'The old gentleman,' answered lady Feng, 'is a man fond of a quiet life; and as he has already consummated a process of purification, he may well be looked upon as a supernatural being, so that the purpose to which your ladyships have given expression may be considered as manifest to his spirit, upon the very advent of the intention.'
As this sentence was uttered the whole company in the room burst out laughing. Mrs. Yu's mother, mesdames Hsing and Wang, and lady Feng having one and all partaken of the banquet, rinsed their mouths and washed their hands, which over, they expressed a wish to go into the garden.
Chia Jung entered the room. 'The senior gentlemen,' he said to Mrs. Yu, 'as well as all my uncles and cousins, have finished their repast; but the elder gentleman Mr. Chia She, who excused himself on the score of having at home something to attend to, and Mr. Secundus (Chia Cheng), who is not partial to theatrical performances and is always afraid that people will be too boisterous in their entertainments, have both of them taken their departure. The rest of the family gentlemen have been taken over by uncle Secundus Mr. Lien, and Mr. Se, to the other side to listen to the play. A few moments back Prince Nan An, Prince Tung P'ing, Prince Hsi Ning, Prince Pei Ching, these four Princes, with Niu, Duke of Chen Kuo, and five other dukes, six in all, and Shih, Marquis of Chung Ching, and other seven, in all eight marquises, sent their messengers with their cards and presents. I have already told father all about it; but before I did so, the presents were put away in the counting room, the lists of presents were all entered in the book, and the 'received with thanks' cards were handed to the respective messengers of the various mansions; the men themselves were also tipped in the customary manner, and all of them were kept to have something to eat before they went on their way. But, mother, you should invite the two ladies, your mother and my aunt, to go over and sit in the garden.'
'Just so!' observed Mrs. Yu, 'but we've only now finished our repast, and were about to go over.'
'I wish to tell you, madame,' interposed lady Feng, 'that I shall go first and see brother Jung's wife and then come and join you.'
'All right,' replied madame Wang; 'we should all have been fain to have paid her a visit, did we not fear lest she should look upon our disturbing her with displeasure, but just tell her that we would like to know how she is getting on!'
'My dear sister,' remarked Mrs. Yu, 'as our son's wife has a ready ear for all you say, do go and cheer her up, (and if you do so,) it will besides set my own mind at ease; but be quick and come as soon as you can into the garden.'
Pao-yue being likewise desirous to go along with lady Feng to see lady Ch'in, madame Wang remarked, 'Go and see her just for a while, and then come over at once into the garden; (for remember) she is your nephew's wife, (and you couldn't sit in there long).'
Mrs. Yu forthwith invited mesdames Wang and Hsing, as well as her own mother, to adjourn to the other side, and they all in a body walked into the garden of Concentrated Fragrance; while lady Feng and Pao-yue betook themselves, in company with Chia Jung, over to this side.
Having entered the door, they with quiet step walked as far as the entrance of the inner chamber. Mrs. Ch'in, upon catching sight of them, was bent upon getting up; but 'Be quick,' remonstrated lady Feng, 'and give up all idea of standing up; for take care your head will feel dizzy.'
Lady Feng hastened to make a few hurried steps forward and to grasp Mrs. Ch'in's hand in hers. 'My dear girl!' she exclaimed; 'How is it that during the few days I've not seen you, you have grown so thin?'
Readily she then took a seat on the rug, on which Mrs. Ch'in was seated, while Pao-yue, after inquiring too about her health, sat in the chair on the opposite side.
'Bring the tea in at once,' called out Chia Jung, 'for aunt and uncle Secundus have not had any tea in the drawing room.'
Mrs. Ch'in took lady Feng's hand in her own and forced a smile. 'This is all due to my lack of good fortune; for in such a family as this, my father and mother-in-law treat me just as if I were a daughter of their own flesh and blood! Besides, your nephew, (my husband,) may, it is true, my dear aunt, be young in years, but he is full of regard for me, as I have regard for him, and we have had so far no misunderstanding between us! In fact, among the senior generation, as well as that of the same age as myself, in the whole clan, putting you aside, aunt, about whom no mention need be made, there is not one who has not ever had anything but love for me, and not one who has not ever shown me anything but kindness! But since I've fallen ill with this complaint, all my energy has even every bit of it been taken out of me, so that I've been unable to show to my father and mother-in-law any mark of filial attention, yea so much as for one single day and to you, my dear aunt, with all this affection of yours for me, I have every wish to be dutiful to the utmost degree, but, in my present state, I'm really not equal to it; my own idea is, that it isn't likely that I shall last through this year.'
