusing yourself with the girls, eating when you are hungry and sleeping when you are tired. Each year to you is like the last. You haven't a thought in your head about the future.'

‘It's the time I spend with the girls here that really matters,' said Bao-yu. ‘If I die, I die. What do I care about the future?'

Li Wan and the others laughed.