Pao-yue kept, while (she spoke,) his eyes fixed intently upon a picture on the opposite side, representing some begonias drooping in the spring time, and upon a pair of scrolls, with this inscription written by Ch'in Tai- hsue:
A gentle chill doth circumscribe the dreaming man because the spring
is cold!
The fragrant whiff which wafts itself into man's nose, is the perfume
of wine!
And he could not help recalling to mind his experiences at the time when he had fallen asleep in this apartment, and had, in his dream, visited the confines of the Great Void. He was just plunged in a state of abstraction, when he heard Mrs. Ch'in give utterance to these sentiments, which pierced his heart as if they were ten thousand arrows, (with the result that) tears unwittingly trickled from his eyes.
Lady Feng perceiving him in tears felt it extremely painful within herself to bear the sight; but she was on pins and needles lest the patient should detect their frame of mind, and feel, instead (of benefit), still more sore at heart, which would not, after all, be quite the purpose of her visit; which was to afford her distraction and consolation. 'Pao-yue,' she therefore exclaimed, 'you are like an old woman! Ill, as she is, simply makes her speak in this wise, and how ever could things come to such a pass! Besides, she is young in years, so that after a short indisposition, her illness will get all right!' 'Don't,' she said as she turned towards Mrs. Ch'in, 'give way to silly thoughts and idle ideas! for by so doing won't you yourself be aggravating your ailment?'
'All that her sickness in fact needs,' observed Chia Jung, 'is, that she should be able to take something to eat, and then there will be nothing to fear.'
'Brother Pao,' urged lady Feng, 'your mother told you to go over, as soon as you could, so that don't stay here, and go on in the way you're doing, for you after all incite this lady also to feel uneasy at heart. Besides, your mother over there is solicitous on your account.' 'You had better go ahead with your uncle Pao,' she consequently continued, addressing herself to Chia Jung, 'while I sit here a little longer.'
When Chia Jung heard this remark, he promptly crossed over with Pao-yue into the garden of Concentrated Fragrance, while lady Feng went on both to cheer her up for a time, and to impart to her, in an undertone, a good deal of confidential advice.
Mrs. Yu had despatched servants, on two or three occasions, to hurry lady Feng, before she said to Mrs. Ch'in: 'Do all you can to take good care of yourself, and I'll come and see you again. You're bound to get over this illness; and now, in fact, that you've come across that renowned doctor, you have really nothing more to fear.'
'He might,' observed Mrs. Ch'in as she smiled, 'even be a supernatural being and succeed in healing my disease, but he won't be able to remedy my destiny; for, my dear aunt, I feel sure that with this complaint of mine, I can do no more than drag on from day to day.'
'If you encourage such ideas,' remonstrated lady Feng, 'how can this illness ever get all right? What you absolutely need is to cast away all these notions, and then you'll improve. I hear moreover that the doctor asserts that if no cure be effected, the fear is of a change for the worse in spring, and not till then. Did you and I moreover belong to a family that hadn't the means to afford any ginseng, it would be difficult to say how we could manage to get it; but were your father and mother-in-law to hear that it's good for your recovery, why not to speak of two mace of ginseng a day, but even two catties will be also within their means! So mind you do take every care of your health! I'm now off on my way into the garden.'
'Excuse me, my dear aunt,' added Mrs. Ch'in, 'that I can't go with you; but when you have nothing to do, I entreat you do come over and see me! and you and I can sit and have a long chat.'
After lady Feng had heard these words, her eyes unwillingly got quite red again. 'When I'm at leisure I shall, of course,' she rejoined, 'come often to see you;' and forthwith leading off the matrons and married women, who
